Galactic High

“We’ve got time before Homeroom Class starts; we can go to our lockers and offload our shopping,” Alora chirped with a smile. “I got Jack one near ours so we can stick together.”

"Cool, is it far?" Jack asked, trying to avoid staring too hard at the other students as they passed them. A throng of ghoulish, awful-smelling undead students had just passed him, and that was just creepy as hell.

"Not far at all, pretty close to our homeroom," Nika replied. “Always handy if there's a shootout."

Jack's excitement briefly faded at that reminder. "Is that likely?"

"Not likely, especially if we're together." Alora gave a grin Jack had never seen from her before as the group headed across the vast courtyard towards one of the pyramids. "The last time a bunch of Red Legion wannabes tried to get revenge on me for something I said, my spell took them out before anyone knew what was happening."

"Hahaha I remember!" Sephy giggled. "That was your debate with Luvia right? Kralk had to get cybernetic replacements for that one! You should have seen it Jack!"

"That's what he deserved for trying to claim Alora as a war bride!" Nika added with a grin. "'Kralk the Konquerer' my ass. Shame we have to share the school with assholes like that."

"Well the school's patron gods decreed strict neutrality above all else, so we're kinda stuck with it," Alora replied. “Besides, it's not like people can't change from their upbringing, Luvia being the best example. I told you how mad she was with them.

Jack wasn’t sure if he even believed what he was hearing, when he suddenly felt the light tug on his arm that signified Chiyo wanting to say something to him.

We have other friends here that would love to meet you! Maybe a few of them will join us tonight?

Chiyo showed the message to the others who vehemently agreed.

"We'll probably meet most of them soon enough, especially if they hear about you," Sephy told Jack. "Some of them can be a little weird, but they're all good.”

"That's rich coming from you Sephy," Nika laughed, who received a playful shove in return from the Skritta.

They entered the building and queued up at a security checkpoint, which wasn't something Jack was used to, but was apparently common practice here. He was wondering why it was necessary as guns were not only accepted but encouraged, until he suddenly heard a confrontation up ahead.

"Hand over that bracelet! You know the rules! No unofficial gang or faction memorabilia is allowed in the school!”

“But it’s not a gang! It’s for a cancer prevention charity!” cried the student, a small-looking thing that resembled a frog, to the trio of short, grey-looking guards pointing their rifles at the child.

“Hand it over or we will open fire!” The leader of the trio sneered, who snatched the thing out of the crying girl’s hand before putting it on the table next to them.

“Fucking prefects,” Nika sneered. “Hope the kid’s alright…”

Eventually it was their turn. Jack was half hoping for a confrontation with the three, but the leader quickly waved him along after Jack showed the prefects his student ID, while giving them a stern glare. Apparently they found him intimidating enough not to bother harassing him, though they did try and delay Alora with some small talk. She just waved them off with a polite farewell and gave a sly smile to Sephy as they moved on. The frog girl that had been crying was being comforted by a few of her friends near one of the entry hall walls.

“Hey kiddo, I think you lost this!” Sephy tossed the bracelet she’d palmed over to her.

“Thank you!” The frog girl gave Sephy a little hug with wide eyes before she scamped off.

“Don’t mention it!” The Skritta grinned back.

“Nice!” Jack replied, impressed with both Sephy and Alora. “Now I know why you hate the prefects so much.”

The group kept walking until they were deep within the pyramid base, with Alora leading them into a bare room with no ceiling. Jack knew what was coming but he still wasn’t used to it

“Sixty-Second Floor!” Alora announced clearly.

The group was lifted by a magical force and swiftly taken through the maze of elevation vents until they were deposited upon the grounds of the exit, moving quickly on to avoid the next group.

“You guys didn’t want to take the stairs?” Jack joked, with groans from the other girls.

“Our lockers are just round here,” Alora said to Jack as they turned another corner. “Nothing else to do after that, you’ll be given your timetable during homeroom and your various text and workbooks when you go to the lessons.”

"Good, I was worried I missed something. Last thing I want is to get in trouble on my first day." Jack smiled, trying his best to look like he wasn't nervous.

"The school is nothing if not organised," Nika replied with a grin. "Free text and work books, but the moment your skirt is crooked the teachers get a heart attack."

Jack smiled at that. Though he wouldn't need to worry about that particular uniform infraction, the free textbooks sounded like the first sensible thing about this place he'd heard so far.

"Your locker's next to mine," Alora told Jack as they came to a stop. "Hand scanner on the door. Any post and parcels get delivered here since it’s reasonably safe.

“Shame the school sucks at filtering junk mail,” Nika added with a groan as she pulled out a wad of fliers from her locker next to Alora. “Usually recruitment letters from the local militia or gangs, though sometimes you get Demon Lords, Red Legion, Vile Fleet or one of the other numerous groups of assholes in the galaxy offering to sign you up. Sephy, do you mind?”

