Location: Terra Colony Andromeda

North Sector - Point D4 - Draco Outpost

Date: January 31, 2050

Time - Nightfall

There was nothing better than a good nap after a hard day’s work. A snore left Haruka as she rolled on her side, eyes shut tight and her whole body relaxing like jelly. She melted and spread upon the cot, its leathery surface and stiffness were unkind to her spine, though wholly workable in terms of the little comforts of a sudden nap. When it came to sleeping on the job, she made do with whatever there was.

“Hey! Haruka, Wake up.”

After another snore, Haruka let her thoughts wander. Damn, I’m starving. She imagined that pancakes would fit the bill when she woke up, or maybe a stack of buttered waffles. Hmmmmm. The drool pooling on her tongue was the deciding factor that the latter option was better. But.. maybe a steak? I could go for one.. Or maybe both. I did miss breakfast, how about a Linner?

“Jesus, Haruka! Wake up! And stop drooling.”

Haruka smacked her lips, already able to taste the juicy fat of her next meal. She’d bite down, and the deliciousness would spread to the backs of her cheeks with a satisfying depth of flavor. Lamb? Beef? Pork? Chicken? What about fish? A salad would do too. And Chocolate waffles to top it off, no.. buttered waffles with chocolate sauce.

Whack!

Suddenly, the world fell over. Haruka slumped onto the ground, scratching her head in obvious annoyance. “Ow! What the heck! Who did that?”

There wasn’t a need to search. Arielle, just a couple steps away, righted the cot back on its legs and knelt down, her face meeting Haruka with a tight frown. “Don’t act like you don’t know.”

“What do you mean?” Haruka mimed as if she were hurt, rubbing her head and giving a woeful sigh. “I got pretty banged up earlier, you wouldn’t believe how savage these students were. There was this one kid that tore off a part of my horn.” She pointed to the small, blunted nub on one of her antler’s many branching tips. “See! And my kimono is all messed up. The green cloth got all dirty and the sleeves are all torn.”

Arielle didn’t say a thing because she knew what Haruka said was partially true. Yes, she was roughed up, but her clothes were fine and her antlers would heal. Arielle got on with it and hauled Haruka up to sit her ass back down on the cot. Immediately, Haruka tried to lay down. She was subsequently cut short by another smack to her head.

“Don’t even try it.” Said Arielle. “We’re moving out soon, so stay awake.”

Haruka puffed her cheeks out. She considered Arielle a friend, so this harsh treat was starting to border on the limits of her comfort. “Just let me sleep already. We did our job, right? Can’t I just go home now?”

“That’s not how this works.” Arielle jerked her chin over in a certain direction. “If you wanna sleep, then make sure that he’s not watching.”

Haruka followed where she was gesturing to. Her eyes widened when she found Itsuki giving her a side-long glare. He then began to move his mouth. She lip read, and he was saying.. “Get.. the fuck.. Up.”

Usually, those intimidating words would draw a line of fear across Haruka’s face. This time, her fear was lessened and was outweighed by the questions on what was going on. The especially specific question was why Itsuki was holding a girl in his arms like a fairy tale prince charming, and why the hell the girl was nuzzling him in such a flirtatious manner.

“Uh?” Haruka swung her legs off the cot. “Did I miss something?”

The clamor of the field camp sobered her up, as did the sight of the number of official looking members of the CSU. When they were around, that meant something was going down. She shrugged, regarding everything with a yawn and lazy blink of her eyes.

Arielle sighed at her nonchalance. “You’ve been asleep for a couple hours, and the last trainees and students have arrived. Hurry up, and shake off your sleep.”

“Haruka.” Itsuki called. “Can you stand?”

Haruka glanced away. “I don’t know. But I’d rather sit, my ass kind of hurts, and I bet Arielle wants to as well, seeing as we got our butts handed to us in that last fight.”

“Speak for yourself.” Retorted Arielle, flicking the blunt nub on Haruka’s antlers. “I’m still in one piece. Unlike you.”

“Exactly!” Haruka exclaimed, flopping onto the cot with a whining yawn as she kicked her legs like a child. “I’m injured, so I’m entitled to catch a break.”

“You’re twisting your logic.”

“No I’m not.”

Arielle pinched her temples, Haruka noted the new wrinkles when she did that. “Ugh, you are such a handful.”

