“Let’s have a warm welcome for the top five students of the class of 2120!” Once again the audience erupted into applause. The Commandant stared down at the five honored pilots. “You have represented Condor Space Academy well this day. Those of you who have chosen to serve in the United States Space Force will no doubt be great assets to this nation.” Red beamed with pride as did Jack’s three other squad mates. The Commandant continued. “I have no doubt that all of you will go on to bright futures whatever your chosen path may be.”
Now Jack allowed himself to beam ever so slightly. Most of his classmates would be joining the Space Force. He, however, would soon be flying civilian space liners to the colonies. He was too independent for the military life.
And besides, I don’t have six years of my life to surrender to the military. Jack had grown up in an orphanage. He’d never had real family. If he had his way, that would be changing soon. He returned his attention to the Commandant’s speech.
“It is now my distinct honor and privilege to introduce to you our guest speaker for this afternoon…” said the Commandant, “Fleet Captain Morton Doran!”
The audience again erupted into cheers. A tall man in a blue Space Force uniform approached the podium. His chest was covered in ribbons and medals. He was in his late forties. His dark black hair was streaked with grey. Though already at attention, the assembled cadets stiffened even further. Doran was a legend. He was known throughout the world as the man that had led the Space Force to victory in the Pirate Wars that had raged for most of the previous decade. He was the hero of the epic Second Battle of Jupiter and the man who had defeated the most notorious space pirate in history, Edward Lee.
“Thank you Commandant,” said Doran. “And congratulations to your honor squadron for that superb performance. It was a finely executed maneuver. Condor Space Academy has always produced the finest of space pilots. It is among the best space academies in the world and you should all be very proud. I have no doubt that those of you who have chosen to serve your country in the Space Force will continue to make us proud. You honor us with your service.”
For the briefest moment, Jack had second thoughts about his decision to not join the Space Force. Red and the others had practically begged him to join with them. He’d thought about it. With the Pirate Wars over he didn’t think it very likely he’d be put into a combat position, but he had still decided against it.
I have much more important things lined up. It’s a civilian life for me, and that’s final, he thought, as if trying to convince himself it was true. Doran concluded his address and returned the ceremonies back over to the Commandant.
“I now declare the class of 2120, graduated! Cadets, you are dismissed!”
The cadets erupted into cheers. Many of them embraced one another or clasped one another’s hands. They’d had four trying years together. Many of the members of the crowd that were in attendance, mostly friends and family of the graduates, started making their way onto the parade ground. Jack started searching through the crowd. The face he was looking for belonged to a certain young woman. He looked and looked but she was nowhere to be seen. When he realized that she was not coming his heart sank. From behind him, Red spoke.
“No sign of, Jen?” Jack shook his head and then let it hang in sorrow. Red put his hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Don’t worry bud, I’m sure something just came up. You just wait, you’ll get a message before the night’s over with.” Jack pulled out his personal com-link and checked it.
No messages. No missed calls.
Red put his arm around his friend. “Come on Jack. Tonight we celebrate! Let’s hit the town! There are thousands of ladies just waiting to be swept off of their feet by the two handsomest, and let’s be honest, most totally awesome pilots in the world!” They made their way back to their dorm to change out of their flight suits. “Make sure you wear your academy uniform,” said Red. “It will get us into the Stargazer for free tonight.” Red then grinned mischievously. “And you know how the ladies love men in uniforms.” While Red admired himself in the mirror, fixed his hair and adjusted his uniform, Jack checked his com-link one more time.
No messages, No missed calls… Sighing, he followed Red to his silver solar car.
Red drove much like he flew—wildly. Fortunately, once they left the Academy grounds they were in a predominantly rural area. Jack enjoyed the view of all the open land. They passed several auto farms where robot harvesters were busily gathering in the crops. Red hit the accelerator and the 2116 Corvette sped up to 174 kilometers per hour. Jack glanced at the car’s power meter.
