The Commander

by Kevin Groh

  Rod was amazed: »Shit! We have to mess with these huge fighting lizards? We definitely need heavier guns than a pistol ...«

  Annie agreed with him: »Yes, the Lorgans are excellent swimmers, can run fast on land on all fours and have noticeably greater strength than humans. But they also have weaknesses: In the long run, dry air is a problem for them and they can’t stand the cold. Precision is also not one of their strengths, but they prefer to use heavy melee weapons or large caliber firearms. Their society is based on the tribal principle. Clans always form around strong leaders. Female Lorgans almost never take part in combat operations, but provide for the safety of the eggs, the nests and the offspring.«

  Overall, the lizard creatures seemed to be rather simple, but Annie made it clear that they may look rough, but they weren’t stupid. Then came the presentation of the Gumai. They were completely different, but still had parallels to their ›flatmates‹. They looked like a hybrid of chameleon and toad. The physique was delicate, with a narrow oval trunk, thin legs, and arms where slim hands with swim skins could be seen. The fingers became wider towards the end, like an inverted cone, and the tips were slightly arched inwards.

  »With their hands, they can both swim quickly and climb excellently, as the fingertips function like suction cups.«, Annie described.

  The comparably thick but long neck full of gills ended in a chameleon head with two independently moving eyes and a sticky tongue. A thin, rolled tail was also visible. The male representatives often had many warts on their bodies, the females as good as none. The men with their shorter spines moved slightly more bent than the women. »In principle, Gumai are highly intelligent, upright chameleons with gills. There is no simpler explanation. Just like chameleons, Gumai can imitate the color of their environment, but much better than the Earth animals. They are many times smarter than Lorgans, which is why they are technically more advanced. There is a long-established symbiosis between them.

  The Gumai develop technologies, spaceships and do most of the thinking, while the Lorgans do the heavy work and protect them.«

  Leena wanted to know: »Are the Gumai smarter than the Vindurans?«

  Annie laughed: »That always depends on which of the two you ask. My personal impression is that the Gumai are increasingly distinguished in practical developments and branches of science, while Vindurans prefer the theoretical disciplines. Philosophy, cloning, the energy industry, Vindurans are constantly trying to push the boundaries. Gumai develop only what they need and use all their intelligence to improve existing technologies.«

  »If they are so clever, why are they at war with us? The troop strength of the initiative should be an absolute superiority.«, Billy interjected.

  Annie had her arms crossed on her back. »That’s not exactly true. The Lorgans may be outnumbered, but they are tough opponents. Their battleships and armors are made of a material similar to our synthium. Since we’re not yet using the synthium as standard, we’re inferior to them. Their weapons have a much higher penetrating power and do more damage to us. We have studied some of their technologies, but so far no one has been able to understand or reproduce them. The strategic and tactical expertise of the Gumai must also not be ignored. They are extremely strong enemies and only humans are their declared enemies. The other races are part of the initiative, but they have so far only helped us economically and with technology, not with troops.«

  »They don’t want to risk anything. If we lose, they would turn against us to save themselves ...«, Urma grumbled.

  Annie replied: »It’s not that simple. They have a long history with the Lorgans without conflicts. The war was only declared to us and even if the other peoples support our side, they do not necessarily want to destroy the Lorgans. They usually try to find a diplomatic solution. As long as they do not openly take action against the Lorgans, they will not be attacked in their territory. So far, the whole thing has been more of a political conflict than a physical one.«

  »And why do these lizards hate us so much?«, Tom asked.

  »No one has been able to find out yet. They don’t talk to us and they don’t talk to the other peoples about us. A simple conversation might end the war, but as long as there is no communication, we will never find out.«

  »Totally mad ...«, it came from Nambur.

  Carter spent the rest of the week looking forward to his date with Kelly. Since they both didn’t want to go to the Skymarket, but didn’t want to stay at the base either, he invited her to his home. She must have liked the idea, because ever since she smiled at him broadly when she saw him and nobody looked. When Saturday morning arrived, she was already waiting for him at the landing site. Leena had told him that she had apparently gone to the lockers quite early. She was wearing a deep blue summer dress that ended above her knees. She had a shoulder bag with her because they wouldn’t come back until Sunday evening. Leena had looked at him with a correspondingly meaningful look when he had told her his plans. Kelly glowed at him and as soon as the shuttle landed, the skirt of her dress fluttered. The two got in and the vehicle gently took off again, heading towards the Sanders property.

  »Wow, that’s a lot of green space and even a small forest! And the house looks totally modern! Is that a waterfall on the house wall?«

  »Yes, it goes down from the pool on the roof and a filtration system pumps it back up. That’s pretty cool.«, Carter explained.

  Although he knew Kelly’s family was rich and they probably had a house of a similar size, he felt a little guilty. Presenting the property to someone seemed like showing off to him. »Oh, can we go in the pool?«, she asked him.

  »Do you have any swimming gear?«

  »No ...«, she said with a prankish look.

  They landed and he led her up the driveway to the front door. She opened and Magnus came out. He smiled. Carter didn’t know if he was just happy that he came home, or more that he finally brought a girl with him.

