“I agree. Could you explain why you sent me to the sewage plant? I had a good reason that I was late for class, and you didn’t let me explain.” My hands crept up to my hips as my temper rose like a phoenix.
Amelie looked like she had just woken up from a long nap. She blinked rapidly, head jerking back and forth between Ethan and me. “So, you’re Vega’s instructor now? That should be interesting.”
I shot her a warning look. She was the only person I confided in about Ethan during those long quiet nights that we manned the Icarus. If she ever said anything, I told her there'd be a fiery comet of hell to pay.
“Indeed, it will. Vega, I’d like to apologize and maybe get you some dinner? We have a lot to talk about.”
My mouth gaped. Making peace with Ethan would be nice. I'd considered him a friend, a ridiculously cute friend. It would be great to get on better footing with him since he now held my future in his hands.
“I have dinner plans already. I'm sorry, it will have to be another night.”
Amelie crowded up to stand between me and Ethan, her face flushing again. “But what about me? I have important things to tell you too.”
“Guys. I have a dinner appointment with Jess. I promise I will see you tomorrow morning, Amelie. We need to start our extra work out every day if we’re going to survive Gleason. And Ethan...”
He looked as if I had told him he’d never fly again. My heart dipped. But I had priorities.
“Can we talk after class tomorrow?”
Getting close to Ethan equated to a lot of problems. But being on friendly terms was acceptable.
All his calm bravado seemed to leave him. He took in a breath as if he were going to speak, then ran his free hand through his thick black hair. “Of course. Take care, Vega.” He was still standing straight. Still professional. But the light in his eyes dimmed. “See you in class tomorrow, cadet.” He swiveled and marched away.
“Ethan!” I yelled a bit too loud.
He turned in a quick military about-face.
“Thank you.”
He inclined his head and left the atrium.
My heart felt strangely hollow as I turned back to Am. She shook her head but didn’t comment on the Ethan thing. “We can meet at corridor E tomorrow at 0600. It’s right next to the pilot’s area. Class doesn’t start until 0800, so we’ll have time to train.”
Amelie leaned forward and groaned. “But Vega, I have...”
“And talk. I have a lot to tell you too.”
There were only fifteen minutes left in my class, but I wasn’t taking any more chances. I waved at Am and raced to the classroom. I entered, and all eyes fell on me. I shrugged and smiled apologetically, flashing my excuse holo at the instructor.
He pointed me to a seat. The display before me lit with an image.
A catapult.
I rolled my eyes. That should be so useful in a space battle. I listened to the man drone, thinking about Am, Dax, Ethan, and now Jess...and Am’s parents. And the weird first aid guy that was probably a figment of my imagination.
Seriously, paying attention to space catapults was way easier.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ethan
I stood in front of another group of students. This set was not as boisterous nor rebellious. They instantly followed my direction, and they all took to their SIMs as I threw in different scenarios to test their abilities.
It was difficult. I’d only flown in combat a handful of times, but Gleason had shot me down repeatedly in this SIM until I reacted without thought and won continuously.
These cadets were better behaved but less talented. Binary from the first class had the most promise, but I still had one class to go before I was done for the day.
Then the real work would begin.
“Seven, if you don’t straighten up, I will shoot you down. I don’t care if you’re on my team or not.”
Seven straightened up. His expression in the SIM went from cocky to worried. Good. I’d beat the fear of Sol into them, as Gleason had me. And we might have a chance against them.
The aliens.
All the reports and representations varied, but the result was a giant OE squid that had grown legs and a massive set of teeth. I didn’t blame Vega for not wanting to talk about them.
There I was again straying to thoughts of her.
The over-excited pilot broke formation again, and our opponent team struck.
I twisted the mock ship and did a deep dive, avoiding the brunt of the blast. They destroyed showoff Seven, and I let them. He deserved it.
The exercise ended with the buzz of a siren and yellow flashing lights, and the students filed out.
