All Chapters of STAR ACADEMY : Chapter 41
- Chapter 50
224 chapters
CHAPTER FORTY ONE
For the first twenty minutes, nothing happened. Carter stayed crouched behind rubble, watching the tree line to the east. His tablet showed no movement from other teams yet. Maybe they were coordinating. Planning their attacks. Deciding which buildings to hit first. Or maybe they were moving in silently, trying to avoid detection. Carter's radio crackled. Raina's voice came through. "West side reporting movement. Multiple contacts. At least ten students approaching." "Copy," Alex responded. "Mobile defense move to support west side." Carter stayed focused on his sector. The Protocol enhanced his vision slightly, highlighting movement patterns, filtering out irrelevant motion from wind and animals. Then he saw them. Students moving through the trees. Lots of them. They were still a hundred yards out but closing fast. Carter counted quickly. Fifteen people. An entire team. He keyed his radio. "East side. Fifteen hostiles. Full team assault. They're organized." "Can you identi
CHAPTER FORTY TWO
The announcement for day two came at 0700 exactly. All teams gathered in the central area where Dean Morrison stood on her platform. "Day two challenge: The Hunt," she announced. "Each team will be given a list of targets. These are academy staff members positioned throughout the facility, dressed as enemy combatants. Capture a target and return them to your base camp for points. Each target has a different point value based on difficulty of capture." She paused, scanning the assembled students. "However, teams may also ambush other teams and steal their captured targets. If you eliminate an opposing team member, you can take their targets and earn their points. The Hunt lasts until 1800 hours. Points are tallied based on targets held at the end." Carter immediately saw the problem. This wasn't just about finding targets. It was about deciding whether to hunt for new targets or ambush other teams. And teams would be scattered across the facility, vulnerable to attack. "Target loc
CHAPTER FORTY THREE
Night fell over the facility and the temperature dropped fast. The camping areas had no heating, no electricity beyond the dim emergency lights. Just basic tents and sleeping bags that barely kept out the cold. Team Phoenix's designated zone was a cleared area between two abandoned buildings. Fifteen tents arranged in clusters. The upper class students had set up together, their tents forming a protective circle. The Silver students stayed in the middle. The Bronze students were on the edges, as always. Carter sat on the ground outside his tent, too exhausted to move but too uncomfortable to sleep. His body was a collection of pain points. Ribs, face, arms, legs. Everything hurt. Isla appeared with a ration pack and a bottle of water. She sat down next to him without asking. "Eat," she said. Carter looked at the food. His stomach was still unsettled. "I'm not hungry." "I don't care. Your body needs fuel to recover. Eat." She was right. Carter forced himself to open the ration
CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
Dean Morrison's voice echoed across the facility at 7:30 AM. "Day two challenge: The Hunt. Academy staff members are positioned throughout the facility, dressed as enemy combatants. These are your targets. Capture a target and return them to your base camp to earn points. Point values range from one hundred to five hundred based on target difficulty and location." A pause. Carter could hear the tension in the silence. "However, teams may also ambush other teams and steal their captured targets. Additionally, eliminating members of opposing teams earns bonus points. The Hunt ends at 1800 hours. Points are tallied based on targets held at end time and enemy eliminations." The announcement ended. Immediately, Team Phoenix erupted in argument. Alex pulled up a map on his tablet. "We need to split into three groups. Cover more ground, capture more targets. Speed is essential." "Splitting up makes us vulnerable," Kira countered. "We should stay together as one unit. Smaller groups wil
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE
The next day started the same way as the previous days. Dean Morrison's announcement at 7 AM, teams assembling, everyone exhausted and injured but forcing themselves to keep going. "Day three challenge: Extraction," Morrison announced. "Hostages have been placed in designated buildings throughout the facility. Each hostage is worth points based on difficulty of extraction. Teams must locate hostages, extract them safely, and escort them to designated safe zones. The challenge ends at 1800 hours." A pause. Then the complication. "However, teams carrying hostages are vulnerable to ambush. If your hostage is stolen by another team, they receive double points. Physical confrontation is expected and permitted." The announcement ended. Team Phoenix gathered for strategy discussion. This time, the meeting was less chaotic. People were too tired for prolonged arguments. They quickly divided into the same three groups as yesterday. Carter was again assigned to Gamma group with Raina, Sop
