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Amazon
Category:
Science Fiction
Publisher: 2 Moon Press
ISBN-10: 193758089X
Type: Fiction
Pages: 260
Copyright: December 2011
ISBN-13: 9781937580896
Thrown headlong into a vast, hostile universe, Captain Edmond and the crew of the Destiny must learn the ways of the galaxy and return home safely to Earth, or risk their extermination at the hands of the Juinah.
Note: This story is a prequel to book 1, and tells about the Society's first steps into space, the events that led to the creation of Earthfleet, and the origins of their war against the Juinah mafia.
This story is a prequil to the entire Earthfleet universe and takes a look back in time to a period before Earthfleet was born, and even before the Society took to space to colonize our solar system, or even begin the job of protecting Earth and all of Sol space.
It begins with Captain Edmond Clayton, a sea captain operating out of Boston harbor. He's induted into the Society to head up a brand new space project as the captain of the "Destiny", the Society's first starship. But shortly after the ship is launched it's attacked and captured by one of the great lords of the Juinah, sending Edmond and the crew of the Destiny on a wild adventure through the stars.
Through these adventures Earth will gain its first allies, and friends, among the stars, as well as new technology, new problems, and the seeds of struggle that will eventually lead to the formation of Earthfleet as a military force created for the purpose of defending Earth from a harsh and dangerous universe.
Excerpt
The Rocky Mountains
Ten miles north of the San Luis Valley
December 3rd, 1799 - 6:04pm
A Scottish man in a dark blue parka and matching kilt stood in the main door of hanger bay two and watched as snow fell in thick, heavy sheets of white across the snow caked hillsides surrounding him. He took a long drag on a thick pipe that hung from his lips, and then exhaled deeply, sending a wild cloud of smoke billowing out of his nostrils like a dragon. As he did, the sound of chopper blades began to echo in the distance.
Soon, a pair of dim white lights appeared through the unrelenting wall of snow followed moments later by a large, snow caked chopper. It tilted up slightly as it approached the bay, whipping up a wind that made the man's kilt stand on end. If he hadn't been wearing a thick pair of snow pants beneath it, his nether regions would have become just as frozen as the platform on which he stood. The chopper soon landed and disgorged two passengers, one Irish, and one German, before lifting off again and vanishing back into the blizzard.
"Aye, it took you long enough," said the Scotsman.
"Well it's not like St. Patrick could just wish us here," said the Irishman.
"What is the good news?" asked the Scotsman.
"They have approved our project. We can now build our starship," said the German.
The Scotsman nodded, and then took a drag on his pipe.
"That is good to hear. I expected that they would, but it still does not solve our dilemma about who will command our starship."
"Bedad, laddie! Do you always worry about such things?" said the Irishman.
"We must always consider such things as this. Without a proper leader for our ship, we may as well not even bother," said the Scotsman.
"Augh, we already have enough capable men and women in the Society to fill every station we create!" said the German.
"And who will command it? Who among us knows how to captain a ship? Aye, our people are well schooled in how to operate it, but a ship is nothing without a good captain," said the Scotsman.
"And where do you expect to find such a qualified person? Nobody has ever built a starship before!" said the Irishman.
"Where any logical man would look," said the Scotsman.
The Irishman threw his hands up in the air.
"Ah, begorrah. How can a sea captain from such a primitive culture ever hope to learn our ways and captain our ship!?" he protested.
"We train him, just like any other inductee."
"And where do you plan to look for this sea captain of yours?" asked the German.
"In Boston, at the local harbor. I have my eye on one there who fits our needs perfectly. However, let us first begin work on our ship, and when the time is right, I will reveal him to you."
The Irishman's eyes narrowed.
"And you wonder why we always fight, what with you acting all mysterious. You're enough to drive even a leprechaun mad!"
Society Joint Commerce Station
Earth Orbit
March 15th, 2035
Mike stood on the observation deck of the Society's newest station and studied the beauty of Earth as it passed by the windows on the far side of the promenade. Down below on the main floor stood a group of representatives from Earth who mingled casually with members of both the Society and the fleet. They had come as representatives from the UN to discuss a wide variety of social and political issues affecting the planet, and how the Society might be able to help with them. He was impressed at how far their relations with Earth had come in just the past few years. At the same time he also wondered what things would be like had the Black Orchid incident never happened.
