Free Fleet Box Set 2

by Michael Chatfield

  Many went to Mars to get practical training with the massive facility that was growing on the red planet. Millions of trainees of all disciplines, from civilian to Free Fleet personnel attended the Free Fleet select trades school.

  The most educated people were thankful to the Free Fleet for opening their minds, the normal people were thankful for the jobs, training, and feeling of security the Free Fleet offered them.

  Right now that wasn't the reason for the excited mood on Parnmal. The station had its own academy and select trade’s school, but it had been left free for today.

  It had last week as well, when Marhtu's sentence had been handed down by the council of Daestramus.

  He had faced a firing squad, Evelyn remembered the hatred in the eyes of those that Marhtu had made slaves as they watched as rounds ripped through the man that had tortured them into submission.

  The rest of the crowd had grimly watched, none of them saying anything. As soon as Marhtu was dead, security chief Narvu, who had been a customs officer and rallying point in the rebellion turned from his post as commander of the firing squad.

  “Today we finally end the shadow that Marhtu cast over our planet. Now we must work together to show the universe just how magnificent we as a people can be together. As Salchar has said, we must look to one another in these times, look to change the world and the universe to be something that we want to be in, to say that we are the change that made us great. We will not forget the darkness that Marhtu left over us, we should not forget those that died in order for us to come back into the light.” He returned to his firing squad, moving them out of the way as Marhtu's corpse was removed.

  Evelyn's camera woman showed her how many people were watching their feed of the proceedings, both of them looking to one another in shock.

  It seemed the entire known universe wanted to see Lady Fairgate's sentence carried out.

  It had been made clear that she had pretty much lost it when the Kalu came to Rosho, she looked half-dead as someone read out the main charges. The full list was damned long.

  She was escorted into the airlock like some zombie.

  A wicked smile passed over her lips as the door closed.

  “They'll come for you all! All of you! The Kalu will get you all, all of you. Yes,” Lady Fairgate said with a crazy gleam in her eye as the airlock sealed.

  Monk stepped up to the button, not even pausing as he pressed it and Lady Fairgate's face had a moment of panic before she, and the air in the airlock were evacuated seconds later, her body flying out into the black of space.

  So the time of the Syndicate ended.

  But whose time will it be next? The time of the Kalu? The Free Fleet? The people of the Union?

  “Shall we move to the interviews?” Her camera woman said, jostling her into reality, as she'd stared at the airlock. She wasn't the only one that had kept staring at the airlock, it was hard to believe the Syndicate was dead.

  Focus on the here and now Sparks! Time to find that stort, she heard one of her first editor's say in her head as her face became harder.

  “I suppose we should,” Evelyn said, helping her camera woman store her gear.

  While the old Union was gone, planets were already picking three planetary governors. One to be on their planet, the other to work on matters that pertained to them all, and the third to make sure that there wasn't a tie between the other two. All three would rotate through their offices after a selected time and then come up for re-election.

  It was the system that had been used from the Union.

  Even though there hadn't been any official announcement that a new Union was going to be created. Already one of the governors was always on Parnmal.

  This station really has become the centre of civilized space. Or at least one side of the trading highway.

  Parnmal was the conduit of the corridor's (the nickname given to AIH Chaleel and Earth) products to the rest of known space, as well as on the opposite side of the Kuruvian Empire.

  Trade ran nearly straight from the Empire to Parnmal. Ships arrived on a nearly hourly basis from across jump limits. A system had been put in place so as to make sure that ships didn't wormhole into one another. Another system made sure that they didn't run into one another as they travelled to inspection stations and onto Parnmal actual.

  The Yard had grown from a single dock to five, mining had exploded as the yards ate up everything it could. Manufacturing had grown in a big way, making parts for the Free Fleet as well as merchants. Everything was bought and sold on Parnmal, with only a slight tax, something that everyone was willing to pay to trade there and be under the Free Fleet's protection.

  Even with the Kalu fighting, there was two constant squadrons that protected merchant freighters that travelled from Parnmal to the Kuruvian Empire. Over the sixty or so systems that contained planets and people that had survived the fall of the Union and the Syndicate after it, fifteen to twenty squadrons of three or more ships patrolled thirty nine systems that had signed the Free Fleet on as a protection force.

  More Free Fleet ships were being processed through the corridor and put into fighting order by the week. Lady Fairgate's home system was still sending ships to Parnmal and the other yards to be readied for the Fleet. Trainees were finishing off most of their training on the ships, stations and yards that they would be serving on until they got promoted or transferred to another position.

