Ivy woke with a gasp, her head throbbing with pain. Looming over her stood a blurry figure that seemed to call out to her in a voice she found most irritating. Judging by cadence alone, the heiress knew she was no longer on Callisto.
"You good there, princess? We thought you were finished."
"I'm not a princess, and where am I?" Ivy groaned. "I thought I..."
The heiress clamped her mouth shut, realizing she was better off saying nothing about her escape. If she were in a foreign place, it meant her father had failed to capture her, meaning he would be relentlessly searching the entire solar system. That being said, there was no possible way the simpleton that knelt beside her could possibly be one of Algernon's spies.
"Thought ya what? Died?" Lila smiled, her rose colored eyes beaming with curiosity. "That woulda have been a shame, I've never met someone with your getup."
"It's not a getup; everything you see is natural." Ivy frowned, struggling to raise her own head.
"Ooh, take it slow, I know not all of us had a smooth ride," the short-haired girl giggled, brushing aside a dark brown strand as she reached to fix Ivy's pillow. "You've been asleep here longer than anyone else."
"My ride was...perfectly smooth, I'll have you know," the heiress lied, her tone becoming more sheepish as she spoke.
"Me personally, I got a truck thrown at me. Oh, and then I got rocked by an alien. Can you beleive that?"
"No, I can't," the heiress struggled. "Now get out of my way."
Suddenly, Ivy realized her attire had been completely changed, causing her to nearly tumble out of what appeared to be a bunk bed. Alongside the other girl, she wore what appeared to be a short black skirt with a set of white leggings, as well as a tight red vest and a silver necktie. Upon further inspection, however, it would appear Lila's necktie was red, matching the color of her eyes.
"Where...am I?" Ivy hissed. "I won't ask again."
"Glad you asked. I have no idea."
Ivy's surroundings were those of an old human barracks, with rows of stacked beds and glass windows lining the walls. Even the curtains were made out of a rather historic fabric, alongside a set of blinds she had only seen in a museum. But quite possibly strangest of all were the inhabitants of the building, who all seemed to be young girls, wandering about the red carpet with their nearly identical uniforms.
"An orphanage?" Ivy climbed down from her bed, trying in vain to balance herself with the black cloggers that had been placed on her feet. "It's surprisingly clean."
"Here, let me help you down." Lila smiled.
"D-do not, touch me," Ivy growled. "Why are you even here?"
"Okay, well dang, my bad. Just watching out for the straggler, how criminal of me. But hey, if your trip was so smooth, how come you slept in late?"
"Why you-."
Before Ivy could raise her hand, another girl with silver hair walked by the bed, tugging on its foundation before removing a splinter of wood. Such a peculiar sight stunned both Iva and Lila, who stared in disbelief.
"And who is that?" Ivy sighed.
"Beats me, she hasn't said a word since she got here."
The strange girl began to stab a window with her newfound weapon, struggling to break what was now known to be a material far tougher than glass. Lila rushed over in response, climbing down from Ivy's bed and approaching the girl.
"Hey, uh, what's your name?" Lila smiled nervously. "And you...might not want to do that."
"Sonera," the girl responded, glaring at Lila with violent intent. "And why not?"
"Well, you look like a smart girl. So let me just put it this way. We both know who put us here, and maybe, just maybe, we wouldn't want to alarm them by trying to escape."
Sonera paused for a moment, staring at the glass as she pondered her options. Eventually, she produced a slight nod of sorts before dropping the shard of wood. She then turned to Lila, tilting her head as she began to analyze the girl.
"Oh, uh...I'm Lila. Nice to meet you, Sonera."
"You're from Earth," Sonera muttered in a lower voice.
"Indeed, I am." Lila placed her hands on her hips proudly. "What gave it away?"
Sonera refused to respond, her eyes still fixated on Lila's figure. As an assassin, it was her prerogative to understand people who bothered to approach her. Luckily for the earthborn, Sonera was becoming increasingly certain of the girl's unthreatening appearance.
"Okay, well...can I guess where you're from?"
Sonera nodded silently, amused by the jovial game.
"Mars." Lila pointed confidently.
"Was it the Russian accent?" Sonera frowned.
"Yeah...cheap shot, I know, most of the colonists were from there when it was first established."
"I do like this game though." The silver-haired girl changed her expression into something far more friendly. "Let's continue."
