This is just me taking a new character out for a test run for an upcoming story. She’s going to be a little more difficult to write due to the accent I’m trying to write her with as well as the personality I’m going to try to give her.
Location: Alpha Centauri System.
Date: Winter. 2722.
Planet: Alpha Centauri Aα.
Seraphina crouched down by Jax’s bunk, a feather in one hand and a can of… something in the other. She wore a Cheshire cat grin as she sprayed the offending cream onto the Halfling’s out stretched arm as he slept. She glanced at the feather and then at the sleeping boy’s nose.
For a brief moment she forgot her prank as she watched him sleep. He had a small grin on his face that made him look so peaceful. A lock of his jet black hair fell in front of his right eye. She shook herself out of her daze and slowly began to tickle the boy’s nose.
Slowly he raised his arm and then lowered it, moaning something and going back to sleep.
“Curses,” she whispered.
She tried again. This time he raised his arm, his muscles contracting to bring his arm closer to his face…
…before springing forward and slapping Seraphina right across her left cheek, covering her face in the stuff.
Jax sprung out of bed and immediately started laughing hysterically. His energy circuits lit up a bright sapphire blue as he slapped his knee and then began rolling on the floor.
“Oh my gosh! I would literally kill to be able to see your face!” he howled.
Seraphina just growled and stomped out of their dorm room into the common area shared with Dak and Fleta.
“Wait! Where you going?” Jax laughed, “You don’t seriously think I didn’t hear you climb down from that top bunk this morning?”
The sound of running water in the bathroom was his only response.
A moaning sound from the other side of the suite got his attention, “Jax, we just got this dorm! Can you at least soundproof the walls if you and Sera are going to be terrorizing each other like this?”
Jax sat up and yelled, “Yeah, yeah. It goes both ways you know! I don’t suppose you and Fleta wanna share your couples’ activities with the rest of us?”
“Fuck off,” Dak replied, his voice getting closer, “Summer this year was a bit fuller than I expected it would be- oh shit.”
“What’s the ‘oh shit’ for?” Jax asked just as Seraphina reentered their dorm with a CO2 spray canister and a can of cherry scented whipped cream.
Jax put his hands up, “Uh, mercy?”
Seraphina gave a devilish grin, “Not this time.”
She held the dairy product in front of the CO2 canister and pressed down on the two buttons. Instantly, the Halfling was engulfed in a storm of white.
“Ah shit! What the hell is this for?!” he shouted as he tried to fight off her assault.
“I’m a bit frustrated.”
“So you’re taking it out on me?!”
“Kinda.”
“Alright, I’ve had enough of this!” he shouted and rushed at her and grabbed the whipped cream from her hand and started spraying her hair with it, “How do you like it?”
“Ah! Fuck dude! My hair!” she laughed as she fell to the floor, holding up her hands to defend herself.
“You can take a shower! After me, that is!”
“Whatever happened to ladies first?”
“I thought we were all for equal treatment!”
She suddenly jumped up and tackled him to the floor, wrenching the can from his hands, so she was now sitting on his chest, pinning his arms above his head.
Seraphina grinned, “You’re gonna pay for that.”
Jax grinned back, “Bite me you little shit eater.”
“A shit eater am I? Okay, we’ll see about that!”
She grabbed the CO2 can and the whipped cream again.
Jax moaned, “Why can’t you just let me sleep in on weekends?”
“Why won’t you just go out with me?” She grinned back.
“Wait what?”
The sound of the door to their suite opening got their attention as Fleta entered.
“What’re they doing?” Her voice bounced into the room.
Dak replied, “Don’t ask me.”
A few seconds later the white haired girl was standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips, “What are you two doing?”
Jax glanced over Sera’s fiery hair, “She started it.”
“What?” Sera frowned, “No you did, when you smacked me in the face with that cream!”
“I wasn’t the one trying to get it all over my hand in the first place!”
Fleta frowned, “Can we continue the couples therapy another time? We do have things to do today. So get dressed you two. And do it separately.”
“What? Separately?” Sera said standing up, “But then it becomes boring!”
Jax already had his clothes for the day, “I call the bathroom!”
