First journey chapter 28

CHAPTER: 28 Arsenal Gate I was nudged awake by the sleep inducer, which was set to do so when the bus was nearing the next destination. I awoke feeling refreshed for the first time since the fiasco on Corri-door. Since the last day on Corri-door, my sleep is continuously being interrupted by nightmares. Everything from being on the gallows to being the executioner. Hopefully, this marked the end of those sessions. I needed restful sleep for the upcoming series of test to enter the Academy. After arriving on Palomino, a pleasant garden world. I stayed in a hotel for a week and did some thankfully uneventful sightseeing to pass the time. Seven days ago, I had boarded a space bus, and after a short layover of only two hours at Corri-Door (This time I decided to remain aboard the bus), I was finally on my way to Arsenal and a new chapter in my life. I swung the seat in its upright position and deactivated the opaque privacy bubble. I saw other passengers doing the same. One of the flight attendant robots floated down the middle aisle and started announcing: "Dear passengers we are approaching Arsenal Gate. We will dock at the station in twenty-five minutes. All passengers with destinations beyond the Arsenal system are asked to remain in the lounge area. The space station is a military installation and is off limits to non-military personnel. Passengers with destination Arsenal System, please gather your personal belongings and prepare for debarkation. Gray Lines Incorporated can not/will not be held responsible for any items left behind." The robot had reached the end of the aisle of this passenger compartment, turned around in a fluid motion, and continued. "Arsenal Gate maintains a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere and living conditions suitable for carbon life-forms that breathes oxygen. Non-humanoid life forms with special needs are asked to remain in their protective suits or keep their life support devices' active. This space bus will remain docked for three hours and resume its journey to our next destination, the Barrows System. We will reach Moon base Nome in seven standard days." The attendant robot repeated his message. I suppressed a yawn and wondered why I never really felt refreshed when I used a Sleep inducer and dialed for a drink of water at the ServoMatic installed in front of me. Moments later and half a credit poorer I sipped the cold water. "You're getting off at Arsenal as well?" asked a male humanoid sitting next to me?" "Yes," I answered, putting the film cup into the waste recycler. I guessed he was about my age. He had almost white blond short cropped hair. His skin had a rosy shine, and freckles covered his entire face and neck. He held out his hand.  "I am Derek Simmons from Harvest 12." I shook his hand. "I am Eric Olafson, and I am from Nifleheim." "I am certain you never heard of Harvest 12, but then I wouldn't blame you, no one knows of it." "Nope I never heard of Harvest 12, but then I don't think you know about my planet, Nifleheim." He smiled. "In actuality, I do. I saw a National Galactic show about it on GalNet not that long ago. Isn't that the planet where they have those huge fish? And home for a young male who attacks professionally armed spacecraft with antiqued submarines?" "Yep, sure enough, that's Nifleheim, we call them Tyranno Fins. Why don't you tell me about Harvest 12? And can you forget about the young male, for at least a few years?" He sighed. " If it is you, Okay. Now, we don't have anything exciting on Harvest 12. It's a boring planet, entirely dedicated to growing agricultural products. SII owns the entire planet and completely Terraformed it. If there ever was any native life in the past, there isn't any now. Our entire planet was sterilized, homogenized, fertilized and leveled and plowed thousand times over. We have no seasons, weather control and orbital mirrors see to that. The weather is always just perfect for crop growth. We have wheat fields as big as continents, and that's about all there is to Harvest 12, an identical cookie cutter world, just like Harvest 1 through 56. The only changes are crop rotations." He sounded cynical and sighed: "My father is an AgraBot technician. My Grandfather was an AgraBot technician, and so was his father. I honestly had to get away, or I would have ended up doing the same thing." "Yes, the male is me, and I thank you. It will be hard enough in the Academy even without that on my back. Nifleheim isn't all that exciting either. We have unbelievably long winters, lots of snow and lots of water. All we export is ice and fish." He smiled. "So are you going to apply for the Academy or are you going to enlist?" "I am trying to enter the Academy first." "So am I. I want to become an Engineer. One day I will have an Engine Room on a battleship assigned to my keep." "That is a big goal. "Said a dark-skinned being, leaning over the back of a seat checking us out. " But that's what I am dreaming about as well." The being was humanoid proportioned, had two arms and three-fingered hands, but his red eyes were huge, and his ears looked like dinner plates glued to the side of his head and covered with a short soft black pelt. A pronounced lower jaw, filled with rows of sharp looking teeth. "I am Mix." He introduced himself." And I am from ThreeOz." "I never meet a Threeozian," said Derek. "Where is your planet?" "I am from across the Bridge. I come from M 31. My race is one of the newest members, and I am the first of my species trying to become a Cadet." "You come from Andromeda?" I repeated. "That's sure a long way from home. I thought there were academy branches there?" He looked at me for at least a minute without any reaction and then nodded. "Yes, it is a long way, indeed. I am also