“How are you feeling?” Alora asked Jack, having calmed down from hearing about the fight. “Still sore?” He recoiled a little as she touched his arm where he was badly cut. Though there was no visible scar tissue, the pain was still there.

“Still a little sore.” Jack smiled as the rest of the group finally finished changing and joined. “But I’ll be alright, I was more worried about Nika to be honest.“

Nika blushed at that, deliberately not looking at Jack in embarrassment as she joined the group. “I can worry about myself, you took it worse since Svaartal went all out with magic. He even tried pumping you full of venom; how you're not a screaming mess right now is a mystery. Glad you're not though." She finished, blushing even more.

"Bet we’re all hungry after that!" Alora finished with a warm smile. “Food is this way!"

There were apparently several food halls scattered around the school district to cater for all the different students, but Jack was still taken aback by just how huge the one they went to was. Completely taking up the 50th floor, it was a vast space of long tables complete with a variety of different sizes and types of chairs, crappy background music, security droids and unadulterated chaos, filled with all sorts of aliens walking about, chatting in small groups and waiting patiently in different queues to order lunch, monitored strictly by prefects with long-barrelled guns of some kind.

Alora led the group to the shortest queue. Jack was a little puzzled as to why many of the other students joined several of the longer queues instead of this one, but when asked, Alora laughed.

"This is the omnivore queue, and we're just that rare! Carnivores are a bit more common, and herbivores make up the rest. Can't risk cross-contamination for certain species so we get separate queues. Bad luck for them, good for us!"

As they waited their turn, Jack wondered what he'd even eat. At the temple the foods were somewhat bland; after all, in order to feed the many poor and hungry that came to the temple, the food had to be acceptable for all to eat. Oftentimes when he helped prepare the food, the dishes were basic, usually little more than bread and soup. While he was more than grateful to the temple for feeding him when he first arrived, he still craved something better.

Alora's pasta-like dish had been phenomenal, but it was only the tip of the iceberg for Jack. He had been very good diet-wise but he still had the cravings that many teenage boys his age had.

Cake. Chocolate. Crisps. There were also his favourite dishes his mother had cooked like Sunday Roast and Fish 'n' Chips that he desperately missed. He composed himself as the waves of despair and grief hit him as he remembered the tastes of home, threatening to completely break down the mental walls he had built in his mind and spill out. He couldn't lose it here…

To distract himself he looked and listened around. He spotted the three jewellery-clad triplets from his form class chatting excitedly with a gang of other girls, who as one looked around to see him looking their way before erupting in giggles.

They weren't the only people looking his way. Several different groups of guys he had never seen before were giving him dirty looks, though Jack had no idea why. Other groups were looking at him in fear, while others were excitedly mimicking what looked suspiciously like the fighting moves he had used barely an hour ago.

Spotting a gap in the tables, he saw Nya frantically talking to her friend - some kind of bipedal yellow fox - before vaguely gesturing towards Jack's group.

Jack was suddenly interrupted when he felt a familiar tug on his arm.

Are you ok?

Chiyo was looking at him with a serious expression, apparently being the only one to notice Jack being distant.

Jack gave a weak smile and a nod. "Just thinking about what to eat,” he lied unconvincingly. "I should have enough money for it though."

All food is free of charge here. Didn't the headmaster tell you?

Chiyo's expression showed that she didn't believe Jack, but she was willing to at least go along with it.

"Must have gone through one ear and out the other," Jack grinned. "In my defence, the headmaster went on for hours…"

They both had a chuckle at that, Jack feeling a little better. "Any food you recommend?"

It turns out that Chiyo had many recommendations. In hindsight, the least physically capable member of the group was never going to recommend the healthiest of meals, but after the day he'd had so far, Jack just didn't care right now.

So it was with wide eyes all around that Jack followed the group to an empty table with a fully stacked tray. It didn't have all the food possible, but not through lack of trying.

Oddly enough, Nika and Chiyo were quick to sit either side of Alora before several nearby boys got the chance to do so themselves, which meant that Sephy gleefully sat next to Jack on the opposite side.

"Wow that's a lot on your plate! What'd ya get?" the Skritta asked as she took the opportunity to really lean into Jack under the guise of checking out his food.

"To be honest I have no idea!" Jack replied embarrassed. "Chiyo recommended it all."

I didn't recommend you get LITERALLY EVERYTHING!

