The New Generation
Adea's POV
*****
I sense a dark aura...mysterious and cold...so unforgiving.... Not caring if tomorrow never came.... I feel it come closer, silently walking across the small room. Its outline is blurred, and yet, it does not move fast. I can't seem to even put a description to the creature, human or not, it has a weapon of sorts in its hand, resembling a gun, and it is coming for me. Before I can blink, it is standing in front of me, weapon at point blank range between my eyes. I try to scream for help, but no words or sound escape my mouth....
*****
I woke up and gawked at the now familiar surroundings of my fifth period class. I brought my hand up to my face. It was all a dream...I thought.
"Just a dream..." I said aloud.
"Some interesting dream, Miss Adea. I called on you seven times, and not once did you even flinch."
I stood and bowed to Mrs. Sun, "I apologize, ma'am, I promise next time I will pay more attention..."
"Very well, you may take your seat."
As I did, I heard snickers behind me and comments, rude ones. Without knowing it, I turned around and brought my fist above my shoulder, and quickly extended it into a powerful punch, sending my dark green-haired classmate, Jaide, flying into the back wall. I have another vision.
*****
Again, I stand in the same room, the creature in front of me, and instead of trying to scream, this time, I spin around, causing my waist length dark purple hair to spin around me. I take careful aim and spin kick the creature in the chest. The creature falls back and I catch it by the collar of its space suit like garment and start punching it in the stomach. I notice there is a helmet worn by the creature and I reach to take it off when I notice that I'm standing in front of Jaide, helping him off the ground and apologizing.
*****
I stood in front of him and continued to say I was sorry. Honestly, I didn't know what had gotten into me. "Really, Jaide, please forgive me...I didn't mean to..."
"Adea..." He looks at me with his silvery blue eyes, which burn through me. "Just don't do that again, ok? As crazy as it might sound, I actually want to make it through this school year without getting killed." His glare softens and he laughs, rubbing his jawbone. He looked at the greenish chalkboard that lined the wall behind us and at the cracks and dent in it.
"You sure are strong. Geez. You might be the next Twentieth Generation OZ leader. You'd be the perfect soldier."
I laugh slightly myself. "The TG OZ organization, more specifically, New Romafellar, won't have me as an ally. I will be their worst enemy."
Mrs. Sun breaks up my conversation and sends me to the office, along with Jaide. He shakes his head in disbelief and walks up the hall with me to the place the rest of the school and us know as the mortal hell. Usually, Jaide and I are pretty good friends, you know, the kind of friends that fight a lot, but would never purposely try to hurt them...I thought about whether or not I should tell Jaide my visions. I do trust him, after all. However, before I can process another thought, he breaks the silence and I laugh to myself. It's amazing the way he can figure out how to stop a person from thinking another thought, and still allows them to finish the previous thought.
"Why did you punch me, anyway? It was just so sudden. Did I do something to anger you??"
"I don't know, exactly...all the sudden, I felt incredible anger and the punch just followed...I am really sorry...I guess I hurt cha that bad, huh? Sent you flying into a wall, that had ta hurt." I smirked.
"Nah, you are still weaker than me." He teased, trying to stifle a laugh.
I yelped and playfully pushed him into the lockers. "You can't even pilot an S2 Leo MS!"
He pulled down his eyelid and stuck his tongue out at me. Before I knew it, we stood in front of the principal's office. We took glances at each other and I softly knocked on the door. As the principal yelled for us to enter, Jaide quickly grabbed my shoulders and pushed me in front of him as a shield. I tried not to laugh and elbowed him in the stomach. He cut the pathetic 'pity me' act and we both walked into the office.
"I have heard you two got into quite a bit of trouble. We cannot have that in this school." A deep dark voice came from behind a high-backed chair.
Jaide spoke softly, "Yes sir. And we apologize."
"Do you realize how hard it is to keep peace in this colony?! With you two fighting, words spread quick and untruthfully. Before we know it, S2 version MOBILE [Manipulatavl Order Build and Industrial Labors Extended] Suits could be sent here to destroy the colony. This is the only school within this colony. Never disrupt the peace like this again. Adea, you must pay for repairs in less than two weeks or else your overall grade drops." The chair spins around, revealing a slightly aged man who sets his elbows on the desk and propped his chin up onto his intertwined fingers, bore a slight resemblance to General Septum. "We don't want one of our top students and possible soldiers to not be able to pass, now do we? I've looked over your mobile suit piloting skills and your academic grades. Quite impressive." With that, he turned back around. "You are dismissed."
When we closed the office door behind us, Jaide and I broke down in laughter. "Who the hell is 'we'? 'We' this and 'we' that! And like some little school squabble is really gonna send 60 foot tall machines to crush the place!" Jaide spoke. As usual, he had the exact same thoughts as me.
Laughing, I shook my head and the bell rang. We said our temporary goodbyes and headed down separate halls to our classes.
*****
My next class was history. I shuddered and clutched my binder and books to my chest as I weaved my way through the people and was practically knocked into my classroom. Our teacher, Gabby, as she wanted us to call her, was standing in the front of the room, chalk in hand, and that usual cheery grin slapped upon her face. Let me explain Gabby. She is new this year and she hates being called by her full first name, Gabriella, or her common 'teacher title,' as she says, Miss Quen. (pronounced GWEN)
"Welcome back, class!" Her musical voice rang throughout the humid air of late May. "Today, we are going to study history, as you all well know. However, this isn't the boring discovery and boundary planning of the smallest islands. Or the study of the first hairspray container." The snickers traveled around and Gabby smiled again and continued. "We are going to study your family history."
"Aw, maaaaaaaan!" groaned a kid from the back of the class. I didn't bother to turn around to see who it was. "This is even more boring than hairspray, and I hate hairspray!" He complained again. Giggles escaped between the fingers covering the mouths of many of the classmates.
"This will be the final grade I'll give you this year." Gabby went on, and cheers made her smile even more. "And you must get a 85% or higher to pass." Her smile dropped ever so slightly. "I'm sorry, but that is what I've been assigned to tell you."
More moans came from the other students. I, however, was deep in thought. Leaning one elbow on top of the desk and resting my chin in the palm of my hand, I thought about my family history. I didn't know much at all about my family...
"And you must also pick a partner. Anyone from the same grade. Someone you don't know much about, family wise." The teacher cut through my thoughts.
The bell rang and the teenagers scrambled out of the room and headed for their lockers or the next class they had. Jaide and I met up in the hallway and we walked to our lockers, which were right across the hall from one another. I mentioned the project and he agreed to work with me.
