Arvium [I.L.S. Beta Game #1]

1: Hope

Aella blinked as tears filled her eyes, pain flaring through her face as she stumbled backward and slammed into the holographic banner. The scene of peaceful waves on a glittering white-sand beach rippled as she slid down onto her side. She curled her body to protect her organs with a soft groan. The emblem of the 56th Quadrant's A.T. Facility shimmered like waves above her, sending rainbow flickers of light onto the hard-packed snow and her dark gray uniform. Her hand touched her lip, and when she brought it back to her sight, scarlet blood was smeared in the ridges of her gloves.

The snow crunched in front of her face, the tip of a boot nudging her face. "You don't belong in the Diplomatic Corps, hybrid." The rough ice crusted on the boot's surface scraped her chin, stinging as the cold wind hit it.

She pushed herself up into a sitting position and glared at the instructor standing above her.

"Everyone in this Facility knows you aren't going to get a sponsor. Your own parents didn't want you."

She smirked, ignoring the frozen tears that pulled at her skin, then nodded as she looked up at the sky. The Computer would see her, would see she had been attacked. The Computer would take care of her. Small snowflakes floated down from the dark morning clouds that rolled through the air, yet the sun would not rise for another hour. She sighed as she looked back at the man. The instructor was staring at her, the hard lines of his face in shadow as she turned to face him.

She straightened and stood to attention, her right fist snapping to her chest in salute. "Sir, I am a citizen of United Earth and a student at this Facility. I have not been proven to carry the genetics of Trinity."

He growled, moving closer, his breath warm on her face. "If I call you a filthy hybrid you green-eyed freak then you are a filthy hybrid. Do you understand?"

She stared straight ahead at his cheek, her training keeping her body and expression perfectly still. She must not give the Computer cause to find her in contempt. Her face grew warm as she felt her heart beat faster. But it would forgive her if she fought back. "Sir. Yes, sir." She shrugged. "It is a pity the Computer found your scores lacking, William. You would have been rid of me years ago."

He shoved her backward and she fell to the ground, her head hitting the black-painted skin of the Assembly Hall. Pain flared through her spine, and she blinked as hot tears came to her eyes and cooled instantly in the freezing temperatures. She stared at the snow below her, her fingers curling into fists as she felt her jaw clench. Her uniform quickly became soaked in the snow, and her body shivered in the frigid temperatures of the dawn. The wind whipped through the parade field and slammed into her, making her wince to keep her eyes protected. She bowed her head as the gust died down.

"That was a stupid move, Graduate. I could report you to the Councilor." He turned away from her, the snow muffling his footsteps into soft thumps. "But the visiting Advisor has an announcement before you head to the trials, and I'd hate for you to be late. He's known to have quite a temper."

Aella stood after he had moved out of her vision, straightening her uniform. She frantically searched for her cover, before spotting it a few feet away. She picked it up and shook out the loose snow before placing it on her head.

She shook her head and stomped her foot. "You wouldn't have the courage," she said, kicking a mound of snow. Her head jerked up at the as the massive clock on top of the Academic building across the parade field blared its morning peal. A yellowish light leaked out of the metal-bar and glass windows, creating a foggy apparition of light into the cold morning beyond the concrete walls.

"Curse them all," she growled, turning and running beside the wall toward the entrance.

She rounded the corner, then twisted and squeezed through the doors as they started to close, taking a deep breath as she stepped inside the warm lobby. She stopped in front of the wall console nearest her, bringing her hands together and raising them so her fingers touched her lips. She caught a quick look through her peripheral vision at the line of students filing into the Assembly Hall as she bowed. "Greetings, Computer," she said. "I ask permission to join the Graduates for the Ceremony."