Speed was an important factor when it came to the CS, Collecting Skulls. Oni didn't have it. Still, as always, Dev was patient as they troubleshooted their way through.

As a consequence, it took ages to get back. Oni didn't mind it because that meant more time in each other's company.

He found out the hard way, however, that no one left the platform until all orbs were once again accounted for. When his orb, rather than zip back down the track and reattach itself to the long lines of ball-shaped machines at the end, it...puttered.

It bobbed along and everyone saw.

As soon as the orb connected to its station, Oni's face warmed. There were a good twenty all in a row for each track. He imagined everyone else came in full tilt, hell, even Pleasant who had her first day at the helm as well.

This weak gesture had Oni ashamed, but Dev cheered, "That was brilliant. Absolutely amazing."

Oni perked up. "R—really?"

Dev scanned the dials above her. "I've never known that a CS could move so slowly and still manage to keep in motion. As the speed charges it, too. One would think we'd run out of power and just end up stranded in the middle of nowhere. But you were able to make it back."

Each word had Oni's ears burning. He imagined a blunt object coming at his face much like that backhanded praise. There wasn't much left of him when she rapped on a screen to check.

"Whoa. It's true. This is the...no, almost the slowest the CS has ever gone."

Oni died a bit more inside. "Yeah. I get it."

"No. This is an interesting find. I wonder if it can be used strategically. You—"

A bang from the door on the floor stole her quiet excitement.

"Get outta there already!" Bray's voice thundered.

They climbed out to more hatred than Oni'd ever imagined. He took little comfort that Dev bore the brunt of it as other head cadets converged and stated their complaints about wasting time. She should have taken over and brought them back in. She should have respected the fact that everyone was now late for supper. She should learn to figure out her own crew.

Dev picked her head up and shoved the girl who had the nerve to state the obvious.

The tension in her body was no act; Dev readied for a fight.

Sen caught her by the hand and interlocked their fingers as he pulled her behind him. Even that didn't seem to help but she calmed with time.

Oni focused on their grip and nothing more. And there was more that should have concerned him. For one, this would have consequences, for her rec-room privileges, and beyond.

And yet, their grip interested him more.

He wondered if he could get away with doing that. While the head cadets converged and sparred verbally with Sen who accepted their complaints and even offered some apologies, Oni tried to remember how Sen'd achieved the hand-holding. Should Oni just grab her hand and not let go? Or sneak in slowly so she wouldn't startle? Or would that be too strange? Timing must have played a factor. Too fast and he'd startle her, but too slow and he'd startle her in a creepy way. At this moment, the execution of this idea seemed far greater in difficult than riding one of the CS.

The reprimands were swift and brutal, and Sen tugged Dev out of the crowd and back into the compound. Pleasant and Oni weren't far behind.

As soon as they were back in the warm hallways of the facility and not the chill of the outside, Dev threw Sen's hand down.

"It's fine in the big scheme of things," Sen insisted.

Dev turned, ready to shout. Her mouth simply opened, and defeat shined in her eyes.

"Come on," Sen muttered, "we'll get food before it's all gone."

Gaze lowered to his chest, Dev let out a sigh and walked away. The direction said she was headed to her room. Sen watched after her until she turned the corner and was swallowed up by the massive white walls.

Dinner was tense, so much so that when Oni finally worked up the courage to eat, he was in time to see that Pleasant's plate still remained empty.

All food was strictly controlled. That was the reason for the anger about their lateness. The food could be delivered at any given time but only once and only for that instance. As such, if they didn't all eat together, whoever missed it, simply went without. As of now, Dev would sleep on an empty stomach.

But as Mercy picked at her food, dragging the time down to the last possible minute before handing the rest off to her sisters, there would be no way Pleasant could eat in the time remaining, not unless she took from her other sisters, a fact to which Oni doubted she'd ever resort.

A glance at Mercy, who refused to look Pleasant's way, told Oni he wasn't the only one paying for the good fortune of going on the run in the CS. Apparently, Mercy felt some type of way about it and was making that retribution known.

"Here." Sen moved his tray in Pleasant's direction, the remainder of food carefully segmented.

Oni took it in and drew several conclusions. Sen saw this coming.

A normal person would focus on the food, or perhaps even focus on Sen, Pleasant did neither. Her bronze skin darkened from blood rushing to her face.

Whether shame or something else, Oni couldn't say.

But she was refusing.

"We haven't much time," Sen whispered. "And I'm not having it. So it's a waste."

Pleasant rolled her shoulders. The moment her fingertips touched that tray, her sisters paused to regard her.

It was the slowest any human moved when Pleasant pulled that food close. With all eyes on her, she picked up Sen's fork and the boy in question remembered himself.

"Let me get you another one. Hold on."

The moment he stood and thought to go, he paused. It was brief because he brushed off his hesitation and hurried into the mess hall.