sorry for my delayed answer. I had to remember that nodding your head means yes to most humanoids. Mix made a gesture with his ears. I think the Navy has two academies in our galaxy, but they are at capacity with applicants, so they diverted me to here. "Almost everything is just as alien to me. What gesture do you use in your culture for indicating, yes?" "Like this." His large plate-shaped ears spread away from his head like opening hatches. "I doubt I could move my ears that far away from my head, even with a lot of practice." Derek laughed. "I have an uncle who could say yes in the Threeoz way just fine. He has big ears, and everyone in my family always made fun of him" He placed his hands to his ears and so simulated larger ears and moved them back and forth The black pelted alien chirped pleasantly. "That actually would be a good way for humans to say yes. Gestures with meaning are so hard to understand, more so than the language I find. The first time a Terran smiled at me, and I thought he was angry and wanted to eat me." "Eat you?" I asked with a surprised tone in my voice. "The display of teeth is a sign of extreme hostility where I come from and usually means I am so angry. Therefore I will eat you." "Does that happen? I mean do folks eat each other where you come from?" "Not anymore but in the old days, it sure did. It is against the law to eat anyone now." "I am sure glad they outlawed it. Otherwise, I might smile at a ThreeOz and end up on his dinner table." I said with a smile. "No worries Human. Your kind doesn't taste all that good." Our attention was diverted by someone a few seats ahead, pointing at the big view screen that provided passengers with a view of the space ahead of the ship. "I can see the station now. I'm sure glad we're through that darn corridor." "A space bus would be an easy target," Derek added with a dark undertone. A passenger across the aisle, looking older than most of the other passengers turned. "I live on Nome Moon in the Barrow System, that's even closer to GC space than Arsenal and much less protected, and we don't worry too much. The Nogoll, the closest Galactic Council thralls, after "starting" the last intrusion found themselves out of the GC. The Council no longer holds the space surrounding the corridor. The Eternal Warrior kicked some serious butt and showed them aliens who is the master of this part of the universe.  Either those black goat heads are already on their way to Pluribus and hope we accept them. Otherwise, our fleet is preparing to make this part of space Nogoll free." Derek did not share the same confidence as the older man. "This is still just a space bus, and the Nogoll might want revenge, or the Kermac made this a gigantic trap of some kind." The man laughed. "You worry too much for a future Cadet. You forget we still have Admiral Stahl and the Devastator. Whatever else might fail, the Kermac sure don't want to mess with him. The Goats lost 2000 ships trying." The man crossed his arms and looked pretty confident. Evoking the name of this mystical immortal Admiral made Derek smile. "You are right, of course. The Galactic Community would not want to make him angry." "Who is this?" Asked the ThreeOz. Derek almost glowed as he said. "He is Immortal and 3000 years old. He is the greatest warrior of all time. The measly mouthed bureaucrats refused to listen to him and forced him into exile. He remained there for centuries, but when the Union was defeated time, and all appeared lost to the Y'All, he returned as took over the battle. Returning with a huge battleship of unknown origin and incredible powerful weapons, he took the battle to the Y'All and their warrior thralls, and saved the Union." "I am sorry for my ignorance. We ThreeOz have joined only recently, and we do come from another Galaxy. How can it be that he is 3000 years old?" The Older man across the aisle smiled. "We always welcome new members to our Union. Once you accept Union laws and the Assembly has no objections, everyone is welcome. No need to be sorry. As for the Immortals, that is an old story, and no one knows the details anymore, except of course the Immortals, but it was at a time when Earth was still isolated, and Terrans had not discovered faster than light travel. A very hostile species called the Xunx awoke from an inactivity cycle to conquer and destroy once more. The Xunx were cutting a huge path through the galaxy, destroying everything in its way. The planet Earth, now known as Terra, was next on the list for destruction but a godlike machine left behind perhaps by the Celtest awoke and helped humankind to the stars. To accomplish this monumental duty, it chooses two hundred humans, giving them special tasks, secret powers, and immortality. Richard Stahl was chosen to be the warrior. Stahl proved to be more than the best he became a legend. I care not so much about the other Immortals that are left but Stahl he is my hero." "It's all just myth and story." someone behind us grunted. "There are no Immortals, no mystic Gods or Entities. It's propaganda and made up stories. I think Stahl and the others are clones or avatars and reproduced whenever they are needed." "But Encyclopedia Galactica confirms what the man said." stated another passenger. "No machine could put the fear in our enemies as Stahl can. He and the Devi are not Holos or simulations." A woman spoke with a proud smile. "I saw him once." Meanwhile, the space station visible on the viewscreen was getting bigger by the moment. It was a gigantic elongated, spherical construct with a thick ring around its equator. Enormous illuminated letters in Standard Alphabet identified it as ARSENAL GATE. The actual Arsenal system, so I had learned was still a light year away, but no civilian traffic was allowed to approach the