WHATS UP GUYS! Bads25 here bringing you my SECOND fanfiction story, a cross over between the Stargate universe and the Infinite Stratos universe! Now, before you jump in, let me clarify something. I created this after reading the ONLY OTHER STARGATE/IS CROSSOVER, and I really liked the first few chapters that were a prologue of sorts, so I decided that if you want a good intro to the IS/STARGATE universe then I recommend you go and check that out. That being said, I might also take a couple ideas from their work, but put my own twist on everything. KEEPING THAT IN MIND, my character was not on SG-1, nor will he have much interaction with them or the SGC for quite some time. This is going to be a really long story that spans the whole 3 years to graduate the IS academy and then some with various missions with the SGC. Also, ill add a link to the story for those of you who wish to read it and get the intro... even though its the ONLY OTHER CROSSOVER

Now, without further delay, let's get into the story! And as always, please review. I try to take all my writing seriously so your feedback is important to me!

CHAPTER 1

Holy shit, how did this happen?!

'I have no idea how the hell all of this happened,' I thought to myself over the roar of the twin jet engines. There were several men in suits around me, and to my surprise a couple lookalikes. Christ, just because I got the damn thing to move doesn't mean I need this much security. The entourage and I slowly boarded the plane, heading to Japan or, more specifically, the IS academy there. Taking my seat up in first class, I looked out the window and saw that there would be two IS units coming with us, as well as a couple F-22 fighter jets. All this hardware and military power was being used to transfer a single person, me, because I just so happen to be able to move a damn IS. 'Alright James,' I thought to myself as I finally settled in for the flight, 'think back to two weeks ago. How did this happen.'

Two weeks earlier

"This sucks dude! Why do we have to clean and repair the IS's! We're not even on duty today!" Robert complained. He always complained though, and that's why the two of them were friends. Both of us were fresh into the military after enlisting as soon as we came of age, we signed up looking for positions as mechanics. After a grueling boot camp, we were given our chance to show our stuff as mechanics and blew the instructors expectations out of the water and landing ourselves the prestigious posting at the Cheyanne Mountain complex. More specifically, a special division located within called the SGC.

We had meet when we first got to boot camp, being thrown into the mud by our CO. It's too bad we didn't know he was our CO at the time, otherwise we wouldn't have said what we did, like telling him he can put his opinions of us where the sun wont shine. During our 10 laps around the base as punishment, a 5 mile run for a single lap, we quickly became the best of friends, having each other's back whenever the other got into trouble, and more than once sharing the unfair punishments that came with it. Not that either one of us ever complained, well, we did but it was good natured, just like now.

"Oh shut it Rob," I said to him, "I'd rather not get stuck on a run around the damn mountain due to complaints. Besides, it's an IS! Do you have any idea how badly I've wanted to see one of these in person, let alone be able to use one!"

"Good luck with that! You know just as well as everyone else that only girls can pilot the IS. Damn shame though, it would be nice if at least one guy could use it." Robert said as he replaced one of the panels that had taken a direct blast.

"Well there's rumors that some kid in japan was able to use an IS." I commented, grabbing a step ladder and moving it closer to the IS. Shooting a look at Robert, I climbed into the pilot's seat.

"Dude don't break anything. I don't want to be punished because you broke the IS." Robert groaned despite his smile. He was enjoying this just as much as I was.

"Come on, you know that you would do the same thing. Hell, you have! Remember last month?" I said, a grin forming on my face. Robert just waved me off and said he was going to get a drink. I latched myself into the 'seat' if it could be called that and put my arms into their respective slots. I then started to play around, acting like I was in battle and making phew phew noises with my mouth.

Suddenly the IS started to move, the arms following my every move and my legs walking without problem. The HUD popped up in front of me and I immediately opened a com line to Robert.

"DUDE GET BACK IN HERE IM MOVING THE IS!" I shouted with glee.

"Come on dude, give it a rest. We got work to do." He said with a sigh.

"Robert, I'm not kidding you. I'm moving the IS without problem. How else would I be talking to you? You know my radio broke yesterday!" I exclaimed, receiving a prompt response from Robert.

"I'm on my way. This better be real dude, cuz if it's not, I'm gona beat you." He said. A minute later, Robert came running in through the door and froze. After a sudden silence, he shouted "DUDE YOUR OPPERATING AN IS!"

