The Covert Academy

by Peter Laurent

  Joshua perked up. ‘Actually, there were five soldiers and two drones. You got this one drone here and these two fellas.’ He pointed. ‘There is a disabled drone down in that alley with two more soldiers I left behind.’

  Sarah gave him a sceptical look.

  ‘See for yourself, if you don’t believe me,’ he finished.

  Sarah walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down. She zoomed in with her iPC and saw the drone Joshua had disabled flopping around like a fish on dry land in its attempts to take off.

  Casey spoke up in Sarah’s ear.

  ‘Jensen, we’re lookin’ at a live drone there. You know how much that could help our R&D?’

  Looking over from the opposite building’s roof were two soldiers. One shook his fist at Sarah, the other was talking into a communicator and gesturing wildly.

  Sarah looked up over the expanse of the Colonnade to the horizon. A troop carrier rose up out of the depths of the Colonnade and slowly flew towards them. The distance was deceptive, Sarah knew. It was actually moving at an incredibly high speed.

  ‘No time for it Casey, but I think I’ve got something better,’ she said softly over the comm. She turned back to Joshua. ‘We’ll compare scores later. Were they chasing you for that eye you were holding? Did you take it from the guy in the dumpster?’

  Joshua held up the General’s iPC device. It twitched and wiggled in his hand. Was it doing that by itself?

  ‘I guess this is why you’re here,’ he said. ‘For this? It scanned my face earlier. I’ve never seen an iPC do that before.’

  Sarah nodded.

  ‘But this is worth a lot of money to the right people,’ Joshua continued. ‘I’d never need to be hungry...’ He trailed off lamely, blushing.

  ‘Tell you what,’ said Sarah. ’You hang on to it for now. All I ask is that you give me the chance to set you up with a very interested buyer.’

  ‘Oh... who? This “Casey” person?’ Joshua struggled on the words, still reeling from the simple embarrassment of being poor and dirty. ‘I don’t even know your name.’

  The carrier swooped past the rooftop and circled around for the two stranded soldiers, and to send out more fresh soldiers after this kid, once they’d made their report.

  ‘I’ll tell you on the way.’

  Sarah led Joshua around the chaotic fruit market using back alleys. He had been surprisingly quiet so far, no doubt thinking through his questions and saving them for later.

  ‘The person I’m taking you to controls a small, exclusive organisation in the Pacific,’ she began. ‘It was formed during the war and has been dedicated to training people like me for espionage tactics.’

  ‘People like you,’ he echoed.

  Sarah came up short. ‘Yes. And you. I saw you take down a soldier and the remains you left of that other drone. To be honest, the disabled drone alone would have got me a round of drinks from our tech boys in R&D. But I left it there because I believe I’m bringing back two far more valuable assets.’

  She looked at him and he lifted his gaze too suddenly, his mind having been focussed on two other valuable “assets” below the neckline.

  He tried his best to change the subject. ‘Fine, fine, but what do you actually do?’

  Sarah shook her head and sighed. ‘Don’t tell me you haven’t heard of the Academy?’

  ‘Yes, but everyone I know thinks it’s just a myth. Some super secret cult out in the Pacific Ocean, lofty ideals of bringing down the Confederacy... the most advanced technology research imaginable, completely run by volunteers... and to top it off, brutally training toddlers from the day they can walk to become... well, ninjas!’ He gave a short chuckle. ‘What is this Feudal Japan? Ha! They should be training Samurai. No one has a shred of honour any more.’

  Sarah looked at him. ‘I hope you don’t really think that, you’ve only just met me.’

  Joshua shut up.

  Their walk had taken them to the edge of the lake. The crowd was particularly busy here and both Sarah and Joshua blended in in their own way. Sarah with her jumpsuit set to display a casual but earthy brown top and dark blue pants, Joshua with his filthy rags. They could have passed for any number of the indentured servants with their contract owners that walked past them. Many people had been reduced to living as a slave just to stay fed, but it was better than living out on the icy streets their whole lives. There were millions of people who had no alternative. Unless it was the Confederacy who chose to employ someone, the job market was incredibly sparse.

