"I will contact you shortly with Instructions!"
***
"Eighty thousand UnionCreds for the basic unit!" Wintsun groaned looking into the Product display screen of the Data Head Store."Who could afford that?"
Galmy shrugged," Who would want to buy that one anyway, it has no retina readout and only hearing nerve connection for audio output. Besides it is made by Metron. I suggest you go for that Motorola Unit. It has Retina and Audio, and unlimited access for 5 years, of course only standard digital and not transdim. But it will work in any bigger city."
"Galmy, that thing costs 120 thou. That's more than my entire family makes in 2 years."
"Ah just go for it. I got my allowance and I get it for you."
"Just how rich are you?" Wintsun wanted to know." Are you related to Rex Schwartz?"
"Oh not even close. I only get 100 k a month from my father. I wish he wouldn't be so tight." Then she laughed. "Of course I know my Mother is rich and that most folks have to work for much less. Why do you think I joined the Navy? I wanted to show my family that I am not just a rich brat. I love my Dad more than anyone and he was a simple Starfleet officer with no money before he married my mother. "
"And you did!" I said." You did make it through basic! I bet he is very proud of you!"
"I know! I can't believe I actually made it so far!"
She pushed Wintsun inside the Shop." You're my friend. Go for it!"
Wintsun hesitated but then laughed to and went in. I heard him through the door." Mister, I like the Motorola Data cranium Sleek-5 you got in your display."
Galmy came back out."What about you guys? I'm buying for all of course!"
Limbur scratched his bald head." I would not mind those Cybernetic ocular enhancers. You can see in the dark with those and linked to a Smart Gun you shoot like a robot!"
"Sure thing!"
Narth declined." There is nothing that could be crafted to Narth and have any use for me. However I thank you deeply for your generous offer."
Narth looked at me. "Do you wish to purchase cybernetic or Bionetic enhancements?"
"I don't think I need that. Besides I have a Narth in my mind that is almost as good as a GalNet Connection, gets me all sorts of information if I needed it or not!" With that I elbowed him in the side and made sure he knew how I meant it.
I was surprised at the elbow bump I got back from him and rubbed by rib cage."Now I know why you didn't like bodily contact before."
Chapter 10: Huhgavh
Four weeks had passed after our weekend on Perryton. Owar had quit a few days after we returned from Perryton, claiming he couldn't make it. We were all a little depressed for a while to see our sleepy friend go. Especially since he had made it so far, but the rigors of training and learning soon faded his memory. Owar was among the last that left. Of the 150 cadets that had arrived ninety remained, or ten dorm groups. Owar's bed and place was taken by Kilan Gomer, from Hikee, he was of half human and Attikan and had features of both species evenly mixed, but unlike Pure or Fectiv, he was not very personal or likeable at least not to me. He declared that he considered himself to be an Alpha Male and therefore the natural leader and demanded that we all do as he said.
It didn't last long even though I tried hard to be sociable and polite but one insult was simply one insult to many and I challenged him to meet me at the Main bath room facilities in the center module and after hours, as weapons he chose wet towels.
Wet towels were widely used as an effective tool for pranks, teasing and one of the weapons of choice in Cadet Duels. Winner was to be declared the contestant who first threw the towel and gave up.
One might think a piece of fabric soaked with water is harmless, but with a flick of a wrist, the tip of the wet towel could reach supersonic speed, producing a loud cracking sound, exactly like a whip and it could leave welts and red streaks.
The fight ended with me full of welts and Kilan having a bloody nose. The Instructors gave us both two days of Isolation and then separated Kilan from our group and added him to another Company and dorm
Besides our Company of ninety remaining Cadets there were seven more, they all had started out on different spots around the planet and with about the same number of cadets at the beginning. It seemed that sixty percent was the average every Company had lost. Each Company stayed in one of the Dorm modules arranged around the Center hub. We stayed in East Five and were therefore E5 Company. Each Company had their own Company Instructor and they stirred the already fierce competitive spirit between those Companies even more. Everything became a competition. It didn't matter if it was eating at the Mess hall and who could finish faster or marching, running, shooting and test results.
