Galactic High

“Gwakoo?”

“Present,” Crill spoke up as Mrs Shlart took the register for homeroom class.

“Sveta, Greta and Loreta Bharzum?”

“Present,” the three Hoduth triplets responded in unison.

Jack was contemplating what Mr Sparrel had told him. Up until this point, he had been surviving and trying to adjust to his new life, but since the initial days of arriving in this galaxy he hadn’t let himself think too much about whether getting back was even possible…

“Hawker?”

“Present!” replied Sephy, before going back to daydream.

“Fallos?”

“Here!” Nika called out next.

But what answers could he get and how would they help him? The Church of Astara claimed they didn’t know how or why he was here, and they had spoken to other aligned clergy at the Temple of Hope.

“Dhasii?”

Nobody said anything, but the fact that Chiyo floated one of her books in the air and made eye contact with Mrs Schlart indicated her response.

“Glenphyranix?”

“Present!” Alora chimed in.

Still, he had a few leads. Revisiting the area he had arrived in might enable him to examine the area for clues, but how would he even know what to look for? And there was this Oracle he now had the location of; Mr Sparrel had said it was difficult to get there, but at least he had proven he could handle himself. But going solo wouldn’t be smart, and it wasn’t like he knew the best way to get there.

Either way, he was going to need help. Would his new friends even want to help him out? Maybe. Aside from Alora, he had only known them for less than the earth equivalent of 24 hours. He would ask them when they had a moment - it couldn’t hurt.

“And finally, Frost?”

“Here!” Jack called up. In hindsight, he could have come up with a more original false surname, but at least he hadn’t gone with ‘Hoff’.

The end of day form class had been relatively uneventful. Though some students were late and placed in detention, Jack and the others were able to make it in good time, with no firefights or ambushes to delay them, though with Jack’s new wild reputation they didn’t know if things would get better or worse.

“Just two announcements for today, class.” Mrs Schlart spoke up over the quiet murmurings. “Firstly, as most of you are aware, we had a confirmed Moringu demon summoning earlier today on the 32nd floor, which fortunately was not able to do much damage before being contained by a faculty strike team. I would like to remind you students that unsupervised demon summoning is against the rules, and demonology of that level is highly advanced and beyond the capabilities of students your age. It is also highly dangerous and irresponsible, and an investigation is now underway…”

Jack kept an eye on Nya out of the corner of his eye due to his suspicions. Although he was never the best at reading the body language of others, the wringing of her hands and the controlled breathing seemed to confirm his guess was probably right. Nya summoned and let loose a powerful demon in the school.

Well when you put it that way, that actually sounded kinda cool!

But it was likely she did it to try and help him in some kind of misunderstood way. She knew Svaartal had a grudge after Jack stood up to him and that Master Kull was a Red Legion Extremist. It was only natural that she would try and do something that would throw Kull’s attention off of Jack. He would have to try and speak with her and make sure nothing bad was heading her way. It was his responsibility now, after all…

“And secondly, the school’s prediction algorithms reveal that there is a high probability for some type of battle tonight, though the cause or involved parties has yet to be determined. The school urges all students to remain calm, not to travel unless necessary during the night and to invest in high-quality ordnance and ammunition. Consider staying with a friend if your residence is in an affected area, or have your friends come to you to assist in neutralising threats. Apart from that, class dismissed!”

As their group slowly got up to discuss plans, Jack noticed a few other groups trying to listen in.

“I have School Council and Sephy and Nika have a deathball game, I believe?” Alora said.

“I do at least!” Nika replied. “Shame we can’t shoehorn you in on such short notice, Jack, but we’ll get you trained up for the next game!”

Jack hadn’t even agreed to join, but he didn’t feel like pointing that out now…

“I’m benched since I’m in detention.” Sephy pouted. “Good luck though!”

Chiyo pulled on Jack’s arm again to get his attention.

Would you like to join me and my study group in the library while we wait for them? We can get some homework done and meet others that have been texting us all day about you!

“Sounds like a good idea Chiyo!” Jack replied with an easy smile, thankful for something to do. It wasn’t like he could go anywhere else without a guide anyway, and getting his homework done before the weekend sounded good…

*****

The school library for the building they were in was gigantic. Apparently there was one in every building, with different types of reading material suitable for the many different species that attended the school. According to Chiyo, there was some form of braille for the non-visual students in one building that used some kind of sonic technology, and gigantic tomes for the megafauna species in another huge building. The subjects were all the same material however, copied and digitised so that all students could access it and nobody missed out. But looking at the vast shelves across at least 5 floors, Jack wondered where he could even start.

