I woke up. Though I’m not sure waking up applied to this situation. Waking up implies calmly emerging from a slumber. This wasn’t a slumber. It was more of a coma. And the waking up was more of trashy coming into consciousness.
I had absolutely no fucking idea where I was. Until I looked out the window. Well at least we were still in the Jovian system.
We looked to be in a hotel that was in low orbit at Jupiter’s South Pole. The auroras glowed brilliantly against the orange and black backdrop of space and the planet itself.
I looked back towards the bed. It was messy but at least I didn’t wake up anyone other than myself in it.
I stumbled out of the room. The place looked absolutely trashed. I walked over to another open room. Spitfire was there sprawled on the floor, half naked. Fortunately she was lying on her stomach, her wings were sprawled open. I walked over and covered her back up with a blanket. She snored before cuddling the blanket and moaning something and going back to sleep.
I continued walking down the hallway. I stared through another open door. And it’s Dane and Gin in the same bed- I don’t want to know. But for posterity, I walked back to my room and found my phone and took a picture.
I stumbled into the trashed kitchen. The whole place looked like a tornado ran through it.
I opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. I was halfway through drinking it when I heard two screams coming from Dane’s/Gin’s room. I had no idea what the hell happened but I could make a few guesses. I laughed. Guess the two lovers finally came too.
***
Spitfire walked down the garden pathway.
It was a beautiful place of color and nature. Flowers, trees, birds, all existed together in perfect harmony.
It almost put the elements of harmony to shame, which most of the time functioned more like a dysfunctional family than bearers of weapons of mass destruction.
She continued walking. Her wings enjoyed the nice feelings that the wind gave her when it blew over.
There was a figure at the end of the pathway. He was alone. He had wings. Black wings.
Without a word she walked up the figure, grasping his hand in hers. She smiled contently, leaning her head into his shoulder-
“AAAHHHHH!” A scream sucked her out of her dream.
“DANE! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!”
Loud, boisterous laughter echoed down the hallway followed by they sound of Jett struggling to breath.
She looked around her. She was on the floor. And she was missing her top but was covered with a blanket.
She smiled. Her dream was pleasant. Now to figure out what the hell happened last week.
***
Well Cat’s skills at forgery were officially the best in the solar system. After figuring out just what happened last week, and a few days of awkward silence between Dane and Gin it was time to return to school.
Cat managed to forge a few records and Gin helped play the role of Spitfire’s mother for the school interview. After a few meetings and some paper work Spitfire was officially enrolled at Charles Lindbergh academy.
Cat said goodbye to us at the space port before she headed off to her government job in the inner solar system. While there we ran into Dane who would be joining us at the school.
The shuttle ride there was uneventful and we were soon within sight of the school. It was mushroom shaped object. A dome was on the top where the main school was located. Farther down were the hangers for incoming vehicles. And that included the flight team. Lower still was a small living area that had all sorts of functions. Grocery stores, clothing stores, a general purpose mall if anything. And beyond that were the living quarters for all who lived on the station. Under the dome (Stephen King reference) was the main school building and grounds. There was a football field, track, baseball field, all the things you would see at a normal high school. The building itself was where all the learning took place. Typical school.
Our ship flew towards the public parking hanger. The doors opened and the ship did a twirl before it entered, landing calmly on its landing gear. A walkway extended and quickly pressurized and we walked out, carrying our duffel bags.
“Aw Dude, I swear that ride was so long,” Dane said as he cracked his back.
“Oh shut up and stop being an impatient little bitch,” I retorted.
“Whatever man. Let’s just get down to our dorms and toss our stuff there. I wanna get this orientation over with as soon as possible.”
“Fine.”
The three of us walked through the hallways of the school. Soon we were outside and under the dome. We headed to the elevators that lead to the dorms. The dome itself wasn’t large enough for it to need a frame but it was still large. It looked more like a gigantic bubble was blown over us. Only if this bubble popped we all died. Around the front of the school were various gardens and trees. There were a few small hills that dotted the landscape. Behind the school was where the athletic field rested. A few birds and other animals flew and dashed about in the park.
We reached the elevators and hit the button for Level E; the lowest level on the station. One could take the stairs or some other more scenic way down but we were in a hurry.
When Spits and I left the house after the party ended and after a counseling session for Dane and Gin, Lord only knows what those two did that week, we had to pack up kinda quickly to catch our flight. Spitfire packed the quickest surprisingly. Unlike most women I knew who were absolute clean freaks, she was just as messy as any guy I knew. While I was neatly folding everything into my duffle bag for the year, Spits was just casually tossing everything into hers. The end result was kinda funny.
“Now while this school is a space academy,” I explained to Spitfire, “You’ll learn a lot of other things here as well.”
