BOOK III: Back at Idyllic

BACK AT IDYLLIC

Everyone thought it would get easier after we got used to the stress and workload, but it didn’t our instructors pushed us even harder.

I was sent for three days into the no light lock up for having a bad shave after returning from a 35 klick force march through the Jungle in just my underwear and a combat knife. The instructor argued that the knife was perfectly useable to perform a shave before reporting back.

Our martial arts instructor was an old Saresii and rumor had it that he knew every fighting technique and martial arts known to the Galaxy.

He loved to demonstrate his skills on me. I lost count as to how many times I left his class room on the stretcher of a Med-bot with a broken bone or a serious concussion. Master Alema never expressed apologies for what he did; when I was laying on the mat with a broken limb and almost passing out with pain. He merely pointed out the flaws in my attack or defense to the class and showed them the slow motion recording of my errors.

Of course He did it to other cadets as well (at least to those that could break bones or bruise), but I felt he picked on me more than on the others.

One Sunday afternoon we had a few hours to ourselves and I used those rare times to go swimming. Camp Idyllic had several swimming pools and bathing in the nearby lake was fairly safe. The survival and diving  pool was the largest and deepest. They usually kept the water cooler than the others and that’s why I liked it best. The water was still to warm for me, but it was clear fresh water and it was 20 meters deep.

Usually this pool was deserted outside of training exercises those other cadets that used their free time to swim preferred the warmer water pools or the lake.

So I was  surprised to see Master Alema. He was sitting at the highest diving board in the lotus position with closed eyes.

I cursed under my breath. I didn’t want to go to another, especially since I didn’t have to much time, but I really didn’t want to run into that Saresii Transvestite.

All Saresii appeared to be female and stunningly beautiful, but some of them where men, made up do look like women. In Exobiology class we learned that the Saresii where among the oldest species with a continuous civilization. They had been traveling space for much more than million years. An event millennia ago wiped out all their colonies except their home world and they blamed male aggression for the catastrophes and wars in general. So the Saresii banned everything appearing male. At first they had a matriarchate society, like the Sarans but it changed and developed differently.

Why all Saresii men  decided to dress and appear like women and make this aspect the core of their civilization I did not know. Saresii joined the Unites Stars relatively late. Their technology was considered to be far advanced and at Tech level nine (the United Stars had reached Tech level 7).

The most renowned aspect was that every Saresii was a telepath of considerable strength, some had telekinetic powers and others where able to teleport. A well known legend told that the Saresii rearranged the eight planets of their system into perfect orbits using their Psionic powers. There had to be truth to the legend since the 8 planets where arranged in such a way. Re arranging planets into different orbits was not unheard of and a technological requirement for Tech Level 8. The Wurgus where famous for their ability to re arrange planetary systems, but they used technology and not telekinesis as the legend had the Saresii do theirs.

Master Almea appeared to be a woman in every visual aspect. She could have been any age  between 25 and 200. The face was very female with large eyes, long lashes and beautiful shaped lips. The Saresii readily adopted Terran and Saran make up fashions and used this ancient female art to enhance their faces and appearance. Almea’s hair was straight and fell below the shoulder blades. It had the color of shiny silver. The only way we knew he was not a biological female was because Commander Letsgo always referred to Alamea as him and we had to call him Master.

I turned to leave but his voice caught me at the door.

“Come up here Cadet.”

Alamea had noticed me despite the fact, he was sitting on the ten meter tower with his back to me. I was sure he noticed me with some sort of Psionic power.

I sighed and kissed my afternoon goodbye but I climbed up, stepped on the board and saluted.” Cadet Olafson reporting, Sir.”

“You are from a water world?”

“Yes Sir.”

“I believe they call you Neo Vikings. A culture modeled after an old Terran tribe of warriors.”

“Yes Vikings, Nordic peoples—Danes, Swedes, Germans and Norwegians—who raided and settled in large areas of eastern and western Europe during a period of Scandinavian expansion from about 800 to 1100 Terran.”

“Do you fight others while you in the water?”

“Yes we fight in every environment, especially in the water, against each other and pretty much everything that lives in the ocean of Nifleheim.”

“Fight me in the water!”

Alamea jumped and I dutifully followed right away. Not giving this experienced master of all martial arts much time to adjust. This was my element and I was a good water fighter.

I was right after him .I did this many times to my brothers as they did it to me If they had a chance. I landed directly on him, buried my heels with force in his back and pushed him further down. My eyes where much better adapted to see under water than those of standard humans and  I had another advantage, no matter how good he was, I had a virtually unlimited  oxygen supply and did not need to pay attention to my oxygen supply.