He zipped away and closed the door behind him. Fleta rolled her eyes.
“How have you not raped him yet?” she asked.
Sera blushed, “What kind of person asks that?!”
***
“We could’ve at least gotten a decent breakfast,” Dak said as the four of them walked through the town. The planet was getting closer to its Aphelion and the temperature had begun to drop considerably. The four friends were now in their winter outfits which consisted of a white jacket and grey thermal jeans for Jax, a brown bomber styled jacket for Sera with a pair of cargo pants and a newsboy cap, a silvery grey jacket with white pants for Dak, and a blue jacket and jeans for Fleta.
Jax sighed, “We did. You ate like six pancakes.”
“I meant at a diner somewhere in town.”
“Is all you think about is food?” Fleta asked.
“I think about you,” Dak grinned.
“Ugh, gag,” Jax said.
“Sera?” Dak asked.
“Yeah?” she glanced over at him.
“You have my expressed permission and my consent to rape him in his sleep.”
She grinned, “Thank you sire.”
“Ugh, it’s my consent that you need here and I’m pretty sure I didn’t give it!” Jax flushed.
“Oh you will be soon enough, robot boy,” Sera grinned, pulling him close.
“Ah! Let go of me foul creature!”
“Hey it’s getting colder out here. We gotta keep warm somehow.”
“Suddenly I feel like you’re taller than me,” Jax groaned.
“Where the hell did that come from?” Fleta asked.
“I think he’s saying that he’s going to be giving up soon,” Dak said with a grin.
“That’s not what I said at all,” Jax deadpanned.
Sera leaned her head into Jax’s shoulder, “Then what did you say?”
“You know what? I’m done with this conversation. New topic: Anyone know who this new student we’re supposed to be meeting here is?”
Dak sighed, “Not a fucking clue. I don’t even know how we got stuck with this job to begin with.”
“Our little prank at the end of the year last year,” Fleta deadpanned, “In the words of Vice Principal Halsey, ‘I don’t want to punish you but I have to have you guys do something in exchange for screwing with the gravity ball team and cheerleading squad.’ Fucking bullshit man.”
“They fucked up our grids right before that match,” Jax grumbled, “We literally had to play with a software handicap because they couldn’t get half the emitters to work properly.”
“You two still won,” Sera said.
“Yeah. After we almost got disqualified after Dak ‘accidentally’ rammed his command ship into the other team’s.”
“Wasn’t my fault. Half of the emitters weren’t even working so I could barely even see where my ship was to begin with,” he replied.
“Just be glad the ref saw it that way too,” Jax deadpanned before turning to Sera, “Are you ever going to let go of me?”
She smiled and stared back at him, “Never.”
Jax cocked his head.
Sera frowned, “What’s wrong?”
“Just analyzing something. Warm tingly sensation running down my spinal column, increased blood flow to upper facial regions, uh… I don’t have enough data. I don’t know what that one is.”
“Don’t know what is?” Fleta asked.
“Don’t fall for it. He likes to call on the robot part of himself when he doesn’t want to acknowledge something,” Dak replied.
“Mildly raised voice, slight rolling of the eyes, light sneering on the upper lip, that one’s irritation,” Jax said.
“Stop it. You got that therapy when we were five so that doesn’t work anymore,” Dak frowned, “You know exactly what you’re feeling.”
“You know it’s commonly said that the beginning of wisdom is being able to say, ‘I don’t know.’”
“Except you know what it is asshole!”
“Leave him be, Dak,” Sera laughed, “I’m going to win anyway so you don’t even need to bother.”
“You’re not going to rape me again are you?” Jax asked.
“Again?” Dak asked.
Sera turned red, “Heh, ahh… fuck.”
The four continued walking through the cool city streets. Even though the sun was high in the sky to anyone outside of the shadow of the mountain, the temperature was still cool enough to freeze water. Inside the shadow of the mountain it was worse with most of the available light being several kilometers outside the city limits, a semi-permanent twilight was cast over the city, cooling it considerably. Though it was about 10:00 in morning, the available light made it seem more like 9:00 at night.