system and had to go through Arsenal Gate. Arsenal was one of the most significant fleet base systems, with several fleet departments headquartered here. This solar system is one of the best guarded and defended system in the known universe. I read all this in my spare time while I was on Palomino, reading and watching GalNet shows was not extremely exciting but kept me out of troubles, at least while on Palomino. The space bus approached an enormous docking gate, from the looks of it probably able to accommodate full-size Union battleships, and slipped through the shimmering energy membrane that separated the inside of the dock from space. The robot repeated its announcement once again and added."Thank you for choosing Grey Lines as your transportation service provider. Please consider us again. A Ticket kiosk and booking agent at the Civilian Accessible Gray Line docking area, are accessible twenty-four hours a day." I debarked with at least 300 beings from all over Union Space to stand in line before the Station access doors. A non-humanoid giant, with four arms, wearing a Fleet uniform and two heavily armed Space Marines in bulking Destroyer suits checked everyone before they let them pass. "That is a Petharian," said Mix. "They also are from the Andromeda system. They have been members of the Union for a long time. They are as mean and much stronger than the Nul-Nul, who are considered the tough guys of this galaxy." "Is it true that the Petharians are related to the Y'All?" asked Derek. Mix wiggled his ears back and forth. "That's the rumor, but not according to the Encyclopedia Galactica. They do look similar to Y'All that is for sure." He lowered his voice and came closer, "But if you value your life, never mention that rumor to a Petharian." I had also learned about the Y'All in Gal History and Xeno Class, but I never heard of the Petharian or that rumor. "How come you know so much about other species?" I asked Derek. "I have a subscription to the Galactic Geographic Magazine. There is nothing I will not read or watch. I have collected every issue since 3300, and my mother, who is a librarian at the Harvest 12 public library, sends me even older downloads whenever she finds one." I felt suddenly a little ashamed for never using the public library we had on Nifleheim. Derek raised an eyebrow; probably guessing what I was thinking and said: "I didn't want to sound like a geek, but going to the library and going on Virtu Expeditions with the GGM was a wonderful escape for me when I was a kid. I am no Data head or anything like that, but it still was fun for me." I grinned back. "I know what you mean. I loved Captain Iron Hand Virtus and watched every experience the Union Fleet gave me in that information package the recruiter gave me." Mix wiggled his ears. "Jane's Ship Registry was my favorite recording of all the data chips in that package, with virtual tours of every space ship type. I checked out every one of them, at least twice." "That's a lot of ships to check out." Derek said." Would take years to see them all." "It did, it took seven years to be exact." Mix said proudly. The building we were in was enormous. The floor had a coating of rough black material. White, red, and yellow markings directed traffic, designated landing areas and places of danger. Also, there are areas marked with green diagonal lines to indicate safe areas. Safe from what it does not state. In the distance behind us, stood the massive docking gate. It was so big I was certain you could have stacked five burgs on top of each other, complete with Ragnarssons Rock and shove it through with room to spare. The emptiness of deep space waited on the other side for the unwary or unsafe. Four additional space buses had arrived along with the one I had been on and each added to the crowd of beings in the line of applicants. It took the better part of an hour for my turn to be interviewed, during which the conversation had come to an end. I was deep in thought, I was wondering of all the things that have occurred since starting this journey, and for the others, they were possibly doing the same, although most appeared to remain awake barely. The Petharian Fleet officer eyed me up and down with six glowing yellow eyes,  Its skin looked like the surface of a barnacle, and the voice sounded like it was coming from the bottom of a steel barrel. "State your name and your home planet and present your CIDI (Citizen ID Implant) for scanning." While I swiped my right wrist across the reader sensor, I responded with, "Sir, Eric Olafson, Planet Nifleheim." It seemed to look at something beyond me; it probably had the data read out projected straight to one of its eyes." Olafson, Eric. Nilfleheim. Citizenship confirmed. Your reason for visiting Arsenal gate? "I am here to apply for admission to the Naval Academy." "Academy applicants are to follow the red line and proceed to the red waiting room. You will wait there until further notice. Be advised that if you move outside red designated areas, you will be treated as an invader and shot. I will emphasize that once more, Outside red areas penalty is death." After which the being turned to the next person and yelled, "Next, State your full name and planet of origin. Also the reason for being on Arsenal Gate. Your time is worthless, but mine is short and valuable, so move it." The red line was one of several glowing colored bands beneath the surface of the floor. Derek and Mix soon joined me following the seemly endless red path that finally brought us to a red door approximately two kilometers from the security check station.  