Haruka didn’t counter. Instead, she smiled cheekily at Arielle. She knew she had won, so she tucked in and snoozed, entirely out of it a second later with her mouth hanging open to snore. Arielle was on the verge of wanting to rant at her. Itsuki deadpanned, his blank black eyes drilling them with the usual indifferent stoicism. It was hard to believe that he knew these two to be close, like sisters. Though, saying it aloud would get him a sharp denial from them both. They were a quirky pair, as were all explorers, like himself.

For now, he wasn’t going to comment on Haruka’s apparent laziness. There was enough experience in his back log of memories to understand that doing anything to rectify this part of her unique personality was useless.

I could whip her into shape.. Except.. it wouldn’t stick. She always does her own thing. She’s Special.. Different. He scrutinized the students around him, Amanda in particular. All of us.

“Sir!” The colonel approached with a data pad in hand, presenting it since Itsuki’s hands were full with carrying Shis around. “Here is the data you requested. As you ordered, I’ve had my officers begin sending out the information to the higher ups.”

“Good work.” Itsuki went over the information with a quick glance. There was a certain part that brought on a deep frown. “Not bad, not good, though there are a number of disappointments.”

“Should we do anything?” Asked the Colonel.

“Yes, but not yet. They will be a handful to deal with. We’ll manage for now. Just be ready to put your foot down when the time is right. Operation Hidden Assassin is still in effect.”

“Sir, yes sir!”

***

“Ugh, this is so much better.”

Amanda sat on a cot, eating away at her stack of ration bars beside her. To say that she was starving was an understatement. All she had for the last half day were energy gels and water. She was hydrated, but hollow and unsatisfied on the inside, like a cream puff with no cream inside. It just wasn’t right. Biting down, she went through half of the nutrition rich bar in a single swallow. She coughed, choking on a piece as she grasped for a drink.

Next to her, Stella tipped back a canteen to her lips. “Slow down.” She warned, “The food isn’t going anywhere, Amanda. So take your time.” She chuckled when Amanda let out a gasp of relief and instantly went back to gobbling another ration bar as if her life depended on it. “Heh, you sure eat a lot.”

“Coming from you.” Amanda said, around her mouthfuls. “That’s rich. How many have you’ve eaten? I’ve only had 3 by now.”

Stella pressed her lips together tightly, now taking smaller nibbles of her own ration bar. “About.. 6.”

“More like 13.” Shisuki added from the cot across from them. “Our resident piggy sure likes to eat, doesn’t she, brother?” Shisuki leaned to the right, her head gently laying on Ikki’s shoulder. “Tell me, is she like this every meal? As her unfortunate roommate, you must have to cook a lot to keep up with her savage appetite.”

“Not really.” Said Ikki. “Stella’s actually the one who cooks most of our meals, and they’re well proportioned.” He thumbed the side of his ration bar. “But.. I’ve noticed that she snacks a lot. The cupboards are always filled with something new every week.”

Shisuki giggled. To Ikki, it sounded like a playful response. To Stella, it was a jeering taunt. She wanted to stand up and deny that she was a glutton, though she knew if she did she’d fall into Shisuki’s trap. This impossibly crazy brocon hadn’t outright said she was gluttonous, so denying it would only bring too much attention to the topic.

For now, she let things lay, and tried not to react to how close Shisuki was sitting to Ikki. The topic changed, from catching up on who was where during the exercise, to what had happened, and then to how they had won their fights. Finally, they landed on what was going to happen next.

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“So is the class today over?” Richard asked from the cot next to Amanda’s. “Are they going to dismiss us after they get a tally?”

“Nope.” Said Mana, stepping over to join the conversation with Dahlia in tow. “To my knowledge, we have about another few hours. These classes usually go into the next day.”

She had been standing just a couple steps between their cots, listening to their conservation while also keeping a well trained eye on Dahlia and Itsuki. She noticed Dahlia tremble when Itsuki pulled a camo brown military cap over his blonde hair. There was a light of recognition Mana could detect from her friend’s eyes. It went away when Amanda groaned like a dying animal for everyone to hear.

“A few hours?” She heaved a huffing breath. “Can’t we just go home already.”

“You could.” Mana said, weighing the words she’d say. “Dropping out is an option, but.. I can guarantee you that you shouldn’t if it’s in your best interest to be an explorer.”

“Is this about how they grade us?” Ikki asked. “Do you know the details?”

“Kind of. It’s based on observations made by the training staff. They determine who will advance to higher classes, and if students could potentially take part in provisional explorer jobs where you can attain a few more qualifications, which, in turn, lets you graduate.”

Ikki clenched his hands a little tighter. “So we need to push through to be an explorer.” He mumbled. “Makes sense.”

