First Journeys: American Spirit

The American Spirit was nothing I expected a space ship to look from the inside. It was more like a luxurious villa, complete with garden, swimming pool and green lawn. We stepped through a glass sliding door under a blue sky with a single yellow sun and on the green plant surface, he called grass, was a table with an umbrella and a few garden chairs. Rolling hills with forests in the distance," All simulated of course," Alex explained. " The walls are actually only 30 meters from us, but I like it that way. Care for a drink?"

"This is amazing you would never know you are in a space ship sitting here. Do you have coffee?"

"Sure do!" He ordered some and then he gestured around." This is only the private deck of course. The rest of the ship is more traditional if you will."

He sat down and I followed suit. Then as the Coffee was brought out by an older man with white gloves part of the sky vanished and a huge field screen appeared. A voice said." Mr. Enroe there are Gal News you might want to see, Sir!"

"Put it on!"

A news announcer said:" I repeat Intergalactic war imminent. Nogoll forces have violated the free space treaty and are engaging Union ships. A fleet of more than 500,000 Dai Than Units is fighting with Nogoll forces against Union Fleet units in the Prometheus Five Sun Nebula area. First reports of casualties have been confirmed."

The CEO of Enroe Industries sighed. "They say war is good for business and in a pure profit sense that is true, but I wish our generation could have been spared. I feel sorry for the lives that are going to be lost!"

"I need to go to Arsenal then Sir! I will do my part!"

"I have no doubt you will, Eric. I may call you Eric?"

"Yes of course."

"Call me Alex then."

The News announcer said." This is just in. Union is put on highest alert. Pluribus Assembly just called for an emergency session. All civilian craft are asked to avoid border areas and return to the closest ports if possible."

"Well that chancels your plans to get to Arsenal for a while, Eric. Arsenal is deep in Enemy territory and I bet there won't be any space bus traffic in the Arsenal Corridor. He got up. "I can drop you off at the next Union planet where you can wait for space bus traffic to resume or you can come along with me to Galveston."

"Galveston?"

"I am sorry Eric but I got to give you a rain check on the visit to Gore. Enroe Industries will do its patriotic share. We do have a substantial fleet of our own and I am planning to mobilize it and see if we cannot do our part to shorten that war."

"Galveston is not too far from the Prometheus Five sun nebula and it is one of our major dock yards. I am sure we could find something for you to do until Arsenal opens again."

"If we are at war then I want to do my share, be it as a Fleet cadet or as civilian. Count me in Alex."

I was allowed on the bridge of the Spirit. In the subdued light I saw men and women behind duty stations and a furry cat like being sat in the Captain's chair. Axel introduced me:" Captain Letrah this is Eric Olafson a very resourceful young man I had the pleasure to meet. Eric this is Captain Calia Letrah, she is Togar."

The feline Captain extend her claw tipped hand and with a gnarling sound to her voice." Nice to meet you Eric and yes I know what you are thinking. I am Togar but I can be trusted and won't eat human flesh."

"I don't think it is my thoughts you are reading, Captain Letrah. I never seen or heard of the Togar. They eat humans?"

A man next to her laughed." Our captain can get very agitated at things not done her way, but she hasn't eaten any of us, yet!"

Axel said." Take us to Galveston."

"Yes, Mr. Enroe."

Axel leaned over and said in a quiet tone." Togars are a very elusive civilization clear across Free space. There is no direct Union Contact and they are one of the so called Free Space Independent Neutrals, but they don't like the Union much and it is said they buy human slaves for food."

"They also have very good ears!" Said the Captain." True the Togar Empire doesn't like the Union but Togar also don't like the Kermac, the Nul, and the Shiss or in other words the Empire likes no one very much, with the exception of Axel perhaps. Yes many Togars like human flesh, we also eat Shiss and Kermac. I personally prefer Terran Style pork; it is similar in texture to humans and much less rancid."

Then she laughed with a roar." It smells like war and who knows if there is a Free space after that, or a Togar Empire. If that Admiral Stahl is on a roll, he might not stop until he reached the other side of Downward!"

It was a private Yacht, a very big one but just a civilian ship, yet the flair of efficiency and professionalism was addictive. It was a real space ship and this was its bridge! I had the same feeling I had back then when I saw the USS Ragnarsson. This is where I really belonged, in space and on the bridge of a space ship. Not that my chances ever getting there looked very good at the moment.

The Togar female got up from her chair and stood beside me." What fascinates you so? You look like a Togar cub standing inside a meat shop."

"All this!" I made a gesture around the bridge." It is where I want to be."

"Yes I was the same way ever since I was a Cub. I did not belong to an important family so I would have never been allowed to become an officer in the Togar Fleet. Enlisted yes but Command, never! When Enroe Industries started to deliver Pork meat to our worlds, I sneaked on one of his freighters. Long story short, I was allowed to become a Union Citizen and Alex made me the Commanding Officer of this Yacht. Enroe Industries is the only indirect contact Togar has to the Uinon by the way"

"Why aren't there more Union contacts with Togar?"

