1 Arrival
Standing up in the main compartment of the shuttle, I move towards the cockpit to talk with the pilots. Opening the door to the cockpit I see the two pilots sitting close to each other in brown leather seats with all focus on the multiple computer screens.
"How long until we arrive at the space station?" I ask trying to get their attention off the screens and onto me.
"It'll be our fastest run yet, taking just less than an hour. The Migrow is a fine ship isn't she?" the main pilot responds looking up from the screen to me. He has a pilot's hat on with a rocket badge pinned to his shirt. Wearing all gray he almost blends in with the ship that's of the same color. He takes a quick glance into the main compartment where the rest of the passengers are sitting and then back to me. "Is this your first time to the station as well?" he ass politely.
I look towards the students then turn back towards the pilot, "This will be my fourth trip to the station actually. I'm in charge of getting the first timers to the station safely and to make sure that they get shown into the shuttle bay, but I haven't actually gone into the station yet. This will be my first time outside of the shuttle bay."
The pilot kept a long stare at me, "Why are you in charge of that?"
"Well, no students are supposed to know, but I have permission to tell crew members. While I was attending special classes a representative of the Council came in and told me I got admitted into the Supreme Council, then they drop this responsibility on me." His stare came to a halt as he turns back to the monitor. Perhaps he doesn't like the fact that I'm in the Supreme Council.
The Survivors School was established on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific to teach kids who had lived through the incident how to survive the hell that is now Earth, while being away from the dangers the land represented. It is broken up into three years with first years starting at 15, second years at 16, and third years at 17. They had classes that taught us academics such as Math, English, Science, History, and after that we would go to a class and learn how to fight with and against one another. However, I was attending classes in the reverse, having fighting class for the first 5 hours and academics for the last 5. I was always kept apart from the rest of the classes because they said they wanted me to focus on my learning.
Now, the Supreme Council, the current government and the group that owns the school, wants to have us, the students, go to a space station in orbit of Earth set for Mars where a small colony has been set up by drones to receive us. According to the orders issued by the council, once moved to the space station we will set course for Mars where we're going to be responsible for settling on the colony and getting things set up for future migrations in order to relocate the human race to a new planet.
The Supreme Council is a group of people who were chosen by the survivors to lead them towards a more prosperous future. However, as time went on the government turned from a democratic system where council members were voted in, to where only council members can appoint new members. After an incident on the mainland, I was chosen to replace my father on the council, but due to the fact that I am still a student I am not allowed voting rights in any matter that doesn't have to do with the school. Since I am the first and only person to be so young on the Supreme Council I was told to keep quiet about it until I graduate from the school. Thanks to still being a student I was put in charge of shuttling the students from the ground up to the station, and eventually representing the students as a whole on the station to the commanding crew. The rest of the council would stay on Earth and make preparations for the next time the station came back and were ready to bring more people to Mars.
I headed back to the main compartment and take my seat in the middle of all of the students. The main compartment is shaped like a square with a metal pillar in the middle of it. Seats line the four walls of the compartment and one seat is attached to the pillar in order to fit as many people into each shuttle as possible. The rest of the space is filled with cargo top to bottom. Each of these shuttles carries about ten people total, including me, there were three first year students, three second year, and three third year students. I look around and see nothing but nervous faces on all of the students.
They must be nervous about starting a new life on space station headed towards Mars. I'm going to be in charge of all of these students? Can I even do something like that? Why is it that I have to be responsible for all of these students? Why did I have to be chosen to be on the council. Why did dad have to - no, I can't start thinking like that, I'll do a fine job of getting everybody to Mars and making sure that everyone is safe. I need to calm these people down as much as I need to calm myself down.
"Everything will be ok, it'll be much better up here than it was down on the aircraft carrier."
A nervous second year student looks at me with a frightened face, "That's easy for you to say. This isn't your first trip isn't it? I've never been in a plane before let alone a space shuttle or station. And all of a sudden we're supposed to go to Mars?" His face grew more and more frightened by the second. "I mean what's up with that? How are we going to be ok?"
