The shuttle door opened and 14-year-old Lauren Shepard stepped off, along with a dozen other teenagers. They all looked a bit bewildered at the station where they were now located, thanks to their "unique abilities." That's what the letter from Conatix had said months ago when she opened the mail pad. She quickly trashed it as nothing and planned to keep her biotics under wraps, but then a week ago, her power manifested itself and threw several kids at school into a fountain.
A man and a woman dressed in dark suits arrived at her house later that day. Lauren couldn't hear what they were saying to her parents, but the way her mom was shaking her head, she knew it wasn't good. The next day her mom was crying and helping her pack and her dad was clearing his throat constantly.
"You are going to a special school for kids like you," her mom said gently.
"That sounds like bull—oney, Mom."
"Lauren, this is good for you. It'll help you…control and maybe even use your…gift." Her dad strained at that last word.
Lauren knew that her parents thought she was a freak for being able to glow blue and move things with her mind, and she had every intention of getting as far away from them as she could, so this school sounded like a great idea, after all.
Looking around the station they had called "Jump Zero", she tried hard not to feel lonely. There were dozens of teens milling about in the shuttle bay. Many of the other kids looked as bewildered as she did, but a few had struck up conversations. No one seemed able to leave the loading dock until a door opened and a turian strode through.
"I'm Vyrnnus," he said with no expression in his voice. "This is Biotic Acclimation and Training. I will be your guide to using your biotics with force and accuracy. Although this isn't the military, this will be run like a turian training camp. There are strict guidelines that you will be required to follow. When you arrive in your barracks, you will receive the daily schedule. Any deviation or attempt to delay this schedule will be met with swift punishment. Are there any questions?"
The turian was met with dead silence. A couple of the girls had tears in their eyes. Lauren knew their type. Soft, coddled, their biotics were treated like an accessory rather than a defect. Likely rich, too, thought Lauren with disdain.
Some human adults in uniforms were starting to find their way around the teens and handing them their barrack assignments.
"Shepard, Lauren!" one sharp-featured man called. Lauren stepped toward him.
"I'm Lauren Shepard," she said nervously. He thrust a datapad at her.
"You are in Barrack 235, bunk 7. Please go there now. The datapad has the navpoint to guide you."
She glared at the man and skulked away. So far this is bullshit. Everyone here has a pole up their ass. Her stomach growled and she remembered she was hungry. She went back to the man and tried to get his attention. "Excuse me?"
"What? Go to your bunk!" He looked annoyed.
"I'm hungry. Is there a snack shop or a place to get a quick bite?"
"What was your name again?"
"Shepard, Laure.."
"Shepard, this is not a resort. We do not cater to you. You are here for training and control. When you arrive at your bunk, there are some protein bars in the room. You may have up to 3 a day...any more and you will be on probation. We will not have hoarders on this station. Do you understand, Shepard?"
"Yes, sir." Lauren was starting to think this whole thing was even worse than a bad idea.
Using the pad, she pretty easily found her room and bunk. She grabbed one of the protein bars and laid down, feeling glad she got a bottom bunk. She lay there chewing when another girl walked in. She was one of the girls who had had tears in her eyes after Vyrnnus got done yelling at them.
She had dark hair, dark eyes, and a beautiful olive complexion. Lauren was instantly jealous of her. The girl's frame was like one of those asari actresses she had seen in movies. Curvy, but still thin. She had breasts and Lauren looked at her own small nubs in disgust. The girl was tall and her clothes looked expensive.
"Hello!" the girl said with an accent that sounded exotic and wonderful and Lauren hated her more. "I'm Rahna Zorlu. Who are you?"
Lauren sat up. "I'm Lauren Shepard." The words came out scratchy because of the food in her mouth. Rahna sat on her bed.
"It's nice to meet you, I'm your bunk buddy!" she said pointing up at the top bunk.
Hooray. Lauren tried to smile genuinely, but only a smirk would appear. "That's great. Where are you from?"
"I'm from the EU, Turkey, to be exact. My father owns a lot of media outlets. He also dabbles in movie production. What about you?"
"I'm from the North American Union, the U.S. Um, Chicago, actually. My dad is an Alliance marine."
"Oh, wow! I have some friends whose parents are marines too! Does your dad work groundside or on a ship?"
Lauren was irritated that this Rahna girl even had some military terminology down. "He works groundside. He very rarely gets sent on ship tours."
"Oh, I see." Rahna looked thoughtful. "Well, if you don't mind my asking, we are all here for the same reason. How did you become a biotic? How did you find out?"
"Well, my dad believes it was his fault. He was helping at the docks with a load of eezo. Thinks it must of gotten to his, uh, junk and here I am. I figured it out when I was about 3, I guess. My mom told me to pick up my toys and I thought about it and they moved. It was kind of the best day ever." Lauren relaxed a bit as she recalled that day. "I tossed my toys into the box and thought I was magic. My mom came in and told me what a good girl I was, and I felt like I was a superhero." She smiled genuinely this time.
Rahna did as well. "I don't have nearly the interesting story. My mom was working at a movie set when she was pregnant for me and there was supposed to be an explosion. She said the pyrotechnics guy just discovered eezo and how easily small amounts could make large fireballs. Well, he set one off, and mom was nearby. My whole family figured out I was biotic when I was about 7. I caught a cold, sneezed and blew my entire family out of the living room." She laughed this laugh that was ticklish in Lauren's ears and she couldn't help but laugh herself. Maybe she isn't so bad after all.
Rahna then grabbed a datapad from her bunk. "Do we have any training together?"
"I don't know," Lauren said slowly. She hadn't even bothered to look at the pad. Just as she looked down at it, a couple other girls entered, chattering loudly. Rahna looked at them and smiled.
"Hey, Kathryn and…Indira, right?" she said to the pair. They nodded. "It says it's about time for lunch. Lauren, how about all of us go and get something to eat?"
Lauren set down her pad and walked to the mess hall with the other three girls. Kathryn seemed to know Rahna already and she was friends with Indira as well. Lauren tuned them out as they walked until she heard the topic of boys come up.
"Have you seen this one guy? Oh, he is so amazing! Tall, blonde, built like an Atlas. I just about died," Kathryn gushed.
"What's his name?" Rahna asked eagerly.
"I thought I heard the guy say Joseph or James…something like that. I couldn't hardly hear over his hotness," Kathryn said in a serious tone as they entered the mess. "Oh my God! There he is!"
Indira and Rahna let out a little gasp, but Lauren saw the guy he was talking to and he made her heart beat a little faster. Curly, dark hair. Eyes of an amber brown. Trim and fit, but not as bulky as the blonde.
Lauren hoped she never would have to talk to him.