Hawkins marched single file behind Hamzak Q. who marched behind Hamzak A. The brothers were arguing as they marched. Behind Hawkins was Hazzam followed by Heanth. Though these were the second year boys with rooms in the same hall as him, and although they stood together when in proper ranks, Jim couldn't say he knew them much beyond their names. For not the first time, he wished that Braxton or Matt's last names began with Haw.

As his group marched into the auditorium, Jim craned his neck to scan the first years that already stood before their seats. The short statured height-class to the right of the room, the medium stature height-class in the center, and the tall stature height-class on the left. The second year cadets marched up the aisles and filed into their rows in the mid-back. The third years began to fill in below them. The fourth year and graduate students would be seated closest to the stage.

He studied the crowd to search for a familiar black head of hair. He'd grown quite fond of Sy over the last two and a half months since they first met. Unfortunately between tests and exams, Jim hadn't seen much of him during the last two weeks. Even when they sat together at meals, they were busy studying or bemoaning their performances on their finals and midterms.

Hazzam elbowed Jim in the ribs. "Turn around," he hissed. "You're gawking like a new arrival. Gray's looking this way."

Jim was quick to turn towards the front of the room. The twins had escalated from verbal to physical and were snapping at each other with their pincers. Not wanting to accidentally get snipped, Jim shuffled closer to Hazzam. Hazzam gave him another frown.

The lieutenant made his way towards the bickering brothers. Jim was not pleased that their fight had caught the attention of his least favorite superior. Thankfully, Gray's progress was halted by a voice over a microphone before the lieutenant could reach their row of seats.

"Good morning, recruits. You may be seated."

At the front of the room stood the head of student affairs. At her orders, every boy in the room sunk into their assigned seat. The woman continued, "It has been five months since the start of the school year. I can hardly believe it myself." The woman smiled brightly at the youth before her. "For those of you unfamiliar with this planet's annual cycle, that means we are halfway into our school year. You have only five more months before our school year ends. For many of you, this will mean graduation and moving forward with your careers.

"It also means the start of senior mission training. Over the next two months, our fourth year students shall partake in simulated missions here at the school. These missions will be kept secret until you arrive at your assignment. Anyone who should like to volunteer to act as student crew during these events may sign up under the fourth year of their choice. Yes, that includes you, first years." The woman paused to allow the excited chatter to swell and die back down.

Once the youth were suitably subdued, she continued. "Following the completion of planetside simulations, our seniors will be assigned an off world mission where they shall shadow the crew of their selected vessel and participate as instructed by their captain. Please note, the captain's report shall be considered heavily in regards to your graduation."

As the head of student affairs continued her speech, Jim scanned the group of students below him. He easily picked out Matt's deep black hair. His head was bent over something in his lap. Jim was not surprised that his friend had smuggled in his sketchpad. Braxton was harder to locate though Jim did eventually spot him with his feet kicked up on the back of Stalkinew's chair. The larger leopard was doing his best to shove the metal limbs off the back of his seat without drawing Gray's attention to him.

Further down Jim was able to pick out a boy who he believed to be Crux, a third year who had been Jim's partner for many intraclass activities. He had looked up to the older boy and had sought him out frequently as a freshman. Having a familiar face to turn to was reassuring in his beginning year. The frog-like boy, however, appeared to have promptly forgotten the young human upon exiting that stage of training.

Jim's mind flashed to his own first year recruit. He wasn't going to allow Sy to feel the same sense of abandonment that he had. The sense of unimportance. He would do anything to ensure Sy understood just how much he meant to Jim and that Jim would never leave him to fend for himself.

The teen turned in his seat to scan for his friend again. Was Sy planning on signing up for missions? His musing was interrupted by another elbow to the ribs. He glared at Hazzam and cradled the new bruise. "Gray can't even see me!" He protested in a low voice.

"Shut up and pay attention," Hazzam whispered back. "Look who's taking the stage."

Jim turned back to the stage in time to see none other than Admiral de Châteaupers himself. Every eye in the room was turned on him. For once, the cadets were at full attention. The man crossed to the podium in the sharp, brisk way that had become so well associated with the commanding officers. Unlike the others before him, he did not set any papers or notes upon the stand. Instead, he merely addressed the student body as he was.

"Good morning, cadets."

"Good morning, sir," The room thundered back at him.

"First, I would like to congratulate you on your journeys so far. I have been involved in this school since my own children rose through the ranks. When I first assumed my position here, as an instructor then, this school was very different. A coed student body thrived within these walls. Classes were smaller, your options were more limited. But one thing that has remained consistent, and that has always been our level of quality.

"Quality facility, quality equipment, quality opportunities and, yes, quality students. I look before me today and I see that our students strive to meet that standard and to drive the bar higher every year. Each batch of young recruits that come through these doors, and the doors of our sister school, further enrich the legacy of this academy. For that, I thank you." Though he addressed the entirety of the boys before him, Jim felt almost as if the admiral were speaking directly to him. He had no doubts he was not the only one.

"As many of you know," the older man continued, his voice soft and brimming with pride, "I have family who attend this school now."

Near the front, a group of boys pounded a blonde boy on the back, laughing and cheering for him. The admiral gave them a look, silencing the lot. "Who set a fair example for behavior."

The room snickered at the affectionate admonishment.

"However, a few months back my grandson brought it to my attention that many of you are not as lucky as I am. Family is not always within reach. The day that the post is released is always a day of celebration among our recruits. A mini holiday each month, celebrated with letters, packages, holograms, touches of home and loved ones. But as I have been reminded; not everyone has that blessing."

The admiral looked across the sea of silent, hopeful faces. "In the interest of student morale, from now forward this school - as well as our sister school - shall be providing communication assistance for all youth otherwise isolated from their homes."

The room was dead silent. For perhaps the first time in the school's history, no one made a sound.

All at once youth around the room turned to friends, the auditorium buzzing with whispers.

"Is this true?"

"Ek hugsumk vér kouldn't kontact okkarr heima?"

"How's that even possible?"

"هل هذا قانوني حتى؟"

Over the flurry of questions the admiral made his final statement before dismissing them. "If you have need of such services, there shall be an email going out with information on how to enroll."

AN: Hey friends! So, I know I don't usually leave you notes, but you get one today!

First off, we're almost caught up with AO3, so I'll hopefully be posting on a more regular schedule real soon! Additionally, we're not entering some arcs that I am extremely excited for. We'll finally be meeting Zephyr, Varian is going to become a lot more relevant, and to be honest, this just has a lot of fun characters. This is where I felt I really started to hit my stride on the idea of fan fiction, and I feel like it starts to show.

Finally, more songs coming up! I even wrote you a couple reprises. As always, feel free to let me know if I've made any errors I didn't see, or anything else! Love you all! Thanks! 3