R.A.E.C.E. Genesis

by Geoffrey C Porter

  "I'm Meghan, thank you, ma'am."

  "None of that ma'am stuff. Call me Rebecca. We're having spaghetti for dinner, if you'd like to stay."

  "Thank you, Rebecca," Meghan said. "I'll have to call my sister-in-law to tell her, but dinner would be nice."

  "There's a phone in the den, and I'll make some iced tea for us."

  "Thank you."

  Meghan went to the den and called Lexi, then proceeded to study. She finished her homework about the same time Rebecca called out, "Dinner!"

  Meghan wandered towards the noise, while Johnathon came running down the stairs and almost bowled her over. He hissed, "You!"

  She stuck her tongue out at him. "Yes, it's me."

  "You're not staying for dinner!"

  "Your mother already invited me."

  Johnathon scowled and went into the dining room. The good dishes sat at four places around the table. His dad spoke up, "Introduce me to your friend, John."

  John plopped down in one of the chairs and turned it away from the table. He may, in fact, have looked like he was planning on pouting. "She's not my friend."

  "Nonsense, boy, she came all the way over to study with you. Anyway, hello, I'm Brian or Mr. Parks, if you prefer." He had brown hair parted on the right. He wore a standard issue Fleet "worker" jumpsuit.

  "I'm Meghan Grean, sir," and she sat down at the table to eat.

  Meghan liked the spaghetti quite a bit. She commented, "It's very good. It's very spicy, and the chicken in the tomato sauce I've never had before."

  "It's an old family recipe," Mr. Parks replied. "John knows how to make it. The key is crushed cayenne pepper that you simmer in olive oil then simmer the chicken."

  Rebecca asked, "How was school today?"

  Meghan answered, "We studied Lord Byron."

  John didn't answer. He wolfed down the last of his garlic bread and asked, "Can I be excused?"

  Rebecca closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands for a moment. "You can be excused."

  John cleared his dishes and put them in the kitchen. He headed back upstairs to his room. Rebecca looked at Meghan and said, "He's really just very shy. You realize of course. It'll take some time for him."

  "I like him…" Meghan replied.

  "Get your things together, Meghan," Mr. Parks said. "Is it a far walk home? I'll give you a ride."

  "That would be nice. I live on base."

  "Ahh, is your father in Fleet?"

  "No, my brother is," Meghan said. "They just finished up at Korwin."

  "Wait a minute. You said your name is Grean. Your brother isn't Jack Grean is he?"

  "As a matter of fact, he is, Mr. Parks."

  He got this dreamy, far away look in his eyes. "The media called him the hero of Korwin…"

  "He killed a lot of them, sir. He's very good at it."

  Mr. Parks showed Meghan to the car and drove her to the base in silence. He stopped at the gate. "Look, Meghan, come by again tomorrow, and you can try my wife's meatloaf. It doesn't sound like much, but it's very good. I'm sure Johnathon will come around, given some time. He's never really had friends…"

  "I'll come over, Mr. Parks. Thanks for the ride."

  * * *

  Brian Parks made it home that night and immediately went to John's door and knocked. John said, "Go away."

  "Open this door, boy."

  John knew at that instance that he would be getting a lecture. He opened the door. "I can't believe you guys invited her to stay for dinner."

  "She's a very pretty girl, and she likes you, Johnathon. God only knows why. You won't even give her the time of day. You could at least help her with her studies."

  "She gets straight A's, dad. She doesn't need any help with her studies!"

  "The way this war is going who knows when the Lithor will be back. Do you want to die alone? You've never had good friends. Try, just this one time, for me and your mother. You don't have to sleep with her. You're both a little young for it, but you could be friends with her you know…"

  "I'll make friends when I get to Fleet university…"

  "Fine, boy, do what you must."

  * * *

  For the rest of the week Meghan joined the Parks for dinner. With each passing day, Johnathon seemed to warm up, at least he stopped excusing himself from the table and would carry on normal conversation, not just clamming up. Friday came, and Brian Parks declared that they would be going out to dinner. John tried to claim bellyache, and Mr. Parks would have none of it. They went to a fine dining restaurant where Rebecca and Brian joined in the dancing after the meal.

