The young people kept their eyes on the ground, realizing that her disappearance wasn’t being treated as a simple case of a missing person. At least from the perspective of National Security, she was a potential threat with strategic access. Of all of them, Tori clearly had the bitterest reaction after hearing that.

“Lucas, do you realize what you’re saying?” Tori said, visibly upset.

She was definitely unhappy with Lucas’s remark, so her friends instinctively jumped to his defense.

“Tori, this is just one possibility,” Luna defended gently. “Professor Dalton is right! we can’t only look at one side of the coin if we want to know the truth...”

“You’re all idiots!” Tori shouted. “She would never do that. She would never desert. Being here was her dream from the beginning.”

Artemisa looked at her and quickly took her by the shoulders, stepping in front of her. Tori was on the verge of tears, and for good reason. It’s true the group wasn’t crying like Tori, but they were all struggling with the idea: the Aria they knew would never even consider desertion.

“Tori, calm down,” said Artemisa, compassionately. “I don’t think Aria fled the ceremony either, but you have to understand that the higher-ups are thinking that because they don’t know her like we do.”

Tori broke into tears and covered her face, while Luna placed a hand on her back.

“You all think I’m an idiot now, don’t you?” Tori asked through her tears.

“There’s nothing wrong with trusting your friends,” Lucas said. “If any of you had gone missing instead of Aria, I’d be in your position too. I also don’t think she just vanished on purpose—I believe it was a kidnapping.”

“There’s nothing wrong with having your own take on the case, as long as you don’t ignore the reality of the situation,” Professor Dalton added.

“So, what do we do now?” Pascal asked.

Before anyone could answer Pascal, their phones started blaring with a loud alarm that startled everyone in the hallway. On their screens, a red pop-up window appeared with white text and a yellow caution symbol in the center.

“Zonal Warning”

“The Silvermist Square Zone is under investigation. Any attempt to leave the area will result in 2–3 years of imprisonment and a fine of 10 MTB.Discussing current events or contacting outside individuals about the situation is strictly prohibited to preserve confidentiality and respect the process.You may be questioned or inspected by the present authorities; these actions do not imply guilt but are necessary preventive measures for the investigation. Your cooperation with law enforcement is mandatory and crucial to ensure a safe and efficient inquiry process.”

“Your identity and presence in the Silvermist Square zone have been registered and reported to the relevant authorities. You are required to remain exclusively in areas designated by law enforcement and under no circumstances leave them unless explicitly instructed by an appropriate authority. Any attempt to leave Silvermist Square will be considered an obstruction and may lead to the use of authorized measures to ensure your compliance.”

Professor Dalton read the alert and dismissed it using the button at the bottom, just like the graduates did.

“Well, you did ask,” Lucas said to Pascal with a grin, amused that the alert perfectly answered Pascal’s question.

“Damn it, what am I supposed to do with the alcohol I bought?” Artemisa protested, pointing at her bag. “Do I have to throw it out?”

“Then let’s drink it. Why would you toss full bottles in the trash?” Pascal suggested without hesitation.

“It’s even worse to be drunk in a zone under warning,” Luna complained irritably.

“We just have to be honest,” Lucas said casually. “Say you went to the store before coming here because we were going to have a party, and hopefully the bottles are still sealed. It’s not a lie, and we have the chat to back it up.”

“They might question the alcohol, but they’re going to search the building anyway. If they find the bottles in a trash can, it could mislead the investigation. Personally, I think Lucas is right,” said Professor Dalton.

Tori stayed silent with her arms crossed the whole time until the group decided to head to the dining hall. Other graduates told them that authorities were escorting people there. Professor Dalton also left because the faculty had been summoned to an emergency meeting with the higher-ups present at Silvermist. It’s worth noting that the teachers were also decorated members of certain factions for example, Professor Dalton was a member of ACE.

