Stars Fell on Trieste

by M. Alan Marr

  Dev is happy with the status report.

  “So what are your candidates doing today?”

  “Today they’ll be learning how an electron works.”

  They laugh.

  “Have to start somewhere,” she says.

  FLIGHT TRAINING COMMAND

  ADMIRALTY NORTH

  Bross escorts the group of Earth pilots to an empty room, where they stand around unsure of what they should be doing. Bross informs Chaz the Quartermaster will be in shortly and advises their first academic dissertation is in one hour. Checking his chronometer, Bross asks permission to carry on. Chaz dismisses him and he departs after coming to attention and saluting Chaz.

  An officer from the base Quartermaster, a Fourth Leftenant, is the first official to visit the class and has several crewmen in tow with enclosed wardrobes and trollies of accessories. The Quartermaster approaches Chaz and salutes him smartly.

  “Commander. Quartermaster Fourth Leftenant Sandro Haas, sir.”

  “Lieutenant Commander Chaz Ronaldi.”

  “Sir, I bring uniforms and supplies.”

  “Carry on, sir.”

  The crewmen accompanying the Quartermaster begin unpacking the various uniforms, boots, and equipment for the new squadron. Several multi-angle mirrors are rolled in as well. The group looks on with great interest at the flight suits and various uniform pieces and accessories. They see both formal and ‘regular’ bicorn hats, as well as simpler military caps worn by Midshipmen and Ensigns.

  The officer approaches Chaz with a new uniform jacket, Lieutenant Commander rank. “Sir?”

  Chaz takes off his tailcoat and slips on the new one, this one bearing four small gold stars on the left breast panel of the jacket; the four stars of the Constellation Oasis arranged just they appear in the night sky.

  “Perfect fit.”

  “Yes, sir.” The Fourth Leftenant smiles. “You are the first Officer of the Crown to wear the stars of Oasis, Commander.”

  Chaz looks at himself in the mirror. “Everyone wears their own stars?”

  “Constellation of birth, yes, sir.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  A crewman affixes the set of stars to Chaz’s old coat.

  “None of us ever imagined we would see these stars on display in our own lifetimes, sir. It is a new day for all of us. I have your various duty uniforms, sir, just over here.”

  “What kind of uniforms?”

  “Flight suits, shipboard uniforms, Admiralty dress—formal and semi-formal—also seasonal variants, and weather gear, sir.”

  “I’m not certain what they should be wearing?” Chaz asks quietly.

  “Flight suits are typically worn by candidates at the Training Command, sir.”

  “And me?”

  “Your option, of course, sir, but most flight officers avoid the full uniform in this environment.”

  Chaz looks at the group of pilots. “Steve, Harr, Jen, Matt, flight suits, please.” Chaz takes off his jacket and starts unbuttoning his waistcoat. “I’ll take a flight suit, then.” While Chaz changes, he questions the Quartermaster about the pilots. A crewman is on hand to take Chaz’s uniform pieces.

  The Quartermaster nods. “As I understand it, sir, your pilot candidates have already completed courses of university study on Earth, and have ranking within their particular flight division. Since they are non-commissioned in our system, it was decided they would enter our service as Flight Midshipmen. Fourth Flight Midshipmen, in fact, which is the earliest a non-commissioned officer can begin flight training, sir.”

  “And our crewmen?”

  “We have enlisted uniforms for them, sir.”

  Jen and Annette change behind one of the angular mirrors, assisted by two female crewmen.

  The Oasis group changes out of their civilian clothes. Pilots into flight suits, flight attendants into two-piece crew uniforms. Chaz, as the only commissioned officer of the group, wears Lieutenant Commander rank shoulder boards. The rest of the pilots’ shoulder boards have four very narrow silver stripes, indicating their new positions as Fourth Midshipmen. Their status will change soon enough. The flight attendants’ crewman uniforms are devoid of rank, making their status as UE, unrated enlisted.

