Mecha Corps Read Free Page A

at his belt. Of course, the gun and his belt were both gone.
    “I still, uh, have to arrest you,” he said.
    Matt shook his head but said nothing.
    “It’s dangerous, what you did. Against regulations.”
    Matt could tell the guard that he’d been safe, that he’d done it before. He could remind him that he’d still be on an unplanned tour of outer space if it weren’t for Matt. But all that didn’t matter.
    Only one thing mattered: Would this keep him out of training camp?
     
    The kid found an air lock and escorted Matt down the passenger corridors to the security center. His Velcro-soled shoes scritched on the fuzz of the floor. Happy passengers dressed in bright tourist colors passed them with curious glances, heading toward their vacations on historic Earth.
    The holo-posters in the hallways seemed to mock Matt. VISIT AMAZING WASHINGTON, DC, AND SEE THE FOUNDATION OF THE UNION CONSTITUTION one read, showing gleaming white marble buildings. ROME/ATHENS COMBO TOUR: SEE COLISEUMS, TEMPLES, CATACOMBS read another, which displayed fantastic ruins. DISCOVER ANCIENT CHINA: FORERUNNER OF TAIKONG LINGYO offered a third.
    The security center was a large room carved directly out of the raw gray rock of the asteroid. Stainless-steel desks stood in rows, manned by blue-uniformed staff. On the far wall, a giant holoscreen streamed hundreds of video feeds from inside the UUS Mercury : docks, corridors, restaurants, rec rooms, bridge and command centers, even feeds showing the stony surface outside. Yellow icons floated over some of the feeds, calling out minor problems like lock malfunctions and suspicious behavior.
    A large, red-faced man stomped up to meet them. He wore a blue uniform and an intricate badge that read UUS MERCURY SECURITY: LT A. HARPER.
    “What the hell you think you’re doing, kid?” Harper shouted at Matt. “Trying to get yerself killed? Trying to get Pete here killed?”
    “I’m sorry, sir,” Matt said. “I didn’t mean—”
    “You didn’t mean shit!” Harper bellowed. Everyone in the room turned to look at them. “We saw you bribing the digger—we got you on the vid! You knew what you were doing. And you meant to do it.”
    “Look, sir. I really didn’t want any trouble. I shouldn’t have been out there, and I’m sorry. It’s just, well . . . You see, sir, I’ve got to get down to Earth.”
    “Ha! Like hell you do!” Harper said. “Put Earth in your memory bank! You’ll be a digger the rest of your life right here on the ol’ Mercury !”
    Matt’s stomach flipped. His chance at being a Mecha cadet was flying away like a paper airplane in a zero-G hangar.
    “But . . .” Matt trailed off. What could he say? How could he justify it? NO EGRESS AT DISPLACEMENT. Simple as that. Stupid.
    “But what? What you gonna tell me I don’t already know?” Harper picked up a glowing slate. “Rich kid from Aurora U thinks the rules don’t apply. Well, money ain’t a get-outta-jail-free card!”
    “Sir, I’m not—” Matt’s anguish made his voice crack. “Look, I have to get down there! I’m going to training camp !”
    “I don’t care where you—,” Harper began, then stopped himself. “Wait. What did you say?”
    “I’m going to Mecha Training Camp.”
    Harper went beet red. “You’re a Mecha cadet?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    Harper glared at Matt, his expression shading to purple. “You got proof?”
    Matt nodded. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out the laser-etched holographic invitation. Gasps erupted in the room around him. Pete leaned over Matt’s shoulder to gape at the gilded e-sheet signed by Kathlin Haal, the Union’s Prime.
    Harper snatched it out of his hands and ran it under a scanner. All color drained from his face as he read the screen.
    “You’re a goddamn Mecha cadet,” Harper grated low and rough.
    Matt nodded, afraid to say a single word. Was that good? Bad? Would Harper tear up his invitation and laugh at him? Would there be more penalties