Scouts Read Free Page A

until the day before, either.
    As we came to the end of the gallery, those emotions froze in a block of terror. Three huge Marines stood in front of the door to the docking bay. Even without their space armor, they were terrifying beings. Two and a half meters tall and massing at least six of me, all of it muscle, there was no denying their immediate power. The fact that the station folk had disappeared from this end of the gallery only added to the Marines’ authority. One leaned forward and stared at me. His eyes were entirely black.
    “Challers Dizen?” His question was no question.
    Valka took my hand. “There must be a mistake! We’ve been recruited by the Scouts.”
    “You’re a citizen of Stakroya Station. Stakroya Station is overpop. In the interest of maintaining life support integrity, I am relieving the station of excess burden.”
    The words felt ritualized, as if he had to say them before they could drag me away. I wanted to run, but where? The only way to the Scout ship was past them. I backed away, pulling out my comm-unit. I hit the emergency button. Nothing happened.
    Faster than I could have imagined such a creature moving, the Marine’s massive hand shot out and grabbed my forearm. Valka screamed and batted at them, but they ignored her, dragging me towards their ship. I thrashed in their grip, but kicking them was like kicking a bulkhead wall. I had no more chance of getting away than a baby.
    “Valka!” I shouted over my shoulder. “Call Shirley!”
    “That won’t be necessary.” Shirley stood in the passageway in front of them, arms crossed. “Did you think I wouldn’t know, lieutenant? Did you think I would just let this slip by?”
    He leaned down and glared. “We’re within our rights,” he growled.
    She stood her ground. “That man is a Scout, lieutenant, and you are not within your rights. Put him down, or there will be consequences.”
    I was close enough to hear the buzz coming from the comm-unit clipped to the Marine’s ear. He stood at attention and put his hand to the side of his head. “Yes, sir.” He turned to the men holding me. “Put him down.”
    They obeyed, setting me down lightly on my feet.
    The Marines stepped back away from me and Valka squeezed past them to wrap herself around me.
    Shirley didn’t hesitate. “No time for that now. They can still change their minds.”
    She took my hand, I took Valka’s, and we hurried down to the hangar.

    The interior of their ship was no less wonderful than the exterior. The hatch led to a long, narrow passageway that opened into a circular chamber, with a soft, spongy floor, about as big as my family’s main room. Wide, padded benches ringed it with breaks fore and aft for the passageways leading to the rest of the ship. The dark walls beyond the benches glowed with status displays and programmable controls in between access panels and lockers. The air felt warmer than the station.
    Shirley popped open a panel, revealing a set of cubbyholes. Two were stuffed with rolls of fabric and the other two were empty. “Put your things in here, and we’ll be on our way.”
    Masters left us, taking the other passageway towards the nose of the ship, and Shirley took a seat on a bench, facing the center of the room. She stuck her legs out and crossed them, leaning back on her hands.
    When our things were stowed and the panel secured again, she waved her hands at the benches. “Sit, sit, and I’ll give you the talk while Masters takes us out.”
    Val and I sat together, our hands touching on the padded seat.
    “Welcome to the Scout Service. You are now provisional cadets. This means you do as I say—or as Masters says, or any other Scout you’re likely to meet, for that matter. Don’t worry, we’re a very informal service. No salutes, no honorifics. It’s actually more like a family than a military service. There are some rules, though.
    “One: Take care of your body. It is your greatest possession as a Scout. No