  »Good morning both of you! It’s good to see you.« Turned to Kelly, he added: »Magnus Sanders, very pleased!«

  She also introduced herself.

  »Richards? But not a sprout of the Dimcod dynasty?«

  She confirmed that.

  »Unfortunately, I have never met your father personally, but I have only heard good things about him. But I don’t want to bore you with my economic topics! Come on in!«

  He led them up to his apartment, where an extensive breakfast was prepared.

  »I have to go on a business trip afterward and will therefore not see you again. That’s why I at least wanted to have breakfast with you so that I could get to know at least a little bit of your charming company, Carter.«, it came from Magnus.

  There were bread rolls, boiled eggs, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, croissants, sweet pastries, cakes and several kinds of fruit. It was much more than anyone could eat.

  »Don’t worry, I didn’t put this on to show off. I’ll have everything that’s left brought to the poverty help in New Denver. I do that every day. But before it goes there, I take what I like for myself.«, Magnus explained, shoving a strawberry into his mouth.

  Kelly took some pancakes and a waffle, which surprised him. She told him about her fast metabolism. He found that very interesting, but he didn’t want to have a scientific conversation. Instead, he asked the two what they learned at the base. They talked about Annie, Jazzir and the many exercises with Banes and Dunn. »Yes, sport is one of the most important things in the military. As a soldier, you have to be in top form at all times. I’ve noticed that my son has gained a bit of muscle mass since he got there.«, Magnus giggled.

  Carter replied: »It’s been almost a year now ...«

  »It’s been seven months. Don’t exaggerate.«, Kelly said.

  »Where do you have to go?«, he asked his father.

  Magnus leaned back a little: »I fly to Earth. Syntech has achieved some breakthroughs that have sparked the interest of politicians there. So I have to go there and explain to them what we have
developed. In the best case, I can make it clear to them that Syntech has no interest in setting up sites in the homeworld. We work under Utopia law and as soon as you do business with Earth, you have to comply with countless additional directives. The board doesn’t like that at all, so they don’t want to negotiate with them.«

  »You can say what you want about Earth, but when it comes to human rights, they are way ahead of us. This may lead to problems, but most of all it harms the corporations. People get a lot out of it.«, Kelly found and sipped her juice.

  Carter interjected: »Human rights are not even known to many workers here. Nobody has the means to go to Earth. I’m afraid companies are quite effective in ensuring that their workers don’t run away.«

  »We have many weaknesses here. Ethics is a very fragile plant on Utopia ... There is a group of important economists like myself who understand this truth. Unfortunately, we are too few and cannot do much about it. We block harmful decisions and obstruct authorities whenever it helps people, but we could hardly stop anything.«, Magnus sighed.

  After they had eaten, his father said goodbye and winked at him again. He liked Kelly very much, which he also told her. Then he had to leave and Carter took her to his apartment.

  She admired the artificial fire and the wall of water. »You really have a lot of books. Have you read all of them?«

  Carter looked at the shelf. »Not all of them, but most of them. I’ve learned a lot from that. I always found e-books too impersonal. Sometimes I don’t want to be dependent on technology. A book written hundreds of years ago should feel a bit like that.«

  She flipped through a few titles for a while. She giggled when she saw the size of his TV, then she noticed the old weapons on the wall.

  »You like swords and bows? No wonder you enjoy shooting so much! But unfortunately, these ancient weapons won’t help you.«

  When she asked if she could hold a sword, he gave her the katana. She pulled it out of the sheath and held it against the light. The silver blade sparkled. »On one side, it’s pretty cool to hold something like this in your hands. On the other hand, I find it barbaric that people used to slaughter each other in such a primitive way ...«

  She asked him what he liked about it.

  He answered: » To use a firearm is easy. You practice a little shooting and at some point, you can fight with it. Anyone can learn that. A sword or bow requires long training, and without all the modern technology, body control is what matters here. When you master a sword, it is not the blade that is the weapon, but the person who wields it. Moreover, a sword fight has something elemental, something majestic. It has style and looks impressive. Two riflemen hiding behind cover all the time are a silly way to fight if you ask me.«

  She wanted to try it, so he grabbed the recurve, covered it and walked with her to his hut. He moved the target closer and gave her the bow. He demonstrated to her how to hold and tighten it. He put his arm around her and guided her hands. She seemed to like it very much and leaned against him. He kissed her and gave her an arrow.

  He corrected her posture a few more times, but then she hit the target at the edge. She was proud of it, but he shot in the middle and stuck out his tongue. She threw herself at him and they both fought playfully on the grass and rolled around. In the end, he sat on her and held her hands to the ground. She looked at him through her fuzzy hair and he kissed her. Just as she put on a mischievous smile, a peep came out of his bracelet. The butler reported that the food had been served. Carter had it taken to the hut where they sat down and enjoyed delicious burgers.

  After they had finished, they stayed seated for a while and watched the view of New Denver.

  »The city is really ugly, isn’t it?«, Kelly asked.

