Zack shook his head. “I didn’t sign up for this.”
“None of us did,” said Ayako. “What a surprise.”
***
The game with Blue went surprisingly well. Simon yielded somewhat and had a rotating squad, with one surprise -- Fintan was on the field for the entire game.
Under Red Two’s advisement, Fintan took the very center of the park, and took a strategic role. It was clear that he was gifted at this role, and under his guidance, and the skill of flyers like Simon and Zack, they quickly tore Blue Squadron apart, winning by three goals to zero.
“Not bad for a nugget,” grinned Simon after the game. “I’m clipping your wings.”
“What?” said Fintan. “I can’t fly anymore?”
“Yep!” said Simon with mock cheer. “Actually it was Red Two’s idea. You should talk to him.”
He smiled sarcastically and walked off
Red Two was waiting for Fintan as they left the stadium. “Come with me,” he said. He led him to a room that overlooked the arena. “We don’t use this much,” he said. “Perhaps we should.”
In front of the large picture windows that overlooked the Starball arena, was a number of large monitors. “From here,” said Red Two “you can coordinate the whole team.”
“What?” said Fintan.
“I’ve been watching you,” said Red Two. “I’ve barely even seen you touch the ball, but when you’re on the field and talking to us, we play much better. We owe the fact that we’re in the final to you, despite what Simon says.”
“Thanks,” said Fintan. “I think.”
“As you know, with one exception, we can only communicate when we are on the field, so we either have you on the field, with ten other players, or, we have you up here.”
“With one exception?” said Fintan.
“Yes. Here,” said Red Two. “From here you can talk to the whole team.”
“Simon is Captain,” said Fintan.
“Yes, but he wants to win, so I convinced him that you’d work better up here than down there.”
“So it was your fault,” said Fintan. “Thanks.”
“You might not like it now,” said Red Two. “Think about it. Those of us in the ships are learning to be pilots. Fighters. Your gift is elsewhere – in command. Simon sees that now, and we can all do better with you up here.”
“Thanks,” said Fintan, more sincerely this time.
Red Two nodded and started to leave.
“One more thing,” said Fintan. “What’s your name? Everyone calls you Red Two, and even your badge reads it.”
“That’s the way I like it,” said Red Two, and he left.
***
“Commander Fintan,” said Zack with a mock salute over dinner.
“I like the sound of that,” said Ayako. Zack’s smile turned into a scowl.
“Me too,” said Nizhoni.
“And I,” said Heather.
Raj hit Fintan with a bread roll.
“Now we’re really going to kick some Yellow butt,” said Zack.
Ayako shot him a glare.
“I mean we’re going to kick some Yellow Squadron butt,” he said. “I think?”
Ayako smiled. “Gotcha!”
***
For the rest of the week, Fintan spent every spare moment looking at tapes of their first game with Yellow. They had played a perfect game. It was too perfect. The more Fintan looked at Red’s maneuvers and the brilliant piloting of Simon and Red Two, the more he just couldn’t understand how Yellow had always known exactly what they were planning. There must be a key to how they could instantly react and take advantage of Red’s strategy, and easily use it against them.
Then he realized. The booth that Red Two had shown him. Maybe Yellow had one too, and maybe they had somebody brilliant in there. After all Green had told them that the exceptionally smart kids were taken in to Yellow.
He sighed. This would be quite the task - - figuring out how to defeat someone much smarter than him.
He buried himself even further in watching the old games. The more he watched the more he realized that there was simply no way he could be smart enough to beat them.
He laid his head down on his desk, ready to sleep.
“I don’t think you’ll figure out their strategy in the wood grains,” said Simon.
Fintan lifted his head. His eyes were red from staring at too many screens.
“Aww, no need to cry!” said Simon. “Little baby needs some milk?”
“What did you say?” said Fintan.
“I called you a little Baby and asked if you need some milk, you want to do something about that?”
“Yes,” said Fintan. Something was forming in his mind. “I think you’ve given me an idea, now get out and let me think.”
Simon saluted. “Yes, ma’am,” he said sarcastically. “Enjoy the milk.”
***
The brain was a strange thing. Simon’s words made a connection with Fintan. He remembered his mother always telling him that the connection between a mother and a baby was special. It was almost like the mother could read the baby’s mind, and that Fintan rarely cried as a baby. She just knew when it was time to feed him, and he’d always eat then. She just knew when his diaper needed to be changed, so she could do it before he became uncomfortable.
Could it be that Yellow are somehow reading our minds?
He looked at the tapes again in a new light. Now he could see it. There was one ship that did little in the game but followed Simon everywhere. There were even times when it could have engaged or tried to block Simon’s ship but it did nothing.
Very interesting thought Fintan.
***
The day of the final game came, and the entire dome was decorated in yellow and red. Lasers lit the sky, flags flew from every building and the ceiling of the dome was lit up in the squadron colors instead of the usual projection of a blue sky.
Before the game, Fintan took Simon aside and whispered in his ear. “You don’t like me, and you don’t like what I am doing, but if you want to win, you will do exactly what I say, when I say it without question or argument. Do what you do best and just fly.”
