Editing Eternity (Warhammer High) (section)

=== Kouthry ===

Jake sat beside the others in his program in the Kouthry field house.  The Institute President was talking about how the man next to you could be your best friend at graduation, and how nothing was more important to a successful career than blah blah blah.  As hard as Jake was trying to listen, the occasional outbreaks of excited whispering from his classmates or applause from the audience of adoring parents was drowning him out.

“It’s like they’re the students,” the kid next to him muttered.

“I know,” Jake said under his breath.  “Your parents out there somewhere?” he asked.

“Somewhere, yeah,” the other boy said back.  He scanned the crowd.  “Can’t find ‘em.”

Jake eyed the bleachers.  Vulkan wasn’t there in person, naturally, and he couldn’t spot Alpharius or Corax either.  Then, that was often the case.  Misja was there, he could see, and though he had never met Cora’s or Alpharia’s mothers, the clouds of Treasury agents near them (and more covert plainclothesmen around them) helped him pick them out.


The convocation address drew to a close, and all the students rose and cheered in unison, while the bleachers erupted in flashes from cameras.  Jake waved to his parents as the students started filing out by row, and try as he might, he couldn’t find any of the three girls he knew in the crowd.  Of course, they were all different programs.  Cora was in one of the civil engineering programs, he knew, and Alpharia had mentioned Education.  Venus was in Inorganic Chemistry, while he was in Consumer Design and Practices.

His own row was called out, and he walked out of the room with the others from the convocation address.  He flinched as he entered the open air of the Kouthry campus, shying from the light and sliding his sunglasses on.  Even after an entire summer out of doors, it seemed, his mild myopia wasn’t going away.

“You got bad eyes or something, man?” the other kid asked.

“Eyesight’s fine, I’m just light-sensitive,” Jake said.  “My parents got me these sunglasses as a going-away present before I went on a road trip this summer.”

The other kid nodded.  “Cool.  What’s your name?”

Jake held out his hand.  “Jacob Seager.  Call me Jake.”

“Aaron Wabash, call me Aaron,” the other kid said, shaking his hand with a grin.  “If you were in my block, you’ve gotta be in the design program too.”

“Well, sort of,” Jake said.  “Technically, I’m staff here, not a full-time student.  I work in the bio labs.  I just take classes too.”

“Cool,” Aaron replied.  “Do you live in the city?”

“Student housing,” Jake said.  Aaron had a look he was quite familiar with about him: old money.  From his watch to his clothes to his hairstyle, he looked like a male Lyra.

“Mmm.”  Aaron shrugged.  “They make everyone live in the student dorms for freshman year.  So annoying.”

“Annoying how?” Jake asked.

“It’s so…cramped,” Aaron said.  “My closet back home was bigger than my dorm.  I don’t mind my roommate, though,” he added as they walked over to the dorm buildings, down the nearly third of a mile road to the residential end.  “He’s a cool dude.  Smart as hell.”

“That’s always good,” Jake said.  “I’m rooming with my girlfriend from high school.”

Aaron glanced over at him.  “You got a job at the same place your high school girlfriend went to college?  How much did THAT take?”

“Not much.  Her dad and I get along really well, and he’s a school sponsor and alumnus,” Jake said.  It happened to be true.  “Besides, I REALLY wanted to work here.  It’s perfect.  And staff get a huge discount.”

Aaron nodded.  “If you say so.  What do you do?”

“I work in the bio labs, like I said, mostly just cleaning up.  No research.  I start Wednesday.  Mostly midday classes for now,” Jake said.

“Huh.”  As they wandered down the road to the dorms, the thousands of students in the campus buzzed all around them, partaking in Orientation activities, exploring the campus, and otherwise taking in the gorgeous day.  “Lovely campus, isn’t it?” Aaron asked.

“Fantastic.  Reminds me a bit of my high school, though, internally.  The buildings and shit,” Jake said.

“What city are you from?” Aaron asked.

“Hive Tetra, actually,” Jake said.  “I went to school at Imperator, in Startseite.”

Aaron looked over at him, surprised.  “You’re a hiver?”

Jake glanced back, a bit coolly.  “That a problem?”

“No, just surprised, is all,” Aaron said quickly.  “You don’t act like any of the hivers I’ve ever met.”

Jake let the moment drag on before dropping it.  It certainly wasn’t any different from anything he had had at Imperator.