They approached their destination: a metro station. They stepped onto the platform and waited. In the distance the silhouette of the Space Elevator was lit up by spotlights as a car descended down the cable. A few minutes later the train could be seen gliding towards the city and towards their station that lay on the outskirts of the city. With a light hiss of steam the white and black carbon fiber and glass box slid to a stop.
“Anyone bring a sign?” Dak asked.
“Any of you know this person’s name?” Jax asked.
“Not a clue,” Sera replied.
“Probably would’ve been helpful if Ajax just gave us a name,” Fleta added.
“Wouldn’t be much of a punishment then would it?” Dak asked.
“This is part of the punishment?”
“Hell if I know.”
The doors to the car opened. Instead of an outpouring of people that the four were expecting they instead found themselves face to face with a singular individual.
They were a little shorter than bother Sera and Fleta but still had a semi imposing figure about them. The persona, a she, wore a pair of what looked like combat boots and camo cargo pants tucked inside them. She sported a leather jacket and what looked like a thermal T-shirt beneath it. A pair of dog tags with the words ‘Squad 63549’ printed on one and the words ‘SN-59650-74913’ printed on the other. Her blonde locks were organized in such a way so that half of her bangs fell in front of her right eye with the rest of it being done into a semi traditional brunette bob. Atop her head she wore a black beret with the familiar ‘SN-59650-74913’ running across it.
In one hand she held a large duffel bag which hung loosely, dragging on the floor. In the other she held a pocket watch which she stared at with intensity. The lone green iris that was visible appeared more focused on the ticking of the hands rather than on the four people standing before her.
She lazily stepped off the train and onto the platform before closing her watch and pocketing it. She looked up with a mildly bewildered look on her face.
“Uh… Are you four from zee Akademy?” she asked with a thick German accent.
Jax blinked, “Uh, yeah, we are.”
“That accent,” Dak whispered.
“Zee Daniel und Jett Halzey Akademy for Science und Engineering?” she asked again.
“I’m telling you dude, that accent…” Dak whispered again.
“Shut up, Dak,” Jax replied, “Uh… yeah. Um… who are you exactly?”
Suddenly the girl looked a bit flustered, “Ooh, uh, sorry, mein mishtake. Uh, mein name is Heinrich Von Richthofen. I, uh, I transferret here from zee belt.”
Jax suddenly smiled, “Wait. Heinrich Von Richthofen?”
Dak laughed, “I fucking knew it! I knew that accent sounded familiar!”
Sera grinned, “Hello… rabbit.”
The girl known as Heinrich gasped, “S-sera?”
She dropped her bag as her mouth soon followed. Heinrich gasped and dropped her bag.
“I knew zere vas a reason zat you all looked familiar!”
Sera held out her arms, “Bring it here girlfriend.”
Fleta blinked, “Wait, I’m confused.”
Jax turned, “Fleta this is Heinrich.”
Dak added, “The girl that Michael was always talking to online? Our scout when we play CyberWars or Force Vector or etcetera? Do the dog tags look familiar to you?”
Fleta gasped, “Wait, this girl is HEINRICH?! But how?”
Jax shrugged, “She mentioned she was changing schools but she never said where. Never would’ve guessed it was here!”
Heinrich and Sera released each other and turned.
“Vait, I’m confused,” Heinrich said, “How kan you guys all be here?”
“This is where we go to school!” Jax laughed, “Oh my gosh this is amazing! I thought we were getting some random transfer student to show around but this changes EVERYTHING!”
“I never vould have sought zat vee’d get to meet IRL like zis,” she laughed.
“I knew that accent sounded familiar,” Dak repeated again.
“Well now that we have, we can show you everything here! I hope you didn’t leave too much behind when you left.”
Heinrich bore a grin that was borderline predatory, “Mein baby is safe und sount in zee rest of mein luggage. I trust zat mein boxes arrifed on time?”
“Yeah, there’s a giant pile of case and crates in Michael’s dorm,” Dak said, “Oh speaking of! He’s not going to believe this!”
“Vait,” Heinrich stopped, “Mike? Mike goes here as vell?”
“Yeah he does. He’s away visiting his parents at Aquarius right now but he’ll be joining us real soon.”