Everything in me wanted to crash in my new quarters and never think again, but Vega’s safety depended on me.
I couldn’t tell her, or I’d betray Gleason.
But I had promised her no more lies.
But I was a Phantom Operative, a skilled spy.
I laughed at that. I’d been on one mission, and I’d screwed it up. My second assignment felt impossible. She hated me or mostly hated me. Now she had a date. A date.
Something coiled low in my gut. I had to find a way to keep track of her. Find better opportunities to get her alone, get her relaxed and talking.
This Jess was a stumbling block. The first step of a plan formed in my mind. I jogged to equipment req on Floor 2.
I needed a tracker. The uniform she wore had one woven into the steel-reinforced fabric, but after class hours, she didn’t have to wear it. I would need to know where she was at all times.
Flashing my Phantom Ops badge at the corporal in charge, I entered the cage and snagged a microtracker. I’d have to lay it flush on her skin. How I would get within touching distance of Vega, I didn’t know. A small wave of heat washed through me. Thinking of touching Vega clouded my mind.
And even after everything, I’d imagined that if I rebuilt the trust between us, she might come around.
As I looked down at the tracker in my hand, I knew there’d be no going back. Every day, every hour, every moment that I didn’t tell her, I was breaking my promise.
Technically, I wasn’t lying. I was just keeping something secret...but it sounded like a weak argument...even to me. If someone kept a secret like that in the Hub, they’d be thrown out of their gang and have no protection. And protection and credits were everything.
Vega wasn’t a Hub girl, but her loyalty ran deep. I couldn’t tell her. The choice wasn’t mine. I’d sworn an oath when I joined the Phantom Corp, to protect and serve the Mil-station. That had to be first. Not only because I believed it, but Gleason was the closest thing I had to family, and he demanded absolute fidelity.
Shifting the bag up onto my shoulder, I took the tube halls that led me to the pilots’ quarters. Although I hadn't stayed long. Gleason had seen to that.
He'd overseen almost all of my training. Jumping my progress when he thought I'd achieved a new level. He'd push me to test. I would never have become an operative so quickly if he hadn't been pushing me.
It felt like a punishment. All those nights I'd gone to sleep cradling a broken hand or bloody lip, but I knew Gleason wanted what was best for me. And now, I was successful.
I had a name. I was an officer. I had credits.
But somehow, I still felt restless.
The ladders to the portal to the pilot's chambers felt steeper than before. Now that I had a private cabin, this seemed very cramped. The area was dim, but I could detect some movement.
It would be too strange if I just entered. I had to wait for the right moment, think of a good reason to be here, and have an excuse for touching her.
Shadows played on the wall from the open hatch. Voices echoed. Laughter.
My hands were slick with sweat. My mission wasn't a humbleball deathmatch. Vega was just a girl, and I was just checking on her. Yes, that might work. She did look pretty banged up from the hand-to-hand.
At the top of the stair, I took
a breath. I had my tracker and excuse. I was ready.
Clanking sounds rose from behind me on the stairwell. “Excuse me,” a deep rumbling voice said.
“Sorry.” I stepped aside.
The man was taller than me, and about my age, brown skin and black hair cropped close the way deep spacers liked.
He lifted a hand and smiled. His teeth looked blazingly white and instantly made me want to smile back. He wore dress whites, and his attention shifted to the door as soon as he passed me. Without looking back, he breezed through the porthole.
I heard more voices at higher volumes, like the stranger's visit, had elicited a lot of excitement. Two women exited the door—one tall with fluorescent pink hair and a shorter, dark-haired planetborn. I watched, eagerly reviewing their features, but no Vega.
But I did know them.
Binary and McKenzie from my class this morning. I averted my face, but not soon enough.
“Lieutenant James. How nice to see you in the wild,” Binary quipped, obviously the mouthpiece for the situation.
“Hello, Four.”
I used a fake call sign to piss her off, but she smiled, one side of her mouth quirking up. “Hmmm, Four? I like it.”
