Chapter 15: Warren Graves
Three weeks into their new life in Celdorne, and it had been nothing but acclimating – the fantasy dream curdled into pure tedium. No adventures, no elf waifus, and definitely no freedom. Hell, they couldn’t even get time to leave the castle and explore!
All those grand expectations, subverted to hell and back. And here they were, getting steamrolled under the weight of cram sessions, like it was finals week all over again. If this wasn’t disillusionment, what was?
But finally, they’d been blessed with a glimmer of hope: an intermediate evaluation from a Slayer, dropping by unannounced. Cole hadn’t heard news until now, but apparently OTAC had finished their internal review and cleared them for integration. About damn time.
Word around the castle was that OTAC had found more mimics than expected during their sweep. Most happened to be in the lower ranks and the relatively unimportant logistics roles – no offense to anyone in that field. Recruits, maintenance crews, haulers – predictable targets: easy to infiltrate and often overlooked.
But some had wormed their way up the ladder. Some had served as Slayers for a few years now, and one had even managed to secure a Captain’s role. Nothing higher up, thank God, but still… No wonder the review had taken forever.
Their evaluator was even more proof of just how serious OTAC was taking this. Built like the damn Hulk, there was something about the man that Cole couldn’t put his finger on. Most operators he knew carried a certain weight – the shit they’d seen, the shit they’d done – like a shadow that never left. But not this guy.
He didn’t seem weighed down by anything. His eyes weren’t hard or haunted, but steady. Like he’d made peace with it all. Like a pastor who’d traded his Bible for a sword and never looked back. No, that wasn’t right. More like… a pastor who carried both Bible and sword – and wielded them with the same conviction.
“Sir Warren Graves,” he introduced himself as he walked into the library, “Slayer Elite of the Office of Threat Assessment and Control. However, you may simply call me Graves. The Crown has chosen to place its faith in you. I am here to see that faith justified.”
Graves… an interesting name, Cole had to admit. They stood up.