“Like?”
“Well this place is also a science academy so there’s things like geology, biology, environmental studies, everything. But considering you basically have all the same classes as me you shouldn’t have to worry too much. Just depends on what you picked for your elective.”
Spitfire gave me a sly grin, “That’s another thing. I joined the flight team.”
Oh god.
***
Well we reached the dorm level. The school was all co-ed so contraceptives were mandatory. We walked out of the elevator. We were in a large circular room. The bottom of the station. Well for us anyway. Farther below was the reactor that powered everything and the other systems necessary for survival in this place. The room was a multi-level format. In the center of the room was a circular platform that served as a lounge. It was situated right around the large spine of the station. Couches, arm chairs, tables and even a fireplace were up there. Underneath it was a small cafeteria area with tables. There was even a salad bar and even a small soda bar.
Various students were getting settled in, talking about themselves. Some were up in the lounge; others were grabbing food, while some were arriving like us.
We walked towards our dorm, room number 90. As we headed to our room two of the school’s football players came towards us and bumped me with their shoulders.
“Watch where you’re walking robot boy!” They laughed as they headed for the elevators.
I sighed. Great, this again.
“What the hell was their problem?” Spitfire asked.
Dane gave them the finger before answering, “They’re just pissy over last year.”
“What happened last year?”
“This guy. The flight team was competing in the Dog Wing Finals. We were in the final two. Us against Olympus Mons Academy. They knocked our team out leaving Jett as the last pilot alive left to deal with their five remaining pilots.”
“So what happened?”
“I won’t go into specifics but he slapped the shit outta them and won the championship. But unfortunately the football team was playing in their finals. No one noticed when they won and the team got jealous. Been like that ever since.”
Spitfire turned to Jett, “So how did you win?”
I smiled, “That’s a story for another day. Right now let’s get settled in.”
We walked up to our door. Being the only people registered to the room only we could unlock it. I put my thumb print on the door pad and opened it up.
To be honest it was an all about nice place. Able to fit four people but we were lucky not to get anyone extra in our room. We had a nice living area before us with a kitchen off to the right. On our left we had the hallway that led to the two bedrooms. Each room had two beds to it.
The living room was a nice place. Two couches that were positioned at a TV with a smart glass coffee table in front of it. There were also a two recliners seated near the couches.
Dane gave me a look before bolting towards the rooms and taking one, “I call the single!”
“What? Oh no you don’t!” I yelled, “Your ass is bunking with me!”
“Why?!”
“Because Spitfire is a woman and needs a single room!”
“No she doesn’t!”
“Well then she can bunk with you! You’re better with girls anyway!”
“I’m right here you know,” Spitfire deadpanned.
“Why are you so against sleeping in the same room with her?”
“Because of my WONDERFUL charms and all the swag I have will get to her,” I said sarcastically, “Why do you think asshole?”
“Dude, stop being a pussy about it. ‘Sides, she’s your girlfriend or whatever, you sleep with her.”
“I’m gonna kill you.”
“I’d honestly rather share a room with Jett than sleep alone anyway,” Spits commented.
“Well it looks like we win,” Dane declared grabbing my bag and tossing it into the room, “So go unpack. Look, I even gave you two the room with the view.”
I sighed. This year was gonna be great.
***
Well Dane left to go unpack his things in HIS room, leaving Spits and I to unpack ourselves. She slammed the door closed as soon as we were inside.
“Alright,” she looked a little angry, “What gives?”
“About?” I said slowly unsure of what she was mad about.
“Why are you so uncomfortable with us sharing a room together?”
Oh that, “I was, uh, just trying to be considerate. Yeah that’s it.”
“Bull shit. Why are you so bothered by this?”
I sighed. Well, no hiding this now, “You’re the first girl who’s been able to look past… well… this,” I held up the arm for emphasis, “And not just the arm. The whole shebang of me being a machine. If anyone here looked past the arm they would stop at the android part of it.”
“So… get to the point.”
“I’m not the best around members of the opposite sex. I just don’t want to do anything that would make me lose you as a friend.”
“Why would you be worried about that? Dude, you saved my life like three times.”
“Some things about human behavior still elude me. Like women!” I said unnaturally cheerful.
“Really? I’d say you’ve just about mastered human behavior from what I’ve seen!” Spits laughed.
“When I was a kid my mother always said I never smiled correctly. I never really figured it out until… well you know. School pictures were always a bit awkward.”
“Oh.”
“So for some aspects of humanity I’m still a bit of a stranger. Things like human intuition, gut feelings, sixth senses have no meaning to me. Which is probably why female behavior eludes me as well.”
Spitfire laughed and tried to look angry again, “What do you mean by that? Girls aren’t that complicated.”
