“Senior Seth,” Vistan spoke softly, nearly in a casual tone, as he neared the four of them. “I’ve heard good things about your Dragoons.” Dominic could feel immense pressure as his Sense was slowly being confined. It was as if the mere presence of this man took all his strength to comprehend.

  “We’re unworthy of such words sir,” Seth replied quickly, still stiffly standing at attention.

  “I sincerely hope not,” Vistan replied, his tone still casual, surprising Dominic. From his few interactions with the man, he figured he would be as stiff in discipline as Seth was if not more. Still Dominic didn’t let it show as his body began to sweat. The man stopped a few paces before them, his stance relaxed.

  After a second or two of pause his eyes began to study the group. Soon Vistan’s eyes moved from Seth and onto Dominic. Dominic’s Sense faltered as he met the eyes of the man. He’d never had someone overwhelm his Sense with their own so completely.

  “False humility, and even false bravado will do you four little good. If you don’t understand your own strength, as well as your limits, you will only be walking to your death. These are words I hope you take to heart.” The words were as casual as ever, yet the only thing Dominic could think at that moment was how glad he was that the man had moved on and was now studying Bethany.

  “I’m about to brief you on an important mission to the East Dutchy, from my reports it is something well within your squad’s capabilities. However, if at any time you feel this assessment to be beyond you simply let me know and we will find something more, appropriate.” From the casual tone Dominic wasn’t sure if he was talking down on them, teaching them, or testing them. For all he knew it was all three.

  “Understood sir!” Seth replied sharply, again not missing a beat.

  “Very well,” Vistan said as his pressure faded slightly. Dominic took in a breath he didn’t realize he was holding back. “We shall see. How many of you know what a comet is?” After a second or two of the squad standing at attention Vistan spoke in a sigh. “Please raise your hand if you can answer any question I ask.” With that all four of Seth’s squad raised their hands.

  “You, Senior Wade was it? What is a comet?” Vistan asked as he shifted his stance ever so slightly to put Tylor at the center of his attention.

  “Assuming you’re speaking of shells and not stars, A comet is a shell that orbits out in the deep wilds. Coming close to many larger shells in the process. These bodies are heavily contested for their trade and military utilities. It is also one of the few ways to hear news of faraway bodies.” Tylor answered stiffly as if it was from rote.

  “Acceptable,” Vistan replied as he shifted back to the rest of the squad. “And who can give me an example of a military comet and a trade comet?”

  Dominic’s hand faltered a bit before he rose it into the air. A military ordinated comet was easy as they had just talked about one. The trade took a little bit for his mind to pull up.

  “You, Senior Dominic?”

  Dominic waited a half a second for the pressure that never came. After a brief pause with no more acknowledgement from Vistan he spoke. “The Walala raiders are one example of a comet used in a military fashion. They frequently use their knights on raids to pillage what resources they can’t produce themselves. As their shell’s orbit is roughly twenty-five years, a single body is only harassed for a year or two once every quarter century. From last reports they attacked Southern Cascadia five years ago giving us another fifteen or so to prepare. As such…”

  “Move on,” Vistan interrupted with a flick of his hand. “We don’t have all day.”

  Dominic paused in his speech for a few seconds, his brain spinning. “Uhh, an example of an economic shell is…” After a few more seconds he finally caught a hold of his train of thought. “Port Bridge. They are a common trade partner of Northern Cascadia. Their orbit is a rather quick one at ten years. Still, they cover most of the northern wilds and trade mainly in beast products. The main one being Frost Boars, though they also…”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “Good enough.” Vistan again interrupted. Dominic abruptly shut his mouth, the force shocked his jaw slightly. “At the very least Senior Seth, your squad has the basics down. This brings us to your current mission. An economic comet is coming into orbit around Cascadia. The orbit of this particular comet is large and long. At our best guess a thousand fifty nauts in diameter and roughly sixty-five years in its cycle. It is also one of the only sources of information from that far out. This alone makes a relationship with them valuable. It is also known to carry new chips sold from along its path.”

