Monday morning brought the deadline for Professor Vance's corporate takeover assignment. Kael sat in the lecture hall with two hundred other students, his analysis loaded on his tablet. He'd spent the weekend crafting something deliberately good but not exceptional—competent strategy that showed understanding without revealing his actual capabilities.
Professor Vance stood at the front, his thin frame casting angular shadows. "I've reviewed all submissions. Most were adequate. Some were embarrassing. A few showed genuine insight."
He activated the display, showing statistics. "Average score: seventy-two percent. Highest score: ninety-four percent. Lowest score..." He paused. "Let's not embarrass anyone publicly."
Names appeared on screen—the top ten submissions. Kael's wasn't among them. Perfect. He'd scored eighty-one percent, solidly above average but unremarkable.
"These top submissions will present their analyses," Vance announced. "The rest of you will learn from their approaches."
Aria Blackthorn was first, unsurprisingly. She walked to the front with confidence, her presentation already loaded. "The scenario presents a pharmaceutical company hostile takeover attempt. Surface level, it appears straightforward—acquire majority shares, replace leadership, consolidate operations."
She manipulated the holographic display, showing complex relationship maps. "However, the real complexity lies in the regulatory environment. Three government agencies have oversight. Four separate patent disputes are pending. And the target company's research division has connections to military contracts, meaning defense department involvement."
Kael watched her work through the analysis with surgical precision. She'd identified every stakeholder, predicted regulatory responses, and outlined a strategy that balanced aggressive acquisition with political maneuvering.
"The optimal approach," Aria concluded, "requires a three-phase timeline spanning eighteen months. Phase one: acquire non-voting shares to build position without triggering regulatory reviews. Phase two: negotiate with military contractors to ensure defense department neutrality. Phase three: execute rapid share purchase once regulatory obstacles are cleared."
Professor Vance nodded approvingly. "Excellent work, Miss Blackthorn. You've demonstrated understanding that this isn't merely a financial transaction but a political operation requiring careful coordination."
Three more presentations followed, each competent but less comprehensive than Aria's. Then Raven Steele took the front.
Her approach was different—stripped down, pragmatic. "Most analyses focus on legal acquisition. I focused on what actually happens in hostile takeovers." She displayed a timeline. "Sixty-three percent of hostile takeover attempts fail. Of successful attempts, forty-one percent face sabotage from displaced leadership."
Raven outlined a strategy that assumed resistance and planned for it. "Secure key personnel before announcing intentions. Identify potential saboteurs. Have replacement leadership ready. Control information flow. Execute fast enough that opposition can't organize."
"Aggressive," Professor Vance commented. "Some would say ruthless."
"Effective," Raven countered. "The scenario didn't ask for the kindest approach. It asked for the optimal one."
After presentations ended, Vance assigned partners for the next project—a simulated corporate war between two companies. The partnerships were deliberately mismatched by rank to force collaboration across social hierarchies.
Kael's assigned partner appeared on screen: Aria Blackthorn.
*Of course. The universe has a sense of humor.*
Aria caught his eye across the lecture hall, her expression unreadable. After class dismissed, she approached him directly.
"Looks like we're working together," she said without preamble.
"Looks like."
"Your submission scored eighty-one percent. Solid work, nothing spectacular. But I saw the approach you used—risk assessment matrix, stakeholder analysis, timeline optimization. Those are advanced techniques not typically taught until third year."
Kael kept his expression neutral. "I read ahead."
"Right. You read ahead." Aria didn't sound convinced. "We need to meet to plan the project. Library tonight, seven PM?"
It wasn't really a question, but Kael appreciated that she framed it as one. "I'll be there."
She walked away, leaving Kael with the uncomfortable realization that working closely with someone as intelligent as Aria would make hiding his capabilities significantly harder.
The rest of the day passed in routine classes. Combat Theory covered grappling techniques. Physical Conditioning pushed students through endurance trials. Kael maintained his careful performance—competent but unremarkable, always in the middle of the pack.
At seven PM, he found Aria at a corner table in the library's strategy section, surrounded by reference materials and holographic displays showing corporate structures.
"Good, you're punctual," she said as he sat. "I've been analyzing the scenario. We're Company A attempting to defend against Company B's aggressive expansion into our market sector."
Kael studied the scenario details. It was complex—multiple variables, unclear optimal strategies, designed to test creativity under constraints.
"What's your initial assessment?" Aria asked, watching him carefully.
Kael considered his response. He could play dumb, let her lead, maintain his cover. Or he could engage authentically, risk revealing more capability, and potentially build an alliance with someone who shared his interest in uncovering truths.
