Noah - 26. Chapter 26

Date: 7th April 2395
Location: City Subterrene, Europa

Train cars sped past us as we walked along the tunnel, heading towards my old apartment building. Running from the port, this was one of the main artery lines, which ran to the heart of the City and to the central station. Every couple of hundred metres, a line would diverge from the main track and head off towards the outskirts of the city. Being just a couple of stops down the line, I had decided it would be just as easy to walk as to ride.

Approaching the oh so familiar branch which served my apartment block, among others in the area, we crossed under the track and up a flight of stairs.

“I’ve never seen anything like that before.” Aiden commented in wonder, turning to see another train car blur past.

“The City is the most densely populated place left. It’s way too big to walk everywhere, so the train’s the best way.” I explained, “You go to a stop, call a car and then just ride it to where you want to go. It’s all controlled by the ‘net.”

There was a blast of air when I opened the door to the pressurised building. “Floor 19.” I commented as I stepped into the grav lift, letting Aiden know where to jump off.

The whooshing air took my breath away again as I flew upwards through the narrow tube. Hopping out when I came to a stop, I gulped for air. Being back after such a short time was definitely different.

A few moments later Aiden hopped out of the hatch, also gasping.

“I guess you don’t notice the thin air when you live here.” I shrugged. “Come on, it’s just a few doors this way.” I nodded down the corridor. The door slid open as I approached, revealing the familiar living room. A large window dominated the far wall, a panoramic view of the City beyond. As the apartment looked towards the centre of the City, it stretched on to the horizon. This was the tallest building in the immediate area, and as we lived towards the top, we looked down upon all the other nearby buildings, giving an unobstructed view to the central district and the Capital Facility, the tallest structure on Europa, housing the main headquarters of the M Military. In front of the window stood the dining table, with its five chairs. Further in the room, a sofa faced the wall that held the screen used for general transmissions and displaying anything we needed to. To the left of the screen sat the sequencer, which had produced the majority of my meals, clothes and toys as I had grown up.

A number of painted pictures hung around the room, the only things left from my mum; by all accounts she was an excellent artist, most of the pictures depicting the City in various levels of light or from different angles, but one, hanging on its own on the wall to our left was a family portrait, showing my dad, looking much younger, my mum to his left and in her arms me as a baby.

My mum had died during an attack on Mars when I was very young; I didn’t really remember her that much. My dad had told me that she was Third Engineer aboard the MMV Rēzekne, an old Latvia class frigate, when it was destroyed during an attack on Mars, when the ship lost its engines and uncontrollably crashed into the planet’s atmosphere. With no other capital ships in range, there were no ships able to transmit the crew’s neural maps back to a cloning facility, meaning everyone on board was lost.

The portrait was one of my dad’s most treasured possessions. Several times I had heard him from my room, talking to my mum through it, telling her what was going on in our lives, what I had been up to or had achieved.

Next to the portrait was the door to the cleanser and beyond that the door to my bedroom. Opposite was the entrance to my dad’s bedroom, in which he kept the easel and half-made painting that my mother had been working on before the Rēzekne left for its last mission.

With my dad apparently not here, I sent him a quick message saying that I was waiting at the apartment and wanted to talk to him. A few moments later I received a reply stating that he was on his way and would only be a couple of minutes.

“What do you think?” I asked Aiden from the doorway. “Home.”

“It’s a lot bigger than the cabin I grew up in.” He said, stepping over to the window.

“I guess that on a new colony they have to get the buildings up as fast as possible.” I replied, walking next to him. The city looked amazing at night. Tall, black structures covered with white specks of light as far as the eye could see, merging on the horizon into a feint glow. Outside the window, frost patterns formed from the temperature difference, distorting the image slightly. Every day the patterns would be new, every day the landscape would be ever so slightly different. Holding my finger against the window for a few moments I watched the frost on the other side melt, then refreeze as soon as I took it away again.

“Yeah, and we were located in the Marine barracks. Marines don’t get much space.”

“Sounds like you didn’t spend much time there anyway though?” I asked, drawing from his previous explanation of the activities his dad would take him on.

“Nope. I think I grew up half in the wild. Never spent much time anywhere this cold though.” He rubbed his hands together for warmth. Though the temperature and humidity in the building were controlled, looking at the cold, ice covered landscape always made you feel cold inside.

“Which is yours then?” He asked, looking at the doors. “I want to see what sort of mess you left.”

“You’re the messy one.” I replied, heading over to my door, “I’m the nice, tidy, clean one.”

The door slid open to show my room in all its glory. At least a dozen model ships hung from the ceiling or sat on shelves around the walls.

“That’s got to be every class of ship ever made.” Aiden commented, looking at the mass of models in awe.