He pushed Simon off and glared at him when he tried to answer. Understanding filled Simon’s eyes and he nodded.
The game started to the same fanfare as the opening game. It had been just a few short weeks since they had last played the opening game, but Fintan felt years older. Inside he was squirming, and he mentally crossed his fingers and toes hoping that he was right.
***
“Simon,” said Fintan over the intercom as the game kicked off. “Take Red Two and Three out of your plans. They’re mine. Red Two take a look at Yellow Seven. Your job is to get on top of that ship and keep it busy whether we have the ball or not. Don’t be afraid to be physical. Bump it, push it, do whatever you can to keep it busy. Red Three, you are going to fly and hover in front of their booth. It’s opposite mine, and your job is to simply keep them blind. Got it? Now go!”
He could see the other squadron members looking at each other, aghast at Fintan’s orders. “Have you gone crazy?” said Red Two.
“Do what he says,” said Simon. “Now!”
Then the strangest thing happened. Yellow Squadron just fell apart. Red scored easily within a minute, and then again, and again. By half time, they were up by eight goals to zero.
For the second half, Yellow began to press forward again. Fintan was ready for them – they had swapped pilots, and he quickly figured out which one was the one he needed to block. He sent Red Two to harass that pilot instead, and again Yellow fell apart.
It was mercy for Yellow when the referees blew the final whistle. Red had won by fifteen goals to zero, and had destroyed the previously dominant Yellow.
***
Fintan was in no mood to celebrate, so he returned to his dorms alone, allowing everyone else to party.
The dining hall was deserted, but he was able to get a
dessert, and sit and quietly eat it. Someone sat opposite him. He looked up to see a girl in Yellow Squadron uniform. She was Asian, but her features weren’t as soft as Ayako’s. Her nametag said, ‘Ling.’ Behind her stood several other members of Yellow. Fintan was surprised that he didn’t hear them coming in.
“Fintan,” she said. “We need to talk.”
Chapter 31. Yellow’s Secret.
Fintan used his bracelet to call Zack who could barely hear him above the noise of the celebrations.
“Zack,” he said. “Get back here!”
Fintan could hear loud music and cheers through the speaker. Zack’s voice barely registered above it all. “What?” he said.
“Zack. I think you should get back here now.”
“Really? What’s up?”
“I’m with Yellow Squadron.”
“I’m on my way.”
***
He led the Yellow members into a conference room.
“What’s this about?” he said. Ling said nothing in response, and just sat quietly. Fintan recognized Toshi, the boy that Ayako had been trying to speak with all those weeks ago, but who had brushed her off.
The door banged open and Zack entered, with Nizhoni, Raj, Heather and finally Ayako.
At the moment Ayako entered Toshi stood up. He had fire in his eyes.
Ling looked at him. He looked back. No words passed between them and he sat, but if looks could kill, they would.
The exchange wasn’t lost on Ayako, who sat, quiet but alert.
Fintan looked at Ling. “You can read minds, can’t you?” he said.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Oh come on!” said Zack. “Reading minds?”
He stopped. Then he said, “Sorry. And sure I will sit down.”
“Stop that!” said Fintan. “Zack. She didn’t say anything, she just made you think she did.”
“Get out of my head,” said Zack.
“You are easy,” said Ling. “Your thoughts are so loud that it is easy to hear and change them. No, Zack I will not do what you’re thinking. That’s rude. And not anatomically possible.”
Zack went quiet.
“Explain,” said Fintan.
“Have you ever been in a room with really thin walls?” said Ling.
“You can just hear what is being said next door? It’s not clear, and it’s blurry. But when you strain and concentrate, you can make out words.”
They all nodded.
“It’s like that,” she continued. “So with many people, if I am near them and I really concentrate, I can hear their thoughts.”
“That’s how you won in Starball, isn’t it?” said Raj. “You were reading our thoughts, and predicting our moves.”
“I didn’t have to read everyone’s, just the leaders. We knew well that Simon wanted to control everything on your team, so I just got close to him, and it was easy to predict what you’d do. That is until he figured it out.” She pointed at Fintan.
“So that was those odd orders you gave before the game,” said Zack. “You were harassing her ship.”
“Yes,” said Fintan, nodding. “I noticed from the tapes that she didn’t always, instantly, predict our moves. Sometimes she was a bit delayed, and that happened when she was otherwise occupied, flying her ship, avoiding collisions and the like. So by keeping her busy I was able to cancel out her gift.”
“Nicely done,” she said. “This goes beyond Starball. I wasn’t always this way. It started about six years ago.”
“You were there too, weren’t you?” said Nizhoni. “You were abducted. Six years ago.”
Ling nodded. “Yes,” she said. “And they did this to me. It sounds like a gift, but it’s a curse. Sometimes I just want there to be some quiet, but your thoughts are in my head all the time. Like whispers.”
She paused.
“There’s something else isn’t there?” asked Fintan.
“Yes,” said Ling. “Do you know that there’s a traitor amongst you?”
“A traitor?” said Zack. “Who?”
Ling pointed to Ayako.
