If the credits stopped, Sol knew what would happen to my family. And what would happen to Amelie?
Not that she needed me. But I felt a desire to make sure she was okay just like I did my family.
Lukewarm water reached my chin. I sucked in quick ragged breaths and searched to find some peaceful place in my mind.
A field appeared.
I'd never actually been in a field. I'd lived in the Hub until I’d joined the Ax-Military. Then I attended two weeks of Basic at the military facility, but I'd never actually seen a real sky or grass or anything that was in my imagination.
A real planet, according to all the vid clips, had a blue sky and green grass and occasionally something called the wind, a disturbance of air blowing like recirculated O2 but fresher, cleaner.
I held the picture in my head and tried to breathe the air from that image and not a lungful of warm, recirculated O2.
My nerves jacked hard as the water engulfed me, I tried to hold my breath, but that didn't last long.
My lungs burned, so I inhaled a bit from the nasal enhancer. I opened my eyes, afraid of what the water would do to them.
I floated in the water, and I realized if I moved my arms, it was like being in zero-g.
The water grew warmer and changed color. A mild burning sensation skimmed over my skin like a thin razor scraped over the surface. I jerked back from the sensation, but there was nowhere to go. It was everywhere all at the same time. The water drained.
I panted and looked at my body. The rest of my hair remained. My skin throbbed. A chill crept over me, and I shook no matter how hard I tried to remain still. I just wanted this induction to be over.
Warm air blasted me from two different sides. I shook my head and smoothed the long bits of my hair back out of my eyes. The partitions slid down and revealed the long hallway again. The lights in the next section lit up. I was leery this time of moving forward for more weird testing or cleaning or whatever they were doing. I’d just transferred from another military vessel. It wasn't as if I was fresh out of the Hub.
But I was a soldier, and soldiers did as told, no matter how weird or uncomfortable. I moved up five feet to the next section. A neon-blue light started at my crown and ran over my body. Light trickles of electricity flowed over me in a cascade. It reminded me of being in the nebula back on the Lazarus, which brought back memories of Amelie again.
I wasn't a quarter as prepared as she was. I had to do well. I had to keep my spot. How would I do that? I wasn’t sure. I was never good at planning, not like Amelie and Vega. I lived in the moment and figured things out as they happened. Coming from where I did, you had to be ready for anything.
At least this test wouldn’t drown me. I found myself rubbing my hand against my thigh, which felt super weird without my fatigues.
“Subject: Cadet Smith is deemed appropriate for entrance. Overall health ninety-seven. Excellent muscular definition. No known contamination or disease is present.”
“Gee, thanks?”
The next section let up. I hoped they would give me my clothes back. Then I could get to the Academy proper and rejoin my group.
A thin shelving unit protruded out of the tunnel wall with a new uniform. These were dark blue. Academy blue.
Not like the ore-crusted, dirty gray of the Lazarus. This uniform was the real deal. The voice didn't have to tell me to get dressed.
I slid on the suit, which instantly contoured to my body. These were the nice, expensive uniforms. The kind that would keep you from freezing in the black and from boiling planetside. I smoothed my hand over the fabric, which felt like armored silk.
I’d never felt anything quite so smooth or resilient. The suit had reinforcements at the elbows and knees and the insignia of the Mil-station on the left breast.
“Cadet Smith,” the voice spoke.
My spine stiffened, but I remained centered. Now that I had some kind of clothing back on, I felt a little more secure.
I waited for further instructions. Again, the walls went up to block the way forward, and my retreat. My heart rate jacked up as if a platoon of enforcement had raided my house. I swallowed against the dry coating in my throat.
“Dexterity, spatial awareness, and peripheral testing commencing.”
More tests. Fun. Out of the wall, a container slid and flopped open. Inside, I found a set of magnifiers that looked like something Amelie used.
“Retrieve magnifiers and begin.”
