“You, YOU BASTARD!’ Fen yelled, dropping Ben to the ground. She seethed in anger as her shoulders rose and fell with heavy breaths. “You realize that I am only here to get back to my home world right? She asked after a few labored breaths. “Right” I replied, heaving my body off the hard floor. The thin carpet had done nothing to cushion my fall, and my tailbone was not happy about it. “I plan on disappearing the voidborn everywhere I go anyway. I'll be your free ride on your crusade if you help me until then” I stated plainly. I reactively tried to brush off non-existent wrinkles and dust from the ground. “Gods above, you are from quite the primitive world aren't you? Fen posited while watching my strange actions. “The primitiviest” I joked back “really though. I plan on taking the fight all the way back to their crooked roots”
A moment passed before I decided to walk back to Summoner keeps’s suite. “Come if you want but I have a laundry list to complete before the real training starts. I won't lie to you. We, I, will be playing catch up for a while so apologies ahead of time for the inconvenience” I said, walking away from the Latrod.
Fen watched the resolve to move forward with his plans in earnest, without her in necessary. Her life was somehow spared because he decided to do what he wanted in front of arguably the most powerful people on the station. He must have meant what he said about not caring what others thought. With a shrug at the thin air she moved to follow him around the corner Ben had just disappeared behind.
Ben walked around the corner and collapsed into a puddle of nerves. The cold sweat had left his face drenched. The leader of the entire military on this station had just told him to go die, and at the hands of someone he wished to stand on even ground against the voidborn. Steps closed in on him from around the corner. Collecting himself off the ground proved to be too hard leaving him to desperately strike a sitting position against the wall in an effort to save face. Fen rounded the corner to her new squad leader performing a wall-sit while he waited on her. “Strange flex but okay. Where are we headed, boss?” Fen asked.
The wall-sit was a mistake. Ben could feel his legs already giving out under the extra gravity. “I figure we head back to my summoners suite and go from there” Ben replied. With all the effort he could muster he forced his arms against the wall to his back and pushed up. Once back on his feet he led the way to the nearest elevator.
Ingrid fell onto her desk, rolling, and laughing maniacally. All of her guards watch in confusion except Melissa who was very much grinning in an evil way. “Mel” Ingrid shot over her desk “we found another nutcase. What luck.” She paused in her loud thoughts to the room. “Ill have to make a bet with Phi. No, he would be thinking the same thing after I tried to weasel money out of him. Mel, You remember Phi’s first day here right!? Ingrid asked the grinning guard. “I very much remember those first days. Very few have that level of chaos in their eyes” I hope you liked my present for you Ingrid” Melissa commented in a casual tone. “Yes, yes good job. Keep harassing them with the usual tasks. I will be tripling his task list before he returns to his lodging. SOPHIE! Get summoner Keeps's suite moved immediately. Highest priority authorization. Let's mix up the board while we prepare our pieces. The guard opened her comm and began transforming the commander's words into action without a moment's hesitation. “Mel, I think I am going to enjoy the next few years here” Ingrid said while typing on her desk upside down. “Let's go on a walk shall we. I want front row seats to this. I'll return this evening and work my ass off late into the night to make up for lost time. I can’t miss such a rare event” Ingred continued before a ring interrupted her energetic rant. “Ingrid, why are you interrupting me? Came Phi’s voice from the room intercom. “Don't let that brat into the dorms until his first day. We are going to play a little game” Ingred said. “I see, If that is the plan I will be following suit in my courses. Expect mass dropouts earlier than usual” Phi noted before hanging up on The commander. “Let's go ladies. The show is just about to start” Ingred ran to the door and peeked out to make sure the two subjects of their watch had cleared the hall.
