Chaos Tactics (The Reckless Chronicles Book 1)

by Trent Falls

  Virgin Galactic flight M433 pulled up along the side of a docking module. Unlike the military modules, the one alongside the civilian transport was enclosed in large canopy glass sections as well as standard metal plating. Two jetway bridge arms extended out from the docking module, locking on to the port side of the transport. The arms were maglocked and pressurized, providing both a means to hold the vessel to the module and a path for passengers to board or disembark the craft.

  The people inside stood up from their chairs as the vessel stopped, as air and space travelers had for years. The inside of the ship was a mix of standard row seating and cabin modules like those on a train. Passengers were rather varied, as space travel had become quite common for everyday people. A grandmother stood up from her chair slowly. She, like most of the economy class passengers, had been in a semi-conscious state from the air mixture given to them by small transparent facemasks tethered via tube to the individual chairs. A businessman in a black suit near her took off his mask and vid screen goggles. Farther back, a young couple emerged from one of the booth like sleeper units. Little more than a large closet with a small window, the sleeper booths allowed occupants to turn off the artificial gravity to sleep comfortably in zero-g.

  One particular passenger, also wearing a business suit, stood up to get his belongings. His suit was a dark grey in color with a white shirt and blue tie. He was a rather large gentleman, powerful in frame and rather muscular from what could be seen beyond the cut of his suit. The man grabbed his small white duffle bag from the overhead and awaited his turn to disembark.

  “Captain Sturges and his crew would like to thank you for flying Virgin Galactic…” the female flight attendant’s voice continued over the speakers in the cabin. “We hope you have a pleasant day!”

  Several people got out ahead of the muscular man in the grey suit. It took a while for the cabin of an interplanetary transport to unload. The voyage itself took nearly a day, with most of the ship’s occupants asleep or in a low-energy state. On the “big space” section of the trip, it wasn’t uncommon for the pilot and copilot to take shifts sleeping. Consequently, it took time for legs to limber up and for bodies to get moving. It was a lot like getting a bunch of people up from sleep and off to work.

  The jetway outside the ship was cavernously wide. The deck in the jetway corridor was itself over twenty feet wide. Powerful LED lights illuminated the corridor in a crisp white light. The central path was a white non-slip composite. The inside walls of the jetway were a light tan. The people filed out into the jet bridge slowly at first. The man in the grey suit walked with a hurried stride. He had booked the first dropship to Earth.

  The jetway led out into a larger passage. Though the surrounding area was built up much like a traditional Earth building interior, there were still evident signs that they were on a space station. The air ducts overhead were large and encased in steel tubes rather than flimsy sheet metal. Every thirty feet or so a seam within a metal collar ran around the hall passage. The deck was raised to allow people through each ring without tripping. The purpose of the ring was to allow a thick steel door to slide down in the event of a serious depressurization event. The thick door would seal off an exposed ring in much the same manner as a watertight hatch on a ship.

  The main thoroughfare of the station was fairly grand. Gagarin Station was well known as the first spacious spaceport. The other three spaceports had main promenades that resembled the interior of a small warehouse or a hangar. Gagarin had airport elegance and design. A wide ring of pressurized “skylights” allowed the starry void of space to be seen overhead. A part of the Earth crested on one side. Natural sunlight filtered in through the skylights. Directly above was the atrium-like interior of the spaceport hotel. The hotel was on par with a three star Earth hotel, only it was FAR more expensive to stay on Gagarin Station. Over half of the rooms, however, were dedicated to the working staff of the space station. It was much more cost-effective to board workers for an entire week than to keep ferrying them to and from the Earth every day.

  Foot traffic in the main promenade was still somewhat sparse. Space transports arrived less frequently than their Earth counterparts yet carried more passengers. The people leaving the Virgin Galactic transport flooded out onto the common areas, which had just been somewhat vacant.

  The man in the grey suit, a man that once held the rank of Master Chief, walked quickly across the open, carefully designed spaceport promenade to the smaller passages at the other end. There were five tunnels in total, three clustered to the left of a commissary and two paired to the far right.

