Steampunk CTs

Before we could process anything, large black walls surrounded and encased everyone in the red square in a large black box. Then before we knew it, we were dropping so fast that we were beginning to freefall. Some people were scared and immediately wanted out of the box, others stood their ground, unphased. Ori and I stayed cautious of any possible attack that could come our way, though none came. The box came to an abrupt stop and with it almost everything dropped to the floor just as abruptly. I wonder if Anna and everyone else is doing well in this chaos. We should find them after this.

The top of the box then began to retract into one of the walls and once it did, all four walls slowly descended into the floor to reveal three separate tunnels that were dimly lit with lamps placed sparingly throughout the venue.

Mikan then called for everyone’s attention by saying “Since two of the three zones commuted here, you’ll be staying here for the entire duration of the finals. Zone three trainees, you will also be staying to get to know your fellow trainees. Guys will be resting in the designated hall behind me. There’s two beds in every room, so pair up and get some rest.

Everyone peeked around the podium and saw that the quarters designated for Mikan’s zone was a brightly lit, perfectly sanitized hallway with a pearl white marble floor. Needless to say, an uproar immediately started.

“I can’t sleep like this!”

“Why did they let a participating trainee in charge of the venue?!”

“I wanna go home…” One of the trainees was in a fetal position on the floor with a downtrodden expression—oh wait, that’s Rono!

“Hey Rono!”

“Arno?! Arnooooo!” Rono jumped into my arms like a princess I just saved from some castle and cried his heart out.

“Listen,” Mikan was brushing off each and every challenger’s complaints. “If you have a problem, take it up with the higher ups that gave me the greenlight for this entire thing. Besides, you zone three trainees are used to destitute lifestyles. And as for you zone one trainees, think of it like I’m humbling you and your spoiled lifestyle.”

“Us zone one trainees have seen more action than anyone here,” A voice rang out as they stepped to the front of the crowd and looked directly up at the podium. “If anything you guys are the spoiled ones here.” It was none other than Derris Zi Foxtrot.

“Ohhh so scary...I’m gonna go get some rest. I suggest you all do the same.” Mikan once again brushed off the oncoming insults and retired to her room. “If you guys hear sirens in the morning, get to the red square as soon as possible. That means that a test is about to start.”

With everyone left to their own devices, people soon began to pair up and go into their own rooms. I was obviously paired with Ori, but now I also had Rono in my arms like some lost puppy.

“Can I keep him?”

“He can get paired with Derris or something…”

And with that we all retired to our rooms to get some rest.

Instructor Matthews

“Wade! Over here, wade!” I saw the instructor of zone three waving me down as I scanned the coffee shop for my colleagues.

Once I was seated, zone three’s instructor wasted no time annoying me. “I see you managed to scrounge up some trainees for this year!”

Rachel Monet. She’s quite the muscular type that’d put even the biggest of bodybuilders to shame. In fact, the only person I can think of that’s even bigger than her would be the Terror Crusher himself. Her long blue hair parted and rolled down her shoulders and back in a matter like waves crashing on rocky shore. She’s rather stunning. The only problem is that mouth of hers…

“I’m surprised anyone would accept working under you, Wade! Hahahaha!” As she slapped my back, I called for a waitress to grab me a drink.

“How have you been though, Tanner?” I looked over to the instructor of zone two, ignoring Rachel altogether. He was a man on the shorter side with gray hair that was cut into bangs. Though, it was as if the barber stopped halfway through, since his hair still went and covered his left eye. He also had a knack of always avoiding eye contact. His number one strategy of doing that would be to frantically look everywhere in a given location except for the person he was talking to.

“I’m fine…though your parasite students caused quite the ruckus in my zone…” He muttered under his breath.

“If you think about it, this was quite the ideal scenario for you. You guys were told to remain on standby since the strongest CT was coming, but you couldn’t interfere no matter how intense the situation got. Who else was better to handle things than an unrelated third party?”

“Regardless, the entire situation ticked me off. I teach my students all the time that they’re the CTs that’ll not let the government warp and control their zone, but who puts their hand in the pot at such a crucial moment? The government…”

If there’s one thing that Commander Milton knows to do, it’s control a narrative. We’re rather close friends, so I could probably guess what he was strategizing. Yes, mobilizing the trainees would be a good move that’ll easily win them the coup, but Milton wanted more than that. He wanted to remind zone two’s people that Holia controls their present and future.

The present: The current situation. Within moments of getting onto the scene, the peak of counterterrorism flipped the coup on its head.

And the future: the trainees that were supposedly “for the people” were told to sit on the sidelines while civilians put their lives on the line.

A zone two Holian would quickly put two and two together and realize that they had no chance without the facilities and powers that the government they hated so much gave them. Milton ultimately wanted to remind them that without powers of the government like the BCT, they’d crumble and implode. It’s almost like a threat when you put it into perspective like that.

But that entire debacle is possibly a scenario he’s preparing for in the distant future…

“What did you guys call me here for?” I cut straight to the chase.

“We were just interested in your star pupil. Tanner and I have a little bet going on: who is going to get first place in these finals?”

“My pick is my prize student: Therese Cistra.”

“I’ve got a bunch of candidates. Some of them are your former students! But I’d be sugarcoating it if I didn’t choose none other than Tomi Shimamoto. She’s got quite the stemata and if she can get past a certain barrier, she’ll take it with flying colors!”

I heard all about the one that survived an encounter with Albion Walker. And Therese Cistra is no joke. I genuinely think we are about to witness a generation of CTs never seen before.

“What about you? I know you don’t trust people a lot and you’re a complete loner, but you gotta put your faith in somebody. I did. And look at the community of trainees I fostered because of it!”

This woman is such a humblebrag. It drives me up the wall.

But if I could bet on any zone one trainee, who would it be? Let’s see…

I’ve got a knucklehead perv who you can count on when you need it, a gentle giant that’s stronger than he lets on, a kind girl with a fearsome stemata she’s made her own, a stemata-obsessed person who’s holding onto his heritage, a know-it all Haustorian with her eyes set on leveling the game for her people, and the worst of them all…

“I’ve got my bet on Arno Achebe.”

“...The parasite?” Tanner looked me in my eyes for the first time in this entire conversation.

“Bahahahahahahaha—Oh my god, you’re serious! BAAAAAHAHA!” Rachel fell out of her chair and rolled around on the floor, holding her sides in a fit of laughter.

They’re all good kids. They’ll make good CTs. Arno though is different. He’s someone that understands that his enemy didn’t come out of thin air. That this country created these people. And maybe that’s what this country needs to finally put a stop to terrorism. We tried Terrance’s way, maybe we need something like him.

I looked outside the window of the cafe as I said with a sigh, “He’s different. Maybe that’s why I have faith in him. Those Haustorians we’ve put down for so long show promise regardless of how much is thrown at them. They’re proof that no matter how much you try to dirty a diamond, it doesn’t lose its luster. ”

“I’ve heard enough.” Tanner rose out of his seat and put his money on the table for what he ordered. “We’ll see tomorrow just how strong your parasites are.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen you so fired up about anything, Tanner. You hate Haustorians, don't you?”

“Of course. They’re violent and untrustworthy.”

“The one’s I’ve met aren’t like that at all. In fact,” I leaned back in my chair as I looked out the window and said, “they could be kind to a fault at times.”