  All of the uniforms are adorned with the insignia of the Constellation Oasis. Up to this moment, standard uniform insignia were limited to Corona Borealis, Hercules, Lyra, Eridanus, and, in fewer cases, Triangulum, and fewer yet, Cygnus. For the first time in the history of the Crown, Constellation Oasis is represented in the Crown Defense Force. The Quartermaster informs Chaz, as ranking officer, all of the extra uniforms and accessories will be delivered to their individual dwellings in Bari. Also, that the base Armorer will issue sidearms to the candidates during weapons training.

  The crewmen begin packing up all of their gear, as well as the Oasis members’ civilian clothes. The Quartermaster salutes Chaz and departs ahead of his staff. Chaz puts his new bicorn hat on and looks at himself in the mirror.

  The now fully dressed Oasis team looks at each other and, overall, are impressed by how cool they look.

  “Hey,” Matt says to Chaz, “I want a hat like that.”

  “I think you get these after you’re commissioned.”

  Steve discovers his belt buckle contains the cellphone-like Tertian Interlink device. In a matter of seconds, all the others are pulling out their devices as well.

  Chaz rolls his eyes. “Hey, don’t play with those.”

  “What do they do?” Steve says.

  “It’s like a military iPhone. Don’t mess with it until you know how to work it.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  An older enlisted woman wearing an Infantry uniform smartly enters the room, marches up to Chaz, and renders the customary enlisted salute, a crooked index finger knuckle to the forehead.

  “Commander. First Infantry Grenadier Templa Sax, from the Enlisted Training Command, sir.”

  “Sax.”

  “Sir, I’m here to escort your crewmen to a briefing and establish their training billets.”

  “They’re not training with us?”

  “No, sir.”

  Chaz isn’t thrilled about splitting up the group, but knew this was bound to have to happen. “Franz, Milo, Annette.”

  The Grenadier continues. “I will return them to you by end of duty, sir.”

  “Very well, carry on.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  Annette sneaks Harrison a quick kiss before heading out with the other flight attendants and the Grenadier. “Bye!”

  There is a signal on Chaz’s Interlink device. It takes him a moment before he realizes the sound is emanating from his waistline. He pulls the Interlink device off his belt and reads the screen. “Guys we’re to report to class in ten minutes, so chop chop, finish getting dressed.”

  “Where is class, Chaz?” Steve says, flexing his arms in his new flight suit.

  Chaz looks at his device. “Level six, dissertation room twelve, starboard.”

  “Know where that is?”

  “Hopefully on the sixth floor. Come on, let’s not be late.”

  The group meanders out of the room and finds the nearest lift, with minor assistance from a passing Ensign. As they walk down the level six corridor, Chaz’s personal device sounds three repetitive tones. The sound is different than the textual message he received earlier. This time it’s an actual call. “Uh, Commander Chaz.” It is Dev calling. Chaz motions for Steve to carry on to the classroom. “Go on, I’ll catch up. Dev, I’m here . . . ”

  DISSERTATION ROOM

  12 - STARBOARD

  Leftenant Idris Adelle stands at the front of her station in the classroom set aside for the new batch of Oasis personnel. The door opens, and the chatty group of Earth residents walks in, impressed with their new flight suits. Not what Idris is used to from a group of students. Patiently, she waits for the lubberly group to haphazardly assemble. Idris sweeps a non-existent piece of lint from her own uniform and takes
but a moment to gaze at the ceiling until the group forms somewhat of a line and quiets down. They finally get the picture she is perturbed.

  Steve looks at his group and then at Idris. “Um, we were told to report here?”

  Idris finally looks at Steve. “And who might we be, sir?”

  “Uh, I’m Steve. This is Harrison, Jen, and Matt. We’re the ones from Earth?”

  “Really? I would have never guessed.” She pauses. “Well, what I see is a group of Flight Midshipmen.” Idris repositions herself behind her desk and stands straight. “When reporting for duty, Midshipmen will enter quietly, single file, junior to senior, assume a line of attention at your stations, and properly present yourselves for instruction.”

  The group is a little confused. Steve looks a bit uncomfortable, but addresses that.

  “Uh, ma’am, we’re not sure what exactly you mean by that?”

  “You are Oasis Flight Midshipmen,” Idris says. “You may report yourselves by that title.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Steve says, and then clears his throat. “Ma’am, Oasis Flight Midshipmen reporting for duty.”

  “Very well, Midshipmen, be seated.”