Chiyo typed quickly as the others looked her way with eyebrows raised. Jack guessed he was missing out on something here...

"That doesn't look particularly healthy," Nika warned with a slight smile. "I'll have you hot and sweaty tomorrow morning when we spar. That should help you work it off!"

Jack couldn't quite believe what he had just heard, and apparently neither did Nika as she held up a hand to her mouth.

"Well…" Jack replied in the most suave voice his teenage self could manage. "I'll hold you to that!"

Alora just facepalmed. "All you absolute degenerates need to get a room!"

They all laughed at that.

"So," Jack finally asked as they all calmed down. "What is the Red Legion anyway? I've been here half a day and already they all hate me!"

"Not all of them," Nika spoke up. "We know plenty of good guys and you've met a few. It's just that the Red Legion... attracts a lot of extremists, especially over the last decade where they've been recruiting just about anyone."

Seeing Jack's confused look Chiyo filled him in, using Alora as a proxy.

"Throughout history, many organisations and factions have tried to unite the known galaxy under one rule. Several of them are mentioned in the book Chiyo gave you."

"I'm about two-thirds of the way through that," Jack noted. "Several have forged empires or federations but they've never taken the whole pie."

Both Alora and Chiyo nodded at that statement as they continued. "The Red Legion is one of several modern-day factions using highly trained militaries and authoritative rule to enforce the will of their leader-"

"Haalvastar, the Red Death!" Sephy chimed in, desperately wanting to participate in the conversation.

Alora nodded. "The Red Legion has been successful, however there was an incident over ten years ago in which the Red Legion clashed with the Dread Lords, another major player. Though the Red Legion was victorious, there are rumours that Haalvastar lost one of his sons in a very bad way during the conflict and that ordeal changed him."

"Wasn’t it the Vile Fleet that got him?” Sephy asked. “I think-”

"There you are!" A cheerful voice called out before she could say any more. "I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

All heads within a 50-metre radius turned at the loud outburst. "Jack! How is your first day at school?” He was suddenly a bit squashed as Luvia plonked her tray of meat on the table and sat down, practically rubbing up next to him. "I heard you fought some Legion aspirants earlier! That sounds very brave!" She purred seductively, her eyes gazing into his as she put an arm around Jack, pulling him into her possessively.

"Actually he kicked their asses!" Sephy chimed in, putting her arm around Jack and trying to pull him to her. "7 of the best fighters in our year, and Jack smacked them down!"

"I am here you know…" Nika called out, though rather than being angry at being left out she was too amused by the veritable tug-o-war taking place in front of her.

Deciding to just tune out as he was being pulled apart like a ragdoll, Jack spotted something ahead that gave him pause. It was Svaartal and his three lizard-like friends from their home class, and it looked like something was going down. The three Xarak were shouting at the snake, who for his part looked to be pleading with them. As it escalated one of the Xarak grabbed Svaartal by the neck, only to be met with a retaliatory strike of his razor tongue to the face, knocking him back. Svaartal followed up with an acidic spit that hit dead centre, causing the Xarak to howl as he stumbled backwards into a group of large armadillo-like creatures, who upon having their food knocked onto the floor immediately drew guns.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Jack could see a group of prefects desperately trying to make their way to the altercation, but it was too late. As the group started firing, the collateral damage disturbed more and more groups until one shrill voice rang out over the hustle and bustle of conversation.

"FIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!"

Jack didn't really know what to do, taking a second to realise that there was a firefight. He quickly reached into his bag to try and look for the pistol Nika had lent him before Sephy leaned in and whispered, "Hey it's alright, Chiyo has us covered!"

Jack looked up to see the others calmly looking around at what was going on as various colours of laser fire ricocheted off an invisible wall around them, which was soon followed by thrown food which smeared an ugly colour over the barrier. Sephy hissed at that. "Such a waste!" she whispered. While Jack agreed with her, he was surprised that the Skritta was so serious. He had expected her to laugh and make jokes, but he realised that perhaps there was something under the surface. He had only known her for less than a day, after all…

"I'm rather surprised that there are those that dare attack us!" Luvia exclaimed, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she had let go of the human boy she had refused to release only moments ago.

"Yeah there's usually a bunch of simps forming a wall around you and Alora, and by extension the rest of us," Nika reasoned. "You holding out alright Chiyo?"

You seriously have to ask?!

