Earthlight Space Academy Boxset

by Heather Lee Dyer

  Cam is draped over one of the arms of the couch, so I settle in next to him and wrap the blanket around us. When Kai joins us, he nestles in behind me.

  We’re not asleep long before I’m woken by a scream. As I blink in the dim light thinking it’s the quake alarm, I realize it’s Cam, who’s thrashing about next to me. I sit up and hold him tight. I whisper softly to him.

  His eyes come open and he looks around. “Where is he?”

  “Who? Mr. Chao?”

  Cam turns to face me, his eyes wide and unfocused. His breathing is ragged. “No, our father. He’s after me.”

  I frown and pull him to me and hug him tight. “It was just a nightmare. He’s secure with the general.”

  Cam pulls away. “But he’s going to have to come with us. Up there.” His eyes, now focused, stray to the ceiling.

  “You think he’ll get away again?”

  “He’s done it twice before. He could do it again. He’s told me so.” Tears well up in his eyes.

  19

  Hunkered Down

  My heart breaks as I look into my brother’s face. “I’ll make sure you’re safe, Cam. You can stay with us until we leave. Then we’ll make sure he doesn’t go to the same station as we do. And I’m sure they’ll get Starlight Max under control soon. Then he’ll go back there.”

  Doubt still lingers in his eyes, but he nods and settles back down.

  Kai wraps his arms around both of us and pulls us close. “We’ll make sure he’s not ever left alone.”

  I nod. “Thank you.”

  He kisses my neck and settles down to sleep again.

  I wake to the soft ping of my morning alarm. I reach for my tablet but find that I can’t move. I open my eyes to find Cam in my arms still sleeping. The night before comes back to me all at once and I turn to see Kai smiling at me.

  “Good morning.”

  “Morning.” I carefully roll Cam off me so I can stand up. “I swear he’s grown again,” I whisper.

  “The way he still eats, I don’t doubt it.” Kai stands up and stretches. “Why don’t you grab a shower and change first. I’ll stay here with Cam.”

  He pulls his tablet out and settles back down on the couch next to Cam.

  “Thank you.” I grab my backpack and hurry into the girl’s dorm. I shower quickly and then quietly open the door to my room.

  “Anja?”

  I wince and pull myself all the way into the room. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to wake you.”

  Katrina hangs her head over the side of the top bunk. “I need to get up anyway. How did it go last night?”

  “We slept out on the big couch with Cam. He’s so afraid to be left alone. The general and his soldiers are bunked down behind the auditorium in some secret housing space.”

  She sits up. “Really? Do you think they’ll stay here until we have to leave?”

  I nod. “I think so. It was quite a trip for them to get here. And they have my father.”

  Katrina hits her head on the ceiling. “Ow.” She scrambles down the ladder. “You mean the father that sabotaged the Kagawa and is in league with the Purists?”

  “Yes. The very same.” I watch her rub her head. “You all right? That’s the second time you’ve hit your head this week.”

  “I’ve done worse. I’m going to grab a shower and get dressed. Meet you outside the dorm?”

  I nod as she hurries past me. I put on a fresh uniform and check to make sure I still have the extra protein bars in my backpack. I smile to myself. It’s good having Cam around again.

  When I get out to the community room, I have to stifle a laugh. Kai is finding out firsthand how grouchy my brother is in the mornings.

  Cam’s curled up on one end of the couch with the blanket tucked around his whole body, including his head. I grin at Kai.

  He shrugs. “I was just trying to see if he wanted to change so we could get something to eat.”

  I sit on the edge of the couch and shove one of the protein bars under the blanket. I look up at Kai. “Can’t talk to him until he’s had something to eat first.”

  “Isn’t that the truth.”

  We turn to see Kai’s father hovering behind us in his grav chair. He’s grinning.

  “I was never this grouchy in the mornings,” declares Kai. He points to the lump beside us.

  “True. You always liked waking up in the mornings.”

  Kai folds his arms over his chest and smiles.

  “But you were the worst at nighttime when you became overly tired. Nothing would console you.” Mr. Chao shakes his head.

  Kai unfolds his arms and frowns. “Really?”

  Mr. Chao laughs and comes around the side of the couch. “Mr. Cam, you ready to get some real food?”

  Cam pops his head out and shoves the last of the protein bar into his mouth. He nods.

  I roll my eyes. “You’re probably a total angel with them, aren’t you?”

  Cam looks over at Mr. Chao.

  “Not exactly. But we do have an understanding.”

  The familiar high-pitched alarm sounds, and I look at Kai. “Another one.”

  “You get Cam.” He hurries over to his father as I tackle Cam to the couch.

  “Get off me,” grumbles Cam as I hold him firmly to me.

  The rumble starts low like a bus coming down the road. Then we feel the couch shake beneath us.

  Cam stops squirming. “What’s going on?”

  “Another attack. We’ll be fine. We just need to stay down.”

  The largest percussion hits and Cam squeezes me tightly. Just like last night during his nightmare I’m reminded again that below that tough intelligent exterior, Cam is still only eleven years old. I hold him tight until the shaking stops.

