Unfortunately, it would seem Lt Moore was listening as the water stopped flowing into the elevator almost as soon as Zander had spoken. I stared down at Zander for a long moment before smacking the side of my helmet in frustration at my own stupidity.
“Zander, isn’t your suit a Cloud Conqueror like mine?”
“Yes, why—oh right,” Zander said, cutting off his own question as he realized what I was inferring. I moved away from the hatch as I watched Zander use his suit’s thrusters to boost himself upwards towards the hatch and pull himself through.
“We normally wear academy training suits in the gauntlet, and those don’t have thrusters like our body suits. The thrusters on those can only be activated by the gauntlet's AI in emergencies,” Zander said, sounding a little embarrassed as he joined me on top of the elevator car.
Nodding, I was glad for the tinted visor that hid my amused grin from the boy. Standing together, we looked up at the elevator shaft above us and saw an opening about fifty meters up.
“Should we fly up?” I asked.
“No, the thrusters only have limited power. Best we don’t waste it,” Zander said, and I nodded in agreement.
Climbing up the side of the elevator shaft had at first seemed easy with the conveniently located service ladder. It quickly became a lot more difficult due to the fact that the moment we began to climb, a very large and powerful fan at the top of the shaft had switched on. The strong wind it produced pushed firmly against our bodies, making every inch we climbed a hard-fought battle. The higher we moved, the fan was sped up causing stronger winds for us to battle against.
Zander reached the opening first and helped me up, pulling me through the last meter. My body ached and my muscles were screaming their protests at the overuse. I was certain that this was not what my grandmother had meant when she told me to exercise ‘a little’ this morning.
Looking around the brightly lit hall we had entered, I saw two packs laying innocently off to the side. Opening the one Zander tossed my way, I saw a rope, a water bottle, and a belt with a holster that contained what looked to be a small laser pistol. As I swung the belt around my waist and clipped it into place, the lights in the hall went dark and I felt a shiver go down my spine at the ominous voice that rang out of the speakers.
“Intruder alert, intruder alert. All security bots to sector six.”
Chapter 20
This was not what I had expected when I first heard about the gauntlet. I had been told it was only a more advanced obstacle course. That couldn’t have been more wrong.
Huddled with Zander behind several stacked crates, we watched a pair of security drones as they searched the cargo bay we had taken refuge in. We had been in the gauntlet for almost three hours and had made decent progress. According to the information sent to our implants, our goal was to locate a series of data ports spread across the gauntlet. There, we would be able to disable the security drones for that area. We needed to clear each zone and disable all drones within it before being able to move to the next zone.
The weapon that I had first thought was a laser pistol was only a training version of the real thing. It worked by activating a program on the drone which would make it play dead. However, the goal of this scenario was to just deactivate the drones, so we lost points for every drone we ‘killed.’
As the drones moved past us, Zander and I moved cautiously from our hiding place and crept towards the panel that was mere meters from our location. Opening the panel, I quickly began to input the codes we had located in the previous area that would disable this zone’s drones. Zander knelt behind me, his back pressed against mine as he faced the room, both our laser pistols held at the ready should the drones double back. We had been observing their patrol pattern for almost ten minutes now, and I was confident we had enough time. Unless, of course, the lieutenant decided to interfere as he seemed prone to do. Seeing the code confirmation on my wrist display, I reached behind myself and tapped Zander’s side twice to signal the task was complete.
Regardless of the computer’s confirmation that the drones had been deactivated, we still moved with caution as we left the current zone. We had learnt the hard way that just because the computer said they were deactivated, it didn’t always mean they actually were. I took my pistol from Zander and we silently crept through the hangar, keeping an eye out for any drones that could still be active.
Our current objective was to locate a way into the next zone, which was not always easy. From climbing up elevator shafts to crawling through maintenance tunnels, we had done it all. Despite the fact that my fatigued muscles made me feel like I’d been crushed under one of the cargo crates we were weaving around, I was rather enjoying myself.
