Around 5am, the lights turned on and a bell tolled in the distance, the signal that the day had begun. Kinson yawned and rolled out of bed. He felt exhausted, but was helpless in the face of the long night. It was always the same nightmare, although it had hardly been a dream. He supposed it was a rather mild form of PTSD, all things considered. Many of the Mar's survivors were emotionally and mentally crippled, destined to be stuck in a mental care institution for the rest of their lives. Even the advanced psychological treatment available from Psionists couldn't eliminate the terror of that day. Kinson had just been too young to really comprehend the horror of the war. His older brother wasn't as lucky, and reported to his councilor twice a week.
"Rise and shine," he muttered, shaking Trevor awake.
The kid always slept through the morning bell, and would probably miss his morning classes every day without Kinson. Trevor finally woke up, and began the struggle of getting out of bed. Satisfied that his misery was now shared, Kinson began readying himself for the day.
The schedule for students attending the University was very strict, and kind of irregular. They were granted their free time in the morning, followed by Advanced Studies, for those that had them. After lunch, they were expected to attend class throughout the evening. Apparently, the school management felt students could focus better in the evening. Everyone here was an elite though, so Kinson felt it didn't really make that much of a difference.
His anxiety continued to rise the whole morning, as unable to take his mind off his flashback. He was actually grateful when his first class started, as it gave him an opportunity to take his mind off matters.
When dinner came, he met with Trevor and Celeste as normal. They were simply first years, an age when typical students would still be attending high school, so they were relegated to the campus cafeteria. In a year or two, when they became adults, many of the restrictions would be lifted.
Celeste had an excited look on her face as she greeted the two of them. Kinson looked at her with interest, it was rather rare for her to get this excited about something. Fortunately, it seemed she couldn't even wait three sentences before sharing what had happened.
"So, remember that I was going to ask my Father if there were any available internships?" She began with a bright smile. Kinson felt a spike of interest.
"Yeah, did you somehow hear back already?" he unconsciously leaned forward.
"Yup! I had barely brought it up this morning, and began explaining your situation. He stopped me and said there was an opportunity to join a research committee that was created last week! Moreover, it's an alliance committee!" Celeste explained.
"Alliance Committee? What's that?" Trevor asked curiously.
"It simply means whatever the research topic is was directly commissioned by the Alliance government. Those projects are usually top secret and extremely important to the furtherment of mankind. Now that I think of it, it's kind of odd that my father would recommend such a position to someone who isn't a trained professional, much less a first year student. No offense," she added.
"Well, did he say how I could apply?" Kinson sat back, pondering.
"Yeah, I have an email you can contact. Supposedly, they will help you with everything you need," Celeste looked down at her lap, and Kinson's phone buzzed momentarily.
"Thanks a lot! Do you happen to know if I could still attend the university?" he wondered.
"You should be able to. The closest BPI building is just off of campus, so it wouldn't be a problem to show up for a few hours every day," Celeste informed him.
Kinson looked at his phone and opened the text from Celeste. The email was only a string of numbers, with the BPI domain. Not much help.
"Should I send it now?" He scratched his cheek.
"Go for it. It might be a bit time sensitive," Celeste nodded encouragingly.
It only took him a few seconds to write the draft. "Here, take a look at this. Does it sound alright?" Kinson handed his phone over to Celeste.
"You're taking this awfully serious," Trevor teased as Celeste read over it.
"Of course! This might be the only chance I'll get, so I can't waste it." Kinson said firmly.
"Looks good to me, let's send it! Wait a second, here's a typo. There, got it," Celeste handed his phone back after a moment.
"Done!" Kinson sent the email, fingers crossed for luck. "Now all we can do is wait.
The friends chatted merrily until the bell sounded, signaling the start of the next class. Kinson switched his phone into vibrate, unwilling to silence his phone completely. Bidding them farewell, Kinson left with a little bounce in his step.
After he had left, Trevor looked at Celeste.
"Do you really think he has a chance? Although I've only known him a few months, and I can't help but wish for his success," he said solemnly.
"I hope so. I can't help but feel the same way as you. He's been through so much, it's hard to believe he's really our age. Anyway, I'm leaving. Don't want to be late for class!" she replied, before swiftly walking away.
