by James Thomas
Joe nodded again.
“Well, when I did, and seeing the look on Emilie’s face . . . I pressed her on it. Plus, I know it’s hard to believe with one of your plans . . . but she thought it was so crazy that she immediately spilled the beans. Of course, the next logical step was to contact James Anthony and steal, I mean misappropriate, a long-range shuttle . . . and a good thing we did, for your sake. Do you know how many hyper jumps we had to make? Wait, don’t answer . . . because it’s one to many.”
“I remember little after taking a Star Fighter from my . . . oh! My dad? He’s . . .”
“He’s also recovering. Lots of things have happened while you slept. What you did . . .” Angel choked up a little then cleared his throat. “Well, don’t you ever do it ever again. At least, not without me along.”
Angel continued after clearing emotions from his throat. “When James, Emilie, and I dropped out of hyperspace, it was a complete mess. Again, I’m happy that you didn’t ask me to come along, even though I would have said yes.
I probably owe you one for that. The coms chatter from all the survivors was overwhelming. I mean, you saved the dead. You see, that Black Medallion . . . you know the one you hid from me. Well, it had this power to heal. But I think you knew that, or you wouldn’t have done what you did. Getting back to the point, even the folks floating in Space with no ship or no spacesuit . . . well they’re not zombies. They’re one hundred percent alive! That star pulsed with this healing light for several cycles of Huldra, so the effects lasted long enough to rescue them. At least the ones that hadn’t been vaporized like the Admiral. Anyway, I digress.”
“But how did I get here?” asked Joe again.
“Still getting to that. Where was I? Oh yes . . . things were a complete mess. Everything was moving, but you weren’t. Our sensors went off the charts for the radiation of where you were at. However, with the tracker, we found you right away,” said Angel.
“I don’t understand?” questioned Joe. “But I’m alive.”
“Yep, now you are, but Emilie thinks it took longer for you to heal since you were still floating near the sun. Once we recovered you, well you started to recover, but it took a long time.”
“How long exactly?” asked Joe.
“A month,” answered Angel. “We had to put you into a lead box to keep you from making everyone else glow, but slowly and surely, the radiation levels dropped and totally disappeared. But it gets better! The medallion, when it hit the star, well . . . it fixed it all.”
“What do you mean?” asked Joe.
“You fixed it all, don’t you see? The dwarf star destroyed the medallion, and when it did, this light ring, or whatever you call it. Well, it shot out and did some pulsating thing-a-ma-jig.”
“I don’t understand. What happened to the star?” asked Joe.
“Oh, I’m getting to that, patience. But first, the ring. People are calling it a miracle. Whatever the light hit, healed or started to heal. You took a while longer, of course. I mean, you were completely fried, figuratively, and had more than a full planet’s dose of radiation.”
“And the Tourians?” asked Joe.
“All healed on the transport ships. Not to forget in the mines. All released. But it gets better. The ring has kept moving outwards from the point of origin. Whatever it touches—it heals. On now to the best part!”
Angel moved away from the bed, pressing a button to open the shade to the window. Slowly, the new star appeared with a lush green planet in its orbit.
“Where are we?” asked Joe.
“Huldra!”
“Impossible,” replied Joe.
“Nope! Again, all you,” said Angel.
“The Grax?” asked Joe.
“At peace. You see, Admiral Pearson was relieved of command by Captain Strata and, well, the medallion couldn’t heal what was vaporized. Are you ready for the rest, because there’s more,” said Angel. He was like a kid in a candy store.
“Okay that’s enough for now,” said an older voice as Master Repair Specialist Dumar walked in.
“Dumar!” said Joe.
“Glad to see my tracker paid off. But we’ll fill you in more once you are fully rested. Besides, you have another friend here to see you,” said Master Repair Specialist.
Sadar walked in with Aazar behind him.
“Joe, I came to get my medallion back,” said Sadar with a look of concern and with brief pause before laughing. “But I like what you have done with it.”
“Thanks!” said Joe with a smile.
“But, Angel, is my father in trouble?” asked Joe.
“Yes, but that was all sorted out in the end. Your father is now a Captain, promoted on the spot, and he is the Executive Officer to Captain Strata, I mean Admiral Strata.”
