Days of Fall: Call to Arms

[Tysyacha]

((*facepalms self* Gah, I'm so stupid! Sorry!))

 

Tally's stomach, rumbling fiercely, called her to the mess hall for yet another appetizing meal--appetizing, that is, if your tastebuds had been chemically burned off your tongue. However, what Tally needed was not so much "flavor" as "fullness", and so she heaved herself up off of the cot, put on her smart-looking cap over her blonde hair, and strode toward the mess hall. Yes, she looked the part of a stereotypical "dumb blonde". Yes, everyone--students and faculty alike--underestimated her. No, no one ever came out ahead if they ever crossed her. They found themselves expelled--usually.

 

These days, who knew? Tally surveyed the cadets as they chowed down.

 

Good group, she thought. Maybe I'll take my cap off, hide it in my jacket or something, and pretend I'm just an administrative assistant. None of the first-years know who I am, anyway, or what I can do. Easy, right?

[Writer]

"Her own language is very different too," Rani said with a faint smile. "She spoke a little of it last night for me. I thought I'd recognized a few words out of Spanish, but when she repeated it slower, they were nothing alike."

 

When Irene tapped her and asked if she was alright, Akeirra stirred only faintly. She concentrated on the words and found that she knew them.

 

"I am... right," she said slowly. Rani put her arm around the alien woman's shoulders.

 

"She told me last night that she's far better at reading English than speaking it," she said. "Provided she passes the entrance exam, her first and most intensive class will be ESL."

 

When Aruko asked who felt ready for the exam, Rani grinned.

 

"I'm ready for anything," she said boldly. She looked over to Akeirra.

 

"Are you ready for the entrance exam?" she asked, speaking slowly and enunciating every word clearly. Akeirra flashed her a faint grin and nodded.

 

"Rready," she agreed.

[Tysyacha]

Tally knew when her instincts were right, and when they were dead wrong--and about a certain group of students, she had a funny feeling. A frisson of certainty that they were made of stronger stuff than most "plebes", destined for something special. The thing was, Tally was almost never proven incorrect, either by circumstances or by other people. Thus, she approached the group and sat a reasonable distance away from them. Instructors weren't supposed to get too "chummy" with the cadets, let alone fraternize with them.

 

She gave a small smile and took a bite of her blueberry muffin, wondering who would be the first to notice the slight wave of her fingers in salutation.

[JediMaster12]

It was Irene who noticed the newcomer and said in a low voice, "Unidentified aircraft three o'clock."

 

Aruko maneuevered his body to better see what had come in Irene's sights. He appeared to be leaning and studying something else. He popped a bit of toast in his mouth before answering, "It's an instructor."

 

"How'd you know that?" Irene was surprised.

 

"Army brat, remember?"

 

"Right. What's the deal with her sitting here though? I mean don't the faculty have their own mess?" She looked at Rani quizzically.

 

Aruko hadn't listened but instead was atuned to his own thoughts. He was surprised yet relieved that none of the instructors had pestered him about his parents. His mother was a well respected science officer and his father... well most pilot cadets worshipped him. He had already heard cadets talking about his father and how he had executed a daring maneuever with his fighter and ended up saving his ship. He had rolled his eyes at the cadet's story and had walked away. Even in line in the mess he had heard comments about his father.

 

To be brutally honest, he wasn't worried about people finding otu who his father was because for the most part, they believed the official story of Rokusians not marrying outside their species or their sister species. Yeah cause look what came out...me. Now sitting there playing with his cup of sludge by swirling it around, he thought about the instructor sitting there munching a muffin. What did she hope to gain by sitting their? Intimidate them all so they'd washout?

[Alkonium]

"And more importantly, why does she seem to be taking an interest in us?" Damien asked, having finally decided to say something. Last night, it was entirely possible that he and Ray stayed up too late studying for the entrance and didn't get nearly enough sleep. After taking another sip of his coffee and another bite out of his bagel, he got up from the table and approached the instructor.

 

"Any reason you're so fascinated by us?" He asked her, sounding slightly confrontational.

[JediMaster12]

Irene gave Damien a smack on his arm and said, "Damien, you're not even officially in the Academy yet. Don't screw it up."

