The first thing I notice is how unobstructive the headset is. Not only the physical weight, but the clarity and visual fidelity as well. "Holy shit, there's literally no screen door effect at all. I literally can't even see a single pixel," I think, utterly flabbergasted by the technology. "And the FOV is beyond reasonable. I literally can't even see the edges at all." I find myself stretching to look to the left and right, up and down, trying to gain any sense of awareness at all that I'm looking through a device and not just looking at the real world. "This is actually insane." The hyper clear visuals are so realistic, that for a brief moment I can't help but raise my hand to my face to verify that the headset hasn't actually just opened up entirely or something.

  My hand reaches up, and I find that the headset is still fully enclosed, no seams or openings to be found. I cup a hand around the headset, just to see if I can block the camera in any meaningful way, and all I can see is the palms of my hands in shadow. "This is so weird. It's like the camera view is literally coming from my eyes, and not something on the front. There's no disconnect or anything. How... how? No like, actually how though?" The mere act of placing my hands in front of my eyes is causing my brain to short out, the technology beyond anything I could have previously imagined.

  "Uh... wow," I say, unable to form anything more coherent. The nerd portion of my mind desperately wants to rave about the technology; the seemingly missing visual offset, the lack of color banding or ghosting, the absolute clarity of what is dawning on me might not actually be a screen, but I know that it would be lost on the Tenno. I turn to look at them, to ask about the next steps, but I find that their face is fully uncovered. "Why'd you take your headset off?" I ask, quirking an eyebrow more out of habit than anything. They don't respond, but there's an amused twinkle in their eye. "I didn't," they say, and I just roll my eyes.

  "I'm literally looking right-" I start to say, but it suddenly clicks. "Wait. Wait, no, hold on. Is... you're still wearing it?" I ask, and they nod once more, their humor barely hidden. They hold their hand out, and I hesitate before I realize what it is that they want. I offer my hand, and they grab it, gently moving it towards their headset. As they do, a visual effect makes it bleed into reality around my hand, allowing me to see what it is that I'm touching. As my hand pulls away, the effect disappears, once more revealing their face. "Damn, that's real trippy," I mutter in English. Eventually, my gaze wanders past the Tenno and towards the machine. "Wait a second," I think, looking at the various instructions and holographic panels and signage decorating the device. "Wait a second, I'm not this kind of crazy. There absolutely was not all this crap everywhere."

  My eyes roam around, as I move towards the various bits of text, and I see an identical effect to the one that played out with the Tenno's headset play out here in reverse. As my hand passes through where the text resides, it fades away in just the same manner, to let me see the machine underneath it. I turn to look at the Tenno, whose face is still showing obvious mirth. "Alright, this is super cool. I get why you don't feel the need to take the headset off," I say, an impressed look on my face. They chuckle, before speaking. "Once you're ready, we're going to head over to orientation. The halls can be a little... overwhelming, for newcomers. Just as a heads up." I nod my head, as I take a step towards the door. "No problem, I'm ready."

  I in fact, was not ready. The moment we step out the door, I'm floored by a visual feast, decorating what appears to be every inch of the hall. Lines on the floor with floating text denote paths to various places, and digital posters on the wall advertise meetings and operations and game nights all right next to each other. The Tenno is patient enough to let me soak it all in, before I'm ushered down the hall to the next location. It only takes me a few moments to realize that the path we're following is one literally highlighted for us. NEW CONSCRIPTS, it says, in big clear letters above the line. I want to ask a million questions about the headset, but it's obvious that I'm literally on my way to get some answers, and so I do my best to keep my mouth shut, as I passively take it all in.

  A few minutes later, and we arrive at a small room with a circle of chairs, where two people are already sat. As I enter the room, I pass by the Tenno, who puts their hand out in front of me. "This is where we part ways. It was nice to meet you, Antimony," they say, placing the emphasis on the correct syllable this time. I give them a warm smile, and a wave, and they step away, the door shutting in front of them. "I probably should've asked for their name," I think to myself, before turning my attention to the two conscripts in the room. The two of them are already chatting, but as I move towards one of the chairs, the bigger of the two turns to look at me.

  "Opinions on meat," he says, his dark eyes boring a hole into my soul. "Uhm. Good? I guess? Positive opinions," I say, not entirely sure of his line of questioning. "That's what I'm saying!" he says, on the verge of shouting, as he turns back to the other girl, whose trying to shrink away in her chair. "Listen, I am telling you, now that you're not with the hippies, you have got to try some meat. Everyone likes meat!" I take my chance during his proclamations to look the two of them over. The man has mixed black and Asian features, with long black hair tied up in a man bun, and is absolutely ripped. "Shit, he's gotta be 6'4" or something," I think, trying to estimate his height from his seated position. His energy is intense, but it doesn't read as particularly aggressive.

