Cadet: Star Defenders Book Two: Space Opera Adventure

by Pamela Stewart

  The halls of the Science Wing were empty, giving it a hollow feel. I wondered again about Nanami.

  “Location of Nanami.” I was going to add her last name, but I hadn’t learned it. “Location of Newton Sinclair’s lab assistant.”

  The wristlet chirped. “Your current location.”

  Annoying. I knew computers and their responses, and I almost felt like it was willingly obtuse. I’d find her. I marched down to the infirmary and entered the double sliding doors. The lights were low, and only one person was on duty, an ensign almost my age and some of the Globe Medics.

  I forced myself to salute. She stood and responded, but her slack face and the rolling of her eyes let me know she wasn’t feeling social.

  “Hand-to-hand injuries?” She assessed me with a quick scan.

  “No.” I jerked my chin back. “No, Ma’am,” I quickly corrected. Gleason seemed to be the number one reason for injuries at the Academy.

  “I was wondering if Nanami was here. I’m sorry, I don’t know her last name, but she worked in the lab with Dr. Sinclair.”

  Her forehead creased, and her deep-set eyes squinted. “Who?”

  “Nanami. Worked in the Science Lab. She was an ensign injured during an experiment.”

  She twisted her lips and pulled up a holoscreen. Running a finger down the row of names, she shook her head. “No one with the first name Nanami. No lab injuries reported either. If you had her full name, I could look in the larger database and see if she was transported to the Med Sat.”

  “Hmm. Okay. Thank you.” I saluted. She waved me off and sat back down in her seat. She was studying astronavigation, and it looked intense and beyond entertaining. Maybe I should ask her more about it...no. I needed to stay focused.

  I didn’t have much to study tonight, and I had my own things to research.

  It was weird that she didn’t have a record of Nanami. I didn’t have her last name, so that was a problem. I’d have to inquire with Doctor Sinclair tomorrow during my shift. Was I going to be his assistant completely from now on? Would I be learning to fly, fight, navigate, and run a starship?

  I was torn. I wanted to progress and to keep my parents' fickle approval.

  Maybe if I spoke with Dax, everything would start making sense again. “Location of Cadet Daxon Smith.”

  “Engineering.”

  He was working. My heart dipped, and I started back to my quarters, every step weighted, as if my grav boots were turned on full.

  “I rotated my wristlet, and a soft bong sounded. An image of my mother hovered in the air before me in her full 3-D hologram glory.

  “Amelie Dupree, why haven’t you answered me today?” Her annoyed tone was on full display.

  I flashed back to being five-years-old when she spoke like that. I was still wearing my pastel dress that had been doused in red punch. I’d gotten so involved in reading my magnifier display that I’d let my cup tip. Her anger had lasted for days. Weeks. The entire EDU Sat knows my genetically perfect daughter is clumsy and distractible.

  Yep. She was in full mental-meltdown mode. I didn’t miss this side of her. Not at all.

  “Hello, Mother.”

  “I have something important to tell you. You must go into Couture in the central Hub. I’ve ordered a dress, but it needs alterations. I don’t trust you to get the size right.”

  “Whoa. Mom. I’m at the Academy. I can’t just come and go as I please.”

  “They’ll let you leave for this. It’s for the party on Friday.”

  “The party is on Friday? This Friday? Again, I have to have permission.”

  She finally blinked when she noted my crossed arms and tight mouth. For a moment, she turned and spoke with someone then returned to stand before me. Another student walked by, eyeing my display. It was expensive to have the full 3-D option, and most settled for a vid projection.

  Not my parents.

  I knew they were associated with the doctor and a rear admiral or two, but a pass to get a dress during my first week at the Academy?

  “Amelie! Pay attention. I sent a pass. The credits are in your account to get the alterations, and you may leave immediately. I have Rear Admiral Cullen’s approval.”

  “Ugh.” I let slip.

  “You have something to add?” My mother was like a meteor storm, and I had no atmosphere for defense.

