Arriving

[Richard]

Richard had arrived a few minutes ago to a location that was probably really cold given the ice he saw from the window. It was not something that he had expected when he heard that he was going to the training base for the Animorphs. He had expected that it would be in one of the more populated areas of the world, but then again that would make it easier for someone to find them. There were some things that he didn't quite catch on to until a few seconds of thinking about them. It was one of those things about himself that would remind Richard that he was still a student at heart.

His ride had emptied whatever cargo it had in it and left just as quickly as it had arrived. Richard was told that someone would be along shortly to show him around the place, so that he wouldn't get lost in the huge ship. Richard expected that he would need a map in order for him to keep up with all the places that he would need to go, but maybe he would only have to memorize certain places. There were probably a lot of places that one could get turned around in a ship like this, so Richard was going to have to pay attention to his tour guide. Richard definitely did not like getting lost, and he also did not liked having to be saved by someone else.

He pulled out a harmonica that he had picked up somewhere and started to play a tune. Richard did not know what the tune was called, but it was stuck in his head. He was definitely not a skilled musician, but the harmonica was not really an instrument that one needed excessive training for. Richard had only brought a duffel bag worth of clothing and some random trinkets that he had picked up somewhere. The harmonica was probably the most valuable thing that he owned at the moment.

[Nineteen]

Nineteen was on newbie duty. Again. Why her?

Which was exactly what she'd asked Seiya. "Why me? Why is it always me?"

"Stop whining." Seiya had replied, in his usual brief-but-not-impolite tone. "And because it's good for you." Then he'd shooed her out of his office. 'Good for her.' He said he like he was prescribing her something.

Go, Nineteen. Get your daily value's worth of Vitamin A, Calcium, and Human Interaction.

It wasn't that she hated it, really. It was just that she'd shown plenty of potential Animorphs the digs, and then seen them leave weeks later, being flown off across the world to their new factions. Nineteen had been both welcome and farewell party to more than a handful of these kids. When would she be leaving?

Kovu had been sent off on some secret mission by Cassie. Or at least, it was secret as far as Nineteen knew, which didn't say much. She wasn't exactly very high on the "need to know" list. In any case, they'd made her the new Combat Training instructor in Kovu's absence. Maybe that meant she was useful for something at least. She wasn't allowed to fight in the war, but she could teach the newbies how to fight. And goddamn, they were such sorry sacks when they came to her that in the end, she couldn't really blame Seiya. At least not too much.

The sound of a harmonica drifted down the halls, and Nineteen followed it. It didn't take her long to spot the fresh meat: a kid holding the little metal instrument, with a duffel bag at his feet. She stopped at a comfortable distance. "Nice tunes," she offered amiably, and then stuck out her hand. "I'm Nineteen. Yes that's my name, no it's not my age. I'm guessing you're the new guy?"

[Richard]

Richard had been so focused on the tune he was playing that he didn't notice the girl approach until she spoke to him. From what he could tell from her appearance and how she spoke, Nineteen seemed like a nice person that probably had a temper hidden in her somewhere. Needless to say out loud, Richard was glad that she was on the same side he was or else he probably would have surrendered. He stowed the harmonica back in his pocket and looked up at her. "It is nice to meet you, and thanks for the compliment."

He saw her hand was extended, so he shook it like he would if he were meeting one of his father's friends. It took him a second to realize that he might be squeezing her hand to hard, so he eased up. "My name is Richard Smith, and I am definitely the only rookie in this room." Richard hoped that he wasn't the only rookie at the Academy as that would make him feel even more nervous about the present situation. He would welcome just one other recruit if it meant that he wouldn't be the main focus of the instructors in this place.

"I am going to go out on a limb and assume that you are the person doing my orientation for this place." It would be really funny if she wasn't the person who was supposed to be doing that because then he would probably be stuck waiting in the same spot for the next person to come along. He would probably go insane from the lack of people around, but then again Richard already thought that he went local last week so it was probably not going to hurt him. He picked up his duffel bag, and waited for his marching orders.

[Nineteen]

The guy, Richard, gave her a firm handshake and then seemed to reconsider. Nineteen smirked a little, and decided this warranted at least a little ribbing. "Don't worry, I won't break. Besides, I like a man with a strong handshake." From her lopsided smile, it was hard to tell how serious she was: really, she didn't rightly know herself. But that was her usual condition, always half caught somewhere between a joke and the truth. Things felt safer that way.

"Nice to meet you too, Richard. And don't worry about being a rookie. I haven't even been in combat yet. Well, not the kind that this place trains you for, at least."

She watched him collect his duffel and nodded. "Yep, I'm the welcome wagon. I'll take you to the bunks first, and you can drop.off your things." She gestured down the hall, and began to lead them. "Any questions while we walk? I'm not exactly authorized to tell you the launch codes or anything, but I'll see what I can do."