  In the hall, Chaz is unsure why Dev called. “Did you just call to chat?”

  “I’m trying to spare you from Idris dressing down the Mids.”

  “Huh?”

  “I would imagine she’s schooling them on how to report for duty.”

  Chaz laughs. “Ah, well, thanks. Last thing I need is to relive my first traumatic days at the Naval Academy.”

  “In future, you should always enter last. Give Steve the nod to present the class, then sit. You outrank Idris, so she’ll sit when you do.”

  “Okay.”

  “Any problems with the Quartermaster?”

  “None. They had a ton of stuff for us.”

  “Standard outfitting.”

  “A Grenadier from the Infantry came and took the flight attendants somewhere.”

  “Yeah, we don’t mix officers and enlisted classes.”

  “They’re not going to boot camp, are they?”

  “No, don’t worry. They’ll assess their skills and figure out what to do with them.”

  “She said she’d have them back by the end of the duty.”

  “That means end of duty day.”

  “Okay. Uh, do you think I should go in?”

  “You should be fine by now. Idris doesn’t embellish. Have a good class. I’ll see you later.”

  Chaz laughs. “Roger that, Dev. Ciao.” Chaz stows his device and heads to the classroom door and discreetly peers through the porthole. He sees the class is seated and that Idris is speaking to them.

  “I, therefore, trust our next instruction period will be much improved.” Idris concludes her introductory diatribe, satisfied her words have sunk in. Chaz enters. Idris glares at the group. “Commander on deck!” Almost by instinct, the Oasis Mids get to their feet in some form of attention. “Commander Chaz, very good to see you, sir.”

  “Lieutenant Idris. Did I miss anything?”

  “Nothing you are not keenly aware of already, sir.”

  “We’ll work on their military comportment.”

  “We will have to.”

  Chaz motions to the empty student station in front of Steve. Idris nods. After Chaz sits, Idris continues.

  “Well, Midshipmen, I am Leftenant Idris Adelle. I am a senior academics instructor. As Midshipmen, you are to refer to me as Leftenant, Leftenant Adelle, or ma’am. Midshipmen do not have the leisure of using a commissioned officer’s first name.

  “As of this day, you are now Flight Midshipmen. I, along with Flight Commander Caelestis and Lieutenant Commander Ronaldi, have all contributed to your training syllabus. You are already Flight Officers, of a sort, on Earth. However, you are newcomers to our system, and, with the exception of Commander Ronaldi, none of you have military service. Normally, Midshipmen train in a rigorous course of study over four Tertian years. There are stark differences in our technologies, operations, and general codes of conduct. Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of time to fully integrate our two disparate methodologies. You have been tasked with saving your world. I will do everything in my power to see that you succeed. To that end, you can expect a taxing course of study.

  “It is my understanding your flight experience will give you certain advantages over your counterparts here. That will not be enough. The Admiralty will not hand over a Crown fighter to anyone unsuccessful in completing every aspect of flight training. You will learn military operations. You will learn stellar navigation. You will learn every aspect of our flight technology. And though military service may be foreign to you, fear not, you will learn soon enough.

  “In addition to being one of your senior instructors, I am also to serve as your squadron’s TECHO, that is, Technology Officer on Earth, responsible for maintaining your fighters and tending to all items of a technical nature.” Idris paces around her desk as she speaks. “Obviously, we find ourselves in a rather unique situation. Candidates from all over the Crown compete for precious few appointments to our military’s academic Citadel on Bellerophon. Even fewer go on to the Crown’s flight program. Fewer yet become combat pilots. Now, from what I know of Earth, it is polluted, overcrowded, and suffers from a criminal lack of foresight. That being said, you’ve managed to break free the confines of Earth, cross the great void, and assume an awesome responsibility.” She smiles. “Most admirable. You have impressed Commander Caelestis, one of our finest officers. I have no intention of disappointing him.” Idris pauses to let that sink in. “Now, Midshipmen, Commander Chaz, we shall begin.” Idris cues up the training syllabus at her station. The information appears on holographic blackboards behind her

  “Now, then, there is an inordinate amount of information to convey to you. You are here primarily to become combat pilots. You may be interested to view the mechanics of what it is you will be flying. Let us build a Class I TransAt fighter starting with its most basic components, and moving toward the more complex.” Idris keys in a few commands, and a holographic structure of a dynamic circular loop and associated system lines, power, and control units appear. “The gravity drive.”

