Gheetoh powered ahead at a pace that we were just about able to keep up with without breaking into a jog.
She spoke as we went, pointing out places to eat, shop and entertain us, all of which were run entirely by the students that inhabited the planet.
The buildings were not in a simple grid or obvious pattern, more European than American, so it took many twists, turns and climbing up and down the odd level to reach our destination.
The streets opened up and the walls fell back. 
Grass covered the ground, broken up by paved pathways.
The area was divided up by rows of plants and fountains, the variety of both was astounding.  Wherever you looked there was a different view; bright and colourful, simple and elegant, refined and mono-coloured, wild and overgrown…  Every possible garden you could potentially imagine, and many more that you never would, rose up around us.
Gheetoh slowed her pace to allow for us to take in the environment. 
There was not a single recognizable plant in sight.
The smells covered every scent you can imagine; pleasant, floral, sweet, fresh, crisp, pungent, rank, nauseating…  With each area a new fragrance hit us, some far less pleasant that others, clearly grown for races with particular scent receptacles or plants that had a specific purpose; medicinal or edible.
In and amongst all of the flora we beings of every variety.
Either in the midst of a lesson, seeing to the upkeep and landscaping or simply relaxing, all of the sentient life forms of the galaxy were represented there before us.
I could not help but feel a massive pang of jealousy.
The were simply living life; learning new things and hanging out with friends and peers, as though their world had not just ended.
I tried to recall what that felt like, however the mere idea felt foreign to my mind.
As we made our way across the park, there was not single head that did not turn in our direction.
It occurred to me a little late that, to anyone who had not been aboard the Screnac, human beings had likely never been seen in person before.
Along with the staring came pointing, not in any kind of ridicule or derision, but between beings, bringing one another’s attention to us.  Whispered voices and concealed words were spoken as noise and conversations dissolved as we passed by.
As oppressively overbearing as addressing the whole humanity had been, I had known the people that I was speaking to.  To a degree, I could gauge their reactions and figure out the best way to phrase things.
The scrutiny that came from every direction was terrifying.  I managed to move my trajectory so that I was in the middle of the group.  With any luck, I would be another face in a crowd of much more interesting people.
Other than the occasional glance at the continuously changing surroundings, I kept my eyes trained on either Gheetoh or the ground.
After what felt like forever yet was, in reality, only a few lals, we came to a stop.
On the grass in front of us stood three beings; a tharat, a sheenar and a pink.
Orthus smiled and stepped forwards, indicating that I should come forward to great him.
“Welcome, Laura MacPhaid, welcome everyone,” his voice was carefully schooled to be loud enough to be heard by us yet at a volume that would elude anyone that he was not addressing.
The spell broke and the residents of the park returned to their business, with only the occasional nosy glance in our direction.
“I would like to introduce Nepti Usad, it will be explaining and assigning you to the appropriate areas of study as well as leading the first mandatory introduction session to cover the basics that everyone needs know.”
I breathed an inward sigh of relief and I suspect each of my companions did also.  During our night of research, we had discovered that the sheenar are androgynous, being neither male or female.  Nowhere had we been able to find anything that would tell us how to refer to an individual.  Our collective guess had supposed that instead of he or she, it would probably be they.  However, I could not help but worry that, whatever it was to be, we would get it wrong upon our first encounter with one and wind up offending someone.  Orthus had just saved us all from the potential political incorrectness.
The sheenar stepped forwards and offered a dipped head in greeting, its voice echoed into our heads, “I look forward to getting to know you all and helping you to realize your potential in our dealings together.”  If there was anything to be said about hearing a telepath speaking directly into your head, it would be that it felt entirely natural.  There was no invasion, just a voice, or rather an understanding of what it was saying without it using actual words.
“And this is Ishni Weisot,” the pink stepped forwards and Orthus addressed me specifically, “he will be working with you Laura MacPhaid, to refine and develop your ability.”
As first impressions go, Ishni certainly avoided making a good one.
