So, I completely forgot the whole no-network thing when it came to the trip. Well, it wasn’t that there was no network, because there was one. But it was limited to what the train had on hand. Something I found out rather instantly, the moment we crossed Reach’s outer wall, the pages stopped loading.

  A moment later, I found my search redirected from the results and onto a rather simplistic website with very few options. In a banner, scrolling across the top, was the current time and the time to each of our destinations. According to it, the city of Marshes was only an hour away.

  Not that it meant much to me. At this speed, an hour could be quite a distance away. Thankfully, there was an option to view a map.

  With a tap, the screen changed from stark military grey to a beige brown as the map took over. And, sitting there in the middle of the map, was a little icon of a train as it zipped along a line of black. One that connected the dot behind us with the dot ahead and even beyond both of those.

  The site took advantage of the minor holographic capabilities of my pad to give dimension to the mountains. The way everything was put together took my breath away. This was how maps should be.

  It was simple and easy to understand, yet complex enough to be usable for more than knowing where you were. With this, I could see the valleys, the tops of mountains, and even the streams. Hell, if the worst happened, someone could probably use this map to find a place to bunker down until help came.

  Curious, I tapped on the city of Reach. To my surprise, a small blurb of information popped up. It didn’t say much. In fact, most of what it said was what not to do. Still, it was fairly interesting to read what information there was.

  Apparently, the city had once been considered the jewel of the Cascades. Only the City of Eternal Ice and the Burning City came close to eclipsing it in power. Or, at least, that had been true about a decade ago. Then something happened and the city practically imploded.

  None of the pages said anything about what happened. While I had a feeling it had to do with the outer wall falling, I couldn’t be sure. That could have just as easily happened afterwards as a result of whatever had taken place. I would have to do a bit more research when I got the chance.

  As for the Marshes, the city was microscopic. The population of it was smaller than the number of students who attended my high school. And judging by the single picture of the place, the city was still bursting at the seams.

  The more I looked, the more questions burned in my mind. I mean, why in the fuck was there even a city there? None of the major ruins were nearby, so no one searching for old-world technology would bother setting up any sort of base there.

  It wasn’t like there were any mountains or pits that they could use for mining. Sure, there could be some sort of shaft that delved deep into the earth, but that didn’t sound right.

  And then there was the land itself. None of it was good for farming. Even rice wouldn’t last long if these tidal maps were correct. There were times where water nearly crested over the walls, while other times the water was miles away.

  Oh, and let's not forget all the monster and creature warnings listed next to the city. From blood-sucking mosquitoes to muddy eels, everything seemed to want to eat you. And most of them were poisonous.

  Just reading about the signs of mosquito poison was enough to make my decision easy. There was no way I was taking a step off this train in that city. Fuck, I wasn’t going to open the door or windows while we were there.

  At least now I had time to fix the drone controller. Maybe I could even program in a few more commands.

  As I went to work, I tried to think about other ways that this could be used. Of the limits that I might run into while using it. While there were a few, they all revolved around the fact that I had to have my pad out and functional. The moment it broke was the moment I lost control.

  But how would I fix that? Sure, I could add another device, but what would happen if someone got hold of it? What would happen if the two devices started to fight for control?

  Well, I guess I could add priority control, but that was more of a bandage than really fixing the main issue. I needed some way to control the drone that didn’t rely on some device.

  Vocal commands? Eh, too much noise could cause my commands to get lost. Not to mention counter commands by those around me. Actually, a vocal recognition system could remove that as an issue.

  Only, that would mean the system would have to parse through the various noises and identify mine all while trying to interpret my command. I didn’t know if the system could handle all that while also flying and such.

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  What about hand signals? Like the ones they used in various military movies. Except that would require the drone to keep within line of sight of me. That wasn’t something that was possible most times.

  In all honesty, I had very few options. My pad was the only consistently reliable method of control. Nothing else seemed to work.

  Some random person shoved his way into the room. The two of us stared at him in confusion. “Hey,” he started, but stopped as he ducked down. A moment later, a gaggle of girls raced by. He waited until they were down the hall before he resumed talking. “Mind if I hide here for a minute?”

  Bert shrugged and gestured toward me. Tossing the question off his shoulders and onto mine as he returned to whatever he was doing on his pad. “Why? Also, who are you?”

  “Really?” His eyes narrowed. “There is no way you don’t know who I am?”

  “Should I?”

  “You are from Lionsguard, right?”

