"I'll get ready then." Ellowyn darted her gaze away from Alice, trying not to let her anxiety show, "Who is that?"
"Good morning Milady, my name is Rexis Nandia. I will be your guard and guide during your time at the Armadillo." Said a soldier-like voice behind Alice.
She was a petite girl with blackberry shoulder length hair and gray wolf ears, her posture spoke clearly of her training, from her straightened back to the seriousness in her expression. Ellowyn could see the toned muscles beneath her arm and thighs.
"You are too stiff. Please speak with Ellowyn in a more casual tone." Alice said.
"I'm sorry." Rexis apologized, but her militaristic tone remained.
"Take your time, we are in no hurry."
"Okay."
http%3a%2f%2fi.imgur.com%2fjFYWjnD.png [http://i.imgur.com/jFYWjnD.png]
From the air, she could see layers upon layers of black metallic armor protecting the campus buildings. I guess that's where the name comes from. Defensive structures from gun and missile turrets to shield stations nearly blanketed its walls and parts of the surrounding ground. Most of them were in a retracted state.
The landing process was more tedious than usual, as they were subjected to a vehicle wide scan before getting permission to land. Two armored guards arrived and did individual body scans as they stepped out of the limo.
Staring at the armored structure and countless guard posts along with flying patrol drones scattered throughout the entire college, Ellowyn hugged herself to calm herself from the fear that clung to her spine. Am I going to school or a maximum security prison? Probably both.
Unlike the rough military exterior, the campus looked much more aesthetically pleasing on the inside. With colorful silhouette art lining the wall and flowery designs layered the floor. A vast projection of the sky with countless moving artistic cubes covered the ceiling.
The security features were designed to blend in with the colorful decorations, but she could still pick up numerous camouflaged cameras and retracted turrets. Two guards stood in front of each doorway and many more patrolled throughout the campus, to the extent that she was sure one of the guards had his sight on her and every other students present at all times.
"I am Mitchell Anderson, Chancellor of Armadillo College System, I would like to welcome everyone to our institution. We provide education to the best and brightest students in the safest environment..." All holographic screens on the walls were replaying the same introductory message.
"Stay close, I don't want either of you get separated." Alice said.
"Alice!" Sophie yelled and ran up to hug her.
"Sophie, please behave yourself." Alex sighed as he slowly followed.
"Where is Lucas?" Ellowyn asked.
"The policy has an age limit of 22, Lucas had just turned 23." Sophie said while still clinging onto Alice.
Looking at the large streams of people entering the crowded hallways, Ellowyn an odd sense of nostalgia. They reminded her of the short time she spent in high school, when everyone would shower her with stares, some were curious of her white hair and red eyes while others acted as if she was a freak and kept their distance, not that she really minded the extra personal space.
Unlike that time, she received no stares as everyone else had the same expressions, nervous, fear and a little excitement for what was to come. From jeans or shorts and T-shirts, they wore clothes that were easy to move in, some even had light bullet proof suits. Accompanying many of the students were bodyguards, dressed in their respective combat suits, they each had a stern expression and their gazes scanned the surrounding crowd for any sign of threats.
The students weren't the only ones feeling nervous and fearful, as the system's threat detection pointed out signs of constant leg shifting, sweating and the wringing of hands from the faculties. They too, don't want to be here, do they? She raised an eyebrow.
It was only in the large speaker hall that she realized how surreal it was to see more than half of the students with animal ears of some kind, all standing in the auditorium and staring at the tiny figure of the Chancellor behind the podium.
A giant holo screen appeared showing Mitchell's image.
Angelic. Was the word that came to Ellowyn's mind as she stared in a daze. Everything about the woman spoke of beauty and charm, from the wavy champagne hair cascading down her delicate shoulders to a straight classic nose and luscious ruby lips. But the most striking features were her unfathomable azure eyes that seemed to draw everyone's gazes into its deep crystal abyss.
Unlike the intense fiery beauty of Alice, hers was blindingly dazzling in a haughty way.
She knew that the world's technology allowed for very impressive cosmetic changes, but what she was seeing completely transcended her expectations.
"Thank you for being here today. As your chancellor and friend, I would like to express my sympathy that some of you may have chosen our institution out of compulsion. And I completely understand that when the current political situation is resolved, many of you will not be staying with us." She bowed her head. "But please be assured, for I will do my very best to make your experience here at the Armadillo as safe and enjoyable as possible."
