The hivemind is conquering for me?

Gabrielle was starting at the entrance the ships would be dropping down, pacing back and forth as she did so. Her mind was racing. She barely slept. She was so worried about her baby. She wanted to hold him as he slept. Was he nervous about starting here today? She wanted to know, she wanted to hug him until he felt better about it. About everything.

“Nnnrggghhh!” She moaned frustrated. “I can’t wait three more hours, this is hell. Why can’t they just use normal ships instead of those crappy shuttles? I am going to complain to the deputy head again…”

“Oh wow, you feel that gravity change, this is some impressive tech.”

She heard the most beautiful voice come from behind her in the distance and from the direction of ‘staff parking’ Sure enough. There he was. Her request was answered by the universe! It was evident it wanted her and her son to be together. To make up for the mistake she made all those years ago.

She wasn’t just going to stand there, she needed to go over… hug him…

…

“Finally. Apollo is that how you feel all the time without your power? That was kind of awful. Gravity is much better when it’s normal.” Janine said, causing me to chuckle. “There is no such thing as normal gravity, just get used to it. It’s an important skill to learn.”

“Apollo!” I suddenly heard a cheery voice call out and turned towards a familiar face I met yesterday. “Oh Gabrielle, hi. How was your- Oh hugging again.” I said and due to that amazing tingly feeling I was feeling, I remembered her power.

I couldn’t really blame her for the hug if it made her feel good. I was a touchy person myself and the woman seemed nice enough, so I let her do her thing while asking. “So, how was your night?”

While still hugging me, ignoring the glare or Orchid, she replied. “Oh dreadful, I barely slept a wink. A terrible memory kept me up all night.” She then slightly hugged harder and to my shock, I felt my ribs lurch at the strength put into it. ‘Wow, she is strong.’

With a shallow breath, I replied. “Oh is that so? I’m sorry to hear about that. Do you want to talk about it?” I asked, but probably shouldn’t have as she woman tensed, almost fracturing my rib in the process.

She then pulled away and began to straighten out my clothes with tender affection, catching me off guard. “You are sweet for asking Apollo, but it was just war memories. They come often when I sleep. What about you? Do you suffer nightmares?”

She asked casually, but deep down she wanted to know if her son was troubled by the abandonment. Sure he was only a baby and wouldn’t remember the details, but just in case he did…

“No, I am quite fortunate. I lucid dream, for the most part, most of my dreams I usually continue my training, but sometimes when I am really tired I just fade to black then wake up.” I said as she looked up at me with a relieved? Expression.

A small pause crept in between us for a moment before she suddenly exclaimed. “OH! I know, you are here early, let’s get your lodging set up, you are more likely to get a good dormitory since you are the first ones here.”

She then took my hand and attempted to pull me away, but I corrected her. “Actually, we are buying private accommodation.” Gabrielle suddenly stopped and turned around, confusion written on her face.

“You are?… You are aware how expensive private housing is here right? Its-” “- Two and a half million a month yeah.” I chimed in. “It won’t be a problem.” Gabrielle looked me up and down before smiling.

“Well then, looks like I picked the wrong line of work huh? eighteen and already a multi millionaire? You better keep that information closely guarded, there are a lot of skanks in this place that would see you as a target just for your money… Filthy gold diggers…” She muttered under her breath at the end, causing me to smile and correct her. “Platinum diggers would be more apt. My family has the rights to some planets with an abundance of platinum mines.”

Gabrielle’s whole body jolted like she had just fended off a serious blow. ‘Adoptive family. Adoptive family. Adoptive family. Calm down Gabby, you got this…’ With a confident look on her face she said.

“Oh yes, your adoptive family. When I spoke with Sophia, she told me quite a bit about your family. They sound like good people, rescuing you from that planet the way they did. Though, even with my extensive repertoire of skills, I couldn’t find a trace of them. The outer rim really needs more documentation work.”

Onyx immediately filled me in with everything that happened between her and Sophia with this Gabrielle woman and understood how she knew about Apollo-minor. “Yes, they are. My family is very loving. I am lucky to have them.”

Gabrielle looked at me for a moment, her words seemed to be stuck in the back of her throat. I was about to ask if she was ok, when Nerissa spoke up. “Gabrielle, can you take us to the private housing liaison?”

Whatever words were stuck simply vanished as she proceeded to look at us with a jubilant expression. “Of course, right this way.”

…

“Good morning early comers. I am Brent. Apologies for the morning twilight, our rotation means we get forty-eight hours of night and day each. Everyone else will be arriving just as the sun begins to rise. Sorry, I digress. How can I help your party this morning?”

“Hi Brent, I am Apollo Lambdason, this is Orchid, my sister and my Sepiida, Janine. We are looking for a private lodging for the duration of our stay.” I said, politely and to the point. Brent smiled hearing this and replied earnestly.

“Wonderful, simply wonderful. While we provide all with free room accommodation and food to everyone that enrolls in the college. It is individuals like you, willing to spend that little bit extra that truly helps us, help everyone else here. Do you have specifications for what type of accommodation you are looking for?”

I nodded my head and got straight to the point again. The man was going to most likely have a long day and I didn’t want to start him off on a bad note. “Yes, we would like our home detached from others, garden space irrelevant. We want five bedrooms with a living space and a dining space and a sturdy training area.”

As I said that, the man’s fingers moved at speeds in par to my speech speed and in a second of me finishing, he turned the pad and showed me. “Here is a collective of home accommodations we have. They are not exactly luxurious with all the bells and whistles you might find spending that sort of money on another planet, but here it’s beyond a premium good, so the price skyrockets a little. I hope you understand.”

I nodded to his words. It made sense. Despite offering this private housing to those that are rich, they still wanted to maintain their equality policy so the houses were simply in functionality and design. After perusing through the list, one caught my eye. The outside, while identical to the rest, it was the destination that intrigued me.

“Hmm, I like the look of this one. It’s twenty minutes away from the lecture buildings, meaning we won’t get that much pedestrian traffic and it’s only a five minute walk from the library side entrance. Sounds perfect.” I said before passing the pad back.

Brent looked it over once before nodding his head. “Ah good eye. Lot C-137 has some really nice surroundings. I think there is a lake behind the house. If at all interested, you can even purchase a licence to fish from it. There is a native fish in it, the…Nalmos. Gorgeous. Such a meaty white fish.”

I chuckled at the man’s expression. Fishing wasn’t my thing, but I appreciated they accommodated all walks of life. He seemed to pick up on my amusement and coughed slightly to reset the conversation and began typing in the pad again.

“Ok Mr Lambdason, You have chosen a house type straight off our pamphlets pretty much. The housing is paid monthly at a rate of 2.5 million credits. Since you arrived yesterday and from what I see, your ship was moved to the moon facility early this morning. You can pay right now after collecting your belongings from your ship. Any questions?”

I nodded my head. “Yes, do I have to pay monthly or can I do a lump payment? I don’t want to accidentally forget to pay when I am off moon for example and have all my shit repossessed.”

Brent broke out into a cheerful smile. “Well of course you can pay in lump sum, lump sums are actually preferred. How long would you like to pay for? The most common is six months at a time.”

I shook my head at that time frame. “No, six months is too short. To play it safe, let’s make it a simple ten years.”

(No, he is not staying at the College for 10 years. Will be explained next chappy how to academy actually works in a bit more detail)

Creation is hard, cheer me up!

Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.