Echo

10. Funding

We get out of the elevator and everyone is on hospital beds getting hooked up.

Daddy points. "Over there. They'll get you linked in."

A couple of minutes later, I step out of the box as my suppra. I jump up and down. "LOOK! I'M STILL ME."

Malax puts his arm around me. "Remember calm."

I turn to him. "You look like you."

"This is amazing. We're still us."

I hug him. Eriska pulls me off. "Going to have to speed order those books."

The boys laugh and Kai is fixing her boobs. "These things feel so real."

Me and Eriska immediately check our boobs. "How did they get them so real?"

Rye stares at the ceiling and shakes his head.

Alder yells, "AX, SIT DOWN."

Daddy walks in. "Sit down. I'm going to check some things. Then you're going to do the training course."

We sit in our seats and Eriska smiles. "Here we are again."

"I don't know what you plan to do with the boxes. You do need to keep them safe for suppra storage. Also, the charging. But you probably don't want them in your office."

"I'll sort it out. They'll be going to Cru N soon anyway."

Daddy shines a light in my eye. "I have to make sure the optical receptors line up. And a couple other things. Give me a few minutes and you can go."

We get over to the training building, and I am overexcited again. But Malax makes us be good for the movie. Then I'm half asleep. I wake up during the course part though. Then we go back to his office.

"I should probably answer the phone." Kai takes off.

I yawn a bunch while they talk about the mission to get us to Cru N.

Then I wake up on his couch. The boxes are gone. Malax is at his desk. "I fell asleep."

"Yea, scared the hell out of me. I thought something happened. Your suppra fell over. You fell asleep."

"I'm the real me?"

"Yes, you are."

"What time is it?"

"Almost time for dinner."

"What are you doing?"

"Finalizing the orders to send them to Cru N. They're going to arrive in 6 days."

"It takes that long?"

"No. 4 days for travel. 2 days for packing everything."

"Do you like them? Was it a good idea?"

"They are amazing. You really woke up fast."

Kai pokes her head in. "Epirac called for you. They said the book list was in for your classes. Your books and study guides should arrive here at the beginning of the week."

I jump up and down. "THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER."

She scratches her head. "Why did they call here?"

"They probably watch the news."

"Her dad texted me and said they were trying to get her personal phone. She was sleeping, so I told him to have them call the office. I figured you would send the call to me."

"I knew she would want her books as soon as possible. You bought them."

Malax nods.

I crack up laughing. "Don't worry. All my school stuff is fully funded. I'll make sure you get it back. Keep the receipt."

"Fully funded?"

"Yea. All the main corporations are funding my education. Even you. I think you give 15 or 20k a year."

"All?" Kai's eyebrows shoot up.

"Yes. I think Kagona gives the most. They ended up paying more than daddy. Zircon does 75k a year. I think. The 75k a year is only for me and Eriska. But we don't count on the Zircon funding list. The other kids have to get accepted for funding. Usually it's around 5 or 10k a year. Sometimes it's only 1 year. Daddy put me and Eriska in for 5 years as long as we keep going."

"Did you apply for funding from here?"

"No. There were certain criteria. If a student meets the criteria, they automatically get the funding. My coach was laughing. Only 1 person every few years meets the criteria. Guess I was lucky. I could have applied for additional funding from you. The coach said I would probably get it because I'm going into a program you pick from, but I already had enough."

"Do you remember the criteria?"

"Near perfect marks. You don't require perfect. I got perfect. So, I got that 1. Then the program the student is entering has to be either terraforming or colonization. Or it could be a more specific study of those things. Like, I could have majored in food production during terra formation, I would still have got the funding. After that, only certain 2nd schools are approved. It's the big private schools. Still, 15k is 15k. I'll take it. Eriska applied for additional funding from you, but she got denied. She's going into business though. Nothing you work in. It was a long shot to apply for it, and she knew that."

"I'm afraid to ask, sweetie. But how much is Kagona funding per year?"

"100k."

Her eyebrows shoot up. "You cannot tell anyone that you are planning to work for Malax. They will withdraw their funding."

"I don't think so. They like my name."

"No." Malax shakes his head. "Kagona is my biggest competitor. They're not giving you 500k because of your name. They are hoping that after 5 years, you will work for them. They will be there when you graduate. They will assume you're going to work for them."

"That's dumb. I don't owe them anything."

"That's the way it works. That's a lot of money. They are going to see it as you owe them. Kai is right. You can't say a word about working here."

