you like me to take this matter before the Academic Council?”
Bordox tensed in his seat, fists clenched and just stared
straight ahead but Davi felt the anger radiating from him in
waves.
“Now pull up your texbooks to the chapter on flight patterns
and pay attention!” the Professor ordered as Bordox sank down
further into his seat. His eyes held a hatred Davi had never seen.
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*
The next night, Davi, Yao, and Farien gathered for dinner at
the Promenade with three beautiful women they’d met at a park.
Seated on the outdoor patio that overlooked a lake, the smooth,
cool breeze urged them to relax and enjoy the time off.
“Would you ladies care to go for a stroll?” Warmth filled
Davi as the last bite of his meal settled into his stomach.
“There he is, the adopted prince. It’s sad, isn’t it, hearing his
blood isn’t really royal? It’s so charitable of the High Lord
Counselor and Princess to take him in anyway so he can make
something of himself.”
Davi’s blood temperature rose as he turned to see Bordox and
his companions cackling nearby with dates of their own. People
around them stared, making Davi and his friends’ dates shift
uncomfortably.
“A slave child sent into space in a courier to save his life
adopted by a princess.” Bordox’s sarcasm cut Davi like shards
of ice “It really is a great story, isn’t it? Almost like magic.”
Davi heard more guffawing around them as Farien stiffened,
his face whitening in anger. “You’re pushing it too far, Bordox.
I’m warning you.”
“Or what? Your worker prince will call his uncle?” Bordox
sneered as his friends chuckled.
“It must be really humiliating to watch him keep beating you
on the sims,” Yao said with a grin. “Especially since his family
has a history of such victories against yours.”
“Let’s settle this right here!” Farien’s chair squeaked as he
pushed back from the table and stood, fists balling at his side.
Davi stood beside him. Public disparaging was too much. He
had to defend his family’s honor.
“Come on, ladies, don’t listen to him,” Yao said from behind
them.
Farien and Davi turned as their dates hurried away down the
promenade.
Bordox snickered, his eyes glowing in triumph, as he and his
companions turned and walked away.
“Let’s go!” Farien said, stepping forward.
“He’s got too many people with him, Farien. You can’t take
them all on,” Yao said, grabbing him by the arm.
Davi stood fuming, his body stiff with tension, as he watched
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Bordox and his cronies walk calmly past a skitter shop along the
Promenade. His instincts matched Farien’s. Private teasing was
one thing, but spreading lies in public was another. Especially
when it cost them their dates. Who knew how far the rumor
would spread now? An idea popped into his head and he smiled.
“I think what I have in mind will make you feel much better.”
He turned and led the way toward the skitter shop, Yao and
Farien following.
They rented skitters and took off down the promenade,
hovering a few feet off the ground as they weaved through the
scattered pedestrians. Experienced riders, the three manipulated
their vehicles smoothly around light poles, people and other
objects as they sped along. One man ground craft ridden like Old
Earth motorcycles, skitters used manipulated air to hover and
move above a planet’s surface. They were sleek and fast, and
favorites of both civilians and military.
As they rode, Davi spotted Bordox’s group walking close to
the edge of the water.
“There they are. Let’s go say hello.” The skitter’s servos
hummed as Davi accelerated, enjoying the vehicle’s vibrations
and gentle hum as he raced forward with Yao and Farien close
behind.
Davi steered the skitter over behind Bordox’s group. Others
on the Promenade spotted them coming and jumped or stepped
aside to clear a path. Davi revved the engines loudly as he came
up fast from their rear, taking Bordox and his friends by surprise.
Trying to jump clear in panic, Bordox and several
companions, including his date, lost their balance and fell into
the river. They yelled as they fell, sputtering and cursing after
splashing down in the water.
Amused by their version of revenge, Davi and his friends
didn’t even look back as they rode away.
“Your ideas really are the best,” Farien said.
“I hope that water’s cold,” Yao said as they stopped and
turned to watch Bordox’s friends helping him and his disgusted
date out of the water. “You know this will only make him
madder.” Yao looked at Davi.
Davi shrugged. “He’s the one who made it personal. Besides,
I feel better.” Laughing with his friends, he revved his skitter’s
motor and accelerated again and they rode away.
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*
Over the next several weeks, Davi and Bordox barely crossed
paths; mostly during lectures or when cadets gathered and
compared simulator results. Bordox jeered at him a couple of rare
times when his scores outdid Davi’s, but otherwise made no
attempt to converse. In time, the tension between them receded
to its normal level.