"So, it's due in three weeks. We need to trace back as far as we can. We need to list whether or not they were involved in Operation Meteor or any others during that war." Jaide turned his head around and looked at me. I continued, while stuffing my books into my book bag and shoving my book bag into my locker, not really making any eye contact with him. "I don't know much about my family though."
He walked over to me and knelt beside me. "Really? Neither do I. I just know that my grandfather was a very important person in the war."
"I knew that my grandmother was a soldier, but she also believed in pacifism and peace. Besides that, I don't know much else."
"Oh. Then this should be interesting." We stood and he smiled. "Both sides of our family had something to do with the war."
The two of us managed our way through the hundreds of people crammed in the hallway to the lunchroom. Lunch was our last period. We were the lucky ones. Last lunch shift, cold food, and narrow selection. Life was excellent, as Jaide had said when we both reviewed our schedules for the first time together.
*****
We arrived the next day and walked into the library to gather any history books that might have been helpful. Jaide and I checked out about ten books. We sat down at the table and started flipping through pages and taking notes.
"Ah hah! Here, Adea, look!" I scoot my chair over to his and read over his shoulder. He reads, "In the year After Colony 195, the Earth and colonies struggle for peace. Operation Meteor: five Gundam pilots are sent to Earth. Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner, and Chang Wufei. Relena Peacecraft and her older brother, Milliardo Peacecraft (Zechs Merquise) otherwise known as the Lightning Count would later hold important positions in Operation Meteor. Lucrezia Noin, guardian of Relena, wife of Milliardo. Heero Yuy, husband to Relena. Duo Maxwell, wed to Hilde Schbeiker Maxwell."
I showed him a document off of the computer that I hacked into and read aloud: "In the news today, two grandchildren of fighters in Operation Meteor, are being sent to a preschool in Colony L113 section 2 dash 9 on level 5. These two children, who are 3 and 5 years old, are going to be full-year schooled along with four others on different colonies. These six children will be tested and trained due to beliefs of extraordinary abilities. One is believed to be granddaughter of Duo and Hilde Maxwell, while the other is said to be Milliardo and Lucrezia Peacecraft's grandson. Nothing is known of their parents or the whereabouts of any of the relatives. Nothing else is known about the other four children. All of these children will be treated like normal students and will have a normal life until New Romafellar, or TG OZ threatens to start a new war. Then these six destined children will don the age of a new era and fight once more to bring peace.
"Second section says- 'In seven days their destinies will be revealed and these children, now ages 16-19, will see their mobile suits for the first time.'"
Jaide looked at me and I typed a few more things into a computer next to me and a new document blinked across the screen in a maze of numbers and letters, seemingly picked at random and scrolled across. Suddenly, that little bit stopped and a large piece of writing perked up onto the screen in front of us. We both read, but silently.
~~As of this time, the leaders of Shadowed Sun are calling to the six of destiny. Years ago, these scientists and other important officials lost contact to these special beings. One of the scientists, the most intelligent of the seventy, has been relaying cerebral messages to those of destiny. These images cause irrational behavior at times and should cause the person to dream and think of war. At date, these students will gather at the headquarters of the Neo-Operation with the other members for extensive three week training to help these destined few realize their ability.~~
*****
I awoke the next morning, early, and from a horrible dream. In it, I was fighting a terrible enemy. One that had no face, nor a name. I swiped the back of my hand across my forehead and felt the cold sweat beaded there. I untangled myself from the sheets and opened the blinds covering my room in a comfortable darkness. I yawn and yanked open the blinds, then fight sleep off as I get ready for another day of school.
Stumbling down the stairs with wobbly legs, I go into the kitchen and get a glass of water and guzzle it down just in time for the phone to ring. I groan and almost drag myself toward the phone and pick it up. "'Ello? *yawn* Adea speaking..." The words mumble themselves out of my mouth and I run my fingers through my mess of waist-length hair.
"Yo! HOW YA DOIN, GIRL?! SOUND'S LIKE YOU'RE STILL SLEEPING!!!!" I then hear muffled giggles and know who it is. The only morning person that I didn't really want to kill if they woke me up. Jaide. His cheery, loud, purposely annoying voice, loud, happy...have I mentioned loud? "HEY'YA, ADEA!!! WAKIES!"
"Shut up..." I mumble and yawn again, stretching both hands over my head, with the phone in one of them. Despite that, I can still hear him, clear as day.
"YO!!! WAZZUP?!?! Ya, know? No, ya don't or else you would have slept in."
The thought of sleeping in caught my attention and I brought the phone back down to my ear. "Sleeping...in? What for?"
"No school. In-service." His voice practically bounced around in my head with his overwhelming joy.
"Hmmn...? So sudden??" My ears perked up and something alerted my senses to unusual curiosity. Something didn't seem right and the mystery made me wake up fully. "So, there's in-service? Hm. In that case, I'm going for a bike ride. Care to come?"
On the other end of the line, I heard some muffled comments about me always having something to do. "Where to and how long? I don't want to work too much on my day off." I could hear quite a bit of sarcasm, so I followed with a dose of my own, indirect, dark, sort of serious sarcasm. I felt like being a bit of an annoyance to him that day. It's so fun to annoy him to where he wants to hit you, but you know he wouldn't because he knew that he'd get whooped for doing so. He's such a good friend, you know? "I dunno, lazy. Wherever my mind decides to take me. And it could last for hours or so." I grinned when I heard a long, exasperated sigh, followed by a low moan of disagreement. "Well? Whadd'ya say? You up to the challenge? I bet you that I could easily last longer than you."
At the mention of a challenge and a bet, I knew I caught his attention. "Where and when, girl? You're so pathetic I shouldn't even accept this mere challenge."
"I'll make you eat those words. Anyway, meet me at the Level 4 section in front of the high school racing track, we'll probably bike for twelve sections before heading to another level. Deal??"
"Deal." We both hung up and prepared for a race of our lives, but little did we know of the latter.
*****
I lifted up my new Titanium Alloy bike and looked at it. This bicycle was made out of the same material the custom Gundams were built out of. The factories found out a way to recycle this alloy and now it's used in many different materials, like cars and bikes.
I carried it on the back of my shoulders outside to look it over and spray it down with water. The reason I sprayed it with water is that when I ride, it acts as an air conditioner because the water droplets fly off the spokes and hit me, thus cooling me off. Aren't I just genius? I know you're thinking, "Well, the spokes would dry sooner or later," but I am always a step ahead of the game. I have a compressible water bottle that can fit in a pocket, but holds a gallon or so of water. Ah, technology, it's wonderful and don't ask how unless you want to be barraged by confusing info.
