The Academy (2 page)

“I don’t know, Kristina…” He shook his head. “Do you really think you could pull off such a scheme?”

“I
know
I could,” I said firmly. I pulled him over to the wall and placed us both before the large, oval antique mirror on the sitting room wall. “Look,” I said, nodding at our reflections in the silvered glass. “Everyone is always saying how much we look alike—I can even wear your clothes. You’re only an inch or two taller than I and your shoulders aren’t that much broader.”

It was quite true. Both my brother and I had our mother’s slender build and our father’s dark brown eyes. We had the same pale skin and delicate features and if Kristopher’s hair was a little lighter than my own blue-black tresses, the difference was only noticeable to ourselves. To outsiders we looked enough alike to be identical twins instead of fraternal—providing we were dressed alike, of course.

Kristopher gave me a look. “Thank you, dear sister,” he said sourly. “For reminding me of what a runt I am.”

“But a
talented
runt,” I said, grinning at him. “And I don’t intend to let you waste that talent on something as boring as flying among the stars.”

“Especially when you’d rather be doing it yourself.” Kristopher tweaked my nose affectionately. “I still don’t know, though. What about your chest?”

I looked down at my breasts—so small they barely made two bumps, like under-ripe peaches under my bodice. “I don’t think it should be a problem. But I’ll bind myself with bandages to be on the safe side.” I looked at our reflections again. “I’ll have to cut my hair of course.” Gathering my heavy waves of ebony hair, I pulled them away from my face and studied myself critically. “Yes, I think with a nice short cut and some of your breeches I should be able to pass myself off as you with no problem.”

“But if we’re caught…” My brother took me by the shoulders and looked at me earnestly. “I can’t let you, Kris. The penalty for fraud is court-martial and imprisonment. Not to mention what Father would do to the both of us.”

“He’d send me to a convent,” I said coolly. “Which is still better than marrying some ugly old man I don’t love. As for you…”

“I’d be disowned, I’m sure,” Kristopher said. “Probably wind up playing on the street corner for money.”

“No, you won’t,” I said, lifting my chin. “You’re going to get that seat in the orchestra. And
I
am going to learn to pilot a starship. By the time we’re found out, you’ll have a musical career well underway and I’ll have the skills to apply for work in the private sector.”

“The private sector? You’d want to work there, with all the pirates and thieves?” Kristopher looked at me doubtfully.

“At least they don’t turn up their noses at a woman pilot,” I pointed out. “You know, your history tutor was telling me just the other day that women had many more rights and privileges on Earth-that-was. It’s only because of the Near Extinction when so many women died out the entire human race was in jeopardy, that we lost them. The Female Protection Law that was enacted during the move to space was originally meant to preserve us but now it binds us too tightly. I don’t think it’s right that we’re treated as second class citizens simply because we’re a bit smaller than men. We’re every bit as smart and resourceful, you know.”

“Or in your case, smarter.” Kristopher caught me in his arms and held me tight. “My brilliant sister,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “Are you really willing to take this risk for me?”

I closed my eyes and thought about the risks—court marshal, disgrace, imprisonment, and of course, dishonor to the family name which was all my father would really care about. Then I thought of the alternative—spending my life locked away in some dreary mansion with a crusty old man and his squalling brats. Really, there was no contest.

I returned my brother’s hug. “Absolutely,” I said. “Let’s do it.”

The Royal Academy was located on Ares, the fourth moon of Zeus, which was the sixth planet in our solar system. When humans left Earth-that-was because the sun was dying, they searched long and hard before finding another system that would support life. Two of the six planets were in the habitable zone around the medium-sized yellow star we called Prometheus. One was covered in liquid methane and the other was a huge gas giant with rings, much like the planet Saturn from our first solar home. Luckily, both of them had many habitable moons. This was where humanity had settled after their long voyage, strung out along the ring of moons like pearls on a chain.

My home and Kristopher’s was located on Dianna, the third moon of Hera, the methane planet. The journey on the inter-system shuttle to Ares took most of the morning but I didn’t mind. I watched with interest as the pilot boarded the shuttle and entered his secured compartment. I couldn’t understand the bored look on his face. Flying from one moon to another was exciting—Kristopher and I had only ever been to another moon once when our father took us to a show on Gaia for our twelfth birthday.
This is what I want,
I thought, looking though the clear plastiglass window which showed the vast ringed side of Zeus looming near.
To fly, to explore, to be free. And if this is the only way to do it, I’ll take my chances.

I looked at my reflection in the window and ran my fingers through my newly shortened mane. Kristopher had actually shed a few tears as he cut it—he loved my long hair and was sorry to see it go. Much sorrier than I was. Afterward he folded the heavy, blue-black length carefully and stored it in a small box under his bed.

“Why are you keeping that?” I had asked him, frowning. It seemed a pointless gesture.

Kristopher shrugged, his cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. “It smells like you—you always smell of flowers. Flowers and apples and sunshine.”

“Flowers and apples and sunshine?” I had burst out laughing. “Truly?”

Kristopher nodded. “I shall miss that scent. And your laugh. And the way you can always jolly me out of a bad mood. Oh, Kristina, I shall miss
you.”

“I shall miss you too.” My voice had trembled as I realized we were saying our goodbyes. We were going to be parted for the first time in our lives. And not for an hour or a day but for months and months. How could I bear to be apart from my brother and best friend so long?

