The shuttle ride that came after The Exam had Kaelon worried given the ship looked like it had been in a hovercar crash. Even the cabin looked like it had been through a fire with organic-like stains on a carpet that might have once been blue. Kaelon didn’t want to scan it. Some things were better left to the imagination.

What was worse was the reject girl, the one who had flirted with him. She was sitting next to him and not because there wasn’t room elsewhere. The only other person in the cabin with them was The Regulator who stood rather than sat. A shimmer ran across his white robes, betraying his use of a personal forcefield. Kaelon wished he had one of those.

Why do you have to sit next to me?

Kaelon shifted uncomfortably, the cooling gel padding of the seats had long since dried up making them hard, the fabric that should have covered them had long since broken down. The seats were as unforgiving as the girl’s obscene expressions, which gave him the impression she expected him to talk to her. He wasn’t going to. Instead, he looked out the panoramic window.

Better the window than your face.

They had long since flown over the lip of the outer orbital ring and into the shadow of what Kaelon now knew was the Lunar Assembly Hub. For a moment, he had glimpsed a gargantuan blue and green sphere. The girl had missed it, but Kaelon couldn’t forget it. He’d heard whispers of a thing called a planet. All anyone knew was that a planet meant paradise, and for a second he had seen it. He had tried to scan it, but it was too far away so all he had was a little stereophotogammetry data. Even now, a small hologram panel played the visuals on loop like he was afraid it would be deleted.

It’s like the ship orientation was meant to limit exposure to the planet, he mused.

Kaelon looked over at The Regulator who stood inert like a robot. It was like the man had seen all of this before and none of it mattered anymore. To Kaelon it was different, even if it was the sector-sized structures that formed a hexagonal grid across the outer rim and not the artistic designs of the inner orbital ring. The rim looked formidable, the gaps between each hexagonal segment forming auxiliary spillways for something.

Is it like protective plating?

Everything was on a scale far beyond his imagination had ever conceived.

He let out a slow breath as the shuttle dived into the dark channels of that grid.

After some time, they emerged from the angular warren and that was when Kaelon saw it: a bright monochromatic sphere. There was damage across its face from massive impacts of some kind. Kaelon had seen the like on a smaller scale when hovercars crashed into the street. Still, this was just as breathtaking. He quickly prompted his eyes to record as much data as possible. It didn’t help that it was so far away.

Another paradise?

“It’s called The Moon,” The Regulator stated, giving no indication that he had been paying any attention to Kaelon.

The reject girl didn’t respond. Her eyes were locked onto it.

Is that fear?

Kaelon wasn’t afraid of what he saw. When he looked at it, he felt the urge to want to go there. To see it for himself. Yet that didn’t seem to be where they were going. The shuttle arced, and they headed towards an ugly mass of metal in the shape of a torus—and there it was again, just beyond it: paradise. A serene palette of colour. Kaelon stood craning his neck to look at the planet. Whoever had designed the panoramic window must be a genius, but it wasn’t long before the torus mass obscured his view.

“Welcome to the Gridlock Terminus,” The Regulator’s digital voice rang out across the cabin for all to hear.

***

Standing in line with four other boys and the reject girl, Kaelon followed the pacing of a grizzly looking man while The Regulator stood off to the side as if he were just there for show.

That’s a bit intimidating.

If Kaelon didn’t know better, he would have thought the pacing man was a scavenger given how dirty and weathered his brown clothes were.

The man continued to pace. “I’m Boris and I’m in charge. Don’t forget that. Oh, and congratulations! You’ve all passed The Exam. Now, to business.” Boris pointed his dirty finger at the other boys in turn. “You three are maintenance crew, report to Workshop B4 and before I get mad be quick about it.” Boris chuckled a moment, then his face turned serious. “MOVE!”

The boys scattered leaving Kaelon and the reject girl standing together.

I have a bad feeling about this . . .

Boris marched up to Kaelon and stared him down.

Kaelon looked directly ahead while trying not to flinch.