  I help him off the couch and dry his tears. He turns and goes over to Mr. Chao and wraps his arms around him. Kai comes to stand next to me. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that those happened before and after the general got here.”

  “I think you’re right. We need to see where everyone is with their classes and sims.”

  “And our project.” Philip stands at the doorway looking a bit shaken up. His knuckles are white as he pulls his tablet from his backpack.

  “Everyone all right back there?”

  He nods. “Josh hit his head, but I think it’s minor. The rest will be out soon.”

  “I brought a medic.” We look over to see the general surrounded by several soldiers. One steps forward, a medical caduceus pin on her collar.

  Josh stumbles out and we make him sit down so the medic can assess his head wound. When Katrina hurries out, her hair still wet, she gasps when she sees Josh bleeding with the medic looming over him.

  I put a hand on her shoulder. “He’ll be fine. Just hit his head on the top bunk.” I wink at her.

  “We should head down to the cafeteria before our time slot’s up,” Rand reminds us as he joins the general.

  “I’ll be right down. I’ll wait for Josh,” says Katrina as she hovers over the medic.

  I hurry after the others. It takes two lifts to get our whole group down to the cafeteria level. Cam bounces beside Kai and Mr. Chao while chatting with them. As if his nightmare and the attack never happened. I shake my head and smile. Tough kid.

  We show Cam where to get a tray and explain how the food line works. His eyes grow wide at the food options.

  “That’s not even as much food as we usually have.” I look behind me at the general. “I think the Purists are blocking our weekly supplies.”

  He nods wearily. “We ran into one of our trucks abandoned just outside the perimeter. It was stripped down and most of the supplies stolen. What was left we brought back.”

  “In those large containers?”

  “Yes. I let Ms. Germain know to get someone to go through them and disperse the supplies where needed.”

  I sigh. Another reminder of how our world outside has changed.

  We join the others at the back of the room and spread
out over several tables. The general drops his plate at our table and sits. “So, what is the latest on your project?”

  I look over at Philip who’s in the middle of chewing. He pulls out his tablet as he swallows. “We’re ready for our test today.”

  “Cool.” Cam leans over Philip’s shoulder to watch.

  Philip grins as he activates the 3D display. We watch as the red highlighted parts on the jump ship disappear and green parts are fitted into it. The model turns and we watch as the storage bay doors disappear, and the opening is cut wider. A glowing energy arc covers the opening, sealing it.

  The general leans closer. “You adapted the energy barrier tech to our jump ships?”

  Philip’s face drains of color. “Yes?” He glances over at me, his eyes wide.

  I turn to the general. “We needed something larger and more flexible than the bay doors any of our ships have now. If the whole idea is to recycle all the materials not being used around Earth, then we couldn’t very well make the larger door out of the very materials that are scarce. After you told us about the energy barrier, I had Philip gather the specs on the energy source that the Purists are using.”

  “How did he get that kind of information? Other than the Purists, the only other location of that data is stored in our military database.” He stares at Philip.

  Philip shrinks into his chair.

  I pull out my tablet, my hands shaking slightly. I debate briefly about lying to the general. I swallow as I see Cam perched next to Philip, and realize I have to tell the truth. “I should’ve told you sooner. We found it in a secure server my father had on the moon colony.” I turn the screen around to show the general. “Since I’m biologically his daughter I legally had a right to break the security seal he built around it.”

  The general snatches the tablet out of my hand. “My team didn’t even know Mr. Toland had this.” He studies the directories pulled up on the screen. “There’s a lot of classified material in here. He’s been busy.”

  Kai reaches over and squeezes my knee. I nod, more to myself than him. “I really don’t think you need my father, anymore. We have most of the data he stole sitting right there in the server.”

  The general glances over at me. “I agree. This information will really help us. And what would you have me do with him?”

  I swallow. Leaving him here on Earth pops into my mind. But out loud I say, “He needs to go back to Starlight Max. We need to stop that riot.”

  “Even if we can stop that riot, we promised him we wouldn’t send him back there.” The general’s frown deepens.

  “I’m not saying to send him there to be locked up. I’m suggesting using the top levels for psychiatric treatment.”

  “Counseling? You’re suggesting we use the most advanced maximum-security prison for counseling?”

  “Most of those criminals on the upper levels are only there because they’re a danger to themselves or have committed minor crimes due to mental imbalances,” says Alex evenly.

  The general turns his attention to Alex. “You know that because of your father?”

  Alex shakes his head. “Despite my father. To deal with our differences, I researched opposite ways to deal with security issues he faced. If he thought it was a good idea to add more security, I researched ways to provide better coverage with less personnel.” He shrugs. “When it came to Starlight Max, I soon discovered there wasn’t much information on it. After digging into it further, I found most of the people there have some sort of intellectual or emotional disability. What Anja is suggesting would help thousands of people get appropriate treatment.”

  “I don’t know,” says the general.

