Disclaimer: I don't own the Suite Life character names.
I would to thank Tiger002 for being my co-author, my mirror for ideas as well as my beta reader.
Dust whirled up as the circular object was kicked through the patchy green grass and the browny-black top soil. The trees watched the spectacle of these inhabitants wasting precious time playing simple games when there were more important things to do, but those thoughts were far from the youth.
The blond haired boy shifted the ball left to right and back again. His tongue stuck out the side of his mouth. His hair whisked in the cool morning air. His right foot pulled back and booted the ball past the defender and the goalie into the piles of leaves in between the two poles.
"Goal! Wahoo!"
The shout startled the winged creatures nearby to fear in flight. However it only brought a smile to another.
"Zack…every day you do this."
Zack looked at the speaker, his twin, Cody.
"So what? I need something to do or else I will get bored."
"Yeah but you ruined your school clothes."
Brown splattered his light blue pants and white shirt until they appeared polka-dotted, he kicked up a dust cloud that covered him head to toe.
Cody laughed as he watched his brother shake the dust from his outfit. As Zack finally gave up, figuring he couldn't get any cleaner, Cody threw him his books as the pair walked toward their school. They dodged the branches of the low hanging aduka tree. The grayish brown bark felt smooth to the touch. The branches spread out in all directions with weedlike efficiency, while the leaves replicated the branches. The ground beneath was soil only with the blackout conditions from the tree.
Saragossa beat down on them while their shadows raced ahead. The orange colored star always greeted the boys with its life giving fire while diverting from the faded yellow sky.
Shoes kicked up the throwaways of the coming harvest. The yellow-green stalk crunched to a pulp under so many footsteps.
They threw stones at three foot long, six limbed Lyrantis, Its brown-black furry body a potential winter hat. The boys laughed at its growling sound as it scurried into the underbush. Its four eyes turned in every direction for a sign of a threat.
The brothers stopped for a second and looked toward the fields on their left. A rainbow ocean of pollen waved to them as it flew towards the outskirts of town.
Both boys almost lost their footing as shoulders bumped them from behind. The twins swallowed their groans of annoyance.
"Oops, I did not see you there. You just blended into the scenery."
Twin eyes of thunder stared back at the boy, who just laughed it off.
"Really? Is that the best you can do? That's terrible."
The smile on his face only got larger with the outburst.
"Really John Tuttlemen! You arrogant little jerk who thinks he owns everything…"
Zack's eyes enlarged as he continued to listen to his twin's flare-up.
"…just because your cousin is the mayor. It does not give the right to push people around."
"What's a two bit seed boy like you going to do anything about it?" Iciness edged itself into the smile.
A touch of his shoulder by Zack cooled Cody's fire down.
"I knew you wouldn't do anything about it…. Oh don't be late for school."
With that, John Tuttlemen walked down the path. The sun's ray surrounded him in a glow while the loose aduka branches lowered themselves in his honor.
...
"Zachariah, how could you get that question wrong?"
Zack rolled his eyes as he heard the tone in his friend Max's voice.
"Well, Mackenzie, what about the time you tried to kick the soccer ball, missed and fell on your butt."
"That's low, Zack. You know I hate my full name. And didn't you move the ball away from me at the last second?"
"Besides we were like five then…." Zack's smile warded off some of the brown haired girl's fury.
Max shook her head.
"Things still haven't changed much since then."
Max's eyes stared around the courtyard as she leaned back slightly as she straightened her school clothes. Same color scheme as Zack but instead of buttons all the way down the front, she had a polo shirt on.
A couple hundred children milled around a pickup game of stickball. Feet touched bases of poles and large wood blocks while the batter moved of a branch bat in his grip. The batter's focus was the worn ball in the pitcher's hand as he looked for the sign.
Another group was swerving around the groups of nomad children as the soccer ball weaved in and out of the roots of legs.
Max saw Zack's pupils focus on a specific player but before she could say anything, two others joined the duo.
"Hey, Christopher what's going on?"
A bushy haired, brown eyed boy sat down next to her on the wooden picnic tables.
"Not too much. Dad's working his normal shift in the mines as usual. Mom's helping out with some projects to expand the town northward."
Max and Chris looked toward the White Mountains overshadowing the town's western half. Even though they were over 15 miles away from the town's outskirts, their tips reached almost into the heavens and provided a challenge to anyone include certain town developers.
"I know my mom's trying to help with the water supply and trying to figure new ways to improve the housing structures. Especially since what happened last winter with all the snow."