Once they arrived at the dining hall to rest a bit, tension filled the room. Although they were relieved that Professor Dalton had explained the situation, they also felt deeply uneasy—and that unease gnawed at them. They ate in silence, uncomfortable in the dining area where all the graduates were being watched by military police. They had heard that each floor housed a different type of person: graduates on the first, central station staff on the second, and reporters who had snuck in on the third.

They were about to be interrogated once the faculty and high-ranking officials finalized the official statement along with the Schmidt family. So it was clear to everyone that the ceremony was now secondary. They felt like they were in a haze, unsure how to even pass the time.

“They’re not going to make us sleep here, right?” Pascal asked, breaking the silence.

“It would be awful to sleep here. Where would we even sleep—on the tables or something?” Artemisa asked before taking a bite of her ice cream.

“I’ve slept in worse places, honestly. It’s not that bad,” Lucas said while eating pizza and typing on his phone.

“Has Luna come back yet?” Tori asked anxiously.

Tori was clearly the most affected by the Schmidt case. She only spoke up because Luna had been gone for a while.

“No. She went to see if there was gossip with the former student council girls,” Pascal said while looking at his phone.

“And she’s taking this long?” Tori looked deeply worried after the news.

“It’s Luna. That’s just how long she takes to do things,” Lucas replied calmly. “Are you okay, Tori? You haven’t touched your food.”

Tori frowned at her meal, nervously fidgeting with her hands. Everyone knew that when Tori got anxious, it always affected her stomach. Everyone had their own way of coping, but Tori was naturally anxious.

“I don’t feel like eating. Do you want my ice cream? You can have it,” she offered.

Lucas noticed she had only taken a couple of spoonfuls of her ice cream and declined politely.

“No, I’m good, Tori. But you should eat—imagine they relocate us tonight or tomorrow morning because of the situation and you arrive somewhere with an empty stomach. That’s the worst.” Lucas pushed the ice cream cup closer to her tray, his eyes soft.

“Lucas is right, Tori,” Artemisa said. “You should eat something.”

“I’m scared, guys” she said.

Tori blurted it out without any filter. Everyone at the table stopped what they were doing to listen. Even Lucas ignored a message from his sister, who was worriedly trying to get information from him. He told her he couldn’t reply because of the zonal alert.

“I understand that, as an agent, I’ll have to face situations like this—or worse—but... why Aria? Why her and not me?” Tori asked, heartbroken. “She was... no—she is one of the best students. And she ended up like this? She just disappeared that easily? It’s impossible.”

“Life is uncertain” Lucas said, with a lump in his throat.

“My point is: you all know she was the type of person who has eyes in the back of her head. The idea that she’s been kidnapped sounds way too unreal to me, this isn’t a normal case, guys,” explained Tori, hyperventilating.

Tori refused to accept her friend’s disappearance but also rejected the other theory of desertion, and clearly she wasn’t the only one conflicted. For everyone, the situation was generally hard to grasp and face; beyond being future agents, they were comrades who on their very first day had to deal with the heartbreak of a disappearance. For them, this wasn’t just starting off on the wrong foot — it was like starting with no foot at all. They couldn’t even get distracted; on the contrary, they sank deeper into the issue.

“What if we’re now facing something we’ve never seen before?” Tori asked them with genuine concern. “At this point, I don’t feel safe anywhere.”

Everyone at the table fell into a long silence, clearly uncomfortable in the place, since Tori suggested that if she didn’t feel safe anywhere, maybe someone else could be next. The worst part was they couldn’t leave the cafeteria. So all they could do was connect the dots of what Tori meant; some got a cold splash of harsh information, and others felt their stomachs turn thinking about the possibilities of what might have happened to Aria.

Tori bit her lower lip and looked away. She analyzed her friends’ faces carefully to always hit the mark with what she wanted to communicate. So she kept talking, even though most of them were tired of her doubts.

“It’s impossible to surprise Aria with anything. No matter what happens, she always knows how to take care of herself and others, regardless of the circumstances,” she swallowed hard, just as a tear rolled down her cheek. “And I’m sorry if I sound like a…,” she paused while sniffing, “crazy? Or if I seem too suspicious, but you can’t tell me Aria ‘disappeared, no one saw anything, no one heard any noise, and there are no witnesses.’ Do you believe that?”

