DaydreamChronicles

Episode 9: Just Cause

The fleet prepared for the jump to coordinates near the colony Proxima Centauri One. Our mission was to strike down the entire colony which was once under the protectorate. Any ships who opposed us were to be destroyed as well. The harsh repercussions of their break away from Starlance were also due to them being accused of attacks against other colonies. Strangely enough Alpha Centauri Twelve was among those colonies that also broke off from the protectorate. They would not choose to ally themselves with the liberation front if they were the perpetrators of such violence. The Captain was aware of this. I am still on the bridge with her, talking about battle strategy.

“I honestly believe they will not strike first, they asked for a peaceful transition. Why would they engage us?”, I explained my point to the Captain and she listened intently.

“This will not be an easy mission. I myself do not want this, it is needless violence.”

Major Caplan added, “Of course it is needless, Starlance was meant as a promoter of peace not war. High Command is making a mistake.”

Then, in a sudden and unexpected move Lieutenant Colton rose from his chair, drew his weapon and threatened Major Caplan. “This is why I was assigned here, to ensure you would follow the orders of high command.”

“What is the meaning of this?! How dare you threaten a fellow officer!”, the Captain screamed at Colton.

“I’m sorry for this Captain but I must relieve you of duty, you are not fit to lead this fleet, nor this vessel.”

“I will not permit this, Captain Villanova has done what is best for all of us.”, declared Vance.

The tense moment put everyone on edge and halted the preparations on the bridge. A message arrived from the other ships, they were ready and in position for the jump. The simple yet short diversion was enough for Major Caplan to lunge at Colton. He received a shot but it gave me time to help him and pin the Lieutenant down.

“Major, are you alright?”, I asked worried.

“It is only a scratch, these pulse pistols are not too…”, he seemed to space out a little. Pulse pistols can stun but only after a number of shots. He shook his head and continued, “…strong, I have had whiskey that’s stronger than that, ha!”

I was relieved that Vance kept his sense of humor. A security team arrived and took the Lieutenant to the brig. Captain Villanova had been expecting something like this though not from a bridge officer. With Colton out of the way we decided it was time to brief the Captain on our research. Although she wasn’t too happy for us taking matters into our own hands, she praised our courage to stand up for what is right.

“You did well, but now we must decide on what to do about our orders. I am not fond of attacking innocent people. What do you suggest Ensign Adrian?”

“Ma’am, Starlance High Command is making a mistake. This battle could end up igniting a war. I think we should go to the location but we should not battle the Centauri Liberation Front. This could give us time to see how Starlance will proceed.”

“War may be upon us regardless of our actions, but you are right. Communications! Order the fleet to make the jump and to stand by as soon as they arrive at the location”

The Proxima Eclipse completed the undocking procedures and moved to the jump point. It was great to see the carrier in full operation. On the other end the ships arrived and reported that an attack had already commenced. Proxima Centauri One was under attack by some ships of unknown designation. They did not identify themselves either yet their attack against the colony was relentless. A total of three ships were attacking while four smaller assault vessels defended the colony.

When the carrier made its entrance I told the Captain that one of the ships resembled a modified Starlance battle cruiser similar to the one used to attack Alpha Centauri Twelve. In fact it was, as our scans revealed. Without hesitation Villanova ordered the ships to defend the colony from the attackers. Now I had a new mission, to protect the colony from harm by destroying this enemy.

“To all vessels in this sector, this is Captain Patricia Villanova of the Starlance carrier Proxima Eclipse. We will defend this colony for the sake of peace. The Centauri Liberation Front is not a hostile force and thus deserves no violence against them. To the ships that are attacking the colony, withdraw immediately or you will be fired upon.”

The attacking ships did not respond so our mission commenced. I launched in the Star Shadow from hangar bay sixteen along with my fellow pilots of Squadron Sigma. The tension mounted as we saw the battle from afar. Some explosions from missiles could be seen hitting the colony’s energy shield. A transmission from the colony arrived thanking us for our support. Considering the reputation of Starlance I’m sure many of them are weary of our presence.

Our battle strategy was clear, we needed to eliminate the ships attacking the colony or find a way to make them disengage. The two battle cruisers from our fleet closed in and began their assault. All sixteen squadrons of fighters were deployed to help. Some bombing runs were made by Squadron Delta and already the tide was turning. The biggest problem was that regardless of our attack the ships made no changes. Their assault on the colony continued. At this rate its shields would collapse in less than an hour. Additionally the enemy fighters began to clash against our own. As I moved around avoiding enemy fire I saw the Proxima Eclipse moving closer to the colony.

After some time many enemy fighters had been destroyed or heavily damaged. The larger vessels remained, though they too had taken heavy fire. Two had nearly lost their shielding and the main battle cruiser had completely lost theirs. Without shields the outer hull of the ship was now vulnerable. I took the opportunity to target the bridge and destroy its command capabilities. A charged shot from the plasma cannon did the trick. The destruction of the bridge prompted what fighters remained to begin a ruthless assault on the colony. It was clear that they would try to complete their mission until the end. To my surprise not only did they assault the colony with what they had, some fighters were crashing into the energy shield. The colony reported that its shields would only survive for a few more minutes. Fire against the enemies intensified from our part.

The reactor core of the enemy battle cruiser was hit, the chain reaction began to destroy it from the inside out. As with most ships of this size the reactor core is deep within the hull of the ship so concentrated fire was the only way to completely destroy it. The other ships reacted by beginning to move on a collision course with the colony. Our own two battle cruisers moved to intercept. They were able to cut off the hostile advance though the enemies continued their charge. The damage they received was great but in the end well worth the risk, the colony was safe. A mighty collision pushed all the ships out of their position and heading. This allowed the carrier to finish off the vessels.

Victory had been achieved. Our foes had basically destroyed themselves. There was no way that their mission could succeed, at least not with our presence there. All fighters were quickly recalled to the carrier. Casualties were minimal though a few missiles breached the colony’s shielding. Some civilians died but the worst had been avoided.

I was called to the bridge as soon as I landed on the hangar bay. The Captain extended her congratulations on the victory. Shortly after, a transmission arrived from the colony thanking us for the intervention. They also expressed concern about our presence there. We assured them that we decided to protect them because it was the right thing to do. As the Captain talked to the man, sensors began to detect a number of jump energy signatures, all from ships arriving to the sector. Soon we would find out who they were and their intentions.

Episode 8: Looming Conflict

It has been three days since the battle at Alpha Centauri Twelve. This time has passed by swiftly but not in vain. There have been a number of disturbances along most outer colonies and in some asteroid mining facilities. Dana was able to report to me that some of the supposed accidents were actually provoked by hidden devices. Now that the mine collapses had a cause, we needed to find a perpetrator. Mara, Vance and I had been busy looking for clues on who was attacking the colonies. Meanwhile the Captain made a number of changes in the crew of the Proxima Eclipse. We speculated that most of these new soldiers had a greater loyalty to her than to Starlance itself which made us worry. The investigation on these soldiers revealed that they possessed a lot of experience serving under Captain Villanova. Also to note is that the carrier is almost fully repaired and will be ready to depart soon. By now the Star Shadow was permanently assigned to me. I was to be a special elite unit of Squadron Sigma. Another two missions yesterday and the day before helped me to gain this special title, though I am still an ensign.

