“The saying that success is its own reward may be true, but incentive certainly brings out more enthusiasm,” he said, looking off to the side. “I hear that you’ve been training with Officer Wulfson?”
Kaiden let out a dramatic sigh. “I’m sure that’s what he calls it for legal reasons. I would file it under assault or torture, but I guess I can’t argue that I’ve gotten results, and ridiculously quickly too.”
Sasha formed a small smile. “Wulfson’s methods are a bit extreme, but trust me when I say that when it comes to physical prowess and survival tactics, I would put him up there with the best, in and out of the Academy.”
“I won’t argue. It works out, anyway.” Kaiden unzipped his jacket, holding the left side open to reveal a silver gun in a holster on his side with a glowing blue line on either side.
The commander looked at the gun for a moment and then back to Kaiden. “I see you’re already making use of your perks.”
Kaiden zipped up his jacket again. “You bet, but while I didn’t have to fill out those stupid forms and go through a waiting period and all that junk, I still have to check in with a security officer daily, so he can look over my gun and see if it’s been fired. If it has, I have to fill out a report. I already mentioned this to the lady in supplies, but you guys are really pedantic when it comes to weapons in a military academy.” He shook his head. “Fortunately, Wulfson doesn’t give two shits and he’s the head of security, so it works out for me.”
“You do realize you’re mentioning this to an Academy Board member?” Sasha inquired.
Kaiden lowered his oculars to give him a scathing stare. “Come on now, Commander, don’t be like that. You’re the one who brought me here. I wouldn’t have figured you’d now change the score.”
The commander let out a quick laugh, surprising Kaiden. “I suppose you’re right, but be careful with that, if you would.” He began walking past him but paused to look at him with a brow raised. “If something were to happen, I would possibly be considered an accomplice.”
Kaiden grinned. “I’ll be sure not to besmirch your good name.” He pushed himself off the wall. “Me and some of the soldiers I met during the test are going to Seattle during the break for some drinks. Care to come?”
“A kind offer, but no thank you. While you may be on break, there are matters I must attend to.” Sasha hesitated. “Though I am curious, why go all the way to Seattle? Bellingham has plenty of good bars and restaurants.”
“Luke wanted to take us to one of those places, but I figured I would prefer to go to a place that has something I know I’d like.”
“And where is that?”
“Well, I was only in Seattle long enough to learn of one bar.”
The commander turned back. “So you’re off to the Emerald Bar then? A bit of a full circle for you.”
Kaiden tucked his hands into his jacket pockets. “I’m not that sentimental, but when I talked to Julio, he offered to give me some celebratory drinks. One of the other guys, Flynn, already offered to get me drinks and Luke offered food, so I figured I could get fed and buzzed and not have to pay a single credit.”
“How pragmatic of you.” Sasha deadpanned.
“You know, between you and Chief, I’m beginning to think that’s an insult instead of a compliment,” Kaiden noted dryly.
The commander turned away. “I suppose it all depends on your point of view.”
Kaiden reached out and grabbed him by his shoulder. “Hey, Sasha?”
Sasha looked back at him. “Yes, Initiate?”
“I just wanted to say…thanks.” Kaiden removed his hand, a little embarrassed though he’d never admit it. “Thanks for bringing me here.”
“Nonsense, Initiate Jericho, I simply offered the opportunity,” the commander reminded him. “You brought yourself here.”
Kaiden sighed. “I would make a smartass remark about your little philosophical ramblings, but I getcha.” He put his hands in his jacket again, turning the other way. “Besides, I’ve probably done better than even you would have thought,” he jeered before walking to the building’s exit.
“How do you figure that?” Sasha asked.
Without stopping, Kaiden called back. “I’m guessing that you probably didn’t think I would beat your high score!”
With that, Kaiden exited the building, leaving Sasha in the hall alone. “At first, I certainly didn’t,” he whispered, placing a hand across his chest. “But considering what I’ve seen and where you come from, I began to think it was possible.” He walked in the other direction toward the back exit. “Honestly, I have begun to hope you can surpass much more than merely a test score.”
Kaiden left the building, and the light from the setting sun hit his eyes. He went to shield them with his arm as his oculars switched to shaded lenses.
“Appreciate it, Chief.”
“Not a problem. Where are we off to now?”
“I wanted to see if we could find—”
“Good evening, Kaiden,” a voice called.
Kaiden looked over to see Chiyo standing next to a tree near the entrance to the dorms. He waved as he walked over to her.
“Good to see you. Couldn’t find you after the ceremony—congratulations on getting first.”
“You too. I hope it has convinced you to stay in the Ace Class?” she asked.
“Only if your success has helped you move past your…inner demons? Would that be right?” he asked, tapping his fingers against his arm.
She raised a questioning eyebrow. “It…I suppose it would be accurate. And I’m a little more certain of where I belong, thank you.”
“Hey, quid pro quo…am I using that right too?”
Chiyo smiled as she shook her head at his silliness. “Only if you answer my previous question.”