As they reached the dorms, both stepped aside as a row of about ninety men in camouflage shirts trooped past.  “Reservist guys, I guess,” Aaron commented.

“Or Officer trainees,” Jake said.  “Though with the daughters of three Primarchs on campus, there’s some Treasury around too.  You see all of them in the crowds at the convocation?”

“Yeah,” Aaron said.  He watched the soldiers go with a somewhat disgruntled look, but didn’t elaborate.  “Which ones are here again?”

“Venus, Cora, Alpharia,” Jake said immediately.  They had been playing cards the previous night, after all.

“Right.  Shame Victoria’s not here, too,” Aaron said wistfully.

Jake smiled.  “She’s taking the year off,” he said.

“Ah well,” Aaron chuckled.  “Any of them in our program?”

“Nope,” Jake said.  “You know, they went to Imperator too,” he said.  “I was in their class.”

“Oh?  Cool,” Aaron said.  “Out of how many people?” he asked as they reached the dorm buildings.

“Around a thousand,” Jake said.

“I can’t imagine going to school with the same people so long,” Aaron said.  He held the door open for Jake.  “This’ll be a learning experience.”

“That’s college, all right,” Jake laughed.

A Treasury agent walked past them as they left, carrying several empty plastic bags.  Jake nodded to him as he passed him, but got no response.  As they reached the stairs, Jake peeled off.  “What floor are you on?” he asked.

“Fourteen,” Aaron said.  He chuckled.  “Room with a view.”

Jake blinked.  “Me too!  What’s your number?”

“Zero seven one four eight eight,” Aaron supplied.

“Oh, that’s on one end, isn’t it?” Jake asked.  “You get a corner dorm, at least.”

“Yeah.”  Aaron tapped for the lift.

“Bah, take the stairs!  Commemorate your first day with a workout,” Jake said.

Aaron looked up the massive stairwell.  “No thanks."

Jake sighed.  “Fine.”  The two of them walked into the lift, making room for a group of departing parents, their arms filled with suitcases.

As the doors started to close, however, the ambient noise in the lobby dropped off a bit.  Cora emerged from the throng of people around the door and started walking towards the elevator.  Jake held his hand over the door and she sped up, sliding in with a grateful nod.

“Thanks,” she said.

“What’s your floor?” Jake asked as Aaron stared, eyes wide.

“Uh, fifteen,” Cora said.  “I’d take the stairs, but I have to get this message off before they lock up the package delivery room for the weekend,” she explained.  She tapped her pocket.  “Damn post office taking weekends off on move-in day.”

“What floor is Alpharia on?” Jake asked.  Aaron’s wide eyes turned to him, shocked that he would have the effrontery to ask a Lady Primarch where her relatives lived.

To his manifest surprise, Cora answered.  “Top floor, twenty, I think.”

“Heh.  There’s a funny coincidence,” Jake chuckled.

“Yeah,” Cora said with a grin.  She glanced over at Aaron.  “Who might you be?”

“Uhh…A-Aaron Wabash,” the tanned teenager answered shakily.  “Your Highness,” he added hastily.

“Mmm.  Corvus Cora.”  The liftcar fell silent as they arrived on the fourteenth floor and both boys got off.

Aaron heaved a sigh as she vanished behind closing doors.  “Well.  That was…interesting,” he said.

Jake shrugged.  Aaron stared at him in reproach.  “You shouldn’t have been so frank,” he said.

“What?” Jake asked.

“You asked her where Princess Alpharia is staying!  That’s none of your business!” Aaron said, clearly perturbed by his brush with royalty.

“Whoa, man, cool off,” Jake said, putting a hand up.  “I told you, we went to school together.  She knows me.”

Aaron shook his head.  “Right.  Sorry, that was just…and she lives above us?”

“Yeah.  Room over mine, actually, I think,” Jake said.  “You want to just hang for a while?  You look spooked.”

“Sure…why not,” Aaron said, shaking himself loose.  “Sure.  I should make sure nothing got damaged on the flight, too,” he said.  “I flew in from Arcadus, over on the Farwest hives.”

Jake followed his new friend to his dorm and glanced over it.  Pure stock, all of it: two elevated beds with computer desks underneath and a holoscreen set against the wall on a table, with a wide window at the end of the room.  “I’ve stayed in hotels worse than this,” Jake said.  “It’ll be home in no time.”

