Chapter 5

What are your goals, Nicholas? A voiced echoed in his mind. His eyes opened, and he knew he was dreaming. He floated again in the dark expanses of space, and before him was the reptilian creature from before.

"What are you?" He asked aloud, wondering why this creature continued to appear before him.

I am, and yet I am not. I exist partially in your world, because you have called to me, though you do not know it yet. I will be your friend, your advisor, and your guardian when you need it. The creature grinned and drew closer to his face. Now answer me, what are your goals?

Before Nick could respond, the creature's face grew agitated. Ponder my question, for we are out of time, I expect an answer the next time we meet. The creature began to fade away, and Nick knew he was waking from his dream.

"I bet you that blonde guy is a Physical!" A voice echoed in Nick's ears, and he opened his eyes groggily to search for its source. He began undoing his restraints at the same time, but the strange sleep that had overcome him weighed his limbs down.

"Don't hurt yourself kid." The same voice, filled with laughter and humor. Nick's eyes cleared enough to reveal two figures standing at the front of the shuttle. One was well muscled, wearing a blue jumpsuit, with dark hair tied back in a ponytail. His green eyes were looking at Nick with a bemused expression. He had to be the one speaking to Nick. The other figure was smaller, in a yellow jumpsuit, had neatly trimmed hair, and an annoyed expression on his face.

"What's your name?" The first figure asked.

"Nicholas Stryder." At his response, the yellow clad figured pulled up a holo-screen on his wrist, and seemed to be scrolling through a list of sorts. Nick could see him scowl as he stopped scrolling and the holo-screen turned blue.

"You got lucky Keith."

"Luck's got nothing to do with it, Samuel. Phys just wake up from the sleeping gas quicker than the others. It's because we're stronger." The man in the blue jumpsuit, Keith, winked at Nick as he spoke.

"Muscles don't equal strength." Samuel straightened the glasses on his face as he looked from Keith to Nick. "Standard protocol is once a first year has awoken, they are to immediately depart the shuttle." Nick fiddled with the restraint, which seemed to have become jammed.

"Seems he is a bit slow...seems fitting for a Physical"

Nick ignored the comment as he freed himself, and looked down at Becca, who still seemed fast asleep. "What about my sister?"

"Do you think something bad is going to happen to her? Are you insinuating we would deviate from protocol and harm a first year?" Samuel appeared to be insulted by Nick's question. "You should be worried about yourself if you keep pushing me, kid." He spat the last part out, threat clear in his eyes.

Movement from beside Samuel caught Nick's eye, and suddenly the small man was stumbling forward, having been hit in the back by Keith. "Why don't you go check on that one back there Sammy my boy. I'll take care of Nick." Sam glared at Keith, but surprisingly did as he was told.

"Just ignore him Nick, I can call you Nick, right?" Nick nodded, uncertain how to read Keith. "The Int's seem to like to take everything as an insult. Think they are better than everyone else."

"Int's?

"Intellectuals. Each of the schools have nicknames, Physicals are Phys, and Intellectuals are Ints. I can fill ya in on the Academy after orientation, but for now, you really do need to head off the ship." He grabbed Nick and lifted him out of his seat with one arm. Nick looked back at Becca, who seemed to be slightly stirring. "Don't worry, I'll take care of her." Keith smiled and shoved Nick towards the doorway. A strange force shot through Nick, seeming to come from Keith, and only years of training kept Nick from falling down the platform that led out of the ship. "I like you Nick, we're going to have some fun this year."

Keith laughter followed Nick as he begrudgingly left Becca on the ship, and headed down the platform which lead outside the ship. Something about that guy is off. Nick thought to himself, feeling a slight pang of guilt for leaving Becca on the ship. He didn't have much time to think about the whirlwind of activity that was happening though, because as he stepped off the shuttle, what he saw caused him to stop in his tracks.

The first thing he noticed, was the brightness around him. It wasn't artificial light, but a natural, warm light. He looked around, noticing grass on the ground, trees in the distance, and a blue sky above. The light as originating from a Sun, something he had never before experienced.

He took a deep breath, and could instantly tell the difference between this air and the recycled air he had grown up breathing on the colony: this air was fresh.

"It seems the first one has awoken." Nick was pulled away from the scenery by the voice, and he wondered how he had missed the two figures standing just to the side of him. One was clad in a red jumpsuit, the other, an emerald one. "You'll get to enjoy the sights in a little while, please, what is your name?" The speaker was the one in red, and her voice was pleasant and kind.

"Nicholas Stryder." He was growing tired of that question.

Just like Samuel before, she checked a holo-sceen on her wrist, and again it turned blue. "Ah, a physical, I bet Keith was happy." She shared a secret smile with the girl in emerald, who responded in kind.

"Did you get any instructions from either of the boys, or did Keith just shove you out here?" This time it was the emerald clad girl speaking. Nick was started to realize these girls knew exactly how Keith worked.

"That's pretty much what he...did." Nick found himself mesmerized by the girl's hair, which appeared to be an array of changing colors, much different from the singular, proper colored standard dictated by the CCUP.

The girl in red noticed Nick's fixation, and cleared her throat to gather his attention. "Since we know who you are, we can start the orientation process. Please, hold out your arm." Nick did as she asked, and she walked up with a blue piece of cloth in her hand. She stepped close to him, close enough he could smell a sweet fragrance coming from her, as she tied the armband around his right bicep.

"That armband signifies you are a Physical first year, please do not lose it."

"So, our schools are dictated by our colors?" He had now seen four different colors of jumpsuits, and they seemed to be corresponding with the different colors that he had seen on Alana's chart.

"Mhmm. Keith, in blue, is a Physical. Samuel, in yellow, is an Intellectual." The girl motioned to herself, "I'm Mariah, a Mystical, and this-"

"Is Beth, a Spook!" The girl in emerald, Beth, started laughing as she finished. "I mean, Spiritual."

Mariah smiled briefly at Beth's outburst, but it almost seemed one of pity. "I still find that nickname disrespectful for you Beth."

Beth simply shrugged and smiled back, seeming rather unconcerned. "It's only disrespectful if we let it be. I like it personally."

"So, do I get a jumpsuit as well?" Nick interrupted the two, their interaction making him feel awkward as he stood there.

"As a first year, all you get is an armband. Each year after, you will receive a uniform that has more color, ranging from a single slash of blue as a second year, to a full colored uniform as a fourth year." Mariah paused and looked at her holo-screen. "Your advisor will answer more of your questions Nick." She turned and pointed down the grass, towards a lone figure in blue.

"Alright." Nick figured she was prompting for him to leave, so he walked past the two girls, intent on finding out what exactly was going on. As he passed Beth though, she suddenly grabbed his wrist, pulling herself close to his ear as she did.

"He is waiting for you to summon him." Then she pushed him away, and began talking quietly with Mariah. Nick looked once more at Beth as he walked away, and noticed briefly what appeared to be a large bird shimmering on her shoulder, watching him. Nick blinked, and the creature was gone, leaving him even more confused as he walked towards the lone figure in blue: his adviser.