by Kunz, C. A.
“What?”
“Go look in the mirror,” he says, gesturing to the one on the wall opposite my bed.
I stand up, and instantly a wave of dizziness overcomes me. Joey immediately reacts by taking my arm, stabilizing me, and guides me toward to the mirror. My eyes widen as I see that my normal green eyes have turned a shocking blue that match Joey’s. Bringing my face close to the mirror, I pull back my eyelid to see my eye more clearly. There are small periodic electrical pulses that flow through my iris that causes me to flinch slightly and let go of my eyelid.
“Pretty cool, huh?” Joey says.
“Yeah.”
I examine my hair, which has been pulled back into a tight braided ponytail and looks quite beautiful. Not too bad for an android, I think to myself.
The uniform fits snug on me, just like it does Joey, and accents all the right areas of my body. I touch the material and it’s super smooth, and seems very breathable. It feels like spandex, but nowhere near as restrictive. I almost feel like I’m not wearing anything at all.
A pair of dog tags hang from my neck, resting against my chest. I examine them and there’s an engraving on each one:
Kenley Grayson
Magnus Academy Cadet
1696344-0216
A patch on the sleeve of my shirt catches my eye when I look up at the mirror again. It’s a symbol of some sort. A dark grey triangle with light grey points and a light grey infinity triangle in the center of it. There’s a deep red M in the top point of the triangle. I assume the M stands for Magnus.
“These uniforms are really cool. Way better than anything we’d have worn if we were in the regular military,” Joey comments, smiling at me in the mirror.
I look around and notice the rest of the cadets in the med-wing are stirring in their beds. Most of them prop themselves up and begin to stand, regaining their composure.
A voice comes over the intercom. “All draftees report to the main docking bay for transportation to the Magnus Academy. I repeat, all draftees report to the main docking bay for transportation to the Magnus Academy.”
“The Magnus Academy?” I ask, looking questioningly at Joey.
He shrugs his shoulders and replies, “Let’s go find out.”
As we exit the med-wing I see the guy I saw back at the entry platform leaning against a wall down the corridor, talking to a group of cadets. He looks in our direction and his eyes meet mine. He sends me a smirk and I dodge it, turning my head toward Joey.
“Hey, so where do you think this main docking bay is?” I ask.
“Uh, probably that way,” he answers, pointing down the corridor the guy is hanging out in.
I feel a twinge of nervousness come over me. “What makes you say it’s that way?”
“The sign right in front of us that says main docking bay, with an arrow pointing that way,” he says with a chuckle.
“Fair enough,” I reply, staring down the corridor at the guy again.
A voice comes over the intercom once more. “Will all draftees report to the main docking bay for transportation to the Magnus Academy. The boarding process will begin in five minutes.”
I see the guy and the group he’s talking to all begin to head down the hallway away from us. I breathe a sigh of relief and make my way down the hall with Joey in tow.
The hallway opens up at the end into a massive industrialized space that resembles an oversized hanger bay for airplanes. There’s a moving walkway that leads us out into the area. The walkway is raised high above the ground and there seems to be a sizeable drop from the edge.
As we step onto the walkway and move forward, I look over the side and see several spaceships below us being worked on. I’ve never seen an entire spaceship this close up before.
“Wow, those things are kick ass. I hope we get to fly in one of them,” Joey states excitedly, peering over the edge with me.
I hear someone call out my last name and I turn to see Sam pushing her way through the people behind us to catch up. Geoffrey and Caleb are right behind her.
“You gave us quite a scare back there, Grayson. I wasn’t sure you’d make it. You had a wicked reaction to that implant. Glad to see you on your feet though soldier,” Sam says after she taps me on the arm.
“Thanks. I’m still a little shook up, but I’ll be fine,” I reply.
“Apparently this academy we’re going to is some kind of training ground. You know, to help us hone our skills as Bio-Mods,” Geoffrey chimes in.