  Master Chief Andrew Rochette, with his single carry-on bag, disappeared through one of the openings leading to one of the well-lit white tunnels leading to the Earth-bound shuttles.

  It was Thursday morning.

  While a Thursday morning might have meant little to some, to John Carn it was the first day of his summer vacation. He got up at eight o’clock; certainly a luxury! It was a far cry from the days when he had routinely gotten up at 6 AM, either when he was in the military, in his time as a marshal, or his recent term as a Palm Beach College adjunct professor.

  John woke up in a fairly good mood, especially since he had plenty of uninterrupted sleep. No nightmares! His therapist at the VA would be pleased. As was typical on his days off, John began the day with a quick calisthenics workout. He did about 50 lunges to start, 50 squats, 100 crunches, and about 100 pushups. He followed with jumping jacks and some martial arts. He’d go running in the park later. John’s joints began to ache slightly towards the end of his workout. Though he was still in excellent physical condition, age was starting to creep in on him.

  Once limbered up, he took a quick shower. He could hear the vid screen on in the living room outside. Julie was up and watching TV.

  John’s shower was event-free. His mind lingered on everyday thoughts. There had been times in the past where running water had triggered his PTSD, as the sound of the falling stream of water was sometimes confused for the sound of crackling fire in his mind. Today was different, however. The sun was shining brightly through the small frosted window of his shower. It was a much better day than most others so far.

  John got dressed in an old comfortable pair of jeans and a grey polyester blend runner’s t-shirt. He tried to think of what he might do first that day. Though it was a somewhat new experience, John loved summer breaks. It was like being a kid again and having summers off.

  He finally exited his room to get something to eat. He paused in stride as he exited his room into the bright sunlight of the living room. Julie was lounging on their tan leather couch, as was her best friend Kaitlyn O’Brien. Kaitlyn was about Julie’s age, around 18, and had soft brown hair with a thin youthful frame. Kaitlyn shifted in her seat on the couch upon seeing John. She had been over to their condo many times to see Julie but John kept a good distance from her. Clearly, Kaitlyn had a developed a crush on him.

  “Good morning, Mister Carn.” Kaitlyn smiled up at him.

  John let out an ever-so-slight uncomfortable exhale. “Morning Kaitlyn.” John replied.

  “Morning Uncle.” Julie called out, barely removing her eyes from the holovid screen floating on the table in front of the girls. “Coffee’s ready.”

  “Thanks sweetie.” John responded routinely, walking into the open kitchen area.

  John poured himself a mug of coffee. He then went to the fridge for cream.

  “You girls got any plans for today?” John asked.

  “We were going to go up to the mall and have lunch, then maybe hit the beach.” Julie replied indirectly, her eyes still on the holovid screen.

  “That sounds nice.” John put a teaspoon of sugar in his coffee.

  “What about you, Mister Carn?” Kaitlyn asked warmly.

  Julie gave her a light smack on the outside of her left thigh. Julie knew about Kaitlyn’s little crush and it made her just a bit sick and uncomfortable.

  John allowed Kaitlyn’s ques
tion to hang in the air for a moment. “I don’t know, Kate. Maybe fishing. Maybe I’ll just sit around here and do nothing.”

  “Good for you, uncle! You deserve it.” Julie grinned, her eyes still fixed on the holovid images.

  John smirked, turning away to carry his coffee to the breakfast nook a good distance away from the girls but not out of earshot. John pulled his PDX device from his bag, which was set nearby. The small tablet-sized device was made of a touch-sensitive screen, but it also had a hologram projector. John opted to read his news on the PDX screen rather than activate the holographic news channel. He sipped his coffee comfortably as he thumbed through the morning newspaper.

  “Mister Carn.” Kaitlyn’s voice called out. “I’m going to PBC next year. Maybe I’ll have you as a professor.”

  John exhaled unenthusiastically over his coffee at the news. “Maybe.” He allowed himself to reply, keeping his eyes on the newsprint on his screen.

