by Todd Mcleod
STAR CADETS:
SOLDIERS OF THE FUTURE
* * *
EPISODE 1
By Todd McLeod & M G. Thomas
Copyright © 2018 Todd McLeod & Michael G. Thomas
Published by Swordworks Books
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Chapter One
Far from the centre of the universe, far from the power structure of the organised alliance of men lay the frontier world of Kroni IV. The world was ideal for space colonisation. It was close enough to a sun to give it warmth for both liquid water and the relatively narrow tolerance of Human bodies and civilisations. This was not the only colonised world, but the one with the biggest potential as well as the furthest out. Many in command considered it a new stepping stone. A place that could lead to countless other systems, and eventually usher in a new era of space travel, exploration, and colonisation for the Human race. It was an exciting prospect that captured the wonder of millions.
The frontier was the big unknown, a situation that had many theorising what more could be out there. As mankind became better at quantifying the mysteries of their systems, they realised so much they didn’t know about was out there in the space beyond. Since times before leaving for space, man had wondered what or who might be out in the universe. Now as they were on the edge of the unknown infinite sea of stars, they decided to reach out yet again. Upon the world of Kroni IV, they built a massive communications array. This was the most powerful tool for communication with their other Human holdings, as well as to send signals out into the void. They broadcast a message made up of both simple and complicated mathematics. It said humanity was offering an invitation to communicate and share information and knowledge. If there were in fact other races out there as advanced as humanity, there would be much gain in working together.
Humanity had a long history of not dealing well with first contact. Indigenous races hurt and destroyed. Humanity had taken a long time repairing the damage from those that had come before, and had no desire to make the same mistake again. They reached out in peace and understanding, desperate for anyone out there with the means of communication to do so. The array was like a beacon into the life of humanity, and the information to be gained from it was free.
Some did not believe in the open manner of the array. When one put all their cards on the table in a dark room, there was nothing to stop your opponent from taking them. So far, it was a one-way communication, and though there might be a race out there that could hear them and understand it, they had no obligation to respond. And so there would be no way to know if it was read.
Inside the control room of the array a lone observation technician manned the comms controls. He was not charged with monitoring earth-based transmissions or other chatter; his job was simply to monitor the message sent out into the void.
An assistant came to the desk offering the tech a coffee. “So, if someone was to respond, what d’you think they might say?”
The tech took a sip from the coffee and shrugged. “To be honest, I’m not sure there’s anything out there at all.”
“You might be right, but just imagine for a moment what they might say.”
“Well, that would depend greatly on what it is they wanted,” the tech admitted, “If like us they were curious and interested in a meeting of minds and technology, they would likely make an offering about themselves and what their civilisation is like. Like our own. However, if they wanted what we had, and had no desire to share…then it might be different.”
“Different how?”
“Well, if history is any indication, and they are like us…” the tech replied in a neutral tone, “Then they’ll come and take what they want, and for that…they probably won’t announce they’re coming.”
On the surface of Kroni IV, a research team moved out along the landscape. They had been alerted to a strange signal coming from nearby, and no one could quantify it. The high-tech rover moved slowly as the scientists inside read readings coming from the mysterious site. They arrived to find a large metallic sphere sticking out of the sand and rock. A group of encounter suited scientists emerged and approached the strange device with caution, their eyes darting between the object and their various diagnostic devices.
“This is unlike anything we have ever seen,” the lead researcher said, approaching the sphere, no larger than a mall car, “It’s perfect in its geometric shape, and I can find no seams within it.”
“It is definitely mechanical in nature.” The assistant engineer walked up to join the lead researcher, “Though I’m having issues getting scans to penetrate the surface, I can tell there’s definitely some manner of device inside. It seems to be only semi-functional.”
“Sir, I’m scanning other things as well,” another researcher added, “It’s strange and doesn’t make sense.”
“Explain.”
The young researcher nodded. “Well, I’m picking up the same mechanical components as he has, but there’s also something else. Something that if I were to guess are akin to life signs.”
“Life signs?” The lead researcher asked in shock, “Are you saying there’s something or someone alive in there?”
“I think it’s more likely something as opposed to someone. There isn’t anything complex like a person or animal, but there are live components in there, and indication of some manner of support system for the biological components.”
“Techno organic components!” The assistant researcher was clearly excited, “We’ve been theorising about such things for years, but never managed to make the mix of live and technic components.”
