The Secrets of Star Whales

The Secrets of Star Whales — page 5 — this sneaking around made me feel like like a secret space agent or something Jeez I’d be such a great space agent It took a few minutes to arrive at my destination but I’d already crafted an excuse if confronted our class was learning about starship docking protocols and Mom was supposed to make a presentation Considering she was the lead harbormaster everyone on Azura knew her authority And of course I’d be the one sent to retrieve her It was foolproof Right up until I heard Mom’s voice at the end of the corridor My excuse only worked with someone who wasn’t her She’d pin me in a second I swallowed hard sweat beading on my forehead as I hunted for cover But this wasn’t like the education level There were no conveniently placed plants to hide behind I spun but the elevator was already

The Secrets of Star Whales — page 6 — gone another would take too long Time ticking I pressed against the smooth wall which was painted a cheery shade of purple and lined with flickering holographic images of asteroid mining missions from Azura’s early years A vintage e-poster at my side advertised Digits Are Yours for the Taking on the Edge of Space Mine anemonium for a year live like a king forever with a picture of a silvery anemonium asteroid gleaming amid the normal rock It was all propaganda but it had propelled Azura into a bustling town at least until the anemonium supply began to dwindle half a century ago Now the only people left were the ones who actually liked living here And occasionally a real actual tourist I pressed myself flatter against the e-poster and tried not to move Maybe Mom wouldn’t notice me Standing alone In an empty corridor

The Secrets of Star Whales — page 7 — Ugh India and I did not think this through But Mom was chatting with Kaito the space traffic controller I inhaled as they stepped into view but they were walking with purpose along the outer ring of this level and didn’t glance left to see me It worked Plus they saved me the time of checking every hangar for my target I crept to the outer circle peeked around the corner and watched them disappear into Hangar 42 The doors slid shut and silence fell I counted to ten then crept to the hangar It was sealed tight standard protocol for welcoming a foreign starship Not that that’d stop me My heart pounded as I knelt beside the tiny metal panel just left of the doors plucking my hydrodriver out of my back pocket The panel popped off with barely a nudge of the thin tool revealing a snarl of wires inside And past them the switch to override the

The Secrets of Star Whales — page 8 — locking mechanism In my head a theme song for my escapades was already forming a litany of swells and staggers that made me feel like I was the lead in an action holovid I nudged the wires aside carefully carefully to reveal the tiny black switch I moved to press it And the doors slid open to reveal Mom waiting with crossed arms I screamed Wait wait Ahem I didn’t scream Screaming was for little kids scared by old stories of flesh-eating sirens in space No I merely offered Mom a smirk and a cool two-fingered salute Yep That’s what happened At some point during my totally legit reaction I dropped my hydrodriver The skinny tool skittered across the floor knocking against Mom’s boot She plucked it off the ground and examined it as if she’d never seen one before Which was

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