“Looks like we’re climbing again, Ris,” Zander said as we peered up at the door set high on the far wall, its sliding door opening and closing repeatedly.
“Ugh, I hate climbing,” I whined, looking at the ladder with suspicion. “Think he rigged the ladder?”
“A ladder that goes all the way to the exit and looks in perfect condition? Definitely a trap,” Zander said, as he scanned the cargo bay with an intent gaze.
“We can't fly up. My thrusters are out of power after the zip line snapped in the last area,” I muttered. If not for my thrusters, I would have fallen almost fifty meters.
It had been scary, though Zander had informed me that the cadet bodysuit also had a thruster which would have kicked in and brought me safely to the ground under AI guidance. While cadets would on occasion suffer some minor injuries during such training sessions, there were safety precautions to ensure that no serious injuries occurred. The most one would suffer was a sprained ankle or a broken bone according to Zander, who had broken his leg the year before. Though in his case, he had been pushed off a crate by a cadet in his squad who was hoping to knock him down in the end-of-year rankings.
It hadn’t worked, of course, as Zander had been allowed to rerun the gauntlet once his leg had been healed. The cadet who had pushed him was also heavily reprimanded. To be honest, I was surprised they had even kept their place in the academy, but Zander told me that the girl, was related to a high-ranking officer—just like me—who had pulled some strings to keep her in the academy.
“I have an idea. Cover me,” Zander said, before he darted across the cargo bay.
Pistol held at the ready, I watched Zander approach the cargo bay’s crane. The small crane would typically be used to move and stack large crates. Zander pulled off its side panel and attached a cable to his wrist device. I waited anxiously as he made his way back over to me, and even though I could not see his face, I knew he was sporting a grin from the tone of his voice as he spoke.
“Jump on top of the crate,” he said, kneeling down and cupping his hands to give me a boost onto the four-meter-tall cargo crate.
Once I was up and had pulled Zander up to join me, I looked at him with interest, waiting to find out the next portion of his plan. I had learnt over the past few hours to trust the sometimes-crazy plans Zander came up with, as he never failed to find a way to extract us from any of the situations we found ourselves in. Hearing a mechanical whirring, I spun, pistol raised expecting a drone to be baring down on us, but instead found the crane arm moving towards the crate we now stood on.
Blanching as I realized what Zander intended, I crouched low and grabbed the edge of the crate to steady myself as the crane’s magnet clamped onto the crate. I laughed softly as we were hoisted high into the air, imagining the watching lieutenant’s face. I doubted Moore would have thought of us using such a solution.
“Now what? It’s moving too fast to jump,” I said, counting the seconds between each open and close of the door.
“This,” Zander said as our crate slammed into the doorway and I almost fell off from the impact.
“Zander, warn me next time,” I snarled, clutching the crate with a tighter grip as he laughed.
“Sorry,” he said, sounding completely unrepentant.
/> “Prick,” I muttered under my breath as we jumped off the crate, slipping through the doorway and its now destroyed door.
Slowly, we made our way down the corridor, pistols raised and at the ready for any drones we could unexpectedly encounter. Surprisingly, there were none, and we soon found ourselves in front of a set of double doors marked exit.
“Is it really the exit?” I asked, hope at finally being able to leave this place beginning to build in my chest.
“I don’t know. Moore likes his tricks and it wouldn’t be the first fake exit I’ve come across. Stay on guard,” Zander said, as we positioned ourselves on each side of the door.
As Zander opened the doors, we scanned the room for any signs of danger. In the room was a group of uniformed officers, and I scowled, seeing Lt Moore at the forefront alongside my uncle and Captain Harris. There were others in the room, but I only recognized the three. Lowering our training pistols, Zander and I stepped into the room and saluted the waiting officers.
