Read Online Sirius Academy (Jezebel's Ladder) by Scott Rhine - Free Book Online
Authors: Scott Rhine
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the built-in desk.
Sojiro gasped and Risa echoed with
a hushed, “You know it.”
“That works, thank you,” said Red,
losing her original planned speech.
“Look, I owe you for wonderful meal
and much female company. Three phone numbers they stuffed in my pocket. But I
need to be getting sleep soon. I have class at 5:30. What is real purpose for
meeting?”
Red closed the door to the common
area. “Sit. I have a proposition for you all. You can accept or not, but I ask
that you keep what we say here in strictest confidence,” said the girl in the blue
flight suit.
They all agreed. Sojiro got out his
pad and began sketching Herk in a loincloth.
“I’m forming the Sirius team.”
“Why so early?” asked Herk,
thickening his accent. “Is plenty of time.”
“No, the team, the one
that’s going.”
“Impossible, they’d never let us do
that,” said Herk.
“I didn’t say I was going to ask; I
said I was going to do it.”
“How?” asked Risa.
“I can’t share all the details yet;
I’m still planning, including who’ll be on the team. But if I could prove what
I’m saying, would you all join?”
“Of course.” “ Por supuesto .”
“Yeah,” they all agreed at the same time.
“Swear your silence, even to
teachers and your own governments,” insisted Red.
“By the Virgin,” promised Risa.
“May my manuscript be burned if I
talk,” said the Japanese man.
“I don’t swear by anything; I mean
what I say. Ask anybody.”
Red scanned him with her
empathy—mashed potatoes with just a hint of salt. “Good enough for me. How many
talents does it take to make first contact?”
“All twenty-seven, one of each
kind,” said Risa, and the others nodded.
“We can contact the aliens with
only two-thirds of the pages. They planned for destruction and loss. Even the
UN doesn’t know, and I don’t plan on telling them,” Red stressed. “We can make
the run at the artifact with only eighteen pages and no one will suspect
because we don’t have the magic number.”
Everyone remained silent for a full
minute. Herk cleared his throat. “Amazing theory. What is proof?”
“I can’t tell you the direct
evidence without endangering lives. But I can prove that Fortune Aerospace was
convinced. They gave me the Half-Pint to train in.”
“Half-sized means only fourteen
seats, seven on each side,” argued Sojiro.
“Plus the rumble seat for extra pilot
or faculty on training mission,” said Herk, who’d been inside the new craft.
“Plus the three crew members. They
aren’t counted because the cockpit is detachable from the cargo pod, not that
anyone in NASA would ever leave their passengers behind. But the bureaucrats
signed off on it. We turned half-scale into a full mission—eighteen. QED.”
“Holy Toledo,” said Sojiro.
The invitees glanced at each other,
and then broke out in smiles. “We’re the team,” said Herk.
“And no mention of the two-thirds
rule to anyone. If I hear wind of a leak, I’ll scrap the whole team and
start over. None of you will go.”
“Why are you the leader?” asked
Risa. “Isn’t there supposed to be a team election, tests, and stuff?”
Red shrugged. “I started the team.
I get things done, and there’s a whole world of secrets I haven’t told anyone.
Tonight was just the tip of the iceberg.”
“You scare me a little, but I
believe you, too. I follow,” declared Herk. “What you need me to do? Build bug
sweeper?”
“No, I’ve got those. Just go to
class like normal. Keep your eye out for strong candidates. Have dinner with us
every once in a while,” said Red. “For now, it’s all about building our team in
secret and learning to work together. I figure we’ll add about four members a
year. The copilot role will be hardest to fill.”
Red paused, joined hands with the
people on each side, and looked each one in the eyes. “The important thing is
that from now on, if anyone needs help, we’re there for each other
Sojiro gasped and Risa echoed with
a hushed, “You know it.”
“That works, thank you,” said Red,
losing her original planned speech.
“Look, I owe you for wonderful meal
and much female company. Three phone numbers they stuffed in my pocket. But I
need to be getting sleep soon. I have class at 5:30. What is real purpose for
meeting?”
Red closed the door to the common
area. “Sit. I have a proposition for you all. You can accept or not, but I ask
that you keep what we say here in strictest confidence,” said the girl in the blue
flight suit.
They all agreed. Sojiro got out his
pad and began sketching Herk in a loincloth.
“I’m forming the Sirius team.”
“Why so early?” asked Herk,
thickening his accent. “Is plenty of time.”
“No, the team, the one
that’s going.”
“Impossible, they’d never let us do
that,” said Herk.
“I didn’t say I was going to ask; I
said I was going to do it.”
“How?” asked Risa.
“I can’t share all the details yet;
I’m still planning, including who’ll be on the team. But if I could prove what
I’m saying, would you all join?”
“Of course.” “ Por supuesto .”
“Yeah,” they all agreed at the same time.
“Swear your silence, even to
teachers and your own governments,” insisted Red.
“By the Virgin,” promised Risa.
“May my manuscript be burned if I
talk,” said the Japanese man.
“I don’t swear by anything; I mean
what I say. Ask anybody.”
Red scanned him with her
empathy—mashed potatoes with just a hint of salt. “Good enough for me. How many
talents does it take to make first contact?”
“All twenty-seven, one of each
kind,” said Risa, and the others nodded.
“We can contact the aliens with
only two-thirds of the pages. They planned for destruction and loss. Even the
UN doesn’t know, and I don’t plan on telling them,” Red stressed. “We can make
the run at the artifact with only eighteen pages and no one will suspect
because we don’t have the magic number.”
Everyone remained silent for a full
minute. Herk cleared his throat. “Amazing theory. What is proof?”
“I can’t tell you the direct
evidence without endangering lives. But I can prove that Fortune Aerospace was
convinced. They gave me the Half-Pint to train in.”
“Half-sized means only fourteen
seats, seven on each side,” argued Sojiro.
“Plus the rumble seat for extra pilot
or faculty on training mission,” said Herk, who’d been inside the new craft.
“Plus the three crew members. They
aren’t counted because the cockpit is detachable from the cargo pod, not that
anyone in NASA would ever leave their passengers behind. But the bureaucrats
signed off on it. We turned half-scale into a full mission—eighteen. QED.”
“Holy Toledo,” said Sojiro.
The invitees glanced at each other,
and then broke out in smiles. “We’re the team,” said Herk.
“And no mention of the two-thirds
rule to anyone. If I hear wind of a leak, I’ll scrap the whole team and
start over. None of you will go.”
“Why are you the leader?” asked
Risa. “Isn’t there supposed to be a team election, tests, and stuff?”
Red shrugged. “I started the team.
I get things done, and there’s a whole world of secrets I haven’t told anyone.
Tonight was just the tip of the iceberg.”
“You scare me a little, but I
believe you, too. I follow,” declared Herk. “What you need me to do? Build bug
sweeper?”
“No, I’ve got those. Just go to
class like normal. Keep your eye out for strong candidates. Have dinner with us
every once in a while,” said Red. “For now, it’s all about building our team in
secret and learning to work together. I figure we’ll add about four members a
year. The copilot role will be hardest to fill.”
Red paused, joined hands with the
people on each side, and looked each one in the eyes. “The important thing is
that from now on, if anyone needs help, we’re there for each other
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