Connor's Gambit

by Z Gottlieb

  “Even with the list significantly slimmed down, it still seems impossible to pick anything. I might as well close my eyes and touch the screen, but that could just as easily result in Bicycle Mechanic. I would rather fix robots to clean the ship, if it was still on the list. Connor, you know me, what would you recommend for me?”

  “Do you think I would suggest anything to you after you spent a year complaining about MIT because you could have been in the Naval Academy? This is your choice and I’m not about to step into that minefield again. If you are not sure what to choose from the list, start eliminating those things you definitely don’t want to do.”

  Brad pressed his lips together. “You have a point. I may not know what I want to do, but I do know what I don’t want to do. I don’t want to explain to Dane, when he asks me what did I do in the war, that I was scrubbing the deck or fixing bicycles. You’re right, I acted like an idiot fighting you on the MIT decision, however, I need to step up and figure this out for myself.” He tapped on his pad. “Eliminate positions originating from Earth; eliminate environmental science positions; eliminate greenhouse positions. Do you see anything else I should eliminate?”

  “Do you want to work in medical sciences?”

  “If I did I would have gone to medical school. Eliminate medical positions. I’m down to five; I need a quick primer on what the top three mean. They are print master, vehicle pilot with fifty plus subcategories, and ship historian. Forget the last one, what do print master and vehicle pilot include?”

  “Are you sure you are not interested in being a ship’s historian? You might be missing an opportunity,” Connor teased. One look at Brad’s glare said it all. “Okay, I can see you are not interested in being a ship’s historian. Most of the equipment and supplies are printed on the ship. The print masters are in charge of the 3-D print processes on the ship. As for vehicle pilot, it would mean you would fly one of the small crafts on the battle cruiser similar to those on an aircraft carrier. But the type of vehicle would depend upon the mission or specialty you requested.”

  “Can you give me an idea in terms I would understand?”

  “Expand the list. I need to see the vehicles.” Connor watched Brad tapping his pad. He was a little slow, but considering he had just gotten his chip, he had picked up a number of things quickly. Looking at the list on the wall, Connor went through some of the functions. “Search and rescue, bus driver, planetary shuttle, fighter/attack, transportation platform might be similar to a train or customs stop, terraforming.”

  Brad’s jaw dropped in surprise, “Stop, I get the point: janitor or pilot. This shouldn’t be a hard choice, but I don’t get it. Can Induction really believe I would be able to fly a fighter/attack such as the Attack Viper or Swarm Defender in just three weeks?” Brad wondered if he was missing something or this was a cruel joke.

  Connor called up an image of each predatory fighter for Brad to view. “Most of the flying is computer controlled, except for some of the nuances when a sentient being needs to take over. You have the basics of controlling a vehicle from driving, boating, and your pilot’s license. Because many of our land vehicles are computerized and controlled by robots only a small minority know how to control a space vehicle before they join the Fleet. During your induction testing, those skills probably tested high for you to qualify for these vehicles. When I joined, it was a new experience for me.”

  “Just to clarify, I’m signing up for training and drilling then inactive reserves. Do you think we’ll see the Aneplé? I’m concerned I might not be ready after a few weeks. It isn’t that I’m risk averse, but I want to make sure I return to pick up Dane and my life on Earth.”

  “I understand. It’s unlikely you would be called back to service other than your reserve duty, unless the Aneplé take over more gates leading toward Earth. I don’t see that happening anytime soon and my objective is to push them back.”

  Brad looked over the list and expanded the description details on all of the spacecraft. Stunned with the choices, he held his breath thinking he needed to pinch himself to make sure this was real and not a joke. “How close are the attack vipers and swarm defenders to Earth fighter aircrafts?

  Connor shrugged, “Both are vanguards of forward attack strategy. CIG tactics are different from those used on earth.

  “Huh? What do you mean?” Brad waited for Connor to explain, but saw Connor respond with silence. “Ok, I see you are not going to explain the differences to me. I feel like I’m making a blind decision.”

