Year 2050, January 1st
“And today marks the 20th year after the war's end. We must thank our proud explorers who continue to keep the peace around the world. In other news, there has been a marked decrease in Humanist and Authorian activists. But many are still outraged by the change in political spectrums after the war, yet …..”
The news report on the nearby TV continued to talk, but the young girl sitting on a bench drowned out the sound of her voice. She instead sat comfortably in her seat in the middle of the underway tram, and she had just closed the thick covered book she was finished reading.
“Written by Cyno Basa Yuno, Records of Starfall - Heroes and Explorers. Hmmmm? A good book but it's a bit dry.”
She spoke the author’s name and title of his book. While her remark seemed derisive, she was impressed by its story. It was a classic, well loved in fact, but it seemed to have not satisfied her fully. But she had to at least give credit to how truly riveting a tale this was. A tale of humanity’s struggle for survival after calamity. While some parts of the story seemed over the top, this book was indeed based on true events.
The proof? Well, that was in front of her, just outside the window of the tram.
She glanced through the transparent pane of glass, crystal clear and not having a speck of dirt on it and saw an enormous complex that looked as if it were a wall that stretched across the horizon. The sheer height and width of this manmade structure seemed impossible to be real, but its towering figure became only more evident as the tram neared its destination.
“ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ALL PASSENGERS SHOULD PREPARE FOR DEPARTURE! PLEASE READY YOUR IDENTIFICATION FOR PROCESSING! THANK YOU AND WELCOME TO TERRACOLONY ANDROMEDA!”
The announcer's voice cut out from the speakers above, and the young girl took note of that term. Terracolonies, super structures of massive proportions with enough space to house millions of people. It was mentioned in the book she was reading, it was a self-sustaining and a heavily fortified colony with all the technological advancements that humankind could cram into it.
These amazing marvels of technological innovation were the pivotal cornerstone of the Starfall Calamity War. Built out of necessity, Terracolony Andromeda was the first of its kind and has stood tall as a testament that humankind would persevere through any disaster.
Serving as both safe havens and forward bases, terracolonies were at the forefront of the war and were now the key hubs of civilization.
As the sight of the structure became so close that it covered the dazzling of the large blue and cloudy sky, the tram soon entered an entry port that looked like a pin hole on the outer wall of the enormous terracolony’s perimeter. A brief amount of darkness eclipsed the interior of the tram but it was soon filled with the natural light of the sun that shone through the highly durable and transparent glass dome that capped off this circular megastructure.
At the hiss of the tram’s hydraulics, the double doors slid open and men in official black and blue police uniforms entered. Their holographic badge shined on their left chest pocket.
“Tickets please!”
Handing the piece of document to the official, the young girl glanced up from her seat. The official, an adolescent man, blushed when he saw the youth's beauty. Eyes as blue as the sky but shimmering like crystal, the official couldn’t help but hold his breath.
Swallowing, he hoped that she didn’t hear him gulp. He scanned the documents quickly with his hand-held device, it beeped, drawing the beauty’s attention away from him. He hoped to not make a mess of himself, he of all people should be a professional, and messing up in front of this girl seemed like the end of the world to him. She went to grab her things in the storage compartment just above her, the official then hastily got out of her way and addressed with a cough.
“Ahem! Amanda M Lee.” The official softly said, hoping he didn’t mispronounce her name. “Welcome. I do hope you enjoy your time here.”
“Oh, I will. Thank you very much.”
The girl’s regal voice evoked an alluring but firm existence, and the official couldn’t help but stand at attention, but he had other passengers to process and awkwardly tipped his cap down to hide the embarrassment of his blundering attitude. Amanda giggled like the young girl she was and promptly made her way out, letting her fun with the young man abruptly end.
Stepping off with her suitcase rolling by her side and a large backpack slung and clinging to her back and waist, Amanda took out a paper map from her blue coat pocket.
As she walked around to find her way, passersby looked a bit strangely at her. The cause was a mix of how elegant and radiant she looked, but also since her use of a physical map to navigate was outdated since the year 2000. Digital or holoprojector maps were commonplace, so it was novel to see such a bygone mode of navigation.
Yet this was easier for Amanda. She had yet fully grasped how to operate the holoprojection device she had on her wrist. Its many options and features perplexed her and she felt like she was going to break it if she tried to use it. Knowing how expensive it was, she opted not to mess around with it too much.
“Hmmm? It should be around here, OH! There it is.”
After walking and busing around the terracolony which was bustling around in the cold early morning, Amanda found her destination. It was a housing complex that was utilized for the students of Andromeda Academy. Being that she was an incoming student, Amanda unhesitantly walked to the large glass and metal framed front gate that stood like a fortress wall to the much larger complex behind it.
Her wrist device pinged, and the gates slid open upon recognizing her credentials. It was oddly large for a front gate but seeing that this place had a garage she inferred that vehicles made their way through here.
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Using the posted map directory at the security office just inside, Amanda made her way through this highly secured facility. Cameras and other devices were scattered across this housing complex, all for the sake of ensuring safety from external threats.
Making her way into the reception area, she oddly thought that this place seemed empty but recalling how this part of the dorm was likely for the incoming students, Amanda understood that she was early.
In fact, days early since the semester had yet to start. Looking up, she still had enough daylight left to go touring around the colony.
“Hello! Is anyone here? HELLOOOOO?”
As much as she wished for a response, none came to her. The reception desk was closed, and all the doors seemed locked, not even with her entry level credential could she think to take a peek inside one of the restricted rooms.
