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Fractal makes commander. Bella doesn't replace him as toon leader - she's only eight and her commander still doesn't know how to use her - but Fractal's replacement, a vet traded in from Platypus who goes by Brighteyes for some reason, does. He spends a chunk of Flame's practice sessions every day putting Bella properly through her paces, and in their battles, he uses her like she was meant to be used: a dancing wildcard, too fast to hit, torpedoing herself into formations with laser precision and shooting from glorious whirling motion with the steadiest arm in school. Bella likes Brighteyes, and he tells her that when he makes commander he'll swap for her if he has to give up six soldiers to do it.
There is an announcement of a rules change: you are not allowed to perform the victory ritual without freezing or disabling all of the enemy.
This rule change is generally attributed to the antics of a Thomas "Sue" Sanderson, who coordinated his toon across the room without commander authorization and won the game before more than four soldiers, total, had been taken out.
It's a month shy of Bella's ninth birthday when Flame and Meerkat once again meet in the battle room.
"Freeze their mutie," Flame's commander tells everyone. "Don't look at me like that, Aegis." (People have occasionally started calling her this; she always picks it as her username or her space station name or whatever she's allowed to christen, and it's started to stick.) "You're not that kind of mutie, but theirs is. He can't do his hivemind shit once he's froze or he'll get iced. That's everyone's priority, clear?"
"Yessir," says each toon leader in unison.
They form up in the corridor.
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Aegis lets go.
"It's free play," she says. "This room was empty." (Talking to soldiers from other armies is only outright forbidden by the commanders; it's merely discouraged by the teachers.)
"It's free play," she says. "This room was empty." (Talking to soldiers from other armies is only outright forbidden by the commanders; it's merely discouraged by the teachers.)
He peers at her.
"Aren't you Swan?" he says. "Come with me. You," he waves at Sue, "do whatever you want."
Sue takes a midair bow and holds out his hands to Aegis for a pushoff.
"Aren't you Swan?" he says. "Come with me. You," he waves at Sue, "do whatever you want."
Sue takes a midair bow and holds out his hands to Aegis for a pushoff.
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"I'm Swan, yes, sir." She sends Sue spinning and lands neatly on the edge of the door and spins into the corridor. "What is it, sir?" she asks. She doesn't know this teacher, he might be for a more advanced class or a track she's not in...
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"Is there a path color or are you escorting me, sir?" She punctuates all her sentences to teachers with sir. It placates them and means nothing except you seem to be the sort of person who expects to be sirred.
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"Yessir," says Aegis, and she walks where it leads.
She doesn't shiver. (She never shivers except on purpose. These muscles belong to her, except that there's no contact points on her face and her teeth will chatter if she's chilly enough.) But she thinks she'd shiver if she'd gotten this news in the shower.
She doesn't shiver. (She never shivers except on purpose. These muscles belong to her, except that there's no contact points on her face and her teeth will chatter if she's chilly enough.) But she thinks she'd shiver if she'd gotten this news in the shower.
The mysterious 'Beri' has an office in a part of the ring Aegis has never been to before. The path leads her right to his door.
The door opens.
"Come in," says Beri.
An unremarkable-looking office, containing an unremarkable-looking person in an unremarkable-looking uniform. He could be anybody. No rank insignia, no strongly identifying information or symbols anywhere.
"Come in," says Beri.
An unremarkable-looking office, containing an unremarkable-looking person in an unremarkable-looking uniform. He could be anybody. No rank insignia, no strongly identifying information or symbols anywhere.
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"You wanted to see me, sir?" (Even without a visible rank he's some kind of sir; she's not even nine yet.)
"Psych profiles are an integral part of student evaluations in the Battle School system," he says. "Can you tell me something you've been doing differently lately that might have affected our ability to get a good profile on you?"
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Oh, shit. Play dumb or come clean?
But nobody else notebooks like she does. They can't typically rely on that, can they?
"I'm not sure, sir. I don't know what methods you're using."
But nobody else notebooks like she does. They can't typically rely on that, can they?
"I'm not sure, sir. I don't know what methods you're using."
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"I think a lot of the other students took batteries of personality tests before they launched, but I was never set those tests, sir. I'm happy to sit them now if you'd like."
"That may not be necessary," he says. "In fact, analysis of the diary function in students' desk accounts is usually a last resort, but in your case it is also the only resort. And now that you have stopped writing your entries in a readable format..." He trails off and shrugs.
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"Ah," says Aegis.
There is a silence, and she says: "Sir, I wrote in English because I was not aware anyone was spending their time deciphering my notes to myself and the - I thought - minor risk that someone would decide to was worth the increased referenceability. If I start writing in English again, my diary will be less useful to me and less useful to you, because I'll know it's being read and I won't be able to work uncensored. But I am happy to take the standard psych tests or whatever the other students are doing, unless what the other students are doing something involving telepathy and that's why it hasn't been used for me before."
There is a silence, and she says: "Sir, I wrote in English because I was not aware anyone was spending their time deciphering my notes to myself and the - I thought - minor risk that someone would decide to was worth the increased referenceability. If I start writing in English again, my diary will be less useful to me and less useful to you, because I'll know it's being read and I won't be able to work uncensored. But I am happy to take the standard psych tests or whatever the other students are doing, unless what the other students are doing something involving telepathy and that's why it hasn't been used for me before."
"What the other students are doing is not an avenue that's open to you," he says. "But we still need to know how you're doing, mentally. You clearly know how you're doing mentally. I don't think it's going to be impossible to work something out here."
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"If you have questions for me about how I'm doing, I can answer them," Aegis volunteers. "I just can't do my own processing in front of readers like that."
"I don't suppose there's any chance you'll tell me why you stopped writing in English," he says dryly.
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Aegis hesitates. She doesn't think they'd ice her for being able to hear Sue "knocking". But she's not sure.
"It's nothing about a change in my underlying psychology," she tries. "Sir."
"It's nothing about a change in my underlying psychology," she tries. "Sir."
"So either you only just figured out that someone might be reading your journal, or you've had to do a lot of thinking recently about something you don't want us to know," he says. "And I don't think you only just figured that out."