A deafening silence fell over the cafeteria, where only spoons and forks clattered against surfaces from the shock. Everything Tori said was neither a delusion nor digging up already turned soil. It was the truth. The whole situation was so unusual that not only her friends were left speechless, even the faculty and superiors were desperate. Gradually, the room began resuming conversations, and at that moment Artemisa patted Tori on the back, who then collapsed into tears from the desperation of the situation, creating an awkward moment hard to break for those present.

Lucas felt guilty thinking that if no one saw anything, there were two possibilities: she left on her own or someone powerful enough took her and convinced those present to say nothing. Surprisingly, the second option seemed more plausible to him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin the meal,” said Tori.

“Tori, the day was already ruined. You can’t make it worse,” Pascal commented irritably.

“Pascal! Don’t say that,” Artemisa scolded him. “You’re just going to make her feel worse.”

When Pascal and Artemisa argue, they hardly ever stop; their personalities are completely incompatible.

“Misa, admit it: the day was already cursed and everything was wrong the moment we arrived,” explained Pascal.

“You should find a better way to say it because you make it sound like everything was fine until Tori spoke,” Artemisa complained.

“My gods! You too? Are you stupid or what? Obviously, it’s not Tori’s fault,” Pascal got frustrated and put his palm on his forehead as he raised his voice. “Whether she spoke or not, everything was bad since we got here. ‘Couldn’t make it worse,’ why do you think I’m telling Tori that?”

“I think we’re all too worked up; we’re feeling bad about this but gain nothing by jumping at every comment,” Lucas pinched the bridge of his nose in stress trying to mediate.

Both lowered their gaze with sadness and frustration, realizing neither wanted to attack the other. Amid this, a young woman with dyed hair ran up quickly, weaving through the crowd with hurried “excuse me, pardon me, sorry” as she reached the table.

“I heard something! But it’s not official,” Luna said with concern.

Everyone tiredly looked at her, making her feel confused by the drop in social temperature around them.

“Did something happen?” Luna asked.

Lucas didn’t want to explain or reopen the subject, so he let it go:

“Nothing, just a discussion. What did you hear?” Lucas asked, still sounding exhausted.

Luna began explaining:

“I was told the teachers finished providing the background for Aria’s search to the higher-ups, and now they’re processing the relocation to our bases no later than tomorrow morning. But the director wants the relocation to be extraordinary in order to ensure our safety.”

“Extraordinary in what way?” Pascal interrupted.

“That we be moved during the early hours,” Luna responded. “They discussed that possibility, but by orders of National Security they want to gather our testimonies and confirm that no one saw or spoke to Aria before this happened through the military police. There are about 100 of us, and considering interrogations are done in person, it would take too long. So they talked with the academy director about the possibility of doing the relocations tomorrow or next week.”

“And what’s the problem with doing them tomorrow?” Artemisa asked.

“The staff shortage at ACE and the National Guard, plus the need for a new fleet for the Space Forces,” Luna said seriously. “While National Security wants a thorough investigation and denies we be relocated due to espionage suspicions, those factions are pushing for the process to continue as planned. In fact, ACE wants the relocation to be immediate.”

“National Security is interfering with the vital internal operations of those factions. At this point, it’s like even they don’t know what to do,” Lucas replied.

“Yes, the meeting was a disaster from what I heard,” Luna mentioned.

“Then we’ll sleep here,” Pascal said. “Let’s make ourselves comfortable then.”

Pascal finished speaking and members of the military police entered. The youths immediately thought these would be the ones in charge. They began approaching some students to remove them from the cafeteria and guide them to a quieter place; it was inevitable that everyone’s eyes turned toward them. The only thing preventing anyone from commenting was that all the cellphones with sound on started ringing with a notification. Lucas pressed the notification and read aloud: “Urgent Announcement: Emergency at the Academy.”