Miya Crawler is no ordinary Alphamionian girl. Seven years ago, she was found hidden in a ship sent from a faraway planet. As an orphaned outsider Miya does not fit in and keeps getting into trouble. Her unwilling foster parents wait for the day when she is old enough to be sent away to work deep inside dark and dangerous mines.
While all of Alpha Mion begin the big interplanetary celebration to honour a rare solar eclipse, Miya is put under house arrest and locked into her room with her pet sabre-tooth tiger cub. When her home accidentally catches fire, and she is about to lose all hope with no escape from the flames, something inexplicable happens, and she finds herself outside in safety.
Suddenly the legends about the ancient gods, the Corbulons, and their forgotten special powers become very real to Miya. And soon, she realises that her newfound ability has made her the greatest threat to the galaxy’s ruthless ruling dynasty. To survive and find the truth about her past, Miya has to lead her friends on a space adventure beyond her wildest imagination.
Miya Crawler is no ordinary Alphamionian girl. Seven years ago, she was found hidden in a ship sent from a faraway planet. As an orphaned outsider Miya does not fit in and keeps getting into trouble. Her unwilling foster parents wait for the day when she is old enough to be sent away to work deep inside dark and dangerous mines.
While all of Alpha Mion begin the big interplanetary celebration to honour a rare solar eclipse, Miya is put under house arrest and locked into her room with her pet sabre-tooth tiger cub. When her home accidentally catches fire, and she is about to lose all hope with no escape from the flames, something inexplicable happens, and she finds herself outside in safety.
Suddenly the legends about the ancient gods, the Corbulons, and their forgotten special powers become very real to Miya. And soon, she realises that her newfound ability has made her the greatest threat to the galaxy’s ruthless ruling dynasty. To survive and find the truth about her past, Miya has to lead her friends on a space adventure beyond her wildest imagination.
“This has got to be the stupidest idea you’ve ever had.” Wallon backed to the ledge of the cliff. Three giant spiders had cornered them. “I mean it,” he continued. “Stupidest idea. Ever.”
Miya snorted. She and her three friends were standing side by side. Behind them lay a dizzying freefall to certain death. The wind howled beneath them, and her purple tunic flapped violently even though she had tightened it on her waist with a worn leather string. Her grey hair snaked out from beneath the hood and was flying over her pounding heart. In front of them, three huge Crimsonnet spiders were preparing to strike.
They were the size of a full-grown Alphamionian man and had crimson fur and hundreds of stone-cold unmerciful eyes studying even the tiniest movements of their prey. Poisonous saliva dripped from their glimmering black teeth, each drop making a sharp sizzling sound after splashing to the dry ground.
“Weren’t you the one who wasn’t supposed to be scared of anything?” Miya asked.
“Hey,” Wallon said. “I’m the only one of us who has ever been bitten by one.”
“And here you are trembling in fear like a big coward.”
“I almost died.”
Miya scoffed. She wanted to annoy Wallon on purpose. He was always so full of himself, always claiming to be the one who managed to escape certain death and save the day.
“I was lucky it happened near the hospital. That was the only reason I survived.”
“Wasn’t it just a baby Crimsonnet that bit you?” Miya inched backwards closer to the edge, looking left and right. They were running out of time. She had to figure out something quick. “The size of a small kitten, I heard,” she continued. “Did it even have teeth yet?”
“I was paralysed for a week,” Wallon said. “And had to spend the whole summer in a hospital!”
“We shouldn’t have come,” Mallon said. He was Wallon’s identical twin, with the same golden blond hair and green eyes. Otherwise, he was nothing like his braggart brother. “Going into the woods at night is forbidden for a reason. And look at us now. What are we going to do?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll figure out something,” Miya said. “Besides, this is a mountaintop, not a forest.”
“Same difference,” Wallon said. “You got us here to watch some stupid solar ships.”
Miya glanced over her shoulder. That much was true. She had wanted to marvel at the approaching vessels with representatives from many of the planets from all over Crux Nebula, arriving at Alpha Mion for the Bluebirth party. It was held in honour of a full solar eclipse that could only be seen from the surface of Alpha Mion every twenty-five years. “You wanted to come just as much as I did,” she said. “This is the best spot to see the whole sky and all the ships.”
