Every SEHIL student had to choose a specialization outside of academic studies. Following in her sister’s footsteps, Anya had chosen athletics. She had just finished the day’s training, and her friend and teammate Mia joined her in their usual post-training ‘field study’ for the day.

  “Those boys look amazing, don’t they?” Mia, her face and eyes in full focus mode, said passingly.

  Anya looked toward Mia and smiled. Her memory still starkly remembered how Mia was one of the girls who tried to ‘dethrone’ her as the girl who called the shots in school. A soft smirk slipped on her lips as her mind raced. Control of speech and words was needed here.

  “Hmm, they are ok, I guess. But that’s all they’re good for, I’m thinking.” Anya chuckled in response, tapping the side of her skull while her eyes rolled around as she grinned.

  Mia giggled back and emptied her water bottle before she smacked Anya’s thigh.

  “You’re one to talk.”

  “What? Of course, I’m one to talk; I’ll never be caught dead with any of those Neanderthals.”

  Mia sighed and slumped her shoulders back as she let out a long sigh.

  “This school needs more excitement.” She grumbled.

  Anya gulped down from her water bottle and looked quizzically at her companion, “What do you mean?”

  Mia shrugged. “Well, you know, everyone has to sign up for something, right? And while I thank the administration for the long list of activities we have to do throughout the day, I wish something else, not in our schedules, would happen.”

  Anya shrugged. “Like… what, for example?”

  Mia’s eyes looked up as her lips scrunched to the side. “I dunno, maybe someone gets caught doing something they shouldn’t while wearing a uniform or… something?”

  “So… like, hmm, that huge ugly graffiti in the gym?”

  “Ya, that’s a start. Wish it was something more eloquent, though.” Mia chuckled as she recalled it.

  Again, Anya took a big gulp from her bottle, only to find it empty. Shrugging and putting it away, she returned her attention to Mia.

  “I can guess where you’re heading with this. But you know, as much as I do, that everything gets picked up too easily. I mean, the whole campus is covered with cameras and sensors just for that.”

  Mia nodded slowly in response. “Mhmm, that, and the fact that any serious breakage of the code of conduct gets you kicked out.”

  “Mhmm, like what happened to Rapt.”

  Rapt, aka Frederick Ranton, was a student who was expelled from SEHIL for twice breaking the code of conduct. Every student knew his story - of which the severity and intensity were continually built up and added on with each passing school semester, which acted as a rueful reminder for every institute attendee to adhere to the code diligently.

  Mia shivered.”Oh, please don't. It's scary just to think one has to go to some school in Lowbie Town; I’d die on the first day…”

  Anya tittered and poked at her friend.” Ya, so stop trying to get yourself or wishing there was more ‘excitement’ in school.”

  Mia’s phone buzzed in her bag, and she hurriedly dug for it.

  “A moment please.”

  She got up and walked off. In moments, her face had changed from flushed to deathly pale. Hurriedly tapping her fingers at the phone, she waited until it buzzed again. Her smile returned as she rejoined Anya.

  “Everything ok?”

  “Mhmm, it was my mom. She wanted to know if I would have dinner with them.”

  Anya nodded deliberately as she looked at her companion skeptically.

  “Uh-huh. Okay. But don’t you have lab work after this?”

  “Yes, I do, I meant after that.” Mia smiled. “Well, hate to chat and run, but I gotta run.”

  “Have a good ‘dinner,’ Mia.” Anya waved her friend goodbye before returning her attention to herself.

  Anya leaned back against the upper-level bench behind her, taking deliberate, deep breaths as she relished the feeling of the sun and the sweat slowly running down her skin. Her muscles ached in all the right places, and she loved it. Sports were her passion, and owing to her height and athletic ability, she was a natural in whichever sport she picked, especially ones that favored her build.

  Her phone buzzed, and she picked it up, smiling as she saw the caller.

  “Hey, Ally! Any good news yet?”

  Ally told her friend that the Institute Security Services had identified her in a holographic recording that implicated her as the perpetrator of the aforementioned graffiti.

  “But you didn't do it, I know since I sent you to you-know-where that day.”