Nya tagged along as they made their way to the area the study group had picked beforehand. Apparently she was on friendly terms with Chiyo and joined the group often while her other friend Rena took part in student council meetings. Jack guessed that someone as shy as Nya would naturally gravitate towards somebody she could talk to telepathically as a less anxiety-inducing experience.

Need to return some books, be right back!

Chiyo quickly showed Jack the message and scampered away, leaving him and Nya alone by the secluded cubby hole the group was to meet at.

"So…" Jack started with a grin on his face. "Demon summoning, huh?"

Nya stiffened straight and gazed at Jack with wide, frightened eyes.

"Need a hand covering it up?" He continued casually.

Nya sighed in relief then looked around to see if anyone else had been listening. Of course, nobody was; Chiyo had done a good job at masking their presence and giving the excited groups looking for Jack the slip.

"Mr Sparrel helped me," Nya whispered conspiratorially. "Master Kull is currently under investigation for abusing students, and when I told him what Svaartal was likely going to do to you, he masked my astral signature and looped the camera feed, so I should be ok unless…" She didn't finish her sentence but looked up at Jack with a pleading expression.

"Don't worry," Jack replied with a soft smile, putting his hands on the girl's shoulders to calm her down. "I won't blab. Glad to hear something is being done about Kull at least; I don’t know if he’s the main reason why some of the Red Legion students are assholes, but it sure seems that way to me so far.”

Nya said nothing but she just quickly nodded before quietly mumbling. “Thank you for standing up to Svaartal.”

“That’s ok,” Jack said gently. Seeing the worried look he knew he couldn’t make a joke about it. “Though surely if you have the power to summon a powerful demon, you have something that could at least force him to leave you alone?”

“That’s complicated,” Nya replied with a weak smile. “But thanks.”

At that moment, Chiyo returned with two others in tow, both gecko-like androgynous creatures in male uniforms, whose eyes widened upon seeing Jack.

"Isssss that one…?" One asked Chiyo questioningly, who simply nodded.

"Forgive my brood-ssssibling honoured halveer." The other bowed deeply to Jack. "Thessse ones did not mean to cause offensssse.”

“None taken,” Jack replied, long used to giving smiles and easy replies by now. “I’m Jack, I think I’ve seen you two before, did we share a Religion lecture earlier?”

He was pretty sure they did. He had seen two similar species changing colours during the lecture, but he wasn’t sure if they were the two forest-green lizards standing in front of him.

“We….may have,'' The one who first spoke said in feigned casualness. “It is hard to sssee others during the lecture…”

Well that was a complete lie, but Jack let it stand. He really didn’t want to think about what those two were doing...

“These onesss are Zayle and Rayle.” The second of the two, Rayle, introduced the pair, who seemingly had a better head on his(her?) shoulders. “It is an honour to meet you, Halveer”

Jack put his hand out to shake, which both of the geckos in turn grabbed with both of theirs before kissing it, humming something under their breath. Jack assumed it was a cultural thing, and being the only human in a galaxy of the unusual, he wasn’t about to make a comment on weird customs.

“What does…” Jack started to ask Chiyo, but she had beaten him to it, showing him her device.

Halveer = ‘Desired one.’ Squa’Kaar saying usually used to describe physical interest. I’m not one to judge…

“Ah.” Jack looked at Chiyo with raised eyebrows, who silently giggled at that.

“There you are!” another voice called out. “Honestly Chiyo, the corridors around your locker are packed to burst!”

Two girls rounded a bookcase: one of them was a tall, somewhat chubby rabbit-like creature with light chocolate fur, with a long pair of floppy ears dropping behind her back. The other one looked familiar. Jack did a double-take on seeing the snake-like being, thinking it was Svaartal, but realised that was unlikely considering the skirt and spectacles. Most likely this was a female of the same species as Svaartal.

“Yesss we saw. Many curiousss people,” Zayle replied with a smile. “How fare you, honoured Straveer?”

“Well I feel absolutely awful!” The rabbit continued, clearly the original speaker, and very clearly expecting the question. “I have heard so many rumours about a new student and haven’t been able to verify any of them! The school paper demands I find him! I haven’t shared any lessons with him and when I tried to get to where his locker is meant to be I found hundreds of students waiting for him! He didn’t even show up!”

Chiyo gave a sly smile, giving a quick glance to the unnoticed Jack as she said something to the rabbit-girl.