Opening the red door revealed a waiting lounge with several rows of bio-metric chairs. Situated to the left were large windows allowing a view of deep space and the brisk traffic of small and large spacecraft either arriving or departing the port. The wall on the right was overrun by Serv-Matic Vending machines, which appeared to offer everything from soup to drinks and everything imaginable.  The wall facing the entrance featured animated recruiting posters, for the fleet and the United Stars Marine Corps. Center on that wall stood a sleek polished metal podium, several comfortable looking chairs, and a small control panel probably for sound and lights. The room quickly started to fill with humanoid and non-humanoid beings. I walked over to the viewports and gazed outside. Just then a wedge-shaped battleship of the new Uni design emerged from the station dwarfing a heavy destroyer nearby as it gained speed and disappeared. "That was the USS Melbourne." It was Derek who had stepped next to me. "Have you ever seen a battleship for real?" "Yes, one landed on Nilfeheim for my grandfathers funeral. Quickly seeing my mistake, I continued, "I wonder what mission they have, perhaps patrolling the Nul-Nul border or hunting pirates." Mix joined us as well, and he said. "My people fought a long war with the Briaaad, and we were about to be conquered. You cannot imagine our shock and awe as we saw an entire squadron of those Union battleships appear in our system. Via our remote monitoring system, we watched with ever growing wonder as it cut through the Briaaad invasion fleet like a Nastooh wind through a Nolch forest. The Union fleet took less than a day to eliminate the threat to our civilization," Mix red eyes became even more prominent, " We applied for membership to the United Stars the very next day. One day, soon, I will be aboard one of those ships visiting other worlds. Repaying with my service what the Union has done for us." A fish-faced Ult overheard Mix and said, "The Briaaad made one big, fatal mistake when they fired on a Terran Explorer ship and made Terrans angry. Everyone in this galaxy knows you don't make Terrans angry without paying the price." Before anyone else could say reply, a humanoid female in black uniform stepped to the podium, her voice, obviously field-amplified came forth strongly, "Welcome aboard Arsenal Gate, Academy applicants. I wish to thank you for coming to Arsenal Gate and considering a career in the United Stars Spatial Navy. By doing so, you showed your willingness to serve and protect this glorious Federation of Civilizations. Some have come here after visiting a Recruiting office. Some of you might have undoubtedly boarded the space bus to Arsenal Gate to see what will happen. "All of you will have a chance to be evaluated. Before we ship you to Arsenal, we need to test you. It is a process and an exhaustive battery of tests to find out if you meet the required qualification. Those requirements are both physical and mental and also very strict in compliant with the high standards of the Academy. Some of the tests we perform are to make sure that no agent of a hostile civilization gains access to the Academy or Arsenal. "Once you step through the brown door, you are Fleet personnel. You have no ranks, but you are subject to all Fleet rules and regulations. Your civilian laws and rights have no meaning. You belong to the fleet after stepping through that door and must follow orders and do as instructed without delay. Failure to comply will result in punishment and possible dismissal, if so warranted. You have received your first of only two such warning, heed it and good luck." She made a pause and looked from one end of the lobby to the other. "We of the Fleet and the Academy welcome you. I am not here to discourage you, but more so to encourage you to try your hardest and present your best face. The fleet needs officers and enlisted personnel, but we don't want anyone who has doubts or not fully commit to this career choice. At times your training may seem harsh and unwarranted, rest assured every phase of your training has been thought out thoroughly and used many times. We demand the best of the best and expect the same from you. Now is the time to think about it. If you feel you made the wrong decision coming here, proceed no farther and remain in this room, and you will receive free passage back to your home world or any other place in the United Stars territory you choose. "You will be compensated for your troubles and receive five hundred Union credits and a free dinner. No civilian record will exist of your decision, nor will it affect your Citizen status." A man dressed in some ridiculous transparent purple plastic film suit and not much else raised his hand: "Excuse me, did you say we get free passage to anywhere and five hundred credits?" The woman sighed and nodded. "Yes Sir, that is correct." The strangely dressed man got up. "That's sounds good to me. I guess I am out of here." To my surprise, seven more decided to take the money and leave. I wondered why anyone would make this trip for dinner and five hundred credits. Mix answered me. "Some individuals do it every three months. They travel from Academy to Academy get their ticket and the five hundred as they have no intention to join. That man in the plastic garment did that on regular bases, and so far has accepted the freebie several hundred times. I gasped. "And the Fleet doesn't keep records on that and lets them get away with it? "I don't know, but I am sure the fleet keeps records of everything, and they know about it, but what are a few thousand credits to the fleet? They spend ten times as much every microsecond just for floor polish or to conduct a jury trial to convict them to a few months in jail." "How do you know all this information?" "To some small extent, I can read their minds." "You are a telepath?" He nodded. "Not as good as the Saresii but my Heidelberg psionic Index is at 