“When was this vid taken?” I look down at my forearm where goosebumps are spreading.
“This morning,” comes a weak voice.
We turn to see Josh Archer standing in the doorway.
A small sound escapes from Philip as he hugs his tablet to his chest.
“I thought you were at Starlight?” I say, my voice cracking.
“I never made the transport.” He takes a step forward. In the light we can see he’s lost a lot of weight.
“Stay right there,” says Kai. His whole body is tense.
Josh stops and sinks into a nearby seat. “I’m not here to fight.”
“Then why are you here?” I take a step forward.
Kai matches me.
Josh takes a deep breath and leans back into the seat. “I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“Back to custody?” I say through gritted teeth.
He shakes his head. “Can’t. That’s where things went south. I think my transporters are all dead.”
“What?” asks Philip, his voice shaking.
Josh closes his eyes. “We were attacked as we were about to lift off from the launch pad. Bombs or something destroyed the control center and crippled our ship. Ripped it wide open. I wasn’t going to stay there and wait for another one.”
Kai and I exchange a glance. I frown. “The launch pad just outside the base?”
He opens his eyes. “Yes.”
“Why would anyone want to bomb a prison transport?” I ask, my pulse quickening.
“I don’t think they were aiming for us. I think we were just caught in crossfire.”
“And you expect us to believe you? After all you did around here?” Kai takes another step forward.
Josh’s gaze goes over to the broken console. “I know I screwed up with you guys, but I did not do that.”
I place a hand on Kai’s arm as he moves to step forward again.
“Actually, he’s telling the truth about that. He didn’t destroy the console.” Philip waves his tablet at us. “The person I caught on the feed doing the damage is a lot taller and bulkier than Josh.” He lights up the vid overhead with the image of the man in black wielding a large object next to one of Josh entering the ship.
“Do you know who that is, Josh?” Kai asks.
Josh locks gazes with Kai. “I don’t, but I think he might be part of the same group that attacked the transport.”
“Why do you think that?” asks Philip as he freezes the frame on the man, now turned toward us. We can’t see his face still, but it’s obvious that it’s not Josh.
“See on his uniform? Can you zoom in?”
Philip zooms in to a small white circle with a green dot in the middle.
“The Pure Earthers.” I bite the inside of my cheek, tasting metal.
All three turn to stare at me.
“Makes sense, right? Sean was telling us they’re responsible for destroying the lake and surrounding forests.”
“I thought he was just telling stories.” Philip shrugs.
“I don’t think so.”
“How can we trust anything he says after all he did to us?” Kai points at Josh.
I study Josh as he stares down Kai. The old hate and fire are gone from his eyes. “Josh? How long has it been since that attack?”
“A couple of days?” He sits up slowly. “It took me a while to walk here and then figure out how to get in with all the extra security.”
I shake my head and pick up my backpack where I threw it in one of the seats. “You guys have all the data we need to figure out what really went on with the Kagawa?”
Philip and Kai nod but look confused.
“Let’s go get lunch and study what we’ve found.”
“What about him?” Kai nods toward Josh.
“He goes with us. Looks like he needs food more than the rest of us. You heard him, he has nowhere else to go.”
“Really?” Philip looks nervously between Kai and me. “We can’t trust him though, can we?” he asks in a whisper.
I brush past Philip. “Don’t worry, we’re here for each other, remember? And he doesn’t look like he’s in any shape to bully anyone,” I whisper back.
Glass crunches underneath my shoes as I walk over to where Josh is sitting. He looks up and slowly stands.
Kai quickly comes over next to me.
“We’ve had our differences and you lost our trust last year. So why we should trust you right now?”
Josh glances over at the console and then back to me. His expression is resigned, and his hands shake in front of him. “I think I can help you track down whoever sabotaged this ship. And I meant it when I said I don’t have anywhere to go. My father disappeared with the first wave of attacks. Or at least he stopped answering his messages.” Josh stares at his shoes, which are worn and dirty.
Kai grabs my hand and squeezes. He glances over at Philip. “Can you lock out all access to the ship’s controls and diagnostics? At least until we’ve had a chance to look over the data we’ve collected.”
Philip’s steps are loud on the glass as he moves to stand beside us. “Yes, but we’ll need to be out of the ship first. Then I can also power off the emergency generator.”
“Let’s go then.”
Philip leads the way, followed by Josh. Kai and I exchange glances as the strong, confident, competitive Josh we once knew limps ahead of us.
Outside the ship we close the ramp and wait for Philip to do his magic. Josh leans heavily on the side of the Kagawa, careful not to meet our gazes.
“What are we going to do with him?” Kai asks softly.
I lean into Kai’s warmth. “We need to hide him somewhere. The commander would just take him into custody if he knew he was here. I think it’s important to find out what Josh knows first.” I meet Kai’s gaze. “I don’t think he’s here to harm us.”
Kai nods and takes off his backpack. He then removes his academy hoodie and hands it to Josh. “Here, put this on.”
His expression wary, Josh slides the dark prison jacket off and slips Kai’s hoodie over his head.