“Exactly.” Mana replied.

Ikki perked up, not expecting that he’d been heard, and Mana shot him a wide grin that was playful and encouraging, something Ikki was foreign to receiving.

“You’re pretty ambitious, aren’t you.” Mana said, “I’m the same, so I get what you’re going through.”

“Y-you do?”

“Course I do. I may not be a grunt type explorer like you or have your handicaps in core affinity, but here? In this academy? We’re all in the same boat, we all have to slog through the same shitty muck. There’s no special treatment for the talented or gifted, there’s only the training and what we do during said training.”

Those words were like a breath of fresh air for Ikki. He wasn’t used to being treated with respect. While he had a few people who did, more often than not, people looked down on him for his lack of ability and miniscule natural talent with core affinity.

He regarded her with a respectful nod. “Yeah.. thanks. Glad to be here with you.”

Before Mana could reply, CSU officers shouted across the field camp.

“Everyone! We’re moving in 5. Get your belongings and get the remaining wounded loaded up on the transports. We’ll be heading inside in assigned groups! Look to your HUDs for instruction, they’ll be updated in just a second. Trainees! Report to your sergeants and team leaders! Let’s go people, don’t fall behind!”

A bustle began as everyone rushed to finish their rations. From a brief glance, Amanda estimated that there were over 100,000 people in this camp alone. Contrary to her expectation, everything was running smoothly. The trainees were the first to get themselves organized. They lined up in parade formation and marched off in the direction of Outpost Draco 4’s walls.

Dang. This place is huge. While making her way closer to the Outpost, Amanda craned her neck at all the watchtowers and fortifications she could now see because of the overnight lighting kicked in. What do they even keep in here?

She would soon get her answers. The enormous walls of the Outpost had sections that opened like gigantic double doored gates to a castle. When it was their turn, Amanda and her group followed close behind Itsuki, who was conversing with the Colonel and a few officers. Arielle was beside them, as was Haruka, who didn’t exactly walk herself in and was instead carried on the cot by a pair of trainees. Chisuke was also getting the same treatment, except he didn’t roll around in his sleep, unlike the former.

After passing the walls the trainees dispersed to the side of the street and disappeared off into the facilities. Amanda kept pace with the officers assigned to lead the students to their destination. They continued down a main road with a column of vehicles behind them.

“Excuse me!” Just as they were turning a corner into a clearing, a slender man in royal azure attire called out to the Colonel. The man had a gentle face, almost like a woman’s, yet there was an amount of masculinity in his voice. His brows slanted, showing clear indignation. “Excuse me!” he said again when the Colonel didn’t acknowledge him and was instead still conversing with Itsuki. “Sir! I am talking to you.”

image [https://i.postimg.cc/Z5rxh1rW/1725246531883.jpg]

The Colonel glanced his way and halted with a strong pause, training the other slender man with all the stern attitude of a war veteran. Amanda’s opinion of the situation was that if the pompous and rude prick had any brains, he’d flee at the sight of the Colonel’s face. He didn’t, and that was a mistake the Colonel readily made clear.

“And who the hell are you?” The Colonel barked, “Get out of my way son, or I will have you removed.”

The slender man’s face warped into abject shock and anger the next second. “How dare you talk to me in such a manner! Have you no etiquette?”

“I have plenty, except none for a student like you. Now move.”

“Wait!” The slender man pressed a hand on the Colonel’s chest, stopping him.

The Colonel growled. “You are pushing the limit, boy.” He brushed the hand away and sighed with all the anger of a father holding back his rage for the sake of an idiot child. “Speak. What do you need with me?”

“What I need is an explanation. Why have we not received medical aid?” The slender man gestured to his group, a motley number of battered and weary students. “We have been here for hours since our arrival and we’ve not even received water.”

“How unfortunate.” The colonel said with no emotion. “I will look into it.”

“Look into it?” The man repeated in annoyance. “Why don’t you just do something? I recognize that you are of a high rank, aren’t you in charge? Help us.”

“And why should I? My orders were to welcome the students I am assigned. Your group is not assigned to me, so you are not my problem.”

“But we were here first. Why didn’t you help us?”

“Because I was not ordered to.”

The slender man furrowed his brows even deeper, almost ruining his pretty face. He put a hand across his chest, gesturing at the iconography of his clothes. If he was being patient, his tone wasn’t doing well in showing it. “Do you see this? I am the heir to the Koichi Dynasty of the Nation of Chinsui, Shidou Koichi. Do you understand what that means?”

