Frontier: Book One - The Space Cadets Read online

  David and Sebastian faced each other across the mat. Diametric opposites, David stoic and focused, Sebastian pandering to the crowd and posing.

  Brashly, he turned his back on David and gesticulated to the crowd, getting them to cheer. If nothing else, Sebastian was quite the showman.

  His eyes caught Aisha’s and he made the sign of drawing a finger across his throat. He then pointed directly at her and smiled.

  Some eyes slipped her way, but when she tried to look at them, they’d look away. Nobody wanted to be associated with Sebastian’s enemy. She tried to slip away through the crowd, but they pulled together, stopping her. Now his plan was apparent. He’d beat David, and then call her out.

  He snarled a little and turned to instantly attack David. The surprise didn’t work; David was ready for him. He parried the blow, and turned to counter. Sebastian was ready for it, and met it with a parry of his own. While David was momentarily stunned, Sebastian turned his shoulder to hit David’s jaw.

  David was rocked backwards, and Sebastian pressed the attack. David managed to hold him off, parrying with desperation. Finally, he got a counter blow, which hit Sebastian in the midriff. Sebastian grunted hard, and doubled up.

  Don’t be fooled, David, Aisha almost screamed.

  David came out of his stance and approached Sebastian. “Are you okay?”

  In a fluid flash, Sebastian turned his bo lengthways and brought it up, hard and fast, directly into David’s chin. The blow was so strong that Aisha saw David leave his feet. He was instantly out. Sebastian wasn’t taking any chances, and he swung a haymaker, connecting with the side of David’s head.

  David hit the ground, limp. His body stiffened up, his hands forming claws. Aisha ran from the crowd and dropped and cradled his head. She reached into his mouth and grabbed his tongue, to prevent him from swallowing it.

  David opened his eyes, dazed. “What--”

  “It’s okay,” she said. “You’re going to be okay.”

  She turned to the crowd. “Somebody call the infirmary!”

  “Oh look,” said Sebastian. “Someone else on my mat. I guess that means you have to fight me, Little Black Girl.”

  He tossed her the bo.

  “Or are you afraid of your superiors? There’s no shame in running back to your little hole.”

  “He needs help!”

  “No, little girl,” snarled Sebastian. “You do.”

  Even though she was still kneeling, cradling David’s head, Sebastian swung at her. She ducked, but it wasn’t enough to make him miss completely. The blow was like a bright light, and she fell sideways, still cradling David’s head.

  “Nicely done,” mocked Sebastian, “but there’s no second-time lucky.”

  He lifted to swing again, but before he could hit her, Aisha heard a voice.

  “No!”

  A half-smile appeared on Sebastian’s face. Patrice walked out of the crowd onto the mat.

  “Enough,” he said. “David needs help. And I am not going to let you just hit an unarmed girl.”

  “The arm is right there. She can pick it up if she wants,” mocked Sebastian.

  “No,” said Patrice, evenly. “Not today. This fight is over. Step aside.”

  “No way,” snarled Sebastian. “And you know the rule. Step onto the mat, and you have to win it.”

  He tossed his Bo to Patrice, and reached to pick up David’s one. He took his defensive stance. “Let’s do this.”

  Patrice stood straight, looking into Sebastian’s eyes.

  “I said ‘No,’” he said, trying to keep the emotion out of his voice. Aisha could hear the undertone of anger.

  He took the bo and snapped it over his knee.

  “I am not doing this, Sebastian,” he yelled. “Stop this, now!”

  “No,” said Sebastian, “not this time.”

  He swung, catching his new opponent hard to the side of the head. Patrice staggered sideways, and Sebastian hit him again, and again. A fourth hit, and Patrice went down, dazed.

  Sebastian stood over him and swung the bo down, like an axe. Patrice rolled so it hit him on the side. He tried to get to his feet, but Sebastian knocked him down again. He swung low and wide, hitting Patrice on the chest.