“I think so. A couple that weren’t too, never got off the drawing board or didn’t get through selection.”

Given that each model would take a good few weeks to assemble and calibrate, there was several years’ worth of work around this room.

“The only things I’ve ever put together have been weapons, after I’d ripped them apart; they’re nothing like this complex.”

“They take a long time, but it’s worth it.” I replied, choosing one of my favourites and activating its systems. After a few seconds warm-up, the low powered gravity engine kicked in and I gently piloted it from the shelf on which it sat.

They were perfect replicas of the full sized vessels, even down to the furniture and machinery in the rooms. Normally a model vessel would be equipped with a simple gravity engine to propel it, powered by an omni cell, which would also power the decorative lighting.

Flying it around the room, I eventually brought it to a halt right a few inches from Aiden’s face.

I was particularly proud of this model; it had taken weeks of working under a magnifying glass to assemble and paint the hull. Unlike my earlier models, this one was constructed exactly as a real one would have been; each section constructed separately then bolted together, with the outer hull being welded on one panel at a time. Every external aspect of the ship was an exact replica of the real thing.

Reaching out, he ran his finger over the hull, feeling the quality of the build, then looking closer.

“How long did it take you to do all that?” He asked in awe, peering through a window at the realistically cramped quarters.

“That one took about three months. The fighters are easier; they only take a few days, maybe a couple of weeks.”

“I never had that much free time. I was always off somewhere, doing something.” His face dropped slightly, “I don’t have much to show of that.” He looked up, scanning around the room, walls and ceiling laden with models of varying quality.

“Well if you like I’ll help you make a couple when we get back. Then I’ll get you flying them; that’s half of the fun.” I offered.

“That’d be nice.” He replied with a smile.

Behind us, the door opened as I flew the model back to its stand and shut it down. Looking back, Aiden quickly snapped to attention as my father walked in.

“Back so soon? Couldn’t cope without your dear old dad?” He asked with a laugh as he quickly walked over and gathered me up in a hug. “Who’s your friend?” he asked, looking over at Aiden and telling him to relax with a smile and a small wave.

“Dad, this is Aiden, my roommate. Aiden, this is my dad.” I introduced them to each other, Aiden shaking my dad’s hand when offered.

“Pleased to meet you, Sir.” Aiden said as he stood at ease.

“Well you’re very formal, for a pilot, aren’t you?” my dad asked with a smile. Though formal procedures were technically universal, some divisions used them much more or less than others. While Marines were expected to maintain absolute formality when addressing superior officers at all times, Pilots were at the opposite end of the scale and tended to act very casually regarding rank.

“My father brought me up in the traditions of the Marine Corps, Sir.” He responded smartly.

“Well we’re definitely pilots here, Aiden.” My dad replied, “Call me Oli.”

The instruction to call the much superior officer that was my father by his forename seemed to cause Aiden a little discomfort. Having grown up as a Marine’s son, the informality of the Flight division was taking him some getting used to.

“What was it that you wanted to ask me? This thing you couldn’t ask me over the ‘net?” My father asked, turning to me.

“Ah, well, you see Aiden’s not really had much experience with combat, and I remembered when we used to use…” I began to ask but was cut off.

“Ahh. I see.” My dad interrupted. “Well, you know that they have never been sanctioned as training aids? The powers that be deemed them a bit too realistic and technically I should have deleted the schematics.”

“I know, but I really think they’d be perfect to help train Aiden.” I paused for a moment, “And maybe my cadets.”

“Ohhh no, no, no. One on one training maybe, but not a whole wing. If it was discovered that you were using unsanctioned equipment, especially this equipment, it could cause us a lot of trouble.”

“I’ll be really careful about using them. Only in places out of scanner coverage and away from patrols. Nobody will know.”

“You can’t be sure of that! The drones are incredibly advanced, can you be sure none of your cadets will talk? What happens when your wing annihilates all the others and everybody asks how you did it? What will you tell them then? It’s just too risky.”

While we argued, Aiden was standing by looking totally lost and confused.

“I’ll make sure none of them tell anyone. When we win, I’ll tell them about how you taught me and how I passed it onto them. It’ll be fine, dad.”

“I just don’t think…”

“You raised me to take risks, dad, you always said that’s what flying is all about. Let me take this one; I’ll turn out the best group of pilots the academy has ever seen, and if anyone does find out, well, it’ll be on my head, won’t it?”

Sitting on the sofa, my dad looked down at the ground and shook his head.

“I should never have used them to train you in the first place.” He sighed.

“If you hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t have managed to survive that Cannelli attack.” I replied, sitting next to him and resting my head on his shoulder.

