Looking the tracks over, I saw that the pink one was empty, so I took control of the board from Mo and flew over to the start of the track. There was a pole and a small screen at the track entrance, so I connected to it. It recorded my data, and I saw it had a timer as well as something called a style meter. Glancing over to the large screens the group had been standing around, I saw my name appear on the screen for the pink track.
The screen in front of me turned green, and I flew onto the track. I flew forward, picking up speed as I went banking hard around the first corner, not slowing my speed in the slightest. Exhilaration filled me as I zoomed around the track, twisting and turning. My board responded to my every direction perfectly. It was a lot smoother than my old board, and I had no issues dodging around the various obstacles. Reaching the end of the track, I couldn't keep the wide grin off my face as I slowed to exit the course.
Glancing at my wrist display, I checked my time and score. ‘Time: 13:09 Style: 6/10.’
I stayed at the tracks until just before lunch and did another three runs on the pink before moving on to the orange. The orange was a little harder, and I struggled to get my time under the ten-minute mark. I gave myself a personal goal of finishing the orange track in under five minutes. Only after I had reached that goal would I move to the red track. Leaving the orange track after one of my most recent attempts, I saw two cadets standing near the exit. I slowed as I flew off the track and one of the girls stepped forwards. She had short dark hair and was glaring at me with fierce dark brown eyes.
"Who are you? No one recognizes you, and I haven't seen you on the tracks before," she said, and I was a little surprised at how unfriendly she seemed. Was everyone at the academy going to be like this? First the boy from yesterday, and now this girl.
"Aristeia Kelras. I'm going to be a first-year cadet," I said, retracting my helmets visor and giving her a friendly smile, trying to ease the tension. She scowled at me in response.
"This year’s testing hasn’t finished, so you can't be a first-year cadet," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I finished my exam yesterday. I’ve already been informed that I passed the exams though I don’t have my scores yet," I said with my best attempt at a friendly smile. I did not have much experience with people near my own age, as there had only been a few other children on N2390 and they were all younger than me.
"Just because you've taken the exam and been told you passed doesn’t mean it’s true. You’re also not considered a cadet until you formally enter the academy and are not permitted on the main campus until after basic training. It's against regulations for non-fleet personnel to be on campus unless escorted," she snapped at me with a sneer.
I sighed, directing my hoverboard closer to the ground. Stepping off the board, I looked at the other girl with my friendly smile still in place.
"My family lives on campus, and I am staying with them. I have permission to be here," I explained, trying to keep my tone light, as I really didn't want to have issues with the older cadets.
"I doubt that, fleet personnel with non-fleet family members all live off campus. Being related to an instructor doesn’t mean you can just wander around campus," she sneered, and the girl next to her stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Becky, she is probably telling the truth. I don't think she would be here if she wasn't allowed. The campus is monitored, they would know if someone was around without permission," she said.
Shooting her a grateful smile, I nodded in agreement with her words. Becky huffed and shrugged off the girl’s hand, looking like she wanted to say something but was interrupted by another group walking over.
"Hey, judging from that Cloud Surfer you've got there, I'd guess you’re Aristeia, right?" one of the boys in the group said, walking towards me with a grin. He had light brown hair and bright green eyes. He looked a lot like Xavier Altair, only younger and minus the beard.
"That's me. You must be Xavier's son, Zander. He said you were at the academy," I said, smiling at him, and he nodded, moving over to my board hovering next to me. I watched as he ran a hand over the board with an assessing gaze.
"Zander, you know her?" Becky asked, looking at Zander with an annoyed expression.
"Know of her. She is helping test the new hoverboard model for my father," he said, glancing at her before turning his attention to me. "How's it flying, any issues?" Zander asked.
"It runs well, but there could be some improvements. Your father said you have one as well. Have you noticed the twitch on high speed turns? There's a small jolt if you up the speed while the board is still angled in the turn," I said, and he looked thoughtful before shaking his head.
"No, I didn't, but I don't normally speed up during a turn. I normally increase coming out of the turn. I'll check it out on my board. What track were you running?" he asked and shifted his board from under his arm, making it hover before him.
"Orange. Mostly in the last three bends as they have the sharpest angle," I added, and he nodded before shooting off towards the orange track’s entrance.
I watched him fly with interest. It was clear he was a skilled flyer with how smoothly he handled the board. Hearing a throat clear, I turned to see one of the boys who had come over with Zander.
"Hi, I'm Quinn," he said with a friendly smile and held out a hand for me to shake.
"Aristeia, nice to meet you," I said, shaking his hand and returning the smile.
The others followed Quinn and introduced themselves as Katie, Hunter, and Daniel. Katie was the girl who had been waiting for me with Becky, who stormed away in a huff. I watched her go with a frown before glancing at Katie who sighed, giving me an apologetic look.
"Don't mind her, she's pissed because you knocked her off the leaderboard. She would have been knocked off soon anyway, it resets every year and she isn't as good as she likes to think she is," Katie said, rolling her eyes.
I nodded but was a little confused why she would be so rude over something like that. It's not like it was a score that would affect her academy grades or anything.