 

Aruko had been studying the instructor while appear to be absorbed in his coffee. He swirled it around before finally answering, "Best to ignore her and let her carry on. Probably an intimidation factor."

[Tysyacha]

Tally raised an eyebrow. "Intimidation? No. That's Sergeant Cul's MO."

 

She looked Damien and Irene squarely in the eye. Her gaze was not unkind, yet neither was it childlike or unprofessional. It was the look a chess player gives either to their winning position or their worthy opponent. "I'm Tally Voltaic. Resident gladiator here at the Academy. I fight people from 9 to 5."

 

Surveying the group once more, she said, "If you pass your entrance exams, which I'd bet a hundred dollars all of you will, you'll get a chance to face me in the training arena." A sly grin. "If you win, I do your laundry for a year."

 

Before any of the "first-years" could speak, a second-year cadet walking by let out a piercingly rude wolf whistle in Tally's direction. In a split second, the Instructor had him on the floor, her shiny high-heeled boot planted firmly in the middle of his chest. She pressed, and the cadet stammered an apology.

 

"That's better," Tally said coldly. "Get up." He did so, quivering. "This means that I'm transferring you right over to Sergeant Cul's training regiment."

 

The cadet's face was white as paste. Quivering, he saluted and retreated.

 

"I guess intimidation is my MO after all," she said. "At least against maggots."

[JediMaster12]

Aruko leaned back and grinned in amusement at the spectacle. "Mom did say you weren't one to pull punches. I'm inclined to agree ma'am."

 

Irene looked as if her Christmases had come all at once. "Ditto."

 

Aruko set down his cup of sludge and pushed it away. He liked this instructor and he had heard of Sgt Cul as well. Krishna was the third year combat instructor yet he occassionally would take a squad from second and first year and put them through their paces. He wasn't sure whom he'd prefer but he was willing to give a try. Basic combat was required of all first years. After that, it was elective for fleet candidates and mobile army went into full blown boot. He said, "Nice of you to bet in dollars seeing as we trade galatcicallyin credits. What year are the dollars in? I'm missing 1999." He said it in good humor knowing that Tally was serious but also calling to her challenge. He liked a good challenge.

 

If he was intending to impress Rani, he had no idea. All that mattered was to pass the examinations and get into routine schedules.

[Tysyacha]

Tally abruptly slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Snap! I meant credits, not dollars. Credits." She blushed. "I haven't had my morning caffeine."

 

She looked around for any standing cups of coffee. Finding none, she took a tiny syringe out of her pocket and removed the needle cap. "Pure," she said. "Distilled sample. My last name isn't Voltaic for nothing. I had it legally changed from what it used to be--Snodgrass." She heard snickers nearby. "I'm not kidding, cadets. You'd best not laugh, or you'll be next on the floor."

 

Utter silence ensued. The Instructor glanced at her steel chronometer.

 

"Got to run," she said quickly. "I'm proctoring the entrance exams in fifteen."

 

Bolting up from the table, she sprinted like the wind out of the mess hall.

[Alkonium]

"We should get going as well, then." Ray pointed out. "I'm feeling confident about this. Tired, but confident." Damien commented. "I've managed to read up on ship schematics, command structure, FedCon history, and everything else that might be on the exam."

[JediMaster12]

"Not that stuff," Irene replied. "It's the stuff we learned in high school. Mathematics, writing, the usual as well as basic quantum equations." She was chuckling. "They want to see if we can think first before they teach us specifics. Didn't you read the student package when you signed up?"

 

Aruko grinned at Tally and said, "Least you can change your name. Sacrilege if I did. At least I would be accused of having no pride in my heritage." Whenally was going on about morning coffee, he had asked if she actually drank the engine sludge and was surprised at how she answered. When she said that she was going to proctor exams, he felt an inward quail at the thought of the instructor Krishna grading his exam. He said over everyoone, "I guess we better get going too. Exams in fifteen."

[Alkonium]

(Sorry, the closest I've had to an entrance exam was a Math Test that turned out to be a prank by the ESS)

 

"I did, and I did study that stuff most of the night. I figured that a bit of specifics couldn't hurt. It wouldn't be the first time I've been lied to about what's on a test." Damien clarified. "I'm not an idiot. If I was, I wouldn't be here in the first place."