  “Yes, well, they aren't mistaken about facial identity and other identifying traits. To the holo, it’s me doing it.”

  “No way, has to be a fake.”

  “That’s what I said!”

  “And?”

  “Well, you have to come in to make your claim so I can be cleared.”

  “When?”

  “As soon as possible, like, now now kind of soon.”

  Anya bit her lip, her eyes wandered before she sighed.

  “I have training with Noa at home in a bit. Can’t I just call them?”

  “Nope, they don't want anything transferred aside from in-person…” Ally switched to a bad imitation of their school section’s security head; “We all know how holos, calls, and voices can be easily faked nowadays.”

  Anya sighed deeply. “Fine, I’ll call Noa and say I’ll be late. But you'll have to send me home today.”

  “Done.”

  As good as her word, Anya joined Ally in making an official statement about Anya’s involvement with her friend during the time displayed on the holo. The administrator took Anya’s statement with trepidation.

  Officially, the student body didn’t know who her family really was, but everyone in management knew. Having the daughter of the de facto ruling family of the quad-cities nonchalantly give a statement of involvement was unnerving.

  “Will there be a hearing? Or does this clear Miss Euphrosis of her involvement?”

  She gestured toward Ally, who smiled softly at the administrative officer who took Anya’s statement. “I do hope you guys get the defacer. Pridurak should learn how to spell, too.”

  Joyce, the officer who took the statement, smiled weakly at her. “Well, this should do it. But…” She bit her lip and gulped.

  “...Since you are now part of this investigation, please allow us to contact you when we have an update. I don’t think we’ll need further statements from you or you to be called in for her defense should it go to trial, but… I… um…”

  “You're just doing your job. It's all good.” Anya smiled warmly, tapping on the table as she got up.

  “So, are we done? I got places I have to be.”

  “Y… Yes, Miss Es… I mean, Miss Drugoymes.”

  Anya smiled. “Daze!! You have a great rest of the day!”

  Ally joined her as they strode out of the office toward the sizeable parking area of their section.

  “Now, will you tell me what this is all about? When were you supposed to pay the dumbass?”

  “Next week.”

  “Oh… okay, so they’re just flexing then. IF it's them.”

  “Mhmm. I think it is.”

  Anya didn’t like this. No one messes with her friends. That was for her and her sister to do. And this particular kerb was getting ballsy. She’d have to follow up with Noa sooner than anticipated.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  They approached Ally’s ride. The vehicle was long, with angular edges mixed with straight lines, making it look like a highly stylized bottle cut from top to bottom and then laid down.

  The vehicle whirred to life as lines appeared on its side, and a long door opened up and down with a ramp on the bottom. Anya smiled as she looked at the lavish interior before Ally grabbed her arm.

  “I’m not coming with. Still have a few more items on my schedule. I'm honestly jealous of how you got the school to register your off-campus training as part of the accepted curriculum.”

  Anya winked and smiled. ”it’s my natural charm.” she giggled.

  Two sharply dressed, highly athletic men appeared from the front of the vehicle. Anya raised an eyebrow, her lips turning into a smile, and her eyes glinted.

  “Anya! Those guys work for Dad. Don’t even try.” She blurted, although the stress toward the end was weaker.

  Anya’s eyebrow cocked up. “Have you... Tried?” She said teasingly.

  Ally’s gasp and look of shock were both a minute late and not as convincing.

  “Oh, what??”

  “No! I meant to say no! Eww, c’mon, are you serious right now?”

  Anya tittered as she shook her head. “Wow, Ally, sensitive much?”

  Ally grumbled, her eyes narrowing at Anya as her friend appeared highly amused.

  Anya playfully nudged her shoulder before patting it. “Don’t you worry. I was just approving of their clothes and their weapons, is all.”

  “Whatever. Just… don’t; I’ll get in trouble with Dad, okay.”

  Anya affectionately tapped Ally’s nose before winking at her friend with a smile. “Remember who you’re talking to; I don’t fraternize with the help, you know this.”

  Ally giggled, shook her head, and smiled, looking at Anya incredulously. “Talk later.”

