A sharp pain shot through Thora's head as she slowly forced her eyes open, squinting against the blinding light. She rolled over and sprang to her feet, quickly checking the parachute strapped to her. She glanced over at the crashed jet not far away and let out a long sigh of relief. Thank goodness she'd managed to use her ability to slow the jet before it hit the ground. That bought her just enough time to bail out. The altitude was way too low for a safe jump. One slip and she would've been dead on the spot. She yanked off the tangled parachute, stood up and stretched, then reached for her phone and other electronic gear, only to find every device had failed. The interference from earlier in the air must have fried them. That meant she was totally cut off from contact now. But at least she had a sense of the time. Registration for Blue Star Military Academy had already started—she had only two hours left before the deadline. She had to make it in time. She walked over to inspect the jet wreckage. The jet wasn't completely totaled—both wings were cracked, but most of the rest was intact. Still, flying it into Tohmont airspace again was out of the question. She lifted her hand and activated her ability. Blue energy rippled over her palm, spreading to cover the jet. Thora narrowed her eyes, pushing her energy to the max. In an instant, the scattered parts snapped back together. The wings fused back into place, and the entire jet was restored. She looked around, then used her telekinesis again to pile branches and dead grass over the jet until it was completely hidden. Only after that did she let her energy fade. The jet was too valuable to leave behind—she couldn't risk it being stolen or scrapped. She did a quick cleanup, then set out. With all her navigation and comms out, and her supplies left with Tristan, she'd have to rely on memory and instinct to reach the Blue Star Military Academy registration site. Meanwhile, most of the applicants had already finished check-in and were waiting for the first round. But Tristan and his crew still stood there, not budging an inch. Ryan strode through the arch, pressed his finger to the crystal screen, and said, "Ryan Cole, 23 years old." The staffer in a blue military academy uniform nodded. "Registration complete. Please proceed to the initial assessment." Ryan nodded and was just about to head in when he heard two admission officers whispering to each other. "They've been out there forever. Did they change their minds about registering?" one asked."Who cares? Once time's up, they'll have no choice but to go home," the other said, sounding smug. That attitude bugged Ryan, but he knew they had the right to be cocky. Only the strongest ended up in charge of admissions at Blue Star Military Academy. In fact, people said the admission officers might not be the absolute best in the academy, but they could certainly outfight any troublemaker. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to keep the rowdiest applicants in line. Ryan followed their gaze to the group outside the venue. The venue was too big to see them clearly. He could just tell they were people from the Astralis Empire but couldn't make out who they were. He remembered Tony's warning and figured they had to be the people selected by the Atralis Empire's military. Ryan turned to leave, but suddenly, something about their presence made him pause.