[JediMaster12]

At that moment, Devon sauntered by flanked by two burly humans who looked better suited to manual labor. They gave off the distinct impression that brawn over brain would ein, It was Devon that spoke though, "If I were you, I would just hop on the next transport back to where you came from. The Academy isn't for losers like you."

 

Aruko swerved to look at Devon and replied, "And it isn't for the muscle men either nor cadets with a boot up their arse."

 

"The last inbreeder that made it into the Academy ended serving on a stock frigate as a cook. That's where you're going to end up."

 

"We'll see," Aruko replied. Inwardly he rankled at being called an inbreeder, the worst name to call a Rokusian. "Exams in fifteen and I don't know about you but I am not going to waste it hanging around you three." He stood up and started walking away motioning to Ray and the others that they should leave.

 

Irene followed giving a discreet tug on Rani's jacket sleeve. As soon as they were clear, she said, "Damien you never were an idiot. An over prepared space junkie but never an idiot. Those guys are."

 

Krishna caught them in the hall and barked at them, "Shouldn't you be at the main hall? You have exams in fifteen minutes. FedCON does not tolerate lateness." His eyes swiveled on to Rani and he looked positively fierce with his facial tattoos and double horns looking at her.

[Tysyacha]

In the exam room, Tally took a few moments to collect herself. As a proctor, of course she was supposed to be neutral and not give any "hints" or suggestions to the students, but she still had the ones--in her mind's eye--that she wanted to pass them or fail them. Like the group that she'd just met this morning. Tally wanted every single one of them to succeed on their entrance exams. Failure? That was for losers--real losers, and not simply ones who lost a game or a potential success. Real losers, according to Tally, were cruel, arrogant, rude, condescending, and cared more about rules and regulations than people.

 

Like Sergeant Cul. Tally gave a quick glance around the room, and outside of it, to see if he were headed in her direction in any way, shape, or form. If he was, she'd steel her spine and wait for the inevitable battle. If he wasn't--great!!!

[JediMaster12]

Devon walked in to his exam room and saw the female combat instructor. He had heard of her and thought her tough but not like Krishna who was known for his fighting skills. He sauntered in and said with Anatolian pride, "Cadet Devon Carson reporting for exam ma'am."

[Writer]

Rani watched the idiots go and grinned at Irene's observations as to what made someone an idiot or not. She nodded in agreement. "Idiots of the highest caliber," she said. And that's when Krishna came upon them, gave them a brief talking-to about lateness, and started trying to stare Rani down. It didn't take long; look up "imposing" in the dictionary, you'd find a picture of that man! Rani looked away quickly, hurrying after Aruko and the others, pulling on Akeirra's hand as well to get the alien woman to follow.

 

The little gang reached the exam room in a little more than five minutes and Rani found herself hoping they wouldn't be seated alphabetically, though she rather suspected they would. She hoped Akeirra would do well; the woman's English speech wasn't terribly good and her comprehension seemed a bit off, but she had claimed at breakfast to be ready for this. Rani hoped she was. It was too early to break up their little group.

[JediMaster12]

Watching the cadets leave, Krishna grinned in amusement. The girls always gave the same look every time he scolded them, especially the greenies. The boys were about the same but were more reserved about it. One of them stood out and he had read the file on him thoroughly. He had known both of his parents and the circumstances surrounding his birth. He also knew the academic record of the boy and looked forward to treading the entrance exams on the essay portion. He followed them into the main hall.

 

The main hall had a head table where the graders would be sitting and grading the exams. The desks were lined up in neat rows. All the cadets had to do was come in and sit where they saw their name flashing on the screen on the desk. They would have their exams at that desk and submit where it was randomly sent to one of the graders. He watched as cadets began to file in. He caught sight of Tally who would be proctoring and walked over to her. He asked, "Checked out the new recruits yet?"

 

**********

 

"Man I hope he isn't one of the graders," Irene said as they made their way into the hall.