  Meghan said, "We should dance."

  Johnathon sniped, "No."

  She paused for a moment then moved her chair over closer to his. "At least hold my hand."

  Johnathon sighed, but did take her hand in his. 'Yay,' she thought, progress, finally.

  The next day being Saturday, John assumed he would be free from Meghan. His parents told him they planned to go into the mountains to a resort. Of course they told Meghan this, too. She arrived at John's house at around noon and let herself in. Meghan surprised John in his room playing Pod-Wars.

  John practically howled, "How did you get in here?"

  "I let myself in. Your Mom coded the door for me…"

  "Well, what are you doing here?" He asked.

  "I thought you could take me out. Let's go swimming!"

  "I want to play Pod-Wars," John said as he turned back to the game console.

  "Let's go to the arcade. I bet I can beat you at Pod-Wars."

  "You're not going to beat me. Nobody beats me."

  "Let's make a wager," she said. "A serious wager."

  "I'll bet," he said. "I'm not going to lose to a girl."

  "Fine. Winner gets to see the other naked."

  He did this kind of thing where he twitched violently, and his hair almost looked like it acquired a static charge. "I don't think so. Who said I wanted to see you naked."

  "All boys like to see girls naked, unless they're a homo."

  Both his arms twitched this time. "I'll take your bet, and you're going to lose…"

  They went to the arcade and picked out two pods and put their tokens into it. Meghan played Pod-Wars on Artemis, and could usually beat many of the other high-gravity players: beating a low-gravity native would be child's play. She crushed Johnathon. He cried, "Foul! I demand a rematch, two out of three!"

  Meghan smiled and shouted back, "OK, two out of three!"

  She almost let him win the second game then crushed him instead.

  He shouted, "You cheat! Three out of five!"

  She crushed him again. This time she said, "We'd better go back to your house, so you can settle up on our bet."

  "How the hell did you win? I'm one of the best!"

  "I was born on Artemis, silly boy. I'm faster than you. I'm likely stronger than you. You'll honor our bet?"

  "Yes, I'll stand by my word…"

  They walked back to Johnathon's house and went to his room. He disrobed for her. "There, happy?" He queried.

  "Yes… It's bigger than I had been expecting…"

  He went to put his clothes on.

  She let out this vicious little hiss. "Wait one minute. We never discussed how long I get to see you naked for…" His face flashed beet red, and his member twitched this time. She started unbuttoning her shirt, "Don't you still want to see me naked?"

  A primal part of his brain started to respond with feelings he'd never really felt before. He smiled. "Yeah."

  * * *

  Jack studied his university classes and helped Kevin with his workouts. As the months passed, Kevin did the 12km run as well as the other physical requirements. The Kilken made good on their promises, and two stuffed bears appeared in Jack's in slot in his cabin: one with the scary claws and teeth, the other with a smiley face. Jack went to the Kilken's area on board and thanked the women.

  "Don't thank us," she said. "Kai paid for them."

  Jack went
and found Kai. "Thank you for the toys for my children."

  "The women demanded a high price of me…"

  "Out of curiosity, Kai, what did they want?"

  "Well, it's about time that we start to replace our numbers. Some of our fighters are getting old, and we're losing fighters to this war, so I gave them permission to have babies. I even agreed to raise three of them myself."

  "You said I was lucky to have two children…"

  Kai held his hands together in a ball. "Kilken mothers almost never carry two babies, and if they do, it usually means the end to all three."

  "I'm sorry."

  "There's a lot to raising children, especially Kilken young. They must be trained to fight on a daily basis. It should be enough that I lead. The women shouldn't have asked it of me."

  His words spoke as if he disliked the situation, but his face said otherwise. "Thank you, Kai," Jack said. "I hope things go well for you."

  "Things will all work out for the best, Sergeant."

  * * *

  Five long months later and the armada reached Orion. They knew their schedule. They'd be on Orion for roughly one month, and then they'd be back in space. High command didn't say where yet. Jack convinced Wilson to recommend Kevin for the graduation test, and Kevin could pass it in the gym, and his martial arts seemed good enough to Jack and Wilson.

