“I forgot how fast you make friends,” the commander says with an expression that looks as if he bit into a bitter lemon. “To clarify, we are not at war. Not officially, anyway. There are tensions across the nations, but our governments are doing all they can to bring peace. Whether we live on Earth or in space we all need to get along.”
I frown. “True. But what about the Pure Earthers? It sounds like they’ve got us all trapped in here.”
“We don’t have much information on that group. We’ve left the politics and security issues to the experts.”
“Like the general?” Kai asks.
“Yes.” Commander Svell looks over at the other commanders again, but they all seem content to let him do the speaking. He sighs. “I’m sorry I don’t have more details I can share with you.”
Right. “What about my father? Has he really escaped?”
The commander frowns. “Yes, I’m afraid that part is true. Of course, the SIA are doing everything they can to locate him.” He glances over to the small, red-headed commander sitting on the far side of the room.
Commander O’Neill stands and puffs out his chest. “I’m not authorized to tell you any more information than you’ve heard on the news vids.” There are dark circles under his eyes, and he looks a lot older than when I last saw him at our Year One graduation. He won’t meet my gaze.
I can see why Alex doesn’t like being around him. “First of all, he’s my father, so you should be telling me more. Secondly, since my brother and I were once his targets, you owe us more details.” I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I realize what I just said. The last time I encountered my father he was threatening to kidnap Cam. And even attempted to do so.
Kai grabs my hand and squeezes as I turn to face him.
“It’ll be all right. We’ll talk to my parents tonight,” he whispers to me.
“I’ll talk to the general to see what we can tell you, if anything.” Commander O’Neill says as he flops back down into the chair. He picks at a tray of fruit laid out on a table next to him.
I turn back to Commander Svell. “I need to talk to my brother. He might be in danger with our father out there again.”
“This is why we’ve had to limit communication. I can’t have all nine hundred students tracking me down to demand an explanation for every little event.”
“Nine hundred?” exclaims Philip.
“Little event?” I ask at the same time.
Kai leans forward. “If you’re truly trying to train us to be leaders someday, why aren’t you giving us the tools and means to grow and navigate through whatever is going on in the world?” I feel him shaking beside me.
I don’t look away from the commander. “Answer Kai’s question first.”
The commander stands up and goes over to the table to pour himself water. “You know I’ve entrusted all of you in the past with very important missions and projects.”
We nod slowly.
“I would like to tell you everything, but there’s too much that’s still unknown, and still under investigation. As I know more, I’ll tell you.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Somehow I doubt that.”
He stops in his tracks. “Let me rephrase that. I’ll tell you what I can.”
“We need to get back to our meeting, commander,” says Commander O’Neill.
Commander Svell nods. “For now, let me know if you hear from your father. We have so much security at the academy I doubt he’ll come here.”
“What about my parents and Cam?” asks Kai.
“The general will take care of them. Don’t worry.”
My pulse spikes. Somehow his words don’t make me feel any less worried. “He’d better. And all the students here? They can’t all be from the lake area.”
He shakes his head. “No. They’re from all the border schools. Just the students who have turned seventeen. The others were shipped to schools farther east.”
“East? Do we have an issue with the Chinese?” I look over at Kai. He frowns deeper.
“No, it’s just—” The lights flash red twice. “You kids need to get up to the sim level to get time in before dinner. Just keep doing your schoolwork and I’ll let you know more later after I’ve had a chance to get updated myself.” He gives us a weak smile.
The security guards lead us out of the luxurious room and take us back to the foyer, where they get the energy barrier back up and running. At a loss for words, the three of us silently head across to the other building where the sim level can be accessed. We join the crowds flowing toward the sims, deep in our own thoughts.
5
Best Friends
We find academy trainers on the sim level. They help keep us cycling through the sims, and answer questions from the new Year Twos. As I watch the new students struggle in the mission sims, I feel a sense of anxiety for them. How can they throw these students into a situation where they’re failing?
And then I remember what the commander said about these students. They aren’t here because they want to be. They’re here because they have nowhere else to go. Like Sean told us.
I stop one of the trainers as I finish my last sim for the day. “What happens if the new students can’t pass all these sims? Will they repeat the year?”
She looks at me for a long moment. “There won’t be a next year. They have to pass.”
My stomach twists. “What do you mean? They won’t let them repeat the grade at all, or there won’t be an academy next year?”
“I can’t answer that.”
So many secrets.
Anger wells up from deep within my chest. “Then where will they go after finishing this year if they fail?”
“All students will go to space when done here this year. Most likely they’ll end up at one of the older space stations. There’s always a need for manual laborers and apprentices.”
“No matter if we pass or not, we’ll all still end up in space?”
She nods. The lights flash once to let us know it’s time for first dinner. The trainer looks relieved and walks away.
I watch her join the crowd heading toward the lifts. My body feels numb.
“You all right?” Kai steps next to me.