 

"Major Krishna is the third year combat instructor," Aruko replied. "Well versed in combat history and it is rumored that he will quote history passages from The Art of War in the original Chinese. so yeah I would think he is a grader."

 

"Frack," Irene muttered. Upon looking at the rows of seats she asked, "Any idea where we sit?"

 

Aruko looked around. The screens were showing the names of the First Years. A cursoy inspection of the names and the cadets already sitting down revealed that they were arranged in a pattern of one row male, one row female and so forth. "Looks like we gotta look."

 

As it turned out, Akierra was on his left and Rani was on his right with Irene in front of Rani and Damien and Ray two seats behind him. He sat at his assigned seat and spoke into the voice identification, "Aruko Blackfern." The screen confirmed his ID and bidden him to wait until given instructions to begin the exam.

[Tysyacha]

"I have," replied Sgt. Tally Voltaic, "and, apart from one or two cadets who appear to be genuine anus-holes, they seem like a good group. I look forward to proctoring this exam, because I have a theory that at least 85% of these will pass." She smiled at Krishna. "In certain years, I have my doubts, but not this time. Even the 'greenies' seem fresher than those who have come before. Agreed, sir?" She tapped a red ball-point pen impatiently upon her copy of the exam papers.

[Alkonium]

Damien sat down in his assigned seat, still with a few butterflies in his stomach. Taking a deep breath, he flashed his ID card in front of the computer, and gave his name, "Damien Holtz". With his ID confirmed, all he had to do now was wait for the instructions.

[Tysyacha]

The clock struck the hour with a loud click, and Sergeant Tally Voltaic stood at attention in the examination room. She surveyed the cadets with a measured glance.

 

"Welcome to all of you," she said with a smile that was both warm and duly professional. "I am Sergeant Tally Voltaic, and I'll be proctoring this exam. You shall have sixty minutes--one hour--to complete the first portion, and another ninety minutes to complete the second. I wish all of you luck and good recall. May you try your hardest, cadets, and I'll see you on the other side." Sitting back down, she breathed a sigh of satisfaction as the students lifted their pencils and set to work. Ah...the start of another year. I just love it!

 

((Tally's Note: To stir things up, would someone maybe like to try to cheat on the exam?))

[JediMaster12]

Krishna held out a stylus pen to Tally, "FedCON prefers it electronically Tally. This term you have Delta section." He indicated her seat at the long table that was closest to the window. It was the system set up so only the instructor at that seat will grade the exams that came to that terminal. "However I won't stop you from taking notes on prospects." He grinned with a mischieveous twinkle before fishing out his stylus pen to tap on his assigned screen. He watched the cadets file in taking note of Blackfern and his friends.

 

**********

 

Aruko sat wishing he had a scrap of paper to scribble and doodle on. The wait seemed to take forever until Krishna boomed out in a loud voice, "Alright greenies. By now you should have found your seats and identified yourself to the computer. Those that haven't, I'm already disappointed in you.

 

"Now when told to do so, you will open your exam and complete the necessary question in verbal, reading, math, critical thought, and whatever else is on the exam. At the endof each segment, tap the submit button and it will be sent to one of the instructors up here to grade. Other instructors will be walking up and down the aisles to ensure integrity of the exams. Alright it is exactly 0900 you have until 1500 to complete all portions. Begin."

 

Aruko tapped the button with his stylus pencil that brought up the exam. It was reading. At the top left corner there was a letter followed by a series of numbers. His read A-2079Great they numbered us so the grader knows who we are. Oh well... He picked up his stylus and began to read the exam.

 

((The cheating will work as long as no papers or pencils are used lol)))

[Tysyacha]

Tally grimaced, feeling incredibly embarrassed that she had forgotten that FedCON was certainly on board with using the latest technology! What a dolt I am, she thought. I see that group of greenies in the back row snickering. And well they might, but still, I hope they don't pass their exams. Maturity is a key part of having what it takes to succeed here at the Academy, and one of the Top Ten Unwritten Rules is that you don't laugh AT your superiors. You only laugh WITH them, and in this case, I'm not laughing with any of you. She shook her head, but they paid no heed.

 

Suddenly, she heard the overly-loud stomp of booted footsteps approaching.

