Interstellar Starpilots

by F Stephan

  Brian followed him out of his room, tired of his endless studies. It sounded so true, and he was so fed up by the entire process. They walked down to the harbor, where Alvam led them to a small café in a backstreet. He ordered a few drinks for everyone and began telling them of the different trading families and how they worked, each in its own fashion.

  “We were free in the stars, running our trade ships where we wanted, visiting world after world. Once . . .” Brian was fascinated by the vivid tales brought to life by Alvam. This was one life he could have dreamed of.

  He awoke the next morning with a pounding headache that stayed with him for the entire day, despite his nanites, which should have cured him quickly. They had become unreliable in all activities, or so it seemed. This was weird, as he hadn’t drunk that much.

  When another pilot, a friend of Alvam’s called Delvem, invited him to come with him the next night, he went, just for a breath of fresh air. And the night after again. He felt safer there, less threatened, and it was good to be among friends, listening to all those stories, the first voyage to Ullem and the founding of the Federation.

  Three days later, all pilots were called to one of the underground gymnasiums. In front of the doors, a very tall man waited for them. He had a beaked nose and hollow cheeks, and his hair was combed to make him look like an eagle. Brian had heard of him, Greatwings Soum, the academy doctor coming from Raml in the Baol Sector. He was a stern and haughty man, one of the rare inhabitants from Raml to work for the Federation.

  When they were all assembled, he raised his hands and around him flames shot from floor to ceilings. Brian remembered his burns during the invasion of Chicago by critters, and he recoiled in fear.

  “When you leave the quiet comfort of our secure systems, you’ll face the unexpected. Space is for all of you a void place. Why isn’t that true?” His voice was high pitched and hard on everyone.

  Alvam was the first to answer, apparently undisturbed by Greatwings Soum’s voice. “Because all of us use trade route designed by the Ancients. They were designed to give access to many resources.”

  “Good, trade master’s son. Radiation, rocks, fire. That’s what you’ll meet on those paths. This exercise will help you face the fire. In your genes, you bear an instinct for fear of fire. But your nanites can protect you from it entirely. You’ll activate them, and you’ll cross the corridor behind me bathed in fire. Countless pilots have done so, and you can too. If you can’t, your place isn’t here.”

  Brian gulped. His nanites were not reliable, he was tired from his previous night out, and his scorched skin remembered the pain. He looked around for reassurance. Shanak exulted confidence, as he had expected. Illoma and Sonter seemed apprehensive but determined. Poulem, Alvam, and the other core pilots looked blasé. They’ve probably gone through this already, cheaters.

  When his turn came, Brian activated his nanites, closed his eyes, and began to walk toward the fire, as time extended itself and his feelings of dread increased.

  In front of me, I draw a grid of heat. I can navigate the best path into it. The heat is intense. Three steps straight ahead, one on the right, crouch, crawl, up again, jump.

  The heat is so strong, my head aches. No, fire blocks this path. Backtrack. Another blockade. The only way is to cross the fire. I can’t do that. My nanites can’t block the damages.

  Suddenly, Brian lost his grip on his nanites. Heat surrounded him. Remembering the last path through he had seen, he rushed forward, protecting his head with his arms. He emerged from the flames on fire, and the doctor met him with a spray of water, hard and cold.

  “Boy, what happened to you?” The voice was a shriek, hurting him even more. The doctor studied him, applying patches to his arms, legs, and face. “You’re severely burned. What are your nanites doing?”

  “I don’t know, sir.” Brian took an instant to catch his breath. “My nanites betrayed me.” He felt ashamed of his lack of control. He looked around to see who had witnessed this failure, especially concerned that Alvam and his friends had, but all other pilots had moved on to the next training session. Only Poulem had stayed.

  “Boy, from your medical records, this may be entirely normal. You were under a terrible strain last year. Go to your room and rest for the day. I’ll send a clearance to the headmistress. You’ll face this test again in the coming weeks and we’ll know more then. Young girl, would you mind bringing this boy to his room? I’ll let your teacher know you’ll run late for the next training. Thank you.”

