Survivors

Bacterial

"Oh, come on! What am I, a superhero?" Xavier leans against a wall angrily.

"Shush. You'll have plenty of time to sulk after lunch." Wessa assures him.

"How long do we have to get to this needy planet?" I ask.

"Roughly three hours. There'll be other cadets there before us, though, so I wouldn't worry."

"Aren't they dropping like flies?" Jade raises an eyebrow.

"They've managed to stay alive this long. I wouldn't underestimate them." Wessa shrugs.

Maggie looks like she's ready to jump around the room.

"You look enthusiastic." I note.

"It'll be the first time in letting her participate in a protection mission. She's been there for a few, but I wouldn't let her go out." Regeit explains.

"On an unrelated note, do you guys have any medicine?" I ask, noticing a throbbing in my head. "I don't feel that good."

"He hasn't been in contact with our 'alien' bacteria." Maggie notices.

"Wait, am I going to die?" I ask.

"No, no, no. You'll be fine." Wessa assures me.

"We just need to take you to the medical wing to figure out what to do." Regeit agrees.

I really don't like going to the hospital.

And I highly doubt an alien hospital will be much better.

I'm lead to a clean looking room, where I sit down on a white mattress. Unlike the ones in the bedrooms, this actually feels like a normal Earth mattress. Regeit sits at a control panel, and a robotic machine sticks into my skin. I wince and stare at my blood flowing into a bag. A robotic arm reaches to pull off my shirt.

"Wait, no! I did not sign up for this!" I say. Xavier laughs as the robot pulls off my shirt. I cross my arms angrily.

"Please lie down for the examination." Regeit tells me. I lay on my back, and an unusual metal device goes over my entire body. I start to panic, noticing there's no airlflow. All the oxygen I have is in this. But within ten seconds, it's over.

"Well, we've never seen it caused by this bacteria, but you seem to just have a fever." Regeit concludes.

"Can I have my shirt back now?" I ask. Wessa hands me my shirt and they direct me back to my room. I lie down on the bed. Maggie soon appears with some stuff.

"You swallow the pill. I brought you some vargile to wash it down. Soothes your throat." She hands me a pill and a glass of the stuff that looked like iced coffee. I take a sip. It tastes like vanilla ice cream, caramel, and honey.

"Okay, this vargile stuff is pretty good." I tell her.

"I'll leave you now so you can sleep." She tells me.

"Aw, come on. I won't be able to sleep." I groan. She sits on the foot of my bed and nods.

"Alright. What do you want to talk about?" She asks.

"Um..." I pause. "The cadets."

"One second, I have a document on my tablet." She narrows her eyes and takes out the tablet. "The cadets of Astralis are a group of young beings of all different origins who work to keep the galaxy as a functioning and peaceful place. Normally, a fleet will consist of five cadets: the Leader, the Red, the Yellow, the Blue, and the Green." Maggie reads. "The leader organizes the team, and assembles them on their own after completing training. They pilot the mothership. The Red is the pilot of the red ship. They are passionate and loyal, but can get a bit irritated if in a frustrating environment." I look at the red on my walls. I suppose it's true. "The Yellow pilot is trusting and playful. They are able to, unlike the Red, maintain calm during most situations. Their attitude can be contagious, calming others as well. The Blue pilot stays on task and is mistrustful of those they don't know, causing them to fight more. They are kind to their friends, and violent towards their enemies. They will respect as long as they are respected in return. Finally comes the Green pilot. They are intelligent, sarcastic, and good-natured in safe environments." Maggie finishes.

"Okay, that was a lot longer of an explanation than I expected." I note.

"Wanna hear about anything else?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Gorfon." I say. She takes a deep breath.

"Gorfon is a planet a bit larger than your own Earth. They appear to be far larger, however, due to permanent clouds residing at the top of their atmosphere. They are best known for manufacturing water in large factories that compress hydrogen and oxygen together. Their current emperor, Polois, will destroy any planet without a second thought. He will also kill anyone. I've known a few." She shifts uncomfortably. "They've been killing a lot of fleets lately. There's currently fifteen left."

"Oh." I nod. "So he's who hired Peapyd and Orvain?" She nods solemnly.

"They'll search for us until their death if they have to. It doesn't matter who you are, you gotta obey Gorfon. We're some of the only ones willing to do it."

"Hey, pri- oh, hi Maggie!" Xavier says, entering the room.

"What do you want?" We ask, almost perfectly in sync.

"Mister Dad of the Year out there says that we're halfway to the planet under attack." He says.

"Do you think you'll be able to fight?" Maggie asks.

"I'll try." I shrug, sitting up in the bed.

"Well, you don't need to get ready yet. There's still an Earth hour and a half before you get there." Jade says, leaning against the doorframe.

"Hey, Regeit? Wessa? Where are you guys, I think you're missing some sort of party." Maggie rolls her eyes.

"Wessa just spilled her soup because of you." Jade narrows her eyes.

"Am I really missing a party?" She calls from down the hall.

"No." I assure her.

"Get some sleep, princesa. We're gonna go kick some ass before you know it." Xavier tells me.