He looked me up and down with squinted eyes, it turns out that the look adopted for judging someone translates to most other species.
The forest green feathers that covered his shoulders twitched, I can only assume in distaste, and he gave a fed up sigh as he twitched his soft beak and nodded his head in acknowledgement of my existence.
Despite being the most beautiful creature that I had had ever beheld up until that point, he definitely held a very specific opinion of me and my ability, or maybe it was simply because I was human.
I returned the nod with an expression that I hoped would convey the respect that I knew instinctively that I should feel.
I have had a bad track record when it came to training; if I did not respect my instructor or understand the reason or value of the subject matter, I would always do my best to reject the whole experience and undermine the person who was really just trying to do their job or help me.
I was determined that training in telekinesis would not be something that I could take lightly.  I would do my absolute utmost to be patient and absorb what I was to be taught, no matter how frustrated I became.
However Ishni had certainly put my back up without even saying a word.  My hopes failed a little, yet I decided that, if he was looking down his nose at me, he must have plenty of experience and wisdom that would make it worth me schooling my patience.
It would push me to the limit, however I knew that I had to try.
“If you would all take a seat wherever you find comfortable, I have uploaded forms that will help me to organize the appropriate lessons,” Nepti’s voice slid through my mind, “feel free to leave any areas blank if you do not understand or wish to respond.  I will come around to each of you to discus your options.”
It took a few minutes for everyone to get settled and into the forms that were sent to each tablet, however it was done with gusto.  Many questions were asked and answered, to the satisfaction of everyone present.  The system that they had in place was so much more efficient than any I had ever come across before that it almost begged belief. 
It took less than fifteen minutes for everyone to be assigned the curriculum that either suited them best or that they chose.  There were a few courses that must be undertaken by at least one person; such as law, communication, health and medical care, as well as a few others.  Each of these were taken by those who had been advised to on board the Screnac.  I was even able to choose one for myself, despite the fact that I was there for a different reason than the others, Orthus suggested that I have something else to do in my spare time so that my brain was nourished as well as my body during the training.
I chose language.
Admittedly, I have never been very good at picking up languages, my brain learns words in a way that is difficult to teach.  The mandatory five years of French lessons in secondary school, left me with next to no actually usable French, however the same amount of time spent watching subtitled anime had given me almost conversational Japanese.
With the way that the translators work, I heard their words yet interpret them as what I could understand, which is not dissimilar from hearing the Japanese whilst reading the words.  I had been able to absorb and retain the information in the same way.  I also wanted to learn how to write in as many different languages as possible, which required a bit more concentration.
With the decisions made and the teachers apparently inbound, we were then lead back to our own building which, as it turned out, was an entire learning facility within the same walls that we slept.
Over the four floors there were several rooms that would then be fitted to suit the purposes of our chosen areas of learning.  Laboratories were set up with chemical components and equipment never before dreamed up, surgeries were set up with cloned body parts and realistic simulations, kitchens were set up with every food grown across multiple words and tools to play with, a green house was set up on the roof with every sample of plant life that could be found on Virrion, a garage was set up with an industrial 3d printer that was capable of creating elements from the most complex circuit boards to working parts of vehicles and ships.  Several rooms were created for different styles of learning and study.  A library of reference material and research documents sat next to a quiet study and reading area that was comprised almost entirely of moldable cushions.
Our resources seemed limitless.
On the roof, next to the greenhouse and beneath a lattice of solar panels, was an area for my training.
The floor was different from one corner to the next, soft, smooth, rough, hard…  it was decorated with a few simplistic plants and the odd painting of words in languages that I had yet to learn.  In my head, I saw it as my very own dojo.

The remainder of that morning was spent in a lesson that can be referred to as general studies in which we learnt a bit more in depth about the Community and the thulai, a few customs and histories that needed to be observed, how lals, auxes, units and cycles compared to the time frames we were used to and how they translated from space travel to local time (our tablets had galaxy time maps, we simply needed to look up where we want to know or plot the time for), a few of the basic laws that were to be adhered to and the punishments in place for any being that broke those laws.
