London settled in the line with the other teens. They hadn't been told to form one, yet it seemed like they had silently agreed that the only way they could make it through this was side by side.

The strange man had taken her from the room they had all woken up in, and told her she was to be their team scientist, that she should know her group, should have an advantage leading into this meeting. She didn't see how knowing which name paired to what face made her any better at this than them...

That strange man, the "Doctor" as he had called himself before, was standing before them, all puffed up and proud like a peacock, his grey hair sticking up in the back. He was bouncing slightly, almost like a chd at Christmas, a strange sense of glee on his face. He didn't speak at first, just kept looking at them with that look of expectation, as if he was waiting for them to speak first.

So she did.

"What is this place?" Even saying the words made her jaw ache, and the dull throbbing of what must be bruises forming on her face made her breathing catch. London cast her gaze around the space, the ceiling yawning wide above them, the walls spreading out too far for London to even tell how large the space was. She blinked twice, before pinning her gaze back on the doctor.

"This, is the Oracle Project." He opened his arms wide, a demonstration, a revealing of only empty space. His smile wavered only slightly before he continued talking. "You are the Oracle Project!" This still didn't elicit a reaction fron the teens. He forged onwards. "An Oracle is someone who can see the future, who speaks as the voice of the gods, who brought visions from the stars back down to earth. And now, standing here in the midst of this place, I see the future in each of you!"

The Doctor looked too smug, too pleased with the speech that he obviously thought would win them over. These words that meant so little to them, and yet there he was, a peacock draped in a lab coat.

"You're talking to the person currently failing both math and science. How on earth am I supposed to be the future?" Carter folded his arms, the picture of stoic rebellion. He was scuffed up, London realized, with a scrape along his cheek and bruising along the right side of his jaw.

Just like her.

"Not on Earth!" Desperation and annoyance now hit in the octor's voice, as if the fact they were not equally excited pained him. "Look above you, children. What do you see up there?"

"The ceiling," Carter deadpanned.

Amusement twitched at London's cheek.

"No, no, no! Try again. Look higher." The Doctor raised his arm, pointing above them.

London followed the gesture of the doctor's raised arm, following it and the point of his finger, straight up to the break in the hanger ceiling, to the sky above, inky and smooth. "Stars?" The word ached at her again, muscles twinging.

"Exactly! Up there is our future, deep in the stars, far above the reach of man. But I can see it right here too, in the five of you. You are our stars on earth, and you will reach those stars on high."

He had to be crazy. There was no way he actually expected this group to become a cohesive enough group to accomplish space travel. Already they had dissolved into fighting, and that was only on their first meeting. She couldn't fathom how they were meant to rally together for something as ludicrous as this. And they were teenagers! Not professionals or people who were actually trained for for nonsense like this.

Clarkston to her left echoed her thoughts. "If you really want someone to send into the stars, wouldn't it be better to get... I don't know, astronauts or something?" He was rubbing at the back of his neck, head ducked.

"Yeah! Why grab a couple of crackups like us?" This was from Carter, drawing London's attention back to him, to the defiance he brought to such simple words.

"Crackups?" Clarkston folded his own arms, staring down Carter, who was noticeably shorter, especially with with Clarkston stiffened straight like he was. "I don't think it's fair to judge us all by your own shortcomings."

Carter moved for Clarkston, that same hard anger from before in his eyes. "You wanna say that at my level, punk?"

Kennedy cried out and stepped forward to separate them, but it wasn't needed. A voice cut through the would-be scuffle, sharp and commanding. "That's enough!"

The military lady had spoken, Dantes? London hadn't been close enough to her earlier to see the name embroidered on her uniform, but the letters were too jumbled up for London to tell what they said. She knew she should have convinced her parents to let her go for another eyes exam, to update her glasses.

"It's because you're all ours now," Army Dante interjected. "And because if we lose a kid or too in the process, there's no harm done. You have no one left to care." Her voice was just as disinterested as her face, though they both had that same, low under undercurrent of annoyance to them.

"Oh, that can't be right!" The words slipped away from London before she could stop them, hurt indignation building deep in her stomach. "I'm sure we all have people looking for us right now."

The lady's lips twitched, a not-quite smile. "I would feel bad," she said dryly, her posture loosening some. "Except that might just be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Her gaze darted to the Doctor, a question in her eyes, and he merely tipped his head. This seemed to be a go-ahead, and she began to speak, counting down the line.