“Looks like you’re going to need a new power cell in about a month.” The Corvette was powered by a Shinara power cell from the planet Mercury. It had run on the same cell for over four years.
“I’m not worried about it,” said Red. “I’ll be in space in less than a month and I don’t plan on coming back here for a long time. This puppy’s going in storage. I’d loan her to you, but you’re moving to the Mars Colony right.” Jack nodded.
“Just as soon as I land a job with one of the space lines.” And as soon as I can get an answer from Jen on whether or not she’ll come with me… He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box that contained a diamond ring.
Red shook his head.
“I don’t think I could ever devote myself to just one girl,” he said. “It wouldn’t be fair to all the others.”
Jack didn’t so much as crack a smile.
“She hasn’t given you an answer yet has she?”
Jack shook his head. Deep down, he knew that the answer was no. Ever since he’d first proposed marriage to Jennifer, she’d grown distant. She’d told him that she needed time to think about it. That had been six months earlier. They’d been drifting apart ever since. She hardly ever called him and always made up excuses when he wanted to go out with her. He honestly wasn’t surprised that she’d not come to his graduation. Red decided to change the subject.
“You know Jack, those space lines can be awful snobby and stuck up. They’re real picky about who they let in. You’re a great pilot—you’re probably the best with the exception of yours truly. But the space lines care more about how clean and well-trimmed your finger nails are than about how well you fly. If you ask me, they’re a waste of your talent. You aught to join the Space Force with me and keep the team together. Besides, flying a Star Sword space fighter beats flying an interplanetary liner any day.”
“Red we’ve been over this. I’m not...”
“I know, I know. I’m just saying.” They drove on in silence. Jack watched the sun set. When they reached the interstate, Red sped up to 260 KPH. After less than an hour, they arrived in Birmingham. Three mile high skyscrapers jutted into the sky all around them. Though it was night, the lights of the city made it almost as bright as day. As they entered the city, Red switched the car over to automatic. As much as he preferred to be in personal control, taking the manual authorized routes would have taken far too long. The auto-grid would get them there much faster.
The Stargazer Club was a favorite hangout for the cadets of the Condor Space Academy and that night they were out in force. The club was throwing a celebration for the new graduates. As Jack and Red entered the club, they caught sight of a band playing rock music wildly on a stage.
“It’s the Galactic Cats!” said Jack excitedly. The sight of his favorite rock band lifted his spirits. The sight of all the beautiful young women lifted Red’s. He pulled out a comb and ran it though his slick red hair.
The building was an enormous dome. The upper ceiling was alive with a laser lightshow. Holo-screens displayed close ups of the band. The facility was divided into dance floors, a dining area and a gaming area. The gaming area had everything from holographic boxing to fighter pilot simulators. Jack and Red had spent considerable time in latter. In times past that had dueled to the cheers of their fellow pilots. Jack and Red were the best at the game. It was always a close match.
If only Red didn’t take it so seriously…
Red could be extremely competitive, especially when it came to piloting. Jack was relieved that Red didn’t want to fire up one of the simulators.
“Come on Jack, I know just how to get Jen off of your mind.” He then headed towards the dance floors like a tiger on the prowl.
Jack caught sight of a young beautiful blond staring at him. He decided that for once Red was right.
Chapter Two
Summoning his courage, Jack walked over to ask the young woman to dance with him. She looked him up and down. The look in her eyes said she was sizing up more than just his uniform. Jack was twenty three, but his boyish good looks made him look a lot younger. The fact that he was only 1.7 meters tall only served to make him look even younger. Nonetheless, she accepted his hand and allowed him to escort her out onto the dance floor. Moments later, synthesizers and electro vocorders blared. On stage smoke machines and lights went into action. The Galactic Cats were known for their melodramatic performances, but their music was the rave of the younger generation.
