"Nice catch!"

Jonathan looked up. Another teenage boy was standing inside the room, looking at him with an honest grin on his face. He wasn't acting like he had done anything out of the ordinary, which Jonathan had a hard time squaring with the fact that he'd been attacked as soon as he'd opened the door.

"I'm Philip, Philip Anderson," the boy said, stepping forward and holding out his hand. "You must be my roommate."

Jonathan tucked the ball under his arm and shook his hand. Philip stood a few inches shorter than Jonathan, like most people their age. His broad shoulders and firm handshake spoke of someone who took his physical training seriously. He looked like he had been preparing to attend the Royal Academy since he was old enough to walk. Or old enough to use a weight room, at least.

"Jonathan Cross," Jonathan said. He let go of Philip's hand and tossed him the ball. "What's this?"

"Here, watch."

Philip turned away and threw the ball at the opposite wall. The room was hardly furnished. There was a bed on either side of the room, with small desks by the head of each bed that doubled as bedside tables. The walls were bare, and the floor was simple linoleum. For all the resources poured into the academy, they still clearly saw their students as military trainees first and foremost.

Philip had aimed for an empty spot on the wall between the two desks. The ball bounced off the wall. When it hit the floor, it took a sharp turn. Instead of following a straight line trajectory right back to Philip, it was set to whip past him, a few feet to the side. He had to take a step to the side and stretch to the end of his reach to snatch it out of the air.

"Reflex trainer," Philip said. "Can't fight in a mech if you can't react in time."

Jonathan nodded. Fighting in a mech rendered personal strength irrelevant, but that didn't mean that physical training didn't matter. Faster reflexes and better hand-eye coordination ought to carry through in a pilot's performance. He wasn't sure that what Philip was doing was worth the effort, but he could see the logic of it.

"You're training already?"

Jonathan was surprised to find that his roommate had assigned himself homework even before classes began. Jonathan had the experience of two lifetimes behind him, and he'd still sometimes struggled to push himself hard enough to excel in class. He knew he'd be more motivated when the subject of his classes was mech piloting, but even so he was happy to wait to begin in tense training until his teachers were ready to give him some pointers.

"Of course," Philip said. "I can't reach the top if I slack off!"

Jonathan nodded, then pulled his luggage into the room. He headed for the bed that was still sporting a bare mattress. He didn't have too much to unpack. The steady thunk-thunk of Philip trying to hone his reflexes was distracting at first, but it had faded from Jonathan's conscious mind by the time he was halfway through emptying his trunk.

He had only brought a few sets of casual clothes with him. Even those wouldn't see much use once he was issued a school uniform. His closet was still half empty when he finished unpacking. The main addition to the room were a pair of photographs he placed on his bedside table. One was a picture of himself, shaking the Director's hand after receiving a reward for his cultivation progress. The other was a promotional photo of the Oritech model 39 front line mech, the current state of the art.

Jonathan sat on his bed and took a moment to relax, his gaze settling on the photo of the model 39. If all went well, he'd be piloting one of those—or an even more advanced model—in just three short years.

The sound of the ball bouncing off of the wall and floor stopped. Jonathan turned to find that Philip was looking at him.

"Can't train if you don't eat," he said. "You had dinner yet?"

Jonathan shook his head and stood, ready to follow his roommate to the cafeteria. He had no idea how to calculate the change in time zones involved in moving to a new planet. He'd had a few snacks on the ship, but he could still eat. He was also happy to get the chance to learn a bit about the academy's layout.

Philip was a cheerful guide, happy to discuss what he knew about the academy without any input from Jonathan as the two made their way across the campus. The halls around them were largely deserted. There were still almost two weeks before students were required to be present at the Royal Academy, and it seemed that many of their classmates were intent on squeezing out every day of freedom.

First year students weren't allowed to leave the academy campus. Even trips out of the core buildings of the campus to the campus town were tightly controlled. Jonathan could understand why some students would cherish those last moments spent off campus, but he hadn't minded his own early arrival, which was just as well—even if he had wanted to cut things close, the starship schedule wasn't something he could bend to his wishes. As it was, everything on the capital planet was brand new to him, and he knew he'd have to scramble to keep up with the elites at Royal Academy. Boredom was the last thing he was worried about.

The hallways were largely empty, but not completely deserted. Every now and then they would pass another student, and every time they did they would have a friendly word with Philip. After they parted from the fourth person to stop Philip for some small talk, Jonathan couldn't help but comment.

"You know a lot of people."

Philip smiled, scratching the back of his head. "Not really. A batch of us from Orion Prep just came here together."

Jonathan gave him an assessing look. The Orion Preparatory School wasn't quite as famous as the Royal Academy. After all, it didn't train mech pilots directly. However, for those who had done even the most cursory research, graduation from Orion Prep was quite the badge of honor. Even if nothing else about the school stood out, most of its graduates went on to attend the Royal Academy.