Nika threw the junk mail in the air, and as if on reflex Sephy quick-drew two pistols and blasted them to dust with green lights before the paper hit the ground. The Skritta looked at Jack with a cocky smile, spinning the guns in her fingers as she tried to holster them before failing and dropping one of them on the floor.

“I take it that recycling isn’t a thing here?” Jack asked with a raised eyebrow at Sephy. He opened his own locker and pocketed the three letters waiting for him. He'd read them later, though he'd have to ask the others about these factions at some point. He would need to find a way of making money, after all. He had the pistol Nika gave him, and while a part of him knew he should probably holster it within easy reach, he decided to keep it in his bag instead.

He was just in the process of adding his shopping to the locker and freeing some space when someone came up to them.

"There you are!" The voice was feminine, sounding posh and refined as the others gathered around Alora.

“Hey Luvia! You joining me for the school council meeting later?” Alora called as Jack finished folding up his new clothes and packing them neatly on one of the shelves. He shut the door, making sure it was locked after, and walked around the group to see what was going on.

“I’m afraid so,” the voice replied with a sigh. “The prefects want more rules introduced again. Honestly I don’t want to bother but I have to keep up appearances.”

Moving around the group to stand next to Chiyo and take a look, Jack saw the speaker in question. She was reptilian, about his height and cutting an impressive figure. Her skin was covered in rich, crimson scales, with a snout, a few visible pointy teeth and she had two large horns and bright red hair flowing behind her.

Well...she looked suspiciously draconic with the pair of wings and the scaled tail. And well endowed...

“Friend of yours?” Jack asked Chiyo quietly. He didn’t want to be rude and interrupt the conversation.

The new girl’s head snapped round to look at him, eyes wide in surprise.

“Um...hello!” Jack started, a bit embarrassed at startling her. That seemed to shake the girl out of her funk as she leaned in closer to Jack, and...was she smelling him?

"Oooooh! Hello there!" the girl exclaimed ecstatically, like she had discovered a long-lost treasure. "How have I not met you before?" Jack wasn’t too sure what the draconic looking girl’s expression meant, but judging by the jealous expression on Sephy’s face, he could guess...

"Luvia, this is Jack, he’s a new student that’s joined our class and is now living with us,” Alora added helpfully, as she put a hand on Sephy’s shoulder to calm her down. “Jack, this is Luviannestixxx-”

“Oh Alora, no need to be so formal!” The girl made what Jack assumed was a smile as she took both Jack’s hands in hers. “You can call me Luvia! I’m the class representative for Class R-17, and I’m in Tyrus House! I’m sure we’ll get to know each other very well!”

“Jack, were you told of the school houses?” Alora asked, changing the subject before one of her jealous friends decided to start a shootout with the bold Luvia.

“House, like Griffindor?” Jack asked, a little confused.

“Griffindor? No idea, but it’s basically like 5 teams named after the 5 original patron gods of the school,” Sephy added, more than happy to claim Jack’s attention away from Luvia. “There’s Astara, Tyrus, Siros, Imera and Nekdon.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it anyway,” Nika added. “Everyone knows the headmaster rigs the points for Nekdon anyway. It’s total crap!”

“Fair enough,” Jack nodded, as a chime emanated through the corridors.

“Morning announcements are starting,” Alora groaned. “Better get to class. See you later Luvia!”

“Bye everyone! See you soon Jack!” She gave him a saucy smile, as she turned to go to her own class.

“See you later!” He smiled and gave a polite wave. The others were staring at him, almost in anticipation of something. “Well that was weird.” He gave a sigh, and the tension seemed to deflate. “She seems nice enough though.”

Jack was a little nervous as the group walked down the corridor to their classroom, the nasal voice of the morning announcer chiming in over the quiet conversations of their classmates.

"There will be a student council meeting after school today, tickets are still available!"

“Ugh, sounds boring!” Nika grumbled. “Who would pay for tickets to see that?” She stopped when she received a raised eyebrow from Alora in return.

“Please note that running in the corridors can cause accidents to yourself and fellow students”

“Quite redundant when we have firearms, supernatural powers and various explosives,” Alora quipped. “Though the thought was nice!”

“And for our final announcement, all Korrigan students must attend the gym immediately for a mandatory penis inspection day.”

Jack made a start at that. Holy shit! The guns were bad enough but did they really…

He suddenly realised the group was laughing at a very proud-looking Sephy, doubly so when they noticed Jack’s expression.

“I can’t believe you actually did that!” Alora laughed, trying her best to look cross at her friend yet failing miserably.