The dance floor was crowded, but Jack was almost as good at dancing as he was at flying, and the young blond, whose name he did not yet even know, seemed perfectly happy to get as close to him as possible on the dance floor. She was a skilled dancer as well, and matched Jack’s lead move for move. When the music changed to a slow dance, she got even closer. Jack was sweating profusely, but it had little to do with the temperature. She had her arms around his neck and her head resting on his shoulder. The rest of her body was pressed firmly against his. Jack wondered if it was himself, or his uniform that the girl was more interested in. Red was certainly right about women liking men who were destined to be fighter pilots. He wondered if his dance partner would be so interested in him if she knew he had no intention of joining the United States Space Force. As the dance continued, Jack caught sight of Red. He had not one, but two girls, and he was dancing with both at the same time. Red’s eyes scanned the young woman that Jack was dancing with. He gave Jack a thumbs up and a wry grin. Jack wanted to shake his head. Something told him that Red would always be a wild womanizer. Jack, however, wanted something more permanent—and real.
The slow dance came to an end and everyone gave the band a round of applause. Jack was about to take advantage of the interlude to ask the girl her name, but before he could, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Jack turned to see a tall menacing guy looking down at him.
“Move aside shorty. You flyboys think you can just come in here and hog all the women? You’re nothing but a little boy in a fancy uniform.” He shoved Jack aside and took a step towards the girl. “Why don’t you come dance with a man, honey?”
Jack normally considered himself a lover, not a fighter. But he was too chivalrous (and angry) to just abandon the girl to an oversized punk. He leapt back between them and glared menacingly up at the thug.
“Listen, lowlife, I don’t think the lady wants your company.”
The punk pounded his fist into his hand.
“Is that a fact, lover boy?” The punker grabbed Jack by the collar of his uniform and practically lifted him off the ground. “You can kiss that baby face goodbye, because by the time I’m done with ya, you won’t have a face!”
Suddenly, Red came seemingly out of nowhere. He leapt onto the punk’s back, wrapped his arm around his throat and started to choke off his air supply.
“That’s my friend you’re messing with, slimeball!”
The enraged punker reached up and grabbed Red by the hair. He then bashed his head backwards busting Red’s nose and knocking him clear. The punker turned to face Red, but in so doing he turned his back on Jack. Little or not, Jack had studied Isshinryu for half his life. Jack punched the punker in the kidney and then used a cross kick to hit his leg which subsequently collapsed beneath him. The moment the fight had begun, most of the crowd had backed up, trying to get to a safe distance from which to watch the action. Pilots and punkers got in fights all the time, Jack just wished he hadn’t been the lucky pilot.
The punker began to force himself back to his feet. Jack could have been merciless, and hit him while he was down, but once again his chivalry got the better of him. Instead, Jack circled around him and then helped Red to his feet.
“Come on Red, we better get out of here!”
“Not until I teach this punk a lesson he’ll never forget!”
Red’s pride had been wounded and when his pride was wounded he was very often blinded by rage. Jack, however, saw that there were three more punkers coming to help their injured friend.
“We can’t take on four of them!”
“Watch me!”
Unwilling to abandon his reckless friend (who had recklessly come to help him in his moment of need) Jack fell into a stance and prepared for the worst. Fortunately, five of their fellow pilots from the Condor Academy came charging in and the dance floor erupted into a full scale brawl. Their surprise attack sent the punkers running before Red or Jack could get back into the fight.
Jack watched them flee, then turned to look for the young woman for whose honor he had fought. She was nowhere to be seen. His heart sank. Red put his arm around his friend.
“You’re lucky I’m here to watch your back! Just think of all the excitement you’re going to miss by not coming with me!”
Jack sighed. He checked his comlink again.
No messages. No missed calls.
