The First Version 1995 - Chapter 30

The First Version 1995 - Chapter 30 This is the very first typed version of Eric Olafson's Story (from 1995). I put it here out of reguest of my oldest and first fan and reader, who wanted to re-read the first Version that made him start reading "Galactic Chronicles".

I think it is also shows the progress of the story and is a neat way for me to keep the old stuff as a searchable reference.

The Author



The Devastator had excellent recreational facilities but the most liked was the Village. It was a complete small down town area with shops, cafés, restaurants, virtu-shows and amusement attractions. The sky seemed real with clouds and a sun. It would even rain occationally. At the center was park with grass, picnic areas and a large pond in the middle for swimming and paddling in on inflateable floats. We had settled down at one of the picnic areas next to a big tree. Elfi wore a golden bathing suit that seemed painted to her body. Wetmouth hat a pink bikini on that revealed she had a perfect body with large firm breasts and long toned legs. Mao, Muhammad and me had swimming trunks. Hans was standing at the BBQ grill, the smoke he produced smelled deliciously of seared meat. He had a blule shirt over his shorts. Krabbel who only wore uniform when on duty was all his a hairy self hung from the tree holding two ice cream cones. Elfi who just had returned from a swim was a sight to see as she took of the bathing cap and dried her legs with a fluffy towel and sensuous moves. Cirruit propped himself up and looked over the lake. “I think I could swim. It looks like a lot of fun.” “Why don’t you?” I asked. “Because I am t dense. I don’t float, no matter how much I paddle. I usually walk along the bottom.” Mao who had disappeared for a while came back with a colorful box and he hollered.” They made it. It’s done! Oh I love to see your face Krabbel!” Elfi looked interested.” Krabbel does not have a face just lots of eyes and fangs.” ”I do have a face and a very handsome one if I might add. I could win any modeling contest.” “Really?” ”Oh yes only last year a Terran company that makes some sort of Insect spray wanted me for their commercials!” Mao handed the box to Krabbel.” Here you go and your mother sais hello, she is very proud of you and expectrs you to call her.” Krabbel took the package and Iasked Mao.” You know Krabbels mother?” He nodded.” Oh sure. I spend my second year break with Krabbel on Archa. I tell you those spider folks do not believe in ladders or stairs in their houses!” We laughed and Krabbel managed to tear the box open and held a strange orange plastic device with dark lenses into the sun. “What is that?” Elfi asked. Krabbel put it on his head and said with a happy tone.” Well sun-gasses of course! These are the first acrachno sunglasses, Mao and I going to manufacture them and become rich one day!” “Sun glasses?” Was all I could say “Have you ever seen a Terran without sunglasses? “ Mao asked. If you see sunglasses he or she is from the Sol system!” “Well Muhammad doesn’t wear them all the time and he is from Earth!” “How is it on Archa?” Muhammad asked. Mao leaned back.” Those are the most amazing cities you’ll ever see. Talking about filigrane! But no stairs I tell you, no ladders. They do have elevators on bigger buldings, but not for the faint of heart. Little platforms, no railings and the shoot outside their buildings up and down, some a mile high!” Krabbel raised his first leg pair.” We have plenty of limbs to hold on, so we never invented railings I guess.” Mao continued.” The Archas are the friendliest folks you could ever meet. Very competitive lot, and quite agressiv ein certain areas, they are predators or well evolved from predators. What they call their prey gradens isn’t for the squeamish either, but they started to have restaurants where they serve the food already killed or packaged.” “ We are getting civilized I tell you!” Krabbel added. “We recently even decided that killing of your sac siblings is perhaps a thing we should change.” “You kill your own kind?” Elfi asked. “A healthy female can lay 200 eggs and since we had our industrial revolution we don’t have any natural enemies anymore so it would get kind of crowded and it is an instinctive process when you are only very little. So it was actually promoted to a pint where only two or three sac siblings survived. Mothers often ate the rest who wasn’t killed. It only sounds cruel but it is not really. Very recently we started with fertility control and females lay only 2-3 eggs and let them mature. It is not to long ago females often killed their male partners at the height of sexual excstasy and for a male that was the only way to go and the one thing he lived for. But nowadays it happens only occationally .We look very much like spiders of Terra and other worlds and we have in some ways similar behavior patterns, but we are technically not spiders. See my four upper leg pairs developed claws and opposing claw..or finger if you would, we can manipulate objects much like the human hand can, we developed acustic communication and our digestive tract has evolved for us to eat solid food. Not just suck liquids.” “I think I would like to see Archa one day!” I said. “Oh I would love to show you aall around. My mom would be so happy to have you for company.” Hans came over holding a huge tray piled with steaks, burgers and dogs.” Go get it while their hot, there is more coming!” “Who you cooking for? The entire ships crew?” Har-Hi asked.He was the only one who wore full clothing and at least 4 knifes and perhaps a blaster. Mostly from me and Krabbel, Mao can eat a lot too…there won’t be much left so you better get it first!” We ate and Krabbel said between two bites.”I really like the idea of fried food. We cook food but frying and roasting is new to us.” Elfi nibbled at a burger.” How is your home planet Mao?” “Well not very different from the planet we just went, climate wise. We have swamps, lots of jungle and rivers.But we have oceans and islands too. When my ancestors left Earth they wanted a world as close to their native home as possible and found it in New Samoa. Old Samoan traditions are very important to us but other than that we are very much like any other Terran Colony world. My family thought I was nuts going to the Navy but now they are all proud and happy. They really like Krabbel, especially the kids.” Har-Hi used one of his razor sharp knifes to slice thins