“Ah. You missed me.”
“No. I was just bored without you.”
I laugh when Kai turns to me with an exaggerated expression of hurt.
“All right, I did miss you a bit. And I was bored.” I take off running for the first machine before he can catch me.
I make it to the simulator and lean against it as I watch Kai. He stops right in front of me and leans forward for a kiss.
“There you two are. I’ve been looking for you.”
We both turn to find Commander Svell on the other side of the simulator.
“Commander Svell.” I stand up straight and face him. Next to me, Kai does the same. My palms instantly start sweating.
“Have you not checked your messages recently?”
I glance quickly at Kai. “I just checked mine, and all I had was the message that we’re having an assembly this afternoon instead of class.”
“And you, young Mr. Tang?”
“Not since I left class, sir.” He digs into his pack and pulls out his tablet.
I double check mine. Still only the one message.
“Here it is, sir. I received a message from you just a few minutes ago. To come find you.” He swallows and looks back up at the commander.
I look over at his tablet and then back at mine. “How come I didn’t receive that message? It’s addressed to both of us.”
“Indeed. Precisely why I wanted to see you. It seems there is more than just a glitch with your tablet, Miss Toland.”
“What? How do you know I have a glitch?”
“It’s my business to know what’s going on in my academy, is it not?”
“Yes, sir. But I’m just having trouble getting messages. I didn’t think that was enough to bother you with.” My stomach twists as Kai fidgets next to me.
“That isn’t only what you went to security for,” states the commander flatly.
I look down at my shoes. “You heard about the anonymous messages I’ve been getting?”
“Yes, and I believe it’s a bigger issue than you realize.”
I whip my head up. “What do you mean?”
“What I mean, Miss Toland, is that there is something strange going on here. Something that is more than just tech issues.”
I hug the tablet to me. “Do you know what it is?” I ask, my voice barely audible.
The commander looks at me for a few heartbeats. “Not exactly. Not yet anyway. What I can tell you is that the messages are being traced. But so far all we know is that they’re coming from off-Earth.”
My jaw drops open. I look at Kai and then back at the commander. “You mean whoever sent these messages, and is possibly the same person who ordered my mom’s body to be dug up from her grave, could be from one of the space stations?”
“Yes. Or a spaceship or colony. It’s looking that way.”
“Will your team be able to track down the person?” asks Kai. He shifts closer to me.
“Eventually. In the meantime, security wants you to keep this attached to your tablet.” He holds out his hand. In his palm is a tiny black square.
I step around Kai to stand in front of the commander. I hold out my tablet. “What does it do, sir?”
“It’s a tracker and recording device. Security can track this no matter what kind of dampening field you find yourself in.”
“Dampening field, sir?” Kai asks.
“It’s fairly common for sensitive areas in the academy to have signal dampening fields generating around them. Like the launch pad on top of our building.” He points upward. “We use different types of communicators for our spaceships here on Earth to prevent tampering.”
“Tampering?” I blurt.
The commander looks at me, his brows lowered. “As you both experienced during your most recent tragic events, not all citizens or military personnel are working within the laws of Earth.”
I look at Kai, who’s gone pale. The commander takes my tablet and attaches the square to the bottom of it.
“What about the recording part of this device?” My face grows warm as I struggle for words that won’t be too embarrassing.
“It’ll only record when incoming messages ping your tablet. That way if the message disappears before you see it, we’ll still get a recording.”
I’m not quite sure to say. It makes me nervous that security is watching me, but I can’t think of any other choice.
“Now, it’s almost time for the assembly. Try not to be late.” He turns and heads toward the lift before we can say anything else.
Alone once again I turn to Kai. “Weird, huh?”
“Very. I don’t like this whole situation. It doesn’t feel safe. Why didn’t they just take your tablet and give you a new one?”
I shrug. “Maybe they’re afraid the person would realize it wasn’t me in control of the tablet?”
Kai’s expression remains dark.
“Guess we won’t have time for the sims. We’d better head down. We still need to grab something to eat.”
In response, my stomach growls loudly. We laugh and head toward the lifts.
The cafeteria is nearly empty now, so Kai and I quickly grab protein bars. I stuff a few extra into my pack for later. After scrounging for food in the Borderlands I feel the need to always have extra food on me.
We eat our bars in silence as we take the lift up and follow the corridor to the far side of the building. There, a glass tunnel crosses from our building to its twin. Since it’s wintertime, it’s pitch black outside except for a few lights down below and the stars peeking out above.
I slow down and move to the side where I press my face against the glass.
“Sightseeing?”
I turn slightly and encounter Josh and his group staring at me. Warmth seeps into my face, and I step away from the glass.
Kai moves closer to me. I stay quiet, not wanting to get in another argument with Josh.
“Where’s your other boyfriend?” Josh taunts.
I put a hand on Kai’s arm and turn both of us. We’re barely to the end of the tunnel when someone grabs me from behind and spins me around.
Josh pulls me close to him. “Don’t walk away from me,” he snarls.