“No offense, dude, but you live in a hive,” Aaron said.

“Not for the last three months,” Jake said.  “I went on a road trip with my girlfriend and a few of her cousins.  We were all over the place, none of it hives.”

Aaron picked up one bag and unzipped it.  “Still.”  He looked over his bed and sighed.  “I don’t get why we’re not allowed to bring our own furniture.”

“Besides the fact that they provide you with plenty?” Jake asked drily.  “Well, think about the logistics.  How would Moving Day look with every student bringing their own shit?”

“True,” Aaron conceded.  Jake followed him in and looked out the window.

“Your room has a better view than mine, all I can see is the wall around the school and the buildings past that,” Jake said.  “At least you can see the campus.”

“Your room faced east, right?  You get the sunrise,” Aaron said.

“Ugh, not with my schedule,” Jake groused.  “Up at five, work from six to nine, classes ten to noon and one to five, work from six to seven, in bed by ten.”

“That sucks, all right,” Aaron said.  “No time to do your own shit except late at night?”

“Well, yeah, but I get weekends off,” Jake admitted.  “That will be homework time, I fear.”

“Hah.  Probably.”  Aaron glanced back at him and his eyes went wide.  “Oh man…don’t look now, but Primarch number two is en route,” he said.

Jake glanced back.  “Oh, yeah.  Hey, Venus!” he called.

Venus looked up from their door.  “Oh, there you are,” she said, walking up to him as every other person on the floor stared.  “What are you doing over here?”

“Just meeting the neighbors,” Jake explained.  He gestured at Aaron.  “This is Aaron.  Aaron, Venus,” he said.

Venus stuck her hand out.  Aaron went stock-still until Venus shook her hand in midair a bit for emphasis.  Aaron snapped free and gingerly took her hand, flinching at the heat.  “Nice…nice to meet you, Princess,” he managed.

She sighed slightly.  “Yeah, nice to meet you.  You in Jake’s program too?” she asked.

“Y-yes, your Highness,” Aaron said.

“Venus, please.”

“Uh…Venus,” Aaron said, shaking his head.  “Sorry.  Uh, yes, we’re both in Consumer Design and Practices.”

“That’s cool.”  Venus leaned back against the doorframe.  Her illuminating red eyes flooded the room with light.

Aaron straightened up as his confidence returned a bit.  “What are you here for?”

“Inorganic Chemistry,” Venus supplied.  “Maybe stay for a Masters, too, I dunno.  I’m only on this floor because my roommate is too.”

“Oh.  Well…” Aaron said, his seventeen-year-old chemistry and upbringing driving him towards a single converging destination.  “I’m looking forward to living with you, Venus,” he said, sliding easily into the effortless schmooze-mode of a born socialite.

Venus shook her head.  “No, my room’s down the hall.”

“Right, but I mean on the same floor.  Will you be at the floor meeting tonight?” he asked.

“It’s mandatory, so yes.  Then I’m heading out to a little get-together in the city,” Venus said.

“Ah, cool.  Do you need someone to go with?” Aaron asked.

Venus allowed the faintest hint of a smile to reach her lips as she divined Aaron’s ultimate desire.  “No, my boyfriend already said he’d go,” she said.

Aaron deflated, his momentary lifelong dream wilting away.  “Ah.”

“Why, did you have nothing better to do tonight?” she asked jokingly.  Jake rolled his eyes.

Aaron shrugged, somewhat bashfully.  “Can’t blame a man for trying,” he said.

The night-black young Salamander laughed.  “Nope.”  She turned to Jake.  “Can you help with the computer desk?  I swear one of the legs is broken,” she said.

“Oh, sure,” Jake said, following her down the hall to their room.  Aaron tagged along to see the room looking rather disassembled.

Jake lay down on his back under the computer desk and clucked his tongue.  “Ah.  Yeah.  Gimme a knife or something?  The screw’s loose.”

Venus crouched down next to him and slid a pocket knife into his hand.  Jake reached up and tightened the screw, then tapped his hand on the leg.  It didn’t budge.  “Problem solved.”

“Awesome.”  Venus grabbed his hand and hauled him up.  “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Jake said.  “I unpacked quicker last night.  Then, I had less to bring.  The thing I had to fix was the bedframe,” he joked.