  "More like one of those big dogs that don't realize how terrifying they are when they play growl at you," I think with a grin. The girl on the other hand is small in every sense, almost waifish. She has little body fat, and can't be more than 5 feet tall. Her eyes are a bright green, and her long brown hair is currently braided in an elegant pattern. "I wonder how long that takes every morning." The pair of them are near polar opposites, and I take a moment to listen to the conversation before joining. "It's so good! And, it'll put some meat on your bones! Which, you don't have, cause you don't eat any meat. How do you think it gets there?" says the big man. He raises a single arm and flexes it, showing off his admittedly impressive muscles.

  The girl murmurs something, but the guy doesn't seem to notice, steamrolling on. "Also, I don't want you to miss out on all the good stuff. For example, I've already eaten food at eight different places on the relay, and there's a bunch more that I think we should go try together, but if you don't eat meat, well then I'm not sure where I'm supposed to take you." There's a look of genuine confusion on the man's face, as though the idea of vegetarian food is something he's never encountered before, but the mousey girl is clearly frustrated by the big man's personality, so I take the opportunity to step in. "Hey there! My name is Antimony Nova. What's yours?" Rather expectedly, the big man introduces himself first.

  "I'm Reaser Thomoni! Rease to my friends. You can call me Rease!" I decide not to comment on his assignment of "friend" after only being in proximity to each other for barely 100 seconds. "My name is Ellavanar Tygg," says the girl, much quieter than Rease. "Hey there Ellavanar. Do you have a nickname?" Her four syllable name isn't the most complicated thing in the world, but it is a bit of a mouthful. "I guess you can call me Ella," she says, after a moment of consideration. I give them both a nod. "You can both call me Annie then. So. I guess we're doing orientation, probably once these other seats are filled." I look at the two empty seats, and before any of us gets to make a comment, the door at the back slides open.

  Ko-lee steps into the room, and as her gaze meets mine, I see a touch of tension leave her shoulders. I feel a grin stretch across my face, and I give her a wave as she makes her way to one of the empty seats. "Well fancy meeting you here," I say, giving her a cheeky smile. She sits next to me, and I lean over to give her a kiss, before an awkward bonk reminds me that we're both wearing headsets. "Oh, wow, I forgot about this thing so quickly," I say, leaning back and touching the headset once more. I can see Rease gearing up to say something, but I quickly cut him off. "Rease, Ella, this is Ko-lee. Just Ko-lee, no last name... unless I've seriously messed up as a partner," I say. "We came in together." My hand reaches over for hers, and I see a light-bulb go off in Ella's head, while the gears turn in Rease's. "Yea, he'll figure it out eventually," I think with a grin. "Ko-lee, this is Reaser Thomoni and Ellavanar Tygg," I say, pointing them each out in turn.

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  She gives them both a smile and a nod, before her gaze moves to the final empty chair. "We're missing someone," she states, and I shrug. "Yea, probably. I imagine they'll pull up at some point soon. We were just discussing the finer points of meat, in the meantime." Ko-lee gives a small grin. "I would say I am somewhat familiar with meat," she says, flashing me a knowing look. Rease's face lights up, and he begins to give us a rundown of the menu's of every single food place he's found on the relay. "I'm honestly surprised that there's this much variety at all. I kinda assumed that it was all just going to be mess hall, cafeteria type beats, but maybe there's a bunch more public facing stuff up near the Concourse," I think, as Rease rambles on about the value of a protein heavy diet.

  As Rease waxes poetic about space food, the door slides open once more. A guy with vaguely Nordic features and short shaggy blonde hair saunters in, giving us all a lazy wave, before plopping down in the final chair. He stretches both arms high into the air for a moment, before placing them behind his head, as he leans back in his chair. "Damn, I didn't know they'd be waking us up this early," he says, a relaxed tone to his voice. "Corpus tattoo?" I wonder, looking at the geometric, asymmetric V shaped tattoo on one side of his face. "Anyways," he continues in a chill tone, "you can call me Caz-V." I raise an eyebrow at the name. "You pronounce the dash?" I ask, and he gives me a nod. "Sure man, that's why mom and pops put it there," he says offhandedly.

  Before Rease has a chance to grill the man on his dietary choices, the door slides open one more time, revealing an older man with a severe look. As he approaches, I sit up, and Ko-lee does the same beside me. Ella doesn't need to, as she hadn't been slouching to begin with, but Rease doesn't seem to notice the general shift in the atmosphere. Caz-V does seem to notice, giving us all a look, but chooses to continue relaxing. The man makes his way towards the circle of chairs, standing directly behind mine, and I pick it up and turn it around as inoffensively and quickly as I can.

  He takes us all in for a moment, before speaking. "I am Primark Alarez," he says, looking down at us. Primark Alarez is an older man, but his gray eyes are sharp, and I can't help it as my gaze is drawn to the prosthetic in the place of his right arm. "You are all Tenno recruits," he continues. "You are at the bottom of the totem pole. After three months, if you are still here, you will no longer be at the bottom of the totem pole. After three months, if you have not given up, you will be functional soldiers. After three months, if all goes well, you will be able to serve the Lotus as a true Tenno. Are there any questions?" Rease raises his hand, and I can't help but cringe slightly in expectation.

