New Home
#2 of The Orphan
// Gaia, Ligus System
// 12/04/4716 [Federation Calendar]
Gaia. The origin of the Federation. The centre of the galactic trade treaty. The most technologically superior, and most heavily fortified planet in the galaxy Altair called the Milky Way. Only thing was, it didn't look it. Most technologically superior planet gave off the impression it'd be a heavily polluted hell hole. Most heavily fortified gave the impression it'd be swarming with Federation military. It was actually quite the opposite... as Altair realised after his new guardians picked him up from the space port.
Altair's new family were called the Belles. Roger and Adrianna Belle. A middle aged collie couple who had a twenty nine year old daughter, Sarah Belle. They seemed very average, very friendly, if not a little too religious for Altair's liking. But the orphan knew first impressions were more often than not completely wrong. He knew he'd like them... given a bit of time.
The car hummed smoothly over the road between the other vehicles. They swooshed out of the tunnel and Altair glanced up as the city scrolled past them. Roger Belle drove the sleek red car, while Adrianna Belle sat shotgun. Their daughter, Sarah sat beside Altair in the back. The human hadn't spoken much since they left the space port. He hadn't had the need to move in roughly ten years. The sudden changing of environments took some getting used to.
And the current change of environment compared to Holus was extreme. The buildings all around were bright and shiny, widely spaced with the morning sun glittering beautifully from their windows. On the ground, all around were trees, patches of grass and what looked like parks every half a mile. People walked around happily. But not only Gaians. There were a few humans too, living among the locals peacefully.
This city was perfect. Not overpopulated, no littering, and lacked any kind of pollution, since all the cars present looked and sounded electric. The city looked to be powered by massive solar panels that Altair could just about make out in the distance, and none of the streets seemed at all crowded. Everyone he saw had a smile on their face or muzzle.
"You don't talk much, do you?" Sarah asked suddenly, looking sideways at the orphan.
He sat in silence, resting an elbow against the car door and supporting his head in his hand. At the sound of her voice he was pulled out of his trance and looked at Sarah.
"Sorry." The human said. "I don't really have anything to talk about."
Sarah smiled. "Everyone has something to talk about. How about the place you grew up. Why'd you decide to move to Gaia?"
Altair chuckled. "First of all, I didn't decide. The Federation decided for me. I use to live on my own, until the Federation decided it was better I'd live more comfortably with a family."
"You were forced?" Adrianna Belle asked, turning in her seat.
"No, ma'am. They asked me very nicely." Altair lied convincingly. "I agreed to come here."
"How about the place you grew up?" Sarah urged on. "Did you always live on Holus?"
Altair shook his head. "I think you've gotten the term 'orphan' mixed up. I grew up in the orphanage on Telvan 6."
"The orphanage? You make it sound like a training camp." Roger Belle said over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off the road as he allowed someone to overtake on the fast lane.
"It kind of was." Altair said, gazing out of the window. "It was an old leftover citadel from the Telvan crusades. It's where project ORPHAN worked from."
"What was it like?" Sarah asked inquisitively.
"It was beautiful there. The citadel was walled into a gorge, and standing on the ridge you looked out over endless golden deserts." Sarah leaned closer as Altair thought back. "Nothing but silence and the gentle breeze. Then, when the two suns came up on opposite sides of the horizon, the entire sky turned to a burnt orange color. Here my brothers and sisters and I were created."
"You mean born." Sarah said.
Altair shook his head. "No. We were created."
"Born, created." Adrianna Belle said. "It does not matter. We believe that whatever force or entity creates us and gives us life; we are all created equal, so we all stand an equal chance when we meet our equal fates... do you believe in fate, Altair?"
Altair shook his head. "No. I don't like the idea I'm not in control over how I live and die." He looked away and rested his head against the window, gazing at the city as they left the freeway and plunged into suburbia. "But everyone created equally?" he sighed. "I like that..."
If only it were true...
The Orphan
New Home
// Crowns School for fifth level education
// Gaia, Ligus System
// 13/04/4716 [Federation Calendar]
The schooling system on Gaia was... well... unique. Kids were schooled based on their intelligence, rather than build upon knowledge, force as much into children's' brains as possible and hope that through a difficult exam they progress upwards the schooling hierarchy. On Gaia the students were tested, then put in the class that would best suit their level of knowledge, intelligence and primary interests. A group of students could be classed in levels, and each school had a different building for each level. Altair had made it into the fifth level building, the second highest level.