I slid on the magnifiers. Instantly, The VR cockpit of a fighter surrounded me. I'd only seen glimpses of them while living in the Hub.
The controls were simple. They’d dumbed this down for people who didn't have a lot of training. Thank Sol and all the Corps Gods.
I pushed down, and the display swooped down, then pulled back and tilted up. I fell back slightly. Left and right worked the same. Pretty straightforward. A red button nested under the grip. Since it was a SIM, I decided to test the equipment. Laser bolts erupted from the front end of the ship.
A seat appeared to my right, slightly behind me. I took it upon myself to sit down so I could focus on targeting and waited for the next command. Movement flashed across my screen.
I turned the sights of the weapons. A vessel that looked like mine whizzed by, so I didn't try to shoot it.
“Please dispatch as many enemy ships as possible during the timed exercise. Go.”
Three ships hurtled toward me. They didn’t look like mine. They were larger and weren’t as long and narrow as our ships. They were wide with a small cockpit in the middle and spread wings, like an OE bird of prey. It glowed red against the black.
They maneuvered differently than the lumbering mining vessels of the Lazarus. It was difficult to get a bead on them from the front, but if you got on top or underneath, they would be an excellent target.
I directed my ship high and attempted to circle to get on top of them. I realized there were two other ships next to mine, moving in formation as if I were the group leader.
A surge of adrenaline flowed through me, and I leaned forward, half-forgetting the SIM wasn't real.
I was getting distracted by all the shiny new things. I had to stay present. If I failed this, it wouldn’t be good. My instincts kicked in, and a sense of calm rolled over me like it always did whenever things went to crap.
I switched on the targeting computer, and it swung around behind the enemy ship, raising my trajectory so I could look down on his wings.
The ship didn't attempt evasive maneuvers, even with no shielding or forcefields surrounding it.
The ships at my side peeled off and found their targets.
The sensors on the ship didn’t detect them in the immediate vicinity, or I didn’t know how to read it. I wondered if they were other trainees in the same situation.
In three moves, I locked on him and sent a pulse of magnetic laser energy shooting across the empty sky. The ship blossomed into flame.
“Yes!” I did it. I was good enough. Flying with Commander Wu had taught me a few things.
Scanning for the other enemy ship, I pressed the com.
“Any friendlies out there? This is Cadet Smith.”
Alarms blared. My internal screens didn't show incoming. Crap! My shields were down. I flipped up the switches that should raise them.
A blinding light hit the cockpit, and I tumbled to the side, impacting the hard polyplastic floor. The VR faded away, and the testing facility reappeared.
My stomach sank, and my left side throbbed from my impact with the floor. Still, better than actually being blown apart.
“Subject demonstrates very linear thinking, questionable teamwork, and lack of knowledge of basic protocol.”
That didn’t sound good, not at all. I picked myself up and shook my head.
“Cadet Smith, please return the magnifiers.”
I removed the magnifiers and placed them back into the door. I waited a lot longer this time. The wall rose, but the rest of the hallway remain d
ark. Had I failed? I glanced over my shoulder, worried they were going to send me right back down the aisle.
I shot down one of the crafts. That must’ve counted for something. But had it even been the right one? I should’ve asked more questions. I’d just followed my instinct.
Another wall lifted. I had gotten into a rhythm.
Relax for a second—intense fear and testing. Relax for a second. Now was the time for intense fear. And I wasn’t even officially in the Academy yet. I sensed my chances slipping away like credits through my mother’s hands.
The arrows lit up again with my name, and I followed. The next challenge was starting. Ready or not.
Chapter Five
Vega
The lieutenant guided us into an area of plain white rooms branching off from the hall. All of them had a table and two chairs—the interrogation rooms. I’d spent months in questioning about the aliens. Nausea swirled long, taloned claws inside my stomach.
The officers had separated us. My anxiety cranked. If our stories varied, there'd be constant questions. Perhaps a trial. There still might be a trial being the Lazarus was still weeks behind us with the Captain in the brig.
