Taking deep breaths, he pushed the pain away. He placed one hand on the wall to steady himself and rubbed his head with the other. A message appeared in his vision from his CAM warning him of excessive heart rate, as if he wasn’t aware of it. He dismissed the alert with a thought.

After several moments, he walked to the door, and it hissed open. It took him a moment to spot where the girl had went. She was in the compartment just two further back from his own, laying down and facing the wall.

Xaleyp’s heart pounded as he considered the memory and the girl. Could she really be the one he was supposed to trust? If she was, why? What was so special about her aside from the fact that she appeared so suddenly and strangely?

“When are you people going to leave me alone?” the girl asked without turning over to look at him. It sounded like she had been crying. “Can’t I have a little privacy sometimes?”

“Well, it would help if you closed your bunk when you laid down.” He walked over and sat down on his own gel mattress, looking sideways at her. “Are you alright?”

“Fine.” She tried to subtly rub tears away from her eyes. “Just fine.”

“You don’t sound fine.” There was a moment of silence as neither of them spoke before Xaleyp broke it. “What’s your name?”

She didn’t answer.

“I saw you at the mess hall the other day,” Xaleyp said. “You kind of piqued my curiosity, being the only one sitting alone.”

She still said nothing.

“And I was just with you in that last testing session. You did pretty well, a lot better than me.”

“You didn’t used to be that bad,” she said, her voice low. Her shoulders instantly tensed, as if she didn’t mean to say it, then sagged in resignation as she realized the game was over.

“Yeah, I know.” Xaleyp felt his cheeks redden. He idly scratched the back of his head, trying to find something to do with his hands other than keep them in his lap. “I’m just going through a rough spot, I guess.”

“I could give you some pointers.” She turned over and smirked at him. Dimples formed in the corners of her mouth, and he couldn’t help but think how cute she was. “You could probably use them.”

“Hey, anything that would get you talking is fine by me.” He smiled back. “So what’s your name?”

“Mian.” She sat up on the edge of the bed, placing her hands at her sides. Her entire demeanor changed from the aloof stranger to a typical teenage girl. “Mian Wemlyr.”

“Mine is Xaleyp Vah’Aris.” Xaleyp watched her to see if there was any sign of recognition at his name, but he noticed none. “Nice to meet you. I take it you’re not from Stariek, so where are you from?”

“I could be. How do you know I’m not?”

“Because anyone from Stariek that I’ve told my name asks if I’m related to the Commander, and you’re the only one so far who didn’t.”

“Very observant of you. Fair enough. I’m actually from… Terra.” There was a brief hesitation before she named the planet. “They took me right out from under my parents while I was playing with some friends. They’re probably still worried sick.”

“How long have you been here?” Xaleyp asked the question he was dying to know the answer to before he could stop himself without knowing if he would like the answer she gave.

“I’ve actually been here about seven years now.” She eyed him curiously. “I’m a little surprised you haven’t introduced yourself before now.”

Seven years? That was how long he had been here, and he had never seen her before the last week. Why would the Hyperions even take her so long ago from so far away? He looked her up and down, trying to decide if she was real or not. How could that be possible? Who was this girl?

“Are you alright?” Mian asked. “You’re not looking too hot.”

“Fine. Just thinking.” His throat was suddenly dry. “Why did you come back in here all alone?”

“I’m just tired of all the drama.” She laid back on the mattress, putting her hands behind her head and looking at him. Xaleyp could see that her eyes were still a little red. “Just teenage bullshit. You’d think after being stuck here for years they’d have something better to do than just make fun of me.”

“Some people just want to try to make themselves feel bigger.” He shrugged. “You shouldn’t let it get to you.”

“I suppose so, thought that can be easier said than done.” Her eyes locked on his, lingering on the blue one for a moment before switching to the purple, and a look of mild surprise turned to one of confirmation. “You have some unusual eyes, Xaleyp.”

“So I’ve been told.”

A buzzer sounded throughout the station to mark the end of the previous training period. It was late afternoon, almost time for the last class of the day. Mian didn’t move at the sound, but Xaleyp began to stand as a message from Lina came through on his CAM.

it asked.

he replied. He turned to Mian.