Trevor nodded his head and followed. Only time would tell. Now, the rest was up to him.
Barely twenty minutes later, Kinson struggled to keep his eyes open. His current class was combat theory, a lecture based class about fighting with and against Psionics. It sounded interesting, but was really a filler class for anyone who had lived under a rock their whole lives. The core curriculum was mostly common sense, with a little bit of useless trivia mixed in. The nature of the class, combined with his near sleepless night, put Kinson in a dangerous situation. His eyes slowly closed, their weight irresistible.
At the last possible moment, a faint buzz vibrated up his leg. Kinson snapped awake, then secretly grabbed at his phone. Obviously, using a phone was banned during class, but students did it all the time, right?
Leaning back, he casually glanced at his phone screen, eyes fastening on the notification. Sure enough, it was from the BPI! His fingers hovered above it, about to select it. But, he suddenly froze as Kinson felt a presence looming above him.
"Well, well, well," a cold voice echoed above him. "What do we have here?"
Shoot, he had forgotten Professor Smith was skilled in psionic perception! Dread filled Kinson as he looked up at the frowning professor.
"Since it seems you dare to ignore the lecture, I can only assume you have already mastered the contents of this lesson. Tell me then, what is the best usage and counter for telekinetic psionists?'' he asked with a sneer. "Might I add that an incorrect answer will result in extra homework for the entire class."
The previously dull eyes of his classmates sharpened, each sending a look that would shatter any psionic shield. Kinson felt cold sweat drip down his neck as he thought quickly. Finally, he had an answer.
"Uh, the best usage would be as support to a battalion or group of ordinary soldiers. Depending on their skills, they can create shields, disrupt the enemy formation, or move necessary supplies about quickly," Kinson said, gaining a little confidence as professor Smith's eyes widened in surprise.
"That is correct. And how would you fight against one?" the professor asked.
"The first thing to do would be to figure out what sort of specific abilities they possess. There are plenty of obvious counter measures depending on the situation, like long range snipers or artillery. I've heard using telekenetics against themselves is also effective. However, I prefer one thing above all else," Kinson said, grinning.
"And that is…" professor Smith asked in exasperation.
"Nuke them from orbit!" Kinson demonstrated with his hand.
The class went silent. In Kinson's opinion, the only thing better than his classmates' expressions was that of professor Smith.
"Wait, you actually said that?" Trevor asked in awe. "Weren't you afraid of being assigned extra homework and getting lynched by the class?"
"Well, I honestly wasn't thinking at the time. My mind was a little distracted. Oh, yeah! I got an email reply from the BPI during class!" Kinson remembered excitedly.
"Really? That was quick. What did it say?" Celeste asked eagerly.
"Oh, let me see," Kinson opened the email, which had been buried in his mind beneath the weight of his doubled homework.
"Wait, don't change the subject… fine, let me see," Trevor peeked over his shoulder, reading along with him.
"It looks like they want me to come in for an interview tomorrow morning. Do you know where the BPI offices are?" Kinson asked Celeste.
"Yeah. I can take you there tomorrow, if you want," she offered.
"Man, I'm glad that worked out for you! By the way, you can head back on your own. I got some extra curricular practice to get to." Trevor informed him.
"Thanks Celeste. And Trevor, what is it you're up to?" Kinson asked?
"Heh, I'll tell you in a bit," Trevor grinned.
After agreeing, Kinson bade the two farewells, and returned to his dorm room. There was still an hour or two before lights out, but his current excitement didn't even touch the sleep he had lost the night before.
Kinson laid down on the bed and reflected on this rather fortuitous opportunity. His family would be overjoyed to hear about it. He hadn't talked to them much since he began attending the university, but remembered saying he would. He pulled out his phone, drafting a text to his mother.
His finger hovered over the send button for a moment, but he soon withdrew the intent. Perhaps it would be better to wait for good news. His family had been upset enough when he failed the deathdream evaluation the first time, and he didn't have the heart to tell them about the last two. Besides, he justified, they didn't need to go on the roller coaster he had been on these past few days.