Anyway, I sprayed down the bike and wiped off the seat with a towel, and stood back to admire my work. The bicycle stood leaning on its kickstand, glimmering and shining in the morning sunlight. It was a standard racing bike with curved down handles and narrow tires. Its skinny, yet sturdy frame was painted in a magnificent swirl of greens, ranging from a dark forest green to a neon green. I hopped on and wedged my hands comfortably onto the handlebars and start off at an even pace.
*****
"Yo! Adea!! Wait UP!"
I laugh and pedal faster, leaving him a few bikes' lengths behind. "You're too lazy and out of shape! You gotta keep up!!" I hear a 'Hmph' and a few pants and then I see him out of the corner of my eye again. "Welcome back." His bike is a midnight black with silver accents, also built like mine is.
He smiles falsely and wipes the sweat dripping off his forehead with the back of his wrist. Complaining in a child's voice, he whines: "How much longer??? This is getting boring!" His mouth hangs open and I could easily tell he was tired.
"I swear, Jaide. Maybe those blonde highlights sent the dye to your head. Lighten up! It's a beautiful day! And there's no school so you can be a couch potato the rest of the day!!"
"You're so sweet."
"I know." Grinning, I pedal faster.
I finally stop and allow him to catch up. He pedals up next to me and we both look at our surroundings; him bending over with sweat dripping off the tip of his nose, and me just sitting on the seat looking at our surroundings.
"Wh-where are we....?? Geez, and where'd you take us? I thought I could trust you! Now we're lost." Jaide fired off the questions, panting furiously. My slight smile turns into a frown when I look around. "I have no clue...." I say as I crane my neck up to try to see the top of a tall bleak gray building that looks somewhat half-finished.
The building in front of us looms over us in a bland shadow. No windows adorn the building and it seems as though there's only one entrance, meaning one possible exit. We both hopped off our bikes and hid them in some nearby bushes and walked toward the entrance.
"Should we even be going near this crapped up place???"
"I say we check it out," I turn back toward Jaide who's now stopped and I hold my hand out to him. "Come on, I know. I sense a strange feeling from this place too, but something else is telling me to go in. Coming??" He takes my hand and we creep towards the building, unaware of the impending future we were about to encounter.
*****
Approaching the building, I had a sudden sense of fear and I gripped Jaide's hand tightly in mine. "God, this is starting to freak me out."
"What? The fact that you're *getting* scared or that you finally realized that we're walking to our possible deaths here????" He spoke with a hint of laughter in his voice. I pulled my hand away and swatted at him, then crossed my arms across my chest. "No, it's nothing like that. It's all in your head."
Before he could say another thing, we had reached the door and were quickly ushered in by someone dressed in all black. "Welcome to sector 14, someone will be here shortly to take you to your living quarters. Please take a seat and wait patiently." The man said and quickly rushed away before we could ask any more questions. We did as he said and took a seat in the direction he motioned toward.
I moaned and whispered to Jaide as we walked in. "I wasn't ready!!"
Once again, we observed our surroundings. The room was chilly and then I noticed a huge ventilation fan near the ceiling of the room. The room we were in was huge. It was a perfect square of about forty-five feet and I'd have to say the room was about thirty-five feet high and was definitely poorly decorated. The same blahish gray color was everywhere. Except for the bench we sat on, there was only one other bench and a door at the opposite end of the room. Jaide must have been able to see the gears turning in my head because he nudged me in the ribs with his elbow. "You're lip is bleeding." He said quietly. I reached up and touched the corner of my mouth, indeed it was. I have a nasty habit of chewing at the inside of my lip when I'm nervous and I didn't even notice that it had started to bleed.
I wipe the blood off with the sleeve of my t-shirt and sigh, leaning back and folding my hands behind my head. "What is this place." I spoke, more of a demand than a question.
"The Neo-Operation Headquarters." A voice came from the shadows and we turned to its direction. A figure stepped out with crossed arms, head down. Three figures followed behind the first. "Are you the other two? Took you long enough to get here." The leader said, voice grim.
I stood, and Jaide did as well and I said what was on both of our minds. "Who are you?"
"We should ask you the same, but we really don't care." Another one spoke up. The feminine voice annoyed me. Too conceited.
They stepped further out of the shadows and I could see them. The leader had jet-black hair that was spiked up a few inches and swept back; his eyes were solid black, but I thought I could see a hint of red in them. He was wearing a red tank top with a black t-shirt underneath and a logo on the left sleeve and dark black pants that hung baggy over his thin figure. The girl had red hair that hung to her shoulders and was pinned back by small check-mark clips and her eyes were a pinkish purple. She, as well as the others was wearing the same outfit. Another guy had muscular arms, but they were shoved into his pants pockets and he was looking down at the floor. He had dark blue hair that was cut short in back, but his bangs hung in his eyes carelessly. He glanced up and I saw that they were a magnificent golden bronze, but then he returned to watching his shoelaces. The last one was another girl. This one had green hair that started dark at the roots and turned paler toward the tips. Her eyes were a bright, almost neon green that shone with happiness. The leader stepped toward us again and gave one, low, deep command. "Follow me."
We followed the four, who stayed in that order, Jaide walking to the right of me and the other girl in front of me. The one with the blue hair followed to the far side, his hands still stuffed into his pockets. He looked up at me and I realized I was staring, but he only smiled shyly and returned his gaze to the dark marbled flooring. We were led past something that seemed like an arcade game set up with a chair and controls and a helmet connected by a bunch of wires; then led down a hallway with doors aligning the sides with labels 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. The leader pointed to the doors marked '5' and '6'. "Those are yours. Whichever you two decide on."
Jaide spoke up for the first time since we arrived. "I'll take five....I guess...." His words weren't much, I could tell he was nervous. I pointed to the number six and nodded, signaling that the room was mine.
"Now will you tell me who you are?" I asked again, arms crossed in front of my chest, in a more demanding tone. The one with the blue hair looked up, and started to speak, but the redhead held up a hand, signaling him to stop.
"You'll know when the time comes." A smirk crossed her face. "Until then, you can just stop asking that damn question."
I glared at her. "I only asked twice and if you ask me, you're getting a little too smart for yourself, and trust me," I looked toward the others, although not quite glaring at the blue hair and green hair because they hadn't gotten me upset yet. "You don't want to make me angry." I finished almost lamely due to my lack of word choice at the time.