The Crimsonnet on the left jerked forward with all of its eight legs moving in sync. The children screamed. The biggest spider on the right rubbed its two front legs together. The middle one braced itself like a cat before an attack.
Mallon moved away from the closest Crimsonnet and almost pushed his twin brother off the cliff.
“Watch it,” Wallon shouted.
The middle Crimsonnet slowly stretched its mouth open to its full extent. Miya could only stare and shudder. Seeing the dark red slimy throat that could churn child-sized animals into pulp was definitely scarier than just reading about it in school. A foul smell filled the air around them, burning inside Miya’s nose like spices in Ermund’s favourite exotic dish. She blinked as her eyes watered. “Whoa.” She pinched her nose. “I’ll never skip brushing my teeth again.”
All four of them squeezed tightly together. Miya couldn’t move a single millimetre backwards. Her heels were already halfway over the edge. “Raelle?” She didn’t take her eyes from the Crimsonnet in front of her. “Your stargazer. It’s full of CRX, right?”
From the corner of her eye, Miya saw Raelle give a slight nervous nod.
“Give it to me.”
Raelle slipped her backpack off and reached into it. With shaking hands, she brandished the stargazer they had been planning to use to zoom in on the approaching solar ships.
Miya snapped the stargazer and weighed it in her hands. It was long and heavy like a sword. “Perfect. I’m going to smash it.”
The three Crimsonnets stopped dead. None of the hundreds of black beady eyes so much as blinked. They had only moments before the attack.
“The CRX will explode and scare the Crimsonnets away. Ready?”
“Wait, what?” Raelle said. “It’s super expensive. My parents—”
“Stop whining, dummy,” Wallon snapped. “It’s either the stargazer or our lives. Smash it, Miya. Smash it now!”
Miya flipped the stargazer upside down, took hold of the far end of the telescope and lifted the stargazer over her head with both hands. The heavy binocular end with the CRX power cell swayed back and forth. Her palms were sweating against the shiny, smooth metal. She tightened her grip and glanced into Raelle’s frightened blue eyes. This was it. Their only chance. She bent forward, swinging her arms as hard as she could.
The moment the stargazer hit the rocky ground, a hot blinding flash sucked all the air from around them. Miya’s ears popped, and her vision blurred. She dropped to her knees, steadying herself, careful not to fall.
When she was able to see again, the first thing she noticed was Wallon’s angry face. He was shouting orders at his twin brother to move away from the edge of the cliff. He turned towards Miya. She saw that he was shouting, but she couldn’t hear anything.
Miya squinted and forced her gaze to focus. The ground where the stargazer had exploded was black and smooth like someone had brushed away all the gravel and small rocks to make a clean surface.
And the Crimsonnets were gone.
“Let’s go,” she shouted. Or at least she hoped she did. It was difficult to tell as she couldn’t hear even her own voice.
And then they were all running, fast. The Crimsonnets were gone for now but could come back any second. Miya had no desire to stay and find out what kind of other nasty predators the explosion had awakened.
The path back down to their hometown, Gravelrock, was steep and narrow. Only the most agile and fit Alphamionians were able to climb to the top of Mount Ravenhill. It had taken them five hours to get there. Now they were racing down ten times faster.
After they had been running for a while, Raelle couldn’t keep up anymore. She was gasping for air. “Wait up,” she pleaded from behind. “Please. Wait for me.”
“Stop.” Miya turned around and held up her hands to stop the twin brothers from running past her. “We’re leaving Raelle behind.”
The boys turned around to watch Raelle jog towards them with her backpack swaying from side to side. Raelle wasn’t the first choice when it was time to pick team players during school recess.
“Okay, we’ll stop and give her a rest. But just for a few minutes,” Mallon said, looking like he was calculating Raelle’s stamina and the remaining trip length in his head. “It’s still a long way to go.”
“Don’t worry, we should be safe here,” Wallon said, eyeing the rocky path circling the side of the mountain they were on. He slumped down and leaned against the rough mountainside. “And look, she’s finally here,” he said as Raelle caught up with them, staggering the last steps and almost rolling down to sit next to Wallon.
