The next thirty minutes passed in relative peace. We hamred out the tactical breakdown, assigned roles based on our combined Essentia, and built contingencies for when things inevitably went sideways. Noel typed everything into a shared docunt. Aurora asked clarifying questions. Nolan suggested modifications that actually made sense.
I mostly stayed quiet after the Red Mask debate.
Let them do the work. I already know this is passing grade material.
Besides, watching is more interesting than participating right now.
Noel’s fingers moved fast across the keyboard. She sat with perfect posture, shoulders back, chin slightly raised. Everything about her scread control and breeding. The kind of girl who’d been told from birth that she was better than everyone else and actually believed it.
Aurora kept glancing between Noel and Nolan, clearly trying to gauge the group dynamic. She was the peacekeeper type. Smoothed over rough edges. Made sure everyone felt heard.
Nolan was the easiest to read. Pure earnest energy radiating off him like a space heater. He genuinely cared about getting the assignnt right because that’s what good students did.
The warning tir on Noel’s laptop hit fifteen minutes remaining.
"We should start drafting the presentation," Aurora said. "Reeves is probably going to call on groups soon."
Nolan nodded and pulled up a blank slide deck.
"I can handle the intro and overview. Aurora, you want to cover the tactical breakdown?"
"Sure. Noel, can you do the contingency planning section?"
"Obviously."
I waited for soone to assign sothing.
Nobody did.
Right. I’m the transfer student who forgot his laptop.
Can’t contribute to a digital presentation when I’ve got nothing to contribute with.
Noel noticed sitting there doing nothing and made a small dismissive sound.
"Since you can’t help with the actual presentation, the least you could do is review our notes for errors."
She angled her laptop screen toward .
I scanned through the docunt she’d been building. The formatting was immaculate. Each section clearly labeled. Bullet points aligned perfectly. Zero typos.
"Looks fine to ."
"That’s it? Just fine?"
"Oh. I’m sorry. You did such a great job Noel! I’m so proud of you."
Her jaw tightened but she didn’t respond.
Aurora laughed softly and went back to her own screen.
The sound of heels on tile cut through the classroom noise.
I looked up and saw Professor Reeves making her way between the tables, stopping occasionally to check on different groups. She said sothing to one table that made them laugh. Corrected another group’s tactical assumption with a few sharp words.
Then she headed toward us.
Here we go.
Reeves stopped at our table and leaned in from behind my chair. Her arm rested on the backrest, close enough that I could sll her perfu.
"How’s the analysis coming along, Table Three?"
Nolan turned his laptop so she could see the slide deck.
"We’ve outlined our approach based on the combined Essentia at the table. The core strategy focuses on using Noel’s astral reconnaissance to locate priority targets while Aurora and I handle front-line engagent."
Reeves studied the screen, leaning further forward.
"Interesting composition," Reeves said. "You’re treating this like a four-person operation. What role does Ro fill?"
Nolan hesitated.
"Uh. Defense. He’d guard Noel’s physical body while she’s in astral form."
Reeves shifted her weight slightly. Her hand moved from the backrest to my shoulder.
"Defense," she repeated. "With what Essentia?"
"He’s registered as a Passive Null," Aurora offered.
"I’m aware of his registration status. I’m asking how he plans to defend soone against five Two-Star threats with no active ability."
The table went quiet.
Noel looked at with barely concealed satisfaction. She was enjoying this.
I t Reeves’ eyes.
"Sa way anyone without an Essentia would. I’d use the environnt. Stay mobile. Make myself a harder target than the alternative."
"And if Blink teleports directly to Noel’s location?"
"Then I’d deal with Blink."
"How?"
"However I had to."
Reeves smiled. Not the warm teacher smile she’d used on other tables. Sothing sharper.
"That’s vague."
"It’s honest."
She straightened up but didn’t move her hand from my shoulder.
"Latitude made assumptions about the Syndicate Five based on incomplete information. You’re making assumptions about your own capability in a combat scenario with no demonstrated Essentia and no practical experience. How is that different?"
Fuck.
She’s good.
Nolan jumped in before I could respond.
"Even without an Essentia, Ro’s baseline stats are above average."
How would he know?
"Above average doesn’t stop a teleporter."
"No," I said. "But knowing Blink’s teleportation has a cooldown does."
Reeves tilted her head.
"Explain."
"The footage shows Blink teleporting four tis in the first two minutes of engagent. After that, there’s a minute gap before the next jump. Either he’s conserving energy or the ability has a recharge period."
Reeves glanced at the laptop screen, then back at .
"You got that from one watch-through of the footage?"
"I got it from paying attention."
Her smile widened slightly.
"So your plan is to survive a minute against a Two-Star teleporter using environntal advantages and superior observation skills."
"That’s the plan."
"And if Blink brings Surge with him?"
She’s stress-testing the scenario.
Pushing to see where it breaks.
I leaned back in my chair. Her hand slipped off my shoulder as I moved.
"Then Noel cancels astral form and we regroup. A bad plan you can abandon beats a good plan that gets you killed."
Noel made a small noise that might have been agreent.
Reeves crossed her arms and looked at the table as a whole.
"You’re treating this like a video ga. Perfect information. Clean execution. Reality doesn’t work that way."
"We know," Aurora said quietly. "That’s why we built contingencies."
"Show ."
Noel pulled up the second section of the docunt and walked Reeves through the backup plans we’d outlined. What happens if Red Mask’s range is longer than thirty ters. What happens if Tidecaller creates a water barrier that blocks Aurora’s line of sight. What happens if Bedrock proves too durable for Nolan’s kinetic absorption to handle effectively.
Reeves listened without interrupting.
When Noel finished, Reeves tapped the table once.
"You’re missing sothing."
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