"You'll learn pretty quickly that we take our track scores very seriously. There is a big competition at the end of each year and only the cadets who rank on the top fifty get to compete. I don't think Becky expected she would be knocked off the leaderboard so soon," Katie said, as we watched Zander fly towards us.
"You're right about the jolt, it seemed worse when I tilted the board more on the last turn," he said, crossing his arms and looking down at his board with a contemplative expression.
"Yeah, I didn't want to risk increasing the speed during a loop just in case," I said, and he nodded.
"I'll have my AI run it solo through a loop, see what happens," he said and jumped off his board.
I watched as the board took off under the control of the small black drone hovering at the front. Feeling my legs start to ache a little, I directed my hoverboard to rise higher off the ground before I turned and sat sideways on the board, feet dangling off the side. I watched with Zander as his riderless board flew through the course and reached the first loop. At the highest point in the loop, the board shook visibly and lost power for a few seconds before the drone was able to get it going again and continue down the track.
"Well, that could have ended painfully," Zander said with a sigh.
"Very," I agreed, relieved I had noticed the jolt and hadn't attempted to speed through the loops.
"Thank you for telling me, Aristeia. I'll call Dad tonight. See if we can work out what's wrong. If we're lucky, it'll be something I can fix here. Here, give me your contact and I'll message you after I talk with him," he said. I nodded and sent him my implant’s contact number, then slid off my hoverboard.
"Do you want to keep mine with you?" I asked, feeling a little reluctant as I thought about the long walk back.
"It's probably best. That way I can work on them both tonight. Are you staying with your grandparents on base?" he asked, smiling, and I
was surprised he knew—but then again, his father had probably told him.
I had spoken with his father a few times over the last week, talking about Mo and the behaviors he had developed which I hoped might be able to help the man with his new edition of Fizmo skin's programing.
"How about I ride back over to the private residential sector with you and then have my AI pilot one of the boards back?" he offered, and I smiled gratefully at him.
"That would be great, it's a pretty long walk," I said.
"Just give me a minute to let the others know I'm leaving," he said and walked over to the pink track where Hunter and Quinn were watching Katie on the track.
Chapter 19
I stayed seated on my board while I waited for Zander. There weren't many people around, but I guessed most of the cadets would be unpacking or in the main building. The midday tropical heat on Velante was not exactly pleasant if you weren't used to higher temperatures. Coming from a desert planet, I wasn't too bothered by the heat, and the bodysuit was able to regulate my temperature.
Looking towards the main building in curiosity, I noticed the girl from earlier walking towards me with an older looking man in fleet uniform. Frowning, I tried to remember what her name had been. Bella? Becca? No wait—Becky, it was Becky. As they got closer, I saw that the man accompanying her was a lieutenant and he was scowling in my direction as he approached. Becky stopped near the leaderboard screen and watched with a smirk as the lieutenant got closer to me.
Deciding to cut off this little bit of drama before it started, I spoke first.
"Sir, I'm not sure what Becky has told you, but considering her confrontation with me earlier, I can guess she is claiming I'm here without permission. My name is Aristeia Kelras, and I am permitted to be on campus because I am living with my family," I told the lieutenant, trying and failing to keep my tone respectful.
The lieutenant looked at me for several moments with a scowl before he addressed me. "Non-fleet personnel are not permitted to stay on campus, and personnel with non-fleet families live in the off-campus residential units. Being related to someone here doesn't mean you can be on campus," he stated, repeating the girl’s words from earlier. I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose.
"No but being the commandant's granddaughter does," I said, feeling frustrated. The lieutenant looked a little surprised and gave me an assessing glance.
"I wasn't aware Lt Julian had any kids."
"He doesn't, I'm his niece."
He frowned, looking at me closer and with a sigh, I slid off my board and stood, taking my helmet completely off. I then fixed my hair and pulled it back tightly before turning to the lieutenant, schooling my face to mirror my mother’s usual cold expression. Then laughed softly when the man visibly flinched and started to raise his hand in an automatic gesture to salute.
"Moons above, it’s like looking at a miniature Admiral Harra," he whispered, and I struggled not to laugh at his traumatized expression.
"Don't worry sir, I know it’s scary. You should have seen my uncle’s reaction when I snuck up on him and yelled for him to stand at attention mimicking my mother’s voice. I got him to perform a full salute the first few times, it doesn't work anymore, sadly," I said, grinning at the man, and he shook his head in amusement.
"Cadet, I don't think you realize how scary your mother is."
"I kind of do," I said, and he nodded, looking as though he was about to say something more when Becky approached, scowling.
"Sir? Is everything okay?" she said, looking between the lieutenant and me.
"Everything is fine, Cadet. Cadet Kelras is permitted to be here," he told her, confirming my guess that she had gone running to tell tales about me being here without permission.
"But sir, she isn't even a cadet, she is lying if she told you she was. She told me she only took the exam yesterday," she said, scowling at me.
"I am sure she passed, as would be expected. Cadet Velar, there is no issue with her presence here," the lieutenant said, giving Becky an annoyed look. "Dismissed, cadet," he told her, and she huffed, stalking away.