  “Do you teach American History?” Kaitlyn asked.

  “American and World History,” John took a sip of his coffee, “with a few sociology classes here and there.”

  There was an odd silence. Kaitlyn sat still watching the holovid screen with Julie. John got up after a few minutes.

  “Excuse me. I need to check my messages in the study.” John got up with his PDX and his mug of coffee. He shuffled off towards the den.

  Julie kept her eyes on her uncle until he vanished from sight. She then turned her attention on Kaitlyn. She gave her best friend a playful smack on the leg, turning a somewhat angry expression towards her.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Julie demanded in a stern whisper.

  “What?” Kaitlyn grinned broadly. “Your uncle is hot!”

  “He’s forty three years old!” Julie whispered angrily. “You made him uncomfortable!”

  “What? Sorry!” Kaitlyn breathed back.

  “Gez! What if I went to your house and started gushing all over your dad!” Julie sneered.

  Kaitlyn let out an audible laugh. “Yeah, right! Go right ahead! He’s a fat old balding bank manager.”

  “I’m being serious, Kaitlyn!” Julie tired to restrain her tone. “In the last few months you’ve seemed to have gotten this crazy thing in your head that my uncle might have some… thing for you. Nothing’s ever going to happen so you should just drop it!”

  Kaitlyn seemed a bit taken aback by Julie’s remark.

  “Give me a break, Kate!” Julie smirked at her. “Uncle John is a sweet guy.” Julie paused in thought for a moment. “He just wants to be left alone.”

  “Okay.” Kaitlyn finally conceded to Julie’s rationale, if only outwardly.

  “Don’t you have any boys our age that you like?” Julie asked. “What ever happened with Rick?”

  “He’s all into his online world.” Kate replied. “Besides, I think he’s on white noise.” Kate explained. White noise was like a drug, only it was a sensation created by using a memory reader and feeding it back into one’s own brain. “It’s made him all limp and useless.”

  Julie let out a loud laugh in response. “Oh, now that IS good!” Julie laughed for a while longer. “Seriously! Don’t you like anyone else?”

  “I don’t know.” Kaitlyn replied. “There’s a couple of them. Steve’s been calling me lately and messaging me.”

  “Steve Crandle?” Julie asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Why don’t you go out with him?”

  “I don’t know.” Kate replied. “I was trying to see if Nick Caesares was still interested.” Kate paused. “What about you and Dan?”

  “Dan’s and I are doing great.” Julie replied. “He’s taking me to the Intergy concert tonight.”

  “Oh yeah. I guess the beach is out then.” Kate noted.

  “You kidding?” Julie replied quickly. “We’ve got plenty of time for the beach!”

  John sat at the large cherry wood desk in the den. The leather chair was worn in and comfortable. The room was quiet. Best of all, there were no teenage girls around. He had done his best to finish raising Julie. He looked up at a picture of Wendy holding a much younger Julie. Wendy’s bright white smile gleamed happily in the photo. John only hoped that wherever she was that she was still smiling and happy about the job he had done.

  Kaitlyn’s new crush was getting awkward. Living in a house with a late-teen daughter was getting awkward as well. Though he loved Julie like a true daughter, he knew the time was fast approaching for them to have separate living spaces.

  It had been so long since John had a stable long-term relationship with a woman. He thought of Aiyana. All those years ago, on a planet light years away. She was but a faded memory, like something that was part of someone else’s lifetime.

  John looked around the study. The decor was a mix of both his items and Julie’s with a lot of her mother’s things as well. Wendy’s wedding photo was still on the shelf, with her in a flowing white dress and standing next to her husband; an EEF Navy Lieutenant named Andrew Stevens. Lieutenant Stevens had died during a ship to ship battle in the war against the Xen. He had manned a gun turret trying to defend his ship, the USS Andromeda. It wasn’t even his posting. Stevens died defending his ship and his shipmates. Wendy was as beautiful as she ever had been. The picture had been taken on the lush green grounds of the chapel in Georgia where they had been married.