Hours before my shift began I was doing research at my personal terminal in my quarters when a transmission began to play. It seems that all monitors on the ship and possibly the station were playing this.

“To all forces of the Starlance and colonies related to this corrupt military force. We of the Centauri Liberation Front declare that we no longer require your protection services. This declaration also releases the colony known as Proxima Centauri One from Starlance control. We will guide this colony into a future with true freedom!”, declared a man with no uniform or military markings of any kind. These people were risking their lives by doing this, Starlance has been known to abandon those outside the protectorate. He continued, “Although we have the means to protect this colony we ask of Starlance to promote a peaceful transition. The leaders at Proxima Centauri One have agreed to step down and allow a new leadership, a civilian leadership, to take command. A number of mining operations will also be joining us. If there is any hostility towards us we will defend ourselves to the best of our ability. Starlance has become a very expensive operation, one that we are no longer willing to fund. This coupled with their more recent failures have forced us to take the matter of our security into our own hands. We will wait for a response from Starlance until this time tomorrow.”

The transmission ended and I quickly rushed out of my quarters. As I moved towards hangar bay sixteen the Captain ordered all soldiers to move into the nearest briefing room and that any who were working to report to the nearest monitor stations. Once in the briefing room she began to inform the troops.

“This is a ship wide report on the current situation.”, unlike before, information was flowing out of the bridge, something that felt odd yet satisfying. Perhaps this was a show of the trust the Captain has on her crew. “As you all have seen, there is a new force rising against Starlance, they seem to be a peaceful force. Communication lines are currently cluttered with data transfers and other transmissions. It seems there are more colonies involved in this and that might decide to break off from Starlance. This means that money and resources may become limited. Starlance depends greatly on its protection contracts and industrial sponsorship. If any of these is cut off then the security force will lose some of its power. It still falls to us to maintain peace in this sector and guard those colonies still under the protectorate. I await information from high command and will inform you all of what is decided. Dismissed!”

Concern flooded the briefing room. Could we be at the edge of war without knowing it? It was a possibility. It would all depend on how Starlance High Command reacted to this power split. As the Captain said, without the support of the resources from the mines and colonies the security force could become more vulnerable. This would entice other forces to take action and try to wrest control from this new faction.

I ran through the corridors again moving to the hangar bay, expecting to see Mara and Vivian but they had not arrived. Our shift was yet to begin and it was too early. Turning back to go to the Major’s quarters my communicator sounded, it was Major Caplan telling me to return to my own quarters. At my quarters was everyone of my friends and allies, Mara explained that we needed to change our meeting places every now and then. I found the choice rather amusing, some of us had to sit on the cold floor while the Major gave us his thoughts on the matter.

The new development was proof that Starlance has much less influence in the systems than it once did. In addition to this more colonies would surely follow, there must be many more which have yet to announce their allegiance.

“It seems there are perilous times heading our way. We must devise a strategy to cope with this, Starlance is sure to have a more difficult time now. This does not answer our other mysteries though. These people may have some weaponry but surely they have not the capability to build a ship like the one that attacked us. More over, the force that attacked Alpha Centauri Twelve is most likely unrelated to these people as far as we know. It would serve no purpose to attack one of the other colonies.”

Major Caplan provided us with some good insight, though more information was needed. The actions of Starlance High Command were also very important. There are many things at stake. The relative peace among the colonies is mostly enforced by Starlance. We surmised that new political problems might arise. There is also a sense of unity in terms of exchange systems and commerce.

Our meeting was done fairly quickly and about an hour later we were all called once again to the briefing rooms. This time a transmission from Starlance High Command began to play.

“This is an open message to the so called liberators. For now you will be allowed to continue with your dealings but know this, Starlance has reason to believe that you are the ones responsible for the attack on the colony Alpha Centauri Twelve as well as dealing with pirates. As for all Starlance forces you are to stand by until further notice. High Command will resolve this issue as we best see fit.”, this message was delivered by a low ranking soldier. The Starlance High Command did not seem to want to be seen much these days. It is things like this that hurt morale in these military forces. The leaders, these esteemed heroes, were necessary to bolster confidence.

Captain Villanova prepared a number of missions for the crew. With the carrier soon to depart she decided to send scouts to a number of colonies to see what was happening. Something that I found strange was that she also sent scouts to a number of Starlance outposts and fleets. Even the main fleet would have a scout sent to. As I expected she assigned me to one of those missions, I was to gather information on the colony Proxima Centauri One.

During my preparations in my quarters I received a message from my sister Dana. She told me news that were disturbing. Her nursing staff is at the colony I am about to spy on. In her message she described the people had decided to firmly back the Centauri Liberation Front. There was no foul play, no use of force or economic sanctions. This was all done through dialog, she explained, and thus there was no way the CLF could have attacked the other colonies. Dana also informed me that she was allied to these liberators and was helping them with the best of her skill. I wasn’t surprised but I do worry about her well being.

I reached the coordinates set by the Captain, this time Major Caplan joined me on the mission. His experience would serve us well, he knew what to listen for. We monitored their transmissions for a few hours. Most of the data that was being transferred was not coded, mainly dealt with simple access codes and communication between families. What remained of Starlance in the colonies had left by now. This group seemed to have had this movement well planned. There has been no actual conflict, no battles to be fought. A single event was noted in the form a small pirate transport arriving at the colony. Even then there was no fighting. The transport left supplies and, according to some data we acquired, were willing to lend a hand with trading. With all the new information we had gathered we decided to return to the Proxima Eclipse and report to Captain Villanova.

The Captain was pleased with our mission. She told us to remain on the bridge, there was a message to be received soon from high command. Not only this, the Proxima Eclipse was finally ready for launch. The message arrived, she received orders to move the fleet to the colony and engage our new enemy. Though this made little sense, since there were no hostilities from the group’s part. Nonetheless the Captain decided to make the preparations for launch.

Episode 7: Crisis

The dogfight has become very difficult. My shields have been reduced to fifty percent of their strength. I am at a disadvantage with a slower ship. On the other hand I have the plasma cannon though I can only take limited shots. The flight around the asteroid field makes this situation far more complex but I am using all that I have learned to arrive at a safe position. A strange feeling of excitement filled me with energy. Nervous I prepared one last attempt to eliminate the enemy. An ambush using multiple signal decoys fooled my opponent into letting its guard down. I take a shot and make a direct hit. The explosion of the enemy ship marked the end of the test. I am now certified as a pilot of Starlance.

Leaving the simulation chamber I noticed a large group of people watching the battle in some monitors. Curious I asked Crystal what the commotion was. She pointed to another simulator, from it emerged the Captain.

“That was some amazing flying Ensign, I have not been so thrilled in a long time.”, she seemed a little out of breath.

“Ma’am, it was you? You were controlling the other ship?”

“I was indeed. You have great skills. I learned some good moves.”

“I am honored Captain.”

“Your Starlance identification should be updated by now, good work.”, she looked at the other soldiers, “Alright everyone, the show’s over, back to work! Dismissed!”

As the crowd dispersed Mara and James emerged from it. They congratulated me on my endeavor. Together we traveled back to hangar bay sixteen where soon I would have some work to do. My shift was still much later, I spent most of the morning preparing and taking the piloting tests. I decided to stay and chat with Vivian along with some of the other technicians.