Two more figures exited the portal, Vega and the man. I cringed. Her expression was light. A smile lit her features like the triple moon belt of Xeres. The swelling in her face from training had all but disappeared.
She wore civies, a dark, form-fitting top, and a sleek pair of leggings that glimmered. Her long hair was down and curled around her shoulders, giving her a wild and mysterious look.
“Hey, Lieutenant. Eyes here.” Binary snapped her fingers in front of my face, and I refocused on her. She was bold, talking to an instructor like that, but it was after hours.
I could still choose to have her recite the entire Rules of Conduct of an Officer or have her list the proper method to do her preflight checklist, but I wasn’t here for that—or her.
“Do you have a question, cadet?”
“No, sir.” She stepped back with her crony and waved a hand in Vega’s direction.
Vega ignored me or didn’t notice me as she took the man’s hand. He guided her the opposite way down the hall.
It couldn’t be obvious that I was tracking her. Or else my mission might be doomed...and with it, Vega’s future. I forced my feet to still and swiveled to face Binary. When we stood toe-to-toe, she was taller than me and broader too. She could’ve played humbleball with those shoulders.
“Cadet, I came to compliment your flying today. Where did you learn your maneuvers?” I was counting the seconds in my head. One...two...three... If they weren’t rushing, they still hadn’t made it to the elevator. I had time.
“My parents sprang for private coaches. They’re both officers on the Valhalla, which is stationed out in the far reaches fighting the pirate bands. They sent me back here to get into the Academy.”
I blinked, and my head swiveled hard to look at her. “You’re a legacy and had coaches? That makes sense. I had a friend stationed on the Valhalla recently. Do you know 2nd Lieutenant Nagi?”
“I grew up there, but I’ve not been back for years. I had to hit seventeen to run the trials.”
“Ah, that explains it. You got in before the open recruitment too.” The Academy allowing so many applicants had diluted the talent. A lot of mediocre soldiers were making it through the process now. My annoyance at the girl lifted, but I still counted the seconds... Twelve...thirteen... The lift would have arrived. If I didn’t see the floor they got off on, I’d lose her.
“I look forward to your flying tomorrow.”
“You may not after I toast your assets...sir.” She winked at me.
I had to smile. Cocky, confident with reason, and stupidly brave. I’d teach Ms. Overconfidence a few things before the class was over, and she’d be a better pilot for it.
McKenzie hadn’t been much of a talker, but she’d watched our exchange with rapt attention.
“We’ll see. I have to go now. I have an appointment. Cadets.” I gave a quick salute and walked at a measured pace away from them.
Once I passed from their sight, I bolted down the empty hall toward the lift. The hover display read floor seventy-two... What was on floor seventy-two? Was there a floor seventy-two?
They were already moving. If only I'd gotten a chance to put the tracker on her, I'd be able to be slow and subtle. Tapping my foot, I searched for the door to the maintenance stairs. Seventy-two floors were a lot, but I had good cardio.
I had to make a choice. Suddenly, I felt like Amelie weighing a hundred thousand options. I usually knew what to do, but now things grew murkier and murkier.
Was I following because I wanted to put a tracker on her, or was I worried about this man? The lights flashed 52-53-54 on the way to 72. I used my all-faculty wristlet to open the maintenance door and leaped up the staircase.
I didn't have time to analyze. I had to act.
The floors flew by, and my heart expanded painfully against my ribs. It was 72 or bust.
By the way my breath wheezed, it may have been option number two.
Chapter Thirty
Amelie
“And that’s how the Pics forced the Romans out of OE Britannia using guerrilla tactics,” I finished.
The class and instructor were silent.
I sat down and noted I'd been speaking for ten minutes. “I only scratched the surface of the conflict. It was quite interesting. I’ve read multiple tomes—”
“Thank you, Ms. Dupree. That answer will do. More than do.” The instructor shook her head. “The actual question was, how could we potentially use these tactics in a practical sense.”