Though Jack couldn't hear the thoughts of Chiyo he could make out as much from her expression as she gave Jack the closest thing he had seen to a confident smile from her.

Deciding that he was safe, Jack decided to eat up while he had the opportunity, as some heavily armoured prefects and security droids charged in to mop up the mess.

****

'Religious and Philosophical Education' was next, with both Alora and Luvia joining him to the latter’s absolute delight. As they lined up, Jack spotted several familiar faces - including Vaal, who joined him. "This is the guy I was talking about, hey Jack!"

A small group of the guys, including Crill and his ratfolk friend from his home room class, and the aquatic and the insectoid from the fight crowded around him excitedly.

"You do know that when you say you've been talking about me you just make me super paranoid right?" Jack asked with raised eyebrows. He didn't get the impression that it was something bad, but his gut had been wrong before. "After all, we did fight a few hours ago …”

Luvia turned angrily at that. "I heard of a dishonourable combat bringing shame to the name of the Red Legion! And now I know the perpetrators,” she snarled at Vaal. "An uneven cowardly fight from what I hear! My father will hear about this!"

At that all the boys apart from Vaal seemed to recoil hard. "Whoa! We are deeply sorry Luviannestixxx, but it was ordered by Master Kull, we couldn't refuse!"

"Besides, he fought well!" chittered the insectoid excitedly. "Well…. apparently! I was out for most of the fight! Nika was too quick for me, I swear I'd never seen her so fired up before!"

A low rumble came from the hulking aquatic beast trailing at the back of the group. "I can confirm this creature is indeed mighty, my plates still ache from his blows, and his strength outmatched mine! He was able to dislocate my mandible and severely reduce my effectiveness!"

"What kind of creature are you?” the insectoid asked curiously, leaning in close towards him.

"Uh..human? I'm a Deathworlder. My name is Jack by the way…"

The aquatic placed a tentacle on the excitable insect's shoulder to calm him down. "Our apologies, it is a violation against the Red Codex to not have introduced ourselves. "My name is Plooderoo and I'm a Ploothe, and our excitable friend here is Kizzariiith from the Lleethux Hive"

"You already know my name at least,'' grinned Vaal. "Vaal, of the Eladran Dreadnaught Ishkabal. So the guys and I were wondering if you'd be interested in joining our Deathball team? It's too late for tonight's game, but you'd be a great fit!”

Alora put her hand on Jack's arm to interrupt him before he asked for details.

"Jack is from very far away, so he may not understand customs you and I take for granted." Alora was cordial with Vaal, but something about the way she spoke was a little different. He couldn't quite place it, but his gut was forming knots. He had enough sense not to mention it in the moment though.

“Ah, that explains why the ‘Crimson Fangs’ were so angry with you!” Vaal replied curiously. “Oh-the name the other four call their group,” he added to a very confused looking Jack. "I think they took your ignorance as an insult, but to be honest, those assholes like any excuse to be offended at something so that they can get into fights."

Jack nodded. There were certainly those types of people on Earth, his older brothers made fun of them all the time.

“Please join us! We need a new Charger ever since Zzarango quit the team!” The rat-dude excitedly looked up at Jack, almost pleading with him.

“Chill Kritch, you'll scare him off!" Vaal grinned before turning to Jack. "No pressure Jack, but we'd be glad to have you on board!"

"I'll think about it," Jack replied noncommittally, as the class - spotting the teacher - formed an orderly double line. A sport literally called 'Deathball' didn't exactly fill him with enthusiasm, so he'd probably give his politest 'fuck no' if they pushed the subject.

“You know…” Alora whispered to him with a sly smile. “Nika and Sephy are on the team as well…it might be a good chance for you to…bond with them?”

Hmm...maybe he'd give it a shot after all. What's the worst that could happen?

*****

"Some might consider the goals of Astara and Tyrus to be closely intertwined, considering their respective mantles of Justice and Order, and while the followers of these two gods may ally and cooperate, Tyrus teaches his followers to follow the letter of the law, and establish his law where there is lawlessness, whereas Astara encourages her follows to work for the greater good above law. It is this crucial difference that separates the churches, in addition to their other mantles, of course…"

The lecture was being hosted by Sister Jieta, a priestess of Siros - the God of Purity - who Jack had never seen at the Temple of Hope as Siros was not worshipped there. She seemed passionate about the subject of the founding gods, though most of the praise was to her own deity.