“Do you have history next?” he asked her. She nodded, not taking her eyes off him. “Want to walk together?”

She looked at him carefully, looking him up and down and narrowing her brown eyes. Xaleyp couldn’t help but lose himself in them, feeling as though something stood out about them, like there was more to them than what was at the surface. A crease formed in her forehead as she considered the proposal.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Xaleyp stood up and rubbed out the creases that had formed in his fatigues then walked over to grab the datapad from his footlocker. “I’ll see you there.”

“I didn’t say no.” There was movement behind him as he began to walk away. A moment later, she was next to him, her own pad and stylus in hand. “It’ll be nice to have some company for once.”

They walked in mostly silence to the lift. Through the windows, Xaleyp thought he saw more ships than usual around the space station. Was Lina right that they were going to war?

“What did you parents do for work?” Xaleyp asked her as they waited for a lift to arrive, trying to make some sort of conversation. Immediately, he regretted asking such a stupid question, but there was no one else around and he didn’t want to stand in silence any longer.

“My dad was a diplomat.” There was another pause before she answered. “I think the ambassador to Arcadia for Terra. It’s been so long, I don’t remember exactly. My mom didn’t work, she focused on raising me. Load of good that did her now that I’m here.”

The lift door opened, and they walked in. Xaleyp pressed the button to bring them up to the class level. Several seconds later, they were walking off. He checked his CAM and saw there was less than a minute until the class started.

“Let’s hurry up so we’re not late.” Xaleyp started walking faster. “I don’t think I’ve ever been late.”

“Oh, I’ve been late plenty of times.” She shrugged, and a smile crept its way onto her lips. “They stopped caring after the first dozen or so.”

As they walked through the door, another buzzer sounded off. They were in the now familiar history classroom with the tiered seating above the hallway. Xaleyp spotted Lina in one of the middle rows and worked his way there with Mian.

“Who’s your new friend?” Lina asked, moving her datapad closer to her to begin taking notes. She smirked as she said the words, knowing exactly what was going through Xaleyp’s head.

“Later,” he said, keeping quiet. Mian eyes him curiously after the brief interaction but didn’t say anything.

Mian and Xaleyp sat down, pulling up their pads and getting ready. Elder Vogus was behind the podium, his hair now much grayer than it had been that first day. The same white wall was behind him showing the flag of Hyperia, and a robotic soldier was standing in the corner of the room.

“Today, we’re actually taking a little break from history.” Vogus leaned forward on the podium. Some of the people around Xaleyp turned to one another and began muttering. The elder never missed a chance to expound on his knowledge of Hyperia. “Colonel Ire is hosting a rally in the assembly hall and requests for you all to make your way there.”

“Why didn’t you tell us before so we could go there instead of here?” someone behind Xaleyp asked.

“It was unplanned.” Vogus shrugged. “Regardless, you are to report there immediately. HY-93026 will escort you if need be.”

The machine stepped forward, its eyes looking over them. Slowly, the cadets began to stand and make their ways down the steps.

“Let us commence travel,” the robot said, walking to the door.

Xaleyp, Lina, and now Mian made their way together behind the robot. When they were out in the hallway, Lina leaned close to Xaleyp.

“So, is she as mysterious as you thought?” she whispered into his ear.

“I’ll tell you everything later.” He felt his ears start to redden as he tried to make sure Mian didn’t know they were talking about her.

On the way to the assembly hall, the trio of them were stopped by an older human soldier. Around his arm was a band with an insignia of a line that started flat on either side and came to a point as a triangle in the middle, similar to a chevron. He was a lieutenant of Hyperia.

“Yes, sir?” Xaleyp asked. He didn’t recognize the man but knew he should treat his rank with respect.

“The Colonel wishes to speak with you before the rally.” The man was looking at Xaleyp. “You are to report there immediately.”

“All of us, sir?”

“Just you, Cadet Vah’Aris. I trust you can find your way to his office.” The lieutenant continued walking past them without waiting for answer. “I wouldn’t keep him waiting if I were you. He’s not in a very good mood.”