The Asking Price of Stars Read online

Aft of the control center was a hull section seventy plus meters in diameter with four turrets in a ring around the hull. Each turret was equipped with two heavy rail guns. The guns could fire in all directions except directly aft. The section also had two drop bays for the large missiles. Next was the added extended section which made the Lady a long-range ship. Extra fuel, water, supplies, rail projectiles, and missiles were stored within. This section also held the lifter bay.

  The final quarter of the hull held engineering. Arranged around the hull in a three-pointed star configuration were three great structures. On “top” was the communications tower. Shaped somewhat like a fish fin, it bristled with sensors and antenna most of which could be withdrawn during combat. It was also painted with a wide bright green strip which ran diagonally across the tower. To protect from attacks astern was another turret with heavy rail guns set into the rear edge of the com-tower. The other two structures were giant pods built on massive fins. The rear surfaces of the pods were domes with a smooth black surface. These were the dual Time Wave Drives. Finally, from the center of the fish tail protruded the tubes of the plasma drive and the dark matter drive.

  With Kat onboard, the box shaped lifter docked inside the bay in the lower part of the extended section. There was space for four lifters, two 20 person models and two 40 person models.

  The officer of the deck greeted Kat, “Welcome to your new home, Fleet Officer Jang. Captain Gunson Montgomery, our Chief Weapons Officer would like to see in his office as soon as possible. The crew will see your gear to your cabin. The Captain said he hoped you were not violent today. Is that some kind of a joke, sir?”

  Kat thought, Gunson helped me get this appointment. After what I did to Gunson at the ball, it was a generous act. It’s going to be a tough job; the missile drops are automatic and controlled from the control center. During combat, the bays are open to the vacuum of space and the crew and I will work in space suits. Our function is to clear jams, fix problems, and defuse dangerous missiles. The greatest danger is that a missiles engine will fire inside the bay. By the gods, my hope is the team will not burn to death or tear our suits!

  At the time of the appointment Gunson’s only comment was “The Lady Delapasse needs an effective leader in Missile Drop Bay One.”

  Kat followed a crew member to Gunson’s office. He stepped through the hatchway and said, “Fleet Officer 2nd Class Jang reporting as requested.”

  Gunson greeted him and motioned Kat into a chair. “Good to have you aboard. As I told you planet side that I need an effective leader in Missile Bay One. You have a brilliant combat record, Kat. You know the dangers. Do you accept the risk?”

  “I expected to be sent to a sentinel station on some cold airless rock,” Kat said. “I thank you for helping me get this assignment. Yes, I accept the risk! I’ll do my best to fulfill the post.”

  Gunson responded, “Just stay sober. Planet side your record is not so brilliant.” Gunson then added a final comment, “The crew says, ‘Only a few people can be a drop bay crew leader!’ You must be smart enough to do the job and dumb enough to take the job!”

  Chapter Eleven

  – Farmington Capital of Vista, Mid-Winter in the North 08-13-517

  It had been summer in the South. In the North, winter held the Capital of Vista in its grip. On a cold blustery day two hundred young people were gathered in an auditorium of government headquarters in Farmington the Capital of Vista. Along with the young people were parents, brothers, sisters, and other family members. There also was a scattering of teachers and family friends. The total audience was just over two thousand. On stage were the six members of the evaluation team.

  A thousand students completing upper school applied for the training. After days of tests and evaluations, the two hundred in this room were the ones who passed the first screening. Today, the evaluation team would announce the twenty to thirty who had been selected for duty. Their names would be called in random order drawn from a dark blue glass bowl. No one could see how many would be selected. Today, the same process was going on at many planets in the League.

  Light and Shadow sat between Auntie Tara and Ms. Jamison, the housekeeper at the farm.

  Light whispered to Auntie Tara, “I think we did well in the evaluations but there are a lot of people here who also did well.”

  Auntie Tara whispered back, “They all spend three years getting ready and you two had just seven weeks and you both are in the final two hundred.”

  The evaluation team leader asked each member of the evaluation team to step up in turn and pull a single name from the bowl and read to the gathering. They would repeat the process until all the names were read.

  Munif pulled the first name, “Jillian Smith.”

  The next name was read "José Sandston.”

  And so, it went. The first twenty names were read and neither Light nor Shadow’s name was called. After twenty names, no one knew how many more names were in the bowl.

  They reached name number twenty-two; it was read out “Shadow Freeborn.”

  The next name called was “Michael Starborn” with another very common last name.

  Finally, name twenty-five was read out, “Light Freeborn.”

  One more name was read out making twenty-six young people from Vista. At first cheering and yells were heard. Then sadness swept over the crowd as they realized that one hundred and seventy-four fine young people would have to cope with the disappointment of not being selected.

  That evening Auntie Tara took Light, Shadow, and Ms. Jamison out to an excellent tavern named The Roast Vraciek. The tavern was not the most expensive in Farmington but just the best. Light offered the first toast while they sat by the fireplace looking out over the wide river which wound through Farmington.

