John forgot everything but getting his ship around the course as quickly as possible.
“Asteroid field ahead,” the computer told him twenty minutes later.
“At one thousand kilometres, drop out of hyperspace,” John replied. This, he knew, would be the first of many obstacles Jegger would have plotted around the course.
The ship slowed. Smoothly, John moved the control stick, sending the tiny ship dodging past massive, spinning mountains of ice and rock like a swallow diving for insects. A boulder filled his screen, hurtling towards him. Tensing, John jerked the stick, watching as the small asteroid sailed past, only a few metres away. A breath of relief escaped between his teeth in a slow hiss.
Jegger would’ve killed me if I crashed.
“Asteroid field cleared.”
“Plot course for the L’Quara System and jump to hyperspace factor three hundred in three, two, one... jump.”
Sergeant Jegger had plotted the course so that the students had to navigate through gigantic nebulae and clouds of gas, past black holes, and between blooming supernovas. Dropping out of hyperspace only when necessary and pushing the t-dart to ever higher speeds whenever he had a clear run through space, John raced through the simulated galaxy.
“Make landing on planet Altore Three, then return to Hyperspace High,” the computer told him eventually.
John tensed again. Landings were always nerve-racking. Stay cool, John. You can do this in your sleep , he told himself. Steady, steady...
The t-dart hit the planet’s atmosphere with a jolt. Decreasing speed, John checked his sensor displays. “Coming in too steep,” he muttered, pulling the stick back slightly. The ship stabilized. Clouds whipped past the cockpit. As the t-dart drove through them into clear air, John scanned the planet’s surface for a suitable landing space. He was descending over a vast, swirling ocean, but there was a dark mass of land off to his right. Vapour billowed from the ship’s stubby wings. John turned, fingers jabbing at screens once more. “Prime jets, activate landing gear,” he told the computer, as the craft roared over the coast. “Aaaaand, down .”
Jets whining, the t-dart settled onto a featureless plain of grass.
“Landing executed.”
John’s fingers were already flickering over the screens ahead of him. A few seconds later, the t-dart burst through the Altore Three’s atmosphere. “Lay in a course for Hyperspace High,” John said quickly, “and jump to hyperspace on my mark, maximum speed.”
“Not bad, cadet. Not bad at all,” said Sergeant Jegger, nodding approvingly as the door of John’s simulator module opened a few minutes later. “One hour, thirty-four minutes.”
“Am I the first back, sir?” John asked quickly, as he pulled off his helmet.
“That’ll be the day,” snorted Emmie, stepping out from behind Jegger and pushing silver hair out of her eyes.
Chapter 6
The corner of Jegger’s mouth twitched. “Tarz managed one hour thirty-three. Hardly anything in it,” he said, almost smiling.
Even though Emmie looked pleased with her flight time, John could tell she was tired. She’s as worried about Kaal as I am .
A few modules away, another door opened. Mordant stepped out, his face falling when he saw that Emmie and John had beaten him back. “Did you crash?” he asked, scowling.
“ No ,” John snapped quickly. Desperate to get away from Mordant as quickly as possible, he turned back to Sergeant Jegger. “Do we need to stay here, sir?” he asked. “Only, this is my last exam for the day and I’d like to get up to the medical wing to see how Kaal’s doing.”
“And Professor Dibali has asked me to go to his study for some last-minute maths tuition,” Emmie said.
Jegger nodded. “Dismissed,” he growled.
“I’m pretty sure I aced that,” John whispered to Emmie as they hurried away. “Almost had a run-in with an asteroid but that was the only problem.”
“I did OK, too,” Emmie
“Asteroid field ahead,” the computer told him twenty minutes later.
“At one thousand kilometres, drop out of hyperspace,” John replied. This, he knew, would be the first of many obstacles Jegger would have plotted around the course.
The ship slowed. Smoothly, John moved the control stick, sending the tiny ship dodging past massive, spinning mountains of ice and rock like a swallow diving for insects. A boulder filled his screen, hurtling towards him. Tensing, John jerked the stick, watching as the small asteroid sailed past, only a few metres away. A breath of relief escaped between his teeth in a slow hiss.
Jegger would’ve killed me if I crashed.
“Asteroid field cleared.”
“Plot course for the L’Quara System and jump to hyperspace factor three hundred in three, two, one... jump.”
Sergeant Jegger had plotted the course so that the students had to navigate through gigantic nebulae and clouds of gas, past black holes, and between blooming supernovas. Dropping out of hyperspace only when necessary and pushing the t-dart to ever higher speeds whenever he had a clear run through space, John raced through the simulated galaxy.
“Make landing on planet Altore Three, then return to Hyperspace High,” the computer told him eventually.
John tensed again. Landings were always nerve-racking. Stay cool, John. You can do this in your sleep , he told himself. Steady, steady...
The t-dart hit the planet’s atmosphere with a jolt. Decreasing speed, John checked his sensor displays. “Coming in too steep,” he muttered, pulling the stick back slightly. The ship stabilized. Clouds whipped past the cockpit. As the t-dart drove through them into clear air, John scanned the planet’s surface for a suitable landing space. He was descending over a vast, swirling ocean, but there was a dark mass of land off to his right. Vapour billowed from the ship’s stubby wings. John turned, fingers jabbing at screens once more. “Prime jets, activate landing gear,” he told the computer, as the craft roared over the coast. “Aaaaand, down .”
Jets whining, the t-dart settled onto a featureless plain of grass.
“Landing executed.”
John’s fingers were already flickering over the screens ahead of him. A few seconds later, the t-dart burst through the Altore Three’s atmosphere. “Lay in a course for Hyperspace High,” John said quickly, “and jump to hyperspace on my mark, maximum speed.”
“Not bad, cadet. Not bad at all,” said Sergeant Jegger, nodding approvingly as the door of John’s simulator module opened a few minutes later. “One hour, thirty-four minutes.”
“Am I the first back, sir?” John asked quickly, as he pulled off his helmet.
“That’ll be the day,” snorted Emmie, stepping out from behind Jegger and pushing silver hair out of her eyes.
Chapter 6
The corner of Jegger’s mouth twitched. “Tarz managed one hour thirty-three. Hardly anything in it,” he said, almost smiling.
Even though Emmie looked pleased with her flight time, John could tell she was tired. She’s as worried about Kaal as I am .
A few modules away, another door opened. Mordant stepped out, his face falling when he saw that Emmie and John had beaten him back. “Did you crash?” he asked, scowling.
“ No ,” John snapped quickly. Desperate to get away from Mordant as quickly as possible, he turned back to Sergeant Jegger. “Do we need to stay here, sir?” he asked. “Only, this is my last exam for the day and I’d like to get up to the medical wing to see how Kaal’s doing.”
“And Professor Dibali has asked me to go to his study for some last-minute maths tuition,” Emmie said.
Jegger nodded. “Dismissed,” he growled.
“I’m pretty sure I aced that,” John whispered to Emmie as they hurried away. “Almost had a run-in with an asteroid but that was the only problem.”
“I did OK, too,” Emmie
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