  "Yea, I got a question," says Rease, not waiting to be called on. "Should we call you Primark? Or Mr. Alarez?" The Primark gives him a scathing look for a moment, before answering. "Primark is my rank. Second Primark, to be specific. If you refer to me at all, it will be as Primark Alarez, Second Primark Alarez, or Sir. Do I make myself clear?" Rease just nods his head, seemingly satisfied, and completely unperturbed by the intensity of the Primark. "Good," he says, after a moment. "Now, I am going to send all of you your schedules for the next three months. These schedules can not be changed, they can not be rotated, and they can not be swapped. You will show up to your classes on time, every time, period. I don't care if we are under attack by the Board and the Queens themselves, unless you are told otherwise by someone above you, you are required to be there. Are we clear?"

  "Sir, yes sir!" I say, entirely by myself. The Primark quirks a single eyebrow at me, and I can feel a pit form in my stomach. "Oh no, oh fuck. Too many movies. Is that not a thing, is that not how you respond?" I think with dread. Luckily, after a terrifying few moments, the Primark moves on without comment. "To access your messages," he says, "you will need to use the neural interface that is part of your gear. This is not a case of thinking hard. You do not need to strain yourself. Instead, you only need to intend to open the message. That intent is what is read by the interface, and is how you can navigate the various menus." The idea is simple enough, but it's clear I'm not the only one struggling with the concept.

  "God, I feel like I'm trying to flex a muscle I've never used before. I don't know how I'm supposed to intend to open it without having at least opened it once. What does 'intent' even feel like?" I think to myself, as I stare uselessly at the blinking icon in my field of vision. As I'm sat there trying to send my intent, I hear a gasp from someone behind me. I turn to see Ella's face lit up. "Oh, I get it! Intent," she says, as we all give her a look of confusion. "It's like, you are going to open the message. The decision to do it is what causes it to trigger." Ko-lee gives her that familiar look of focus. "How exactly are we supposed to decide to do it, if we don't know what we're doing?" she asks, her gaze locked on Ella.

  Ella takes a moment before responding, clearing trying to think of a way to explain the process. "Uhm... imagine you are about to reach for something in your pocket. It's not the actual reaching that you're trying to do, it's the moment right before your hand moves. So, you don't need to actually reach in this case. You just need to do the thing before it." I'm still lost, but the explanation seems to be enough for Caz-V, because a moment later, he gives a casual, "got it." The last three of us look at Caz-V, but he just shrugs, either unwilling or unable to give any hints on his success.

  "Intend to do it. I don't need to actually mentally open it. There's no muscle to flex. I just need to make the decision to do it. Like a flex of willpower," I think. "Oh, wait, is that what it is?" I look at the blinking icon letting me know there's a waiting message, and suddenly, I'm able to read my schedule. "Ohhhh, I get it," I say, looking at the other four. "It's an intentional shift in the mind. Like when you're laying in bed, and you tell yourself you need to get out of bed. That exact moment where it goes from something you're just saying, to something you know you will do, even if you haven't done it. That moment where the decision clicks, that's what you're doing. I am going to open the message, and so it does." Caz-V looks at me bemusedly, but Ella has her lips pursed, clearly considering my explanation.

  Ko-lee looks first to me, then to Ella, and then Caz-V, and Rease in turn. She sighs, and closes her eyes for a moment, before reopening them. I can see the exact moment she locks in, and the second she does, her face lights up. "Alright, I get it. Antimony... your explanation was dumb," she says, looking at me. "Of course you would make an analogy about getting out of bed. But it did help, so..." I give her a cheeky grin. "You know what they say. If it's stupid and it works, it isn't stupid." She just quirks an eyebrow. "Who says that?" she asks. I just give her a non committal wave of my hand. "You know. Them," I say with a dismissive tone, my grin still plastered on my face.

  It takes nearly 20 minutes more for Rease to get a handle on the process, the Primark watching us all the while. Ultimately though, he makes the connection, and the moment his schedule opens up, the Primark makes a noise, drawing everyone's focus. "If there are no further questions, you are all dismissed," he says. Before Rease gets the chance to actually ask one, I grab his attention. "Hey, Rease, you said you've been to a bunch of different places for food? You should bring us to the closest one for lunch." A look of extreme concentration crosses his face, as the Primark leaves the room. "Hmm... I think I know a good place. I don't know what sort of food they'll have for Ella though," he says, giving her a look of concern.

  Ella just puffs her cheeks slightly, in a look of incredibly cute frustration. "Rease, I was trying to tell you, but you wouldn't shut up and listen. I eat meat! I'm not a vegetarian," she says. Utter confusion crosses Rease's face, and Ella looks to the rest of us haplessly. "I was telling him a story about the colony I grew up in, and he totally misinterpreted what I was saying. But I do eat meat, here and there. Less than most people do, but mostly because we didn't have a lot where I lived. Too much of it will make me sick," she says.

  I nod my head. "Well I got food last night, and there was a lot more than meat on my plate. I'm sure we'll be able to find something for everyone's palettes," I say, standing up from my chair. Rease pops up excitedly, and begins to leave the room. Me, Ko-lee and Ella follow somewhat closely, and a few moments later, Caz-V drags himself out of his chair to trail after us.

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