“Well of course the school paper isn’t the only reason I want to see him!” She pouted. “Apparently he took on 20 of the school’s top fighters all on his own, and I’ve interviewed several students who claim to have already mated with him! He’s very clearly a catch!"

At that point the other girl, who had so far not said anything, noticed Jack in the corner and gave a quick start, covering her mouth with shocked eyes. Jack just put a finger to his lips in a shushing motion, and to her credit, the snake-girl gave a shy smile and complied.

"...I mean surely an alpha male with such a ferocious appetite would appreciate thick thighs and experience…"

Chiyo clearly said something else to the rabbit as her smile grew wider.

"What would I do when I meet him? Ideally observe him from a distance first, see what compliments I could pay him and definitely take his…measurements. Take enough liberties with what I’m wearing to give any prefect an aneurysm, do and promise anything to get the interview, lay on the best feminine charm I can bring to bear with my magic and enchantments to shamelessly seduce him and take him back to my place - though I’d settle for a quickie in the disabled toilets”

“What? Not going to buy me a drink first?” Jack replied, stifling his shocked laughter as best as he could, not willing to let the girl embarrass herself even further, and definitely not wanting to see just how raunchy this would get…

…at least not with polite company.

The rabbit-girl shot around with an expression like a deer-in-the-headlights, mouth agape as Chiyo and the others laughed their asses off. Even Nya looked a little more cheerful.

“By the gods Vanya!” The snake-girl giggled in between hard breaths. “You’re a journalist, how did you not see him?” She then slithered up to Jack and gave a worried smile as she took his hand and shook it. “I’ve already heard about you from my brother, he says he fought you earlier but refused to talk about it. I think he may be seeking revenge so please be careful! I’m sorry!”

“Svaartal?” Jack asked.

“Yes. He’s been ranting to his Red Legion friends about it.” She seemed to snap out of her funk and remembered something. “Oh my, I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Svaarti, and I bear you no ill will, I apologise for what has happened between you and my brother…I’m sor-”

“Hey! You don’t need to apologise for anything!” Jack quickly hushed Svaarti up. “You haven’t done anything to me and you seem cool so don’t worry about that!”

“I’m sor-oh!” Svaarti stopped herself, covering her mouth again.

“We’re getting there!” Jack grinned. “It’s nice to meet you Svaarti, I’m Jack. I hope we can be friends and your brother and I reconcile, somehow. He seems pretty good with magic at least”

That seemed to shake the rabbit-girl out of her stupor. “Wait! The fight? Svaarti, you knew about that this entire time and you didn’t tell me?”

“Well you didn’t ask, Vanya,” Svaarti nervously replied. “I’m sorry!”

“Well I’m not so sure about an interview…” Jack started, trying to tactfully start a conversation with the rabbit that had spoken so…lustfully about him. “But I can tell you that the rumours you heard are false at least.”

“Well…” Vanya licked her lips as she smiled and strode over to him. “Perhaps I can ask you a few questions to clear that up? How such a handsome being such as yourself is so adept at combat?” She started stroking Jack’s arms as she looked at him with bright eyes. Jack couldn’t help himself but meet Vanya’s gaze as she leaned in close…

Before her head was suddenly yanked back by an unseen force, and Jack almost immediately questioned what he was doing. He had only just met her, after all…

Oh no you don’t Vanya. You need to get your hormones under control for a change.

“Ow! Chiyo get off of me! I wasn’t using enchantments, I was-OUCH NOT THE EARS! Alright I used enchantments! I’ll stop!”

Whatever Chiyo was doing stopped, and Vanya rubbed at her long, floppy ears. "Those are sensitive Chiyo, I keep telling you that!"

You crossed a sensitive boundary. If even Sephy thinks you come on too strong, then maybe you should listen once in a while.

Jack looked at both two girls, clearly confused at the one-sided conversation.

“Sorry about that!” Vanya sighed, clearly giving up against Chiyo. “It’s an absolute pleasure to finally meet you Jack, I’m Vanya and I’m a reporter for the school paper. I wasn’t lying when I said I’d like to ask a few questions but maybe we should wait for Little Miss Protective over here to chill out first!” She indicated towards Chiyo, who for her part looked completely unamused, typing a message to show only to Jack.

Careful with her, she’s usually alright with us but very good with illusions and enchantments. She hasn’t crossed the line yet but that doesn’t mean she won’t!

“Oh? Can you not communicate with him telepathically?” Vanya grinned. “I can see why you’d be so protective of him while you work on that Chiyo!”

Do not test me Vanya.

“So are you part of this study-group too?” Jack asked both Vanya and Svaarti. “Maybe we can get some homework done?” The latter part he threw to the whole group. At the very least it would take the attention off of him.