Sixth level was for particularly gifted children, some even requiring special needs. It just went to show that sometimes exceptional intelligence and infinite knowledge didn't come without its price.
So, Altair stood outside the classroom, fidgeting with the seam of his hoodie. Inside he could hear the class progress. He was late. He'd gotten lost on his way here and had no idea how to explain himself. Escape a bounty hunter, dodge through a fire fight or even 'extract' information out of an informant he could do. But explain himself for being late for class?
Taking a deep breath, Altair knocked twice and turned the handle, pushing his way into the biology lab. Inside was warm. All the windows were shut tight, and the students were arranged into groups of two, standing at the waist high desks, talking quietly among themselves for some kind of project no doubt. The teacher, a small brown furred mouse had to sit on a pile of books stacked on her chair so she could be seen over the clutter on her desk.
The teacher immediately saw Altair and tapped her ruler on her desk to gain the attention of everyone in the class. Over a dozen Gaians lifted their heads and looked directly at Altair. The human stared back at them and gripped the strap of his backpack tighter.
"Class, this will be our new student, Altair Belle." The teacher said. "I expect you to give him a warm welcome."
There was a soft, hardly heard murmur of greeting, before everyone went back to their work, mildly interested in another human to add to their collection of four. Altair spotted the four humans in the class sitting to the back of the room, talking among themselves, not seeming to do any of the work assigned to them.
"Altair?"
The orphan turned around and faced the teacher. "A word please?" she asked, lowering her tone.
Altair walked closer to hear what she had to say.
"Altair, I'm sure you wanted to keep the fact you're an orphan quiet among the class." The teacher said, her ears drooping slightly. "It's just the board of education gave express orders that I announce who exactly you were."
"They already know?" Altair glanced at the class.
The teacher nodded.
Altair shrugged. "It's fine. I don't mind either way."
"You're sure?"
Altair nodded.
"Alright." The teacher sighed with mild relief. "We're currently working on a project to be inspected at the end of class. Linda over there doesn't have a partner yet." She waved at a girl sitting across the room. "Linda!" she called out. "Altair here will be your lab partner."
The girl, Linda looked up, grinned and waved with a blood smeared rubber glove as she hung alone over her biology assignment. She wasn't exactly the type of person Altair expected to see here, but he had long ago learned not to judge a book by its cover.
From a distance he made out that she was dressed in black and red, and was a gold furred cheetah. Getting closer, Altair noticed a dark purple stripe, possibly dyed running from the tip of her snout across the top of her head and spread outward to highlight her short golden hair. Her crimson top was so low cut he could make out the brand of bra she wore underneath, and she wore a black skirt that ended pretty much where her slender legs started. She wore a pair of black, flat soled velvet boots, night black eyeliner and a silver studded black leather collar around her neck. She was a rebel, no doubt about that. But quite obviously a very gifted one if she was in a level five class.
On her hands were a pair of blood smeared gloves, and she wore a white apron across her front. On her face was a pleasant smile as her eyes twinkled invitingly. Altair grinned as he dropped his bag on the ground beside the desk and stepped up beside her.
"Hi." He began.
"Hi." She returned, holding out a clean white apron. "Linda Freeman." She introduced.
Altair took the apron and pulled it on, tying the straps at the back of his waist. "Altair."
She chuckled. "I know. What kind of name is Altair Belle?"
The human rolled his eyes. "The kind of Frankenstein monster you get when you mix cultures."
Linda laughed over the hulk strewn across their desk. Next to the 'assignment' was a rack with a various assortment of scalpels and other sharp and blunt instruments. Altair looked at their assignment and cringed, visibly pulling a face as he saw the dead Grutar beast lying on it's back. The creature was roughly four feet long, a snake like body, two short arms close to the head that ended in viciously sharp claws, and a large round head with a dominating maw filled with one row of small jagged teeth. The whole creature was covered in a smooth black exoskeleton with the equivalent strength of grade-A titanium.