I yank my arm out of his grasp. Vaguely I become aware of Kai stepping in close.
“I told you not to touch me like that again, Josh,” I say, not looking away from him.
“Or what? You’ll call one of your boyfriends to save you?”
Anger blooms in my belly.
Kai steps forward before I can react. “Anja is perfectly capable of taking care of herself, as you felt firsthand yesterday. You’re the one who will suffer and lose your place in the academy if you keep this up.”
Josh’s face contorts into anger. “You shouldn’t even be here. Just because our governments are playing nice doesn’t give you a right to be at the academy.”
“He has every right to be here, Mr. Archer.”
We all turn, and a ripple of surprise rolls through me. Mr. Joe, one of my Border School teachers, is standing tall beside us in his dress uniform. I smile.
“The academies and all of the space stations and spaceships are international facilities. We do not discriminate. Except for poor behavior.” His eyes drill into Josh.
Josh and his group smartly hurry away without further comment.
“Mr. Joe, it’s good seeing you. But why are you here?” Kai and I shake his hand.
“Helping out with security for your assembly.” He winks at us. “We’d better get going.
“Security?” I glance at Kai who just shrugs.
We follow the crowd into a huge auditorium. I stop just inside the double doors to take in the room. “This is amazing.” Tall windows line the circumference of the oval room. In front of each window flies one of the forty-seven state flags. Below each window is a full color picture of space stations, spaceships, and space colonies.
We take a seat near the back of the elevated seating. My pulse quickens when I see t
wo long tables set up on the raised stage, each decorated with the Space Command logo.
The lights dim twice, and everyone stops talking as Commander Svell strolls out on stage in his dress uniform. I glance around the auditorium. I spot Rand down near the front in the middle of a group of girls. I grin.
“Good evening students. Welcome to our first assembly of the year. We try to bring in guests who actually work in space to talk to you. You only have two years here before you get shipped off either to the Starlight Space Academy to get more training, or to one of the stations or ships above us to start working.” He spreads his arms wide. “Which means your time here should be spent learning all you can and getting an idea of what you want to do with your lives.”
Nervous murmurs fill the room.
7
The Seven
The commander puts his hands behind his back. “For now, we’ll try to expose you to as many opportunities as we can here at the academy. Today I’d like you to give a warm welcome to the commanders of the other six academies.”
Loud applause fills the huge space. Kai and I glance at each other, our mouths gaping.
All seven commanders line up behind the tables waiting for the applause to die down. Commander Svell introduces them one by one before they sit down behind the two tables.
The commander acts as a moderator, asking each commander to introduce their academies and specialties before giving them all a list of questions. Even though I’ve heard all this before, I lean forward in my chair, hanging onto every word.
When it’s done, Kai and I stand and slowly shuffle out along with the crowd through the doors. We’re just outside of the double doors when two large men in black security uniforms step in front of us.
“Mr. Tang and Miss Toland?” the shorter one asks.
Kai and I glance around as we say “yes” at the same time. Students are giving us a wide berth, but everyone is watching. A shiver goes down my spine.
“Come with us, please.” The two men guide us to the right, cutting across the moving crowd. They wave IDs over a scanner beside a door hidden in an alcove. It snicks open, and we’re herded quickly through the door and down a long corridor like sheep.
I grab Kai’s hand and squeeze. He squeezes back and gives me a small smile. I’m not sure where these guys are taking us, but I’m grateful they didn’t separate Kai and me. If it weren’t for Josh and Alex being part of the security here, I doubt I’d be this nervous. In the back of my mind, I wonder if I’m in trouble for what I did to Josh.
The corridor ends at another doorway. I step aside so one of the dark-clothed men can scan his credentials. Now that I have my wits more or less about me, I notice that he’s got a name tag and a pin on his collar that I recognize from the night we rescued Kai’s parents. Spec ops. Not academy security. My heart sinks as my mind thinks of all sorts of things that could’ve gone wrong back home. More attacks from the Chinese Special Unit, or even something with Cam or the Tangs.
Kai must read something on my face because he squeezes my hand. “It’s going to be all right. Breathe.” He gives me a wink and we follow one of the guys into a new corridor, with the other following close behind.
This corridor is carpeted, and artwork hangs at different intervals on the walls. I pause briefly to look at one that depicts a sunset over Hells Canyon. Every picture in this hallway looks like some part of our state.
The men stop at a door that has a large Space Command logo on it. I know these buildings are all built for training future Space Command employees, but nowhere else in the academy is a door with that logo. Only academy logos adorn the doors and walls that I’ve seen.
The man in the lead opens the door and ushers us in. When I step inside the room, I’m grateful I’m holding Kai’s hand. In front of us are The Seven lounging on couches and chairs around a richly decorated room. They all look up when we walk in, and my face immediately heats.
Commander Svell waves us over. It’s not until Kai tugs on my hand that I realize I’m staring. I blink and walk with Kai over to the commander.