trips of his steak and he looked at Wetmouth.” Don’t answer if you don’t want but I always wondered how a Sojonite ended up in the Navy.” She sighed under her ever present mask.” That is a long story, but I give you the short version. I don’t know if you know about Sin 4. It is the most lawless hellhole in all the Galaxy, murder and rape are so common it barley raises an eyebrow. Criminal cartels and families control the world, but only as far as their own interests go. The lowest class the Skaakh lie in filth and conditions you would not believe possible. I was found on the steps of the Sojonite temple. I always suspected my mother to be a Skaakh and unable to provide for me. She did the best she could!” “The best she could?” Gasped Elfi.” Abandoning her child?” “you don’t understand, Elfi. Sin 4 is not a nice place like your palace or any other place you’ve seen. Hunger, real hunger kills and kills many every day. Mothers sell their kids for slaves and yes they sell them for meat.” Even I could not help but looked shocked at her. She continued.” Sin 4 is populated with beings from all over the Galaxy and human meat is a commodity on Sin 4 just like any other. So yes I think my mother did the best she could. It was a feat no less. The Sojonit temple is on an island and not easily accessible for Skaath. Mother Superior raised me and I never had to suffer hunger or thirst.While I was trained like any other Sojonit, she saw my gift and made me wear the veil of abstinence early on and gave me all the help to study knowledge. But the temple, Sin 4 is limited very limited, they have more bordellos and whore houses, casinos and amusement of the worst kind than anywhere else in the Galaxy but there are no schools, no universities. Sojonites travel everywhere where human and humanoid males and females have an appetite for sex and they also come to the temple. Mother Superior arranged for me to leave Sin 4 and reach Union space. I had no money, I was not a citizen and could not go back. So I walked in the recruiting office of that planet they made me a citizen right there and then after they tested me and send me to the academy.” Elfi hugged her and cried. “ I am so sorry Wetmouth. I promisse you have a home on Saran anytime as my sister!” “Those burgers smell mighty good! “ A Voice said and I turned to see. The Admiral was there carrying a big box, but he was out of uniform and wore the unmarked jumpsuit I had seem him first. I jumped up and wanted to say”Admiral on deck.” But he said.”Relax I am out of uniform and so are you. I came to keep my promisse. I brought some ice cream!” Krabbel zipped to the ground and came over in his silent fast way. Stahl grinned.” Why don’t you trade me this ice cream for a burger?” Krabbel took the box.” You got a deal!” Stahl sat down just as if was one of us and took a plate from Hans. Har Hi handed him a bottle of soda and Krabbel shrieked. “Oh by the sac of grandmother, that’s the best kind there is! Chocolate dipped soft serve! How did you know, Sir?” “I am immortal my eight legged friend I am supposed to be wise beyond human understanding and know everything!” Stahl chuckled. “I am not very wise and I simply asked Mr. Mao.” He dug into his steak and praised Hans cooking.”Oh just right, there isn’t much better than a flame broiled steak done just right. This is my favorite food” “You should try the Cattle baron in Topeka on Witchita planet.” I said.” No place serves a better steak.” He raised one eyebrow.” Oh you been to Witchita? The planet with the mega bone mystery?” “Yes I actually talked to the Science Corps Officer about that.” “You are right, Eric. There is no place that serves better steaks. I have been there. You seem well traveled.” “Not really, Sir. I was on my way to the Academy when the space bus made a stop there with engine problems.” He pointed his fork at my holster.” I see you carry the old 45.” “That old piece saved my life and I am glad I developed this habit.” He made me tell the incident while he finished his steak. Har-Hi took cigars out of his leg pocket, but the Admiral preferred one of Muhammads cigarettes. Then he leaned back and gave us all a long look. “ It is not just steaks an ice cream that brought me here.” He took a sip of his soda .”I really enjoyed your company too. I feel things I haven’t felt in quite a while looking at you princess and having a legendary Sojonit sister in a bikini make me realize I am still just a man. It is a good realization!” He sighed.” I also came to tell you that you are going to be leave the ship tomorrow.” Wetmouth covered her bare legs with a towel more instinctively than conscious and said.” Sir we still have six month to go before we hopefully graduate. Would you be willing to inform us where we have erred or not met expectations?” “You did not do anything wrong and you exceeded expectations in every way. That is why I want you to go to Newport and compete with other Seniors for the Reagan trophy.” He crushed his cigarette.” I am sure Wetmouth knows what I am taking about but let me explain anyway. All over Union space we have 25 Naval Academies. Eric and Elfiara came from Arsenal II. Har-Hi and Muhammad from Annapolis Earth, Krabbel, Hans and Mao-Mao from Portsmouth on Briton and Cirruit was evaluated and accepted at Pak Nam. There is one Academy you might not have heard of, it is the Naval Academy College on Newport. It is an advanced school where the best of the best cadets are sent to serve their third year Every four years there is a traditional challenge called the Reagan Trophy. In the last 30 years only Cadets from Newport won the trophy. I don’t like Newport and between you and me I don’t like Admiral Dent who runs the College. Your friend Lt. Clasen was a graduate of Newport. I don’t like this elite breeding. At least not this way. I didn’t like it when I was a Cadet so long ago and I don’t like it now. But they produce results and no one seems to be able to beat them “I want you to go there, represent the Flagship and show them! Now I don’t want you to think I respect you any less or would be angry if you do not win, but I expect you to do your very best.” We stood almost simultaneously and I said.” We will do just that, Sir!” He grinned broadly.” The challenges are in every field you study and culminate in a final challenge that is different every year and this time Admiral Elligott and I will personally supervise the final event.”

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