“Yup!” the Skritta replied. “Snuck it in yesterday. Bet a few of them will fall for it!”

Jack, did you think that was real? Chiyo messaged him with one of her silent giggles.

“Well...kinda for a moment, things are crazy here from my perspective.”

“Well sorry to disappoint you,” Sephy added, still basking in the glow of her prank’s success. “Penis Inspection Day isn’t actually a thing here.” She then gave Jack a cheeky look. “Though...heh...maybe you and I can organise something lat-”

“SEPHY!” yelled the others to shut her up as Jack’s face turned red.

“Any reason you went for these...Korrigans?” Jack asked, eager to change the subject.

“Oh yeah!” replied Sephy, seeming equally as eager to move on from her faux pas. “Because despite making up only 0.0000013% of the student population, Korrigans make up 52% of the prefect body. They were those grey guys at security from earlier.”

“Those statistics are pretty misleading, Sephy,” Nika grinned as they entered the classroom. “They’re definitely much higher!”

Jack set his stuff down on the same desk he used the previous day next to Alora and the others. He looked around at his classmates who were doing their own thing, wondering how he would introduce himself to them.

There was a group of reptilians he assumed were males that made up the largest group, so he decided to excuse himself and start with them.

"I feel my bloodrite arriving soon! Once it does, it's straight to the Red Legion for me!" The voice came from the largest among them, an almost 3 meter tall yellow-scaled brute with bone spikes and red tribal markings along his body. "I have no doubt I'll make officer, and when you join me, we will become the greatest raiders in the galaxy!"

Jack didn't know what any of that meant but figured that if there was any way he'd be able to implant himself in the conversation and make some male friends, now would be the best time to do so.

"Hello there!" Jack gave His best winning smile as he awkwardly nudged himself into a small gap in the circle. "I think we briefly saw one another yesterday but didn't get the time to make introductions. I'm Jack!"

The group was silent for a moment just staring at the new boy, before one of the smaller reptilians, of the same species as the speaker snarled "Fressssh meat!".

"I saw him talking with Mistress Luviannestixxx earlier, he has received her favour before us!" another armadillo-like creature snarled in jealousy and indignation.

"This fledgling just interrupted you!" a smaller creature hissed, a snake-like being with no legs and a pair of thin, spindly arms. He looked at the original speaker with sadistic anticipation, and looked disappointed when they put out a hand to silence them.

"Greetings Jack,” the giant rumbled in what came across as a controlled manner. "It is bold indeed that a potential warrior of the Red Legion finds the courage to speak to those that will one day be in positions of leadership of it, and unarmed at that."

Jack was a little put off by the hostility in the others, but perhaps small talk with their leader would win them over.

“Actually I don’t really know anything about the Red Legion yet, what is it anyway?"

That definitely didn’t get the reaction Jack was hoping for, as he did not mistake the looks of anger and disbelief. Jack's effort to make some new friends was going poorly indeed.

"You spoke to Luviannestixxx and have no idea what the Red Legion is?! I should flay the flesh from your bones!" This time the leader of the group had no illusions of calm, and towered menacingly over Jack, who didn't move back an inch.

"That's how you want to play it huh? Your call," Jack growled, almost like a whisper, clenching his fists and not blinking, ready for the incoming attack.

"Alright that's it. Back off!"

Nika was levelling some kind of pump shotgun at the leader, with Sephy covering two of the others with laser-sighted pistols. Add Alora with a wand and Chiyo just looking menacingly, and the reptiles backed off, staring daggers at Jack, who needed Alora to gently guide him back from the brink of attack.

“Sorry we should have warned you,” Nika told Jack, businesslike as her shotgun seemed to shrink in on itself to fit in a pistol-like holster. “Those guys are Red Legion assholes.”

“Yeah I got that early on,” Jack replied in thought. “I understood the initial hostility but I figured I'd give them a chance. Seems like they were looking for a fight."

"We would have blasted them if they tried!" Sephy grinned as they got back to their desks.

"I appreciate it," Jack replied slowly, a little conflicted. "But that just means they'll see me as a target to go for when you're not around."

The group was silent after that, as their teacher walked in to take registration. Only Nika knew what Jack had truly meant. She had seen the clenching of his fists, the shifting of his feet and the air of someone ready to fight.

The group of Red Legion aspirants in their classes were known bullies used to others kowtowing and acting subservient towards them. If Jack fought them and fought hard, win or lose they'd likely leave him be in favour of easier prey.

But could she and the others simply let him do that at great risk to himself if they could do something about it? Jack hadn't even readied his gun, he kept it in his bag, electing to go for an unarmed fight instead and looking confident in the process.

Nika decided it didn't matter. She'd have to see just how good the human was, and she would have his back either way.