We stood there for almost an hour, we kept out of the way as the first shift was still working moving a number of supplies around. In that moment Mara reminded me that I still had to make the upgrades to the Star Shadow. I replied that I would do the work as soon as I began my shift. My communicator interrupted the start of the next sentence. When I activated it the Captain’s familiar voice came through.

“I need you on the bridge now. Tell Mara and Crystal to accompany you.”, her voice was full of concern. I have not known the Captain for long but it seems as she now relied on me more than she would her most trusted officers.

At the bridge Captain Villanova gave us a short briefing on a situation in a colony named Alpha Centauri Twelve. For some reason pirates had begun a deadly raid on it. Not only had they attacked and invaded but they were trying to do as much damage as possible.

“I want you three to go there and help the security forces deal with the pirates inside the colony. We received very little of the distress call, it seems the pirates are jamming their communications. Crystal, you have some experience as a medic so you will coordinate the medical needs. Mara, you will take command of a small group of soldiers. Use our superior firepower to push the pirates back to their ships. Finally, Adrian, your mission is to do research on the attack, provide tactical support for Mara and Crystal, and get the colony’s defenses online. Use a transport to get to the colony, Squadron Sigma will escort you. They will also battle the pirates to try and get them to disengage. I will send more squadrons as necessary but I remind you that I cannot leave this station or the Proxima Eclipse unprotected.”

“Acknowledged Captain.”, we said together.

“Dismissed.”

It seems that the pirates have emboldened or Starlance has weakened. Perhaps through this mission I could gain some more information, I’m sure that the Captain expected me to investigate the pirate actions beyond this attack.

After an hour of preparations the teams launched from the Proxima Eclipse. Squadron Sigma made the jump first and then the transport shortly after. The Star Shadow was in some one else’s hands, I hoped that it would be returned in one piece. Teams of soldiers prepared their weapons as Mara plotted the course to be taken and tried to communicate with the authorities on the colony. From afar we saw a number of large ships firing on the colony as if their intention was not to merely raid but to destroy the colony.

A report from the colony arrived. Hundreds have died. Many colonists and the government have already taken refuge in bunkers. Colonists on streets and buildings are still under threat.

Alpha Centauri Twelve is a ring type colony. The effect of gravity is generated by rotation. This type of colony is massive in terms of size. Most of these colonies are old and possess outdated defenses making them easy targets. Starlance had been the sole deterrent until now, something must have changed.

Our entry into the colony’s airspace was relatively without incident. Our fighter escort quickly moved out to battle the pirate ships.

Once on the ground Mara ordered the teams to engage. She assigned two soldiers to provide cover for me. The main target for my team was the communications center, from there we could gather the most information on how this attack came to be.

The city streets were a dangerous battleground. Police had limited weaponry compared to the pirates. Our soldier teams were far more effective and quickly turned the tide. At the communications center I saw a number of wounded and some medics. To my surprise among the medics was a very familiar face. The young lady was finishing up putting bandages on a wounded policeman.

“I think fate had this meeting saved for us.”, she looked up her face lit with a great smile and she jumped to hug me.

“Adrian!! I can’t believe you’re here. When I heard of the attack on the Proxima Eclipse I thought you might have…”

“It’s alright Dana, I’m safe for now. Do you know what happened here?”, she let go slowly and took a step back.

“As far as I know, the attack was unprovoked. There is little of importance here, commerce has been slow since the collapse of two mines in the past week. It could be a show of force for the way they have continued their attack. I had arrived to bring some wounded workers from another collapsed mining asteroid.”

“Darn, not much to go on. I have to get to the main data terminal in this building, I’ll be back later. Will you still be here?”

“It’s unlikely, there are many wounded to tend to. Look, I know that you’re on the Eclipse, if anything happens I’ll contact you there.”

I nodded in agreement then took her hand. “Please stay safe.”, she smiled and nodded. After a few seconds I let go and continued my way up the stairs in front of the structure.

Moving up the building was difficult as the whole colony was shaking from the attack. The blasts from the main pirate ship had been weakening the shields progressively.

When I arrived at the data terminal I retrieved all the information I could and began setting up the colony defenses. For some reason they had been shut down. A barrage of laser beams now began pushing the pirates away. On the city streets many pirates had either been killed or captured by our troops.

Of the information I found, I learned that the vessel leading the attack was a Starlance battle cruiser. I could barely believe it. The schematics were precise though I noted a number of modifications, as with all pirate technology.

The pirates called off their attack, a small number of them escaping by the use of their invasion transports. When things began to settle down Mara, Crystal and I met up at our transport ship to share our information. I told them about the lead ship, how the defenses were inactive and about my encounter with Dana. On their part Crystal reported a lot of confusion among the population, while Mara noted some Starlance tactics that a few pirates used.

Upon our return to the Proxima Eclipse we provided the Captain with the information we had compiled. It was all unsettling, but there had to be some other force trying to defy Starlance. Even worse Starlance itself seemed to be having internal troubles. The fact that enemies had some of our weapons and tactics meant that there was a leak or a spy somewhere within Starlance.

Episode 6: Missions, Part 2

“It has been about an hour, how are you doing?”, James had lost his patience by now. Our little scout ship kept moving slowly on a path towards the outer edge of the mine field. The short burst thrusters were all we could utilize without activating the mines. Using this method though would take hours to reach the edge and even then we would need to be further off so as not to trigger any mines.

“I have an idea, but it’s going to be very risky.”, I told James which made him hopeful.

“I’ll take anything at this point, what are you thinking?”

“We could launch a small spy probe and use its signature to draw the mines away from us long enough to make our escape.”

“Engines would have to be at a full charge in order to make a quick burst out of this place. Alright, let’s do this.”

The probe was our best choice to leave that dangerous field. Once it was launched some of the mines began to light up and move slowly towards their target. When all systems on the probe were active it flew off and made a path that mines began to follow. As the probe gained speed so did the mines and their more advanced systems activated. That was our chance, engines began to power up. We had little time to activate any other systems, including shields. Our best bet now was that nothing obstructed the path made by the probe. A short moment after the engines had full power we saw an explosion. The probe stopped transmitting data.

“Blast away, now!”, the ship received a sudden impulse towards the probe’s path, behind us a small number of mines began to follow.

“Umm, do you see those?”

“Yes, hang on.”, I tried my best to maneuver avoiding the sensor range of mines that did not follow the probe. The mines behind us began closing in faster. “Shut down everything again.”

“The emergency inertial dampeners will stop the ship if I shut it down, we will be hit for sure.”

“Argh, you’re right, leave the laser active. I think I can take a few shots at the mines.”

I was able to turn the ship around and fire at the mines. There were four mines following us. Two were easy to break, the shots damaged their movement system. The other two were more difficult as they had a number of maneuvers for attack evasion.

“Shutting down!”, just as James said this I hit one of the two remaining mines which in turn spun out of control and blew up.

“Uh, it’s too late, I can’t get the last one!”, I closed my eyes tightly. I thought about Dana and mother. How our cause was to end so abruptly and how poor Crystal was about to lose her brother.

In a very unexpected twist all we heard was the loud ‘thunk’ of the mine hitting the hull, yet there was no explosion. By now the ship was completely stopped. I opened my eyes looked around and saw the mine spinning above the ship.

“What the hell just happened? I honestly thought our death was unavoidable.” James sighed.

“We were lucky, reactivate everything, I want the signature masking device at full power.”

