by TS Paul
Cheese pizza done right was an exquisite experience. It was the purest form of pizza or at least that is what Tina believed. The two pizzas had a familiar odor, and she looked at her mom in shock then back to the Giuseppe’s boxes. Where the smell had come from … too many miles away to figure out, now. “How?”
Cheryl Lynn smiled. “Earth isn’t all that far away you know. I got Giuseppe’s special just for you.”
Practically diving into the pizza the kids each grabbed one of the massive slices.
Giuseppe’s was a family favorite back in Dallas before their father left them. They could never afford to go there after that. This made the day all that much more special. Tina got up and walked over to her mother, enveloping her parent in her arms, a tiny tear just at the edge of her eye.
—
In another part of the huge station, several other students were getting ready. Maxim and Nestor were cousins. They had been a part of the evacuation of the town of Romonavka. They were Wechselbalg as were most of their immediate family. Nestor’s father Leonid was training to become a Guardian.
He wanted more for both his son and nephew.
Leonid was pointing to both boys, his Russian accent full of pride, “You need to go to the school. We swore to follow the Queen in all things. You both took the tests and passed them. Maxim, your father, would want this for you. You know it. He wanted a better life for you. It’s why he stayed to fight.”
The big man looked at his own son. “You too Nestor. We talked of this. Your wolf is not the strongest, yet. These people can teach you things and let you do things that will make you the best of us. Trust them. Now go pack the both of you.” He pointed at the door to their room.
The two started towards the room.
“He has a point, Nestor.” Maxim was older and wiser. Or at least he thought so.
“Did I ask you for your opinion?” The smaller Wechselbalg growled at his cousin.
“Fine, whatever. We need to pack.” Maxim pulled out a couple of small bags and began throwing clothes into them.
Nestor stared at his cousin and sighed. “Give me one of those.” He grabbed a bag and started to pack.
Today was the first day of the rest of his life.
—
The young woman stood there, her hand on her cocked hip, “Papa I don’t wish to go to this Academy. I should stay here and help you.”
Her father looked down at his headstrong daughter, “We have discussed this Yana. We are no longer in the Motherland, and our family may never return. I know we raised you to be proud of your heritage by telling you stories of a time lost in the past. That is my fault. The Konstantinovich family will no longer hide in the shadows dreaming empire dreams. We lost our chance at the throne of Russia during the revolution.” Nicholas waved his arms around him. “Our future and that of our family lie out there. To get there, you need to do this.”
“But Papa…” she started again.
His eyes flashed just a little more firmly, “Nyet! No. It is done. The servants of Queen Bethany Anne have told us you passed the test with one of the highest percentile scores. You will go, and you will learn what you have to know. Forge your own path, daughter.” He smiled and walked towards the kitchen. Yana stood staring at her father, ground her teeth together then walked to the front door, trying to slam it on her way out of the house.
House! The apartment wasn’t what she wished in her life. She had dreamed of palaces her entire life as her family shuttled her around to hide her from first Soviet and then Russian assassins and the Cheka.
Her family was everything to her. She walked the hallways of the Meredith Reynolds and stared out some of the armored windows at the emptiness of space. It wasn’t fair sometimes. She could remember her father coming and telling her that he had sworn to another.
That wasn’t the worst! The Cheka was coming, and the entire town would have to evacuate on foot if need be. They had to leave everything that their family had toiled for almost a century to build.
She watched as several construction drones and maintenance crews worked outside, in space. She bet they didn’t have to burn down their entire lives just to escape those that wanted to kill them. Everything was too easy up here.
Shaking her head, she walked back towards her family’s home.
The door made a whooshing noise as it opened, she called out. “Father, are you still here?” She closed the hatch behind her and locked it.
“Did you have a good walk?” Nicholas smiled at her expression. “Better shut your mouth or flies might land there.” He was sitting at the table studying a tablet.
Her mouth snapped shut as he continued. “It’s what you do every time you need to work out a problem. Your mother was the same way.” Her father had a sad, misty expression on his face.
“You rarely speak of her.”
“She was a beautiful woman, your mother. You favor her.” He reached out and stroked Yana’s hair. “If she were still alive, she would want you to better yourself. Trust your instincts. Embrace the future, Yana.”
He sat back down and picked up his tablet again.
Yana’s lips pressed together, “Do you still have the list of requirements?”
“It’s in your room. You are making the correct decision. I’m proud of you.”