Kaiden nodded. “Yeah, I’m gonna stick around. Met another ace during the test. He’s a little dry, ironically, but he definitely has a better grasp of the whole leadership thing than I do.”
“Are you gonna follow his lead?” she asked.
“Hell no,” Kaiden scoffed. “But since I’ve been here, I’ve learned that people are gonna offer their stu…help, whether I want it or not, so figured if I at least listen to at least some of it they’ll give me a break, and I can maybe gain some good advice now and then.”
Chiyo chuckled. “How pragmatic of you.”
Kaiden’s eye twitched. “What the hell? Is that everyone’s word of the day?”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, giving him a puzzled look.
“Forget it.” He sighed. “Not what I was here for.”
“What would that be?”
Kaiden held a finger up, telling her to wait a moment. “Chief, send the invite, would ya?”
Chiyo’s eyes shimmered a moment. “A network invitation?”
“I learned about it during the test, figured I’d make the offer,” he explained. “It won’t let you do your little appearing mysteriously act as easily, but it’ll make conversation way easier than us running into each other in moments of serendipity.”
She stared at him for a moment before smiling and closing her eyes. “Kaitō, accept invite,” she stated before opening her eyes and looking back at him. “Thank you.”
“It’s all good.” He placed his hands against his side. “I would have done it sooner if I’d known. I sent one to Geno—or rather, Jaxon did, and sent me a link. Apparently, they know each other. Although I guess all of them do since there’s only about thirty of them here.”
“I should probably send him one as well,” Chiyo admitted.
“You haven’t? He seemed pretty fond of you.”
“I think that’s just his nature.” She shrugged.
“He and Jaxon do seem rather different.”
“Did you think they were all like that?” she asked with an accusatory look.
Kaiden raised his hands in defense. “Hey. I’ve never known an entire alien race. I thought maybe it was a hive-mind th
ing or a cultural difference or something.”
She snickered. “I’m just teasing.”
He lowered his hands. “Well, that’s a nice change of pace. Not exactly comforting, but nice.”
Her smile remained. “It is nice to have a little relief sometimes.”
“I’m glad. Our little chats have helped me out quite a bit. I’m happy to help, even if it’s at my expense,” Kaiden added.
“You’ve been more than helpful, even not as a victim of a childish prank,” she admitted, “Where are you off to?”
“Well, I was looking for you, but since that’s done, I’m going to Seattle to join some of the others for drinks. Wanna come?”
She blinked for a moment, caught off guard. “I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
“You wouldn’t be. A few of the others are bringing along other friends, and Geno will be there too. Figure we all blow off some steam from the tests. Who knows when we’ll get another chance?”
Chiyo looked up at the sky, thinking for a moment. “Probably after the mid-year test.”
“What’s that?” Kaiden asked, “Whatever it is, it sounds like it’s quite some time away.”
“A few months. I’ll explain more on the way,” Chiyo said.
Kaiden pumped his fist. “So you’re coming? All right, then, we should head over to the carriers. Last batch is off in thirty.”
“Twenty, actually,” Chiyo corrected.
“All the more reason to get a move on,” he retorted, turning and motioning for her to follow. “Shall we?”
She nodded. The sun had descended a little further, the beginnings of night appearing in the sky and a cool breeze blowing in.
“So is it safe to say that you’re settling in?” she asked as they walked along the edge of the island. A cool breeze blew in, and the water crashed against the barrier.
“Into the Academy? Sure.” Kaiden nodded. “But into the life? Nah, I never settle.”
Author Notes
September 11, 2018
Thank you for not only reading this story but also these Author Notes here at the back.
So, the set of stories coming out has been in production (Michael Anderle Productions™ LOL ) since mid-February, 2018.
I reached out to my collaborator and asked him if he had any desire to work on a project, and fortunately, he said ‘yes.’
A little about me
Many of you might know what follows, but for many this might be a story you have never heard. When I was forty-seven, I decided that by God, I was going to make a stab at writing books and publishing. Half my reason was because writing and publishing something of mine was a bucket list item in my life.
I was closing in on fifty years old, and that was a bit past time to get my ass in gear if I was going to cross that item off my list of things to finish before I was…finished.
The second reason is my oldest son, who wrote fan fiction back in Junior High, I believe, didn’t want to try because he didn’t understand all the pieces and how they fit together. I believed I could go first, and then tell him.
That didn’t go so well, until it did.
A little about Joshua
He is my oldest son, a talented and funny writer but not very good at ‘let me get out there and try this!’ Even after I could tell him everything about publishing he would want to know, it took a LONG time to get him to sit down and craft a book.
Part of the problem was SIS (Shiny Idea Syndrome), where this story was fun as long as another story didn’t take his attention. Another was the absolute effort to put 40k–60k or more words down in a manuscript.
He went through the whole process, and opened his own account on Amazon to publish the book.
Unfortunately, he didn’t publish book two in time and the ranking dropped. Also, he is a bit more of a perfectionist than I am, and was pretty critical of his effort, so it was hard to push forward.
