The Chronicles Of Zane

Beginnings

     The feast had only just begun when the hoard of news companies and commoners pretty much tried to stampede their way into the Hall of Honors. Pretty much just a huge glass room in the center of the celebration hall.  The room itself was huge, though, so I'll give it that. About the size of 3 typical backyards with tables aligned in order of command. I got to sit up top with two people of my choosing and everyone else were forced to sit at their respective tables.  Escaping from the noise, as the doors shut we all find our seats. As we're all filing in, I motion for Will and J to come and sit with me. As everyone gets to their tables and determines who sits where, I notice no one sits. They all just look at me, as if waiting. "I think you're supposed to say something." J says quietly. I look to will for confirmation and he just nods. I take on more clean look at the room, taking note of all the empty chairs and new faces and let out a deep sigh. "This year will be our most successful. I understand you have all seen me on the battle grounds during training. I understand that some of you may have had friends that fell victim to my strategies. I do not want you to fear me. However, I will not apologize for all I have done because that is the way we are to learn and become stronger. This is not about strength, though. We are a team. We are the last and absolute defenders. We are The Order! " I express. My golden hair flies with the wind as The Order all begin to cheer for me. "I promise you. That under my command and with your council, we will be successful! Are you all with me?!" Everyone raises their fists in Order salute and cheer once again for their new commander. "You may all be seated as you please." I finish off with a warming smile. 

      "That was incredible." J says, meeting my eyes. Her jet black curls and green eyes were always such a mystery... everyone else looks so...ordinary in comparison. Especially seeing her in a dress, actually trying to look good was just....a little overwhelming. "Are you okay?" She asks. Oh my, I've been staring far too long. "Yes, I'm fine, Jasmine." I quickly respond. Our plates are a really metallic silver, incredibly reflective. I begin to stare and wonder how my red eyes and tan skin match up with my wondrous golden hair. Then there's Will, average height like the rest of us but with blue eyes and blonde hair. I think my favorite thing about Will is how different we are physically. We both may be average height but I'm much more athletic despite the fact that I look skinnier. My hair kind of glows when it catches sunlight and my eyes are the most beautiful of reds. "Hey boss, you gonna get us food or what?" Will says. "Oh...yeah. Right. The Feast begins whenever the cooks are ready. Have them bring the food out as it's finished." I say into the communication's agent built into the table. Everything is incredibly high tech on this ship. Then again 22000 people from Earth were chosen and only the most innovative and wisest people were allowed. Sometimes I think of it as pretty messed up to classify people by intelligence. At the same time, though, looking at the news crews all outside the Hall of Honor just waiting for me to do something was pretty annoying. I can only imagine what the others would be doing. The ship, though is almost too technologically developed. Sometimes you lost track of days and even weeks because of how sophisticated the simulation and training bay areas are. There's not many windows the further you get away from the outer rooms, and while you have all the time in the world to check the days on your personal artificial intelligence(PAI)....most people don't. No matter what time it is or where you're going, there's always people walking about and doing things as if it were day time.

       The smell of the food quickly engulfs the room as the chefs parade in with their dishes. The news crews and such have all trickled away from the Hall because the food has started being distributed. Our celebratory and cafeteria halls both work like buffets. Every 7 hours the dishes are rotated into something new. Money isn't needed on the ship because if you were chosen to be allowed on, chances are you also signed away your life. That's the only rule other than the regular morally implied ones: Once you set foot on the ship, you don't leave. There's no negotiation or special circumstances, either. "Are you enjoying yourself, J? You've said almost nothing and that's surprising." I ask. J's normally crazy about food. "Oh. Yeah I'm fine. Just reminiscing about training, you know? I never thought it would end. I was sure we'd be there forever.As much as I wanted it to be over I never thought we'd actually make it." She smiles. "It's just so wonderful. So many memories to go through as well." She fin shed. "Well I for one don't miss it! I'm sure I would've died if it wasn't for you two. Can you imagine if I was on a different team?" As Will finishes his sentence, J shoots him that look and he stops talking. The memory floods in almost like clockwork: Will tried to sell us out the team he wanted to be on when we first met. All he had to do was stop talking but he insisted on getting us killed. "Yeah... oh well you're our teammate and byfar our best planner in the last 70 years." I finally say. "Hey so did you two- " I am cut off by a blinding purple light coming from the ceiling sky window. It comes as quickly as it goes. "Make us proud, Zane Jiaz, Chosen boy." A deep dark voice says. I look around and everyone else is acting as though nothing happened. In fact, I don't think they saw it. I look to Will and J who both are continuing on. I reach over to my cup to drink a little more water when I meet eyes with J. It's so easy to get lost in her beautiful purple eyes. When she blinks, I realize once again her eyes are green. Greener than the purest of emeralds. "Hey guys I'll be right back." Will says as he gets up. "Yeah. So. We need to talk." J says to me in a hushed voice. "About what? Is it bad? Here?" The questions pour out. "Don't be stupid Zane. I already know. You don't have to hide anymore."