Frozen Enemies

by Zac Harrison

  It was the strangest sensation John had ever felt. Pulling on the boots and gloves, he looked in the mirror. It was immediately clear why the material was called SecondSkin. There was barely a wrinkle in it as he moved. The suit fit him like it had been sprayed on. He pulled on the helmet, feeling the same sensation as the foam-like interior moulded itself to his head.

  “Optimum body temperature reached,” said a quiet voice in the helmet. “Processing oxygen. Suit ready.”

  “John,” he murmured to himself as he gazed at his reflection, “you are looking awesome.”

  “Riley, what are you doing in there?” Jegger shouted outside. “Knitting your own spacesuit? Get to the hangar deck on the double.”

  On deck, Jegger marched up and down the line of pilots, checking that each of their suits was fitted correctly, paying special attention to Ms Vartexia’s. John wondered briefly if all the staff knew she had a tendency to make mistakes. Lifting the visor of his helmet, he turned to Kaal to make a comment. His friend was looking somewhere else: at the headmaster.

  “Something interesting?” John asked.

  “It’s nothing. Just a bit weird is all.”

  “What?”

  Kaal looked down at him. “The headmaster never leaves the ship. Even in the holidays.”

  John shrugged. “Maybe he feels like a break. He seemed pretty excited about visiting Archivus Major.”

  “Maybe you’re right, but it is a bit strange. Makes you wonder if he knows something is going to happen.”

  Everyone on Hyperspace High knew that the headmaster could see into the future. As he had explained to John a few weeks earlier, his visions weren’t always clear and sometimes only showed him events that might happen, but suddenly John understood Kaal’s concern.

  “You think something bad is going to happen?” he asked, starting to feel worried. The last time he had left Hyperspace High, the class had nearly been killed on Zirion Beta.

  “Kaal’s just being a worry Wigartian,” Emmie cut in. “We’re going to the most heavily guarded, secure planet in the galaxy. What could possibly go wrong?”

  Satisfied that all the SecondSkin spacesuits were functioning correctly, Sergeant Jegger paced to the front of the row. “You will board your craft and launch one at a time,” he ordered. “Join your classmates flying in formation alongside Hyperspace High before setting on a course for Archivus Major. Get to it.” With these last orders, Jegger marched smartly off the deck. Within moments, the hangar would be emptied of air and the bay doors opened. Beyond was space.

  Gulp.

  With his heart in his mouth, John climbed into the pilot seat of his Privateer and readied himself for take-off. Don’t mess this up, Riley, he told himself silently. Whatever you do, do NOT mess this up.

  “Computer, disengage docking locks, start engines, and display speed,” he said, ignoring a fresh wave of anxiety.

  “Affirmative. Ready to launch, John Riley,” replied the computer. The Privateer hummed with energy.

  From the corner of his eye, John saw a movement. He glanced round to see Kaal holding out three fingers – the Derrilian thumbs up, John had learned. In reply, John mimed wiping sweat from his forehead.

  Ahead, the bay doors slid open noiselessly.

  Jegger’s voice filled the craft: “Ms Vartexia, would you lead? The headmaster will bring up the rear.”

  “Certainly, sergeant.”

  John watched in disbelief as the Elvian teacher’s craft swooped smoothly out into space. Ms Vartexia, it seemed, had hidden talents.

  One by one the ships took off, some wobbling a little, but all successfully joining Ms Vartexia’s ship. When John’s turn came, he tried to remember how he had felt during the examination. “You are a part of the machine,” he muttered to himself, touching the controls. The Privateer lifted from the deck. He moved his fingers. “Computer, match velocity of Hyperspace High plus fifty,” he said, as the ship zoomed through the open bay door.

  “Velocity plus fifty.”

  Gently, John turned the craft so that it was heading along the same course as Hyperspace High and fell in with the small queue of waiting ships.

  “Launch successful,” said the computer.

  John looked around. Taking up most of the view was the vast, elegant bulk of Hyperspace High, glittering with thousands of viewing windows. Like mosquitoes flying alongside an eagle, he thought to himself.

