[Mars Naval Academy – Combat Deck C – Zero-G Tactical Zone]
The silence of the void was never truly silent.
Not in Kale Drayen's mind.
It was here—in the zero-g training module, floating amid twenty others in sleek EVA suits—that the world quieted enough for his thoughts to scream.
He angled his body with a twitch of his boot thrusters, eyes narrowing behind his visor. Target: a rotating debris field coded as an enemy ship cluster. Three cadets had already blundered into the trap, caught in the crossfire of simulated auto-turrets.
Kale didn't move immediately.
Instead, he watched the angles, counted the cycles of the turret rotations, and imagined—no, predicted—their line of fire five seconds ahead.
Lie Cadence's voice crackled over the comms. "Drayen, flank right! We'll cover the west axis."
Kale didn't respond. He had no intention of flanking anything—not yet.
Instead, he noted Cadence's tone: composed, maybe too composed. She was good. Tactical. Disciplined. But she was thinking inside the box the instructors built.
Predictable.
He spun upward, making a sharp climb above the debris cluster, watching the enemy turrets follow Cadence's team. Just like he expected.
Inhale.
Hold.
Go.
He activated a microburst thrust, shot through the debris at an oblique angle, and used one of the destroyed turrets as a springboard, slamming a magnetic charge into its side as he passed. His suit's sim-hud blinked—
[Point captured: 25 XP]
[Turret override successful.]
Below him, red light turned blue as the turret spun toward the enemy-coded bots, now firing on their own side.
"Cadence, I've turned one of their eyes. Use it," he said finally.
A pause. Then a short, begrudging laugh. "Copy that. You sneaky bastard."
He heard Ox shout in the distance, "Now that's how you stir the pot!"
Kora chimed in with a fierce, "About time we had some fun."
Kale smirked. They were finally syncing. Finally understanding what he needed them to be.
Loyal. Sharp. Dangerous.
Just like him.
---
[Observation Room – Academy Deck 7]
Commander Silas Mercier watched the replay, arms folded behind his back.
"Drayen didn't follow orders," barked Instructor Vale, her brow furrowed.
Mercier didn't blink. "He didn't. He won."
Vale scoffed. "That kind of thinking gets people killed."
Mercier turned to her, voice quiet. "Or it makes them legends. Drayen saw what none of them did: an opportunity hidden behind chaos."
Vale said nothing more.
---
[[Mars – Recovered Comms Clip: Border War – Valkar Frontline]
UNIT: 1st Orbital Vanguard – Captain Greaves reporting.
ENEMY: Xeno race designated "Drekkari." Insectoid, hive structure, highly adaptive.
LOG:
"Third moon's orbit fractured under orbital fire. Frigate Sandglass lost. The Drekkari tunneled into our trenches before we knew what hit us—burrowing straight through the frozen crust. We're pulling back to Outpost Redline. These things… they don't fight. They consume. We need orbital support now or we're dust."
TRANSMISSION ENDED.]
---
[Mars Naval Academy – Barracks, Nightfall]
Kale sat on the edge of his bunk, staring at his hands.
"You alright?" Kora's voice broke through the silence. She leaned against the frame, arms crossed, concern etched on her brow.
He glanced at her, then nodded.
"Just thinking."
"About what?"
"How much of this is real… and how much is theater," he said softly. "They train us like pieces on a board. Teach us rules. Codes. Orders. But when you're floating in a vacuum, rules don't save you."
She sat beside him. "You think the others don't see that?"
"Some do," Kale admitted. "But they cling to structure. It's a crutch. A wall to hide behind. People like Cassian Dorne, they believe the system was made for them. So, they never question it."
"And you?"
"I wasn't born in their system."
Kora was quiet for a beat, then nudged his shoulder.
"That's why they'll never see you coming."
He gave her a faint smile. "Let's hope."
---
[Mars Naval Academy – Simulation Debriefing Room, Morning]
Cadets filed in, dragging boots and bruised egos. The board displayed the top scores from the zero-g session.
1. Kale Drayen
2. Lie Cadence
3. Cassian Dorne
4. Ox
5. Kora
Cassian stood staring at the list, jaw clenched.
"You rigged the turrets," he muttered when Kale passed.
"No," Kale replied calmly. "I understood them."
Cassian turned, a step too close. "You think this makes you better?"
Kale didn't blink. "No. I think it makes me dangerous. You should be worried."
Cassian stared back, but it was Lie who stepped between them, pushing Cassian back with a single hand.
"Not now. Save it for the next test."
Cassian spat on the ground and walked off.
Kale raised an eyebrow at Lie. "Thought you'd side with him."
Lie shook her head. "He's pride. You're precision. I know which one wins wars."
---
[Kale's Thoughts – Private Notes, Unsent Draft
Dorne sees me as a threat now. That's good. Fear narrows a man's thinking. I need to bait him into the next round of sims. Let him burn his pride in public. Let him lose where it counts: reputation. Then the instructors will start looking at me differently. Not as a fluke. But as a leader.]