Miya lay on her back on the ground and took a deep breath. The rock was as cool as the chilly night air. The wind had cleared away the clouds, and bright stars were shining in the clear night sky. Her breathing became slower, and she felt the pounding in her chest steadily quiet down. A wave of giddy relaxation washed over her, and she felt like laughing.
“Look,” Wallon said.
Mallon moved next to his brother. Their identical green eyes were focused on the night sky. “Amazing!”
“Where? What are you looking at?” Raelle asked, scanning the stars above her. “I can’t see anything.”
“Are you serious? Right there! Look!” Wallon was pointing just a little bit right from Phobulon, one of three moons orbiting their home planet. The very same moon would soon block the rays of Leonis, the blue sun of Crux Nebula solar system, during the upcoming solar eclipse. It was looming full and large just above the horizon, and it was as beautifully purple as ever. The other two moons were grey and light orange, but they were nowhere to be seen from their vantage point.
Raelle sat up. She followed Wallon’s finger to the horizon, squinted, rechecked the direction, and squinted even harder.
“There!” Wallon shouted and waved her finger. “Right there!”
Miya saw it and gasped. She had never seen a solar ship so big before. It was approaching fast but completely silently.
“Holy Corbulon, I see it,” Raelle shouted. “Right there,” she said, pointing towards the approaching vessel.
“Oh, wow, you finally spotted the enormous flying ship covering half the sky,” Wallon said. “Good for you.”
Mallon shot a warning glance at his brother and looked over at Raelle. “IBC Reaver,” he said. “It’s the only solar ship in the whole of Crux Nebula that has cannons. See the elevated level on top. That’s the command bridge. It’s built to be super agile.” The solar ship was shaped like a pirate schooner. With three sunlight-reflecting solar sails and two massive forward-pointing cannons gleaming under its hull, it was an unforgettable sight. “And the one over there is SS Lullaby. It’s from Nelium,” Mallon continued.
“I heard that Lullaby can host thousands of people,” Raelle said, studying the enormous floating cruise ship in awe. Four teardrop-shaped sails were being pulled in as they watched. “I wonder why they’ve built the sails like that. Do you think they cry a lot at—”
“Yes, that’s it, Raelle.” Wallon cut her off in mock excitement. “They’ve built the forward sails like that because they cry a lot and want to remind everyone of their tears!”
“Leave her be,” Mallon said and swung his backpack off his shoulders.
“I’m first,” Wallon said.
“I carried it.”
“Still.” Wallon opened his palm. “Give me my stargazer.”
Mallon sighed. “Our stargazer.” He handed Wallon the long metal cylinder. “And be careful. Raelle’s is already in pieces. Just think how long we will be grounded if we break ours.”
Wallon rolled his eyes, grabbed the stargazer, and took off the three lids from both ends of the cylinder, two from the binocular part and one from the far end of the telescope. He pushed the power button, and the stargazer hummed. Lights turned on and shone through each of the lenses. Miya could have felt the stargazer vibrate as it geared up to full efficiency had it been her holding the high-powered telescope. Wallon raised it in front of his eyes with his mouth wide open. “Oh, wow,” he said. “Oh, wow!”
Miya crossed her fingers behind her head and let her thoughts wander. She didn’t have a stargazer. Her foster parents didn’t think she would need one. They gave her only the absolute bare necessities, whether it was clothing or schoolbooks. Always secondhand. And always in poor condition. Even her best dress was secondhand, grey and many sizes too big. Her foster parents had been forced to take her in. And they didn’t waste any opportunity to remind her about it.
“And that ship, where is it coming from?” Wallon asked, holding the stargazer with his right hand and pointing up with his left towards a grey bulk carrier. It was perfectly symmetrical, almost cylindrical with a pointy nose and flat tail. Its singular, giant solar sail was being trimmed down as it settled down to orbit Alpha Mion. “What is that?”
Miya knew the approaching ship well. She had never had trouble memorising starships or planets, stars or constellations. Those were the things she dreamed about during sleepless nights. “SS Pledge,” she said.
“SS Pledge? From Utera ZX?” Wallon asked.
“Uh-huh,” Mallon said, beating Miya to it. “And they must be in for a treat. Utera is mostly covered in ice. Even their cities are caved straight into the permafrost. Did you know that over the generations their eyes have adjusted to the lack of sunlight—”
“Can I have a look,” Raelle asked, sitting up. “Please?”
