Unity

Chapter 5

I woke with a start as lights were turned on and an unknown voice began yelling from the doorway. Amidst the chaos I heard the stranger saying we had twenty minutes to be at mess. Grateful that I didn't have to stand in line for a shower, I quickly got dressed and started looking for the mess hall on the maps. I felt foolish once I found it. I remembered passing it on the way to the amphitheater. I figured we could get there in about five minutes with the route that I had planned. I decided to wait at the door for everyone else to get ready. Jen and Thad showed up a few minutes later.

"Why are we just standing around? Let's go" Thad said, motioning to the door.

"I figured we could wait and travel as a group. You know, make sure everyone gets there," I suggested.

"Alright," said Jen, "but if we're late I'm going to hurt you," she said making punching motions in the air. Thad and I both laughed at her failed attempt to intimidate us.

Within ten minutes, we were assembled and ready. Words could only describe the organized chaos in the mess hall. There were hundreds of people crowded around tables. A glance to the right showed the line to get food. The line looked long, but with multiple serving lines it was efficient. My stomach growled at the thought of food. I hadn't eaten anything except a couple of protein bars that I found in my locker. Adjusting the artificial gravity of the station was best done on an empty stomach. We moved as a group and swarmed the line for food. A quick look at the people serving the food indicated that they were cadets.

"I wonder who they pissed off to get stuck with that duty?" Thad asked behind me. I just shook my head, too hungry to think about anything but satisfying my empty stomach. We loaded our trays and stood around looking for an empty table. Luckily, a group right next to us got up and cleared out two large tables. I quickly sat down and started eating. The remainder of the group was right on my heals. We ate in relative silence. We had just finished when I looked up to see our human alarm clock walking to our table.

"I'm Lieutenant Briggs," he said as soon as he reached the tables. "I'm in charge of your daily training. Your tablets should be updated soon with your schedules. Check them every day, as change is constant. Clean up your dishes and report to the simulation deck." With that he walked off.

The simulation deck took up an entire floor of the station. There were hundreds of fully enclosed simulators grouped in sets of five. There were several groups besides our own gathered. Lieutenant Briggs walked over and started assigning people to different units. My unit included Thad, Jen, a girl named Tina whom I had yet to meet, and Drew. I wasn't excited to have Drew in my group. It appeared the humbling he took on the flight up had worn off as he strut over. He walked up behind Jen and said, "Hey there hottie." He made to slap her butt, but she caught his arm and he quickly found himself on the ground.

"You touch me, and I'll break it off," she seethed. She let him go and before he could reply. Lieutenant Briggs showed up to break things up.

"Save it for the simulators," he said as he pointed to a set of simulator units. We quickly complied and strapped ourselves in. The system powered on and we heard our instructor's voice over the internal speakers. "The first simulation is pretty basic. You all are going to be flying fighters. Each unit will participate in a five-person free for all. Last man standing wins."

"He means last woman standing," I heard Tina say over the comms.

The controls lit up and I found myself staring at the blackness of space on my screen. The view was mesmerizing. I was surrounded by a blanket of stars.

The controls were simple. The left hand controlled the throttle. The right was responsible for maneuvering. Each control stick had triggers to fire equipped weapons. The ship had an almost exaggerated futuristic feel about it. As the simulation started, I tested each of the controls. The first thing I tried was the weapons. Extremely focused high-powered lasers seemed to be the weapon of choice for close combat. This was something new that I had never seen before. Then again, Admiral Jones did say that much of what we would be seeing was classified. Also included in the arsenal were missile defense systems. Three small and fast missiles were on board as well. Before I had a chance to explore further the engines came online.