by Zac Harrison
“But I did feel awful, Dr Kasaria,” Mordant replied, holding up his hands. “It just seems to have passed now. What could it have been?”
“Get out!” Dr Kasaria barked. She glanced over her shoulder to see John standing where she had pushed him when Mordant “collapsed”. “You too, John. I will be reporting you both for wasting my time during an emergency.”
“Well?” Mordant Talliver asked as the two of them headed for the TravelTube. “Did you make sure everyone got a dose of gas? Did you see any improvement?”
“All of them got some,” John replied, explaining how he had fed the gas into the oxygen system. “I don’t know if it worked – but maybe...” John remembered Kaal’s long sigh as his convulsions stopped. He shrugged. “Too soon to tell, really.”
“But you got everybody?” Mordant repeated, tugging at John’s sleeve.
“I hope so,” said John, shifting the remaining canisters in his arms. “Come on, there are the emergency wards to do yet.
“OK,” said Mordant, picking up his pace. “You distract the Meteor Medic this time; I’ll let off the gas.”
* * *
Once the canisters were empty, John and Mordant staggered back to the first-year dormitory level, exhausted almost beyond logic. Pausing outside of his dorm room, John looked at Mordant and asked, “Now what?”
“Now we wait and see if it worked.”
Shrugging, John said, “Well, goodnight, then.” Then as Mordant turned to go, John added, “Hey, and thanks, Mordant.”
Mordant nodded, then awkwardly raised a tentacle to give John a high five. “That’s what you Earthlings do, right?”
With a weary grin, John touched Mordant’s rubbery tentacle. Just then, a wailing siren sounded and a green force field froze them both in place.
In their exhausted state, neither boy had noticed the Examiner who had floated in, until it suddenly droned, “MAJOR INFRACTION OF RULES NINE-FIFTY-SEVEN, THREE-EIGHTEEN B, THREE-FIVE-SIX, AND TWO-TWO-FOUR SECTION C DETECTED. PUNISHMENT: SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.”
Chapter 18
“John, for the third time, wake up and report immediately to the medical wing!” Zepp said urgently.
John stirred, looking round in surprise. He wasn’t in his bed-pod, he was lying on the hard floor of a cell, still wearing the flightsuit from his trip to Zaleta Nebula. Scrabbling to sit upright, he shook his head in confusion. Suddenly, the previous night flooded back – he remembered that he and Mordant had been caught by the Examiner and locked in separate detention cells. He rose to his feet stiffly and rubbed his eyes. “What’s going on, Zepp? I’m in big trouble, right?”
Zepp turned the blaring alarm off and said, “Report immediately to the medical wing.”
“Is it bad news?”
“I have been instructed not to give you any further information,” Zepp replied. “I am sorry, John, but my orders come straight from the headmaster.”
Oh no, this doesn’t sound good.
John shook his head in an attempt to clear the fuzz of sleep. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling how knotted and tangled it was. “Has there been any improvement? Is Kaal still—”
“You are to report to medical wing immediately,” Zepp repeated. “As in now.”
“OK,” said John, rising to his feet. “I’m going.”
Getting to the medical wing was like walking through a ghost ship. John didn’t see a single being, not even a robot. His heart sank. He guessed that hours had passed since he had released the nebula’s microbes, but Hyperspace High was still deathly quiet. He had hoped that by now everyone would be on their way to recovery.
It didn’t work, he thought, reminding himself that no tests had ever been done on the microbes; it was only a hypothesis. Most scientists didn’t believe there was a cure Zhaldarian Flu for it.
Maybe the microbes aren’t a cure at all. Maybe they just made everyone even sicker... With that horrific thought, John picked up his pace and ran for the medical wing reception area.
Dr Kasaria was waiting for him, her arms folded and a stern look on her face. She still wasn’t looking very well, John noticed, but at least she was on her feet.
“I know you tricked me so that you could release that gas,” she said, as he stepped through the doors.