***
Ayako had been sitting with her head down. She looked up at Ling, and silently stared. Her gaze was scaring Fintan. It was like something had moved within her, and her eyes were darker than before.
Ling stared back wordlessly. Zack started to speak, but Nizhoni stopped him with a hand on his arm.
The staring match continued. Fintan noticed abject hostility on Toshi’s face.
A bead of sweat formed on Ling’s forehead and ran down her face. She was reddening. She gasped and then gasped again.
Fintan stood and started to walk around the table towards her, but she stood and backed off the table. She gasped again.
“She can’t breathe,” said Fintan. “Ayako, stop!”
Ayako wasn’t listening. Nizhoni shook her, but she didn’t respond.
Ling backed to a wall bumped into it and slumped to the floor. Her hands were at her neck, trying to loosen her uniform.
“Ayako. Stop!” yelled Fintan.
Nizhoni pulled Ayako with all her might, but the smaller Japanese girl didn’t move.
“It’s not her,” said Raj. “It’s something else.”
“Nizhoni! Do something!” said Fintan. Ling was turning blue now.
Nizhoni drew back and punched Ayako on the jaw. Ayako hit the ground, out cold, and instantly Ling started breathing again.
Toshi stood up. “She’s with them!” he shouted. “The ones that abducted Ling. Her family is behind it all.”
“That’s ridiculous,” said Zack.
“No, it isn’t,” said a voice from the far side of the room. “But it’s not the truth either.”
They turned to see who had spoken.
It was Mister Smith.
***
“Do you want to explain something?” said Zack.
“Not really, but I’m going to anyway,” said Smith. “What you just saw was a defensive impulse that we planted in her head should anybody try to do a deep scan. Miss Ling, I have one too, so if you try to scan me, you might start turning blue again, and I don’t believe Nizhoni can knock me out with a single punch.”
“I’m willing to try,” said Nizhoni.
Smith smiled. “I know you all want to know what is going on, what is really going on, but I can’t tell you it all. Rest assured though, I’m keeping it from you for your own protection. However, if you’re looking for someone who has been pulling the strings from the beginning, someone who has been building you all into the group you are, then look no further. It’s me. If you’re looking for a purpose, I aim to give it to you.”
“You clearly know something is going on, something more than just an innocent school that is training the future space farers, and you’d be right. So, to learn about the future, it’s good to think about history.”
He pointed at Nizhoni. “Miss Benally here is a Navajo. What happened to her and the other indigenous Americans when the Europeans arrived?”
“They were conquered,” said Zack.
“Oh it’s a lot more than that,” said Smith. “They were almost made extinct. The first part of that was when the first Europeans landed and shook hands with them, passing bugs and bacteria that the natives had no resistance to. Nobody knows exactly how many people the bugs killed, but it was probably 90% of the population. They make a big deal about the white men with their guns, but it was our bugs, and not our guns that mostly wiped them out.”
“It gets worse,” said Smith. “Those that survived were physically and culturally overwhelmed by the invaders. They were all but extinct by the turn of the twentieth century. Even today, while the various tribes and nations are boasting large populations, for example the Navajo nation has over a quarter of a million people, not many of them are pure Navajo. Even Nizhoni, who has the appearance, is probably no more than 30% Navajo.”
“They were wiped out,” said Smith. “Pure and simple.”
“You think
that will happen to us?” said Zack.
“Yes,” said Smith. “And no.”
“Let me ask you,” he continued. “What would have happened had the Navajo, the Apache, the Comanche and the other tribes been a seafaring, gun toting civilization that met the Europeans on the ocean, instead of a group that could be deemed ‘savages’ by the European governments and churches, and thus butchered without guilt?”
“They would have treated us with more respect,” said Nizhoni.
“Maybe,” said Smith. “Or maybe instead of an easy target, they would have seen you as a threat. How would they respond?”
“With war,” she replied.
“Probably,” said Smith. “So either way, it would have ended badly for you. This pattern has happened throughout history. When one civilization meets another, conflict ensues, and the weaker one gets wiped out.”
“So are there other civilizations out there?” asked Fintan.
Smith nodded slowly. “There are many. Some good, some not so good. Either way, we aren’t yet ready to meet them. We’ll probably never be ready.”
“Never?” said Zack. “So what’s the point of all this?” he spread his arms to take in their surroundings.
“That’s the other part of our story,” said Smith. “Remember, we have already made contact with another civilization.”
“Trichallik’s people,” said Ling. “The abductors.”
Smith smiled, but said nothing.
“Something doesn’t make sense in your story,” said Zack. “If things will always work out as you say, why aren’t we at war with them?”
“There are several reasons why that could be so, but let’s cut through the academic, and go for the truth,” said Smith.
“Because they are hiding here, aren’t they?” said Nizhoni.
Smith nodded slowly. “Yes,” he said. “Because their world was destroyed, so they came to a galactic backwater to hide amongst us savages.”
“Who destroyed their world?” asked Fintan.
“Does it matter?” said Smith. “The better question is why their world was destroyed.”
“And why was that?” asked Zack.
“Because they did things like what they did to Ling,” said Smith. “And Nizhoni, and you too Fintan.”