223." "Don't get caught. It's against the law to read other folks minds." "No, that is not correct, it is illegal to pry into or otherwise access someone's mind, but I can't help hearing what they broadcast. It would be the same as making the overhearing a conversation illegal to any being that has ears." "You hear everyone's thoughts all the time?" "No, not everyone. I met beings I can't receive all the time. For example, the female fleet officer or the Marines behind her are not readable. There is nothing I detect, but then they are most likely shielded. Your thoughts, on the other hand, are pretty clear and quite loud in a psionic sort of sense." I never liked the concept of psionics, not even when the Old man did it. I felt everyone should have a right to their personal thoughts, but then Tyr could not have talked to me, and in his case, I didn't mind telepathy, maybe not all psionics were terrible. The female officer resumed her speech, "All those who still plan to apply at the Academy are to pass through the brown door. You will be asked to remove all your clothing and relinquish all your personal belongings. They will be returned to you after you completed your training or if you decide to quit. Scanning of you for cybernetic and genetic enhancements, bioweapons, and microbes will occur at this time.  We will evaluate your psionic abilities, assigning a value for same, and give you a physical and mental checkup before you leave to Arsenal II." She smiled. "There are over three hundred applicants present for admission to the Academy, all to be seen today. Therefore, this stage of your processing will take a while to complete.  Please be patient and wait your turn. The Vent-Matics are provided for your convenience and do not require credit payments." She ended her speech and was joined by four more officers, who along with her pass out plastic cards with large black numbers on them to each person interested in joining the Fleet. With my typical run of luck, I got number two-hundred and thirty-nine. After observing the proceedings for one hour, I found they proceed, ten applicants, every twenty minutes. Doing some quick math, I came up with a span of approximately 8 hours before they called my number if they maintain the present rate of interviewing. Mix's name was forty-five and Derek's seventy-eight, so they departed the group soonest. The recruits that were accepted went directly through the brown door. As usual, I stood or sat alone. After a while, the repeating visuals of the recruiting posters became bone-crushingly boring. The Vent-Matics were well programmed and provided brand name snacks and drinks for every taste. They roped off an area and defined it as a quiet area for holograms and audio. I decided to call home and talk with Egill before the interview. If we had to give up our personal belongings, that might include my PDD as well. It was just past five in the morning, Nifleheim time, but I expected most to be awake. Elena came on after the third signal. She was outside wearing thick furs, sitting on a power slider, it was the usual dark twilight of long winter, and I saw a burg far in the distance. That meant the ice cover had already moved past the north ocean and you could probably already walk or drive to Halstaad Fjord. That was the time fishing was done almost exclusively by subs and most clans and families now concentrated on Fangsnapper and Nubhir farming and ranching. Her breath rose like steam from a kettle. "Eric." She motioned someone outside the optics and said." Quick guys put up a tent. It's Eric." Her face was covered entirely by a Nubhir fur mask and goggles underneath a thick fur brimmed hood of a fangsnapper coat. She turned the PDD, and I saw nine or ten similar dressed persons with power sliders and a big ice tractor pulling a train of cages and cargo sleds. There were also hundreds of Fangsnappers herded by men and rugged Nubhir wolfs. The men riding Snapper bulls wielding steel cable whips and prodders, seeing all this I felt a little homesick. I would have loved to ride quirky steer bull or a power slider. They erected an inflatable tent in mere moments. Elena removed her headgear and revealed her red flushed cheeks and the pinkish nose. Even there with virtually no make-up, she was breathtakingly beautiful. With her were Sigfrida and Greifen. She activated Avatar function, and my PDD confirmed that the nearby GalNet terminals were in range for Avatar creation. Greifen waved and went back outside. Elena and Sigfrida shimmered into existence before me. They looked and almost feel real. Their shapes, body, and environmental data provided to my PDD via instantaneous communication from the sensors in her PDD. Since I was within range of an avatar capable GalNet Terminal, my PDD linked with it and the terminal sent out a light mobile force field emitters that created a form energy field that simulated shapes and textures. A localized artigrav area provided mass and substance. This incredible technology taken for granted by Union Citizens and used every day was, so my teacher had told me, the most envied technology by Non-Union civilizations. Since she was able to see and interact with me, that way surprised me, as it meant they had to have a very advanced and expensive mobile GalNet terminal with them. She hugged me. While the Avatar was an excellent approximation, and I could even feel the coldness of Nilfeheim, it was not the same as hugging a real person. It didn't matter though. She had her arms on my shoulders and said. "You have grown both in your stature, and you look more grown up too." "You aren't a child anymore, either. You look utterly stunning." She grinned boyishly." We are chasing Snappers all morning long I don't even want to know how I look." Sigfrida asked." So