Interstellar Academy by Kennedy Harkins (read books for money .TXT) 📕

The next name, Maeve, sounded female to me, and I groaned inwardly. I didn't get along with girls my own age. I only had one female that I spent time with back home, and, as a professional underworld wrestler, she didn't exactly act like your typical delicate flower.

The paper was ripped after Maeve, and I had to squint and place the pieces together to read the last name.

Drusus Accia.

August 30:

Astra Alkaev.

My eyes stayed glued to that particular name on the list of people I'd be rooming with on the shuttle and once we got to the Academy. I was relieved to be with Mae, though she was gloomy and montone. The Animarian, Kavi, didn't hold much interest apart from the fact that his species didn't often stray from home. No, it was this Astra that had me frowning.

It sounded like a human name.

I shook my head. This year's class was supposed to have few humans, though I'd seen an alarming amount of them in the upper classmen crowd. Even I couldn't be so unlucky to get one of the sparse Earthlings in my room.

The last name Alkaev, though.... I'd heard it a million times. Some from my mother when talking about the UG. I knew it was a family name, an influential and wealthy one, but I couldn't remember where it came from. Not Earth, I prayed silently to Agrona, the goddess of war, and Fabius, the god of tactical reason.

I turned onto the corridor that held my quarters. I passed quite a few open doors. The sounds of friends reuniting after a long summer assaulted my ears. I sped up my pace, wishing I hadn't left Mae at the registry.

The door to my room was closed and no sound emitted from it. I breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door. I frozen upon seeing who was inside.

There was a girl sitting on a couch, looking very put out. She appeared to be a few inches shorter than me, average height for a Tundrian, but tall for what she was. She had dark hair that hung artfully down the right side of her face. I blinked when I realized the left side had been buzzed, curious designs circled and twirled on her scalp. She was wearing the most dangerous shoes I'd ever seen, with eight, sharp legs erupting from them. Deadly as a weapon, I couldn't see how one could fight in them.

She was human.

“Nice wings.” Her voice was high and abrasive.

I waited for her to say more, but she had seemed to dismiss me as quickly as she had noticed me. The farthest couch in the room was still too close to her, and I deliberated where to sit.

My holo buzzed, postponing the decision for me. I walked back out the door, shutting it firmly behind me. The hallway was too noisy, so I put the caller on hold and found a quite spot on the nearest stairwell.

I pressed the receive button, and a hologram projected into the space right above the tiny computer. The man's face that appeared there was scarred and lined with premature aging lines. He had silver in his brown hair and a decisive, proud air about him. I recognized him instantly.

“Commander Rike. It's an honor, sir.” I stared wide eyed at my mother's boss in the Tundrian military. I put the Commander on hold, I thought numbly.

“The honor is mine, cadet. Your mother speaks highly of you.”

I kept my face smooth, but felt a spark of surprise. “I strive to make her proud in all my endeavours,” I said automatically. The standard response had been beaten into me over and over again since birth.

“I apologize, cadet. I meant to speak with you before you departed, but business got in the way.”

“There's nothing to apologize for, sir.” My heart was racing and my face felt hot. I didn't know why he'd want to speak to me. I'd never met the man before he initiated this commlink.

“I understand you'll be attending the Academy this year.”

I heard a couple of students coming up the stairs and slipped into a supplies closet. “Yes, sir.”

“It's an honor to be accepted.”

“No more so than at the training center, “ I said quickly.

He smiled. “Of course. But in this case you'll be far away from home, surrounded by...others.”

“Yes, sir. I'm hoping to learn a diverse range of battle skills here to use during my service.” I didn't know what else to say.

“It's admirable that you would undertake such a hardship for the good of your world.”

I caught myself right before my hand would've touched to contents of my breast pocket in guilt. An understanding of the enemy would help me and my people in the coming war, but that wasn't why I was here. I tried to keep that off my face.

The Commander continued. “That's why I feel confident I've made the right decision coming to you.”

I halted in my thoughts. “With what, sir?”

