Survivors

Kartrae

My nose is against the window as we approach the teal planet. We enter the atmosphere. There's a few wisps of clouds hanging around. We approach the ground and a few structures start showing up. Large trees with fuchsia leaves, turquoise waterfalls, and, most notably, a towering white structure. We land in a designated circle and the door pops open. We go out.

The air smells unlike anything I've ever smelled. It's sort of like the salt of the sea, roses, and something completely unfamiliar. I bend down and touch the blue-green grass. The sky is the colour of a sunset, though there's a blazing white star high in the sky. I step onto the ground. Water wells up around my feet slightly, under the grass.

"It's like a rice field." Jade murmurs. We approach the large chalky structure from earlier. It consists of a large sphere and tall spires of varying sizes. We follow a path through a pink forest.

"This is where I get to live?" Asks Xavier.

"Oh, no. You'd live in the city." Maggie responds. His mood seems to drop, but he continues walking. We reach a large wall, passing through. There's a few decorative sculptures here and there. We finally reach a door leading into the large sphere. Regeit knocks on the door.

"Name and purpose?" A voice comes from the other side.

"Regeitagei Morvallaris, audience with the royal family." He answers. The door opens and I find myself in a large chamber, with dark wooden flooring and a spherical chandelier on the ceiling. There's a platform at the other end of the room, where two regal-looking figures stand. Their skin is a dark honey tone, and their hair is silver. Their ears angle down slightly, sort of like an Earth cow's. Maggie and Regeit bow.

"Are those the new cadets?" The lady asks.

"Only two. The one with the bad haircut is a stowaway, and we were wondering if you could find him a place to stay on the planet." Regeit answers.

"We'll arrange something. Introduce yourselves, humans."

"I'm Jade Pele." Jade bows, probably because it seems like the correct thing to do in this situation.

"Rowan Brooks." I copy the gesture.

"Xavier McAllister." Xavier doesn't bow.

"Very well." The man pauses. "Wessa!" A girl comes running into the room. She looks like the others, but younger. Her hair is in a spiralling bun, with her bangs swept back into it. She's wearing a pink dress and some black boots.

"They're here!" She squeals, running up to us.

"Cadets, this is Princess Wessa Nerit of Kartrae." Regeit informs us. I bow down to her.

"My lady." Xavier kisses her hand. She laughs.

"What was that for?"

"It's a form of formality on Earth." He answers.

"He's trying to woo our daughter, isn't he?" The man asks in the distance.

"Hush, dear. It will be alright." The other soothes. "Wessa, will you give them a tour of the grounds?"

"Alright, mother!" She agrees, gesturing for us to follow her.

"Hey," Xavier jogs to catch up to her. "Did you know that, uh, I kinda beat three enemy ships single-handedly on the way here?" He smooths his hair back. Jade rolls her eyes.

"That's incredible!" Wessa exclaims. "I'm sure I'll hear more of it later on." Maggie snorts and mimics hanging up a phone.

"Shut up, guys, we're just getting to know each other!" He hisses.

"You don't even know how to do it right." Jade laughs.

"I'd like to see you try, shooting-everything-is-a-good-plan." Xavier rolls his eyes.

Jade takes this as a challenge and approaches Wessa.

"Hey, Wessa." She smiles.

"Hello Jade!" She grins.

"Your hand looks heavy. Would you like me to hold it for you?" Wessa giggles and holds Jade's hand. She turns round and winks at Xavier, whose jaw is on the floor.

We continue walking, Jade and Wessa holding hands all the way. We reach a gate, which Wessa then opens. There's a pond with a few alien birds sitting in the water.

"What are those called?" I ask, pointing at the birds.

"Oh, have you never seen a rembrett before?" She asks.

"No. I don't get off my home planet much." Xavier says.

"Tell me about them! They look fascinating." Jade continues the challenge.

"Oh! Well, they're a type of bird that enjoys the water. They can float. They can also fly. Their violet feathers change to a bright green during the cold season to match their surroundings." Wessa explains.

"Our cold season is called winter, and there's white powder that falls from the sky called snow." I add.

"Well, when it gets cold here, the common avarem bush releases its spores and pollen, coating everything with a lime green." Wessa tells us.

This really is an alien planet.

I'd normally be freaking out far more, but the reality of the apocalypse and aliens still hasn't completely sunk in.

Wessa looks fairly humanoid, but you can tell she's not. I still hardly know Jade and Xavier, too.

Jade puts her hair up in a ponytail. She's not in her work uniform anymore, either. She's wearing a dark blue sleeveless turtleneck, pale ripped skinny jeans, and a pair of high-topped sneakers. Her hair is a dark brown, her skin the colour of dry earth.

Xavier is wearing a shirt with bubble lettering on it. He also has a plain white T-shirt, from yesterday. He has a pair of black pants, and hiking boots. His hair is a slightly lighter brown than Jade's, and his skin is tan.

I'm just a guy with a plain grey shirt, a red jacket, jeans, and running sneakers. My hair is messy and reaches my chin, and is jet black. And I'm incredibly pale. They used to call me "vampire" back on Earth. When it started to get too annoying, I put on some fake fangs and red contact lenses.

I may or may not have gotten suspended for disturbing "the peaceful school environment".

And then I did it a few more times and got expelled.

I haven't been back to school since.

"Currently, it is the rain season. The water from the fields evaporates with the heat of our two closest stars, raining down on us often." Wessa continues. She points up into the sky at a cloud.

"We have this thing where we look at the clouds and tell each other what we think they look like." Xavier slides over to her.

"But that makes no sense!" She laughs. "They simply look like bodies of water vapour!"

"We approximate. It doesn't have to be perfect, just a general shape." I elaborate.

"Are you guys ready to come back?" Maggie asks from behind us.

"Okay." Wessa nods. We follow her away. I stare at the other gates, wondering what alien plants might be behind them. We walk back into the sphere. Wessa gets a sendoff from her parents, then follows us down the path with her luggage. We reach the ship and enter the main room.

"Wessa Nerit, you are to be the cadet of the yellow ship. It is an extreme- Xavier, what are you doing here?" Maggie rolls her eyes.

"Oh." He looks down. "Okay, I'll go. Let me get my stuff."

"Don't." Regeit stops him. "Princess Wessa will train alongside us to become a ruler capable of defending herself. She does not have an assigned ship."

"But sir, we've had this planned for months!" Complains Maggie. "Who will pilot the yellow ship?"

"There is only one person who can pilot the yellow ship. They who wield their sword as an extension of themselves, and who treats the ship as a part of their own being." Maggie looks at Regeit incredulously. "Xavier will pilot the yellow ship."