The newly formed squad of two headed for the barracks area where Juniper's suite should have been only to find a door that would not open. “I swear that this was the door for her suite” Ben said quickly, looking back at an exasperated Fen. “Sure you didn't just forget the door number?” Fen asked. “I remember it was” Ben stopped as his heart sank. The number on the door was completely different. The doors on either side matched but her door had a different number on it. “I think they moved her suite somewhere else” Ben said, thinking where it might have gone. “Where would a freshly formed squad be moved to?” Ben asked. Fen shrugged and looked around the halls. “We basically have a free pass around the ship right?” Fen asked. “Yeah, I guess we'll just go find the room elsewhere. How big could the station be?” Ben said, before he facepalmed so hard that the gaggle of students making their way down the hall jumped from the noise. “I jinxed it. Great, now we are doomed to never find that room” Ben said nursing the red spot left on his forehead. “HEY, Ladies, where did this gals room go?” Fen yelled at the confused students. “Oh, Jun left in a hurry something about— moving to the school. Guess she finally made it out” one of the students replied. “That, or management finally gave up on her stupid research” said another. Ben felt anger welling up in his chest at the badmouthing happening just across the hall. “You are lucky I would never hit a girl. I am the one Jun summoned and she is about to become very important. I suggest you remember her nice side, because soon she won't have time to be considerate of everyone's feelings. Thanks for the heads up Ma’am.” I said, leaving the hall with Fen in lockstep just behind me. I had almost forgotten she was there from the small tirade I gave the other students.
“Keep walking and don't look back. They are laughing at you for that one. Do not give them the satisfaction” Fen muttered under her breath. She was right. The laughing continued to echo down the hall as we moved into the cafeteria. “Wouldn't hit a girl huh? Where did that come from?” Fen asked me with a quiet curiosity. “Why would I hurt the fairer sex. I would never.” I replied as a flat statement. I was beginning to feel better about myself as we entered a cloud of good smells wafting from the market at the center of the barracks cafeteria.
My stomach rumbled with a deep tone. I turned into the stalls and followed my nose. We ended up at a noodle stand with hot broth and purple strings piled up out of the bowl in a mound. It smelled divine. I scanned my order in at the stall’s checkout like I had done before. A buzzer sounded quickly and my request was denied in big bold letters across the screen. In slightly smaller letters below read "Insufficient funds.” Fen laughed “You don't even have a starting fund from your summoner!? That’s hilarious. Ill cover you this time but you are getting a job mister I won't cover any more of your meals” Fen said. Another buzzer sounded and I could see the fen's face flow through all the stages of denial in the seconds that followed. “My savings!” Fen yelled.
Our eyes connected in understanding. This was clearly the crazy commanders doing. We were going to suffer the entire time we were stuck under her thumb. “If y'all just want a meal, I'll trade work for it” The elderly male behind the stall said in a raspy voice. “I would be happy to help,” I replied quickly. I had never let an opportunity escape me when it came to food. “What do you need from us?” I asked as politely and clearly as I could. “Go open my stall in the trainee barracks. I happen to need someone to fill in while I search for a replacement, the shop owner replied. “I see. We have about two weeks where we will be available to cover all three meals of the day in exchange we would like to not go hungry” I said “Sounds like a fair deal to me. The machine in the back takes care of the prep work. I restocked the basics last week so you should last through the next two weeks. Also, there is a camera at the booth so I will know if any funny business is going on” The elderly man explained. “Understood sir. Thank you for the food in advance” I said quickly. He tossed us a manual key similar to a front door lock and gave us a description of the location.
I wabbled along as we started out of the cafeteria. “We will never make the lunch rush at this pace. Let me carry you there. I don't want to miss lunch either” Fen offered with her hands stretching out to pick me up. “No, I get it. Once we get there the food will basically make itself right?” I asked. “That's what the old man said,” She replied. “Okay if I fall or move too slowly you can carry me. Lead the way” I said.
Fen put up with my pitiful pace for about one sphere before scooping me up and carrying me across three more spheres at a pace that left her heaving upon our arrival. She recovered incredibly fast before scanning the stalls for the locked stand. After we searched around for a moment trainees began piling into the cafeteria from all angles. We were ushered by a stall owner to a roll up door next to his stall. A quick turn of the key and a few careful button pushes later the stall was open for customers. The bowls filled with— delicious— fragrant— heaped noodles passed from our hands to the greedy mitts of the current trainee class. A brief break came when an unexpected voice yelled over the counter.