"*You* are the one who's starting to speak too much, girly." The named flamed anger inside me, but she continued. "My friend here is the one with the authority. Double-cross him and pay."
Jaide noticed that my hands had balled up into fists and he put an arm around my shoulders comfortingly and whispered into my ear, "Just ignore her, okay? I know you could easily kick her ass, but think of it this way: she's self-conscious, most likely and the only way she can feel better about herself is by picking on someone else. So please stay calm??" I nod and he slips his arm from my shoulders and crosses it with the other one in front of his chest.
Suddenly a bell in the hallway dings once. "Meeting. Follow us." The leader spoke harshly and walked briskly in front of all of us. The guy with the blue hair walked alongside me to the right and Jaide walked to the left. The guy smiled and spoke in a very quiet, but deep tone. "My name is Kyoretsu. Don't mind me, I don't really want to be here either. Who are you?" He barely managed to squeeze the last word out when the redhead turned around.
"SHUT UP! Your annoying voice is really getting on my nerves!!! Why can't you ever keep your mouth shut?!" She yelled and turned back around and resumed walking. I almost giggled when I saw Kyoretsu pulled down his eyelid and stuck his tongue out.
I leaned toward him and cupped my hand to filter out any sounds that might reach the others' ears. "I'm Adea. I'd like to know what's going on here. Got any clue?"
I was cut off by a sudden sharp slap across the side of my face. I looked up to see a man dressed in a military uniform and when I looked around we were in a conference room with a long table and many empty chairs around it, there were about five people sitting at the long side. The man ordered us to stand along the far wall away from the officials. The man clasped his hands behind him and paced around in front of us. I guess he was trying to make a good impression on the officials, because as of then, they all had their elbows propped up on the table and their eyes glared from above their hands.
The man stopped in front of me again and my face felt another sting of a slap. "I don't want any word from you!!" He waved his hand at the others against the wall. "Or any of you!! Let this be a warning to you!" He punched me in the stomach, hard. Jaide and Kyoretsu started to step forward, but I shook my head slightly and they retreated their steps only to be slapped across the face by the general. I set my jaw and glared into the opposite wall so hard I thought I might burn a hole through the drywall and steel. The man continued to speak, only toward the officials this time. "These children, excuse me, young adults...These young adults are the selected few that will lead this United Earth Sphere Nation! We here at the Neo-Operation headquarters will put these of destiny through an extensive three week training procedure. Whereas, some may not be able to survive the training, I will now ask you what I shall do with those few."
An official stood. This man had somewhat long bangs that hung in front of his left eye. He was wearing a general's uniform that had many badges; one of them I noticed was an award for fighting in Operation Meteor as the pilot of Heavyarms Gundam. He spoke in a monotone voice and his eyes moved to every one of us. "Those who do not complete these tests to passing or due to lack of ability shall have their life. However, they should leave without a memory of it. We cannot risk having any information of this seep through to the New Romafellar." He sat and nodded, signaling he was finished speaking.
The general nodded back and paced back in front of us. He stopped in front of the redhead. "Shaku," Then walked to the one I called leader. "Kosen-teki," To the green haired girl. "Shorai," To the blue haired young man. "Kyoretsu," Then to me. "Adea," And finally Jaide. "Jaide, you six have been selected to be trained as mobile suit pilots and defenders of the Earth and the colonies. These six will go through an extensive three-week period of physical, skill, and mental training. Whomever does not make it, like Lieutenant Barton said would have their memory erased so as not to let any of this escape until the right time comes. Any objections?"
A younger man than Lieutenant Barton stood. His blonde hair was swept back with his thumb to clear it from his blue eyes, which showed concern. "Are any of these tests possibly fatal?"
The general nodded. "Of course, Lieutenant Winner! With any mobile suit training there is a possibility for death!"
"In which case, what will happen?"
"Lieutenant Winner! They will be dead! What else should we do?! I hope you don't expect a funeral! These are soldiers here!"
Lieutenant Winner sat down, his brow furrowed slightly with upset. I saw that he also had many badges and was a soldier in Operation Meteor. The pilot of the Sandrock Gundam. I stood straighter and saluted, hoping that I would be able to state my question. Unfortunately, the general took one look at me and turned away, and continued to speak.
We were dismissed and we all walked to the lunchroom. Jaide and I picked out our items and bought them, then sat down at a table. I uncapped my bottle of water and sipped at it slowly, skeptically watching him down his food mouthful after mouthful. He suddenly looked up with soupy rice dribbling down his chin and smiled in an awkward way so as not to allow any food to drop out of his mouth. I smiled back, but continued to lift the bottle of water to my mouth and drink. He wiped his face clean with a napkin and looked back up at me. "So."
I set the water down and looked at him. "So."
Kyoretsu plopped down into the seat diagonally across from me and a few seats to the side of Jaide. "So," He then asked the question that was probably on all of our minds. "you ready for this?"
"I dunno, Kyo, I think this is bogus." Shorai said calmly and she sat down next to me, smiling a greeting.
I took another drink of water before I said anything else. "What's with Shaku, she annoys the hell out of me..." I kept my voice low as I watched her glare at me, then sit down at a far table with her back to us. "And Kosen-teki?? He seems a little too distant...." I watched him sit at a table closer to us, and to the side.
Kyoretsu spoke next. "As for Shaku, I can't stand her. Kosen-teki, I'm not too sure about him. We, meaning Shorai and Shaku and I, came here after him and he showed us around, gave us our uniforms and told us to wait for the others. I arrived shortly after Shaku and Shorai, but the three of us went as a group."
"Shaku does annoy me, but she's one of my cousins, so I have to tolerate her to some extent."
Jaide looked up at me, then to everyone else present in the lunchroom. "Why are we here...? I know we were 'destined', but what made us so? In other words, why us?"
There was a silence, but I noticed Kosen-teki had stopped his fork-full of salad in mid-air and just sat there; then he stood, bringing his food and sat down on the other side of me. Speaking in a very shallow voice he said, "We were picked because as young children we showed signs of having extra-ordinary abilities. We were torn away from our families to be sent to space to be trained like dogs to have a sub-conscious of a warrior. But we were also taught to have a normal life. Until we must be called back into battle, that is." His tone became grave; and I thought I had started to understand him.
"Who are you?" The question was simple, but it seemed to be indifferent to him. Jaide seemed to draw back at the expression of nothingness on Kosen-teki's face.
"I am the son of Odin Peacecraft-Yuy. And this is my home...."