[Richard]

Richard was relieved to hear that she was not hurt from the handshake, but was a little intimidated by the fact that she said that she had been involved in combat that they weren't being trained for. He did not know whether he should ask her about that, so he decided to bring it up after he had been their for a while. Richard smiled when she said that she like a man with a firm handshake, but didn't know if he was reading the comment as something that it wasn't. There was something about Nineteen that confused Richard, but it may have just been the fact that he was in a new place that to do something that he didn't understand.

She relieved him of some of his worry by telling him that she was the welcome wagon and that he would be able to dump off his stuff before being given the tour. Nineteen motioned towards a hallway before walking towards, so Richard had to quicken his step to keep up with her.

Richard was not sure what questions to ask first, so he decided to choose the most important one. "Exactly what is it I am going to learn here? I have been told a little, but not really enough for me to completely understand what I am going to be doing." That was as general as he could make the question without sounding completely stupid.

[Nineteen]

Nineteen smiled at his question. It wasn't a bad one, certainly not the worst she'd ever heard. "I'm afraid you won't ever completely understand what you're supposed to be doing, not unless you become a faction leader. And even then, I'm sure they're kept in the dark about each other. The way the Animorphs are set up, you see, is kind of like an octopus. Or a starfish. Whichever one grows the limbs back." She waved the thought away. Isn't this the sort of thing you're supposed to know? Animals? Eh, she'd worry about that if she ever left this ship.

"Basically, there are groups of Animorphs strewn out across the globe, each with around five to ten people in it. They're all stationed at cities, and do their best to liberate their areas. Cassie, she's the Supreme Ruler or whathaveyou, doesn't usually give a lot of orders. It's not a really coordinated effort yet, I guess. That way, even if a whole faction gets taken out, the rest aren't compromised, and neither is the leadership."

When they approached the bunk area, there was a fork: she took a right. There were two signs on the wall. Currently they said "Ladies" with a left arrow, and "Gentlemen" with a right arrow. When there were a lot of recruits, the signs were prone to being vandalized. She couldn't say she was innocent of it, in her time. Back when Nineteen had first been recruited, they'd had a full house. She'd been the only girl too, which had had its benefits. On one hand, she'd never had to share a room. On the other, her sign was frequently "decorated" with various jokes and crude cartoons.

Now, she had her own room. One of the perks of being a teacher.

"You, my dear chap, will be joining one of those factions -- if Seiya finds you up to snuff. Seiya's kind of like the headmaster around here. He's an Asian guy, twenties, does everything very sternly. Kind of hard to miss." She came down to one of the empty rooms; Richard might be getting a roommate if they brought in another guy in the next few weeks. "Basically the Academy is here to prepare you so you can show up at one of those factions without being completely wet behind the ears. There are three main class: Combat Training, some History thing, and -- everyone's favorite -- Morphing 101."

Nineteen gestured into the room. It wasn't big, and hardly lavish, but it was strangely cozy. She remembered when the rooms had all been sterile, only just furnished for their young inhabitants. Now that they'd been lived in a bit, they began to take on personality. There were some left behind trinkets, and other small treasures: someone, apparently, had found a pin-up from the 70s of a leggy blonde in a yellow bikini, and tacked it to the roof. Nineteen couldn't decide if this was more dormroom style, or prison cell chic. Pushed to the side was a bunkbed. "Take your pick. You don't have a roommate for now."

Nineteen gave him some time to drop off his duffel bag. "Where are you from, by the way? Free human camp? The States?"

[Dustin]

(OOC: hope you don't mind me sneaking into this thread.)

Dustin was reclined on his bed, right arm behind his head and eyes closed. He was relaxed but definitely not asleep. In fact, he was restless.

Tap. Tap. Tap. His foot against the bed frame was the only major auditory input Dustin had heard for quite some time now. The silence was deafening. And the thing was, Dustin would have at least gone and wandered around the ship, but he wasn't sure if he was allowed to. Last thing he wanted was to get shot down by some sort of automated defense system just because he went down the wrong hallway.

But he was on a ship. A spaceship. That was cool. And not just any spaceship, but an enemy spaceship that belonged to, or at least was supposed to belong to, someone important. If this resistance group could get their hands on something like this and get away with it, he knew he probably chose the right group.

Tap. Tap. Ta- Dustin held his foot still. He could hear murmurs coming from outside his door. He momentarily considered waiting in his room since he wasn't a particularly outgoing person socially, but his boredom was enough to get him past that.

Standing up from his bed, Dustin walked over to the doorway of his room and peeked out into the hallway. Standing there was the Nineteen person, and a guy who looked about the same age as himself. "Hey there," he said weakly, waving with his good hand. Then he cleared his throat and more clearly said, "Hi."

