Stargazer - Segregation

Chapter Eight - Fluctuate

They make their way up to the dining hall. In Nios, they are used to eating whatever they could harvest during the week, which is pretty limited. However, here they can eat whatever they want because the kitchen ladies are a talented cook, at least that's what the crew says.

They chat with happy faces, and Henry is excited about what's to come.

"Hey Michael, come here!" Henry waves to Michael, who seems a bit lost.

"Isn't this food great? It's so much better than in Nios," he shoves bacon inside his mouth, sounding stuffed.

American breakfast is on today's list, bacon with eggs and pancakes.

"Yes, true. I didn't eat it in ages," Michael looks over to Logan, who sits right on the opposite of him. "Are we going to start training today?" he adds.

"Something like that," Logan doesn't glance at them for a second. "We will show you around. Physical is the first one you are going to do anyway."

"Physical? I have a question," adds Henry. "Why do we need physical training if we are sitting inside a machine?"

"You are not just a pilot. You are also a soldier, and soldiers need to be physically fit."

Henry sighs.

Michael looks at him and smirks; he knows he doesn't really like physical training. Even in Nios, when he was training, knowing he would be a pilot, Henry was sitting around doing nothing. He is more the kind of person who helps with words instead of actions. He always reaches out to the others, every single being that needed a hand. But, Michael knows that Henry will be getting through this somehow.

They finish breakfast and walk together to the upstairs training room right at the opposite of the bridge.

It looks like a gym. The right side filled with fitness equipment, mostly for bench presses, working with your body weight, and pull-up machines—exercises for deadlifts, shoulder back, and squats.

Several targets are placed around on the left side. Some move and some do not—separated each of the three places with bulletproof glass.

To their right side is a closed room; it's the simulator. There are several suits placed for training. It seems to be the exact copy of the original ones that the pilots wear. The chair looks exactly like the one from the Horizon, and in it, the headgear attaches them. The computer's connection with their nerves will feel several different conditions such as acceleration, free fall, and temperature drops.

"The training is pretty simple," explains Logan. "The first two weeks, we will strengthen your fitness. The following week will be the targets on the left, and the last two weeks will be the simulator. We are going to repeat this procedure every month until you are all ready to pilot."

"I hope we can bypass the first two weeks somehow," Henry whispers to Michael, who just chuckles at him.

Galina looks very straightforward. She believes in her own because Galina knows that if she works hard, she can do anything. Henry is very insecure, and Michael seems to be too bold.

"But this is not the important thing," adds Mayumi. "The most important thing is to be able to master the so-called fluctuation system."

Darryl takes over the word. "Exactly, in the simulator, you will be given our fluctuate suits. With those, you can see your heartbeat. The important thing to note is that you need to be able to control it."

"What do you mean by controlling your heartbeat?" asks Henry in surprise.

He smiles. "If you control your heartbeat, you control the machine. The fluctuation system connects you, through your suit with the Horizon on a neural level."