*****
Continued in Part Two- Tests of Strength, Courage, and Faith
Adea's POV
*****
I sense a dark aura...mysterious and cold...so unforgiving.... Not caring if tomorrow never came.... I feel it come closer, silently walking across the small room. Its outline is blurred, and yet, it does not move fast. I can't seem to even put a description to the creature, human or not, it has a weapon of sorts in its hand, resembling a gun, and it is coming for me. Before I can blink, it is standing in front of me, weapon at point blank range between my eyes. I try to scream for help, but no words or sound escape my mouth....
*****
I woke up and gawked at the now familiar surroundings of my fifth period class. I brought my hand up to my face. It was all a dream...I thought.
"Just a dream..." I said aloud.
"Some interesting dream, Miss Adea. I called on you seven times, and not once did you even flinch."
I stood and bowed to Mrs. Sun, "I apologize, ma'am, I promise next time I will pay more attention..."
"Very well, you may take your seat."
As I did, I heard snickers behind me and comments, rude ones. Without knowing it, I turned around and brought my fist above my shoulder, and quickly extended it into a powerful punch, sending my dark green-haired classmate, Jaide, flying into the back wall. I have another vision.
*****
Again, I stand in the same room, the creature in front of me, and instead of trying to scream, this time, I spin around, causing my waist length dark purple hair to spin around me. I take careful aim and spin kick the creature in the chest. The creature falls back and I catch it by the collar of its space suit like garment and start punching it in the stomach. I notice there is a helmet worn by the creature and I reach to take it off when I notice that I'm standing in front of Jaide, helping him off the ground and apologizing.
*****
I stood in front of him and continued to say I was sorry. Honestly, I didn't know what had gotten into me. "Really, Jaide, please forgive me...I didn't mean to..."
"Adea..." He looks at me with his silvery blue eyes, which burn through me. "Just don't do that again, ok? As crazy as it might sound, I actually want to make it through this school year without getting killed." His glare softens and he laughs, rubbing his jawbone. He looked at the greenish chalkboard that lined the wall behind us and at the cracks and dent in it.
"You sure are strong. Geez. You might be the next Twentieth Generation OZ leader. You'd be the perfect soldier."
I laugh slightly myself. "The TG OZ organization, more specifically, New Romafellar, won't have me as an ally. I will be their worst enemy."
Mrs. Sun breaks up my conversation and sends me to the office, along with Jaide. He shakes his head in disbelief and walks up the hall with me to the place the rest of the school and us know as the mortal hell. Usually, Jaide and I are pretty good friends, you know, the kind of friends that fight a lot, but would never purposely try to hurt them...I thought about whether or not I should tell Jaide my visions. I do trust him, after all. However, before I can process another thought, he breaks the silence and I laugh to myself. It's amazing the way he can figure out how to stop a person from thinking another thought, and still allows them to finish the previous thought.
"Why did you punch me, anyway? It was just so sudden. Did I do something to anger you??"
"I don't know, exactly...all the sudden, I felt incredible anger and the punch just followed...I am really sorry...I guess I hurt cha that bad, huh? Sent you flying into a wall, that had ta hurt." I smirked.
"Nah, you are still weaker than me." He teased, trying to stifle a laugh.
I yelped and playfully pushed him into the lockers. "You can't even pilot an S2 Leo MS!"
He pulled down his eyelid and stuck his tongue out at me. Before I knew it, we stood in front of the principal's office. We took glances at each other and I softly knocked on the door. As the principal yelled for us to enter, Jaide quickly grabbed my shoulders and pushed me in front of him as a shield. I tried not to laugh and elbowed him in the stomach. He cut the pathetic 'pity me' act and we both walked into the office.
"I have heard you two got into quite a bit of trouble. We cannot have that in this school." A deep dark voice came from behind a high-backed chair.
Jaide spoke softly, "Yes sir. And we apologize."
"Do you realize how hard it is to keep peace in this colony?! With you two fighting, words spread quick and untruthfully. Before we know it, S2 version MOBILE [Manipulatavl Order Build and Industrial Labors Extended] Suits could be sent here to destroy the colony. This is the only school within this colony. Never disrupt the peace like this again. Adea, you must pay for repairs in less than two weeks or else your overall grade drops." The chair spins around, revealing a slightly aged man who sets his elbows on the desk and propped his chin up onto his intertwined fingers, bore a slight resemblance to General Septum. "We don't want one of our top students and possible soldiers to not be able to pass, now do we? I've looked over your mobile suit piloting skills and your academic grades. Quite impressive." With that, he turned back around. "You are dismissed."
When we closed the office door behind us, Jaide and I broke down in laughter. "Who the hell is 'we'? 'We' this and 'we' that! And like some little school squabble is really gonna send 60 foot tall machines to crush the place!" Jaide spoke. As usual, he had the exact same thoughts as me.
Laughing, I shook my head and the bell rang. We said our temporary goodbyes and headed down separate halls to our classes.
*****
My next class was history. I shuddered and clutched my binder and books to my chest as I weaved my way through the people and was practically knocked into my classroom. Our teacher, Gabby, as she wanted us to call her, was standing in the front of the room, chalk in hand, and that usual cheery grin slapped upon her face. Let me explain Gabby. She is new this year and she hates being called by her full first name, Gabriella, or her common 'teacher title,' as she says, Miss Quen. (pronounced GWEN)
"Welcome back, class!" Her musical voice rang throughout the humid air of late May. "Today, we are going to study history, as you all well know. However, this isn't the boring discovery and boundary planning of the smallest islands. Or the study of the first hairspray container." The snickers traveled around and Gabby smiled again and continued. "We are going to study your family history."
"Aw, maaaaaaaan!" groaned a kid from the back of the class. I didn't bother to turn around to see who it was. "This is even more boring than hairspray, and I hate hairspray!" He complained again. Giggles escaped between the fingers covering the mouths of many of the classmates.
"This will be the final grade I'll give you this year." Gabby went on, and cheers made her smile even more. "And you must get a 85% or higher to pass." Her smile dropped ever so slightly. "I'm sorry, but that is what I've been assigned to tell you."
More moans came from the other students. I, however, was deep in thought. Leaning one elbow on top of the desk and resting my chin in the palm of my hand, I thought about my family history. I didn't know much at all about my family...
"And you must also pick a partner. Anyone from the same grade. Someone you don't know much about, family wise." The teacher cut through my thoughts.
The bell rang and the teenagers scrambled out of the room and headed for their lockers or the next class they had. Jaide and I met up in the hallway and we walked to our lockers, which were right across the hall from one another. I mentioned the project and he agreed to work with me.