“Oh wunderbar! Zis is turnink out soo much better zan I expekted!” she laughed.
“Still,” Jax said, “I hope you weren’t leaving too many people behind when you came here.”
“Not really. Back on zee Valhalla asteroid things vere rather boring. Mein parents sent me here bekause zis is supposedly one of zee best schools/unifersities in zee system. Are you guys shtaying for kollege as vell?”
Jax rubbed the back of his head, “Well actually-ow! What was that for?”
Sera smiled as she lowered her hand, “Forgive him, you understand his sense of humor is a little more twisted than most,” she turned back to him, “You’re not pulling that joke again you little shit eater. You fucking scared me half to death.”
Jax grinned, “I’m glad you can at least admit that now.”
She pulled him close and stared at him, “Just know that I am NEVER letting you go again.”
Jax turned red.
Heinrich laughed, “Already a kouple, huh?”
“Not yet,” Dak said ruffling Jax’s hair, “But eventually. And to answer your question, yes we’re staying here. But first we have to get through SENIOR year. I hope you’re ready because it’s going to be one HELL of a ride.”
“I think I kan handle it, yes?” she smiled removing her beret and running her fingers through her hair.
Dak shook his head, “We’ll see sister. And if you can do school work as well as you play CyberWars you shouldn’t have a problem.”
“Oh I don’t think I vill,” she said replacing her beret, “I skored a nine thousant sefen hundret and fifty on the ACCT.”
“Nine thousand?! Geez, that’s higher than mine! I got a nine thousand six hundred sixty six.”
“Heil Satan,” Heinrich laughed.
Jax slipped his thumbs under his belt, “Yeah, that’s nice and all but that still doesn’t beat what I got.”
“If you mention that perfect ten thousand one more time I’m gonna tear your head off,” Sera rolled her eyes.
“Um… I kinda need that for the whole… thinking thing? Ya know?”
Heinrich laughed, “Uh, I don’t think she vas talkink about zee head you’re thinking of.”
“Wait what?”
Sera crossed her arms and grinned.
Jax gulped and turned to Dak, “I think we’re outnumbered now.”
“What the hell gave you that idea?” he whispered back, “The fact that our school’s population disproportionally favors those who have multiple X chromosomes didn’t give you a hint?”
“Sorry, I was too busy trying to make sure my bunkmate didn’t rape me in my sleep.”
Heinrich grinned, “Fraulein Sera is on zee prowl.”
Jax rolled his eyes, “Your mind is more perverted than my sense of humor.”
“Your sense of humor is more twisted than a causal loop and darker than the far side of a black hole,” Sera replied, “But we can walk and talk can’t we?”
“Hmm?” Fleta asked.
“Am I the only one getting cold out here?”
Heinrich shrugged. Jax and Dak exchanged a glance.
“We’re fine,” the both said in sync before again glancing towards each other.
Fleta rolled her eyes, “Well the rest of us aren’t exactly equipped with the same cold resistant skin you two have. And one of us isn’t half machine.”
“So vat? Are vee going to zee school now?”
“Yeah, might as well get you settled in and all set up in your dorm. Then we can go get some lunch. Let’s get going,” Jax said.
“Alright.”
Heinrich hefted her back onto her shoulders and the group of five got walking.
***
“You never really explained what Valhalla was like,” Dak said, “Even online you never really said anything.”
Heinrich shrugged, “Zere wazn’t much to tell. It vas just another rock floating in zee belt. I never did get used to zee horizon curfing upward.”
“Are your parents staying there still?” Jax asked.
“Nah son. Zey decided to mofe ven I transferret here. Zey hafen’t told me vere zey are mofing yet but right now I don’t really kare. Valhalla vas sooo fucking borink. Zat one rock is more ethnikally German zan I am.”
“Really? How the hell is that possible?” Jax asked.
“Especially with that accent- ow! Stop hitting me!” Dak yelled as Fleta smacked him upside the back of his head.
“Hey. English may be my sekond language but zere are more zan just one German in zis system.”
“So did you decide to transfer here yourself or did your parents decide to send you here?”
“I vas looking at a few different places but zis place stood out from zee others zat were on zee list. I took zee entrance exam and voila, here I am.”