“You’re right.” He slowly nodded. “I suppose if they help make better pilots…just remember, they aren’t supposed to exist. Nobody can find out about them.”

“They won’t.” I assured him as he stood up and headed into his bedroom. A few moments later he returned with an old looking holopad. It felt bulkier and heavier than modern ones when he handed it to me, and seemed to have gained a coating of dust.

“Just be careful, and remember to make sure everyone in your wing clears the logs when you finish.” He warned me, before brightening up. “How long are you planning on staying for? How are you finding it so far at the Academy?”

“We can’t stay long. We should probably head back in the next couple of hours.” I replied. We hadn’t told Griff or anyone else that we were heading out of the system, and though the transit records would show that we were safe, it would likely not go down too well. “Nothing’s really started yet. We’re just doing little bits of training here and there. We’ve spent a fair amount of time at this really cool waterfall and pool, just relaxing.”

“You found the falls? I’d nearly forgotten about that little gem. Take it from me, don’t tell anyone about it, otherwise it’ll be packed all day.”

“Griff told us the same thing. Lark and Larenko know about it, but we weren’t planning on showing anyone else.”

“Good, with a little luck nobody else will find it and you’ll have the place to yourselves for the year. As I recall, it was a pretty good place to unwind. How are you finding life at the Academy, Aiden?” He called over to my friend who was still looking confused by my door.

“Uh, it’s good, sir…Oli. I’m still getting used to a lot of things.” He replied, stepping over to us.

“I’m sure you’ll settle in soon enough. From the confused look, I’m guessing Sven never told you what you were really coming here for?” We both shook our heads. “OK Aiden, you must understand that you can’t tell anyone about these. They were submitted to and rejected by the development committee, so the only copy of these schematics should be in the classified database.” Taking the holopad from me, my dad handed it to Aiden, who activated it and looked confused. “Those are the sequencer schematics for a highly advanced combat training drone. It can take on the appearance and abilities of any known enemy fighter or support craft. Once it’s taken on a craft’s parameters, it will be totally indistinguishable from the real thing. It uses a basic AI to fly and challenge you; it has no real weapons and very limited Omni, but you will never have an easy fight against one of them.”

“I thought all AI was…” Aiden began to ask,

“Illegal, yes. This is only very basic, only able to analyse your movements and attempt to come up with a way to beat you, it’s perfectly safe but it’s still banned technology. That is why nobody must find out; if they do, me and Sven could get into a lot of trouble.”

“Shouldn’t the ‘net have noticed you breaking the law and wiped you?” Aiden asked, still confused. Normally, the ‘net will occasionally scan a person’s memories for actions and intent to break the law. If any breaches of the law are detected, the person would be immediately wiped and turned into a drone.

“One of the Admirals on the committee saw the potential of the drones and discretely inserted an exception to the law for the drones. The ‘net won’t automatically wipe us for using them, but if anyone finds out about them and reports us, the exception would most likely be removed.” My dad explained.

“These drones really are like nothing else.” I added. “It’s as if you’re fighting for real.”

“So are you okay with this, Aiden? I think that the risk is very small, but the advantages are huge, but it’s your decision; if you don’t want to use them, we won’t force you to.” My dad asked, looking Aiden in the eye.

“I think I need every bit of help I can get.” Aiden replied after a few moments.

“Good. Now, how are you planning on deploying them?” My dad asked, looking to me.

“Well I thought how we always used to do it; fill the cargo holds with extra Omni, fly somewhere out of the way and sequence them on site.”

“It’s pretty unusual for a pair of cadets to carry a huge Omni supply to the middle of nowhere then return a few hours later with it all gone and blank scanner records. I’m the port Commander, I don’t need to explain my actions to anyone, you do.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem.” Aiden replied, giving me a wink, “I can be pretty persuasive, and if you know what you’re doing, you can make scanner records show whatever you like.”

“I won’t ask how you know about modifying records, cadet, but I would suggest you not let knowledge of such abilities spread.” My dad warned Aiden, who had quickly taken on the appearance of someone who has just let slip a big secret.

“Yes, sir.” He meekly nodded in response.

Taking the holopad from Aiden, my dad paused for a moment before once more handing it to me.

“You do what you think is best. I’ve tried to bring you up to recognise which risks are worth taking and which aren’t. If you think you can use the drones with your squad, go for it, and lead the best trained squad of pilots ever to graduate. Whatever you choose and whatever happens, I’ll always be proud of you.” He gave me a hug and a kiss on the forehead. From his fidgeting, the display of affection apparently made Aiden feel somewhat awkward.

“Thanks, dad,” I replied, returning his hug, “We should probably go soon, it’s a pretty long trip back.”