  “You’re not. You have all the information you need.”

  “I’m not sure I agree with you, but I realize I need to make a decision. The Vipers’ look similar to a bomber aircraft. I’m not interested in that. On the other hand, Swarm Defenders looks and sounds more like an Air Force interceptor, so I’m choosing that. I may not make it to Top Gun, but this might be the next best thing.” Brad forwarded his commitment with his thumbprint on his pad. “There’s no one to share the news with,” he shared, sounding defeated.

  “You could tell Shinny. She is still waiting to hear from you.”

  Brad clenched his jaw, sober again. “I want to, but I’m not there, yet. I’m getting there. But I still need more time. It’s affected me more than you might imagine. I’ve had a strange reoccurring dream with her always in it pushing me away.”

  “Maybe the dream will stop once you reconcile with her.”

  “I don’t know if that will happen or if there is something else going on. The details of the dream aren’t very pretty. I need more time to accept what has happened between us. It feels odd having this conversation with you now knowing Shinny is your daughter. It has also had me wondering if our friendship would eventually change, with me going from brother-in-law to son-in-law. As weird as it may seem, it’s easier to accept my changed relationship with you than Shinny’s deception.” Brad paused. “I’m sorry; I need to talk about something else.” He showed the list again on his wall screen. “What did you train on when you joined the Fleet?”

  “Swarm Defenders.”

  Brad scoffed. “Wish you would have said something. I’m sure I’m always going to be held up to your standards.”

  “It’s unlikely; few people will connect Pilot Johnson to Admiral N’Klaftin.” He smiled at Brad. “Just for the record, you are where I’d want you to be, but you made the decision on your own accord.”

  Brad rolled his eyes. “I think I’ve been had, but whatever. Let’s go say goodbye to the children.”

  “Not goodbye, good night. It won’t be any different than a good night’s sleep for them.” Connor walked toward the door and gestured for it to open.

  “Got it,” Brad responsed to Connor’s correction, while enthusiastically mimicking the gestures to open the door to memorize it for the future.

  Chapter 8

  Brad was about to board the spacecraft transporting them to Admiral Griken’s battle cruiser but took one last look back at Nan. He was going to miss her, although probably not as much as Connor would. He looked across the room and watched Connor, who stood next to Nan in an intimate manner, saying goodbye. Brad never understood Nan until now. He began to realize how important she was to Earth’s early entrance into the interplanetary alliance. He hoped she would have enough time to work with her team members and that they would be able to recommend Earth’s integration into CIG. He smiled thinking how Nan had also earned his respect, by immediately volunteering to be his guardian to support his entrance into the Fleet. He wondered what his parents’ reaction would be, if they ever found out. Ultimately, he had been surprised by how well Nan had supported him while remaining hands-off when it came to his problems with Shinny. Without Nan’s support, he would have had a bigger mess on his hands, and might have been left behind. When he returned to Earth, he would show more respect for her research, even if it required him to join her on a midnight trip to Wal-Mart to observe the shoppers.

  Brad walked up the ramp to the ship’s doorway. He was imm
ediately greeted by a youthful, energetic crewmember with warm brown eyes and short spiky red hair. It dawned on him that he, too, should show more enthusiasm. He was living the dream of his life, getting impressive training, wearing the best fitting shoes he’d ever owned, and, earning tax-free income, not that he could spend their currency on Earth. However, he wasn’t quite there, yet. He needed to prove he was up to the challenge for Earth’s sake. Moreover, he couldn’t shake the feeling, as over the top as the thought was, that Connor was depending upon him. When he asked Connor, he was told to just be himself. He knew Connor well enough to know Connor meant what he said, but still wondered if there was something else he needed to know. Brad stopped and looked in both directions. It wasn’t obvious to him which direction he should go. “Could you tell me where the seating area is?”

  “Welcome aboard, Recruit Johnson, I’m Divazz Benoggi.” Still smiling, she pointed toward the left, “The seating pod is toward the very front of the vehicle.”

  “What do you mean seating pod?” Brad questioned.