"Something wrong?" Linda asked, poking a pair of pliers into the beast's slack jaw and pulling out the last of it's teeth.
"I hate Grutar." Altair muttered.
"Bad experience?" Linda asked as she tugged loose the last tooth with a sickening snap.
"Dunno." Altair shrugged. "Does getting swallowed whole by an adult count as bad experience?"
The cheetah laughed out loud and glanced at him. When she saw his serious expression, her smile faded, but only slightly. "Wait... you're serious?"
Altair looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Does this look like my joking face?"
Linda stared for a moment then looked away, chuckling. "By Gaia, I should have actually expected that from an orphan."
Altair started to flick through a book lying beside the dead beast while Linda rinsed off her pliers. "So, I'm correct to assume you've travelled a lot?"
Altair nodded. "A long time ago."
"Must have had some awesome times."
Altair shrugged. "They were okay I guess. Only bad thing was the travelling itself. Smuggling onto a Federation troop carrier is the easy part. It's just the slip space transition. It feels like your feet are melting out of your brain."
Linda chuckled as she turned back to their assignment. "Hold open the jaw. I have to take a brain sample."
Altair cringed again as he looked at the slack maw while Linda found a scalpel. The cheetah saw his expression and laughed. "Don't be such a wimp!"
The human swallowed and took the top and bottom jaw of the dead creature and held it open as far as he could. Linda leaned forward, her body pressing against his as she hung over the creature's mouth. He suddenly became horribly aware of how close they were. He felt her soft breasts pushing against his right arm as the scent of her perfume filled his nostrils. As she angled forward he even caught a glance down her top.
Altair took an awkward breath and quickly looked away as he heard the squelch of Linda making an incision in the top of the mouth to access the dead Grutar's brain. "So," he said. "How about you? Ever had the privilege to travel?"
"What makes you think I'm able to sneak aboard a Federation ship?" Linda asked.
"Well," Altair shrugged. "I just figured you being the secretary of defence's daughter and all..."
Linda suddenly looked up and stared. "Wait... how... how could you have possibly known that?" she hissed in a low tone. "Not even the teacher knows that." She nodded towards the teacher reading to herself at the front of the class.
Altair shrugged again. "Keighley Freeman, Federal Secretary of Defence. Only two weeks ago she was at a conference on Telec in the Kai System..." he saw the surprised expression on Linda's face and couldn't help grin. "After politics save your life, you just can't help paying attention to them in the future." He looked away again, noticing he was staring again. "So, to answer my question, you ever had the privilege to travel?"
Linda shook her head, returning her attention to the Grutar. "Never. Been on Gaia all my life. I'm hoping that'll change with the commercial slip space ships being churned out of factories." She paused and sighed. "I've always wanted to see Draco. It's supposed to be beautiful around this time."
A vague memory popped up in Altair's head as Linda finished and straightened up. "Yeah... It is." He swivelled his head and came face to face with the cheetah. Her breath blowed gently on his face as he smelled the sweet flowery odour of her perfume and stared directly into her ocean blue eyes. Swallowing, the human looked away and stepped back. His hands slid from the Grutar's maw and they snapped shut loudly. "Uhm... Draco has four moons in low orbit. In about a week's time every single one of them will be full. It's quite pretty."
"Hmmmm." Linda watched him for a while as he continued to flick through the book on Grutar, before she finally took the brain sample she had and sealed it in a Petri dish and pulled off her gloves.
The lunch bell rang loudly, causing Altair to jolt slightly. He wasn't expecting it and looked up surprised. Class had pretty much flown by. As the students gathered their things and filed out of the room the teacher stood and announced she'd have their assignment results next week.
"Wanna get some lunch?" Linda asked. "I could show you around at the same time."
Altair smiled. "That'd be nice. Thank you."
Linda was about to add something when she saw four figures walk closer and halt beside the orphan. They were four humans. All of them were dressed the same, completely in black and wore a dark red glove on their left hands. Altair turned around and saw them, his eyes widening slightly. For a second Linda could smell his fear as he edged back and tensed his muscles. The orphan recognised something about these four humans, the students Linda had considered classmates for two years now. Creepy classmates she never really liked, but classmates none the less.
