Maxim looked himself over in the mirror, making sure that he hadn’t missed any unnoticed bedhead and had shaved. Content with how he looked, he double checked to make sure that he had all his necessary toiletries for the trip packed neatly in a small bag. Today was the big day: the group study trip to Hathea. Rina hadn’t called him back, meaning that she didn’t find any new information as to why they were being sent there, causing a feeling of unease to course through his body.
Setting his toiletries next to his travel bag, filled with clothes and other items Maxim deemed necessary to take, Maxim glanced at his holowatch. Still have twenty minutes before we’re supposed to meet in the lobby. Maybe I can–
A knock on the door interrupted Maxim’s thoughts. “It’s open!”
The door opened, revealing Aidan as he walked into the room. “Looks like you’re all packed and ready to go.”
Maxim nodded, standing up. “I could say the same to you. After all, I can see your three bags worth of luggage just in the hallway.”
Aidan chuckled. “What can I say? As I was packing, I kept feeling like I should be better safe than sorry when it comes to what I should bring, and before I realized, I had four bags packed. Managed to get it down to three…but…”
Maxim laughed. “I hadn’t taken you as someone who would get so worked up over a class trip.”
“It’s more than just a class trip. We have to show the academy that we’re the best, so we should better be safe than sorry and be over prepared than under prepared.”
“Yeah, that’s true. Why do you think they’re sending us to Hathea though?”
“I have no idea. I stayed up later than normal last night researching everything I could about the place, and I can’t find anything out of the ordinary. Guess we’ll find out when we’re down there. Speaking of going down there, we should probably head to the lobby sooner rather than later.”
Maxim chuckled. “Alright, just let me grab my bags.”
A few minutes later, Aidan and Maxim arrived at the lobby, seeing that Ellie and Amanda had already arrived. Ellie was the first to notice them and smiled. “Well, it looks like I was right. Told you that Aidan would be the next one down here.”
Amanda chuckled. “If I had a guess, Aidan was ready first and went to make sure you were ready as well, right Maxim?”
Maxim nodded. “Basically. Though I was ready by the time he came over to my room, if that makes a difference.”
As the minutes rolled by, one by one everyone started to make their way to the lobby. However, a minute before the mandatory time of being in the lobby, Kolten paced around. “I see our dear classmate is once again deciding that an extra few minutes of sleep is more important than being on time…as usual.”
“She still has a minute.” Amanda said, looking at Kolten. “Please try to keep your attitude with her in check during our trip. It’ll be better if we can all get along, at least while we’re being evaluated.”
Kolten glared at Amanda but didn’t say anything. Right before the minute changed, Freya walked down the stairs, carrying a couple bags and yawning.
“Morning” Freya said, setting her bags down. As everyone but Kolten repeated her greeting to her, Sydney walked into the lobby. “Looks like everyone made it here on time! Perfect! Please follow me, I’ll escort you all to the port and make sure you get on the right ship.”
Everyone grabbed their bags and followed Sydney outside. To everyone’s surprise, there weren’t any vehicles waiting for them outside. Seeing their surprise, Sydney chuckled. “You think I was going to spoil you by driving you there? Too bad. Hope you didn’t pack too much or it’s going to be a rough walk there.”
Maxim glanced at Aidan and grinned. “Seems like over-preparing isn’t always the best eh?” Maxim joked. Aidan sighed and readjusted his grip. “Guess I’m getting a workout before we even leave for the trip.”
191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuuxNGkghhI
As the group made it to the port, Sydney stopped in front of the ticketing gate. After talking with the ticketing agent, she grabbed the tickets and began handing them out. “Now, before you leave, I do need to talk to you about a couple things. First, when you arrive, there’ll be a representative of the military there to meet you. He already knows what you all look like so he’ll come up to you. He’ll take you to a military barracks where you’ll be staying while you’re there. The intelligence agent I mentioned before will then brief you as to what your tasks are. You are being graded not only by completing the tasks, but how you completed them and what decisions you’ve made during the assignment. As long as you’re aware of this, and make sound decisions, you’ll receive a high grade. Remember though, keep a detailed log of what happened! I’m sure you don’t need a reminder, but failure to do so will result in an automatic failure and reconsideration of your status as a student at the academy. Am I clear?”
Everyone nodded and agreed. “Good. I’m looking forward to reading your logs and hearing about how you did. I’m sure you’ll all do me and the academy proud. I’ll see you all when you get back!”
191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8yNepJSya
“Are you sure we’re prepared?” A man asked whoever he was talking to on his communicator. “We only have one chance to make a grand entrance. I want to make sure it’s as spectacular, and bloody as possible.”
“I’ve triple checked. Everything is good to go. By the time we’re finished, the entire republic will have heard of us. We’ll strike other places until we force ‘them’ to come out of hiding to fight us face to face!”
“Good. When they arrive, we’ll have some surprises waiting for them. I’ll call you back if I hear anything else.”
The man ended the call and looked at a veteran’s patch that had been given to him once he was forced into retirement. “I know how you two feel.” He muttered to himself. “Cast aside once they think you’re no longer of use. Our government is making all the wrong choices and the same mistakes as before. If this will wake everyone up to the truth, then I’ll gladly take the fall to help steer us onto the right course, and for you two to take your rightful place on the galactic stage.”
191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFpw17UvaX
