Crash Landing (7 page)

“There you are,” said Kaal, flapping his wings as the library door slid open. “Zepp said you’d be here. We’ve been waiting for
ever
.”

“Five minutes, at least,” Emmie Tarz added. She was sitting on a desk, swinging her legs and looking around the library with interest. “You know,” she said, “I didn’t realize Hyperspace High even
had
a library.”

“That’s no big surprise,” snorted Kaal.

Emmie turned to him with a glint in her eye. “Hey, what’s
that
supposed to mean?”

“Well, you’re not a library kind of girl are you, Tarz?” grinned Kaal.

“And when was the last time you were up here, Mister Brainbox?” Emmie shot back.

“Hi,” interrupted John, looking from the big Derrilian to Emmie. “Did you want something or did you just come up here to argue?”

“We wanted something,” answered Kaal. “You tell him, Emmie.”

Pushing a strand of hair behind her slightly pointed ears and giving John another dazzling smile, Emmie said, “I didn’t get to say thanks properly for helping me in Galactic Geography.”

“There’s no need to—”

“Shut up, I haven’t finished yet,” said Emmie, switching her smile to a stern look in an instant. “Also, you’ve been on your own up here all week, studying.” She made a face. “Yuck. So we’ve organized a treat for you.”

“That’s really kind of you, but I’ve got to finish—”

“No, you haven’t,” Zepp cut in. “There’s no history lesson tomorrow. It can wait.”

“You see,” said Kaal, “No excuses. You’ve been stuck up here being boring all week. We’d started to forget what you look like. So now it’s time for some fun. Emmie’s spoken to Sergeant Jegger and—”

“And he’s letting me take out a Star Racer for two hours,” finished Emmie proudly. “First years aren’t supposed to, but he said I’m an
exceptional
pilot.”

“What’s a Star Racer?” asked John, as he looked from Emmie’s bright, excited eyes to Kaal’s grin.

* * *

“
This
is a Star Racer,” announced Emmie, as they stepped out of a TravelTube and onto the hangar deck.

John felt his jaw sag open. In the middle of the deck a spaceship was waiting. A spaceship that looked as though it had been built for speed. Long and sleek and shining beneath the lights of the hangar, it was much larger than the t-darts that John was now getting used to. Behind the cockpit the ship looked like it was one big engine.

Noticing John’s stare, Emmie said, “It’s a small version of Hyperspace High’s engine. “Very,
very
fast,” she added.

“Come on, then,” said Kaal impatiently, ducking under one of the ship’s stubby wings. “I’ll drive.”

“You will NOT!” Emmie yelled, running for the boarding steps.

The engine was already thrumming by the time John sank into the seat next to Emmie’s and pulled a harness over his shoulders. The cockpit lid closed and locked above his head. “OK,” he heard her whisper, “Let’s see what you’ve got.” Flicking a switch on the control panel in front of her, she said loudly, “Pre-flight checks complete, sergeant. Ready to fly.”

Jegger’s voice rang through the cockpit. “You’re clear, Tarz. Two hours. Not a second longer.”

“Yes-sir.”

Ahead, huge bay doors slid back. Emmie nudged the stick between her knees and the Star Racer’s engines throbbed. With the flick of another switch, the ship began moving forward.

“Ready?” Emmie asked.

“Ready,” answered John.

“Get a move on, Tarz,” grinned Kaal.

“You asked for it.” Emmie pushed the control stick forward again. Behind John, the engine noise increased to a roar. The ship leaped forward, sweeping out into space. “
Yeehah
!” Emmie said, twisting the stick. The Star Racer rolled, spinning its passengers like a washing machine.

“That will do, Tarz,” said Jegger. “
Sensible
flying. I want her back in one piece.”

“No problem, sir. See you in two hours,” replied Emmie pushing the stick again. With jets burning, the ship plunged forward. Turning her head, Emmie asked, “Ever been through a nebula?” She smiled as John shook his head. “You’re going to like this, then. Engaging hyperdrive in three, two, one...”

Stars streamed by as the Star Racer flashed through space, engines now pulsing quietly. Ahead, John saw a vast cloud of pink and yellow. It was shaped like a dragon in flight and glowed with a billion lights.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” whispered Kaal. “Nebulae are where stars are born. Planets, too.”

“I-It’s amazing,” John stuttered, as they plunged into the glowing cloud. Space lit up like shining candyfloss.
I am
, he reminded himself,
the first human being ever to see this
. It was a awe-inspiring moment; a moment that would have been more awe-inspiring still if Kaal hadn’t been yelling, “Come on, Emmie! Faster! You pilot like a little old
Wussian,” next to him.

