Explorer X Alpha (3 page)

 

 

While standing in line, he looked around the ship entryway. The walls and floor looked like white stone with sparkling silver moving within it. Aadi realized he was staring when he was pushed to move up in line. There were four hallways that led to different parts of the ship, and most of the kids were going to the left hallway that had an android on each side.

“Excuse me, can you move up?” a very petite girl asked him. She had black hair, brown almond-shaped eyes, and porcelain skin. Aadi noticed she wasn't so fragile when she poked him hard on his arm to get him to move forward.

“Can you hear me? I said MOVE!” She had the loudest voice when she screamed. Her sharp little fingers kept poking him in the middle of his back, and it hurt.

“All right! I am moving! Just get your dang finger out of my back,” Aadi said as he shrugged away from her.

“Oh, sorry. I just can't help it. I am the oldest of three boys, and I have to make them behave, so I just sometimes forget other boys aren't them,” she said in her small voice again as she twisted her forefinger with her thumb and looked down at her pink tennis shoes.

“Whatever. It didn't hurt,” Aadi said, and he moved up to the front of the line to stand in front of one of the Camp Counselors.

“Hello, my name is Aadi, and I am here to get my room assignment,” Aadi politely said to the lady wearing the red and gold Camp Counselor uniform.

“Oh, Aadi! Happy you made it. Your room is on Level A203, Room 321. Your roommates will be… let's see… Tacitus Monroe, Damien Hamilton, Dakota McNeil, and Scott Thompson,” she said with a smile that Aadi didn't bother to return.
This sucks,
Aadi thought, considering he didn't like either Damien or Dakota and he didn't even know Scott and Tacitus. He sure hoped he had an ally with them. Otherwise, he would be spending most of his time in space kicking butt and taking names.

He headed to his room one level down. The dorm hall entrance was marked. The Counselor waiting in the hallway smiled at him and pointed him and a few other boys to their rooms.

He placed his eye in front of the retina scanner, and the door opened. The room was large enough for two bunk beds and a loft bed that had a convertible desk unit that collapsed into the wall. There were computers on each desk that looked like an ink pens but had a button on the top that projected 3-D viewing screens.

Aadi thought to himself,
maybe this camp isn't so bad.
In the very least, it definitely had enough cool stuff to keep him entertained.

“Impressive, isn't it? Bet you don't have this type of equipment at home,” said the kid on the loft bed. He was leaning with his back against the wall, legs hanging slightly over the side of the bed, and with a marble sized toy in his hands. He moved the object through his fingers with precision. He had short black, cropped hair on a rounded face and a dark chocolate complexion with piercing almond black eyes. He was a pretty big kid for his age - a bit chunky in frame, but muscular at the same time, Aadi figured he would be a good ally. Aadi watched as the kid gracefully jumped down from the bed to land in front of him.

“Hey, my name is Scott. Are you Aadi?” Scott asked and put his marble deep in his pockets, leaving his hands there.

“Yeah. Have you met the other guys?” Aadi asked, reaching out his hand for a handshake.

Scott looked down at Aadi's hand as though he was contemplating not shaking it. He then reluctantly took his hand out of his pocket and shook it. Then snatched his hand away and put it back in his pocket.

“Yeah, I met all but one, but so far, you are the only one who's cool. That Damien's a real piece of work, and the kid Tacitus is a weirdo. I guess some kid named Dakota is on the way. Damien's on the top bunk to your left, and Tacitus has the top bunk to your right. If I were you, I'd rather sleep under Tacitus than Damien,” Scott said. Scott turned around as he went in his pocket, took out a flat case, pushed a tiny button on it, and twisted it into a small ball. He started hitting it against the wall on the side of his bed. Aadi figured their conversation was over, so he went over to the bunk bed that he would share with Tacitus.

“All Space Cadets report to the auditorium for your orientation… All Space Cadets report to the auditorium for your orientation,” a loud booming voice came from the speakers on the gray ceilings.

“I guess we better go,” Aadi said. Then he took off his backpack. He bent down on his knees and attached it to the bottom rail of his bed.