“Wait, why didn’t we use this before?!”

“Because the time it takes to power up would have been sufficient for the mines to detect us. Besides, we have no proper protection against those things but we can fool starships, like that one.”, I pointed at the distance where a ship, a Starlance battle cruiser, was standing by.

With our ship fully operational once again we moved out and began a number of rounds through the sector. At the same time we placed a few probes to see if we could catch any communications. Large amounts of data began to pour in. To our surprise the entire mine field, including many experimental weapons had been shut down. A specific code which was further encrypted was the key to controlling the weaponry in the sector. I decided to stop the ship about a few miles apart from the large battle cruiser. Minutes later and we were surprised by what appeared next.

“Oh no, is it possible? It’s the ship that attacked the Proxima Eclipse.”, though there were similarities I was incorrect.

“Hate to say this but, that’s not it, it’s another one.”

Two vessels with the same destructive capability. At first, my impression was that the Starlance battle cruiser would get easily destroyed as it was the only ship in the area.

“Those others won’t risk it.”, said James.

“Risk what?”, I didn’t understand until I looked behind. The mine field and the experimental weapons were a deterrent, no one would dare fight a battle here or both sides would lose.

A transport ship moved from the unknown vessel to the Starlance battle cruiser. Two small star fighters escorted the transport. It all seemed like a formal meeting of sorts.

“Ah, damn, all I’m getting is static. There’s no getting through. Whatever they are talking about must be very important.”, as James managed the communications and probes, I began to fix the programming glitch that placed us in our initial precarious situation.

After an hour the ships parted ways and left the region, as they did the mine field was reactivated. That was our cue to leave the sector or else we would find more trouble with some of the other defense systems.

With the jump drive fixed and coordinates set we began our way back to the Proxima Eclipse.

Back at the vicinity of the carrier I told James to deactivate the masking device so that the Captain would know we had arrived, though the jump signature would give us off either way.

“Ensign Adrian reporting in, Proxima Eclipse do you read?”

“This is Captain Villanova, good work Ensign, I was beginning to worry.”

“We had some trouble, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed.”

“Make your way back, I want a full report on your findings.”

At the hangar bay Chief Mara and Major Caplan greeted us. By now I was beginning to feel exhaustion, I had essentially worked a double shift. I nearly fell while going down the ladder. Soon the Captain joined us along with her Lieutenant Commander. All of us, including the Major and the Chief, moved to the nearest briefing room.

“Report Adrian, what happened out there?”, the Captain noticed my exhaustion. “Make it quick, I’ll let you go once you’ve finished.”

I told of everything that had happened including the sabotage of the scout ship and the exchange that happened between the ships that met in Sector Epsilon. James added information about the data we acquired and about the code that can deactivate the hazards.

“Great work out there, you are all dismissed. I will call you again soon Ensign Adrian, for now get some rest, you earned it.”

Entering my quarters felt liberating, I could finally take off the uniform which seemed to weight an extra few pounds. The new developments showed that we were making progress towards finding out who attacked the Proxima Eclipse. It was terrifying to learn that there is another of those powerful warships in the system.

Before falling asleep a message arrived from Mara. She reminded me that I was to take a piloting test tomorrow. It seems she felt the need to sign me up for that.

Soldiers within Starlance can have a number of qualifications. I am a technician because of my knowledge. This also allows me access to most of the ship, though I asked to be assigned to a hangar bay in order to be close the fighters. Adding piloting to my qualifications would open up missions for me. I’m sure, of course, that the Captain also had something to do with this. It seems sad that we can’t fully trust her yet, I do not believe her to be a bad person.

My thoughts continued, fading slowly, giving way to sleep.

Episode 5: Missions, Part 1

“I made it.”, I let out a sigh of relief.

“You’re late kid.”, said Mara through the short range communications, her ship was standing by a few meters above mine. “What happened out there? And where’s…Lee?”

“Oh, so that’s his name. We had a battle with some pirates. A different group showed up after our initial meeting and engaged aggressively. Lee died when his ship got hunted down by a missile.”

“Damn, we must regroup, we will meet later tonight at the Major’s quarters. For now let’s just head back to the Proxima Eclipse.”

Our arrival was quite timely, the negotiations with the pirates took some time, by now my shift was about to end. On the way to enter the hangar bay I noticed traffic around the carrier was heavy. Many repair vessels and construction units moved around quickly bringing parts and materials. At the hangar Vivian awaited somewhat nervous by our delay.

I landed the Star Shadow and made my way out and down the ladder. On my right hand I had the empty data pack that Lee had given me.

“What took you? The Lieutenant Commander has been asking about your progress.”, asked Vivian.

“We will discuss it later, Mara said to have a short meeting with the Major in a few minutes.”

Mara landed and walked towards us. “There were a number of problems Vivian, our informant is dead. Whatever information… wait, what’s that?”, she pointed at the data pack in my hand.

“Umm, I got this spare data pack from Lee.”

“I’ll take care of it, dismissed.”, Mara took the data pack and placed it with some other supplies she was carrying in a bag. “Hey, I almost forgot. Your ship is getting an upgrade. I got a number of parts from a dealer that will boost its capabilities to match the newer models but, there’s a catch. You have to install the parts yourself and I want you to get the pilot certification.”

“Being a technician isn’t enough?”

“It’s not just for upgrading the ship, we need pilots. Plus, I can make sure you get assigned your beloved Star Shadow. Oh and, by we I mean those of us fighting to save Starlance from whatever threat is looming.”

“Did the Major put you up to this?”

Vivian laughed and said, “Just do it, you know you’re better than most pilots here.”

“I’m flattered, but I guess if it furthers our cause…”

Mara smiled, “Get out of here, I’ll meet you at the Major’s quarters.”

Vivian had finished her shift as well so she accompanied me through the corridors. James and Crystal were free for the night as all the hangar bays were to be shut down for external maintenance, they joined us at one of the port side rail stations.

When we finally arrived the Major greeted us as he stared at some data on a monitor mounted on one of the walls.

“Welcome, take a seat, anywhere.”, he seemed hypnotized by the text and images showing on the monitor.

Mara arrived shortly with some good news. “Hey kid, the mission wasn’t a total failure. Lee had a surprise for us, he put a part of the data on the pack he gave you. It is pretty useful too.”

“Yes, that’s precisely what I have been reading on this monitor here. There is a group of high ranking officers preparing to make a move. What that move is, we are not certain.”, the Major turned, shut down the monitor and sat on his desk chair. “Please, continue Mara.”

“Yes sir, from what I could gather the Starlance Security Force is undertaking a number of changes that may or may not destroy it. As you all know Starlance has become the main military security force of the Alpha Centauri and Proxima Centauri systems with some minor influence near Sirius. The colonies here depend on the protection provided by the security force. Commerce flows thanks to this, though there are a number of gaps in security that seem to be widening. The displeasure of certain industrial groups and commercial interests in the systems has began to undermine the control Starlance has.”

“So, is Starlance falling apart? Or is it regrouping? Either of those is equally terrifying.”, said James.

“The fall of Starlance would promote conflict in this region. Colonies would take sides, it could be catastrophic. On the other hand a regroup would mean that the Starlance High Command is preparing for something.”, I added.

“We are still in the dark in terms of what will truly happen and I am afraid that when the time comes it may be too late to do anything. Nonetheless we must press on to find what could help us prepare…”, the beeping of a door call interrupted the Major. When Mara opened the Captain was outside with Lieutenant Commander Colton.