"I KNOW MAN! THIS IS AWSOME!" I yelled, walking over to him and picking him up gently. "As much as I'm having fun dude, we need to let the general or our CO know. This is big!"

"Yeah, your right. But holy crap man! THE SECOND MALE IS OPERATOR IS MY BEST FRIEND!" he exclaimed, giving me a thumbs up in approval. I walked out the maintenance bay doors and started down the hall to our CO's room. We passed several people, all of whom were shocked to see me IN the IS, let alone OPPERATING it! We reached the CO's room and I set Robert down. He knocked on the door and was let in. A few seconds later, the CO came out and stared in shock at what he was seeing.

"H-HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO DO THAT!?" The CO shouted, drawing the attention of General Hammond who happen to be walking by just then.

"Manage what?" he said as he walked over, only to see that the IS pilot wasn't a woman, but a man. "Alright, I see what you're talking about Sargent. Boy, what's your name?"

"James B. Reverend sir!" I said, saluting the general after taking my arms out of the arm slots.

"Well James, your days of being a mechanic are over." Hammond said.

The next two days weren't as hectic as I thought they would be. In fact, they were quite the opposite since I was placed in a holding room and interrogated. They asked how I was able to pilot the IS and how I was even allowed near one. After explaining it all to them, they put me in a room with Robert for a day then whisked us off on a transport to Area 51. Upon arrival, we were made to sign forms saying we would never speak of what we saw there unless otherwise authorized to do so.

After that we were taking to another room and locked up for the remainder of the day until a man in a suit came in. His nametag said that he was William G. Brown, an ambassador for America. A second man was behind him, but stayed in the hallway.

"Good evening gentlemen, my name is William Brown. I'm an ambassador for the US." He said.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Robert Cook." Robert said, extending his hand for a handshake, which William quickly shook.

"James Reverend." I said as I shook William's hand next. "So, why would a US ambassador come all the way to Area 51 to talk with us?"

"Well, it's complicated, but it's all about you James." He said as he took a seat at the table. Robert and I also took our seats. "More specifically, your ability to pilot an IS."

"Ahh, let me guess. You're our ambassador to Japan, aren't you?" I asked, getting a general idea of where this was going.

"That is correct. I assume you've been told about why I'm here?" he asked

"Nope. But since it deals with me piloting an IS, it makes sense for the American ambassador for Japan would come to talk to us since they made the IS." I explained.

"Ahh, alright then. Well then shall we simply cut to the chase?" he asked and, when Robert and I both nodded, he continued. "Good. Quite simply, we want you to attend the IS academy in japan as the representative contender for America. Your file says that you can read speak Japanese, and combined with being a male IS pilot, it makes sense for you to head over and study there. Upon graduation, we have a slot for you and Robert on a SG team unless you decide to compete in tournaments."

"I have only one problem with that." I said, getting confused looks form both William and Robert. "I want the real reason for why your sending me to the IS academy."

"But I just told you the reason." William deadpanned.

"And it's a crap reason. You simply want me to get close to the other male IS pilot, don't you." I said bluntly, receiving a rather bad poker face from William. He was about to deny the accusation when there was a knock on the door.

"You're absolutely right son, and you're wrong too." A man said as he walked in. Immediately, Robert and I stood up and saluted.

"Mr. President Sir!" we said as we saluted the president. He quickly returned the salute and told us to be at ease. After sitting down again, I asked "What do you mean by I'm right but I'm wrong sir?"

"While it's true that we want you to get close to the other male IS pilot, it is also true that we are sending you so that you can get an education on operating an IS. To be entirely honest, while we want you to be close to him and learn what you can about him, were more interested in getting you an education so that the US has a much bigger presence in the IS field." The president explained. "After you graduate, we are more than willing to allow you to do as you please, weather that be returning to the SGC, entering tournaments, or even retiring and simply living a normal life. If you do decide to return to the SGC however, we are willing to extend the same invitation to any friends you make while at the academy that you deem worthy. You are also welcome to turn down our offer and return to the SGC and resume your posting as mechanics if you wish."

"Well, if I were to have my own IS, that would probably sway me into going along with your plan." I said. "But regardless, Robert here comes with me. If I have to trust anyone besides myself when it comes to the maintenance of my IS, it would be him."

