10 Round 1
It was finally the D-day. After spending two months on earth Kaze had managed to learn the required amount of expertise in English so that he could manage here. His accent was still a little funny, but it worked.
On the day he and Xander got a day off. They thought of quitting, but they thought it would be nice to have a backup in case they failed. It was mostly Xander who thought that and thus convinced Kaze.
At the entrance when they asked for ID Kaze hesitated for a moment before handing him the Card with a bit scratched area. It was a nice duplicate of the IDs people had here, but swiping that would lead nowhere to the server. They refused to accept that ID card. He looked around so that he could access some kind of ID card. He saw one hanging out from a guy's pocket. He was nearby, but not so nearby that his hands could reach that. He looked around if anyone's paying any attention or not so he could use his telekinesis to steal it. Luckily the crowd was messy enough this day and it got easier for him to do so.
He was worried about the picture that would pop up on the scan. It wasn't his face and that could get him in trouble. "Kaze"! A feminine voice called him from behind. He turned around to find the same lady Megan McKinley standing there in flesh. "I was hoping to run into you. All the best for your exams" she greeted him. Kaze nodded at her but soon the receptionist interrupts "Actually he might not get in". She told her.
"Why"? She asked the receptionist skeptically.
"His ID is invalid" they told her.
"Are you sure, your systems fail like twice a month" she reprimanded them with annoyance. She snatched the ID (the stolen one) from Kaze's hand and ran it through her scanner and it worked. Luckily it didn't show the credentials but only proved the validity of the card. "You were saying"? She asked them with a challenge in her voice.
"How can we let him in without verifying it"? They asked her timidly.
"Just do it manually" she sighed with frustration. "You know, there is a reason they are asked to fill a form"
"Okay ma'am",they bowed at her. "Can I have your application number"? She turned to Kaze and asked him.
He nodded at her and gave her a piece of paper. Once they were done they let him right in.
"Good luck" Megan Mckinley wished him before she left.
Today's task was supposed to be the easiest one.All they had to do was write a test. But this was the one that
Was most challenging, because today thousands of people were applying, and only fifty of them will be selected. The process of the whole training was cryptic in itself. Every year they planned various kinds of strategies.
If you are selected you have to undergo a necessary screening, after which it was rumored that you will be allotted a team and a mentor. During this period you will be allotted many tasks, which may vary from team to team, but at the end they would either select one team, or best of few teams.
"Welcome to IAEA, one of the finest intergalactic centres of excellence." A man who was standing at the stage in the auditorium where they were to appear for the exam spoke. "Most of you are trying this exam for the first time, few are reapplying. But nothing matters today, today you compete against thousands of candidates who will face every challenge encountered here for the first time. Look around everyone"
Everyone, except Kaze, did so. He wasn't interested in his speech, he was much more focused on making it undetected.
"You see an ocean of people who are trying to make it this platform. Once I was a part of this ocean as well. And amongst all of you only five people will make it by the end of the training programme, so I say buckle up. Give it your best shot"
The desks everyone was allotted started to beep and soon a drawer opened revealing huge goggles. (It resembles VR goggles). Kaze wasn't sure what to do, so he mimicked what others were doing and put it on himself. Soon he saw that he was stranded all alone on a deserted island.
"Welcome to your first test" A man who resembled the man from earlier answered.
"I thought it was a written test". He told him honestly.
"It is," A desk with pen and paper appeared in front of him. On it there layed a paper that was coded with multiple Alphabets. "When your time is up, the paper will be automatically submitted to the system. Kindly try to finish before that" And the mirage of the man disappeared.
He opened the booklet and a timer showing 2:59:59 appeared, where the last 59 started to drop rapidly. He assumed it was the timer, and thus he had to finish before that clock hit zero.
Appearing in an exam like this made him nostalgic. It reminded him of a time when he entered his own academy for his training.
He started answering the questions one by one. Appearing in a simulation based written paper made it impossible to cheat. He was hoping he could count on ZIA, but even she was not a part of this simulation.
The questions asked were hardly direct. Most of them were value based where they were presented with different scenarios, and he had to pick one. If not for his slow reading speed he could have aced the exam.
He had to submit before finishing the exams as he realized the time was up. He was sure he won't make it as the ones who were bound to answer everything. He was sure that some of them will get everything correct.
After the exam they had a big break. They were asked to stay for another hour before they announce the results.
Kaze, sure of his failure was about to leave when he was caught by Xander "Hey man, where are you going"?
"I am leaving" he answered flatly.
"Why"? He asked him confused. "Just wait for a while. I have good chance of failing, we can go back together"
He did not want to stick around here any longer, but he had no other option as he came here with his car. Why bother walking when you can get a ride?
After the hour was over, A big projection was made in the middle of the gallery they were waiting in. It was like a cube so no matter where you stood you will see the same thing. All the names of qualified candidates started to appear. Kaze didn't bother looking at it, but he did observe a mixture of happy, excited, frustrated, heartbroken and all kinds of expression these humans were capable of. For the past few weeks he even learned the facial expressions for different emotions and tried copying it for himself.
"Dude! I got in"! Xander literally jumped and beamed with happiness.
"Congratulations"! Kaze replied.
"What about you"? He asked, seeing no excitement in the latters face.
"I didn't check," Kaze admitted honestly.
"Wait, let me look for you" He scanned the entire list for Kaze's name. Given his sort of a unique name it was easier and harder to find him at the same time.
"There it is" Both Xander and ZIA ( in his ears) exclaimed at the same time. Turns out even she was scanning for his name from the very beginning.
"We both got in" Excited Xander gave him a giant hug.
Once the field was cleared, the two hundred selected candidates were gathered together, while the rest left the building.
"Congratulations, for qualifying this round. However you have to qualify one more round to enter the mentorship programme. We have your contact info, the next round will be one on one, you will receive the dates for it" Thus the man who greeted them at the beginning, the man who was present in the hologram, bid everyone his farewell.
