Stacy. Maybe she was eating in her dorm?
I finally saw her, and I was surprised that she had her arms crossed, staring back at me insolently. Maybe she wasn’t as tough as she portrayed to the world.
Reluctantly, I pointed at Becky and asked in front of everyone, “Are you sure about this?”
She got to her feet and said to everyone in the hall, “We are all servants. That is our purpose. Without servitude, each and every one of us would have died of starvation as babies. Our parents abandoned us. Our planet shot us out to this hell hole to get rid of us. But the military wants us. The military has invested in our futures. You should all be ashamed of yourselves for not jumping at the opportunity to give back. Of course I’m ready.”
That’s what I meant when I said she was a weirdo. I forced my eyes to not roll and said, “We move out in the morning. Welcome aboard.”
Mission Abort
I was in my dorm room rubbing my still tender hip when Mr. Humboldt rushed in.
He breathlessly said, “The President wants you to postpone your mission. He wants to personally issue you the Platinum Shield. He says it will be symbolic, in our time of warfare.”
I sat up on my bed and said, “When does he arrive?”
Mr. Humboldt looked at me like I had a turd on my face. “You can’t be serious? He’s not going to come all the way out here for that. You need to go to him.”
I jumped to my feet. “I get to take a trip to Earth?” I had never once been to Earth, besides being born there. But I had no memories of the place.
“Yes, but don’t get too excited. They’re a little worried about Skeptics. They think they might try to assassinate you during the award ceremony. You’ve become a symbol of hope to the administration and an object of hatred to the terrorists.”
“I don’t give a shit if they succeed killing me. I’d do anything to breath in Earth air and drink Earth water.” I didn’t worry too much about swearing around Mr. Humboldt. We’d been through a lot together.
“Well they’re going to give you an armored uniform just in case. Have you ever tried one on?”
He knew I hadn’t. We didn’t get fancy stuff like that up here. An armored uniform isn’t like a mech skin. You actually wear it on your body. But it has similar capabilities to a mech. I was pretty excited to get to wear one.
I pushed my luck, just to see if he’d push back. “I want to keep the armored uniform when I’m done.”
He laughed. “You are a gutsy little fucker. Let me see what I can do. Your transport leaves a little before midnight. I already have a flight path plugged in.”
“How long will it take? Do I dock with a space station or something or does the transport take me down?”
“The transport will put you down in Chicago, Illinois. That’s where the President will be. The trip to Earth will only take about twenty nine hours. Bring a book or something. It gets mighty lonely staring out at the black for that long.”
Earthbound
I didn’t tell anyone about my trip to Earth. They’d all be too jealous. I told Danny and Becky that our assignment had been postponed for a few days and left it at that.
The shuttle was cramped, as they all are. But it had a pretty extensive multimedia library and a ton of good food. I felt like a rock star.
I did a lot of worrying, interspersed with daydreaming. What if the President thought I was a butt head? What if my real mom showed up? What would I say to her? What if the Skeptics killed me?
Luckily, I slept for a lot of the journey. I only awoke when the transport hit the turbulence of Earth’s atmosphere. I’d seen pictures of Earth, but they weren’t sufficient to prepare me for its true beauty. I felt like crying.
I saw the patchwork landscape become more detailed until I could pick out buildings and bridges. Lake Michigan looked cleaner than the treated water back at camp. I wanted to swim in it and drink the whole thing up. I couldn’t wait to take my
I finally saw her, and I was surprised that she had her arms crossed, staring back at me insolently. Maybe she wasn’t as tough as she portrayed to the world.
Reluctantly, I pointed at Becky and asked in front of everyone, “Are you sure about this?”
She got to her feet and said to everyone in the hall, “We are all servants. That is our purpose. Without servitude, each and every one of us would have died of starvation as babies. Our parents abandoned us. Our planet shot us out to this hell hole to get rid of us. But the military wants us. The military has invested in our futures. You should all be ashamed of yourselves for not jumping at the opportunity to give back. Of course I’m ready.”
That’s what I meant when I said she was a weirdo. I forced my eyes to not roll and said, “We move out in the morning. Welcome aboard.”
Mission Abort
I was in my dorm room rubbing my still tender hip when Mr. Humboldt rushed in.
He breathlessly said, “The President wants you to postpone your mission. He wants to personally issue you the Platinum Shield. He says it will be symbolic, in our time of warfare.”
I sat up on my bed and said, “When does he arrive?”
Mr. Humboldt looked at me like I had a turd on my face. “You can’t be serious? He’s not going to come all the way out here for that. You need to go to him.”
I jumped to my feet. “I get to take a trip to Earth?” I had never once been to Earth, besides being born there. But I had no memories of the place.
“Yes, but don’t get too excited. They’re a little worried about Skeptics. They think they might try to assassinate you during the award ceremony. You’ve become a symbol of hope to the administration and an object of hatred to the terrorists.”
“I don’t give a shit if they succeed killing me. I’d do anything to breath in Earth air and drink Earth water.” I didn’t worry too much about swearing around Mr. Humboldt. We’d been through a lot together.
“Well they’re going to give you an armored uniform just in case. Have you ever tried one on?”
He knew I hadn’t. We didn’t get fancy stuff like that up here. An armored uniform isn’t like a mech skin. You actually wear it on your body. But it has similar capabilities to a mech. I was pretty excited to get to wear one.
I pushed my luck, just to see if he’d push back. “I want to keep the armored uniform when I’m done.”
He laughed. “You are a gutsy little fucker. Let me see what I can do. Your transport leaves a little before midnight. I already have a flight path plugged in.”
“How long will it take? Do I dock with a space station or something or does the transport take me down?”
“The transport will put you down in Chicago, Illinois. That’s where the President will be. The trip to Earth will only take about twenty nine hours. Bring a book or something. It gets mighty lonely staring out at the black for that long.”
Earthbound
I didn’t tell anyone about my trip to Earth. They’d all be too jealous. I told Danny and Becky that our assignment had been postponed for a few days and left it at that.
The shuttle was cramped, as they all are. But it had a pretty extensive multimedia library and a ton of good food. I felt like a rock star.
I did a lot of worrying, interspersed with daydreaming. What if the President thought I was a butt head? What if my real mom showed up? What would I say to her? What if the Skeptics killed me?
Luckily, I slept for a lot of the journey. I only awoke when the transport hit the turbulence of Earth’s atmosphere. I’d seen pictures of Earth, but they weren’t sufficient to prepare me for its true beauty. I felt like crying.
I saw the patchwork landscape become more detailed until I could pick out buildings and bridges. Lake Michigan looked cleaner than the treated water back at camp. I wanted to swim in it and drink the whole thing up. I couldn’t wait to take my
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