"I told you, most Togar don't like humans…other than minced on a platter that is, but Axel fought our queen in personal combat. He lost, but only by little and survived and for that our Queen respects him, even likes him and all Togar loves Enroe bacon!" Her Tail twitched as if independetly alive. "How about you, Human. You appear young. What are your plans?"

"I wanted to join the Union Academy to become a Starship Captain."

Her slitted eyes were actually quite beautiful in a wild impressive face with golden, black dotted fur that shimmered like silk." Yes this is a worthy goal if there ever was one. There is no species friend or foe to the Union that does not openly or secretly admire Union Fleet Captains. It is a special breed of beings, regardless of what species they came from. Saresii, Saran, Shiss, Terran,Klack, Ult or any of the many others, the Union seemed to have found the secret to really select and train them. Infinite confident as the depth of space they are. I have met quite a few you know." She gestured around." I am very content with this, it might only be a Yacht to you, but it is a very big one and could easily take on a Togar Battle ship in terms of shields and weapons and out run everything we have with ease, but I would give my tail and my eyeteeth for a Command on a Union Destroyer." She curled her chaps under her black nose with the long whiskers on each side." The American Dream technically is a Super Cruiser, a test platform as much as a private yacht for the latest Enroe tech developments and the Union Fleet operates several thousand of these in a different configuration and layout of course. She pointed at the central seat. We are still deep in union space and two days away from Galveston, if you want you can try it out for size."

You mean I can sit in the Command chair?"

"It's where you going to spend much of your time if you are successful with your quest. You might as well see if you like it."

It was nothing short of a religious expereince for me, to actually sit in a real space ship command chair. It immediately adjusted to my body and she explained. It is all pretty much fleet standard except the classified stuff and we don't have Translocators of course." She took my hand and placed it over a ball shaped object ." That thing under your right hand is the Master Control Panel. From here you can access all bridge functions. Helm, Navigation, Tactical, engineering, Security and Ops. If any of these stations fail, or don't react as you want you can overwrite them from here. It takes only a little to get used to it and then it becomes intuitive. The panel now sliding under your left hand is the Master Access Panel. It directly connects you with Communications to all stations; ship wide, departments and Computronic. You can raise alerts; isolate ship sections, damage control and evacuation procedures. The Pedal below your left foot activates chair controls and the right the Command Monitor bank.

I could somehow feel the ships very power through the leather of the seat. It was as if the ship became a part of my mind. Nothing could be compared with it.

Her whiskers twisted and she exposed her razor sharp teeth and it took me a moment to realize she was trying to smile. "I am not the best judge of human expressions but you sure look like you belong there!"

Interlude

Dai patriarch Ima Win-Do had narrowly escaped the slaughter. He was still shivering involuntarily; most of his Clan including the Ima Mother was gone. He had seen her rupture and disappear inside an antimatter fusion bomb explosion so huge it looked like the birth of a small star. The Devastator breaking like a demon with glowing shields through that cloud of destruction. Only the presence of a second Dai Mother firing upon the Devastator saved his Battle ship and everyone aboard. One of his destroyers had sacrificed itself flying into the path of three Loki torpedoes aimed at the Battle ship. He ordered his Helm to retreat, but the Navigation sensors were damaged and instead of heading for Free space they went deep into Union space. He had nothing to lose. His tribe was gone and from the last images he saw of the space battle, not many Dai would see another day. His mind burned with the shame of retreat and his heart heavy with the loss of everything he held dear. The traitors had lured them into a trap and a trap it was. The Thalim Nebulas always had been a remote Union area frequented by miners and civilian ships and only two star systems with useless ice planets in vicinity. Always had been a good hunting ground and now thousands of Asteroids suddenly turned into heavily armed space forts, with Translocator cannons, Thor Gun boats and batteries of Loki torpedo tubes.

As mighty as the Dai Fleet was it would have been much more of a fight with a well-organized armada, it was utter madness now looking back to do it without any coordination between the Dai Tribes. There was chaos and confusion one side and military precision and tactical guidance by a worthy Admiral on the other side. He wondered if he should have not joined Kar-Hi, but it was too late now! He had fled in the face of the enemy, no matter the fact that 3000 other Tribes had turned and fled as well.

He was never this deep in Union Space. On their long range scanners he saw only three ship contacts and sixteen Star systems within reach. His navigation systems still were not reliable. Navigation relied on exact time keeping and a special sensor array that was drained towards the Galactic center and several known pulsars. A ships position could then easily be established. The Sensor array dedicated to that task had been melted and his navigator established position the old way by comparing star charts and making course calculations. All three appeared to be Civilian ships, two of them from the size and speed most likely space buses trying to reach the next port. Full of arrogant Union citizens. Since he did not know where he exactly was any of the sixteen systems could be fleet bases and approaching them would get him destroyed before he could do something to quench his desire for revenge. The third target was fast, and bigger. Most likely some of the fancy luxury clippers, full of wealthy citizens. A worthy target for a pirate. This time he would not raid it, or give it a chance to surrender. He wanted to cause as much death and destruction before Union Forces would finally get him.

"Charge all weapons! Maximum speed! And fire all weapons as soon as we are in range. Take out its Engines first!"