"Ahh, the bonds of friendship. Rest assured Robert would be going with you. That's why he was brought here with you. As for your own IS, I believe we could provide you with one. Why else would we have brought you both to Area 51?" the president said. William had simply kept his mouth shut since the president had walked in. Standing up, Robert and I were lead out into a hall and started walking to a hangar.

"Hey." Robert said, getting my attention. "Thanks for saying you'd want me as your mechanic. It really means a lot." He said while putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you trying to come on to me?" I said, completely strait faced.

"What? No! No! I meant is as… AWW SCREW YOU!" he said as he noticed the smile slowly growing on my face. The both of us laughed all the way to the hanger we had been walking towards.

"Gentlemen, this is it. Our attempt at creating a 3rd generation IS with technology we have acquired through the Stargate program. The technical specifications are beyond me, but you're both engineers so why don't you have a look for yourself." The president said, bringing us from our laughs. The IS was a marvelous looking machine, this one was currently without the wings on its back. From a quick glance it looked like a knight's armor as there were several spots that contained what looked like chainmail as well as curved plate metal. Despite the appearance of being a knight, the color scheme was… patriotic… to say the least. Adorned in red, white, and blue, it resembled the 'Iron Patriot" from the movie Iron Man.

"Ok, were defiantly changing the paint on that ride. Uncle Sam himself would be put to shame in that." Robert said flatly as he and I walked closer to the machine for a better look at it.

"I agree. The technicians that built it painted it themselves as a joke. Originally it was going to be called the Patriot and be used by our highest scoring female candidate who would have become our representative contender. However, being the second country to produce a male IS pilot is a much better appearance. Feel free to give it a new name as well." The president said as a pair of technicians came forward and started to talk to him.

"So, what do you think?" I asked Robert in a hushed voice. "You are going to be the chief mechanic after all, so I want your opinion on it."

"Heh, could be worse. Armor looks far too thin but that could just be to allow better mobility. Lots of the gen 3 IS's are large and focus more on strength and firepower than mobility and tactics. Not that we know any to begin with, but still." He said.

"Very true, but I played lots of strategy games as a kid. Even won a couple tournaments. I'd say that I have more than the basics at least." I chipped in.

"Fair enough. Also I have no idea what armaments this thing has or why there's chainmail on the damn thing, but looking at those shoulder holes, I'd say there's a compact cannon in each. No idea what type, given all the tech the SGC has developed."

"We need the specs for this thing. I feel like the armor itself is going to be the key to the whole thing." I said. Robert simply nodded his head and turned around, motioning for one of the mechanics to come over.

"Listen, we need the technical specs of this thing. Could you go print them out for us?" Robert asked the woman.

"We have them on tablets already prepared for you two." She said, gesturing towards a nearby table.

"Appreciated." He said, giving her a smile and a nod before doing a quick jog over to the table. I simply stood there, looking at the armor, still trying to figure out how the hell I ended up being able to pilot one of these machines. Robert started to walk back over with an extra tablet when he noticed me staring at the machine. Knowing what I was thinking next, he ran back over to the table and put on a headset. He then grabbed the IS's Quantum form, a small brown bracelet that looked like an armguard and tossed it to me just as I turned to face him. Catching it easily, I simply smiled at Robert and put it on.

"Input unit name" The bland female voice coming from the IS said.

"Rouge" I said to it while smiling.

"Unit name: Rouge, accepted." The voice said. The President and the technicians were having a little debate and hadn't noticed what was going on. "Please enter the unit for calibrations."

Climbing into the pilots spot, I put my feet and hands into their respective slots. Immediately, the machine started to adjust to my frame, becoming an extension of my body. I stood there as the HUD appeared, giving me a better understanding of how the machine worked immediately. Guessing from the readouts on the unit's energy and shields, it was powered by either one or two Naquadah generators. It had two small thrusters that were extremely powerful, probably compact ion thrusters similar to the ones used by F-302's and the D-304's in production. If that was correct, then this IS would be capable of reaching speeds of over Mach 7-10 depending on how much thrust the miniature versions were.

