Mentally psyching myself up I strode up the sidewalk toward the main gate. I was getting sideways glances from the people waiting impatiently in their steed carriages bur I pretended to ignore them. As I got closer to the gate I could see why there was such a long line. A shorter guy about my age was standing in front of the steed limo yelling at a woman dressed in a very classy uniform.
"You got to be fucking kidding me! I have to pull around and wait! Me!" The guy exclaimed. Yelled something in French before switching back to universal standard. "Do you have any idea who I am? What one word from my father could do to you? Do you?!"
"I'm sorry Mr. DeCharles but your steed limo is too wide for our pathway to the collage and since you refuse to walk the rest of the way the only other option is for you to wait for the collage to send a steed shuttle to retrieve you." The woman explained. Her patience was obviously wearing thin, I could see a little vein starting to throb on her neck.
"Take a shuttle?! Like some normie commoner!" The man broke into hysterics switching between French and universal and using every word in the book to describe how…displeased he was at her answer.
'Wow! What a asshole!' I thought.
I rolled my eyes at the pampered idiot and I wasn't the only one. Standing on either sides of the gate stood two guards with rifles resting against their shoulders. Both of them splicers, their crystals displayed in a way that drew attention to them. Beside each of them stood a titans, a evo that I had only read about in books.
The rare combination of human and gorilla DNA with their bones and muscle fibers augmented for strength and durability. Titans were combat evos', created solely for fighting or guarding like those two were. Most titans looked like humans, a few could prably pass if it wasn't for their freakish height of almost eight feet and unnaturally colored skin that was either red or blue. The two titans beside the guards were red titans dressed in a black briefs that had the school insignia on them.
"Hey you come over here!" One of the guards barked when he noticed me lurking. I walked over and flashed the guard a nervous smile. His titan, who had been focused entirely on the commotion with that Frenchman suddenly focused his attention me seeing I was too close it's splicer. It growled softly and flexed his fingers. "What's your business here?"
"I'm actually a freshman here, I just got dropped off and I was wondering where I was supposed to go." I replied.
The guard looked me up and then then curled his upper lip like he smelled something foul.
"You're a splicer?!" He asked insultingly.
"Yes?" I said baffled by his reaction.
"Really? And you came to the Andromeda Collage looking like that?" He motioned to my outfit with the butt of his rifle. I glanced down at my outfit, I was wearing a burgundy tee-shirt with a pair of dark blue jeans and boots. I gave the guard a incredulous look.
"What's wrong with my outfit?!" I griped.
"You look like a fucking commoner!" The guard on the other side yelled.
"Seriously! A Splicer is supposed to show class at all times! Did your family teach you nothing?"
'Not really, no…' I thought.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small metal card with the Andromeda insignia on it then held it put to the guard. He game me a pompous look then plucked it from my fingers then held it at eye level. The diamond shaped crystal on his palm glowed dimly for a moment then a holographic screen popped out of the card.
"Let see….Chase Kingston…age 18…ah! A scholarship student! From America!" He suddenly exclaimed. The second guard suddenly burst out laughing.
"No wonder he dresses like a commoner! He is one!" The second guard exclaimed earning a laugh from the first.
"I didn't even know they still had splicers in the backwater country!" The first cackled.
"He might be the last one!" Finding their jokes funny the two guards nearly fell over laughing.
'At least I had enough talent to make it in as a student at the school and not had to settle as a security guard?' I thought venomously.
"Look where am I supposed to go?" I groaned, just wanting this interaction to be over already. The first guard wiped a tear from his eye then pointed through the gate.
"Follow the road till you get to the promenade from there take the shuttle to Nefertiti Theatre. All the freshman are supposed to head there for orientation."
"Thanks!" I said with a fake cheery tone then took my card back from the guard and placed it back in my pocket then started toward the gate.
"I'm sorry who the fuck does this commoner think he is?!" I suddenly heard that loud Frenchman screech. Already annoyed up to my ears at being called a commoner I chose to ignore him and keep walking. I was about three yards past the gate when I felt a strong hand suddenly grab my shoulder. I looked over my shoulder to see the short Frenchman grabbing me.
"Dude what is your problem?" I demanded as I jerked my arm free from him.
"Dude?! Dude?! I am no dude you clueless urchin! I am Damon DeCharles! Son of Sir Francis DeCharles, Lord of Ashwald and advisor to the king of France!"
"Did you just say your dad was the lord of Ass world?" I snickered.
Damon glared at me, he started to open his mouth to retort when he heard the guardsmen snickering behind him. Damon turned to see the both of them barely controlling themselves and the secretary that he'd been yelling at hiding her face behind a clipboard as well as a few spectators who'd gotten out of their steed carriages laughing as well.
He turned back to me, his pale face now flushed with anger. He took a few steps back and rolled up his sleeves.
"How dare a mere nobody insult the great house of DeCharles! This stain on my family's honor will not stand!" He roared "Ash!"
The square crystal on hid shoulder started to glow brightly then a hexagonal construct shot out of it into the air before landing behind Damon and exploding into a bright light.
I looked away from the sudden flash of light and when I looked back a Thrad was standing behind him, it's vicious reptilian eyes locked on me.
My mouth fell open as I gaped at Damon and his thrad, too stunned to speak. Not because there was a deadly and dangerous military grade evo well known back home for killing entire families while they slept was staring at me and flexing it's claws. Only one thought filled my brain in that moment.
'How the fuck did that evo fit in that crystal?!'