We dispose of the jacket on our way out in a waste bin. The three of us surround Josh to keep the academy cameras from getting a good look at him as we head for the cafeteria.
Once we load up our trays with food, we weave our way through the tables to the far back wall of the room and sit down, facing Josh away from prying eyes. The noise level increases as more students file in.
Josh eats like he hasn’t eaten in a week. And maybe he hasn’t. I keep quiet to allow him to nourish himself before we play twenty questions.
9
Second Chance
Rand walks toward us, his expression confused.
“I thought I was meeting you at the dock.”
“We finished up already. Where were you?” I ask.
“I finished a few sims.” He puts his tray down on the table.
Sean, Alex, and Katrina are right behind Rand. I smile as Katrina approaches. She smiles back and gives me a little shrug.
Katrina is the first to recognize Josh.
“Oh, my goodness.” She drops her plate on the table with a loud thunk.
“Nice job blowing our cover,” I joke.
“Sorry.” She sits down next to Josh and pulls her plate in front of her. “What are you doing here?”
Josh hasn’t stopped shoveling food in his mouth, so he glances at me.
I nod for the others to sit. Rand takes the seat farthest from Katrina.
“We found him in the ship. He hasn’t eaten in several days, so let’s let him finish before we bug him too much.” I turn to Sean. “He’s validated what you’ve told us and much more. There’s definitely something very wrong out there in the world, and we need Josh to help us figure it out.”
“But he’s supposed to be at Starlight Max,” hisses Rand. His expression is hard as he glares at Josh.
“His transport was hit by what he thinks was a bomb.”
S
ean gasps.
I watch as Alex takes Sean’s shaking hand to calm him. It makes me wonder what kind of horrors Sean went through to get to safety.
I glance over my friends. We’ve all been through so much, but it seems we might just be on the brink of something even bigger and more dangerous. “I think we can now agree that the ‘earthquake’ we felt earlier was actually a bomb or some kind of explosive.”
Several gasps around our table get the attention of other students nearby. I lower my voice as the others turn back to their meals. “When I was in the greenhouse Ms. Germain had a strange machine that told us ahead of time when the shaking was going to start. Afterward the readout on the machine looked similar to some of the readouts we found when we hacked into the Kagawa.”
I pause to take a long drink of water.
“You hacked into the ship?” asks Alex, a huge smile on his face.
“Yes, and we used the dock’s direct space net link to get some real time sat images,” Philip answers, looking proud.
Alex raises a hand and gives Philip a high five. “My father always boasted that security for space docks was un-hackable.”
“Speaking of your father, did you get to talk to him last night?” I ask.
Alex’s expression fades. “Yes, but I didn’t get any answers out of him. He wouldn’t talk about anything down here. As usual. He only wanted to talk about himself and how disgusted he is that his job is changing.”
I sit up straighter. “How is his job changing?”
Alex hesitates before he answers. “Just stuff like retrofitting Jupiter Station and this being the last year of the SIA academy.”
“Which we were already aware of, right?” asks Philip.
“Kind of.” I look around the room. “But if he’s not happy about it, it’s not his choice. Do we know anyone else that was on a summer cruise under one of The Seven’s commanders?” I look around the table.
“There’s a kid in our advanced bio class that couldn’t stop talking about how awful his summer cruise was under the Star City Space Academy.” Rand looks over at Kai.
“Yes, that’s right. You had to switch lab partners because he wouldn’t stop jabbering.” Kai grins.
“So, I’m sure he’ll tell me more if I ask.” Rand makes a face.
I laugh. “All right, thanks for that sacrifice. Let us know what you find out.”
“And what exactly am I supposed to be uncovering?”
“I think The Seven are losing power. If what the commander is telling us is true, that the academies are shutting down, then they’ll have to find other commands. It sounds like the spacers are reorganizing themselves, and it all might be linked to the bombings, and whatever is happening down here.”
Rand nods and takes a bite of his sandwich.
“Were you able to get my tablet programmed so I can send and receive messages to all students?” I ask Philip.
“Yes. In doing so, I had to take the block off your tablet for receiving messages from outside the academy intranet. But you can’t send. I still need to work on that.”
“I’m impressed. I can see why they put you on the Mars mission,” says Alex as he finishes the last of his lunch.
Philip grins.
“What about the ship and him,” Rand asks, pointing to Josh.
All eyes turn to Josh, who finishes chewing and pushes his plate away.
“I want to tell you all that I’m really sorry about last year.” He turns in his seat to face Katrina. “I hurt my friends and lost your trust. Hopefully, you’ll give me another chance. I really don’t have anywhere else to go. This is the only place I’ve felt at home.”
“Except you’re a fugitive now, right?” asks Katrina. She’s guarded but I can tell she’s hopeful for him.
“Yes.” He looks down at the table.
“Then what do we do with him?” She looks around the table.
“We can’t give him over to the authorities yet until we figure out what happened out there,” I say as I pick my fork back up. “We’ll hear what he has to say, and then we’ll figure out what to do with him.”