“Excuse me! Hello! Are you new here as well?”
Turning to the new voice behind her, Amanda met the sights of a short young girl with crimson eyes and long red hair. Her red hair was braided into two long tails that rested on her shoulders on either side. Both their eyes glimmered and shined, and they oddly felt a bit of comradery with each other.
Amanda considered herself a modest beauty but the shorter girl in front of her, while she looked somewhat childish due to her shorter stature and youthfulness, Amanda could not argue that the girl’s features were not a level above her own.
What was also apparent was that this red-looking girl had breasts that were several levels above her own as well. Amanda couldn’t help herself, leering a glance, but the red eyed girl paid it no mind and got on topic.
“Hey! My eyes are up here. Now hurry and tell me who the heck you are!”
Rowdy, the first impression Amanda got was that this girl was rowdy. Or perhaps a tomboy?.
As beautiful as she looked, the red eyed girl had a somewhat ferocious side to her. Clearing her throat, Amanda coughed and postured herself regally, not because of her pride but more out of habit.
“My name is Amanda M Lee, an incoming first year student. May I know your name?”
“Umu.” The red eyed girl nodded in assurance and exchanged pleasantries. “I am Stella Von Crimsonia, like you I am also an incoming first year. If possible, do you know where I can find who is in charge?”
Amanda shook her head, she had no clue herself and Stella picked up on that.
“I see. Well I guess we should just settle in then. I could use a bath after my trip here, how about you? Care to join me?”
The offer was kind but Amanda had an issue.
“I’d love to but I haven’t been issued my room credentials yet, so I have no place to store my luggage.”
“Then follow me, you can store them in my room since I got my key code early, heck, perhaps it was fate that we met and we’re roommates.”
Stella flashed a cheery smile and an infectious one at that, making Amanda smile as well. She found Stella's demeanor to be welcoming. It had only been a few seconds, and Stella had dropped some of her attitude. Walking their way through the halls of the dormitory, they rushed inside of the room Stella had been assigned but found a peculiar sight.
“I wonder what this is?” Stella asked no one in particular, picking up a picture frame which seemed out of date and a bit ragged.
“I think that's a framed photo. Going by its make, it was probably made before the Starfall Calamity War. Quite a find, but why is it here?”
Amanda looked at the picture over Stella’s shoulder, it was a group picture of people with heavy military gear on. A certain few individuals stuck out to her, some were wearing flashy armor and others seemed to hide their faces behind colorful visors with their armored exosuits.
She put the picture frame back down gently, not wanting to damage what was likely a treasured item and looked around the room. There was a TV, a bathroom with a toilet but no shower, a small living room with a low-seated table, and a bunk bed built into the wall. Yet, the place seemed occupied at the moment since a few mementos were left around.
"Is this the right room?” Amanda asked. “It seems like someone lives here already.”
“That’s odd, I guess my room already has someone assigned.” Stella inferred as she set her own suitcase down. She didn’t start to unpack since she didn’t want to move anything around before conferring with her assigned room buddy, but it was apparent that Amanda wasn’t her roommate.
“I guess we're not roommates, I’m a bit disappointed, but what can you do?” Shrugging, Amanda cracked a smile to Stella to hopefully lighten the somewhat confusing mood.
“Ah, don’t say that. We’ll be classmates from now on, so we’ll have time to get along. In any case, you can put your stuff here for now. Let’s get to the bath, I could use a soak.”
Their clothes, while not dirty or tinged with much sweat, their bodies felt filthy. They had both been on long journeys to arrive at Andromeda and staying in the same clothes was suffocating and stifling.
Gathering what they needed, such as towels and soap, Stella and Amanda went off to the communal shower. It was located just next to the reception area and was large, likely meant to accommodate everyone in the dormitory, yet it was empty right now.
The two of them had the entire place to themselves and they grinned, making full use of the facility. Scrubbing themselves down while chatting about their journey here, Amanda learned a bit about Stella.
“So, you traveled from the European Block? Why would you do that? I thought there were Terracolonies in Europe as well, what happened?” Amanda sounded a bit incredulous, but Stella took no offense.
“It's complicated but I wanted to get away from home.”
“Why? Going by how you talked about your family, they seem like a nice bunch.”
“Yes, they are.” Stella's expression went a bit stern. “But they're too doting, I can’t expect to achieve my dreams or goals if I stayed there, so here I am. Andromeda is known to have the strongest academy in the world, so I plan to get as strong as possible while I’m here before I become a fulltime explorer. But I’ve got to say, your journey here was no walk in the park as well. What made you choose this place to enroll?”
Embarrassed by how Stella’s words hit upon a soft spot in Amanda’s life. She doused her soapy blue hair clean. Then whipped her head to shake off the uncomfortable emotion welling inside her and to also remove the excess water.
“Well, I heard this place is a bit special. This was the first Terracolony and the first academy for explorers, so I thought it’d be more interesting than those oriental or more rigid academies. Plus, there are a few famous explorers here.”
Explorers, people who delve into the unknown to map and return with vital information about the wider world. An old term used before the year 2000’s to identify people like Christopher Columbus or Marco Polo, who navigated great dangers in search of something more.
Now in the present of 2050, to Amanda’s and Stella’s admiring knowledge, it is a term to identify those who traverse the dark depths of the star depths and defend humanity. Unknown rips in physical space that take the form of vastly deep and dark holes. These originated from the year 2000 disaster, called the Starfall Calamity. A disastrous time that Amanda and Stella had read about and had aspired to two different goals from.