Weak White Sheep in a Fence

Chapter7:What is Your Name?!

“Attention: We are about to leave the Skyplate. All personnel prepare for atmospheric passage .”

The Skyplate appears to look like a transparent protective film known to be as thick as the walls that covered the entire New Aetherra. It is connected at the top of the walls and is about the height of the historical “ozone layer” often mentioned in the history books.

It is similar to a glass in appearance as it can be broken, yet scientists could tell that the c***k is just because of its atoms in chaos while moving towards the specific target, trying to put on a solid appearance to hold any foreign matter. Based on the previous day’s event, it was found that something from outside can break in. Once the Skyplate is broken, all the broken pieces, as tiny fragments, will gather back to their location to begin the recovery within just few minutes depending on how severe the damage is.

Scientists argued that it’s a different phase of matter other than solid, liquid, or gas, but it appears to consist of the three. Its atoms are highly distant, so they look like gas, but when an invader tries to pass through, they would become solid to prevent the object from entering.

Hunters under training were taught that the walls were also made of the same material as the Skyplate, but they were in the most solidified phase, built not under the normal process of construction.

The outer shell of the Valfang-33, the Apex’s giant battle aircraft, was also made of the same material. It was made in that way so that the Skyplate won’t detect it as a foreign object giving it easy passage through the barrier.

Currently, commander Axel’s pointer finger kept tapping on the armrest of his seat while looking at the giant screen. The screen displayed a map of their current location and some arrows and symbols pointing to their destination. It was obvious that it would still take until morning before they could arrive at their destination.

The flight crew, looking at their own hologram screens, were busy with their tasks as always.

Axel also had his own set of holograms in front of him, but they were not needed for now. His eyes were more focused on the large screen, but his mind was not at the right moment to think of his job.

He was feeling uneasy, somehow irritated from what he experienced from the previous day. It was hard to forget what happened when he saw the Marshal’s son, Ian, who was injured and unconscious.

Back then before the catastrophic incident, he was mad at how Ian suddenly confessed and proposed to him in front of so many people. He hated gossip the most, but Ian’s shameless act would leave people to question him. Then, suddenly, Ian was there in the south where the incident happened.

Axel didn't know why Ian was there, but because he was unconscious and seemed to be in a bad condition, the Commander’s immediate response was to save the troublemaker.

At that moment, when Ian’s body fell onto him, he suddenly caught a faint scent with his nose.

His senses were keen, yet he was fully covered by his armor with his helmet on. The Hunters' battle suit had its own oxygen for safety purposes, yet Axel didn’t understand how the smell managed to pass through.

The scent just quickly disappeared.

But then it appeared earlier at the flight deck. When he gave a short speech to the inductees, he immediately stopped when he smelled it. It seemed to have come from one of their inductees.

The scent was still faint. It also quickly disappeared.

But then it appeared again when they were bringing the inductees in. He smelled it again at the final line that came in. Right now,

Axel was so sure that the scent came from one of the inductees.

He was trying to figure out what that was. His body reacted, so he knew it was not just a perfume but a pheromone from an Omega.

Axel’s body wasn't supposed to be easily swayed by Omega pheromones, but that scent felt so different.

He didn’t consider it a problem since he was very capable of handling even the strongest scent, but he didn't know what would happen to the other Alphas inside this aircraft.

He didn't know if the others had smelled it too. No Alpha other than him reacted, but the fact that the scent was inside the aircraft made him feel bothered and restless.

The biggest problem here was that he suddenly remembered Ian when he smelled it.

That shameless Beta.

Why him of all the people?

He read all the names of those who passed the Apex Clearance Test, and he was sure Ian’s name did not appear. Besides, he believed that the troublemaker was still in the hospital where they left him and was still recovering. He wasn’t here inside their battle aircraft.

“…” As Axel pondered the thought, he became more bothered and restless after realizing something.

Is Ian really not here? — he thought.

Someone entered the command deck and approached him.

“Commander, I have done what you asked me to do...”

It’s Evelyn, one of Axel’s best people in Apex, aside from Kael.

“I just asked them based on what you said. I believe they’re all telling the truth, but there’s something amiss.”

So, she noticed?

“I think my question was wrong, but I don’t know how to ask them...”

Evelyn was telling that only the Commander knows what to ask or how to question.

After Axel thought about the situation further, it came to him that there were also pheromone-scented perfumes that were illegally sold throughout the city. For some reason, he was beginning to suspect what was happening here—or not.

Axel simply believed on that idea in his mind and not thinking of other possible ideas since it was the most reasonable idea he could come up with.