  “I don’t want the brass to think I’m getting special favors. I earned my place here. And—”

  “I know! We did try to get you in before, but with your issues, it was a miracle you got in.”

  This was not a conversation I wanted to have again at all and especially in a public hallway. The same old invisible claws dug into my chest and furrowed down into my lungs. It was hard to breathe.

  “I’ll go, Mother. Thank you.” The consequences of not doing it or resisting would be far worse. My only goal became shutting the com so I could gather my scattered thoughts.

  “You don’t seem grateful for all I’m doing. Getting permission isn’t as easy as I make it seem, young lady. This party is taking up so much of my time. I fear poor Courtney’s studies are suffering.”

  Courtney. I fought down the lip that wanted to curl at the sound of her name.

  I stepped back close to one of the doors that lined the hall. A magnetic current usually flowed near the locks, and...her image shuddered, and her voice came in bursts.

  “You—breaking up—dress import—”

  “Yes, Mother,” I said once last time. “We have a bad connection. Talk to you later.”

  I breathed heavily. It was like going into a tanger wrestling match. Just trying to convey simple things became so convoluted and frustrating.

  Now I had plans I couldn’t avoid. I just hoped she really had gotten me a pass, or I’d be AWOL. And nothing was worse than that.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Vega

  People pressed in on both sides, and my breathing constricted.

  The crowd was worse than the confines of the ship. Jess’s hand in mine helped. He pushed through the mass of people without any qualms. Every elbow that found my shoulder and every foot that stomped on mine made the panicky feeling worse, and being a foot shorter than most of the other citizens didn’t help.

  It was still a few street units until we reached the pitch, and I tried to keep my mind off being trampled to death.

  This was the Hub. I glanced back at Ethan, who gave me a hooded smile. He’d grown up in this teeming metropolis. Just looking at him fueled my guilt.

  I’d have to talk to him more during our training class or his tutoring, which we hadn’t worked out yet. So much was unsettled. I didn’t like it. I enjoyed knowing what to expect when it came to my daily duties. Since arriving, I’d been plowing forward without a second to reflect.

  And this location wasn’t allowing me to think either. Advertising as large as the Citadel flashed in colorful, sparking 4-d. Twirling, rotating, notices for Hub whiskey, humbleball, and replicator food machines. Flashing signs proclaiming the end of days, and some calling for colonization. It all made me dizzy.

  Beyond the ruckus, on the protective outer field of the space station, was what was supposed to be the nighttime sky. It was an excellent rendition, but I could tell it was wrong. The twinkle of the stars seemed to be on a timer. Everything was too perfect, which gave it an artificial effect.

  No one noticed it. Most had never seen a star except from out of one of the outer view windows.

  It just wasn’t the same.

  Kenzie might be able to tell, but her full attention was on Binary. Their heads were almost stuck together as they talked. And Ethan was alone. Wasn’t he supposed to be Binary’s partner? Or escort? Or whatever the Axis people called it.

  I felt my hand getting sweaty in Jess’s. He didn’t seem to mind, but I did and pulled it back, hoping he wasn’t offended. His easy smile said he was good, but he kept scanning the crowd, much like Dax did when he was uncertain about the environment. The Hub was
n’t my territory, so I took it as a warning.

  “Something wrong?” I asked loud enough to be heard over the din but not so that anyone else in the group could hear.

  “That collection of people.” He leaned his head to the right and pointed. “They’re protesters.”

  I noted the chanting then and the holo signs below the Planet-Raised Salmon and Station-Hopper Tuning Station. These signs said things like Alien Hoax and UnBonded Forever.

  “Planet dwellers, beware!” A man in shabby robes pointed a finger at me.

  “What in the fiery moons of Heres are you talking about?” I started toward him, but Jess snagged my arm to stop me.

  “You don’t want to engage. The protests are worse than I’d expected. I’m surprised there isn’t any crowd control.” The streets were wider but jammed with humans, and now that I was paying attention, most of them looked impoverished and angry.

