- Squad House

Shortly, Jet arrived with the people that Gus had selected. He led them back out from the small corridor and into the waiting hall. From there, he took them through a door in the corner to the left of the corridor they had just exited.

Behind the door was another corridor, but this one was far longer than the previous one. There were no doors nor windows along the length of the corridor, and only one, glass door on the other side of the corridor. Behind the glass door was an elevator that would take them up to their rooms. The elevator was huge, able to hold at least a hundred people at once, probably more.

As Jet led them down the corridor, into the elevator, and during the elevator journey, he explained the overall layout of the station to them. They had docked in what was referred to as the 'entrance level' a relatively tiny area of the ship designed only to hold new cohorts for a matter of hours while they had their living arrangements sorted. Above them, and where they were going via the elevator, were the three floors that the students of the academy would call home. Each floor was assigned to a separate year in the academy with the first years, and therefore Gus and the others, being on the lowest floor.

Each floor was like a self contained city. Platoons would live together, in a tall house that appeared to be made from brick and mortar with an outer layer of metals, but each squad had their own floor within the large houses. On each floor, other than the ground floor, was essential household rooms and items, allowing squads to live together independent of other squads. Each platoon would live in an area known as the 'Residential Estate' on one side of the floor, with each platoon having its own building in the area.

Almost right next to the residential area stood the schoolhouse. The schoolhouse was a large building, both in height and width, where the various students of the academy would attend classes. Sporting ten, large classrooms, each big enough to hold an entire platoon, the schoolhouse would be where most of the lessons taught to the students were learned.

"While you'll get a full glimpse of the curriculum soon enough, I'll give you a head start," Jet said. "I'll be teaching your lessons about military equipment. We'll be covering weapons, armour, vehicles, and so on."

Behind the school was the training house, a building that was considered to be part of the school but was still highly isolated, following a separate time schedule and rules. Inside the training house was a large space designed for sparring, with a large, cordoned off area on one side, similar to an old boxing ring. This ring had the purpose of putting individual fights on a pedestal for special occasions, such as if the officers of the station wanted to see a specific pair fight, or if two students wanted to settle a grudge.

Another part of the hall was designed for ranged training, allowing students the chance to test out weapons, practice their aim, and test ranged cybernetics. Finally, a third section was devoted to physical training, allowing students to train cardio, strength, and agility.

Further behind the training hall was the storefront area. Here, multiple shops of all different types combined to form the biggest shopping area most of the student's would have ever seen. There were simple grocery stores; tech stores, selling the latest and greatest technological devices from across human space; body enhancement stores, where students could purchase and install cybernetics, have cosmetic surgery, or could have something as simple as a tattoo; among many others.

As the elevator reached the first floor, Gus saw that the residential area was on the side of the elevator. The floor was well lit, thanks to a series of lights in the ceiling giving the appearance of the sun. Since the day was getting late, the lights shone a shade of orange, reminiscent of the setting sun back on Earth. Jet led them to the houses, making idle chat as he walked.

"So, any house you'd prefer?" he asked them as they arrived at the houses, looking at Gus as he spoke.

"Will the house we choose affect the other squads in our platoon?" Gus asked him.

"No. Platoons are assigned irrespective of the housing arrangements. It's more to do with what other squads you're with," Jet answered.

Gus looked around at the others, asking with his expression if there was any they'd prefer. Receiving only shrugs of indifference and shaken heads in response, Gus chose to occupy the top floor of the end house, furthest away from the elevator.

To Gus, the choice was simple. The house was at the end of the street, and the street continued around to provide a path to the schoolhouse. If there were more people like that Will from the simulation, who were quick to take offence at what was just a tactical choice, then it was better to not be trapped in the middle of the street. As for the choice of the top floor, Gus hoped that the fact that platoons would eventually be pitted against one another would result in a sense of loyalty from the other squads, meaning that they wouldn't be trapped up there.

Jet made a note of their choice and led them up to the top floor. Attached to the door that led into the top floor was a bag filled with a set of ten keys. Taking them off the door, Jet passed them to Gus before opening the door and leading them inside. Behind the door was a short, wide room, with a door on the right, left, and directly in front of the entrance

"The door on the left leads into the showers and toilets. The door on the right leads to the kitchen and storage cupboards. The door in front of us leads into the bedroom corridor. With the bedrooms, there are five on the left, four on the right, and one at the end of the corridor. You can pick whatever one you want, but the one at the end of the corridor is the Squad Leader's. So in this case, it's Gus's," Jet said. "Gus, a word."

"Take a look around and decide what rooms you want," Gus said to the others. "This shouldn't take too long."

"What is it?" Gus asked Jet as the others disappeared into the bedroom corridor.

"At some point later on, you're going to get a package delivered here. The package room is downstairs on the ground floor of the house. You don't have to look at it tonight, but make sure you check it out by tomorrow. It'll give you instructions to carry out for your squad, as the Squad Leader. You'll be expected to be in the schoolhouse by 08:00 tomorrow, so make sure you're up."

"Won't that be in the package? Why are you telling me when I need to be up?" Gus asked in a confused tone.

"I'm just trying to be helpful to some new students," he said raising his hands. "Is that such a bad thing?"

"I guess not," Gus conceded. "Thanks, Jet. Or should I call you Mister Kleen?"

"You can call me Jet," he said with a smile. "But not in classes. I have to at least pretend to be impartial, after all. Good luck, Gus."

Gus looked into the bag of keys as Jet turned and left. Inside the bad were ten keys, one for each member of the squad. One of the keys was slightly larger, and was more intricately decorated. Attached to this key was a tag that indicated it was for the person who held the role of Squad Leader. The other keys were labelled with numbers which, as he found out by entering the bedroom corridor, corresponded to a specific bedroom door.

"All decided?" Gus asked. Not that he needed to. It was clear who wanted which room, as everyone stood by their preferred door. He made his way up the corridor, handing out keys as he went before ending up at his door.

"I want us to have an early start tomorrow, so make sure you get to sleep early. Understood?"

Receiving nods and a couple of groans in response, Gus turned and entered his own room.

Against the opposite wall, in the centre, was a large bed, laden with cream coloured pillows and thin, white sheets. Just above the bed was a small, circular window, too high up to be seen out of. Gus guessed that it was there to only let in light from the outside floor of the station. To the left of the bed, from Gus's perspective, stood a small brown cabinet with an alarm clock built in, and on the right was a tall, brown bookcase. Along the wall on the right was a desk and, tucked in the corner between the wall on the right and the wall with the door, a tall, open wardrobe. The main feature of the left wall was a window, peering down into the street. Below the window was a chest, providing Gus with more storage space.

Gus immediately climbed into bed and went to sleep while wearing his clothes, the events of the day having taken a toll on his mind.

'Hell of a sixteenth, huh.'