"So, it's due in three weeks. We need to trace back as far as we can. We need to list whether or not they were involved in Operation Meteor or any others during that war." Jaide turned his head around and looked at me. I continued, while stuffing my books into my book bag and shoving my book bag into my locker, not really making any eye contact with him. "I don't know much about my family though."
He walked over to me and knelt beside me. "Really? Neither do I. I just know that my grandfather was a very important person in the war."
"I knew that my grandmother was a soldier, but she also believed in pacifism and peace. Besides that, I don't know much else."
"Oh. Then this should be interesting." We stood and he smiled. "Both sides of our family had something to do with the war."
The two of us managed our way through the hundreds of people crammed in the hallway to the lunchroom. Lunch was our last period. We were the lucky ones. Last lunch shift, cold food, and narrow selection. Life was excellent, as Jaide had said when we both reviewed our schedules for the first time together.
*****
We arrived the next day and walked into the library to gather any history books that might have been helpful. Jaide and I checked out about ten books. We sat down at the table and started flipping through pages and taking notes.
"Ah hah! Here, Adea, look!" I scoot my chair over to his and read over his shoulder. He reads, "In the year After Colony 195, the Earth and colonies struggle for peace. Operation Meteor: five Gundam pilots are sent to Earth. Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner, and Chang Wufei. Relena Peacecraft and her older brother, Milliardo Peacecraft (Zechs Merquise) otherwise known as the Lightning Count would later hold important positions in Operation Meteor. Lucrezia Noin, guardian of Relena, wife of Milliardo. Heero Yuy, husband to Relena. Duo Maxwell, wed to Hilde Schbeiker Maxwell."
I showed him a document off of the computer that I hacked into and read aloud: "In the news today, two grandchildren of fighters in Operation Meteor, are being sent to a preschool in Colony L113 section 2 dash 9 on level 5. These two children, who are 3 and 5 years old, are going to be full-year schooled along with four others on different colonies. These six children will be tested and trained due to beliefs of extraordinary abilities. One is believed to be granddaughter of Duo and Hilde Maxwell, while the other is said to be Milliardo and Lucrezia Peacecraft's grandson. Nothing is known of their parents or the whereabouts of any of the relatives. Nothing else is known about the other four children. All of these children will be treated like normal students and will have a normal life until New Romafellar, or TG OZ threatens to start a new war. Then these six destined children will don the age of a new era and fight once more to bring peace.
"Second section says- 'In seven days their destinies will be revealed and these children, now ages 16-19, will see their mobile suits for the first time.'"
Jaide looked at me and I typed a few more things into a computer next to me and a new document blinked across the screen in a maze of numbers and letters, seemingly picked at random and scrolled across. Suddenly, that little bit stopped and a large piece of writing perked up onto the screen in front of us. We both read, but silently.
~~As of this time, the leaders of Shadowed Sun are calling to the six of destiny. Years ago, these scientists and other important officials lost contact to these special beings. One of the scientists, the most intelligent of the seventy, has been relaying cerebral messages to those of destiny. These images cause irrational behavior at times and should cause the person to dream and think of war. At date, these students will gather at the headquarters of the Neo-Operation with the other members for extensive three week training to help these destined few realize their ability.~~
*****
I awoke the next morning, early, and from a horrible dream. In it, I was fighting a terrible enemy. One that had no face, nor a name. I swiped the back of my hand across my forehead and felt the cold sweat beaded there. I untangled myself from the sheets and opened the blinds covering my room in a comfortable darkness. I yawn and yanked open the blinds, then fight sleep off as I get ready for another day of school.
Stumbling down the stairs with wobbly legs, I go into the kitchen and get a glass of water and guzzle it down just in time for the phone to ring. I groan and almost drag myself toward the phone and pick it up. "'Ello? *yawn* Adea speaking..." The words mumble themselves out of my mouth and I run my fingers through my mess of waist-length hair.
"Yo! HOW YA DOIN, GIRL?! SOUND'S LIKE YOU'RE STILL SLEEPING!!!!" I then hear muffled giggles and know who it is. The only morning person that I didn't really want to kill if they woke me up. Jaide. His cheery, loud, purposely annoying voice, loud, happy...have I mentioned loud? "HEY'YA, ADEA!!! WAKIES!"
"Shut up..." I mumble and yawn again, stretching both hands over my head, with the phone in one of them. Despite that, I can still hear him, clear as day.
"YO!!! WAZZUP?!?! Ya, know? No, ya don't or else you would have slept in."
The thought of sleeping in caught my attention and I brought the phone back down to my ear. "Sleeping...in? What for?"
"No school. In-service." His voice practically bounced around in my head with his overwhelming joy.
"Hmmn...? So sudden??" My ears perked up and something alerted my senses to unusual curiosity. Something didn't seem right and the mystery made me wake up fully. "So, there's in-service? Hm. In that case, I'm going for a bike ride. Care to come?"
On the other end of the line, I heard some muffled comments about me always having something to do. "Where to and how long? I don't want to work too much on my day off." I could hear quite a bit of sarcasm, so I followed with a dose of my own, indirect, dark, sort of serious sarcasm. I felt like being a bit of an annoyance to him that day. It's so fun to annoy him to where he wants to hit you, but you know he wouldn't because he knew that he'd get whooped for doing so. He's such a good friend, you know? "I dunno, lazy. Wherever my mind decides to take me. And it could last for hours or so." I grinned when I heard a long, exasperated sigh, followed by a low moan of disagreement. "Well? Whadd'ya say? You up to the challenge? I bet you that I could easily last longer than you."
At the mention of a challenge and a bet, I knew I caught his attention. "Where and when, girl? You're so pathetic I shouldn't even accept this mere challenge."
"I'll make you eat those words. Anyway, meet me at the Level 4 section in front of the high school racing track, we'll probably bike for twelve sections before heading to another level. Deal??"
"Deal." We both hung up and prepared for a race of our lives, but little did we know of the latter.
*****
I lifted up my new Titanium Alloy bike and looked at it. This bicycle was made out of the same material the custom Gundams were built out of. The factories found out a way to recycle this alloy and now it's used in many different materials, like cars and bikes.
I carried it on the back of my shoulders outside to look it over and spray it down with water. The reason I sprayed it with water is that when I ride, it acts as an air conditioner because the water droplets fly off the spokes and hit me, thus cooling me off. Aren't I just genius? I know you're thinking, "Well, the spokes would dry sooner or later," but I am always a step ahead of the game. I have a compressible water bottle that can fit in a pocket, but holds a gallon or so of water. Ah, technology, it's wonderful and don't ask how unless you want to be barraged by confusing info.