  Brian and Poulem walked slowly back to the east wing, moving up the different floors. Brian was shaken, and his whole body ached.

  “Your nanite will reactivate any minute now and they’ll cope with the burns. It should be over in an hour.” Poulem had a soft voice, which reminded Brian of his sister, Elisabeth. He felt a pang of homesickness.

  “How do you know?” His words were bitter, as bitter as his misery.

  “Because I’ve been there. Like Alvam and many others in Ullem. For me, I had to cope with it when I turned twelve.” She had a shy smile. “Girls’ nanites activate earlier.”

  Brian gawked at her, unable to speak.

  “There’s something you need to know. Did you hear about the prophet and the crash? You came through Volpre during boarding day, didn’t you?”

  “No . . .” Pain clouded Brian’s mind.

  “They talked of the Shadow, maybe. He was our prophet on Ullem. Let me tell you a story. It’ll be quick, finished before we get to your room.”

  Brian nodded, subdued.

  “When the prophet left Ullem on his quest, all other countries banded together to throw his tyranny down, and without him in control, they succeeded. But, when his partisans lost their last stronghold, they destroyed the star elevator and blew up the research labs. The first lab released a cloud that blocked sunrays for a century, which left us starving and reduced to less than a million souls on the planet. The second lab released a cloud of nanites, which went into our blood. Madness for generation after generation.”

  Brian interupted, images from Fizhert coming to his mind. “Shape-changing, uncontrollable forms?”

  She nodded, surprised. “You’ve seen it. We can control dark nanites. Red was for us a form of plague. They are the worse forms. Sometimes, the shape remains, and only the mind is affected. Now, do you know how we survived those times?” Without waiting for him to answer, she continued. “Our ancestors killed on sight anyone showing a red nanite infection and burned the body in the most intense pyre they could build. Progressively, only those who had perfect control of their nanites, usually black, survived. Today, they have perfected the method.” She gave him a little smile. They had reached their floor in the east wing. “You see, they exile anyone with too many nanites in their blood, the sons and daughters of the prophet. Alvam sometimes says that the Federation can’t do anything but graduate us. It’s true, because it’s death for us back home unless we are among the top ten to graduate here. You’re lucky. This doesn’t apply to you.” Brian gaped at her. The measures seemed so harsh.

  She finished in a soft voice. “They’ll do everything they can to save Alvam if he proves reliable. If you’re unreliable, they’ll expel you and throw you back home faster than you can imagine. It happens quite often to those who party too much and don’t study enough.”

  They were in front of his room and she had turned to look him straight in the eyes. His whole body burned, echoing her glare. Suddenly, his nanite reactivated, the pain receded, and he saw Poulem more clearly than he had ever. How long have you been mending what he breaks? Did he ever look at you for all your worth?

  “Go and rest. Stop those evening outings. You need quiet and focus until you regain control. We all do. The choosing is soon. I’ve got to go.” And before he could say anything, she was off down the corridor. Behind him, he heard a clear voice he knew well. “I wanted to talk to you, but it looks like Poulem reached you first. Rest. You really need it.” With that, Emily r
ose, clasped him on the shoulders, and walked out, leaving Brian completely bewildered.

  Leandra

  Alkath, 2140 AD, September

  On the other side of the archipelago, Leandra was attending a party. All ambassadors of the Adheeken sector had gathered in the flat of Dendrom Zoulvir, the honored ambassador to Alkath. She had donned a green sari for the evening, her hair tied above her head in the Alkathian fashion.

  “Welcome to my humble home.” The hostess waited at the door of her sumptuous flat, owned for the last thirty years by her planet. Today, twenty people gathered in the large dining room. Leandra had already met them all, a small community, tightly knit.

  “Thank you for inviting me.” Leandra had brought one of her too few bottles of wine for the occasion and offered it with a small bow.

