by LM. Preston
“Um, aren’t we going in virtual mode today?” asked Raiko with a gleam in her eyes and a big smile.
“Yes. I know you all love that and have been bored with the last three days of lessons where we went over the repair and maintenance of your cruisers. However, I must say that some of you really needed the time spent to get to know your vehicles. Others were born to it. You that were capable of forgoing the maintenance and repair lessons know who you are,” he said as he pointedly looked at Aadi, Eirena, Damien, Tacitus, and Raiko.
“And we all know who the flunky is that needed more than one lesson,” Damien replied, looking at Carter.
“Okay, now let’s get you all paired up. Group One is Aadi and Eirena. Group Two is Dakota and Carter,” said Mr. Faulkner.
“You have got to be freaking kidding me! Can I have Scott instead?” pleaded Dakota. He balled up his fist and punched down in frustration.
“Watch it, young man. Group Three is Scott and Raiko, and lastly, Group Four is Damien and Tacitus,” said Mr. Faulkner.
“Well, fluke. Could my day get any worse? Now I have to spend it with the weirdo,” said Damien under his breath.
“I heard that. Foul language is not allowed, and it definitely won’t change your situation,” said Mr. Faulkner, crossing his arms and glaring down at Damien.
“Well, maybe not, but I feel so flukin… er, I mean darn good when I say it,” said Damien, and bawled up a fist and then hit his hand with it. He rolled his eyes at Tacitus, who stood there unaffected.
“Okay. Everyone, go put on the simulation tabs,” said Mr. Faulkner. Aadi grabbed his rounded tags and placed them all over on his body in preparation for the simulation. He was more than ready to be thrown into a computer-generated environment in which he could feel the impact of the virtual surroundings.
“You and me, ink head,” Damien said to Aadi, as he pointed two fingers at his eyes then back to Aadi.
“Whatever, you creep,” said Eirena as she climbed in behind Aadi. She punched in the activation code, which closed the simulation cruiser door, cloaking the room in darkness and showing the jet black star filled skies they were to navigate.
The space cruisers had touch-screen controls on the front and middle consoles that were for controlling the craft by each pilot. The pilot in the front led the craft, while the pilot in the back navigated the course and assisted in steering for difficult maneuvers. The secondary pilot cleaned up all of the gaps the primary pilot left open and had to steer the ship if the primary pilot was in distress. The cruiser door opened at the top with a clear view of the sky.
Aadi checked the emergency manual controls that could be pulled out from under the front dash. Then, he checked the hand controls on each armrest that contained a series of pressure points to touch in specific sequences for complex craft movements.
Chapter 14
All of the Cadets in the camp and the individual teams had gotten into their space cruisers while preparing for simulation. Aadi and Eirena could see them in the simulated skies around them, as well as hear their voices through the ear transmitters that each Cadet wore during simulation. Mr. Faulkner was in his own craft, which was ahead of all of them in the simulation. Aadi knew the routine and began to mimic his maneuvers and compensate for any space debris coming their way.
“Carter, what the heck are you doing? Stop that!” Aadi heard Dakota yell.
“Hey, guys, you need some help back there?” Aadi called.
“This friggin idiot is not compensating for the turn!” said Dakota.
“Hey, Carter, turn sequence is K-Al-543. Calm down and listen to your Lead,” said Aadi.
“Cadets, keep up. Pull it together,” Mr. Faulkner said as Aadi followed. Aadi saw him dip and turn out of the way of an asteroid. Aadi and Eirena calmly followed. Aadi also glanced at his console to see the beacons of his teammates’ crafts and saw Damien and Tacitus beside him. He anticipated and compensated for his and Eirena’s every move. Scott and Raiko followed closely behind. They floated in the back between him and Damien, while Dakota and Carter were still about a quarter mile behind them all. Eventually, they appeared to have things under some symmetry, so that their craft no longer jerked.
“Hey, we got the hang of it. We are coming up from behind, guys,” said Dakota.