"We'll be fine, I promise you. We will all be there to help one another and there is great crew onboard that station." He's right though, what is up with all of these sudden events? I mean one second we're living with what counts as a normal life on the carrier, and now we have to go to a space station and go to Mars to establish a working colony for future generations? Where did this space station even come from? I've read old newspapers that were from before the incident, and there were no reports of a station being built in orbit that is large enough to facilitate hundreds of people and able to make trip all the way to Mars. There should be a Captain on the space station, and as the representative I should be able to get some answers, although I doubt I will find out much from asking.
The cockpit door opens with pilot standing there, "Ok guys listen up!" The pilot know had to shout as the engines became louder and louder. "I want you guys to fasten your seat belts and get ready for a jolt when we land. Make sure you have your neck protectors on because the jolts can be rather violent sometimes."
I turn my head and look out the port window where I can see the space station slowly growing larger and larger. This is the last trip to this station. Once I boarded the station I'll be there for good, no more Earth, no more ground. I can see a similar look on the rest of the students faces, the one where you realize that you will no longer be able to stand in front of an ocean, touch a dirt ground, go outside for a quick breather. None of that is possible anymore, is it? At least I remembered to use that canister my dad gave me to scoop some dirt so I can take a piece of the Earth with me to this new and alien planet. I catch a quick glance of someone looking at me, and as I turn my head to meet their glance the person looks away at a lightning speed.
"Is there something you need?" I lean forward and ask towards the student that was looking at me.
"No, I'm fine ...thanks." She's a second year student, one who I have known about for a long time. At the school we had to take classes to learn how to fight it with our hands or weapons. This girl is one of the top fighters in the school, but from what I can remember by reading her record she isn't as good with academics as she is hitting people. What is her name again? Oh, that's right.
"Samiya, right?"
"Yes. Well, just Sam, I don't like the name Samiya." She had a quick burst of annoyance on her face that quickly changed back into nervousness. She looked away. I wonder why?
"Is everything alright Sam? You look rather nervous."
"No, it's nothing. You're name is Reiner right?"
"Ya, what about it?" The faces of all the students quickly shift into a calmed state. Blank faces all around me. Why? "Did I do something?"
"No it's nothing." She responding quickly this time, and maintained her look away from me.
"All right then." I lean back into my chair and let out a soft sigh. I know she's lying, but I guess I don't need to press her about it. Guess I'll just leave her alone.
"How long is the trip to Mars suppose to take? We were told what we're supposed to do when we get there, but what are we supposed to do on the station?" A first year student looked over to me.
"Your name is Alex, right?"
"Ya."
"Well Alex, if I'm remembering it correctly from the council meetings they said that the trip to Mars is supposed to take around 150 days to get there. We start orbiting around Mars when it is closest to us, so we have to leave within the next couple of days to reach that point. All of you! listen, if you guys forgot anything back on the carrier of importance please make sure you request to have it brought up in the last shuttle through the operations officer on the bridge. The last shuttle will be coming up the day after tomorrow with the last of the cargo so get any requests by the end of the day tomorrow." The last shuttle before we leave Earth for good, huh?
Over the loudspeaker the pilot reminds us one last time to buckle in and get our neck protectors on so we don't get hurt during the landing. I stand up and make sure everyone else is strapped in and safe, then get myself ready for the landing. Out the window the station appeared right next to us and a small cargo door opens on the side of the station. The engines switch from getting louder and louder to getting quieter. We start flying into the door and the ambient noise of the shuttle cuts off. Because the station hasn't been set into rotation yet there is no artificial gravity, and since we have no maneuvering rockets on the top of the shuttle we have to skid across the floor a little which can be hard to control. Luckily, as we land the pilots happen to be skilled enough that they keep the shuttle from jolting too much. The loudspeaker turns on and the pilot speaks again, "Sorry for the bumpy ride kiddos. It's now safe to exit the shuttle and grab your stuff from the cargo floor."