Zepp’s voice cut in. “Ms Tarz, if you take your ship eighteen degrees mark eight point two-two-five, you will find a new solar system forming. Be careful, there is a lot of asteroid activity in the area.”

Like Kaal, Emmie had started speaking more politely to the ship’s computer since John had told her its name. “Will do. Thanks, Zepp,” she said, changing course.

A few moments later, Emmie swerved the ship around a lump of rock and ice the size of a skyscraper that was spinning through space. In the distance, a star burned bigger and brighter than the thousands of others John could see. It didn’t hold his attention for long. “What’s that?” he asked excitedly, pointing out of the viewing window at a great ball of swirling gas.

“You’ve seen me in Galactic Geography, right?” said Emmie with a shrug. “Ask Kaal.”

“I think it’s a baby gas planet,”said Kaal slowly. “By the time it’s fully formed, it will be four or five hundred times the size of your Earth. Look, it’s got bands of different colours already. Belt-zone circulation, Tarz,” he finished with a grin.

“Ugh, don’t remind me of Graal,” groaned Emmie. “Let’s go further in.” She pulled the ship around another huge asteroid.

“Another planet,” said Kaal, pointing. Through the window, the star was now so big that John thought it must be a sun. His gaze followed Kaal’s pointing finger. Hanging in space to one side of the ship, lit up by the sun’s light, was a vast ball of molten rock, glowing red.

“Wow,” he whispered. Emmie swerved the ship to skim past for a better view. As John watched, a massive asteroid hurtled into the new planet, throwing up a huge spout of lava that collapsed slowly back. “That is totally the coolest thing I have ever seen.
Ever
,” he said.

“Incredible, isn’t it?” whispered Kaal. “One day, that planet will probably have land and oceans. It might evolve life.”

“Well, this has been fun, but I feel the need for speed,” giggled Emmie, flipping the Star Racer and dodging past more asteroids towards clear space. “John, Jegger said that your piloting has really improved. Do you want to take the controls?”

“Let me think about that... errr...
YES
. Too right I do. But what about you? Don’t you want to pilot?”

“I’ll do it next time,” shrugged Emmie. “This is
your
treat.”

They swapped seats. “The controls are similar to the t-dart’s,” Emmie explained, leaning over him. And the sensors say there’s only clear space ahead, so you don’t have to worry about hitting anything.”

Glancing round at Emmie and Kaal, John chuckled and asked, “Did someone ask for speed?” Without waiting for an answer, he reached out, punched the panel up to one hundred, and threw the control stick forward. The engine roared.

“
Wooooooah
!” John yelled as the craft blasted forward. “This is
awesome
!”

“I told you I’d give you a treat,” Emmie shouted back. “Think it can go any faster?”

“Only one way to find out,” said John, reaching for the “Accelerate boost” panel. “
Ooooooh wooooow...
”

Burning through space in this racer among stars that no other human would ever see, John’s earlier worries slipped away. Whatever else happened on Hyperspace High, he decided, it was all worth it for this single moment. It didn’t matter if he came bottom in every class, or if every teacher hated him; he would happily go through all that and worse to feel the controls of a faster-than-light spaceship in his hands as he soared through space.

For a moment, John thought about joining the Starfighter Corps, like Sergeant Jegger. Then he would be able to do this every day. With a jolt, he remembered that within a few weeks he would be leaving Hyperspace High and returning to Earth. The closest he would come to this feeling again would be flying spacecraft in computer games.

“Two hours is up in ten minutes,” said Emmie at last, interrupting his thoughts. “Better head back.”

“Thanks, Emmie. Thanks, Kaal,” John panted as he brought the speed down and unfastened his harness. “That was the most fun I’ve ever had. The best present anyone has ever given me.”

“Oh, shut up,” said Kaal, looking away shyly. “It was nothing.”

“Jegger’s right,” said Emmie. “You’re a natural pilot. Bit more practice and you could be pretty good.”

As Emmie took her seat and steered the racer back to Hyperspace High, John looked from her to Kaal.
Yeah
, he thought,
I’ve made some friends. Some really excellent friends.

John raced along the corridor. The first lesson of the day was Galactic Geography and he wanted to go over his notes one more time before Doctor Graal arrived. As he ran, he repeated to himself some of the facts he had learnt with Zepp over the last week. “The longest river in the galaxy is Great Fluvia on planet Arnis. The tallest mountain is Mount Gijian on Hult-Gorath, named after the planet’s twelfth king—”

“Galactic Geography. Fascinating subject,” said a voice alongside him.

John skidded to a halt as a flashing ball of light burst into the shape of the headmaster. “Good morning, sir,” he panted.