  Jen comments, “That’s the most basic part of this?”

  Idris glares at Jen.

  Jen grimaces. “Sorry . . . ma’am.”

  Idris softens her stern expression. “As I understand it, your world’s flight technology is roughly five generations inferior to our own. This will present challenges. But we shall overcome them. We must, for your world is depending on us.” Idris continues, “You each know how to fly your aircraft, of which I will no doubt have many questions. I, in turn, will teach you the mechanics behind ours. While I am not a combat pilot, I am fully familiar with all systems and the various training ships you will be operating here in the Crown.” She surveys the worried expressions from her pupils, all of whom are somewhat slumped in their seats, not at all the composure she would expect from Midshipmen of the Crown. Even Chaz has an in-over-his-head look on his face. Idris puts down her pad and sits against her desktop. “This will be a journey of discovery, for all of us. Do not slouch. You have a skill set that few people can ever hope to achieve. You’re at the beginning of a grand adventure that will change the destiny of your world. Remember that. Aviators of the Crown are confident, spirited people.”

  The group feels a little better and even sits up straighter.

  Idris picks up her pad and continues. “So, let us continue with the general overview of the various system components in the TransAt fighter. Now, I am told your world does not have an operational zero-gravity system. You may be interested to know there are, in fact, several ways to manipulate gravitational fields. The most basic is electromagnetic repulsion. Ours is the more advanced graviton system.” She explains further, “Gravitons are subatomic particles, that en masse, make up gravitation. The most stable gravity drives are closed systems, encapsulating a captured supply of isolat
ed gravitons.” She continues, “By applying an energy field to invert rotation, a counter effect is produced. Our vertical maneuvering systems utilize a combination of vectored propulsion and gravity wave displacement. This is a system you must master in order to operate our ships. We use gravitation for lift, and conversely, to anchor vessels to the surface in a condition called Grav-Lock, whereby the system is energized positively to overmatch local touch down gravity. It is worth noting that applying a positive gravitational field requires less energy, but delivers an almost exponential response from the system.”

  Steve and Chaz exchange a glance, since they’ve both seen what the Grav-Lock mode can do in real life.

  Idris programs the next ‘simplest’ system in the holographic layer. “Positron-based reaction and energy distribution system.” The image appears alone, above the gravity system, then meshes together with it. “This is the core component responsible for generating the energy required to power all systems beyond battery power.” Idris keys the pad. “Atmospheric conditioning system is shown here; external collection vents, particle separators, storage tanks, thermal regulation and distribution ports. Next, your weapons system.” The group watches as the holographic layer encompasses the entire weapons system. “The TransAt Crown fighter has dual multi-mode kinetic energy cannons as well as transonic projectile guns, and a ship-to-target guided missile package.” The holographic image reduces in scale and then meshes together with the previous systems. “Detection, communications, avionic and analytic systems . . . Propulsion system components are next, and include four photon propulsion drives. TransAtmospheric, deep space, and fully compression-capable. Internal engine turbines attract and capture gaseous compounds from both atmospheres and in the shallows of space. I understand your turbines are rotating disks that mechanically draw and compress atmospheric gasses. Our turbines are solid state units, which accomplish the same task through a series of rotary wave generators, compressing gasses and separating them into subatomic components and then igniting them inside a photonic propulsion core.

  “Atmospheric engine vents are used to cool the reaction system and engine components located fore and aft of the ignition system. Atmospheric operations require a constant flow of cooling air around the engine cores, otherwise your engines will overheat and become damaged. These four powerful engines propel your fighter to speeds never before attainable.” The cutaway holographic image shows the engine cores to be a combination of wedge-like pylons surrounding a central axis, followed by a concentric series of round components, photon ignition core, thruster expansion channels and, finally, the engine discharge vents. The image adjusts its scale and settles into the holographic blueprint, little by little creating an image that is starting to look like a fighter. “Finally, TransAtmospheric combat fuselage and canopy.”