He was surprised that Earth had even come this far in such a short amount of time, given how worried the Society had been about the harm such interactions would cause. But much to everyone's surprise, things had actually turned out fairly well, and in some ways had gone better than expected. The world was still a mess, but it was in a lot better shape than it had been when everything started. Some believed this was because Earth feared the power of the Society and her fleet. But Mike knew it was much more than that.
As he continued to think about this, he glanced down at the visitors below and spotted another group approaching them. These newcomers included a number of their friends and fellow allies, including the Gayik'Von, Varnok, Trepedor, even the Fondo, all dressed to the nines in their own respective ways. At first the visitors were a bit apprehensive. But after a brief time they seemed to warm to their alien guests. Mike laughed at this. Just a few decades earlier Earth was at odds with nearly half the galaxy because of the treachery of Phillip; and yet now they were friends with almost everyone.
This was partially due to the revelation of Earth's brave stand during the battle of the Haven. Mike and the Society had worked hard to keep their involvement, and the incident itself, as quiet as possible. But nothing stays secret from the prying eyes and ears of the Yandians for long. Eventually news of the secret mission spread all across the galaxy, and it wasn't long before everyone knew of Earth's bravery in their final battle against the Crassians.
Their victory over Phillip and the destruction of the Haven had ultimately made Earth a brief celebrity among the stars. Mike found it funny that Earth had gone from a minor system of no great significance, to the hated Chippagi, to one of great honor in only a few decades. If it hadn't been for the Crassians, Earth likely would have remained a nobody forever. In many ways Mike wished they still were.
"Enjoying the view?" came a voice to his right.
Mike turned and was surprised to find Pendleton standing next to him wearing his very best dress uniform. Mike grinned a bit when he noticed Pendleton's seeming discomfort at having to wear it.
"Actually, I am. However, you don't appear to be enjoying yourself," chided Mike.
Dutch walked up behind Pendleton and playfully slapped him on the shoulder.
"I don't think the Commander here much likes wearing penguin suits," he said.
Pendleton snorted.
"Oh har, har. You don't like them all that much either," he retorted.
Dutch shrugged.
"Do you blame me? I mean, both of us are stick jockeys, not diplomats. We're better at threading the needle than playing wet nurse to a bunch of bureaucrats."
Mike laughed.
"Yeah, I didn't like it much either. But that's what you get when you're a senior officer."
Pendleton frowned.
"Yeah, well, I'd prefer to have remained a pilot the rest of my life, but old kai sludge over here decided it'd be fun to see who could get the title of Grand Admiral first," he said, pointing a thumb at Dutch.
"Well, may the best man win," said Mike.
"Yeah, that'll be me," chided Dutch.
"In your dreams, gicall," retorted Pendleton.
Mike laughed. Just then Sarah shimmered into view behind Mike and smiled at the two officers.
"Ah, good evening, Ms. Sarah. How are you today?" said Dutch.
Sarah curtsied, and said, "I'm fine. How are you?"
Pendleton snorted. Sarah giggled.
"Yeah, we're pretty normal," said Dutch.
"By whose definition?" quipped Pendleton.
"Yep, they're normal," said Mike jokingly.
"So what are you two doing up here?" asked Dutch.
"We're waiting for someone to arrive from Earth. She's coming to interview Mike about the early history of the fleet," said Sarah.
Pendleton cocked an eyebrow curiously.
"They're asking you about that?" he said to Mike.
"Yeah, they are. Apparently Grand Admiral Bofenheiser thinks I'm the best one to answer her questions," said Mike.
Dutch smirked.
"In other words, nobody else wanted to do it, so you got stuck with the job."
Mike shrugged.
"Yeah, pretty much. But it wouldn't be the first time that's happened. Ah well, at least they didn't get that stuffy old crook down in anthropology to do it. If they had, the UN would be declaring war on us by tomorrow," he said with a grin.
Everyone laughed. Just then, a portal sphere appeared briefly on the lower level of the station and vanished, leaving a surprised, and somewhat confused young woman behind. Sarah chuckled.
"I think that's your lady," she said.
Mike shrugged.
"She might be. Can you check it out for me?"
Sarah gave him a sly, knowing grin, and then transported herself over to the young woman.
"Well, I think that's our cue to get out of here. Besides, the Grand Admiral will begin to wonder where we are if we don't get down there soon," said Dutch.