“Take care, son.” He smiled to me, then turned to Aiden as I stepped over to the door, “Cadet Marshall, you make sure his life is as dull as possible. He’s already had more than enough excitement for the time being.”

“Yes, Sir.” Aiden replied with a grin, standing and following me.

“I’ll write to you soon.” I promised as the door slid open.

“You make sure you do.” He replied when we stepped outside, shouting one last warning just as the door closed to “Make sure you don’t pick up any bad habits from Griff!”

“Too late.” Aiden whispered as we walked away, mimicking a drinking action, causing me to give him a shove.

“Hey, he virtually poured it down my throat!” I protested, recalling the latest Griff-induced hangover, but little to nothing leading up to it, “I don’t think I’ll be doing that again any time soon either.”

“Until he drags you out again. Then you’ll stumble in and collapse on top of your bed. Or mine.”

“I already apologised about that! Unlike you, I couldn’t slip away unseen after ten minutes, I had to stay there all night until he passed out.”

“You stumbled into our room, singing loudly about…something I couldn’t understand, then collapsed onto my bed.”

The conversation was put on hold for a moment as we entered the grav lift and were swept to the entrance.

“Yes, and in the morning I apologised.”

“And next time you’ll do it again.”

“No, no. Next time Griff drags us out, I’m going to make sure you can’t slink away.”

“I’m not the one he thinks of as his protégé.”

“Oh that’s rubbish.” I denied as we arrived at the track and called for a train. “He treats me the same as he would any other Cadet under his command.”

“Oh really? Well has he dragged your other friends out drinking? Does he parade them to Commander Soyuzova?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, I don’t know, I’m not with them all the time. He might have!” I protested, though my argument was admittedly weak. Aiden replied with a slight smirk as we boarded the train and sped towards the port.

“You’ve flown with him before, he thinks of you more as a colleague than a student.” Aiden explained. “It’s been kinda the same with me and some of my dad’s Marine buddies; when we all went out for a week or two in the jungle or whatever, they treated me like just one of the guys.”

“So you think he’ll just keep dragging me out? Even after the Academy’s started?” I asked, thinking about how it would effect my training efforts.

“Possibly. He might stop once we get our cadets, but you might just have to learn to live with it.”

“Live with having to run a wing with a hangover? If it gets to that stage I’ll just have to tell him I can’t keep going out, I guess.”

“Good luck, I don’t think he’ll take no for an answer.”

The train pulled into the stop for the port with a loud ‘whooshing’ sound, drowning out our conversation.

“I’m sure he’ll understand if it’s affecting my wing. He wouldn’t want to make my wing come second to yours.”

“That’s true. I don’t think that Commander Soyuzova would ever let him hear the end of it.”

“Well there’s not much chance of my wing losing regardless, not with these.” I tapped the pocket containing the holopad.

“That is so not fair. Your wing will be like experienced fighters, I’ll be stuck with standard drones.”

“You’ll just have to learn everything you can when we’re training you up then, won’t you?” I grinned back.

“When are you thinking we’ll be able to test them out?” He asked eagerly.

“I think we’ll be all flown out when we get back. Maybe next cycle?” I suggested. After already flying for nearly four hours to get here, and with a further four still to go to get back to New Moscow, including navigating the wormhole, I knew I’d be exhausted when we arrived.

“Sounds good to me.” Aiden replied.

“Do you want to take the lead this time?” I offered. Though the experience would help him, it wasn’t an entirely unselfish offer; as a wing leader, even of just a couple of ships, you have to be keeping a constant eye on your scanners, authorising any vessels in range and monitoring communications for anyone hailing the group. Being just a wing member would allow me relax much more.

“Uh, sure. I can do that. Um, I don’t know about the wormhole though. Could you maybe…?” He asked.

“Sure. I’ll lead us through.” I agreed, understanding what he meant. Though I had no more experience than him, he seemed to lack confidence at times.

“Thanks.” He replied as we entered the hangar. Both Mjolnir and Thunderbolt were at the far end of the expansive cavern. As we walked towards our ships, I turned around and waved at the windows of the control room. I didn’t see if anyone waved back or not, but it was something I had always done whenever I left here since I was a child.

I began my pre-flight checks of Mjolnir as soon as I got to it; checking the landing gear, cannon shrouds, missile bay covers and ensuring that there were no loose armour plates. Happy that the ship was in good shape, I hopped into the pilot’s seat and initiated the control system tests. The engines flared up and each thruster was individually tested, ensuring it was clear and operating within normal strengths. Since Lark’s last tinkering session, every thruster had started throwing the same error message up, indicating that its output exceeded the original design. Ignoring the error messages, I strapped myself in and closed the canopy.

Looking over to Aiden, I saw his canopy close and, giving him a thumbs-up awaited his command to lift off.