*We changed “New Germanians” to “Weltraum Deutsche”/“New Germans”

-When the German colonists awoke on their new planet, they instantly realized something was wrong. Instead of a lush, Earth-like planet, there was nothing but darkness as far as the eye could see.-

-As it turned out, they had landed on a volcanic world, with sweltering heat and high gravity.-

Valus shuddered. How could anyone survive on a planet like that? He wondered. Obviously, humans could.

-Life was hard for the German settlers - but they persevered, knowing that if they died, their nation would die with them.-

Very admirable. Valus thought.

-Compared to their human counterparts, New Germans underwent some of the most extreme changes. For one, heavy gravity made them shorter...- “Shorter? What do you mean shorter? Humans can’t get any shorter!” Valus laughed as he pictured a one-antenna length tall human running around.

-...and deadly predators that they couldn’t kill with their (then) primitive weaponry made the New Germans genetically modify themselves to adapt. Gray skin to blend in with their mountainous terrain - and light-reflecting eyes to see on their nearly pitch-black planet - appearing red in the light.- Valus stared, long and hard. Genetic modification was a...controversial topic, but humans...didn’t seem to care.

-(It should be noted that certain humans already have dark skin and should therefore not be mistaken as New Germans)- Humans. Valus thought in amazement. So diverse. Most Vinsal looked the same physically, only distinguished through size, pheromones and personality - and yet, humans existed in all sorts of colours.

-After a few decades of technological advancement, The New Germans conquered their planet by genetically modifying their predators into pets and turned their planet into a massive industrial world.- “I thought us insectoids were supposed to be the expansionists.” Valus said out loud, deciding to ignore the first part of that paragraph.

-Eventually, they made first contact with another human subspecies - the New French League. However, diplomatic relations quickly fell apart from a dispute over a section of space with many habitable planets, which escalated into a massive war. The war only ended with a French planet being glassed.- Valus stared at the screen, his manipulators shaking slightly. “By the Queen..." He whispered, too stunned to say anything else.

“Okay,” Valus repeated - trying to calm himself down. He had read enough. “Well, that’s the New Germany and the second student done..David...David Steiner. Now, onto...New Canada.”

He opened the third and final file - The Democratic Nation of Canada.

-The Democratic Nation of Canada, also known as D.N.C or simply New Canada, is a nation known primarily for its xenophilic and relatively peaceful outlook on the galaxy…-

“Finally! Humans that are...nice,” Valus said in relief, continuing to read eagerly.

-...New Canada spends a lot on diplomacy and foreign xeno-aid; for example, they sheltered millions of New French refugees whose planet got glassed by the New Germans...-

And just like that, Valus was nervous again.

As Valus looked at a picture of the New Canadian student, he saw no notable difference between her and her Earth ancestors - besides her being a bit taller and thinner due to their new planet having slightly lower gravity.

The more Valus read, the more he liked the New Canadians. They seemed to be a kind and caring subspecies, and their willingness to help out was incredible.

But only a few pages later, when he was really starting to feel positive about them, he got to a point where the file ominously stated, -While the New Canadians may seem kind, keep in mind that they’re just as dangerous as their other human counterparts - they’re just very polite.-

Valus’s antennae began twitching with anxiety as he began reading a page containing war details between the New Humans and the Old Earth Humans.

When Old Earth soldiers breached and took over New Canada's largest medical ship, using it to kamikaze into a city and killing millions of innocent civilians, their character changed instantly.

They were no longer kind and caring - they were...enraged. The New Canadians enacted a strict no-prisoner policy - executing all their Old Earth captives and rampaging through the stars to enact vengeance.

At this point, Valus had given up trying to find wholly friendly humans and just tried to accept that...they didn’t really exist.

Well, what was I supposed to expect? He thought.

Bionic lovers, tiny planet glassers, and ruthless two-faced exterminators. Wonderful! Valus thought tiredly as he sank his face into his manipulators. Rylan, David, and Lylith - please be nice humans.

Javqua lay down on her bed, bored out of her mind. She and Thomas were on the trip back to Clevin 4, and there was nothing to do.

“Tom,” She said loudly. There was no response.

