Dragon Pearl(31)

The others? I thought Jun was the only one missing. I knew that investigator wasn’t telling the truth!

Who were the rest? If only Jun had named the “friends” in his message . . . Perhaps that was a clue in itself. Had “the others” threatened him so he’d had no choice but to go along?

I started to ask Gyeong-Ja for specifics, but then I caught Hyosu frowning at me. I’d mistakenly assumed she was busy giving feedback to another pair of cadets.

“If you pay attention, instead of distracting classmates with your gossip, you might learn a thing or two, Cadet,” Hyosu said.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said contritely. So much for that opportunity.

Disgusted, Gyeong-Ja edged away from me. I wouldn’t be getting any more information from her.

While I was confident my brother had no reason to go AWOL, I couldn’t say the same for whomever he had fallen in with. If I learned more about them and their motives, that might lead me to Jun. Unfortunately, I wasn’t having any luck wheedling information out of the other cadets, not yet. It was time to talk to Jang.





After lessons, I was assigned to scrub a bulkhead next to a maintenance shaft. As soon as no one was in sight, I whispered, “Jang! Where are you?”

No answer. Where did ghosts go when they weren’t haunting, anyway? That was one thing my aunties’ lore hadn’t covered.

But after a few moments, a cold breeze swirled nearby, unnatural in the controlled environment of the starship, and I shivered. Jang materialized next to me, his long, unkempt hair at odds with his neatly pressed uniform. He looked at the sponge in my hand and smiled ironically. “Having more trouble than you expected?”

“There’s so much to learn,” I whined. “Where do I even start?”

“You can always access the cadet handbook from any of the workstations in the barracks,” Jang said.

“That’s good to know, thank you,” I said sincerely.

“But don’t waste too much time studying,” said Jang. “You’re supposed to be looking into what happened to me, remember?”

His eyes glowed. Was I imagining it, or had the temperature dropped further?

“Yes, yes, of course,” I assured him. “I’m on it.” Then I thought of a way to get what I needed. “Maybe your mission had something to do with the disappearance of that cadet, Jun . . . ?”

“I don’t think—” Without finishing his sentence, he vanished.

I looked around frantically. “Wait! What were you going to say?”

An officer was looming above me. She cleared her throat. She did not look impressed.

I snapped to and saluted, but it was too late.

“Lost in a daydream, Cadet?” the officer asked, scowling. “Weren’t you the one who was cleaning the bathroom earlier? Perhaps you need to stick to that until you figure things out.”

I suppressed a sigh just in time and instead said, “Yes, ma’am.”


Each time I cleaned the toilets, I got a little faster. I had to, as a defensive measure. As soon as I finished, I headed back to the barracks and straight for an unoccupied workstation. One of the other cadets was lying in his bunk reading an old-fashioned book made out of real paper. I was dying to know what it was about, but I didn’t want to draw his attention. In any case, he didn’t look up as I passed him.

A holographic data screen appeared in front of me as soon as I sat down. Just when I was starting to worry about how to gain access to the system, the handbook popped up. I guessed they wanted it to be easily accessible to the cadets so they wouldn’t forget the rules. I skimmed it as quickly I could, hoping some of the information would stick. One part of the code of conduct leaped out at me: Anyone caught impersonating a Space Forces cadet or officer will face court-martial and, if found guilty, imprisonment or capital punishment.

Welp. I can’t let them catch me at this! I thought. I’d better study hard.

I was going over rank insignia, muttering under my breath as I tried to memorize them, when someone behind me said disapprovingly, “Shouldn’t you know all that by now?”

I squeaked involuntarily. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

Haneul chuckled. Maybe she had a sense of humor after all. “I didn’t know your voice could go that high!”

If only you knew, I thought. “I just wanted to review a few things,” I said, hastily closing the handbook file.

Sujin came up next to Haneul. “You haven’t been studying, have you?” they asked. “Isn’t it enough that we have classes all day? This is leisure time. You’re supposed to be doing something fun.”

I wavered. I had so much to learn, but I was getting awfully tired. Surely a break wouldn’t hurt. “Any suggestions?” I asked.

Sujin grinned slyly at me. “You could help me with another taste-testing.”

Uh-oh. If this was a regular occurrence, it would look fishy to turn them down. “Why?” I asked, stalling for time. “What do you have in mind this time?”

“It can’t be any worse than the last concoction,” Haneul said to Sujin. “I don’t know what possessed you to combine spinach with plum tea!”

I made a sour face just thinking of it. “Maybe something that doesn’t have spinach in it?” I suggested.