Whilst all of that information was very useful, the knowledge that had the biggest impact on us was how long a morning would be.
By the time we reached our first break, everyone was feeling rather overwhelmed with information and ravenously hungry.
We were taken to the extensively stocked kitchens and shown the basics of food preparation; cooking lepgar (similar to pasta), tuipen (grain, rice) and nipad (root vegetable, potato) with a manrem (savoury fruit, goes with everything, tomato) sauce, spreading tyvo (butter) on biyen (bread), which meats and fish were safe to eat raw, as well as how to prepare or cook them and others.  Working in groups we learnt various parts which we would then share with the others later on. 
By the end of the session we were all appropriately well fed and split up into smaller groups that were divided across the various learning environments.
And so the real learning began.
It was intense, a lot of information being funneled into several fairly limited minds. 
Breaks were taken as and when they were needed, including an hour that was reserved specifically for napping.
With the support of the teachers, the determination of the students and the luxury of the relaxation areas, each one of my companions slipped into impenetrable bubbles of education.
The three auxes that I spent with a sheenar by the name of Juca Riomelo were not ones of ease.  However by the end of the session, I was able to give and receive a greeting in each of the eight master languages, as well as grasping “please” and “thank you”.
During a quick break I ate some of the food that they were working on in the kitchens and updated my correspondence to various friends and family, and Phillip who responded to my message with the information that they were now on board a new ship that would be the base of Rapture, followed with, “there won’t be much room I’m afraid, you’ll probably have to bunk with me for a bit, that is if you don’t mind a few days of uninterrupted, naked catching up?”
I had a sudden resolve to put the exercise equipment on the balcony to very good use.  The last time that I had been naked in front of someone was when Phoebe, her cousin Willow and I went to a topless beach whilst on holiday in Majorca about six years ago, and even then it was only once we were far away from other people on the beach.  It was not something I ever intend to repeat, the memory of sunburnt nipples is not something one tends to forget too easily.
The thought of being undressed in front of another person was enough to make me run far enough that I would wind up loosing all of the weight that was stopping me in the first place.
Having existed as someone who, apparently, did not look as heavy as they were, it was a challenge to shed the clothes that helped to perpetuate that disguise.
Yet, for the up-coming occasion, I was more than willing to put in the effort.
I responded with news of our facilities and a playful, “I suppose I’ll have to endure the company for as long as it takes ;)”.  One thing that could stay lost with the Earth were illustrated emojis.  I always preferred the textual symbolization of an emotion, not so much the tiny pictures from a simplistic Simpson universe.

Upon entering the dojo for the first time, I discovered that it was occupied.
I was running early to my first session with Ishni and had wanted to get a feeling for the place.
Bernard was in the midst of a martial arts stance, however he nodded to me as I entered.
He had seemed undecided as to whether or not he held me accountable for… everything.  He spoke to me as he ever had when we had worked together, yet I would notice the occasional squinted glance, the kind that you give someone who owes you money but it is too awkward to ask directly.
I inspected our surroundings, thinking of things that we could talk about once he was done.
The fact that his girlfriend, who I had met a few times, enough to remember and be remembered, was pregnant came as a blessing for the conversation stricken.  Not that I had ever really been at a loss when talking with him during the twelve hour shifts or the mile and a half hike from the cinema to the nearest train station, but the end of the Earth meant that no conversation would ever be the same.
I admit that I was fond of Bernard from an early stage.
When he started at the cinema, we all assumed that he was early to mid-twenty, yet it turned out that he was just a baby at nineteen.  He was easy to talk to and could get very protective over the more anxious of the team members, Amelia and myself not withstanding.  His girlfriend, Leah, had fallen pregnant not long after they had been forced to move in with her parents after having to deal with a landlord from hell.  I had kept up-to-date with their progress through regular updates from Amelia.  Both she and Bernard had remained working at that place until it became their last jobs on Earth.