where is it you are right now? " "I am on Arsenal Gate, waiting to get the pre-admission test to the Academy completed." Elena stepped back and said. "Finally, you made it. You know we had bets going if you were involved in that awful business on Corri-Door, but you're on Arsenal that's great." I didn't have the heart to tell her I was involved after all, so I changed the subject. "So, what else is new?" "Nothing much. Midril is again off-planet and sorely missed. Father went ice fishing and let me in charge of the winter move of the Snapper herds. Little Exa is in school now and has friends of her age." She was putting her gloves back on." Oh and the Ancient accompanies Midril and a bunch of others, they went all the way to Pluribus to visit. Isegrim authorized the purchase of five of these SII-Avatar Consoles. With one installed at the courtyard and another in the Commoners Hall, everyone can use them, including Freemen, workers, and well everyone. The atmosphere on the Rock has changed Eric. Folks are content now, and there is the sound of laughter everywhere you turn, it feels so good to be alive here now." A tall human, a head taller than me, very muscular and athletic looking stepped into my view field and physically pushed me aside. "I noticed this applicant conversing with the most beautiful creatures known to Marellus Bewley, and I could not help myself and must inquire your names and whereabouts. He is not man enough to have two of such incredible looks." His shove made me look around, and there was a small gathering of exclusively male juvenile applicants staring at Elena and Siegfrieda. Elena smiled cold. "My brother has proven many times over his manhood. I suggest you exit his area quickly for he killed men for lesser offenses. Please leave quickly. Plus it is very impolite to interrupt a family call." "Wow, those are your sisters, little man. I am your best friend from this day forward. I expect their names and contact codes." He walked off, and I activated the privacy screen. Elena laughed and said. "Boys will be boys, Eric. See it with Freya's eyes and let him live." "I am not planning to get in any fights or kill anyone. I am at the threshold to the rest of my life and also the Academy." She hugged me once more, and Sigfrida did as well. Sigfrida then proved she was still the warrior said, "He favors his left hand, carries a fight hammer in an underarm holster, but looks like he has a glass chin. The fool stepped into an avatar scanner field, you know." Both hugged me and kissed me on the cheek again and said their farewells. The call terminated. The privacy screen collapsed, but the group had dissipated, perhaps called in already. I checked the glowing display numbers next to the door. It showed 66 thru 76, still a long way to go. The well-stocked Vent-Matics had a vast selection of popular snack items. Pre-packed snacks like this I knew from the School cafeteria but never had money to buy any unless Yngve bought some and shared them. Popular Nilfeheim snacks were pickles, pickled fish, pickled seaweed buds, and pickled dumplings. Dried Fish strip and air dried squid. I found something called Minnows and Nuts. They came in a red bag which had small finger long dried and salted fish and some oily, crunchy nuts that I liked. I also got a can of Sparkle bright and sat down, leaning back. I was nervous about the admission process, but I was here, and the recent nightmarish events started to fade. Considering all the things I felt actually content. I must have nodded off for a while. I opened my eyes with that sandy feeling and the realization I had not just closed my eyes but slept. The numbers displayed one-hundred and ten thru one-hundred and twenty, a considerable improvement, but still far from the number on my plastic card. Almost everyone still waiting were now sitting, sprawling and reclining in the Vari-Form chairs. I was ready for my third trip to the Vent-matics when I heard my number. Hastily I put the candy bar in my pocket and went through the sliding door next to the number display board. I had presented a light gray corridor with a shiny black floor. Ten doors lined the hallway, five on each side and over one door flashed my number and name displayed in bright illuminated letters. I looked for a door chime or buzzer but found none, so I knocked three solid hits, and the door opened immediately. A humanoid in BDU, which I soon found to mean Battle Dress Utilities, sat behind a desk, in a sparsely lit room. The walls, floors, and everything were in battle gray with dark red accents. The light from the indirect mounted illuminating plates cast a reddish glow to the room. The being was about human size had two arms, a torso and a head on a neck, but there was no visible mouth or nose, and the eyes seemed to darken areas in the beings otherwise gray, smooth skin. The being reminded me of the Sisters of Nilfeheim and their stocking masks, only I was sure this was no mask but the being nature look. The being extended a hand and said, "Have a seat applicant. I am, Specialist Yda." The darker skin area possible his mouth moved, but it did not appear to be the source of the voice. I sat down and said." I am Eric Olafson from Nilfeheim. "Nice to meet you Eric and I would like to say thank you that you consider a career in the United Stars Fleet." He moved one of his hands over a dimly lit contact area of his desk. "Confirmed, you are Eric Olafson, you are a lawful citizen from Nilfeheim. I see you spoke with a Fleet recruiter and entered the Pre Entry Program." He continued to study whatever readout he saw. "You downloaded every fleet information brochure, and I see you subscribed to "Log Book Stories" and "Command Chair" very unusual Virtu Choices for an applicant, for a person of your age." I was a little surprised to see they kept records of this. "I just liked to get as much information about the Fleet as I could, Sir." The being gracefully nodded and stated, "It tells me that your decision was certainly not a spur of the moment action and that you planned this for a long time."  