Two days before the competition, Davi and his fellow
contestants gathered with Professor Jonas at the starport.
“You each get one practice run on the actual course before
the competition,” Professor Jonas explained. “You must destroy
all the targets and avoid all the obstacles before reaching the
finish line. Scores will be determined through combining how
many obstacles and targets each of you defeats with your overall
speed.”
Davi glanced around at the grandstands scattered through the
course, which wound over the city in a large oval. He could
almost feel the history that had taken place there. Spectators
could rent special goggles allowing them to see the course for the
popular annual event. Adding to the challenge, the VS28s had
been designed for spaceflight and didn’t operate near as
efficiently within the planet’s atmosphere. The professors
regarded it as a truer test of the cadets’ piloting skills due to the
added handicap.
Davi, Bordox, and Farien had been assigned to a group with
six others. As they approached their fighters, Davi increased his
pace to come alongside Bordox. “Good luck up there today.”
Bordox looked at him a moment, as if evaluating his
sincerity. “You too.”
“I saw your sim scores. You’ve been working hard.”
Bordox shrugged. “We’ll see who’s the hotshot pilot now.”
&
nbsp; Davi grinned and extended his hand. Bordox nodded as he
shook it, then they hurried toward their assigned craft.
They launched from the starport and rendezvoused at the
starting zone for the course, waiting for Professor Jonas’ signal
to start their run.
Davi’s VS28 rose into the sky, its vibrations and hums not
much different than the well-designed simulator’s. Sunlight from
the planet’s twin suns warmed his neck and shoulders, making
him feel like he belonged up here.
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Listening to the hum of the engines ease as the ship’s
vibrations calmed beneath him, he settled onto his starting
altitude and turned to each side, memorizing the wingspan and
diameters. Although they’d been allowed some practice time
over the past two weeks, the sky course would require them to
fly in closer proximity than normal, and he wanted to feel out the
fighter so he could run the actual competition on instinct. His
concern for the day wasn’t winning but learning how the fighter
would respond and what would be required to succeed in
navigating the course. He could always add speed later.
A long, high tone sounded over their comm channel as they
accelerated onto the course, engine trails streaming behind them.
Farien and two others accelerated far too fast for Davi’s comfort.
He relaxed and hung back, getting to know the fighter and the
course. To his surprise, Bordox hung back with him.
Navigating the first few obstacles with ease, Davi hit three
targets then accelerated, the force pushing him against his
seatback.
Then his controls froze.
He wiggled the joystick and punched the fuel button. Control
returned. He breathed a sigh of relief.
He’d lost sight of Bordox as they passed through some low
clouds. As he emerged from the cloud cover, his controls froze
again. His heartbeat pounded in his head like a bass drum,
rushing adrenaline making it difficult to think and focus, even as
his mind raced through troubleshooting checklists they’d
memorized in class.
When every attempt he made failed to restore control, he
keyed his comm. “Test Alpha Six, my controls are frozen.” He
breathed deeply and tried not to panic.
Professor Jonas’ steady voice came back through the comm.
“Test Alpha Six, attempt to reinitialize your flight computer and
report the results.”
Davi flipped the switches, starting the reinitialization
sequence for his flight computer and controls. The whole process
should take a couple of minutes, and as he waited, he flew into
another series of clouds. His fighter jerked, tossing him about,
and he heard metal shrieking. Turning back, he saw Bordox’s
fighter close on his wing, a cocky smirk on Bordox’s face. Had
their fighters touched?
Davi switched his comm to the private squadron channel.
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“Bordox, what are you doing?”
Bordox’s voice came back sounding apologetic. “Sorry. It’s
hard to see through the clouds.”
“Back off, Bordox,” Farien scolded over the comm. “He’s
lost his controls.”
Before Farien finished, Bordox accelerated up beside Davi
so close, Davi feared an impact.
“More fun if I can see your eyes.” Bordox looked over and
smiled.
Davi tensed, glaring toward Bordox’s cockpit. This wasn’t
the time to play.
“Test Alpha Eight,” Professor Jonas said, using Bordox’s call
sign, “pull off so you don’t get caught in the tractor beams.”
Bordox sneered and put his ship into a gradual dive, allowing
his left wing to scrape Davi’s right wing. Startled and fearful,
Davi shifted his joystick and accidentally sent his VS28 into a
roll.