A shout was heard across the hallway, “DON’T GIVE ME THAT SHIT! GIRLS ARE A RUBIKS CUBE JENGA CROSSWORD PUZZLE ALL WRAPPED UP INSIDE A TESSERACT!”
“Thank you Dane! Your opinion is much appreciated!” Spitfire called.
“See? Even Dane agrees with me. And he’s the more human of the two of us.”
“How does that work?”
“We each have a different personality that can be affected by the environments we develop in. Dane grew up on Earth in the tropics doing god knows what for the first few years of his life.”
“Ah, so you’re…?”
“I’m the stranger in a strange land so to speak.”
“I don’t think so. If anyone’s the stranger it’s me. You’ve always been there for me as my first friend in this strange but interesting place.”
“While I may know some things the majority is blank for me. Comforting you when you were sad was natural but the rest of your behavior is a mystery. I can read body language and other things about people but understanding it is a whole different story. It’s like reading a book but only understanding part of it.”
Spitfire smiled, “You’ll get the hang of it eventually. If you do something stupid I won’t hold it against you.”
“Heh heh, thanks. Don’t think that’s gonna stop me from kicking your butt up there in space.”
“We’ll see fly boy.”
Dane yelled from across the hall, “Would you two get to fornicating already?!”
“That’s IT! YOU’RE DYING MOTHER FUCKER!”
Spitfire fell onto her bed laughing.
***
Well after beating the living shit outta Dane and getting orientation out of the way we were heading back to the dorms for supper.
We all ate in the cafeteria area of our dorm level. Other dorm levels were stacked above ours but ours was the best in my opinion as it had the best views low orbit had to offer.
“Well that was boring. Like always,” Dane said.
“We have to it every year, Dane,” I sighed as I poked my salad. I don’t know why I eat. I don’t need to. It’s a waste of time. But for some reason Dane ate like a pig. I guess I did it out of habit now more than anything.
“Besides, we all need to participate to orient all incoming students.”
“I don’t see why I had to be there though,” Dane complained, “You I could understand.”
“Why is it any different for me than you?”
“Um, you’re the MVP for the flight team and are probably gonna be Team Captain next year when Apollo graduates.”
“What’s the flight team even like?” Spitfire asked.
Dane and I both turned with looks on our faces, “Oh it’s wonderful. Fun, crazy, some people on it are difficult to deal with but still worth it if we get to fly.”
“I take it Dane is one of those people?”
Dane held his heart in mock offense, “Why me dearest Spitfire I’m shocked you would even think of me in such a fashion.”
I laughed, “As big of an asshole as Dane is sometimes he’s not the biggest.”
“Well then who is?” Spitfire asked.
A boy walked by with a tray in his hands. He had brown hair in a bowl cut and a scar running across his cheek. He shot us a glare before moving on to his table.
“Him,” Dane said calmly before digging into his mashed potatoes with gusto.
“What happened to his face?”
“Training accident. We were doing drills when he got too close to one of the rings that mark the course. He nicked it and had to eject. But he blames me for it saying I pushed him to close to the edge of the track,” I said before taking another bite, “But he’s the least of my worries.”
“Oh. So tomorrow we start class?”
“Yuff,” Dane said with a mouth full of chicken.
“Dude would you please swallow?”
GULP.
“Thank you.”
“I hear we’re getting new planes this year,” Dane said taking a sip from his drink.
“Yeah, looking forward to it. Finally we can get rid of those old S-10’s,” I smiled. The S-10 training plane. Not the worst plane but still old enough. More like your grandfather’s reliable old truck. They worked but were still pretty old. This year we would be getting brand new planes fresh out of the orbital factory.
“What models do you think we’ll be getting?” I asked.
“Some SF-50’s would be nice.”
“Yeah, sure,” I laughed, “Like the school is gonna go up to the navy and ask for a few of the latest Space superiority fighter.”
“You never know.”
“Shut up.”
***
Well it was night time now. The lights throughout the station were significantly dimmed to simulate night. Dane was calmly sleeping in the other room while I stared at the ceiling. This was the first time I’d ever had a roommate here.
Normally I’d just stare at Jupiter until I fell asleep on the floor but not this time. This time the ceiling seemed more interesting.
Truthfully I was kind of worried. What if we couldn’t get Spitfire back home? True we hadn’t even tried the teleporting thing since summer ended but still. What if she was stuck here for good? What then? Hiding her wings and her identity would only be possible for the short term, like for a few months or years. The longer she stayed the higher the risk.
It seemed that Spits was thinking the same thing as me.
“Hey Jett. You asleep yet?”
I sighed, “No. Still trying to figure out how to shut off that function.”
“I was just wondering… What if I can’t get back? What if I’m stuck here forever?”
