They've given Sue a strange old man for a tutor, who appeared in his room and started a physical confrontation, which Sue won; Sue related this story to her with something between amusement and irritation.
And a quicker-than-average flurry of notes has been piling up in the psych data since about that time, according to the timestamps.
Aegis knows before they tell her that they're going to send her to Command early too. She's just barely fifteen herself when she gets another update of the psych files and sees that Sue's had - well, the files aren't terribly clear, some of the communication is happening via in-person conversation and memos that don't get stored in these folders, but Sue's had some kind of breakdown and the only things they can think of to get him out of it, get him back into shape to train and fight, are her friendship and Howlett. They have mixed feelings about both - Howlett's insubordination problem; their bewilderment that Aegis and Sue can be so close when "she's the one person he can't link!" - but they're desperate.
Bird? They don't talk as often over the long distance, just as there was a lull when he went to Tactical ahead of her; their schedules have nothing in common and their contexts less. But he knows her, and he can reach this far if he tries. And she wants to know what's wrong.
When you turn eighteen they have to, legally, allow planetside leave and invite you to re-up, even if you or them determined that the leave at age twelve could go hang - what do they think they're doing? If they want you they shouldn't be antagonizing you when you're two years away from telling them all to fuck themselves and if they don't want you they could ice you now.
Maybe I can steer the conversation around if they don't let me see you for long enough that it makes sense for me to ask. Of course, maybe they'll cut me off, maybe the faction which doesn't think I'll do any good is in charge here and they just plan to put me in classes and not in contact with you at all.
You probably wanna look up the effects of solitary confinement - it's a more reasonable thing for you to do than me - and fake them? Aegis suggests.
I don't... think you should wind up with them for real, since I can keep you company. It shouldn't be that much about people being physically there, should it?
It'd make sense for you to look it up either way, you don't necessarily have to fake it just because you read about it, she points out.
Ooh. Okay. Pause. Even if I couldn't talk to you, I might look up that - well, and a lot of unrelated stuff, like, legal stuff - if I got a suspicious answer after asking for you. So I might do that.
She receives a message with her core class schedule and a list of electives she qualifies for that don't conflict, and she picks two electives and says, Apparently I have class in ten minutes, and this place is a maze, I'm gonna start looking for it now.
I probably will. And - hey - if I'm literally the only person you can talk to? Don't not-talk-to-me if you need company, I don't want you to actually go nuts, I can be a little scattered in class now and then.
She finds her way to class. They're gonna teach me the simulator. Neat.
After a week has gone by, she asks her xenobio teacher (that elective being offered here, too): "Excuse me, I have a friend who goes here but I haven't seen him. Can you tell me where he is? He goes by Sue, but he might be in the system as Thomas Sanderson."