"Her friend said I knocked her off the leaderboards," I told him with a shrug as he looked back to me. I knew I shouldn't be acting so casually around a lieutenant, but technically I wasn't a cadet yet, and I was far too tired to put on formal airs. He nodded with a look of understanding before looking over my shoulder. Following his gaze, I saw Zander walking towards me with a concerned look.
"Lieutenant Moore," he said to the lieutenant, saluting him.
“Cadet Altair, I hear you have entered the command program this year. Congratulations,” the lieutenant said, inclining his head towards Zander.
“Thank you, sir. It's an honor to have been accepted,” Zander said, giving the man a friendly smile.
“I look forward to seeing your future crew in the gauntlet. You did well leading your squad last year so I expect similar results from your trainee crew,” Lieutenant Moore said, and I perked up at hearing him talk about the gauntlet.
“I’ve heard about the gauntlet from my grandfather, its sounds like it will be a lot of fun,” I said, only for my smile to drop slightly from my face as I saw Zander’s frantic head shakes.
“Fun?” the lieutenant gave a low chuckle which sent shivers down my spine as he looked at me. “Have you seen the gauntlet yet, Cadet? Your family would have given you a tour, I’m sure,” the lieutenant asked, a strange glint in his eyes.
“Just a small one sir, my grandmother showed me the above-ground facilities but said I would need to wait until she had some more time free to see the hangars and the below-ground training areas,” I said, feeling a little nervous seeing the man’s expression.
“Well, Cadet, I have some time spare, if you would like. I would be happy to give you a tour of my gauntlet,” Lt Moore said with a smile.
“Your gauntlet, sir?” I queried. Seeing the pained expression on Zander’s face, I could not help but feel I was somehow walking into a trap.
“I am in charge of the gauntlet training, and I am the one who oversees the design of the obstacles you will face within,” Lt Moore informed me, and despite the feeling of foreboding, I found myself agreeing to the man’s proffered tour.
The underground facilities of the academy were massive. There were several levels below ground, and each had a set use. The higher levels contained several hangars where the cadets’ training ships were kept and maintained, this was also where the engineering cadets’ workshops were located. Below that were a variety of rooms set up to mimic the layout of a ships bridge and would be where the second-year cadet crews would learn to operate their ship as a team.
The gauntlet was larger than anything I had imagined, spanning three levels and a kilometer in length. It was, for lack of a better word, monstrous. I stared at the holographic display before me, as it showed images of the inner layout, in awe and horror. I had thought the obstacle course was hard, but this was the stuff of nightmares.
“Magnificent isn’t it?” Lt Moore said, pride evident in his tone as he gazed at the screen.
After shooting a wide-eyed glance at the boy standing beside me, whose expression made it clear just how un-magnificent it was, I turned to the lieutenant. “Sir, isn’t this a little extreme?” I asked tentatively and immediately regretted my words upon hearing Zander give a low hiss of warning in my ear.
“Extreme? You think this is extreme, Cadet? This is only a first-year course, a toddler could navigate it,” Lt Moore said, sounding a little offended as he turned towards me. “Though I suppose the holographic layout is a little deceptive, so why don’t I give you a closer look? Then you can get a better idea of what to expect once you finish basic training,” he added with a bright smile as he grabbed my shoulder and propelled me towards a set of doors to the left.
The doors opened, and I found myself shoved inside an elevator. As I turned to look back at the lieutenant, I saw him similarly shove a protesting Zander inside along with me, befor
e the doors closed, locking us both inside.
“Damn it,” Zander cursed, before turning to me as he reached behind himself to grab his helmet. “Quickly, put your helmet on,” he ordered, and wide eyed, I did as he directed.
“Zander? What’s going on?” I asked as I secured my helmet.
“The sadist is sending us into the gauntlet. I tried to warn you, but you weren’t paying attention. Visor down and activate the filtration system. The lieutenant likes to pump tear gas into the tunnels, he calls it ‘extra motivation.’ Stay behind me and do exactly what I say.”
The elevator shook and rocked as it descended, before coming to a jolting halt with a screech of metal. A soft gushing sound filled my helmet’s speakers, and I looked down to see water pouring into the elevator from several holes that had appeared in the sides.
“Aristeia, over here. We need to bust out the top hatch.”
Looking above him, I saw a square hatch in the roof. I frowned. How were we meant to reach it? The walls of the elevator were smooth and too far apart for me to shimmy up them like I had in the tunnel during yesterday’s obstacle course.
“Here, I’m going to boost you up. Stand on my shoulders and pop the hatch, then climb out. Once you’re out, help me up,” Zander directed, and I nodded.
Standing on Zander’s shoulders, I was easily able to reach the hatch. Popping it open however was not as simple as it sounded. The hinges were rusted and I could only open the hatch a mere inch before they seized. By the time I managed to get the hatch open enough that I could pull myself through, the water had already reached Zander’s waist. The next issue came when I was unable to reach Zander’s hand from where I laid on the top of the elevator.
“Don’t worry, once the water raises enough, I can just swim out,” Zander said, feigning a relaxed pose and leaning against the elevator wall as he waited for the water to rise higher.
Striving for the stars (The Kelras Chronicles Book 1) Page 14