  Fleet promoted Wilson to Major, a general pinned two medals on Jack, one for bravery and one for ingenuity. Colonel Henderson didn't ask to speak with him. They had a party in the officer's club, and all of Jack's hover tank squadron attended. Jack got to meet his babies. Lexi kicked Meghan out for the month, making her rent an apartment while Jack was home.

  Jack showed Lexi the bear with the claws and teeth. "Look what I brought back for Jack, Jr."

  Lexi scowled at him. "You brought a toy back for Jack and not Ruth?"

  "I got one for Ruth too." He pulled the other one out of the bag. "They're handmade by Kilken."

  "They're very nice. It's hard to find baby toys here on Orion."

  The next day Jack had email from Wilson: meet at hangar 17 at 9 a.m. Jack arrived on time, as did Wilson for a change. The Major stepped out of his hover tank, and Jack followed suit. They went to one of the main doors, and Wilson activated it with his palm print. A dozen hover tanks stood inside, without a mark on them. Jack asked, "Are these the replacements for our damaged tanks?"

  "No, these are for new recruits. The other hovers will be patched up by the engineers. They're for your new recruits, Jack."

  "You're not going to lead the squadron, Major?"

  "You'll still report to me, but the squadron belongs to you now."

  Jack just stared at Wilson, dumbstruck. A thought crept into Jack's brain. "How am I supposed to find a dozen new pilots?"

  "Trials are already scheduled for three days from now," Wilson said.

  "Can Kevin get in on them? His graduation test to get into Fleet isn't for two more weeks."

  "Yes, we'll get Kevin in, but there will be no favorites. He must survive 25 minutes in the simulator to serve in the squadron."

  "Affirmative, Major."

  Jack went and found Kevin in the refugee tents, and told him about the test for hover tank pilot duty. Kevin said he'd be there.

  * * *

  Jack got to sit at the desk in the hangar with the hover tanks and watch Privates taking the test. He added a message to the simulator opening that read, "You must survive 25 minutes in the simulator, but you also must be in the top 12 competitively among today's candidates to make it into this squadron."

  Waiting for the tests to be completed bored Jack. A solid hour passed before his first hopeful stepped through the "bays" door. A kid named Josh looked about sixteen and had black hair and a classic Greek face. According to his file, he'd been recommended for early acceptance into Fleet and had actually gone through basic instead of testing out of it. Jack pointed to the first tank in the line. "Take her for a spin. Stay out of civilian areas. Bring her back in one piece."

  "Yes, sir!" Josh shouted it and saluted. Josh smiled at the machine, climbed in, and sped away.

  Two more passed the test and took command of their vehicles. Jack checked his video monitor. Kevin was in line, about fifteen people back. Jack waited and waited while they tested Private after Private. Kevin stepped up to the Sergeant letting people into the pods. The Sergeant radioed to Jack, "This one isn't even in uniform. He's not a Private yet."

  "His name's Kevin. He's expected. Let him take the test."

  The Sergeant pointed to Pod #2, and Kevin walked up to it. He shook his hands at his sides as if to warm them up and cracked his knuckles. He climbed in. Jack saw what Kevin saw in the Pod. Kevin went through the warm-ups and tutorial handily enough. He started in on the killing. He whispered "Die," over and over, each time he lined his guns up on Lithor. Kevin played very aggressively, which pleased Jack. Kevin didn't just try and wind up the clock. Jack watched the time creep up, 20 minutes then 25. Kevin kept on playing. He hit the 30 minute mark, and Jack smiled, for less than one percent of those tested hit the 30 minute mark. At 32m19s a big tank scored a direct hit on him, and the simulation ended. Kevin shouted, "Woohoo!" climbed out of the Pod and did a little happy dance.

  Kevin stepped through the "Bays" door and saluted Jack. "Sergeant Grean, sir!"

  "No need for all that, Kevin. You aren't even in Fleet yet. That first hover is coded for your palm print. Bring her back in one piece and stay out of the civilian areas. You had better pass the graduation test."

  "I will, Jack. I go through it every day but Sundays." Kevin climbed into the tank and sped away in it.