When I changed some of the strategies of my publishing company, I reached out to him and asked if he would be willing to write for me. (I fully expected him to turn me down, but I had to ask.)
Surprisingly, he agreed.
Why ask him?
Joshua is twenty-five at the moment, turning twenty-six in a couple of months. He has been playing video games—a lot of video games—since he was maybe two or three years old. I wanted to create a universe that would work for LitRPG or GameLit. I needed someone to work the Universe with me, so I could direct it but not have to come up with all of the answers.
Plus, they had to write well.
Both of those requirements fit him very well. If you ask his opinion on games, be prepared to chat for a while.
Was the collaboration a disaster?
Fortunately, no.
In the beginning, we both rather tiptoed around trying to say, “I don’t like that, you elitist Cossack.” (Not that I said it, nor does it make much sense—even as a pejorative—but you get the idea.) We worked out the details of the world, then the characters, and then the beats for book one.
The beats for book one turned into three books.
I was adamant about including the Fantasy Football aspect of the story. Joshua tended to shy away from writing those aspects when I wanted them. I kept getting, “I’ll get there…but it didn’t work because
Finally, in book 03 (half-finished as I type this, and probably due out in four or five weeks at the moment) I received my glorious KABANG with the teachers and their betting pool/fantasy football.
Not that he didn’t change some of my ideas there, too. I’m happy to say I’m a magnanimous collaborator and full of patience…
Yeah, I can’t sell that. They were good ideas, and I kept them.
Books planned for this series
Right now, there are twelve books planned for this series. Three for each year of Kaiden at the Academy (Animus, Co-Op, Death Match are the first three.) Each trilogy (year of his time at the school), Kaiden is doing something a bit radical compared to the others. After the twelve books, our thoughts (assuming we do well enough to continue the series, your reviews help!) are to move Kaiden and his team he builds into the bigger Universe. However, if you, the readers, want to read about other students going through the Academy, we have plans to support more series in the Academy as well.
I hope you liked this book. If you did, or any book on Amazon, consider leaving a review. They help all of us Authors as we produce books to see whether you, our fans, like them (or don’t)!
Ad Aeternitatem,
Michael Anderle / Joshua Anderle
CO-OP
Animus Book 2
Chapter One
Commander Sasha Chevalier finished typing his notes and preparing his plans for the board meeting. An owl, its body blue wire-frame with large round white eyes, appeared on his desk, sitting on a small artificial tree.
“Sir, Chou, Councilor Vodello’s EI, sent a message. She said that Mya would like to know if you are still going to make it to the meeting?” it asked in a muted, straightforward tone.
He nodded. “Please send a message back that I will leave my office momentarily and see her there.”
“Understood, sending response immediately.”
“Thank you, Isaac. Once you’ve sent the message, prepare for ocular integration,” the commander added.
The owl avatar nodded, disappearing after a moment. Sasha pressed a button on the base of the tree and a small chip popped out. He took it in his fingers, careful not to handle the surface. The device seemed little more than a small silver square except for a large N in the center engraved with a triangular design around it—the Nexus Academy crest.
He picked up his oculars—a round band with black circular lenses—and slid the chip into a small slot next to the right lens before placing them on his head. The head of the owl appeared in the corner of his display. “Should I send the notes to anyone before we depart?”
“Send a copy to my tablet. I may work on them some more during
the league discussions.” The commander placed said tablet into a briefcase which contained other devices and chips.
The owl nodded, and its eyes lit up. “Understood, and sir…”
“We are being pinged?” he asked, closing and locking his case.
“You could tell?”
“Your eyes flashed for a moment,” Sasha explained, and the owl’s already large eyes widened further.
“I could not tell. No detection on my end.”
Sasha walked out of his office and closed the door. “No need to worry. It simply means he’s getting impatient.”
“Who is…ah, I see. No hacker would be able to remotely access the oculars on such a micro scale without—”
“Access to the main connection located in the head professor’s office,” Sasha finished as he walked down the two flights of stairs to the exit.
“Should I tell him you are on your way? Along with a request to not be so evasive in the future?”
“No need. Besides, he’s likely to erase your memory of it the next time he updates you.”
The owl’s eyes shrank to half their size in an exaggerated response before returning to their normal size. The feathered avatar furrowed in annoyance. “Has this been a normal occurrence?”
“Only over the last few months. He says you’ve been saying insulting things about him, and that you are a bad influence.”
“He does know that most of my opinions are derived from yours?”
Sasha reached the ground floor and chuckled in dry amusement. “Yes, but he cannot erase my mind on a whim.”
The EI’s eyes narrowed. ”That seems like an abuse of power. I can see why you find him such a bother.”
“I’ve learned to pick my battles,” Sasha admitted, pushing open the side exit door of the Nexus Board Hall. “Besides, for all the strife he may cause, you would not exist without his genius.”
Animus Boxed Set 1 (Books 1-4): Initiate, Co-Op, Death Match, Advance Page 30