Light years away, traveling through a hyperspace corridor located between two jump points was the main body of the Imperial Zidian 3rd Fleet. Thirty battle cruisers, 350 fighters, fifty transport ships, and the Flagship known as the “Krusha” which meant "black soul" in the Zidian language. On its bridge, on his platform, overlooking the view screen was Fleet Commander Akdon. He stood seven feet tall, the average height for Zidians. He wore a gray, black and silver armored uniform with many decorations commemorating his past victories. Like all Zidians he had rough, dark brown skin, a tall hard narrow forehead and powerful jaws that resembled the beak like mouth of a triceratops dinosaur.
The lights were dim and the air hot. Below his platform on the main floor was the bridge crew operating the controls of the mighty warship. The view screen was huge. At fifteen feet by thirty feet, it took up the whole back wall of the bridge. On the view screen was a map of Earth's solar system. Akdon studied it carefully.
Another Zidian climbed up to the platform and stood next to Akdon. It was Sub Commander Kaydan, Akdon's second in command. He was ruthlessly efficient and highly intelligent. Unlike most Zidians, he was a scientist as well as a warrior. Akdon always valued his insight.
“So this is our target,” said Akdon.
“Yes sir, a few planets orbiting a single star. Only their home world is inhabitable,” replied Kaydan.
“What's it worth?” asked Akdon.
“Once we strip mine it of its natural resources it should yield quite a profit in minerals, oxygen, slave labor, and most especially water.”
“And what of the inhabitants?”
“They are mentally and physically inferior to us. Intelligence reports that they haven’t even reached space yet.”
“Good.” Pushing a button on his control panel, Akdon changed the image of the view screen from a map of Earth’s star system to an image of the Earth itself. “It is a lush world,” said Akdon. It will make a fine addition to our empire.” He turned back to Kaydan. “What kind of resistance can we expect?” Kaydan inserted an information chip into the main console. The image on the screen changed.
“According to our intelligence reports, these images represent the most advanced weapons possessed by the Human inhabitants.” The first image to appear on the screen was of a Bi-Wing fighter plane. “This primitive, prop driven, fixed wing air craft is capable only of low level atmospheric flight. It is slow and poorly maneuverable by our standards. It is armed only with rapid fire-fire arms. It has no sophisticated tracking or detection technology. Our fighters will sw
eep them from the sky.” Akdon stared at the image of the aircraft with disdain.
“If that is the best this planet has to offer I’m going to find this quite a boring expedition.”
Kaydan brought another image up on the screen.
“This tracked armored fighting vehicle is powered by a primitive internal combustion engine. It utilizes liquefied fossil remains as fuel—most inefficient. It fires a large caliber projectile as its primary weapon. A single blast from a beam cannon would be sufficient to melt through its armor.”
Staring at the human tank on the view screen Akdon said, “These primitives might just as well be using toys to fight us.”
“An apt description Commander,” said Kaydan.
Akdon eyed the screen with a menacing look.
“Let me see the enemy in person.” Kaydan quickly replaced the image of the human tank with that of a Human foot soldier.
“As you can see commander, we are physically as well as mentally superior to the Humans. We are taller, stronger and have greater physical endurance—no doubt do to our homeworld’s greater gravity.”
“No doubt we also possess a superior courage and strength of will as is true when the Zidian race is compared with any other species.”
“Doubtless Commander,” said Kaydan, who reflected silently that his commanding officer’s unquestioning belief in Zidian superiority might one day prove to be a weakness. While confident of his own race’s strengths and manifest destiny to rule the galaxy, Kaydan knew that it would be unwise to underestimate a foe, no matter how primitive or weak they seemed.
Several different forms of human soldiers flashed across the screen. “As you can see Commander, Human warriors are dressed in various colors of clothing made to resemble different types of foliage and terrain found on their planet. Of course this will be completely useless to them when set against our infrared and other sensors. Their weapons consist mostly of primitive automatic firearms whose projectiles will have no chance of penetrating the armor of our soldiers.” Kaydan removed the data chip and the image on the view screen and returned to the map of the Earth’s star system.
Starstorm (Starstorm Saga) Page 2