But ever since we returned from Perryton it was no longer stressed by the Instructors and the atmosphere of learning and instruction changed from yelling and seemingly senseless tasks, to dedicated learning, training and studying, The remaining Cadets and that included me, could see the end and we all were confident that if nothing extraordinary would happen, we finish the first year and advance to the Sophomore period of the academy training program.
We now were no longer called Cadets, (even though technically we were) but Midshipmen and we received rank insignia. I was now a midshipman Lt Commander and my rank display on my shoulders had four stripes and the United Stars Emblem of the stylized Spiral Galaxy.
I was not looking forward to the next section as we were transferred into space again. This time however we did not end up at Daniel Station but at a station called Rickman's Roost 20 light minutes from Green Eden. It had ArtiGrav and was much bigger than Daniel station situated in a hollowed out asteroid.
There a new Instructor greeted us there. "I am Lt Carolyn Steward. In less than 5 month you will have completed your first year that doesn't leave me much time for what we have to teach you here. "
She was a mean and lean looking woman and I thought with all the modern possibilities she could have changed her appearance, obviously she did not care much about her appearance. She had a flat chest, had big teeth and her dull brown hair was cropped to a very short buzz cut. While I was checking her out as she did the same with each of us." Most of you only completed your minimum required hours at ship-simulators, now it is time for the real thing. In the next two weeks you will learn how to pilot a variety of small and mid size space craft. We will go over navigation and engineering basics as well. So pay attention!"
It turned out this was my favorite class of all. It didn't matter that the space ship I piloted was a measly D20 trans-light shuttle. It was a true star ship. Its FTL engines could push it to super luminal speeds. It was only 20 meters long, had almost no shields and a very basic beam weapons, it was my ship, at least for a little while.
Lt. Steward took me off to the side after the first week." Midshipman Olafson, have you decided yet which direction you will go? You see the second year is to specialize. Communications, Security, intelligence, Navigation, Logistics, Science, and Helm, tactical and engineering are the common ones. Ever thought about taking helm?"
"No Ma'am. I haven't really thought about that. Aren't helms men picked by their Neuro-H abilities?"
"Only for the big ships and there aren't enough Neuro H talents for all ships so there are always positions open for a good helms man and you appear to have a natural talent for it."
"I think about it, Ma'am."
The time flew and I could not wait to get up early enough to get behind the controls of whatever craft they assigned us and every free minute I spend in one of the simulators. Now I was certain beyond any doubt that I had made the right decision to join the Navy. Behind the controls of a ship I was not afraid of space but enjoyed every moment. The highlight and the end of the time on Rickman's Roost came when we were allowed to take a real Thor Gunboat out past the last orbit and simulated a battle engagement with real weapons against robotic Target drones.
I was unable to wipe the grin of my face even two days after and was proud o
f the shiny golden diagonal stripe added on my sleeve. I had been promoted to Cadet Captain and received my very first real military citation: Best in class. I felt quite disappointed when we had to return to planet side.
Interlude: Ranger Baker
The music blasting from the small specialized space ship was called Country Music and no one past the Sol system would know what it was, the man in the one person command center of the ship however grew up in Texas, long before the Galactic Ascent. He was a big man, with fists like five pound hams, a barrel chest and a weathered sun tan. He was singing along one of the tracks at the top of his lungs.
So long ago he had been a Texas Ranger and now over three thousand years later and a long distinguished career in the Space Marine Corps he was back at doing what he liked doing best, being a ranger and a frontier law man. He was an immortal, but not one of those picked by the guardian; he had become immortal even before the 200 where picked by an Alien that had appeared on the tribal lands of his Native American Grandfather.
So much had happened since then, but Peter Baker hadn't changed much. He was still the same can do Texan he had been back then.