He had to hold his breath and had air for maybe 2-5 minutes at best. Part of his concentration had to be diverted to that. My gills opened and the cool water rushed in me. It was always a wonderful experience especially after being on land and dry for a long time, being in my most favorite environment stimulated me always.

Water fighting with the intent to kill was completely different from fighting on dry land. Water put tremendous drag on everything you did, swinging chops or even straight punches where almost impossible and lost any damage inflicting energy. Hitting something fast just as difficult, when fighting under water one rather used the entire mass of the body just like a missile and in close combat short kicks to soft body areas where much more effective.

Almea was good, he wasn’t fighting under water for the first time, but I had trained with Gustav Aikson as soon as I could swim, the undefeated master of underwater fighting at home for many decades. It was no real contest and after burying both heels into his stomach. I saw bubbles rush out of his mouth and the expression of pain on his face.

I suddenly realized  I was about to kill him. If he tried to inhale, he would drown! His instinctive impulse would be just that! I rushed after him and pulled him to the surface and had to perform CPR. A gush of water came out of his lungs and he started coughing. I was rushing to the next COM unit to call for help.

Almea coughed and spat water. “ Don’t call for help. I will be fine!” He coughed once more and took a deep breath and sat up. “ Why did you not press your advantage? You clearly had me and your style of fighting shows you do not fight for sport but to kill.”

Neo Vikings don’t do much for sport, expect perhaps bashing skull, killing others and drinking. But I am not on Nifleheim. I could not let you drown, Sir!”

“I caused you much pain and humiliation in my classes. You could have killed me out of revenge!”

“You did nothing to me that would deserve killing, Sir. I dislike your classes yes because I never get used to the pain that goes along with breaking a bone but I would not seek revenge for that.”

He pushed himself up and walked to a bench. Seeing him walk like that I couldn’t believe he was a man. The black skintight bathing suit clung to a very female body and I became quite jealous.

Sitting on the bench, he held his stomach and coughed again. Then he said: You are honorable. But are you willing to kill?”

“Sir, I am asked to kill an enemy in the course of battle, during war or conflict. I am prepared to kill. I will resort to lethal force if I have no other option or if there are severe matters of honor or defending my friends, but I won’t do it for sport.”

“You killed before!” Almea said this in a matter of fact, not as a question.

“Yes I have. It is against federal law, but such laws mean little on Nifleheim and we are all raised in a very old fashioned way where honor and defending it means more than a life “

“Why did you leave your world?”

“To join the United Stars Navy and apply at the Academy.”

“But you are the first born. Would you not inherit all and become patriarch of your tribe?”

“I would inherit the family’s wealth, yes but the position of chief can be challenged and one has to fight and most likely kill for it.”

The man woman looked at me and she said.” Tell me the truth! There is another reason, the real reason you had to leave!”

I blushed and looked away. “I can’t!”

“This is nothing to be ashamed of. It won’t affect your career if it came out, but no one will hear it from me. I bet they even know about it and it is in your Psych Evaluation. I am just curious. I sensed something a little earlier when I was in the water. Something we Saresii are used to because we are, but is very uncommon now among Terrans and Colonial humans these days.”

I looked around to make sure we were alone. “I am not sure what is wrong with me, but sometimes I wish I would be a girl. Not a man at all.

I once put on the dress of a girl and my father caught me. It was then that he beat me, broke nearly every bone in my body and left me to die. My Uncle saved my life and took me away. I am  banished under the pain of  death from our family’s home. My Uncle raised me  in town for the last 3 years, until I was old enough to leave”

“There is nothing really wrong with you. I am simply surprised to see this form of Gender disorder in a human. It is  as rare as homosexuality. The genetic predisposition has been eliminated or is usually adjusted before birth.”

I sighed.” No genetic manipulation is done on Nilfeheim. There are no pre conception exams and kids come the natural way, no Arti-Womb or anything like that.”

The Saresii put a hand on my shoulder.” Don’t think of it as disease or handicap. You see in the old days before Earth became a galactic civilization it was perfectly alright to be that way. It changed in 2200 during the Fist and Iron period, when everything out of the norm was considered weak and undesirable. Then around 3000 Gender change became very popular and there where individuals who changed their gender a dozen times. It caused severe psychological problems that lead to suicide in some cases.”

“I know I researched this myself. I wanted to know what was wrong with me and what my options are.”

“What are your options?”

“I heard about Psycho Surgery. They can take the desire out of me for good. They say it is perfectly safe and can be done in a few minutes, but somehow I am afraid of that option.”

“Could it be that deep down you think this is not what you want, to get rid of it I mean.”

I shrugged.” I am not sure about myself when it comes to this. It feels right at one hand and I know it is wrong at the other hand.”