Stepping back, Boris relaxed his shoulders. “Good, you’ll do nicely. I need a capable fellow especially after the last one—”

The Regulator made a digital noise that sounded like the clearing of a throat.

“—Ah, nevermind. Anyway, I hear you’re familiar with circuits and mechanics?”

Kaelon blinked. “I uhhh . . .”

“No need to deny it! You didn’t think you got to keep all those parts in that box you called home for no reason, did you? That was part of your training. We hoped for more like you, but you’re the only one that worked out.” Boris looked Kaelon up and down and nodded. “Alright, you will report to Maintenance Dock 5 – and as for you.” The man levelled a serious gaze at the girl before his expression suddenly brightened. “I hear you’re good at running service shafts?”

Reject Girl stepped forward and flicked her hair proudly. “The best,” she intoned.

“Excellent! We’ve some important work for you in MD 5 too. Both of you, come with me!” Boris ordered, before turning to The Regulator. “Tell The Institute we’ll meet our quotas.”

The Regulator gave a slight bow, turned on his heel and left.

Kaelon and Reject Girl looked at one another.

Since when did regulators bow to anyone?

***

The maintenance dock had a large number five written across the blast doors. Inside, it was just like the dock at the inner orbital lip except shabbier.

Kaelon eyed the assortment of droids with delight. Here too they came in a variety of shape and sizes. Maybe he would get to command an army of droids after all.

They followed Boris, who limped towards a large vent that had been pried open.

“Alright, girlie! You’re up.” Boris gestured towards the shaft.

Reject Girl looked at him and back at Kaelon. The uncertainty on her face was palpable. “Uh about that . . .”

“Your job is simple. Go in, check it out, and come back if anything doesn’t feel right.”

The girl nodded with a relieved expression, saluted and pointed her nose in the air as she passed Kaelon. The next moment, she dived inside.

Kaelon stood there awkwardly with Boris who folded his arms and waited. He didn’t think saying anything was worth risking offending this man. Kaelon wasn’t stupid.

After some time, the sound of thudding came from the shaft and the girl staggered out, collapsing on the floor. She gasped and spasmed, her skin blistered and bubbling. Only a rasp came out of her mouth like her airways had been scorched beyond use.

Kaelon moved to help her, but Boris pushed him back with a meaty hand.

“Definitely a radiation leak. Damn sensors and scanners don’t pick up this stuff properly. Well, now we know. Come along!” He turned on his heel and marched away.

Kaelon followed, unable to stop looking back. Reject Girl’s face was unrecognisable now, but she was still spasming every few moments and the look in her eyes was pleading.

Boris clicked his fingers at a six-armed droid. “Clean up the mess.”

The droid hovered over, spraying the body with a solution that started to dissolve it.

Reject Girl began to silently flail, but it was momentary as her body liquified.

Another droid came along, using a nozzle to suck up the fluid before floating away. The slurping noises it had made were just like those of body waste removal stations.

Kaelon supressed a shiver, but he couldn’t do anything about the sinking feeling in his stomach.

It’s like she never was . . .

“Boy! Get your head together!” Boris demanded.

Kaelon flinched but was quick to turn and face the man whose eyes scrutinised him in the same way that Kaelon liked to look at hovercar parts.

“I hope I wasn’t wrong about you?”

“No, sir!”

“Hmm, well that is yet to be seen.” He tapped the empty air. “Bartley, get your ass down here and suit up. Got a newbie for you.” A dismissive swipe followed.

Kaelon couldn’t help but feel a tremble run up his leg. He didn’t want it to shake like that, but he didn’t seem able to control it. Thankfully, Boris didn’t seem to notice.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Right, you will go outside and repair the circuits, so we don’t get any more nasty little surprises in our shafts and vents. Can’t have it turning into a containment breach. Nasty business that what with a bunch of spatial distortions flying around.”

“Uh, yes. Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now, I better go find that damn Bartley before he finds a new place to hide.”