John gulped. “I’m... ugh... sorry, D-Dr Kasaria,” he stammered. “The headmaster said that the microbes might—”
“Come with me, please. Quickly,” the doctor said briskly. She stepped smartly towards the door leading to the private wards.
“Is it Kaal?” babbled John, hurrying to keep up. “Is he...? I mean, he’s still... ummm... he’s alive, isn’t he? The gas didn’t make him worse?”
“See for yourself,” said Dr Kasaria, opening the door to Kaal’s room.
For a moment, John felt as if the breath had been knocked out of him. His knees sagged. “Kaal?” he managed to croak.
“Hey,” Kaal replied, raising his hand weakly in greeting.
John blinked. His friend was sitting up in bed. His skin was a strange shade of turquoise and it still sagged, but the fungus had gone and his eyes were open, full of life. As John struggled not to cry with relief, Kaal smiled, his sharp fangs clean and white.
“I hear you saved my life,” Kaal rasped in a hoarse voice. “Thanks, John. I owe you one. Maybe I’ll take it a bit easier on you next time we play Boxogle.” He even managed a weak smile.
On legs that felt like they were made from jelly, John crossed the floor to his friend’s bedside. “You can repay me by getting better as fast as possible,” he said, grinning. “I was totally bored without you around. There was no one to play virtual-reality games with.”
John felt a hand on his shoulder and looked round into Dr Kasaria’s huge black eyes. They were sparkling with relief and joy. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, John,” she said solemnly. “The headmaster arrived shortly after you left and told me what you had done. We watched over the patients through the night.” Her voice became thick with emotion. “I’ve... I’ve never seen anything like it. It was incredible. I was sure I was going to start losing people last night and instead everyone started getting better. I wanted to wake you, so you could come and see what was happening, but the headmaster said you had earned your rest.”
“I would have liked to have been here,” said John.
“Well, you’re welcome to visit whenever you like,” replied the doctor with a warm smile. “Though it looks as though every patient will be discharged soon. For now, there is someone else who would like to see you.”
“Emmie!” John yelped, making for the door. He looked back over his shoulder. “Kaal, I’ll see you in a while.”
“You’re not leaving me here,” said Kaal. “Wait up, I’m coming with you.”
John stopped, looking from Dr Kasaria to his friend and back again. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” he asked.
“It might be better if you stayed in bed,” murmured the doctor.
“I’ve been in bed for days!” Kaal snorted, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and stretching out his wings. “And I can’t imagine it’s far, Dr Kasaria.”
The doctor smiled again. “I suppose there’s no harm.”
Kaal was already crossing the room, pulling on a red and silver dressing gown.
A few seconds later, Kaal and John were leaning over Emmie’s bed.
“Hi,” John said gently, looking down into the Sillaran girl’s navy-blue eyes with a smile. “You’re looking better than you were the last time I saw you.”
Emmie tried to raise her head, but she was still too weak. With a sigh, she dropped back on the pillow. “Did I look as awful as I felt?” she whispered.
“You were a bit green,” John said. “Not as bad as Kaal, though. He looked like he was turning into a mushroom.” Emmie’s skin, he was pleased to see, had ret
urned to its normal golden colour. She was still pale, but it was obvious that her health was returning.
“How can I ever thank you, John?” she asked, reaching for his hand. “How can any of us ever thank you?”
John looked embarrassed. “It wasn’t just me, you know,” he said. “I had help.”
“Who?” asked Kaal and Emmie together.
“Mordant Talliver,” replied John. Seeing the shock on his friends’ faces, he continued quickly, “He was pretty cool, actually. No one else would come, but he volunteered and helped me get to the Zaleta Nebula. Then, when Dr Kasaria wouldn’t let us release the gas, it was his plan to distract her. Without him, I’d have failed. Plus, he saved me from getting hit by a meteor. I kind of owe him my life.”
“You have got to be kidding me,” said Kaal. “We’re talking about the same Mordant Talliver, right? Black hair? Tentacles? Really bad attitude problem?”
