by S. G. Basu
“So, it was you who told them. I wondered how they found my home,” Maia said. Her tone must have been more scathing than teasing because Kusha’s face darkened.
“I’m so sorry, Maia. I didn’t want to tell them anything, but they said they would find you anyway, that it was just a matter of time. And if they couldn’t find you within two days, they would consider sending you to the mining camps instead. So, I told them about Appian.”
“It’s all right, Kusha,” Maia replied, trying to get a grip on her emotions. In all earnestness, what happened that day was no one else’s responsibility but hers. She did not want to blame Kusha for her own slip-up. “It was my fault anyway. I should’ve never flown that day, should’ve known that it was too risky.”
A brief crackle came from somewhere near the roof of the craft, causing them to promptly abandon their conversation. A hollow mechanical voice filled the air, “Hold on to railings at all times. Do not approach doorway unless instructed.” There was a vague sense of movement before everything was stable again.
“I think we just left ground,” Kusha observed. “But really, Maia, I’m sorry about the other day.”
“Don’t worry, Kusha. Isn’t it funny that they don’t have any windows in here?” Maia wondered aloud, eager to change the subject.
“The whole wall above these railings is a giant window. It was clear when I arrived, but fogged up shortly afterwards.” Kusha latched on to the new topic like Maia had hoped. “Maybe we would get dizzy if they kept it open, since this craft probably travels at incredible speeds.”
“And where are we going now?” Maia asked.
“I think we’ll stop at various points on the Second Continent. Once they have gathered all the participants from this sector, we’ll take off for Arpasgula.”
“Arpasgula?”
“It’s the gateway into Xif.”
“Who was that white-haired guy in the tent?” Maia asked, wondering about the person who had scanned her pass-key.
“He was a Tokii clerk,” Kusha replied. “They are rumored to be a very powerful force on Xif.”
Before Maia could ask her next question, the floor shook and then stilled again.
“Seems like we landed,” Kusha said.
They did not have to wait long to find that Kusha had guessed right. The curt mechanical voice sounded, repeating the same instructions they had heard before. Soon, the door of the pod opened and some boys and girls came up the stairs. Most of them flocked together in their own little groups; a few offered a smile or a shy wave. Then, after the expected announcement, the pod took off with a brief shudder, and Maia eased back into her chat with Kusha. Conversation drifted to their families and homes. Kusha spoke of the lands he had visited with the Solianese Circus and of the people he had met on his journeys.
As they chatted, the Holding Pod made several more stops. Every time the door opened, Maia caught glimpses of the landscape outside shifting dramatically, from mountains to valleys to deserts, and back and forth.
The circular room filled up slowly. Maia was happy that they were left alone. The most anyone ventured was a hesitant hello, with a few exceptions. A wiry boy named Jiri, who looked a little older than Kusha, shook everyone’s hands and introduced himself. A brother and sister duo joined Maia and Kusha for a while, but that conversation soon turned into an argument over which of the two had performed better at the Selectives. Maia was relieved when the pair finally headed to the opposite side of the pod, all the while arguing bitterly.
When the walls of the pod finally cleared after the tenth stop, they were flying low over an unending expanse of the brightest blue water Maia had ever seen. Countless waves rose and fell; the pod skimmed over their foamy white crests and then plunged headlong into the shimmering surface below.
“Hope we’re not crashing.” Maia grabbed the rails with all her might.
“I think we’re entering the Jjordic porthole for Coloni Centrei, the central colony. That would fall within the borders of this sector,” Kusha ventured a guess.
Maia could barely suppress a scream when an enormous funnel suddenly emerged from the depths of the water, swaying like the flared hood of a snake, and effortlessly swallowed the pod. The craft careened forward like a miniscule crumb through the sinewy insides of the tube, twisting and turning through the seemingly everlasting darkness. Before the bleak, shadowy passageway could engulf Maia’s senses, the pod bobbed up inside a small, bulbous cave lit vividly in cerulean light. The sudden brightness after the dark stretch made Maia blink; her eyes struggled to adjust to the change. When her sight steadied, she saw a group of men and women dressed in crisp white uniforms standing on the ledge that bordered the circumference of the cave. Once the craft was secured, the door fell open.