I should have figured this one was coming up. What if she was stuck here forever? In all honesty it wasn’t something I had considered seriously. I’d always figured we would find some way back, whether it be as simple as her figuring out how to do that teleport trick again or accelerating around the sun at warp speeds. I’d always thought one way or another we’d get her back. But what if she was stuck here? Permanently.
But I couldn’t just give up on her like that.
“You’ll get back Spits.”
“But what if I can’t?” She despaired, “Let’s be realistic here. What if I’m stuck here forever? What if… what if I never see my friends again?” She sounded close to tears
Silence. I don’t know what to say to that. I’m not programed with consoling subroutines. Guess I’ll have to do the best with what I’ve got.
“I… I… Don’t know Spits,” I said standing up and walking over to her bed. She sat up.
“I know I’m not like you and if I was in your situation it would be easier for me to adapt. I’ve never had many close friends but if our roles were reversed I’d be wondering the same thing.”
She sniffed, “I miss them, Jett. I just want to be able to get back and see them again.”
I pulled her in for a hug, “I know.”
We simply held each other in silence for a while. Soon I began to feel her wing wrap around me. It was warm. Comforting. Like soft warm blanket.
“How about this,” I finally spoke, “We’ll keep looking for a way back until I go offline.”
“When will that be?”
“I don’t know. Father says I could last a few thousand years without maintenance so I’d say a while. But if you can’t get back I’ll talk to Cat. We’ll figure something out. Just don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of you.”
She sniffed and looked at me with a sad smile on her face, “Thanks. That means a lot.”
She leaned in close as we looked out the window at the swirling storms of Jupiter below.
***
Well school started today. It was Monday after all. All of the classes were pretty typical. Stellar phenomena, Planetary geology, Orbital mechanics, Applied physics, Stellar engineering, a study hall. Spitfire surprisingly caught on to most of these classes quickly. She only had trouble with Stellar phenomena but we could work on that as the year progressed.
But now it was time for my favorite and most likely Spitfire’s favorite class yet. Flight training.
We all stood at attention before a two men in one of the schools hanger decks. One of them was an older man with greying hair. The guy looked to be no younger than 80 years old. There was a younger man behind him who looked to be anywhere from 25 to 60.
“Alright listen up everyone,” the grey haired man said, “I am Mr. Tate and this is Mr. Strong. We are your flight coaches for this year.”
Everyone nodded. We were all in the hanger wearing flight suits. The hanger was still pressurized but that was about to change soon. Spitfire, Dane, me and a bunch of other students were all standing in a line before a large door.
“Now as you know we are getting new planes this year,” He continued. A lot of people cheered at that.
“Settle down everyone. I know you’re excited about getting new ships this year but you’ll have to be patient. We have a few things to go over first. First off; these are two person ships. A navigator and a pilot.”
There were a few ‘Aws,’ from everyone. I was wondering how this was gonna work.
“Now calm down. There are not enough ships for everyone to be pilot but everyone will receive training on the new platforms. Now everyone pair up. Find someone you like cause you’re gonna be partners for the year.”
Everyone began to pair up. Dane started to walk towards me.
I sighed, “Sorry dude, but I gotta look after her,” I said indicating to Spits, “She’s never piloted before.”
“Yeah yeah,” he laughed, “You watch out for your girlfriend. I’ll pair up with James.”
He walked away to a dark skinned boy. They fist bumped. I turned to Spits.
“So I guess we’re pairing up huh?” she said smiling.
“Yeah I guess we are. Don’t worry; I’ve flown before so this thing shouldn’t be too hard to pick up.”
“EVERYONE PARTNER UP?” Mr. Tate yelled, “NO?! RAMIREZ! JENKINS! CONGRATULATIONS BOYS YOU’RE PARTNERS NOW!”
Everyone laughed.
“Alright! We’re gonna depressurize the hanger and open the door. Your new ships are on the other side.”
Our suits pressurized and a whooshing sound could be heard as the air slowly left the chamber.
“How about later tonight we practice your teleporting thing again?” I asked Spitfire.
“Sure I’m game. So what kind of ships do you think we’re getting?”
“Well if I had to guess and them being two seaters I’d say they’d most likely be S-12B’s if anything. That’s within the school’s budget. Maybe some ST-16.2’s if we’re lucky. But hey, let’s wait and see.”
The room finished depressurizing and the large door before us unlocked and began to open. We could see into the blackness of space and the bright orange horizon of Jupiter below us.
“Well class, get a good look at your new ships. These things are brand new and I don’t want to see any of you treating them like lawnmowers.”
Everyone gasped at the sight before us. I laughed in glee as I saw the ships before us.
“Yeah ha ha! Now that is awesome!”