  One of the sect members stood on a makeshift polyplastic podium and raised both hands in the air. “The end is near. The reason the demon aliens have returned is we have ventured back onto hallowed ground. We are sinners and should not be on the Sol made soil. We have broken the covenant and we will—”

  “Vega?” Jess pulled me away from the speaker. The others had all hurried on ahead, so it was just us, stuck in the middle. “We’re missing the game.”

  “Do you see this? This is wrong. Someone needs to set them straight.”

  “Perhaps, but not you and not today,” he said. “Of course, you’re free to do what you want. But agitating an already angry crowd wouldn’t be my suggested course of action.”

  He was taking the role of the squad leader again. And he was probably right. Maybe I could tell someone at the Academy that could do something or send out a pamphlet.

  “That one! Planetborn. She is one of them. A sinner!”

  A few yells voiced agreement.

  The shift of people moved into my direction, and my fight instinct came alive. I reached for my blaster, which I didn’t have. I glanced up at Jess. We shared a concerned stare.

  “We don’t have weapons,” I said in a harsh whisper.

  He grabbed my arm and guided me toward the humbleball pitch, taking long strides. “But we do have legs. Run!”

  The position he maneuvered us to was a straight shot to the shuttle-wide door leading into the game. I didn’t question the command. There was security at the gates if we made it in time.

  We sprinted. His long legs kept him in front, but I made up for it. The base wasn’t that big compared to U170. We should outrun them easily, but a wall of people waited in a line that stretched back half a mile. No soldiers were in sight.

  The shabby robe people caught up. Two of the burlier ones grabbed me from behind. My heart amped into warp.

  I yanked my arm from one and swiveled to smash the other in the solar plexus, glad for the thousandth time for my planetborn strength.

  Jess tangled with one built like a barn wall. His attacker tackled him, lifting Jess from his feet and smashing him into the wall of a nearby building. I sank into a fighting stance, bending my knees and bringing my hands to an on-guard position.

  The rest of the shabby robe brigade caught up. I looked for one of the smaller ones to take on first. Jess got to his feet and kicked the Barn Door in his privates.

  I couldn’t believe they openly attacked us. Jess wore his lieutenant outfit. Didn’t they know what the consequences would be?

  “Get her!” another one yelled.

  She obviously didn’t know about the brig or how much fun it was to lose your freedom. And attacking me had been a very, very bad plan because I wasn’t going down easy.

  Three lurched at me. I dodged one, but the woman was fast and seized my arm, wrenching it behind me. I cried out and looked for an opening to jab my knuckles into her soft and squishy bits.

  An explosion rang out in the center of the crowd. The concussion of the blast slammed my attacker and me to the ground. People scattered as thick smoke rose.

  Damn, oh damn. Where was Jess? Was he hurt? If something happened to him, I’d never forgive myself. My eyes burned. I coughed as I disengaged from the stunned woman.

  A person in a full armored suit walked out of the cloud, followed by four others in similar garb with black outer coating, like the Strykers, with blast shields hiding their faces.

  He held a laser rifle in his left hand, which glowed blue.

  I bolted forward, and the laser rifle swung around and pointed at me. I halted, pinned to the spot.

  I saw death for a moment at the end of the muzzle of the gun.

  Time slowed as I waited for his finger to squeeze.

  I held my stance but put my hands up in surrender.

  The leader pressed a button, and his visor flicked up.

  “Cadet Volante, can you explain this disturbance?”

  Gleason. It was Gleason. The devil incarnate had come to take me to hell.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Ethan

  I pushed through the scads of panicked people, searching for Vega. The legions of humbleball fans had separated us. Then, of course, there were the protesters that sprang up everywhere, yelling their slogans even during the explosion.

  If I knew Vega, she was at the heart of whatever was happening. My mouth tasted like a smoke bomb.

  The smell was familiar. In training, we had ignited smoke bombs for practice. The purpose of the bomb was to disorient and allow the subjects to be detained without causalities. But where were the soldiers?

