When the Rache first attacked, the world devolved into chaos. Humanity had been on top of the food chain for so long that they had forgotten that they were once prey.
A world government needed to be established yet humans still fought against each other, unable to comprehend the magnitude of the impending calamity.
Traditional weapons failed against the alien race, with grenades and missiles barely doing any damage.
It was at that point that an idea was suggested. For ten humans to infiltrate the Rache and study their technology.
It was a suicide mission with no one really expecting it to work. The purpose of the mission was simply to buy time.
Surprisingly, two people returned and with them a piece of alien technology, or so they thought. The history surrounding that time was still dark and so not a lot of details escaped to the public but the single fact was: Humanity's hope had arrived.
With the advent of abilities, the Rache was pushed back. One of the survivors of the incident was later administered to a psychological ward due to their trauma resulting from the mission while the other rose to become the first Leader of the newly formed UAE, the United Earth Alliance or better known as a new Military.
Of course certain problems soon arose from that format, one of them being how the military was in control of practically everything.
The solution: Factions. The rich and powerful were allowed to create various factions as long as they could follow just two rules: In times of emergencies, the military could exercise power on them and that every of their heirs were obligated to attend an academy course created by the military. The latter was where Jace was headed.
To represent all those things, the UAE logo consisted of four colors: black to represent the Dark Age or more precisely the moment the war began, the blue and green to signify earth and the white to signify the faint sliver of hope humanity had.
That had been over thousands of years ago.
It was that same logo that was attached to the chest of the man now threatening Jace.
"I'm going to say it again, who are you?" Jace raised his hands in mock surrender as he spoke.
"Jace, Jace Blank. And where am I?"
For a short while the man stared Jace down. That was until the bracelet around his wrist beeped "Student confirmed. Jace Blank, Student ID 021893"
As he said that, Jace slowly rubbed the hand where his cyberlink previously was. It was gone, taken by the military. That or by Edgis. To be honest Jace hoped it was the latter. He had grown very attached to it.
The man sighed as he visibly relaxed. He offered a small smile to Jace as he spoke "Sorry about that. Rules."
Jace frowned as he clarified "So, what you're saying is you threatened to kill me and that's just … rules?"
"Pretty much," The man replied, nodding before breaking out into a smile. "Plus, it's better than someone infiltrating as a regular student".
Jace furrowed his brows as he clarified "You're saying, someone's tried sneaking in"
The man's smile faded as he shook his head "No, but this is one of the safety precautions we have to take".
He paused for a while before continuing "The base is one of the few secrets we still hold. Revealing it will be one of the worst things that could happen".
Jace sat back down on the bed as he tapped the bedpost. Remembering the first message that popped up, he asked "So, why poison?"
The question was as a result of the first message that had popped up, the one about him gaining resistance to poison.
The man gazed at Jace before smiling. Not asking Jace how he knew or how he figured it out, he illustrated "It's not poison, just sleeping gas. As I said, the academy is hidden. No one knows where or in what galaxy it is. Even if the Rache searches for thousands of years, they will fail to find it".
Jace gazed at the man as he asked one question that was troubling him "But you're here. If the Rache are able to get their hands on you, can't they find it".
The man's smile froze as he exhaled "True, but that's if I'm still in the battlefield. At the moment I work mostly as a desk officer."
Jace paused on thought as a question came into his mind. Seconds ago the man had threatened to kill Jace and all of a sudden they were buddy buddy.
"You've figured it out"
Jace gazed into the face of the man as he smiled at him "Why am I telling you so much? That's probably what you're thinking."
The man smiled once more and for the first time Jace thought his smile looked predatory "Why don't you guess?"
For a second a small yet persistent image of a master manipulator in military uniform gazing at him instantly filled his mind.
That was until the person in front of him burst into laughter "I'm so sorry, it's just your face".
Jace frowned as the man kept on laughing. The image of a strict military officer had been replaced with this image of a seemingly lax human.
"The military base isn't some super secure base. I doubt the Rache can even find it even if it's right in front of them."
Laughing once more until his laughter devolved into cough, he spoke again "I'm not really a desk officer. I retired. That's why I was given this job".
At the same time, he unconsciously rubbed the ring on his finger "That and my wife didn't want my daughter to grow up without a father".
Jace paused as he suddenly felt stupid "So, all the things you just told me are fake."
"Not all. We used sleeping gas, not just for the reason you think and me threatening to kill you was one of the rules we were given"
The man shrugged as he said that last part "Don't know why. The order came down directly from the head of the military."
"So, what's the true reason you're telling me this? And don't say it's an order or you're bored."
The man smiled at that statement "I've worked here for about six years, that's still small but I've seen my fair share of things"
He paused before his smile disappeared. He looked straight into Jace's eyes "I've seen average people, above average, geniuses, prodigies and finally, monsters walk into the academy.
The point of this test is simply to investigate who can survive. We're in a war. What do you think is the best skill to have in a war?"
"Survival skills? Intelligence?" Jace asked, already knowing the answer.
The military officer shook his head as he dropped one word "Adaptability"
The man watched as Jace slowly tapped his bedpost once more before continuing
"Having a strong ability gives you a headstart, but that's only when you can see the enemy in front of you. What happens when you're facing an enemy that's hiding in the shadows, waiting for you to get your guard down. Or you're facing an enemy that's waiting for you to fall asleep before attacking?
The answer: you're dead. But what if while your enemy is hiding, you begin hiding. What if while your enemy is waiting for you to let up, you wait for him to let down his guard. Then, it becomes a question of whose ability, technique and even environment is more advantageous.
That's the point of the test, it's to determine who's the fastest to adapt to the environment. Of course poison users have a clear advantage but again, nothing in life is fair"
As he spoke Jace felt like he could hear his father in those words. He had droned on and on about war and its effect and the only way to win it was to be ready for everything.
It was half of the reason Jace's life had been riddled with training after training after training.
But, there was still one thing Jace was confused about. After touching the stone he had fainted in Edgis's basement yet here he was on the ship.
While this meant he had been unconscious for close to a day it also posed the question, how had Edgis managed to get Jace on the ship.
Jace doubted they would allow his unconscious body. The man's answer confused him more "What do you mean? You entered the way every normal person entered. The only thing off about you was that you didn't say goodbye but even that's not really uncommon".
Jace sighed as he heard that. Well, forget it. The important thing was he was here right now.
The man began leaving the room as Jace called out "Hey, what's your name?"
The man turned back with a small smile and returned "Eric Steeler. Remember it, by the time you come back I'll probably be in dire need of a promotion".
Laughing at his joke, he left shutting the door as he walked out.
"Wait" Jace screamed as the door shut. Looking around, he muttered to himself "So what exactly am I supposed to do"
The ding of a system message echoed into his mind as he smiled. Looked like he had exactly what to do.