  “We live in interesting times,” Evelyn said, shrugging a pack onto her back, her camera woman grabbing another pack as they followed the last groups that were leaving the airlock behind.

  ***

  Felix pointed his data pad's camera at the floating mass of what had been the Lady Fairgate's personal carrier Elshurvum.

  Its interior was nothing like what it had been. Felix and his people had gutted it, it now had sixteen large nodules on its surface with a spire affixed to them. PDS sprouted from every single space there wasn't something in the way.

  The mass of weaponry had been replaced with places for rail cannons, the bays had remained the same on the outside. Inside they had the Free Fleet launch and recovery system.

  Storage had been practically removed as massive capacitors had been inserted. Five in total lined the carrier. Reactors had been pulled, and replaced with upgraded versions and added to.

  The biggest changes were to software.

  As the carrier was supposed to be dealing with massive gravitates, new command and control features that integrated with a user’s implants had been added.

  While people couldn't move physically, their nervous impulses could still be read and translated into real-time changes.

  “Well it looks like she's ready,” Silly said through Felix's earbud, Nancy's commander was on the other side of the camera, and one of the many people that had come up with the damned insane ideas that had gone into Hammer.

  “Its tests do agree within our set parameters,” LaRe said, Felix thought that he was going through his last teenage years as an AI. He was showing maturity, but sometimes he tried a bit too hard to seem actually mature.

  “She's a beaut,” Felix said happily. Pressing a button so the camera faced him, he saw Silly and LaRe looking back at him through the screen.

  “So you're serious about going to see what you can do with these Kalu carriers?” Silly asked. Min Hae had sent information on the massive shipyard and the Star Destroyers attached to it straight to Felix, with the offer to come on Hammer and get to work as soon as possible.

  “Yes I am, we both know that we are going to basically running our yards like mad to get out what we need now. My facilities here are already working to make a second version of Hammer.

  We need to get as many ships as we can working, as has always been the case. Now we can actually see the number of ships we're up against and unless we come up with something really damned impressive, we're going to be pulling everything we can together. Hell we might even have to cut some training times short in order to have th
e people that we need to man everything we can pull together,” Felix said.

  “I know,” Silly said, a light entering his eyes as his hands moved in a sign of interest and excitement. “Which is why I'm going with you. I can't very well have our chief Research and Development guy thinking that he can man a station of that size and keep it running. I've already arranged transport for the other yards. Nelly, Nate and Parnmal's yards will all be supplying people in order to get these damned Destroyers up and running, working for us. The super-freighter has also been released to us, with a small squadron of warships.”

  Felix opened his mouth to argue and then promptly closed it. He had seen the scans of the yard and the ships, the sheer size of it was mind boggling, it was thirty kilometers long and fifteen wide.

  He quickly collected himself as his mind tried to even imagine something that big.

  “Thank you Silly, it would be rather nice to actually work on a project in the flesh as it were, for once,” Felix said with a grin, feeling somewhat relieved.

  “I will also be there in spirit, as it is linked to the FTL network. However, the AI Dashunder has expressed an interest in being the station's administrative AI,” LaRe said.

  “Thank god for the FTL network, we'd be lost without your computing power,” Silly said, shaking his head, actual sadness in his expression even under the joke. Silly had been the one to get LaRe to join the Free Fleet.

  “I'll be in Sol in another three days, just need to get everything we can loaded on. Picking up the cannons in AIH...”

  “We know we know,” Silly said, interrupting Felix.

  Felix nodded absently, realizing that of course they know everything, they made the plan with me!

  Chapter Awake

  Light intruded in on me as I winced, blinking faster as if it would make the pain of light at least piss off for a few more minutes. I heard something move around me.

  “About time you woke up,” Rick said, sounding damned tired.

  I just grunted as I tried to sit up.

  “Lie down you monkey, you've only barely been put back together.” Rick's tone stopped my movement as I settled back down.

  I tilted my head, finding him by the door. Yasu was to my side, asleep on top of my legs.

  “You've got a lot to deal with when you’re up,” Rick said a small smile appearing on his face.

  “Thankfully little of it is to do with the Fleet. Cheerleader is in command of the patrols. Min Hae and Bregend have been pounding on the Kalu forces and ships. Whorst and Boot will get there shortly. We're moving back to Parnmal and the corridor to get our people some time with the shrinks, to decompress, and ready for the next engagement.” I could see the muscles in Rick's jaw tighten in anger.

