★ Sandi ★

  Sandi turned eighteen years old the following Friday.

  It was his birthday, and he should’ve been happy, but he didn’t feel like celebrating.

  The only career he’d ever planned for—the organization on which he’d staked his future—had made it abundantly clear that he had no place here. And for someone who’d spent their whole life hearing nothing but praise and encouragement, that was a hard blow.

  For the first time, Sandi had been unjustly rejected through no fault of his own, and he didn’t know what to do. It was killing him slowly.

  West had barely acknowledged him all day, and General Howard looked at him in the same way one might regard a bug on the bottom of their shoe, when he sat in that classroom.

  He wondered what he’d done to deserve this.

  The answer was nothing, because life is unfair sometimes, but this was the first time he truly realized it. His dream was shattering to pieces, and his heart right along with it.

  And the day hadn’t shown much sign of improvement as it went on.

  He’d been daydreaming in his orbital mechanics class, but he abruptly snapped out of it when his teacher walked by and placed his graded test, the first of the year, face-down on his desk.

  Professor Maxwell was a kind-eyed, easygoing man with a calming voice and a reassuring presence, but today his gaze was much sharper, and that smile was nowhere to be seen.

  “Mr. Patel,” he said, “I want you to stay after class, and don’t look at that grade until everyone else has left.”

  Another failure, Sandi thought. Fitting.

  So he did as he’d been told, and he didn’t look. He simply waited in a tense state of anxiety until the rest of his classmates had been dismissed, and only he remained. But when the last of the cadets were gone, he finally turned the paper over. He couldn’t wait any longer.

  The score penciled at the top was 100%.

  He glanced at the professor with a confused look, but Maxwell simply leaned against his desk at the front of the room.

  “That’s impressive work,” he said.

  “Thank you,” Sandi replied.

  Maxwell nodded back. “There was only one cadet in my class who completed the test with no errors, and it was you. You’re a very bright young man, do you know that?”

  Sandi shrugged.

  “I don’t think you believe me.”

  Sandi stared at him. “What are you getting at?”

  “Don’t bullshit me.”

  Sandi inhaled sharply. “Swearing’s against the rules—”

  “So is discrimination based on background, history, or origin, but it happened to you, didn’t it?”

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  Sandi was silent.

  “I heard about the incident in General Howard’s classroom,” Maxwell continued. “It’s disgusting, the way you’re being treated. It’s not right. You’re outperforming most of your classmates, yet you’ve been told you don’t belong here, and by the Chancellor, no less. You’d think he’d want to reward top performers, but he seems to value his own prejudice over achievement. No matter how well you do, it’ll never be good enough for him. You could be valedictorian and graduate with every honor we have, and he’d still think you’re not worthy to pour that pretentious cup of tea he keeps on his desk because of your background. How does that make you feel?”

  Sandi didn’t know what to say. He simply shook his head, and this time, he was holding back tears.

  Maxwell scrutinized him carefully, then took a deep breath and looked away. “You should be angry; I know I am. I won’t say what I’m really thinking, of course, because I’d probably lose my job.” He sighed. “Every teacher I know—all the good ones, anyway—would give anything to have a student like you in their classroom. You’re exactly the type of talent we want to retain, but we have a Chancellor who goes out of his way to make sure that doesn’t happen. I’m furious on your behalf, and I’m deeply embarrassed that this is how the Academy is being represented. I even heard you reported that incident, but you were sent right back to his class afterwards, and he’s behaving as if nothing ever happened. Is that true?”

  Sandi nodded, and Maxwell lowered his voice slightly as he leaned forward and held out a sealed envelope. “I just want you to know that some of us are on your side.”

  Sandi frowned, then hesitantly reached out and took it.

  “You can read that later,” Maxwell said. “It’s an invitation to The Outer Watch—a research expedition hosted by the Academy every year. Normally it’s only open to upperclassmen, but freshmen can participate if they have an exemption, and I’m prepared to write one for you.”

  Sandi stared down at the envelope, which bore the Academy’s seal on the front, then looked back up at him. “I… don’t know what to say.”

  “Honestly, neither do I. The fact that someone with your talent and motivation could be cast off so easily, and for such an inane reason, is… once again, I have no words. Just take this opportunity, please.”

  “Will Howard be upset if he finds out ?”

  “Oh, I’m sure he will be, but this is beyond his reach. The expedition lies within the purview of the Academy’s research panel, of which I’m a tenured member, so he has very little influence there. Not only that, but it’s funded by grants and private donations, and the selection process is purely merit-based. This is a highly competitive program, and it brings quite a bit of funding, prestige, and recognition to the Corps, so if you were to distinguish yourself there, it would reflect very poorly on him if he tried to expel you.”

  Sandi smiled for the first time that day, and so did Professor Maxwell as he continued. “Now, I don’t expect you to understand how any of this works, especially as a freshman, so you’ll need quite a bit of time to prepare. I’m willing to sponsor you, though, if you’re willing to put in the work.”

  Sandi nodded. “Absolutely.”

  “Good. The first step is getting basic shuttle clearance since it’s an offsite mission. We don’t normally do that for first-years, but again, I’ll write an exemption. Then we’ll start regular training and review sessions for the scientific work, and by the time the expedition departs in October, you’ll be just as prepared as any of the upperclassmen.”

  Sandi was practically ecstatic now. “That sounds amazing. I can’t wait.”

  “Well, it would be in our best interests to get started as soon as possible, then. Let’s get that shuttle clearance out of the way. It shouldn’t take long—probably a single afternoon, if you apply yourself—so if you don’t mind giving up one of your free periods, we can go ahead and knock that out. How does this weekend sound?”

  “Just tell me when and where.”

  “Meet me in the shuttle bay on Saturday at 13:00 hours, and we’ll get this done. After that we’ll set a time for our tutoring sessions, which should occupy an hour or two each week. As the date draws closer we’ll probably have to meet more often, and once the final approvals come in, you can begin group sessions with the other team members.”

  Sandi’s smile widened. “That sounds brilliant. I’m looking forward to it.”

  Professor Maxwell’s easygoing expression returned. “I’m glad. Now, I’m dismissing you because my next class will be arriving soon. See you on Saturday at 13:00.”

  Sandi nodded as he stood up to leave. “See you then.”

  He turned around, but as he made his way to the door, Professor Maxwell spoke again.

  “Sandi.”

  He stopped. “Yes?”

  “Don’t be late.”

  Something about the tone of voice and the earnestness in Professor Maxwell’s eyes took Sandi off guard. “Of… course not,” he said. But when he considered the prospects that lay ahead of him, a new infusion of confidence entered his words. “I’ll be there—for all of it.”