The scene had gotten tearful on both sides at that point. Turning away from the window, I decided it was best not to remember. Still, when I blinked, droplets of moisture clung to my eyelashes. Angrily, I pressed my sleeve—the sleeve of one of Kristopher’s old jackets—to my eyes. It wouldn’t do to start my new life like this. I had to be strong,
masculine.
Though I hadn’t been around many men in my life, I knew enough of them to know that they would take me for weak and girly if I cried. And that could be my downfall.

No crying,
I told myself sternly as the shuttle docked and the passengers around me rose and gathered their belongings.
No crying and no going back. This is it.

Taking a deep breath, I got up and grabbed my single canvas rucksack. I hadn’t brought much—a few sets of Kristopher’s old clothes and some mementos of home. Tucked into the toe of one of my slippers was a year’s supply of flow-dots—tiny but powerful hygiene items which could be inserted to absorb an entire female monthly cycle and then disposed of discreetly. In the toe of the other slipper were some extra bandages for binding my small breasts. I was ready for anything—or so I told myself.

As for the standard issue navy blue Royal Academy uniform, I would be supplied with several as well as a pair of boots once I got to the Academy. I just hoped they had my rather diminutive size in stock.

I took an air-cab which let me out at the front gates of the Academy. The huge iron panels loomed over my small frame as though trying to intimidate me. They were covered in ornate scrollwork with the words,
Honor, Integrity, Courage
emblazoned across their front in red titanium script.

Well,
I thought, stepping up to the guard’s booth and rapping on the tiny window,
I suppose one out of three isn’t bad.
It might not be very honest or truthful of me to come here pretending to be my brother but it certainly took courage. If the guard looked too closely at the holo-pic my father had sent of Kristopher and decided it wasn’t quite right, my time at the Royal Academy would be over before it started.

But the butterflies in my stomach turned out to be all for nothing. The guard barely looked up from his vid tablet before waving me through. The massive gates creaked and yawned wide and I took the fateful steps which were the beginning of my new life.

It was surprisingly hard to walk past the gates and onto the campus which was to be my home but once I got started, I found I was able to keep on. Forgetting some of my trepidation, I looked around with interest.

It wasn’t hard to find the Administration building—it was the first large structure on the right of the gray, marbleized road as I entered the Academy’s complex. To the left were a series of red brick buildings covered in the stately black ivy native to this moon. The black leaves were shiny, reflecting the sunlight. Periodically, along the thick vines, large waxy white flowers with blood red centers bloomed—I knew from the reading I had done these were Blood and Honor Blossoms, the symbol of the Academy.

The grass covering the ground on either side of the road was deep indigo and clipped short with military precision. The sky above was a pale golden blue and Zeus loomed large on the horizon, its many rings displayed to perfection. The sun, Prometheus, was a smaller, brighter dot high above. Despite its presence in the sky, there was a faint chill in the air which made me shiver inside my borrowed jacket. Or maybe I was shivering because of the deception I was about to attempt.

Well, no point putting it off.
Taking a deep breath, I held my head high and walked quickly down the road, trying to make sure my stride was long and my arms swung free. I had to move like a man, talk like a man, eat and sleep and
think
like a man, I reminded myself. I tried to remember how my father walked and copy his decisive, masculine movements but it felt awkward after years of being schooled in the feminine graces by well-meaning nannies and governesses. I was lucky my voice was low for a girl—a natural alto. I only had to concentrate a little to deepen it to a passable imitation of a masculine tone. As for my features, they were still too delicate but my short hair went a long way toward the illusion that I was male—I hoped, anyway.

As I climbed the steps of the Administration building, I saw a group of cadets standing to one side, about halfway up. They were all wearing navy blue uniforms with the Blood and Honor Blossom emblazoned above the heart. The uniforms were crumpled and their ties were crooked but the gold braid on their shoulders let me know they were upperclassmen—fourth-form students—and the forbidding looks on their faces told me I should keep my distance.

“So what’s gonna happen?” one of them asked, sucking hard on a stumpy blue nico-stick he was holding. The cloud of smoke hanging over his head smelled like dirty socks.

“Dunno. Nothing much. Chauser knows my dad would have him sacked in a heartbeat if he rides me too hard,” answered the largest student. “Here, gimme some.” He took the nico-stick and puffed, blowing the foul smelling smoke all over. I tried not to gag and kept moving.

Their accents sounded strange to me, almost like slang. I wondered if that was the way people spoke on Ares or if it was just common to the Academy. Kristopher and I had grown up speaking much more formally but then, we had been classically trained in several different languages by his many tutors.

“Hey look at that—fresh meat,” one of them said as I walked past their group. “What are you looking at, freshie?”

I realized I had been staring at them and looked quickly down at my shoes. “Nothing,” I mumbled, hoping my voice was low enough to avoid suspicion.

“Yeah, you better keep walking,” the largest student growled. “And keep your eyes on the ground. Be a shame if you tripped, wouldn’t it.”

An oversized boot was suddenly thrust right in my path. I
did
trip, and nearly fell, only managing to save myself at the last minute with a quick jump to the next step.

“Hey!” I couldn’t keep the anger from my voice as I looked up at the bully’s face. He was big and bulky inside the navy blue uniform and his coarse brown hair was clipped very short, showing a pinkish scalp beneath. The small, piggy eyes glaring back into mine were the color of mud.

“
Hey,”
he mimicked, making his voice high and mocking. “You sound just like a girl, freshie. What’s the matter—your balls never dropped?”