Scott collapsed his ball and then strolled out the door. Aadi lay down to the floor of the lower bunk and said, “Ebu, stay put. I have to go to orientation.”

“Ebu will stay put,” Ebu said from the backpack.

Aadi stood up, walked toward the door, and ran into a chubby, short kid that came just above his shoulders. The kid had unkempt hair and glasses with slightly protruding teeth. “Uh, sorry I didn't see you. Are you going the auditorium? I'm still trying to find my way around this place,” said Aadi as he came to a stop.

“It's all right. My name is Trevor. You can follow me if you want. It's this way,” the kid said, and led the way to the auditorium. Aadi took off in a jog and followed the other kids rushing down the hallway.

He entered the auditorium, which appeared to have a glass ceiling that showed the sunny blue sky. Walking quickly down the aisle, he made his way over to Scott and sat down.

“Hey, Scott, did I miss anything?” Aadi asked while getting comfortable in his seat.

“No, bright boy, you didn't. However, I see you are late as usual,” a voice behind Aadi said. He turned around to see a smirking Eirena. She had her arms crossed in front of her t-shirt and her leg tapping with nervous energy in her blue jeans. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail with long, dark brown bangs hanging down to the side.

“Well, I made it, didn't I?” Aadi replied and turned back around, “That's all that counts.”

“Whatever. I just hope you aren't going to be on my simulation team because you have all the signs of being a slacker,” Eirena said.

“Well, if you are to be so lucky to be on my team, I'll bet you that I am a better flyer than you are,” Aadi said, slightly turning his head so she could hear him.

“Hello, Space Cadets! Welcome to Camp Explorer!” A lady appeared slightly above their heads in the front of the room on a hovering platform that stood about two feet above the stage, and all around the room screens displayed her face.

“We are so happy that you all made it through our extensive testing and health review to be selected for our maiden voyage to Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn… if we have time. You may want to know how we can cover so much ground in so little time as eight weeks. Well, we have a few new technology gadgets up our sleeves! All of you have parents who work within some division of TEGRC and know that we are leading the flight into the future in so many areas. Well, we have created a device that allows us to travel to planets and distant solar systems in the blink of an eye. This device is in all our flight simulators and space cruisers. In addition to getting to our destinations a hundred times faster than even NASA or the speed of light, we also slow the aging process for our astronauts during this light-speed travel. Each pilot or Space Cadet will be outfitted with our Space Cadet skin suit that must be worn at all times when you are off the ship. The suit will contact our main computer if any of our Cadets are in physical harm, lost, or distressed. It will send us a signal to make sure that we can get to you. This is another item that you all will be trying out before its release to the general public. Only TEGRC astronauts and specialized employees have even been able to try these out. Lastly, you will be able to simulate and test our space cruisers for future campers. You will be trained to handle any hostile situations, but there should be none since there is no confirmed life on the planets we are visiting. Please follow the doors on each side of the auditorium and head to lunch. After lunch, you will meet with your team in the launching room and end your day in the Processing Lab, where we will give you the needed immunizations to protect you on your planetary visits,” she said. She nodded to the Counselors, who started to direct the kids out of the auditorium.

Aadi got up and walked behind Scott toward the cafeteria. Scott sat down at the table by the exit, turned to Aadi, and said, “Hey, can you go get our food, and I'll hold our table?”

Aadi put his knee on the bench, leaned over, and replied, “Sure… what do you want?”

“I don't care. Get me some of everything,” Scott said, as he took out his marble and laced it between his fingers.

Aadi went to get the food, and when he returned, Scott, Dakota, Damien, Eirena, and the girl that poked him earlier were sitting at the lunch table. He looked over at the tiny girl and wondered how she got in their group since everyone at the table towered over her. She had small hands and a slender, yet firm frame that was covered with a pink and yellow flowered pantsuit.

As he sat down, some kid holding his tray stood perfectly still next to his seat. The kid was about his height and had dark brown hair and freckles. “Can I sit here? I am your roommate,” the boy said.

“Sure. What's your name?” Aadi asked as he moved over.

“My name is Tacitus,” said the boy and put his tray on the table. Tacitus took everything off and neatly placed his tray under the table.

