Alpha Class: A Kurtherian Gambit Series (The Etheric Academy Book 1)

by TS Paul

  “I know why sound carries differently.” Chang just glared at him to be quiet.

  “The sibilance of whispering is much more prominent to the human senses. It doesn't blend into the background the way quiet conversation does, so it is more likely to be noticed by the human ear.” Chang silently pulled out his knife and waved it at his scientific companion shaking his head NO.

  Jìshù muttered to himself about science and its naysayers. Chang just rolled his eyes and wondered why he hadn’t killed him before now.

  Nighttime in outer Mongolia is dark. Really dark. Without the major cities or factories to light the sky, the campfire at the end of the canyon was like a pinpoint of brightness on a dark sheet. Chang carefully parted the thick grass and brush and peered out into the gloom. To his eyes, there were only two guards at this end, and they were both not doing their jobs.

  “Sloppy.” Chang motioned to Jìshù to stay and crept out, staying as low to the ground as possible. Both pickets were sitting on a log smoking. The first one never felt the blade that killed him. Guard number two only realized his friend was dead when he went to hand him a cigarette. His cry was muffled by the rock hard hand that covered his mouth and the vocal cords that no longer worked.

  Muttering “idiots” Chang lowered the body he clutched and posed them as if they were sleeping. The ruse would only work until they were relieved. Their weapons were junk, but he took the ammunition. You can never have too much. Silently he slipped back to the brush and grabbed Jìshù.

  “Time to go. Say nothing.” He led the academic toward the two bodies and up and over the edge of the canyon.

  Jìshù saw the blood on the men and clutched his own mouth to avoid vomiting. For as much as he had seen this trip, it was getting worse daily.

  ~~~~~~

  Bai Hu was at least ten miles from his pursuers and was gaining distance with every step. He acknowledged the constant patrols, but his parents were very good teachers and made sure he knew about trails and trace.

  “Come child. This is a rabbit. See the way the tracks step forward and then hop? Over here is what looks like a large water bird. This is a source of water for many of the local animals. Do you smell the difference? If you follow the rabbit, you will discover it has a nest with kits not far from here.” Father was a large man with dark hair and a grizzly face.

  “Do we hunt the rabbit? It sounds afraid of me!” Bai Hu placed his ear on the ground next to the what his father said was the rabbits home.

  “Not today, child. You must learn this. One day you might need it to survive. Now, how many kits are in there?”

  “Kits? There are babies in the hole? Can I hold one?” Bai Hu listened as he was told. His father only covered his eyes and glared at his wife.

  “Your child. No. We eat bunnies, they are not for playing. That is something only humans do. We are better than them. Stronger, faster, better. How many are in there?”

  “Why? I don’t want to hurt them, father! Can’t we just go home?” Bai Hu didn’t understand.

  His father’s fist caught him unaware. “You will learn this! No son of mine will be ignorant of what is prey. Now, how many?”

  Bai Hu blocked that memory from his mind. It was his mother that taught him the basics of hunting and survival. Memories of his father only brought pain.

  His mother, while hard, was gentler and showed some compassion. Her explanation of why we hunt he kept with him next to his heart.

  “Ignore your father at your own risk, but listen to what I have to say and remember. We are of two souls. The cat cries out to be released and to hunt. We keep it trapped inside of us secret. Our goal is to serve the Empress and bring power and glory to the Secret clan. Learning to hunt is one such way to power. Without training your cat becomes a thing of desperation and hunger. It will kill until it is sated or you are dead. What glory will that bring to the clan? You must learn to control it, and hunting is one way to do that. The lower species were placed upon this Earth for us to consume to the greater glory of the race. Even humans are beneath us. Always remember that they are not food. Eating humans will bring their wrath, and even the clan will not protect you then. Now show me the rabbit tracks. I will teach you how to lure the creature out as my mother taught me.”

  That hunting lesson seemed so long ago. Bai Hu sniffed the air. He was downwind and couldn’t smell his pursuers. Maybe he could finally rest. His stomach growled in remembrance of the hunt with his mother, and he tried to remember the last meal he had. Could it have been at the village he stopped at? Everything was so confusing. He took a deep breath taking in all the smells and aromas of the desert plain he was on. Deep inside him, he could feel the beast awakening and scratching to get out. He would not allow it out! It was too dangerous. He tried to remember but only gave in to his hunger.

  Woe be to any animal he could catch this night.

  ~~~~~~

  “Did they catch them?” General Chun glared at the messenger.

  “No, Sir. Our Agent reports that the phone was found crushed in an empty field. Colonel Honghuzi reports that there is a clear trail and they will pursue.”

  “Fine. Send to the Colonel that I will brook no errors this time. He is to recover the technology or not ever bother to return. Failure is not acceptable.” He dismissed the messenger with a wave of his hand.

  Obtaining the technology was the primary goal. He couldn’t believe that China had bowed down before an invader. This woman that led TQB was some sort of demon to control so much and resist everything thrown against her. This was China! As long as one member of the dynasty lived China still existed.