  A few more feet and I saw them, but not the typical humbleball security, no, these were Gleason’s Phantom Ops. Shit, I was in trouble.

  I dodged the cluster of civilians. Children. Elderly people. Many huddled in alcoves and cowered in alleys. I'd once been one of those Hub kids.

  We had been at the mercy of the Axis military. We had no vote, no say.

  Tension raced like a live wire over my skin. I pushed through the last group of onlookers, and of course, I found Vega in the center of a circle of destruction facing five armored soldiers. Her nose leaked blood.

  What had happened? People in robes were lying around moaning and cradling their arms and private parts.

  Vega wore her fierce face. Her jaw set, her eyes narrowed, laser-focused on the lead officer.

  I couldn’t hear their conversation, but I assumed it was not going well. The smoke was still clearing. People coughed, rubbing their eyes, still trying to figure out what had happened.

  It appeared that some of the protesters had gotten into a dispute, and Vega was involved. She probably decided she needed to correct some wrong. That’s the way she was. And now Gleason was involved. My night was getting better and better.

  “Why did you leave the Academy without permission?” He held his gun a bit too tightly. It was probably set on stun, but it still made me nervous when pointed at Vega. I trotted up between them.

  Vega took a few more steps forward. “My new squad leader’s father gave us a day pass to come to the game.”

  “Show me the passes.”

  I opened my mouth to respond as Jess waded through the throng, a fist to his mouth, hacking. Red and black smeared his dress whites.

  “Lieutenant Commander. A word, please?”

  Gleason’s rage seemed to ratchet up. “Speak!” he growled.

  “I can vouch for the cadet. We were with two of her classmates who had passes and were attacked by a group of protesters. I do not understand your treatment of Cadet Volante. And I would hate to have to report it to the Fleet Admiral.”

  Gleason swiveled and seemed to grow taller as he sized up Jess. Gleason had the advantage, but Jess didn’t seem deterred. The lieutenant met Gleason’s steely gaze with steel of his own.

  “Listen, just because you have the admiral’s ear doesn't mean you have jurisdiction here. I work for the betterment of the Ax-Military’s interest. I came to put down an uprising in the Hub. Your friend Volante was in the center of it. I have every r
ight to find out if she has proper clearance.”

  His eyes skittered away but came right back.

  They stood, horns locked.

  “My word should be good enough,” Jess said.

  I didn't know which one was going to break first. Gleason raised his eyebrows and leaned back.

  “Lt. Commander Gleason. I was accompanying this cadet,” I said.

  Gleason shifted in his battle armor at the sound of my voice. The other agents choked up on their guns. I felt the weight of their attention on me.

  “Yes?”

  “Cadet Volante has a pass.”

  Gleason scowled. It was unusual for him to show negative emotion unless he was doing it to get a specific reaction. He liked to maintain a casual, slightly amused attitude until he would strike.

  “Can you show me the pass?”

  No. Crap. Binary had taken off through the crowd with McKenzie and was probably watching the game, wondering what happened to her entourage.

  He snared my arm and yanked me aside.

  “Do you understand how you are jeopardizing this mission and my standing in the Phantom Corps?”

  “Sir?”

  “I told them you would get the information from her, not take her on a date. This is a fiasco. I got a report that Volante was in the Hub. I find this.” He gestured to the ring of destruction. “She doesn’t have a pass. I have to punish her.”

  It was the way of the Academy, as I’d had to punish Vega for being late to my class.

  A voice rose over the general din. “I have the passes here, for what good they will do.” Binary’s voice rose from behind me. She appeared on my right, presenting a bright green, holo ticket.

  She strode up to the Lieutenant, almost as bold as Vega, but stopped just shy of being disrespectful and saluted. Her shadow, Kenzie, stayed back, peppering us with a stare that should have sent us straight to Helios.

  Gleason cocked an eyebrow and motioned for the ticket, which instantly appeared in his palm. Five passes with the raised insignia of the Axis.

  “Your passes are in order.”