  Aisha heard him gasp, and the cracking sound that could only be a broken rib. Patrice rolled onto his knees, gasping in pain, and Sebastian hit him on the back of the head. The force of the blow rolled him onto his back.

  His eyes met Aisha’s. She could see the pain there, the fear.

  Sebastian saw it too. He prowled around Patrice, twirling the bo over his head. “It’s so much better seeing you like this, Little Patrice,” he said. “Good to see you going down, Little Canuck.”

  He was going to hurt Patrice. Beating him wasn’t enough.

  She had to do something.

  The broken bo lay near her. A plan formed in her mind.

  It felt like time was crawling. She watched as Sebastian raised his bo. Patrice lifted his hands -- part in defense, part in pleading.

  She picked up the bo that Patrice had snapped. The end was splintered badly.

  Sebastian began his downswing. Patrice’s eyes -- those beautiful eyes that were full of intelligence and compassion -- widened in terror.

  There was only one thing she could do. It might be the end of her time in the school, but she wasn’t going to let Sebastian hurt Patrice any more.

  With all her strength, she stabbed Sebastian in the back of the knee with the splintered end of the bo.

  He screamed and broke his swing.

  With all her strength she twisted the bo. She felt it splinter further, and heard the sound of tendons ripping. Sebastian screamed and twisted around to see her. She saw the snarl of hate and pain on his face. He tried to change his swing to hit her, but she twisted the bo again.

  “No,” said Patrice. “Aisha, don’t”

  But she did. Lifting the bo with all her strength, she pulled Sebastian’s leg from under him. He passed out from the pain before he hit the ground.

  She looked back at Patrice’s eyes. She could see his pain. More than the broken ribs. More than the blows he had received from Sebastian.

  It’s what she had done. It’s what she had gotten herself into.

  “I’m so sorry, Patrice,” she said. “I’m just so sorry.”

  His eyes rolled, and his skin went pale. “Aisha,” he said weakly.

  “I’m sorry, Patrice. I never knew this would happen.”

  “Aisha,” he said again, but his eyes rolled again and he passed out.

  Chapter 15

  Recovery

  Always remember that the difference between an adult and a child, or the difference between a human and an animal, is one’s willingness to take responsibility.

  By that I mean that you need to own your situation. For good or for ill. Too many people are extremely talented, and they think their talent is enough, and that others will do whatever is necessary for everything to be completed, freeing them up to express their talent in an optimal way.

  That is not taking responsibility. My dear daughter, be responsible in everything that you do, from the smallest detail to the biggest impact.

  Be more like the uneducated, unprivileged person who works hard to provide for their family, than like the exceptional person who does well at everything, but exudes disdain for everyone around them...

  Of course, as soon as it was all over, the authorities came into the gym and started to enforce some order.

  “You’re too late,” said Aisha, her head spinning from the blows she had received from Sebastian.

  With her adrenaline surge coming to an end, she just felt dizzy. Sleepy, even. She just wanted to lie down. Soo-Kyung ran out of the crowd and cradled her head in her arms.

  “Aisha,” she said, urgently. “Look into my eyes.”

  She tried, but her friend was blurry. “Tired,” said Aisha. “Just want to sleep.”

  “No! Stay awake, stay with me.”
>
  A medic pushed Soo-Kyung aside and started shining a light into Aisha’s eyes. It hurt. It all seemed too far away, and she just decided to leave them, to drift off and be comfortable.

  “Concussion,” said the medic. “Bad one. Better get her to the infirmary. Try to keep her awake.”

  She felt a pinch on her arm. Soo-Kyung pinching and twisting. It hurt. But she didn’t care.

  “I’ll get you for that,” she said, but wasn’t sure if it was out loud. After that she felt herself floating away, caring less and less, until everything turned black.

  ***

  She woke in a strange bed, with a strange face looking down at her. “You got a thick skull, that’s for sure.”

  “Where am I?”