“Well, Cadet, what did you think of my new first-year gauntlet scenario now you’ve experienced it first-hand?” Lt Moore asked me, as I pulled off my helmet.
I stared at the Lieutenant for several long moments before responding.
“Like you said, sir, even a toddler could complete it,” I said, flicking a loose strand of hair over my shoulder as I stalked from the room, head held high.
My triumphant exit was quickly foiled, however, as I found myself unsure about how exactly to reach the main campus. Thankfully, Zander came quickly to my rescue and led me back to the room where we had left our hoverboards and drones.
“You know he is just going to make things harder now, don’t you?” Zander asked, giving me an amused look as we stood in the elevator, heading back to the main campus above.
“Doing the same scenario again would be boring,” I said.
“The gauntlet is never boring, no matter how many times you run it.”
“It was worth it, just to see that look on his face,” I said cheerily, and Zander nodded in agreement.
We fell into a comfortable silence as we flew our hoverboards back to my grandparents’ unit. Thinking over the events of the past few hours, I found myself looking forward to what my time in the academy would bring. While the gauntlet had been both physically and mentally draining, it had also been exhilarating.
After we reached my grandparents’ residence, I glanced towards Zander with a contemplative look. Personally, I was starving as lunch time had long since passed, and Zander had also missed lunch as he had been in the gauntlet with me.
“Would you like to come in for some lunch?” I asked, inclining my head towards the door of the building. “My grandmother said she made a salad, and I’m pretty sure there is some cold chicken in the fridge.”
“Fresh salad?” Zander asked with interest.
“I don’t think they make salad RMPs,” I said, scrunching up my nose at the thought.
“They do, and I don’t recommend you try them. I would love some lunch, thank you. I’ve been back on campus for two weeks now, and I’m sick of RMPs already,” Zander said, and we shared a look of mutual disgust.
I’d never hated RMPs until recently; only after having been spoiled by the chefs on the Scorpia and my grandmother did I come to despise the thought of the dehydrated meals that I had grown up eating.
Entering the unit, I directed Mo to set the hoverboard next to the door, and Zander had his AI do the same. My AI then darted off down the hall towards my room, to change back into his Fizmo skin now we were home. Gesturing for Zander to take a seat at the dining table, I moved to the kitchen to retrieve the salad my grandmother had placed there. I knew there would be enough for both of us, as she always made extra. I saw the dish containing shredded chicken so I grabbed it too.
As we ate our late lunch, Zander and I discussed the academy at length, the boy had also taken several moments to examine Mo's cosmetic skin having heard about the changes to the design from his father. Zander claimed to prefer more utility based skins, but it hadn't escaped my notice that he was unable to resist the softness of my AI's fur, giving Mo a few soft pats. Zander was rather surprised to learn that I had already completed most of the first-year flight training, when I told him the story of how I came to be at the academy. Though he informed me that most cadets who enrolled in the pilot program had some basic flight experience. Many having grown up in or around ships, or would have similar simulation experience.
“Thank you for lunch, Ris. I should probably head back to the second wing. I still need to call my father, and I’m pretty sure I need a shower after our run through the gauntlet,” Zander said, making a show of sniffing himself.
“Yeah, I could go for a shower, too. Let me know if you need any help with the boards. I’m no engineering cadet but I know my way around a workshop,” I told him with a grin.
“Sure, I’ll send you a message tomorrow and let you know what my father thinks about the boards. We can meet up at the rec area if you like, and I can show you around the rest of the building,” Zander said as I walked with him to the door and gave him clearance to access my board’s systems.
“Sounds great, I’ll see you then.”
“See you, Ris,” Zander said, and jumped onto his own board, taking off down the path towards the second wing.
Watching him go, I couldn’t help the smile that broke out on my face. For the first time in my life, I had someone I could call an actual friend. The kids on N2390 that I sometimes helped look after didn’t count, nor did my father’s co-workers, who I often used to spend time around. Zander was the first person my own age that I had met and actually like talking with. I had tried using some of the interstellar networks’s social programs to make friends in the past, but I found mostly girls were only interested in the latest trends and celebrities I knew nothing about.