More importantly, I found the reason why the designers had styled this unit after a knight. Looking at the armaments, the unit was a close combat specialist with several variations of swords. The chainmail would be very helpful in stopping bladed weapons, and was placed in areas that would need it. The plate armor would also help with energy and kinetic ranged weapons as it was well rounded and could dissipate blast from an energy weapon and have the rounds from kinetic weapons simply graze the surface, minimizing damage. The metal itself was a mixture of Titanium, Trinium, and Naquadah, so despite its thin appearance it was probably tough enough to take several tank shells and be fine. Well, the armor would be, I wouldn't unless I made sure to use my weapons to take down the target before it got to that point.

Speaking of weapons, I pulled open the menu to see what sort of weapons this unit used. It came to no surprise that there were several bladed weapons, this was modeled after a knight after all, but there was also a large amount of ranged weapons. The one he wanted to try the most was labeled the one-hundred fifty millimeter cannon. That would be sure to bring down just about anything in a single shot, the only problem was that it would probably be hard to aim. Then there was the dual laser cannons in each shoulder that Robert had noticed. It's a pity that this wasn't going to be a weapons test, but a flight test instead.

The adjustments had finished and the suit finalized its startup sequence, activating the generators and creating a small buzzing noise. Taking notice, the President, William, and the two technicians looked over in shock at me walking around, getting a feel for the IS.

"Christ, I know the reports said he could do it, but I didn't expect to see it in person so soon." William said as the four of them stared in awe.

"I think it's clear we made a great choice in these two." The president said.

"Ready to give that scrap heap a true test run?" Robert shouted, drawing the attention of the four of them and me.

"You bet!" I said and opened a channel to the control tower. "Tower command, this is… crap, what the name of this thing so I can take off?" I asked the technicians. One of them simply passed out and the other looked too amazed for words. "Ahh screw it. Tower, this is the IS Rouge, requesting permission for take-off for a test run."

"Negative IS pilot, you are not authorized to take off. We have no scheduled tests for today." The tower responded.

"He has my authorization to take off." The president said over a radio he had taken from the passed out technician. William was fanning the passed out woman. The President then gave his authentication codes and, after a quick confirmation on the codes from the tower, I was cleared to take off.

"Well, here goes nothing." I said to Robert over a private channel. I started to look through the built in manual on how to fly with this thing, but quickly gave up. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck man." Robert said over the channel before I ignited my thrusters and took off, shooting out the hangar and onto the runway. Now being in an open area, I tried to hover as a simple start, moving towards a waiting area so I wouldn't get in the way of any jets taking off or landing. After nearly falling, I started to get the hang of the way the unit balanced. Despite its appearance at being top heavy due to the large amount of plate metal there, it was actually well balanced which had thrown him off. Now expertly hovering, I increased the thrust and started to gain altitude. Doing more and more tricks, my confidence grew in leaps and bounds.

"Hey James." Robert's voice came in over the channel. "While it's neat to see you doing tricks, let's get back to testing that scrap heap. The unit has built in inertial dampeners so you should have no problem handling quick acceleration and deceleration, as well as high speeds."

"Alright man. But damn if this isn't fun. I really wish you could experience this. Damn IS's only working for girls." I said, giving myself a bit of speed. "Well, maybe with there being two male pilots you can get a unit someday."

"Yeah yeah, less talking, more flying." He said, trying to sound disinterested. He didn't fool me though. I knew he was extremely jealous, and the thought of doing what I was currently doing was killing him. Finally deciding to go all out, I pushed the thrusters to the max, creating a sonic boom while shooting forward at an excess of Mach 9. Doing plenty of twirls and twists, i almost threw up. 'Better not let them know about that...' I thought to myself as i turned around almost instantly, maintaining speed and shooting back towards the base. After a quick dive, I skimmed the ground only a foot above it, leaving a large dust trail that appeared a good quarter mile behind me.

As I sped onto the base, I quickly stuck out my legs and gained a bit of altitude so I would be seen as standing. Wheels popped out of the bottom of my feet and I rolled across the runway, stopping my forward thrust slowly with reverse bursts from my thrusters. It was a very anti-climactic way of stopping, but it worked, and to be honest, I had no desire to fall from the sky only to land on the ground like Iron Man does in the movies. Why do that when you can come in from an angle and take out several additional targets?