Chris shivered at the memory of the previous year.
"I remember the bodies of the families they found under the snow and their houses after they dug out. That blizzard lasted for a week. Being buried alive under four or five feet of snow. It gives me the creeps."
"You are not the only one." Max's sincerity and gentleness soothed Chris.
Both turned their head toward Cody who was standing a few feet away. Max smiled and she looked at his face. She walked over to him.
"You know, sometimes you the two of you really act like twins sometimes. Even though I know you guys try not to."
Cody looked lost at the comment. Max bit her lip before she could giggle.
"Zack had the same look a few minutes ago." The girl looked toward the aforementioned person.
"And still does with the same target as well."
Cody looked to his twin to see it was true.
"We had a…conversation with Tuttlemen earlier this morning on our way to school."
Max detected the brief hesitation but let it pass.
"He does get under your skin, doesn't he?"
Cody and Max turned to see Zack behind them with Chris at his shoulder.
All four looked toward the soccer game where they saw Johnny Tuttlemen making a fool out of his defender, blowing past him and leaving the unfortunate fellow in the dust.
"You know I heard a rumor about him…" All three faces turned to face Chris.
"Granted it could be from Tuttlemen. You know how he loves to shoot his mouth off about how well off his family is."
"We all know that. After all he acts like he was fed with a silver spoon and could fly to the next star system." Max's crack livened the mood.
"That's a little much even for him," Cody suggested.
"I happen to agree with Max but anyway we can get back to what Chris was saying please?" Zack's insertion quieted the group.
"Anyway I heard someone say Tuttleboy has some distant cousins on another colony. Cousins who happen to be very well off. Aristocrats from some colony closer to the core of the Empire. "
"So what? It doesn't mean anything here. Most families in this colony have been here since the first houses were built. I mean all four of our families were among the founders and you don't see us shooting our mouths about that?"
Max's excitement started to turn eyes toward the group but Cody tried to add reason the conversation.
"One big difference is we were brought up not to."
"I hate when you are right, Cody." Max spoke with neutrality.
Cody's face remained passive the whole time.
The group heard the bell and turned away from the target of aggravation to return their classes.
...
"Hey Mom!"
The sound of running children met Carey's ears and she beamed until she saw specifics.
Three wonderful children with only the wear of a single day on them and one child who looked he lived in dirt…
"Zackariah Martin, how many times have I told you not to wreck your clothes? They are supposed to last more than one day!"
She ignored the all-knowing smirk on her younger son's face as her oldest lowered his head and uncurled and recurled his fingers. A nervous reaction he had since he was able to walk and get into trouble.
She looked at the second pair looking exactly the part of two people wanting to be anywhere else but near a family quarrel.
"Max and Christopher, your parents are expecting you. Max, your mother mentioned needing your help with something in your house while Christopher, your dad is home and he mentioned about a trip to the market."
"Thanks Mrs. Martin. See you later" The responses faded as the pair ran down the street to their homes. Memories of four toddlers being chased by their parents pushing them on.
Reminiscences pushed to the side as she turned back to her progeny. Both on the same spot as before.
"Well since you won't listen to me, I guess that means you don't mind washing them, eh?"
"But…but Mom!"
"Mom nothing… Maybe next you will listen when I say something."
"Okay." Resigned fate ruled Zack's tone and he walked away. Meanwhile Carey sent a death glare to her youngest who deleted all humor from his face.
"Cody, you can help me with dinner."
Cody's face dropped to the ground as his mother handed him the baskets of vegetables.
…
"Hey, Dad!"
The father smiled at Cody standing in the kitchen. His hands surrounded by bowls filled with vegetables as he was cutting some carrots.
"Kurt, I see you are home a little late."
"I was helping the rest of the Builder's and Maintenance Association with the plans for the town hall. Especially since the city council received the new population data."
"It's not like we can run out of building materials."
"I know what you mean." Kurt looked around the house as he stared at the aduka wood grains of the window edging and the cabinetry. The few calluses on his hands testament to the hours put in making a building a home.
"Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes. I just have to cook the chicken and the vegetables." She adjusted the temperature setting on the stove and looked at the ticking wall clock.
"That's fine." Kurt walked around and came behind Carey. His arms wrapped around his wife. "You look good."
"I am surrounded by heat, covered in sweat from a day's work and my hands have spices and potato shavings all over them. Beautiful does not fall into that category."
"Maybe not in your eyes, but in my eyes it makes me cherish even more when you are beautiful."