  Chun glanced around his office. Talk of dynasty and empire was a subject most forbidden in the party. Chun’s mother raised him alone on stories of his father’s family. They were from a sub-branch of the Wanzhen family. His great-great-great-grandfather was the Guangxu Emperor! His grandfather, had he lived, should have been Emperor, not that whimpering idiot Puyi.

  He would need to be careful to not vent his desires aloud. He who holds the technology holds the future. He intended to be that man and become the Emperor that he dreamed of.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “Sir, you have a class in twenty minutes. You need to wake up.”

  The blanket-covered form lay on the bed and moved suddenly. Samantha, Jeo’s personal EI, and the base personality for the avatar that ran the Queen’s personal ship the QBS Archangel decided to take steps to wake up her boss. As an Electronic Intelligence, Samantha had the run of the base for the most part. Jeo initially treated her as a slave to his desires and was soundly spanked for that by the BMW team as well as by the Queen herself. That part he was unaware of. Samantha had a limited mind of her own. She had some independent actions. Such as dropping the temperature in Jeo’s quarters and causing his personal alarm system to sound at the highest level possible.

  Wheet! Wheet! Wheet! Wheet!

  “Turn it off!” The piercing sound battered the younger man’s eardrums until he sat up in bed.

  “System off!”

  Jeo let out an almost agonizing cry that was as much inside his head as outside. “Aargh! Samantha, please turn it off!”

  “System restored to normal. Sir, you have a class in eighteen point four minutes.” Samantha appeared as a tall blond woman in a sharp business suit. No matter how much he tried, Jeo was unable to restore her to either the default setting or any of the more interesting settings he had thought of when he first came to work within the Etheric Empire. Both the Queen and Bobcat had seen to that.

  “I thought I told you last night to let me sleep in today?” Jeo almost fell out of bed as his leg became tangled in the sheets.

  “What you said was, and I quote. ‘Leave me alone and go away! I need to sleep.’ End quote.”

  “So I fudged it a little. Why did you wake me up at…” He leaned over toward his bedside table and checked the shipboard time on his tablet. “Nine AM? Is it really nine?”

  “That is correct, Sir. Y
ou have a class in fifteen point six minutes. Shall I start your shower?”

  “Why do you keep saying that?” Jeo stood in front of the mirror and stared into his bloodshot eyes.

  “Saying what, Sir.” The EI hologram appeared next to him in the bathroom facilities.

  “The class thing. Why do you keep repeating it?” Sticking his tongue out, Jeo groaned. He could smell half of what he drank last night. Why, oh why, did he challenge Marcus to a drinking contest? And in All Guns Blazing too.

  If an EI could groan Samantha would. This would end badly. “Because you have one in thirteen point eight minutes.”

  “Have what.” Jeo stepped into the shower and let the sonics wash over him. Unlike others on the station, he preferred sonic showers to actual water. He was an engineer and a geek. Why not have something right out of Star Journey in his quarters?

  “A class, sir. Your next round of students from the Etheric Academy arrives in eleven minutes at your office. You will have them for the next six weeks. Do you remember now?”