John nodded. “Same Mordant Talliver,” he said. “We broke about fifty school rules and... oh rats, I’d totally forgotten about that. I think we’re going to be expelled.”
“After you found a cure for Zhaldarian Flu and saved the lives of hundreds of people?” said Emmie, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t think anyone’s going to be expelling you.”
“Maybe,” said John. “Ah, I just remembered. I’m sorry but I think I might have got your dad sacked, too, Emmie,”
“My dad?” squawked Emmie, this time managing to lift her head from the pillow. “How does my dad fit into all this?”
“Maybe I’d better start at the beginning,” John said thoughtfully.
“Yes, maybe you’d better,” Emmie replied.
* * *
Half an hour later, Emmie and Kaal were still asking questions.
“So you flew through an asteroid field in hyperspace?” Kaal said, shaking his head in disbelief. “That is the maddest thing I have ever heard. You could have got yourself killed.”
“What I still don’t understand,” Emmie cut in, “is why did Mordant Talliver, of all people, offer to help?” She paused for a moment, getting her breath back. “It doesn’t sound like him at all.”
“Maybe you should ask him,” said Kaal, sitting straighter and nodding towards the screen.
John and Emmie turned their heads. Mordant had arrived and was talking to Dr Kasaria in the reception area, an anxious look on his face. The doctor pointed through the screen towards the three friends.
A second later, Mordant Talliver stepped through the disinfectant field. His gazed fixed on the other end of the ward, he walked straight past Emmie’s bed, not even registering his classmates’ presence. John saw silent tears rolling down the half-Gargon’s cheeks as he rushed past.
Reaching Doctor Graal’s bed, Mordant came to a halt – then collapsed to his knees.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, Doctor Graal’s black tentacles snaked out, wrapping him in a tight embrace.
“Oh, Mordant,” said the Gargon teacher, her voice thick with emotion. “You brave, brave boy. Dr Kasaria said you saved my life.”
Mordant wrapped his arms and tentacles around her in return, sobbing openly now. “You know I’d do anything for you, Mum,” he croaked.
Chapter 19
“Hey, Riley!” shouted Lishtig, sprinting across the main hangar deck and weaving between milling students. His long purple ponytail streamed behind him. “John!”
“What?” John said, breaking off his conversation.
“I just saw what you and Talliver did to Jegger’s Talios 720,” panted Lishtig, eyes wide. “It’s a complete mess. Have you seen him yet?”
John shook his head.
“Well, I’d think seriously about moving to another galaxy if I were you. He is totally going to beat you to death!”
“Thanks for reminding me, Lishtig,” John said sarcastically. “I’m probably going to be paying for the damage for the rest of my life.”
“You’re welcome,” replied Lishtig with a grin, ducking away and shouting, “Gobi! Gobi, where are you? You have to see this.”
John sighed. Sergeant Jegger was just one of the many things John now had to worry about. It had been three days since he had returned from the Zaleta Nebula and he still hadn’t seen the headmaster. None of the Examiners had bothered him, but John was still unsure if he was in trouble for breaking so many school rules. Not only that, but the exam results hadn’t been published, either. Every time John thought about the Hyperspace History exam, his stomach twisted. What if they tell me I’m not coming back after the holidays? he thought. Or worse, what if I end up in prison for fifty years for breaking all those rules? I’ll never see Emmie and Kaal again...
“Enough frowning,” Kaal chuckled, punching him on the arm. “Look around,” he added, sweeping his wing in a half-circle. “You did this. You and Mordant Talliver, which – by the way – I still can’t believe.”
John looked around the main hangar deck, where gleaming silver shuttles were waiting to take students home for the holidays. The hangar teemed with beings of every shape and size, from every corner of the universe. As he watched, a creature that looked like a large, leafless bush on root-like legs ran past. A tiny girl with wings and four heads swooped after it, squeaking, “Come back here and say that to my faces, Frinnara!”
Here and there, a few students were leaning on their friends, still weak from their illness. But every single person who’d had the flu was on their way to a complete recovery.