  »No kidding ... Have you ever been to Henderson? It’s a much nicer city!«

  »Was I ever there? I studied in Henderson. That was the best time of my life. The university was demanding, but you can do so much there and most people are friendly and open-minded. However, there are hardly any corporate buildings, but more educational institutions, government complexes and instead of mines there are energy plants, solar fields, wind parks and water turbines everywhere. You can’t see the poverty of the other cities.«

  Carter had to admit: »You know, before my time in Osilon, I was thinking about what to do. I had all kinds of ideas. Martial arts choreographer and reconnaissance pilot were the highlights, as my father always likes to say. Syntech was also an option, but I never wanted to study. I don’t think much of our educational system.«

  »When conscription’s over, you’ll have all the options.«

  »I’ve been wondering whether I’d sign up. I don’t want to be a front-line soldier or anything like that, but being part of a team of explorers ... that sounds really exciting. Just like Annie used to do. I want to enter worlds where no one has ever been before. To discover things that no one has ever seen before.«, Carter fancied.

  Kelly looked at him with glowing eyes: »I think it’s nice when you’re so enthusiastic. Experiencing your enthusiasm and your dreams is great. I like listening to you talk.«

  He returned to the present and smiled. He stood up and held out his hand to her. He pulled her on her feet and took her by his side. With his arm around her hip, he strolled off towards the woods. They walked quietly beneath the trees, where he told her about the acrobatic exercises. She told him stories from her student days and her childhood. They laughed a lot and enjoyed themselves. It was already late afternoon when they were back in the house. With a big bowl of popcorn, they got comfortable on the sofa and watched an old comedy.

  Kelly said: »It was a beautiful day, Carter. I feel very comfortable with you.«

  He felt excitement spreading through his chest.

  »I feel the same way. I enjoy the time with you. I have never felt such kind of affection before«.

  She smiled and kissed him. Then she gently took his hand and pushed it under her dress. After a short while, in which she enjoyed what he did with her eyes closed, she pulled him to his feet. They moved into the bedroom. Carter sat down on his bed and expected her to come to him, but she grabbed her dress and took it off. In black underwear, she stood in front of him and his gaze wandered up and down her body. She took off his shirt and when he looked back at her, she had opened her bra and it fell to the ground. Carter saw it lying there and his eyes slowly wandered across her legs up to her sporty belly and breasts. As soon as he saw her naked in front of him, the excitement was almost unbearable. He felt hot and wanted to touch her. But before he could do anything, she opened his pants and pulled them off as well.

  The next morning he only remembered a few pictures of the night. Now she slept blissfully on his chest and he felt her warmth and her breath. He just felt happy at that moment. As he moved, she woke up and purred at him as she yawned and stretched. The blanket slipped off her body and Carter saw her in all her glory in the morning light. They both showered and dressed. After breakfast, Kelly wanted to see the pool on the roof. They climbed up and the upper end of the staircase led into a small room with an adjoining sauna and whirlpool. There they also found towels and some bathing things. But before he could suggest to her to choose a bikini, she had undressed again. Naked, she slid into the water and waved Carter to come to her.

  So he also undressed and jumped right into it. She laughed brightly as she got hit by the splashes. The two paddled, dived and fooled around.

  It eventually led to sex in the pool. Carter couldn’t resist her curves. In the afternoon they returned to the ap

  After they had great trouble on Sunday evening not to stick together permanently, but to act as if nothing had happened, the next weeks and months went by without surprises. Sometimes the two met at night to have sex in the showers. On a nice Thursday, he got a blowjob in the toilet. Now that Kelly was safe with him, she was insatiable and Carter loved it.

  Turn of the Year

  Shortly before the end of the first year, as usual, they had
weapons training with Dunn. The cursing instructor was in a good mood that day.

  »All right, folks! Today we do something new. In one week you have finished your first year of training and fresh recruits pissing themselves full of fear come to the base. For you, this means that you will soon start with more demanding training. The beginner shit is over! We have to keep in mind that at the end of your second year you should have a fixed level of knowledge. So today we’ll start preparing you so that you won’t be such greenhorns anymore. That’s why we’re going to take on a new subject now.«

  She pointed to a table next to her on which lay a rifle, two pistols and a small stick that looked like a club.

  She pointed to it one by one.

  »If you go into active service and spend your third year with a boring task, it’s almost always totally trivial. You’re only there to look like soldiers. Nobody knows that you are only as dangerous as wet toilet paper. And so that you don’t accidentally kill anyone in these pseudo-jobs, you’ll be equipped with such toys. Stunning weapons. What you see here is a stun rifle, a stun gun, an electric shock gun, and a shock stick. These things are like deflowering: The one lying down hurts and he doesn’t know exactly what happened afterward. The one on top just has fun doing it.«

  The group always found Dunn’s crude humor strange, but somehow funny.

  » How does this stunning work?«, Gina inquired.

  »These are small projectiles, similar to needles with a ... let’s say a generous amount of anesthetic. You know, the stuff they immediately take you out with at the hospital. The good stuff.«, Dunn explained.

  She took an electro-weapon and said: »And these ones are blasting a serious punch through the victim’s body. The victim usually trembles uncontrollably on the ground like a fish. The muscles twitch completely chaotically, like in a full-body orgasm, only much less awesome.«