  The headmaster’s voice broke in on his thoughts. “All ships away. Thank you, sergeant. I’ll take them from here.”

  “Jegger signing off. Safe trip.”

  “Initiate LightFast engines and set course for Archivus Major,” the headmaster told the small fleet.

  “Computer: display astrometric location, initiate hyperspace engines, and set course for Archivus Major,” John ordered.

  Complicated readings appeared on the ship’s shell to the right of John’s view, along with a detailed diagram of Archivus Major.

  “Coordinates laid in, ready to jump,” the computer told him.

  “On my mark,” said Lorem. “In three, two, one... mark.”

  “Initiate jump.” John was scarcely able to breathe with excitement.

  Instantly, the small spaceship leaped forward. From the sci-fi movies he’d seen, John expected that a leap to faster-than-light speed would mean all the stars streaming towards him at once, while G-force pressed him back in his seat. In reality, there was a lurching feeling of suddenly reaching a great speed. Hyperspace High disappeared in a blink. Then everything was almost disappointingly normal. Stars passed by – that much was true – but there were no special effects. John had asked Kaal about it once and had been answered with a bewildering speech about dampening fields, quantum astrophysics, and differential drives. John hadn’t understood a word of it.

  “All present and correct, Ms Vartexia,” the headmaster’s voice said. “Arrival at Archivus Major in three hours and eight minutes. Students, you may now activate communication relays and talk among yourselves.”

  Kaal’s voice came through the ship’s intercom immediately. “You get a great view from the cockpit of a Privateer, don’t you?” he said.

  John had to agree. In most of the ships he’d flown in, he’d only been able to look through windows. But since the Xi-Class Privateer’s whole shell was clear, it felt like he was floating through space. John felt himself relaxing as he looked around with new wonder. Not for the first time, he had to remind himself that this was no dream. He really was piloting a spaceship through the galaxy hundreds of light years from his own world.

  “You can magnify stuff, too,” Emmie chipped in, as they passed through a solar system. “Take a closer look at the planet to the left.”

  “Computer: magnify view of the planet at coordinates seventeen point six point zero zero two... Wow.” John gawped in wonder as a view of the planet’s surface appeared on the ship’s skin. A vast ocean of skyscraper-tall waves was being lashed by a hurricane. Here and there great spouts of water whirled into the planet’s upper atmosphere.

  “Hey, magnify twenty-three point nine point three zero four,” Kaal interrupted.

  John gave the command. A new view filled his screen: a spaceship shaped like an enormous disc and blazing with light. Through a clear dome, similar to Hyperspace High’s, John glimpsed blue water lined with sandy beaches and lush greenery.

  “Yarvene pleasure cruiser,” Kaal told him. “Very, very expensive way to get around the galaxy.”

  Lishtig’s voice broke into the conversation. “Guys, have you seen the huuuuge mining ship? Mordant says it’s one of his dad’s mallux prospectors. No wonder his family’s so rich.”

  Within minutes, every spaceship was connected. With the exception of Mordant, who was still sulking about missing the Vapourball Championship, the Hyperspace High students chatted happily to one another as the fleet of
Privateers powered through space. Now and then, the headmaster and Ms Vartexia chipped in with interesting facts and information about planets they were passing. Every half hour, John’s computer gave a status update. The ships were crossing light years in less time than it took to drive across his home town during rush hour.

  “Now approaching Archivus Major,” the computer reported eventually. “Dropping out of hyperspace. Landing procedures initiated. Prepare for return to manual.”

  “Affirmative. Return to manual.” Ahead was the planet that John had last seen on the 3-D screens in Ms Vartexia’s classroom. In orbit around it was a network of security satellites, each – John knew – heavily armed to prevent unauthorized landings on the planet.

  “Formation alpha twelve,” Lorem’s voice commanded briskly. “Take positions. We’ll be landing one at a time. Each craft will be escorted in by Omega-bots. Do not be alarmed when you see them. Take it slow and remember what Sergeant Jegger taught you.”

