Before Lynae can offer a better answer, Researchers rush the scene.
Warren: “W-what happened here?!”
They spot the Hyvatia beaten and battered but still mostly intact — Warren issues their next set of commands.
Warren: “Seal off the area immediately. Pull the system logs and report all damages to the Institute. Check the Reactor Drive as well. We need to raise our security levels.”
Everyone shuffling to their positions, Warren turns his attention to Lynae.
Warren: “If I recall correctly, you’re supposed to be in class, Miss Lynae. Why are you here? I expect a proper explanation.”
She can’t muster a word…
Lab Researcher: “Professor Warren, they’re just students—”
Warren: “Quiet. I’m asking her, not you.”
Lynae: “I… I noticed that Hyvatia was out of control, so I tried to stop it.”
Warren: “A malfunction in the Institute’s primary Detector is no small matter for a student to handle. You should have notified the Academy or the Institute immediately, not thrown yourself into danger alone.”
Lynae: “I just acted before I could think.”
Warren: “Acted before you could think? Regardless of your circumstance, if you can’t provide a reasonable explanation, we’ve reason to believe you’re involved in this “incident,” directly or indirectly.
Lynae: “Its malfunction had nothing to do with me.”
Warren: “Denial won’t get you anywhere. If you don’t tell us exactly what happened, I’ll have no choice but to expel you under the Academy’s confidentiality clause. Do you even remember what Startorch stands for, Miss Lynae? What our mission is?”
She cannot help but feel the pressure being exerted on her; her Forte activates as her arm, folded behind her back begins vanishing in response.
Rover: “Please calm down, Professor Warren.”
Warren: “Ah, the new student [Rover]… Didn’t expect to see you again so soon. You must be feeling unsettled after such an incident on your first day. Of course I don’t mean to put the blame on a student, but her actions clearly violated Academy regulations.”
Rover: (Lynae’s behavior is suspicious… but judging by what I just saw, she didn’t seem like she was trying to damage the Detector. There must be another reason. Besides… it seemed she was about to tell me something before.)
Rover: “It was Lynae who protected me from Hyvatia’s attack. If she were the culprit, she could’ve slipped away in the chaos, but she didn’t. She worked with me to contain the damage. Until we know the cause for certain, punishing her is… premature.”
Warren: “My apologies for the one. But we must inform the Academy and investigate every possible angle behind this. The Institute has poured everything into this Ceremony. If something has gone wrong, we need to uncover who is responsible. Miss Lynae, please come with me. We’ll address this with the faculty. And as a witness to the incident, I’m afraid you’ll need to come as well, young man/woman [Rover].”
Lynae: …