The entity peaked its fingers and displayed long spidery fingers having several more joints than human hands. I got dizzy just watching and wondered if his kind ever made knots they could not get apart. The being suddenly vibrated and made a humming sound. "Yes, actually, we do. When I was young, I often got so tangled up that my Sip-Sap had to help me get my hands apart." "Yda, you can hear my thoughts as well?" I honestly didn't appreciate everybody and his brother that I meet reading my thoughts. Will this always happen here?" "Yes Applicant I can, I am a Leedei, and no still only a few can read minds. As your new friend Mix told you, your thoughts are quite loud." Yda leaned forward. "What is your reason for wanting to join?" "To serve and protect, to do my share to keep this Union safe..." YDa interrupted. "Not the poster reason, why did you decide to join and you can be frank and truthful." "I needed to get away from Nilfeheim for one thing. Ever since my Grandfathers funeral, I had no other plans. I always wanted to join the fleet." "What is it that attracts you? I see you are an executive of Enroe Industries. You own controlling stock in a successful company, and you are an officer of the Justice Department." "All that just happened, and I am unmistakably sure those are careers I do not want to spend my life doing. The fleet is the only place where I eventually could become a starship captain." The being uttered a series of whispering sounds and then said. "Then I think you are indeed in the right place." He unfolded his hands in what must have been a mental challenge. "You have a long way ahead of you before you reach that goal, but there are millions of ships, and all have Captains, so you see many others have reached that goal and done it before you and perhaps you too will do that one day." This statement of the being lifted my spirits considerably, and it was right. Whatever lay ahead of me, others had done it. So it could be done. "I am Leedei, as I said. My kind comes from M 31, a small satellite galaxy of Andromeda and I do not wear a stocking over my head, what an interesting concept though." "Is there any way I can somehow adjust the volume of my thoughts? I don't like sharing everything I am thinking. "I know of no natural way to do that. We Leedei have most excellent technical solutions, and I am sure the Narth or the Saresii might have ways also to accomplish that. Should you become an officer, you will receive extensive training and strong mental shielding. Then as a captain, if you reach your ultimate goal, receive even more training and ultrastrong shielding." The Leedei pointed to the door." It was nice chatting with you. Once you leave my office, you will be tested further and scanned. Be advised that from now on everything that happens could be a test and part of an evaluation process, keep that in mind." Yda was not kidding. After a dozen more exhausting interviews, medical exams, and scans. I felt turned inside out with every last molecule and thought examined, dissected, and recorded and then done one more time to confirm. At one point, they had me undress and bathe in a milky white liquid that was piecemealed with a metallic odor to it. A technician explained it was to make sure I was free of any unknown bioweapons or nanites.  The powers that be on Arsenal controlled these items ruthlessly, and the penalty of possession one these forbidden techs was death immediately. Finally, I was back with my new friends, Derek and Mix.  I was hoping we would be together for a while in the first stages of the Academy training cycles. After that bath, they gave me a bright orange jumpsuit with my last name stenciled across my chest and the word applicant between my shoulder blades. My personal belongings were in a plastic crate, and I carried it like everyone else to a long metal counter, a chubby looking human with a robot assistant waved at me. "Move it, applicant, you're next." He pointed at a recess in the counter and snapped infuriated, " Your crate fits right in there. Show some initiative." To his colleague next to him, processing a tall Andorran, he said, as if I wasn't there. "Sometimes I utterly hate my job, just think someone like that wants to become an Officer. Well, they always need more Dibbies." I put my crate in the recess, and a warning sound beeped." Class V Weapon detected." He took the blaster out of the crate and reached beneath the counter. To alert Security unless I was mistaken and sure enough, I saw two security personnel moving to my location. The one I had received from the police officer at Corri-Door. "Government Issue SIG Class V with full 60 bolt magazine. You better be licensed for that." He scanned my CIT and was satisfied. "One SIG STR 229 with magazine and holster." He handed it to the robot who put it in another bin. He also reached his right arm and wiggled his fingers, that was a signal of Okay to the security as they diverted to another direction. "One Fairbairn Sykes fighting knife in a shoulder harness. One Oslo brand heavy Boot knife. One Marine Corps Chain sword with full flamer attachment." He stopped." What war zone do you attempt to resolve on your own, Corri-door? You carry almost as much hardware as a Dai Than." Since he continued describing and handing my things to the robot, I was sure he didn't expect an answer. "One SII ProDat 9  Hexatonium Edition." "Pack of Sparkle Bright gum-Grape Flavor opened" He described each item of clothing and everything I had in my