"Oh really?" Lila shrugged, uncertain as to why Sonera was becoming more approachable. "Okay."
"Where is she from?" Sonera pointed at Ivy, who was pouting silently next to the bed she had finally finished climbing down from. "I could tell you."
"Uhhh...Europa?"
"No. She's from Callisto."
"I ain't gonna lie, I've never heard of that place." Lila chuckled.
"They are into...how do I describe it...eugenics."
"Ah, so the white hair is real."
"Painstakingly so." Sonera smiled. "This is...nice."
"Yeah...you kind of struck me as the silent type there for a bit."
But before Lila could finish speaking, Sonera turned to leave abruptly, as if no longer interested in the girl's existence.
"Ugh, martians." Ivy rolled her eyes, unable to muffle her complaint. "How typical."
"What's that?" Lila asked as she walked back to Ivy, feeling insecure in her ability to communicate.
"That thing wasn't even talking to you. It was analyzing whether you were a threat or not."
"Uhh," Lila grimaced. "You mean she's cold?"
"No, all martians are gangsters. That one was probably a whore and an assassin. Kind of like how you earthborn are all primitives."
"I seem to have gotten you stuck in a rant here," Lila backed away, raising her hands as she gritted her teeth. "Allow me to leave."
"Good." Ivy turned away.
Lila then began to wander the room, avoiding every girl she came across before kneeling in front of another bed. It wasn't easy to contain her panic, nor was it getting any easier to distract herself with menial tasks. If she couldn't keep her mind busy, then her insecurities would make way for reflection.
"Don't think about them," Lila muttered to herself, trying her best not to ruminate on what had happened to her family. "Mom would want me to be strong."
"She must be proud of you, the way you helped Ivy."
"Huh?" Lila stammered, looking up to see a girl with strange tattoos, her soft voice practically whispering into her mind. "H-how did you know-."
"I saw you. I was worried she wouldn't wake either, but I...well, I'm not as brave as you. They scare me."
"Well, uhh...thanks anyway. It's nice to know at least someone isn't trying to avoid me. My name is Lila."
"So I've heard." The girl pressed two fingers together with a nervous tremble, before her voice seeped into Lila's ear. "Mine is Lunae."
"How the heck are you doing that?" Lila's eyes widened.
"What do you mean?" Lunae gasped.
"Your lips don't move sometimes, but words still come out."
"I'm...not entirely sure."
"Oh...well that's convenient." Lila shrugged. "So what...you were just...watching me fail at conversation this whole time?"
"You tried it with at least a dozen girls." Lunae nodded, taking a seat next to Lila, fiddling with her shimmering hair as she spoke. "I wanted to chime in but-."
"Nah, I get it. You're fine."
"Really?" Lunae beamed with excitement.
"Yeah, some people are shy like that."
"I've struggled to be brave ever since I woke here. I know so little...and it frightens me."
"Join the club, honey." Lila laughed. "This whole thing is obscene."
A loud rumble then came from the far end of the room, frightening the girls as two wooden doors began to shudder. Lila had been eyeing the peculiar entrance for some time, but figured it would be better to stay clear due to its intimidating size. And to her dismay, the creature that walked out was indeed monstrous in size.
"Humans," Yrix spoke loudly, silencing the room with her mere presence. "Little...little humans."
For all but Sonera, the alien's presence was a shock that the girls were unable to process, watching in horror as Yrix stepped into the center of the room with a single stride. Her words seemed to slip effortlessly from her mouthless face, penetrating the minds of every soul she could lock her gaze on.
"Listen closely," the Psion squinted, unveiling a large golden scroll from behind her tall body, its silky parchment practically long enough to act as a blanket for Lila. "I, Yrix of the Consortium, bring you a decree from his opulency, the Emperor. This holy declaration states that your lives are henceforth, as of this moment, sworn to the Consortium. You will be trained here, in my Aerie, and you will be forged into Psionic weapons to fight on behalf of your empire. Fail or succeed, it is all the same; you will give your life for this cause. My cause."
Yrix then began to scan the room, its inhabitants still as the crypt. She didn't need words to understand their feelings, nor did she need another lengthy explanation. Casting the scroll aside like trash, Yrix spoke again, her voice even more piercing than before.
"Those clever among you know why you were chosen to be here. Your Psionic potential. I have searched far and wide for such gifts, and using that same power, I will hone you into a blade. Whether or not you survive the process is...irrelevant."