After feeling a slight tremor throughout the ship which meant that their aircraft was passing through the Skyplate, Axel ordered his crew to stop, bringing everyone’s confusion visible, but they stopped the aircraft anyway. The aircraft was now stuck in the air between the outside world and inside the city.

“What’s happening? Did we miss something?” Kael, standing beside Axel was, also confused.

Axel was planning to answer his friend, his mouth was about to speak, but he decided not to answer. Not that he doesn’t want everyone to know. He’s just a person who’s not good at explaining things. The situation might get complicated if he were to tell them that he smelled something.

“Gather all the inductees at the assembly area within one minute,” he simply ordered as he stood up and walked out of the command deck.

The inductees came after waiting for them for a minute. Some are seen panting as they came in a hurry. They were all wearing the same training clothes except for one person who seemed to enjoy wearing his battle suit. Not that there’s a rule for proper clothes here, but he’s bothered by the great difference of attire.

All the inductees immediately formed a long line in front of the Commander. Axel immediately approached the only one wearing a battle suit. The silence seemed to remain long when the Commander stared at the inductee intensely without giving a word to everyone about the reason for him to gather all of them here.

Axel just stared at the helmet, his sharp eyes trying to breach it open to figure out the face inside. It gave him irritation unable to see the face from the inductee’s helmet. It’s screen hould be adjustable to transparent, but the guy wearing it adjusted it to dark. He probably doesn't want his face to be seen.

“Take off your helmet.” Axel just gave him an order. His orders were heavy and a little bit threatening, but the person wearing the battle suit did not respond.

“…”

Everyone noticed that the inductee didn’t answer the Commander. The entire assembly area just fell silent, making Axel to feel more irritated while staring at the guy whom the eyes he couldn’t see.

“TAKE OFF YOUR HELMET!”

This time, Axel yelled at him with a threat in his voice, a typical tone of a fierce Commander.

“I’m sorry, Commander, but I can’t!”

This time, Axel heard the voice in the helmet. It wasn't very deep, but it sounded familiar.

“What is your name?!” He decided to ask a question instead of ordering the inductee.

“A-adel Kepler… sir!” The familiar voice responded again, but it was not very clear, yet the commander’s sharp senses didn’t miss hearing the slight difference in the inductee’s voice as he got louder.

He wasn’t convinced so he asked the guy again with the same question, but his voice was much louder than before.

The inductee responded the same as he shouted the same answer. His name was Adel Kepler. Everyone in the assembly area, including their seniors who were simply watching the scene, heard his voice as it echoed in the entire place they were standing.

“I SAID, WHAT. IS. YOUR. NAME?!”

Again, Axel asked the same question for the third time. He wasn’t really convinced by the answer, not even a bit.

Kael who stood behind him couldn’t help but face-palmed at the very scene he was seeing. Their commander doesn’t want to give them explanation earlier and now, he felt like Axel was doing an idiotic, time-consuming thing just to aske one inductee about his name.

Still, this guy named Adel answered the same answer he had yelled previously. No matter how much Axel kept asking him the same question, he would still answer the Commander the same answer. He knew that their conversation was going in circles, not arriving at the end of it, but he didn't have the courage to question someone with more authority than him.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t react the same way the moment Axel said the next words…

“If you don’t want to be honest, you might have the name you carry here in the Apex division removed.”

The inductee’s head shot up, a sign that he heard the words clearly, as if he was shocked.

Axel’s voice was just calm and non-threatening, yet it came from the Commander himself. The guy named Adel. He was simply being warned of the possible end of the name he used.

“Be honest. What is your name?” Axel asked the same question once more, but he was calmer and not yelling.

Slowly, the inductee’s shoulders slouched. Axel heard a sigh in his voice.

“Ian Velen.”

His voice changed.

Everyone heard it, and they were all shocked. The other inductees who stood with him couldn’t help but look at his direction.

Axel guessed it right. The restlessness etched on his face has calmed down after hearing the truth directly from the man in front of him. He couldn’t think but wondered how someone managed to get inside their battle aircraft without being noticed by his men.

Ian was indeed a troublemaker.

“Take off your helmet now.” Axel wanted to see Ian’s face for the last time. He felt the need to see how the troublemaker looks like after being caught.

Ian slowly took off his helmet until his familiar face appeared. He was nowhere similar to that face he had that was almost dead in the south. Everyone couldn’t believe that the very presence of the well-known troublemaker was in the same vehicle with them.

A redhead in a battle suit that doesn’t seem to fit on him, he looked like a big guy with a small head. Axel wondered how he managed to endure wearing a suit like that.

Ian’s face was now frowning. He wasn’t looking at anyone in the place, other than staring below him, feeling guilty but frustrated.

The Commander particularly saw his lips pouting. He got restless for some reason.