“Volante. You heard your squad leader. Go take your ship.”
Vega didn't have to be told twice. She sprinted away toward her fighter, pausing only long enough to salute Binary.
Gleason and I mounted the stairs to the podium overlooking the flight deck.
A group of five officers strode down the central hall to the main flight deck. It looked like they’d come from the observation area.
I didn't recognize them. I knew most of the high-ranking officers in the Mil-station by sight, especially among the fighter crews.
A spray of stars surrounding two crescent moons decorated the lead officer’s uniform. It was the Fleet Admiral. I’d never met him. He’d been out in deep space for years in charge of our best battlecruisers.
Then it hit me. Jess, Vega’s friend, had been assigned to the Ax Atlantis. According to Vega, they were looking for pilots.
The Fleet Admiral’s face betrayed the signs of age, deep lines creasing his cheeks and around his mouth, but he was trim and had a granite expression.
I came to attention, still keeping an eye on my holo display to make sure the cadets were following their flight plan.
Two captains and two lieutenants stood with him. One of them was Vega’s friend from dinner.
But he couldn’t be more than a lieutenant junior grade, maybe a year older than me, and I was one of the youngest ever to finish the Academy.
The Admiral stepped forward.
Some people had an aura of energy that you could feel. I’d noticed it with the very powerful smugglers, high-level officers, and people like Commander Wu. It was like an almost electric force that preceded them.
My spine straightened as the Admiral addressed Gleason.
“Lieutenant Commander Gleason.”
Gleason swiveled and painted on his most charming smile. “Admiral Boshki.”
“We’ve come to see the talent.”
Gleason’s eyebrows rose. “What’s the timeline? This group just started the cycle.”
“A week maximum. My security officer, Lieutenant Jess Holt, and flight Commander Murano will be attending the next few sessions. The need is dire, Lieutenant. I know the Academy will give us their best and brightest. Now if you will excuse me, there are other matters I need to attend to at High Command.”
He did a perfect heel-toe turn and disappeared with two of his deck officers. The two remaining were his Commander and Jess.
“As the Admiral said, we will be observing. What maneuvers are you showing them?”
Gleason waved a palm dramatically in my direction. “This is Junior Lieutenant James, instructor of this class. He’ll fill you in.”
The older man, Commander Murano, frowned. “He seems quite young to be instructing fighter pilots? How long has he been teaching?” He didn’t look at me but watched the fighters break into a figure eight and return to formation.
Gleason's shoulders rolled back, so subtly that they probably didn’t even notice, and his expression shifted from pleasant to feral.
“You think because you got the big commission to Commander on a boat, you can enter my realm and judge my personnel choices?”
I braced for impact. Jess didn’t look worried. Simpering superiority oozed from him and made me want to punch him.
This could be bad. Very bad. But I had faith in Gleason. He hadn’t let me down yet.
The Commander rolled back on his heels but kept his gaze on the cadets. “Yes.”
No sir. No explanation. No doubt.
Now it was getting interesting. Few stood their ground where my Lieutenant Commander was concerned. His Phantom Ops status was marked clearly on his uniform. He could kill most people with minimal effort. But this man dismissed him as if he sold rat-dropping fertilizer on a street corner.
“I will take over the recruits with the help of my Lieutenant. We need to be able to face this force. We’ve lost enough people already. Good people.” His voice lowered to a deep rumble, and I sensed a wave of emotion. None of it showed in the deep lines of his granite face. His attention remained on the Strykers as if he were judging them already.
It was like observing two battle cruisers circling. Cannons loaded and glowing blue.
Gleason stepped up and stood next to the Commander, closer than was polite.
“Junior Lieutenant James flew a Class A Battle Cruiser out of an asteroid field without training. He graduated from the Academy in two years. Two. And was the top of his class. He’s qualified to teach. I won’t let you belittle him.”
Gleason rarely got serious with me or reviewed my accomplishments. He said he always expected it of me, and we moved on. This was a ringing endorsement, and my chest clenched a bit.
A long pause.
So long that I wanted to tap my foot or fidget. Only years of training and Gleason’s scrutiny kept me in check. I dry swallowed, waiting.
“He can assist.”
I let my breath slither out silently. Gleason’s eyes tilted up at the corners, and he was pleased.
I finished the prepared flight paths and signaled the pilots to return to their bays. “We’ll begin again at 0700 tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir.” I wanted to rail that I had lessons prepared, and this was my chance to prove myself, but I maintained my silence.
I’d lost my class, and Jess would be around for the next week, at least, to interfere with my mission.
The Commander and Lieutenant moved away from us with their heads together talking.
Vega and her squad returned, and Gleason was quick to dispatch them.
“Good job, cadets. Meet back on Flight Deck 667 at 0700 tomorrow. Dismissed.”
They fell out of formation with time to spare in their block, talking to each other. Then Vega saw him. The pure excitement on her face drove a spike into my chest. She raced up.
He excused himself from the Commander and joined her. They stood face-to-face, toe-to-toe, intent on each other. I was too far away to hear anything, but she brightened like a star going nova.
