CHAPTER 003

Elara’s head was still swimming as she followed the robot down the gleaming white corridor.

“The school . . . ,” she asked. “STS is closed?”

“Again, yes,” the robot answered. “This way. Orientation is just about to begin.”

The robot gestured with one extended tendril. “Through here, please.”

“But . . . ,” Elara said, looking back at the robot as she stepped in through the door. “How . . . ? Why . . . ?”

The door slid closed with a whoosh. Elara felt coldly alone as she stared at the sterile white surface of the door. Frustrated, she reached up with a fist and punched it.

“What is going on?!” she said, emotion welling up in her voice.

The room descended to a hushed silence. Which was weird, because Elara hadn’t realized until that moment that the room was occupied.

Already knowing what she would see, Elara slowly turned around. Yup. There it was. Everyone in school. Well, all the second-year students, anyway. Hundreds of them, all staring at Elara with their mouths silently agape, judging the young girl in only a way that twelve-year-old students can.

“Ahhh,” Elara said, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

The crowd of students should have been a comforting sight. But instead, it all added to Elara’s confusion. Everyone was wearing identical jumpsuits, black with a green stripe down the center, all the way to the bottom of the pants, which flared at the ankle and ended in a pair of sleek-looking black boots. Even stranger, the crowd of students were lined up in perfect order, rows and rows of them. They were all facing a stage—the room appeared to be some kind of amphitheater.

Suddenly a familiar voice called out. Elara glanced back at the crowd and saw Beezle pushing her way out of formation to greet her. “Oh!” Beezle said, reaching Elara and grabbing her with a tight hug. “Hello, friend Elara! It has been so very long!”

With some reluctance, Elara pulled away from the comforting hug. “Yeah . . . Beezle. What is this? Where are we?”

Beezle tilted her head in a manner that Elara had come to understand indicated confusion. “Well . . . we are at school, correct? Why were you screaming, Elara? Were you discomforted by the transportation systems?”

“The what?” Elara sputtered, confused by Beezle’s lack of alarm. “Beezle? What are you all talking about? This isn’t—”

Elara heard a laugh from the back of the crowd. It was a voice she remembered all too well from her first day of school last year—rich-girl bully, Suue Damo’n.

“Pff . . . this is so typical!” Suue mocked, stepping forward. “Like you didn’t hog enough attention last year with all your little stunts? You need to start the first day of school being a total drama queen?”

A general giggle went through the students.

“Wait,” Elara said, brushing away Suue’s taunts. “Just someone explain . . . why are we here?”

Suue rolled her eyes. “I know why we’re here . . . no one has any idea what you’re doing here, though, that’s for sure.”

More snickers from the gathered students. Elara glanced around. She saw several familiar faces besides Beezle and Suue. Peter, Silent Dave, and the boy who called himself Scrubby were all standing behind Suue, as usual. She also saw Sabik—the small Suparian had apparently just arrived and was trying to push his way through the crowd with all four of his arms, very upset about something.

“Hey!” Sabik hissed at the crowd. “Commander X30r! He’s coming! You all want detention?!”

The crowd dissipated quickly, and the students lined up in neat rows.

“Who’s Commander X30r?” Elara asked. “Beezle . . . Sabik . . . what is going—”

“Oh no . . . ,” Sabik whispered, his reddish face going pale. “Your uniform! Where’s your uniform?!”

“What . . . ?” Elara suddenly realized she was the only student not wearing the black-and-green military-style uniform. “Why are you all dressed like that?”

Elara heard someone giggle. Tired of being laughed at, Elara turned her head to snap back. “Whoever that was—”

“ATTEN . . . TION!” a thick and commanding voice called out. “Students in ORDER!”

Beezle and Sabik pushed the disoriented Elara into the line. Elara strained her neck to see who the booming voice belonged to. She started to ask but noticed that everyone, from Suue and her minions to Sabik and Beezle, was standing still at attention.

A metal sound could be heard echoing through the large room. “Am I to understand that already, on our very first day of class, you students have fallen to chaos and disorder . . . ?” the loud voice continued. “Is that what’s happening here?”

“NO, SIR!” shouted all of Elara’s classmates in unison.

“Then explain to me why I heard yelling when I entered this chamber!” the voice bellowed once more. “Explain to me why . . .”

Elara blinked. The owner of the voice had reached her, and Elara could only guess that this was the aforementioned Commander X30r. Standing before her was another robot, this one even larger than TN-G13. Commander X30r was a floating, orb-shaped robot with a hollow side that housed a simple projected face. The robot’s eyes and mouth were a series of moving dots and lines—all expressed in a digital display. The metal was painted to resemble a military uniform, decorated with multiple ribbons and gems. Elara imagined it meant something important, but she honestly had no idea.

Elara tried to stay hidden in the lineup, squishing between Beezle and a student she didn’t recognize. But the robot instantly zeroed in on her. “You . . . ,” the sentient machine said, “are out of uniform!”

“Yes!” Elara agreed, her frustration getting the better of her. “Apparently I am! But it would have been nice to know that I was supposed to be in a uniform!”

The robot’s digital face displayed a scowl. “Are you claiming ignorance, student? We have made the dress code readily available in all school literature!”

“Look,” Elara said, fishing her battered school handbook out of her backpack. “This is the only literature I have ever received! And there is nothing . . . at all about ANY of this in here!”

“Headmistress!” the robot roared after a moment. In response, a bluish light flashed in the center of the room. A semitransparent hologram of a humanoid appeared—female in design but otherwise nondescript.

“Yes, Commander X30r? How may I assist you today?”

“This student,” X30r growled. “Who is she?”

A beam of light scanned Elara, causing her to flinch. “This young woman is Elara Adele Vaughn—second-year student. From the remote world of Vega Antilles V. Consequently . . .”

“Yes, yes . . . ,” X30r said with a dismissive wave. “She was outside of range of our training module. Thank you, Headmistress.”

The hologram vanished. Elara could only guess that she had just seen some sort of computer simulation. There appeared to be no headmistress at all, more like a personal data assistant. She had seen them before, but never one so advanced.

“What’s going on?” Elara asked again. “I mean . . . seriously. Why aren’t we at Paragon?”

“Elara Adele Vaughn,” the commander replied in a much more civilized voice. Shockingly, he offered a small bow as he spoke, his orb-like body dipping forward in a show of respect. “My apologies for the confusion. I am Commander X30r, the newly constructed headmaster of this educational facility. Your world was unfortunately outside communications range. An oversight on our part. But we will see that you are brought up to speed soon enough.”

With that, a mechanical arm extended from the robot’s hovering body. The commander tapped a button, and the wall on one side of the room slid back, revealing a massive window. All the students broke ranks in an effort to look, and a general chatter broke out. Through the windows they could see the stars, bright and shining in a way they never looked through the atmosphere of a planet. Several smaller ships could be seen, triangular fighter drones.

“Don’t worry,” the now-polite commander answered. “The security drones are here to ensure our safety as we travel throughout the galaxy, exploring education! For your safety is our number one priority!”

“You are a part of something new, Elara,” the commander said as its face broadcast a smile. “You all are a part of a new, more practical educational experience. One that trains you—not just in science and art, but in survival.”

“Welcome, cadets!” the robot intoned. “Your mission begins . . . now!”