Kaelon watched Boris limp towards the exit of the maintenance bay.

The man paused a moment, then turned around. “Oh, and one more thing: if you don’t work out, you can take over girlie’s job. We just happen to have a new vacancy to fill – you don’t even have to be fit.” Boris turned away, laughing loudly as he the docking bay doors rematerialised behind him.

***

“Both of you will suit up, head out and fix my damn relay!” Boris didn’t even glance at Kaelon, instead he was fixated on Bartley who stood there rubbing a very red ear.

Kaelon didn’t mind being ignored. He was beginning to think that it was better to fly under the radar, but some things had to be asked. “Uh, sir? What about training?”

Bartley shot Kaelon a look of incredulity.

“Training? Training!? Boy, we learn on the job, or we die on the job. It’s up to you which is better. Now, quit stalling. Suit up. You have an hour to prove I wasn’t wrong.”

Kaelon and Bartley exchanged a look before looking at the two suits in the charging pods behind them. One was new, sleek and white; the other was brown with a dozen patches and repairs that looked like they were ready to give at any moment. Without a word, they both ran towards the new suit. The scuffle was fierce, but Kaelon was on the losing end. Bartley was older and taller with sinewy limbs that held a strength honed from hard work. It was an elbow to the side of the head that decided the outcome. Kaelon falling on his backside as Bartley climbed into the hollow of the white suit. It sealed him in, with a long hiss of air compression. Bartley’s face could be seen through the crystal visor, gloating.

The other suit was much slower at sealing itself. It even jammed for a moment too before Kaelon managed to readjust it. Wearing a sour expression, he clumsily bumbled out of the charging pod to follow in Bartley’s wake.

Bartley leapt through a field into open space that flashed azure as he passed through. His white suit floating away from the docks in a way that looked effortless; Kaelon in the brown suit didn’t manage so well, awkwardly stumbling after him.

A holographic panel popped up in front of Kaelon showing Bartley’s face inside his suit, alongside it an audio panel appeared.

“Kaelon, was it?” Bartley spoke. “Well, whatever. When the relay extends, use your implant interface to activate your gravity boots. You only get one shot to attach.”

Kaelon tapped the comms button on the holopanel before him, which he was surprised worked given the brown glove was thick and cumbersome. “What happens if it doesn’t attach?”

“That happened to the last guy, he’s floating around somewhere out here – get ready!”

Turning slowly, Kaelon could see a techspire-wide tube extending out from under the docking bay. It was coated in a thick layer of azure gel within which a tangle of circuits, tubes and wires ran. It was somewhat similar to refractor tubes.

I hope they’re not as fragile . . .

The tube began to extend beyond their position.

“Activate your boots!” Bartley shouted through the comms, he was already descending downwards.

Fumbling with the holographic controls, Kaelon followed soon after. His heart racing as he had no idea if he had done it right. A few minutes later, he felt panic grip him. A moment after that, an impact told him he’d succeeded. Bending forward, he could see that he was standing on the gel surface of the relay tube. He exhaled, his breath fogging up his already scratched visor, which didn’t help with visibility.

“Get to repairing! We don’t have a lot of time.”

Kaelon turned slowly to see Bartley fumbling along the length of the relay. Kaelon turned back to the section he was attached to. It all looked the same to him. “Uh, how?”

A tirade of words that Kaelon had never heard before came through the comms. Kaelon wasn’t familiar with them, but he was smart enough to know they weren’t very nice. “Idiot! Use your eyes to scan, that’s why they gave you the implants in the first place.”

Kaelon knelt as Bartley had, using his hand to activate a diagnostic holopanel. He had to carefully look at each segment embedded within the gel. His eyes fed back tonnes of data. None of it made much sense to him. Still, he kept at it. A moment later, a part was outlined in red and a warning flashed before him. “Found one!” he exclaimed through the comms.

“Don’t tell me, just fix it.”

Kaelon looked at the error log, then craned his head in Bartley’s direction. “With what?”

