Nico went to the spaceport along with Oliver. It had been years since he had left Selene, so he wasn't familiar with the new parts of Luna.
One of them was the spaceport; the construction was massive. It was one of the few places where it was still possible to see the lunar ground. The port was built several stories above the ground in a ring shape, allowing multiple ships to dock and depart at the same time.
Oliver was walking beside Nico; however, unlike Nico, he wasn't marveling at the view. He was reflecting on their conversation.
After returning to the world of the living, he had never had a clear objective.
‘Why didn't I die in the bombings?’ The boy had questioned himself for several nights during his first days in New San Francisco.
He was living one day at a time, but the words of the person he considered a mentor made him feel different.
‘Alive. I finally have a reason to live.’ The boy was happy to think he had a reason to continue fighting and growing.
"Trip to Earth, departing in thirty minutes. Gate B15 open for boarding." The announcement echoed in the spaceport.
"It's time for you to go, kid." Nico pushed him to board the ship.
"Hey. Thanks again." The boy approached Nico and hugged him. "I finally have a clear objective, and the next time we meet, I'll be a Red Ranger."
"I believe it. Don't forget to train," Nico replied.
Oliver finally passed through the gate and boarded the ship.
--
--
Despite the problematic re-entry to Earth, which shook the entire ship, his journey back to the planet was more straightforward and faster. He had arrived in New San Francisco in just over twelve hours.
‘I have a few hours before the next teleport is available,’ the boy thought. ‘Maybe I could stop by the shelter.’
He would have to kill a few hours before the teleport station opened. One of his options was to return to the house where he had lived while in the city.
For a few minutes, the boy debated the option but gave up. Not only was the house quite far from the city center, but there was no one he was really attached to.
Instead, he preferred to walk near the old pier.
‘Please! No Ork carcasses. I don’t need to smell that right now.’ he wished as he walked.
Oliver had worked for many years in that region, and a question always returned to his mind: "Why the heck do they prefer to attack here rather than other parts of the city?"
To this day, he doesn't have an answer to the mystery. Luckily for him, there wasn't a single Ork body.
‘Strange,’ the boy thought. ‘Are they not attacking NSF?’
It had been a long time since he had looked at the news of New San Francisco, either because he was focused on the Academy or Selene.
The boy sat on one of the benches on the pier and watched the sunrise, waiting for the time to use the teleport. However, the sleep from the journey caught up with him.
--
--
"Ugh!" Oliver woke up, startled to see he was still on the pier of New San Francisco. He quickly pulled up his gauntlet to check the time. "Shit, I'm late."
He started running at full speed to one of the teleport stations near the city center.
The building was tall, and its facade used to bear the symbol of some company—some internet software firm that had gone bankrupt after the war began. Now, it was just another transport station.
There was a long line at the station entrance; he had to wait a few minutes.
"Did you hear it's been a week without any attacks in the city?"
"Do you think they've finally given up?"
"No shot. I heard they're still having skirmishes daily on the East Coast."
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While waiting, he listened to the people around him discussing the Ork situation.
As soon as the line moved forward, he could descend some stairs to access the central pavilion. Near the entrance, a girl was checking who was going where.
"Ticket?" the girl asked.
"No. I'm going to the Academy," Oliver explained.
"Alright. Just reminding you that you'll only have access to your own headquarters and can't access the others," the attendant explained.
"No problem." The boy nodded his understanding.
"Great, head to the left and enter the first room."
Oliver followed the instructions. In the room, there was a machine similar to the one on the island but reduced to fit only one person.
"Confirming: Oliver, Nameless. Heading to the Academy. Correct?" a person behind the panel asked.
"That's right," the boy replied.
"Great, step into the machine's center," the person instructed. "Oh! Try not to vomit."
The boy positioned himself in the machine, but before he could respond, he already felt the sensation of falling and being thrown against the ground.
His eyes welled up, and the urge to vomit hit him hard, but through the tears that formed, he could see that he was at the teleport station of the Academy.
"Are you okay, kid?" one of the soldiers asked.
"Y-yes," Oliver replied, placing one hand over his mouth to avoid vomiting.
He quickly got up and ran out of the station. As soon as he reached the grass, he unfortunately spewed all his breakfast onto the lawn.
"Darn it," the boy complained.
After he finished losing his breakfast, he could breathe in the island's fresh air.
"I'm back," he commented to himself.
Without needing to think, he started walking back to his bunk. He wanted to lie down and rest, especially after the trip. However, he also wanted to see Alan and Isabela again.
He had arrived on the island in the middle of the day, so several other recruits were still running around trying to find where their following classes or training sessions would be—a noise he had already gotten used to after the first weeks.
After a few minutes of walking, Oliver was back at his barracks. His bed was still at the end of the corridor, but it looked messy, especially after a week without anyone cleaning it.
Above him, Alan's bunk also seemed untouched. "Could he not have arrived yet?" the boy wondered.
While he was putting away his things, he heard the door of the dormitory opening. Finally, the skinny guy had arrived.
"At last. I tried to talk to you before the suspension," Oliver said.
However, Alan's face didn't look happy. It was one of the few times Oliver had seen the boy serious.
"I know," Alan replied. "Hey. I'm sorry."
"Huh? For what?" Oliver asked.
"If I hadn't been late, you wouldn't have taken that beating," Alan explained.
"Are you kidding me?" the boy asked incredulously.
"Yeah, I am." Alan broke into a smile. "Still, sorry I didn't speak up. I was embarrassed I couldn't help with Kyle."
"Screw you. But don't worry, his time will come. I'll still deal with that piece of trash," Oliver said.
"Before you explain your revenge plan, what the heck is that?" Alan asked.
He had finally gotten close to Oliver.
"What?" Oliver responded.
"Are you wearing contacts?" Alan inquired.
"No," the boy replied, giving his friend a judgmental look.
"Oh! So you evolved?! Awesome." Alan began to look his colleague up and down. "Actually, you seem taller."
Oliver also took a moment to pay attention to Alan. Although he had always thought the boy was skinny, he had changed too.
"You're one to talk, but you evolved too, didn't you?" Oliver asked.
"Of course. You didn't think you'd be the only one preparing for a rematch, did you?" Alan replied.
"Great." Oliver was happy to see his friend again. "Have you talked to Isabela?"
"Not yet. I couldn't use the chat off the island; I think you need to be here or at some Academy facility to access it," Alan explained.
| Channels
| TransportTruckFromHell [3] [Private]
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| TransportTruckFromHell
| [OliverKR] Hey! We're back!
| [AquilaAlan] Finally, we're back.
| [BellaRedFanGirl] Did you enjoy your vacation?
| [AquilaAlan] Hey! I wasn't on vacation. I've been training.
| [AquilaAlan] Although... I did go to a beach, and it was great.
| [BellaRedFanGirl] Go to hell. I was dying here in the meantime.
| [AquilaAlan] That's too bad. If you want a vacation, just pick a fight with someone in front of the cafeteria.
| [BellaRedFanGirl] No thanks.
| [OliverKR] Changing the subject. Can we meet tomorrow after classes?
| [BellaRedFanGirl] Sure. I'll meet you in the cafeteria after training.
| [OliverKR] Great.
| [AquilaAlan] Hey, did you watch any good shows? I need to kill some time.
| [BellaRedFanGirl] Forget shows. Be careful because tomorrow they're announcing the first test.
| [OliverKR] What?
| [BellaRedFanGirl] It's one of the rumors circulating in the First Battalion.
"Shit. We just got back, and we're already going to have a test."