It was just past dinner time, before she could get a hold of Master Kiev. She had spent the last few hours dodging questions from Cadets, trying to comm Kiev, and hoping she'd see Arch–Major Roth walking the College complex. She hadn't been successful in any of her plans, and it was grating on her nerves. The Heir had been waiting in the barracks for hours for her to put his escape together, and she couldn't seem to get anything or anyone to cooperate with her.

In the end, it was Master Kiev that had commed Gayle as she ducked into the Pledge residence hall and up to her room to get a breather and a break from the seemingly endless parade of Cadets who had been interrupting her attempts to help the Heir. She had just taken a seat with a pleasurable sigh and an iced beverage when Kiev's identity marker flashed on her unity ring.

Gayle sent down the drink before she could even take a sip and tapped to open up the Master's call. "It's about time! I've been calling you all afternoon."

The Master looked tired. "I apologize. I've been having to fit in an abnormally large amount of remedial time with this new class of Cadets. It has my schedule all messed up. It wasn't until I got here to the auditorium and my remedial with our mutual friend, and then him not showing up, that I finally checked my messages. So from the messages, I gather it is time?"

Gayle nodded. She hadn't wanted to say too much over the Nanite Network. She knew their conversations could be monitored by those motivated to do so. She didn't think anyone knew her and Kiev's involvement with the Heir, but it was better to be cautious. She had insisted that they never use his name, not even his Cadet name over the Nanite Network, so they referred to him as their mutual friend.

"Yes, are you still at the auditorium?"

The Master nodded. "I am."

"Stay there. I will come to you."

"Very good."

Master Kiev signed off and left Gayle to look at her cool drink with exasperation. She really had hoped to get at least a few minutes to enjoy it and to have a moment's rest. Gayle picked up the glass and took a long drink, set the glass back down, and made for the exit.

Once outside, it was a quick walk across the street to the auditorium. She was about to step into the entrance when she heard her name.

"Pledge Tau-mine. Do you have a minute?"

This time she knew his voice and stopped in her tracks. Gayle threw a look over her shoulder to find the Arch–Major standing in the middle of the street.

"I've been looking for you," she said, looking full into his piercing golden eyes. They were just as magnificent as she remembered. She had to stifle a shiver.

"Funny, I've been looking for you too," he replied.

That caused Gayle to raise an eyebrow. "Oh really? And why is that?"

"I'm sure you can guess. Why were you looking for me?"

Gayle almost laughed, but she kept a straight face, because this was serious business, after all. "Maybe the same reason you've been looking for me."

That seemed to intrigue the man as he raised a bushy eyebrow. "Oh?"

Gayle waved for the Arch–Major to follow her. "There's been a development. Come with me."

She then turned to walk into the auditorium and pushed the wild and warm feelings she had inside deep down. This wasn't the time or place for that sort of foolishness. She didn't slow down or wait for the Arch–Major, and she didn't have to. She could hear his quick footsteps behind her. She led the way down the long aisle to the stage, and then entered the lounge room Kiev said he had been using for the Heir's so-called training sessions.

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Master Kiev stood as she entered and gave the Arch–Major a questioning look.

"I ran into him on the way over," Gayle explained. She had already told him of the conversation she had had with the Arch–Major yesterday and that she'd given him the Heir's emergency beacon link.

"So what's this new development you've alluded to on the six messages you left me this afternoon?" Kiev asked.

She waited until the Arch–Major was in the room and the door was closed behind him before she told them both about what had transpired with the Heir.

"Well, that lad seems to have a good head on his shoulders, at least. That was good thinking on his part to avoid having to go out into the desert. It's very curious that their assignment was changed at the last minute like that. It certainly has some implications that I'm not comfortable with."

Gayle nodded. "Neither am I. That's why I've been trying to get ahold of you. I think it's time to get him off-world." She then turned to Nathias. "We have been stuck using College resources, but what if we use your shuttle to get the Heir off-world?"

Nathias nodded. "That or King Rainus's shuttle."

"The King is here?" She said, a little startled. It was usually big news when a King came to visit. She was surprised she had heard nothing about him being at the College, but then she had been embroiled with helping helpless Cadets all afternoon.

"Yes, he got here about an hour ago. He tasked me with finding you and convincing you to give up the Heir's location."

Gayle snorted. "You would have been wasting your time. Guess you got lucky that the situation changed." She then turned to Kiev. "You've been here the longest. What's the best way to do this so we raise as little flags as possible?"

Kiev seemed to think about it for a moment before responding. "At this point, I think his cover is blown, or will be very soon. I think the direct approach is best. You say he's holed up at the barracks?"

Gayle nodded.

"Then I think the three if us should head over there immediately, pull him out, and make for whichever shuttle we are going to use. We are at a time where speed and strength in numbers is better than stealth."

"I concur. Let me just send King Rainus a message, so he will know to meet us at the shuttle," Nathias said.

He tapped his unity ring to send a message, but before he could pull up the identity marker, his ring flashed red along with Kiev's and Gayle's.

She looked at the message pulsing across the small display of her ring, though she didn't even need to see it. She knew what it was immediately. Adrenaline rushed through her body as she pushed past the Major, out the auditorium, and toward the barracks, hoping that they would not be too late. And kicked herself for taking too long to get things together.

The indigo twilight was fading towards night, making the streets of the College blessedly close to empty, so she had little to bar her way as she ran. It took less than three minutes to make the dash from the auditorium to the Cadet residence hall at a dead run. And as she entered the residence hall, she slowed her pace to keep from running into Cadets standing around chatting. She quickly ducked past them to reach barracks five, where she had told the Heir to remain until she contacted him, but as soon as she entered the room, the pulsing on the ring slowed.

She looked around frantically. Where was he? The ring had led her to this building, homing in on the beacon signal. He had to be here somewhere. That's when she heard the scream. She whipped her head around. It was coming from the bathroom. She turned and made for the door not four feet away, but Roth beat her to it. He'd been hot on her heels. And Kiev was just a few steps behind him. So she was the last to enter the bathroom.

Just before she could enter, another beep sounded from her unity ring. She was getting an incoming call, and it was from Markus. What was he doing calling her? Had they let him out already? She tapped the ring to answer. An image of Markus materialized in front of her.

"You need to get over to the residence hall immediately. We are at the barracks five washroom," she said before breaking off the call. They could compare notes later.

She stepped through the still-open door. There were multiple bodies already on the floor. One of them she could see was the Heir. He was out cold. Along with Pledge Gunther and a very large naked man. Only a man she vaguely recognized as one of the newly promoted Pledges was left standing, and he tightly clutched a blaster pistol as he glared at the fallen form of the Heir.

Roth was already making for the standing Pledge. He expertly disarmed the Pledge as the man attempted to raise his weapon to fire at them, but Roth was faster. The gun was twisted out of the Pledge's grip, and he was face down on the floor with his hands behind his back in the blink of an eye. Roth now had the pistol pointed at the back of the Pledge's head, effectively immobilizing him.

Master Kiev had also been moving while Roth had been detaining the Pledge. He'd gone straight for the Heir and was now turning him over from his facedown position. The Heir's shirt had been torn to show the identity modifier on his upper chest and the Zahn Family crest on his shoulder. There was also a finger-sized hole bored through the right side of his chest. It was fresh. Gayle could still smell the ionized discharge of a recently fired blaster pistol.

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