Unity

Chapter 4

We followed the admiral through a maze of bulkheads and passageways, barely wide enough to allow traffic to move in both directions. Nearly every group we passed left behind an almost eye watering stench. Ours wasn't the only shuttle to have pukers.

Each bulkhead and passageway we passed was marked with alphanumeric designations. I tried to make sense of the designations, but it took most of my attention to keep up with Jenn. We would occasionally pass an unfortunate soul who had been separated from their group. Unfortunately, the insane pace set by the admiral left no time for pity. In record time, we stopped outside a door with the designation A2B5.

"Welcome to your new home," the admiral said. "Showers are in the back for those that need them. Please use them. Your bunk has already been selected for you and is marked with your name. Stow your gear and get changed into uniform. Orientation begins in 30. Your tablets have been programmed with the route there." With that said, he left us to fend for ourselves.

I walked into the room and discovered a row of bunk beds attached to each wall. There were ten bunks on the left and twenty on the right. The showers were at the end on the left. At the foot of each bed a tablet was hanging with a name on the display. I was busy looking for mine when I heard a familiar voice behind me. "Hey Zack, you're over here." I looked back towards the door. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse. My bunk was the closest to the door on the right.

I had the pleasure of being on the top bunk, right above Jen. "Apparently they don't believe in separate sleeping quarters for different genders" she said as she pulled out a uniform from the bottom storage closet.

"Sounds like they're asking for trouble" I replied.

"Speaking of trouble, no peeking" she said with a wink as she drew a curtain around herself. At least they gave us privacy curtains I thought to myself. I waited for Jen to change. Our quarters were cramped and the storage compartments for both beds happened to be behind the area where Jen was currently changing.

I grabbed the tablet from the foot of my bed and looked it over while I waited. The tablet closely resembled the crystal screens I was used to back home, except for the hard outer casing. I closed out of the picture with my name and opened the main screen. I saw links to several applications, including one that looked like a map. I opened it, and instantly a route appeared, showing how to get to the central axis of the station. I turned off the device and placed it on my pillow. I heard the curtain pull back and my jaw nearly hit the floor. Jen's uniform consisted of form fitting black pants, blue shirt that was tucked into the pants, and black combat style boots. I noticed that the shirt she was wearing matched her eyes. I thought I recovered quickly enough as to not make a fool of myself. I walked past Jen and she just laughed. I closed the curtain as fast as I could and pulled out my own uniform, which consisted of the same black pants and boots, but the shirt was a forest green instead of blue.

Fifteen minutes later we assembled as a group and ventured out into the station, trusting in our map to guide us. We passed through several bulkheads before reaching a main passageway. This passageway was much bigger and filled with cadets. A few minutes later we entered the superstructure at the center of the station. The floor we were currently on was split into two. One half held a large cafeteria, while the other was a large gym. We took a lift up ten floors. We tried to stay together as a group. Many had been separated amongst the crowd of cadets. Our destination was a large amphitheater. We took the closest empty seats and looked around to take in the view. The amphitheater was a sea of blues and greens, reminiscent of earth as viewed from space.

"I think it's meant as a reminder for us" said the cadet to my left. "There are recruits from every part of the planet. Some still feel they were wronged during the war and never properly compensated. The colors are a reminder that we all share the same home. I'm Thad" he said as he thrust his hand out to me.