It's nothing.

Marianne had been staring into her mirror for the past twenty minutes as her mind raced, periodically coming back to that one thought.

Compared to what you've already accomplished this is nothing.

It was unbecoming of someone like her to feel such nervousness, but she couldn't help it. She was finally taking the first steps towards achieving her goal. Her hard work had payed off and now she was that much closer to becoming an Admiral and commanding an entire fleet. She would be someone powerful, someone who brought honor her family. But first she would need to be someone who survived the Academy, and before that the Trials. The thought of what awaited her once again filled her stomach with butterflies and her mind with doubt.

At this point, it's a formality. You've already proven yourself.

A knock at the door startled Marianne from her nervous trance. She quickly smoothed her clothes and schooled her features. Satisfied that she looked suitably unbothered Marianne began to brush her hair before answering in a cool, even voice, "Come in." The door burst open as if it had been kicked, and someone's arm quickly shot forward to grab it's edge before it could put a dent in the wall. A shrill cry of "MARY!" was all the warning Marianne got before someone rushed up behind her and smothered her.

"I heard the news! Oh, I'm so happy for you! I would've come to congratulate you sooner but daddy was hosting some distant relative of the Governor of... I think it was a moon? Anyways that isn't important!" She declared. "You passed the exam! I mean I knew you would, but it's still quite impressive even for you. Barely anyone manages it, isn't that right?"

"Only about .82 percent of applicants." Marianne confirmed, her voice muffled by the other girls sleeves. "Can I breathe now Kyrie?"

"No. It's been so long, I won't let you leave for the Trials until I've had my fill of you." Kyrie answered. Buried beneath the fabric of whatever extravagant outfit her friend had chosen to don, Marianne let out a sigh. Truthfully, she was amused by her friends antics and quite pleased to see her, though she'd die before admitting it. Kyrie always had a way of putting her at ease, something Marianne needed now more than ever. Plenty of aspirants had entered the Trials, only to never return. Not to mention her performance there would determine her future at the Academy, which would determine, well... her future.

"And how are you doing? Have you finally decided on a suitor?" Marianne asked. She felt as Kyrie tensed up, and never one to let an opportunity go to waste, she quickly moved to escape. Slipping from her friends grasp, Marianne rose from her chair and gracefully pivoted to face her friend, who now stared at her in annoyance.

"That's not fair. Using my misfortune against me like that, what kind of friend are you!" Kyrie cried as she once again threw herself at Marianne, arms spread wide to embrace her.

"A concerned one." She answered while deftly evading Kyrie, before tripping her. "And I'd hardly call an abundance of men begging for my hand in marriage misfortune." She said as her friend fell with a squeak and landed, rather ungracefully, onto Marianne's bed.

Kyrie lifted her face from the plush covers and told her "You'd have just as many if you didn't insist on duelling every boy who asks you to dance."

"First of all, it was one time and he wasn't exactly acting like a gentleman! Secondly, I'm not looking for a fiance. And that's besides the point, answer the question." Marianne said, losing her composure slightly. Kyrie aslo had a knack for getting under her skin. She dropped her face back onto the covers and groaned in despair. Then she began to scream into the bed as her legs kicked in frustration behind her. Finally, she rolled over and sighed.

"None of them are right. Every sing time I think I've found the perfect man, he ends up having some terrible flaw that I simply cannot overlook. The latest one decided to propose while wearing swim trunks! To his credit, a beach proposal was a very romantic idea, but couldn't he have at least changed into something more fashionable before proposing? Is that too much to ask?"

Marianne did her level best not to smirk. She was failing. "How sad," a little sarcasm dripped into her voice.

Kyrie glared at her but right as she opened her mouth to say something, Mariannes datapad chimed. She pulled it from her pocket and swiped through it, all of her anxiety came rushing back as she saw her father had returned and was requesting to meet with her. She began to excuse herself to Kyrie, but she shot up immediately and offered to go with her. As they made their way out of her bedroom, Marianne stared at her reflection in the data pads blank screen.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

This is nothing. You can do it.

This time she almost believed it. 

"By the way, what are you wearing?" She questioned while looking her friend up and down.

"Do you like it! I had it custom made." Kyrie said with a smile as she twirled in what looked quite a bit like a very poofy wedding dress, complete with a veil, dyed peach.