“You’ve got the tools!” Bartley spat.

Uh oh . . .

“I didn’t bring any . . .”

“Fool! Use your nanites. You’ve permission to expel them from your body. They’ll do the work for you.”

“Ah, right!” Kaelon nodded.

I feel like a living tool.

It took a while to get used to nanites oozing out of his body, making a grey goo that moved with a mind of its own, but Kaelon didn’t have much choice in the matter. The nanites shifted through his suit onto the gel, into it and began to repair whatever he specified them to. It was a slow process.

They worked in silence after that, and the time whittled away. It seemed the damage was minimal and all that was needed was some minor repairs and general maintenance.

A timer popped up, warning him that he had five minutes to return to the docking bay. Having just finished another repair, Kaelon retracted his nanites. He craned his neck, trying to locate Bartley. He spotted him floating towards the docking bay, ducking inside.

“Bastard knew and didn’t warn me.”

Kaelon looked about and began to stomp towards the docking bay. He was making slow progress. Unlike Bartley’s suit, his didn’t have half the manoeuvrability and even less of the speed. He needed some speed right now.

Boris’ voice came through the comms. “Boy, get back to the dock. We’re about to pump resources to the motherworld!”

The relay began to thrum as Kaelon detached from it and floated towards the dock. It was very slow progress. Not far below him, lights pulsed through the gel along with electric currents that thankfully couldn’t reach him. An azure beam shone through the relay towards the planet making Kaelon’s breath catch. To his surprise, shimmering spheres the size of a shuttle began to travel through the light from somewhere inside the Gridlock Terminus. Kaelon had not seen anything like it before, but they were close enough to scan.

Panels of data sprung up before him, showing detailed information, he’d never been able to access in any of his databases. Kaelon froze.

What?

Inside the spheres were compositions of organic matter labelled as nutrients. Kaelon was familiar with it; he’d been eating them all his life. Everyone he knew did. Surveying the data, he felt a chill run down his spine. Photogammetry data popped up in multiple windows at his bidding. Each showing humanoid creatures: some with segmented limbs, wings, feelers, scales, or hair. Most were bipedal but some were quadrupeds. What the data indicated was that each sphere was made up of the neural tissues of millions of creatures. Creatures wearing clothes. Intelligent creatures – all labelled as non-citizens. Sphere after sphere travelling down towards the planet without an end in sight. Towards paradise.

Paradise for who?

Kaelon felt the urge to vomit. This didn’t feel right. In fact, it felt WRONG.

“No,” he said, shaking his head.

The pulses from the relay were strong. Visible spatial waves from them began to tug at his suit, pulling him away from the docking bay and towards the planet.

I’m not going to make it.

Boris’ voice came through the comms. “Boy, hang tight. When we’ve dumped our load, I’ll send out Bartley to pull you in. We’ve another shipment inbound so don’t think you’re going to avoid any work.”

Kaelon winced. Turning to the relay, he watched the spheres flow through the light towards the planet. Where they went, he had no idea. He didn’t want to know. When it was over, the azure beam flickered and winked out, the relay retracting. By that time, he’d floated out further granting him a grand view of the Lunar Assembly Hub and a better view of the Gridlock Terminus. He didn’t know what he was feeling as his emotions tumbled about inside.

Am I even going to survive?

<>

It seemed even his suit was telling him that his chances were slim.

A warning popped up in his field of view. There was a microleak and his suit was malfunctioning. Gesturing, he isolated it to an old repair of a sensor component and expelled a glob of nanites to repair it. The repair was slow, and he found himself feeling indifferent to whether it worked or not. One thing drifting in space afforded you was time to think, and thinking was the last thing Kaelon wanted to do right now.

<>

I miss the air of Sector 11.

Kaelon inhaled slowly. He figured taking his time to breathe was in his best interest. The planet before him was remarkable. White clouds painting the atmosphere above a blue that made the blue of those docking bay workers look like a failed attempt to imitate true beauty. Thinking of his own clothes, he realised he still wore the greys of a child.