Now he was a Union Ranger. Technically a law enforcement agency for the frontier areas of the Union but it was so much more. He delivered mail, judged in local disputes, assisted in medical emergencies. He had helped to deliver quite a few babies and not all of them were humanoid. He officiated in wedding ceremonies and did pretty much everything in between. Rangers belonged to the Bureau of Colony Affairs but had the full status of a Union Police Officer.
The Ranger Service was not for everyone and the training was very demanding. A Ranger on Frontier patrol duty was away for three month, usually alone, rarely in pairs.
Yesterday he had a long GalNet call talking to his old friend Wulf Starr, who like him served now in the Ranger Service, but half a galaxy away in the Coreward Sector.
He was not one of the famous immortals, but among the rangers and especially among the Settlers and colonists he was a legend.
Peter loved this job as he was mostly independent and could help.
Normally, his patrol range was the fringes of the Spinward Sector, but for the last six month he was sent out here to the Fornax Cluster. Sixty five colonies about as far as can be from the rest of the Union territory.
Actually he wanted to check on Cara's Place, a desert planet with a colony of less than ten thousand, at first a peaceful, quite rustic colony with down to earth folks, but ever since they found vast deposits of Iridium there was constant squabbling among the settlers and now there was a murder, but Cara's Place had to wait. He just received a call from Fornax Hub, that there was something strange going on at the Buonanno System, the space bus had reported that there were pirates or hostile aliens and the space bus was overdue.
His ship was for the most part a standard Ranger patrol ship. Based on the Barracuda Destroyer hull, was fast, well armed and had excellent shields. Unlike the Navy version the Ranger barracudas did not have a Translocator cannon or Loki torpedoes. It had larger freight compartments filled with emergency supplies, medical equipment and two LEGO Nanite Factories. But his Rusty Betsy, as he called his ship was modified by his friends and carried a few nasty surprises, as quite a few pirates and outlaws had found out. Still it would not be enough if there was some alien civilization invasion. He would have a look around, check on the bus and if there was more than he could handle, he would high tail and call in the cavalry. The problem was the closest full scale Navy base was in the Large Magellan Cloud and it would take at least 14 days to get a Battle group here.
He dropped out of quasi space. His long range sensors had not shown anything out of the ordinary, but now that he was in the Buonanno System his sensors could pick up everything in detail and he immediately noticed the spread of metallic debris not far from Planet Annapurna. There was the distinct signature of an ISAH engine explosion. The remaining mass was consistent with the D 180 Terry Finlay piloted.
He stopped the music and put his Stetson straight on as he sat up and activated his shields. Something or someone had destroyed the Space Bus and he did not want to be the next victim of whoever was out there.
The only energy signature he could detect, was from the Zero Point Storage at Annapurna. He had more experience than most men alive and he was not afraid but he still wished Dark Cloud or Wulf would be with him in situations like this.
He hailed Annapurna and did get no answer even after the sixth try. His computronic analyzed the power output at Annapurna port and verified that the equipment down there was working.
Of course there was cloaking technology and the possibility of something his sensor could not pick up was always there, but he did not rely only on Union tech but on the advanced technology Wulf Starr had installed.
He could of course report the destruction of the space bus and call for back up, but if there were colonists down there in trouble any delay would reduce their chances. Then his sensors picked it up, it was well concealed and standard sensors would have never picked it up, but there was something down there on that surface, an energy signature and it was multi dimensional.
There was no putting it off, he had to land and check it out. So he called in made his report and did call for back up and then approached the planet and prepared to land.
***
In only 14 days from now we would leave Camp Idyllic and what seemed impossible at first did happen, we got used to the long days, heavy work load, never ending study sessions and physical training.
Lt Waltham our Exobiology teacher ended his class and said:" You will get this weekend of for R and R. But I could use a group of volunteers to accompany me for a little expedition. No one seemed to enthusiastic and no one volunteered. He looked in Galmy's direction and she got up." Sir I would like to volunteer." Since she was our friend we got up as well.