“And a good morning to you, John Riley,” replied the headmaster brightly. “Here’s a nugget of information for you: Last month the Churl discovered a small, uninhabited planet in the Delta Region. Very dull, of no real interest to anyone. They named its five continents: Klist, Andarus, Jax North, Jax South, and Korus.”

“Klist, Andarus, Jax North, Jax South, and Korus,” John repeated, confused. “Right. Thank you, sir.”

“
Excellent
. But I don’t wish to make you late, let us walk together,” Lorem continued, striding off down the corridor, smiling and nodding to passing students.

“I want to congratulate you on making such a great effort in the time you’ve been with us,” the headmaster said as John caught up. “The computer, or Zepp, as it now likes to be called” – he flashed John a smile – “tells me that you have worked hard. Several teachers say you made good progress considering the subjects were completely new to you. You have a natural gift for mathematics and Sergeant Jegger thinks you could be a superb pilot.”

Blushing, John said, “Well, the classes are a lot more interesting than back on Earth. Some of them, anyway,” he added truthfully. Pausing for a moment, it dawned on him that Lorem had used the past tense. “Hey, hang on,” he blurted. “You said ‘in the time you’ve been with us’ but it’s weeks before we get to Earth. You’re not going to throw me out an airlock again, are you?”

“Goodness, no,” Lorem replied with a chuckle. Changing the subject abruptly, he continued. “Let me tell you about seeing the future, John Riley. Sometimes it is crystal clear. At other times, clouded. There are often a number of different possibilities, any one of which might or might not happen.”

“I see,” said John, wondering why Lorem was telling him this.

“You are wondering why I am telling you this.”

John’s eyes widened in surprise.

The headmaster chuckled. “A lucky guess, I’m not a mind reader.”

“Well, yes, I was thinking that,” John admitted.

“Something that I hoped would not happen
has
happened,” the headmaster sighed. “A star recently went supernova in the sector of the galaxy into which we were heading.” He waved his hand, as if answering a question that John hadn’t asked. “That’s not a big problem, it happens all the time, but it was in a heavy star cluster and set off a chain reaction. So far, more than a thousand stars have exploded and more will follow. There is now a possibility that a supermassive black hole will form.”

John had no idea what a supermassive black hole was, but it sounded bad. “Is anyone in any danger?” he asked.

“There are no populated planets in the region, and there’s no real danger to the ship, either. But to be on the safe side, I’ve ordered a change of course.”

“How does that affect me?”

“It means that we will be passing close to Earth much sooner than expected,” Lorem explained. “So we will be able to take you home the day after tomorrow.”

“Oh,” said John, taken aback. “That’s... uh... that’s great. Thank you for telling me, headmaster.” He blinked. The news should have made him happy, but for some reason it didn’t. He would miss Kaal and Emmie, he realized, and flying t-darts. It was unlikely that he would ever fly a spaceship again.

“What is it, John?” asked Lorem quietly, stopping and turning to look at him closely.

John frowned, “Everything will be back to normal again,” he said, frowning. “But I was just getting used to everything
not
being normal. That is, it’s been difficult finding my feet on Hyperspace High and I’ve missed home, but in the last week I’ve seen things and done things that no one from my planet could even imagine.” John looked down at his feet. “It will be hard to give that up. I’m afraid that after Hyperspace High, school on Earth is going to seem a bit boring.”

“In that case, John Riley,” Lorem said softly, “You will be pleased to know that Hyperspace High still has an adventure in store for you before we reach Earth.” He held up a hand as John began to question him. “It is
very
clouded,” he said firmly. “I honestly cannot tell exactly what will happen. And even if I knew, telling you might change the course of events in a way that would not end well for you.”

“So is this goodbye, headmaster?” said John sadly.

“It is goodbye... for now,” Lorem answered, as he twinkled into a ball of light. “Now, you have a class, I believe.” Leaving John standing in the corridor, the ball of light shot away and disappeared through a wall.

* * *

“Rantoo-styl-Agabo,” snapped Doctor Graal in her blubbery voice. “What name do we give to a forested world?”

John doodled on his ThinScreen. Graal, it seemed, liked quizzes. It gave her a chance to heap praise on her favourites and ridicule the students she didn’t like. So far she had avoided him, Emmie, and Kaal, so he didn’t much care. He would be going home in two days anyway. Whatever Doctor Graal thought of him, it didn’t matter now.

“An
arboreal
planet,” replied Rantoo quickly, her eyes weaving at the end of long stalks.

“Correct. Well done. Flar Hannick, which planet is home to the Shem Ice Caves?”

“Stalica Six, Doctor Graal.”

“Incorrect,” the teacher belched. “It is Stalica Five. Study harder. One point deducted from your essay mark...”

