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Chapter 21 Sneak Peek! - Stormweaver II
🕑 Added 2022-06-30 14:23:31 +0000 UTCValera took a step forward, her irritation causing her to lose her cool for a moment and engage her Speed spec. She was nose-to-nose with Reese so fast that the resulting blast of displaced air nearly knocked his cap right off his head.
“I bet you didn’t even ask them why they acted in such a manner, did you?” she half-whispered, half-hissed. The two of them were of a height, but Valera was well aware of the impact her presence—the presence of a rare S-Ranked Knight-Class User—tended to have, and she leaned into it now. “I bet you started yelling the moment you had them down here, without bothering to give them an opportunity to explain.”
Reese’s mouth shut tight with a snap, though whether out of surprise at her approach, momentary fear at her proximity, or because he didn’t have a good answer, she couldn’t be sure.
She decided to go with the option that fit her narrative best in the moment.
“Yeah… Thought so.” She sneered into his face for a moment more, then stepped around him to stand in front of Firesong. It was a little gratifying to see the hint of relief on all their faces—other than Arada’s, predictably, given the girl was staring at the back of Reese’s head like she was calculating what size plaque she would need to hang it on her dorm room wall—but Valera couldn’t let them know that. The behavior they’d displayed had been outrageous—Grant and Ward’s most obviously, with the rest of them complacent in their inaction—but it had also been completely out of character. That alone should have given Reese pause, but the man clearly didn’t know how to let go of a grudge.
Valera, on the other hand, was already well aware of what had happened. She’d known since the evening before, and had been patched into—through back channels only one entity in the entirety of the ISC could have granted her access too, of course—the conversations that had taken place in the Boneyard v. Firesong match. She saw the logic, and she approved.
But—again—she couldn’t let them know that.
“One of you,” she said sharply, not wanting any listening ears to accuse her of favoritism later. “Explain what happened. Now.”
She hadn’t let them drop to at ease, so the six first years had to exchange awkward side-glances with whoever stood beside them.
Eventually, Ward himself spoke up.
“It’s on me, ma’am,” he said steadily, looking only slightly less inclined to break Reeses’ nose now that Valera stood between them. “I shouldn’t have played any games with Biggs. I should have ended it as soon as I dropped down into the—”
“I didn’t say I wanted a play-by-play of what you should have done, Cadet Ward,” Valera interrupted him unforgivingly. “I said I wanted an explanation. So… Try again.”
Comments
DeanDer
Not when technically she's in charge based on the "field command" comment.
Valera is the field commander, as stated, thus has rank on Reese even if it's limited in time and scope. It's pretty much in line with military protocol.
Drew
Also, as we've seen from Valera's conversations with the MIND, military decorum has got to be low on the priority list compared to nurturing Ward up to be their best hope. She knows Reese has a grudge against him, and if it comes down to treating Reese "properly" and removing him as a potential impediment to Ward's development, there's only one possible outcome to that. Ward matters. Reese doesn't.
Joanne Hans
Well in the Military the way other cadets are treating Rei would not be tolerated either, technically they are all in the military.
Scott Hayward
some serious issues with superior officer decorum here. In private you might give it a pass since she has a higher CAD rank, but in front of the cadets, even whispered. Dent is gonna get a talking to by papa guest soon.
chem
It would be amusing for Rei to answer "Unit cohesion, ma'am!"
Fleetpanda
Hmm it’s possible to cast the whole situation in a good and bad light. If Rei says he did it for petty revenge it’d be bad, but if he instead says that he did it as an intimidation strat towards the other teams, while also displaying none of their usual tactics and weaknesses, then it’s actually brilliant. I mean they essentially took down an entire team without giving any of their future opponents a chance to further analyze their fighting styles. So they’re going into round 2 a complete mystery aside from their obvious strength.
I think the fight was a huge win for team building. Grant was showing respect to Ward in his own very Grant way. So while Reese may not like it, the team is closer for it. It's going to seem petty and childish to Reese no matter what. But I don't think they did anything that was against the rules.
Buddy Wooten
Awesome!!
Tad
God I hate Reese so much
Loving what's going on here, Bryce! It's gripping; I mean, look at how the story is causing people to reply and react. Keep it comin'!
Ben
it is worth it from the standpoint of Rei, he's tired of people prejudging him just due to his size. So he made a point of emphasis that others should watch who they underestimate. Slightly petty but also sends a very clear message
K
I always forget these snippets don't necessarily start at the beginning of the chapter. A little jarring, personally.
Aidan Geverdt
I’m actually on Reese’s side on this one. They were out of line and Biggs wasn’t worth it.
Linda Thompson
Thanks for the snippet, looking forward to the full chapter ⭐️
Gregory Moses
He was just trying to keep it fair as possible for the guy. He even let him take the first punch while non called, what more could they want.
Cody Gaudet
Well I'm sure the crowd loved it even if the military superiors don't appreciate a little show