Coincidentally, I had ended up stopping right in front of the president, so I guess it wasn't as anti-climactic as it could have been. I walked over to where the unit had been when the test started and shut it down, climbing out of it after that was said and done. I took a few steps back and took in the sight of it again. Scary enough, the paint job was starting to grow on me.

After that day, I was kept at Area 51 for training in operating Rouge and using its weapons. I ended up falling in love with the one fifty cannon, which turned out to be a prototype weapon intended to take out an Al'kesh in a single hit. However, I was also kept there to keep the press from finding out about me until the last possible second, which ended up being an hour before the plane to Japan had landed. The biggest question had been how high my compatibility with the IS I had and what the name of my IS happen to be. Thankfully, I only had to answer the last question, as the first was taken by a technician who said it was classified. The press got a huge kick out of it when I told them the IS was called Rouge though. Don't know why, it's just a name after all.

And that is how I ended up on this plane, heading to a place I hadn't thought I would be going to in a million years, as the representative contender for America with an IS that was upgraded with alien tech.

Who knew what would happen at the academy if this is what my life was before even getting there…

LATER… AT THE ACCADEMY

"Big place." I muttered as I looked out the window of the car towards the IS academy. The place was huge, but it made sense since there had to be acquit room for IS training.

"That your professional opinion, Sir?" Robert said, mocking me. He was sitting in the seat next to me, still annoyed that I had ended up as an IS pilot and he hadn't. And being promoted hadn't helped either. We were still best of friends, but now he teased me about my rank and status since I was promoted after the impromptu test flight back at Area 51.

"Damn it Robert, are you still upset about me being the second male IS pilot instead of it being you?" I teased, elbowing him in the ribs lightly.

"Never said I was upset." He said, rubbing his side with a small smile.

"Yeah, your right." I said and he looked surprised. "It's been your tone ever since I got promoted, PRIVATE." A sadistic grin grew on my face.

"Well excuse me, SARGENT. I'll try to tone it down for you." He said, returning the elbow to the ribs from earlier.

"If you two are done," the driver said, "we have arrived and you may get out now."

"Thanks mister!" we both said as we climbed out of the car and got our luggage before the vehicle drove away. Most of what we needed had been shipped over beforehand, so this was just last minute stuff. After looking around for what felt like forever, we were startled by a female voice.

"I take it your our new student? The representative contender from America?" She said. How had she even snuck up on us? Where they were standing there was no trees or concrete slabs that someone could hide behind.

"Uh, yeah, names James Reverend. This is my friend and personal mechanic, Robert Winstanly." I said, still trying to get over the initial shock of being snuck up on.

"Pleasure to meet you." Robert said, acting calm as ever. Then again, there was a girl involved, so it figures he would be as calm and collected as possible.

"Same to you two. I'm Chifuyu Orimura, or Ms. Orimura in the class room or during any events and disciplinary actions." She said, both being kind and giving a strict warning.

"Understood, I'll try my best to keep in your good graces." I said. I really didn't want to be on the receiving end of any of her disciplinary lectures.

"Good. Now then, I'll show you to your rooms. Seeing as you're a pilot and you're a mechanic," she said, gesturing to us respectively, "then you will be living in separate areas. The dorms are this way-"

"Hey, is it ok if we find out where Robert is staying first?" I asked, receiving a surprised, if slightly annoyed, look from Ms. Orimura. "It's just that I'd like to know where he is staying since I'm guessing the dorms have room numbers and the staff ones don't."

"Fair enough." She said with a small nod and proceeded to head towards the staff housing area. After a long, and awkwardly quiet, walk, we reached the building where Robert would be staying at. As we started to walk in, I was blocked by an arm coming from Ms. Orimura. "Sorry, but this is a staff only building."

"It's alright. I'm just glad to know where the building is." I said and gave a small smile. Ms. Orimura just nodded and lead Robert in. Robert gave a quick wave and yawned, still not use to the time change.

Thankfully, I had already adjusted to the time difference between here and Colorado. It was only a couple hours different, but even a single hour could mess up a sleep schedule. Though, I guess being in the military made it easier, especially when there were alarms going off all the time. No sleep schedule was the same from week to week at the SGC.

I had been waiting for about five minutes and had walked over to a nearby tree to be in the shade when I felt a tug on my sleeve. Turning, I saw a guy, roughly a few years younger than me, standing just a bit too close for comfort. I took a small step back as I turned to face him.