I blink a few times. “I think this’ll be the last year of the Earthlight Space Academy. We’re all going to be shipped to space whether or not we pass everything.”
“Even the Year Ones?” Kai slips his hand into mine.
“I think so. All the trainer said was there won’t be a next year.”
“What does that even mean? They’re closing all the academies? Moving them to space? Returning to general education schools?”
I shake my head and allow him to lead me toward the line for the lifts.
“I knew the commander wasn’t telling us everything. But I hope he fills in some of the blanks tonight.”
I’m so deep in thought that when Rand bumps into me I glare at him. I then look down to realize I have a tray full of food in my hands. I blink several times.
“Lost in thought?” he asks grinning.
“Guess so. Sorry.” We walk over to the table and sit down.
Kai wears a playful smile.
“What?” I stab my food with a fork.
“It was like guiding a drone down here and through the line. Hope you like what I put on your tray.” He winks at me.
I look down. At the end of my fork is a piece of fruit. But everything else is vegetables. “At least it’s healthy this time.”
“You zombie through the food line often?”
I look to see Sean sitting on the other side of Rand. I smile, happy that he’s not petrified of us anymore. “Kind of.” I elbow Kai. “I once zoned out and ended up with nothing but desserts on my plate. Kai’s just evening out my diet.”
Sean laughs and turns his attention back to his dinner. We eat quietly for a few minutes.
“So, what happened to you guys after they took you through the energy barrier? Did you get
the answers you were looking for?” asks Alex.
I glance at Kai, who shoves a large bite of food in his mouth. I roll my eyes at him.
“Not really. We found the commander as I expected, but The Seven were there as well.”
Exclamations go around the table. I look over to see Alex frowning down at his plate. He didn’t even know his own father was here.
I think about what the commander told me about how much to share. I decide he didn’t give me much more information than Sean did. “They were all pretty close-lipped. I think they were meeting to try to decide how much to tell us about the situation out there.”
“You mean everything Sean told us is true?” asks Rand.
“Yes. But I think what happened up at the lake is happening all over the world. The commander made it seem like our governments have it all handled, but I’m not convinced.” I glance at Kai, who nods in agreement. “I’m hoping we’ll get more answers tonight when he gives his welcoming speech.”
Rand scoffs. “Did he have a better explanation for the loss of our outside access?” he asks.
“No. We were interrupted, and he hurried us out of there before we could get more out of him.” I look around the room as more students pile in for the first round of dinner. “I think we need to talk to more of the new students. See what they know about why they’re here and what’s happening back home.”
Everyone nods. We get up and take care of our plates.
“Meet you guys up at the track?” asks Rand.
I smile. “A run sounds really good right now. Half hour?”
He nods and hurries off. The rest of us walk slowly toward the lifts.
I look over at Sean. “I talked to one of the trainers upstairs. They said everyone has to pass this year because we basically won’t have a next year. Have you heard anything about that?”
Sean stares at the ground as we walk. “Yes. Our pep talk when we got here boiled down to we basically need to pass and excel in at least one area or we’ll end up cleaning toilets in the farthest corner of space.”
“Wow. Seriously?” I glance at Kai whose expression has turned stormy. “I understand that we need workers for all jobs out there, but why put you guys through the academy at all then?” My face heats up. “I mean, it’s good that you’re here, but wouldn’t it have been easier for them to just ship you to a station and give you basic training?”
Sean shrugs. “They said we needed to learn as much as we can here so we can help others that come behind us without the opportunities we have at the academy.”
I stop in my tracks. “It sounds like this is more planned out than they’re letting on. They did cut our Year One short and then sent us on our summer cruises to finish the year out.” I turn to Kai, my pulse rising. “They knew back then that this would happen. They never planned on the academy being open too much longer.”
Kai frowns. “It makes sense. We need to find some way to be able to access the space net. We need to know what’s coming in order to protect ourselves and be ready for whatever it is.”
I swallow as my heart threatens to beat out of my chest. I turn to look at Philip, who has been very quiet. He’s working on his tablet but freezes when he notices me staring.
“I’ve been working on getting access since Sean told us about what he went through. Nothing yet. The SIA fixed all the loopholes I used last time.” He frowns.
“Thank you. We know if anyone can do it, you can.” I give him a small smile and continue toward the lifts. We ride up to our residential level.
“Meet back here in fifteen?” I walk across the common room toward the girl’s dorm entrance. The guys nod and disappear.
I run into Katrina on my way to my room.
She hugs me tight. “Seems we have different dinner times, too.”
“Seems so.” I frown. “We haven’t really talked yet.”
“Tonight?”
“Sure. I think we’ll all gather in the common area to listen to the commander’s welcome together. See you there?”
She hesitates. “I don’t want it to be awkward. You know, with Rand being there.”
I study her. Her shoulders are tense and she’s wearing her forced smile.