  Gritting his teeth, John took the controls again, his anxiety returning. Take-off was always nerve-wracking, but landing was harder, and this time he wasn’t making a simple approach to the hangar deck of Hyperspace High. This time he would be entering the atmosphere of a strange planet and landing at an unfamiliar docking port.

  In an instant, the Privateer’s cockpit was filled with bright yellow light, flashing from the nearest satellite. John covered his eyes in confusion.

  “The DNA scan,” the headmaster said reassuringly. “It will be over soon.”

  As Lorem had predicted, the light blinked off two seconds later. John watched as Ms Vartexia’s ship peeled and dived towards the planet below. His palms felt sweaty in the SecondSkin gloves. As the planet revolved beneath him, John caught himself wondering what he would be doing if he had returned to Earth and gone to Wortham Court.

  Nothing as exciting as this.

  Lorem’s voice announced, “John Riley, you’re clear to land.”

  “Computer, display docking guides.” Data appeared on the screen, and the landing beacon flashed in the centre. “Here we go,” John muttered, as his fingers moved across the touchpads. The Privateer turned slightly, lining up with the docking sight. John dropped the craft’s nose and dived towards the planet.

  The small spaceship shook as it hit the atmosphere. Clouds streamed by, cutting visibility to zero. With only the indicators on the ship’s shell to guide him, John felt panic rising.

  Too fast, too fast!

  He was through the clouds. Beneath, land was rushing up to meet him: a patchwork of different environments and sprawling building complexes. Outside, something moved to take position by the window.

  John turned his head and looked straight down the barrel of a gun.

  Chapter 7

  Two metres from the ship, a bulky machine – at least three metres tall – was keeping perfect pace with John’s Privateer. Its eight arms each held a heavy warp gun. From what little he had learned of galactic weapons, John knew that just one was more than capable of reducing the Privateer to atomic particles, and currently two were pointing directly at him.

  His jaw dropped open inside the helmet. He tried to shout but nothing came out of his mouth.

  Somewhere in the back of his mind a small voice told him to stop staring at the machine and to concentrate on landing.

  With effort, he returned his attention the ground. The dock was just ahead. He could see students milling around their landed ships already. John suddenly realized that in the shock of seeing the Omega-bot, he’d forgotten to cut the speed.

  I’m coming in too fast! he screamed in his head. I’m going to crash. I’m going to CRASH!

  Terrified, John squeezed his eyes shut. “Believe in yourself.” Zepp’s words echoed in John’s head. He opened his eyes.

  No. I’m not going to crash. Not today.

  Seconds away from smashing into the landing pad, a look of grim determination crossed John’s face. Moving over the touchpad skilfully, his right hand brought the front of the Privateer up. His left reduced the speed quickly but smoothly.

  Still too fast. Too late now...

  Numbers flickered on the shell screen by his head: twenty-five metres from the ground, fifteen, ten, five.

  The Privateer landed with the lightest of bumps.

  “Awesome landing, John. Don’t know why you were so worried about the examination.”

  John blinked as Emmie’s voice came through the craft’s intercom. He stared wildly about him, hardly daring to believe that he had landed safely. Yet the ship was resting on the landing strip, neatly at the end of a row. Somehow he had managed to land without killing himself, or anyone else.

  Believe in yourself.

  “Maybe,” he whispered. “Or maybe it was luck. Don’t start getting cocky just yet, Riley.”

  Beside him, another Privateer landed, bouncing and skidding to a halt a good distance from where it was supposed to be. Seconds later, Kaal clambered out, shaking his head.

  Leaning back in his seat, John felt a grin of relief spread across his face. He was alive. And even if it had been luck rather than skill, he had still made a landing good enough to impress Emmie. “Computer,” he said. “Engage docking protocols, shut down engines, and let me out of here.”

  “Affirmative, John Riley.”

  Jumping out of the craft, John pulled off his helmet, running a hand through his mop of blond hair as he walked over to the gaggle of students thronging around Ms Vartexia. Behind, four Omega-bots stood guard, watching every movement through glowing green electronic eyes, warp guns held ready. Telling himself the machines were there to guard the exhibits, not to execute visitors, John tried to ignore them.