"Ashlyn Dupont, seventeen. You've always told your father that you're joining the Navy as soon as you can, and you can join at seventeen with parental permission. It's a good thing your mother is a sure bet to let you enlist."

"Clarkston Keller, age eighteen. You made it abundantly clear that small-town life is not the life for you, so it wouldn't be any surprise if you were to suddenly pack up and go. You are an individual, after all."

"Kennedy Davis, seventeen. Life used to be great, didn't it? And yet, now that both mom and dad are gone, living with your Aunt and cousins doesn't seem to be that great adventure you thought it would be when you were younger."

"Londen Grey, age eighteen. It's about time you got away from home, and when your boyfriend skips town too, it'll be all to easy for your parents to think you finally followed through on your threats to elope with him."

"Carter." She stopped this time, and only chuckled. "Yeah, Carter. I have a feeling neither you nor Darius would even go home if you had a chance. One has no one left to look for them, and the other would be better off never being found."

Her fingers tapped against the side of her leg. "Did I miss anyone here? She asked, the smile settling back down to a thin line of displeasure.

The doctor stepped forward now. "As you can see, you now have permitted absences. No one will have any reasons to be looking for you here."

London hadn't even thought of that. Her parents didn't know that Jeffery had broken up with her only days before, but they would surely find out about his absence, as he would be the first person that they would seek out in trying to find answers about her. But what could they truly do? The were both adults now, though she was still in high-school they might have gone through with it, if it wasn't for her parents. Because she couldn't find it within herself to leave them.

Pain rang inside of her, loud and clear as a bell, echoes of it sending deep aches through her bones. The other teens seemed be going through reactions to the military lady's words as well, though the emotions London could see on their faces varied.

Darius had an absently haunted look on his face, as if he was not truly in the space with them, stuck inside his own mind. Carter wore his permanent scowl, but now London could see his breathing labored, his fists clenching and letting go, a repeating sequence, a release of tension.

Kennedy wasn't moving. She was stuck in this strange state of stillness, a statue frozen in time, a crumpled look on her face like these words had cut her to her core. Tears tracked down her cheeks, but she didn't so much as tremble.

And then there was Ash. Ash, who in a way seemed truly unbothered, arms folded like a defensive wall, a separation from all things beyond her. This lack of emotion struck London as odd, until she noticed the wavering to her entire body, the trembling to her hands as they gripped at the sleeves of her jumpsuit.

And Clarkston's gaze was just as shaded as Carter's, soundless words on his lips. He hadn't struck her as quite so intimidating in the room before as he was right now, rippling indignation, held too tightly in place.

This was not the way to make them into a team. To rub their emotions raw, to grind salt into the wound of the traumas they had been through in what could have only been less than twenty-four hours, and yet, these two who seemed to be in charge of it all were doing just that.
-
The Doctor made a dismissive noise, steepling his hands together in front of him. "Not that we would want any harm to come to any of you. It really would be such a hassel to have to retrain a new crew if you were to reach an end to your usefulness." His joviality slipped, the ever-present smile on his face turning cruel. "I would suggest you keep being of use to us if you want to live."

Shivers skittered down London's spine, and she inhaled sharply, trying to force herself to breathe, to remind her body that it needed oxygen to survive.

The Doctor clapped his hands, and the room brightened once more, his moment of seriousness cast off. "I believe introductions are in order, yes?" The teens didn't answer. How do you respond to a man who just told you you're going to be sent into space? "My name is Doctor Dorian, but you may simply as the Doctor, or Doctor D. We have no need for such extreme formalities as titles in this space."

He chuckled, as if this was some grand joke that he had made. No one laughed.

"And this is Lieutenant Dafferney, my right hand. I may be the brains in this situation, but she is the one who has full reign over the six of you. She tells you to jump, and you jump without question."

The Doctor tapped his fingers together a few times. "I suppose you lot have some questions for me. And I'm not surprised that you're not taking to this concept so readily as I would hope, but we must manage life's disappointments as they come. For now, just know that you are completely vital in what be the most historic breakthroughs of science since the dawn of time, and that one day, you will be written amongst the stars."

He started to walk away, his stride light and jaunty, before he hesitated, turning slightly to look back at them. "And children? Try to listen to Lieutenant Dafferney and not hatch any escape attempts. This place, this mission is your life now. Please be satisfied with your future."