Chapter 12| Squad Goals

Chapter 12: Chapter 12| Squad Goals

Zane was still pulling his training gear on when Dex woke up.

Not gradually. Not with the slow reluctant energy of someone being dragged out of sleep by obligation. Dex simply opened his eyes, sat up, and was immediately at full operational capacity like a machine that had been switched on.

"Morning," Dex said.

"Morning," Zane replied.

Dex looked at the training gear. Then at the time on his communicator. Then back at Zane with the expression of someone doing a calculation they hadn’t expected to need this early.

"6:20 AM?" Dex said.

"6:20 AM," Zane confirmed. Checking the time on his communicator.

Dex lay back down. "Respect," he said as he stared at the ceiling. "Genuinely."

Zane picked up his bag.

"You not training?" Zane asked.

"I train at 8:00 AM." Dex pulled his blanket back up. "Like a person with reasonable life choices."

"Your life choices took us to the east wing perimeter at 9:50 PM last night."

"That was enrichment," Dex said without missing a beat. "Completely different category."

Zane almost smiled on the way out the door.

『 Familiarity with DEX: 21% 』

’From one sentence exchange,’ Zane thought.

『 Established rapport compounds. Morning interaction between people who have shared experience accumulates faster than initial contact. 』

’You could have just said we’re getting comfortable with each other,’ Zane thought.

『 I could have. I chose precision instead. 』

Zane arrived at the training grounds at exactly 6:20 AM and it looked exactly the same as every other morning.

Maren was already on the far pad, running burst sequences. Her hair was tied back tighter than usual, and she’d finished half her warm-up by the time Zane crossed the grounds toward her corner. Her training clothes hugged her athletic curves without restricting her movement, every sharp turn and explosive step reflecting countless hours of disciplined practice.

She glanced up when he arrived.

"You look tired," she said.

"I had an enriching evening," Zane replied.

She looked at him for a second like she was deciding whether to ask. She decided not to maybe it was boys stuff she thought.Then went back to her drill.

Zane activated Overdrive at low output and started his movement work beside her. Four second window. Burst. Hold at ten percent. Re-engage. The chain was getting cleaner . The gap between bursts down to almost nothing now with consistent practice.

They ran parallel for ten minutes in the usual silence.

Then Maren spoke without breaking her rep.

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did," Zane said.

She gave him a flat look.

"Go ahead," he said.

She finished her current sequence before answering. Cut the activation clean at 9 seconds the way she always did. Straightened up.

"Why are you exactly here?" she asked.

Zane kept moving. "Same reason everyone else is. Academy. Rankings. Future hero licensing...."

"That’s not what I meant." Maren crossed her arms. "You’re Sigilless. The window for awakening is closed. The academy knows that. You know that. So why are you actually here?"

The training grounds were quiet around them. Nobody else in their corner. Nobody close enough to matter.

Zane ran one more burst sequence before he answered.

"Because leaving wasn’t an option I was willing to take," he said.

Maren watched him.

"That’s not a full answer," she said.

"No," Zane agreed. "It’s not but believing in myself is worth a shot."

She held his gaze for a long moment. The calculating stillness behind her eyes doing whatever it always did when she was processing something she hadn’t fully categorised yet.

Then she nodded once and went back to her drill.

She didn’t push it.

That was the thing about Maren that Zane was starting to notice. She asked real questions. But she also knew when to stop asking. Most people either didn’t ask at all or didn’t know when to stop. She did both correctly.

’That’s rare,’ he thought.

『 Familiarity: 38% 』

『 System Note: Genuine vulnerability even partial accelerates familiarity significantly faster than surface level exchange. You gave her something real even if it wasn’t everything. She recognised it. 』

’38%,’ Zane thought. ’Already past the acquaintance threshold.’

『 Correct. At this rate genuinely close tier is not as far as you think. 』

He filed that away and kept training.

He was crossing the main courtyard toward the academic block when he heard it.

"Zane."

He turned.

Dex was jogging across the courtyard toward him. Full training gear, bag over one shoulder, communicator in hand. He looked slightly less relaxed than his usual baseline which for Dex meant something had shifted.

"Thought you trained at 8:00 AM," Zane said when he caught up.

"Change of plans." Dex fell into step beside him. "My squad was supposed to link up this morning but they’re out on a field assignment. External mission clearance. Won’t be back until end of week."

"You have a squad," Zane said.

"Second years run in squads for practical credit," Dex said. "Five of us. We do joint training sessions three mornings a week normally." He shrugged. "When they’re out I train solo. Figured I’d come find you instead since you’re apparently always awake at an unreasonable hour."

"6:20 AM is not unreasonable," Zane said.

"6:20 AM is a time that exists for emergencies and farmers," Dex said. "Not academy students."

They pushed through the academic block entrance together.

"What kind of missions do second years run?" Zane asked.

"Supervised field work mostly. Low level Sigil disturbance response, civilian support operations, that kind of thing." Dex tucked his communicator away. "Nothing serious yet. The serious stuff comes third year." He glanced sideways at Zane. "Why? Already thinking about field work?"

"Thinking about everything," Zane said.

Dex nodded like that was a reasonable answer.

They walked in comfortable silence for a moment.

"My squad will want to meet you when they’re back by the way," Dex said. "I’ve mentioned you."

Zane looked at him. "What did you say?"

"That my new roommate shows up at 6:20 AM every morning and doesn’t complain about Gerald." Dex said it with complete sincerity. "High praise in my book."

Zane looked forward again.

’Genuinely the strangest person I’ve met since arriving,’ he thought.

『 Familiarity with DEX: 26% 』

『 System Note: Consistent low intensity positive interaction compounds effectively. He is also straightforwardly fond of you which accelerates things considerably. Some people simply decide. 』

’He decided fast,’ Zane thought.

『 Some people do. It is not a weakness. 』

Zane kept walking.