He made a calculated decision. "Company B's expansion appears aggressive, but it's actually defensive. They're overextended financially, pushing into new markets because their core business is declining. If we defend too hard, we'll waste resources fighting someone already weakening."
Aria's eyebrows rose slightly. "Go on."
"Better strategy: absorb the initial pressure, let them overcommit to expansion, then counter-strike at their vulnerable core business. They've left themselves exposed by spreading too thin."
"That's..." Aria paused, recalculating. "Actually brilliant. I was planning defensive fortification, but you're right—that's playing their game. Attacking their weakness forces them to pull back resources."
They worked for two hours, strategy evolving as they bounced ideas back and forth. Kael found himself enjoying the intellectual challenge, the rare opportunity to think at full capacity with someone who could keep pace.
"You're not what you appear to be," Aria said suddenly, looking up from calculations.
"Nobody here is."
"True. But most people fake being more capable than they are. You're doing the opposite." She leaned back, studying him. "Rank eighty-nine, deliberately moderate performance, avoiding attention. Meanwhile you think like someone with professional strategic training."
Kael met her gaze steadily. "Maybe I'm just good at academics."
"Maybe. Or maybe you're hiding for reasons I haven't figured out yet." Aria's expression softened slightly. "Look, I don't know your story. But I recognize someone carrying secrets. I've been carrying my own for eleven years."
"Your parents."
She went still. "What about them?"
"You asked Professor Thorn about investigation irregularities. During his lecture about your parents' deaths." Kael chose his next words carefully. "That's not idle curiosity. That's someone who suspects the official story is incomplete."
Aria's hands clenched briefly. "You're observant."
"So are you. That's why we're having this conversation."
They sat in silence for a moment, two people carrying wounds they couldn't share, recognizing something familiar in each other.
"I've spent years investigating," Aria finally said quietly. "My parents died when I was twelve. Lab accident, they said. Equipment malfunction. But I've reviewed every record, studied every detail. The evidence doesn't support accident—it supports sabotage."
"Have you found proof?"
"Nothing concrete. Everything was cleaned up too well, covered up too thoroughly. Whoever did it had resources and authority." She looked at Kael directly. "I think it was someone connected to the academy. Possibly faculty. Possibly clan leadership."
Kael's mind raced. He had proof—photographs from the Vault showing Professor Thorn authorized the Blackthorn assassination. But revealing that meant exposing his own investigation, his own infiltration.
Not yet. Too risky.
"That's dangerous territory," he said instead. "Accusing powerful people without proof."
"I know. But I can't let it go. They were my parents. Someone murdered them and called it an accident, and I'm supposed to just accept that?" Her voice carried barely contained fury. "I've been patient. I've built my position, made myself valuable, waited for the right moment. But I won't stop until I find the truth."
Kael understood that determination intimately. It was the same fire that had sustained him through fifteen years of preparation.
"If you're right," he said carefully, "you'll need allies. People you can trust when things get dangerous."
"Are you offering to be one of those people?"
"I'm saying we might have aligned interests." Kael held her gaze. "You want truth about your parents. I want..." He paused, choosing words. "Justice for past wrongs. Sometimes those goals overlap."
Aria studied him for a long moment. "You're being deliberately vague. But I appreciate you're being honest about being vague, if that makes sense."
"It does."
"Okay." She extended her hand. "Temporary alliance. We help each other with this project, share information where interests align, and don't push each other for details we're not ready to share."
Kael shook her hand. "Agreed."
They returned to the project, but something had shifted. The work continued, but now it carried an undercurrent of mutual understanding—two people with secrets, working together while maintaining careful boundaries.
At nine PM, they concluded for the night. Aria gathered her materials. "Same time tomorrow?"
"I'll be here."
She paused before leaving. "Kael? Whatever you're really doing here... be careful. The people running this academy are more dangerous than they appear."
"I know."
After she left, Kael remained at the table, thinking through implications. He'd gained a potential ally but also increased his exposure. Aria was intelligent enough to piece together truths from fragments, and he'd just given her several new fragments.
His encrypted phone buzzed: *Master: Report says you met with Blackthorn heir. Explain.*
Kael typed quickly: *Class project, unavoidable. She's investigating her parents' death. I have evidence but haven't shared it. Assessing if she can be trusted.*
*Response: Trust no one completely. Use her if useful. Discard if she becomes liability.*
Kael stared at that message. His master's pragmatism made strategic sense, but something in Kael resisted. Aria wasn't just a tool to be used and discarded. She was someone fighting the same enemy for similar reasons.
Maybe the ghost was becoming too human.
Or maybe that was the point.