  —-----------------------------------------

  The Essedar household didn’t have sons, so the head of the family, Richard Essedar—who was rarely present at their residence—had taken it upon himself to have his best security specialist instruct Noa in the art of fighting and weapon usage even before she was a teenager. Anya, being constantly at Noa’s side, had joined in on this.

  In addition to other non-school-related subjects, they were always required to go through shooting and combat drills. The sisters were also required to strip and clean their firearms; this was one of the steps that had already been drilled into their minds and bodies so much that each of them found it relaxing, perhaps even therapeutic.

  “So, any news on the baby front?” Noa muttered aloud as she cleaned the barrel of her favorite firearm.

  She called any SEHIL member from the high school and below sections ‘Baby Front.’

  Anya bit her lip as she thought for a moment, then shrugged as she shook her head.

  “Nothing of import. I’m thinking whoever is tagging Ally is starting to flex.”

  “How so?”

  “They just faked a security holo, putting her as the dummy who did the hideous graffiti in school.”

  Noa paused and looked at Anya. “They aren’t smart then. Everyone knows she doesn’t have THAT much vocab when it comes to bad words.”

  Anya giggled. “Any word from your contacts?”

  “Contact; only one dude knew anything about the kind of skill level we needed.”

  Her sister shook her head as she continued. “And not yet. Nothing useful, at least. Chuvak said I should talk to someone in Lowbie Town, pro-level mercs. Whoever is doing this has that level of skill.”

  Anya stopped and looked at Noa. “Really?”

  “Yep. I’m paraphrasing what he said, but basically, it’s not that easy to fake your comm ID and then have it routed through different nodes dynamically; as in, each trace attempt would have you turn up at a different node. One has to have chrome tuned for digging to run the soft needed for it.”

  Anya nodded slowly. Performance enhancement implants were not only against SEHIL’s code of conduct. It was also against the law in the whole Dominion for persons of school-attending ages to have them installed on their person.

  “So we need to talk to father? Get one of his security or Intel people to help out?”

  Noa frowned and squinted at Anya, her face telling her it wasn’t an option.

  “No way. Not getting him or our House Services in on this. Father will tell you it's not yours or our business. Ally is going to get crucified, or worse, she's going to owe whoever that idiot is for her whole life. Nope, nope. Paying some kerb off a couple times is fine, but more than that…”

  She shook her head disapprovingly as her words drifted off.

  Anya stopped cleaning and looked at her sister. There was only one other option.

  “So, you’re gonna do it then? Going to Lowbie Town?”

  “I have talked to Hassan about this possibility.” Noa paused to let her words sink into her sister before she continued. “He did say he would call on his old contacts and pull in favors owed.”

  She then paused and looked at Anya. Her sister’s eyes were enlarged, and her lips were pursed tight. Her hands gripped the table edges so tight that her knuckles turned white.

  She squinted at her sister and nodded slowly. “So… Maybe?” she replied, dragging out the first word, “... Why, you wanna join?”

  “Yes! Oh Em Gee, yes, I wanna see what it's like.” Anya’s excitement burst out as she started blurting out everything she wanted to see, like ticking off a list of tourist spots not to miss.

  Noa’s eyes narrowed as she studied her sister’s expression, then shook her head slowly.

  “Not this time. This isn’t like the trips we make with the fam. We won’t get sec detail. I can’t protect you there if we go.”

  “Who said I needed protection? I can do it myself.”

  Noa sighed, a finger pressed under her lower lip as her eyes looked up.

  “Okay, hmm. Let’s talk to Hassan about it.”

  Anya smiled. Hassan was their instructor and mentor. If anyone knew whether she could hold her own, it would be him.

  “Let’s get this done before he returns and makes us do fifty burpees.”

  —--------------------------------------------

  Hassan was a veteran of many conflicts as front-line personnel and support. During his younger years, he was among the few constantly picked for special operations duties for his mercenary organization, a direct subsidiary of Prism Inc., the Essedar family’s flagship corporation.

  He eyed the sisters with his one natural eye. The other eye was an implant that had a hexagon instead of the typical round iris.

  “When we get there. Please remember. You will not be in High Rise. Nobody will care who you are. And of those that do, while there are some who adore the Essedars, there are also those who would seek to gain from having both, or either of you, in their hands.”