I closed my eyes. Yep, my job just got a lot harder.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Amelie
I woke up early to prep for my training with Vega.
Yesterday had been a dream and a nightmare, but mostly a dream. I still had some bad flashing moments of those boys in the lift.
Then there was the memory of Dax. I couldn’t have made it more perfect if I’d tried.
Welllll, we could have been out on the Nebula Trail with the pebbles that absorbed UV rays and displayed flashes of brilliant color. Or even on the deck of a starliner destined for a pleasure planet in the Medusa Cascade.
But it had happened, and it was with Dax, which made it perfect.
Now I’d have an escort for my party, someone who was attractive, kind, and clever. I might have more knowledge, but Dax just understood processes, and he noticed everything.
Sleeping had been impossible, but I still felt buoyant in the morning. I dressed in my uniform and passed the labs to the lift that would take me to the gym area. Waiting took forever. I strolled back down the plain white hall toward the lab.
I hoped Vega didn’t choose strength training as much as I needed it. The brute repetitive effort always bored me.
Something moved at the end of the corridor. Odd. All the classes I’d seen on the roster didn’t begin until 0700 at the earliest. Maybe a cleaning droid doing a round?
On tip-toe, I crept forward to get a better look.
It was Nanami. She wore the same humorless expression she had the day before. Her shoulders hunched forward. She shuffled up to the dark lab door and swiped her wristlet.
The door opened with a loud sloop, and the lights flared on full. She exhaled in a long heavy sigh and crossed the threshold, closing the entrance behind her.
What was she doing this early in the lab? Trying to get bonus points with Dr. Sinclair? Well, I wasn’t about to let that happen. I would find out what she was doing, why she was doing it, and determine if it wou
ld benefit my career.
I crept to the open area just outside the door and tried to look in. The frosted glass porthole hid everything.
Was there another way into the lab so I could sneak in undetected? I slid on my magnifiers and nudged them awake.
The information flowed. I directed its search by eye movement and thinking. It was incredibly intuitive.
No secret way into the lab.
I frowned and tried to listen as I flashed my wrist com at the panel.
I held my breath and waited. My hands balled. Somehow, she’d gotten in.
And if she could. I could.
Deeper and deeper, I dug into the schematics of the lab with my magnifiers. Much of the information was classified.
Figured. I bypassed the safeguards without tripping anything.
I’d learned from Captain Price that my hacking skills, although good, were sometimes traceable. But perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to hack another student, and if good old Nanami had an account, it just might also have—
Winner! I found her passcode list. It had been password protected and encrypted. That didn’t matter when someone excelled at breaking codes. Sometimes I’d break codes just for fun when a teacher would drone on in class, and this encryption was rudimentary.
I had the code.
Vega was waiting for me a few levels below. I should have just left and joined her, but the temptation was too great. I had to know what was happening.
The door slid open with another giant whoosh. I cringed and waited for an alarm or a scream or something that would indicate that I was an intruder.
The lab was lit, and the front area looked even larger now that the experiments were put away. Nothing seemed amiss. No one was around. Not even Nanami.
But the door to the back labs hung open.
Only darkness and a sense of foreboding lay inside. I took slow stilted steps, watching for any protection protocols.
I proceeded a few more feet to the opening. My nerves jolted under my skin.
Normally, I was a rule follower. Getting demerits wouldn’t help forward my career. But something drove me, some desire deeper than my fear.
If I’d been superstitious, I would have said my sixth sense. A sixth sense had been proven in limited cases. Precognition, telekin—
The sound of metal on metal screeched from behind the partition. I jumped and retreated. The sound came from the very rear of the room where Nanami must be.
Danger signals flashed inside my brain. My heart rebounded against my ribs.
My base instinct said to run, but I fought it. What if something was wrong?
Not my problem, my Sat sensibilities said.
Buuuuttt, it kind of was my problem. I was there, and it was my responsibility to make sure everything was okay, both to stupid, butt-faced Nanami and to the program.
I listened for more clues as to what was wrong. Silence, then a wet flapping sound like footsteps on tile.
“Hello? Are you okay?”
Sloshing and splashing, then a loud groan.
“Dammit to Helios.” I sometimes changed swear words.
Most were boring. Helios was better than Terran hell and scarier, too, a monster planet made of acid, fire, and poison gas.
And that was what was probably waiting for me on the other side of that door.
If Dax or Vega needed help, then it would be lightyears easier, but to put myself in danger for Nanami irked.
But I wasn’t on the satellite anymore. And I didn’t want to be like those who put winning and being the best over everything.
My movement grew easier, but I was wary. I scoured the counters for a weapon and found a pair of forceps. Palming the small but very sharp medical tool, I took a deep breath and rushed in.
Pink goo covered Nanami. Tiny cuts covered her hands, dripping blood.
She stood still in the center of the room next to the tank, staring at her ruined hands.
“Nanami! Are you okay? What happened?”
She looked up at me absently.