CHAPTER FORTY SIX
Carter woke before dawn on the fourth day of the Crucible.The tent was cold. His body was stiff from yesterday's injuries, the cracked ribs he'd been hiding from everyone sending sharp pains through his chest every time he breathed too deep. He'd used Overdrive again during the hostage extraction. The backlash was worse this time.The Protocol displayed its morning assessment:MUSCLE DAMAGE: MODERATE TO SEVERECOGNITIVE FATIGUE: SIGNIFICANTOVERDRIVE BACKLASH: ACTIVERECOMMENDED: 72 HOURS RESTHe didn't have 72 hours. He didn't have 72 minutes.Carter forced himself upright. The tent fabric rustled and Omar's voice came from outside."You're awake.""Barely.""Dean Morrison's announcement is in twenty minutes. Team leaders are required to assemble at the command center." Omar paused. "Your face is pale. Worse than yesterday.""I'm fine.""You're not fine. But you'll pretend to be fine because that's what the situation requires. I understand."Carter emerged from the tent. Omar studie
CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN
Carter didn't sleep.By 5 AM, his body had stopped trying. The pain from his ribs had settled into a constant dull ache. His arm was swollen but functional. His head was clear in the way that came from complete exhaustion, like a glass of water that had been sitting too long and all the sediment had settled to the bottom.He was the first person awake in Team Phoenix's camp.The Protocol ran its morning diagnostic:COGNITIVE FUNCTION: 73% OF BASELINEPHYSICAL CAPACITY: 41% OF BASELINECOMBAT EFFECTIVENESS: 28% OF BASELINEPOWER POINTS AVAILABLE: 4Four points. He'd earned two for surviving the Leadership Challenge. Two more than he'd had yesterday.He could activate Tactical Prediction now. See three to five seconds into the future of any combat encounter. Know what his opponent would do before they did it.The cost was one power point per minute of use. Expensive. But potentially worth it if he needed to survive something lethal.Carter hoped he wouldn't need to find out.At 6 AM, Om
CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT
The final morning of the Crucible was cold and gray.Carter woke before dawn, his body stiff and painful but functional. Dr. Mora's stabilizer had done something to his perception. Everything felt slightly distant, slightly muffled, like he was experiencing reality through a layer of thick glass.The Protocol's morning diagnostic confirmed the change:NEURAL STABILIZER: ACTIVEENHANCED ABILITY ACCESS: REDUCED 40%COGNITIVE SPEED: REDUCED 31%PHYSICAL REACTION TIME: REDUCED 27%POWER POINTS AVAILABLE: 4WARNING: ABILITY USE DURING STABILIZATION WILL CAUSE SEVERE BACKLASHCarter acknowledged the warning and pushed it aside.Team Phoenix assembled for their final strategy meeting. Alex stood at the center, his expression serious."Team Combat Elimination. Eleven teams enter the arena. Last team standing wins. Points are awarded based on elimination order. First place gets two thousand points. Second place gets fifteen hundred. Third gets one thousand. Fourth gets five hundred. Everyone e
CHAPTER FORTY NINE
Carter remained in the medical tent for eighteen hours.Dr. Mora ran test after test. She scanned his brain, his spine, his nervous system. She drew blood, analyzed tissue samples, monitored his neural activity through the night. Her expression grew increasingly troubled with each result."The Protocol sustained significant damage during your final confrontation," she said, not looking up from her tablet. "Multiple system failures, cascading error states, emergency shutdown protocols that should have activated but didn't. If you had remained conscious for another thirty seconds, the neurological damage would have been irreversible."Carter said nothing."I'm required to report this to the Grace family." Dr. Mora finally met his eyes. "They will want to know that their investment is deteriorating faster than anticipated.""And what will you tell them?"She was quiet for a long moment. "I will tell them that you pushed yourself beyond reasonable limits and that your recovery requires su
CHAPTER FIFTY
The private coaching session began at exactly 2000 hours.Carter was led to a small training room on the third floor of the Grace Manor estate. He had been summoned back to the manor immediately after the team practice, transported by a silent driver in an unmarked car. Reginald met him at the entrance and escorted him through corridors Carter had never seen before.The training room was sparse: padded floor, mirrors along one wall, a single chair in the corner. No windows. No visible exits beyond the door they entered through."Your coach," Reginald said, and stepped aside.The woman who entered was not what Carter expected. She was older, perhaps sixty, with gray hair pulled back severely and the posture of someone who had spent decades in military service. Her face was weathered and unreadable. Her eyes assessed Carter in a single glance and found him wanting."Owen Grace. Or whatever your name actually is." Her voice was rough, accustomed to command. "I am Colonel Eve Chen, retire