Pendleton rolled his eyes and then followed Dutch away. Mike laughed.
“I think you'll find that you won't have a choice in the matter, Mr. Pendleton," he said quietly to himself.
He then turned and made his way down to the lower level of the promenade. As he approached, the young woman next to Sarah held out her hand to him.
"Hi, I'm Melissa Williams of World Magazine. I'm here to do a story on the early history of Earthfleet. I'm to assume you're Mike Clayton, former Grand Admiral of the fleet?"
Mike shook her hand.
"Guilty as charged. It's nice to finally meet you. Would you like to sit down and have a cup of coffee while we talk?"
Melissa smiled.
"I'd love to," she said.
Mike lead her over to a nearby cafe where they took a table near the door. But only Mike and Melissa sat down. Sarah choose instead to stand behind Mike. A robotic waiter soon came floating up to them, took their orders, and then delivered their drinks a few moments later.
"I am amazed at how advanced your technology is. You even have robots staffing your restaurants," said Melissa.
Mike shrugged.
"I don't even really pay attention to it anymore. You get so used to seeing it every day that you only really notice it when it's gone."
Melissa nodded in understanding, and then pulled out a small tablet computer and a recording device, and set them on the table.
As she did, she glanced over at Sarah, and said, "Do you want to sit down?"
Sarah shook her head.
"I'm an AI, so I don't need to sit."
Melissa’s eyes went wide.
"Oh, so you're the AI I've been hearing about! You were once a ship's AI, weren't you?"
Sarah nodded.
"Still am."
"But weren't you assigned to the Sergenious?"
Sarah nodded again, and smiled proudly.
"Still am."
"But, how is that possible? Isn't the Sergenious a battleship?" said Melissa as she looked at Mike.
He nodded.
"It is, but it's decommissioned. It's now my personal starship. Grand Admiral Alfred Bofenheiser, my former Vice Grand Admiral, gave it to me as a retirement gift when he took over my post. There were rumors going around at the time that someone in the council was going to have her scrapped as soon as I was out of office. So Alfred decided that it'd be better if he gave her to me to save her from being recycled. Plus he knew I'd need my own starship anyways, so it worked out in the end."
Melissa nodded.
"Interesting. Have any other fleet ships been given as retirement gifts before, or put into civilian service?"
Mike shook his head.
"This is the only one. Normally the fleet doesn't allow things like that, given the sensitive nature of the information and technology aboard each ship. But they made a special exception with the Sergenious knowing who it was being given to."
"Fascinating! So what will become of the ship when you die? Well, not to sound morbid or anything."
Mike chuckled.
"It's alright. I understand. When that day does come, it'll be turned over to the ship museum and put on display. It's got such a colorful and rich history behind it that nobody wants to scrap her anymore. She'll just be demilitarized and put alongside the other famous ships of the fleet."
"Ah, interesting. And how old are you, might I ask?"
"Eighty five years old," said Mike proudly.
"Wow, that old. You don't look a day over forty," said Melissa.
Mike nodded.
"Thank you. That's one of the many benefits of Society medical technology. We're able to keep people healthy and vibrant well into their mid-one-hundreds."
"Mid-one-hundreds? How long do people in the Society live!?"
"The oldest living person on record reached the ripe old age of one hundred and fifty. People could live a lot longer than that if they wanted to. Some theorize that our people could live to be as old as two to three hundred years if they wanted to. But most choose to let nature take it's course long before that."
"Wow, that's incredible. I wish you would bring that technology down to Earth."
Mike laughed.
"In time we will, but not right away."
"Why? I can't imagine there'd be anything negative about sharing your medical knowledge with us."
Mike shook his head.
"It's not the knowledge that we don't want to share, but rather it's the highly advanced technology that goes with it, especially since you're not ready for it yet. In time though you will be, and when that happens we'll be glad to share everything we have with you."
Melissa nodded.
"Ah, I guess that makes sense. Now, so I don't waste too much of your time, let's start by talking about the early history of the fleet. That is, after all, my reason for being here. I want to learn everything I can about it. Things like, where did it come from, how did it get started, and so on."
Mike nodded.
"Well, to learn about that, you have to go back to the very beginning, before man first stepped into space, and when science was still treated as a mortal evil, rather than a tool of discovery and learning. It was during this time that mankind's first ever starship, the Destiny, sailed into the stars and started an adventure that continues to this day."
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