About twenty Jjord children marched inside, all dressed in blue and white, their abalone talismans draped proudly around their necks. They strutted in, ignoring everyone else, and sat down in a circle at the center of the pod, except for one girl who stood at the doorway, whose right hand rested on the pommel of a long sword slung from her waist. Her pale-gold hair was cropped into a sleek, smart bob that ended at her chin; her bright, sapphire eyes scanned the room until they came to rest on Maia and Kusha. She strode over to the duo, swiftly lowered her head in a short bow, and smiled.
“I’m Dani.” Her voice was sweet and manner sophisticated. “I hail from the Jjordic township of T’ra.”
She waited expectantly as Maia stood open-mouthed, flanked by the equally baffled Kusha, both startled by the friendliness that was particularly unexpected from a Jjord. Within a short while, Maia stammered to life and introduced herself. Kusha, however, seemed to have fallen into a deep trance. A few moments of awkward silence, some raised eyebrows, and a sharp nudge later, an utterly embarrassed Kusha finally remembered to say his name.
11: Arpasgula
“Hans said that we will head to Arpasgula from here,” Dani informed as the pod took off from the Jjordic porthole.
“Hans?” Kusha inquired.
“My brother, the best brother one could ever have.” Dani’s voice swelled with adoration, then she sighed. “Only thing is . . . he detests everything Xifarian. He almost didn’t allow me to join this contest, kept questioning the merits of this exercise. Can you believe anyone in the world would do that?”
“I never wanted to join either,” Maia muttered under her breath. She looked at Dani with curiosity. Not only was she surprisingly kind for a Jjord, but she was much too forthcoming with people she had just met.
“Your parents must have thought otherwise then?” Kusha remarked.
“No, it’s not like that,” Dani said. “We lost our parents when Hans was only five and I was just a newborn.”
As Kusha reddened in embarrassment and stammered his apologies, Dani tried to reassure him with a wave of her hand and a bright smile. “We were brought up by the Social Collective until Hans turned eighteen last year. We’re on our own now, but the Collective still has the right to intervene during his first year of guardianship,” Dani explained. “Hans tends to worry about me a little too much. I try not to mind it even though sometimes it can get quite annoying.”
“I know that feeling very well,” Maia mused, remembering her doting grandfather and his two overzealous accomplices.
“It’s a pity that they won’t let us see outside,” said Dani. “Hans says the view is awesome when the crafts pull away from the planet.”
“Hans has been to Xif then?” Kusha asked.
“Oh yes, he visits at least twice each year as a member of the Committee for Scientific Exchange. It’s a very important position, particularly for someone his age. He’s one of the youngest members too. But then, it’s not unusual for Hans; he has always been a brilliant student and the head of every club and committee he cared to join.”
“I guess he didn’t study at the Xifarian Defense Academy since he dislikes them so? The Jjord are free to enroll though, aren’t they?” Kusha inquired.
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“Yes, we’re allowed to enroll if we please. But Hans would never go there. He’s too proud and too loyal to our heritage,” Dani explained. “He graduated from the UAAS, the University of Advanced Arts and Sciences at Zagran.”
“Zagran?” Maia asked.
“Yes, our capital at Coloni Primei,” Dani replied, gushing. “I’m a student at the UAAS as well, just started this year. I’ve always wanted to try out for the XDA, but Hans would never allow me. So when the Alliance Initiative started, I knew this would be my only chance to learn more than what we do at Zagran. I simply had to be a part of it. And the Collective agreed that it would be a good experience, an opportunity to know the world outside. Hans was practically overruled and he didn’t take it happily.”
