Ordo Noctis

Chapter 2

After a long helicopter ride (Ordo Noctis had 10,000 private helicopters), we arrived at Base in a standard Ordo Noctis black SUV.

Base was a skyscraper bigger than the Mall of America. It was so big, it would take someone more than fourteen years to see every room. Trust me. I'd tried.

It was used for a number of things. It offered shelter to all operatives in need, training to those that were still below twenty (where you were initiated a fully approved member of Ordo Noctis and no longer needed training), housed everyone that wasn't on a mission, and a lot of other things not worth mentioning. Base was built in an uninhabited, desert-ish area of Indiana, and it had been my home since I was three days old. It was the place I had spent all of my days training relentlessly when I wasn't on an assignment.

"I had your training schedules adjusted to sync," Han was saying. "And I've also added a few partner exercises so that you can learn to work together and not just train separately."

I huffed as I got out of the car with Mars.

"I'd like you both to go to your room now, and you'll begin training together tomorrow."

My head snapped up at his slip. "Um, you mean 'rooms.'"

Han laughed. "No, Star, I mean 'room.' I did say you'd be together all the time now, didn't I?"

"What?!" Surprisingly, the word came from both Mars and I. Finally, something he hadn't been told either.

"We're not, like, sharing a bed, right?" I asked, horrified.

Han smiled. "No, you'll have your own beds. It's just good practice for when you two are on missions together - sleeping in close quarters. It will also further your relationship as mission partners."

I groaned. "Where's our new room?"

"Fifty-seventh floor, last door down the hall. Both of your possessions have already been moved in."

Mars and I groaned in unison and walked up to the front entrance of Base, disguised as a simple company's headquarters. Normally, we'd have to show an identification badge, but Han just flashed his. The two security guards nodded at him and let us enter. Han got to bring anybody he wanted inside. He was, after all, the boss.

When we got into the lobby, Han left us to go back to his office. We got in the elevator and Mars pressed his thumbprint to the scanner, granting us access to go up. I watched as the scanner turned green. It was still shocking to see that he got just as much respect as me, if not more.

"Floor 57," he said in a commanding voice, and the elevator began moving upward. I glowered at him, not saying anything.

"You know, this could be cool. Having a mission partner," he said, not looking at me.

I resented how mature he was being about this. "I guess." I said in a forced voice.

"Plus, we're pretty similar. If we put our differences aside, I bet we'd make a great team."

I snorted. "Sure."

"You know, I only found out about you three days ago," he told me. "I'm just as surprised as you are. And I think it will be interesting to watch each other as we sharpen our skills. We can learn from each other."

I knew he didn't mean that; he meant that I could learn from him. "Yeah," I said flatly. I couldn't believe Han was doing this to me. For the first time in my life, I was considering quitting Ordo Noctis.

But where would I go?

The elevator doors opened and we trekked down the hall to the last black door. I was still dragging my suitcase behind me.

Mars pressed his thumb to the scanner, and the door swung open. He held it open for me, and I lugged the suitcase into our new room, pointedly ignoring him.

I scanned the area quickly. It looked exactly like my old room, except with two beds. All of the decorations were in shades of black and gray, even the paintings on the walls. The neutral tones were soothing to me somehow. Probably because I was used to them; everything in Base had the same theme.

I dumped my suitcase next to one of the beds, not bothering to unpack it. It was almost dark by now. I found the door to the bathroom leading off from our room (one bathroom?! I can't share a bathroom with Mars!) and grabbed a toothbrush, slamming the door so I could be alone.

I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and changed into pajamas. Then I found a hairbrush in a drawer and began brushing out my long hair.

I remembered that my schedule had been updated, and exited the bathroom to find my phone. It wasn't any brand you know of. It had the most advanced technology of any device in the world, and it was exclusive only to the operatives of Ordo Noctis.

I was rummaging through my suitcase, still brushing my hair, when I remembered Mars was in the room too. He had also changed into the same black pajamas and was already in bed. Seriously? Ugh. Boys have no dental hygiene.

Mars was already looking at his phone, probably checking the new training schedule too. He looked over at me and smiled. "Your hair looks nice when it's brushed. And, you know, not covered in dirt."

I had no idea how to react to that comment, so I just ignored him. I fished my phone out and entered the passcode.

I finished brushing my hair and tossed the hairbrush onto the bedside table, then climbed under the blankets and checked the schedule.

It was even worse than I had feared.

5

Wake

5:30-6

Breakfast

6-7:30

Workout

7:30-9

First Aid

9-9:30

Break

9:30-11

Logic

11-12:30

Linguistics

12:30-1

Lunch

1-2:30

Codes

2:30-4

Persuasion

4-5:30

Stealth

5:30–7:30

Free Time

7:30-8

Dinner

8-11

Free Time

11

Lights Out

Great. So not only were we getting an earlier bedtime, we had to do all of this with each other. Han wasn't kidding when he said we'd always be together.

I glanced over at Mars to see what he thought about this, and sure enough, he had a grimace on his face. When he noticed I was looking, he shrugged and turned off his phone. "I'm sure we'll benefit from working together. After all, we're the best in Ordo Noctis. Who can we learn from except each other?"

I hated the fact that he had a point. And how dare he call himself one of the best?! Nevertheless, I shut off my phone as well and snapped my fingers to turn off the lights.

"Good night, Star."

I couldn't believe I would hear that every night for an entire year. (And we're all jealous of you so be grateful lol) How could Han do this to me?!

I groaned and turned over, closing my eyes. "Night."