“Well Major, what do we have here? Teaching the kids how things go in the Proxima Eclipse?”, the Captain seemed rather jovial this time. The last time I had seen her she wore a face of anger and worry.

“Oh you know how they are, I am teaching them the usual old tricks. Like how to slip by to have a drink at the bar, if we had one that is.”, the Major made the reference since the main food hall was destroyed.

“Funny as always Major. Ensign Adrian, I need you and Ensign James to accompany me, I have something to ask of you.”, the Captain was serious again.

Both James and I got up from where we sat and moved out of the room. As we walked towards a nearby briefing room the Captain gave us a heads up on what was her request.

“I have an important mission for you, it will be dangerous but I feel I can trust very few people with it.”

I looked at James puzzled, “Why not recall any other pilots?”, I thought. We arrived at the small briefing room and sat down. The captain was quick to point, “I told you I would be watching you. I know your piloting skill is greater than what you’re willing to show. Whatever your reason for hiding your true skill I have decided you two are the best choice for this.”, a number of schematics and a flight path appeared in the front monitor. “We need to gather information on some pirate activity in this sector.”

“Sector Epsilon?? But that place is full of proximity mines and a number of other dangers, I don’t think anyone would dare go through that place.”, James warned but the Captain knew this.

“I believe there are some who have found a way to bypass the mine field and the other hazards. We need to know why and how. You will take one of our scout class starships and scan the sector. If there is anything out there then we must know what it is. There are reports that ships are passing through here. Sadly none of the reports have been verified.”

“When do we leave?”, I asked thinking that we might have days to prepare, the answer didn’t please me.

“You have an hour to prepare, you leave immediately after that, time is of essence.”

The briefing also explained some of the hazards of the sector. Sector Epsilon was a military test area used by Starlance to experiment with new equipment. A number of extreme measures were also put in place, many of which could not be shut down. One of such measures was the mine field. Any ships with a strong enough electrical signature would be easy targets for these deadly mines. They will target and follow any such vehicle, exploding upon contact. The explosive yield of these mines and their number made passing by this place dangerous. Some of the other hazards include automated defense turrets, experimental high power lasers and multiple phase battle machines. Suffice to say travel through the sector was prohibited by Starlance. There had been no word on whether the security force would eventually clean up the sector.

We had one hour. I informed Mara of the mission and she in turn told Major Caplan. It was deemed suicidal at best. There were very few supplies necessary other than some minor food rations. The Star Shadow had to stay behind this time but as scout ships go I believed I could manage. The small and nimble scout class starship was excellent for information gathering. A powerful array of scanners, communications interceptors and a few spy probes made up the tools of the ship. Its only defenses are its speed and a single low power laser cannon. This kind of vessel required two people to operate as the multitude of tools made it difficult for just the pilot. It was once tested with single pilots but in most simulations they were too busy checking instruments to actually keep track of any threats.

Our ship left the hangar bay as scheduled. The captain had given us the necessary coordinates to arrive at a safe position outside the range of the mine field.

“Coordinates set?”, I looked back, James seemed a bit nervous.

“Yeah, everything is ready.”

“Then let’s head out”, I had little enthusiasm for risking my life this way, not that I had any choice. Orders were orders and the intrigue of the sector seemed to call to me. The jump drive was engaged but just before the jump was finalized a warning sound told of a hazard we did not expect. The scout ship had been sabotaged and the jump drive was about to hurl us in some unknown direction. After a number of tries the coordinates were accepted yet there was no confirmation that we were set for the right course.

In the blink of an eye the scout ship made the jump and we were at Sector Epsilon. The good news was that we made it, the bad news, we were sitting in the middle of the deadliest minefield in the system.

“Shut down everything but the short burst thrusters.”, I told James and he was quick to respond.

“Done, what now?”

“Now, we wait. I can’t take the chance of moving around without the other instruments. I will have to rely on visual reference, and it will not be easy since there is little light here.”

The ship spun around slowly as I looked for the mines and identified their position. There was little else to do, I would need a lot of patience and quick reflexes to be able to get far enough from the mine field. Any wrong move could be disastrous. “This could be it, if I’m not careful”

Episode 4: Camaraderie

A week, time where the cycle of waking, research, work and sleeping became long and tedious. The one positive outcome of all this was the friendship I had forged with Mara, Vivian and strangely with Major Caplan. The old man, in his late fifties, was honorable to a fault and worried much about his fellow soldiers. It could be said that he was more attentive than even the captain. He would have a much higher rank if it wasn’t for this, at many times a mission is far more important than the life of a soldier, at least according to Starlance.

During this time a funeral service was held for the soldiers that were lost during the attack. It was here that I met two new friends who had sadly lost a brother in the battle. James and Crystal Collins mourned the passing of their brother. Their bond as family was strong and they were able to recover fairly quickly. They both worked the shift after mine, so we usually met after I was finished. The Collins family was about as tied to Starlance as my own family. Their path was much different though, the brothers and sister joined about a year ago and transferred to the Proxima Eclipse once it had finished construction. The father was an accomplished pilot, but not a fighter pilot, he was at the helm of a much more difficult starship. Alpha Aurora, a destroyer from the Alpha Centauri division of Starlance, was the ship he worked in.

Major Caplan ordered me to review and research any soldiers who had the potential to join us. Any help we could gather was vital for our continued operation to save Starlance or perhaps save the people in it. In this week I learned how communications protocols began to break down, soldiers were often given orders that had to be executed regardless of how much sense they made. This also affected how much information was passed down from high ranking officers to the lower ranks. The move to Centauri Starlance Four was not widely known after three days into the trip. Additionally a mandatory shore leave was scheduled for much of the crew since the repairs on the carrier would take at least two weeks to complete.

My mission on CSF was clear, find our liaison and proceed to escort him from the station to a meeting point at a set of coordinates that he was given. My cover for the mission was fairly simple, Mara was to set out with a transport to gather very specific supplies and parts for the hangar and the other fighters. I would escort her to a jump point and from there proceed to the rendezvous. The fighter assigned to me was yet again the ship I had used before. By now I had a certain familiarity with it, so I gave it a name, Star Shadow.

I arrived as scheduled to hangar bay sixteen, Lieutenant Commander Colton, the snob who continually questioned our moves and motives, was there talking with Mara.

“Like I said, these supplies have to be gathered at Centauri Starlance Two. These parts are not available here, sir.”, Mara had to explain for the third time, but as communications in the ship went she didn’t want to take any chances of getting a reprimand.

“Very well, was the captain informed?”, he asked with all the weight of his authority.

“Yes sir, here is the approval for the mission.”, the data pad on her hand showed the captain’s signature.

“Carry on then, but make sure you are back in time, I would hate for you to have to stay behind.”

“As you say sir.”

I walked up to her as the lieutenant passed by me. As he was walking he looked back at me but said nothing. He was soon out of the hangar bay. “Troublesome man isn’t he? Are we all set?”

“Urgh, don’t remind me. Remember get to the hangar we specified on the station, I will follow closely. Our friend should meet you there with the coordinates he got. Do be careful kid, you’ll be dealing with pirates and in this part of space all of them are dangerous.”

“I’ll keep a lookout.”, I began walking towards Star Shadow but before I took the first step up the ladder Vivian stopped me.