  “Our deepest thanks to Auntie Tara, Kat, Ms. Jamison and all the people at Freeborn Farms, because of your efforts, both of us are going to crew training on Lancaster,” Light said.

  Auntie Tara offered a second toast, “To my true niece and nephew, you are the ones who achieved this. We only provided some help along the way.”

  Shadow’s toast was shorter, “To one magnificent trade!”

  Chapter Twelve

  - Space Force Crew Training Base on the Planet Lancaster

  9-23-517

  The Space Force Crew Training Base was located on a wide plain which opened to a beautiful bay. The base was in the southern temperate zone of Lancaster. It was a late summer day, the third day of enlisted crew training. Light, Shadow and forty other recruits sat in a Spartan room attending a class on the Free Space Force organization.

  "Victory, Honor, Ship!" The gray and scarred fleet officer said as he stood before the class of new recruits talking about the traditions of the Free Space Force. "As many of you already know, the battle cry of the FSF is Victory, Honor, and Ship. Remember the words. I know the cynical will say it means the ship's hull integrity. No! - It's the integrity of the ship and crew as a whole. After Victory and Honor each of you carries the responsibility for your ship and your fellow crew members. We do not abandon a ship if it can be saved. The Free Space Force has two hundred ships give or take a few. Big battleships and battle cruisers have crews of four hundred, cruisers three hundred, but most ship's crews are smaller. The average crew size is about a hundred eighty. Just 36,000 women and men crew our ships. Another 190,000 FSF personnel support those ships from ground bases and facilities in orbit. There are just 226,000 of us to defend the fifty-seven inhabited planets of League of Free Stars and the hundreds of millions who live on them. You hold each and every one of those millions in your hands"

  ********

  Eight weeks later fall had come to the South of Lancaster. A brisk wind blew off the bay as fall leaves of red, blue, and pink tumbled in the wind to the ground.

  Auntie Tara walked toward the reviewing stand and said to herself, “By the gods I trounced you Robert Singh Khan, so much for you, General Asshole, you were a handsome devil. Once long ago when
we lived together you told me, slum kids, even kids of the working poor, would never be able to meet Space Force Crew requirements. Only one in fifty applicants is accepted for crew training and the requirement that all applicants must complete upper school blocked almost all of the poor kids.

  Later when you became Commanding General of the Space Force, you made sure the screening process prevented the few who did graduate from meeting Space Force crew requirements. You believed that the parents were poor because they were stupid and their children would also be unintelligent. My dear Robert, today the twins will prove you wildly wrong. Of course, I won’t be able to tell you about all this for a few years.”

  An hour later the graduation of new space crews began. The new crew members had just completed eight weeks of recruits’ training. They were from twelve of the planets in the League. The next group would have recruits from twelve different planets.

  The two hundred and fifty-four new Crew 2nd Class marched on parade in their sharp new uniforms. In the lead was the flag of the League of Free Stars. Next came the flags of each group’s home planet waving in the cool wind. The group of fourteen from Vista was led by a small young woman dressed with light brown space cut hair and deep brown eyes with the look of cold steel. Of the twenty-six who started, only fourteen recruits remained to march.

  Light posted the flag in its holder and returned to her place with the Vista group. After the speeches, it was time for each one to receive their three pointed red stars. Light had hope that Auntie Tara could be with them but she saw no sign of her in the audience. It was a long way from Vista to Lancaster; perhaps she could not make the trip.

  On the reviewing stand was a group of sixteen officers, four of which were from the school’s staff. The other twelve were officers from each of the planets the crew recruits called “home”. As Light walked across the reviewing stand to receive her three-pointed red star she almost fell to the deck. Waiting at the podium was Auntie Tara in the full-dress uniform of a Space Force Officer with the eight-pointed star of a Major on her chest. The red star was pinned through a black and a white ribbon. Light had learned during training that the white ribbon marked Auntie Tara as a reserve officer and that the black ribbon was immeasurably more special. It marked her as a member of Free Space Force Intelligence.

  Light heard Shadow whisper, “Damn! I knew she wouldn’t miss our graduation.”

  As Light stood before Auntie Tara to receive her star Tara said, “This is a proud moment; you two have achieved so much in the last few months. It is my honor to pin these stars on each of you.”

  Light replied, “Ma’am, I could have no greater honor than to receive my star from you, Major Freeborn.”

  Shadow simply said, “Ma’am, I thank you more than I can ever say. I am proud to be a Freeborn!”

  Auntie Tara smiled and continued pinning stars on the new crew members from Vista.

  Chapter Thirteen

  –The Battlecruiser Lady Delapasse in orbit and on Green Four 12-24-517

  17,500 kilograms of provisions and 34,000 liters of water had been sent up to the Lady from Green Four. This would top off supplies for the upcoming fleet patrol. It was a task well done. As the officer in charge, Tracey was proud of her team. Chief Sergeant Cici De Santis was a wonder as a Supply Chief. The crew had broken their backs to ensure the schedule was met and nothing was damaged. The twins as the two new members proved excellent workers and much stronger than she would have believed given their small size.