“Yeah, it just took me sometime to get used to being the secondary. You know, because I am more of a lead man type of guy,” said Carter, adding a slightly cocky laugh.
“Aw, man, can you just shut up and concentrate? We are shaking again,” said Dakota.
“Listen, Carter, no talking unless it’s an emergency. If we want to get this thing down today, we have to concentrate,” said Aadi. He punched the turn into the controls, and Eirena easily compensated, which brought their craft into perfect symmetry with Mr. Faulkner’s. Damien and Tacitus easily adjusted, as did Scott and Raiko.
“Okay, team, we are going to simulate landing on Mars and then protecting ourselves from dangerous adversaries. Each team will defend itself against the other teams in our group in order to see which proves to be the victor and the new leader for our first expedition. If you finish in less time than the leaders of the other teams’ competition, you will lead the entire team of Cadets on the expedition,” said Mr. Faulkner.
“What? You never said anything about fighting? Uh… we weren’t trained for this!” said Carter.
“Carter, compensate, dummy!” yelled Dakota and then growled.
“One of the camp requirements was that each Cadet had some sort of defensive training like martial arts, wrestling, or boxing. Don’t you all agree that you had this type of training?” inquired Mr. Faulkner.
Everyone confirmed that they had by saying, “Yep,” except Carter, who said, “Well, it’s no problem for me. I am a black belt in Hapkido.”
“Compensate, you idiot! Now! Turn now!” said Dakota.
“I thought you said you have a black belt in karate?” asked Raiko. Then she smoothly compensated for Scott’s turn and whizzed over the touch-screen controls of her console.
“More like a black belt in ka-crazy! Compensate, Carter! Now!” demanded a very frustrated Dakota.
“You got that right,” said Scott with a laugh.
“I am going to punch him in the nose myself if he keeps jerking this ship,” mumbled Dakota.
“Hey, no more talking. Let’s nail this so we can beat out the other Cadets,” said Aadi. His command was followed by a quiet acceptance. He looked to his left and spied Damien and Tacitus. They broke past him to follow closely behind Mr. Faulkner and cut him and Eirena off from the front of the line.
“You wanna take this creep, Aadi?” Eirena said with a slight growl.
“Don’t worry, Eirena. We will take him soon enough,” said Aadi. Then, he turned the communicator off so only Eirena could hear him. He spoke quietly and said, “Let’s wait till Mr. Faulkner gives the signal to land and then pass them over top. We’ll go to the left to cut off Damien and ride beside Mr. Faulkner. Got it?” nodded Aadi.
“Yes, sir, I’ve got it!” Eirena said and added a smirk. Aadi turned his communicator on just as Mr. Faulkner gave the signal.
“Now, Eirena!” Aadi exclaimed, as he quickly coded in the maneuvers and Eirena quickly compensated. They sailed up above Mr. Faulkner, turned upside-down, and landed on the left side of Mr. Faulkner’s craft and in front of Damien’s.
“What the freak was that?” asked Damien as he banged his hand on the console. “Aadi, your butt is mine!”
“We will see about that, Damien, we will definitely see…” said Aadi and laughed.
“Okay, Cadets, we are descending now. You all are going to land in different locations not far from one another. However, the first to make it to the Communication Center with the supplies located along the way in the underground containers is the victor. If they do it in record time, they win the lead in the real trip over all the other teams. There are five supplies, and the winner must get and bring all five. There is no
second or third place in this contest, so it’s winner take all. Now, you all are an equal distance away, and you may have to fight to protect your spot. I will be waiting at the simulated Communication Center. Those of you that are not the victors will automatically appear in the simulation room after you have been defeated. Now, land, and good luck to you all,” said Mr. Faulkner. Then, he signed off.
Aadi spied Mr. Faulkner’s craft landing in the middle of the simulated planet. The three other teams landed an equal distance from the Communication Center, so that they surrounded the Communication Center. The cruisers were outlined on the monitor, as well as the locations of the underground supply containers that were underground. Aadi cut off the speaker to the communicator and said to Eirena, “You ready to descend?”