  “This class of transportation vehicle is modular and different pods are added depending upon seating and berthing arrangements, cargo, fuel or armament. This vehicle has been configured to transport seven individuals and includes berthing, a kitchen, training pods, cargo, and survival pods. It is powered with a fusion engine. When you start your training, you will receive more information on the different vehicles and their capabilities.”

  Brad looked at the young woman’s uniform and recognized a vehicle insignia. “I see you are a pilot, also. Will you be flying this vehicle to the cruiser?”

  “Yes, I’m one of the pilots. The flight will take approximately one and a half Earth weeks. The minimum number of pilots required for this transit is three to rotate through the shifts. I’ve been told you will be flying Swarm Defenders, congratulations. The Defenders are our first line of defense. I have a tremendous amount of respect for pilots in those squadrons.”

  Brad had already wondered at least three times if he had made a mistake picking the Swarm Defender. Perhaps he should have picked something less exciting. “Why did you select this vehicle over the Swarm Defenders?”

  “Swarm Defender was my second choice. I had a strong desire to travel and visit other planets. This vehicle class is widely used to travel between the CIG planets.”

  “I can relate to your interest in traveling and visiting new places,” Brad replied. “I need to get to my seat before Connor boards. I’ll talk to you later.” Brad walked to the front of the spacecraft. He was anxious that someone who looked as if she had just got her learner’s permit was going to fly him across the universe. Shaking his head, he reminded himself she was probably twice as old as his parents and he needed to get used to the differences in appearances.

  In the passenger cabin, four captain’s chairs were arranged in two rows behind the pilot and copilot. It wasn’t clear to him where he should sit. There was an empty copilot seat next to the pilot, who was going through a checklist, and an empty seat next to Admiral Griken. Shinny and Commander Janeque sat behind Griken, who was scanning his tablet. Shinny made no effort toward eye contact with him. Brad stood there perplexed. He wasn’t ready to sit next to her, but he was disappointed that she did not reserve the seat next to her for him. He wondered if he should sit next to the pilot since he didn’t feel confident to sit next to Griken now that he knew the kid really was an Admiral.

  Admiral Griken looked up at him. “Johnson, take the seat next to me.”

  “Uh, Admiral wouldn’t you prefer your aide or Shinny?” Brad asked, not knowing what would be worse for him, to sit next to Griken or for Shinny to sit next to the admiral. He wasn’t sure how he would feel with Shinny sitting next to Griken now that he was aware of their previous relationship.

  “No, I would prefer that you take the chair next to me. My aide can be a pain in the rear on long flights, and the major looks a little long in the tooth, as you would say on Earth.”

  Brad wasn’t too happy with Griken remarking on Shinny’s appearance, but he was in no position to tell Griken where to stuff it. Commander Janeque raised her eyebrows and gave him an “I don’t know” shrug. “Yes, sir,” Brad acknowledged, as he sat in the chair, looking for a place to stow his bag. Griken pointed to a handle recessed on the floor, indicating Brad should pull it. Brad pulled the handle, revealing storage in the floor. He placed his bag in the hole and gently lowered the lid to the floor. He pulled his tablet from his waist, sat back, and the chair adjusted to his body with a five-point harness crossing over his shoulders. Glancing at the admiral he thought, this is going to be a long trip. Trying to look busy, he scanned his tablet for any information he could find on the Swarm Defenders.

  Connor walked up the aisle on the right side, with a coffee thermos in his hand, passing the seats arranged on the left side to the second copilot seat in the cockpit. He looked around and saw everyone settled in their seats. Watching Connor check the instruments near his seat, if Brad guessed correctly, it appeared that Connor still had a few items on his tablet that he needed to check inside the vehicle.

  “Connor, I’m confused, I would have thought the station would have arranged for someone else to fly the vehicle with the Fleet Admiral aboard,” Brad commented.

  “That was the original plan until they lost one of their station pilots. It works out for me because I now have a chance to renew my skills without pushing my rank. I hope Pilot Voodel doesn’t mind the change to the flight roster.”

