Jim caught up with Varian in the hallway. "You should really get a warning light for the top of your head. I almost stepped on you."
"Oh ha ha," Varian looked up at Jim with a disapproving frown.
Jim set his arm on top of his friend's head. "Good thing I've got this walking armrest, though! I sure do get tired carrying my tablet around." Varian jabbed his finger into Jim's ribs a couple times until the taller boy leaped back. "Ow! This one's defective, I'm trading it in!"
"That's what you get for rubbing your height in my face." Varain said brightly. "And I'm going to refer you to med bay for anemia and fatigue. You shouldn't tire out that easily just by carrying a tablet. Maybe you can't even be a spacer if you're that exhausted!"
"I will pick you up and carry you like a toddler." Jim threatened.
"You two are something else." Matt gave them both a grin as he joined them. "Ready for flight class?"
"Always!" Jim's face lit up. "The practical classes are my favorite! Think we'll be with our first years again?"
Matt caught Varain's eye. They both grinned. "It's no wonder Braxton finds it so easy to tease him," Matt muttered to their smaller companion. "Was he this bad when he had a crush on me?"
Varian shrugged. "I mostly ignored him when he was talking about you. I will say that I got very used to being partners with Braxton last year!" Both of them were laughing as they entered the classroom. Braxton gave them a casual wave as they entered, though he didn't end his conversation with the third years he was speaking to. His three friends headed over to join him.
"James," Mrs Parr was leaning against her desk. When the youth looked over, she curled a single finger towards herself twice.
"Good luck." Matt patted his shoulder as Jim peeled off from the group.
Trying to remain relaxed, Jim crossed the room to stand before his teacher. "Yes ma'am?"
"If I remember correctly, Hawkins, you were the one who entered the additional program at the start of the last semester."
"Yes ma'am." Jim had no doubt she knew it for a fact, despite the phrasing of her statement. "It was my choice to agree to confirm when prompted." He truly hoped that Sy was not still in trouble over what had been his decision.
"I would like to thank you for that," Mrs Parr surprised him with her words. "We did not realize that some of our settings had been overwritten during the last system update. Don't ever do it again."
"Yes ma'am." Jim couldn't hide the relief in his voice.
"Additionally, we are returning to that program today. I need you to tell me everyone who you told details to." Mrs Parr pulled out her tablet and tapped something on the surface. "You need to be honest with me, Hawkins."
Jim flicked his eyes towards his group of friends. Would they be in more trouble if he lied to protect them, or would he just get them into hot water if he gave up their names? He took a deep breath. "In my year alone, or do you mean everyone?"
"Everyone if you could, please, Mr. Hawkins."
"I wrote my mother about it," Jim confessed tentatively. He wanted to test the waters before he got in too deep.
Mrs Parr let out a long heavy sigh. "Students only, Mr Hawkins. I need to know who may be compromised moving forward with this mission."
Jim relaxed. "Just my friends. Brax- uh, Rudforest, von Mars, Syleven, uh….I actually don't know what Experiment 628's last name is. We just call him 628? Oh. Varian might know? But I'm not actually sure. He wasn't there when we discussed it, and we all agreed we wouldn't talk about it. Sy didn't much like the attention, and we wanted the talk to die down quickly."
Mrs Parr graced him with a smile. His stomach did a small flip. For someone as old as his mother, she had a very powerful effect on him. "Thank you, Hawkins. That was a wise choice. Please go and get your friends. I will need to give you all special instruction before we start class."
"Yes ma'am." Jim turned and jogged back over to his group. "Hey guys, uh, Mrs Parr would like to speak with the four of us." He nodded to the third years that they had been talking to. "Sorry guys, just the second years." Braxton glanced over at his companions and shrugged. Like the other boys, however, he turned and followed Jim back to the front of the room.
Mrs. Parr greeted them with a smile. "Thank you for speaking with me, boys. I'm sure you all remember the mission that Mr Hawkins here accidentally entered a secondary program for." The boys nodded their confirmation so she continued. "Now, I know only one of you actually saw anything, but it is my understanding you all have knowledge of what happened." Again the boys nodded. "I need you to act with integrity and pretend like you have no knowledge of those programs. Understood?"
"Yes ma'am." They replied with sharp voices.
"I will be copying the data from von Mars' mission for you to use, Hawkins, as you never actually completed your actual assignment." Jim blushed. Mrs Parr ignored him as she continued. "I am aware that you all are likely completely certain you know where the base is, however I want you to once again act with integrity and analyze the data as if you had incomplete knowledge. Use only what is on your screens, not the secondary information. Is that clear?"
"Yes ma'am." Once again the boys were synchronized in their reply.
Mrs Parr waved them off as she turned to address the entire class. "Good afternoon, boys. Group up and I shall go over your instructions for the day." The mixed classes bunched together so they could all hear what she had to say. The teacher planted a hand on her hip and settled her weight to one side as she surveyed her group. "You will be working in pairs today, one third year and one second year. Go ahead and partner up."