“Bio-Mods?” I ask.
“Oh, that’s just a little something I came up with. Since we were modified on a biological level with those nanobots, I decided to make up a name for us. Bio-Mods,” he replies, seeming proud of himself for coming up with it.
“I like the sound of that,” Joey comments.
“Thanks,” Geoffrey replies with a beaming smile.
The moving walkway leads us into a bright white tunnel that’s lined with large wide windows trimmed in shiny metal. As we reach the first set of windows, I look out into the area beyond, and a massive spaceship is sitting there like some kind of sleeping giant. The size and scope of it is the most impressive sight I’ve ever seen. It shimmers in the lights as we pass by it. I can’t wait for the next set of windows to come so I get one more look at it. We’re all staring at the ship in awe, not saying a word. I notice Joey’s mouth is gaped open slightly. Caleb has a huge smile across his face and I see him mouth the word awesome. The ship’s stark contrast between shiny dark grey and bright silver across its body make it a sight to behold. Printed in large black lettering on the side of the ship is the word “Escadrille.” Must be its name, I guess, I comment to myself.
I finally take my eyes off the ship and look down the moving walkway. I see that guy staring at me, with the same smile he gave me back in the hallway. His blue eyes pierce through mine. I blush and immediately return my focus back to the ship. Why is he staring at me? This isn’t really the time for this. I glance back over at him, but he’s turned his attention away from me. I almost feel disappointed. Stop it Kenley! This is not what you came here for. Pull yourself together, girl, I argue with myself.
I can see the end of the moving walkway coming up ahead, and the other cadets in front of us begin to step off and walk to the right, out of my view. We empty out into what looks like a futuristic airport loading bridge. You can see the entire docking bay as you walk across the bridge. The walls are made of glass and formed into an archway, leading toward the Escadrille.
As we enter the ship, I notice the interior is massive very spacious. We all look like wide-eyed kids in a toy store while looking around. The cool color pattern on the outside of the ship continues inside with the walls being a combination of shiny dark grey and silver.
We pass through the ship’s main bridge and come to the passenger’s section. There are rows and rows of oversized plush black leather chairs that are facing each other. We’re directed by a voice over the ship’s intercom to take a seat and prepare for take-off.
I settle into my seat and immediately look for the seat belt, but there isn’t one. “Wait, there aren’t any seat belts?” I ask worriedly.
Geoffrey slides into the seat across from me. “It’s not like an airplane, Kenley. You don’t feel the take-off. If you wanted to, you could walk around the ship during launch,” he explains.
“How do you know that?” Joey asks.
“My dad builds ships for the Federation,” he replies. “He’s taken me on several test flights. This ship is easily the largest one I’ve ever been on though. I can’t wait to see what it can do.”
Suddenly, I feel a slight rumbling through the ship. “What was that?” I ask Geoffrey.
“It was probably just us taking off,” he replies with a shoulder shrug.
“No way, that was it?” Joey asks surprised.
“Like I said, these spaceships are an entirely different beast than an airplane. It’s like when you’re on a huge cruise ship and don’t feel the
waves. Same principle,” he explains.
A man’s voice comes over the intercom. “We should be arriving at the Magnus Academy in approximately T-minus one hour.”
“I think I need to go walk around a bit. I’m getting a little restless,” I tell everyone as I stand up from my seat.
“Do you want me to come with?” Joey asks with slight worry in his eyes.
“No, I’ll be fine,” I reply.
“You sure?” Sam chimes in.
“Yep.”
As I begin to walk away from the passengers' section, I notice there are a lot of cadets milling about in the next area. The sign above the room reads: observation deck. There’s a group huddled around a large window, staring out into space. Very few people have been able to travel up here, and I’m sure for most of us aboard it’s our first time. The sight outside the window is truly spectacular and almost surreal.