“You sign up for classes?” Jax asked.
“Ya. I signed up for Elementary Quantum Phyziks, Spacial Harmonics, A.I. Neuronics, komputer Programming, and Nanotechnology.”
“Awesome! Sera and I are both in Quantum Physics, Spacial Harmonics and A.I. Neuronics. I know Michael is signed up for Computer Programming and Nanotech. We all took Nanotech last year so if you need any help with anything we’re all at your disposal.”
She smiled, “Thanks. I’m really looking forward to zis year.”
“Soo… after lunch, who wants to go catch a movie?” Dak asked.
“As long as it’s not another one of those stupid Transformers reboot movies you’re so obsessed with I’m game,” Jax said.
“What? They are not stupid!” Dak replied.
Fleta cringed, “They kinda are. They’re all just explosions and no story. Kinda like the originals. I can’t shut my brain off that much to enjoy them.”
“Vait, you like those movies?” Heinrich scoffed.
“Yeah he does. We don’t know why though,” Sera sighed.
“Well at least I’m not like AKIRA here who’s only into art house sci fi movies.”
“Don’t call me that!” Jax yelled, “And I enjoy sci fi the most, I like other genres and movies that are GOOD and not that ugly cesspool of toxic sludge that you like.”
Sera laughed and pulled Jax closer to her and gave him a noogie, “Wow, shots fired there.”
Jax sighed, “Shoot back, I wanna die anyway.”
Heinrich grinned, “I don’t think you do.”
“Leave me alone. She’s been attached to me like a succubus. She tried pulling a poorly thought out prank this morning.”
“Hey! A lot of effort and planning went into that!” she frowned and then smiled and added, “…Akira.”
“Stop it.”
“Vait, your real name is Akira?” Heinrich asked.
Jax sighed, “It’s my legal first name.”
“Oh vow! In English it sounts so girly!”
Sera grinned, “I know right?! He has such an effeminate little name I just wanna-ugh!”
Jax sighed and stared at the sky, “I’m ready gods! Take me away now!”
Dak threw an arm around him, “We both know you’re an atheist so cut that out.”
“Why did my parents name me that?” he groaned.
“Your name means bright and intelligent,” Sera said, “Plus I like it. It’s kinda cute. I don’t know why I have to keep telling you this.”
“Shut up,” Jax grumbled and kept walking.
Heinrich leaned towards Dak, “Is he alvays like zis?”
“Just when we bring up his name,” Dak grinned.
Sera pulled the Halfling into a hold with her arm over his neck, “I know how you secretly like it when I use your real name,” she grinned, “After all… you told me when I confessed to you.”
Jax turned bright red, “Alright I’ve had enough of this.”
He slipped out of her grip and flipped her hat off her head. He caught the cap and balanced it on the tip of his nose.
“Hey! Give it!” Sera called.
He removed the hat from his nose and placed it onto his head and grinned, “You’ll have to catch it first.”
“Oh we’re going to play that game. Alright!” She grinned back.
Jax grinned and began to run, “Catch me if you can!”
“And if I do?”
“I’ll go on a date with you- whoa! Fast there,” he said dodging out of the way.
She grinned, “You know, I think you secretly like the cat and mouse game.”
Dak and Fleta looked at each other, “Ugh guys, we do have a-”
“Shut up!” They both said grinning at each other, “You can participate if you like.”
Heinrich hefted her bag, “Sounts fun.”
“So it’s gonna be this type of morning,” Dak rolled his eyes.
Jax took off running, still wearing Sera’s hat. Sera bolted after him, her flame like hair flowing in the wind. Dak and Fleta rolled their eyes with a smile before following. Soon they were both overtaken by a blonde haired girl with a heavy bag.
“Kome on slow pokes!” She shouted, “I hafe a twenty kilo bag on my shoulders!”
Dak sighed, “I’m friends with the craziest people.”
“The craziest people are the best,” Fleta laughed.
The five bolted up the hill, laughing as they went. It was cold out but yet they felt very, very warm…
***
“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, those who never yawn or say a common place thing but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”
-Jack Kerouac