[Richard]

Richard listened to Nineteen as she explained that he would probably never figure out what was going out. It didn't even appear that those in authority had a clue what went on in different areas of the world unless they needed to. He looked forward to the day that he would join one of the factions as it would mean that he was one step closer to saving his family from the things that had taken them away from him. It seemed that there were a lot more Animorphs than Richard had previously assumed. He might not make it to the actual fighting in this war.

Nineteen led him down a passage that forked in two. There were signs posted that showed which side was for which gender. At least he wouldn't get that mixed up if he ever left the dorm area. Richard would have hated to walk into a girl's room only to get attacked by one seriously angry woman. Nineteen gestured towards a room and told him that the wouldn't have a roommate for awhile. He walked into the room tossed his duffel bag on his bed. Packing could wait in his mind.

Richard like the classes on morphing and fighting, but history did not seem important to him at. After a few minutes of thinking about it, knowing the past can prevent repeating it. "I am from Florida or the basic opposite of this place." He doubted that he was going to get used to being in a place that was surrounded by ice, but Richard figured that he wouldn't be here for that long.

Richard heard a door open across from his, so he looked out the door. He could see a hand waving at them, and someone saying hi. "Hello there. My name is Richard, and you are?"

[Nineteen]

Nineteen snickered when he mentioned that Florida was the opposite of where they were now. "Tell me about it," she muttered to herself. Vegas didn't really prepare one for the tundra either. Then again, she hadn't spent much time outdoors. Nineteen heard someone in the hallway, and half-turned towards the voice. Dustin.

The kid seemed all right.Timid, though, as far as she was concerned. And not nearly as batty as he should be for having only one arm, something that would have made Nineteen want to kill herself. Then again, if she'd lost an arm sometime before the Animorphs rescued her, her captors probably would have done the deed for her. A one-armed gladiator, was, well, a joke. No matter what your credentials were.

"Hey Rick Allen," Nineteen said, motioning to Dustin. Before she could make a poor stab at introductions, Richard beat her to it. Still, might as well try. "Richard, Dustin. Dustin, Richard. Feel like walking the tour again, Dustin?"

[Dustin]

Dustin raised an eyebrow when Nineteen called him Rick Allen. Not because he was offended, but because he didn't know who Rick Allen was. Dustin wasn't very knowledgeable when it came to the band members of Def Leopard. But at least Nineteen got his name right in the end.

"Yeah, like she said, I'm Dustin. And I would love to take the tour again. Anything to get out of my room." Dustin went back into his room and quickly slipped of a pair of flip-flops, then returned to the hall, ready to follow wherever the went first.

"So," he said, looking at Richard, "did I hear you right, or were my ears playing tricks on me? Did you say you were from Florida? 'Cause that's where I'm from too."

[Richard]

Richard became momentarily confused when Nineteen called the other boy Rick Allen, and then called him Dustin. He wasn't sure if the boy had multiple identities or if Nineteen was just trying to be funny. It seemed that the other boy was confused by the first name, but relieved when she said the second. Richard's dilemma was solved.

"It is nice to meet you Dustin." Dustin said he was also from Florida, so at least the two of them could relate on some level. "Yeah, I am from Miami. Which area did you come from?" Richard was glad that he wasn't the only recruit at the Academy. It would at least give him someone to talk to on his own level.

"So where are we going to next?" He was looking at Nineteen as she was the master and he was the simple padawan in this crazy mixed up world. He would have to follow her lead until he got on his own feet.

[Nineteen]

Neither of them got the Rick Allen got. Kids these days, Nineteen thought to herself. It wasn't like there were a whole lot of one-armed celebrities to choose from. She resolved to come up with some more nick-names, at least in the meantime while Dustin was among the handi-capable. Soon enough, though, he'd be allowed to morph, and that would fix him up as good as new. Or at least as good as before his arm got lopped off.

"Next up, classrooms. Nothing's in session now, but you'll have class about once a day, except weekends. Which might not seem like a lot, but you're really expected to know your stuff. That, and teachers like to do one-on-one assignments, too."

Nineteen gestured for them to follow. The passageways were kind of winding, but there were guide signs posted at most of the major turns. She gestured down towards the floor. Alongside the walkway, embedded into the floor, were lines of lights. Different colors were associated with different wings/sections of the ship (and on the signs, the names of the areas were in their respected colors). "Someone had the idea a while back. Apparently they got it from some old sci-fi book where kids were recruited for space warfare. You followed the lines based on your grade or something."