As the doctor’s questions continued, John’s mind drifted. He was going home. That meant he would be going to Wortham Court first or his parents would find out that he had never been there. His stomach sank as he realized he would have to settle in to a new school all over again. Glancing at Kaal and Emmie on either side of him, he wondered if he would make such good friends again.
Probably not
.

“...Correct again! Excellent, Mordant. I wish other students would follow your example. Now, John Riley, what is the name of Hella Minor’s moon?”

With a start, John’s attention snapped back to the octopus-like teacher. “Er—” he said.

“Just as I thought,” sneered Graal. “If the question isn’t about your own backward little planet, you haven’t got a clue.”

John scowled. For a moment he thought about telling Doctor Graal where she could stick her stupid quiz. In two days he would never see her again. But that, he decided, would just make her even even more unbearable. Plus, he didn’t want to spend his last two days in detention. “Glaymus,” he remembered just in time. “Hella Minor’s moon is called Glaymus.”

The doctor spluttered, reeling back on her tentacles. “Y-yes. Glaymus. Correct. Perhaps you could tell the class what caused the triple planet of Alias-Kush-Mirian to form.”

John racked his brain. He had read about Alias-Kush-Mirian a few days earlier, but he had read so much it was difficult to remember every detail.

“The answer, John Riley?” Graal pressed.

“An enormous meteor strike split the planet into three smaller ones,” John blurted.

“Correct. Why is Kush such an important planet?” Graal asked.

Kaal’s hand shot up, his wings rustled angrily. “Can you ask the rest of us some questions, Doctor Graal?”

“Silence!” Graal roared in reply. “I am the teacher here. I will question whomever I like. I am waiting, Mister Riley.”

John stared at her in silence for a moment, thinking back to his study sessions with Zepp. Then he quietly said, “It has large deposits of the rare metal mallux, used in making spaceships.”

Graal slobbered venemously. Drool ran from her mouth. “Correct,” she muttered bitterly.

Another question followed. Then another. John sat straighter, arms on the desk before him as he answered each with growing confidence. The hours spent staring at a screen in the library were paying off.

“You seem to have picked up a few simple facts,” said Graal eventually. “No more than I would expect from a small child on any
civilized
planet, but quite impressive for your species, I suppose.”

John smiled thinly at her. “Thank you, Doctor Graal,” he said coldly. He refused to get angry.

“One final question,” continued the teacher. “A question more suited to a class at this level.” Drawing a noisy breath, she sneered, “If I remember correctly, you enjoy naming continents. Please tell us the names of the five continents on the new planet recently discovered by the Churl in the Delta Region.”

“That’s not
fair
!” shouted Emmie suddenly, already halfway out of her seat. “No one knows that. It was only discovered last month. It’s not in any of the textbooks. I only heard about it because my father—”

“You will
sit down,
Tarz,” Graal howled. Turning back to John, she said, “Well, Mister Riley?” with triumph in her voice.

John’s remembered what Lorem had told him. Silently, he thanked the headmaster. For a moment, he stared at the teacher. Then he smiled. “The continents are called Klist, Andarus, Jax North, Jax South, and Korus, Doctor Graal,” he said politely.

“
Yessss
,” he heard Kaal and Emmie hiss together under their breath. John didn’t dare look at them in case he started laughing.

“That is the end of the quiz,” said Graal, without even bothering to tell the class that John had answered correctly.

“That was
brilliant
,” Kaal whispered across the desk. “How did you know
that
?”

“Tell you later,” John whispered back.

“Silence!” Graal shouted again, glaring at them. “Now, I have some important news,” she continued. “You may have heard that the ship has changed course. We are now headed in a direction that will take us close to the planet Zirion Beta. Mordant, perhaps you could tell us what is interesting about Zirion Beta.”

“Zirion Beta is completely covered with volcanoes, Doctor Graal,” answered Mordant with a smirk.

“Very good, Mordant. An extra mark for your essay.” Staring around at the rest of the class, she continued, “As Mordant says, Zirion Beta is a highly volcanic planet. Once every seven hundred and seventy-three years, all of its volcanoes erupt at exactly the same time – an event known as the Mega-Eruption. Luckily for us, the Mega-Eruption is due tomorrow, so I have arranged a field trip. You will all be joining me to watch one of the most spectacular sights in the universe from a shuttle orbiting Zirion Beta.”

As an excited murmur spread around the class, John groaned quietly. Tomorrow he would see one of the most spectacular sights in the universe. But after that, it would all be over. He would be back home. Emmie, Kaal, and Hyperspace High would be a distant memory – one he couldn’t tell anyone about. Ever.