Venus looked back at where their single beds had been pushed together under the window to form a double bed, and the two mattresses laid side by side with a single sheet over both.  “Inventive.”  It was certainly preferable to the twin beds they had had before.

“Wait, this is your room?” Aaron blurted.

Both of the others looked over at him.  “Yeah, it is,” Jake said.

“Then…how did you know his computer desk was broken?” Aaron asked Venus.

“That one’s mine,” Venus said.  She gestured at the identical desk next to it.  “That one’s his.”

Aaron stared at them both.  “…So when you said you came here with your girlfriend from high school,” he said slowly.

Jake nodded, holding in a laugh at the look of stupefaction on the other man’s face.  “Yeah.”  Refraining from his impulse to do something as cliché as smack her ass, he simply winked at Venus and left her to unpack, closing the door behind himself.  “I’ve had kind of an interesting four years.”

Aaron shot the other boy a look of absolute disbelief.  “Don’t take this the wrong way, man, but…what the hell hive did you live in that you got a Lady Primarch?”

Jake raised one eyebrow.  “‘Got?’  Hey, Venus, can you still hear us?” he asked, his voice at no more than conversational levels.

“Loud and clear,” Venus’ voice said from the other side of the door.

Aaron blushed bright red and scampered back to his room.  Jake chuckled and pushed the door open.  Venus was sitting on the bed, glaring at him.  “Jake, that was mean.”

“‘Got’ you, come on,” Jake said.  “Sorry if that was over the line, though.”

She shrugged it away.  “I’ll go be nice to him later or something.”  She laughed.  “I bet you got asked that by half the boys at Imperator, too.”

Jake shook his head.  “Not once, actually.”

“Really?” Venus asked.

“Nope.”  Jake crossed the distance between them and stood in front of the bed as the door swung shut behind them.  “Hmm.  That’s a good sign,” he said, looking at the bed where Venus was sitting.

“Hmm?”

“The bed.”  Jake gestured.  “It’s at the perfect height for me.”

Venus looked down to where she was sitting, then up at him with a look of strained patience that he needed no psychic power to see was completely forced.  “Subtle,” she said flatly.

“What?  I know how we both like it,” he said playfully.  He stood in front of her and grabbed her by the hips, scooting her across the bedspread until her legs fell on either side of him.  His hands travelled up to her shoulders and pulled her into a hug.  “So…Kouthry,” he said under his breath, leaning his head on her shoulder.  “I’m fucking stoked.”

“Yeah.”  Venus hugged him back.  “Your schedule is nasty, though.”

“I’ll deal,” Jake said.  “We had a worse one on Fenris.”

“You weren’t getting paid to work on Fenris,” Venus pointed out.

Jake squeezed her shoulders.  “I’ll make it work.  Trust me, I’m not letting your Dad down.”

“Or me,” Venus said.  Her voice was confident and even eager.  “I’m looking forward to this too.”

Jake knelt before her at the bed.  “Say, this is a good height for you too,” he said playfully.  “Think they design the beds at the perfect level for sex on purpose?  It is a college dorm.”

“They’re supposed to be bunk beds,” she giggled, “but they are modular, so who knows?”

“Good thing I gave you that step-by-step lesson about silence back before the road trip,” Jake said solemnly.  He rose to his feet.  “I’m sure you remember it well.”

Venus rolled her glowing eyes.  “Quite.  Eidetic memory, gotta love it.”

“You bet.  We’ll need all the help we can get to survive in this den of dangerous and well-moneyed social predators,” Jake said.  “I mean, that guy didn’t even check to see if you had a last name and he was already fantasizing about spending…gasp…TIME with you!” he said, all fear and worries.

Venus stared at him with all the emotion of a block of rock salt.  “Jake, I know you’re excited, but try to restrain yourself,” she said flatly.

“So sorry, dearest, but I extract such a joy from alarming the Terran rich with my tawdry and low-born origin stories,” he sighed.  She snorted.  “Oh, all right, fine, no more games,” he grumped.  He smiled suddenly, stepping back from the bed a bit.  “The floor meeting isn’t for four hours,” he said.  “What did YOU want to do until then?”

Venus looked away, as if conceding the point was a major effort.  “Well, I suppose your idea isn’t ENTIRELY without merit,” she said under her breath.


