"Huh," I say.

I bend down and pick it up. I look it over with all my different senses. Then download a database for how a feather would look in every spectrum. I compare the images I get with what I'm seeing.

No difference. Just an ordinary feather.

Not that I doubt where it came from. It's not as if either me or Dyne has a bird. And I so conveniently know a person with wings. That can arrive at any place, and anytime.

When I think about birds, I get an idea. I smile and tuck it away in my mind, a reminder so I don't forget it tomorrow. I also make sure to keep it hidden from Grace.

I roll in my bed and stare at the ceiling.

It doesn't seem like I'm going to sleep anytime soon. There are some... morose thoughts floating in my mind. Based off prior experience, I know it'd be some time before I'm back to normal. Normal, in that sense, for me.

I'm in a school. And I have... friends. Or do I? It isn't like a lot of time has passed since I've met Dyne. Or Denise. Or anyone in this place really.

I don't know the social norm for these things. I was going off what I knew about psychology. And even then, I was unsure.

It's been a long time since I had a proper friend. Wow.

I notice that my paranoia has been strangely... nonexistent recently. Oh yes, there are bits and pieces of it lurking within me, that I notice, but on the whole, it's as if I'm changed.

What is up with me?

I get a bunch of answers, yet none are helpful. I push the question away and decide to go to sleep.

I close my eyes and try clearing my mind.

It doesn't work. I think about the fact that I have no concrete way to know if my mind is clear. Then I go off on a tangent. Then I realize that I'm not clear minded. Then I try again but fail due to frustration.

I open my eyes and sigh.

"Not able to sleep?" Grace asks me.

I nod.

"Shouldn't you have an implant to take care of that?"

I shake my head.

"I did have one. But I upgraded my implants today. Well, changed. I'm still at the frame of it, so... I don't have many of my pre-existing implants."

Like, for example, my air composition testing implant. Or the implant that allowed me to be able to go without food for weeks at a time.

I'd made a sacrifice. Better now than never.

"Oh. Then... want to play a game?"

I think about it, then decide I'm too tired to play a game. So I shake my head.

"Then... um, what about eating something? I've heard that having dinner can make you feel heavy and sleepy. A good full satisfying dinner, that is."

I shrug.

"Sure. Where do I get said full satisfying dinner?"

"I think you should be able to request it. From the school's net."

I browse and then opt for some interesting dishes. I get off my bed reluctantly, not willing to disturb Dyne. I leave the room, but make sure to do so silently.

Once out of the room, I head to the cafeteria. A few students still walk about the school, going about their own businesses. The dim lights, and the soft silence that accompanies it creates a calming atmosphere.

To me anyway. More than once have I known people to be creeped out by it. I have no idea why. Come on, it's...

Nice.

There's nothing creepy about it at all.

My footsteps echo down the corridors as I walk. I smile as I walk past an alien. In the windows, I see a multitude of ships zooming by. There's an Omega in the distance as well.

The Omega is a large torus-like structure, with many scouts flying around like a busy beehive. Six large prisms stick out of the torus, with a single cone-like structure poking out of those.

Nuclear beam cannons. They convert matter into pure energy and shoot it outwards in a beam. Those things can level planets. Not something you want to mess around with.

They're called the NBC's for short, or for the more creative among us, the Nigh Breakable Chariot. I roll my eyes each time I hear that.

There's a secondary function. The Omega is built as a torus to be able to create a containment field. When the six NBC's rotate inward, the energy they shoot will be contained in a sphere.

And when it reaches the critical point...

The result is similar to the death of a red star. There's a supernova, while a blackhole coalises.

Total Annihilation.

Oh yes, the Omega will be destroyed too. But this function is mostly there for worst case scenarios. It might be helpful during the Event if there are a couple billion more of them.

I sigh and walk faster. I bump into a girl on the way and apologize. Then I continue moving.

The cafeteria is mostly deserted. There are a couple scattered groups here and there, but that's it.

I sit at one of the tables and browse through the net again. A moment later, a bot drops off three plates at my table, with cutlery as well.

I take it slow, enjoying the taste of each dish. I'm so occupied by the thousand varieties of flavor that I don't notice that there's someone standing behind me till I feel a tap on my shoulder.

I turn around.

Standing there, is a girl around my age, maybe a year or two younger. She's well developed and is...

Attractive. I have to concentrate to keep my eyes on her face.

She has two different colored irises. One is red, one is blue. I can see the individual patterns of the color, as it spirals. Her hair is pitch black, reaches her shoulders. Her chin is pointed slightly, and she has a slight arrogant smirk on her face.

"Yes?" I ask.

"Is this seat taken?" She asks, gesturing to one of the chairs at my table.

I shake my head.

"All yours."

She smiles, and sits down, in the seat closest to me. I myself am puzzled.

A moment later, a bot arrives, with a single dish. It has glowing blue noodles. It deposits it onto the table.

"So," She says. "You're a new face around here."

I nod.

"I am."

She picks up a fork and starts to play around with her noodles. A guy to my right points towards me and says something to his friend. The friend exclaims something.

