The next morning, the students of the Academy were escorted through the ship to board a Cutter, which would take them to the surface for their field trip, scheduled to last for two days.
The Academy had procured Giant-made mobile buildings for the overnight stay, equipped with tiny dorm rooms and basic sanitation facilities, as well as an Alliance model replicator for the accompanying staff member to prepare meals.
To the students, this was considered camping, though the building was far fancier than any army tent that Max had ever seen. They were still excited and talking about their first off-campus day when the news that they needed to assemble in the gymnasium for an important announcement was made, informing them that they would be headed to the planet for a field trip that very day.
It was the best week most of them had ever had, given the stuffy nature of most high-society Academies. A few had complaints about the accommodations on the surface, but the chance to be in the wilderness outside of the confines of the school was too good to pass up.
Especially for the Valkia, who had realized as soon as they were presented with their uniforms for the trip, which would allow them a full range of motion with their wings, and even allowed them to fly around the room once the suit was properly fitted.
Being able to fly on the planet would be great. They mostly came from crowded cities or even a monolithic megalopolis where they were always somewhat indoors, limited by the ceilings of the levels. Their first chance to see just how high they could fly was enough to have their hearts pounding in their ears and adrenaline rushing through their veins, and they hadn't even left the Academy yet.
They weren't the only ones. One particular student from a living metal species realized that the suit wasn't designed for full alteration, but it would give them structure, which their species naturally lacked. They could experience the world as if they were one of the bipedal species for the next two days, grabbing things in their hands without having to concentrate on not letting the fingers meld together into one surface.
Wearing the suit was a strange experience, but it gave them great insights into the potential of their innate abilities since it forced them to move in ways that weren't natural for their species but which would help them mimic other species more precisely.
A normal uniform was cloth and flowed more smoothly, as well as being more morphable since they preferred skirts to pants, but this suit would stand up on its own since it had an internal structure.
Before coming to the Academy, they had limited experience with other species in any way, and their arrival had been a culture shock, but with the desire to fit in, they had been working hard, and this might be the final step that they needed to accomplish their goals.
The other students noticed the awkward gait as the student tried to walk like a biped, but after seeing the happy look in their eyes, a silent agreement was made to let them do what they wanted and not ask the Headmistress for a different design, possibly something with a long, segmented body as another student was using. It was closer to the living metal student's usual form, but the design team hadn't been given that information, and the only picture they had for the species was in an Alliance government uniform with legs.
The Escort team showed up in full battle gear since they were a protective detail, but with their weapons put away because there weren't actually any hostile species on the planet.
It was an impressive show, and the Headmistress was broadcasting it throughout Terminus, as well as live streaming it for the parents of the students, for the sake of informed consent, as well as entertainment as they watched their children going on an overnight field trip for what might be the first time.
The Reavers were going all out to impress the students, and they had even assigned a Corvette Class Mecha to accompany each of the four groups on the surface. Ostensibly it was there as a guard in case something happened, but the pilots knew that they were more likely to be used to move heavy objects for study and for the kids to stare at when they were bored with the lessons.
It seemed to be doing a great job of distracting everyone, and the data flow rates off of Terminus were well above average, with all of the streaming videos being sent back to the Alliance.
The entire day passed without incident, and when the first night fell on the students, the influx of parents worried about their sheltered darlings began to arrive, ready to spirit them away home for a leave of absence if their delicate constitutions couldn't handle the stress of sleeping in a hab tent or being outside in the wilderness for days at a time.
Max didn't think there was anything to worry about, the suits all had biometric data feeds that were monitored by the Academy's medical staff, just like their usual uniforms did, and they hadn't detected anything out of the usual other than one Harpia student who had a mid-air collision with a tree in the middle of the afternoon.
The suits had a basic shock-absorbing function but no heavy shielding, so she had been a bit stunned by the collision but hadn't suffered any detectable physical damage, not even bruising, according to the medic that was accompanying her team.
It was the second day when things began to get crazy. The first day had shown them that they really were alone on an alien world, but waking up in one, and not under intense supervision, at least not by anyone who could do anything to stop them, had encouraged them to run and fly all over the area, exploring everything, and very nearly driving their teachers insane, while the chaperones from the security team worked to keep them from trying the most dangerous activities, like dipping their hands in lava, or flying over scalding geothermal vents.
Max knew that their communicators would be flooded with messages from their parents by the end of the day, but they were mostly ignoring the messages, content to put notifications on mute while they explored the limits of their day of freedom and did their best to complete the assigned tasks as quickly as possible.
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