“Hi, Tacitus. Where are you from? My name is Raiko Lee, but you can just call me Raiko, and this is Eirena Collington,” Raiko said to Tacitus as he sat down.

“I am from Alaska,” he said and started methodically eating, lifting his fork in perfect timing and symmetry. Aadi wondered how this kid moved so perfectly. They all kind of stared at Tacitus for a moment with their mouths slightly open in awe.

Scott shook his head and mouthed to Aadi, “Weird.”

“Um, I am from Georgia,” Raiko said.

“Aadi, Damien, Dakota, and I live in the same neighborhood here in Florida. Raiko and I are roommates and just met on the trip,” said Eirena.

“Uh… and why are you girls sitting at our table? I don't recall you being invited,” Damien said and slightly pushed at Eirena to move her over.

“Because you are on our team, and we wanted to meet you before Simulation Class,” Eirena said and elbowed him back.

“Well, you've met us, so leave,” said Damien. He stood up, turned to his left toward Eirena, leaned on the table, and put his nose within an inch of her face.

“Look, Damien, leave them alone. They aren't hurting anything, and they are staying. You can go if you want, though,” Aadi said sternly. He stared at Damien in silent warning. Damien turned to him, and his frown got deeper, as his eyes glared at Aadi.

“What are you going to do about it if I
make
them leave, Aadi?” Damien asked, glaring at Aadi. He moved his hands to his plate and grabbed a spoonful of pudding.

“I'm going to stop you,” Aadi said, deepening his voice and leaning on the table toward Damien.

“I'd like to see you try,” Damien said. He picked up a spoonful of pudding and flung it at Aadi. Just as Aadi ducked, Eirena tripped Damien with her right foot. Damien fell slightly to his right, giving her leverage to reach him, and she wrapped her right arm firmly around his neck.

“Knock it off before I embarrass you by beating your face in!” she said directly into his ear. Scott, Aadi, Raiko, and Dakota burst out and doubled over in laughter. Tacitus just didn't get the joke and stared at the scene, unaffected.

“Damien, I think Eirena can handle you and save me the trouble of beating your sorry behind,” Aadi laughed.

Damien pushed Eirena off of him. She slid onto the floor and caught herself in a crouch before she fell to her knees. “Kiss off!” he said, and then sharply pushed his tray aside as he got up and left the lunchroom.

“Don't sweat him. He has a quick temper and a sour disposition all the time. It takes a long time to get used to it,” Aadi said and pushed his tray aside.

“Well, I don't like him because he is a cad, and I know before camp is over, I am going to kick his butt or have to stop you from doing it,” Scott said with a laugh. They all finished up their lunches and headed to their rooms to change for Processing.

After Aadi arrived at his room, he realized all the boys were there getting showered and dressed. There was a holographic sign on the wall above Aadi's desk to shower and report to Processing in the name order shown on the screen. Aadi noticed that his name was last on the list, so he went to the computer to play a quick videogame while the rest of the guys got dressed and left.

Aadi looked around and noticed that all the boys were gone. He walked over to his bed, took off his shirt, and bent down to pick it up.

“Ebu, you okay?” Aadi whispered.

“Ebu here, but I am bored. Can I come out?” Ebu begged, crawling slightly out of the backpack.

“No! I mean… I don't know if it's safe. I have to go to Processing, so stay in the backpack,” Aadi said sternly. He knew the reasoning chip he put in Ebu gave him way too much attitude and he hoped he convinced Ebu to stay put. Aadi continued to get undressed and went to shower. When he came out, Ebu was sitting on the bed. He quickly started to dress while talking to Ebu.

“Sorry… Ebu just had to get out. Don't worry about me, though, I am in cloak mode so no one can see me on camera,” Ebu said.

“Look… please go back. I don't have time for this,” Aadi whispered as he pulled his shirt over his head.

“Fine. I just needed a stretch,” Ebu said and collapsed into a small box form with extended legs and scurried to the floor and into the backpack.

“Whoosh,” Aadi let out a deep breath, slipped on his tennis shoes, and ran to Processing.

 

 

“Welcome to Processing, Aadi,” greeted a lady with a lab coat on.