The Colonel shook his head. “No.. I do not.. And I do not care. Now move.”

Amanda, from the back of the group, heard the shuffling of feet and clatter of weapons. The crew of students behind this, Shidou Koichi, had begun to come forward to support him. They all glared with disgusted looks at the Colonel and his officers, Itsuki included.

One of Shidou’s group, a burly man with a heavy and dense brow, snorted at them. “My lord, these people do understand their place. Should we teach them a lesson?”

A mummer spread amongst the others behind Shidou as he seemed to mull over his next actions.

“Yeah, they’re just grunts.” Said another student.

“And what right did they have in teaching us so poorly?”

“Bunch of wretches, I can’t believe we have to listen to them.”

“We were first, so why the heck were the late ones given special treatment.”

Amanda noticed how some of them began to give her and the other students the stink eye. Mana returned the look with one of her own, as did Osamu and Gen.

“What a bunch of assholes.” Mana mumbled, she sniffed, her nose twitching as if she’d smelt a rancid smell.

Amanda leaned over and whispered, “I know what you mean. They sure seem like prideful nobles.”

“Not what I meant.” Replied Mana. “I recognize a few of these guys. Some of them were in our group during the last fight, and they turned tail and ran.”

Amanda blinked, “That happened to you too.. Wait.” Her gaze went about the gathering crowd behind Shidou. She spotted a few familiar faces. “Are.. are they..”

“Seems like it.” Mana said as if reading her mind. “From your story, as well as Shisuki’s and my own, these guys must be the ones who turned tail and ran in the middle of the last battle. They’re a bunch of true assholes.”

“And cowards.” Osamu added in a mumble. “Bet if Chisuke was awake, he’d rip their head off.”

Gen pushed up his glasses and nudged Osamu to get his attention. “I think there are others who just might do that in his place. Look.”

A nearby column of vehicles and marching trainees had come to a stop, and a few of them, having seen the commotion, stood at the ready with their hands at their waists. All of them were fully kitted out, and a couple of the vehicles had stopped with their crews at attention. Biggest of them all, a tank was revving its engines, the barrel of its gun swiveling with an audible creak that caught Shidou and his crowd’s attention. Their faces morphed from their high and mighty prideful smirks into an expression of fear, then rising anger.

Shidou turned back to the Colonel, hissing. “You will hear about this.”

“Good, now move.” Replied the Colonel, shoving Shidou and his men to the side as he walked through like a man parting the sea. Under his breath, Amanda was sure she heard him say. “What a bunch of limped dick manchildren.”

Amanda almost laughed.

Arielle, on the other hand, snickered. “You heard it too?” She asked.

Amanda glanced over her shoulder, making sure that they were far enough away from the apparent limp dick manchildren in question. “Yeah, kinda funny. But don’t you think that was.. I don’t know.. Disrespectful. They sounded like a bunch of big shots.”

“Nope, not all. In fact, they got what they deserved. And they’ll get what’s coming to them.”

“How so?”

Arielle did a dismissive wave of her hands. “Oh, you’ll see.”

“Arielle.” Itsuki called. “Fall in, we need to regroup at the infirmary with the others. Bring Haruka along, and.” He pointed to Chisuke. “Carry him as well.”

“Can’t you do that?” Arielle retorted, her hands on her hips.

Itsuki turned around and made a show of adjusting Shis in his arms. “Do I look like I have a free hand?”

“Yeah!” Said Shis, cuddling up to him. “Don’t go ruining my moment with the boss.

Arielle smiled teasingly at them. “Point taken.”

Itsuki didn’t follow up on that wordless jab, and separated, as did a number from their group. Amanda, with the other students, followed the Colonel and his officers. After a couple minutes of walking, she was starting to become lost if not for their guides. Every gray and gunmetal colored building, while similar in construction, were packed closer together the deeper they went into the outpost.

Eventually, there was a building she was completely familiar with. They arrived inside one of the domed shaped buildings that were usually used for mock battles between explorers. Amanda could never forget this place, not after how eventful her first mock fight was when she arrived.

The officers let them all go into the cafeteria, where Amanda hoped she could get a good meal in, or possibly a dessert. It was around dinner time after all. Ration bars were nutritious, but they lacked all the creature comforts of a hot and savory meal. The demanding growl of her stomach, and Stella’s, had them both rushing off to find where they could get their next meal.

Shisuki amusedly snickered at Ikki’s side. “Those two are quite the gluttons.”

Ikki let a smile slip, not sure if he should comment. Richard was of the same mind, and kept his mouth shut.