 

Frack! It's Sergeant Cul. No one else moves that noisily when not marching in formation, and he's about to tromp in here when everyone is supposed to be quiet! Tally gripped her stylus pen and waited for the explosion.

 

Sergeant Cul stormed into the exam room, not giving a whit about silence. He glared at the "greenies" taking their entrance exams, as if each of them were a piece of dog excrement that should be promptly scraped off of his boots. The first person he happened to see out of the corner of his eye was his incredibly lovely (and incredibly flighty) colleague, Sergeant Tally Voltaic. Insect, he thought. You are indeed a beautiful butterfly, but butterflies don't belong at the Academy. This is a military school, not a modeling agency! I don't even know how you even passed YOUR exams.

 

"Hello, Voltaic," he growled. "Did you forget that these tests were electronic?" Tally still had her yellow wooden No. 2 pencil with her, as well as her stylus.

 

Tally blushed, but then shot him a murderous glare and put a finger to her lips.

 

"If these greenies can't handle a little distraction, they're not fit to be here. I need to see you in private, Sergeant." He tapped his foot twice impatiently.

 

"Shhh. I'm proctoring." She leaned in close. "Can't this wait until later?"

 

"I suppose it can, but don't keep me waiting. What's my grading section?"

[JediMaster12]

((All the greenies are in the main hall. Think a bit like Harry Potter))

 

"Tally you're Delta section. Seat closest to the window at the main table," Krishna repeated, not at all daunted by Cul's entrance. "Cul, you're proctoring as usual. Patrol the aisles and look for signs of cheating. And no verbal intimidation."

 

Krishna thought it best to say it before Cul got it into his head to scare the greenies even if they weren't past the starting gate. He gave a look of warning before heading up to the main plaform and shouting for all the cadets to hear, ""Alright greenies. By now you should have found your seats and identified yourself to the computer. Those that haven't, I'm already disappointed in you.

 

"Now when told to do so, you will open your exam and complete the necessary question in verbal, reading, math, critical thought, and whatever else is on the exam. At the endof each segment, tap the submit button and it will be sent to one of the instructors up here to grade. Other instructors will be walking up and down the aisles to ensure integrity of the exams. Alright it is exactly 0900 you have until 1500 to complete all portions. Begin."

[Writer]

At the mention of giving the machine her name, Akeirra stared at it, intrigued. Though speech-driven interfaces were not totally foreign to her, this was certainly the first time she'd seen one used in a classroom environment. Then again, the last time she'd been in a classroom for any extended period of time, her instructor had been an almost nine-hundred-year-old Meinari. He had developed his telepathy to the point of using it as an educational tool, drawing his students into shared dreams where they could experience concepts instead of just reading about them.

 

Shaking her head to clear the memory, she softly spoke her name to the computer. No response. She tried a second time and still nothing. With a faint noise of protest, she lowered her voice, cleared her throat and declared slowly and deliberately, with disgust, "Akira." The computer acknowledged her then and she began, making a mental note to teach at least the computer systems to recognize Meinari speech patterns.

 

To Aruko's right, Rani had no such issues with her name's pronunciation, but she hadn't missed Akeirra's troubles. She glanced around the young man between them and caught Akeirra's glance, offering her an encouraging smile. Akeirra returned it weakly and the two girls turned their focus back to their own screens. It would be a long test; no time to waste.

[JediMaster12]

Krishna sat up at his place at the grading table. He eyed all the prospective trainees with a practiced eye. For fifteen years he was a drill instructor and specifically those who chose the Mobile Army over fleet. He made sure that any cadet who passed through his classes knew how to fight especially if they went to top brass.

 

His eyes focused specifically on the group that he met this morning. From the looks of them he knew they weren't dunderheads. Two he guessed would make decent fleet and one maybe the scouts. He was curious about Blackfern though and the strange alien girl, the Meinari. They were rare just as half Rokusians were. He watched as she struggled to make her identity known to the voice recognition system. He made a note himself to have the engineers adapt to her species speech patterns. They had to be readjusted all the time for all the alien species.

 

Out of sheer boredom, he began tapping his stylus pencil to annoy the cadets and see if it would bother them. He looked at Tally and gave a grin.