“You bet I am,” she said, typing in the landing sequence. Their cruiser landed perfectly in a barren desert location.
Aadi looked down at his form-fitting suit that was brown in color and gave him the gravity to stay stationary in his seat. He touched his face where his helmet collapsed from a hardened rounded helmet to a flexible and snug form-fitted synthetic skin on the contours of his face as they descended. Aadi punched in the sequence to open the door hatch at the top of the craft, which was a clear encasing that he could see through. It slid open, and he made sure that his toolaid ring was with him. He turned around to see if Eirena followed him out, and she was right behind him.
“You move fast,” Aadi said, and she smiled at him through her helmet.
Aadi and Eirena had committed the supply locations to memory. However, they had their location devices on hand to help them verify the locations.
Chapter 15
Meanwhile, Dakota and Carter landed somewhat bumpily in a dry, sandy patch with splotchy sprouts of grass around their cruiser.
“You make me sick. Why did you have to be my partner! C’mon! What are you doing?” said Dakota. He put in the sequence to open the ship and punched up the location of the supplies. He took a moment to glance around at their surroundings, and then he looked up at the bright sun in the blue and red sky, and then inspected the red rocky terrain that separated them from the Communication Center.
“I am calculating how long it will take us to get to each supply pack. I figure the one in this direction should be the first we get to. That means that the only way to get the other supply packs is to fight someone for it, since each cruiser is nearest to a supply pack and the last pack is just in front of the Communication Station,” suggested Carter.
Dakota climbed out the top of the cruiser. He then looked at the locator to confirm what Carter noted. “Hurry up! Let’s go!” Dakota yelled back at Carter. Then, Carter promptly climbed out of the cruiser to stand next to Dakota.
“Guess after we get our pack, we have to go and attack,” Carter said and put his locator device on his belt.
“Just great. That means I have to depend on you to help me fight and overtake at least the three other groups to get their supply packs,” Dakota growled in disgust while he placed his hands on his hip.
“No worries, man. I can handle myself. All those years my dad paid for Tae Kwon Do were worth it,” Carter said.
“You are crazy. Let’s go,” Dakota said, then shook his head and took off in a fast run as Carter followed closely behind.
Chapter 16
Scott and Raiko landed smoothly in position, and were surrounded by a mountain on either side of them. Raiko quickly tracked the supply pack locations, showed them to Scott, and they both easily put it to memory. Scott grabbed his gear and then slipped on the gloves he had put under his seat. Raiko keyed in the coordinates of the supply packs and nodded her head to Scott. They both worked in silence, and Scott punched in the release code to open the hatch. Scott climbed out of the cruiser, pulled his locator device from his hip, and turned around just in time to see Raiko do a back flip out of the craft.
“Hey, how the heck you learn how to do that?” Scott asked in amazement as he started to walk. He assumed she had no problems keeping up, even though she was about four inches shorter than he was.
“Gymnastics and martial arts. My mom’s family has a martial arts school. I help out and started training early with my brothers. It’s my dad that works for the company,” she said as she moved quickly, yet silently beside Scott.
“Impressive. I have a secret weapon. We are going to need it because Damien can be very difficult. It’s also doubtful he will hesitate to knock you down, even though you are a girl,” Scott said after he picked up the pace to a jog. He heard Raiko’s silent and quick footsteps easily keeping pace with his as he headed to the location of the supply pack nearest their location.
Damien and Tacitus smoothly landed in their location, which was directly in front of the Communication Center by several miles. Damien put in the sequence to locate the supply packs while Tacitus calculated the time and effort involved in obtaining each.
“Tacitus, calculate how fast we can get to them if we split up,” said Damien as he grabbed his locator device and a side bag he had stuffed under his seat.
“Do you think that is wise, Damien? We were trained to stay together,” Tacitus said as he watched Damien punch in the sequence to open the hatch.