“You...aren’t supposed to be here...” She dropped to her knees and fell face-first into a puddle of moisture on the floor.
I raced to her side, checking the room to see what could have caused the injuries and what could potentially harm me.
I placed the forceps on the floor and rolled her over. Her eyes were wide, and her breathing came in harsh gasps.
“What’s wrong? What can I do?” My brain just stopped. I stalled out like a shuttle without a power source. Panic did that to me.
She gasped again. She needed medical attention.
Medics.
She needed a medic.
My eyes finally focused, and I searched the room once more—no immediate threat. Nothing was hiding in the corner.
I flicked on my wristlet. “Medical assistance on S deck in Research Lab Five. Nanami...I mean, a cadet is injured.”
My wristlet buzzed immediately.
“Med help on the way. Describe your emergency.”
I wasn’t a doctor, but I had read a few medical books for fun. “Lacerations on her hands like small scratches. She’s struggling to breathe. Her airway is constricting.”
“Remove your wristlet and put it on her throat.”
I’d forgotten about the first-aid option in our armbands. Why did panic always push all useful information right out of my head? Whipping it off, I placed it on Nanami’s neck, and microneedles attached to her skin. Probably epinephrine to ease her reaction.
The door slid open, and the gray jump-suited med crew darted in.
“Here!” I yelled.
They bolted to her and started taking vitals.
They pulled my wristlet from her neck and administered a hypo to her arm. Instantly, her breathing regulated. And her wide, panicked eyes closed. I wanted to take it as a sigh of relief, but part of me thought she looked dead.
“Will she be okay?”
One of the medics swiveled his head to look at me and handed me my wristlet.
“She would have died if you hadn't been here. I think we can help her now.” They lifted her gently and put her on a hover cot.
The medics exited the lab. I sat on my haunches with the wristlet in my hand, surrounded by pink water, which was probably blood. There was some blood on my hands where I had touched her.
The door clicked open again. I was expecting some kind of security that would debrief me, but it was Doctor Sinclair.
He looked annoyed. His eyes squinted, and his teeth bared when he saw me.
“What's the meaning of this? Where is Nanami?”
“They took her. She...I don't know what happened. She was injured. I tried to help her.”
His lips pursed, and his brow furrowed then relaxed. He pulled up his virtual screen and clicked a few messages, scanning them, reading faster than I could even register. Then he glanced at me again and sighed.
“Until Nanami has recovered, it looks like you get a promotion. Congratulations. And keep your hands out of the tank.”
He strode to the corner, pulled on his lab coat, and called the cleanup crew to sop up the water on the floor.
I moved slowly, taking another minute to gather myself and sanitize my hands.
Did those creatures attack her? As I looked into the tank again, I noted the subjects had almost doubled in size and had grown protruding teeth.
But what kind of experiments were they running? Why were they creating a creature whose bite could kill? These animals weren’t even full size. What damage could they do then?
My mother's voice rang in my head with the motto of the satellites: Any way to the top is a good way.
I certainly didn't want anything to happen to Nanami. I was glad I had saved her, but this was my chance. It wasn't my business what the Axis military was doing. It was my job to support their efforts in the war.
With every thought, my stomach twisted into a tighter knot.
I'd been supposed to meet Vega, and now my wristlet was ruined.
I couldn't even contact her. I'd have to explain it during hand-to-hand. We would really need a good girl session about so many things.
Chapter Forty
Dax
I fell. The sensation lasted about four seconds, but that was enough time to regret many of my life decisions. I asked for forgiveness for my sins to Sol, the corp gods, and my ancestors. I didn’t want to miss the afterlife due to a technicality.
My body slammed hard against a polyplastic surface. I sucked in a few breaths before my brain unscrambled. My eyes couldn’t focus. Where was I? There were no lights. Thank goodness there was still some atmo, but I could tell the oxygen level had dropped. You could tell those kinds of things whenever you lived in a place where O2 dropped randomly due to shortages.
The clock in my head lost time. I crawled forward without any sense of direction and figured that staying where I was couldn’t be safe or get me to the Hub any faster. Movement was better than lying still waiting to die.
“I really should’ve thought this through,” I said out loud to give myself a measure of comfort.
A string of lights popped on with a loud snap. They were small utility lights embedded in long thin lines.
I flattened to hide from any border guards. Clammy sweat dripped from my face. Even with the suit, my temp was fluctuating. A few heartbeats passed, and I raised my head.
The area was empty. I was on the lower edge of a support beam that fed into the Hub. It was one thing to view the connectors from a distance and another to be in the scaffolding.
I didn’t have much education, but I did recall that day in primary school and the description of how blood moved through the body. If the Axis was a body, I was in one of the veins.
The atmo remained in the service tubes at a reduced level and usually only when occupied. I wasn’t sure how long or if it would last.
The massive tube made of rubber, metal, and steel tilted up toward the megastructure and seemed to go on forever. Was it just an atmo supplier, or was it more? I wondered when I would run across a transport or train.
Cadet: Star Defenders Book Two: Space Opera Adventure Page 20