Nineteen took the chance to look between Richard and Dustin. They both seemed pretty subdued; Dustin moreso than Richard. Not exactly troublemakers. Maybe she should cut them some slack, especially Dustin with his one arm, but she figured that she'd still have gotten up to more mischief than him if she'd been in a similar situation. Nineteen found herself missing Xander and Gage more than a little bit. Oh well, she was supposed to be an instructor now anyway. Not running with the pack -- something Seiya had made very clear, several times.

"Here's the classroom wing." They stopped near Morphing 101 first; inside was a bunch of comfortable looking mats, pillows, and rugs. "Morphing 101. The instructor is a kid named Jullian. He's young, but he's a pretty good teacher." The style was pretty garnish and wild: Jullian's special touch. Which was fine enough with her; better that than boring and "cultured."

Which was what Seiya's History room was like. Out of all the places on the ship, the History room most resembled a standard classroom. There were big desks, with two chairs each, and lots of what amounted to high-tech chalkboards: digital displays that could call up all manner of photographs and documents, while also being "written" on. Even the desks, though they were mostly just heavy, blocky wood, had similar displays built into the tops of them. The sci-finess of it was cool, Nineteen supposed, but Seiya's class always put her to sleep. "History, as taught by Seiya." The title of the class was actually a lot longer than that, but she was sure they could read the sign outside the room with the full name. "Seiya is, uh, well you'll meet him."

She let them look around those for a moment, leaning against one of the doorways.

[Dustin]

"I'm from just south of Miami," Dustin said as they walked down the corridor. "Cutler Bay, to be exact." Dustin didn't ask any follow-up question as he was too busy taking in the sights and listening to Nineteen. He had already heard most of this once, but it never hurt to learn something twice.

Plus, how many people could say they got to see the inside of a real life spaceship? Well, to be honest, lots of people. But most of them had slugs in their heads, so they didn't count. He tried not to think about the possibility that his family could be in a spaceship right now.

"Are we going to start taking classes soon?" Dustin asked as he refocused on what Nineteen had been saying. He had only been halfway paying attention. "I don't know about you, Richard, but I kinda want to learn what I came here to learn. Whatever that may be."

If this is where he needed to be to have a chance at saving his mom and dad, his little sister, and other families like his, then he didn't want to spend all his time sitting around in his room. He wanted to take action!

[Richard]

Richard hadn't been to Cutler Bay before, and he actually didn't know anything about it from anyone. He was going to ask, but Nineteen started talking about the classes she had mentioned earlier. She seemed to know more about the Morphing class then the other one, but that was just probably because she had liked it more when she was being taught here.

Dustin was asking about when they would start classes and saying something about being ready to learn what they came here to learn. "I am interested in everything but the history class as I have a really hard time staying awake in those types of classes. It seems to be a common trait amongst my family members."

The thought of his family made Richard remember why he had come here in the first place. If there was any chance of getting them back, then he would have to buckle down for these classes. "So there are only three classes here? That doesn't sound like a lot, but I am betting there is more to it than that. Is the homework load going to be tremendously overwhelming?"

Richard wanted to be prepared for whatever was going to be given to him. It was one of the best ways for him to get it done. He didn't want to screw this up so badly that it kept him from graduating from this academy.

[Alain]

Alain sat on his bed and pulled his few articles of clothing out of his gym bag. Soft, worn t-shirts were stuffed on top of faded jeans. Pairs of underwear were stuffed into the sides along with socks and a few half full bottles of body wash. He had all different brands but he'd scavenged what he could. One bottle had the bold Old Spice brand name still visible but it was actually filled with laundry detergent.

He took each item out of the bag, one by one, and began to put things away in the room he'd been given. He'd arrived a couple of hours ago and had been allowed to drop of his bag in one of the rooms before being ushered to the labs by Seiya. He'd been introduced to the scientific staff and given a tour of the facilities. Alain knew Seiya was under orders to try to get him interested in the scientific force of the resistance so he'd allowed himself to be led calmly through the tour. Many of the things they'd been working on had been interesting and he sure he would find himself spending time there when he could. But he'd learned his lesson about getting too tempted by bright toys. He was not here to be a scientist and, eventually, Cassie would accept that.

He heard footsteps go past his door followed by the soft sounds of conversation but he didn't investigate at first. He continued to neaten up his room, adjusting the sheets and finding a place for his empty bag to stay where it would be out of the way but available. He pulled out the skin tight clothing he'd been given and held it up to body, trying to imagine what it would be like to wear it. He felt like he was going to look like a thirteen year old in a dance class but he supposed it couldn't be helped.

When he'd exhausted every legitimate reason to avoid the company of his new class mates he walked to the door and palmed it open. It withdrew into the side wall with a small hiss and walked out and turned towards the small group a little bit down the hallway. He palmed the door closed as he walked by, his movements betraying his familiarity with yeerk systems.

"Hi," he said with a lopsided grin as he walked up to the group.