“It’s my stargazer, and I do what I want with it,” Wallon said.
“Ours,” Mallon said with a long sigh. “And come on, let her have a look.”
“Fine,” Wallon said. “Just be careful with it. Our father would not hesitate to give me a sound spanking if something happened to it.”
Raelle swallowed and took the stargazer gingerly from Wallon’s hands. She crossed her legs with some effort and sat up straight. After trying a few times to hold the stargazer pointed upwards, she rolled to her soft backside. Lying on the rocky ground, she raised the stargazer back on her eyes and pointed it almost directly up towards the windy sky. “I see them! I see them! They look like they’re so close,” she said, extending her hand as if trying to touch one of the solar ships. “It’s so amazing.”
Miya smiled at her friend. She got excited easily, and it was contagious.Â
“Zoeston’s family is on that one,” Mallon said, nodding towards IBC Reaver.
No one said anything. Mallon was right, and they all knew it and what it meant.
Zoeston was the young heir to the Kang Dynasty crown. His family had ruled the galaxy for three generations. “He must miss his family,” Raelle said behind the stargazer.
“He’s an idiot,” Wallon said. “And a pompous jackass.”
“You say that about everyone,” his brother said.
“Well, this time, I’m definitely right.”
“Agreed,” Miya said, nodding to herself. She had been bullied by Zoeston the whole time the young soon-to-be-dynasty-leader had been staying at Alpha Mion. “I’m going to be super happy when he finally leaves to visit some other sorry planet.”
“I hear his time here is up,” Mallon said. “It’s all about his curriculum. He spends only one year on each of the planets he’ll be ruling when he is crowned.”
“Good! Not going to miss him one second, that’s for sure.” Miya jumped to her feet. “Let’s head back home. We’ll need to sneak back in before anyone wakes up.”
“And it’s the Bluebirth party tomorrow,” Raelle said, eyes sparkling, and stood up next to Miya. “We need all the sleep we can get! It’s going to be so awesome!”
Raelle handed the stargazer to Mallon. He took a quick look up to the sky, sighed, put the lids back on the lenses, and carefully placed the delicate optics into his backpack.
“Bluebirth party! Big whoop,” Miya said with mock enthusiasm.
“Aren’t you excited?” Mallon said. “People coming from all over Crux Nebula, huge celebration, music, dancing, sweets, fireworks . . . Something fun for everyone.”
“For you Alphamionians maybe,” Miya said. “But for me . . . I don’t even have a proper dress to wear.”
“Hey, Miya! Don’t worry,” Raelle said and put her hand around Miya’s shoulder. “You can borrow a dress from me. You can have your pick!”
“So kind of you to offer. You’re a lifesaver!”
Raelle glimpsed at Miya as if to check that she wasn’t joking.
“I’ve never been to a nice party, you know,” Miya continued. “I’ve always wanted to go, but I never thought I would get the chance.”
Raelle’s eyes lit up. “The music and people dancing in fancy clothes is always the best part. You just wait and see for yourself,” she said.
“Speak for yourself.” Wallon raised his voice from behind them. The boys had caught up again now that they were getting closer to Gravelrock. First lights flickered through the trees. Most people were asleep, but some were still awake, marvelling at the solar ships clouding the otherwise starlit sky. “It’s the fireworks, that’s the best part! And tomorrow, with the royals present and all, it’s going to be mind-blowing. Mark my words!”
“And the games,” Mallon said. “Those are great too.”
“And the games! Yes! Yes, you’re right! I can’t wait to beat everyone in slingshot!”
“Won’t be happening this time,” Miya said.
“What do you mean?” Wallon asked. “Everyone knows I’m the best in Gravelrock. One day I’ll be the most famous slingshot shooter in the whole Alpha Mion! And I’ll travel all around the planet playing for huge crowds and living large while you stay here and work the mines or some other menial stuff. I have bigger plans for myself!”
“Yeah,” Miya said. “Just keep hoping there’s no one better than you participating tomorrow.”
“Like who, for example?”
“Like me, for example.” Miya stopped midstride. She raised her hand to silently warn the others. They were about to come out of the woods into the open, and a man was crossing the street. All their homes were nearby and close to one another.