“Either way we have found something amazing,” the lead researcher said with a nod, “This device, though complicated and still mysterious, is proof positive of alien life. We didn’t make it, someone did, and it has both intelligent design and a command over living components. We just need to figure out where it came from. Did it crash-land here?”
“I don’t think so.” The assistant researcher paced around the object, “Though it is half submerged, it doesn’t look like it struck the terrain. If I were to guess, I’d say it has been buried. Hard to say for how long as the soil here destabilises a lot. It could be weeks, it could be years, but I would imagine the storm recently unearthed it so we could detect the signals.”
“How it got here or how long it’s been here is just part of the mystery. It’s clear to me that we won’t learn much more from it out here. Prepare the gear. We’re going to put it in the rover and take it back to central command. Keep this on the down low. We cannot afford the main populace of the colony to know more about this until we are ready.”
The research team went to
work, digging up the strange sphere to take it back to the base for further study. The sphere hummed and pulsed, seemingly biding its time and waiting for something that no one could anticipate.
Chapter Two
Out in the open plains on Kroni IV, close to the Human colony and military base, two cadets raced together on anti-grav bikes. They were members of an elite team of cadets picked from the most prestigious academies and schools known as Alpha Squad, thus granted a little more leeway than the others. The grav bikes were mostly for fast transfers of materials to outposts and checking sensors, but the pair had limited permission to use them for their own use. They were Cadet Elvin Barick and his close rival Cadet Vi Locke. They were young and impulsive, and beyond the challenge of training on the far-off world. They tested each other, pushing their limits as far as they could. It didn’t take them long to discover the abject speed capabilities of the grav bikes, and the idea to race them was something they could not pass up.
They were on free training and decided they would head out to one of the furthest outposts to do some practice. Not just for the safety of the area, but it also meant an excuse to use the bikes. The terrain was ragged and unpredictable. Kroni IV was a planet of extremes that could go from rocky terrain to open sand in a moment and back again. Though they had been out there before, and were aided by complex Navstar Network systems, both cadets preferred to rely upon line of sight, instinct, and their own reflexes. The pair moved together, evenly matched, pushing their bikes to the limits as they weaved and dodged around obstacles. They knew this was a very limited thing. So few would ever set foot on this world for a long time to come, and the chances of them having this open terrain and the use of the high-tech vehicles very low. This was a world they could not afford to take for granted. They were amongst those the furthest away from humanity than any before had been, and much of what they were doing unprecedented.
Both had proven viable from a very young age and were prodigies of their own type. Normally, a rivalry such as theirs would be problematic, but the cadet leaders, especially their superior, Gunney, had seen many times what the rivalry could bring out in them. So far from home, deep in the unknown, anything that proved a valuable motivator was worth its weight in gold.
The Navstar Network systems chimed in, warning the cadets that they were closing in on their destination. They wanted to be the first to arrive within the perimeter of the small outpost base and to have a small victory over each other. They gunned their engines, pushing the bikes and their tech to the very limit. The majestic terrain sped by them as they dodged and weaved, changing from first to second and back again. They knew the terrain well, and the canyon leading to the outpost to have a bottleneck. Elvin pushed forward, knowing that if one fell behind the other, there would be no way to pass until they had to decelerate for the outpost. They rode side by side, the rocky sides of the canyon rapidly closing in to meet them. Both bikes were at their limit, and the matched skill of the pair was hand in hand. Neither could overtake the other. They were at a stalemate, and any moment the canyon would be far too narrow for two grav bikes. The rocky sides of the canyon reached out as the bikes sped by with sharp spikey fingers, threatning to tear the flesh and steel of the riders apart like they were made of wet paper.
Vi looked over at her rival, knowing that he would not give up. He wanted the win over all else. Vi wanted it, too, but knew that such blinding greed for victory could be a great weakness as well as a strength. So she decided she would take the real victory over the technical one and slowed down, allowing Elvin to pass her, and the pair went single file. They soon passed out of the narrow canyon, decelerating, and stopping at the high walled compound.
Elvin stretched, still noticing the difference of gravity between the Earth and Kroni IV. He looked down at his vehicle and began to take stock of it. The environment was harsh on machines, and maintenance was the key.
“You are a little compulsive,” Vi said with a laugh, “You go from reckless and fearless one moment to cold and calculated the next.”
“I have enough focus. Whether it’s with doing something crazy or something needed, it’s all or nothing.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Vi took a look at his vehicle, “I have been forgoing maintenance myself.”
Elvin laughed. “You’re a smart girl, but you rely on your brains too much and sometimes gotta put your faith in the things you use.”