  Another wall had pictures of Julie from years past. A soccer championship when she was twelve. A day at the beach at fifteen, taken after John had adopted her. Another picture was of her with an aunt and uncle from her father’s side on a trip to New York at sixteen.

  John’s old football jersey hung in a glass frame on the opposite wall. Wendy had actually kept it. It was a memento for her from happier days when they were both in high school together in Pennsylvania. John had been a running back in high school. The green and white trim jersey was from when he had helped his team win the regional championship game. If he had trained a bit harder John might have been able to make it to the pros, but he had decided instead to enlist in the EEF. He hadn’t even bothered with going to college. He had been desperate to get to space.

  There were a few other pictures nearby that John had transmitted home from his time in the service. One was of him in a pressure suit, standing in the open Martian desert. The picture had been taken on one of his first training missions off-planet. There was another picture of a much younger John Carn standing in front of an American flag with his Marine dress blues on. The EEF tri-star logo was engraved in the lower left hand side of the picture. It had been his basic training graduation photo.

  The den also contained various other nick-knacks set on the surrounding shelves and side tables along with lots of books. Reading was something that ran in John’s side of the family. The walls were lined with many of Wendy’s favorite books. One shelf contained John’s books; mostly old paperbacks. One book in particular caught his eye. It had been some time since he had read “Jurassic Park” by Michael Crichton.

  The wood door of the study swung open slowly.

  “Uncle John.” Julie’s voice called out as she leaned into the doorway.

  “Yes sweetie.” John turned in his chair to face her.

  “Kate and I are going to head out to the mall.” Julie noted.

  “Okay.” John replied. “What time is your concert?”

  “About eight thirty.”

  “Okay. I want this boy to come up here so I can meet him. None of this waiting in the car for you business.” John noted sternly.

  “Okay.” Julie nodded. “I’ll tell him.” She smiled. Her Uncle John was a bit overprotective at times, but it made Julie kind of happy to know that he only wanted the best for her.

  “Thank you, sweetie.” John smiled at her. “Have fun.”

  Julie stared at her uncle for a moment. “You too.” She said sincerely.

  The door closed behind her. John found himself alone again in the study with his thoughts.

  Chapter 5r />
  Quan Shin sat in his large leather chair facing away from his desk and out into the star-filled sea of space. As was the design of her three sister ships, the Ao Shun had its Captain’s Stateroom above the main bridge. A broad polycarb window looked out from behind his lacquered mahogany desk. The main bridge offered almost the same view. If he were seated properly at his desk, Shin would actually be oriented in the reverse of the ship’s forward direction. The design of the Captain’s Stateroom offered a spectacular view and luxury while maintaining the concept that the captain was always tied to his ship. Even at rest he shared the same view to space as the main bridge.

  Shin’s bed was located on the far side of the room from the main entry to the stateroom on his port side. It was a twin bed with a moveable ship’s computer console set on an armature beside it. Numerous hologram projectors in the room offered the Captain access to a wealth of information delivered pretty much anywhere in the room. While the computer could bring up most texts in the ship’s library, Shin maintained a standard print-book library on two sets of shelves located next to the bed. A large reading chair was set next to the shelves. Near the entry was another set of shelves, three rows high. The shelves near the door contained a few religious artifacts; a Buddha sculpture as well as a copy of the King James version of the Christian Bible. Also on the shelves were several framed pictures of Shin’s family. His wife was a beautiful raven haired woman with pale skin and distinctly Japanese features. His two sons appeared to be ten years old or slightly younger and looked somewhat like Shin, with darkened skin and angular features.

  A sustained electronic tone resounded from the wall speakers set into the walls of Shin’s quarters. Someone was at the door. Shin pressed a flashing white button on the console built into his desk.

  Scott Euler, wearing the drab bluish grey fatigues of a Xen, walked comfortably into Shin’s quarters. Though he wore their uniform, he didn’t display any rank insignia. All the same, every hand on the ship knew who he was; the Earthling conspiring with them for some secret purpose of Xen command.