I see a switch glowing bright green on the wall opposite the window everyone’s looking out of. The label just above it says: window control. I push it and the metal panel next to the switch slowly slides open, revealing another huge window. The view instantly takes my breath away. The stars look so bright from space. I look to the right and see Earth in the distance. It looks absolutely amazing.
“So beautiful,” I hear a male’s deep voice say behind me. I spin around and see it’s the guy from before. His face is perfection, right down to the chiseled jawline. A grin creeps across his lips as he sees me blush when our eyes meet.
“Yeah…Earth is, beautiful, isn’t it?” was all I could say.
“I guess Earth is too,” he says and grins wider, his dimples adding an extra touch. My blush deepens and I turn back around to face the window.
So he’s one of those line-user types. Is he seriously trying to flirt with me right now? I ask myself.
“Wow, that was pretty bad. Sorry, it sounded much better in my head,” he laughs to himself. “I’m not really good at this sort of stuff. I hope I didn’t just make you feel uncomfortable.”
I turn to face him. “You didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. I just don’t hear compliments like that very often.”
“I find that hard to believe,” he states.
I notice his eyes shift from mine and focus on something over my right shoulder. “Look at that,” he says, pointing behind me. I turn and see a truly devastating sight. Pieces of spaceships float gracefully just outside the window, littering the area we’re traveling through. It almost looks like a ship graveyard. The haunting imagery makes me shiver, and I think of all the lives that must’ve been lost out here.
In the distance, I see the massive front end of a ship hurling through the rubble, past our position, toward Earth. It bursts into flames as it travels through Earth’s atmosphere and crashes right into our planet. I gasp and then a dead silence falls between us as we see the black area around the crash site grow in size, creeping across the surface. We look at each other, exchanging saddened glances, and turn our attention back to the scene in front of us.
“I wonder how many people were there,” I say in a reflective tone, pressing my forehead against the glass, still keeping my eyes on Earth.
“I don’t know, but I’ve got a feeling it’s only going to get worse,” he replies solemnly.
“I don’t think anyone else saw what just happened,” I state looking across the way at the group gathered around the other window.
“Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe not knowing makes you better off.”
“I guess,” I say distracted, wondering if any of the cadets onboard just lost anyone.
“You know, speaking of not knowing things. It just occurred to me that I don’t know your name.” His deep voice brought my attention back to him. I think to myself that maybe this isn’t the right time to flirt like this, but maybe he’s trying to take our minds off what just happened.
“You first.”
“Okay. My name’s Landon. Landon Shaw.”
“Shaw? You wouldn’t by any chance be related to Dominic Shaw?” I ask with one eyebrow raised.
“He’s my father,” he replies hesitantly.
“Huh, the son of war hero Dominic Shaw is standing right here in front of me.”
“So…you heard about that, huh?”
“Who hasn’t heard of the man who single-handedly led the blitz squad against the Bringers, driving them back to their planet,” I answer.
“Yeah, that’s him, but I just call him Dad.”
I get silent for a minute. He asks if he said something that upset me. I shake my head. “My brother was in your dad’s squad when they fought against the Bringers. He was killed in battle. It was his first mission.”
“I’m so sorry,” he says quietly as he places his hand on my shoulder.
“It’s okay. I’ve had some time to come to terms with it.”
“So, I’ve told you my name, what’s yours?” he asks, leaning up against the wall next to me.
“Kenley Grayson.”
“Wait, Grayson, like the scientist who created our implants? That Grayson?”
“Yep, the one and only,” I joke hollowly.
“It seems like both our dads are important to this war, huh?”
“You could say that.” I look at him with questioning eyes and ask, “So, not to be rude or anything, but what made you come over here and talk to me?”
“To be honest, you intrigue me,” he replies, returning my stare.
“I intrigue you?”
“Yeah. You didn’t seem like most of the girls I run into. You have this...I don't know...'thing' about you that intrigues me.”
“I see,” I reply and push myself away from the window.
“Sorry, that all came out wrong…like I said, I’m kind of terrible at this whole thing,” he blurts out.