The lead human chuckled, slicking back his blonde hair and looking into the orphan's eyes. "Easy, orphan. Don't worry. We're not here to fight you."
"What... the... hell..." Altair eyed the group from head to toe. "Are... are you being funny? Please tell me this is a joke."
"What..." Linda asked.
"Hang on a second." Altair held up a hand so Linda wouldn't step forward. "Who are you?"
"Adrian." The lead boy said, holding out his hand. "Adrian Guile."
Altair paused for a long while, staring at the hand. His suspicion seemed to evaporate as a smile crept across his face and he let out a breath. He reached out and shook Adrian's hand. "Sorry. I thought for a second there you were..." he didn't get to finish.
"Chaos Guild?" Adrian suddenly snapped with malice and an evil grin. He pulled back his hand and holding out his palm so Altair could see the scars gouged into his skin.
The patterns made up a two third circle with two slightly arced lines running down the centre, forming a twisted sort of crosshair. The other boys held up their hands to show they wore the same mark. Altair stared at them, scanning across the glowing red scars. Plasma searing never settled, never faded and never stopped hurting. The scars left by plasma energy always glowed faintly and could be spotted a mile away. To be accidentally afflicted with such injury meant a lifetime of discomfort. To perform the injuries on yourself with surgical precision just to mark yourself was sickening devotion.
"Nooooo." Altair said suddenly, chuckling. "You're not Chaos Guild."
"Believe it, orphan." Adrian said with a dark look on his face. "Now there are two kinds of people. The bad kind." He nodded at Linda who still stood confused in the background. "Or our kind. Don't turn your back on your own people, Altair. Choose wisely."
Altair laughed. "Run along, Squeep." He said suddenly. "The day I'm affiliated with you phonies is the day I... the day I go down the gullet of another Grutar. And believe me when I say that will never happen again... ever."
Linda had no idea what Altair was talking about, or what was going on, but she sensed Adrian's annoyance immediately. The human growled then turned and stormed out of the classroom with his friends. No doubt they were pissed about something Altair said.
"Those guys are pretty creepy. Always were, always will be." Linda assured stepping up beside Altair. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Altair nodded, sighing as he pulled off the white apron.
"If you don't mind me asking, what's a Squeep?" Linda asked.
"A Squeep?" Altair thought for a second. "Oh, it's a small rodent. Generally considered a pest on Telvan planets. It looks like... ehm... well, just imagine what you'd get if you crossed a rat with a..." he thought about it for a second before finding the right word. "Potato."
// Crowns School for fifth level education
// Gaia, Ligus System
// 13/04/4716 [Federation Calendar]
"... so I'm staring at my plate as it's contents make a desperate dash for survival." Altair said as he walked down the steps out the front of the school beside Linda who laughed and giggled as he told her about an old experience.
"What did you do?" she asked with disbelief.
"Doused the stuff in ketchup." Altair sighed. "I ate the lot." Linda let out a long 'aaaaaawwwwww' "It wasn't half bad." Altair chuckled. "Until I finished and found out it wasn't actually ketchup I doused my Honeyspiders with, but the liquid extracted from the testicles of a Lucre."
Linda burst out laughing as she saw the face Altair made. It was a mixture of disgust and queasiness, while his skin tone turned green.
"What'd you do?" Linda asked.
Altair shrugged. "Fought the gag reflex long enough to get out of sight and vomit my guts out."
Linda chuckled as they reached the bottom of the steps and shook her head. "How unlucky can you get?"
"Oh, I dunno." Altair sighed. "Apparently drinking the love juice of an intergalactic cow is supposed to be good luck."
Linda laughed again and they halted beside the bicycle racks. There was a pause in their conversation. The pause lasted only a second, but a second was all the orphan needed. He glanced about himself and noticed everything that was going on. A young couple of lovebirds dodged behind the school building, while a group of jocks shouldered past a small group of nerds, skirted by a single loner who fired a spit wad across the yard. The wad of chewed paper hit what looked like a cheerleader in the back of the head. The black wolf turned around and angrily shoved her boyfriend, who was caught by surprise and stumbled back, almost kicking a small bird who landed to peck leftover crumbs on the ground. The bird chirped once and took flight, swooshing right between Altair and Linda. The human's gaze followed the bird as it flapped by in slow motion and soaring into the sky. The orphan's gaze dropped a few inches and he saw group of four humans wearing crimson gloves on their left hands on the opposite side of the street. The lead human glanced around, and for a quick second in time their gazes met.