The air hung heavy in the simulation chamber. Not real air—filtered, temperature-controlled, and sterilized—but still thick with tension. The final ten cadets left standing after the Culling were assembled in a simulated urban war zone, one last test before the fleet placements would begin. Ruins of steel towers stretched up around them, the broken skeletons of some long-dead city. Artificial dust kicked up with every step. The sky above was a sunless sheet of gray.
Kale Drayen crouched behind a shattered wall, his rifle pointed downward. His HUD flickered with static as the simulation's jammers activated, cutting them off from central command. That was the point: no outside interference, no support, just you, your rifle, and your wits.
"Five teams. One winner," the voice of Commander Hawke echoed in their ears. "The squad that takes the tower and holds it for ten minutes will be declared the victor."
Kale's eyes narrowed. The tower's a death trap. Too obvious. Too exposed. He tapped two fingers against his helmet—an old habit from street fights in the drowned zones of Terra Sector 9. When plans were fragile, you didn't rely on what they gave you.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Kora's voice crackled in his earpiece. She and Ox had stuck with him, of course. They always would.
"If you're thinking the tower's bait, then yes," Kale replied, crawling forward through rubble. "We're not going for it."
"Then what's the plan?" Ox asked, his breathing heavy with anticipation.
"We let them bleed for it," Kale said. "Let Dorne and the others do what they do best—throw weight and firepower around. We'll sweep in when the screams start."
Kora laughed, low and sharp. "Classic."
"Positions," Kale ordered. "We're going to shadow the Cadence team first. She's the wildcard."
---
Across the field, Lie Cadence moved like a ghost between corridors of glass and steel. Her squad—all elites from Europa's Tactical Combat Institute—followed her with precision, like blades drawn and waiting.
"We'll go through the left flank," one of her squadmates suggested. "Storm the tower from the underground corridor."
"No," Lie said simply.
The squad stopped. Even now, in a high-pressure simulation, her word carried weight. The cold confidence in her voice was enough to silence objections.
"We go high. Set up overwatch from the rooftops. Let Dorne make the noise—he'll rush in headfirst. He always does."
Her lips curled into a faint smile. She'd been watching Kale too, she just wasn't saying it. Something about that gutter-born cadet gnawed at her. He saw patterns others missed. She didn't like that.
---
Meanwhile, Cassian Dorne and his squad were charging straight for the base of the tower, shields raised and rifles raised. Unlike the others, Cassian didn't believe in delay. His family owned half of Mercury's orbital shipyards; subtlety was something his mercenaries handled for him.
"Push through!" he barked. "Secure the first floor! This is a message to all the lowborn trash watching—we lead, and they crawl."
They moved like a wedge, blasting through auto-turrets and resistance dummies.
"Contact left!" one of them shouted.
Cassian grinned. "Good. Let's give them a show."
---
Back in the shadows, Kale and his crew watched through a cracked lens high in a ruined tower, observing everything.
"They're too eager," Kora muttered.
"That's what makes them predictable," Kale said. "Ox, prep the charges."
Ox pulled out the mock-plasma breachers from his pack. "Where?"
"Support pillars under the left flank. Lie's squad is covering the upper floors. If we isolate Cassian's team, they'll chew each other up before they realize it."
Kale turned to Kora. "You'll trigger the collapse when I signal. Ox and I will flank from the utility tunnels beneath the tower. When the dust settles, we strike."
"You sure they won't spot you?" she asked.
"I'm counting on it."
---
Twelve minutes later, the simulation was chaos. Cassian's team had stormed the tower—just as expected—but their comms were jammed. Lie's snipers had taken position above, using the tower itself as cover. Crossfire raged.
Then Kale gave the signal.
The charges exploded with thunderous force, collapsing the entire north face of the tower. Dust and steel rained down, followed by screaming. Cassian's team scrambled to hold formation, but the confusion was total.
That's when Kale and Ox emerged from the underground.
They didn't go for the kill. Instead, they slipped in, using the chaos to sneak past the fire zones, disabling enemies with clean shots or stun grenades. Kora joined them minutes later from the opposite end.
Ten minutes later, the tower was under Kale's control. Only three squads still had anyone left conscious. Cassian was slumped against a wall, his rifle shattered, helmet cracked. He glared at Kale as he walked past.
"You… snake…" he muttered.
Kale knelt beside him.
"You lost the moment you ran in without thinking," he said. "You lost because you're predictable."
Cassian tried to punch him, but couldn't lift his arm.
"Your bloodline won't save you here," Kale added, standing up. "Out there, your enemies don't care who your father is."
---
When the simulation ended, Commander Hawke stood before them in the debriefing chamber, his expression unreadable.
"Drayen's squad… wins."
Kale didn't smile. He just stood there, covered in simulated grime, eyes sharp, mind already thinking of the next battle.
"You're learning to fight like officers," Hawke said, pacing. "But the real war is dirtier than this. You'll see it soon enough."
Kale's gaze flicked to the side, to Lie Cadence. She met his eyes. There was no anger in hers, no frustration—just interest. Like a chessmaster who finally found a worthy opponent.
She gave him the smallest nod.
He returned it.
---
[End of Chapter Quote]
"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles."
— Sun Tzu.