"You really will be aiming for the top, then," Jonathan said. He'd been a little skeptical on hearing that kind of boast, but if Philip had graduated from Orion Prep then he really might have what it took to rise to the highest levels of the Royal Academy.

"I told you that already!" Philip said. "I don't say anything I don't mean."

Jonathan hummed in agreement. Philip certainly seemed honest and straightforward, but he intended to reserve judgment until he saw for himself that his roommate was able to back up his words with actions.

Philip just clapped him on the shoulder in response. A moment later he led the way into the cafeteria.

Jonathan took a curious look around. This was, after all, where he'd be taking most of his meals for at least the next year. His admission to the Royal Academy had come with a tuition waiver and an unlimited meal card. He may have been forced to attend, but at least it wasn't going to cost him an arm and a leg.

The cavernous room brought back distant memories of elementary school. It was big, big enough to seat hundreds of students at once. The design was simple, clearly chosen more to be easy to clean than to impress. The biggest difference came in the decor. Instead of festooning the wall with children's art projects, the posters that caught Jonathan's eye were large-scale depictions of the current top of the line battle mechs.

Where a school in his previous life might have had cheery aphorisms and reminders to children not to do drugs, the Royal Academy included helpful tips to promote survival on the battlefield. There were also a lot of lists, the result of students being ranked every which way. Where the upper years were filled out with unfamiliar names, the lists for first year students stood out by being completely empty.

Philip smiled when he saw where Jonathan was looking. "I'll be up there soon enough. Come on, let's see what they've got for us today."

The dearth of students made for a short line. It didn't take long at all before Jonathan's dinner lay before him on his meal tray. It was a simple pasta with meat sauce, but it looked and smelled delicious. The bread that came with it was soft and warm, almost fresh out of the oven.

The Royal Academy might not be willing to let its students indulge in luxury, but clearly the things that should be provided would be provided in abundance.

Philip nodded to a few people in greeting as they made their way through the cafeteria, but he ignored their implied invitations and secured an empty table for the two of them alone. Jonathan appreciated the gesture. It seemed he wasn't the only one who was a little worried about getting along with an unfamiliar roommate. The academy wouldn't let them change rooms outside of truly extraordinary circumstances, which could make for a long year if the two of them got off on the wrong foot.

They ate in silence for a while. Philip hadn't been joking about his hunger, and Jonathan found that his own appetite came alive once he'd taken a few bites. He felt a little disappointed when he found his fork scraping against an empty plate.

Philip finished at the same time, pushing his plate away and letting out a satisfied belch.

"Ah, that hit the spot," Philip said, patting his stomach with relish. "Where are you in from, anyways?"

"Matoug," Jonathan replied.

Philip cocked his head in thought for a moment. "Never heard of it."

Jonathan laughed. "Most people haven't. It's barely on the interstellar passenger routes."

Philip spread his hands wide. "Hey, all ships come to the capital."

Jonathan nodded. It was quite a change to travel from a backwater planet to the shining jewel of the Orion Star Kingdom. He'd been shielded from the culture shock by traveling straight to the Royal Academy. The fact that he was now stuck on campus meant that he wouldn't have any opportunity to check out what the capital had to offer, but considering his complete lack of pocket money, that was probably for the best.

"The city lights sure looked impressive on the way in," Jonathan said. "Too bad that's as close as we'll ever get to the nightlife."

"Don't be so sure," Philip replied. "The top five performers on the monthly exams get a twenty-four hour pass off campus."

Jonathan grinned. "I should have known you had a reason to train so hard."

"Training is its own reward," Philip said. "I'm just not going to turn down the other awards that come alongside."

"Yeah, yeah," Jonathan said. "Well, good luck with that. I wouldn't know what to do with a pass if I won one."

Jonathan's first goal was to prove that he belonged at the academy. As long as he didn't wash out, he expected his career would take off once he graduated and had access to his system. He'd happily take any accolades that he could get before then, but with just the basic piloting proficiency to work with he was going to have to earn any rewards the hard way.

"If you get one and you don't know what to do with it," Philip said, "you can always give it to me."

Jonathan chuckled and shook his head. He appreciated the vote of confidence, but it was far too early to talk about taking one of the top spots in any kind of competition. After all, the Royal Academy had gathered talents from all over the Orion Star Kingdom.

"Hey, don't sell yourself short," Philip said. He stood and picked up his tray. Jonathan followed suit, leaving their dishes at the cleaning station. "There had to be a reason they dug you up from that dirt ball in the middle of nowhere."

"Maybe," Jonathan said. "I'm just going to focus on doing the best I can. Let the rankings take care of themselves."

"Can't argue with that," Philip said.

The two of them headed back to the dorm. The walk felt a little more familiar than it had before. It helped that Philip felt a little more familiar, too. Jonathan still had plenty of problems, but he was glad that getting along with his roommate wasn't going to be one of them.