Altair and Adrian stared at each other for a second. Adrian, defiant and smug didn't want to be the first to look away. Altair, careful and unable to trust the teenager refused to look away at all. A voice pulled Altair out of his trance.
"... hellooooo?" Linda said, leaning forward slightly to nudge his arm. "Gaia to Al? anybody home?"
"Whuh?" Altair snapped his gaze around and met Linda's glittering smile. "Sorry. I spaced out." he took a quick glance across the street again only to see houses and road. The humans were gone, Adrian was gone and there was no evidence anyone had even been there. Maybe he was just getting paranoid. Disregarding it, he looked back at Linda. "What did you say?"
"I asked," she said patiently. "Would you like to come over to my place? My parents are out and I could use the company."
Altair wondered how that sounded from her perspective. He stared and she didn't seem to notice. "Uhm... okay."
"Cool." She grinned and led the way. "This way."
Altair followed and looked around getting his bearings and mentally mapping the route they took. They passed the park that neighboured the school buildings, then moved through a small shopping district. As they left the district and turned into a new avenue Altair realised where they were headed.
"The mansion district? You live in the..." he stopped himself and looked at the cheetah walking beside him. "Wait, why am I even surprised?"
Linda smiled. "Daughter of the Federal Defence Secretary."
"Right." Altair laughed. It wasn't like him to let something like that slip out of his head.
"Where are you staying?" Linda asked as they she turned right and crossed the street.
Altair followed closely. "Emerald Avenue." Altair pointed in the general direction.
"Oh, yeah. Been there a few times." Linda said as they reached the opposite pavement before a duo of cars zoomed past.
They walked in silence for a while before Altair spoke again. "I was just wondering what was up with that Adrian Guile guy and his three stooges."
"Adrian?" Linda sighed and folded her arms across her front, shivering for a second as if she was cold. Pulling her bag higher onto her shoulder she gazed at the pavement as she spoke, her smile fading. "He's... odd, I suppose. We used to be friends. He was okay back then." She let out a small smile. "We even dated a few times. Then he just... well, he just changed. Those other three started off okay too, until they changed too. Something happened, just like that." She snapped her fingers to emphasise her point. "He stopped seeing me, they became cold towards anyone who tried talking to them, they started missing days of school, and I heard they were picked up by the authorities a few times for possession of drugs." She sighed and looked up, halting at an open picket fence.
"Telsophradine probably." Altair said as he stopped too.
"Saywhat?" Linda asked, almost laughing.
"Telsophradine." Altair said as if it was a perfectly normal word. "A pretty mild hallucinogen. In larger doses gives the user increased strength and reflexes through a dangerously high chemical induced adrenaline rush. It also causes a lot of the blood to pump through the eyes, giving the impression they have pools of blood for eyes. Most commonly used drug used by human youths throughout the galaxy." And then just like that the conversation changed. Altair looked up at the house they stood in front of and his eyes visibly widened. "Whoa. This is where you live?" it was nothing short of a palace. Three floors, the walls were whitewashed, the garden was picture perfect, the windows were open revealing ornaments on the inside windowsills and there was a perfectly raked gravel path leading up to the elaborately carved oak front door.
"Uh... yeah... Home sweet home." Linda said, an unsure smile creeping onto her face as she forgot the little drug lesson Altair had spouted out of nowhere. "C'mon."
They moved up the path and to the door. Linda knocked twice, and halfway through her third knock the locks clicked and the door swung open. Revealed in the doorway was a human adult, an elderly man with wrinkled leathery skin, twinkling eyes and a frail form draped in a black suit and tie. He looked like a stereotypical butler.
"Good evening, lady Freeman." The man greeted in a pleasant voice tinted with an Irish accent. "How was school?"
"It was okay." She pointed to Altair. "This is my friend, Altair. He's new to the neighbourhood. He'll be staying a while."