  De Santis told Tracey, “Ma'am, you can’t arrive back on the Lady covered in mud, dirt and sweat. Officers are not supposed to join in and help the crew. I’ll hold the last lifter till you clean up.”

  “Thanks, I’ll grab a shower and clean utilities at the base shed,” Tracey said.

  They were loading the supplies from a small Space Force base in the heart of the northern farming zone on Green Four. A warehouse and the office shed were the only buildings.

  Tracey walked into the shed. At the desk was a ground staff fleet officer who appeared overworked and disorganized. The two clerks were sitting at terminals with paper everywhere. The office needed a good cleaning. There were boxes sitting on any open space. One box in a corner held a pink and orange c-cat and one scruffy half grown kitten.

  Tracey asked, “Can I use the shower?”

  The fleet officer replied, “Sure it’s in the back hall.”

  Fifteen minutes later Tracey stuffed her dirty uniform in her pack and headed for the lifter.

  An hour later the lifter docked in the lifter bay of Lady Delapasse. The Officer of the Deck greeted Cici and Tracey, “Welcome back! Colonel Chung sends his compliments; your team is half a day ahead of schedule. However, you can’t bring that aboard.”

  Tracey asked, “What in all the hells are you talking about?”

  The officer pointed to her pack. The scruffy half grown kitten peeked out of the top of Tracey’s pack.

  “The Executive Officer must approve any animals -- Before -- they are brought aboard. I can space it if you want. It will die quickly.”

  Tracey was about to say “space it” but instead she said, “Let me talk to the colonel before we space it.”

  Cici’s commented, “Good luck Ma'am.”

  Tracey picked up her pack with the little c-cat and headed for the colonel’s office. Five minutes later she stepped up to the open door and knocked.

  Colonel Chung said, “Enter” without looking up from his desk. He said, “Good job on the uploading of supplies. What do you need now lieutenant?”

  Tracey said, “Sir, by accident I brought aboard a c-cat. I request that you authorize me to keep it.”

  “Ms. Watkins, are you aware that the regulations say an animal must have pre-approval before being brought aboard?”

  “Sir, it was an accident. The c-cat crawled into my pack while I was in the shower at the ground base,” Tracey explained.

  “You pitched in again to help the crew load the lifters and needed to clean up? Watkins when will you learn that are an office and a lady, Colonel Chung admonished. “Well, let’s look at the c-cat.”

  Tracey lifted the c-cat from her pack and sat it on the desk.

  Chung looked over the little c-cat and said, “She’s a female, small for her age. I don’t think she will be over nine kilos when grown. Her purple color is considered unlucky by some. I would space her.”

  Just then a loud thud forced them to turn as a big red and black c-cat strutted across the desk and snuggled up to the purple c-cat. He had been on a shelf above the desk and Tracey had not seen him until he jumped down. The big male c-cat smelled the small female. She stood her ground but let him smell her.

  Chung then said, “Well, Big Red appears to think she is acceptable. Perhaps you can keep her. Fill out form Pet88765G-27 and download it from your data pack. I’ll make an exception this once and approve it. She better kill a lot of motans and rats!”

  Tracey gratefully said, “Thank you sir.”

  The colonel then told her, “Lieutenant before you go, open the cabinet on your right. Inside you will find a safety carrier. It’s too small for Big Red and he has a new larger model. Take it for Purple Cat. You will need to train her to use it.”

  Tracey thanked Chung once more and took the carrier. What is a safety carrier? I have no idea. Better get out of the colonel’s office before he changes his mind. Is her name now Purple Cat? I guess so.

  ******

  Tracey and the new Physician’s Assistant, Nirabella sat in Tracey's cabin talking. Nirabella had finished telling the story of her doctor lover. She asked, "Tracey how did you come to join the Space Force?"

  "It’s a complex tale,” Tracey began. “I was born into a quad marriage. They are very special families. Only five percent of quad marriages are stable. I was the youngest of three children. My two sisters were ten and eleven years older. My alpha mother, Kathy took care of the home and my alpha father, Richard made the money as a broker and trader in future commo
dities. My beta mother Kim-me was a professor of history at the Public University. In her view, even the upper middle class should have some chance of an education. My beta father, Brook took care of the estate and raised near-horses. We were rich and owned an estate of 10,000 hectors. The family lived in a great house with servants and large staff. My parents were part of the elite of the League. The Prime Minister and his mistress often came to my parent’s parties.

  My two older sisters both went to West Star University; the best and also the most expensive in the League. They both married and settled into great jobs when the bomb hit. My alpha father made a disastrous mistake. He invested everything in futures of imported frozen Cariiacan lizard. Cariiacan meat was costly; it has a special flavor and a euphoric effect. Cariiacan could not be raised on Freehome due to a virus. My father Richard gained control on all imports for the next ten years. However, a year later the government announced the development of a virus resistant breed. The family was ruined. I was twelve and in mid school.