If Dani’s world revolved around anything or anyone, that was surely Hans, Maia concluded. She seemed to like talking about him; almost every sentence she uttered had a generous sprinkling of references to Hans. Maia had no trouble visualizing Dani’s overprotective brother, with a studious face and messy hair, poring over thick science books, and constantly worrying about his baby sister.
“What do we do at Arpasgula?” Kusha asked.
“The clerks verify all identification at the gate and issue passes for visitors. There might also be some academy personnel meeting us there,” Dani elaborated. Maia could not suppress the small smirk that curled around her lips as she waited for Dani’s obligatory reference to Hans.
“At least, that’s what Hans said.” Dani did not disappoint.
Suddenly, the pod lurched forward as if coming to a halt. A brief crackle later, the mechanical voice bellowed, “We have reached Arpasgula. You will now disembark.”
When the windows cleared up momentarily, a hushed silence filled the interior of the pod. Arpasgula was indeed an enormous spaceport, so large that the pod seemed like a small pebble in a gigantic cistern. The huge spherical cavern was lined with dark stone; dull metallic seams crisscrossed and framed it. Maia noted the two doors on the two sides of the sphere; one was the large circular opening through which they had entered, and opposite to it was a smaller door. The circular rims of both doors were etched in red and gold with rows of symbols.
The remaining surface of the colossal hollow was covered with coves of various sizes, at least a thousand in all. It felt like they were in the hollowed middle of a gargantuan beehive. The largest bays formed a ring along the middle of the port, their sizes progressively decreasing until they reached the circumference. It was in one of the smallest of the coves that their pod had settled down. Not all of the landing stations were filled—most stood empty and dark—and only the ones that housed visiting crafts were brightly lit.
A few Tokii waited outside the pod, silently directing the visitors out of the landing bay and into a long corridor, at the other end of which stood a closed door guarded by a band of Tokii. The sentries scanned every person with their green prongs before leading them inside. In the room beyond, some Tokii clerks noted the visitors’ names and numbers in a list while some others inspected every weapon. Every sword, mace, or staff was carefully scanned with the prongs, passed through bellies of large bulbous machines, and intently studied by hand.
“What are they scanning the weapons for?” Maia whispered to Kusha and Dani.
Kusha shrugged. Dani leaned in to whisper, “They’re very cautious about what they allow inside, probably because some items might have a disagreeable impact on the environment.”
After everyone had been accounted for, two clerks led the group through a maze of corridors and up a series of elevators and staircases until they came to a door that had a large sign that read:
FOR THE SOLE USE OF
THE XIFARIAN DEFENSE ACADEMY
TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSCECUTED
The door opened as soon as the entire group had assembled, and a tall man with a black goatee emerged smiling. His hair sat on his head in sculptured waves; white stone studs dazzled on his ears. He stretched his mouth a little too wide and a little too long, as if to allow his audience ample time to admire his flawless smile.
“Welcome, young contestants. I am Master Geir-Sei, the Vice Principal of the Xifarian Defense Academy, and I am honored to receive you here today.” He continued after a quick sweeping bow. “You are the best and the lucky few who will have the distinction of participating in the first ever Alliance Initiative. We at the XDA are proud to host you all.
“You, the brave and the talented, are poised to shape the future of our universe, the ones who are blessed to bridge the misunderstandings that divide our people. You are the statespersons of tomorrow.”
He stepped aside, held the door open, and bowed. “I invite you to embrace your destiny.”
Maia stood motionless, stupefied at Master Geir-Sei’s glitzy show, until she was swept forward by an eager wave of youngsters who rushed in a muddled but deliberate flurry to reach the open door.
12: Core 21
Maia’s stride slowed abruptly as she walked through the door. On the other side stood a spaceship that she could not have imagined in her wildest dreams. The cove they had entered was big enough to hold the entire valley of Appian, and the enormous craft stretched across the whole length. The two ends of the magnificent ship were tapered; its bulging middle with a transparent top seemed to serve as a large observation deck. A wide staircase, wrapped in plush red carpet, descended from the middle of the craft to the floor of the bay. People in various uniforms hurried around. Besides the smocks of the Tokii, some wore black coats, similar to the vice principal’s uniform, and some donned white overalls. More contestants, possibly those who had arrived in an earlier pod from another sector, stood in a huddled mass along the side of the bay.