  The Elvian teacher was trying to keep order, but no one was listening. Around her, backs were slapped; hands, tentacles, and claws smacked together in high-fives. Mordant, John noticed, was standing on the edge of the group with only G-Vez buzzing around his shoulders.

  “A superb landing, young master,” the droid droned, sounding quite unimpressed. As no one else was congratulating Mordant, it extended a small arm for a brief high-five.

  “Very cool moves, John!” Emmie yelled, as John approached. “Shame Jegger didn’t see you: he’d be proud.”

  “Don’t you dare tell him about my landing,” said Kaal, jogging across the landing pad to join them. “He’ll never let me in a spaceship again.”

  “It wasn’t that bad,” laughed Emmie. “Bareon’s was worse; wasn’t it, Bareon?”

  “I hardly touched Queelin’s ship,” Bareon snapped.

  “It didn’t feel like that from the inside!” Queelin shouted back, her antennae twitching furiously. “I was thrown halfway across the dock.”

  “You were lucky the whole dock isn’t a smoking crater in the ground,” said John, seriously. “I totally freaked out when I saw the Omega-bot flying next to me. Thought I was going to crash.”

  “Here we all are then, safe and sound,” the headmaster cut in brightly, as he climbed out of his own Privateer. “Such a beautiful day, too.”

  John realized that he was squinting and that his skin felt pleasantly warm. For the first time since he had left Earth, he could feel a sun’s rays on his face, the warmth of a star halfway across the galaxy from his own. Looking up, he saw white clouds drifting across a blue sky. In the distance snowy mountain peaks glittered in the sunlight. Further down, waterfalls of melting snow poured through a thick jungle. Not far from the docking port was a wide lake. John’s grin returned, along with the holiday feeling he’d had in the changing room at Hyperspace High. Archivus Major was a beautiful planet.

  “As we only have two days and a whole world of wonders to see, I suggest we get started immediately,” Lorem continued, rubbing his hands together in glee. “We’ll walk to the Mars Dust Storm exhibit. This should be of special interest to you, John. Mars, as you know, is you
r own planet’s closest neighbour.”

  * * *

  “Mars!” Ms Varexia called out. “One of the galaxy’s most interesting worlds. Despite the planet’s hostile environment, its people achieved hyperspace technology very quickly and led the way in forming the first Galactic Council.”

  The group walked across a bridge that looked like it was made from glass, followed by the ever-present Omega-bots. Already, John was finding it easier to ignore the menacing, silent machines. They were quickly becoming part of the scenery. Ahead stood a massive, box-like grey building. “Obviously, none of us are Martians, so we will have to wear protective suits,” Ms Vartexia continued, with a sharp look at John.

  He smiled, remembering the only reason he was at Hyperspace High was because she had mistaken him for a Martian prince.

  “What is this place?” he asked Kaal a few minutes later, while they both pulled white all-in-one suits with facemasks over their SecondSkins.

  Every student had been issued with a ThinScreen guide at the dock, and Kaal was currently flicking through his.

  “It says here that Mars Dust Storm exactly simulates the conditions on Mars forty million years ago,” the Derrilian replied. “It’s supposed to give visitors an idea of how hard it must have been for the Martians to build a civilization.”

  “Forty million years ago? Human beings only evolved about a quarter of a million years ago.”

  Kaal looked down at him. “That explains a lot,” he grinned.

  John punched his friend on the shoulder. “At least we can land spaceships properly,” he shot back.

  A few minutes later, the two of them lined up with the class in the main hall of Mars Dust Storm. Before them was a desert of red sand and craggy rocks. Dotted here and there were pyramids that Ms Vartexia told them had been towns and cities in the days before the Martian people had created new homes deep beneath the ground. Above, a vast ceiling screen showed a 3-D scene of dark skies and swirling cloud. The sun – My sun, John thought – looked small and weak.