Something sailed past, striking Pleasant in the ear with such force Oni flinched. The heavy plastic of the water pack plopping to the floor drew everyone's attention. A red bruise now decorated Pleasant's cheek.

What surprised Oni most of all, was how perfectly still the girl remained. She didn't jump up and raise hell or defend herself.

Mercy stood this time when she grabbed yet another water pack from her other sister and sent that one sailing at Pleasant's head as well. It reached the target without trouble and there would have been a third, but a hand caught it.

Sen, spoon in his left, clenched the weaponized water pack in his right, staring Mercy down.

Oni became acutely aware of the eyes of their peers fixed steadily on them.

As the second water pack had landed in Pleasant's gifted food tray after impact, the sounding of the gong to indicate dinner was at an end stung on many levels.

One by one, cadets exited. Sen continued to look the sisters over. For once, he didn't seem sure what to do with them. Admittedly, this was Dev's responsibility.

Eventually, it became clear that Sen had no intention of punishing anyone.

Instead, everything moved in silence after that. Their cleanup, and even their consequent studies. It didn't involve combat per usual. Perhaps Sen didn't want to risk it. He suggested a reading assignment which the girls took before going back to their room.

Pleasant lingered in the hallway for some time.

Oni didn't particularly like the sisters, but tonight he feared for her.

Sen waited for her acknowledgement, but she simply turned and walked out.

He stared after her. He looked like he had something to say but that faded when the door opened then closed.

Things were tense after that. By the time they retired to their room, a number of holographic notifications hung over Sen's desk, awaiting him.

"Hello, brother."

Instead of answering, Sen sat. He stared at the holo-images for some time before a few taps called up a profile. Pleasant's grimace greeted him.

"Put a bell on this cadet."

A bell. Oni wondered what that entailed.

Sento's voice was prompt. "Secondary medical attention on standby."

Oni stared at the boy at the desk for a while as well. more than once, Oni willed himself to say something—he wanted to ask a few questions. Sen was knowledgeable and in a strange way, a bit less terrible than he'd imagined.

The work he did now spoke of importance, so Oni gave up; he'd figure it out on his own.

As the night dragged on, the prompts came in and left again regular like clockwork.

"We could have taken them all out on the run. All seven."

Sento's voice answered, "Sorry?"

Sen hesitated then said, 'N—nothing."

An image appeared and enlarged. Upon reading it, Sen asked, "Why was this routed here?"

"Possible—"

"Yes, I know! But why here? I put—" Sen paused then calmed as he sat back. He took a moment before asking, "Strip it down and run it through the proper stress-tests."

Upon seeing the results, Sen sighed.

"Crud." He swiveled in his chair and unhooked his matrix from his belt. A few taps had it lighting up. "Hey, we're still doing our training tonight. Be there in five minutes."

Oni, still unsure if Sen was addressing him, decided to err on caution so he grabbed his boots.

A knock at the door followed by it opening. Bray stomped in. "Okay. You drive a hard bargain. I—"

"Not now," Sen said, trying to step around him.

Bray blocked his path. "Come on. Now you're just being petty about it. I'm a decent person."

"Not now. I have to go." Another beep of his matrix had him freezing when he read the screen. "Hoa. She's as good as dead."

He darted for the door, but a large body jumped before him. "Just a bit of advice, is all. Name your price. Dinner. How about dinner? That's innocent enough."

Oni's feet vibrated from the anticipation; Sen was in a hurry and that wasn't for nothing. He prayed the jerk would leave without giving Bray said advice.

"Just a small dinner. That's harmless. I'm just trying to make headway. Reckon I'd ask—"

Sen lost patience. "Stop asking if you want to make any headway, igit."

Bray took a step back. "Hey, what do you take me for?"

The tempo of the beeping sped up, a fact that had Sen examining his matrix with his eyes wild. When he moved towards the door and Bray stopped him, now insulted, Oni saw it.

Two different things were happening at the same time, and not just outside that room. Sen was a force—Oni could admit that now—and he was trying everything he could not to do Bray harm.

In the last three months, Oni'd seen two sides of Sen when taxed. Fury or total shut down. He never remained in the middle for long. Neither extremes were pleasant, so when his shoulders drooped and his arms hung at his side, that meant he'd decided to take all aggression off the table.

Still, the beep was now a constant buzzing sound that put even Oni on edge.

"You say take like I'm—"

"Of course, that's not what I meant, menga. But I'm in a hurry and I need the medical bay private in the next five minutes." He raised his hand before Bray could shout. "Stop talking. You want to make headway with Dev and that'll never happen. Her focus is on one thing and one thing only and you won't eek a way through that. But Dev's a Volunteer through and through. Give her an order once for a meeting and she'll entertain it for comradery's sake. But you won't get a second chance after that. That's protocol. Now move!"

Bray had the good sense to leap out of the way and Sen stormed past.

"Washout!" he called, and Oni hurried to follow behind him.