  A small set of drones hummed overhead, staying low to the ground as they scanned the crowd for signs of discord. Sarah saw most people flinch as they flew by or duck out of the street, but Joshua looked up at them.

  ‘I think I hate these more than the ones that were shooting at us,’ he said.

  Sarah opened her mouth to ask why, when the four drones stopped and hung in mid-air. They’d stopped their automated patrol. Sarah had never seen them do that unless they were about to attack. Joshua had seen this performance before.

  The drones just hovered there. After a tense moment, they tucked away their crowd scanners by folding the attachment inside their chassis. The front of the drones shuffled a series of panels like a jigsaw puzzle to form a flat picture frame. An image of a man appeared with light coppery hair, his pinched mouth forced into a tight condescending smile that didn’t extend to his eyes.

  Sarah took an instant dislike to him. She glanced at Joshua who had hung his head as if preparing himself for some inevitable discomfort. Before she could ask what the problem was, the man on the monitors spoke.

  ‘Hello,’ his voice boomed through the street. ‘Hello, citizens of the Confederacy. My name is Simeon Warner. I address you today as the newly appointed leader of our fine community. It is with a humble heart that I have accepted the position, and hope to continue the years of peace afforded by the hard work of the men and women of this first unified government of planet Earth. Many of you may be wondering, “Mr. Warner, how can I help the Confederacy? I’m just one person.” Well fear not my faithful citizens, if you have a skill you believe may be of assistance to us, or you know someone with suitable skills who has not come forward, simply speak to your nearest friendly Confederate guard. Don’t miss the opportunity to upgrade your classification and become eligible for clean housing, hot water, clothing, food rations...’

  At those words, people in the street turned to listen to the drones. Some glanced at their neighbours as though they were a free meal, just waiting to be claimed.

  Short-sighted fools, thought Sarah.

  The voice repeated the message as the drones moved on, the noise fading as Sarah took them along the beach of the lake. It might have been romantic, if not for the piles of garbage that had collected there. The gulls defended their territory, almost as dangerous as the endless sea of the homeless, many of whom looked eagerly at Sarah. Her clean clothing, and her well-nourished, toned body was a sign of skill the Confederates would be interested in putting to use. The beggars' desperation sickened Sarah, but she felt a stab of pity after she gave them a harsh glare. They slunk back to their makeshift sleeping holes in the rubbish piles, ashamed.

  Finally Sarah and Joshua reached the spot she was looking for. She retrieved a small raft from underneath a decrepit old wharf, and pushed it into the lake. The water parted before her jumpsuit like magic as she waded after it. She hopped out of the water and into the raft, still dry as a bone.

  ‘How...?’ Joshua gulped. ‘You have a plan, I assume?’

  The lake seemed to stretch on into infinity.

  ‘Always,’ said Sarah, patting the seat next to her.

  Chapter 7

  Joshua couldn’t see a thing. He gripped the side of the raft with both hands, his only reassurance against the pitch-black depths.

  ‘How far can this bucket take us?’ he asked.

  ‘Canada,’ Sarah responded matter-of-factly.

  Joshua swallowed his next question, thoug
h he couldn’t help but keep his eyes glued to the shapely outline in front of him. She kept her back to him, concentrating on navigation, and Joshua didn’t mind in the least. The view was the best he’d had in years.

  The trip continued in silence, the only sound was the gentle slap of the waves against the raft as it powered through the night. He wondered how they could move so fast without hearing so much as a purr from the engine. Another question to save for later.

  He sighed. What had he got himself into? At least the smell out here was a huge improvement over the city, their sweaty stench mixing with the freshwater spray in the air.

  The repetitive motion of the boat lulled him into a sleepy stupor. His first decent rest in what seemed like days.

  All too soon, Joshua was awakened by a soft noise from out in the inky blackness. As it got closer he could make out a distinct whump, whump, whump.

  Sarah killed the engine and they drifted. Something whooshed overhead, blocking the stars from view. The downward air pressure flattened Joshua to the bottom of the raft. The next moment they struck something solid and the raft came to a sudden stop. Sarah hopped out, her boots softly padding on solid ground.

