Frontier: Book One - The Space Cadets (5 page)

“
Can
’
t
risk micrometeorites or other space junk penetrating a window and
killing us all,” said an attendant cheerfully as Aisha fumbled
around, trying to find a view.

“
Better settle in,” he continued.
“It
’
s going to take about an hour to an
hour-and-a-half depending on traffic.”

The Space Elevator was tethered in
the waters just south of Hawaii, at the geosynchronous orbit
distance. Because of this, it always stayed above the same spot,
which it would do even if there was no tether. Anything other than
geosynchronous orbit and the Elevator wouldn
’
t work, as the end of the cable would be moving
independently around the Earth. It would eventually get wrapped
around it like yarn in a ball.

Similarly, the Academy
’
s space station was in geosynchronous orbit, so it
wouldn
’
t appear to be above any particular
country. It maintained its UN-mandated neutrality by orbiting above
a point in the mid-Atlantic ocean, halfway between the Brazilian
coast and the African country of Gabon.

The nervous anxiety of the last
few hours was catching up on them now. Soo-Kyung was already fast
asleep, and Aisha realized that it wouldn
’
t be a bad idea to take a nap. Who knew what awaited
them in the Academy? She
’
d certainly want
to be awake to see it.

There are many reasons why we
fight in wars. Sometimes it is to defend our homes and our
families. Sometimes it is to ensure that our way of life can
continue. Sometimes it is to go to the bully and smash them in the
mouth before they can hurt someone who is defenseless. With great
power comes great responsibility, and we have been blessed with
great power. The trick is in exercising our responsibility
appropriately.

This applies not just on the
national level, but on the personal level. In everything you do, my
dear daughter, you will exercise that responsibility. Be sure that
you are wise in all things. And if you can’t be, find someone who
is, and support them with all your might...

The lights suddenly
coming
on woke Aisha from her reverie. Their transport had docked with the
space station, and passengers had already begun disembarkation. She
nudged Soo-Kyung, who woke instantly.

“
We
’
re
here.”

Still weightless, they pulled
themselves out the airlock into a long corridor. It was
featureless, but for the occasional blinking LED animation showing
them the direction they should float.

“
As if there was any other way,”
said the English boy snidely as he drifted past Aisha.

“
It
’
s to
ensure we keep moving,” said Soo-Kyung, “so we don
’
t linger and block the corridor. Not to tell us the
direction. That
’
s why it
’
s animated. Moving. Us. Like the lights.”

The boy looked
at her, hostility in his eyes. Then, realizing she was right, he
defiantly acknowledged her.
“
Well, duh. Of course
that
’
s what it
means. You really feel you have to say it out, little
girl?
”

Even weightless, he loomed over
her. Soo-Kyung, her face as blank as could be, just looked him in
the eye, saying nothing. He held her gaze for a moment, smirked and
continued floating down the corridor.

He was first to reach the airlock,
and Aisha couldn
’
t help but smile as he
struggled to open it. “It
’
s pressure
locked,” the attendant said matter-of-factly. “It won
’
t open until we close the other end.”

The boy blushed ear to ear, and
instantly glanced towards Soo-Kyung. Instead of making him squirm
further, she kept her neutral face.

She was
smart
,
that
’
s for sure. Aisha saw right through
her. By ignoring his predicament, Soo-Kyung placed the boy much
further beneath her than if she had rubbed his face in it. She
could tell that he saw it too. When he glanced in Aisha
’
s direction, she saw menace.

We
’
ll
have to watch that one.

What was it Mark Twain had said?
“Never argue with a stupid person, because they
’
ll bring you down to their level, and then beat you
with experience.”

She smiled, recognizing the
wisdom. She
’
d have to share that with
Soo-Kyung later.

Finally everyone had disembarked,
and the door on the transport side was closed. Then the door to the
station opened effortlessly, and they glided in.

They were guided to the assembly
room. Taking up an area on the outer wheel of the station, rotation
gave it a reasonably-comfortable simulation of gravity. It took
some trying to orient themselves correctly as they moved from
weightlessness into the spinning sections, and more than a few of
them fell over.

“
You
’
ll
get used to it in time,” said a kindly-looking boy, maybe three
years older. He wore a black uniform which was tight-fitting,
almost like a bodysuit. It was highlighted with some red stripes.
On his chest, his nameplate read
‘
Smith
’
and bore a Canadian
flag. He nodded at Aisha as she wobbled on her feet, taking her
first steps like a toddler, and smiled slightly. Her heart
fluttered a little as she smiled back.

“
You
’
re
blushing,” said Soo-Kyung. “Do you think he
’
s cute?”

Aisha looked back to ensure he was
out of earshot. “If I have a weakness, it
’
s for sweetness,” she whispered. “Don
’
t care for the looks as much as the heart, and
sweetness is the taste of the heart.”

“
You
’
re
such a poet!”

Aisha smiled as they continued
walking.

The assembly room was very normal
looking, a large area surrounding a raised dais.

“
I wonder if we
’
ll have a school play,” she heard someone say, and
others snickered.