“Here, take this”, she handed me a small claw like charm on an adjustable leather string, “it’ll keep you safe, or at least remind you of this, of all of us and our friendship.”

“I-I’ll be happy to carry it.”

“It’s from Earth, don’t lose it!”, she smiled.

I nodded and then continued my climb. I placed the charm around my neck, put on my helmet and sealed the cockpit. All was set, shields were online, weapons ready. I didn’t have a payload of missiles as it was unnecessary and would draw too much attention.

When I arrived at the station hangar I was able to identify our ally quickly, he was ready to leave. I didn’t even get off my ship, he threw a small data drive up to me once the cockpit had opened and then he boarded his own ship. “How polite of him, not even a name.”, I thought. The drive had the coordinates I needed and a warning to leave all the negotiations to him. We left the hangar bay behind and joined Mara just outside.

Ten minutes into our flight and we reached our splitting point near a navigation satellite.

“This is it, we now part ways. Like I said earlier, be careful, this is a risky mission. Everything must be done quickly. We meet back in a few hours at this same Nav-Sat, clear?”

“Acknowledged, Star Shadow out.”, I could hear Mara scoffing and maybe even a smile must have broken her mask of seriousness. The moment when a ship makes a light jump can be described as fascinating. A bubble is formed that fits the ship in a pocket of space that then propels it at the speed of light. First a speedy start and then nothing, whatever light that reflected on that object no longer reaches our eyes. It was almost poetic.

My friend on the other ship was a silent companion. Our jump was easy and we reached the stated coordinates with no incident. After a few minutes three ships appeared. The energy from the jump fields dissipated and quickly gave away their positions. Two of the ships were highly modified fighters. I could identify some of the modifications with my own ship’s scanners. The greatest advantage they could draw to themselves was their speed. Engine modifications were common for certain groups of pirates who favored hit and run tactics. As far as transport ships go, this one had just one modification, large empty spaces for cargo. It appeared as if they had more to do after our little deal.

I stood by for any indications of hostilities while my very polite friend did the talking. The communications were set on a very secure channel, had I tried to spy on them perhaps they would have noticed. Minutes seemed to stretch on and on. Dealing with pirates was stressful, after all they had a tendency for backstabbing, especially when Starlance was involved.

So far everything seemed in order. My silent friend transferred over to the transport ship by docking his fighter to a cargo bay. He then signaled me to do the same. I hesitated, but he reassured me that everything was going well.

Once inside the transport ship, three of the pirates arrived. All were heavily armed. They gave something to my collaborator.

“Hey kid, were done here.”, said the nameless one.

“You have the data pack?”

“Of course I do, here take this. Its an empty pack, I had it just in case.”

“Oh, sure”, I wasn’t certain why but I could feel a lot of tension building in that cargo bay. At a quick pace I returned to my ship and readied for departure. On that very moment things turned for the worse. Sensors picked up two ships arriving and scans indicated they were pirates, a different group.

“Uh, oh. This could be bad. What do we do?”, I asked though I knew what was going to happen.

“You will get out of here as fast as you can, I will do the same.”

After disengaging from the transport the two ships that arrived opened fire as soon as they got in range. The two fighters accompanying the transport engaged the hostiles leaving the transport unguarded. Distance mounted between the fighters and the transport, they were being drawn away. As we neared our jump point three more pirate vessels arrived. Two more fighters joined up and a larger ship with heavy weapons. The two fighters set their sights on us. Missiles were fired and our maneuvering skills were put to the test. During my pilot training at the academy I learned a number of tactics from elite pilots. These simulations were reserved for those who had high scores, so I hacked into the system and took the training. Punishment for such action could have cost me, but remaining unnoticed was a big priority for me.

One charged plasma blast and one of the fighters was blown to pieces. The second one still eluded me. My friend was having a rough time, the larger ship had targeted him and fired using a number of turrets. Our time was running out so we tried to push closer and closer to the jump point. Suddenly, in a short moment of time, the mission had failed. A single missile fired by the remaining fighter that was chasing us destroyed my ally’s ship. The blast reaction was like none I had seen before, the missile must have had an additional effect upon impact. I had no time to analyze the situation, I was their next target.

The jump point was very close to me but the fire from the fighter and the other ship forced me to maneuver outside the specific coordinates. I had no choice but to engage them. Since my ship was well prepared for battling a heavily armored vessel I decided to combat the larger ship. I needed about three plasma shots and some additional fire from the laser cannons. The plasma cannon was fully charged but when I was about to make the first shot the small fighter confronted me head on. Determined to fire I pressed down on the trigger. The blast destroyed the ship but the debris from it would become a hazard as it made its way towards me. As best I could I pulled away and reset my course.

To my surprise after I took the next shot they disengaged and a transmission arrived.

“You fight well for a Starlance pilot, I did not expect having to fight your kind in this part of space. I have no more time for you, but I hope that we may meet again someday.”, said a man with a strange accent. He sounded much like some men from the Earth movies father watched.

As the vessel moved away I saw a large explosion to my side, the transport ship was no more. Once I was at the right jump coordinates I left that region of space behind, glad that I had escaped with my life.

Episode 3: In Memory of…

“You are a weakling! A disgrace to your family! How dare you waste your time in these?”, the man threw some books at the child’s feet. “And you, why are you so protective of him? He has brought us nothing but shame! This is the last day you will see me here, I’m taking the others, you can keep the defective one.”, the man looked at the child, “If you ever join us, make sure you are better prepared than this.”

I heard a sound, somewhat far away. This noise was getting closer, it cleared up. The beep of my alarm awoke me from that terrible nightmare. I have been reliving that memory so much, I’m tired of it. Father was cruel, but I was able to understand some of the disappointment he felt. He had a plan for all of us, we were to walk down the path he had made for us. I refused him this and made my own. Sadly mother was heartbroken and her body slowly gave way to sickness.

With my uniform on and the pulse pistol at its holster I made my way back to hangar bay sixteen. I had one of those military food bars for breakfast, I detested the things but they served their purpose. My shift was to begin in a few minutes. I slept like a rock after everything that happened yesterday and time was of the essence.

Before beginning the shift I wanted to make sure that I got a chance to speak with the Chief, which to my surprise was once again Chief Mara. The impression I originally got was that the chiefs would change often. A review of some of the tasks included maintenance on some fighters that had been on a search and once again the ship I had used. By now a number of pilots were transferred from the other ships in the fleet to bolster our ranks.

The Eclipse fleet was composed of two battle cruisers, two destroyers, the carrier and a science vessel. All were well prepared for any assault, except, somehow, the carrier itself.

“Reporting for duty ma’am”, I entered the control room.

“Ensign Adrian, good to see you again.”, she turned to me and stared into my eyes, a gaze that could puncture steel.

“There’s something I’d like to ask you, where there any reports of hostilities from the squadron that was on patrol yesterday?”

“No, why do you ask? Was there something I missed?”, she looked at one of the consoles, then back to me. “I noticed some small hull damage on the ship I was working on. I thought it was damage from debris, but how could that be if there were no hostilities and its shields were intact?”

“I’d let it go if I were you. If they didn’t report it its possible they were off course and had a little fun in some asteroid field. Besides, like I said, there were no reports of hostiles. Now, you have work to do. After you’re done with that ship I want you to take it out for a test run. I will join you once you’re ready.”