The list was where he said it would be. Yana packed swiftly, the instructions gave a time for the shuttle to pick up the students and she had less than an hour.
—
Ronnie Diamantz was enjoying the ride so far. It still amazed him that werewolves and vampires were actually real.
His father didn’t keep him sheltered, but he hadn’t explained much to Ronnie. However, the other kids did talk.
His parents were into computers like he was into science. They were so easily distracted by bits and bytes. Not him, give him chemical reactions anytime.
The Meredith Reynolds was huge! He had never been in this residential section before and was enjoying the tram ride. If he were more mechanically inclined, he would be interested in the electromagnetic propulsion system that the tiny train employed to shuttle groups around the asteroid.
To him, it was just a cool looking car. Every seat was filled by kids like him. He had already spotted several Wechselbalg and some of the Russian kids. Maybe they would be in his class.
Ronnie looked forward to this school, this was going to be a freaking blast!
CHAPTER TWO
QBBS Meredith Reynolds, Academy Area
“Are you ready for this?”
Diane looked at her twin sister and smiled. “Why would I not be? It’s not like fighting off Forsaken in the wilds of Turkey. These are just children. Besides,” she looked around at the stone walls, running a hand across the smooth surface as they walked along. “We helped build this place.”
Dorene agreed. “That’s true. I’m still getting used to having the energy to even think of tackling something like this.”
The hall the two ladies were walking through led from the administrative offices to the entrance of the school. The Meredith Reynolds was a massive asteroid that TQB had turned into a base, well a base station, actually.
When Bethany Anne had found the two sisters, they were on the run from more than one Government. Many years ago they took a sponsored trip to Turkey. They helped children enjoy a foreign country and saw the sights themselves, and in return, they had been able to save a few dollars.
What actually happened, was they ended up trapped in a cave with a bunch of kids. Everyone hiding from ravenous Nosferatu that were trying to kill them.
TQB intervened, led by the Queen herself. The two sister’s memories were altered so they would forget the entire incident. However, something unexpected happened, and they both woke up one morning with the memories returned to them.
Dorene tried to discreetly find out more information about the event, not realizing who was involved at the time, or how badly information about Bethany Anne was wanted. Computer records were u
seless. They only glossed over the event calling it a meteor strike. Digging deeper into public records and contacting a few friends from her time in the service punched in names she remembered. Names like Ecaterina, Gabrielle, and Bethany Anne.
Her search touched off a twin hunt of sorts which led the two to need to choose between joining TQB in space or ending up lost down a hole with a government on Earth. ADAM found them before anyone else and sent the Queen’s Marines to save them.
Anyone that had any sort of connection to Queen Bethany Anne and to TQB was wanted by many governments of the world for interrogation. Information of any kind was very valuable.
Their information, since it was so far back, was unique.
“Why do you say that? Some of this was your idea. Well, yours and that cutie Marcus.” Diane was enjoying the revitalization that came with the job. The two elderly ladies no longer looked their age.
They, like many here on the station, had been put through a medical pod which modified their bodies with nanocytes, providing them not only a more youthful body but also enhanced energy.
“Some of it was my idea. The Queen had her say as well. Especially when it came to that.” She pointed upwards to the wall. In large, foot high letters was a quote from the Queen herself. Bethany Anne hadn’t remembered saying it, but it was verified by TOM, the Kurtherian alien.
“As long as a student pushes themselves, I’ll turn over the heavens to help them. - Bethany Anne”
“I like that one the most.” The two women agreed. There were others scattered around the school.
Diane looked over to Dorene, “Did the dorms get set up OK?”
She answered, “They did. The engineering crew said the rooms are all the width of two cargo containers. I have the sexes divided for now. Later we can discuss mixing them if there aren’t any issues. Most of the Russian kids at least are used to doubling up. Personal modesty sort of goes out the window when dealing with Wechselbalg. If the kids can handle it, we may let the groups team up that way.”
“How many girls did we get?”
“Not as many as we hoped for. Too much coddling is what I think. The Queen and Gabrielle make excellent role models, but the hard sciences weren’t stressed in school for these kids. Tina was the exception to the rule. There are a few others as well.”
Diane glared at her sister, “So, again, how many are girls?”
Dorene smiled, “Oops, sorry. We have ten girls and twenty boys. Twelve are Wechselbalg of various ages and pack status. About half come to us as refugees from Romonavka along with ten Russian human children. The rest are from the Colorado base. It’s too bad we didn’t remember meeting the Queen and her troops until recently. The base there sounds like it’s pretty cool.”