They don’t look happy about it, but they all nod. I encourage Josh to go on. He tells the others what he told us on the Kagawa. He fills in details about where he hid and how he survived for so long on his own. While I eat, I watch the others engage him, ask him questions, and add their own stories from the last few days here at the academy.
There’s a moment of silence as we digest what we’ve heard. I push my plate away and turn toward Philip and Kai. “Now that we know Josh isn’t the saboteur, let’s go over the data we collected from the ship.”
Philip pushes his tablet to the middle of the table and activates the 3D display. A rotating image of the Kagawa lights up over the table. He allows us all to see the damage on the outside of the ship, and then the vid starts on the inside.
Gasps sound all around the table as the others see the damaged console. Other students in the cafeteria crowd around our table as Philip explains what we’re seeing. Everyone wants to know what happened to the Kagawa.
So much for keeping Josh out of sight. He hunches down in his seat and pulls Kai’s hood tightly around his face. But he, too, watches intently as the 3D vid plays out.
“The damage to the consoles was done sometime yesterday. The job is crude and unprofessional. The systems he damaged weren’t crucial. Kai was able to pull the real-time black box data without trouble. So, if the person that did this was trying to cover the saboteur’s tracks, they failed.”
“I haven’t had a chance to go over the vids yet, but the data points to work being done on that engine right before we left Jupiter Station,” offers Kai.
“So, it was someone already on the station?” asks Alex.
“We believe so. I’ll queue up the Jupiter security vids, and we can watch.” The 3D display changes to the Kagawa in the Jupiter Station dock. Rows of spaceships waiting for repair glean in the background. The dock is huge, since the station is the home and repair center for all spaceships. This vid shows just one of its many levels.
Philip fast forwards until we see someone walking toward the Kagawa. His face is hidden in the shadows. We continue to watch as the figure pulls out a small tablet and after looking around, slips under the engine. For a few seconds we don’t see anything until Philip changes camera angles.
From the other side of the ship a different camera picks up our saboteur kneeling underneath the engine. His hands are over his head fiddling with the engine cover. Philip tries to zoom in, but there’s not enough light underneath the ship to see what the guy is doing.
The figure suddenly crouches lower, tilting his head. In the background we hear voices. The figure quickly stands up and hurries right toward our camera.
Philip freezes the frame on his face.
My heart drops into my stomach.
Kai stiffens and looks over at me.
I meet his gaze, my jaw grinding. I look back at the familiar face and clear my throat. “That’s my father.”
Rand leans forward. “What? The one who’s supposed to be locked up at Starlight Max?”
“Yes. He escaped last week.”
“But—” is all Philip manages before the lights dim once to mark the end of our lunchtime.
He swallows and tries again. “But why would he try to kill you?”
A burning sensation starts in the pit of my stomach and spreads outward. “I don’t know. But we need to find out. It seems he’s a key player in all the crap happening outside these walls, according to The Seven.” I pull my gaze off my father’s face and blink away the image. “He’s mentally unstable with a lot of powerful connections.”
I feel a warm hand on my shoulder and look up to find Katrina standing behind me. She squeezes my shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Anja.”
There are tears in her eyes and I have to look away before I do the same thing. “It’s all right. I lost him years ago. But we do need to figure out how he fits into all this
.”
I glance over at Josh, who’s frowning at the image of my father. “What’s wrong? Have you seen him before?”
“I think I might’ve seen him at the detention center. He had a full beard and a strange uniform on though.”
“What kind of uniform?” asks Alex.
Josh describes it to him.
Alex frowns. “That’s an SIA spec ops uniform. My father—” He stops and looks down at the table.
“You don’t think your father had anything to do with this, do you?” asks Sean.
Alex looks around the table. “I’m not sure.”
Josh glances at Sean curiously.
Sean shrinks back into his chair, the attention making him withdraw into himself again.
“This is so screwed up.” Rand stomps off to take care of his tray.
I shake myself mentally and stand up. “He’s right, but we need to get more information before we can do anything. We’ve got sim time.”
“What are we going to do with Josh?” Kai asks quietly.
I bite my lip as I watch everyone get up and take their trays to the sani station. Josh is last in line. When he’s done, he turns and stands apart from the others. He looks lost. “I’m not sure. Even though I still don’t trust him completely, I don’t think turning him into the commander is the answer. Yet.”
Kai steers me toward the others. “I trust your instincts, but how are we going to keep the commander from finding out about him?”
I glance up at the ceiling where several cameras are spaced out along the room. Most of them are pointed toward the front of the cafeteria, where everyone comes in.
Kai notices where I’m looking and nods. We walk toward Josh, and with him in the middle of the group, lead him out of the cafeteria. With his face forward the only time the cameras caught a good look at him would be when he first came in. We hurry toward the lifts. I frown at the other cameras in the corridor. We pile into the lift.
“I think with the project of retrofitting the academy with space net, the security department won’t have time to look at the footage,” says Philip as he comes to stand in front of me.
Earthlight Space Academy Boxset Page 46