That evening, both teens were sitting in the chairs in the floor lounge when the last of the residents wandered in.  The RA clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention.  “All right, folks, welcome aboard.  Before we get started, I want to thank your Orientation Assistants for getting us this far,” she said, waving to the group of upperclassman volunteers who had shepherded the freshmen about.  As they acknowledged the hearty applause directed at them, the RA gestured in turn to the two older people standing near the doors.  “And I’d also like you to thank the two tireless Facilities staffers who keep our floor clean.  So, thanks to Ally and Keiko!” she said, waving to them.

The two custodians waved to acknowledge the good-natured clapping of the assembled students.  As it died down, the RA turned to Venus to introduce her to the other students, only to see her shake her head and draw a horizontal line in midair.  The RA blinked, but didn’t miss a beat.  “Well, now that we’re all here, I think it would be a perfect time to lay down the two campus rules, then do some icebreakers.  So first, I’ll start us off: does anyone remember Nicholas?  He moved in yesterday,” she said.

A few people nodded.  “Great.  Well, forget him: I’ve already had him expelled for coming in stone drunk,” the RA reported.  Several people made noises of surprise or disgust.  “Yeah.  So there’s rule one: no drinking on campus.  Rule two, and I suspect this one will be bigger: violators of the quiet hours rule will be penalized with academic demerits,” she said.  “I mean it, folks, silence is golden.  That said, outside of quiet time, doors should be open!  We’re living together, we should all get along.  My door is always open, too, if anyone needs to talk,” she concluded.

“Now, let’s get the icebreakers underway,” she said.  “I’ll start us off.  I’m Angela,” she said, eliciting a grin from Jake and Venus.  “I’m from New Arks, so I’m a townie.  I’m a fourth-year Composite Design major.  My favorite color is green, and my favorite song is ‘Cascade,’” she said.  “Who’s next?  And remember that this is no-décor.  We’re all friends all here.”

A few other students introduced themselves in turn, until Jake piped up.  “I’m Jake.  I’m from Hive Tetra, went to school in Startseite.  I’m a freshman in the Consumer program.  My favorite color is blue, my favorite song is ‘Underneath the Citadel.’”

Venus spoke next.  “I’m Venus.  I’m from Startseite too, and I’m a freshman in Inorganic.  Favorite color…never thought about it, guess it’s green.  Favorite song would be ‘Black Sands,’” she said.

“Wait, if you’re Inorganic, how come you’re on this floor?” someone asked.

“I made a roommate request,” Venus said with a shrug.

After the other students made their own introductions, the RA clapped for attention.  “All right, my friends, that’s that.  I’m sure you all have things to do before quiet hours, so I’ll see you all tomorrow,” she said.

The group broke up slowly, as people wandered off chatting.  Venus stood and stretched, idly flipping open her vox.  “All right…Jake, you wanna go track down the others?” she asked.  “Looks like a message from Cora here.”

“I ran into her in the elevator, too.  I think I do,” Jake said.  He checked his own vox.  “Oh, hey…message from Alex.”

“Alex?  What’s up with him?” Venus asked.

“He shot me a notice that he’s sending me a package,” Jake said.  “Huh.  Well, we’ll see what it is when it gets here.”


Above, Alpharia settled on her bed.  The dorm was a bit stifled, to her tastes, but only because of its other occupant.  Her roommate, it seemed, was incapable of parting with her mountains of furniture.  Her name was Maria, it seemed, from somewhere in one of the satellite cities of the Iberos hives, and she smelled like a hoarder to Alpharia.

But maybe that was just because she had only ever had one roommate herself before.  Her sister Omegan was off at another school entirely, now, and Alpharia was alone.  There were a few moments when the idea of being cut off from her twin felt like a punishment, almost, especially since her sister’s emotional troubles were only eased by a familiar environment.  Still, what was done was done, and now they were starting new lives apart.

Maria bounced back into the room with yet another armful of crap.  “Do you mind if I just put this in the closet?” she asked.

“Yes,” Alpharia said.  “I do mind.  That’s my closet.”

“But…you haven’t put anything in it,” Maria pointed out.

“Not yet.  I will,” Alpharia said.  She looked at the teetering piles of things on Maria’s half of the room.  “Isn’t the point of college starting afresh, without the burdens of mementos weighing you down?”

“I know I’ll use all of it!” Maria exclaimed.

Alpharia stared at the piles of suitcases and carry-alls.  “Sure.”