  “Connor, I’m happy to have you and your daughter onboard this vehicle. I’m sure there will be a few things I can learn from you,” Voodel replied.

  While they spoke, Pilot Benoggi closed the doors, secured several interior hatches and checked everyone’s harnesses before walking back to the sleeping tubes.

  “What happened to the station pilot?” Brad asked. “Although I’m not sure I’m ready to hear what happened to the woman, especially since she did not look like she was in great shape after Shinny finished with her.”

  “She’s hibernating in the cargo area. She’s a lucky woman; she’ll survive to talk to Security and Intelligence on the Zuonopy,” Griken explained.

  Brad shuddered. “I’m not sure why you think she was lucky. It looked like the pilot suffered the worst bar fight I could imagine. I always suspected my wife would be a formidable opponent in a fight, but obviously I never had a clue how powerful she could be. I find just thinking about her pulling the molars out with her hand unnerving.”

  The Aneplé spies and security personnel are implanted with false back molars embedded with toxins. The toxins are released if they are caught or overtaken by a prisoner. The major pulled the molars out before the toxins could be activated. Death is the usual outcome, with the toxins destroying all of an individual’s neural synapses and wiping out all of the information on an implanted chip. Generally, if we are able to save an individual, mentally they are like a newborn baby. It takes those individuals decades to rebuild their synapses and develop new memories.”

  Brad shivered. “I can see how it may be a better alternative for the poor woman, even if she didn’t ask for her molars to be removed. I’m surprised she wasn’t caught sooner. Didn’t anyone notice she was different? I don’t want to sound childish, but that woman stank. It was very strange.”

  “We are concerned, because an individual has to have the highest security classification to be stationed here. Everyone was surprised she was able to clear through the security investigations,” Kiraine explained.

  “Has security rechecked everyone else stationed here?” I’m not sure how dangerous the Aneplé really are, but I am uncomfortable they might be assigned to the hibernation center. I also don’t understand how you could not have smelled the difference.”

  “Brad, you are sounding paranoid. It isn’t that we are ignoring your sense of smell, but no one has noted anything different about the pilot,” interjected Connor. “But just to reassure you, yes. There were eve
n molar checks, which generally is not done because of the intrusiveness, and the pilot’s friends were also interviewed.”

  “Considering that I just turned my son over to CIG’s Fleet, I believe I have a legitimate concern,” Brad retorted.

  “You may have a point. I’ll ask the station commander to keep us informed of any changes that may affect the station’s security,” responded Connor.

  “Thanks, I appreciate it,” Brad said. “I’m beginning to realize CIG has many advanced science and technology areas I need to just accept until I have time to invest in personal research. But when it comes to my family, I cannot afford to become complacent.”

  He felt hurt and angry that Shinny remained silent throughout the conversation. She didn’t acknowledge his presence much less support his concerns over their son’s safety. Did she ever love either of us?

  “I just received clearance from the platform commander to proceed to the tunnel,” Pilot Voodel announced. “Once the tunnel is filled with ocean water, we will travel to the surface in stealth mode. From the surface, I will initiate a space shot. Estimated arrival to the first transit gate is four and one-half hours.”

  Brad looked at the track on his pad. With the question of the station’s security out of the way, he began focusing on the Zuonopy on his tablet. Reading the statistics, he was anxious to reach the battle cruiser, but he was equally excited about the journey itself, as they would be passing a number of astronomical events marked on the navigation map.

  He shook his head in amazement. It seemed inconceivable that after the pilot initiated the space shot to escape gravity, they could travel that fast. He questioned whether he would ever understand the mathematics that explained the phenomenal speed or the invisible transit gate anchored behind the moon. He wasn’t sure which technology amazed him most, the transit gate, that the gate was anchored to the Moon’s rotation around Earth or that they would be there in a little over four hours. It was just the beginning of his new life. With the rejuvenation function turned on, he would have time to investigate many things in the future. For now, he would just lean back and enjoy the trip.