The Greta's hull stretched nearly hundred meters from bow to stern, her profile low and aggressive. Retracted weapon ports lined her flanks like sleeping predators, while the bridge rose from her spine in a swept-back arch that reminded Noah of a stalking beast. The neural interface nodes along her hull pulsed with the same soft blue as their bracelets, ready to sync with their suits the moment they boarded.
"She's beautiful," Kelvin whispered, still staring. "The rumors said they were developing something special for off-world operations, but this... this is art."
Miss Brooks's voice cut through their admiration. "All teams, final boarding checks. Squad leaders, sync your tactical displays with the ship's systems. I want everyone strapped in and locked down in ten minutes."
As the other teams filed up the boarding ramp, Miss Brooks caught Noah's eye and gestured him over. He approached, noting the unusual tension in her usually confident stance.
"Eclipse," she began, her voice low enough that only he could hear. "What you did in the cave with Lila... protecting your teammate at any cost... you set a precedent." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "Others might try to prove themselves the same way."
Noah started to speak, but she held up a hand. "Cannadah's latest reports show no hostiles, but we both remember what happened in the last expedition. A Level 3 beast where there should have been nothing above Level 2." Her green eyes locked onto his. "Expect the unexpected."
She straightened, her voice taking on its familiar commanding tone. "Despite the segregation, despite the groups, you're all Class 1B. I expect everyone back. Is that understood, soldier?"
"Yes, ma'am," Noah replied, feeling the weight of her words settle on his shoulders like physical pressure.
Miss Brooks nodded once, then strode up the ramp to address the gathered teams one final time. Her goodbye speech was brief but powerful, reminding them of their training, their bonds, and their responsibility to each other. Then she was gone, leaving them to their mission.
As the docking bay doors began to close, Noah caught sight of Mr. Vain leading his 1A students toward another craft. The instructor's perpetual smirk was firmly in place as he guided his precious prodigies to their transport. Further down the bay, Mr. Rourke's 1C students were already boarding their own ship.
'Three classes, one planet,' Noah thought, turning back to his team. 'What could possibly go wrong?'
The Greta's systems hummed to life around them, her neural interface reaching out to sync with their suits. Through the bridge viewport, Noah watched as the massive bay doors began to part, revealing the star-studded darkness beyond.
"All teams, secure for launch," the ship's AI announced, its voice surprisingly human. "Quantum displacement drive spooling up. Estimated time to Cannadah orbit: six hours, seventeen minutes."
Kelvin was practically vibrating with excitement in his restraint harness. "Do you realize we're about to be the first students to experience quantum displacement travel? The theoretical applications alone are—"
"If you start explaining the physics," Cora interrupted, "I will find a way to eject your harness."
Noah felt a smile tugging at his lips as he listened to his team's familiar banter. But Miss Brooks's words kept echoing in his mind: Expect the unexpected.
'Well,' he thought as the Greta's engines began their distinctive quantum whine, 'at least we're going into the unexpected together.'
----
[Location : Planet Cannadah]
[Local Time: 14:27 Standard Earth Hours]
[Atmospheric Conditions: High Density, 27% Oxygen, Multiple Electromagnetic Storms]
[Surface Temperature: 31°C]
Six hours of quantum displacement travel had left most of the students either dozing or quietly contemplating their life choices. The Greta's hull hummed with a different frequency now as they approached Cannadah's upper atmosphere, the sound changing from a gentle purr to something more purposeful.
"Attention all passengers," the pilot's voice crackled through the ship's comm system. "We're beginning our descent through Cannadah's atmosphere. Expect heavy turbulence due to electromagnetic storm activity in the upper ionosphere. All students should be in full gear with neural interfaces active. Safety harnesses will remain locked until we clear the gravity well."
Noah watched as status updates scrolled across his suit's HUD. Atmospheric composition readings, gravitational stress warnings, and descent vectors all competed for his attention.
'At least the suit's artificial gravity compensation is working,' he thought, noting how his stomach wasn't trying to escape through his throat despite the ship's steep descent angle.
Across the cabin, Adrian Albright was somehow managing to look perfectly composed while simultaneously dealing with his three teammates – Jessica, Maya, and Claire – all attempting to claim his attention under the guise of "mission concerns."
"Adrian, do you think we should review the landing protocols again?" Jessica asked, flipping her perfect blonde hair despite the helmet she should have been wearing.
"I thought maybe we could go over team formations?" Maya cut in, somehow having maneuvered her harness closer to his.
Claire didn't even bother with a pretense, just staring at him with that dreamy expression that made Noah want to roll his eyes into another dimension.
'And I used to be jealous of that?' Noah thought, watching Adrian try to diplomatically address all three without encouraging any of them. 'Guy can't even check his equipment without starting a minor crisis.'
"Atmospheric entry in thirty seconds," the pilot announced. "Brace for turbulence. Quantum dampeners at maximum capacity."
Kelvin perked up at this, his eyes gleaming with that special kind of excitement that usually preceded a lengthy technical explanation. "The dampeners are actually utilizing a fascinating principle of—"
"Not now," Cora and Lila said in perfect unison.
The ship shuddered as it hit the first layer of Cannadah's atmosphere. The viewport filled with a strange, purple-tinged fire as they cut through the planet's electromagnetic field. Noah's HUD flickered briefly before compensating.
"Fifteen seconds to clear air," the pilot's voice came again, steady despite the vibrations rattling through the cabin. "Stand by for landing vector calculation. Base Alpha has cleared us for Pad Seven."
Noah glanced at his team. Kelvin was still watching the viewport with undisguised fascination, probably calculating something in his head. Cora had that focused look she got before a fight, while Lila was already running system checks on her gear.
"Multiple electromagnetic anomalies detected," the ship's AI announced. "Adjusting shield harmonics. All neural interfaces will experience a three-second reset upon landing. This is normal and expected."
The purple fire outside began to fade, replaced by a view that made several students gasp. Cannadah's surface stretched out below them – vast plains of deep blue vegetation under a lavender sky, punctuated by crystalline formations that seemed to pulse with their own inner light.
"Welcome to Cannadah," Noah said quietly to his team, watching as Base Alpha came into view – a sprawling complex of gleaming structures that seemed to grow out of the alien landscape itself.
'Here we go,' he thought as the landing pad approached. 'No turning back now.'
Another announcement cut through his thoughts: "Year Three transport detected on approach vector. Estimated arrival: seventeen minutes post-landing."
'Perfect,' Noah thought, catching Cora's eye roll. 'Just enough time to get our bearings before the royal entourage arrives.'
The ship aligned itself with Pad Seven, its landing struts extending with a hydraulic hiss that seemed impossibly loud in the suddenly quiet cabin. As they touched down, Noah felt the promised neural interface reset – a brief moment of disconnection that felt like missing a step in the dark.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the pilot's voice had a smile in it now, "welcome to Cannadah. Please remain seated until local gravity calibration is complete. And try not to let the view distract you too much – we've got work to do."
As the gravity calibration completed, the familiar dark shimmer of his void interface rippled across Noah's vision. Deep within his consciousness, he felt the sleeping dragon stir briefly before settling back into its slumber. The system materialized in his view, its dark crystal framework edged with void energy:
[Location Update Detected]
[Void System Recognizing New Environment...]
[Planet: Cannadah]
[Void Energy Density: Abnormally High]
[Warning: Unknown Energy Signatures Detected]
[New Quest Detected]