Military base 2 just had their students come back from planet Caladi. It was originally set to last 4 more days, but they had arrived early, and unable to properly remove their equipment as they were taken to the assembly hall.

The students didn’t know why, but they weren’t allowed to go to their dorms, or put their beast gear away. As they awaited an announcement, they began discussing amongst themselves as to what had happened.

"Hey, I saw some of the city mechs leave the shelter," A student told their friend.

"Seriously? Why would they do that? The strongest beasts there were only intermediate."

"Didn’t you guys see it?" Another student interrupted them, "There was black smoke off in the distance of the desert. I think a ship crashed there."

"No, I was in the city at the time, but what do you mean by a ship?"

"Wait— Are you saying it was a—?"

"I think— no, I’m pretty sure it was a dalki," The other student said.

"Oh my god," a student gasped.

Faye stood in front of all of the first years on the podium, about to make an announcement when another person in uniform came by and whispered something in her ear.

"Are you sure? Have you checked the school, perhaps they have come back?" Faye asked.

The man in uniform nodded, and Faye let out a troubled sigh.

Ever since the students had returned, the military had done a headcount on them all. They checked once, twice, even thrice, and it was confirmed that the students, Pierogi, Amy and Jerry had been killed, but Earl and Garret remained nowhere to be found. With how all 5 of them came from the same team, it was safe to assume they were all killed by the dalki.

"Attention!" Faye commanded, and immediately, the students saluted her.

Behind Faye, a holographic screen turned on, showcasing a scoreboard with all of the teams’ scores.

"First things first. As you may know, the expedition has been canceled," Faye began explaining, "What this means for all of you is that the points you had obtained in the first three days before the expedition will be your final score for this exam."

"What?!" Erin blurted out, and she was followed by several other students around her.

Many students had crystals they hunted that day, but hadn’t got them counted at the shelter. Erin’s team only had a small amount counted, and hadn’t been able to get more crystals during the first few days because of a certain team.

She looked at their score placement, and they weren’t dead last like Erin had initially thought, but they weren’t in a high place either. They were near to middle last, while Berg was still at the top.

Some part of Erin wanted to complain against the scoring, but the better part knew that she wouldn’t have been able to continue, knowing that Layla had nearly died.

"Enough! There are more important things than the test!" Faye shouted, and the chatter began to die down, "Right now, there is a high possibility that some of your fellow classmates had died on this test, and worst of all, it was to the threat we have all been training against. The dalki."

The students began an uproar yet again, causing Faye to slam her rapier hard into the ground, silencing everyone with its sound that reverberated across the walls.

Erin glanced over to Layla, who had been sitting next to her. She would have been counted among the dead to the dalki, but if it weren’t for Peter using his own health to make her live a little longer, and Fex and Quinn buying Erin enough time to fight at night, then none of them would’ve made it.

"The dalki has been swiftly dealt with, and it seems like this was not a planned attack but a stray ship. This was an unfortunate event, but these things happen. This is a reminder to you all why we need to train so hard every single day, and I hope you will remember that. You will have the next two days off to rest, after that classes will return to normal, rest up for the night. You are dismissed," Fay said, ending her speech.

Chatter began in the assembly hall, all talking about the missing students, but Peter was wondering what happened with Erin, and how Fex was suddenly displaying feats that didn’t match a regular human’s.

"What happened to you guys?" Peter wondered, looking at Erin and Fex, "How were you able to do those things? Do you guys have multiple abilities? And Layla— How is she still alive?!"

Meanwhile, Layla was holding her stomach. Before she arrived here, she tried eating a food pill, only to immediately spit it out from its taste. There was something wrong with her, about her hunger, that wasn’t human anymore.

"I think we should head back to the dorms, and explain everything more privately," Layla said, "And besides, I have a few questions of my own." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

—

While the first years were being informed of the first expedition cancellation, three Generals were having a meeting on the top floor of the military base.

In the Head General’s office, all three were sitting at a large round table, except for the current Head General herself.

Nathan, the head of the first years, and Duke, the head of the second years, sat with General Mike, who was in charge of communications. His job was to communicate with the other military bases about missions or plan joint exercises.

The three of them sat in silence, a tension filling the room as they waited. Nathan and Duke kept staring at each other, making Mike incredibly uncomfortable.

It was Duke who decided to speak first.

"I wonder how many of your students would’ve died on that expedition if it weren’t for that sergeant Leo of yours," Duke sneered, "I doubt you even have the strength to take on a dalki by yourself."

"Are you upset because you can’t bribe him to come to your side with those earth ability books of yours?" Nathan calmly replied, "It’s a pity that recruiting tactic only works on weak minded fools."

Duke immediately shot up in his chair, ready to punch Nathan, when Mike had to jump between the two of them.

"Both of you, CALM DOWN," Mike had to shout, getting the two of them to sit back in their seats.

"I’m telling you now, if I see so much of an injury on you when I leave this room, walk around the academy, or even leave you unattended, I won’t be healing you," Mike scolded, then added, "And don’t even think about going to my niece Hayley either!"

Despite his threats, Mike knew this would only placate them for a short time. His words never seemed to stick as the two always hated each other the moment they breathed the same air. There were only two people whose commanding presence could get them to calm down.

The double doors were swung wide open, and one of those very people had entered the room.

"We welcome the Head General!" All three of them said at once.