by Devon Loos
“Ok, let’s go.” I listened for movement. Slight footsteps came from both directions. It was likely the two soldiers. I waited until they came close. The footsteps stopped just behind me. I waited for what seemed to be an eternity. The grass twitched, and I fired both the rifle and the orb. A small explosion came from my immediate right, while an unconscious soldier fell to my left. I looked over at the other soldier. He had flown two meters, struck a tree, and fallen unconscious. I turned to the opening and fired the rifle again, striking a soldier in the hip. The soldier fired, just before falling over. The last soldier fired as well, and I twisted around, holding a shield-like wall of energy between me and the shot. The shield collapsed around the bullet, which spun wildly, before readjusting itself, then returning to its sender, striking him in the left cheek. The shield reformed itself, and I forced it to twist to the side to mimic an actual shield. I then faced the general, waiting patiently with his sword drawn. I dropped my rifle and drew my own sword.
“You two, keep watch for reinforcements. I’ll fight this one.” He then turned to me. “You know you can’t win on your own.”
“But I can at least try.”
“Very well.” He instantly closed the gap between us and swung, knocking my shield away. He swung again, knocking my other arm away and opening my guard. A third strike flew downwards. I twisted counter clockwise, just barely escaping his attack, and swung my own sword. The general stepped back, causing me to miss entirely. He swung again, striking my shield, I braced with both arms, only to be thrown backwards into the dirt. I twisted away to avoid being struck again, then raised my shield to deflect yet another blow. The fight continued for another minute. I quickly became more and more exhausted, while the general continued what seemed like a relentless attack.
“General!” Instantly a kick found its way into my stomach, sending me backwards. I curled up and controlled by breathing in order to avoid vomiting in my own helmet.
“Spit it out soldier!” An entire squad had appeared, exhausted from running.
“There’s an enemy squad-” Shots rang out from where I had entered the clearing. An ally squad had broken through.
“You two, join squad three! Keep them busy while I finish this one!” The general walked over to me and kicked my sword away. He then bent over to pick me up. In panic, I turned my shield into an orb and fired it at the general. He stumbled backwards, allowing me to stand back up. I brushed my legs with the energy, causing it to spread.
“Ok, no more playing!” Furious, the general swung viciously. Each time I sidestepped the blow, moving just faster than he could swing. With each passing second, the General grew more and more frustrated, swinging harder and harder, as if to kill. After another minute, one of his kicks finally made contact and sent me backwards again. He reached for his pistol and aimed it at me. A shot rang out. It was different from the others. Separate. Was I hit? The sound didn’t seem close enough. I wasn’t unconscious. The shot sounded like a watcher’s rifle. The general fell over and crashed into the ground. He had been hit. After a few seconds, the stun wore off, allowing him to stand back up. A few moments later the firing stopped. Tek climbed down the tree and walked over to me.
“Told you I’d hit him.”
“I thought you got hit.”
“Nah, just wanted to wait until he was open enough to take a shot. I heard somewhere that if a general thinks there’s a watcher nearby, he’ll be able to dodge the shot, even if it’s from behind.”
“Technically that isn’t true. Good work soldiers. You’re the only recruits to have ever beat me in a fight.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Sorry I shot you, sir”
“Don’t ever be sorry for being a good soldier. I have to go meet with the others now.” The general walked off, disheartened maroon soldiers in tow. One of the soldiers from the reinforcement squad walked over to us.
“Glad we could make it in time for the end of the party.” A soldier said.
“Would’ve ended differently if you guys hadn’t shown up.” I replied.
“I’m Zen by the way. Zenteklakin: Watcher for the 2nd lookout squad.”
“Tek: Watcher for squad E.”
“Jacob: Rifleman for squad E.”
“Yeah, we saw you guys going up the ridge, so we asked the general what to do. He told us to come after you guys. Our whole team had to give a lot of suppressive fire to get us through, but it looks like it was worth it.”
“We should probably make our way back to the complex.” I insisted. Tek had already left. It took roughly half an hour to get everyone back, make sure no one was hurt, and recollect all of the lost training weapons. We were given the rest of the day to rest, while the instructors prepared for tomorrow. Half of the recruits left in misery, forced to wait another year for their next test. The small remainder of what was once 127 recruits returned to the cafeteria, cheering and screaming victory. As I walked I wondered if I truly deserved to pass, when so many others did not. The only real reason I passed at all was because of my power, a power that I could not even fully control. I sighed and left the group so that I could sleep for the last time in the barracks.
