World Builder #ONC2024

4| the beginning of an era

WYATT

THE REGULATION SIZE suitcase was exactly the right size for all of my things. It was depressing, the way my entire life was able to fit in one bag. I was almost sad as I left my room, looking back over the decidedly barren space. While it was never going to be permanent, it had still been the place that I had worked on Fortis, thought through what I truly wanted, and showed me who I was meant to become.

Those four walls had seen more personal growth within me than anyone or anywhere else. 

That's why it was bittersweet to leave, locking the door behind me. And with one last look around the hallway I had stepped into every morning and out of every night, I walked into my future, my head held high.

If I was going to begin this new chapter of my life, I was going to do it with the confidence and grace that my new position required.

I was a captain now, after all.

The wheels on the suitcase spun noisily, my normally silent steps betrayed by the loud noise. I didn't care. I was nearly numb.

While I was getting everything I wanted, Lucas was missing.

With any luck, he had simply been disqualified and had to go back to a regular ranking.

Unfortunately, I had a feeling that Lucas wouldn't do something that would turn out nice and neat like that.

I tracked the familiar lines of the hallway until they became unfamiliar and foreign. I was venturing into new territory, into my future.

The ranking officers' dorms were like a completely different world.

Broad doors lined either side of a passage covered in windows of different shapes and sizes, all looking out into the great void of space. Each window was centered on some far off galaxy to keep an eye on, and each door had a name plate next to it.

When I found mine, my heart nearly stopped. In bold, next to my door, the plaque read:

Wyatt Kerr, Captain.

I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face, nor the relief that seemed to take so much weight off of my shoulders. That plaque made it real. It made my move, my graduation, my success in designing Fortis real. 

Taking a deep breath, I lifted my hand to the sensor. The panel flashed green and the door whirred to life, opening silently.

Inside, I was met with quite the sight to behold.

Though I was merely a captain and not a higher ranking official, my rank as a World Builder still earned me some pretty nice perks. For example, the step down sitting area that met me at the door and the elegant four poster bed that was situated on a platform right next to a small window.

While it was nothing near the size or luxury of the family units, I was more than happy to accept the extra space after seven years of living in a glorified coat closet.

I left my suitcase at the door before venturing deeper into my new quarters, finding a desk with an extremely comfortable chair and a small closet to hang my two uniforms. 

It would be nice to not have to deal with wrinkles in my dress clothes.

I stepped into the middle of the room and did a slow circle, the magnitude of everything catching up to me.

I would have to learn a new schedule, new faces, and a new way of doing things. Starting at graduation, my days of simple and structured days were over. I now had to attend weekly briefings and even more frequent World Builder seminars to help the new captains to our positions.