The beginning
Lance transports into his cell at the allotted time. The chess games & physics had left him uninspired. Chess was too predictable & the styles of his opponent’s play defensive and austere. He tried to play with ambition, maybe even risqué but he could not overlook the computations of his exoset enough to make it interesting.
The physics was still too simple. It bored him & he could do nothing but anticipate more advanced classes.
Maybe his assignment from his history class – “Beginning of Interstellar War & its Consequences in the First Period” will give him a measure of some intrigue. A video from his exoset plays in front of his eyes reminding him that it must be disengaged. It is a replay of his Professor stating that the assignment must be read the ancient way, exoset unaided.
Lance laughed to himself thinking that only in History class would he be given such odd instructions.
He opens the first page of his assignment…
Malthus, a thirty year old man of slight build with long black hair lies face down asleep on his double bed. Here he is the emperor, a destroyer of worlds. Nobody challenges his wishes & all the most beautiful women are his.
The room is a mess with clothes strewn across the room. His T5 laser lies on the table beside his bed. Then suddenly the serenity is destroyed by the sound of a loudly ringing alarm. Malthus wearily opens his eyes.
He picks up the alarm off the side of the table & it reads “Code 5”. It is coloured in a bright red and the searing sound continues.
Malthus now trembles, for he has never seen a “code 5” before. It was the highest alert of the Galthusian Army. He pondered if Martan would be the next planet devastated by a World War. Maybe Venetia or Aridia has launched a nuclear strike! He knew that tensions had been increasing in the last few months but it still seemed improbable.
He quickly turned off the alarm and began to dress himself. Peering out through his window he saw nothing except the usual red dust punctuated by the occasional island of plant life against the backdrop of the purple sky. It was a landscape that rarely changed. There was no night or starset, because the planet was tidally locked to its star & the vegetation growth was so slow, it felt like even the mountains changed more rapidly.
Deciding to skip breakfast he quickly grabbed his furry coat and his trusted journal; he would need the furry coat for the cold environment outside and the journal to record his experiences, which was a habit he got into when he was young. He knew that he must make it to Fortress Delta as quickly as possible.
There in front of him was the pride of his life – The Venetion T5 Rapid Movement Hover Motorbike or just “Jane” to him. She meant more to him than any woman ever could. Her long slender turbo thrusters & perfect handling led to her being a joy to drive.
He mounted her & pressed the ignition.
It rose off the ground & started to move forward. Slowly at first but it gradually accelerated to a great speed. Malthus appreciated the magnificent mountains around him as he quickly sped through the valleys. He pondered if this would be the last time he would view such beautiful sights. Also he regretted never leaving the planet to see other worlds & the various aliens that inhabited them.
Then as if to cheer him, he saw some chinews on the slopes of the mountains. Indigenous to this part of Martan, they were the huge herbivores of the ecosystem, with long necks & massive bodies. They had been in danger of extinction due to over hunting but conservation efforts had saved them from the brink. There was always hope Malthus thought.
It took him an hour to reach Fortress Delta. In front of him stood a sheer, red, dusty cliff face similar to what he had seen many times on his journey. However, he knew that this was one of many secret entrances to the fortress.
Dismounting his hover bike & removing his helmet, he called out the secret password –
Delta Omega Hornipheus 456794379pb.
A loud noise sprang from behind the dust & a small opening appeared. Malthus entered, pushing his hover bike just inside the entrance in to a waiting parking space as the opening closed behind him. In front of him there was a long dimly lit tunnel, clearly made of concrete. Malthus ran down the tunnel.
After running for 15 minutes, Malthus approaches a lift, which he enters. Pressing the down button it swiftly brings him a further three miles underground.
As the lift door opens he is hit with a barrage of noise. It is also much warmer so he leaves his coat on the hanger revealing his grey uniform.
Before him in a large dome like enclosure stood a bustling crowd of high ranking soldiers, engineers & pilots. They were busy vociferously talking to each others. Monitors & computers covered the walls.
Malthus spotted his friend Socrates in the distance & Malthus quickly joined him. Socrates was a mid ranking pilot with a penchant for liquor & prostitutes. He liked his liquor strong & his women middle aged though he himself was barely in his thirties. He was pale skinned, had long blonde hair and his white uniform was always exquisite.