“So you joined the Navy to proof you are a man?”

“Yes this was part of my decision!”

“Neither your career nor your citizenship would be affected if you decide to try to live as a woman.”

“They told me that during psych evaluation.”

“Don’t be afraid of being what you want to be, but one day you must make a decision. Otherwise you will never find inner peace.”

I sighed.” Perhaps I try it after basic training is over.”

“If you ever need to talk about this come to me, we Saresii have built a civilization around this subject.”

“Thank you. I think I will!”

–‘’”--

COMMANDER EBOR LETSGO’S OFFICE (INTERLUDE)

The commander stood at the window of his spacious office overlooking the lake and jungle with his hands clasped behind his back watching a group of cadets struggling with a heavy wooden log. They had to carry it over an obstacle course and only by working together could this task be achieved. This ancient time tested exercise promoted team work, group coordination and leadership.

This exercise had been used by Navy trainers even before the Galactic Ascent on good old Earth.

Of course it didn’t work as well for some non humanoid life forms. But Humanoids and non humanoid life forms where part of the Navy and both had to learn to work together. Letsgo was humanoid himself. His base DNA was human Terran and deep down he considered himself to be of Terran descent. Of course no Stellaris would openly admit that.

Just after Earth’s Galactic Ascent 2112 when the Sarans revealed themselves to the Terrans (Earthers) and shared their knowledge of faster than light travel, Terrans tried to colonize everything. Terran Corporations and government labs used genetic tailoring to manipulate Terran life forms so they could live in environments unfit for normal humans.

During the 21st and 23rd century there was a virtual competition as to what company or gene lab could come up with a “better” human. This led to the “Super soldier crisis” of 2442 and the resulting Corporation Clone Revolt. The Stellaris came do be during that time and the result of corporation gene tailoring. (As where the Saturnians, the Martians and a host of others now considered independent species)

The Honda Corporation of Earth tried to create the perfect deep space worker, still able to function and interact on planet surfaces. While no carbon based life form could be modified enough to live unprotected in deep space. Honda Corp developed what they called Homo Stellaris.

A Stellaris was the next best thing. Commander Letsgo and every other Stellaris could work and survive in deep space with only  minimal protection for many hours and still had legs and the necessary muscle and skeleton to work and interact on planets.

Letsgo was dedicated to his work and was very proud of his posting but often missed space. He never felt at home dirt-side. He preferred a space station or space ship over a planet anytime.

On his desk was a holo of Harman’s Village, a small deep space colony a light year away from Midway Station of the Bridge. He purchased a dwelling there and planned to stay there when he retired. His third wife, who wasn’t a Stellaris but came from Saresii had signed a lasting marriage contract with him, loved the idea too. She was currently aboard an Explorer ship on a two year survey mission deep into the core ward sector.

Maybe when she came back he put in his resignation.

He smiled at his own thoughts. He knew when the time came to make that decision he would find an excuse to continue and he silently chuckled, maybe he was used to Dirt Side more than he wanted to admit.

He didn’t hear the door, Stellaris did not have very good hearing, since they lacked outer ears but he heard someone saying:” What do you find so amusing, old friend?”

He spun around and was pleasantly surprised.“ Admiral Stahl!”

The man who had come into his office unannounced  was tall, the body under the black uniform appeared to be very athletic. The Uniform was immaculate, from the mirror shine polished boots to the mirrored sunglasses that was his trademark. The white blonde hair trimmed into a short buzz cut. The strong jaw line and the scar on his left cheek where known to almost every one in the Galaxy! He belonged to the fabled Mentors, the mysterious 200 picked by an even more mysterious entity so long ago. Stahl was immortal. Admiral Stahl was born on Earth in 2067, before the Galactic Ascent and along with the other 200 Mentors guided Humankind. He was over 3500 years old and except for the Admiral of the fleet the most senior officer.

Commander Letsgo met the living legend 25 years ago and actually became friends with the Admiral.

The immortal officer grinned at him:” Sorry If I startled you. Your adjutant let me in”

“He probably is still paralyzed and mortified seeing such a legend in person.”

Stahl sighed:” I do have that effect sometimes I guess. I tell you the idea to quit and finally retire crosses my mind more often these days.” He sighed.” I am at this longer than anyone should be.”

“You can’t retire! Not you!”

“Humankind has grown up, Ebor. They don’t need us Mentors anymore. Our job is done. Of the 200 that where called by the Guardian so long ago, only 60 remain today.”

“I thought you are all immortal?”

“Impervious to age and disease, but we still could get shot, wounded or atomized. Heck I could break my neck in an accident and be gone like that.”

Letsgo digested this information without further getting into it.