I giggle. How could he be bad at this? Has he seen himself in a mirror? He’s drop-dead gorgeous. He has to get a lot of practice. There’s just no way, I tell myself.
“Well, I got a giggle, at least that’s something,” he says and lets out a light laugh while running his hand through his beautiful chestnut brown hair. He must be one of those guys who has no clue they’re good-looking.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how did the daughter of the lead scientist behind this project end up a part of it? You’d think your father would’ve done everything in his power to keep you away from all of this.”
“Maybe it wasn’t his choice,” I reply defensively.
“Sorry, didn’t mean anything by that. I was just trying to feel you out and get to know you a little better,” he explains.
At first I don’t say anything as I lean up against the wall next to him. “He did try to stop me from doing this, but I want to fight. Besides, if I didn’t go through with this, I’d probably end up no better than my brother did. At least now with this project I might have a fighting chance.”
“Fair enough,” he replies and lets out a sigh.
We hear a commotion coming from the group of cadets looking out the opposite window. We rush over to see what all the fuss is about.
“Is that where we’re going?” I hear someone in the crowd ask.
In front of us I see a massive dark grey triangular structure floating there. It looks to be about twenty times the size of the ship we’re currently on. We seem to be heading straight toward it. “That must be the Magnus Academy,” I say under my breath.
A man’s voice comes over the intercom. “All cadets, please prepare for departure from the Escadrille. We will be arriving at the Magnus Academy shortly.”
“Sorry, Landon, I have to go find my friends, see you around.”
“I hope so, Ms. Grayson,” he says with a cheeky grin.
As I enter back into the passengers’ section, I hear my name called and see Joey and Sam frantically waving at me. As I make my way over to them I look back trying to find Landon, but he’s lost in the swelling crowd heading toward the exit door of the ship.
The Federation guards on
board begin to round us up like cattle and move us closer to the exit hatch. We stand there, waiting for the go-ahead light to appear at the top of it, per the instructions of the voice overhead. The sound of the ship docking with the structure fills the area and we begin to hear this odd whining mechanical noise.
“Don’t worry, that’s just the passage tunnel connecting to the structure and locking into place,” Geoffrey chimes in.
I turn to look at him, the worry slowly draining from my face. “Thanks for that, I was beginning to wonder what the hell that sound was.”
“No problem. I thought I’d say something since you seemed a little tense.”
“Yeah…just a little,” I laugh nervously.
As the light turns green above the exit hatch, its door splits down the middle and both halves slide to either side. Before us lies the passage tunnel, which is made completely out of glass with a shiny metal grated floor.
A voice echoes through the ship again. “We have arrived at the Magnus Academy. Will all cadets please exit the Escadrille in an orderly fashion?”
Chapter Four
Magnus Academy
As we come to the end of the tunnel, I immediately recognize one of the people standing in front of us. It’s my father again. His eyes scan the crowded corridor and finally find mine. He sends me a strained smile.
A woman with caramel-colored skin dressed in a white lab coat, like my dad’s, is standing next to him. Her jet-black hair is pulled up into a tight bun. She’s beautiful, almost model-like.
There are two other men standing on the other side of my father. One’s dressed in military garb, but it’s not from the Allied Federation. It looks like the dark blue uniforms from the U.S. military before all of this happened. He’s tall, statuesque, and stands there stiffly with his hands behind his back. He stares at us from under his dark blue beret, with a face that looks chiseled from stone. The other man looks very bookish. He’s dressed like a stuffy librarian, but has a youthful energy about him. His wire-framed glasses, which he’s constantly adjusting, add to his look.
A door opens behind the small group, and out pours six people who line up on either side of the doorway. There are three men and three women. The three men look like the driver who picked Joey and me up from the airport, except they all have different colored hair. It’s the same deal with the women. They all look like the nurse and receptionist, but with different hair colors. Must all be androids.