The W2RLD

Chapter 22 - Preparations for Transformation

The W1RLD

Written by: The Masked Eidolon

Edited by: The Masked Eidolon

Enjoy 🙂

Chapter 22 - Preparations for Transformation

TWO MONTHS AFTER CHAPTER 21:

The man in black sighed as he approached his place of work, employee's key in hand. He walked up to the building's metal door, inserted the key into its lock, and turned it to the side, opening the aperture. As the man walked into the building, a warm, refreshing air enveloped his skin, prompting him to take off his jacket. Wrapping the leather garment across his chair, he picked up a tan envelope on his desk and started to flip through it.

"Let's see..." he muttered, turning pages until he found the one he wanted, "The tour's today, huh?"

He put the folder back on his desk, and went to make himself a cup of coffee, because today, he needed all the caffeine he could get. This evening, three of the top-performing soldiers would earn a trip to the Virgilian castle, where they would receive a detailed lesson on how to perform an interrogation. The man in black would be a chaperone on said trip. Other than office work, it would be his first official duty as a Lieutenant, so he had to perform well.

The coffee machine dinged, signaling that the man's espresso was ready. He picked up his mug by the handle and brought it to his lips when he heard the building's door open. A fellow military officer walked in.

The woman took off her jacket as well, and hung it on her chair, "Make me some coffee as well, will you, Ethan?"

"Sure thing, captain." Ethan said as he put more powder into the machine, "I have a question for you, though."

"What kind of question?" Stone responded.

"Which three students will I be escorting today?"

Alex sat down at her desk and began skimming through some notes, "If we average out all of our students' combat scores with their critical thinking ones, the top three soldiers would be Lucas Cunningham, Derek Byrd, and Chandler Grant."

Ethan sighed. Ever since he heard that only the top students were allowed to go on this trip, he knew deep down that interacting with Chandler would be inevitable. However, there was still a chance that he could convince Alex to take him off the mission.

"Why did you choose me to be the chaperone, then?"

"Because you're the newest Lieutenant, and you need hands-on experience." Alex said, still keeping the majority of her focus on her paperwork.

"With all due respect, this probably isn't the best kind of experience for me." Ethan responded, "You know that Chandler and I do not get along very well."

"I don't see how that's relevant."

Ethan took a sip of his coffee, "I want to avoid any unnecessary complications."

"Such as?"

"Disrespect, bickering, refusal to comply with orders... this should all be quite obvious."

Alex looked up from her desk work and gave her full attention to Ethan, "You're a Lieutenant, Clarke. Bickering with a subordinate is beneath you. If anyone ever challenges your authority, you deal with it how a Lieutenant should. With punishments."

"I know that, captain." Ethan stated, "I just don't think there's any reason to provoke Chandler by having me chaperone him."

"This isn't about provoking Chandler, it's about testing you." Alex declared, pointing at Ethan, "You're a new officer, and all you've done is record filing, so it's about time to test your leadership chops. I want to make sure that you have what it takes to work out in the field."