“Have a seat old friend. I still have some Terran beer, your favorite brand in the cooler.”

Stahl sat into the visitors chair, leaned back while Letsgo went to a hidden cabinet and retrieved two brown glass bottles handed one to the Admiral and said:” Have you come here to tell me you going to retire? “

“No that is more a wishful thought than a conclusion. You should talk, you wanted to go that place of yours on the bridge five years ago!”

“Well yes, but I am not in a hurry either and Helena is on her way to the Aspar Nebula and won’t be back for at least 24 month.”

“Helen loves her work, just as you and I must say  I am glad you stay for a little while longer, good Academy Commanders are hard to replace.”

If a Stellaris could blush he might have done so, a compliment from Stahl was almost like a medal.” So why have you come?”

“The usual reason.”

Every so often the admiral would come and talk about the new cadets with Letsgo.

The Commander opened the bottle took a sip and sat behind his desk activating his desk unit and calling up the file screen.

Stahl drained half the bottle and smacked his lips.” Ahh! That hit the spot!”

“Don’t tell me you don’t have an ample supply of that stuff aboard your big ship.”

The Admiral put the bottle down. “I got a brewery aboard, but that is still good beer. Got anything I might be interested in?”

Letsgo glanced over the screen.” We got a Narth.”

Stahl’s left eyebrow rose.” You kidding me, right?”

“No I am not. When Webb called me that he’s sending a Narth I was as surprised as you.”

“I wonder why I wasn’t informed about that. This is truly historical. What do you know about the Narth?”

Ebor leaned back.” Not much, to be honest with. The Encyclopedia Galactica hasn’t much on them and most of the Narth’s file is classified, even for me. I know they are a very mysterious species and they are very old.”

“The Saresii think they have been around even before the Mythor ruled most of the galaxy over 2 million years ago. The Narth never expanded or colonized other planets as far as we know and no one knew  where their home system was. They did not involve themselves in galactic politics or associated themselves with the first Council. During the first Y’ All war The Narth did not fight with large battle field but contributed only one ship. The Saresii say it was that single ship that made the difference and not the Wurgus Super Nova.

During our Y’Ahl war 2500 years ago we fought a battle near their solar system without knowing it, because Narth cloak their entire system behind a very advanced shield. The  Y’Ahl stumbled across it in the heat of battle or more precise running into it. The Y’Ahl immediately forgot about us and went beserk against that shield.

That was our chance to catch a break and re group. We attacked them just as they managed to crack the shield.”

Commander Letsgo listened to the account of the Admiral about an event that happened thousands of years ago. A war that to him was nothing more than distant history. He knew Stahl was  immortal, but to actually realize it was a different matter. Stahl had been there from the first moment. Three thousand years! How could he still be called human? The experience and knowledge gathered over such a time removed the Admiral from any normal human understanding.

Stahl continued with his story :” Anyway the Narth invited me to their world. Thanked the United Stars for the effort and sacrifices protecting their system. They joined the United Stars with the expressed clause to remain isolated. The space around their system is off limits to all Star ship traffic to this day and the only contact we have with them is via their representative in the Assembly who rarely if ever speaks. We know virtually nothing about their culture, physiology or history. Narth citizen rarely travel and if they do, their Citizen ID data is classified. I know they have Psionic powers superior even to Saresii standards and Saresii legends claim they mastered some sort of magic.”

Letsgo snorted:” Magic! Nothing like magic exists. I am surprised to hear the intellectual and rational Saresii even have legends.”

“I wouldn’t be so fast dismissing legend and magic. I am a man of science myself, but when I was a kid the idea of traveling faster than light was considered impossible. Most Terrans laughed at the idea there could be intelligent life on other planets. Since then I  crossed this Galaxy form end to end more than a few times and went for a while  well beyond it. I have seen things and experienced events I still can’t understand or explain.

One day perhaps we advance far enough when there is no distinction between technology, science and what we define as magic, I will.”

Letsgo digested that last statement but deep down he still didn’t believe in magic. For everything there was a scientific explanation and returned to the original subject of the conversation.” I bet you are interested in the Narth.”

“I am! How is he doing. Interacting with the others?”

“The Narth is very quiet and keeps to himself usually, but he has a close human friend.”

“Tell me about that one!”

“His name is Olafson. He is a Neo Viking from Nifleheim. Webb ran into him as he did his malfunction suit test in the application line. Olafson took charge to save the Ult from drying out. He again took charge during the “No one showed up Scenario”.

Stahl sat up and leaned forward.” How did he do? “

“A long time experienced Officer could not have done better.”

Letsgo gave the admiral a detailed account of the events, played him the recordings of the hidden visual sensors.

Stahl grinned broadly.” I think I found another one!”