The lecture room they were in was circular, with the teacher speaking in the centre and utilising holograms to show religious symbolism or artwork of events. Around the perimeter were comfortable sofa-like benches and desks that could be adjusted for height, and Jack was glad to let his body relax and allow the aches and pains from earlier to start subsiding.

He tried his best to take notes and follow along. The topic of the school's founding gods was very interesting; however, he was getting rather... distracted.

Eyes all across the room were not-so-subtly staring at him when they thought he couldn’t see as he tried to note down the profiles and traits of the gods, even using D&D alignments to translate it into terms he could understand. Several of the guys hanging around Vaal looked to be measuring the human up, though Jack was a little put off by the intensity. Other groups of guys were looking at him in trepidation, as if he would do something crazy at any moment. The jewellery-clad girls from his form class sat opposite him were brazenly adjusting themselves and their uniforms, leaning forward seductively to expose their cleavages, or repeatedly crossing or uncrossing their legs. One was even slowly sucking on the end of her pen. A group of brightly feathered aliens he assumed were girls were subtly whispering to each other as they stared, making some…interesting hand gestures. And two gecko-like beings to the right were changing colours rapidly, one putting their arm around the other that was shaking and making strange expressions.

He heard Luvia give a low growl to his right, sharpening her claws on the table as she stared back at the offending parties, no longer even bothering to ‘accidentally’ bump or touch him as she adjusted her seat or wrote notes, and instead seemed ready to defend her ‘territory’ with a vengeance.

“The idea to create an institution of learning was originally conceived by Imera, the God of Magic and Knowledge, and while her priesthood laid the initial foundations, it was only by working with the others that this would become the greatest institution in the galaxy. Siros, God of Purity in his great wisdom commanded his builders and purifiers to cleanse, consecrate and build the great structures which stand to this day. Astara brought together the first faculty that wished to selflessly teach knowledge to the young, and those that would protect them. Tyrus established the rules and those that would enforce them. Nekdon, in an uncharacteristic display, also ordered his followers to share their vast collection of information and secrets to teach....”

Jack tried his best to focus on the words but found it hard to as his classmates got bolder to try and get him to notice them. He had usually hated being the centre of attention in a group, prefering to simply observe from the side but his brothers and cousins had helped him come out of his shell.

But they weren't here now when he needed them…

"As many of us know, the worship of Tyrus and Siros in some form is widespread by the population. Astara less so, as though the actions of her followers are often widely felt, too often do worshipers fall in their duty..."

Jack shifted in his seat, as he felt the natural bodily reaction to attractive girls his age looking his way arise. He had managed to hide it up until this point, but it had gotten to the stage that he really didn't want to have to stand up right now...

He felt Luvia shift to the side, sniffing slightly in the air near him before brushing his leg with hers. He really hoped that was a coincidence…

“Imera, of course, shares several of her mantles with other gods, so her own position is more vulnerable to rivals. It was a wise decision to found the school and ensure her name is still spoken and revered!"

Alora was sat next to Jack making the odd note, but judging by her religious background, she likely knew most of this stuff already. She wrote something down on a separate page and slid a message over to him.

Someone's popular today!

She ended with what looked like an unusual smiley face. As Jack could feel the warm air from Lucia's snout, he decided the distraction would be good to 'calm' his excitement.

I have no idea what I'm doing

He wrote back, trying his best to draw a dog with glasses typing on a keyboard. He hoped the meme would translate enough.

Well, you certainly can't draw…

Alora slowly looked round to Jack as the teacher wasn’t looking, and as their eyes met both quietly snorted in amusement.

“Public worship of Nekdon seems to have died out, and it is generally unknown what caused this to occur. The priesthood was once very prolific but now cataloguing institutions firmly believe it no longer exists in nearspace. It is commonly speculated that Nekdon is in fact dead, though what, or who is responsible for the death of a god is unknown. The Church of Siros offers an impressive bounty on any lore or artefacts to do with Nekdon, and I encourage all of you to do your duty in this regard should the opportunity arise!

The bell rang, signifying the end of class. On being dismissed the students reluctantly got up out of the comfortable seats and started filing out, with Jack thankful to no longer be subject to the…admittedly not unpleasant display, and he was glad that Alora’s messaging had calmed him down. London Bridge had fallen back down…