“Good, you’re here. Have a seat.”
Kai and I sit next to each other in straight back chairs opposite The Seven. I swallow and look at the commander. “Excuse me sir, has something gone wrong back home? Is my brother all right?” My heart is about to beat out of my chest, and I wipe my sweaty palms on my school pants.
“No, everything is fine back there. I’m sorry if we worried you.” He turns toward the others. “I just wanted you personally to share with them your issue with these anonymous messages you’ve been getting.”
“The messages, sir?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand. They’re just someone trying to scare me, right? That doesn’t seem to be important enough to bother the commanders with.” This whole situation feels like it’s spiraling out of control.
“We were with you after the attack on your camp, Miss Toland,” says the Jupiter Station Academy commander. “We know what you’ve been through. And you should let us decide what is important or not.”
“Our security departments are all interconnected,” offers Commander Svell. “That means when we started tracing your anonymous messenger, it triggered security flags across the other academies.”
A sharp pain starts behind my right eye. “I’m very sorry for all this trouble.” I look at Kai. He’s a bit paler than normal. “It’s no big deal, really.” I take a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm my racing heart.
“Actually it is, Miss Toland.” This comment comes from a stocky gentleman in military dress that I didn’t notice before.
Kai and I scramble to our feet. “Brigadier General Olson.” I stand up straight. What is the general doing at the academy?
“Sit down, kids.” The general steps forward. “The commanders are correct. You need to let us decide if this situation is serious or not. Have you received any more messages this evening?”
I fumble for my backpack and dig for the tablet. In bright green letters it says, “One message.” I swallow and look up at the general. “Yes, sir. Just now.”
He points to my tablet. “Then please open the message and read it to us.”
“How did you know I had a message from this Anonymous? I haven’t checked my tablet since before the assembly.”
“The tracker,” the commander answers.
I glance at Kai. “Oh, yes. I should’ve remembered that. Sorry, sir.”
I tap the message and it opens. I read it out loud to the room, my hands shaking.
I’m sorry if my earlier messages shocked you. I thought your mom deserved better. Tell me how your brother is. Where is he living now?
Tears overflow my eyes. I wipe them away with the back of a trembling hand.
“And you have no idea who this might be?” asks the general.
I shake my head, afraid to use my voice just yet.
“Sounds like someone who knows you.” This comes from Commander Svell, who looks around the room at the others. They all nod in agreement.
“What about your father?” asks the general.
“My father?” I manage to squeak out.
“Yes. You don’t have him listed anywhere in your personal documents. He’s not even on your birth certificate. Even though you’re years older than your brother.”
I take a deep breath. “He was only with us for a few years. Cam was very young when he left. I’m not sure exactly why he was never put on my birth certificate. Mom only said something about security clearances. At the time I thought she meant because of her security clearance on the first space stations.”
Kai reaches out and squeezes my hand, but I don’t dare look at him. I’m watching a frown form on the general’s face.
Before he or anyone else can say anything, I stand up, letting go of Kai’s hand. “Whoever this is messaging me, we need to make sure Cam and the Tangs are kept safe. Please?” My gaze skitters over The Seven. “Has security been able to track the sou
rce yet?”
For several heartbeats no one says anything. Then Commander Svell steps forward. “They’re still working on it. This new message should help. Go ahead and send a quick reply. That should give our techs more to work with.”
My eyes go wide. “You want me to answer this person who obviously has been stalking me?” I look around the room. “How else would they know about Cam?”
“It’s true that someone moved your mother’s remains.” The general glances at the commander.
I frown. “Yes, you confirmed that in your message this morning.”
“And this anonymous person is taking the credit for it.”
I nod, more tears welling up in my eyes. I really haven’t had much time to grieve for my mom.
The general looks at the commanders and then back to me. “With this person knowing about your brother, having the security clearance and money to move your mother to the Grissom, and his or her insistence to keep their identity hidden doesn’t sit well with any of us.”
I close my eyes briefly before replying to the general. “I agree, but what can we do? If you all think this is such an important security matter, not just some jokester messing with an academy student, I assume you have some sort of plan?”
Commander Svell gives me a small smile and sits back down. “Yes, we do. But I wanted you to have time to process all of this. After all you’ve gone through, I want to make sure you give consent for us to keep digging into this. We don’t know where this all will lead to.” He drills me with a serious look.
I glance over at Kai. He gives me an encouraging smile. I turn back to the commanders and the general. “As long as you can promise that you’ll keep Cam and the Tangs safe, I’ll do whatever you need to figure this out.”
“I’ve got extra security on the Tangs already and at the prep school. We’ll keep them safe,” assures the general in his deep booming voice.
I look around at the commanders, who are all nodding in agreement.
“I do have one question,” I say. When I have everyone’s attention I continue. “Why is this so important to the other academies? I’m not a student at any of them, and I don’t even know what my focus will be yet. I understand that your security systems are all connected, but how does this warrant all of you being concerned?”
Earthlight Space Academy Boxset Page 24