All buildings in Gravelrock had the same basic structure: round like huge balls cut in half and planted side by side on the ground. Most houses were built of red bricks and had two stories. Children’s rooms were typically on the second floor with a large ceiling window through which they often watched the clouds, the stars, or even the raindrops. But Miya’s home was different. Her foster father Ermund had covered her ceiling window with a sturdy metal plate after she ran away three years earlier. She had been nine at the time and also guilty of swiping a spherie from her classmate’s backpack when no one was looking. Or so she had thought.
“Okay, he’s gone now,” Miya whispered after the man had crossed the street and turned a corner. “Be careful sneaking back in. See you at school tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow,” Mallon said and tiptoed with his brother towards their home. The twins would be fine. They had snuck out countless times and had never got caught.
“Miya,” Raelle said. She looked like she’d just realised there was a test at school in the morning and she hadn’t even started studying. “What am I going to say?”
“What do you mean?”
Raelle’s lower lip trembled, and she lowered her gaze. She was twisting her hands but remained silent.
It hit Miya. “Oh no, the broken stargazer? Is that it?”
Raelle kept her eyes down on her shoes but nodded once, her brown bun of hair bouncing up and down.
“I’m sorry, Raelle,” Miya said. “I had to smash it. We could have been killed if I didn’t do something.”
“I know,” Raelle said quietly.
Miya sighed and looked around. She was weighing her options and thinking what would be the right thing to do. There really was only one sensible option. “This is what you have to do,” she said. “Just tell your parents I broke it. Okay?”
Raelle raised her eyes to meet Miya’s and looked alarmed.
“But not right away,” Miya said. “I’m sure they won’t notice it’s gone for a few days. Wait at least until after the Bluebirth party. Then you come clean and tell them your stargazer is broken, and I broke it.”
“It’ll be super bad for you, you know it. Maybe I shouldn’t tell it was you. Maybe I could . . . I don’t know . . . tell them it was an accident or something.”
“That won’t work. You won’t get away with an accident when it was yours to take care of. And you don’t want to be forced to explain why you were on top of Mount Ravenhill in the middle of the night. That’s for sure. Just pin it on me, and you’ll be off the hook. And besides, I did break it. Just tell them the truth. But only later. Don’t tell them right away. After the Bluebirth party. Okay?”
“Ermund will give you the belt for sure when he finds out. And your foster mother will probably send you to the mines to work for the money. You’re going to get into so much trouble for this.”
“Yeah, well, I’m always in trouble.” Miya forced a convincing smile on her face. “And besides, isn’t that what everyone keeps saying all the time. That I am trouble.”
Miya has been on the planet of Alpha Mion since she was five years old. She dealt with the cruel assertions of bullies, foster parents and even her teachers. Always the butt of the joke, always named the trouble maker. All she ever wanted was to go back to her home planet of Litune 5, and if that wasn't possible, to fit in. One night, her foster parents ground her, and attend a party with the Supreme Imperator Typhon Kang, when her home is engulfed in flames. Trapped in the loft, with the fire raging beneath her, Miya fears for her life and imagines her father one last time. As he appears in her mind, she follows his silent actions and puts the tarnished ring she wears on a chain on her finger, mouths a word and claps her hands...
What The Legend of the Spacejumper does so well, is its no-holds-barred depiction of a bullied victim, who never sees herself as a victim. Even when Miya is face down on the floor at the merciless hands of the Imperator's son, she somehow manages to keep her dignity. When everyone who is supposed to protect her either humiliates her or simply neglects her, she never loses her sense of self - she simply reminds herself that she can only rely on one person - her. One particularly heartbreaking section of the book sees Miya punished disproportionately by the school and her foster parents for something that she did in order to save her and her friends. She knew the punishment would come, but she had hoped that it would be delayed by at least a few days and that there would be some clemency because of the direness of the original situation. But, even after everything that the people of Alpha Mion have put her through, she underestimated the depth and cruelness of their discrimination.
At its heart, this is a book about a girl with a spirit the size of a planet, unexpected kindness and friendships that transcend race and species. It's a beautiful book - that has wit, heartache and adventure.
S. A