He looked me right in the eyes, a little frightening in his intensity. “I have a problem, Drusus, and I was hoping you could help me.” A pause. “This is the kind of favor that could really burgeon a young man's career.”

I tripped over myself answering him. “Any—anything, sir.”

I sank down against the wall. The room smelled heavily of chemicals and was making me light headed. My right boot was suspiciously damp, and I wondered what I'd stepped in.

“The Academy is a very noteworthy school, security and curriculum wise. The training center as well as the military could learn a lot from it. Unfortunately, the school is one of the few blind spots Tundris has in the galaxy. Myself and my esteemed colleagues were hoping you rectify this for us.”

“You want me to spy?” My throat felt scratchy. “Sir,” I added hastily.

He said slowly, “If you like. I simply want a layout of the school and it's security measures. However, while you're there, if you happen to hear anything of import....” His head moved up like he was shrugging his shoulders. “I'd be interested in hearing that as well, of course.”

I was silent for a moment, and he asked, “What do you say, son?”

I flinched at that, but reiterated what had been drilled into me in grammar school. “I'd be honored to serve my world in any way possible.”

“Good. I look forward to your reports.” He disconnected not long after exchanging pleasantries.

I sat in the closet for a while longer. Running the conversation over and over in my head. Part of me did feel honored, like I'd told the Commander. I was one of hundred of Tundrians attending the Academy, and the man was a legend, a hero from the Galactic War. My mother had earned her status, but I was nobody. And yet he'd reached out to me to help him. It was an honor.

But I was apprehensive as well. There was a reason why the school was so private, why it was a gap in all the world's—not just Tundris'-- knowledge: to keep neutrality. With a school that accepted all the species, it was important that no one world was favored above the other. Which meant they were probably pretty secretive about information leaks. If I were caught, I'd be sent home, disgraced. And I wouldn't be able to do what I'd really come for.

This school, I thought with a frown, might be more interesting than I'd counted on.

August 30:

This school might just hold something of interest, after all, I thought. I grinned at the crispy looking, green skinned boy standing in the doorway. He was a least a foot shorter than me and wearing a light blue toga. It consisted of a rough, burlap like substance.

He held his Academy issued suit at arm's length, as if it might infect him with it's lack of individuality. Which-- with it's silver, boring coloring, black lining for insulation, and plain Academy emblem on the chest-- was completely possible. The only positive thing that could be said for the suit was that it wasn't baggy, actually fitting like a second skin.

Still, I wasn't planning on changing into it.

The boy—the one from earlier that left-- hadn't come back, but I wasn't concerned. He didn't warrant much notice. He was just your typical Tundrian: all muscle, no brains. Perfectly good for manual labor, but lacking in the conversation aspect. Focusing on him for longer than a millisecond gave me a serious case of boredom.

“Kavi, right?” I continued on, not really caring about the answer. “What's Tria?”

He was taken aback and stared at me.

I rubbed my forearm absently. An AI had come in a few minutes previously and given me a patch that'd disintegrated into my skin as soon as it'd slapped it on me, like the slicer back home that gave people parts of animal DNA. It'd said something about the patch being a mandatory upgrade for all students. I was sold at upgrade. Igor hates when I mess with my DNA.

I said impatiently, “I read it on the door. What's it mean?”

“It is the third order of the monks. I am of Tria.”

Though all his words seemed to run together, I had to say, “Your English is great.”

He shook his head and pointed to a small, square shaped piece of tech on the wall. “It's the translator. I am not very good with the Earth languages.”

I got up and moved over to the box. I ran my fingers over it, feeling the smooth ridges and grooves of complex programing. “A universal translator. I've only ever heard of them.” I grabbed my arm where the patch had gone. “That's what the upgrade was! So now I only think you're speaking English, right?” I tapped my head. “It's happening up here. And you must think I'm speaking....”

“Catur, yes. It's... strange.” He smiled youthfully, holding nothing back. “We don't have such things on Kalid.”

“Right. Forgot who I was talking to.” I rolled my eyes, thinking of how the whole planet had forsaken most modern