  “It is I who am thankful for a new counterpart in the assembly. I hope you’ll be among us soon.”

  “We may still fail” was the expected answer, Leandra had learned, in the Rebirth faith.

  “In which case, you’ll rise again. This would only be a delay. Let’s have faith in your pupils.”

  Leandra bowed again and mingled in the crowd.

  She soon sat with the Peloran ambassador, a rather young man, unpretentious and witty. “Why can’t I meet anyone without references to my protégé? Aren’t our planets worth more than flesh fodder for running the star trade?”

  “Not really. Not here. We don’t have many artifacts to export across the stars. Our trade is too small, too limited. Maybe one day, this will change. But not in our lifetime. Until then, your pilots are your best assets.”

  What am I doing here? Bartering human life as trade goods? The grim answer was yes, and Leandra felt ashamed of herself as the evening went on and the diplomats reviewed the different proposals debated by the council. This will help when we’re part of this community, trading with them. Until that time, this is just moot. She bit the bitter words back and began to work, preparing a distant future for Earth.

  Late that night, she walked home, thinking of the strange evening. Dendrom Zoulvir had spent some time with her highlighting the new trade route her two protégés could ply once they received their licenses, and how it would help the sector and Earth.

  Emily

  Alkath, 2140 AD, October

  Two weeks later, the day of the choosing arrived. Emily rose early when she couldn’t sleep anymore and spent some time carefully preparing for the day. Everyone was to be clad in ceremony robes, with all pilots in blue. Emily had added a flamboyant red bow to her hairs as her own personal identity. She also composed a short message to her father. She would complete it later, after the results of the day were known. Later, her new friend Lorenia Perner, a pilot from Dupner, came to meet her, and they went to the ceremony together. Emily found Lorenia relaxed and fun to be with. Nothing ever seemed to worry the big amber girl, and her presence calmed some of the worries Emily always felt. Dupner had a slightly heavier gravity and it gave Lorenia the strength to withstand all the pressure in the world.

  The amphitheater was located at the end of the south wing, looking over the sea. All students, pilots, engineers, doctors, environmentalists, and the other support specialists gathered in the huge room, on different platforms.

  When all were inside, the doors shut in a loud clap. The academy did not allow foreigners to witness the choosing, and only drones recorded the ceremony. It would be transmitted to all the guild masters on the different planets, and only to them.

  Mistress Roul'al'Namer appeared from a side door and moved to the center. In the middle of the room, she paused dramatically.

  “Good day, Pilots. Until now, you have worked alone. This is what’s expected of you for local ships where you’ll have to carry the heaviest load. Now, you’ll work as a crew. In interstellar lanes, you can’t do everything by yourself.” She paused, and the audience sat utterly still. “Your crew will now become your family. In each of them, you will have to show us that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. This is now the day of the choosing." A thunderous hoorah shook the platforms. She raised her hand to show a huge 3-D panel that had appeared above her. “Do you accept the results shown here? If you don’t, raise a complaint now!”

  Emily smiled. As if anyone would publicly raise an issue in front of four hundred students! She quickly checked the board and was happy to find herself in the first quarter. Then, she went looking for her friends. She saw Shanak first, then Illoma and Sonter. All were in the first half, a promising sign. Where is Brian? She scanned the results now in details, holding her breath. He was in the bottom of the east wing, with lower results than those in south or west, close to the fourth quarter. Sonter was right. His new friends will make his life hard. What’s happening to him? He can do better than this.

  After a few more minutes, the mistress continued. “The computer did its calculations and suggested the best possible crews. Now, based on those proposals, I will call each team to join me at the center. Then, I will ask you if you accept one another. If you do, you can move to the next room for the festivities. If you do not, you will remain until the end, and then we will reallocate the crews as we may. Don’t worry, every detail is transmitted in real time in the next room, so you’ll be able to see your friends and their crews as well."