  ‘Aren’t we in the middle of the lake any more?’ Joshua asked as he peeked over the edge of the raft. Softly glowing runway lights on a dull metal surface greeted him. He could reach out and brush them with his hand.

  ‘Come on, help me pull this up, lazy,’ Sarah said with a laugh.

  Joshua jumped over the side and leant a hand, pulling the raft up a short ramp to level ground.

  ‘What is this?’ he asked, dumping the boat at the top.

  Sarah just looked ahead as a light came on in a doorway and a man stepped through.

  He wore a dull green flight suit, hanging loosely off a lanky frame and tanned skin. He had a baseball cap pushed over a mess of sandy hair, with a fringe peeking out the front down to his smiling green eyes.

  ‘Hey man, welcome aboard the Nyctalopia,’ he said and stretched out a hand to shake. ‘I’m Richard. Clever name eh? The ship’s I mean, not mine, ha ha! I call her Nicky for short. Bit easier than nik-tah-low-pee-yah! And you’re Joshua right?’ He didn’t wait for a confirmation. ‘Cool, well, lets get some food in ya, damn you look like you could use a good feed bro, ha ha! No worries... this way.’

  He turned and walked back the way he had come, leaving Joshua staring after him.

  ‘Don’t mind him,’ said Sarah. ’He just likes to show off his boat. But I could go for some chow too.’ She walked after Richard, with Joshua hurrying to catch up.

  They found him in what was clearly the galley. There was row upon row of plastic wrapped meals stacked on shelves, three microwave ovens, coffee and tea set out on a circular table in the middle, and a fridge filled with treasures Joshua could only imagine.

  So this is what heaven is like, he thought.

  ‘Help yourself mate,’ said Richard. ‘I’d go for the microwavable stuff, it’ll warm you up a bit. Nicky here zaps a good bowl of noodles, among other things, ha ha.’ He patted the wall. ‘But be quick eh, we’ve gotta lift off ASAP.’

  Joshua looked at him. ‘Lift off? I thought you said this was a ship.’

  Richard just grinned and raised his eyebrows while Sarah sat down at the table and strapped herself in. She sipped at a water bottle, and took a perfect kiwifruit out of her front pocket, all at ease. She began to peel away the skin with her sword.

  ‘Stop teasing the poor boy, Richard,’ she said.

  ‘Ahem. Boy?’ Joshua stood at his full height, which was well over what someone with his lack of nourishment would normally reach. He had always struggled to grow a beard, but he could use his boyish looks to his advantage on the streets. There were still good people with some small reserve of pity in them for the throngs of the needy. ‘You can’t be much more than me. How old are you two?’

  Richard answered for Sarah, ‘We’re both twenty, which my guess is the same as you mate.’ Joshua threw him a look. ‘Jeez don’t fret, she was just joshin’ ya, Joshua. We were even in the same class for a while, until...’

  ‘I think we should let Case explain the details, Richard,’ Sarah cut in, popping half the kiwifruit in her mouth.

  ‘Right. Well, you two strap yourselves down, I’ll go get Nicky’s engine running.’ He winked and walked out, disappearing up a ladder in the hallway.

  Joshua walked over to the shelf and picked an item with densely packed sugar content. He poured it into a bowl.

  ‘I could definitely get tired of dry rat meat,’ he said aloud, then remembered Sarah was still there. He put his hand over his mouth. ‘Oh sh-’

  ‘Forget it,’ said Sarah. ‘You did what you had to in order to survive. Most people in your position wouldn’t have made it a day. The last twenty years have proven that if nothing else.’

  Joshua let out a breath. ‘Thanks.’ He turned away, blushing again, his bowl of dessert forgotten. ‘So will you answer my questions now?’

  ‘I thought I had.’ Sarah looked blank.

  ‘No. You dodged the questions faster than you dodged those soldiers. You killed them. You didn't have to do that.’

  ‘I was saving your ass. What else do you need to know?’

  ‘You can’t be dragging me along on this secret spy tour just so I can sell my little eye to your boss. The way you overpowered the soldiers...’ Joshua shook his head remembering. ‘You could have just taken it from me. So why bring me along instead?’

  Sarah nodded slowly. ‘Fair question.’