Anyway, I sprayed down the bike and wiped off the seat with a towel, and stood back to admire my work. The bicycle stood leaning on its kickstand, glimmering and shining in the morning sunlight. It was a standard racing bike with curved down handles and narrow tires. Its skinny, yet sturdy frame was painted in a magnificent swirl of greens, ranging from a dark forest green to a neon green. I hopped on and wedged my hands comfortably onto the handlebars and start off at an even pace.
*****
"Yo! Adea!! Wait UP!"
I laugh and pedal faster, leaving him a few bikes' lengths behind. "You're too lazy and out of shape! You gotta keep up!!" I hear a 'Hmph' and a few pants and then I see him out of the corner of my eye again. "Welcome back." His bike is a midnight black with silver accents, also built like mine is.
He smiles falsely and wipes the sweat dripping off his forehead with the back of his wrist. Complaining in a child's voice, he whines: "How much longer??? This is getting boring!" His mouth hangs open and I could easily tell he was tired.
"I swear, Jaide. Maybe those blonde highlights sent the dye to your head. Lighten up! It's a beautiful day! And there's no school so you can be a couch potato the rest of the day!!"
"You're so sweet."
"I know." Grinning, I pedal faster.
I finally stop and allow him to catch up. He pedals up next to me and we both look at our surroundings; him bending over with sweat dripping off the tip of his nose, and me just sitting on the seat looking at our surroundings.
"Wh-where are we....?? Geez, and where'd you take us? I thought I could trust you! Now we're lost." Jaide fired off the questions, panting furiously. My slight smile turns into a frown when I look around. "I have no clue...." I say as I crane my neck up to try to see the top of a tall bleak gray building that looks somewhat half-finished.
The building in front of us looms over us in a bland shadow. No windows adorn the building and it seems as though there's only one entrance, meaning one possible exit. We both hopped off our bikes and hid them in some nearby bushes and walked toward the entrance.
"Should we even be going near this crapped up place???"
"I say we check it out," I turn back toward Jaide who's now stopped and I hold my hand out to him. "Come on, I know. I sense a strange feeling from this place too, but something else is telling me to go in. Coming??" He takes my hand and we creep towards the building, unaware of the impending future we were about to encounter.
*****
Approaching the building, I had a sudden sense of fear and I gripped Jaide's hand tightly in mine. "God, this is starting to freak me out."
"What? The fact that you're *getting* scared or that you finally realized that we're walking to our possible deaths here????" He spoke with a hint of laughter in his voice. I pulled my hand away and swatted at him, then crossed my arms across my chest. "No, it's nothing like that. It's all in your head."
Before he could say another thing, we had reached the door and were quickly ushered in by someone dressed in all black. "Welcome to sector 14, someone will be here shortly to take you to your living quarters. Please take a seat and wait patiently." The man said and quickly rushed away before we could ask any more questions. We did as he said and took a seat in the direction he motioned toward.
I moaned and whispered to Jaide as we walked in. "I wasn't ready!!"
Once again, we observed our surroundings. The room was chilly and then I noticed a huge ventilation fan near the ceiling of the room. The room we were in was huge. It was a perfect square of about forty-five feet and I'd have to say the room was about thirty-five feet high and was definitely poorly decorated. The same blahish gray color was everywhere. Except for the bench we sat on, there was only one other bench and a door at the opposite end of the room. Jaide must have been able to see the gears turning in my head because he nudged me in the ribs with his elbow. "You're lip is bleeding." He said quietly. I reached up and touched the corner of my mouth, indeed it was. I have a nasty habit of chewing at the inside of my lip when I'm nervous and I didn't even notice that it had started to bleed.
I wipe the blood off with the sleeve of my t-shirt and sigh, leaning back and folding my hands behind my head. "What is this place." I spoke, more of a demand than a question.
"The Neo-Operation Headquarters." A voice came from the shadows and we turned to its direction. A figure stepped out with crossed arms, head down. Three figures followed behind the first. "Are you the other two? Took you long enough to get here." The leader said, voice grim.
I stood, and Jaide did as well and I said what was on both of our minds. "Who are you?"
"We should ask you the same, but we really don't care." Another one spoke up. The feminine voice annoyed me. Too conceited.
They stepped further out of the shadows and I could see them. The leader had jet-black hair that was spiked up a few inches and swept back; his eyes were solid black, but I thought I could see a hint of red in them. He was wearing a red tank top with a black t-shirt underneath and a logo on the left sleeve and dark black pants that hung baggy over his thin figure. The girl had red hair that hung to her shoulders and was pinned back by small check-mark clips and her eyes were a pinkish purple. She, as well as the others was wearing the same outfit. Another guy had muscular arms, but they were shoved into his pants pockets and he was looking down at the floor. He had dark blue hair that was cut short in back, but his bangs hung in his eyes carelessly. He glanced up and I saw that they were a magnificent golden bronze, but then he returned to watching his shoelaces. The last one was another girl. This one had green hair that started dark at the roots and turned paler toward the tips. Her eyes were a bright, almost neon green that shone with happiness. The leader stepped toward us again and gave one, low, deep command. "Follow me."
We followed the four, who stayed in that order, Jaide walking to the right of me and the other girl in front of me. The one with the blue hair followed to the far side, his hands still stuffed into his pockets. He looked up at me and I realized I was staring, but he only smiled shyly and returned his gaze to the dark marbled flooring. We were led past something that seemed like an arcade game set up with a chair and controls and a helmet connected by a bunch of wires; then led down a hallway with doors aligning the sides with labels 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. The leader pointed to the doors marked '5' and '6'. "Those are yours. Whichever you two decide on."
Jaide spoke up for the first time since we arrived. "I'll take five....I guess...." His words weren't much, I could tell he was nervous. I pointed to the number six and nodded, signaling that the room was mine.
"Now will you tell me who you are?" I asked again, arms crossed in front of my chest, in a more demanding tone. The one with the blue hair looked up, and started to speak, but the redhead held up a hand, signaling him to stop.
"You'll know when the time comes." A smirk crossed her face. "Until then, you can just stop asking that damn question."
I glared at her. "I only asked twice and if you ask me, you're getting a little too smart for yourself, and trust me," I looked toward the others, although not quite glaring at the blue hair and green hair because they hadn't gotten me upset yet. "You don't want to make me angry." I finished almost lamely due to my lack of word choice at the time.