  Emily was called to form Lovetofly, a crew named after a large trade ship working around Baol. Her first contact with her new team was good and she felt at ease with them. Yet, she wasn’t entirely present there with them. She was too worried about her friends. She moved to the other room and watched, while chatting, the other crews. She felt so happy when Shanak was selected for a military ship and Sonter for a trade team. Lorenia was also chosen for a trade ship and smiled as usual. Then, she saw the call for Brian, the look on his face, and she winced. Getting deeper in trouble? Brian, Brian, why can’t you make it any easier on yourself?

  Later that evening, the students from Adheek joined together on a beach, isolated on the side of the island. Emily looked for Brian so she could talk to him about his last weeks, but she couldn’t find him.

  “He didn’t come down from his room. He told me he was going to rest,” said Shanak when he found her. “Might a good idea, from what I’ve heard. I hope it’ll help him get over this.”

  Brian

  Alkath, 2140 AD, October

  Brian climbed to the roof of his wing by a passage he had found by chance during the previous week. At last, he was out of the building, and he breathed easier. He moved slowly to the left. A gulzari family had nested there. Maybe it had hosted an Ancient weapon at some point. Brian stayed a safe distance from the gigantic birds. He was fascinated by them and came often to see them in the evening. The father had just come back to his nest with fish found out in the sea. Those birds ate fish that were two meters long. Around the nest, there were relics of past meals, smelling awful. Their feathers were azure blue, and in full daylight, they were awfully hard to see in the open sky. Who’s preying on you, needing such elaborate protection? he wondered again. I don’t want to meet anyone hunting you.

  “Hello there, how are you?” The bird chirped happily. Brian felt lonely. Living in separate wings, he rarely saw his friends from Adheek anymore. He didn’t know anymore how much he could trust his new friends in the east wing. At least, up on the roof, he was safe. Every time the birds took off, he felt a pang of jealousy at their freedom.

  “Today was a big day for me, big guy. It was the day of the choosing. You should have seen me dressed in my formal uniform.” The male looked at him and snapped his beak interrogatively. The bird listened well and seemed to understand some of what he said.

  Before he could continue, the bird began to regurgitate the fish he had caught during the day. With his forewings, he guided the food toward his young while careful flaps of his rear wings stabilized him. The same scene repeated itself on the roofs of the other buildings. Far away to the south, a train left on the star elevator, leaving a white streak in t
he sky. In a few minutes, the bird had finished giving his fishes away and circled around the nest, furling and unfurling his giant sail wings.

  Brian continued, organizing his thoughts. “You want to see my new mates? There they are." He projected a 3-D shot of their new group. “We will be backandthere. A small and unknown scout, quite a disgrace, at least according to everyone in the east wing. Once, I’d have thought it was cool.” The bird craned his neck forward, his blue feathers catching the sunset rays. Brian tried to look at the 3-D with the bird’s eyes.

  His new partners were grim faced. On the right, Liliana Nertre was a squat woman from Dupner. She had an ebony complexion, dark eyes shading into violet, and her hair was tied in an extremely complex knot on her head. From the little information Brian had obtained on her, she had desperately struggled to get out of her planet, and her ambition was enormous. She wanted to become one of the top physicians in the Federation. Brian decided to imitate her for the bird. “Becoming the medic of a small underrated scout is a deep setback for me, and I’ll find an out fast. Don’t count on me. This is what she told me.”

  Chilin was a friend of Illoma’s, his ex-girlfriend, and came like her from Pelor. He had left the Adheeken academy before the first nanite injection and had been able to join the environmentalist training. He had succeeded there, with minimal nanite injections, but was withdrawn and hadn’t talked at first. Sunray, the engineer and last to join them, came from Madoul. He was a round-faced fellow with striking red skin. “Imagine his arrival. ‘Cool, mate. Small scout, nice crew, few ambitions.’ ” His imitation couldn’t quite reach the real thing, an easygoing attitude that had immediately caused a clash with Liliana and devolved into a heated argument. At last, Liliana had stormed away in a fit of spite.