  “Infirmary. I’m Doctor Anderson. You came in last night with a doozy of a concussion. Good news is we gave you a CAT scan, and you’re all clear. Nothing to worry about. Head wounds are weird like that. Sometimes life threatening, sometimes just a good night’s sleep. Luckily for you, you’re in the latter.”

  He spoke a lot, that doctor. After a while, his words just blurred in her mind. She got the gist of it. The blows from Sebastian’s bo were enough to give her a concussion, but she wasn’t too badly hurt.

  “You’ll have a headache for a couple of days, of course,” said Anderson, peering at her over the rims of his glasses, “and some light sensitivity. But you’ll be fine. You’re made of stern stuff, Miss Parks.”

  “Thanks,” she croaked. “My friends?”

  “Which ones? The other concussions or the mangled leg?”

  “Concussions.”

  “Ah, so the mangled leg was your handiwork, was it? I heard a girl did it to him. His ego will never live it down, but between you and me the little pillock had it coming.”

  She laughed a little.

  “I see,” he said, a mocking tone in his voice. “Remind me to play poker with you some day. You are so easy to read.”

  “The others?”

  “Well, Mister Smith got the worst of it. We brought him in at the same time as you” -- he looked at his watch -- “a good eight hours ago, and he hasn’t woken up yet. We gave him a CAT scan, and there’re signs of brain trauma. We just have to wait. Usually these things work themselves out, but we have to wait and see.”

  “Oh, Patrice,” she said, not realizing it was out loud. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Sorry? Why sorry? From what I heard if you hadn’t stopped that guy it would have been a lot worse.”

  “But it’s my fault he was there.”

  “He’s a good boy, a smart boy,” said Anderson. “I’ve encountered him many times. If he was there, he was there because he wanted to be there. Don’t go looking for blame. Just try to get better.”

  ***

  She must have slept after that, because suddenly he was gone. She turned in her bed, and saw Soo-Kyung and David sitting beside her. Soo-Kyung was asleep, head drooped down over her chest.

  “Hey,” said David. “You’re awake.”

  He elbowed Soo-Kyung and she woke instantly.

  Aisha was never happier to see her roommate. “Hi,” she croaked.

  “Hi yourself,” said Soo-Kyung, smiling broadly. “How are you feeling?”

  “Confused. How long?”

  “It’s been about twelve hours,” said Soo-Kyung. “But the doctor told us you were awake a few hours ago. You need your rest, so just relax, okay?”

  “Patrice?”

  “He’s not awake yet,” said David, sadly. “But I heard what you and he did for me, and just really want to thank you.”

  He reached out a hand, and she took it in hers. She tried to grip him, and only then realized how weak she felt.

  “Friends forever,” he said. “If you ever need anything, and I mean anything, I am at your service.”

  “A café latte would be nice,” said Soo-Kyung.

  “Not you,” laughed David.

  “Doesn’t her roommate count too?”

  “Not this time.”

  “Boo!”

  They laughed a little, and Aisha couldn’t help but smile.

  “Everything’s going to be okay, isn’t it?”

  “You know that was out loud, don’t you?” Soo-Kyung smiled and winked.

  “Uhh.”

  “And yes, it is,” she continued. “Everything is going to be fine, but please, just get some sleep.”

  She wanted to say ‘okay’, but her mind slipped away again, and before she knew it she was drifting off to sleep once more.

  ***

  It took a few days before they let her out of bed, and the first place she went to was Patrice’s room. He was still out cold.

  “It’s not exactly a coma,” said the nurse. “It’s just like a long sleep. He has woken up once or twice, and spoken a little gibberish.”

  Aisha sat by the bed, and when the nurse left, she reached out and grabbed his hand. Lowering her head onto the bed, with his hand against her forehead, she whispered. “I’m so sorry, Patrice. I should have followed your advice. I should never have gone there. Please wake up, so I can tell you to your face. There are so many things I want to tell you. There’s so much that I want you to know. Please just wake up.”