“Umm, yes ma’am.”, I replied, turned and left the control room. That ship and I seemed destined. The answers I got from Mara weren’t what I wanted but at least I got an idea of how to proceed. She could be covering up for the pilots for all I knew.

I began to scan the ship. The lance class starfighter had a very distinctive design, if one of these ships entered any system that was not under the Starlance protectorate everyone that saw it would know it was part of this armada. This gave me the idea that if the pilots had strayed far enough they could have been easily attacked by hostiles, but then they should have reported it. If an attack did not happen then what did? I could barely concentrate on the problems this mystery posed. Dana’s warning also weighted heavily on my mind.

After a few hours changing a number of parts and unloading the missiles on the ship it was now ready for the test run. I reported to Chief Mara and we prepared for launch. I entered the ship once again, put on the helmet and checked communications.

“Adrian here, everything seems good. Chief? Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be, Vivian tell the bridge we’re going for a ride, clear?”

“As you say ma’am”, replied Vivian from the control room. She then proceeded to inform the bridge which she did through an open communications channel that allowed us to hear her. Protocols stated that such a thing was a rookie mistake, but I knew Vivian had done it on purpose. “Bridge, this is hangar bay sixteen, two fighters are going out on a test run. Request permission to continue.”

“Who ordered the test?”, questioned the lieutenant at the bridge communications station.

“The hangar chief. Some of these fighters saw heavy action yesterday and they need to be checked periodically.”, Vivian answered without hesitation.

“Acknowledged, proceed.”

For a moment there I felt a lot of tension. Nonetheless I began to maneuver my ship into position as the hangar bay doors opened.

We blasted away at high speeds. Mara gave me three sets of coordinates, we would move to each position, all put us far from the fleet were communications would either be cut off or they would take hours to reach the fleet. By now I was getting nervous and could only think of ways to escape.

“Alright kid, were far enough”

“C-chief?”, no amount of control could help with my stuttering.

“Calm down, I have some news for you and special orders. We came out here because this way our communications can’t be intercepted. I’m using a secure data link, listen carefully. You are to go to Major Caplan’s quarters on the other side of the ship. We will meet there and discuss the matter of the pilots.”, she was confident about what she told me. There seemed to be no deceit here, yet. “The Proxima Eclipse is headed to Centauri Starlance Four. It is the closest station we have right now for all the necessary repairs and reconstruction. There are rumors that someone leaked a specific shield resonance frequency. As you know Starlance shielding is set to modulate this frequency at certain intervals, some of us suspect that the shielding was rigged so that the weapon that shot at us could breach it and cause direct hull damage. A strong enough energy cannon can emulate the energy frequency and pass right through.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“You will know soon enough, I can’t say anything else, the rest will be provided to you by Major Caplan.”

The test rounds were filled with a disturbing silence. Upon our return I noticed my shift was almost at its end. I finished with some minor repairs to some ship parts and then left the hangar bay. Mara was waiting on the other side, she looked at me, nodded and proceeded on her way to Major Caplan’s quarters. I decided to follow at my own pace since I already knew where she was headed.

The Proxima Eclipse has miles of corridors. The best way to traverse through the ship is a number of rail transports. Once I got to the port side of the ship I checked a nearby terminal for the Major’s quarters.

I arrived, the door opened. My entry was cautious. I looked around and behind me was Mara her pulse pistol drawn and pointing my way. My reaction was to immediately drop, roll to the side and draw my own weapon. The door closed sealing me in.

“Hold your fire!”, cried the Major from behind his desk. He rose, perhaps he had lost something below it?

“Sorry for that kid, I needed to be sure we had the right guy.”, said Mara. She put down her pistol.

“She is right, we had best be prepared for anything. I was installing a device to protect our conversation from anyone with too much curiosity.”

I stood up again, placing my pistol back at the holster. “That was some greeting sir.”

“These are perilous times my boy we need to have clear who our allies are, and who are our enemies. Tell me, you saw the damage on the ship you used?”

“Yes, what of it?”

“Information on this ship moves slowly, it is privileged as well. Anyone who does not need to know, does not know period. So here is something you probably missed from yesterdays event. All the pilots from squadron sigma are dead.”

“What?! How?”, my eyes opened wide, I couldn’t believe it, but it was logical. The pilots retired to their quarters and most crew quarters were destroyed by the blast. I calmed once again and listened more intently.

“Yes, well, it is a shame, there were many good soldiers there. Including some of our own collaborators.”, the Major sat down at his desk chair. “The damage you found on that ship was no coincidence, those pilots did not go on a simple patrol mission. From what we could gather they had a meeting of sorts.”

Mara moved from beside the door to the desk and sat on the table all the while I stood there analyzing the information. She added, “You remember what I told you about the shield resonance frequency?”

“Yes, and I think I know what may have happened. That fighter was a test target, but they couldn’t destroy it. The beam pierced the shielding and caused a feedback. Its shields were down for some time, any space debris would have caused hull damage.”, everything seemed to fit. Then there was something else.

“Precisely, but a fighter is one thing.”, Major Caplan would reveal the failing point of the attack. “Hitting the shield of a larger vessel was much different. The Proxima’s shield did not collapse like the fighter’s. Instead the blast pierced a part of the ship but it was not enough to destroy it.”

“So they tried again…”, Mara continued, “of course by then it was already too late. All ships were deployed and the remainder of the fleet was already firing heavily on the unknown ship.

“That large vessel was about as strong as one of our battle cruisers but that weapon made all the difference, I would not doubt that they could use that to level entire fleets.”

I began to pace back and forth thinking, then stopped and said, “Is there a way to learn who is responsible?”

“We lost our only leads when the squadron sigma pilots were killed, which we also believe was no coincidence.”

“This is where we need you kid, it’ll take us about a week to reach Centauri Starlance Four. You have to gather what information you can. We have an ally standing by at the station. He said that he needs help in getting a data pack that contains information stolen from some pirates. The information is being delivered by transport ship, he needs cover in case things get dangerous.”, Mara showed confidence that I could do all this. Perhaps my piloting during the battle was enough to impress her. “Look kid, you have skills, I saw how you managed yourself out there. Stop selling yourself short, will you help us?”

“I will, though there are many things that don’t quite fit. Anyone willing to defy the Starlance must be preparing for something big.”

Major Caplan nodded in agreement, “That is what we have been gathering, but there is not a clear picture yet. Regardless keep a look out, search for information but do try to be discreet, I am afraid the captain must remain ignorant of our actions.”

“Who else knows of all this?”

“Only a few trusted soldiers and your friend Vivian.”, Mara replied.

“I see.”

“Alright that is enough for the moment, you are dismissed. We will meet after our operation at Centauri Starlance Four is completed.”, Major Caplan stood and led us to the door. As it opened some soldiers were passing by. He said something about wine tasting and target practice possibly to throw off any suspicions though I found it rather obvious.

I returned to my quarters with more purpose than when I arrived at the ship. At first it was all just to gain some money, now there may be much more at stake.

Episode 2: Fear, Resolution

At different moments I could feel my heartbeat. Before leaving the hangar bay, while fighting against the enemy fighters and now tumbling through space. Each beat clear in my head. My eyes were closed the spinning and the lack of a reference point caused an intense disorientation. In a blind manner I searched with my hands the console for the right buttons. I needed to restart the ship or else I would continue on my errant journey.