"Hey, so you're the new student?" He asked. Pretty straight forward guy it seemed.

"Yeah, James Reverend. You are?" I asked.

"Ichika Orimura, your room mate." He said, extending his hand. I quickly shook it with a smile.

"Well, it's great to meet the first male IS pilot." I said, grinning like an idiot. "Hope we end up getting along!"

"As long as you're not a girl cross dressing as a guy, were going to get along great!" Ichika said, earning a wide-eyed stair from me. "What? Was it something I said?"

"D-Did you just accuse me of being a cross dressing girl?" I stammered.

"NO, NO!" he shouted, quickly raising his hands in protest. "That's not what I meant! It's just that I have a strange feeling that might end up happening."

"Ohh, alright. Jeez, if girls are going to be that desperate to get close to you then this is either going to be heaven or hell. Not sure which yet as the only girl I've met so far has been your sister."

"Chifuyu? You met her already?" he asked.

"Yeah, she met us as me and my mechanic got out of the car we used to get here. She should be back out here any minute, seeing as she was just showing him where he would be sleeping." I said, gesturing to the staff building.

"You brought your own mechanic? Why not just let the regular staff here work on it?" Ichika asked.

"Political reasons. Plus he's been my best friend for quite some time and there's no one I'd rather trust than him with my IS." I answered.

"So you have a personal IS also. Nice, though I guess I shouldn't be surprised. We are the only two male IS pilots in the world. So are you a representative contender, or just going solo like me for now?" He asked.

"So true, and yes, I'm the representative contender for America, though I'm not sure if I really want to be or not. I understand their reasons for wanting me to be one though. ANWYAY, I was working in the military as a mechanic, repairing an IS when I decided it would be fun to get in it and mess around. Didn't expect it to start actually moving. Shortly after that I met the president of the United States and he asked me to be the representative contender for America. Couldn't really say no, since I had been given my own IS, but like I said I might not keep that title." I said sheepishly, slightly embarrassed by the story.

"Wow, I just stumbled into the IS testing room on accident when I found out I could use an IS. Seems like both of use being pilots were just accidents that ended in our favor." He said with a small laugh. "And I'm not a representative contender either, though that's not from a lack of offers."

"I can imagine." I said, also laughing lightly. Turning slightly, I noticed Ms. Orimura and Robert walking over to us. "Hey guys."

"I see you have met your roommate. Good. That saves me the hassle of showing you to your room before having to walk to my office for more paperwork. Ichika, take them to your room and show them around the campus." Ms. Orimura said.

"On it Chifuyu." Ichika said with a smile, until he got hit on the head with a book.

"I told you, it's Ms. Orimura when on campus." She said and started to walk away. Ichika was holding his head while lightly moaning, and Robert was staring at Ms. Orimura as she walked away, leaving me standing there wondering just what type of school I had enrolled in.

LATER

"Well, that's pretty much the whole school." Ichika said as he and I returned to our room. Robert had ditched us towards the end, saying he needed to get some sleep. "Thankfully they put in some male only bathrooms over the summer. It was a hassle last year with only girl bathrooms."

"Ha, I bet. So, which bed is yours and which is mine?" I asked, picking up my luggage.

"You get to choose since you're the new guy." He said, while I graciously nodded in appreciation.

"In that case, I'll take the far bed. It's been a while since I've been able to wake up from the sun in my eyes." I said.

"Whys that?" he asked.

"My last posting was at a military base inside a mountain. It's easy to lose track of the days in there." I answered, slightly nervous about potentially giving away something that I shouldn't.

"Oh wow. Don't blame you for wanting the window side at all." Ichika said as he flopped down on his bed. I started to unpack a couple things from my luggage. "So what's life like in the military? I've thought about joining, but it always felt like too much of a hassle."

"Well, it is tough. Both Robert and I had a hard time in boot camp. Though that was mainly due to our antics than any actual struggle." I explained. "In the end it depends on what you're going in for. Robert and I wanted to be engineers, so short of basic training, it wasn't bad at all. What would you go into?"

"Air force, more specifically anything involving space. It's always been my dream to go up into space someday. It should be easy, since the IS was designed to do just that, but the ban on military units going into space prevents that." He said. I moved a few boxes and started to put away my clothes, making sure to keep my face away from his. If he saw my face, he would know something was up.