“Aaaand, I can sleep now,” his voice was tired yet as playful as ever, I turned to find that he was lying on the ground, staring up at the sky through the paneling.
I came to stand next to him, head tilted so that I could see him through my glasses without them sliding off of my nose, “been at it long?”
A cheesy grin appeared between the fuzz that was his lazy attempt at a beard, “only three hours, sorry lals, which is even longer, right?”
“Yup,” I nodded with a slight eye roll, “was it karate?”
“Nah,” he tilted his head from side to side, letting gravity shake it for him, “I can’t actually remember the name of it, but” he pushed himself into a sitting position, “it’s the first five stances of the most effective space martial art there is.  He taught me them and said I had to keep doing them until you showed up.”
“Ah, should I have gotten here sooner?”
“Nah,” he pushed himself to his feet, causing me to twist my head up to look at him as I barely reached the height of his armpit, “it’s good for me, or something.  Gotta cover the basics.”
I breathed out a laugh, “fair enough, colour me impressed.  You on break now?”
“Until the giant green pink bird shows up, then I’m supposed to help you.”
“Me?” I scrunched up my eyebrows, “do you have some experience with moving objects without touching them?”
“Well,” he had been wondering such a thing himself, “martial arts is about having complete control over your body, perhaps I’m supposed to help with that?”
“But I don’t move my body when I do it,” and to prove it I pushed myself up off of the ground, floating stiff as a board until I was the same height as him, “oh, this could be useful, I never considered the fact that I no longer have to be a short arse.”  He snorted and watch me with amusement as I propelled myself upwards to reach the panels.
I found a pole which I held onto, gently releasing the energy that was keeping me up.  I had to let go after a few seconds, noting to myself to work on my upper body strength.
As I floated back down I asked, “so how’s Leah doing?  Will we be back in time for the birth?”
“She’s good,” Bernard picked up his tablet from where it lay on the ground with a jacket and began scrolling through their messages, “she’s bored as fuck on that slow ship, but she’s healthy, so’s the baby.  She still had four months to go when, y’know, so there’s still plenty of time.  It’s just,” his eyes became glazed over instantly, I could feel his pain rise try to rise within me.
I let it.
“He’ll never meet his grandparents, mine or Leah’s,” he wiped his hand over his mouth, “He’ll never know them at.”
A few tears escaped my left eye, “I’m sorry, I know that doesn’t really mean anything, but I am.”  For the first time in a while I stifled a sniffle.
Bernard looked directly at me, his expression warming up a little, “it’s not your fault.”
I could feel his sincerity mingled with hesitation so simply nodded and wiped my nose on the back of my hand, “he will know them, you know, through you, and through Leah.”
He managed a half smile, “thanks.”
A loud swooshing noise startled the both of us.
A shadow crossed above us, moving fast.
Even as we looked up, Ishni landed at one end of the space.
He bent slightly as he touched down.  As he straightened, he stretched out his wings to their full length, straightening his back and legs until he began to block out the light.
“Come,” he commanded, his voice solid and loud.
Bernard and I exchanged glances, it took everything in me to keep my features straight.
I stepped forwards first, Bernard directly behind me, his presence lending me what courage it could.
As we got closer, the feathered limbs began to shake, almost imperceptibly at first, although they were quickly thrown into convulsions as he fought to contain his laughter.
“Sorry, sorry,” he shook his head, the skin either side of his beak turned up in a smile, “I couldn’t keep it up, I tried, I tried.”
He pulled himself together, his body scrunched back down, his legs bent, wings folded in and trailing on the ground.  Making his way towards us he spoke, his voice a squawk of what it had been, “those stiffs that run this place want their teachers to be all uptight and proper so Orthy had me act like a ponce so he could get me in.”
A pleasantly relieved smile smoothed my lips as I asked, “Orthy?”
He flapped the talons on the elbows of his wings a little, “your saviour, there’s a story behind how I got close to him, it’s gonna have to wait, I dying to see what you’ve got for me to work with.”