“I don’t understand. He and I are traitors!” said Joe.
“Well Joe,” said Sadar. “What you did was borrow a few transports with permission from me and the Grax ship, well, also not Bandorian.”
“Well, almost,” said Angel. “I’m in heck along with James and Emilie. We didn’t have permission to use the shuttle, but we were able to pick up some more of our people in the rescue operation, so the ISF mostly overlooked it.”
Joe looked slightly relieved.
“By the way, I now have the most detention at the Space Academy in all the cycles combined. My dad is obviously upset! Well, more upset. Honestly, Joe . . . I’m not sure if he likes you,” said Angel with a smirk. “Emilie and James are now both separated from the service. They just felt it was time for a new career, but at least you will have a new brother-in-law.”
“Getting married?”
“Yes, they now have a lot of free time,” said Angel.
“As for me?” said Joe.
“Well, you’re probably the most well-known person in all three systems. You’re a hero to the Grax, Tourians, and us! Look on your table,” said Master Repair Specialist Dumar.
Next to the bed lay flowers and candy, along with a pair of Ensign ranks and the Medal of Valor.
“Mine?” asked Joe.
“Yes,” replied Master Repair Specialist Dumar. “You’re done with the Academy. You’ll finish up your studies in ISF military active-duty service. They didn’t want you to influence any other cadets. Plus, this news about the Tourians being from our own people on Bandor, well, you are all over the news.”
“But that doesn’t answer about me being a traitor,” said Joe.
“Are you kidding me? You died,” said Master Repair Specialist Dumar. “That medallion and the light thing you caused brought you back. Heck, as Angel said, it brought back everyone still physically together. Plus, not to mention that we’re at peace with everyone. Oh please! A traitor you are not.”
“And Augie?” asked Joe.
“Who?” asked Master Repair Specialist Dumar.
“The AI you gave me,” replied Joe.
“Oh, you named it,” said Dumar.
“Him,” replied Joe.
“Well, I think I can do something with those fried circuits in your head. The memories on the solid-state circuit board should still be there,” reassured Dumar. “The radiation mostly just fried the connector to your neural thoughts.”
Joe smiled in return. He missed Augie and looked forward to having him back. Then Joe turned to look at the table next to his bed. He reached over the Medal of Valor grabbing the Ensign ranks instead. Joe knew which one truly defined him.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James R. Thomas takes young readers into the world of space travel, teaches them the importance of conservation, and tackles the topic of helping children cope when a parent is deployed in the military. Inspiration for many of his stories emanated from his service and his own family’s challenges with deployments. The author also brings his love of science fiction to life and teaches children to be socially conscious about our planet.
In his books, James addresses a variety of life issues for young readers. He wants to help children bu
ild an awareness of the world around them and empower them to reach for the stars. Through his character, Joe Devlin, children can explore space travel of the future in the Space Academy series’ intergalactic world. Inspired by the author’s deployment to Afghanistan and a promised to write a story for his son, the character Joe Devlin came to life.
James’ conservation series teaches children the importance of keeping our planet healthy and safe while showing them that every single person, including the reader, can make an impact on the planet. In addition, James has published two stand-alone books. One covers the importance of telling the truth and the other teaches children about allergies. To round out his versatility as an author, James tapped into his own life experiences and crafted a series to help younger children cope with a loved one’s deployment.
James also has expanded internationally, with his books now published in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. To round out his versatility as an author, James tapped into his own life experiences as a United States Naval Commander, Naval Pilot, and Marine in his writings.
James is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, with a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering. He holds an advanced degree in business administration. He is married with a son and a daughter and resides in Chesapeake, Virginia. When he is not writing, he enjoys spending time with his family, playing guitar, and flying.
If you enjoyed
Joe Devlin: And the Renegades’ Toil
Space Academy Series,
read Joe’s earlier adventures:
Joe Devlin: And the New Star Fighter
Book 1
Joe Devlin: And the Lost Star Fighter
Book 2
Joe Devlin: In the Moon’s Shadow
Book 3
Joe Devlin: At the Enemy’s Hand
Book 4
Visit James R. Thomas paperbacks
on the World Wide Web
at
https://sites.google.com/site/childrenpicturebooks/