  Chapter 16

  Principal

  My mother always made me read the Bible. Every day or every night, I had to do it. As a child it was really hard to understand everything in it. I focused on the stories, like Job and his suffering, or Jonah and the Whale. She insisted it was a ‘big fish’, and not a whale, because that’s what the Bible said. She liked to take it literally, at face value, not realizing that such an approach to the book led to most of the inconsistencies.

  But one thing I remember reading, because it hit me at the core of my being, was this advice: “Let your yes be yes, and your no be no, anything else comes from the Evil one.”

  That became a cornerstone of my life, and it, more than anything else, allowed me to become the man I am. And I pass that down to you, my dear daughter. Integrity comes from what you say as much as what you do. Let your yes be yes. Let your no be no. Speak the truth, and handle the consequences...

  She visited the hospital every day, but still there was no sign of life from Patrice. He just lay there, sometimes with his eyes open, looking at the ceiling, sometimes with his eyes closed and an expression of supreme peace on his face.

  She spoke to him more in this condition than she had ever spoken to him when he was awake.

  It was the end of her free period, and she had flight training next, a class that she couldn’t miss under any circumstances. She squeezed his hand, and wanted to kiss his forehead, but wasn’t sure if it was the right thing. So she just gently touched it, and wished him well.

  “See you soon,” she said. “And we’ll have Soo-Kyung’s famous noodles.”

  She left the infirmary, padding her way down the corridors towards the ladders that would take her upwards toward the hub of the station.

  An adult was waiting for her. “Cadet Parks?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “You are wanted in Colonel Carter’s office, immediately.”

  Colonel Carter? The brash man that had welcomed them to the school. It was only a few weeks before, but it felt like a lifetime ago.

  “What does he want?”

  “No idea, Cadet. He just wants you there, double speed.”

  “But I have flight training!”

  “Are you disobeying his orders?”

  “No, Sir. No. Sorry.”

  The soldier nodded and went on his way.

  She had no idea where the principal’s office even was. She called up her link, and it directed her towards the first wheel of the station. Logically, it would be where administration was set up, because it was the first section put in place.

  Not wanting to miss a lot of her class, she jogged to the first wheel. Then, climbing up to one of the inner sections, she was guided to his office.

  It was spartan and functional. Muc
h like him, she imagined.

  She knocked.

  “Come!”

  She opened the door and entered. “Sir, you wanted to see me, Sir.”

  “Yes, Cadet Parks, come in.”

  “Sir, I didn’t realize you were the principal too, Sir.”

  “I’m not, I’m just using his office.”

  “Sir, yes, Sir.”

  She stood, mimicking military attention as best she could. He smiled slightly.

  “At ease, Cadet.”

  She relaxed a little.

  “Do you know why I called you here?”

  “Sir, no, Sir.”

  “Yes you do.”

  “Sir, I can only speculate, Sir.”

  “Then speculate.”

  “Sir, it’s about the incident in the dojo, Sir.”

  “You speculate correctly. Do you know what you did to that boy?”

  “Sir, do you know what he did to David? To Patrice? To me? I was only defending myself, Sir.”

  “You didn’t answer the question.”

  “Sir, sorry, Sir.”

  “Well you don’t know what you did to him, because nobody does. So I’ll tell you. You damaged his leg so badly that he’ll be lucky to ever walk again. He’s quite useless in weightless conditions, so I had to graduate him early.”

  “Sir, graduate him early, Sir?”

  “As in, send him back to Earth. He’s been back before for bad behavior, but his father fixed things up with the regents so he could return. Now, there’s no point in him returning. He’ll never be able to be a cadet again.”

  “Sir, yes, Sir.”

  “That’s all you can say?”

  Aisha didn’t know how to respond. It was clear that Sebastian was a problem, not just to her, but to the Academy as a whole. She had almost done them a favor.

  “Good,” he said. “If you have nothing smart to say, say nothing at all.”

  She stayed silent.

  “Okay,” he continued. “Take a seat. Off the record, tell me what went on between you two. Spare no details. This is important.”