Zeta District by Julie Steimle (top 10 non fiction books of all time TXT) 📕

Blame is Safer than praise—Ralph Waldo Emerson—

It seemed unreal—a dream that she, Zormna Clendar, was now an Aver and standing in the Zeta District docking bay with official Surface Patrol officers, handpicked by the Kevin and sent to serve under Alea Tenngar, head of the Zeta District. It was everything she had wanted. Zeta was the best surface Patrol district besides the Alpha district. They had the best pilots, they had the largest access, and they flew the fastest ships. Zormna felt tingles of excitement run all over her skin.

“Nervous?” an older Aver leaned near her, asking.

Zormna smiled up at the man standing next to her. “Not nervous. Not a bit. I’m ready for this.”

The man cocked his head as he gave a laugh.  “You must be the Kevin’s Zormna Clendar.” He bowed. “I didn’t expect you to be so young.”

Zormna bowed back, but was not sure about his comment. “You expected me?”

He laughed again. Another officer looked over at the two and then nudged the Aver standing next to him. Zormna could hear their brief whispers. They immediately walked over to Zormna and her fellow officer.

“So you’re the Kevin’s prodigy. How old are you?” one of the men asked.

Zormna flushed at the question but puffed up her chest and answered honestly. “I’m twelve Parthan years. I’ve hit my sixth Arrassian year mark three weeks ago.”

“Three weeks ago?” the first Aver replied, visibly disturbed. “Doesn’t that make your birthday the Day of Adaral?”

Zormna nodded flippantly. “Well, that’s a guess anyway. That’s just when we celebrate it. I don’t know the real day. It’s not on record. I was orphaned very young.”

Alea Tenngar marched into the room just then. Immediately they all lined up, but not without comment from the three men to themselves.

“It is surprising that she arrived, born on the Day of Adaral.”

“She must have been born before it.”

“She’d be in more danger if she were a Tarrn.”

One man’s face paled. “Don’t say that! You know Tarrn-talk is forbidden!”

Zormna heard every word but kept silent, standing properly at attention though a shiver ran up her arms.

Alea Tenngar scanned down the rows of new officers sent to his district, eying each officer one by one. He shook his head as if he were thinking had it been left up to him they would not have even made the Patrol, let alone his district.

“Sloppy. Sloppy,” he said still shaking his head. “You should have all been at attention when I entered the room.”

Zormna’s face fell briefly but then she regained attention, listening now for the chastisement of her new commanding officer.

“You are soft! You are all soft!” His voice echoed in the hall. “This district is the best. Do you know why it is the best? Discipline! That’s right. No more joyrides to the Surface Gate when on night watch. No more breaks to the pronuk room to play a few matches while others take your duty.” He started to circle the small group of Avers. “I know what they do in those other districts.”

He marched around them again to the front where he started to pace. His movement was started to make Zormna a little dizzy.

“You have all been transferred here,” he then looked at the new Avers, “or assigned here to learn discipline.”

He gazed at them to see the looks in their eyes. Then staring at individual officers, landing his one last stare on petite Aver Zormna Clendar, he said, “You may think you are here because you are the best, because you have been hand chosen by the Kevin himself, recommended by your own commanding officers.” He paused, letting them squirm. “Get that out of your mind. You are mine and I say you are soft. You are nothing. You are what I make of you.”

He stopped his march at the center of the line. Alea Tenngar rocked on his heels and then pointed to the sleek ships in the docking bay.

“You, no doubt, have been waiting to use one of these,” he said.

The Avers wished to nod but kept respectfully still.

Alea Tenngar smirked. “You can’t handle one of these.”

Zormna could feel her stomach sour. The Alea kept staring at her as he made these remarks, as if they were just for her. She tried to keep her composure, listening at attention with what best efforts she had.

Walking over to a set of flight scooters he said, “You will train first on these. We use these more often on the surface than we do the larger ships, and once you have shown that you can handle surface flight then we will let you try the bigger ships.” 

His lips curled smugly as he said this.

Zormna’s lips pressed even tighter together. Though she had heard of the reputation all Zeta leaders held, witnessing Alea Tenngar’s ego in the flesh solidified all the stories she had heard about him. Like all the Zeta leaders before him, he was threatened by anyone who could challenge his position as the fastest pilot in the patrol.

Eying them all over again, Alea Tenngar stopped and called to his second in command, Alea Trenns Kay. The Alea marched immediately over, bringing a data-pad. Alea Tenngar took the pad, whispering to Alea Trenns. Alea Trenns nodded and then stood at attention. The head of Alea then proceeded to read off the list.

