No Way in Hell

"You need to stay in hiding, but at the same time investigate what happened to your world. Unfortunately, in the last 30,000 years the president of the Federation of Sentient Planets has passed a law that all adolescents must go to a standardized school for at least twenty years."

Jazz paused before continuing. "So, seeing as you are an abandoned Ayeri who has never been to school, our first move will be admitting you to whichever school you can test into."

"What's the Federation of Sentient Planets? Also, what do you mean they passed a law that everyone must have twenty years of schooling!" Annabelle was fuming.

"That's ridiculous, my people attend school for thousands of years, and that's just to learn things important to our culture, and now a Federation I don't even know about is enforcing standardized schooling?"

Marc decided to clarify what Jazz had said. "The FSP was brought into being because of what happened to Pasef, it started 40,000 years ago."

"A few members from each sentient race were appointed to be members of the board, to vote on things that they would enforce for all races. They decided on twenty years of school for races that can grow to be thousands of years old, and four for races like humanity that are rather short lived."

"They did so in the hopes that there would never be another genocide like Pasef. Their goal was to teach inclusion and tolerance of other races."

As he spoke Annabelle looked deep in thought.

"Has there been any data that supports their decision? Have they seen an actual impact? Or are they just continuing to practice this, hoping that eventually all sentient races will become friends?"

"You do know that there are some races that just can't get along because of the way their pheromones interact right? It's not something they consciously choose; their bodies simply can't stand each other."

Jazz didn't know why she was so against this, it had so far proven very successful, and most graduates of the more successful schools went on to become interplanetary diplomats.

"That was considered, and they discovered a way to stop the secretion of those scents temporarily. That way if they knew they were going to interact they could use the suppressant, and if they were going back to their home planet, they could stop using it, letting their pheromones reassert themselves."

"I'm sorry, I just really hated school. So many cliques. It's just ridiculous."

"How old are you?" Marc looked at the girl who looked like she could be fifteen.

"In relation to humans? I guess I would be considered eighteen. We mature at different rates; I was probably only the equivalent of a human middle schooler when I finished my education. I was supposed to take the career tests about a week before I was sent to Earth."

She sighed at the thought that she had to go to school again.

'I'm never going to be finished. Hah, dad would have stated that we never truly stop learning.'

Turning her attention back to her group of rescuers she considered what they had said. "Alright… What do I need to do in order to get into one of these schools?"

"Well there have been a lot of changes since you were awake, I think it's time for us to help you cram it all in. The new school year is just around the corner and by law you must enter when you become a new adult.

"Yay, cramming for tests. I've never done this before." She rolled her eyes as she followed them to the transport pad. "How many weeks do we actually have before I need to take the tests?"

Marc looked at a screen and brought up information about the school year. "We only have a month to catch you up on the last 50,000 years…"

They all looked at each other as realization hit.

"Well I'm screwed." Annabelle was the first to react.

Jazz was next, immediately bringing out a small obsidian ball.

"Well to start off, these are what we use as identifiers. They can also be used to communicate, read information, and keep files. You'll be given one when we reach Costa."

"Right now we have an extra that isn't being used as an I.D. so you will be using that to study. I'll go find it, but Cass will take you to your quarters, while I do so, and supply you with some actual clothes. Marc can you start compiling study material?"

"Sure."

"Come on Annabelle, I'm pretty sure some of my clothes may fit. I think I have some jeans that are a little tight on me, so they might be perfect for you."

As she spoke, she grabbed her hand and pulled her along. "I think we can put you in the room near Jazz, it's cleaner than most of the other empty rooms because we regularly get stuck with a neat freak from the risk management branch."

"Why would you get visits from risk management so frequently that you keep a room ready for them?" Annabelle worried that her newly accepted guardians were magnets for trouble.

"Well, things happen. It's not our fault that the research division keeps asking us for data that is hard to obtain. If they would stop asking for information from places like Dranae or the meteor fields of Absa we wouldn't get into nearly as much danger."

Shaking her head Cass kept talking, "I'd like to see a risk assessment of their requests. That way we could have the blame shifted to the source." She scuffed her shoe on the floor, reaching her room.

"Come on, I'll let you go through my closet. Just choose whatever you want, it's all work stuff so there isn't anything I am attached to. When we get to a station, we'll all go with you for a shopping trip."

"Thank you. Do you think there is a school that would be best for me to enter, in order to find clues about what happened to my planet? Or even just to find the other survivors?"

"Probably ARD, the Academy of Research and Diplomacy, it's the one we work for, but it's also the best in the world, they are known for their graduates, and most students rely on connections they made during school with each other throughout their lives."

"The three of us graduated together, we were in different core subjects, but I and Marc were introduced to Jazz by an instructor and we've been a team ever since."

"How hard would it be to enter?"

"It's probably impossible, they are very picky about who they accept, and there are a lot of applicants."

"Maybe for a human, but just wait and see how a Pasefien with tech abilities studies, you'll be astounded." She winked at Cass, and strode into her closet, pointing to a few pairs of sweats and a couple of T-shirts and a single hoodie. "Is it alright if I take those?"

"Of course," Cass grabbed them from her closet and started out of her room. "follow me, I'll take you to your room."

Annabelle was shocked by how kind this woman, who had originally been sarcastic towards her, was being.

"Thank you." She whispered, almost inaudible. Her heart warming towards the human, who would even let a strange alien use her personal things without hesitation.