pockets that way. I didn't think it was right for him to know what I had in my pockets. I felt like being processed for prison. Then he said to me. "That is to ensure the records are correct, they monitored everything now, we had a little problem a few months back, not personal, Okay. All your items will be stored in safekeeping and will be returned to you, after you leave the Academy, either as a member of the Fleet or rejected." Between each test and each station of this process was a waiting period, and since I also had no PDD, I did not know what time it was or how long all this took. Derek was certain it was over thirty hours, as they finally herded us aboard a Leyland Military Shuttle. Everyone else was wearing those bright orange colored jumpsuits. I was tired and thirsty. I was certain they used every test and every sensor known to science on me. I had been bathed now four times in various liquids, sterilized inside and out. Filled out forms and questionnaires and then was probed and measured and scanned some more. "They are treating us like penal colony prisoners than Academy aspirants," complained Derek. He managed to get a seat next to me. I had to agree with him. It was impersonal, cold, and demeaning. With a few exceptions, the personnel was grumpy, indifferent, and unfriendly. Mix who also made it wiggled his big ears."To become an officer on one of those magnificent ships, I'd endure much worse." "I wonder why they do it that way," I said. "I mean would it hurt to show a little more respect?" Derek answered again, "It wasn't so bad. They need to make sure no spies make it to Arsenal. Do you know how many times the Kermac and others have tried to find out just what Terrans really found on Arsenal II?" Another applicant answered this one. "The GC does not like the Union, and they didn't like losing this star system to the Union, especially since everyone knows we found something there, something vital. I would be outraged to lose my front yard to a hated neighbor only to hear that this neighbor found a treasure in it." An applicant across the aisle had the name Binks stenciled on his chest shrugged. "I think it is a ruse, there is nothing there, and all this is to throw the GC off course, and it worked for the last 2000 years." Derek leaned back in the seat, obviously glad like everyone else to sit down and rest." I think they found a secret city of the Celtest or perhaps the Uni." I turned my head towards him "And you read that in your galactic National Magazines?" Derek gave me a broad grin. "Sure have, but that's not the only thing I watch or read." "So what did they find?" I asked Binks chimed in again, "No one that knows ever talked, but rumors have it that they found an entire Celtest city and/or fully supplied shipyard, with Tech level 11 items and documents ready for the taking. The famous alien ship brought back by Admiral Stahl during the last Y'All Invasion is supposedly a Celtest battleship. I think it was here that he found it." "Was it not 2516 when Richard Stahl returned and saved the Galaxy?" I said, smiling back. Proud at myself that I remembered something and wasn't completely ignorant "2516 was when the war ended. Stahl returned in 2514." "Why haven't we have reached Tech Level eleven yet?" I asked. "I mean if they really found what you said. That happened over 500 years ago." Binks said: "It takes the average civilization between three to five thousand years to reach Tech level three and over 20,000 years to go from there to reach Tech level seven. Look at the Kermac. They have been around for almost a million years they say and have not advanced past tech seven. Some of Saresii technology is considered to be Tech level 9, and they reached level three over a Million years ago. The Union, in general, is at Tech level eight but many consider Terran technology already well past Tech 8. Now the Terrans are still one of the youngest and newest galactic civilizations." Mix wiggled his ears. "When my people heard of the speed, the Terrans achieved this level we were amazed, and we called it the Terran Miracle." He kept moving his ears while he spoke. "Binks is right, you know, It takes many millennia of dedicated research to even fundamentally understand the principles of any Tech level higher than yours. It can be quite dangerous also if you are not very careful. I bet they found just what the rumor said and that is why Terrans and the Union advance so fast." Derek nodded."Imagine a Stone Age man trying to figure out the function of a blaster weapon. This Stone Age man would have to make a lot of discoveries and inventions on his own to even understand the essential workings of that blaster and during that long process might even accidentally shoot himself, by looking in the muzzle, before he ever figures it out. Can you just imagine one of those Neo-Viking dudes playing with one of those and shooting his dinger off." Mix stopped moving his ears and stare as if to penetrate Derek skull with his thoughts, but remained silent. Sheepishly Derek looked at me and said, "You are one of those Neo-Viking, right. Oh, shit.  Please leave enough to ID me." Seeing my opportunity, I pounced, "Friend, Derek, you crossed the line of honor and insulted my ancestors and my family. It is my sacred duty to avenge my clan.  I beg your forgiveness, but I must warn you I have the choice of weapons.  Hmmm, shall it be elastic finger-bands at fifty paces or maybe paper darts and forty." Derek had turned a pale white and was shaking slightly. Mix, looked horrified, then began to laugh uncontrollably, pointing a digit at Derek and then going to tears. "Gotya, Derek," I yelled. The weapons finally crest his mind, and he attempted to chase me. But while we talked, our shuttle left Arsenal Gate, then went superluminal.