[Chapter 8: Deployment]
Graduation was a long and arduous process. Those of us who passed the final test gathered in the main theatre, and each soldier’s specialization was read aloud by the commander. They walked up, shook the hands of a few generals, then walked back off the stage. We were each assigned to a squad, then the squads to ships. My squad leader’s name was Tolenva. We were to board a light frigate named the RSF 2027 “Strategy.” Our armor and possessions were already being sent to our ships. We were called to attention then dismissed. A swarm of graduates rushed by me. The flood took me with it, bringing me outside to where a line of drop ships waited. I scanned the area for the Strategy’s drop ship. It was at the far end. I began to run to catch up with my fellow soldiers.
The Strategy was a light frigate, a class of capital ship designed to escort command ships and flank enemy fleets. The typical frigate design involved a long, thin rectangular body, with a narrow, thicker extension off of the bow. The bridge rose over both the bow and the flat body on a narrow platform that ran the center of the ship. The Frigate sported one main engine and two secondary engines. The main engine, the jump engine, was hidden under a large canopy that served as an elevated platform for the ship’s main gun. The secondary engines were located on the short wings towards the rear of the ship. A long dorsal fin towered behind the bridge of the ship.
I stopped running just short of my assigned squad and I noticed that the commander had finished briefing the other soldiers. I quickly asked what we were doing in the most polite way I could manage.
“Oh! You are that human half-blood that was assigned to my squad?” He replied in an irritated tone. His Gaia was slow and forced, giving the obvious notion that Gaia was a third or fourth language.
“Well I may as well answer your questions now since you will probably have another seven-hundred later. According to priest-based intel there is some sort of important target in the A81 star system that we need to collect. A supposedly simple task that even fresh recruits like you can’t screw up.”
I paused for a moment to let the words sink in.
“‘Priest based intel?’” I asked.
He sighed. “Here we go with the questions. Priests are Rovanekrens who can commune with angels. And before you ask, angels are very powerful and cryptic beings that live on a plane of existence just above ours.”
He pointed upwards before continuing.
“There are at least three realms of existence. The angel’s domain, our own, and the abyss, where the Shadows and Demons tread. Typically, angels take pleasure in guiding us through our lives, depending on their own needs and desires. That’s where you get what you humans call a ‘guardian angel’.”
“I already know what angels are.” I protested.
Our conversation was interrupted by an irritated
pilot urging us to board the ship. After we had done so, he started a launch check that drew out for what seemed like an hour. To everybody’s frustration, the pilot was instructing another pilot who was still in training, and the flight check took twice as long. Once we were in the air the familiar sickness of the last flight returned, though thankfully not as potent. We flew for about five or so minutes before we reached the frigate tasked with getting us to our distant target. The intercom announced something unintelligible. I was too nauseous to decipher what it had said. The commander shouted something else to the rest of the squad and then addressed me.
“We are making a long distance jump, so you have ten minutes to float your butt to the crew’s quarters.” He turned and left in a strange manner of jumps, like that of someone walking on the moon. I attempted to do the same, though low gravity proved a challenge for me. By the time I made my way to the nearest crew’s quarters, I estimated I had about thirty seconds left. The crews quarters I was in was actually a short, narrow hallway of twenty or so rooms called cabins. Each cabin acted as a small living area, filled with set furniture and containers. The cabin walls were then lined with six pod-like sections. These sections held harnesses similar to safety gear on 21st century roller coasters. I picked an unoccupied section and strapped myself down. The surge that started the ship jump caused everything not strapped down to bounce all about the cabin, and everything else to vibrate violently. I saw vomit float around some of the other sections in the cabin, and felt joy at not having as weak a stomach as my first time. The final sign of the jump appeared through the window of the cabin, as the entire ship was engulfed in a bright blue-greenish light. The brilliant light quickly disappeared behind a closing metal curtain, and the ship settled into a smooth movement as it entered mid jump.
I freed myself from my harness, exited my section and began to explore the ship. Since I was floating around the belly of an alien space ship I naturally became curious of everything, inspecting every panel and light I saw. The ship had no “artificial gravity” like in those old sci-fi movies I used to watch, so I struggled to direct myself in the direction I wanted. Many hallways and rooms of the ship had no definite top and bottom, as all four walls had spots of inlaid floor paneling, a plethora of grab rails that could be used to direct one’s self through the hallway, and a variety of rather delicate looking mechanical systems covered by protective cages. Most areas were a dull yet spotless white color which seemed to hurt the eyes at first. The ship soon came alive with color however as the other crew members exited their sections and began to float around the ship. Some of the veteran soldiers had already donned their full armor sets and were walking around the ship with magnetized shoes of some sort. I envied them. I was already getting queasy from the constant zero gravity. After I floated half way down the hall I realized I had no idea where I was going. I found the crew’s quarters earlier by following the others, but now everyone was going in literally every direction imaginable. I was lost in a ship completely alien to the world I once knew.
[Chapter 9: Our Mission]
“Jacob!” I felt a hand gently push me towards the wall. I twisted around. Zen greeted me, along with a large Rovanekren I had never seen before. “Which squad are you in?”