A few minutes passed, my eyes opened, I nearly panicked. Then, to my surprise the instruments on the console began to light up, the ship was preparing to right its course. A variety of alarms warned me that the energy shielding was gone, any debris would cause direct hull damage. Stabilizers active, I took control back and began my return to the carrier. As I made my approach the carnage of the battle was all the more evident. Pieces of fighters, both allied and enemy, floated around the carrier. Much of the ship’s internal support frame could be seen as if a creature had carved a wound with a spike. Communications were back online, I quickly reached out to see if anyone of my squadron was alive.

“This is Ensign Adrian reporting in, squadron Sigma do you read?”, the rhythmic beat of my heart almost interrupted my hearing and then a sigh of relief.

“Adrian, this is the Chief, you did well, we will be alright. Head back to hangar bay sixteen, we’re on our way as well.”

My ship landed, Vivian was waiting out of the control room watching as what remained of the squadron arrived. Seven of us left the hangar bay, four returned. I took off my helmet, began the final shut down procedures and slowly made my way out. As I left the cockpit Vivian looked my way.

“Oh my goodness! Adrian?!”, there was a hint of joy in her voice.

“Vivian! I had seen you before leaving, but the circumstances were… adverse for conversation.”

“This was very unexpected, but seeing you here makes me glad I chose to serve here. Did you enter with the new recruits?”

“I did”

The Hangar Chief and the other technicians gathered near us.

“Kid that was one hell of risk you took there, I commend you for your bravery. The name’s Mara.”, there was some surprise among all of us, the chief was privy of her name. Chief Mara left for the control room. A few minutes later Vivian explained that the chief was a very reserved woman.

“She had a rough childhood, or at least so it is rumored.”, Vivian made the comment while keeping a lookout.

In the short time we spent at the control room we exchanged a number of stories. Vivian had left the academy for another one at the Sirius system. Once there she received training in piloting and technical support. She requested to be assigned to the Centauri force because she was much more familiar with the star charts of this region. Our carrier, the Proxima Eclipse, was said to be the best to be stationed in. “So much for that”, I thought.

Our talk gave me great relief from the stressful situation from earlier. Soon it was time to return to our duties but not before one last event. A call to all the crew was issued for us to report to the nearest briefing room. Once at the room we were given a report by the captain herself.

“To those of you who took off to battle our enemy I am glad that you were able to return to us safely. This battle was a great test, this enemy is unknown to us but rest assured that we will find out who they are and bring them to justice!”, the room exploded in cheers. I was slightly puzzled, the soldiers must admire the captain greatly to devote themselves like this. I did not share the sentiment but felt somewhat sympathetic with the captain, she had lost a large portion of her crew.

I had spent hours making repairs and verifying the systems of the ship I flew. Before the end of my shift I received a direct message from the bridge.

“Ensign Adrian, the captain wants to meet with you, report to the bridge immediately.”

“Yes sir.”, my reply was perhaps a bit monotonous, I was very tired from all that had happened.

My arrival at the bridge was delayed, the only working transport rail was at a higher deck. Once there though I was greeted by the lieutenant that had contacted me. We proceeded to where the captain stood watching a video transmission from another ship that was investigating the damage.

“Well, Ensign Adrian Greer, hmm. You did a good job out there, certainly your family must be proud. I am curious though, as to why were your piloting scores so… average in the academy reports. I’ve studied your scores in detail. Surely there was a mistake.”, she suspected of my skills, this I could easily see, but I was not about to reveal the extent of my talents.

“No ma’am, it was a lucky shot.”

“Yet you broke off from your mission for this ‘lucky shot’. Regardless of what happened your actions endangered your allies. On the other hand you may have saved this ship from oblivion. I will be watching you Ensign, dismissed!”

This could be trouble. I made my way back to my quarters, if they were still there. Many of the crew quarters were destroyed by the powerful blast. I was relieved though that my assigned quarters were much closer to hangar bay sixteen than I thought, and thus they were safe. The few belongings I was allowed to bring had been placed there by someone. I looked at the small access terminal that could be used for research. I decided I would learn more of the ship and its crew.

Captain Patricia Villanova was the leader of this mighty vessel. The carrier called Proxima Eclipse launched from Centauri Starlance One after six months of construction. The latest technologies were implemented in its assembly and design. State of the art energy shielding and weaponry, this was to be the new strong arm of Starlance. The long list of crew was too extensive to read so I closed the monitor and sat at the small bed.

The beeping of the communications system alerted me of the arrival of a message, in fact two.

“Good job little brother, it seems you have gained the attention of the captain. She was kind enough to inform me that you are still in good health. Perhaps I should tell father? Nevermind, I have a very busy schedule. Stay alive.”

Dear sweet Anabelle, I could feel that envy of hers rushing towards me. I don’t know how she would handle my death, I am often scared to think that she might actually enjoy it. Just thinking that the next message could be my brother was enough to make me hesitate. I pressed a button to access the second message. My eyes opened wide when I heard the shy little voice. My breathing slowed down, I focused and listened intently.

“Hello Adrian, I received word that you would be boarding the Proxima Eclipse so I prepared this message for you. I am glad that you’re still around and not being bossed by dad. I’ve had such freedom after leaving home I think I may not ever go back, except for mother of course. I fear for her Adrian, It has been too much time since I left, I miss her and I miss you.”

Dana, hearing your voice again made me rekindle that love for my family, limited as it is. She is the only other person, aside from mother, that I appreciate greatly. The message was silent for about a minute and then she continued.

“There’s something I have to tell you, I am risking my life as is but you must hear this. There is turmoil within the ranks of Starlance. There are rumors of a group that wants to take over and cause chaos in the Proxima and Alpha Centauri systems. Some people are joining up to prepare for what may come. I have good allies here, they will protect me, but you are practically alone out there. Please, be careful.”

An intense feeling of worry washed over me. I dreaded the idea of how all this could turn so bad in such a short time. I knew father had dealt with uprisings before, though not in the most civil manners. When a small group tried to form they were often labeled as rebels, traitors and mercenaries. This turned them into enemies of Starlance, they became a new target for destruction. A greater number of groups meant that Starlance was falling apart, but how to determine what would happen?

My thoughts turned to the fighter I used. I remembered the hull damage I saw, then it dawned on me, the pilots did not file any reports on aggression of any kind. I opened up the monitor once again. A search through the reports confirmed my suspicions, something had happened that later triggered the attack on Proxima Eclipse. I knew few people I could trust, so I decided that for now I would work on my own to unravel this mystery. There were traitors within the ranks of the Starlance. Then one dreadful thought overcame me. If the Starlance Security Force fell what would happen to the colonies, the mining operations, the commercial trade routes and everything else under its protectorate? There was no way of predicting the result of such an event. The Starlance was a powerful military group but at many times their actions have brought trouble to the colonies. On the one part there is a rampant pirate group that harass and steal from unprotected commercial transports. This system is also home to a multitude of mercenaries ready to pledge their skills and resources to the highest bidders. There are also many political factions, none of them with significant military power but given the opportunity they would show their true colors.

I lie down on the bed, my mind busy contemplating the future. Tomorrow was going to be a very busy day. I looked at the clock, it is 23:27. My goodness, that was one difficult work shift. I fell asleep, not by ease of mind but by the exhaustion of my body.