Davi’s flight computer finished initializing and beeped,
notify him it was ready. He struggled with the controls, trying to
stop spinning and regain control. Instead, his fighter pointed
straight at the ground.
The g-forces pushed him back harder against his seat with
every second. He struggled with the stick to no avail, then pulled
a hand off the joystick and keyed the comm again. “Test Alpha
Six in trouble.”
“Hang on Alpha Six,” Professor Jonas responded, klaxons
blaring in the control room behind him.
His fighter continued spinning out of control, the ground
growing nearer as he gained speed. His pulse pounded and his
breathing increased. He wondered how a pilot mentally prepared
to die. The ground appeared as a smeared whirl through his blast
shield.
Remembering the eject system, his hand shot toward it. The
fighter rocked, sending his shoulder hard against the cockpit
wall, and two VS28s flown by military officers pulled even with
him on either side. His fighter jerked again and stopped spinning,
suspended between the other two. They adjusted direction until
all three flew straight again, then turned back toward the starport.
Davi had never experienced tractor beams before. His body
relaxed in the seat, as he exhaled and released the controls then
said a silent prayer thanking the gods.
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*
That night in his dorm room, Davi leaned back on his bed as
Farien paced beside the closed door. Yao watched from the chair
near the desk.
“Bordox tampered with your fighter,” Farien said, still angry.
“We don’t know that for sure,” Yao responded.
Davi breathed deeply, thankful it was over. “It’s the first time
he’s ever apologized to me. He made a point of asking if I was
okay. The fighters are harder to maneuver than the simulators.
And you know how bad Bordox was on the sims.”
“What other explanation is there?” Davi exchanged a look
with Yao then Farien, hoping. Neither had one.
“Did you see the look on his face at the starport after?” Farien
continued.
“Tampering with fighters is serious,” Davi didn’t want to
believe Bordox would take things so far. “Someone could get
hurt or killed.
“His eyes said he knew,” Farien said.
“Oh, you’re an eye reader now, are you?” Yao teased.
“Come on. You both know what I mean.” Farien stopped
pacing and leaned against the back of the closed door, looking
frustrated.
“Why would he go that far? He may be jealous of me. We
give each other a hard time. But I could have been hurt or killed.”
Davi wondered when their friendly competition had gotten so
distorted that Bordox would risk putting Davi in real danger or
doing him harm? This was military training, not war.
“Bordox hates you,” Farien answered. “Walz overheard him
at the Bar Electric swearing he’d bring you down no matter
what.”
�
��Bordox always brags like that.” Davi had heard Bordox’s
comments so often, he’d stopped caring. “It’s just talk. He never
acts on it.”
“Lord Obed still claims your grandfather stole the throne.”
Yao was the best versed among them in history, his favorite
subject.
“It’s just silly jealousy.” Davi scoffed at Yao’s expression.
Yao shrugged. “It’s a motive.”
Bordox had deliberately flown too close on the practice run.
That much was sure, but had the crashing been deliberate or just
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his usual incompetence? Davi sighed, hoping they were wrong.
“Without proof there’s nothing we can do.”
“We can tell Professor Jonas,” Farien said.
“And risk being accused of disparaging another cadet
ourselves? You have enough demerits already.” Yao looked at
Farien, who sighed in defeat.
Davi took a slow breath, releasing tension from his body.
“They always reassign fighters before the race. Professor Jonas
promised to let me have another practice run alone tomorrow
during afternoon break. Can you two keep Bordox occupied?”
“A request to stop by his father’s office during afternoon
break.” His shoulders lifted as the corners of his mouth formed a
smile.
“What?” Yao shook his head. “He wouldn’t have time. He
couldn’t get to LSP headquarters and back before his break
ended.”
Farien nodded. “Right.”
Yao stared quizzically at Farien. “You’re planning to forge
an official government communiqué?”
“Walz’s specialty is intelligence,” Farien said. “Forgeries are
part of his training. He’d love to test his skills in a real life
situation.”
Davi laughed. “Sometimes I think you’re too devious to be
an officer, Farien.”
Yao shook his head. “It could come back to haunt us.”
“You’ve got a better idea?” Farien asked.
“No,” Yao and said together.
“Okay, let’s go see Walz,” Davi said as he stood.
Farien lit up and gleefully turned to the door.
*
On the day of the competition, Davi walked past the
grandstands and saw his mother, Miri, and Uncle Xalivar, the
High Lord Councilor, talking with Bordox’s father and Yao’s
parents. His mother spotted him and waved, smiling with pride.
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