Time slid by. Half an hour? Forty-five minutes? It was hard to track. The longer I waited, the more my mind twisted.
Captain Ambrose Price had to be officially court-martialed. I'm sure he'd have some choice words to say about us. The door slid open. It wasn't the lieutenant commander who joined me but a young man wearing a dark uniform with a half skull on one of the sleeves. He didn't look old enough to be a lieutenant yet.
I came to attention, my back straight, arms at my side. I tried to remember all the military etiquette I’d learned in Basic. Any breaking of protocol could end with being booted, demoted, or sent to the mines on Clementine. There were so many ways to punish a cadet in the military.
“Cadet Volante. Don’t worry. This won’t take long.” He didn't sound like he was going to try to eviscerate me verbally. That was a comfort. I was hungry and tired from the long journey. All I wanted was a shower and maybe a massage. But that was satellite dreams and stardust. Debriefs were never short or painless.
“I see here that your performance on the Lazarus was extraordinary. Commander Wu has sent a letter of recommendation.” His finger scanned down his display as he spoke. “She included an explanation of the events. I also received a copy of your account of what happened with Captain Price. I’m willing to accept this account with a few clarifying questions.”
My face must've lit up like a Sol day display because the officer snorted a laugh but sobered quickly.
“I’m clear on your account until the incident on Clementine. Few vidcaps survived due to the magnetic disturbances on the planet. You and your away team have stated that you encountered a group of criminals with...abilities?”
Crap. Damn. Ugh. Not that. I struggled to remember my own advice as panic crept up my spine. “Yes, sir.”
“Can you elaborate?”
Now I had to talk. The kid was not as harmless as he seemed.
“We were assigned a mission to locate the away team.”
“The one with Commander Wu?”
“Yes.” I sat back in the chair and wrapped my arms around my midriff to center myself. How much should I tell him?
He waited for me to go on. The silence stretched, only the sound of our breathing breaking the quiet. I struggled to find the words that would keep me out of interrogation for the next six months.
“The hostiles ambushed us,” I said. “We fought them off and managed to rescue the away team.” There. Avoidance. Maybe it would work.
“That’s skirting the question, isn’t it? The accounts are not complete. Did they have weapons or use something else?”
“They used a power blaster and some sort of magnetic manipulator. I avoided the blast and disarmed the leader. Once I threatened her, we agreed to allow passage in exchange for our people.” I maintained eye contact and breathed normally.
It wasn’t working well, exactly like it had been with the aliens. Questions I couldn’t answer. Nothing I said was right. And the next day, the cycle would repeat.
“Hmmm.” He cupped his chin then scrolled his hovering text, running a finger over a mass of words that I could only assume was my account.
“You’re a conscript.” It wasn’t a question, but I nodded anyway. “Been in the Ax-Mil for approximately a year and a half?”
“Yes.”
“You and your team neutralized a group of hostiles and saved your CO.”
“Yes, sir,” I whispered. I couldn’t support my voice anymore.
All indications pointed to long term questions. And if they dug deep enough, they might discover a connection to my brother. And that would be the end of me. I didn’t even want to think of him while I was in this room. I almost felt as if they could look into my head like that Minerva woman had done on Clementine.
The junior officer scrunched his forehead as if he had a massive headache and jabbed the screen. The display stopped rolling. He nodded then looked up at me with a slight smile.
“That’s all my questions for now. You’re free to go.”
I froze. It had to be a trick, and another room waited just down the hall.
It couldn’t be this easy.
“Should we have additional questions—”
“You know where to find me,” I said a little too casually, but the officer still gave me a tiny closed mouth grin and nodded with his chin.
“Welcome to the Academy. Follow the arrows for processing.”
AFTER A SERIES OF TESTS and body scrubs, arrows guided me to a cavernous atrium.
The room was bigger than the ore bay on the Lazarus, and that was saying something. On a space station, heat, light, O2, and space itself were limited. For the Axis to approve this large of a chamber meant this place was either useful or meaningful.
