Author's Note: oh my gosh, thanks to those that reviewed! I didn't think I'd get any so soon. Well here I am with the second chapter, which will be much longer than the first one, let me tell you. Please enjoy!
Chapter two:
"Approaching city of Carviene! First stop: Carve Port!"
Jim jumped up, shaking the sleep from his head and looking out the window. Outside the fields were giving way to small houses and then larger building, then buildings to skyscrapers. His mouth fell open.
"Whoa."
The city itself was similar to Montressor Space Port, but on a much more massive scale. Buildings reached to the sky, white and gleaming in the sunlight. Docks were crowded with merchant and navy ships, their hulls packed with goods and spoils. The streets were full of people bustling along. Jim pressed his face to the glass, too excited to realize he looked like the small-town boy he was.
The shuttle pulled into the station with a low hiss and settled with a thud. Jim picked up his sack and stood, again checking his pocket for the letter. Finding that it was still folded up there, he nodded to himself and moved out of his seat. This is it, he thought. He followed the other passengers off of the shuttle, stepping out into the crowded station.
People shoved past him, pushing him out of the way to get to where they were going, but Jim barely noticed. He was too busy gawking at the scene stretched out before him.
Built on a hill, the city was laid out like a series of circles, each one outside the other. Back ways and alleys intersected the rings, cutting them into little slices. The outskirts of the city consisted mainly of docks and ports and taverns for spacers on liberty. Further in were more buildings: businesses, homes, schools. On top of the hill, at the very center of the city, was a large clock tower, its marble sides shining merrily.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
He turned to the speaker: a girl about his age, with dark auburn hair and violet eyes. She was smiling at him, and Jim managed a smirk back.
"Yeah, it is," he said. "What's it for?"
"They built it to commemorate the city's tercentennial." She put her hands behind her back like a child reciting lines. "The Caravive Tower is our best landmark." She cocked her head at him. "You're not from around here, are you?"
He just shook his head warily.
She nodded, not put off by his silence. "I thought so," she said, smoothing out the skirt of her dress and then grinning at him again. "Where are you going?"
"Uh, nowhere---"
"Then why don't I show you around?" She moved closer to him, and he backed away. She didn't look like much, but then again, neither did most dangerous things, and he was beginning to trust his gut on matters like this.
"No thanks, I really need to go."
Her face fell, and Jim almost felt bad for her. Almost.
"Oh, okay." She smiled again suddenly. "Welcome to Carviene!" she said, and then she ran off, disappearing into the crowd effortlessly. Jim watched her go with a mix of relief and disappointment. He was going to need somebody to show him to the Academy, and that had been his chance. With a sigh he looked back at the clock tower. It was just past four o'clock. If he wanted to get there before nightfall he had to hurry. Shouldering his pack, he set off down the street.
The first thing he did was stop and ask for directions in a small shop just outside the station. The owner pointed him in the right direction, and he thanked him and headed out. He got turned around though (something he decided was way too easy in this kind of city) and ended up in the center of Carviene, staring up at the clock tower.
"Great," he muttered, "just great." He threw his pack down and collapsed onto a bench. Running a hand back through his hair, he analyzed his situation.
A) He was lost.
B) It was getting dark.
C) He was low on money.
D) He had to get the letter to the Admiral before he left on Tour.
E) He was screwed.
"I am so dead."
He looked up at the people around him. They were dressed a lot sharper than the people further down the hill, and Jim guessed he was in the richer part of the city. They were the respectable type, with powdered wigs and brocaded jackets and shiny buckles, and he decided to take a chance with them. He went up to the person closest to him, a woman in a royal blue dress.
"Excuse me, ma'am," he said as he went up to her. "Can you tell me how to---"
"No begging!" she snapped and rushed past him. Jim stared after her, frowning.
"What?" He shook his head and turned to the next passerby: a bearded Calypsian. "I was wondering if you could---"
"Outta the way!" And he shoved past too. It was the same with every other person he approached. No one would talk to him. As he stood in the midst of the crowd, he realized what the problem was.
They thought he was dock-trash.