  By the end of the day Jack found ten new pilots and sent nine of them home to new barracks as Corporals. Kevin went home on foot, with the instructions to be back at hangar 17 at 9 a.m. Jack returned to his house around 6 p.m., expecting to find Lexi and the kids. Instead he walked in through the garage door, and the table had been set for four. Jack looked into the family room, and he recognized the back of Meghan's head and somebody else's head, looked like a boy's. Jack wanted to growl, instead he nicely said, "Hello."

  Lexi shouted from the kitchen, "Hello, dear!"

  Meghan and the boy turned to look at Jack. She had an almost triangular face, with impossibly blue eyes. Her hair was tied back in a single ponytail that reached down to the center of her back. Meghan said, "Hi, Jack."

  The boy said, "Hello, sir." The boy had glasses, freckles, and pimples. His shoulders seemed to be about as narrow as his hips, and he obviously didn't work out or not enough. Definitely not Fleet material, but if memory served Jack, the boy planned to join the scientist corp.

  Jack paused and stared at Meghan. "Well, aren't you going to introduce me?"

  "Oh yeah, Jack, this is Johnathon Parks. John, this is Jack, my big brother."

  John stood up and extended a hand to Jack, and they shook. The kid had a limp handshake.

  Jack turned and went into the kitchen, grabbing up Lexi in an embrace and kissing her. Jack said, "You could have warned me we were having company. What's for dinner?"

  "I made a rib-roast, and I have a loaf of rye bread, plus some fresh green beans. It won't be done for at least another half-hour. Let's go sit with Meghan and her boyfriend."

  "So that's the boy she was after. He's kind of scrawny…"

  "Meghan claims he's big enough where it matters…" Lexi said.

  Jack's hands snapped to his hips. "Dear god, woman, you two discuss that kind of thing?"

  "Of course we do, Jack… Let's go sit with them."

  Jack led the way back into the family room and took the big fluffy chair. He looked over at the boy again, and at Meghan. He got a bit perturbed. "Meghan, I know you're legal and all, but I specifically said you were too young, and I'm the elder of this household. You should obey me."

  Johnathon started to open his mouth, but Jack shot him a glare, and he quickly clammed up. Meghan gave Jack a look of hatred, the kind of burning hatred you w
ould expect from a high ranked religious zealot when faced with a pure blooded atheist. "You're gone for a year at a time, Jack. I don't have to 'Obey' you when you're light-years away. And, frankly, what do you intend to do, punish me? Give me a spanking?"

  "She's got a good point," Lexi said. "Give it a rest. How was your day?"

  Jack turned his head away from the three of them. "I just felt it was my responsibility to say something. I had a fine day. Sat at a desk all day, but did pass out ten new hover tanks to new recruits. I'll start training them tomorrow."

  Johnathon spoke the words so fast it was almost hard to understand him. "I read up on the Battle of Korwin, sir. You disobeyed the tactical computer--that must have taken some guts…"

  "Flattery isn't going to get you anywhere, kid," Jack said.

  Meghan said, "He has a name!"

  Lexi pushed herself up from the table. "Well, I think the rib-roast is done. Jack, help me with it. You can carve it."

  "Ok," and then he followed her into the kitchen.

  Jack carved up the rib-roast into four good sized steaks. They ate mostly in silence. Johnathon commented on how much he liked the food. As they finished up, Lexi said, "So, Johnathon, what did you study in school today?"

  "For my Fleet university classes you mean? Virology 107 started last week, and it's fascinating. They've let me have access to the coursework and the various strain DNA signatures for a while, but to be finally taking the class is exciting."

  Jack asked, "You study virology?"

  "Yes, Jack, he studies virology," Meghan said. "He hopes to someday engineer a viral agent that will kill Lithor without harming Humans. Someday he may create a virus that kills more of them than you have."

  Jack wanted to bury his face in his hands and weep. "The sooner the better…"

  Chapter 20

  A.D. 2132

  Steve Creech gets his ship…

  Steve Creech touched the scoutship down next to his hangar. His lieutenant friend met him at the ramp. Steve asked her, "Are you off duty?"

  "Not for three more hours…"

  "Sign off early, so we can go to dinner. I've been eating food-bars for months…"

  Julie smiled at him. "Ok, for you…"

  * * *

  The next day Steve had email from the General who had put him in a scoutship, and Steve went to see him. The general answered his door, "Come in, Captain Creech."