“Squad 4… I think.”
“Looks like you’re with us then. Come on. We were just exploring the ship before Tolenva calls us back to the crew’s quarters.”
“Tolenva?”
“Right, I forgot that you missed the squad meeting. Tolenva’s our commander. Then there’s Tek, our head scout. Our medic’s name is Seb, and then you have me, our reserve scout. Oh, and this is Rockwall, our support.”
I was surprised that Tek was on my squad, but remembered Tolenva as the commander I talked to back at New Rov. The memory of being assigned to his squad resurfaced. I felt disappointed in myself. Not a day into the mission and I had already forgotten the name of my commander. Rockwall floated silently, ignoring me as he fiddled with a launcher.
“Why’s he called ‘Rockwall’?”
“Good question.” We started floating towards the hangar. “The guy’s a monster of a soldier. He won’t tell us his real name, so we nicknamed him Rockwall. Rumor has it that he took three watchman rounds to the body without falling, then broke a man’s arm with a single punch.”
“It isn’t true.” Rockwall jumped in unexpectedly. “I didn’t punch him. It was a joint lock.”
“But you still broke his arm?” Zen replied.
“...Yeah.” They both began to laugh. We passed through the hangar and into another hallway. The rest of our squad relaxed in the left rear crew’s quarters. Tolenva, Tek, and Seb sat around a table, drinks in hand.
“Guys! I found our rifleman. We got the human recruit!”
Tek waved with disinterest, and Tolenva looked at me with frustration. “You went to the wrong crew’s quarters. We had to let another soldier borrow your section.”
“Sorry,” I muttered awkwardly. “I didn’t know that there was more than one.” He ignored my explanation and turned to Seb.
“Do you have any training for human first aid?”
“No… but I’m sure it isn’t much different from Rovanekrens.” Seb turned to me. “Just don’t get hit with anything bad, ok?” He laughed. I wondered if Zen was the only normal one in my group. Who was I kidding? I was talking to a bunch of aliens. Normal didn’t exist for me anymore. Rockwall floated past us to a large section in the corner, where he started equipping his armor plating. Zen and I did the same. I found my armor stuffed in the back of a storage container in the cabin, along with a few sets of clothing and my other personal belongings.
“Zen.” Tolenva spoke.
“Sir?”
“Give the human a tour before he tries to use the jump engine as a toilet.”
“Yes, sir.” He laughed.
I wore all but my helmet, and switched the armor’s battery on, then brought my foot to my hand so that I could switch on the magnets. A moment later I was walking awkwardly on the floor. The magnets kept me on the ground, but it seemed as if I was walking through thick mud as I moved.
We first walked to the stern of the ship. On each side were rooms filled with lifeboats, in case the ship was compromised. Further down were ladders to the port and starboard life support systems. Their location made them difficult to hit for anything larger than a bomber. We turned back and moved towards the bow, were the hangars were located, followed by the upper port and starboard crew’s quarters. Between them were two more evacuation rooms, much smaller than the ones in the rear. A small hole in the wall was being repaired. A small piece of debris had crashed through the ship earlier, puncturing several layers of metal and wiring. Thankfully no one was injured, and the outer hull was patched before we jumped. Zen explained that if we had jumped without patching it, the entire ship could have been split in two, or crushed like an empty can. A repair crew was patching the inner wall. Inside the hole was a layer of hundreds of small hexagonal plates. I asked what they were.
“They’re magnetic strips of thick metal that close up tears and openings in the hull. We call them: ‘patches’. In theory, you could replace the entire hull with them, except no ship is ever given enough patches to do such a thing.” We continued upwards to the second level. This level was separated into two distinct sections. The bow held two small cargo rooms and more lifeboats. This section extended from the ship itself, and a small evacuation transport hung off the end of the bow. The ship is designed to carry off wounded, and is equipped with it’s own jump engine. The second section, located at the center of the ship, was accessible from the hangars. This was the cargo hall, where most of our supplies were stored. From here we had access to maintenance hatches, and the Jump Engine room, or the JE room. Located just above the bow were the medical bay and two training rooms. The third level held the officers’ quarters, and their own set of lifeboats. This level then reached up to the bridge, where the communication rooms were located.
“Why are there so many lifeboats?” We walked back to our cabin in the crew’s quarters. I was growing accustomed to walking around the ship without gravity.
“It’s a safety precaution.”
“I know that, but why so many?”
“If we reach a point where we need to use the lifeboats, it’ll likely mean that most of them are either inoperable or inaccessible.”
“Oh.” It still seemed a waste of space, but I didn’t bother to inquire further. We continued to the cabin. Most of our squad was napping. All except Tolenva. I asked why the jump was taking so long.