"Deploy Combat Units 7 and 8," Hayes ordered, watching the holographic display flicker with interference. "Standard sweep pattern, full spectrum scanning."
Lieutenant Santos' fingers danced across his console. "Drones away, sir. Initial telemetry coming in... wait." He frowned, adjusting something on his screen. "Sir, we're getting significant signal degradation."
'More than we should be,' Hayes thought, leaning over the lieutenant's shoulder. The drone feeds were cutting in and out, their usually crystal-clear imagery reduced to static-filled bursts.
"Commander," another technician called out, her voice tight with concern. "I'm seeing critical damage to our planetary scanner array. Multiple nodes are offline."
Hayes straightened, jaw clenching. "Cause?"
"Preliminary analysis suggests electromagnetic interference, sir. But..." she hesitated, pulling up a diagnostic overlay. "The damage pattern is unusual. It's almost like something pulled the energy right out of the systems."
'Or someone,' Hayes thought, remembering the student ships that had arrived earlier. "Timeline?"
"Damage corresponds with the arrival window, sir." Santos confirmed his suspicions. "Engineering estimates two days for repairs, minimum."
Hayes stared at the failing drone feeds, watching as both units reported nothing but empty terrain and electromagnetic ghosts. 'Perfect timing,' he thought grimly. 'Almost too perfect.'
---
The morning came too quickly for Noah's liking, though he'd barely slept anyway. He and Kelvin were already up, their gear spread out on their bunks as Officer Chen conducted final checks with the rest of Class 1B.
'At least we're not stuck with 1A,' Noah thought, watching the morning activity through their barracks window. The class separation into different camps had been an unexpected blessing. 'No dealing with those smug bastards from 1A or the assholes from 1C.'
The morning briefing took place in what looked like a makeshift command center, really just a collection of containers arranged in a rough semicircle. Officer Chen stood before the assembled students of 1B, her tablet casting a soft blue glow on her face in the early morning light.
'Group assignments,' Noah mused, studying the projected map of their designated area. 'Simple enough on paper.' The mission parameters scrolled across his system interface: recover items of value or knowledge, from beast cores to local vegetation. 'Virgin planet, ripe for exploitation. Tale as old as time.'
Something about the simplicity of it nagged at him. 'No point system announced, no clear victory conditions.' His eyes narrowed. 'Either they're being incredibly flexible, or this whole thing is a test in itself.'
Noah turned to his assigned team, taking in their various states of morning alertness. Kelvin was already typing away at his tablet, probably running diagnostics on equipment they weren't supposed to have. Lila stood at attention, every inch the proper student, while Cora had claimed a nearby container as her personal lounger, sprawled across it with deliberate casualness.
"Kelvin," Noah started, trying to sound more leader-like than he felt, "anything we should know about the terrain?"
Kelvin's response was characteristically hesitant. "Well... the electromagnetic interference is... interesting."
'Just helpful,' Noah thought, but before he could press further, Lila stepped forward.
"We should do a gear check," she suggested, already reaching for her equipment. "Weapons, supplies, everything."
From her perch on the container, Cora made a sound of disgust. "These weapons are a joke," she declared, holding up her assigned Level 3 Ravager with two fingers like it might bite. "Pre-Harbinger war relics. You know, back when humans had to compensate for not having abilities."
'She's not wrong,' Noah thought, examining his own Ravager. The gun felt clumsy in his hands, nothing like... well, nothing like his eclipse blade. But that wasn't something he could explain to his teammates.
"Some of us prefer getting our hands dirty," Cora continued, swinging her legs off the container. "But the academy knows best, right?" Her tone dripped sarcasm. "At least they're not sending us out with Level 1 gear anymore. Amazing what two students nearly dying in a cave will do for equipment requisitions."
They barely spared Cora the time of the day. They understood that some people weren't just morning people. Cora wasn't a people's people.
Time went by as they checked their gear – combat bracelets displaying maps and vital signs, food ration pills that somehow counted as technological progress, and various other standard-issue items that marked them as academy students.
A shadow fell across their equipment circle, and Noah looked up to find Micah Reed standing there, hands in his pockets, posture military-stiff. The morning light gleamed off his bald head as he surveyed their group with that particular blend of authority and disdain that seemed to come standard with being ranked fifth among the third-years.
"Two hours until deployment," Micah announced, and Noah noticed how the others instinctively straightened. Well, except for Cora, who made a point of slouching further.
'Always has to make an entrance,' Noah thought, but his eyes were drawn to the monstrous gauntlets adorning Micah's arms.
They were crafting marvels, a mesmerizing blend of red and blue that shifted like oil on water. Plates of armor overlapped in complex patterns, suggesting movement capabilities that shouldn't have been possible with something so massive. Power cores pulsed at regular intervals, sending ripples of energy through intricate circuitry patterns.
"Is there a problem, Eclipse?" Micah's voice cut through Noah's observation.
"No, sir," Noah replied, though he couldn't help adding, "Just admiring the hardware."
Micah flexed his right gauntlet, the morning light catching deep gouges and repair marks that spoke of serious combat experience. "Focus on your own equipment. I expect everyone combat-ready in ninety minutes."
"Because there's so much to check with these antiques," Cora muttered, just loud enough to be heard.
Micah's eyes snapped to her. "Would you prefer we send you out with nothing, Cora? Given your last combat evaluation scores, it might not make much difference."
The temperature seemed to drop several degrees. Lila suddenly became very interested in her boot laces, while Kelvin's typing grew conspicuously louder.
'And here we go,' Noah thought, watching Cora's expression darken. But before she could respond, Micah had already turned away, his bald head gleaming in the morning sun as he strode off.
"Charming as ever," Lila broke the tension, checking her ammunition count for the third time.
