**7th of June 2055, Dover Seawall, Southern Shore of UCN Stronghold 11**
"Would you rather be covered in hair or completely bald all over?"
"W-What?" Spat Johan out of sheer disbelief.
The Colonel's heavy facial expression lifted so fast it made Johan dizzy.
"Hairy or bald, Cadets? It is not a hard question"
"Bald, ma'am." Interjected Rozza.
"Hmm... and you Greenwood?"
"Hairy, Ma'am" replied Johan, coming to his senses
"I see... explain yourselves,"
Johan let Rozza speak first
"I suppose having no hair would be easier than having it growing everywhere, Ma'am," Said Rozza, trying to hide the broadness of his accent.
"Good, though you may dispense with the formalities, gentlemen," she said, offering a polite smile. "Greenwood?" she continued.
"Well, ma'a- Well, I think one could still look relatively normal with regular effort. And it could have its benefits, if you're cold in the winter or going camping, for example."
"Very good. Next question."
-----
Harrison rubbed his temples and stared at his computer screen.
There was an email from Lieutenant Colonel Banning, the Officer in charge of Dover Military Academy. The message contained a forwarded itinerary for a 'Special Physical Examination' starting tomorrow, but what concerned Harrison most were the two lines at the end of the first paragraph.
Failing, misconduct during, or non-attendance of this examination must result in immediate and irrevocable expulsion of any offending student without appropriate mitigating circumstances. Any institution found in violation of this rule will have navy funding suspended.
Casper had already gone home to continue working on his machine and Harrison knew he would be unlikely to return for classes this week, much less a physical.
The email also included a note from the Lieutenant Colonel.
Before you ask, this is out of my hands. I can't do anything to help you protect your pet project. The order comes from the top and from what I hear, this test is being conducted at all educational institutions with any military sponsorship. Sorry.
Harrison was fed up.
The UCN had effectively turned all decent education centres into quid pro quo propaganda factories. It started with military sponsorship programs for state schooling, and then pressure to cut funding to education in favour of military spending.
The result; if you wanted an education, you either joined a military academy with its predatory credit scheme that forced children to participate in the Navy Training Corps and other 'sponsored activities' in exchange for the right to learn.
Or you bought your education.
Anything other than wealth or submission sent you to a life of hard labour and meagre pay.
Harrison was tired. He had fought so hard to give Casper a chance at a life where he could make a difference in the world, to save just one child, and now he was powerless in the face of order given by a person he was sure he'd never even meet.
He found it fitting that the only thing that kept Casper at the academy was not his ingenuity, not the unique way he saw the world, but a silly crest embroidered on Harrison's uniform, now rendered useless by a stranger with more medals.
Harrison's dejecting thoughts ran laps in his mind.
He couldn't warn Casper about the test via phone or email without leaving a trace that would have the boy expelled anyway. He considered just going to his house. However, that posed an arguably greater risk to both of them if he was seen.
Maybe he could have Casper's brother relay the message once he returned from the trip? No, it wasn't fair of him to implicate a model student like Johan in this.
And then it hit him. He knew what to do.
-----
Jansen's barrage of odd questions finally stopped. The binary answers often had Johan responding with questions of his own, whereas Rozza took it in stride, simply responding with his first impulse.
"Alright boys, let's move on to something a bit more challenging." Said the Colonel. "You have been walking through my base all day. Let's see if you have learned anything."
"What is, in your opinion, the most critical military asset at this base?"
Johan and Rozzas' minds jumped to the Leviathan Cannon just tens of metres above them but caught themselves before answering. That answer was too obvious to be any sort of challenge. They reflected for a moment.
Rozza broke the silence first.
"Here, the communications centre," he said.
"And why do you think that?" asked Jansen
"Because," he continued, "Without the information going through here, you'd never be able to fire the base's principal weapon. And you can call for reinforcements in case anything makes it past coordinated fire from the other guns."
"Excellent" replied the Colonel.
She noticed a slight apprehension on Johan's face.
"Do you not agree, Greenwood?"
"No, Ma'am."
"Well, tell us what you think the answer is."
"The sea, Ma'am."
"Elaborate."
"Large bodies of water have historically proven to be the best protection from djin attacks. The vast majority of djins are poorly suited to traverse the water. And rarer aquatic djins, while certainly a threat to naval assets, don't typically walk on land. So the primary dangers are amphibious, flying, or exceptionally massive djin, all of which are exceedingly uncommon, making a mass attack unlikely."
"Interes-" Colonel Jansen was cut off by a buzzer sound coming from her desk.
"I'm afraid that's our time, gentlemen." She held down a button and Seagent Smith entered the office.
"I need you both to return to the conference room. And best keep quiet about this meeting, lads," He said to the boys.
Rozza and Johan stood up and saluted Colonel Jansen and Seargent Smith before marching out of the room. They retraced their steps back to the other students, who had once again been stuffed in the conference room Smith stayed behind. Johan thought more about his answers. He felt he did okay, but remained anxious nonetheless.
"Where did you two run off to?" Emily asked the pair with a hint of sarcasm. "You missed everything."
Rozza wore a smug expression and, with his accent fully bearing once more, said "We, little lady, were off mee-"
Johan subtly stamped on Rozza's foot without looking and interrupted. "Me and Rozza bunned off some of our NCO reports last week and Smithers was making us catch up."
"Naughty." she teased.
After a moment she spoke again "Didn't he leave you in that big office along the way, with the lady? ". Emily cocked her head at the now clear glass window of Jansen's office. She and Smith were still having a conversation.
"Supervision. Apparently, we can't be trusted to sit alone in a room," Said Johan, pumping his eyebrows and giving Rozza an exaggerated look.
"Sounds about right," mocked Emily, her suspicion quelled.
"So how was Smith's tour?" asked Johan
"It was alright, but Smith revoked our speaking privileges while we were on the floor. Everything else was mostly file rooms and private offices. There was a proper old-school radio room though."
"Cool," said Rozza, a little sour about his foot. "What's that big map for?"
"You mean the on the front of the bullpen?"
"Aye"
"It shows djin distribution on the continent."
"And the black dots?" asked Johan
"No idea. Smith didn't tell us."
Johan glanced at the map and counted five blinking dots.
Smith returned to the conference room and instructed the room to get formed up and ready to leave.
Once they were outside again, Smith led the parade around the side of the Leviathan Cannon to a long concrete train platform that sported a crane similar to that of the loading room. Johan could see the other side of the conveyor system peaking out of the cannon's housing.
Smith launched into yet another mind-numbing tirade, this time about the importance of railway logistics throughout the past three centuries. Johan half listened, but he was mentally exhausted after his interview with Jansen and he began to feel the tiredness spread to his body.
The trip was nearing its end. Johan put up a front of eagerness for the remainder of the tour, but he longed to get back to the academy for debriefing.
After a couple more stops and a short coach trip, Johan's wish was granted.
He slumped himself into a seat at the back of the classroom and noted the at-home assignments Smith announced.
The debriefing was nearly over when someone interrupted Smith by flinging the classroom door open.
It was Harrison.
"Greenwood!" he screamed, vein bulging on his forehead.
His gaze found Johan, and he marched toward him, red-faced steam coming out of his ears.
"I have had it with your mental case of a brother," he yelled.
Johan had never known Harrison to raise his voice beyond the occasional need to quiet a room. Smith looked oddly proud his colleague was finally seeing sense.
"I won't be doing him any more favours so I better see him here, in uniform, first thing in the morning. I don't care if you have to drag his arse through the streets of Dover. Get. Him. Here. Or I will personally see to his expulsion." He spat.
And with that, Harrison stormed out of the room.