“Mr. V.I.P! IT'S CAPS!” The carrier’s voice broke through the work rhythm. Looking up I could see the Red face and green eyes level with my own. “Your legs! What, what happened?” I Sputtered. “Awwww, he was worried about our Caps.” Came a voice from the crowd. The response was quickly followed by coos and laughter. “Quit it guys, he probably doesn't know what we can do on the station. Anyway, what are you doing behind a food stall serving noodles?” Caps asked, confusion written all over her face. “I can only assume, that vicious person from before took a sick personal interest in my suffering. All my starting capital disappeared. So here I am. Broke and hungry” I answered before taking a knee to the kidney. “Hurry up and get back to serving. The line is growing” Fen said while handing off two more bowls. “Caps, this is Fen, my first squad member. She plans on killing me in the future if I ever do her wrong” I said with a laugh. “I see,” Caps said, even more confused after my expert introduction. I jumped back to checking people out, and Caps made her way back through the crowd for lunch elsewhere.
Full and satisfied that all the students had left Fen and I slumped against the back wall inside the stall behind the counter. Still caught up in the lunch rush energy I pulled out my tablet and opened the task list the Commander had given me. The list had a scroll bar and seemed to be in a font size just under the resolution of the display. The screen flashed and the list tripled in length based on an estimate from the way the scroll bar shrank. “Well better get started” I said aloud.
Fen feigned disinterest long enough for Ben to get caught up in some literature about the way a standard issue scout rifle operated. She peeked over his shoulder as he consumed the operating manuals one after another leaving highlights and notes in the margins. The list of manuals lasted most of the way to dinner time when they abruptly switched to safety procedures for operating a smeltery from three hundred years ago based on the date. The manuals were surprisingly well written and the graphics made clear all the more complex examples when needed. Both of the curious souls made it all the way to dinner on nothing but seemingly random books from a veteran maintainer's old toolbox. A knocking at the counter startled the temporary bookworms to their feet. Ben had let his legs stay still for too long and held out his hand for assistance before thinking about the action. Fen leaned down and easily pulled Ben to his feet. The second assault on the stall began and dinner ended with a slow dissipation of students back to their dorms.
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After closing up the stall, they both realized that they had yet to find the suite they would need to stay in for the night. Staring at each they agreed on finding the summoner's lair. A hurried walk across a couple spheres they found signs for the academy dorms carved into the wall above a connecting elevator. A short individual in a long black suit coat stopped the two with a quick hand motion. “IDs” The soft voice spoke. “I don't have an ID, just this tablet” Ben answered. “Only students of the academy are allowed past this point” The dark figure replied through a thick cloth mask. “My summoner is supposedly moving here and I would like access to my things in her suite” I said calmly. “I will not allow random folk into the private academy dorms. Get lost before I call station security” the black clothed man muttered. “Sorry to bother you sir. We will return when we have IDs” I replied swiftly, stopping the forward motion of Fen. She looked about ready to clock the strange man. The thought had crossed my mind too but I had figured out that we were stuck no matter what after being halted at the entrance. “Fen, I am sorry but I think I just dragged you down with me” I stated quietly as we walked back the way we came. “I am not dead, and I should be. It could be worse.” Fen said under her breath.
Not having a change of clothes was a problem that would need remedied quickly as we had both sweat through our current outfits. All this fancy tech and no self washing clothes still.
The remainder of the two weeks passed by in a rather simple pattern. That first night we searched for a place to wash our clothes. Mercifully we came across an area of the station under maintenance that had a broken laundromat. We reconnected the power to it with a couple lucky switch flips. We both hid behind a locked door at the front of the laundromat while hiding from each other in cleaning supply closets. The bathroom allowed for a birdbath style wash and proved to function well enough for basic needs. The night was cold and we decided after that to try the food stall for a warmer if not a little more cramped night of sleep. The food stall proved much more comfortable after a quick renovation in the storage area above. Ben studied the vast majority of the assigned reading list which seemed to grow by the hour, while Fen read over his shoulder. They took one break every day after dinner to spend a few hours at the trainee gym alongside Caps and her friends. The reading began to take place at the gym while lifting admittedly low weights but the multitasking proved to keep the works interesting. The first morning of school at the academy had snuck up on the two. They visited the elderly gentleman at the far cafeteria that morning for breakfast and to return the stall key. He thanked them for their work and the two made their best pace across the station to avoid being late to the first lecture.