  “Data pad?” I said, my throat hurt as it always did after waking in hospitals.

  Someone rammed a damn tube down my throat again, I thought in annoyance. There was no sensation quite like having a tube put down one's neck, or pulled out of it.

  “She is going to need considerably more time,” Rick said, as if trying to give me a hint.

  I saw the new lines of worry, and those tired eyes which I saw every time I looked in a mirror.

  “Get some rest,” I said, my voice gentle, but an order nonetheless.

  Yasu stirred on my lap, taking my attention as Rick let himself out of the curtained off area around my bed.

  Yasu blinked sleep away, looking up at me, the mental cogs turning before she launched herself at me, jumping on the bed and hugging me.

  “I thought you were gone, when they got you out of the HAPA you were so close to leaving me, to leaving us,” she said, tears falling from her face and falling on my neck and shoulder.

  “I'm okay,” I said gently as her grip tightened on me.

  It took her some time to stop her tears and release her vice-like grip on my frame.

  “So what was the damage?” I asked, semi-playfully. I needed to know if anything was going to affect me. Memories of how the hellfire had hurt my upper body but not hurt my lower body flashed through my mind.

  “Your legs will be a bit odd for a short time, you need to rebuild some muscle in your back to support your new spine and nerves. You shouldn't move at all, no sudden movements, just bed rest for a while.”

  That sounds good, I thought, mentally shaking my head.

  “Your lungs will be good, they were cut open. A lot of your stomach had to be grafted back together. So instead of running right into battle, you can concentrate on how we're going to raise our child,” she said, my head snapped to her, my eyes going alarmingly wide as time stopped, as well as my ability to breathe. I looked at her stomach, as if I would be able to tell that she was indeed correct.

  I looked from her stomach to her face, her tears of relief turning to ones of joy.

  “I think this is the first time I have seen you well and truly speechless,” she said, the most beautiful woman in the world, tears clouding her eyes as she flicked her hair out of her face. A laugh on her lips.

  I went against everything she had told me not to do as I wrapped my hands around her, dragging her back down.

  “I'm gonna be a dad,” I said into her ear, the disbelief clear in my voice.

  “I'm going to be a dad!” I said again, the biggest smile stretching my face as pain, war, all of it disappeared.

  “I'M GOING TO BE A DAD!” I yelled as loud as I could, laughing in joy as I held Yasu even tighter, she sat up on top of me, both of us just staring into one another's eyes.

  “We're going to be parents,” I said, almost breathlessly, as if it scared me as much as it exhilarated me.

  “Yes, yes we are,” she whispered.

  “I think the entire med bay knows,” Krom said from behind the curtain around my bed.

  He and Shreesht opened the curtains to the entire med bay. Whoops, cheers, guttural grunts, chirps, clapping and all manner of noises greeted us as Yasu's face flushed, getting off of me.

  I wrapped a hand around her mid-riff pointing to her stomach.

  “I knocked her up for the second time!” I said, Yasu looking to me, her eyes thinning at the low jab, trying to stifle a smile of joy by pressing her lips together.

  The med bay laughed, smiled and whooped as Yasu blushed, looking to me in annoyance, but unable to make her lips stop smiling.

  I pulled Yasu to me, my arm reaching for her neck. She bent down, kissing me, properly kissing me I might add! Which was only punctuated by the agreeing yells, catcalls and whistles from our spectators.

  Yasu and I opened our eyes as our lips parted, our eyes dancing as we looked at one another. No words can encompass what went between our eyes, love? Trust? Care? Hope? Excitement?

  All of it, everything in me wanted to hold onto her and never let go and I could see the same sentiment in her eyes.

  “I love you,” She said, in a whisper, as if saying it loudly would break that statement. That promise. That vulnerability.

  “I love you too,” I said back.

  From Furies Forged

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  POSTSCRIPT

  You can check out what I’m working on and upcoming releases through the following means:

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  Thanks again for reading. I hope you join me for another adventure ☺

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Having spent the majority of his childhood jumping from country to country with his

  mother, Michael Chatfield now travels the world searching for inspiration. He calls

  Canada home, for now, but regularly bounces across the pond to his true home, the UK.

  Michael pays the bills as an Infanteer in the Canadian Military.
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