The other cadets left the class room, some looking at us with smug smiles. Lt Waltham smiled too, but his smile was genuine pleased and said to Galmy." I knew I could count on you Cadet Galmy, your genuine interest in exobiology shows in your study results and I am glad your friends come along."
Our dark haired beauty looked at us with her big eyes." Sorry guys. You didn't have to volunteer too." But her eyes were saying thank you for doing it anyway.
Waltham sat down on the desk and explained." We are going to take a Crawler Cat out into the Jungle all the way to the other side of the planet. We still haven't catalogued all of the native species; especially the southern continent has huge areas completely unexplored. Wilson, a farmer that has homesteaded there, reports of a lizard he believes shows signs of intelligent behavior and uses primitive tools. The Science Corps has ordered me to investigate that and to verify if there is an indigenous sentient life form to this world."
Six hours later while the other cadets enjoyed their time off, we unloaded a track crawler from the hold of a D30 transport. It was a Deere Planetary Survey Crawler with wide dura-plast tracks. It had a fusion cell for energy and could accommodate 12 beings for an extended period of time in almost any environment.
The Lieutenant was sitting in the passenger seat, while Galmy was driving it. The rest of us questioning the necessity of us being here sat in the back, while the machine pushed through the dense underbrush of the jungle.
Waltham swiveled the chair around. "I really appreciate you volunteering. I know most of you rather had the weekend off, but this is an opportunity for you to be on a real mission. One day you all are officers and an exobiological survey like this one will be very likely. You see the Fleet is not just fighting wars, keeping the borders safe and patrol traffic lanes for pirate activity. Among our main duties is the collection of knowledge. To expand our horizons, support the science corps and explore the unknown both in space and on the surface of new worlds. Some of you might not be stationed on a battle ship at all, but on an Explorer ship or on a research station on a distant planet."
Limbur crossed his arms." I
sure hope not."
"What do you expect, Cadet?" The Lieutenant asked.
The bald headed cadet shrugged:" I am not sure, but to be in a remote research station with a bunch of Sci-Geeks sure isn't it. Besides I am going to specialize in Security during my second year."
"Once you graduate you could be posted anywhere. Personnel allocation may put fresh officers without experience at a quiet post where they can gain some experience." He directly looked at Limbur." Security is needed on all Navy holdings, be it a ship or a Science Camp."
"I still would like to know why you need us, Sir. I mean we aren't doing anything."
"Glad you asked Mister. Why don't you man the bio impulse scanner and check for neural patterns that might indicate sentient life."
"Sir I am not that good with that. Galmy is much better!"
The Lieutenant smiled." Now you have a reason to be here. Get some practice with the science equipment and you Cadet Narth will assist him. I am sure you can find things much easier with your Psionic powers, but I want you to use the scanner equipment instead."
Limbur mumbled something incoherent but he and Narth swiveled their seats, changed the configuration of the multi task consoles to the required task.
The Lieutenant seemed satisfied and then he said to me:" Mr. Olafson, this is an expedition into the unknown, potentially hazardous territory. You man the gun turret and keep your eyes and thread sensors open."
"Aye Sir!"
"Midshipman Olia Naa you are to take a break and lay down. You are going to take over driving later on."
"And you Mr. Serpin (he meant Wintsun) will take the assistant driver position."
The gun turret was a single forced energy projector on top of the Crawler and I controlled it from my console. The threat sensors weren't much good in this situation, the sensors could pick up energy sources, life forms, heat sources, movement, metallic and artificial materials but there where to many life forms out there, too much movement and heat sources besides I didn't expect any threats. There was no life form out there that could harm a full size crawler like that. The planet was deep in union territory and no unknown alien forces with hostile intentions would be lingering out there.
Eric Olafson Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 6 (The Galactic Chronicles Series) Page 268