"Cloud. CLOUD! Ground control to Cloud."
Snap! Snap!
A small snort escaped as a youth with fluffy silver hair slowly opened his eyes, smoky hues acknowledging his surroundings little by little. Blinking a few times, Cloud waited until he was fully awake before pushing himself into a sitting position, having been very near sliding out of the harness designed to keep him fixed to his seat. Having fallen asleep so heavily, it definitely took a solid minute for the youth to regain his barings.
The pair of fingers that had been near his face were gradually retracted while the silver-haired haired individual gathered his own awareness. A young woman, of whom the fingers belonged to, let out a small sigh as she backed up and sat back into her own seat. She watched as the young man stretched and let out a loud yawn, his sleepy expressions gradually gaining alertness and clarity.
"Yeesh. I didn't think you'd fall asleep that hard. You must've been tired." The female smiled slightly, clearly amused by the situation. "We don't really get many who fall asleep so casually aboard these flights. Most are way too stiff for any of that."
Cloud laughed a little, rubbing the back of his head. Legs crossed, the youth got as comfortable as he could, which wasn't much what with the hard metal he'd been sitting on for the last few hours.
"I stayed up late last night in my excitement," the youth explained. "Took me a while to actually fall asleep."
The young woman nodded, as if it was expected. "Nervous jitters?"
"Nervous?" Cloud crossed his arms, a look of confusion on his face. "Of what?"
Morn Amicah didn't know what to say in response, not really sure of how to properly answer the youths question.
Truthfully, she wasn't even sure of who the kid actually was. The only thing she had done, just like every other day, was her job as a Space Marine, following the commands given to her by the Platoon General. The given command this time around wasn't anything too rare either, a simple pickup for some kid trying out for the Space Marines.
Situated in a small and sleek space craft, dubbed the Drewex II, Morn had been dispatched to the world of Libruhj 9 by General Runald to scoop up an examinee who couldn't make the trip themselves. Being the bleeding heart he was, this wasnt anything too surprising, the Yellow Corp leader having done plenty of side quests himself to help and assist the less fortunate. For him to send his subordinates to do the same wasn't anything new nor was it too much to ask for.
The true surprise happened during the initial pickup.
A lack of any negative emotions, be it anxiety or nervousness. A calm demeanor and unique appearance. Relaxed enough for amicable chitchat and even a quick nap.
Whenever Morn would participate in pickups, namely those partaking in the SM Enrollments, most individuals had always been incredibly stiff, incredibly cocky and arrogant, or overwhelmed by the upcoming tests. For someone to fall asleep during the trip was definitely unusual and not something she had heard of.
What was more, it was someone who didn't seem too bothered by the approaching destination.
"Well, it's only natural to feel something akin to it. Right? It's the Space Marines Enrollment." The young woman leaned forward. "You do know what you're signing up for right?"
Cloud grinned, flashing a set of pearly whites. "Of course. Rune Guy filled me in."
"Rune Guy?" Morn held back a small snicker. "That's good to know. What exactly did he tell you?"
"The Space Marines are holding a test. If I go there and pass, then I can find what I'm looking for."
The young woman immediately became confused.
Judging by what the youth was saying, Runald hadn't actually filled Cloud in on what was coming. Though it explained why the boy was relatively unaffected like all the others had been, it also raised another question.
Why hadn't Runald explained anything further?
"And what are you looking for?" Morn inquired, opting to keep all further explanations to herself.
"A family."
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Morn's eyes widened, completely taken aback by the response. Out of all the reasons she had heard, it was the last one she had been expecting. Her curiosity immediately maxed out, a thousand questions flooding to the forefront. However, before she could utter a single one, the intercom system immediately switched on.
["We're now approaching Vemelox. There'll be a little turbulence. Please remain seated until we come to a proper docking station."]
As the Drewex II came to a complete stop, the very back of the craft began to lower, unfolding into a wide ramp. From this opening, the silver-haired youth made his way downwards, a thick bag strapped to his back.
Having been on the ship for a lengthy period of time, strapped down to avoid being thrown around through the ships every maneuver, it felt good to be able to move freely. Granted, Cloud had been thoroughly enchanted the entire flight during his time awake, having never actually flown through space a day in his entire life. However, sitting in one place for as long as he had wasn't quite something he wanted to get used to, especially if he was expected to be buckled in for the entire duration.
Aside from that, there was another reason he was excited to be back on the ground.
"Woah!! This place is huge!!" Cloud looked around in amazement, grey hues flicking from left to right.
Morn laughed as she walked halfway down the ramp. "Welcome to heart of Vemelox, kid. This is Grand Port Kama."
There were ships as far as the eye could see, spacecrafts of every shape and size imaginable. Some were in the midst of leaving while others were in the middle of lowering themselves into a large, open places that Morn had called "ports". Each of the ports were spaced out from one other and could accommodate different sizes depending on the craft involved, ranging from the size of small fighters to enormous cruisers. Next to every one of the ports was a moving metallic creature as well as a few machines Cloud was unable to identify.
Situated just above Grand Port Kama, one could see a rich blue sky, one dotted with various puffs of white cotton. Scattered throughout, ships and other air based vehicles could be seen passing just overhead. Combined with the warm rays of the planets star and cool breeze, Cloud felt he was viewing something straight from a hologram or a picture painted by a master artist.