"It's very... you." Marianne said diplomatically, though she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

~

Adam was dreaming. The operative word being was. Currently, Adam is suffocating. Panic filled his chest and his eyes shot open, only to shut immediately as they were blinded by the intensity of the light. A bit late he noticed everything was very loud too. He could hear crackling and popping, the roar of a fire nearby, and the harsh pulsing of some sort of siren. He focused on his lungs and with all the might he could muster, Adam inhaled. Nothing happened.

He began to thrash violently and claw at his face. Something was covering his mouth and nose. He reached for the edges of the object only to find that it was flush with his skin. He began to feel fuzzy and his head throbbed as he frantically scratched at the edge with his nails. At last, his nails gouged a small hole in his face large enough to give Adam purchase. He quickly curled his fingers under the mask and ripped it off, only to feel a burning in his throat as a tube emerged from his mouth. Adam drew himself up to his knees and did not hesitate and squeezed the tube with his other hand, trying to get a grip on the slick surface. Once that was done, he tried his best to relax his throat muscles. Unfortunately Adam was on a time limit and he felt his conciousness quickly fading, so he abandoned that endeavor in favor pulling with all his might. The hose ripped through his esophagus until it's length finally ended. He collapsed to the floor as sweet, freezing air clawed its way into his lungs, stinging his newly injured throat.

He spent a few minutes like that, curled on the floor panting, shivering as his senses were overwhelmed and coughing when his love for oxygen caused him to choke on his saliva. Eventually, Adam recovered enough to slowly open his eyes and take in his surroundings. He wished he hadn't.

The room he was in had no visible exits. Adam doubted this would have mattered though since most of it was on fire. Wires hung half way to the ground from high up broken ceiling panels, sparking with current and in front of him was some sort of console, half of which was burning. The floor around him was wet, probably why he hadn't been burned alive already, though it wasn't off the table yet. The fluid had come from some kind of large cylindrical tank behind him, which Adam supposed was where he had been until something or someone broke the glass and set the room on fire. At that point Adam realized the room should have been filled with smoke. Since it wasn't there was probably a hole in the ceiling somewhere. Adam pulled himself to his feet before stopping in his tracks.

Shouldn't I be taller? Also, why am I naked?

These were very important questions and it was a little worrying no answer immediately came to mind, not as worrying as the fire though. Adam scanned the ceiling before finding what he was looking for right above him. He rushed towards the console careful not to slip and hoisted himself onto it. He raised his hands up, finding them just short of his target. Again careful not to slip, he tensed his body and lept, grabbing one of the thick electrical cables that hung within reach. Miraculously, he managed not to graze the ends of any of the wires around him as he swung back and forth until he grabbed another wire. Adam waited until the first cable pulled him back some before he released it, giving him some forward momentum. He grabbed the next cable and started to climb up as fast as his scrawny limbs would allow, which was suprisingly fast. Adam could feel his muscles burning in his arms and legs, but the threat of a painful death was a great motivator. He soon needed to hold his breath to stop from choking on the smoke, and he fought to keep his teary eyes open. Adam drew near to the tile his cable was draped over and grabbed it's cold edge. He pulled himself up enough to get a leg on it and shut his eyes as the sting of the smoke became too much. Blindly fumbling for his next handhold for his next handhold; the jagged steel edge of whatever he was inside of. His whole body shook with exhaustion and a little terror as he searched for the correct place to place his hand. He found it much higher up than expected and quickly hauled himself up and out. He crawled away from the hole caught his breath for a while before looking around him.

Well this fucking sucks.

Adam thought while he viewed his immediate area. He was stranded on the side of a steep slope. It was night, but under the light of the two moons he could make out his surroundings well enough to see that he was on a goddamn mountain. Not to mention he was pretty sure there was only ment to be one moon. Looking at the structure beneath him, Adam recognized he had been inside some kind of ship. Or at least half of one. The flaming room he was trapped in  took up most of the wreckage, but it looked like there were a few other rooms attached. They too were on fire. The mountainside was littered with debris most of which was, suprise suprise, on fire. A few hundred yards down the slope though, Adam saw another large chunk of the craft that looked to be both mostly intact and somehow not on fire. He began walking towards it.