“You guys broke up?” I don’t tell her I already heard that from Rand.
She lets out a sigh. “Yes. It’s a long story, but I’ve been trying to avoid him because he thinks he can convince me into getting back together.”
The lights flash letting us know the next dinner time has started.
“We’ll talk soon, all right? You need to get something to eat. But let me know if you need anything.”
She hugs me again and hurries off without saying anything else. I place my palm on the bio pad outside my door and wait for it to open. I frown as my tablet pings. I hurry inside and dig my tablet out of my backpack.
It’s from Kai. “Diagnostics done on the ship.”
“Good, see you in a few minutes,” I type back.
I hurry to change into my running clothes that consist of a black academy T-shirt and shorts with the Earthlight logo on them. I heft the weighted pack on and tuck my tablet into a side pocket.
Kai is waiting for me. I smile as I see him standing with weighted pack on, his fingers flying across his tablet. His dark eyes are intent on the screen and his hair is mussed. A shiver goes up my spine as I’m reminded how lucky I am to have him as my best friend. And boyfriend.
I grin as I approach, despite the serious look on his face. I can’t help it.
He looks up and his expression changes to one of confusion. “What?”
I lean in and kiss his cheek. “Nothing. I just love watching you.”
He shakes his head and leans in to give me a proper kiss. I’m left breathless by the time he’s done. He leans his forehead against mine. “I love being able to do that.”
I grin and pull back as others join us in the community room. “Me too.”
Kai holds up his tablet and looks over at Philip. “The diagnostics on the Kagawa just finished.”
Philip’s head snaps up and he adjusts his pack. “And?”
Kai frowns. “And we need to look over the ship in person. I ran diagnostics parallel to the ones the mechanics ran, and I got different readings.”
“How is that possible?” Rand asks. He’s leaning against the wall leading to the corridor. He makes his pack look like it’s full of air.
Philip looks paler than normal. “It could be some kind of chip or collector drone might be attached inline sending different signals to the ship’s computers.”
I glance at Kai. “What does that mean?”
“It means we need to locate that chip because it was put there on purpose.”
“When can we get into the dock?”
Kai traces his finger over several commands. “Tomorrow morning before breakfast. Right now, there are too many ships going in and out.”
I sigh. “Let’s get our run in, then. And tackle that issue tomorrow.”
We head toward the lifts and ride to the top level. The lift opens and I grin as the zero-G track is lit up in front of us. The center dome is empty except for the floating blocks used as an obstacle course. Several students are already running along the outside track.
Our group quickens their pace toward the decompression room. For the moment all thoughts of sabotage are stuffed down inside us.
We cram into the small room and I notice Sean slump into the corner. His knuckles are white as he grips the straps on his weighted bag.
“Sean? You nervous?”
Rand glances over, but Alex is the first to him.
“I haven’t been in here before.” Sean looks down as his body gets lighter. “They had us in the sims and doing schoolwork.”
Alex helps him tighten his pack as gravity decreases. “It’s great exercise once you get used to it.”
Sean clamps his mouth shut as he watches Alex adjust the straps on the pack. Although Alex is shorter than most of our classmates, he�
�s got the muscles we’ve all developed over years of training for the exhaustive physical tests to get into Earthlight.
The door cycles open and the others pull themselves along the handrails to the side of the track. I hesitate as I watch Sean scramble to get out of the small room.
Alex looks at me and then back to Sean. “I’ll help him get used to the track.”
“Thanks, Alex. I didn’t even think they might not have been trained for this.” I grin as I watch him show Sean how to stand up ‘straight’ in the zero-G.
I situate myself next to Kai on the track. We let a group of runners go past before we spread out in between the lines.
Rand glances back at me. For the first time since we landed, he’s got an authentic smile on his face. I grin back as I watch his competitive spirit take hold. With a quick glance at Kai the three of us take off. I hear Philip protest behind us, but I know Alex will stay with him.
I match Kai’s stride. We’re less than a meter behind Rand. It feels amazing to stretch my legs again. We had a running track on Jupiter Station, but it was small and usually crowded.
We lap the others. As we pass them, I grin at Sean. He’s doing well learning the unusual running method we have to employ to stay on the track. When he does start to drift, Alex pulls him back. Philip actually looks relieved to be in a group going his own pace. He waves as we run by.
“Far cry from our first week here, huh?” I give Kai and Rand a crooked smile.
Rand nods but stays quiet.
“It’s kind of nice having such a large group of friends,” says Kai. He’s not even out of breath.
“Although the sheer number of new students is kind of daunting. How are we going to work together as such a large group?”
“That’ll be challenging. But at least there doesn’t seem to be a bully in the group.”
Thoughts of Josh’s sneer looking down on me make me break my stride. I struggle to match Kai again.
“True. I wonder whatever happened to him?” I finally answer.
“I heard he escaped from the boarding school he was sent to,” says Rand.
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