“You worry about everything, strange Earthling,” said Emmie. “Cheer up. Kaal’s right, you saved hundreds of lives.”
“Sorry,” John said with a sheepish grin. “I just can’t help thinking what if I never see all this, and you guys, again.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure I mucked up Cosmic Languages,” Emmie said. “Apart from Space Flight, that was the only other exam I took, so if you failed, I failed, too.”
“That’s even worse,” said John gloomily, sticking his hands in his pockets. “What if—”
“John!” both his friends shouted together.
He grinned. “Yeah, well, I suppose it could all turn out all right,” he admitted. “And I am really looking forward to seeing my mum and—”
“Dad!” Emmie’s scream interrupted him. Yelping with joy, she sprinted towards a TravelTube just as the door opened, revealing a tall, golden-skinned Sillaran with bluish-silver hair. He caught Emmie in his arms and hugged her as if he were going to squeeze the life out of her.
“Should we go and say hello?” asked Kaal, as Councillor Tarz put his daughter down, stared at her in delight, then picked her up and hugged her again.
“Good idea. I owe Emmie’s dad a massive thanks.”
“Cadet Riley, wait right there!” barked Jegger’s voice before John could even start walking.
“Oh no,” John muttered to himself. He took a deep breath and turned to face the sergeant. Here we go.
“Sergeant Jegger,” he said. “Before you say anything, can I just say how sorry I am about your Talios. If there’s anything I can—”
“Stow it, cadet,” snapped Jegger. The flight instructor looked frail and was leaning heavily on a walking stick but, for the first time ever, John saw the teacher’s face break into a smile. Jegger clapped him on the shoulder. “I wanted to give you my thanks before you went off for the holidays. That was an amazing thing you did. Frankly, I think you deserve a medal. I’m proud of you. We are all proud of you.”
John stared into Jegger’s face, unable to believe his ears. “But... but... there’s so much damage,” he managed to squawk.
“Pah, the holidays get boring. Fixing it will keep me busy,” replied Jegger, his grey moustache twitching with humour. “Done me a favour, really. I’m never happier than when I’m tinkering around with her, and there was nothing left to do. Now I can start over again.”
“Is this the famous John Riley?” boomed a voice that sounded vaguely familiar. It seemed to be coming from his own knees. Curiously, he looked down, into the smiling face of a tiny, wart-covered being with long, pointed ears.
“Sorry, I nearly forgot,” said Jegger, as John struggled to place the voice. “Cadet Riley, this is a former student of mine – Cadet... sorry... Captain Lassco.”
That’s where I’ve heard the voice before! John blinked. “Ugh... Captain... nice to m-meet you,” he stammered, not knowing quite what to say to the pilot who had tried to destroy him.
“I’ve been doing my research,” said Captain Lassco, holding out a hand for John to take. “On your planet, this is how they say ‘no hard feelings’, isn’t it?”
“It is,” replied John, reaching down to shake Captain Lassco’s hand.
“That was quite some chase,” said Lassco. “There were a couple of moments I thought I was going to bite my own lips off... going through that asteroid field in hyperspace... Well, let’s just say I won’t be doing that again in a hurry.”
“I didn’t expect you to stay with me,” John said with a smile.
“It was seriously impressive flying,” replied Lassco. “Dangerous, but impressive. If you ever want to join Starfighter Corps, let me know.”
“Wow... that... that would be really cool.”
“You’ve got a few more years training with me yet, cadet,” Jegger cut in gruffly. “For now, I think Councillor Tarz is trying to get your attention.”
“Thanks, Captain Lassco,” John said, turning away. “Have a great holiday, Sergeant Jegger.”
“Oh, I will,” said Jegger, pulling a sonic hammer from his pocket and holding it up with a wink.
“I’m sorry – I can’t keep quiet any longer,” bellowed Emmie’s father. His hand slapped John on the back, almost making his teeth rattle. “Good to see you again, son. I will never be able to express my gratitude to you, John.”