Late that night, high above the neon-lit streets of Sector 7, Director Thorne stood inside his private office on the top floor of the Administration Building. The room was dark, illuminated only by the massive floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the city's central energy grid and the glowing holographic displays floating above his desk.
The office door hissed open, and Proctor Vance walked in, holding a encrypted data slate.
"Julian Marcus's detailed medical analysis just came back from the central military hospital," Vance reported, placing the slate onto the mahogany desk. "His internal energy channels are completely paralyzed. The core didn't suffer physical damage, but the channel shock is so extreme that his body has locked his power down to prevent self-destruction."
Thorne didn't turn away from the window. "And the retrieved core?"
"It's a Grade-3 Intermediate core, high purity," Vance replied. "It has been logged into Sector 7's central vault. The market value is estimated at six hundred fifty thousand credits. Auxiliary Squad 4 officially surrendered all claim rights to the Academy in exchange for standard merit credits."
"A baseline team of three outcasts brings down a Grade-3 core and rescues Section 1's elite vanguard," Thorne said, his voice flat, devoid of emotion. "A story that would make a fine public relations release for the Academy board... if anyone was foolish enough to believe it."
Vance stepped up beside the desk. "I inspected the broken halberd myself, Director. The kinetic signature left on the fracture points matches the structural damage recorded on Field B's testing monolith. It is not an unstable recoil flaw. Student Caine possesses an internal density that bypasses standard energy projection entirely."
Thorne finally turned around, his grey hair neatly combed, his dark navy uniform unwrinkled. His sharp eyes looked at the holographic profile of Caine floating above his desk—a profile that still displayed a stagnant CHPower rating of 10.
"A Level 10 who can neutralize a Level 42 High Intermediate without summoning a weapon form," Thorne mused softly. "If the Central High Council in Sector 1 receives this diagnostic telemetry, they will immediately classify Caine as a First-Generation Density Mutation. They will draft him into the Central Research Division within twenty-four hours."
"Is that not the standard protocol for an Anomaly?" Vance asked.
"Protocol is written by Sector 1 to strip the outer sectors of their talent," Thorne said coldly, his hands folding behind his back. "For twenty years, Sector 7 has been treated as a dumping ground for defective cadets and low-tier workers. Every time a promising student emerges, Central drafts them into their private leagues, leaving us with scavengers and broken baselines."
Thorne walked over to his desk and tapped the holographic screen, pulling up the administrative override menu.
"We modify the official record," Thorne declared. "Student Caine's CHPower rating remains officially registered at 10. His performance in the ruins will be logged as an 'Assisted Scavenge Operation.' However... elevate Auxiliary Squad 4's operational security clearance to Tier 2, and assign them full access to the basement training facilities."
Vance looked at the Director with a mix of surprise and understanding. "You're keeping him in the Auxiliary Vanguard? Under the radar?"
"I am giving him room to grow without Central's interference," Thorne corrected, entering his private encryption key into the slate. "The Marcus Syndicate will undoubtedly seek retribution for Julian's incapacitation. They will attempt to pressure Caine during the upcoming Inter-Sector Ranking Tournament. If Caine is truly what I suspect he is, he will use that pressure to refine his density even further."
Thorne looked back out the window at the sprawling, glowing metropolis below.
"Let the Marcus family play their games," Thorne whispered. "When the time comes for Sector 7 to reclaim its standing, Caine will be our weapon—one that Central never saw coming."