I take a bite of meat.

"Are you a Builder, Pilot, or Warrior?" She says.

I blink and look at her.

"Builder. Why?"

"Because you're terribly good at all of them, from what I hear. You nearly beat Jack yesterday, your Mentor is Dalton, and you make your own implants, apparently. So, naturally, I was curious."

I put my spoon down.

"I'm curious to know who told you about my implants."

"Old man Korf. I'm his niece, after all."

"Oh." Then I pause. "Well, if you don't mind me, I'll be leaving..." I start to get up.

"Well, I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I joined you, right?" She says, getting up as well.

My eyebrow twitches. I ignore it.

"Nope," I say, nonchalantly.

I turn to walk away. A few moments later, she is walking right beside me.

"I'm not trying to be your enemy here," she says.

I don't respond. Mainly because I don't know how to respond to that.

"I'm just curious."

"I'm good at stuff," I say.

"I'm good at stuff too. Only, I can't pilot ships, build implants, and well, I can fight good, but I'm not exactly the best."

"What are you good at, then?"

"Oh, you know. Strategy. Playing with the battlefield, so to speak."

"Rank?"

"A."

I raise my eyebrows.

"A?"

She shrugs.

"I'm good at stuff," she says, repeating my earlier words.

"Sure you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

"Are you flirting?" Grace asks me, at the same time the girl asks me,"Really?"

"No. Nope. Nope." I say, to Grace.

The girl glares at me.

"Oh," Grace says, blissfully innocent. "Thought you were."

"You're not the most friendly person, are you?" The girl says.

"Thankfully, yes," I say.

If looks could kill, I'd be dead a hundred times over. If I could reincarnate, that is. Otherwise, I'd just be dead.

I'm not disturbed in the least. I hum.

"Stop that. It's irritating."

"Sure it is," I say.

Then I continue to hum.

"I just told you it's irritating."

"I heard you."

"Then stop humming?"

"Why?" I ask innocently.

"Because it's irritating!"

A couple passersby stare at us as we walk by. I force down a chuckle.

"...You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Grace asks.

I merely smile in response.

The girl launches a fist at my face.

I catch it.

"Hey!"

"Don't try to hit me."

"Then don't irritate me!"

I hum and continue walking. I let go of her fist. She stares at me.

"You're a jerk."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"Think of me whatever you want. I'm not a jerk. Besides, I didn't ask you to follow me."

"I'm not following you."

"You are."

"I'm not."

"Then where are you going?"

"None of your business."

"I'm sure it is."

She sighs and rubs at her forehead.

"You know what? I think I'm just going to go to sleep now."

"Alright. I'm not stopping you."

She ignores me and turns around. I hardly miss a beat as she walks off.

"What was that about?" Grace asks.

"No idea."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

I walk back to my room. Now, I notice, I'm actually sleepy.

Mission accomplished.

I fall onto my bed and close my eyes.

The next day, I find myself running towards my training room. I had woken up late, and Grace had informed me of the punishments that were to occur if I missed training today.

I skid to a stop. I push the door open and breathe a sigh of relief when I notice that I have four and a half minutes left on the clock.

My Mentor stands there as usual. This time though, there are no drones hovering. Or table full of electronic components. No, there's the girl from yesterday, in armor.

I rub at my eyes.

She glares at me.

I ignore her and turn to my Mentor.

"Why's... she here?"

"She's one of my pupils, and recently she's been ignoring her combat prowess." I see her grimace in the corner of my eye. "So today you will be dueling her."

"Wait, she's one of your pupils?"

He nods.

"Well, if you don't start fighting immediately, I will-" My Mentor says, but is interrupted by the sound of the girl coming at me.

I sidestep and trip her. She faceplants.

I look down at her fallen figure and raise an eyebrow.

"She is one of your pupils?"

"What the hell do you mean by that?" She shouts.

She jumps to her feet and tries to punch me.

I lean to the side, dodging. She punches me with her other arm in the gut. I feel an impact but no pain.

"That didn't hurt. Try harder."

She screams and punches me again. It hurts, but only a little.

"Better. But I doubt you'd be doing off any attackers anytime soon."

"Would you just shut up?" She says and punches me again.

Ouch. That one definitely hurt.

"Now that was a punch," I say.

"Daniel," My Mentor warns.

"Sorry."

I punch her in the face. I grimace as I feel her nose break. She falls.

She doesn't get up. I frown.

She curls up and clutches at her nose, sobbing. I look at my Mentor. He stands there, just as apathetic as he was to me.

I don't sigh. I crouch down.

"I'm sorry," I say.

She doesn't respond. I don't expect her to. The door opens and three nurse bot enters. Having learned from previous training sessions, they already have a stretcher in hand. Except this time, it's not me that needs the help.

If Cesa noticed anything, she doesn't say it. She helps the girl much more than I ever could. They fix her nose, but she's taken to the infirmary just in case.

"Wow," Grace says.

"Yeah."

My Mentor turns and walks out of the training hall. I stand there for five minutes, before leaving as well.