"I should probably tell Eriska too. I think some of her funding was because she's so close to Kinnik. Kagona even gave her 45k a year. If she loses it, she won't be able to go to Epirac. I need her to go to Epirac."

"Is she fully funded?"

"No. Not yet. She's still trying. Her parents are paying 100k a year. It's hard for them, but they are determined to make it work. Daddy knows more about their money. That's why she gets as much from Zircon as I do. I don't care about their money though. If I have to pay for her to go there myself, I will. I put some of her books on my list too. I'm thinking you bought them for her. She thanks you."

Malax nods at his phone. "Your dad is saying you are fully funded and..."

"I already said that."

He winks. "I was asking for Eriska. Her parents are paying 93k a year out of pocket. Since you're funded, I'm not adding anymore. If you need anything, just call. But I am going to fund Eriska. As long as she works here over the summers, she'll keep it."

"She's in business though. It's not what you look for. She's not going to change her classes. She loves business."

He smiles. "I would never ask her to change them. She's smart and trying her damnest to stay with her best friend. It'll take some of the pressure off her parents. And I do have business jobs here. I have taken a s**t ton of business classes myself. I hold 2 degrees in it."

Kai nods. "This whole thing is a business. It's not all space stuff and terra forming."

"I never thought about it like that. Between Eriska, you, and daddy, I'll never have to take a business class. That makes me happy."

"You don't like business?"

"How can anyone like it? Adding, subtracting. Totalling. Massive amount of spreadsheets. I still got perfect marks in every class, but damn, it was boring."

Eriska walks in laughing. "She never even opened the book and scored perfect marks."

"The spreadsheets were clearly labeled. Every column is labeled. I don't need a book for that."

"But you need a book to figure out what dirt is?"

"There are several different kinds of dirt. Other stuff can be in it too."

"Yea, probably s**t. You're playing in s**t when you dig."

"Better than staring at numbers."

"Eriska, we were talking and a lot of Echo's funding is coming from my competitors. If she announces that she's coming to Phade after she graduates, they will withdraw their funding."

Her eyes fill up with tears. "We can't let that happen."

I jump up and hug her. "We won't. But we can't say anything to anyone. I don't want to lose my funding. That's a lot of money."

"We'll be careful. And it's not set in stone anyway. No contracts were signed. You're still weighing your options."

"Exactly. Oh, and Malax accidentally bought your study guides."

"Thank you."

He smiles. "I'm also going to cover whatever funding you need after your applications come back."

"Are you serious?"

"As long as you work here every summer. It'll continue for 5 years. I would do the same for Echo, but she's already funded."

She starts sobbing.

I hug her. "We got this."

"I have to tell my parents." I can barely make out what she said. But she calls her dad. She tries to tell him, and he starts to panic thinking something is wrong.

I take the phone away from her and Kai grabs her. "Don't panic. We're fine."

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?"

"Phade Enterprise is going to cover whatever funding she doesn't have covered for school. It's going to last 5 years as long as she works here every summer." I wait a minute. "Hello?" I shrug my shoulders. "I think he hung up on me."

Malax takes the phone.

I sit on the couch while everyone gets everything sorted.

Then I smile at Malax. "Thank you. That was really kind."

"I was a kid trying my damnest to keep up with my best friend too. My parents barely made it work. I knew what I wanted to do. After school was over, I worked 3 jobs and got together enough money to start Phade enterprise. I studied space exploration and missions. The first ship I got was funded by Zircon. Your dad knew I had a good idea. I launched that ship with the world watching me. It landed on Cru N and the first team stepped out of it. Funding came from everywhere after that. People wanting their name associated with mine. I kept the missions going and built up the business part. Rye came to work for me then. I needed help, and he was my best friend." He sits beside me. "Phade Enterprise only exists because of Braxtin Kinnik."

I lay my head on his shoulder. "Phade Enterprise was real before you met my daddy. And you would have found a way to get that ship. You would have made it work. My daddy just ended the search for you."

He kisses my head and smiles. "Maybe."

"Oh, I know." I sit up. "You know what I don't know though..."

"I forgot my phone. You 2 are sitting pretty well for business associates. Good job." She grabs her phone off the desk. "We're supposed to go home now. Your mom is cussing at me on text. Bring your asses here for dinner."

"Get the helicopter."

"Why?"

"Daddy drove us."

"She says, your dad is using it. Make Malax drive us." She shrugs her shoulders. "You're going to have to buy your own helicopter."

"Maybe."

"Let's go. I don't want her cussing at me. She's scarier than your dad."

I laugh so hard as he pulls me off the couch.