"Now, cadets, we are at war because of the events of 4250, the Calamity. When the Freespace Coalition declared its independence from the United Nations, one thousand colonized sectors went to war. It had an overwhelming advantage over the United Nations; nine to one odds at worst. But those odds were, well, too overwhelming. The Freespace Coalition collapsed; it split in two, and then its successors split in two, until humanity was divided just like it was on Earth. Mannerhaus was loyal, cadets, remember that. We fought with the United Nations to try and seek a peaceful solution, but we were betrayed by our mother sector, New Westphalia. We are stronger than them. We have better ace trainers, and better weaponry. It's only a matter of time until they admit defeat. You, cadets, will further that cause." The sergeant, perhaps, realized he had started to drone on again, because he trailed off, then cleared his throat.
"Pegasus Facility; Cadets Harden, Werzer, Nygaard, Trister..." Will started looking about the room, at the mixture of nervous and excited preteens that surrounded him. [Was I this ugly in middle school?] he asked himself, bored, as he inspected his hat.
"Marienburg Facility; Cadets Dravomir, Lorssen, Ymri, Preussen, Xi..." [Huh. That's a Chinese name,] he thought, turning to look at the cadet stepping up. Slightly tanner than himself, slightly darker hair, but nothing particularly different there. [A thousand years will do that to races, I guess.]
"Cardinal Facility; Cadets Allarine, Bernhal, Ermine, Franzen..." Will perked up, standing at attention before moving to follow the stream of other youths heading towards a stern-looking officer. In total, eight children were assigned to Cardinal Facility; four boys, four girls, probably so each dorm could have two bunk beds. The officer waited until they all arrived, then nodded to an aide, and a patch was attached on each cadet's left arm, beneath the eagle; this one, a gold Christian cross within a white circle, like the flag of the crusades. Then, obviously not mincing words, he introduced himself.
"Colonel Anverheim. I'll be overseeing your growth in Cardinal Facility. Don't disappoint." Will wracked his brain for a second, then blinked confusedly. [Isn't that a high up position?] he had just enough time to think, before the colonel turned and marched off, obviously expecting them to follow. Will stepped forward - and immediately bumped into the cadet in front of him, a girl who, by jumping in fright, showed she was either annoyed or shy. The girl, with platinum blonde hair and similar green eyes to his own, glared at him - so she was annoyed, it seemed - before turning to jog after the colonel. [Way to go, Will,] he joked with himself before running after the quickly disappearing colonel himself.