"Grand Port Kama," the youth repeated, hues flicking every which way. "A port is a spot for ships right? So then this whole place-"
A small humming sound interrupted the silver-haired individual as one of the metallic creatures he had seen around the few dozen other ships made it's way over. As if on instinct, Cloud took a few steps back and crouched low into some sort of fighting position. Morn had never seen someone take an unorthodox stance before, but it very clearly was a combat stance. She also had never seen anyone prepare to punch a worker droid.
The boy was definitely keeping things interesting.
The young woman stifled a laugh, once again amused by the child's reactions. "No need to bring out the gun show kid. It's just a Docking Bot."
"Docking....Bot?" Cloud asked, clearly perplexed as the robot came to a stop in front of him, the creature hovering a few inches off the floor.
The creature in question was only about 60cm tall, give or take, and closely resembled a snowman with blocky arms. Numerous slots, buttons, and some flashing light could be seen all across the robots body, one of the reasons that Cloud had quickly assumed a defensive look.
Moving down the rest of the ramp, Morn pulled something from her metallic belt, a small and almost completely flat piece of dark plastic. On the very front of the object was the symbol for the Space Marines Yellow Corp, a Ugolian Tiger with deep onyx colored stripes. Holding the card out, she waited until the Docking Bot had latched onto it with its two fingered appendage before letting it go.
"P311, also known as PELL. These Docking Bots appear at most ports and are responsible for checking IDs, flight credentials, running payments, scanning the ships cargo, and a number of other things." Morn gave Cloud a small smile. "It's thanks to these droids that parking our vehicles are so simplistic. Without them, we'd have to fill out a bunch of paperwork and verify ourselves and go over whats in our crafts. Menial tasks that only serve to eat up time and energy."
Cloud nodded as he slowly relaxed, watching the robot carefully.
A slot underneath PELL's "head" opened up, a thin section just wide enough for the dark plastic that Morn had handed over. Slipping the card inside, the slot immediately closed. Soft whirring could be heard from somewhere within the machine, causing the silver-haired youth to lean forward in curiosity. After a few seconds, the sounds ceased altogether and the card was ejected from the slot shortly afterwards.
"Simple as that," Morn said as she reached down to snag the card from the slot. "If you become a Space Marine in the near future, I'll explain more to you."
"We never had a...PELL on my planet." Cloud crouched down and began to tap the Docking Droid on its 'head'. "Such an interesting creature."
Morn nodded in understanding. "The Libruhj System is a more isolated section of that particular star cluster. Ports wouldn't really make too much sense for the few that would come and go from there. Also, it's not a creature. Just a machine."
"Just a machine?" Cloud seemed intrigued by this statement. "A machine is a set of moving parts right? Arent we all just machines?"
Morn opened her mouth to respond but immediately closed it, unsure of what she wanted to say in response. There were numerous replies that she could give. In the end however, she chose to say nothing as the young man rose back onto his feet, giving the Docking Bot a small pat on the head. Heck, she doubted the youth even realized what he was actually saying.
"Anyways, can you point me in the direction of the Space Marines place? I'd like to get started as soon as possible."
The young woman was brought back to her sense.
It seemed that General Runald had actually refrained from telling the youth pretty much anything aside from the SM Enrollments. No directions, instructions, details about the Exam itself. Apparently, he hadn't even divulged when the Enrollments were being held. A mental note was made to chew the commander out the moment she was given the chance.
"The Space Marines Enrollments are actually going to be held in 3 weeks time," Morn explained, carefully tucking the piece of dark plastic back into her belt. "You won't be able to do anything until then. So, the place you want to go to is Private Holding."
Cloud didn't say a word, clearly waiting for the woman to continue. Letting out a breath, Morn rubbed the bridge of her nose, torn between frustration and bursting out laughing at how confused the boy looked at the entire ordeal.
"Forget it. It'll be much easier for me to just show you the way." The pink-haired woman smiled, choosing to wave away her own annoyances. The kids lack of knowledge wasn't his own fault. "I won't coddle you. It'll be your own job to learn as you go. BUT. I will make sure you're on your way rather than hearing that you never made it to the Exam site."
Making her way back up the ramp, Morn tapped a spot on the wrist of her metallic wrist piece. The ramp began to lift upwards, sealing itself shut as the young woman began to speak into her wrist. Cloud wasn't able to hear the entire conversation with the layers of machinery now separating them. However, he was able to make out just enough to note that Morn was getting in contact with Runald and notifying him of the current situation.
Staying where he was, The silver-haired individual waited for the woman to return. It took a few minutes.
When Morn finally reemerged, she looked completely different than before.
Gone was the usual armor donned by the soldiers within the Space Marines Yellow Corp, even the clothing underneath being changed entirely. In its place, Morn donned a thigh length black skirt, white shirt underneath a stylish midnight jean jacket, hoop earrings and a matching necklace. Her previously flowing pink hair had been tied up into a loose ponytail, a fluffed up tail that actually suited her quite well. Fixed on her back, similar to Clouds, was a black backpack with intricated designs.
"Sorry it took so long," Morn said, a bit apologetic as she stepped off the lowered platform. The moment her foot was clear, the open door of the Drewex II immediately started to close. "I can't just walk around in my work clothes. How do I look?"
Morn grinned as she gave a small curtesy, clearly pleased by the outfit. Cloud however didn't seem to care all that much as he watched her strike a couple of poses. He let it go on for a minute or so before turning around and walking off.
"Hey. Wait up." The young woman made a face as she hurried to catch up with the young man. "You can't just walk off. You don't even know where you're going."