The two young Cadets headed back to their room to change and get their uniforms ready. Max made a mental note of the location of the patches on the older Cadets' uniforms earlier, so he wouldn't get it wrong, but Nico had managed to pull the description up on the screen by the door of their room.
"Is that supposed to be available?" Max asks, indicating the screen.
"Of course. It's not locked, they just don't think we know how to work the system, or they would make the test something that we couldn't easily solve individually. Now, grab some hot water from the bathroom to soften the boot polish. The can is cold, so I am pretty sure they keep them in frozen storage."
Max decided they must have done too well yesterday, and the Academy was pulling out all the tricks today to catch them off guard. Or maybe, as Nico said, they were being treated as idiots, and the Major was planning to teach them everything step by step after they assembled for the next round of instructions.
As if thinking of her Summoned her, the Major walked by their door at just that moment, and Max flagged her down to obtain a few more important details for their first day. "Major. What uniform will we require this afternoon, the coveralls or the Dress Uniform?"
Major Payne smiled at her new charge, impressed by his understanding, and then noticed that the other young prodigy had started placing the polishing kits out and arranging uniform badges already.
"Cadet, do you already know what you need to do with the uniforms?" She asked curiously.
"Yes, ma'am. The data screen showed us everything that we needed to know." Max responded, standing at the cadet's version of attention.
"Since you got the prep pack, I recommend the coveralls. This afternoon is your initial physical assessment." The Major informed him and walked away to help the other Cadets, who were not adjusting to Academy life nearly as well.
The combination of the healing abilities provided by the System's nanotechnology and the Kepler Empire's advanced technology lead to very long lives for those who could afford it or those who remained in military service, and Major Payne had been training Cadets for over fifty years.
She was certain that she had seen more outstanding Cadets in the past, but she believed that these two had a special promise to them. They immediately worked as a team, working through all of the tasks that they were assigned together instead of competing or trying to do them individually. That assessment went into her notes, along with a recommendation to fast-track them through early education, as most of it will be unnecessary for them.
The Cadets didn't know it yet, but their first Physical Assessment was designed to activate their Systems. After that, Major Payne would know just how good these Cadets were. Her Innate Ability wasn't a combat type like superhuman Agility or rapid healing, but it was perfect for a drill instructor. She could see others' System Status.
With their uniforms prepped and their coveralls matched with the lightweight training boots that thankfully don't ever need polishing, Max and Nico cleaned up their mess and neatly organized their lockers. When the dorm was spotless, they headed out to lunch, getting away from the crying, the complaints, and the not-so-patient explanations that filled the First Year Dorms.
They were both certain a Dorm check was coming soon. They were just not sure when, and they didn't want to end up in punishment detail like most of their class was going to be.
The class was treated as a single unit, though, so the punishment was going to be inevitable, either for failing the check or for letting their classmates fail the check, but there was a sense of accomplishment in having done it right and having at least tried to help the others that they saw struggling, or doing something that wasn't up to regulation. Not that a lot of the other Cadets listened today.
In addition to the cafeteria on their floor, there was another one they could use on the main floor. It was open to all, but Max understood that with its improved menu, it would be dominated by the senior classes. Fortunately, they arrived early enough that it shouldn't be too busy.
The appearance of a pair of First Years, their coveralls freshly steamed free of wrinkles by the in-room laundry machine that most Cadets don't figure out how to work properly for weeks, even with multiple demonstrations, startled the Cafeteria supervisor. But they passed muster with every required element in order, so he allowed them to join the short line and pointed them to a corner of the room next to the kitchens.
The others naturally avoided the kitchen noise, which always made that table the last place to fill, a small blessing for the two brave young souls.
Upstairs the lunch menu was tasteless protein sandwiches with vegetable soup. Here they got the option of four lunch sets. Max didn't recognize any of them, the names were all generic, and the Cadets were assumed to know what the dish name meant. Unfortunately, neither of them read the menu before coming here, and there were no pictures.
"Two Lunch C Sets with Juice, Please," Nico told the worker with a smile and pulled Max along before he could decide.
"The last six students all ordered it." She whispered, and Max nodded. They were in their final years here, so they wouldn't order anything that was truly awful.
It turned out to be meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Max gave Nico a look as if to say 'seriously,' and she just shrugged, digging into her meal.
"Tomorrow, we can check the menus first. But at least it's not a recombined protein sandwich."
For some reason, it's served with a tube of spicy processed cheese. Max wasn't sure what that was about, so he checked the mind of the seniors and found that it was a very popular condiment here, but not needed for this meal and usually saved.
Max grabbed both packs and tossed them to a group of seniors who were giving them dirty looks, making the boys smile.
"Good call, junior. You just might get along here." Their leader laughed, spreading the cheese on the noodles of his Set A Lunch.
Again, the call blared over the intercom for the First Year Class to get to the courtyard. Max and Nico were only twenty meters away from there in the first-floor cafeteria, so they finished eating quickly and took their places in the front row. In front of them, an obstacle course and a variety of strength training activities were being assembled, making them glad the Major recommend the light and comfortable version of the uniform for today's class.
Most of the other Cadets either asked or listened to the Major and were wearing the same outfit, but some assembled strange variations of the uniform on their own instead of accepting advice or assistance.
Max listened in to the minds of the older Cadets passing by as they waited for the other first years and learned that the coveralls may be rolled to the elbows without being out of regulation, so he tried it with his and found that the uniform was even more comfortable this way.
In the end, they stood there for three whole hours while Cadets were reprimanded for a wide variety of failures, often being sent to correct them and then running a lap of the building. Learning by example, Nico's mother would have called it. Now the whole class knew what was not acceptable, thanks to the sacrifice of the various members and the intensive lecturing of the instructors.
Of course, they're all twelve years old, so the Cadets were going to forget at least half of what they were told by the end of the day, but the Instructors would be more than happy to repeat the example and include the whole class in tomorrow's learning experience.
Standing at attention and running laps were their two favorite punishments, one for building the discipline to stand still, the other to burn off the extra energy possessed by a class full of young Cadets.
The older students watched in amusement at the spectacle since they had the whole afternoon free. They didn't need to do a physical exam so soon after their end-of-term exams, so they were not starting their own classes for one more day.
"Now that you've finally learned to dress yourselves, let's see if you can walk across the lawn without getting yourself dirty." A Drill Sargeant named Zamm called out, and a cheer went up from the spectators.
"Pay up, punks. I told you they'd clear Uniform Drill in one shot." The boy that Max gave their cheese tubes to cheered, making Max struggle to hide his smile.
"Cadet Nico, Cadet Max, to the obstacle course, you're up first."