I stand up and look around at the students. They all look relieved that they made safely onto the station. "Okay, every line up based on your class year and exit the ship in a single file line. We will then go get our stuff from the cargo floor and I'll escort you to your rooms." All of the students stand up then line up, the third years in the front led by a student named Tom, and the first years in the back of the line, followed up by Alex. We make our way out of the shuttle and down the ramp. It is a large room with two other shuttle sitting next to ours. Engineers are around the shuttle checking systems and running diagnostics to make sure that nothing is wrong with the shuttle.
Once at the bottom of the shuttle the door to the cargo floor opens and the students grab their things and line back up at the back of the shuttle. I lead them out of the shuttle bay and we enter a long hallway. This is the first time I'll be walking out of the shuttle bay, since every other time I come I just unload the students and make sure that there is someone to guide them where they need to go. I've never actually seen the interior of the station before except for what I've seen on the blueprints, through the station windows, and what is in the shuttle bay. The hallway looks just like the shuttlebay but with metal crates scattered throughout the hallways with the walls all being a uniform military gray with hexagon patterns engraved in them. The hallways seem to stretch for miles upon miles with no end in sight, while the ceiling in cleary only a couple feet from your head. It sort of feels like we're trapped in a cage where were allowed to run in only a straight line, without being able to stray from a set path that is given to us.
Knowing I would be a representative for the students I knew it entailed being able to navigate the halls of this station well, so I took the time to memorize the schematics of the station in my free time before we came here. Along the hallway we see lots of doors, all marked as different things. Botany lab, mechanic's bay, pilot's room, so on and so forth. We finally find the door marked student rooms, and after entering the door I begin to give a small speech to the students following me. "The student rooms are an independent sector that is independently connected to the rest of the station, so the power here comes from a second generator. There are three floors with the first years being on the first and the third years being on the third. Before we came here you should have been given a document containing your new id number that will allow you enter places you are authorized to. Along with your id you should see your room number and floor, but if for some reason you no longer have your document please find me or a crew member to help you find where you belong. You may now go to your rooms and settle in, but please be in the cafeteria by 2100 hours for the captain's address."
Everyone starts pulling out their documents to find out what room they're in and start moving to their respective floors. I should head up to the third floor as well and get set up in the special quarters. I follow the other two years up the stairs to the third floor and as we reach the third floor one of the third years turn towards me.
"Yo Reiner. My name's Tom, it's good to meet you." He makes a friendly smile towards me.
"It's good to meet you too Tom. I trust that the trip up here wasn't to bad right?" I return the friendly smile and try to spark up a conversation with him.
"It wasn't too bad, at least it was better than I thought it would be. I was quite nervous on my way up though being my first time in space and all.'
"I'm sure everyone was just as nervous as you, in fact I can promise you everyone was."
"Thanks, I started to feel like I was the only one since no one else said anything. I'm gonna go find my room now, can we talk again sometime?"
"It'd be a pleasure Tom. It was good talking to you."
"It was good talking to you too." He turns and starts walking down the hall while looking at his paper. While walking down the hall he must have bumped into at least three other people coming out of their rooms because of that.
I finally arrive at the special quarters for the student representative. I enter my id into the pad next to the door and it flies into the wall making a quick swoosh sound. I look inside to find out my room is probably two if not three times as big as everyone else's, along with my own bath and shower tucked into the back. I remember reading that the students had to share a communal bathroom and shower room, but I had no idea I'd be getting my own. The room looked like the rest of the station, gray and bleak. In the room there is a bed pushed into the corner, a metal dresser that is near the entrance of the room, a couple inch thick piece of glass separating me and the vacuum of space, a small metal desk with a terminal on top of it, and a door in the back of the room that led to the bathroom.
"Wow this is pretty big! Just who is so special that they get this room?" A student stood at the door looking at me with a jealous glare.
"My name is Reiner, a third year. And you are?" A quick look of surprise shows up on her face.