'Why did I have to have the ONE male IS pilot who happened to have a fascination with space?' I thought to myself. 'It's hard not to tell him that his dreams are a lot closer to earth than he thinks, literally. Wait, didn't the president say I could bring back friends for positions on a team at the SGC? Better check on that first before I mention anything.'

"So why did you want to be an engineer?" Ichika asked, bringing me out of my train of thought.

"Oh, I just wanted to be able to build or repair things. I always enjoyed working on things where I could use my hands. Though it got me into trouble when I built a flame thrower out of Legos when I was 10." I said.

"You wha- Ya know what, I don't even want to ask how you managed that." He said, his face being one of pure terror.

"Relax. Technically it wasn't even a flame thrower. More like a plasma thrower. Only got one shot out of it before the whole thing melted." I said, completely oblivious to the look of pure horror on Ichika's face.

"Well, at least you have a skill set to fall back on. I'm more or less useless when it comes to anything." He said.

"Not true." I said flatly.

"How so?" he asked when I didn't elaborate.

"I've met dozens of people who thought the same thing you do. They didn't think they would be amazing in any one field. Turns out that they weren't."

"How is that relevant?"

"Because they weren't amazing in any one field, but they were far more than competent in all of them. What they excelled at was versatility. Being able to fill in when a group member got injured or was sick is extremely helpful. Most people only focus on one particular trait to master, but I think it's better to be simply good in all skills."

"That's surprisingly insightful. Are you sure you're not a girl?"

"Do I have to drop my pants?"

"I'm good. Anyway it's getting late, why don't we turn in. Still have a couple days before classes start so you'll have plenty of time to unpack." Ichika said while yawning.

"Yeah, I just wanted to get a few things out of the way." I said as I changed into my pajamas.

"Well, I guess you really aren't a girl." He said.

"Well, since you were looking, are you gay?" I teased.

"Hell, I might end up being gay after I'm done at this school. I like to expect the worse so that I might be pleasantly surprised." He deadpanned.

"That bad huh?" I said as I climbed into my bed.

"Well, were going to find out soon enough."

"Fuck, just what have I gotten myself into." I asked.

"Probably hell. But who knows, it might be fun." He said, getting a laugh out of me.

"Night Ichika." I said

"Night James." He said.

THE NEXT MORNING

I slowly opened my eyes as the first rays of sunlight came through the window. Rolling over, I laid on my side and looked out the window, now fully awake. It had been so long since I had been able to watch the sunrise from my own bed, probably back when I was still living at home before basic training.

The sun, now completely visible, was shining brightly. Slowly, I rolled back over and looked at my alarm clock. It was set to go off at 7:30, but it was only 6:00. Turning off my alarm so it wouldn't go off and awaken Ichika, I quietly grabbed some clothing and my bag holding my bathroom utilities; shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, hairbrush, comb, and a razor for shaving. Stepping into the bath room and turning on the lights, I set up my items, excluding the shampoo, in a drawer on the far right side, leaving the far left side to Ichika. Then I undressed, folded my clothes, and stepped into the shower.

The water felt great as it flowed down my body. The power of the showerhead stung a little bit from where the water hit me, but it was pure bliss compared to the showers during basic training, and even on base at the SGC and Area 51. 'A person really has to get use to either quick showers, or get use to cold showers there.' I thought as I started to rinse my hair. After a couple more minutes of pure bliss from the hot water, I turned off the shower and grabbed a towel, not stepping out of the shower to avoid getting water on the floor. After a quick drying, I wrapped the towel around my waist and stepped out, admiring my body in the mirror.

Despite all the crap Robert and I ended up doing during basic, we both ended up with well-toned bodies. Though I suppose it made sense, it was the military after all and our punishments were the stuff of legends, specifically our day zero fifty mile run around the base. Regardless of what happened, I wouldn't have done anything differently looking back, and I certainly didn't mind the abs I got from it.

As I reached for my hair brush and comb, I paused and looked at my hair in the mirror. It still had yet to fully grow back from what it was before the required military haircut. Leaving the brush and comb, I instead grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste and quickly brushed my teeth.