When the final kid had entered, a
man in a dark uniform similar to the one Smith had worn took his
place on the stage.

“
Welcome to the International
Space Academy,” he began, looking around the audience, making sure
their eyes were on him. “You have been selected from the best and
most suitable people on the planet to come here and to learn the
skills you need for the next phase of mankind
’
s civilization.”

He stopped, taking in the room.
“Good, now that I have your attention, I want this to sink in. This
is quite unlike any other school you might have been to, and quite
unlike the videos used to tell people back home what we do. We
don
’
t call it an
Academy
for
nothing. It
’
s not a floating playground.
Military-like discipline is enforced at all times, and you are
expected to obey everything without question. Let me repeat that.
Without question
.”

A few mutters went around the
room, and eyes began to drift away from him as the murmurs
increased.

“
If you don
’
t like it, you are welcome to go
home,
”
he said
firmly.
“
But
realize that sending a shuttle back to Earth is far more expensive
than bringing you up here on the Space Elevator. That makes it a
one-way journey. Once you
’
re out, you never come back. Is
that clear?
”

A few, including Aisha
nodded.

“
I can
’
t
hear you! I said, ‘Is that clear?’”

Some shouted out
‘
Yes
’
, but still the man
wasn
’
t satisfied.

“
From now on, the first and last
word out of your mouth when you address me is
‘
Sir
’
. Now, I will ask one
more time. Is that clear?”

“
Sir, yes, Sir!”

“
Better. Now let me help you
understand one more thing. This Academy was built with discipline
in mind. The first few years of students were handpicked from the
greatest academies on the planet, and they fit right in. You, on
the other hand, are a product of
open enrollment
, a process
put in place by those liberal idiots in the U.N. who thought that
space should be an opportunity that is open to all. Most of you
have been molly coddled in your high schools. That ends
now.”

He looked around the room,
nostrils flaring, disdain in every ounce of his being. “Someday
space will be open to the average civilian, but that day is not
today. So you are here, as the type of people I do
not
want.
But I am stuck with you. So you
will
do what I order you to
do in this place. And you
will
succeed. Or, you can do
things the namby-pamby way they do them back home, and
you
’
ll find yourself on the next shuttle
out of here. If you
’
re lucky.”

His eye caught
Aisha
’
s and his
gaze dwelled on her.
“
You might think you
’
re special because
you
’
re here. None
of that counts now. It
’
s up to
you
to make yourself special from this moment onward.
Understood?
”

Aisha felt herself shouting. “Sir,
yes, Sir!”

He nodded approvingly as his gaze
continued to explore. It fell on Soo-Kyung, and his lip curled a
little, almost like a snarl. “Your link is your life in this place.
My assistants will issue them now. The link will show you the way
to your
quarters
,” the last word dripped with sarcasm.
“Follow them, and be ready for first classes at oh-six hundred
hours.”

Without another word, he turned to
leave the stage.

Aisha surprised herself as she
shouted out, “Sir?”

He turned and leered back at her.
“What is it, Cadet?”

“
Sir, we didn
’
t get your name, Sir.”

“
I know.”

“
Sir, may I please ask it,
Sir?”

Did he smile just a little?
“Initiative, eh?”

“
Sir, I think it
’
s important that I know my C.O., Sir.”

The smile grew a little bit. His
eyes met hers, searching a little.

“
Good. My name is Major
Carter.”

“
Sir, thank you, Sir.”

“
And it
’
s
good to know somebody in this group has a bit of a backbone.” He
reached out a hand, and she grasped it, firmly, the way she had
always been told to.

“
Good,” he smiled again. “Nice to
meet you, Miss Parks.”

He was gone
before she could wonder,
How did he know
my name?

A beginning is a very important
time. It lays the groundwork for everything else that follows, so
be sure that you get your beginning right. It’s much easier to
course correct when the rails are taking you in generally the right
direction. It’s easy, however, to get distracted at the start.
There may be new and exciting things, or different places and
people that divert you away from what is important. Don’t fall into
that trap. Keep your eyes on the ball always, but doubly so right
then. That way you set yourself up for success…

The link was a miraculous
little piece of technology. As they were in a closed environment,
within reach of access points to the
‘
nets
every few feet, it was part cell phone, part communicator and part
computer. Aisha had heard of them, and had seen crude replicas on
Earth, but she finally held one in her hand.

She snapped it onto her wrist and
touched the curved screen. Instantly it projected a map into the
air above it, with an arrow pointing towards her quarters. She
looked to Soo-Kyung.

“
Apparently we are roommates,”
said the Korean girl, holding her wrist near Aisha
’
s. The directions were identical.

“
What are the odds?”

“
I think that they are smaller
than you think. They
’
ve probably been
profiling us for weeks, and matched us for maximum compatibility.
As a result, it
’
s likely no mistake that
you chose the seat near mine on the shuttle, and no coincidence
that we get on very well. In hindsight, I think, it must be
obvious. Logical, even.”

“You sometimes sound like a
Vulcan.”

“A what?”

Aisha joined her first two and
last two fingers together and stretched them out in the shape of a
‘
V’
, the famous
Vulcan salute.