Feyd slowly walked towards Jace's office and knocked thrice. He stated his name and waited for Jace to let him in.
"Oh, come in."
The door creaked as Feyd slid inside the office, "So, what work do you have with me?".
"Oh, I have some questions related to Steam Cannon."
"Hmm? Alright, go on."
Jace seemed slightly intrigued as he leaned forward while putting his paperwork down.
"Well while I was fighting Steam Cannon strange purple coloured energy was being emitted from his attacks and body. Do you know what that's all about? Doesn't seem like one of the three Energies you mentioned."
"Oh, hmm..."
Jace contemplated for a moment, stroking his chin in an exaggerated manner while tilting his head up slightly, looking upwards.
"Well since you've encountered these things already it should be fine to tell you."
Feyd nodded his head slightly.
"There are things called Aberrants. They are people who worship strange creatures with a fanatic reverence. It's better not to get too involved since you never know when they may try converting you somehow."
"They can affect us too?"
Feyd looked pretty surprised. He paid close attention to Jace's expression, attempting to discern how truthful Jace's words are... And whether he noticed a shadow creeping towards him.
"Yes yes, they can."
It was one of the few times Feyd saw Jace look serious.
"The more power ones can infect your... Will. Your mind. And make you one of them. However some people also willingly join the Aberrants to gain power, or to accomplish some sort of goal."
"Not only that, they can suppress their tendencies and fanaticism in day to day life so it's quite difficult to find out whether someone if an Aberrant or not."
Feyd grimaced slightly, "So is there no way to find out if someone is an Aberrant?".
"Ah yes, ofcourse! If someone gets personally checked by special gadgets and devices, it's possible to check if someone is an Aberrant or not."
"Oh, that's a relief. Have their been cases of Aberrants infiltrating the military?"
Jace looked slightly peeved at the question but answered anyways, "That isn't a question you should ask, the answer most people will give you is no. But the answer obvious? Everything happens atleast once, right?".
"Oh... I see!"
Feyd glanced at the shadow connecting to Jace's shadow, which originated from a corner of the room. More specifically from the floor beneath where Ray was.
'I still need to distract him for longer...'
"Then what kind of powers do Aberrants have? Is there any way to counter them?"
Jace smiled vaguely as his expression returned to normal, carefree and relaxed. His slit pupils curved slightly as he responded:
"Well you won't be encountering Aberrants for probably your entire life. You have no need to know."
"Oh well I'm just a bit curious you see, I don't think it makes much of a difference whether I know or–"
"–Ahh bap bap! You can stop right there. Some things can't be known without the proper clearance level. Anything more and I might get in trouble. Honestly just telling you what an Aberrant is, is big enough of a deal."
Jace cut Feyd off while wagging his index finger, "Anyways, if there's nothing else you can go now."
Feyd glanced at the Jace's shadow, which was still connected to Ray. He had to keep the conversation going on for longer.
"Ahh well if you can't tell me that, then can you tell me how to get better at manipulating my flames?"
"Hmm? Wouldn't it be better to ask a Manipulator that?"
"Well I haven't met any except my friend and myself who are Manipulators, so it seems you are my best option."
"Hehe, I'm glad I am your first option in this matter! But it would be better to go and consult Amethyst about this. Although she may seem cold and prickly, as long as it's along the lines of her duty she will diligently help you out."
"She is meant to be guiding you guys somewhat yes? I'm sure she won't mind explaining some things to you."
"Ah alright thank you for the advice sir. But do you mean that Amethyst is a Manipulator?"
"Mmhmm"
Jace nodded his head.
Feyd opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself quickly. Jace chuckled slightly at the sight and said, "You were about to ask me what she manipulates just now, weren't you?".
Feyd looked slightly sheepish as he turned his head slightly in embarrassment, nodding just a tiny bit.
"She does manipulate Amethyst right?"
"Yes yes, that is how she got her codename."
"Are codenames common in the military? Or is it just her?"
"Oh well they aren't terribly common, but a fair amount of people do have them. Some were given titles which eventually came to be used as their codenames."
Feyd glanced at a shadow which was receding from Jace's shadow before sighing in relief internally.
'These few minutes were stressful...'
"Alright then, thanks for the infornation. I'll get going now."
"Ofcourse ofcourse, no problem! Just don't come by too often, I don't want rumors that we have an affair going on."
Feyd grimaced slightly at those words as he hurriedly left the room.
Jace continued stare at the door for a few seconds before muttering to himself, "What a restless rascal..."
He stretched his somewhat stiff body lazily before getting back to his paperwork.
...
"Alright, so what did you find out?"
Feyd had just rushed back to his room where he saw Ray. He wished his face and changed clothes before sitting down and asking Ray.
"He's an Aberrant, for sure."
"I knew it! He is way too weird to be a normal human. What kind of a persona has horizontal slits for eyes??"
The plan that Ray and Feyd had come up with was to have Feyd distract Jace while being on his room. There was a room directly underneath Jace's office which Ray could use to sneak a shadow inside.
After the shadow connected with the target, Ray could slowly sense whether Jace had an Aberrant Energy similar to Steam Cannon. And after those few minutes of focused observation Ray concluded that Jace was, indeed, an Aberrant.
Although well hidden, the energy left distinct traces within Jace that Ray could feel was Aberrant-like in nature.
"So what do we do now?"
Feyd asked. He wanted to report Jace or something similar, but didn't think something like that would work. If Jace had somehow managed to hide till now, Feyd was sure he had ways to continue hiding.
Also no one had any reason to believe in Feyd or Ray, newcomers and practically strangers, as opposed to Jace, a Vice-Captain.
"Well we can't just go and report him, no one would believe us."
"Instead, let's try and force him to activate his abilities in a fight, or even knock him out all at once if we can. I read in some files that an Aberrant's Energy is extremely hard to hide once revealed."
"That's a good idea, but when do we do this?"
"We can do it after a mission maybe, outside on the way back to the capital. It's not like Amethyst is the only one who is supposed to lead us on missions, Jace is responsible for that too!"
"Alright, let's go with that! Speaking of which, I should probably meet up with Amethyst soon. Jace suggested I meet with her and it would be strange if I don't meet her soon."
Ray raised an eyebrow before jesting, "Switching targets now are we? I thought your love lay loyal to the queen."
"Ofcourse not! My affection for the queen is pure and untainted, it shall never we diluted or transferred onto someone else!"
Both the elves looked at each other for a moment before laughing and chuckling aloud.
"See ya later then, I'll tell ya what Amethyst says. I'll mostly ask about training."
"Alright see ya later, I'll continue to train and investigate Aberrants."
Feyd nodded in response before closing the door and leaving the room. He was on his way but Amethyst's office now.