“Also, scope out the best positions to hijack the others after they get their supplies,” Damien said as he climbed out of his seat and through the hatch that opened on the top of the craft.
Tacitus keyed in coordinates on the console and grabbed his locator, put it on his hip, and followed Damien out of the craft.
“If we split up as you suggested, you may want to attack the weaker of the two groups first. Then, we can meet to attack the last group,” Tacitus said before following behind Damien.
“You take Dakota and Carter. I’ll take Scott and Raiko. We can save Aadi and Eirena for last. I have a score to settle with those two anyway. Since our supply pack is on my way to get Scott and Raiko, I’ll scoop it up and call you when it’s retrieved. Then, we both meet to take on Aadi and Eirena. If you finish up early, you know where to find me. Got it?” Damien asked, but did not wait for Tacitus to reply. Then, he started to run at top speed to the supply pack that was about a quarter mile from the location where Scott and Raiko were.
Chapter 17
Scott and Raiko came upon their supply pack after walking about a quarter mile on dry sand under a red, windy sky. They didn’t feel any of the dust that blew around them, as there was no part of their bodies left exposed. They walked in silence until they came upon the metal stake that held an orange flag.
“Well, I guess they wouldn’t make this easy,” said Scott as he bent down and tried to get the stake out of the hard-packed ground.
“Let me help you,” said Raiko as she walked up behind him. She grabbed the bottom half of the stake, and it finally came out of the ground with such force that they fell backwards, knocking Scott onto his back on top of Raiko.
“You big oaf! I can’t breath!” she said, and then kicked him off her by securing both of her hands on his back and giving him a big push. Her kick gave Scott enough momentum to stand up, and he turned around and gave her his hand and pulled her up.
“Okay, we gotta hurry, before they attack,” Scott said when he turned toward the dented sand that held the supply pack.
“Hey, I have something for that,” Raiko said. With a flick of her wrist, she pulled off her bracelet. She straightened it into a tubular device, punched in a sequence of codes at the bottom of the tube, and a blue light came out of the pointed top. It cut through the dense, sandy ground. She slanted it just a bit so that it only sliced through the ground at an angle.
“There. That should make it easier,” she said as she replaced the bracelet on her wrist.
“Well, that definitely worked. Help me dig it out, will you?” asked Scott. He bent down and started digging quickly around the sides.
“Step aside,” said Raiko and got on her knees beside Scott. Scott moved aside as he was told, and as she moved he
r hand through the hole she created and grabbed the handle to the supply pack. Scott grabbed the base of the box. They pulled it out of the ground with a sharp tug.
“Hey, for a pip squeak, you are kind of strong,” said Scott as he patted her on the back and stood up. The pack had a handle on the top and a soft belt protruding from the sides that allowed Raiko to put it on her back from shoulder to hip. She secured the pack in the middle of her back with the belt secured around her hip.
“You want me to carry that?” Scott offered while he watched her secure the pack on her back.
“No, I got it,” she said as she adjusted it on her shoulders.
“Don’t you think it’s a bit heavy for you? I mean, you are so small. I could carry it and move faster than you,” Scott said.
“Hmm, is that so?” Raiko said, and then she took off running in the direction of the Communication Center. Scott stared at her as she ran off at top speed and then shook himself out of his daze to run behind her. He had to pump his arms hard to catch up.
“About time you caught up,” Raiko laughed. She picked up the pace and ran even faster, and Scott had to work to catch up with her again.
Chapter 18
On their way to the Communication Center, Dakota and Carter came to a stop at the bottom of the mountain that closed in the valley.
“Hey, this is where our first supply pack is. Right here buried about twelve feet up this mountain,” Carter said, pointing to the orange flag sticking out of the side of the mountain.
“Okay, Carter, it’s time to show me all that training you got. Or is it training your daddy paid for?” Dakota said as he looked up the mountain at the flag.
“What? You want me to climb up there and get it?” Carter asked with his eyebrow rose.