"I'm Anna, a third year as well. So tell me Reiner, what makes you so special that you get this huge room while I'm stuck in that tiny cage of a room." The jealousy grows ever more apparent on her face.
"I'm afraid I'm not allowed to say at this time. You'll have to wait until the Captain gives her address." The station's comm system activates and an officer starts speaking over the loudspeakers.
"This is Operations Officer Harrison. I want to remind everyone that the Captain will be addressing all you at 2100 hours in the Main Cafeteria and that it is mandatory for everyone to attend this. That is all." Anna turns back to me and I to her.
"I need to get ready for that, we'll talk more later okay?"
"Okay but if I don't get a clear answer at that address I am going to come back here until I get an explanation that I find satisfactory." She whips her body around towards the door and leaves promptly.
Well she'll get her answer at the Captain's address, at least I was told to not tell anyone I was on the Council until that so I am assuming the Captain will tell everyone or something. If I remember correctly, I am suppose to wear a special suit that they gave me to the address. I only have half an hour to get ready so I gotta hurry.
I find the uniform in a bag that was given to me by one of the Council members. The uniform was in three pieces, a shirt, pants, and a long, thin coat that stretched down all the way below the knee. The shirt and pants are both dark black, the darkest kind of black you can imagine, and the jacket is mostly a deep, dark blue with red stripes going down the coat.
By the time I arrive at the cafeteria it is already full. The cafeteria looks like the rest of the station except it is larger than any room I have seen on this station yet. Almost like a big rectangle, it is large enough to comfortably house hundreds of people with two stories that were connected to each other by large stairs on each side of the room. Two bridges connected each side of the second floor as there is a large gap in the middle and the Captain is standing on the bridge furthest away from the door allowing her to speak to everyone equally. I work my way through the crowd trying to get as close to the bridge as I can, and when I get as close as possible I get a good view of the Captain. She is an above average height middle aged woman with black hair that drapes down to her neck and glistens as the lights on the ceiling hit her. Wearing an all white uniforms with black outlines that follow her shoulders on the top of the uniform down to the bottom. She turns her head towards me and does a little nod of recognition, as if to symbolize she could start now that I am present.
"First off I'd like to welcome you all to your new lives on board this station. I am Captain Harley. I know it must be difficult for you all to get adjusted to your new lives in space but I am hopeful that you will all come to accept it and adjust quickly. To all students, while you are on this station you will be attending school as usual in your newly designated classes. On the documents you were given before you came here you should have been given your id. Hopefully you have already found it so you can access your room, but if you haven't ask someone for help because you will need to use that id on your personal terminals in your rooms to find out your class number. Classes have been divided in A through F, with A being for those with exceptional skill and F being for those that do not. It is possible to move up the classes through working hard and it is possible to move down the classes by doing poorly. Your days at school will now be 10 hours long, starting at 0800 and ending at 1800 hours. You'll spend your first 5 hours in the classes learning academics and the last 5 training at combat class. We don't know what you'll encounter on Mars as we have never scouted the planet extensively, but we do know that the atmosphere is good enough to sustain small amounts of life. Once we reach Mars we will be sending down an elite team of students hand picked from the A class and a group of engineers that are a part of the crew. To the crew, please go about your jobs with dedication knowing that you are helping ensure the future of humanity and try to help the students if they seem lost or confused. Oh and one last thing to the students. You will have a representative from the Supreme Council that will voice your collective concerns to me directly every week." Murmuring sparks among the large crowd on who it might be. People are voicing a common concern that this representative won't be from the students and won't be able to understand their concerns, but they did not know yet that I would be that representative. "The person who is going to be your representative is," she unfolds her arm slowly to a point towards me, "that third year student there, he's on the Supreme Council. All attention focuses on me and I can feel intense stares coming from everyone. "He is set up on the third floor so you guys can go there and talk to him about anything that bothers you."
"That's all for now. Welcome to your new home. Welcome to Genesis."