The door knocked.  Maria turned to the eyehole.  “Uh, it’s some guy I don’t know,” she said.

Alpharia stepped past her to open the door.  The non-descript man beyond immediately smiled.  “Alpharia.”

“Hi, Graham,” Alpharia said happily.  “Seeing me off?”

“Yes,” the plainclothes Treasury agent who had been Alpharia’s shadow for thirteen years said.  “I’m flying out to see your sister tonight, but I wanted to make sure you were comfortable.”

“I will be, if we can get the territorial disputes settled,” Alpharia said cheerfully.  “Same thing that’s happened at every college since the dawn of time.”

“Grand.”  The Treasury agent shook Alpharia’s hand once.  “Goodbye, Alpharia.  You take care now.”

“I will,” Alpharia promised.  The guard bowed briefly and walked away.

Alpharia let the door shut and sighed.  “My ex-bodyguard.”

“Wow.”  Maria stared.  “What was it like growing up with one of those?”

“I don’t know.  Not like I have anything to compare it to,” Alpharia pointed out.  “But we all got to know our guys pretty well.  Trusting someone with your life like that tends to make an impression.”

The door knocked again.  Alpharia peeked through the keyhole to see the hallway empty.  She opened the door, curious, to see Cora standing there in plain view, smiling innocently.  “Hey, Alpharia,” she said happily.  “All moved in?”

“Did you duck below the eyehole or something?” Alpharia asked.

“Perhaps.  Come!  Dinner!  Schmoozing!” Cora proclaimed.  “Just you, me, Jake, and Venus, dinner in the Furnace.”

The white-haired girl blinked.  “What the hell is the Furnace?” Alpharia asked.

“I’m told it’s the nickname for the dining hall in the basement,” Cora said.  “Because of the split-level windows that face east.”

“Charming.”  Alpharia shrugged.  “Sure…I guess.”

“Awesome, grab your shit.”  She peered past Alpharia to where Maria was arranging her computer things.  “Are you her roommate?”

“Yeah, I am,” Maria said.  “Who are you?”

“Cora,” she answered.  Visually, she couldn’t have been more of a contrast with Alpharia, either: hair darker than Venus’, skin paler than Jake’s, while Alpharia had her mother’s white hair and her father’s eternal deep tan.  “Want to come along?” she asked.

“No thanks,” Maria sighed.  “I have so much unpacking to do.”

“Sure.  Later,” Cora said, steering her cousin out into the hall.  “By the by,” Cora said, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial level, “have you seen the others on your floor making the same mistake as they are on mine?”

“What mistake?” Alpharia asked.

Cora affected surprise.  “Why, addictions, of course,” Cora said.  “Now, I may have a cogitator in my arm, but these kids have them in their eyes.  Look at that,” she said, pointing into one open room, where two boys were already clicking away on their computers.  “First day in college and they’re not doing shit with each other, they’re just type-type-typing!  Shameful,” she said with a shake of her tightly-cropped black hair.

Alpharia managed a tiny grin.  “Gad you’re having fun, at least,” she said as they entered the stairs.

“Oh yes, Alpharia, lots of fun,” Cora said.  “So many new things to do.”

“That’s good,” Alpharia said.  “I’m still a bit nervous.”

“You?  Nervous?  What for?” Cora asked.

“Just…I dunno.  I like new things too, I just have a lot of trouble making friends in new places,” Alpharia confessed.

“You’ll be fine,” Cora said confidently.  She smiled wistfully as Angela’s words from nearly four months before returned to her.  “Angela was right.  This is exactly what I needed.”

“Yeah?  What did she say?” Alpharia asked.

Cora grinned coyly.  “Oh, nothing,” she said.


Jake dropped into a seat at his table with a tired sigh.  The others looked askance at the pile of food on his tray.  “Getting a headstart on the Freshman Fifteen?” Venus asked.

Jake glanced down at the food.  “Uh…now that you mention it, this is a bit much,” he said.  He shrugged.  “Well, I just won’t have dessert.”  He chuckled self-effacingly.  “I’m still not used to the idea of a place where you can have literally infinite food.”

“That will wear off quickly,” Alpharia said.  She sipped at her soda and discreetly glanced down the long table.  Groups of other students were throwing glances their way, but none had worked up the stones to talk to them.

Venus made a choking sound from across the table, and her eyes widened.  “Oh my…look.  Slowly.  Turn around and look carefully at the guy at the pasta bar.”