Socrates was bristling with excitement and anticipation. He had always dreamed of a real war rather than doing the tedious training exercises. In truth he had never really settled on Martan, being from a neighbouring star system. He was a mercenary, hired because of his skill at atmospheric fighter flying.
However, after work he was always the centre of the party cracking jokes and drinking a voluminous quantity of spirits.
“What’s happening?” queried Malthus hesitantly.
“Man, you are not going to believe this. The Mullinarians have attached Venetia. Like seriously, the place is blown to shit. Its cities have been hit by nuclear warheads, not sure about its military installations yet” says Socrates with nervous excitement, “like shit man how the fuck did they do that?
“But why? – this planet’s gravity is too high & the oxygen content is far too low”, states Malthus assertively.
Then abruptly and in a sharp stinging voice –
Engineers to holding Bay 1
Malthus leaves his friend and joins his comrades in Holding Bay 1. Due to the sheer size of the base it takes 20 minutes walking down a dark dimly lit corridor to reach it.
Holding Bay 1 is one of 7 hangers that contain atmospheric fighters. The Zenith 12 is the mainstay of the Galthusian Air Corps. Although highly manoeuvrable & agile, it is not able to reach low Martan orbit.
The Zenith 12 is sleek, black with two wings, rear rockets and a scramjet underneath. There is seventy zeniths strewn across the hanger but they are interconnected by the conveyor belt that will bring each of them to any of the five launching sites.
The crowd gathers in the centre of the hanger in front of a podium. As the Senior Ranking Engineer, Malthus escapes the jostling & goes onto the podium where two generals stand. They are wearing the traditional green uniform but Malthus sees fear in their eyes.
One of them stands forward & shouts:
“Quiet. As you are all by now aware the Mullinarians have attacked Venetia. The first city was attacked approximately two hours ago. The Venetians have suffered considerable casualties but have started to launch a credible defence.
As things stand Galthusia remains neutral. The Mullinarians have stated that they were provoked by Venetia & will not attack on any other nation on Martan.
However, we must remain on high alert.”
At this point the other general nodded at Malthus to follow him and they walked into a side room, closing the door behind them.
It was a small and dusty room. The general sat down behind a desk which had a computer & old papers resting on it.
A table light shone onto the director’s face.
Malthus could now see that his face was covered in scars, with one very prominent scar running down the left side of his face all the way from his chin to the little grey hair that he had left on his head.
Then he spoke clumsily to Malthus “I hear you’ve worked with the, the interstellar X125 ion engine?”
“The XY124 interstellar y drive engine, sir”, said Malthus confidently.
“Was this during your time in Venetia?”
“Yes sir, at the Royal University Cambridgeon, Venitia city”.
The general then said solemnly “You have been assigned for a top secret mission. The Venetians have the only interstellar spaceship called “Meridith” currently on the planet. As you may be aware it contains the ion drive engine that you are familiar with. Seemingly, this ship was on the verge of being decommissioned due to a problem with its ion drive. All the elite Venitian Engineering Corps had been reassigned to a clandestine research project.
Fortunately three orbits ago, the Venetian Emperor Considine ordered it go into secure storage, while they waited on its successor from the Gutan system.
They now plan on using “Merideth” to reach the reach Ciesta system to request reinforcements. Unfortunately, it appears that all the other engineers who were familiar with this system died in the first wave of nuclear strikes on Venetia.
It should be clear you by now that Galthusia is not as neutral as officially stated. A permanent Mullinarian presence would not be acceptable for moral, political and military reasons.”
Then angrily he sighed “Martan is a human world. Ultimately we cannot concede it to another species.”
Then regaining his composure “Your mission is, with the pilot of your choice to fly on a Zenith 12 to the Venetian base where Merideth has been stored and to make her capable of interstellar travel.
Who do you wish to be your pilot?”
“Socrates, from Elite Squadron X”, Malthus said nervously.
“Go to holding Bay B, he will be waiting for you there. Be ready to depart in ten minutes.”
Mark's Writing Corner 