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“T’ show you around the Academy,” you said, “Nothing special happening today, but there’s plenty to see. Maybe something can be arranged, for a visitor like you, foreign officer and all?”
“I’d be impressed if the Archduchy would do that for an unplanned visit.”
He hadn’t seen the enthusiasm and energetic pride of some of the young men, how much just a little taste of clout could fuel them. Where they lacked sense, a healthy portion didn’t lack for ambition. It was a familiar frame of mind.
“Let’s hurry up, then,” you said, “Too late and they’ll eat dinner and want to be ready for a nap.”
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“So this is what you did with it,” Magnus said as you led him into a shed full of vehicles. The Academy hosted visitors, especially foreign ones, all the time. You’d arranged what little had to be done ahead of time. Yuliana would have required more work, but you felt no need to enable her visiting anyways. This time was for <span class="mu-i">you</span>.
“What did you think I did with it?” you asked back, leading him to the object of his attention. “I don’t wanna sell it, and it’s a waste to throw away. The Academy said they’d store it for me as long as they got to study it.”
Magnus gave a disconcerted hum. “The Netillian Armed Forces would begrudge their latest development being made available for public study so quickly after its first deployment…”
You snorted at that. “Maybe they shouldn’t a’ let me take it so easy, then.” Even the most expensive, most deadly machine could be made impotent by a lackluster crew. All it took was a single mistake, a single lapse in judgment. For this crew, it had been leaving the tank open and not wearing chemical protection. The Netillians used tear gas enough that they should have been more wary of it being used against them, but if they had been, you wouldn’t have been granted a pristine tank either.
Both of you stopped in front of the machine you spoke of. It was a Netillian tank that they called an NKH, but you’d stolen it while helping Magnus. Down an arm, a tank was the only way you could be helpful to him. It would be the second of the tanks you owned, after the Dust Devil, which was in a garage next to your house you’d gotten for Alina back in your home village.
Its name was emblazoned on its face and flank, a challenge for any who faced its heavy armor, which was well tested at this point, dinged, dented, scratched, but not pierced nor broken.
>The name of this beast?
Also-
>Anything you want to chat with Magnus about?