The others turned to see a man in a ragged-looking shirt and no shoes at all waiting in line at the pasta counter for his food.  He seemed oblivious to his state, which was disheveled at best.

“Oh, exquisite, we’re sharing our food with a caveman,” Alpharia said.  “That’s always good to know.”

“Pay seventy five thousand credits every four months to come to this place and he can’t even justify shoes,” Cora said.  She turned back to her own food with a shake of the head.  “His parents must be so proud.”

Jake shivered.  “Fuck, is that what you people are paying?  Remind me to send another thank-you to Vulkan.”

Cora chuckled.  “I’m on a scholarship, too, it’s just token.  Something to put on a resume.  No actual money.”

“Then…what’s the context?” Jake asked, confused.

“The Ralner Memorial Forensic Scholarship,” Cora explained, shoveling mashed potatoes into her mouth as she did.  “I was a forensic science nut in junior year.”

“Surprise, surprise,” Venus said drily.  “Still, that’s pretty cool.  Does this school have a forensic science program?”

Cora shook her head with a smirk.  “Know what my department head said when I asked him that?”
“What?”

“‘No, dammit, and that stupid holo program about forensics means that someone asks me that every year,’” she said in a forced, somewhat whining voice.  “I mean, he’s ex-Mechanicus, I can’t blame him, but still,” she added.

Jake smirked.  “Perceptions from holos probably throw a lot of things when it comes to criminal justice,” he said.

Venus’ eyebrows rose as Aaron appeared at the end of the table and hesitated.  He started to sit down, far from the Royal trio, when, to his astonishment, Venus beckoned him over.  Disbelief etched on his face, he picked his tray back up and gingerly sat down beside her.  Jake kept a grin at the poor kid’s expression carefully hidden.

“Aaron, right?” Venus asked.

“Yes, Your…Venus,” he said.  “Sorry about my presumptuousness before,” he said contritely.

Venus’ eyes flicked over to where Jake was determinately not listening.  “You were baited.  Forget it.  We still have to floor together.”  She turned to smile at him.  “Might as well be friends, right?”

Aaron stared at her for a moment before hesitantly smiling.  “Thank you, Venus, that’s very kind.”

Venus shrugged, digging into her food.  “So, where you from?” she asked.

“Arcadus,” Aaron said.  “A city built over the Farwest hives.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s the one with the gigantic museum in it, right?” Cora asked brightly.

“Yes, it is,” Aaron said.  “Have you been?”

“Nope.  Always wanted to.”  She downed her drink and stared over the rim of the cup at the others in the room.  “Quite a mix in here.  That’s good.”
“Mix of what?  Majors?” Venus asked.

“Planetary origins,” Cora said.  “It’s all in the accents.”

“You can pick them out at this range?” Jake asked.

“Some more than others.”  Cora shrugged.  “Still.  I was afraid it would all be locals.”

“Why?” Alpharia asked.

“Nothing wrong with locals, but part of the idea of college is to be exposed to new stuff, right?” Cora asked.

“True enough,” Alpharia said.  She rose from her seat.  “Well, I’ll see you guys around the campus, I guess.”

“You’re leaving?” Cora said.  “Stay for dessert!”

“No thanks,” Alpharia said, pushing her hair behind her shoulders.  “I should go make sure Maria didn’t occupy my closet or something.”

She walked off with her tray as Jake looked pensive.  “‘Occupy My Closet’ would be a great name for a band,” he observed.

“It would,” Venus agreed.  “Do you keep a list of these things?”

“Nah, I just forget them after a while anyway,” Jake said.  “I’m a shit musician anyway.”  He glanced over at Aaron, who was still avoiding eye contact with the girls.  “You play anything?” he asked.

Aaron blinked.  “Er, no.  Never had the patience for it.”

“I played bit of guitar when I was a kid, but I hated practicing,” Cora said idly.  She bit into her popsicle dessert as the number of people in the room started rising.  Some Orientation activity must have just let out.  “Venus is more into percussion,” she quipped.

“If you can play it with hammers, I’ve mastered it,” Venus said, straight-faced.

“Man, we’re on a roll tonight,” Jake said.  “‘Playing with Hammers’ is also excellent.”  Venus choked on her water.

“I will end you,” she said, glaring daggers at her boyfriend.  Jake sniggered.