One mad dash later Ben and Fen exited a connecting transport to the view of hundreds of people squeezing into a floor to ceiling pantheon style building. The floors were identified by high arches at the top of channeled pillars. Floor after floor stacked to the glass ceiling stretching around the entire entrance courtyard which formed a stone circle around the connection point. Students' voices rang out in every direction as multi-colored outfits representing the spectrum to its fullest, filed into the main entrance. Instructors in mostly matching suit coats and well tailored formalwear watched the mess from the second and third floor. Eyes and whispers traveled in a wave around the instructors. The arrival of Ben and Fen must have caught someone's attention as most of the eyes were catching on the two nearly late arrivals. “I think Wheeze, we made it Wheeze, on time” I said with ragged breaths. Traveling around the station had gotten much easier but still took a toll on me if I tried to run for more than a few steps. “Yeah, now if we could just blend in we might survive the first day” Fen easily joked. The mad dash for Ben through the station was quite the spectacle to watch. She enjoyed seeing the focus and determination behind those eyes as he pushed himself to failure. More than a few times she had to scrape his face off the floor because his legs gave out. She had to admit she was impressed. Even her sense of adventure did not manage to find the disused area of the station. Perhaps, just maybe she might enjoy the free ride back home.
Fen watched Ben catch his breath while they searched for an open seat she would be comfortable in. Eventually they found a row in the back that was mostly empty and claimed a spot with space for Fen to stretch out her back legs to either side.
Ben watched as Fen made herself comfortable in the bench seat. The way her legs naturally wrapped around her sides and down, made her lap look especially cozy. He wondered if he might get the chance to give her lap a test run. Sitting down himself he focused back forwards to the sunken stage in the center of the half circle. The lecture hall was large enough to seat all the people that entered from before with tons of open spaces dotted around the room.
A tall figure with red wings trailing from her hips walked across the entire stage with long stalking strides, balanced by a smooth tail. Her body must have been purpose built for movement as her lean frame would not have given away her gender until she spoke. “I am Principle Haverdash. I'll keep this short. This year we are pleased to have a new instructor among the first years. Please welcome our temporary instructor Mr. Phi” said the space devil. She motioned to an upper level of the hall only to have the entire balcony area be empty. “Mr. Phi?” She asked the room at large. A short man clad in black moved from her shadow and pulled on the side of her white and black suit coat. “AAAaahh, Mr. Phi could you please give our first year students a quick introduction” She said hiding a scream behind her words. The dark figure stepped forward once then decided to step back to his original position. “You are all useless. I will attempt to make you useful” he stated with a voice barely loud enough to carry through the room. “Thank you Mr. Phi” the devil said. This first year class will be quite different from those in the past. We have been told to not concern ourselves with the usual curriculum and I quote “Give them a good shake”.
“With that I believe it is time for dormitory assignments and schedules. I always get complaints from my long winded speeches so off you go” The devil said before exiting the stage n a similar fashion to her entrance. The practice footwork seemed effortless to her and I could not take my eyes off the agility on display. “Hey, space cadet,” Fen said in my ear. “Wake up, our tablets have actual rooms on them with the possibility of real beds,” Fen said excitedly. Fen was right, a notification showed a place to sleep tonight. “Finally, let's go!” I said loudly as we highfived. I had taught Fen the action and it had spread like wildfire through the trainees. It was nice to have a few familiar things around to keep me grounded. We headed to our classroom for the year. It was a smaller version of the larger hall. The white lighting was on full blast as we entered, showing off the white stonework blocks that lined the walls. The ceiling had a few dark metal beams across to support the hanging lights. The forward wall of the classroom held a large black screen from wall to wall and floor to ceiling.
After admiring the room for a moment Fen and I found a comfortable seating situation in the front right of the classroom next to the door. Fen had just enough space for her back legs to comfortably stretch around her and lay on the seat next to me without room for anyone else on the metal bench seat. Fortunately the black seat cushions seemed comfortable enough for long hours in lecture. Students wearing all sorts of outfits walked in in pairs or groups of three. They seemed to stick to their squad members with only a couple of groups merging with conversation as we waited on the instructor to show up. “I bet you half your lunch that our instructor is the creepy man from the entrance speech” Fen said quietly. “I am not that dumb, Fen. Our instructor is definitely that strange guy from before” I said in a whisper.
“I am not that strange” projected a weak male voice from the row behind us. My heart skipped a beat or two when I heard instructor Phi’s Voice come from behind us. Turning I saw a confused lady with dark blue semi transparent skin looking back at us. “I never said you were,” the Blue girl stated. “Sorry I was mentioning something from earlier” I apologized. “No problem It must have been my misunderstanding” She replied kindly.