After getting dressed, I walked out of the bathroom and looked at Ichika's bed. He was still sound asleep, so I walked over to one of my boxes and opened it. Pulling out a laptop and headphones, I walked back over to my bed and adjusted my pillows so that I could sit down with my back to the wall, using the pillows as a back cushion. Turning on my laptop, I loaded up a game that I hadn't played in forever called Worlds. It was based off of the TV show Wormhole Extreme, which was just a cover for the SGC and Worlds was a game to further extend that cover. I had actually been playing it before joining the military and finding out that the whole thing was real. It also helped me and Robert get into the SGC, since I had solved several "developer challenges" which were more or less problems the SGC needed a lot of people working on, but didn't have the time to do so.

Despite it being a military cover, the game was actually amazingly good. It had a slow start, since many people were dedicated to the MMO's that they had started out with, but it slowly outgrew those games, absorbing most of their players. The big time games like WOW were still going strong, but they defiantly took a large hit. My character, thankfully, was able to use the name I always used for gaming since I was 14: Bads25. No idea why I chose to go with that name all these times, but I loved it and would use it whenever possible.

What was even better was the IS suits in the game didn't discriminate gender, so guys were free to use the machines in the game. It was a shame that a lot of games did that. Guys wanted to be able to use the IS too damn it! Sadly enough, most of those games simply reflected how reality had been lately. It wasn't that bad really, though there were plenty of extremist groups who pushed for female dominance. Thankfully, most of said groups only protested instead of getting physical.

Taking a small break from being one of the best bounty hunters in the game, I leaned back and though about if the creator of the IS, a woman named Tabane Shinonono, had thought this would be the outcome of her creation. Certainly no one expected the missile crisis that had happened shortly after, classifying all IS as WMD's, but I truly wondered if she had seen this outcome happening. I made sense in a way, she was the creator and only females could operate them, so if she had it wouldn't have been a surprise.

But then there was Ichika and I. We could both operate IS units, though I suspect that, since he was friends with Tabane's sister, 'quick mental note: get better at remembering names' that he somehow got her to give him one that works. Didn't seem likely at all, especially since it didn't account for me. I truly had no clue why I could use an IS.

Putting my thoughts aside, I received a message on my game. Upon opening it, I read: "Dear Bads25, I congratulate you on becoming the second male IS pilot. I look forward to seeing what you have to offer to the world. Sincerely, a friend."

"The fuck is this about? How the hell did they know I was the second male IS pilot?" I asked myself out loud, quickly quieting down when Ichika woke up.

"What's going on?" he asked. "What time is… Why are you up at 7:00 playing a game?"

"…"

"…"

"Reasons." I said.

"Wonderful. Please don't tell me you're going to do this every morning." He said, sounding tired.

"Waking up this early, yes. Playing games, no. Hadn't played in a while so I took a chance. Most mornings I'll be going on a run." I said. "And sorry for waking you up. I just got a really strange message in game."

"What did it say?" he asked, slowly letting his mind catch up with his body.

"It said congratulations on being the second male IS pilot. Don't know how the hell anyone would know that on this game." I said, Ichika perking up at the thought of someone in a game identifying me as the second male IS pilot.

"That is strange. Strange enough that I don't hold any grudges for you waking me up from your yell of shock." He said with a small smile.

"Didn't yell." I growled. "I simply raised my voice from the surprise."

"Same thing. Anyway, I wouldn't worry about it. Since were both up, I'm going get ready then let's go get breakfast." He said, getting up and walking to the bathroom with his stuff.

"Sounds good." I said as my stomach growled, loudly. We both had a good laugh at that. Still, I was confused at the message. Why had they known I was an IS pilot, and why did they say they were a friend? Screw it. I'm too hungry for this crap. I'll just deal with it later…

ALRIGHT THAT'S IT FOR CHAPTER ONE! I originally intended for this to be two separate chapters, but it just felt short that way. Also, who could the mysterious "friend" that sent the letter be? What will happen on his first day of school? WILL HE HAVE A HARREM?

James: OH HELL NO! DON'T YOU GO AND PULL THAT ON ME!

Shut it James! You signed the contract! I can do what I want!

James: AT LEAST HAVE SOME MERCY ON ME!

Where's the fun in that though? Hehe, SEE YOU NEXT TIME!