“Girl?” she said in mock irritation. He laughed back at her and then shook his head. Vi couldn’t help but join in.
“Still, I suppose that when the chips are down, I can think my way out of anything.”
“That might be true.” Elvin continued to work on his vehicle.
“Though when those chips fall, any little bit I can rely on the better. A cunning soldier can adapt to anything…a wise man is already ready for it.”
The air was interrupted by the far off sound of a sonic boom. It was the unmistakeable pitch of something entering the atmosphere and encountering the friction of an oxygen-based environment at fast speeds.
“What do you suppose that is? A meteor?”
“Possibly.” Vi put a pair of foldable binoculars to her face, “It’s not trailing much material from the burnup, likely heat shielded. I am thinking satellite.”
“Another satellite out of orbit?” Elvin sighed, “I bet you they’re going to make us go get it. When will those engineers in tech branch make these things work?”
“The planet has a really unique orbital configuration,” Vi explained, “One of the moons often just pushes them out of orbit, and it’s still something they’re not so easily able to predict yet.”
“How close would you wager it is?”
“Right now, not close.” Vi made the trajectory calculations in her head, “Though it seems to be coming down within fifteen kilometres of here.”
“Yep, they’re going to call us to go get it.” Elvin scratched his head, “It’s only a matter of time.”
“Well, then you should take solace in one thing,” Vi said with a laugh.
Elvin put his hands on his hips. “And what might that be?”
“That you were right about the maintenance. We should be ready when we get the call. Also, we’ve got some work to do out here…we better be ready, so we can get as much of it done as we can before we get the call.”
Both went to work on their bikes. They thought little else of the falling satellite or whatever it was, not noticing other streaks of several more coming into the atmosphere further off, and also falling toward the ground below.
The outpost station was mostly prefabricated, the kind of structure built to fit in a cargo container, dropped where it was needed, and assembled. It was basically an aluminium box with no roof, several foot-high walls, and scaffolding towers punched onto the ground to stabilise it. A small shed room protected supplies and monitoring equipment, and on one end was a tall magnetic radio transceiver. It was an ideal staging area for training and other things. Vi walked into the control shed and switched on the computers that were on standby. Almost as if on cue, Gunney radioed from the base.
“How did I know you would be so far out?” Gunney asked in a tone of mock annoyance.
“There is so little in this world,” Vi admitted, “there’s not much to see.”
“Fair enough,” Gunney admitted, “Though with the good work you’ve been doing lately, I suppose no one will care about you doing a bit of things your own way.”
“Thank you,” Vi responded with a smile, “I’m just going to do some training and probably head back in.”
“Good. You’ve only got a little more rest before the big tests. Still, do me a favour and activate an AI drone.”
“I haven’t used one of those since basic. Are you sure that is necessary?”
“You wanna do your thing so far from the eyes of those who might oversee it, you gotta fire up a drone now and again.”
Vi laughed. “Will do.”
“Come bac
k as soon as you’re done. We’ve got some interesting telemetry from command to go over, and we might need all hands on deck.”
“Confirmed.” Vi ended the call and pulled a box out from the equipment in the shed. She lifted out a small cantaloupe-sized metallic drone and held it out. It began to vibrate, and a pair of small rotors came out of hatches on the top. A single red eye lit up.
“Greetings,” the drone said in a mechanical voice meant to sound polite and soothing, “How may I serve you today?”
“Observation mode,” Vi replied, “Follow and record."
“Can do. No need to be so formal. I can understand and respond from normal speech. I am highly adaptive.”
“Spare me the mock AI personality,” Vi replied as she got up, “Simple commands and functionality will suffice.”
“My personality is no more mock than yours. It is a fluid neural positronic network and a simulation of yours. I learn by example and experience.”
“Who are you trying to prove it to?”
“Such is a side effect of a realistic AI personality. I desire for the same respect that you take for granted.”
Vi grinned. “Okay. I suppose if you have the flaws we have, you are at least entitled to some respect. What shall I call you?”
“Anything you like. As long as it is consistent.”
“Then I will call you Rover,” Vi commented as she left the shed.
“Thank you, Sir,” the drone said, following Vi, “Wait…is that not a dog’s name?”
Chapter Three
Gunney walked through the halls of the command centre of the colony. Things were eerily quiet even though it seemed there were a myriad of things that should concern someone. In lieu of anyone else taking it at all seriously…it was his turn. He walked into the lab to see the lead researcher hard at work, analysing the mysterious sphere that had just been brought in.