  Anya tugged at the collar of her shirt. The bodysuit she was wearing underneath it clearly showed.

  “Why do we have to wear these bodysuits? Not comfy. We're lucky it's a nice shade of black.”

  Noa chuckled softly as she continued adding rounds to her magazine.

  “It takes some time to get used to them, yes. But the bodysuits will keep you safe. They are armor plates affixed onto bulletproof material,” Hassan replied sagely.

  Anya’s chin pressed low as a finger pushed curiously at the small, hexagonal shapes that covered the bodysuit.

  “Oh, really? OK, that’s daze.”

  Noa picked up a column of what seemed like cloth; small pins stuck out from one side of it. She looked amused as she waved it at Hassan. “Tell her what this is?”

  Anya grabbed it and gingerly flicked at the pins. “What the heck is this?”

  Hassan grunted and grabbed at the waving columns but didn’t tug.

  “This is part of the bodysuit. It allows the suit to interface with any implants the user may have.”

  Anya tilted her head as she studied the pins and looked up at him.

  “Oh? Like… what, for example?” She had a rough idea of what that meant, but she loved digging into Hassan’s knowledge base.

  “The HUDs we used during training? These allow the suit to interface with it. The suit’s gloves have sensors that integrate with a multitude of modules and add-ons that can be added to a weapon system.”

  He paused, and the side of his lip bent up when he saw the look on Anya’s face. And continued,

  “The suit’s soft can also be added on; it can have its own ICE, and many other things that will help the user perform at their peak, or optimal, level.”

  Noa giggled as Anya’s jaw slackened and her eyes widened.

  “Daze…” She uttered almost in wonderment as she looked down at the column of pins in her hand.

  Hassan nodded, amused. “You either have to be alloy blooded, or have INSIL put onto you, or…”

  He lifted the ends of his shirt, revealing shiny metallic lines that seemed to be embedded in his skin.

  “...Have these. One way or another, when someone has implants and uses these suits, they have to have a way for the suit to interact with the body.”

  Noa slid a freshly loaded magazine into her pistol and replaced it on her hip holster. She then leaned forward to grab two more magazines and a black extensible baton about the length of her forearm.

  “Why don’t I get one of those?” Anya looked at her sister, who had affixed the magazines and the baton to her equipment belt.

  Noa looked at her. “Because you keep skipping melee combat training.”

  Anya shrugged. “If whoever I’m fighting against is that close, it means I have failed…”

  She grinned and looked at Noa as she paused; her sister seemed to be waiting for something.

  “...in life.” She giggled madly.

  “Besides.” She continued as her left hand caressed the pistol in her right.

  “This baby has been so good to me; I won’t replace him.” She winked at Noa.

  Noa stuck her tongue out at Anya and stood up before she rechecked herself.

  “All good?” Noa turned to Hassan, who studied her equipment, testing the secureness of her equipment belt and its peripherals. He stepped back, nodded, and motioned at Anya to do the same.

  Anya got up and raised her arms so Hassan could do the check on her before he stepped back again and nodded. His arms crossed, a proud look on his face.

  “You girls are better studies than a whole lot of the guys I usually train.”

  He looked at Anya. “You’re good with that new holster?”

  Anya tested her pistol, gripped the handle, and pushed it downward, the gun cocking immediately as it left the holster. She nodded and smiled as she checked the safety and returned it to its original place.

  “I love it. Thank you for recommending it.”

  Hassan dipped his head and tapped the right side of his lower neck. His implant eye turned a light blue.

  “We’re good to go. Pick up in front of the training exit.”

  He waited momentarily before he turned his attention back to the sisters.

  “Okay. I will be along the entire way. My contact knows he’ll be talking to you, and yes, he knows I’ll be around. So, I’ll hang back. We have intel guys in the area, but officially, I’m just bringing you girls on a tour of Adina City, so no funny business. And remember, don’t get cocky…”

  “We won’t be in High Rise anymore, we know, yes, yes,” Noa replied impatiently.

  He smirked, being used to Noa’s impetuousness and restlessness. He turned and waved at the girls to follow as he headed to the opening double doors that led out of the training facility.