The lights flickered for a second and Instructor Phi Stood in the center of the lecture hall’s stage as if he had been there the whole time. The room was dead silent after the lights flickered. All eyes were facing forward at the instructor. Shuffling from the people in the row behind us caused me to turn around. They were standing at attention saluting the instructor. I elbowed Fen and stood to salute the instructor. After a few moments the whole room was saluting, waiting for instructor Phi to make his move. The motion of a sigh came through his posture as he walked to his desk and took off his outer coat. After placing it carefully across the desk, he turned to the classroom. Instructor Phi gave everyone a chance to take in his strange appearance. Beyond the dark cloth mask he refused to take off was armor plates protruding from behind a tightly wrapped fabric. His entire body was covered in plates that matched his outer anatomy. Even the top of his wrapped feet had metal plates poking into the overlying fabric. He moved to attention and held a salute. “This will be the only salute you will ever give or receive from and to me. Is that clear” He asked the room in a quiet controlled voice. The entire classroom responded in unison “Yes sir.” He dropped his salute with a lackluster move and stepped back to center stage. “You are all useless leeches on this station” he said matter of factly. “I have been asked to remedy your weakness and instill the impossible. A cruel joke. And, assuredly, a waste of my time.” He paused to scan the room. “You in the orange sweater. Leave my class. I will be the reason you die” He stated. The person looked up from their tablet and stared at the room in confusion. Only a moment passed before she disappeared from her chair. “You go find your mage candidate and get her to any other classroom” he said beginning a slow pace along the stage. The guard was up in a flash and sprinted out of the room.
I noted the instructor did not play games with his time and strained my focus the entire class. Fen and I both sat and listened to every work that the instructor would gift us. He continued his lecture on the basics of mana and its effects on the world. The density of all the mana in the universe was apparently a constant no matter the location. Research had apparently attempted to alter the density of mana in a confined space and been the accidental discovery of the tech we use to warp stations from location to location at large scales. I had wondered how the universe was able to travel and communicate across seemingly impossible distances.
Mana filters and Banks only briefly got touched upon before we all attempted a practical exercise. We were instructed to focus on the barrier around our bodies that was the form of our mana filter. It turned out to be a rough form of the individual's outline in most cases. Some people had an oblong sphere around them. After closing our eyes and feeling our filters around us, the instructor told everyone to feel the mana inside the filter and compared it to the mana outside our filters. Pops and flashes of light went off through the room as everyone played with the little mana available to a mage candidate. I was barely able to sense my own filter in between the distractions of other students in the classroom. I could not feel any mana inside my filter so I focused on the outside mana. Immediately a headache built as the feeling of waves crashing into my filter from all around the room threatened to break the thin wall. The barrages seemed to be the effects caused by students around the room and much larger waves came from all directions. These larger waves were devastating to my senses as I focused on completing the exercise. I tried imagining a radio dial to tune out the waves only to black out from something of a much higher amplitude on a lower frequency.
I woke up with my head in Fen's hands as lights and pops continued throughout the room. “You only were out for a second. Hurry up and figure this shit out. I'll kill you off now if you can't get me to a portal home” Fen threatened. “It's fine. I just made a small mistake” I said, picking my head up off her hands. I again closed my eyes and searched for my filter. The outline of my body glowed, illuminating the barrier in my mind. I knew that the glow was just to help with finding the impossibly thin membrane but I was thankful for the effect. I prepared myself for the assault and reached past the barrier with my will. The chaos of the room had only gotten worse as everyone had figured out their own tricks. I felt the mana background that all the waves traveled through. It was chaotic and unruly. I could tell that I was not going to be allowed to use this force of nature without first taming it. I retreated back inside the safety of my mana filter and focused on sensing the power that the chaotic mana outside had promised. I focused for what seemed like an eternity. Fine tuning my search for that power. I eventually felt an impossibly small scattering of dust that flowed through the filter at its very edges never staying for long and only in levels that might hint at the fuel vapors left by mana’s power. I completed the exercise and understood what to look for. Not a moment later the instructor's voice broke every student's concentration. “We will not talk about the application of this cheat code to life.”
