Time for a Snippet! Here is Snippet number 02 from the Etheric Academy!

Unedited.

The Etheric Academy Alpha Class  Snippet 02

Checking the list carefully Tina placed each item in the bag.

She really didn’t need to check. When her mom told her about her acceptance into the Etheric Academy she studied the information completely. The Etheric Academy was the brainchild of Queen Bethany Anne, Marcus, and two sisters that were rescued by the Guard several years ago.

Her mom had introduced her to them at one of the regular dinners those inside the inner circle had occasionally. They had worked to overcome Michael’s mental suggestions to forget the battle they had been a part of, which was pretty miraculous for regular non-upgraded humans.

“Tina I don’t want you to go,” her brother admitted, playing with a pencil she had on a her desk.

“You’ll get an invite too, Todd. We took the same tests together.” Tina’s brother was only now starting to come around to the fact that this was it.

Their future was in space.

He looked up to her, “I’ll miss you.”

Smiling at her brother, Tina gave him a gentle shove. “I’m just going to the other side of the Meredith Reynolds you know. It’s not like I’m going back to Earth or something!”

“I know that! It’s just…” He sat on her bed and hung his head.

Tina gave her brother another shove. “Cheer up, you get the whole room to yourself now.” The two of them shared a small room about half the size of a shipping container. Cheryl Lynn actually got one of the first apartments on the Meredith Reynolds to be built. She helped set the standard size limits.

Todd looked around the small room seeing the possibilities. He might be able to fit one of the new pod simulators in here. He would have to ask mom first though.

He spoke as his mind saw possibilities in the new space, “Be careful over there. Some of those Russian kids are big.”

She shook her head, “I’ll be fine. They are trying really hard to fit in. You just have to give them a chance. I know you like Yurgi. I’ve seen you two discussing aircraft profiles and flight navigation mathematics.”

Todd turned his focus back to Tina, “That is different. Yurgi is just a little guy. He’s not like some of those really big guys!”

Tina shook her head at her brother. She wondered if his attitude might be what was holding him back. “Those big guys are Wechselbalg kids so they are supposed to be a bit bigger. You need to figure out what you really want Todd. Do you want to work for a living or lead? When you figure it out, that will be when the Academy admits you. Wait and see.”

She put the last item in the carryall bag and slung it over her shoulder. “Come on. Mom said something about a special dinner.”

The two siblings opened the connecting hatch door and resealed it behind them. The asteroid base was fairly secure but safety procedures needed to be learned. Better to learn them now, rather than when lives were on the line.

Sniffing the air Tina smiled. “Pizza!”

Coming into the kitchen area, Cheryl Lynn smiled at her two teenage children, “There you two are! Tina I have your favorite for you.” Two steaming pizza’s sat in the center of the small table in the dining area.

Cheese pizza done right was an exquisite experience. It was the purest form of pizza or at least that is what Tina believed. The two pizza’s had a familiar odor and she looked at her mom in shock then back to the Giuseppe’s that had come from … too many miles away to figure out, now. “How?”

Cheryl Lynn smiled. “Earth isn’t all that far away you know. I got a Giuseppe’s special just for you.”

Practically diving into the pizza the kids each grabbed one of the massive slices.

Giuseppe’s was a family favorite back in Dallas before their father left them. They could never afford to go there after that. This made the day all that much more special. Tina got up and walked over to her mother, enveloping her in her a tiny tear just at the edge of her eye.

~~~~~

In another part of the huge station several other students were getting ready. Maxim and Nestor were cousins. They had been a part of the evacuation of the the town of Romonavka. They were Wechselbalg as were most of their immediate family. Nestor’s father Leonid was training to become a Guardian.

He wanted more for both his son and nephew.

Leonid was pointing to both boys, his Russian accent full of pride, “You need to go to the school. We swore to follow the Queen in all things. You both took the tests and passed them. Maxin, your father would want this for you. You know it. He wanted a better life for you. It’s why he stayed to fight.”

The big man looked at his own son. “You too Nestor. We talked of this. Your wolf is not the strongest, yet. These people can teach you things and let you do things that will make you the best of us. Trust them. Now go pack the both of you.” He pointed at the door to their room.

The two started towards the room.

“He has a point Nestor.” Maxim was older and wiser. Or at least he thought so.

“Did I ask you for your opinion?” The smaller Wechselbalg growled at his cousin.

“Fine, whatever. We need to pack.” Maxim pulled out a couple of small bags and began throwing clothes into them.

Nestor stared at his cousin and sighed. “Give me one of those.” He grabbed a bag and began to pack.

Today was the first day of rest of his life.

~~~~

The young woman stood there, her hand on her cocked hip, “Papa I don’t wish to go to this Academy. I should stay here and help you.”

Her father looked down at his head strong daughter, “We have discussed this Yana. We are no longer in the Motherland and our family may never return. I know we raised to be proud of your heritage by telling you stories of a time lost in the past. It is my fault. The Konstantinovich family will no longer hide in the shadows dreaming empire dreams. We lost our chance at the throne of Russia during the revolution.” Nicholas waved his arms around him. “Our future and that of our family lies out there. To get there you need to do this.”

“But papa…” she started again.

His eyes flashed just a little more firmly, “Nyet! No. It is done. The servants of Queen Bethany Anne have told us you passed the test with one of the highest percentile scores. You will go and you will learn what you have to know. Forge your own path, daughter.”  He smiled and walked towards the kitchen. Yana stood staring at her father, ground her teeth together then walked to the front door, trying to slam it on her way out of the house.

House! The apartment wasn’t what she wished in her life. She had dreamed of palaces her entire life as her family shuttled her around to hide her from first Soviet and then Russian assassins and Cheka.

Her family was everything to her. She walked the hallways of the Meredith Reynolds and stared out some of the armored windows at the emptiness of space. It wasn’t fair sometimes. She could remember her father coming and telling her that he had sworn to another.