"Greetings, master Altair." The man bowed and stepped aside. "I haven't gotten around to cleaning your room today, lady Freeman."
"That's quite alright." Linda assured as they passed the butler and moved to the large curving stairway that moved up the cylindrically shaped atrium. They went up the stairs in silence, and Altair couldn't find anything to say as they passed through a magazine perfect hallway and halted by a door with the name 'Linda' sprayed calligraphically in dark purple paint on the wood panelling.
Linda opened the door and led Altair into her bedroom. Even after the butler had mentioned he hadn't cleaned up yet, the human had expected only a little mess. He was quite surprised to find the girl's bedroom was a complete and total mess. Books and notes were strewn all across her desk. Her clothes cluttered her desk chair and bed. Lying on the bed was also an ancient human instrument Altair recognised as an acoustic guitar. As Altair walked in he almost tripped over a pile of dirty washing strategically placed to foil intruders. The human stumbled but quickly regained his balance before he crashed into her four poster bed. Linda giggled at the sight. Altair quickly straightened up pretending to look casual.
"Sorry about the mess." She apologised tossing her bag in one corner before pulling off her jacket and tossing it into another. Once again she looked as she did when they met in the biology class that morning... without the bloody gloves and the apron... and the blood smeared surgical tools...
Altair shrugged, sitting on the edge of the bed and putting his bag down at his feet. "That's alright. You ought to see my room. I haven't even had the chance to properly pack away my stuff yet." That was only half true. He had unpacked, but kept some things packed as if he was ready to just pick up what he needed and make a break for it... force of habit he supposed.
"I'm just gonna take a shower." Linda suddenly announced pointing towards a second doorway in her room leading into an en-suite.
"Ah," Altair stood up. "I'll just wait outside then..."
Linda shook her head before Altair had even taken a step. "No, don't worry. Just..." she paused and traced a circle in the air with her right index finger.
Altair stared for a second, then gasped under his breath. "Oh... right." He quickly turned around and hear her pull off her clothes.
The human swallowed... hard. Suddenly extremely interested in the poster on Linda's wall, the boy tried not to think what was going on behind him. He wondered why she didn't use the partitioning screen tucked in the corner of her room, or even got changed in the bathroom... he had never tried to understand how the mind of a girl worked, and he want going to try now.
He eventually heard her feet pad on the bathroom floor and pull the shower door shut before the running water started pattering on her body. "You can turn around now." she called out.
Altair hesitated for a moment, thinking wether that was sarcasm or wether she was serious. He glanced over his shoulder and right into the en-suite where he saw her silhouette distorted behind a pane of tinted glass in the shower door. All he could see was the tops of her shoulders and her head over the door. She looked around and smiled at him.
"Oh, c'mon. Don't be that shy." She said suddenly.
Rolling his eyes, Altair backed up and leaned against the en-suite doorpost, folding his arms across his chest and scanning along the poster plastered walls of Linda's bedroom.
"Say," Linda began. "Remember when Adrian approached you in class this morning?"
"Uh-huh." Altair nodded, not daring looking over his shoulder again for fear of being rude.
"You assumed he was in the 'Chaos Guild' or something." Linda started.
"Oh, yeah." Altair nodded again. "The Chaos Guild. Scummiest scum of the galaxy. And oddly enough... they were orphans once."
"Saywhat?" Linda suddenly let out.
"Oh, yeah. The Chaos Guild were a group of violent murderers and mercenaries... but they were orphans after all." Altair sighed. "They betrayed us during massacre. Helped the Federation slaughter the lot of us. But that's not what scared me. I spent my life afraid of the Chaos Guild for one simple reason. The fear I might ram a blade home on one of my own brothers and sisters."
"By Gaia..." Linda whispered under the patter of the water. "I'm sorry."
Altair shrugged. "That's alright. I've found over the years that talking about it helps. Try not to dwell in the past, y'know?"
Linda paused, wondering if she should ask something else. Altair noticed the pause and spoke out. "Go on. It's alright to ask."
"Well..." Linda hesitated again before just letting it out. "What made them the way they were in the first place? Why'd they betray the orphans?"