“Aver Morde Kordek, Aver Kree Clendar, Aver Alzdek Tedd, Aver Amois Ardd, and Aver Milsnek Prenn; you are all in the Mella pod, Damor division.”

The five Avers, consisting of four men and one woman, all stepped forward. Alea Trenns handed them their code cards and I.D. tags. Alea Tenngar continued.

“Aver Zor Kaiz, Aver Sandi Melzdar, Aver Kersen Astrov, Aver Presk Prenn, Aver Jasm Hellopi, and Aver Zormna Clendar; you are all in the Meda pod, Damor division.”

The five Avers complied and took their cards and tags. When Zormna stepped forward, Alea Trenns held onto the card, giving her a narrow look.

Clenching it tighter in her fingers, Zormna jerked it out of his hand, trying to keep a glare from forming on her face though her eyes flickered on his fixed look of clear dislike, thinking he had to be mad to hold such contempt for her. Was he jealous? Though it was not unusual for the cadets to be jealous of her, it seemed outrageous that an established Alea would even be. So what if she was young? She had earned every promotion she got. The Kevin didn’t just give it to her.

Zormna stepped back to her place in line and waited out the rest of the roll call, trying to maintain her composure. Alea Tenngar read out the other names, but they all blurred in Zormna’s ears. The acids in her stomach churned more. She did not like the dreadful feeling she got from this negative reception.

When the Alea had finished the roll call he started to assign each officer to a flight scooter. It was just as it was in the cadet training hall. They would each have a scooter to care for and maintain, allotted to them for their use. Alea Tenngar, however, seemed very reluctant to entrust these scooters to the new officers, especially to Zormna.

“…No wild flying. No crazy stunts,” he had been lecturing for several minutes as they stood at attention, giving Zormna the evil eye as he passed her. “No flippancy with these machines.”

A few other officers sneaked glances at Zormna also. Zormna swallowed. It was clear they knew her reputation. The fun was over—for now anyway.

They got to look at the machines. When Zormna reached hers, she smiled, running hand run over the smooth engine of her flight scooter. It was in good condition. Not the best. That was obviously reserved for more experienced officers. She would change all that, she thought to herself with a grin as she continued to survey her vehicle. Her scooter would be in top condition when she got done with it, and that was enough to make her smile for weeks.

“…And no disobeying orders,” Alea Tenngar concluded.

Zormna looked up with blinks of puzzlement at him. What a thing to say. That was obvious. She would not dream of it herself except Zormna admitted that she held little respect for certain commanding officers. Alea Sholda had hated her for years, and Alea Tress had always been too flaky and domineering for his position for Zormna to just put up with quietly, but all in all she was an exemplary officer that obeyed all commands—if they made sense. Zormna did not like where Alea Tenngar was leading to, but she vowed to be an excellent officer just to prove him wrong.

“Put on your helmets,” he announced suddenly. “We are going outside.”

Zormna looked up at the docking bay doors. A grin spread across her face again. They would be out on the surface today.

She quickly ran over to where she had left her flight helmet when she had first entered the bay and rushed back to her scooter, pulling it on her head and securing it in place. It was a great feeling that quickly erased the sick churning that had been building in her stomach for the past half hour.

It would not be her first time on the surface. Alea Arden had taken the cadets outside for flight training in the canyon a number of times. Zormna loved the outside. She loved the sun. She loved the cold air that stung her skin along with the whipping sand that stirred up when they flew over the ground. It was the best, most exhilarating feeling she had ever had. That was why she had waited for this moment so anxiously. She would at last get to fly on the surface regularly, and one day possibly in space.

<<Mount your scooters!>> Alea Tenngar’s voice buzzed from the radio com inside her helmet.

Zormna climbed onto her flight scooter and started the engine. It hummed contentedly. So did Zormna. She let off the release clamp to the breaks. The scooter immediately began to hover, rocking slightly as Zormna set her balance. Alea Tenngar called to the operations booth. The men inside activated the docking bay doors. As three sets of doors pulled open diagonally from the sides and top, the outside sun blazed in bringing a cheery pink glow along with the red sand that blew in little whorls. It was time.

<<Everyone, follow me,>> Alea Tenngar commanded.

 His flight scooter lifted off the ground, and he sped right through the large rectangular opening into the outside canyon. His scooter dropped from sight the moment he was out. Without hesitating, each pod in order followed him outside.

Zormna revved up her scooter and followed Aver Jasm out through the open door. He dropped as soon as he left the metal threshold. She went after, speeding into the open air. 

Her scooter hover immediately let out. Having nothing to hold it up, she dropped into the canyon below at a surprising speed. Grasping tighter onto the scooter’s handles, Zormna pulled up with difficulty, the cold air beating against her skin at such a