Frustration made him clench his jaw and glare at the people that passed. His clothes weren't that bad, just some pants and a sailing shirt and his black jacket. He looked nothing like trash. He nearly grabbed one of the men going by to make him talk. Someone ran into him, though, and before he could catch his balance he hit the ground. Something landed on top of him, and he realized that it was a person because it began flailing around. Jim shoved them away and rolled over to get to his feet. There was a loud whistle and a few offended shouts, and the figure next to him jumped up and ran off. It was then that, through the legs of the crowd, Jim saw his pack in the hands of the kid that had pushed him.
"Hey!" He scrambled to his feet and took off after the scoundrel. The boy saw him and turned into an alley.
"Come back here!"
He turned into the alley and saw a group of kids bolting away, one of them holding his bag. He cursed and picked up the pace. The boy with his pack was in the back of the gang and if he went just a little faster he could catch up…
"Hey!"
The boy looked over his shoulder, his eyes wide, and then shouted something to his friends. They scattered. But by this time Jim has caught up, and before the boy could disappear into another alley, he tripped over a trash can that sent him flying. Jim gained on him and easily pinned him down. The boy struggled and kicked and cursed but he held him, and as Jim tried to keep him down, his cap fell from his head and auburn curls spilled out. Blue eyes met violet ones.
"You!"
The girl from the station glared up at him. "Get off me!" she shouted, wriggling in his grasp. But Jim was still staring in disbelief. He was practically on top of her, and the instant he realized it he leapt off and let her up. She was on her feet in a second and glaring down at him. She spat something out at him in another language, something harsh and bitter and full of malice, and then she took off after her friends, leaving Jim laying there in shock. When he recovered his brain he grabbed his pack and searched through it, checking to see if everything was there. It was, and he moved to his own pockets.
"Shit!"
His money was gone, and the letter…?
"SHIT!"
He spun around, searching the street for any sight of the girl. But she was gone.
Jim let out a scream of frustration and kicked his pack across the alley, thinking about what he was going to tell the Admiral.
Oh, I'm sorry to bother you, Sir, but I'm here because Captain Amelia of the Legacy sent me… Proof? I did, Sir, but it was stolen…
He pushed his hair back, sighing heavily. He was never going to get into the Academy without that letter. Hell, he wouldn't even make it to the front door. His only option now was to do home. He leaned against the wall of a building and slid to the ground. Go home? With what money? It was a three-day trip to the Benbow by shuttle, and shuttles cost money. His head fell back and he closed his eyes.
That was when he felt the rain drop.
Jim groaned and stood up, grabbing his bad and shouldering it as the rain picked up. He hadn't even noticed the clouds roll in, but that was Montressor weather for you. Now he just had to find someplace to get out of it.
Jim headed down the street, away from the center of the city. He went the same way he'd seen the girl run, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he'd find her and get his letter back. He had no doubt that she took it, though why was beyond him. He turned the corner just as a crack of thunder exploded overhead. He naturally looked up, half-expecting to see a solo-skiff falling from the sky like one had only months before. But there wasn't a skiff, only rain and clouds and the tops of buildings. He closed his eyes again and stood there, liking the feel of the rain on his face. It made him feel like less of a screw up.
"Oi, lad, I don't think you're s'posed to be standin in it."
His eyes snapped open and he looked around. A few feet away was a young boy who was standing in a doorway. His bright orange hair seemed to give off a light of its own, like his smile, and then Jim knew that he wasn't talking to a boy at all.
"Can you tell me how to get to the Interstellar Academy?" he asked, not moving. He knew how shady an Elysian could be, but he needed the help. The little man at the door cocked his head, smiling like he knew something Jim didn't.
"Gonna be a spacer, are ya, lad?"
Jim just nodded.
"Aye." The Elysian pointed down the road. "Keep goin that way. It'll be just 'round the bend. Ya can't miss it."
Jim nodded again and started walking, then stopped and turned. "Hey, you didn't see a girl---?"
But the man was gone.
Jim stared at the doorway, wondering whether or not the man had really been there. Another clap of thunder shook him out of it, and he frowned and started down the road again. Sure enough, it only took him a few minutes to round the corner and come face to face with a massive gate. On it was a plaque inscribed with the words:
INTERSTELLAR ACADEMY
Ut Astrum, Umquam Fidelis
Author's Note: Yeah, I know, cutting it short. But this was getting rather long and I'm not exactly done with the rest of it so this was the only logical spot to stop it. Sorry for any inconvience but I'll have more up soon, I promise! Please review!