Altair rested his head back as he remembered. "During our time on The Orphanage on Telvan 6, we had basic combat, survival and other kinds of skills hardwired into our brains. It basically made us super assassins. Most of us took an oath to use our skills to live in peace, to protect the weak etcetera, and so on. But there were others. The others thought they were super beings. That they were like Gods meant to be worshipped. Because of that they thought the orphans were the black sheep of their so called 'family'." Altair sighed. "Four years old. We were four years old and had the memories, experiences and trains of though from experienced soldiers, spies and assassins burned directly into our consciousness. I've been thinking like some kind of machine whose primary objective is survival for as long as I remember. Always taking note of exits, where the best escape route is, who in the crowd is the greatest threat to me, where do I find a weapon to defend myself with... The hardwiring process generated three categories. The inspired, the insane and those who just ran away."
"What category did you fall under?" Linda asked as she turned off the water and slid open the shower door.
Altair huffed. "Oh, the ones who ran away." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I never stopped."
He heard Linda giggle in the background as she dried up. The human straightened up a little and angled his head away. "But, you don't have to worry about the Chaos Guild ever coming back. They disappeared shortly after the massacre ended. All that's left are lookalikes. Kids who thought the Chaos Guild were 'cool' for some morbid reason. Squeeps is what we came to call them. Rodents with no purpose or concern for others' feelings. As far as I'm concerned the Chaos Guild are all dead. After going through everything I have, I prefer to plead ignorance."
"I can imagine." Linda said wrapping a towel around herself and standing beside the human. "But you don't have to worry anymore. I mean, the Federation has changed. We've had a war that almost eradicated all humans and a massacre that almost did the same again to learn from our prejudiced mistakes. You're on Gaia surrounded by people who care."
Altair turned around and froze. Linda looked directly at him, their faces separated by about an inch and caught him grinning. As Altair's grin faded, he murmured a single sentence. "I like to think so."
The human swallowed and glanced out the window. The sun was setting behind the skyline, it would be dark soon. As he looked back at Linda he noticed she had edged forward and tilted her head very slightly. He could feel her breath on his lips as he felt one of her hands reach out and rest on his side. The other slid under his arm and slowly stroked up along is back.
"And I'm one of those people." Linda whispered in a soft tone.
"I..." Altair swallowed again. "Should... go..." he trailed off as Linda leaned even closer and their lips touched.
He felt her warmth instantly transferred into him as her lips parted and her tongue slid into his mouth. His eyes widened as hers slowly closed and she pushed her body against his. Her rough tongue wrestled his, their saliva mixed and Altair felt his head go light, unable to fully grasp the surprise of what just happened. Linda pulled him in tighter and pinned him right against the doorpost. One of her legs slowly lifted from the carpeted floor and wrapped around the human basically at her mercy. Altair's arms remained slack at his sides as he wondered how exactly he was going to get out of this... if he wanted to at all.
Suddenly, for a moment Linda broke the kiss and Altair snatched his chance to speak.
"Linda, I..." was all he got to say before her lips pinned him again and he felt her tongue fill his mouth and tasted her saliva again. This timer her tongue forced it's way further into Altair's mouth, stroking the inner walls of his cheeks and grinding along his own tongue.
Slowly, Altair raised one of his hands and touched the side of Linda's face, the contact causing the cheetah to push deeper into his palm, without breaking their kiss. He became strongly aware of the breaths they took and felt her heartbeat pulse against his chest as her soft breasts pressed against him. eventually his eyes started to close as he stroked her cheek and began to kiss back.
But it was short lived. As gently as he could, Altair lifted his head and gripped Linda's shoulder, pushing her back slightly. Sensing the human wanted to come up for air, the cheetah opened her eyes and let out a breath, looking at him confused.
"What's wrong?" she whispered.
"Linda... you hardly know me." Altair explained.
She cut him off. "You are Altair Belle. You came to Gaia under orders of the Federation that you might live out the rest of your life as a normal human being without fear of prejudice or abuse. You go to Crowns School for fifth level education and live with a kind family eager to provide you with a normal life. But despite that you still live in mild fear that your past will come back and haunt you. You feel like you're alone in the universe, and that you have to bear your burdens alone like you used to, even though you really don't."