“TOM!” She repeated louder, and she heard Thomas groan from across the room.

“I’m tryna sleep...” He mumbled, his voice barely discernible from underneath his duvet.

“I’m bored,” Javqua stated matter of factly, looking over to see Tom peering out at her, his light blue eyes half-lidded.

“Just sleep...” He replied drowsily, closing his eyes again.

“...can I sleep with you?” Javqua asked, doing her best to copy the puppy face she had seen on human posts on the data net. She looked as Thomas’s eyes opened again, slowly blinking.

“Sure…,” he said, lifting one side of his covers.

Javqua smiled and lay down next to him, instantly relaxing from his body heat. The two of them immediately began shifting into the position they had worked out a little while ago - Javqua being the big spoon, Thomas the little one.

We’ve been doing this every night for over a week now - and it never gets old. Javqua thought with a smile - feeling herself already drifting off into sleep. He's so warm!

The ship finally landed, shaking slightly - making Thomas spill his tea all over his shirt. “Ow! Dammit!” He hissed.

Javqua spun around. “Tom? Are you okay?” She asked frantically, before seeing the large tea stain on Thomas’s shirt, and his sad, vacant stare. Putting two and two together, she realized what had happened.

“...you good?” She asked, a little cautious. She had heard about the New Britannian obsession with tea and wasn’t about to get Tom's way after he had split his - no matter how nice he was.

“Why are we still here? Just to suffer…?” Thomas whispered ominously, and Javqua took a tentative step back.

“We - we can get more!” Javqua pointed out, claws clicking together nervously, and that seemed to grab Thomas’s attention.

“Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, just...I haven't been able to get my hands on any tea for quite some time.” He chuckled, his face becoming serious at the end of the sentence.

At...at least I know what’d make a good gift for Tom! Javqua thought, trying to think positively.

The two of them continued checking their luggage, making sure they weren’t missing anything.

“You ready?” Thomas said, ready to leave - and Javqua nodded. “Yeah, let’s go.” Javqua grabbed her luggage, walking out of their room with Thomas.

“So, how are you feeling? We’re...back.” Thomas said, glancing down at his wet shirt with an annoyed expression.

Javqua sighed. “It’s...good, I guess. School's not bad, but...after break, it feels so bland.” She explained, and Thomas nodded understandingly.

“Well you're not wrong,” He said, shrugging. “But education is important.”

They finally reached the ship’s exit doors, and with their baggage in hand (and claw) they stepped through - the light momentarily blinding Thomas. There were countless lines of Xenos in the different areas of the space-port, filling the gigantic area.

Thomas was even able to spot a group of Q’intalis - their resemblance to gigantic hamsters making him chuckle internally. Before he could daddle any longer, Javqua grabbed his hand, her clawed appendage dwarfing his own.

Before he could say anything, he found himself being led to the side of the space-port and not the front exit. Looking up to Javqua, he could see that she had a mildly concerning smile. “Javqua… where are we going?” He asked, confused.

“I saw something on the data-net - just wait.” She replied with a smirk.

Straining to look over the towering Xenos around them, Thomas finally spotted a commotion a couple steps later. Getting closer and standing on his toes, he was able to see...a giant sign?

Slowly weaving their way through the many Xenos, Javqua and Thomas finally managed to see what it said.

In neat letters at the top, it read, Hello. And in bigger, messier letters below, Sup bitch! Hope your as cool as the media says. And finally, written at the very bottom - Hello Thomas! I hope to have a productive school year with you :D

Sighing at the grammar mistake for the second message, Thomas shook his head. Who had…

Finally making his way to the front of the crowd with Javqua, Thomas saw who was holding the sign - and he stopped.

They were...human? A male teenager, around his age, standing with two other humans - a tall, thin girl and a short male that he assumed was New German.

Snapping out of his stupor, he turned to Javqua, who was grinning.

“I found out on the data-net that we have company.” She finally explained. Then, the male holding the sign spotted him.

“YOOO! It’s the deer mauler himself!” The sign-holder yelled, and Thomas cringed as dozens - no, hundreds of eyes turned to him. This is going to be fun. He thought.