"As much as I enjoy this, if you want dinner on the table, you will have to let go of me."
"Oh well…" Kurt leaned to give a light kiss on Carey's cheek.
Kurt walked away then turned around.
"I'll check on the house in the meantime. I thought I saw some things that needed fixed."
Carey only nodded and saw a wide smile and glowing eyes on Cody's face.
"Yes?"
"Nothin'"
Cody put the small cutting knife down.
"Can I go outside until dinner?"
"Yes since you finished cutting all the stuff for the salad," Carey said after looking in the bowls, satisfied with her son's work.
Cody wiped his hands off then dashed off to follow his father out of the house.
...
Groaning could be heard far and wide from a boy suffering from a case of boredom as he was serving his punishment.
A dirty shirt in one hand and a light soapy brush in the other, both burning the aggravation in his mind while a washtub sat on a tree stump at his feet
"Need help?"
Zack looked up to see his twin watching as he tried to wash the dirt off his ruined clothes while wearing an old pair of work clothes. No expression on Cody's face.
"Not really." The air heard a gritting of an older brother's teeth.
Zack heard the crunching of grass and another shadow fell on the washtub.
"You might want to go a little softer on the brush or you make a hole in the shirt"
"Who are you mom!" Zack realized as soon as he said it he went too far. "Sorry about that. I guess I am little angry from earlier."
"That's fine. Where are your pants anyway?"
"Over there"
Zack looked to see Cody grab his polka-dotted spotted pants and walk over with an extra brush.
Cody saw the curious look his older twin was giving him.
"Unlike most siblings, who usually only care about themselves for the most part, I have a kind heart."
Zack waited to see if Cody was going to add something else which he did.
"Which is filled with guilt by the fact I almost laughed when Mom was yelling at you earlier. Besides if I don't help, you'll be out here all night."
The only sound was bristles on cotton until it was broken by one word.
"Thanks."
...
Zack's daydreams of full stomachs and absolute contentment evaporated with sounds of grinding and muttering.
His eyes opened to see his father messing with things in the living room. A number of tools were spread at his feet.
"What are you doing?"
Kurt jumped at the voice.
"I am installing the last part of what will be a holographic TV system."
"Excuse me?" Zack asked as if his father had just spoken in a foreign language.
Kurt smiled at his son's lost expression.
"Simply put Zack, it will allow us to view information and shows from interstellar communications network."
"The town has some access to right, right?"
"We have an emergency com station in town somewhere in case the colony is in danger and needs help. But we get most of our information about the outside from the traders that come through here."
"Is that because we are on the edge of the empire and have very little resources to give them?"
"I would say so, Zack. Our colony is barely surviving as it is now. As a result we need to know what's going on around us so we have an idea what people need."
"That's where the TV system comes in? What about Mom? She might mad about spending so much?"
"As for Mom, members of the town pitched in to buy it as a group. As a matter of fact, they decided to put of the tax money into a fund to help families buy their own viewing units. So there's a central receiver in the mayor's office that receives the signal and sends it out to the town. It was installed a couple days ago. Today is the day, they are going to turn it on and see if it works.
"What I am putting together are the holo emitters so we can what's being broadcasted from the com network. Its secondhand but it should do the job for us."
"I see you are already installing it, already? Having fun?"
Both males turned to their left to see Carey standing there. Her arms crossed as in total command of the room. But she had a serene expression on her face.
"As for your shocked looks, Max's mom mentioned about a rumor she heard during one of the meetings she attended. Alley told me about it and I kept my eye out for it. I was intrigued." Looks of nervousness crossed the audiences' faces.
"I admit I was little upset about the cost of having one until Alley mentioned about the benefits of such a things. Newer information on affairs of course, and it could also be a boon for schooling as well as farming, mining and everything else really. After a while, I came to like the idea."
Carey's eyes turned directly to his husband and the parts in his hands.
"How much did it cost us if I may ask?"
Kurt swallowed.
"About one and half's month's salary…"
Carey frowned.
"Okay… Next time, don't lie to me and say you are fixing the house when you are putting a personal transmitter on the roof. This is a pretty big change to our lives and I need to be in the loop for it."
Kurt's shoulders lifted as he realized the danger he missed.
"Sorry"
"I forgive you. Next time it might be different. Oh and thank Alley next time you see her, I don't think I would been so generous if I was blindsided with this."
"I'll see if there's something she needs repairing…"
Carey smiled.
"What about those emitters? Alley mentioned about how they work but I forgot."