  “Sir, if I may interrupt,” Seth said. Vistan’s eyes darted quickly to the youth before him.

  “Proceed,” he simply replied, his stance as casual as ever. Though Dominic did notice a slight smile form on his face.

  “The four of us lack the diplomatic experience necessary to negotiate on behalf of East Cascadia in such an important manner. While Senior Smalls might have some experience, it is far from enough to allow me to feel comfortable with such an assignment.” Seth answered in a matter of fact tone.

  “As you should, though that is not what your assignment will be.” Vistan replied, his smile growing slightly once again. “As I was saying, your assignment will be the protection and guidance of a squad of soldiers, of which the captain is also a skilled diplomat. It is he who will be setting up the negotiations on behalf of the duchy. Is that an acceptable assignment?”

  “It is indeed sir!” Seth responded curtly.

  “Now that that is out of the way, let’s finish.” Vistan replied as he stood a little straighter. Dominic could feel the pressure slowly press down upon him once again. “You will have four days in which to escort this squad to and from Janicland. As the distance is roughly fifteen nauts, I expect it should take you no longer than three. Any questions?” He paused for a moment as Bethany, Seth, and Tylor raised their hand. “Senior Smalls.”

  “What is the wild density expected to be on this mission?” Bethany asked as soon as permission was given.

  “Ahh a very good question. The experts expect it to be mid red to low orange with a very low risk of storms,” Vistan replied as he examined Bethany once again. “Though, I would like to remind you to take such with a grain of salt. Please remember what it is you are going to be traveling through. The mists are nothing to take lightly, even at red levels. There’s always a risk of a scurry, a Domino Cascade, or a Terror Rain” He took that moment to once again look everyone in the eye. “If that is all, please wait for Captain Prescot. He should be arriving within a quarter of an hour.” The finality of that statement was clear as Vistan turned and began to walk towards the next squad.

  Dominic felt his Sense expand with the man’s absence, though it never passed him. It was a stark reminder that with all the skills he’s earned over these twelve years he still had a long way to go. It very well might have been a lesson Vistan wanted to teach.

  “Alright squad,” Seth said, breaking Dominic out of his thoughts. “We have a little over ten minutes to figure out our end of things. Anyone have more information on Janicland?”

  The question hung in the air for a few seconds before Seth continued. “Well that will make things a bit more difficult. However, I’m sure that Captain Prescot will have what I seek.” Seth turned his head towards Dominic before he spoke again. “Dominic, find anything of interest beyond the border?”

  “Nothing out of the ordinary, mostly enhanced. Fairly confident we won’t run into a true beast for at least a few nauts.” Dominic answered as his mind thought over all he sensed.

  “That’s good.” Seth answered as he shifted his focus back to the center of the squad. “Bethany and Dominic, you’ll again have link duty.”

  Dominic wasn’t surprised, it was standard procedure on any escort mission. With the chaotic nature of the mists, it wasn’t uncommon for a group to become separated. To combat this, it was normal to set up links whereby the group could find the lost individual. For extra insurance normally two members of the party would each form a set. As Bethany and Dominic were the Aetherians it was their expected duty.

  “Tylor, I want you to get a feel of the soldiers for me. Their cohesion will be vital to our success. If we are going to have to cover for them every second of the trip, it would be best to know before we left.”

  Seth continued to give his orders. Most of the orders were expected and mainly restated for Seth’s comfort. Though they haven’t done a massive number of escort missions, as that normally required getting permission to skip class for a number of days, his squad has done their fair share.

  “Any concerns?” Seth finally asked after the last bit of orders were given. The other three simply stood silently. “Very well, dismissed.”

  Dominic relaxed his focus and took in the moment of calm. He understood that the squad of soldiers would be here before he knew it and their mission would start. Once that happened, he would have little time to relax in the coming days.