After a shower, I made my way back into the lounge, intending to continue reading the old book my grandfather had allowed me to borrow, only to find the lounge occupied by my uncle and Captain Harris.
“Hey squirt, enjoy your first run through the gauntlet?” my uncle asked with a broad smile.
“It was different from what I had expected,” I said blandly, uncertain how to put my feelings about the gauntlet into words.
I hesitated for a moment, eyeing Captain Harris, unsure if I should salute the man or not. He and my uncle had both changed out of their fleet uniforms and were dressed in civilian clothing. The captain must have seen the indecision on my face as he spoke with a polite smile.
“No need to salute, I am out of uniform and off duty, the only officers who would expect a salute in such a scenario are the admiralty,” Captain Harris said, and I nodded, relaxing slightly as I took a seat on the couch facing the men.
“Aristeia, I would firstly like to apologize in person for my brother’s behavior. I have been informed he did not qualify for a position in the academy, but has been offered an enlisted role, which I think will do him some good. They will certainly straighten him out quickly on base,” Captain Harris said, giving his head a slight shake.
“Sir, I will accept your apology, though it is not necessary. Your brother’s actions were his own, and despite his efforts, had no effect on my testing. My father has taught me that to hold a grudge is a waste of my time and thoughts. Better to spend my time on something that I can learn from instead, like working on a learning module,” I said, recalling the time I was thirteen and another salvager had stolen a drone I’d discovered in the scrap.
I had been so furious, I had cried and raged for days plotting ways to get my drone back, among other things. When I told my father what had happened, he had sat me beside him on the couch.
‘You need to let go of your anger Aristeia, all it does is bring you misery and pain. Do not waste your time holding grudges against those of such a petty nature. They do not give a single thought to you or what they have done, so give them none in return,’ he said, though at the time I ha
d not listened.
Only after a few weeks when I had once more met that same salvager in the scrap yard and confronted him did my father’s words sing true for me. The man had no idea who I was, let alone remember that I was the child he had stolen the drone from. He, as my father had said, had given no thought to me or his actions that day. Yet I had thought upon it for weeks, stewing in my anger and at times even missing my simulated classes simply so I could plot and stew some more. I had wasted weeks of time on such a worthless endeavor, which gained me nothing in the end.
“Your father sounds like a very wise man,” Captain Harris said, pulling me from my thoughts.
I nodded and gave the man a smile, a pang of sadness filling me as I thought about my father, who was now so far away. It was strange. I had never thought I would miss N2390, but I did. That planet had been my home for so long, and I missed the simplicity of life there. Though I did not regret my choice to leave, as I also loved this new, more exciting life I now lived.
Chapter 21
Standing in my room, I glanced around, making sure I hadn't forgotten anything. I had packed the bag I would be taking with me to the cadet barracks the night before. I would only be taking my backpack, filled with my cadet uniforms and some casual clothing. My grandmother had gotten my uniforms for me the day my official results had been sent, though, technically, I was not meant to receive them until training began. I had also packed Mo's Fizmo skin and charging dock. My new simulator helmet and bodysuit would stay behind, as I didn't want to take too many things to the barracks as we would be moving again in two months.
The last few days had followed a similar pattern. Each morning, I would go to the recreational area and meet up with Zander. He had managed to fix the issue with our hoverboards, and we’d spend the day either flying or hanging out with his friends Hunter, Quinn, and to my surprise, Katie. I enjoyed spending time with the others and was sad to bid them farewell the night before. This morning, Zander and the others would begin their second year, and I would join the first-year cadets in basic training. It would be eight weeks before the first-year cadets moved to the main campus, and I would miss being able to spend time with my new friends.
Striving for the stars (The Kelras Chronicles Book 1) Page 15