Kurt refocused as his wife and son gathered around him.
"In short, the emitter would show images transmitted through the network. I had to connect this and the transmitter to the power grid so it would work."
"So it acts like the old library databases then?"
Kurt froze at his son's questions. The old databases in question were antiques of the colonization era. Barely functioning at all, they were a monument to what was lost since they landed.
"Yes," Kurt answered simply, not wanting to confuse his son with all the details.
"I'll go get Cody. He'll want to see this…"
Zack ran off and a door slammed shut. Quiet tinkering continued with the quiet sounds of bolts turning and the clipping as parts slipped into place.
"Done"
Kurt got up and stretched, looking at the three modules on the floor. Cubed shaped with little mirrors on the top. Each one a little bigger than two fists put together but connected by a dual metallic piece spacing each module over two feet apart.
Kurt frowned at the sight but his mind was made up. Especially since loud stomps signaled Zack had found his twin.
"Is it true? What Zack said?" Cody's voice was going a thousand miles a second while his smile would have lit the room by itself.
"Yes, yes it is. Just sit for a second while I turn it on."
Kurt checked the power cord going into the wall before flipping the switch.
Light flickered from the mirror like surfaces on the modules. Brief images of lines crossed the air in a square box. A scratching sound accompanied the broken images until the projector shut down without a sound.
"That's it…" Kurt turned on a pivot to see Zack covering his mouth.
"It seems to be something minor. Give me a few seconds to see if I missed a part."
A few minutes later…
"It turns out something was loose. Now let try this again."
Kurt flipped the switch again.
This time the light was solid.
A figure appeared in clothing sitting behind a table, her mouth was moving.
"This is the INN, Good evening. This is Sonja Cory from Genghis.
The Langstoy trade negotiations top today's new headlines…"
The family listens as the woman continued to talk. Their eyes wide.
"…Meanwhile Empire officials from the Agriculture ministry insist the next harvest will increase the food supply for the core and the outer colonies. They report that they anticipate the haul will bring 10 percent more than last year and have already put forward plans for more efficient use of the lands already under their control and ask other members to do the same."
The woman's eyes locked onto the family as if she was speaking directly to them. The Martins sat and watched as the newscaster continued to go over the news headlines.
...
A cool breeze ran through the room through a cracked window.
Zack did not feel the chill on him as the comforter covered completely from head and toe.
The quietness was broken by the slight movements of his baby brother in the bunk below him. His slow breathing matched the crickets cheeping outside in the deep grass.
The familiar shadows covered the walls. Eternal companions from his life from a baby to a boy marching on the pathway to manhood.
He remembered old conversation with his parents about wanting his own room, only to hear the same refreshed comments about lack of space. He sighed in the graying darkness and shook off the tired problems of his life. Besides he had his family and a roof over his head. It could be worse…
Zack raised his head and saw another companion this night.
Freyr, the cloud covered moon of Zack's home planet, Vita Nova. Light flashed across the moon's atmosphere as if threatening to strike at the inhabitants below.
Zack could see the purple flashes in the clouds. Lightning they called it as he remembered from his textbooks. The moonlight took the whole sky, looming like a giant light in the sky. Zack felted comforted byit as a child of the night. He lowered his head back onto the pillow ready to meet sleepy dreams.
The woman on the news report (which they figured out what it was) rose from his mind. Zack smiled at the image. The woman was beautiful. Her smile warm, her eyes filled with trust. His mind sucked in what he learned during that glorious but brief time, the holoprojector was on. He and his brother begged his parents to let them stay to see more but they refused.
His eyes refused to stay open as he remembered the march to their rooms and the conversation the two had as they getting ready for bed.
His mind started to blank as he breathing started to slow to almost nothing. The last thought on the boy's how much was he going to learn from the device that he did not know before.
The question was wiped as he slipped into dreamland.
Okay…explanation time. This is a total AU. I had this simmering for a while and I put dozens of hours into this. Forget all you know about the TV series beyond a few character traits. Nothing specific will matter or be mentioned from the TV series.
As for object description, I needed a frame of reference for myself and the readers so everyone could picture what it is. So even though I think of this as a separate universe from the series and things will be different, there will be some similarities for you guys to understand what I am talking about. As for the names themselves, some are completely random. Whatever my mind made up, I put in. So if you see some weird ones, that's why.
FYI: Chris is Tapeworm but he will not be using that name in this story at all.
Feel free to ask questions if confused. As always read and review.
Until next time….