“Behold your golden chariot to the future and beyond, the Fahrbot 878,” said, approaching the breathtaking ship with outstretched arms. The new arrivals gathered around him eagerly as his pompous voice boomed across the bay. “This ship has taken many uninitiated young ones from anonymity to fame and fortune. Maybe one day, I will have the honor of eulogizing your names to young people of another generation.
“Before I let you scramble onboard, I have a few more instructions. Once you reach the academy, you will be grouped to form units of five for the rest of the competition. Over the next six months, these teams will be trained and evaluated for the challenges of the Xifarian leg.”
He flashed a lingering smile before continuing his speech. Quite a few people in the crowd winced, and Maia resisted a pressing urge to giggle.
“We want to give you the chance of choosing for yourself. Simply speaking, you get to pick four teammates and submit your choice to me before we enter the Fahrbot. I will transmit the lists to the Academy Board, who will then approve or disapprove your choices, and add a member or two as needed.”
Even before Master Geir-Sei had finished, the crowd started whispering.
“Ahem.” Geir-Sei cleared his throat and clapped loudly to recapture the attention of the assembly. “May I point out that the intent of this exercise is to learn more about each other, so it would most likely be a wasted effort if you try to form teams with family or old friends. Pick wisely, for your survival over the next six months will depend on how well you get along with your teammates and flourish as a unit.
“Let the bonding games begin,” he almost sang, raising his hands up over his head and waving them in a spectacular flutter.
Maia stole a look at Dani and Kusha, unsure of what needed to be done. Kusha fidgeted a while, looking around shyly before he started.
“You two are the only people I know a little . . . but not enough to displease the Board. I’d like to stay with you.” He added hastily, “Only if you’d like to also, of course.”
“It’s so kind of you to ask. I would love to, thank you,” Dani replied.
“Count me in,” Maia said with a smile bright enough to send the vice principal into a jealous fit. She felt flushed with joy. After spending a day and a half worrying about a
ll the contempt and resentment she would have to live with, she found herself in the middle of a happy, and hopefully, successful companionship. And for that she was immensely thankful. Yet, in her mind, a small sense of unease raised its obstinate head; she should not have joined them, nor any other team for that matter, and never so eagerly. Her plan was to sabotage her way out of Xif, and whichever team she joined would surely take a hit because of her leaving.
Wouldn’t that be betraying the trust Dani and Kusha were placing in me right now? How could—
“Should we look to find the two others for our team?” Dani asked, disrupting Maia’s thoughts.
Maia cast a quick glance around the bay. The crowd of contestants had now clumped into buzzing groups, their faces agitated and voices anxious. There were not many whom Maia knew, fewer whom she could think of asking. She turned back to look at Kusha who stood with a face mirroring Maia’s own hesitation.
“Or we could leave that to the Academy Board,” Dani said, possibly sensing the reluctance.
“Good idea. Let’s give our list to Geir-Sei,” Kusha suggested immediately.
They made their way to the base of the stairs where Master Geir-Sei was under constant siege, busy fielding the requests he was receiving. Many, who did not appreciate the idea of being separated from friends, wrestled to come up with very original interpretations of “friends and family.” Master Geir-Sei valiantly shooed away two noticeably distressed girls as the trio approached him. Finding that the next hopefuls had not known each other before, and they were from different parts of the planet, pleased the man to no end. He jotted down their names in a small metallic tablet, peered at it for a moment, and beamed.
“Prudent choice, young ones, I can see that your names have been accepted,” he declared with a smile that stretched from one ear to the other. “You shall be Core 21. The remaining two members of your team will be assigned by the time you reach the XDA.”