It made my heart swell up like a weather balloon. I was going to be a part of this. And my friends were here. Double bonus. The underside of my hair was still damp, so I rolled it into a top bun and searched for Amelie and Dax.
Amelie appeared through the press of recruits. I didn't know why I'd assumed it would just be me, Amelie, and Dax. Hundreds of young soldiers pressed together, all wearing the deep Academy blue.
It was still super weird to see so many people bunched even in such an ample space. The walls were made of clear plastiglass and reinforced clear cement to make it look more like glass than stone. The blocks were opaque, allowing a light, airy, clean feeling that didn't carry through to the general military barracks.
It was near impossible to make any headway toward Amelie. Everyone towered over me. I navigated a jungle of humans, all elbows and butt holes.
“Amelie!” I wedged my shoulder between a group of incredibly tall boys who completely blocked my path forward. “Excuse me.” When they didn't move or acknowledge my existence, I used a bit of my planetborn strength and shoved.
They moved.
I launched myself at Amelie, and we embraced for a moment then stepped back.
“I'm so glad you're here.” Amelie plopped a hand on her hip and pushed back her dripping hair. “The physical testing was awful. I was miserable until we got to the applied analytics section, which, of course, I destroyed. But I imagine they have everything from our DNA up through our potential for a long-term illness. I guess we’re both healthy?”
I grinned, and my shoulder tension released. “It's great to see you, Amelie. So, this is the Academy.” I twirled.
A bunch of heavily muscled females moved like dancers splitting the crowd. The girls seemed to be a squad stepped in unison. Each had similar haircuts, sides shaved, long on top. One stood out in the center, taller and bigger than the rest.
A goddess. Tall, broad, solid, perfect lines, not gen-mod perfect, not Amelie-perfect, but close. Her nose was a little too big for her face, but you wouldn’t notice unless you stared at her, which a lot of people were doin
g, including me.
Confidence oozed from her every pore, with vibrant pink hair and a stare that could melt titanium.
“Have you seen Dax?” Amelie’s voice wavered a bit at his name. She always worried about him, and he always worried about her. I wished they would just go ahead and work out their differences.
A low siren stopped all the chattering. We all fell into awkward formation in the center of the floor. This spread of recruits shamed the Lazarus crew. They appeared hard-core trained and ready for battle.
“They are the best from the fleet, fully trained, and had been working in the field. Some have been prepping for years for a shot at the Academy,” Amelie whispered.
Amelie, Dax, and I would have a lot of competition. Now I started getting worried about Dax. I didn't see him anywhere.
I scanned the lines of soldiers. There were at least five other planetborns. One girl was even shorter than me with close-cropped ebony hair and dark eyes. Three others looked like they came from the far reaches. One of the boys even had the green-tinted skin that came only from living on Erainius.
A raised dais dominated the front of the room. On each side stood huge fern-like potted plants. Vines crept and entangled themselves around support beams far above.
A group of officers took the podium. The soldier in the center wore a black uniform. Excitement mixed with a good amount of healthy fear coursed through me. The black signified a highly ranked officer.
“Cadets.” The black-clad woman’s voice boomed through the area, keen and commanding. “You have been chosen. That means something. You have already passed a battery of tests to get to the entrance. Then you had to go through another tunnel of horrors to make it here. We've already weeded out so many. What remains is the best of the best.”
Sweat gathered along my brow. I didn’t know if it was my nerves or if the heat had increased. My limbs grew heavy.
“And now you're here, after overcoming so many trials. Hard childhoods. Hard circumstances. Hard lives. You’ve overcome mining planets, MANS pits, living planetside, even the Hub. You all have a tragic backstory.” The woman smiled and tilted her head slightly. Her eyes scanned the mass of humans standing in front of her. She seemed understanding, kind even.
Cadet: Star Defenders Book Two: Space Opera Adventure Page 4