  I put my fork down. “What about the people that are now going to be living in space? Do you think we’re all perfect? Not going to need any help? Down in the camps we had people that had anxiety issues all the way up to major psychiatric disorders. We had to smuggle in medicine to treat them. Just because we were poor and forgotten by our government doesn’t mean we didn’t have problems.”

  “We do have counselors on every station,” offers the general.

  I shake my head. “They specialize in helping to get adjusted to space life, which we’ll need. But they haven’t had to treat the sheer number of people that will soon be up there. If we turn the upper levels of Starlight Max into residential treatment, we could help those already at Starlight, and those coming up from Earth. And my father.”

  The general shakes his head. “Even if I could talk them into diverting resources to do that, we still have the issue of the riot.”

  “Sir? I might have a suggestion.”

  We turn as Alex pushes his plate away and stands up. “I’ve seen the backup plans for the possibility of a riot happening in Starlight Max. And none of the protocols have been triggered. Why?”

  The general grunts. “Without the SIA they’re not sure whose direction to follow. The prison was under the Space Council’s jurisdiction, but they know nothing about this kind of strategy.”

  Alex nods as if expecting that answer. “What if I told you I had someone who could help me end it within the week?” He moves to stand behind Sean. He clasps both hands on Sean’s shoulders.

  Sean pales at the sudden attention.

  “And who would that be?” The general maintains his gaze on Alex.

  “With your help we could track down Sean’s father. He’s the agent who helped alert you to the first attacks up by the lake.”

  “And?”

  “And he has expertise and training in diffusing issues like the chaos going on inside Starlight Max. How do you think he was able to get a whole city of people safely to the other side of the Purists line of defense?”

  A deep groove forms between the general’s eyes. His steely gaze moves down to Sean. “That was your father?”

  Realizing he has nowhere else to hide, Sean sits up. “Yes, sir.”

  “And you think he could do this?”

  “This is what our government trained him to do.” Sean frowns as the general continues to study him.

  “Where is he now?”

  “I-I can’t tell you that, sir.” Sean glances desperately around the table.

  Rand leans forward. “Sir, you know the location of agents is kept confidential. Sean only knows his general whereabouts because it’s his father.”

  “Then how are we supposed to find him? Our chain of command has been broken across the country with everyone being pinned down by the Purists.” The general stands, towering over us.

  “We just need you to give us access to the sat internet feed. Sean can send an encrypted message to his father. His father will contact you.” Alex points to the tablet in front of Sean.

  “Come with me, then,” the general says. He turns and is halfway across the cafeteria before Sean and Alex can scramble to catch up to him. “Let me know when you’re going to test your sim on the class project,” he yells over his shoulder to the rest of us.

  “That was intense. Is it always like that here?” Cam swipes my grapes off my plate and dances away before I can catch him.

  I ignore him and turn to Philip. “I’ve tried answering as many questions from the other students as I can. How are we doing with completion of our classes and sims?”

  “I’ll run a report, just give me a sec.” Philip’s fingers fly over his tablet.

  “I’ve only got the last sim left to finish.” Rand smiles.

  I look around the table as everyone nods except Josh.

  “How many do you have left, Josh?” Katrina asks.

  “I think I have the last three. I was able to get through the others pretty quickly the last few days. I guess I didn’t forget as much as I thought I would from last year.”

  Mr. Chao drifts closer to us. “You don’t want to rush your education, do you?”

  I turn to him. “I don’t think we really have a choice. The attacks are escalating and even the general is flustered. I think we need to come to terms with the fact we�
�ll need to evacuate soon.”

  “And leave our planet for good?” Cam dares to comes back to stand next to me.

  I nod.

  “What about the Purists? They won’t evacuate. What will happen to them?” asks Katrina.

  I slap Cam’s hand as he tries to swipe more fruit.

  “We can’t force them to leave. But Ms. Germain says it might be hundreds of years before the planet is livable again. If we can stop the destruction soon.”

  Cam tries again, but this time Kai grabs him up and tickles him. I wait until Cam’s watching me before I take my apple and lick it.

  “Gross,” he says.

  I grin.

  “That’s one way to win.” Kai chuckles next to me as he lets Cam go.

  I shrug. “Only way to keep him away from my food. He hates other people’s germs.”

  “Maybe that same idea could help us against the Purists.”

  We turn to see Commander Svell standing behind us. His uniform is torn and dirty and he doesn’t look like he’s slept at all.

  20

  Damage Control

  We stand up and surround the commander.

  “What happened to you?” Rand asks first.

  “Long story. Can I sit?” He points to our table.

  “I’ll grab you a tray of food,” Katrina says and hurries past him, her eyes wide.

  “Thank you,” he says.

  “The general has a medic with him, should we get her?” Kai asks.

  “No. I’m fine. Nothing broken. How about you give me a quick update on what’s been going on in my academy since I’ve been gone?”

  I lean back in my chair and let Rand and Philip update the commander. My fingers tap the table. I want to know what the commander’s idea is for dealing with the Purists, but I understand he needs to know what he’s missed first.

  The air in the cafeteria seems to thicken and the noise level drops off. I blink and look around to see what everyone’s staring at. Even the commander turns.