Diane shook her head, “Let’s worry about the school first, you can chase pod pilots later.” Dorene had a big smile on her face. Another good thing about having the years wiped from your body was the ability to chase sexy men.
Sexy men that were pilots.
Dorene looked around, “Right. So the dorms are set and have been furnished. Technical Engineering supplied tablets for all the students along with locator beacons. At the moment they will wear them. Once they finish school, they will be able to have them implanted like many of the regular crew.”
“Good. That sounds good. Bethany Anne wants you to take care of student welfare.” Diane held up her hands in a stopping motion. “Before you start, this comes from the Queen herself. I have to take student administration. Maybe we can switch later. Many of these kids have never been away from home for extended periods. We need to be there for them to lean on.”
“If I have to. You know their parents are only a few miles away on the other side of the asteroid.” Dorene pointed upward.
Diane shrugged, “I know that, and you know that, but most of them don’t know it, or if they do, they don’t know it emotionally yet. Besides, we are supposed to teach them to be independent. No running home to mom. If that happens, we need to track it carefully. They might not be up to the task for the crew we want anyway. Try to get them to listen to you. These kids are the future of the realm.”
Diane smiled at her sister. “Come on, the train should be arriving soon. Have any of the trainers arrived in the great hall?”
“I have no idea. I can check, though.” Dorene looked up and called out to the operations E.I. (Entity Intelligence) for the Meredith Reynolds herself. “Meredith? Have the instructors arrived for introductions and sorting?”
The E.I.’s voice resonated around them, coming out from discreet speakers, “Hello, Dorene. The representatives from most of the departments are waiting for you and your sister in the main hall. The Queen along with her bodyguard will arrive in your office moments before commencement. Please be sure the room is empty.”
“It is. I activated the special lock and everything.” Dorene said, then paled for a moment.
Diane looked concerned as she noticed her sister's face, “DJ are you alright?”
Dorene looked around, a little frantic, “I just remembered that I left out a few items on the desk.” She turned to her sister, “Maybe the Queen's guards won’t notice?”
“What did you leave out?” Diane relaxed, she had an idea where this was heading.
“Remember those calendars we found on the Internet?” Dorene blushed.
Diane just shook her head. “Only you. Maybe they won’t notice. But, leave John alone. Remember what happened last time? We need both you and Jean. She almost ejected you out of that port last time you got frisky.”
“That woman scares the crap out of me! It was just a little pinch. Who knew she was tapped into the security system?”
“If anyone could be, it would be her. No touchy-touchy the big guard man this time, OK?” Dorene nodded her head in agreement. Jean had her pressed up against the supposed waste ejection port last time with her hand on the release button.
It had taken some serious fast talking to get Dorene out of that one. Gabrielle had asked the sisters if they needed to join a twelve-step program for women who pinched men’s butts?
The sisters continued to bicker at each other until they reached the double doors at the end of the hall. Above the door was another quote. This one was from Albert Einstein. “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”
—
Inside the auditorium, a man, a scientist one would guess based on his clothes, was speaking to two others. One woman was considerably shorter than he, the other a man in a suit. The scientist had one arm gesticulating wildly, “… and I’m telling you it was a brilliant idea. We need this sort of thing for when we go through the gate into the next universe. Who knows what we will find there. And, it’s a one-way trip! If we don’t educate the kids now using the resources we have available here in this system we will be harming them not helping them. Earth still has much we can teach them. But it must be us not those idiots back there. Especially not those guys at NASA.”
While he practically towered over her, the lady didn’t give up one inch in the discussion, “Marcus, NASA aside, do you really think that we should take time out of our busy schedules to teach? I have a ton of work to do. We have weapons to build and systems that don’t even exist yet we need to create. My area is way behind according to my schedule. All of this is going to screw up my system so much.” This time, it was the Primary of the Research and Development group waving her hands all about.
“Not just your system, Jean. My boys are working full out on ship design and finishing this.” Jeo waved his arm for emphasis, like a conductor for a band. “We have a ton of work to do and not much time.” He looked around in frustration, “Hell, I’m losing productivity just standing here.”
“Why don’t you folks just take a chill pill.” Everyone turned to see Captain Thomas standing at the edge of the stage. “What? You don’t think I’m hip to new phrases? Some of my new crew told me to say that.” He looked around the auditorium, “This Academy is a good
thing.”
