“I think, for the sake of staffing and exclusivity, we should limit the amount of this space that we actually use, though. Say ten thousand students. It would take less than a quarter of the space allocated, even with the facilities. I will get a plan made tonight and have it ready for you in the morning. But first, you said there are human children here? How old?” The educator continued.

“My younger sisters, twins, just under five. There are also twin boys, but they’re still toddlers. We have a few newborns aboard, but they won’t be a concern for the academy for some time.”

“Marvelous. We will start with the oldest, so I can assess their learning curve. Did you know that some of the Alliance Species grow at a very different rate to Innu? The Giants and Valkia don’t reach mental growth until nearly forty standard years old, while most species are around twenty, and the Innu are considered mentally mature enough to finish primary education at twelve.”

“That is where the system enhanced humans move from basic education to specialized trade education as well, though most of the human population finishes basic schooling around seventeen, with higher education finishing around twenty-two, at which point they join the skilled workforce.”

Medusa nodded to show her understanding. “It does make things more difficult for mixed species education in the long term, but if they only attend the academy for a single year, anything is possible. Don’t worry. I have plenty of knowledge on the subject.”

Max led them past the Gravity Slides, much to the children’s disappointment, and straight to a restaurant by the main entrance, where the rest of the group was waiting for them.

“They’re at a table on the left, and I have ordered the staff to link another table for us all to sit at,” Max informed them right before the sound of excited children burst the silence in the air.

The cousins had seen each other through the window, and they were rushing to greet each other while Lucy set her head in her hands and mentally counted down from twenty, a stress management technique that even Max could recognize.

Max and the others followed the kids into the restaurant, where the pair waiting for them was still staring in shock at the newly arrived Innu children.

“Medusa, Euri, it’s a shock to see you both here together. To what do we owe the honor?” Lucy asked, looking more than a little displeased to see her youngest sister.

“You know, I was visiting, and since school is between semesters, we thought we might tag along. Sister plans to open an academy here, or so I’ve heard, and with a bit of luck, I might manage to score some scholarship spots from her.” Euri responded nonchalantly as if she were talking about her usual morning shopping, not a trip across dozens of Galaxies with her family on fifteen minutes’ notice.

“Well, it’s good to see you here, even if we weren’t expecting it. Look how happy it makes the girls, and it’s the perfect opportunity for Medusa to prove to the Commander here that she is capable of instituting a structured system to keep unruly children in line.” Lucy added, barely managing to keep the contempt for her sister out of her voice.

“Of course. I wouldn’t have brought them along if I didn’t think they would help me prove my capabilities to the Commander. He has already agreed to look at my preliminary drawings in the morning, so I will have to retire after lunch to get to work, but I am certain that the kids can spend some constructive time together, enjoying their youth. Within the bounds of propriety, though.

I heard something about a sweet dessert named crepes. Perhaps they can use that as a group bonding exercise, despite their difference in ages.”

Max was thoroughly enjoying the family ribbing they were giving each other, but the father of the younger Innu girls had discretely led them to the far side of the table so that they were as far away from their mother as possible.

It was a great bit of foresight since everyone in the cafe could see that things were going to get seriously snarky among the sisters if nobody intervened, and having them in the crossfire couldn’t possibly end well.

It also put them right next to Medusa, who was so eager to see her nieces when they were talking earlier that she didn’t even hesitate to make the trip.

“You say that you only need a quarter of the space I had available for the academy. Is there a particular reason for not spreading things out more?” Max asked Medusa to change the topic.

“Efficiency. If you place them too far from the classes, it takes longer to get anywhere, so precious time is wasted in transit. With high-density dorms as well as the closely integrated living and learning spaces that the ship’s architecture allows, we can actually increase efficiency over a standard terrestrial layout.

The dorms can be placed on a floor directly above or below their section’s classrooms, so the majority of their commute will be within their own social circle, with minimal distractions, but the Common areas can be placed as an intervening layer, so that everyone must pass through them and intermingle, which builds a sense of community, as well as letting class rivalries build by proximity.

That is why grades are always publicly posted. You can hide the names, but if you put up the grade and class with a student number, the students in other groups can see how their rivals are doing.

That’s especially important to an Elite Academy like this, where many students will be transferred for a single year from their home planets to be judged against each other’s accomplishments.”

“So, the idea is that they can build group pride among their classmates while also keeping a lower level of pride in the Academies that they came from to carry with them when they return. Like bragging rights for special training?” Max asked.

“Exactly like that. Of course, I don’t think that having everyone be a single-year transfer is wise. We need a solid base that is trained here from the start or for the remainder of their academy years to form a baseline for the transfers to judge their own standards against.”

That sounded exactly like Kepler treated the Special Forces students and even the Pilots versus the noncombat paths and the Infantry. Everyone was a rival, and the Pilots were the standard that everyone else was judged against.