  “Born and raised.” My words seemed to befuddle him.

  It took a second for him to break out of whatever was going on in his mind. “Have you never heard of the Atua?”

  That word was familiar, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on where I had heard it. “Quicksilver.” The moment the word left Bert’s mouth, the name clicked into place. Still, what did that have to do with a kid who looked about my age?

  He nodded toward Bert. “That would be my grandfather’s company.”

  Bert stopped what he was doing to shoot a weary glance at the kid. “Your grandfather is Henry Atua?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Which means your father is Petterson Atua. Owner and president of Olson Logistics?” The more I heard, the more confused I became. I had heard of both, but only in passing.

  “Yep.” He sounded proud of his family. Like their accomplishments were his as well. Even if he had nothing to do with it.

  “Am I missing something here?”

  “Quicksilver Mines owns most of the mining locations near Lionsguard.”

  “Across the entire cascades actually.”

  Bert ignored his correction. “They rent out most of those sites to interested mining groups. Olson Logistics is a company that runs goods to and from each of these sites. No one else is allowed to do so.”

  “No one else is crazy enough.” The kid muttered loud enough for me to make out.

  “Which makes this kid none other than Alexander Atua. The sole heir to the Atua empire.”

  “At your service.” The kid did a small bow. As his hand moved toward his chest, I noticed a small band of silver and black. That done, he took a second to look through the window facing the hall. “And it looks like the coast is clear. Thank you for the help.”

  When his hand reached for the handle, his sleeve lifted up enough to reveal a watch strapped to his wrist. It wasn’t one I recognized, and, always curious about odd pieces of tech, I asked him about it.

  “Oh, this?” With a flick, he brought up a small holographic interface. “It is a prototype pad my mother has been working on during her downtime. If you want, I can give you one of her old versions. As a thank you for your help.”

  He was through the door and gone before I had a chance to respond. Bert summed up the entire interaction with three words. “Spoiled rich kids.” I had to agree with him.

  Not because he had been rude or anything. He just seemed like someone who had never had to work hard a day in his life. All he had to do was not get caught doing anything his parents would disapprove of.

  Though if they were so rich, why was he on this train? Surely they had the money to send their kid directly to the academy. No need for him to waste his time with all of us. And why were all the girls chasing after him? I mean, sure, he looked good, but I knew of at least one person that would make him look mundane.

  With a shake of my head, I returned to the important task of reworking the drone controller. Just as the train starts to slow down, the door to our cabin bursts open for the second time. And just like the last time, Alexander races in and crouches just in time for yet another gaggle of girls to go racing by.

  Honestly, how they haven’t caught him on this train has me baffled. It wasn’t like there were any twists or turns that could block their view of him. Maybe he had a power or tool that allowed him to do something to distract them long enough for him to get away?

  Doesn’t really matter. All that matters, at least to me, is getting this finished before we got to the academy. After all, who knows when I might get enough time to do any more modifications?

  A heavy piece of metal slapped against my shoulder before thumping to the ground. I had to force myself to focus on the tool in my hand as I finished carving a small groove out of the controller. Only when the cutter was safely turned off and set to the side did I take a look.

  There, sitting on the ground next to me, was a mishmash of parts in the vague shape of a watch. Tentatively, I picked it up and gave the thing a thorough once-over. Bits and bobs stuck out from all over the thing.

  But not just that. Each part was alive with power. From the thin mana battery strips that made up the majority of the band to the thin wires that connected every part. Every bit of it was useful to the device in some way.

  It was a piece of art. One that I knew I had no right to touch, let alone keep. So, with a heavy heart, I held it toward our second-time guest.

  He shook his head. “Keep it.”

  “I can’t.” I moved it closer to him. “I cannot accept something like this. It is worth too much for me to be comfortable owing you.”

  “Accept it in the spirit I am offering.” His words had the sounds of some ritual. “And let no debt or favor be exchanged for this gift.”

  With those words, I had the feeling there was no way he was going to allow me to return the watch. I just had to hope he didn’t renege on his word and come ask me for a favor. Because if he did, I had a feeling there would never come a time when I would be free from him.

  Before I could say another word or demand he take back the watch, he raced out of the room. Where to, I had no clue, but here is to hoping he stayed there. At least for a little while.

  “What are you going to do with that?” Bert asked. I shrugged as I returned to my current project. After I finished fixing my issues, I could take a minute to go over every part of the watch. To see what it could handle so that I could figure out what I could use it for. Other than telling time, that is.