"*You* are the one who's starting to speak too much, girly." The named flamed anger inside me, but she continued. "My friend here is the one with the authority. Double-cross him and pay."
Jaide noticed that my hands had balled up into fists and he put an arm around my shoulders comfortingly and whispered into my ear, "Just ignore her, okay? I know you could easily kick her ass, but think of it this way: she's self-conscious, most likely and the only way she can feel better about herself is by picking on someone else. So please stay calm??" I nod and he slips his arm from my shoulders and crosses it with the other one in front of his chest.
Suddenly a bell in the hallway dings once. "Meeting. Follow us." The leader spoke harshly and walked briskly in front of all of us. The guy with the blue hair walked alongside me to the right and Jaide walked to the left. The guy smiled and spoke in a very quiet, but deep tone. "My name is Kyoretsu. Don't mind me, I don't really want to be here either. Who are you?" He barely managed to squeeze the last word out when the redhead turned around.
"SHUT UP! Your annoying voice is really getting on my nerves!!! Why can't you ever keep your mouth shut?!" She yelled and turned back around and resumed walking. I almost giggled when I saw Kyoretsu pulled down his eyelid and stuck his tongue out.
I leaned toward him and cupped my hand to filter out any sounds that might reach the others' ears. "I'm Adea. I'd like to know what's going on here. Got any clue?"
I was cut off by a sudden sharp slap across the side of my face. I looked up to see a man dressed in a military uniform and when I looked around we were in a conference room with a long table and many empty chairs around it, there were about five people sitting at the long side. The man ordered us to stand along the far wall away from the officials. The man clasped his hands behind him and paced around in front of us. I guess he was trying to make a good impression on the officials, because as of then, they all had their elbows propped up on the table and their eyes glared from above their hands.
The man stopped in front of me again and my face felt another sting of a slap. "I don't want any word from you!!" He waved his hand at the others against the wall. "Or any of you!! Let this be a warning to you!" He punched me in the stomach, hard. Jaide and Kyoretsu started to step forward, but I shook my head slightly and they retreated their steps only to be slapped across the face by the general. I set my jaw and glared into the opposite wall so hard I thought I might burn a hole through the drywall and steel. The man continued to speak, only toward the officials this time. "These children, excuse me, young adults...These young adults are the selected few that will lead this United Earth Sphere Nation! We here at the Neo-Operation headquarters will put these of destiny through an extensive three week training procedure. Whereas, some may not be able to survive the training, I will now ask you what I shall do with those few."
An official stood. This man had somewhat long bangs that hung in front of his left eye. He was wearing a general's uniform that had many badges; one of them I noticed was an award for fighting in Operation Meteor as the pilot of Heavyarms Gundam. He spoke in a monotone voice and his eyes moved to every one of us. "Those who do not complete these tests to passing or due to lack of ability shall have their life. However, they should leave without a memory of it. We cannot risk having any information of this seep through to the New Romafellar." He sat and nodded, signaling he was finished speaking.
The general nodded back and paced back in front of us. He stopped in front of the redhead. "Shaku," Then walked to the one I called leader. "Kosen-teki," To the green haired girl. "Shorai," To the blue haired young man. "Kyoretsu," Then to me. "Adea," And finally Jaide. "Jaide, you six have been selected to be trained as mobile suit pilots and defenders of the Earth and the colonies. These six will go through an extensive three-week period of physical, skill, and mental training. Whomever does not make it, like Lieutenant Barton said would have their memory erased so as not to let any of this escape until the right time comes. Any objections?"
A younger man than Lieutenant Barton stood. His blonde hair was swept back with his thumb to clear it from his blue eyes, which showed concern. "Are any of these tests possibly fatal?"
The general nodded. "Of course, Lieutenant Winner! With any mobile suit training there is a possibility for death!"
"In which case, what will happen?"
"Lieutenant Winner! They will be dead! What else should we do?! I hope you don't expect a funeral! These are soldiers here!"
Lieutenant Winner sat down, his brow furrowed slightly with upset. I saw that he also had many badges and was a soldier in Operation Meteor. The pilot of the Sandrock Gundam. I stood straighter and saluted, hoping that I would be able to state my question. Unfortunately, the general took one look at me and turned away, and continued to speak.
We were dismissed and we all walked to the lunchroom. Jaide and I picked out our items and bought them, then sat down at a table. I uncapped my bottle of water and sipped at it slowly, skeptically watching him down his food mouthful after mouthful. He suddenly looked up with soupy rice dribbling down his chin and smiled in an awkward way so as not to allow any food to drop out of his mouth. I smiled back, but continued to lift the bottle of water to my mouth and drink. He wiped his face clean with a napkin and looked back up at me. "So."
I set the water down and looked at him. "So."
Kyoretsu plopped down into the seat diagonally across from me and a few seats to the side of Jaide. "So," He then asked the question that was probably on all of our minds. "you ready for this?"
"I dunno, Kyo, I think this is bogus." Shorai said calmly and she sat down next to me, smiling a greeting.
I took another drink of water before I said anything else. "What's with Shaku, she annoys the hell out of me..." I kept my voice low as I watched her glare at me, then sit down at a far table with her back to us. "And Kosen-teki?? He seems a little too distant...." I watched him sit at a table closer to us, and to the side.
Kyoretsu spoke next. "As for Shaku, I can't stand her. Kosen-teki, I'm not too sure about him. We, meaning Shorai and Shaku and I, came here after him and he showed us around, gave us our uniforms and told us to wait for the others. I arrived shortly after Shaku and Shorai, but the three of us went as a group."
"Shaku does annoy me, but she's one of my cousins, so I have to tolerate her to some extent."
Jaide looked up at me, then to everyone else present in the lunchroom. "Why are we here...? I know we were 'destined', but what made us so? In other words, why us?"
There was a silence, but I noticed Kosen-teki had stopped his fork-full of salad in mid-air and just sat there; then he stood, bringing his food and sat down on the other side of me. Speaking in a very shallow voice he said, "We were picked because as young children we showed signs of having extra-ordinary abilities. We were torn away from our families to be sent to space to be trained like dogs to have a sub-conscious of a warrior. But we were also taught to have a normal life. Until we must be called back into battle, that is." His tone became grave; and I thought I had started to understand him.
"Who are you?" The question was simple, but it seemed to be indifferent to him. Jaide seemed to draw back at the expression of nothingness on Kosen-teki's face.
"I am the son of Odin Peacecraft-Yuy. And this is my home...."
*****
Continued in Part Two- Tests of Strength, Courage, and Faith