She is rather frank for someone of her stature. Ellowyn raised an eyebrow. Something tugged at her from deep within her memories, that the chancellor's voice and facial expressions were hauntingly familiar and yet strangely alien. She could only shrug and concluded that her tired mind was throwing noise at her from its lack of sleep.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
"Today is our academic assessment day where we will be...."
Ellowyn stopped paying attention to the formal speech as she started going over and organizing the mass of files she hastily downloaded from the internet. Had Jane been monitoring the net, she would have seen Ellowyn downloading a monumental amount of data she could find on each test subject just before she left with Alice.
"... And with that I would like to thank everyone again for coming here today." Mitchell bowed and left the podium.
The idea of having to cheat left a sour taste in her mouth, as she had been well taught by Maribelle, her beloved mother from Earth, to try her best and live through life without taking any loathsome shortcuts. But she also taught Ellowyn that life is precious, that letting one’s life go over some strict moral code was just plain silly.
Ellowyn closed her eyes and contemplated some more, failing any of the tests meant being put in small substitute classes devoid of students which will invite easy kidnappings. I'd rather have some academic dishonesty than getting kidnapped and killed in a warehouse somewhere. She shivered.
"Remember, you don't have to try too hard. Just pass the elementary level." Alice said.
"Did you look into the robotics class for me?"
"Sorry I almost forgot. Yes, you can take them along with the computer science classes too, according to the previous semester's roster, those two classes had a high number of participants so you should be safe."
"Thanks." The two classes were not in the core curriculum but Ellowyn was determined to take them.
"Good luck and don't try too hard." Alice waved as she entered a different testing room.
The test room was divided by numerous blue test booth, each with a chair and holo computer. There was a chair outside of each booth for the bodyguards to wait.
The exams for minor subjects were simplistic in nature, only requiring minimal knowledge and with short, easy exercises. They really went great lengths to make sure nobody fails these tests. She resisted the urge to chuckle. They were simple enough for her to only rely on the memories of her captive self, listening to the small lectures made by her bored personal maids.
When she chose to take the robotics and computer exams, however, the difficulty skyrocketed. With each question requiring answers in paragraph form or by giving precise answers on complex mathematics problems and showing competency in using the required software.
Because Ellowyn had no formal academic experience in that world, she had to relearn making answers in essay format and try her best to give as detailed an answer without giving away the fact that she had access to the full documents herself. The task was much more taxing than she expected, as one of the supervisors had to give her a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her face.
It was at the practical test that troubled her the most. For she had no documents on how to use the software and fumbling around with the controls would take too long. I'm not giving up though.
She plopped her head on the table and pretended to take a nap, while starting the soul room to launch simulations and jotting down their readings.
Starting Soul Room
Waiting for input on components data...
She had to spend the majority of the time trying to set up the simulation itself, but once that was done the system gave her the results almost instantly.
Fatigue took over the moment she finished her test.
"Ellowyn, Are you alright?" Alice ran upon seeing Ellowyn's pale face and grabbed her shoulders.
"I'm fine, the tests were a bit harder than I thought, that's all." She returned a tired smile.
"I know you want to study in robotics, but even if you didn’t pass on those two subjects, I can always hire tutors." Alice shook her head, “And it’s not like we are staying here for long. The policy could be reverted within a month or two.I doubt we’ll be staying here any longer than that. Let’s get you some rest.”
http%3a%2f%2fi.imgur.com%2fjFYWjnD.png [http://i.imgur.com/jFYWjnD.png]
All Ellowyn wanted to do was sleep when she arrived home, the many late nights spent in combat practice and drone design had put a toll on her tired mind.
Before she could yield herself to the sweet embrace of slumber, she had to get ready for the first day of class in the following morning.
Connecting to allocated subspace... success
Starting space transfer...
She replaced the useless components inside her subspace with the combat rifle, shield strap and a backup armored vest Alice gave her. She also wanted to assemble a working thruster suit but lacked strong enough thrusters to combat effectively.
Unable to resist the need for sleep, her eyelids slowly closed. Let’s hope nothing happens in opening day.
http%3a%2f%2fi65.tinypic.com%2f9hpfzm.png [http://i65.tinypic.com/9hpfzm.png]
I hope you enjoy my short chapppy!
GDoc link feel free to edit suggestions for errors and better phrasing.[/size]