Altair stared and thought that over. "Well... I suppose that sums about fifty percent of it up." he replied, unsure. "But there is another fifty percent you don't know, and I hope you'll never have to know. I've done some terrible things. Unforgivable things, just so I could live to see today. Linda, you've only just met me. You couldn't possibly know..."
"Altair, I know I've only just met you, but I like you... I like you a lot. I'd really like to see how this would turn out." Linda was almost pleading with him. She was near begging for his consent.
"I..." Altair didn't want to lie to directly lie to her. He just couldn't find it in him to. He wanted to be with her. He'd never had a girlfriend before, and that experience just there had been a very satisfying first kiss, but he was still unsure. "I'll need time."
Linda sniffed and nodded, pulling her towel tighter around herself so it wouldn't fall. She grinned again and stepped back, letting Altair step past her. he picked up his back, shouldered it and turned back to Linda. She stayed where she was, watching him, still grinning, milder this time.
With a sigh Altair walked towards the door. "I, uh... I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked unsure.
"You can bet on it." Linda replied.
They looked at each other for a while as Altair paused with his hand on the doorknob. He imagine it took all her willpower to stay on the one spot and prevent herself dashing across the room and jumping on top of him... or striding over and punching him in the face. Again, Altair didn't know how her thoughts worked, and thought it best to leave it at that for now.
Giving a curt nod, Altair pulled open the door and shut it behind him again. Finding himself, he moved down the hall towards the stairs. A voice stopped him.
"Altair." The human turned around to face Linda gain as she hung out of her bedroom door. She was smiling again. "Happy birthday." She added.
Altair's eyes widened for what felt like the hundredth time that day. "Wait. How did you..."
She didn't answer and disappeared, closing her door behind her. Altair was left speechless, staring at the dark purple letters making up her name on the door panels. Another voice startled him.
"The thirteenth of the fourth. The birthday of every single remaining orphan in the galaxy." Altair turned around and saw it was the butler who was speaking with a kind smile. "If my math is correct, that makes you all eighteen years old."
Altair grinned. "Well, hurray for us." He almost sounded sarcastic. "Sorry to bother you, but I'm kind of lost. The exit?"
"Right this way." The butler gestured down the stairway and followed the boy during the leasurely descent. "Did she tell you?" the butler suddenly asked.
"Tell me what?" Altair asked suspiciously.
"How interested she has been in the ORPHAN project since she was young?" the butler chuckled. "She wrote a paper on it for history. She's always been so fascinated by the project because of the Federation cover ups. The more the Federation hid, the more she wanted to find out."
They reached the bottom of the atrium and moved to the front door. "If you ask me, some things are best left forgotten."
The butler stepped forward and opened the door for the boy. "You may not know it, but Lady Freeman and yourself have more in common than you know."
Altair stepped over the threshold and turned around to face the man. "I'm sorry. I'd like to believe that, I truly do... but I can't."
"She didn't have parents to grow up with either." The butler stated. "Her parents were never there, always working."
Altair grinned. "I can imagine how that feels. But it doesn't mean we have anything in common." He sighed. "I like Linda. But I can't be anything more than a friend."
The butler smiled and nodded. "Understandable." His eyes suddenly rose to the sky and the old man grunted. "A storm is coming."
Altair turned around and looked to where the man looked, seeing dark grey clouds fade to black the further they stretched. They swirled angrily like a violent vortex ready to swallow up the skyscrapers that almost touched it.
"Best be ready for when it comes." Altair muttered in time as the butler said the exact same thing out loud.
The orphan whirled around as the man winked and shut the door. Altair stared and suddenly slapped himself in the face.
"No." he said out loud. "No way. There is no way that is physically possibly. No way that can be... can it... no! Of course not. That's not..." he stopped talking to himself, blanked out all thought and started walking home as he pulled up his hood.
He needed some quiet time. Some time to think. This whole day had contained too many twists and déjà-vu. He was probably just tired. Paranoid too probably. The first time in his life he was actually safe. His mind was just playing tricks on him. Creating links to his danger filled past that weren't actually there.
It started to rain. Altair told himself again he was safe, and that he could live the rest of his life peacefully... but even as he began to believe the illusion of safety, danger lurked in the shadows behind him, tracing his every footstep...