A World With/Out Home

Chapter 23: A new adventure. (Part 3)

The sun set but within the underground compound of the Hero's Guard it was hard to tell. Without the natural light to go by the officers had a tendency to lose track of time and work longer than intended. Hours could pass and the definition of an ordinary sleeping schedule was quite skewed. As a 1st Officer Bethial was no exception and found himself working alone in his office quite often. Although today he had a visitor as a polite knock resounded.

"Captain, 1st Officer Lin is here to see you," Reina opened his door with a respectful nod.

"Yes send her in," the Captain looked up from his work and towards the lady who entered. Compared to the normal officer, Leela had a different aura around her. Being in charge of communications and public relations, it was her job to be representable and her appearance suited the job.

"Bethial I have something that you might be interested in," she took the seat in front of his desk without being told and placed a black rectangular box in front of him.

"This is a data bank, what's on it?"

"Actually it was given to me by Mr Devro."

"Oh, is he finished the editing already?" appearance aside, Bethial was a fan of the man's work and showed genuine interest.

"Not quite. Due to everything that happened during the incursion it slipped his mind, but this isn't his. It was picked up by him and Kyle while they passed by a group of fallen Lavise knights."

"Did he watch the contents?" the Captain's brows drew together as he prepared a suitable machine to do the same.

"Yes and so did I. It's suspicious to say the least."

It didn't take long for the two to get the device working and soon the recordings taken were being shown clearly. The beginning however wasn't the battle but before that. The preparation of the Hero's Guard, their formations, equipment but more than that a particular focus was clear. A certain Petty Officer and those around him.

The Captain frowned, "This was found during the battle? The Lavise knights were only called to assist us after the incursion began."

"Yes which means someone else recorded it and handed it over during the chaos. Most likely when the things turned badly they tried to escape with the data but were locked in by Lillia's barrier and ultimately failed." Her concern was clear, "Bethial where is Kyle now? Their interest in him is dangerous, especially considering what happened earlier with Councilman Tombre."

"He's not here. By now he should already be on a train to Trentheim."

"What?" the 1st Officer paled. "We have to call him back."

"Or we take this opportunity to gage who we're dealing with," the Captain remained firm. "Kyle is capable and not alone. If Lavise truly wants to step against us, then we shall show them how mistaken they are."

*

"Is this your first time catching a train?" Valandus asked as he dropped their luggage in the overhang. He shuffled to the end of the seat, "Come, we're all friends here. It's going to be a long trip so get used to it."

"Yeah it's my first time," Kyle replied and sat down opposite him. Their compartment for four was quite small but still better much better than the regular seating. The sealed room offered privacy and a bit more space as well as a small table that could be propped up from the wall.