"How does he even move in those things?" Kelvin wondered aloud, his technical curiosity apparently overwhelming his usual caution.
"Those gauntlets definitely aren't academy-issued," Kelvin murmured, still staring after Micah. "The power configuration alone..."
"Of course they're not," Cora cut in, finally checking her own gear with reluctant efficiency. "Everyone knows the thirds hunt their own cores. Find the beasts that match their abilities, craft their perfect weapons." She patted her standard-issue Ravager with obvious distaste. "Not like us bottom-feeders with our hand-me-downs."
'The unofficial academy tradition,' Noah thought, remembering the whispered conversations in dormitory halls. Students venturing into restricted areas, hunting powerful beasts for their cores, all to forge weapons that resonated with their unique abilities. The academy officially discouraged it, of course – right up until someone succeeded. Then suddenly those same students found themselves fast-tracked to advanced combat classes.
"I heard a recon team got ambushed by a Level a pack of level 3 last month," Lila added, her voice low. "Everyone thought they were dead until number 3 showed up. That sword of hers..." She glanced in the direction the third-year had disappeared. "They say she forged it from three different beast cores."
"Four," Kelvin corrected, then flushed when everyone looked at him. "What? I like to keep track of these things. Technically, the fourth core wasn't even from a beast. It was from a—"
A sharp whistle cut through the morning air, signaling the final equipment check.
"Save the conspiracy theories for when we're not about to march into unknown territory," Noah said, but his mind was already turning over the implications. 'Those gauntlets, that sword... what kind of beasts did they have to face to craft weapons like that?'
Noah watched Micah's retreating form. 'To be ranked number 5, he has to be freakishly strong,' he mused. 'But what kind of ability requires that much hardware to control?'
Movement from across the camp caught his attention. Adrian Albright's team was heading out toward their designated area, their gear already prepped and checked. But it was the figure trailing behind them that drew every eye in the vicinity.
Sienna Voss walked with the casual grace of a predator, her third-year rank of number 3 worn like a tangible aura.
However, it was the thing that hung loosely on her back that made Noah believe the tales.
The massive katana strapped to her back should have looked ridiculous – it was nearly as long as she was tall – but somehow she made it look natural. Her expression carried all the enthusiasm of a cat forced to file taxes.
'Adrian and I really won the lottery getting two of the top 5,' Noah thought, watching as Sienna passed their group without so much as a glance. The morning sun caught the edge of her blade, and for a moment, Noah could have sworn he saw it pulse with a faint light.
"Well," Cora announced, finally standing up properly, "at least we're not stuck with Ice Queen over there. I hear she once froze a student solid for asking to spar with her."
"That's not—" Kelvin started, then seemed to reconsider. "Actually, I heard it was two students,"
Lila shouldered her pack. "If we're done gossiping about the thirds, maybe we should focus on not dying out there?"
"Always the voice of reason," Noah said, but his mind was already racing ahead. Between Micah's gauntlets and Sienna's sword, the third-years were carrying hardware well beyond standard issue.
---
Final preparations had been made and they had gone out go meet Micah who waved them from a transport vehicle. They soon got in and were on their way.
The transport hummed beneath them, its antigrav systems smoothing out the terrain's rougher edges. Noah watched the base shrink through the viewport, its metal spires disappearing into Cannadah's perpetual twilight haze.
"Micah," Noah spoke up, breaking the tense silence in the transport's cabin. "What do you think our primary objective should be? Are we targeting higher profiles like beasts of actively going out to hunt for any and all new things?"
He was hoping with Micah's experience, he could clear up this confusion.
Micah turned slowly, his gauntlets gleaming in the cabin's low light. A smirk played at the corners of his mouth. "What do you think, zombie boy?" He leaned forward slightly. "That's what they're calling you now, right? The kid who survived the cave... and then put that 1A hotshot in the medical bay?"
'Here we go,' Noah thought, keeping his expression neutral. Micah's eyes hadn't left his face, searching for... something.
"Let me make this simple, Captain," Micah continued, emphasizing the rank with mock respect. "There are two things you need to know. One, understand your mission directives." He held up one massive gauntlet. "And two..." A second gauntlet rose. "Follow them. Understood, Eclipse?"
Noah nodded. "Yes, sir."
'Keep smirking,' Noah thought, studying Micah's perfectly maintained uniform. 'Would'nt be long anymore, you'll be out there with the real soldiers. And then...' He surprised himself with the bitterness of his own thoughts. 'Then you'll either be beast food or Harbinger target practice. Maybe I'll have a drink when I hear the news.'
The transport touched down with a gentle shudder, ramp descending onto rocky terrain. Massive mountains loomed ahead, their peaks lost in low-hanging clouds. The ground was a patchwork of rust-colored stone and sparse, alien vegetation that seemed to pulse with its own inner light.
"Welcome to your first expedition," Micah announced, stepping onto the rocky ground. His gauntlets caught the strange light, red and blue patterns shifting. "As your senior officer, what I say out here could mean the difference between life and death." His eyes lingered on Noah. "So pay attention."
Without waiting for acknowledgment, he strode ahead, leaving them to follow in his wake.
'What a performance,' Noah thought, but a soft chime in his system interface interrupted his irritation.
*Ping!!*
[Your summon needs sustenance]
"Great timing..." Noah muttered under his breath as he saw this. This was what he feared and it was happening.
"He's really warming up to you," Kelvin whispered, falling in beside him as they picked their way across the uneven ground. The scattered rocks around them cast strange shadows in the filtered sunlight, creating patterns that seemed to move when viewed directly.
Behind them, the transport lifted off, leaving them alone in the alien landscape. Above, Cannadah's strange sky painted everything in muted purples and blues, while the mountains watched like ancient sentinels.
'Alright, let's go get it. Nyx, I hope to God you can wait,'