  ‘...And where are we going?’ Joshua continued, then as if on cue, the bottom of his stomach dropped away. His ears popped. So “Nicky” was airborne now. ‘And what is this thing we’re on? And just who are you?’

  Sarah sighed patiently. ‘My name is Sarah Jensen. I’m taking you to the head trainer of the Academy in the Pacific Ocean. We’re on a heavily modified SWATCH-20. That means “Space Water Air Terrain Carrier Hybrid” by the way. Which, in about fifteen minutes, will pass out of the Earth’s atmosphere at 40 kilometres or so straight up. The trip to the base will take just under an hour and a half.’

  She paused while Joshua stood there gaping. ‘The Academy is real. It was founded first in Japan during the early days of World War Three. They struggled to maintain secrecy so they moved out into the Pacific.’ She chuckled, ‘Heh heh... Japan was apparently a crowded place back then.’ Serious again, Sarah continued. ‘Since day one we’ve been dedicated to disrupting production and, eventually, the destruction of all drones through guerrilla warfare,’ she smiled. ‘It’s a slow process.’

  Joshua nodded, ‘And the General’s eye?’

  ‘Yes, we want to tear apart that prize iPC device you found,’ Sarah admitted. ‘But more than that, I saw how you did against those Confederates today. You were quick, creative, and even merciful. Qualities I’m sorry to say we lack,’ she paused for the big finale. ‘I’m planning to fast track your application to join us.’

  Joshua sat down, head in hands, too awestruck to speak. Sarah gave him time to think. Slowly, he looked up into Sarah’s eyes.

  ‘I don’t want to join your little club,’ he said. ‘I’m not in this for you, I just want to get paid for my trouble and get back to my life.’ Sarah’s eyes lost focus for a few moments.

  Someone else is talking to her again... that or she really is nuts, thought Joshua. She seemed to snap out of it and said in an entirely non-confidential tone, ‘Not much of a life you’ve got there, Josh.’

  ‘Joshua,’ he corrected her.

  Sarah pushed ahead. ‘Your father died in a food riot in Milwaukee, your uncles and aunts gunned down by the imploding U.S. Army during the war, your mother starved to death shortly after the economy collapsed,’ she paused after each one while someone fed her the lines. She looked only as sympathetic as was possible from having heard similar stories like this many times before. ‘And... a sister. You have a sister. Had. Taken to the Colonnade, six years ago.’

  Sh
e stopped and a genuine look of pity came over her face. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘That’s why you were there today.’

  Joshua swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded. ‘I’ll find her,’ he said.

  ‘Even after six years in the Colonnade?’ she put the question to him as delicately as possible. She knew his sister was better off dead.

  He didn’t answer. He couldn’t answer that question if he tried. The silence stretched on and the room became awkward. ‘I think I’d like that pudding now,’ he said.

  Sarah chuckled. ‘Oh wait, you might want to...’

  As Joshua stood to retrieve his bowl, the ship’s engines cut out, and Joshua floated up to the ceiling with the sticky pudding splattering on his face. He looked down at Sarah pathetically, then his face broke into a huge messy, sugary grin.

  Sarah let loose and laughed out loud. ‘Okay, let’s get you cleaned up and somewhere to rest that isn’t on the roof.’

  Chapter 8

  Having shown Joshua to the shower and a spare cabin, Sarah climbed up the last rung of the ladder to the cockpit. She slumped into the copilot’s chair.

  ‘Hey, you holding up over there?’ Richard glanced over.

  ‘Hmm?’ she sleepily replied.

  ‘I mean, can you hold that up for me? That panel there, yeah. It keeps falling on that secondary comm button.’

  Sarah swivelled around, gazing over the banks of lights and panels. She propped up her arm to hold the offending item. With the other hand she pulled another kiwifruit from her pocket, perfectly undamaged, and held it out for Richard. He grinned. ‘Cheers. So how’s our passenger? Or should I call him recruit?’

  ‘He won’t decide that easily, it’ll take more than the promise of three hots and a cot,’ said Sarah.

  Richard remained buoyant between munches on the fruit, ‘Well, give him some time, seems like he could-’