They didn’t even give me proper clothes.

The gravity boots were somewhat cool although they were attached to the suit, which was ugly. Still, not everyone got to pick and choose. Reject Girl certainly didn’t. Off to his left, sat the distant moon and the colossal Lunar Assembly Hub with its two orbital rings, rotating silently even now. You could barely make out the line of space traffic from this distance. Kaelon preferred it to the Gridlock Terminus, an ugly mass of metal if ever he saw one. He swiped away the data from his relay scans. They left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Unexpectedly, a flash of blue-white made him look up—if up was the right direction to describe it. The light funnelled brief and by no accounts was it small. From it emerged, a massive spaceship, drifting forward and far larger and more imposing than any Kaelon had seen before. Far off from it, another two spaceships of sleeker design burst through flashes of the same kind. Kaelon blinked repeatedly as a mechanised tube under the hull descended and pointed its barrel at the planet. A concentrated beam of red light shot forth endlessly. Kaelon craned towards the planet, watching the white clouds scatter in a shockwave that spread out from the point of impact, along with the biggest explosion he had ever seen. The fiery matter of the planet bursting upwards beyond its atmosphere, spreading outwards across the surface as if nothing could stop it.

Kaelon swivelled back to the larger ship, just as the Lunar Assembly Hub turned towards it, powerful beams of energy firing from the inner orbital ring to blast through the forcefields and hull of the attacking vessel. The alien ship veered off, uncontrolled as its energy beam dissipated.

At the same time, the two smaller alien ships swung around and fired a volley of energy projectiles at the Gridlock Terminus, its mass moving away under the force of the bombardment.

Warning panels sprung up in overlapping array before Kaelon. He looked to the planet, the point of impact was collapsing in on itself in a vortex of orange and red that he didn’t need to scan to know would incinerate him instantly. His chest ached at the sight of it but now was not the time to dwell on such things. Kaelon noticed that several more alien vessels—all of different designs—burst through flashes of light and began to bombard the Lunar Assembly Hub. The hexagonal grid of the outer lip flaring with azure light as energy began to rush up from its angular channels to form a forcefield around it. It was no use though. A lot of damage had been done, explosions racking the structure at random while half of the inner orbital ring was collapsing.

My parents!

Kaelon wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn’t come. The implantation process had taken that ability from him. Swiping the warning panels that were impeding his view, they minimised out of the way. No matter how cold or distant things were between his parents and himself, Kaelon truly wanted them to be safe.

A large number of massive spaceships with silvery hulls, swept out from behind the planet. They glittered like diamonds as they emerged from the planet’s shadow. Kaelon noticed them first out of the corner of his eye. The limited field of view caused by the visor of his suit irked him.

<>

Kaelon realised he was panting. Struggling to calm himself, he looked at the nearby Gridlock Terminus. It seemed to have been holding up against the attack, but the ships were not letting up. A singular beam of concentrated energy pierced through it, tearing it in half. With an open mouth, Kaelon held his breath.

Not good!

Three warning panels shot up before him.

<>

“What docking bay?!”

Useless!

Kaelon scowled at the warning panels and swiped them away – he wish he hadn’t. All around the Gridlock Terminus’ debris were volatile tears in the fabric of space, ringed in electrical discharge. They sucked in any debris that came too close.

<>

Kaelon blinked at the warning panel. He swiped it away angrily.

“Of all the—”

The spaceships from the collapsing planet, manoeuvred around and fired devastating beams of energy at the alien vessels. Some of their attacks burst through the hulls of their targets—scattering forcefields—and hit the moon, tearing through its mass and making its surface crumble.

Kaelon didn’t know where to look. He didn’t have enough power in his suit to travel away from the danger and there was nowhere within range that could offer shelter. Looking up, the last thing he saw was a spatial distortion explode into being above him. All he could do was curl into a ball as it sucked him inside.