39 Reunion

After some time Theodore was able to crossreference his grade and determine that his score had gone way up from his previous achievements. His grade was 12th overall in his year for this assignment. Not quite among the best, but with all it's flaws, still very high.

His grade slightly lifted his standing in the talent pool of the academy. He was now firmly in the upper half of the program. Considering the grade and praise Theodore felt reassured that he could pull of his double-major. With newfound directions, he might be even able to mix in the top rankings for this year. As for the top five like miss Greene mentioned..

'Well, all is up in the air I suppose. Her bet doesn't affect me in any way. Her support will be most helpful, though I might also be extra scrutinised.' Theodore thought.

With his imminent problems solved, he dialled up his friends over his comm. At the same time, he made a note of how ancient his brain sometimes still worked. Dialling a number? It wasn't more than a thought. Interfacing was brilliant but scary at the same time.

He used his comm to cross-reference all his friend's timetable to find a spot when they were all available. After pushing himself to the brink in a week he felt like he hadn't seen anyone in a way too long. Staying cooped up in his room designing the Indominus had taken a mental toll, and he recognised the importance of slacking- I mean relaxing.

Quince, Gaméz and Julian responded extremely quickly. As if they were waiting for him to send invitations. Even though he greatly appreciated the speed of response, he felt he might have also neglected his closest friends a bit too much.

He also invited Arthur and Anthony. They had grown familiar with each other during with every joint lesson as team two. As team captain, Theodore had been mingling rather well with his teammates. Fortunately, his teammates were easygoing and understanding of his timetable. With Mech Piloting, Mech Design and being a team captain he had a lot on his plate. They had also, on multiple occasions, hung out with the entire crew.

He hesitated to invite Evanna, in the end, he decided against it. Putting her in the room with the boys would surely restrain the moment. Not to mention; wouldn't it feel like introducing his girlfriend without her actually being in a relationship with her? These testosterone-pumped teens would surely think all kinds of despicable things of him. He was single still! He was pure, damnit! He would not let these punks put him in a weird spot with Evanna!

He simply sent her a message, asking her to hang out sometime soon. He couldn't deny that he was somewhat into her. But they had, even though they interacted with each other for a while, a pretty shallow relationship. For what it was worth - Theodore decisively held off his interest in the pursuit of his academic career, for now.

"Finally out of seclusion, eh?" Julian was first to arrive at the Lonely Anthem, the spot where they first met up with the crew. He could easily remember the droves of students that visited the establishment on their first day as students. With Quince leading the way they had secured a spot and he met up with what would become his now crew of friends.

"Yep. I made a breakthrough, I'm now a golden essence cultivator." Theodore quipped back. "How was your report?"

A wide grin spread on Julian's face "Sixth, I'm closing in on Quince as well."

"Bastard, you lucked out with that scrim evaluation. That roll with your mech was definitely not planned, damnit! You're just lucky, that's all." Arthur walked up to the table and immediately verbally punched in on Quince his ego.

Julian had overtaken Arthur on the rankings. After being placed in the second squad, and then being overtaken in a semester, he really couldn't help offload a bit of his dissatisfaction. They did it jokingly though.

"It's not like I can help it that I'm a natural at piloting. That move was perfect for the scenario and immediately gave me a fighting chance at reversing the odds in our favour!" Julian bantered.

"If anything, your mech saved you. Doing a roll hugely strains the muscalatory system and usually, this manoeuvre would cripple your mech. You were already lucky that your mech managed to get up again." Theodore smirked while gently shaking his head.

"Well, It worked didn't it? That makes me a genius on it's own. Luck is part of ones strength."

Theodore could only hold up his hand in defeat. Julian's self-confidence was like a wall you would simply drive yourself in full force and it still wouldn't budge. Smashing you head up like that was just stupid, so Theodore didn't continue to argue.

Quince, Gaméz and Anthony soon joint the bustling scene as the crew had finally once more fully assembled.

"So how's our team one holding up? We're doing alright in the charts but I haven't been to one of the match screenings lately." Theodore asked. With Quince, Gamez and Julian in the first string, he could get some good first-hand info.

"It's a bit of a dysfunctional mess to be honest." Gaméz sighed. "In raw performance, we can equal the top of our charts but the synergy is just not there. The results help disguise a lot, but it says enough that the academy is talking about restructuring the team. We're not growing as a team."

"How come?"

"Well, it started on the first day already really. With Zeus, Dwight and Davey in one team, conflicts are sure to arise. This shouldn't be a problem if we had a steady captain. But Etana simply can't be bothered to put out the fires." Gamez said

Julian added "With Etana ignoring his duty as captain, everyone looks to Zeus to manage affairs for the team, since he is a prince after all. But with two duke's son's infighting it's a mess for him to dive into."

"So all in all, there's no leadership. We have low cohesion and are easily split amongst ourselves when in combat situations."Gaméz summed up.

"So what do you think the academy is going to do?" Theo asked.

"Nothing much for the time being." Gamez answered

"They can't replace Etana in the team, and he is the defacto teamleader. As much as I hate to admit it, he's a few leagues above us as a pilot. We've been saved in more than one occasion due to his skills as a pilot." Quince mingled in the discussion. "The academy also can't favour one political faction over the other, The ties, sponsorship, endorsements and their reliance on top pilots from these factions is too big to show favour for one or the other."

"So you're stuck with this situation? But what about the academies aspirations to become a tier two academy?" Theo asked

"We've been stuck with this situation for a while now, the academy will come up with a plan sooner than later. I believe they will sacrifice some of the unrelated people and institute a better leader. He'll effectively release the Prince from the tough position he's in and manages the team. It's the only way out." Gaméz answered. "Probably."

"Who would the candidates be?" Theo asked.

At that moment, more than a few uncanny faces were pointed at Theodore.

"Well Theodore, you would be one of the plausible picks. Your family has a neutral stance, is well respected, your team is managed well... But you lack time to effectively run the team, so I guess they'll make a pass at you." Gamez said

"You'd make a solid chance if you dropped MD." Julian added.

"I won't drop MD. Doing both is too valuable to me to let it go, even if I could captain U1. Not to mention, Etana would still be captain in name."

"True, I suppose." Quince leaned back in his chair. "Then it might be Avery."