A boy, tall and lean as Dax, stood. “It depends on the enemy. We have to tailor our defense to their capabilities.”
The instructor smiled and nodded. She hadn't done that when I was speaking.
I snorted. The instructor was just saying things to sound impressive. If he didn't have real information, then why talk at all?
The room was small, with a tiny section of windows—-nothing like the floor-to-ceiling windows we'd had on the EDU-Sat.
I was going back.
Bubbles of excitement coursed through me.
It was a purely emotional reaction from a dump of chemicals triggered by my thoughts. I knew it. But I was a slave to my biology.
The instructor droned on, reciting info from Heronidos Facts of Warfare. Boring. If she couldn't analyze it and give me something worthwhile, then what was the point.
The woman was an officer but of low ranking. It would seem due to the influx of students that the Academy had also expanded its teaching staff to allow enlisted, techs, and civilians to teach. It seemed unwise, especially in the volatile situation we were in now.
The sight of those aliens still sent the shakes through me, even the virtual aliens. Vega had kept all that inside for months.
An exact image of Vega earlier today filled my mind. That was the trouble with a perfect memory—every detail of every moment was accessible. Which made staying focused difficult. Cohesively consolidating the information proved tricky too.
But my parents had always assured me that I could handle or ignore it. Seeing them today had brought a memory flood of contradictory memories.
They'd always hated the Mil-station and the Academy. But Doctor Sinclair worked there now. They were rubbing elbows with the upper echelon of the Mil-station. Suddenly proud of me. Suddenly willing to throw me a party. Me. Not her.
Giddy happiness wrestled with skepticism. There was a plan behind what my parents were doing, but what?
I pinched the fleshy part under my thigh hard and almost cried out. My attention refocused on the lecture.
More ancient warfare. Now we were discussing naval actions on Old Earth. Seriously. The example wouldn't apply in space, and most engagement wouldn't even be planetside. Most would be in the air, and even if they were on a planet, the chances we'd be facing tall, wooden
ships were very slim.
Now submarine tactics would be useful. I made a note to research. I thought maybe chip 14 had some prelim stuff.
I usually loved classes, but this one dragged. The instructor finally released us as my stomach gurgled.
Dax popped into my head unbidden, and I batted the image of his messy hair and gentle eyes away.
He hadn’t seemed super receptive to me in the hall before my parents arrived. But I could have just been misreading the situation.
I often did.
All the information in the Axis didn’t help to piece it together and formulate hypotheses, especially where emotions were involved. No real formula or algorithm for those.
Giving up wasn’t in my nature, or else I wouldn’t be at the Academy. And Dax meant too much to me for me not to try, really try. But he was shy.
Even though he presented himself as everyone’s friend and seemed so calm and collected on the outside, I could see when his brows lowered or his mouth tightened, how his eyes would skitter away, especially with me.
I’d never heard him talk about a girl the way the other boys did. Particularly EDU boys. They thought of females as prizes with pedigrees. To be fair, the girls thought the same of them. Matches were more about gaining social clout than real affection.
He’d been respectful and kind. But I could see something beneath the surface. He always tried to hide his Hub tattoo from me, as if I’d judge him for it. He couldn’t help the circumstances he’d been born into, but he’d not only made the most of it but excelled.
Maybe he needed help opening up.
I could invite him to my parents’ party. If I asked him, it would be obvious how I felt about him. We’d have a relaxed situation. I could tell my parents not only had I gotten to become Newton Sinclair’s assistant, but I’d found a great person that I liked to—I didn’t know the next step. I guess date? Spend time together...even kiss? That last one made my heart take a syncopated beat.
Maybe I shouldn’t tell my parents until I was sure where Dax stood.
The class ended, and I’d tuned out most of the repetitive nonsense. I did set my chip to record the lecture so I could scroll through it later and grab anything I’d missed. I was distractible, but I was still thorough.
Cadet: Star Defenders Book Two: Space Opera Adventure Page 15