Jim pulled away from his friends and wove his way through the crowds. He had barely seen Crux since last year, but like a magnet he headed straight for his former mentor. "Crux!"
The frog boy groaned and turned to face the human. He folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow. "Hawkins."
Jim grinned. "C'mon, you know Jim is fine. We made a good team last year, wanna give it a go now?"
"No." The blunt answer was like a slap to the face. Jim visibly winced. Crux sighed. "Look Hawkins, you're too impulsive. Last year I let you tag around because I felt responsible for you, but you're on your own this year. I can't afford to have you dragging my grades down by making some stupid mistake because you didn't think before you leapt. You're a good soldier, I'll give you that, but I need someone with a level head, and that's not you."
Jim pulled back, his face dark. "Fine." He tried to keep the hurt from his voice, but it slipped in anyway. "I'll do better with someone else anyway." He turned from the older boy and forced his way through the crowds of students pairing up. He could find a better partner than Crux.
Blindly the young human meandered through the crowds of students. Most of his classmates had found themselves a partner already. Who was he going to be left with now that he'd been rejected?
"Jim!" Braxton grabbed his arm. "C'mere, I got a partner for you. We sorta suspect that we're going to get partnered up with another partnership, so we got things worked out that we can all work together." Jim followed the cyborg through the crowds. It was just as well that Braxton had found him someone, Jim didn't much feel like being rejected yet again.
They popped out of the mass of youth and into a relatively clear area. Six boys stood in a partial circle. All of them looked up when the two second years joined them.
"This him then?" An older boy asked, his arms crossed in front of his chest. The collection of youth before Jim were quite the sight. The one that had spoken stood with his chest puffed out, an arrogant grin on his face. His dark hair was well kept and indicated dedication to maintaining his appearance.
To his left was a smaller boy who's quiet self confidence outshone the first boy's arrogance. He had a friendly smile. More interesting, Jim noted, though he had a boot on his right foot, his left was nothing but curved metal. Jim suspected that Braxton had picked the group based solely on that detail.
The other two members stood off to the right. Both were blond, but that was where the similarities ended. One was spindly and sporting an almost creepy grin. The other looked to be more mountain than man. He gave a friendly smile and a quick wave.
"This is him!" Matt agreed brightly with the arrogant one's assessment. "Jim, meet Hiccup, Snotlout, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs." If his friends thought those names were as strange as Jim did, they certainly didn't show it.
"Uh, hi. I'm Jim."
Snotlout, or maybe it was Tuffnut, snorted. "What kind of a name is that?"
The largest boy - Fishlegs maybe? - spoke up. "We're supposed to be nice here."
"That was nice! I'm asking after his culture." The first boy replied as he shoved at him. It did little to move the hulking young man.
Jim waved it off. "It's fine. Jim's just a nickname. Have we already decided how to partner up?"
Braxton instantly flung an arm around Hiccup's shoulders, a move that surprised none of his friends. "I'm taking this one!" He boldly pulled up one of his pants legs and stuck out his own metal limb. "We cyborgs gotta stick together!"
Matt smiled at the largest boy. "Fishlegs, you want to be my partner?" The boy blushed and hunkered down into his broad shoulders but nodded all the same. Matt stepped up next to him. "We'll make a good pair."
Jim looked between the last two boys and Varian. "I'll take, uh," he actually could not remember which boy was which. Taking a shot in the dark he shrugged. "Snotlout was it? You can be my partner."
The arrogant one pumped his fist once. "Alright!"
Varian gave Tuffnut a smile. "Looks like that means we're partnered!"
As the four groups broke into their pairs, Mrs Parr once again took control of the class. "It looks like most of you have settled into partnerships then! While the rest of you find someone to work with, listen close." She flicked a few things on her tablet. A projection of a familiar planet flickered to life on a hologram near the desk. "I am sure my second years remember Planet 597."
Most of the second year students turned to look at Jim. Several of the third years followed their example. Jim tried his best to ignore them and to keep his eyes locked on Mrs. Parr. He could hear Braxton snigger from somewhere nearby.
Mrs Parr cleared her throat. "The information you gathered during your observation mission has been sent to your tablets. Second years, you will brief your senior students on your mission as well as your findings. Together you shall decide the most likely location and investigate. You may engage the program as many times as you need to find the correct location, however it will be factored into your grade."
Snotlout thumped a fist against his chest. "This will be no problem with me on your team! I'm great at analyzing data! And I'm even better at missions."
Jim ran his fingers through his hair. "There's a small problem with the data, just so you know. Mine was, uh, compromised during the mission, so we're using Matt's. I have no doubt he got what we need, though. He's got a good eye for details." An impeccable one, really. If he had to use anyone's data, he was glad it was Matt's.
Snotlout scoffed. "What'd you do? Fly into a dragon?"
"Uh, no?" Jim got the sense the question was literal. "Doesn't really matter, we'll have plenty to work with." He checked his tablet and nodded. "I just got the file. Let's find a place to sit and chat so we can go over the pictures together." It was going to be tough acting like he didn't know exactly where the base was. Thankfully Snotlout seemed more than happy to take the lead on things