  “Holy crap!” Jeo opened the door to the shower and ran to his closet. Samantha rolled her electronic eyes and disappeared, blinking out. She needed to get the office ready.

  ~~~~~~

  Guardian Commander Peter leaned up against the wall outside Jeo’s offices. Using his override command, he checked them out over an hour ago. This guy was going to be a major security issue he could see it now. He reached into his cargo pants pocket and pulled out his tablet. A few light taps, and he pulled up everything he could find about the man.

  Jeovanni Deteusch, recruited by ADAM with approval by Frank Kurns to run the IOS mining and manufacturing branch of the Queen's service. His former position was as a research and development scientist working for the Truitt corporation. When TQB achieved space travel and first put a private space station in lunar orbit, Jeo told off his boss and quit. He was immediately recruited to work for what was to become the Etheric Empire.

  Peter had to chuckle. He tracked down fellow Guardian Eric and asked about the first time Jeo went up in a pod. According to the story that Eric told, Jeo was at his parent's house the night in question. They asked the Guardian about Jeo’s position not believing that he was actually in TQB now. As Eric explained what happened that night, Peter started laughing.

  Eric explained to Jeo’s parents, “I’m heading over to a meeting on the Polarus, and Jeo here needs to get accustomed to his group a little before we take him to his post.”

  “And where ” Mr. Deteusch had asked, “will Jeo’s post actually be?” He turned to look at his son, “He claims he doesn’t know.”

  “Really?” Eric turned to Jeo. “No one told the lead on mining and manufacture of metals in space where his post is going to be?”

  Jeo shook his head, “No, I figured I would either be in Colorado or possibly on the ships they talk about on the News.”

  Eric grinned, “Jeo, there is one thing Bethany Anne doesn’t mess with, and that is inefficiency. Where do you believe she would have her new lead of Industrial Outer Space Mining and Manufacturing?” He paused a moment, then helped him out, “The hint is in the title.”

  Jeo’s eyes lit up, “Outer space!”

  Eric nodded, “Hell yeah! Buddy, you are just going to the Polarus to meet, greet, and get some work done. Your final destination in a few days is your new office on Space-Station-One.”

  His father looked confused, “Don’t you mean Moon-Base-One? Or is there a new space station up there, like Skylab?”

  Jeo wanted to facepalm in embarrassment, “That’s ISS dad, the International Space Station.”

  His dad merely winked to Eric.

  Eric replied, “Well, I hope you realize that if you spill this information, you could be endangering your son’s life, but we have a Space Station at L2, that’s Lagrange Point 2 out beyond the Moon. Jeo’s home and office will start there and then move as quickly as he can help get us into production out to the mining area.”

  “Oh,” his mother answered, “Is that on the moon then?”

  Eric looked down to the shorter lady, “No ma’am. Although I don’t know for sure, I imagine Jeo knows the most likely location for mining; it is his occupation after all.”

  “Holy crap,” Jeo breathed, “I’m going out to the asteroid belt, aren’t I?” Before Eric could respond, Jeo continued, “With your technology, we don’t have to worry about Delta-V or crossing the Earth's Orbit or even water, right?” Eric just nodded, “So, take those out of the equation, and we want to go after Type M asteroids for metals and outer space manufacturing.

  No wonder Ms. Bethany Anne told me minimum three months.”

  Mr. and Mrs. Deteusch watched as the two men got into the Pod. Mr. Deteusche had asked before the hatch was shut, “Did you just say you are going to the ship Polarus?” When Eric agreed they were, he asked, “Didn’t you say that was near France right now?” Eric agreed it was. “How are you going to make it to France in thirty minutes?” getting to his real question.

  Eric hit the button to close the hatch, “Short-cut!”

  Mr. Deteusch could hear his son’s laugh get cut off. A few seconds later, the Pod smoothly went up about twenty feet, then they both heard the heavy ‘whoosh’ of air when it practically disappeared into the night sky.

  The pods were a whole lot of fun especially for the uninitiated. According to the records, Jeo did a wonderful job out in the asteroid belt. He was in charge of construction and development of both the mining processes and the Queen's ship, the QBS Archangel. It was the very first Leviathan class battleship in existence.

  Peter had access to all the records and even knew about Samantha and some of her alternate personalities. Jeo was extremely lucky that it was Bobcat who first tripped to that and not one of the Guardians. Disrespecting the Queen or her handmaiden could cost you your life. That would be of course if the Queen didn’t get you first. It was his understanding that the problem had been fixed and Samantha herself had control over her structure. Only she could change if she wanted to.

  Checking the time, Peter could see it was almost 0900 hours. The members of Alpha Class should be climbing off the tram right about now. This was their second term, and they understood punctuality. That could not be said about Mr. Deteusch himself. Peter’s spies told him that the man in question was up very late partying at the bar owned by team BMW. It was just like them to screw with someone and then place bets to see if he showed up. One more minute and Peter would win the bet he had with ADAM.

  Who would be first in the office to greet the kids: Jeo or Samantha?

  Repeating to himself his earlier statement. Jeo was a major security risk. But then so was this particular group of kids. What they did on the Moon didn’t bear repeating. Last term Jeo took Delta Class on a tour of Earth engineering feats. They touched on all the continents in a time when the Etheric Empire was not having good relations with the world. He did it with a cluster of standard pods unaccompanied by any fighters or guardians. The man didn’t even take ship’s security with them. This time there would be a change. Peter had already requisitioned the two experimental five-person pods as well as one of the fighters. BMW was supposed to have all the bugs worked out of the new ten person pods. When they did, Peter had first dibs. There was too much in the way of secrets and special knowledge to allow Alpha Class to run wild this term.

  “Guardian Peter?” Peter looked up to see the hologram of a very lovely looking woman standing next to him.

  “Samantha, I presume? You just won me half an ounce of gold. Is he even alive this morning?” Peter pushed off the wall and stood up straight.

  “He is functional. The students should be arriving within the next four minutes. Would you like to assist with greetings?”

  The large Wechselbalg nodded. “Sure. I’ve met them already. Unlike Delta, this is a very cohesive group.” Peter opened the front doors as the lights started to come on.

  “Delta class. Yes, I can see that. It was my belief
that the balance between male and female in that group throws off the dynamic some.” The holographic woman stood in the center of the room prepared to greet the new class.

  Peter pulled up Delta Class’s stats and checked them. “Hmm, you may be right. It’s too late to fix it. They will have to compensate somehow. I’ll send a message to both the Ds and Ship’s Maintenance and repair. That is their new posting this term. Three girls and two boys. Only one Wechselbalg among them. It might be a recipe for disaster if they can’t overcome the disparity. The Ds have a new program they have been dying to implement. It might help some. Thank you, Samantha.”

  ~~~~~~

  The walls of the base leading toward Jeo Deteusch’s office were decorated with paintings and vid screens chronicling the achievements of Engineers and highlighting the construction of the Archangel. To the members of Alpha Class just watching the vids was pretty cool.