“Well Chiyo and I got a lot of ‘Magical Theory’ to do so we’ll need to work on that,” Vanya replied simply. “I have ‘Core Science’ and ‘Hardware’ too. If the teachers are coordinating as well as they should be, you should only have a maximum of 3 subjects to do homework for, no?”

“Yeah,” Jack replied with a nod. “A bit of ‘Maths’ which I’ve already done half of which Chiyo was with me for. I had some ‘Communication’ homework where I’m meant to read a few chapters and write a few summary paragraphs on, and I’m meant to do some research on the clergy of the schools’ founding gods for ‘Religious Education’ and summarise their traditions and important holy days.”

“We could split up the chapters and get the main points to write about in half of the time?” Nya quietly spoke up.

“We already grabbed sssome books on the founding gods on our way here, Straveer,” Zayle added, spreading them out on the table. “One for each. I sssuspect the main focus should be on Sssiros!”

“Good call, we’ll save that until last as that’s likely to be the longest. I'll catch up with my other homework then we'll split up which gods we want to take notes on. I guess I'd better take Astara."

“I had that class as well,” Svaarti spoke up, clearly still a little nervous. “I’m in Nekdon house so I can go through his tome. Since Siros is Sister Jieta’s god we should probably all work together on that one to make sure we get a higher mark.”

“We are both in Imera House, so Zayle can do Tyrus,” Rayle smiled.

“HEY!” Zayle whined.

*****

They had been working for just under an hour, and had actually been rather productive after calming down, though there was a moment halfway when Vanya tried to play footsie with Jack under the table - which while not unpleasant, made homework slightly more distracting. In the end Jack just grabbed the offending foot, taking a few seconds to rub his fingers through the soft fur, before yanking Vanya out of her chair and under the table with a very undignified thud, to Chiyo’s clear amusement and approval. Needless to say, Vanya stopped doing that afterwards.

He had managed to quickly finish off the rest of the Maths homework and work with Nya on a few more chapters of the journal they were meant to be reading. Getting through it, Jack realised that rather than just the account of a random travelling merchant, the entries also noted other cultures and the journeys to and from them, reminding him a lot of Marco Polo. He might even read a bit more for fun later. It was a little awkward though, as everyone around the table kept looking his way, making concentration difficult.

We can always go watch the Deathball game if this is too much?

“It’s all good. If I recall we have a busy night and I was hoping to explore the town a bit, so we might as well try and get the work done now, right?”

I would normally agree with you, but you’re getting the type of attention Alora usually gets, and even if we’re among friends, that isn’t good.

Chiyo had insisted on sitting next to Jack at one end of the table after the incident with Vanya, and was clearly getting bored after finishing her work, splitting her consciousness to cut down the time she needed. Right now she was flicking through a couple of books, and occasionally asking Jack some oddly specific questions. Originally it was just a few things about Earth, but eventually got to asking about his favourite type of movie, after establishing that movies were a thing where he came from. Honestly it was cute that Chiyo was at least trying to be subtle in noting down his interests…

As for his homework, it wasn’t too difficult to find what he needed. Astara’s holy days mainly centred around several important anniversaries of battles to honour those that died and heroic sacrifices performed by her faithful in the name of the Greater Good. There was one holy day that did stand out though: 'The Gifts of Gratitude' honoured family and friends with the sharing of gifts, and encouraged goodwill and charity to the less fortunate that were deserving of help. It was the closest thing to Christmas he'd heard of here. Come to think of it, he'd heard it mentioned at the Temple of Hope.

He shared his findings with the others and noted theirs. Tyrus' followers used the equivalent of 'Bank Holidays' to work in harmony with societies, Imera's celebrated magical convergences and discoveries, Siros’ dictated the days seemingly at random, and Nekdon's former faithful seemed to compete for the most vague, ominous-sounding traditions. It was honestly fascinating to Jack on learning that there were hundreds, maybe thousands of different gods out there. New things were being discovered all the time and there were many secrets occasionally rediscovered. Maybe Earth would be out there somewhere…

Jack was suddenly pulled out of his reverie and on the alert as he felt Chiyo stiffen next to him, looking worried as she quickly typed a message.

"What's wrong?"

Alora might be in trouble, she just won an important council vote and her opponents might try something bad. Nika’s still playing Deathball and Sephy still has a little time left of her detention.

“We’d better get going then, I’m nearly done anyway,” Jack replied, steeling himself as he packed his bag. “Let’s go help!”