| Author |
The Officer: Chapter 1 |
Thrie
Fleet Admiral
Raven Warriors
Joined: October 28, 2002
Posts: 760
|  Posted: 2011-08-20 17:44
Chapter 1: Planet Argrea
(Appropriate soundtrack for your listening pleasure: Two steps from hell - Asimov)
Thomas stood next to the helmsman in a cramped bridge of a ship. Like many military ships, every bit of space was precious and used for a reason, as a result the corridors are narrow and compartments cramped. In the bridge, there were five other crewmembers operating various computers that kept a continuous output of information. Thomas had his attention on the forward bulkhead where the main screen showed a tactical overhead map of his current location. His ship was marked with a green frigate icon and it was fast approaching two blinking red dots with unknown marked next to them. Behind the unknown contacts floated Argrea, a beautiful earth-like planet, planet that he grew up on. His mind almost drifted off until his sensor officer perked up from his station.
“Sir, unknown contacts has noticed our presence. They are turning to face us.”
“Hail them on all frequency,” Thomas responded, following procedures by the book. “See if we can find out why they are here and who they are.”
“On it sir,” the sensor officer complied and began speaking into his headset in an attempt to establish communication with the unknown contacts.
“Sir, contacts are powering up their weapons and has acquired firing solution on us!” The sensor officer shouted with urgency. “Shield, sir, we’re detecting shield. It matches ICC frequency.”
“I guess it’s safe to assume they are ICC and therefore hostile. Get me more info on what those ships are.” Thomas then turned his head toward the weapons officer. “Weapons, report.”
The officer at the weapon station looked up from his screen and made his by the book response. “Particle cannons charged and standing by. Flux wave will be charged momentarily.”
“Helm, initiate evasive maneuvers and,” Thomas was unable to finish his orders when he was interrupted by the sensor officer.
“Incoming fire!”
A multitude of tremors washed over the frigate as rail slugs slammed into the thick armor plating. The helmsman didn’t need to be told twice and directed the ship out of the rail rounds’ path. The nimble frigate sailed through the space and avoided the slug rounds by mere meters.
“We are getting a reading on their energy signatures now sir,” the sensor officer announced. “We have an ICC combat destroyer and sensor frigate.”
The sensor officer updated the tactical map display and the red blips replaced with their respective ship class icon.
“Weapons, all guns on that destroyer. Helm, get us behind her.” Thomas ordered confidently.
The weapons officer quickly worked on his console and marked the destroyer on the tactical map with a red diamond. With the weapon officer’s command, the frigate’s particle cannon turrets spun and pointed toward the destroyer. With thundering roars, a stream of charged particle bolts rushed through the void of space toward the enemy ship, passing on-coming rail slugs. The destroyer made little effort to move out of the particle bolts’ path, instead it turned to face the incoming fire. When the particle bolts reached the destroyer, only a quarter of the bolts managed to touch the destroyer’s shield and the rest fell short by few meters, it was then Thomas realized the danger they were in.
“ECM! Target that frigate now!” He shouted but his crew was slow to react and the enemy frigate banked to its left, separating itself from the destroyer. The helmsman overshot the frigate but worked the controls turning their ship in pursuit of the sensor frigate.
“We are in pursuit of the frigate now, sir.” The sensor officer reported then quickly added, “wait.”
He looked up toward Thomas, beads of sweat forming at his temple and said, “the enemy destroyer just positioned itself right behind us!”
Thomas rushed to his terminal and accessed the rearward camera. It had just occurred to him the fatal error of his decision to give chase and took the bait, the sensor frigate. He then watched as four blue glowing globes left the destroyer’s launchers and approached his frigate at great velocity. At this speed, the torpedoes would miss a fast moving frigate such as theirs but these torpedoes were behaving oddly since leaving the launch tubes. The torpedoes were homing in on their ship. This was the action of the ICC sensor frigate. Sensors provide a continuous target information feed to their warheads and this allows the warhead to track their target and home in on it.
“Oh flux, brace for impact!” Thomas shouted and grabbed onto an overhead rail.
Not even a heartbeat afterwards, a strong jolt rocked the frigate as four fusion torpedoes exploded against the frigate’s hull removing what little strip of armor protecting the frigate’s aft. Now, the rail slugs chewed up the engine and dug deep into the frigate’s hull inflicting significant amount of damage. As quickly had the destroyer hurt the UGTO frigate, the computer monitors and screens ceased to function as if nothing had happened. Thomas sighed as he released the overhead rail and closed his eyes. He had just failed the simulation and made a complete fool out of himself and his crew. With his eyes closed, he waited for the bridge's hatch to open and receive a tongue-lashing from the naval instructor for all the errors he had done.
(Immediate Music - One Man's Courage )
When Thomas opened his eyes, he found himself staring up at a dark ceiling. The room was dark and yet familiar. After the feeling of the dream subsided, he recognized the dorm room to be his at planet Argrea’s Naval Academy. The next thing he searched for was the clock next to his bed on a table and through fuzzy vision he only recognized the time to be past 5am.
He laid there on his back as he reminisced on the dream. This dream was different from the others because it happened four years ago during his first year in Argrea’s Naval Academy. When he first enrolled, he had only little prior knowledge of the military. Thomas had to struggle in his first year to get the hang of all the terminologies and mannerism that came with being part of the military. However, through hard work and determination, he managed to learn what he was required to by the end of his first year. He was afraid he was not going to make it through the first year. It didn’t help that he did not have a backup plan since he joined the military in somewhat of a whim.
Thomas was of the Xing family bloodline. His full name is Xing Tei Mai but he prefers to be called Thomas instead. He was also the first of the Xing family to join the military. They were a business-oriented family running a large corporation that develops military ship hardware and civilian stellar transportation parts. When he was young, he had been condition to believe it was his duty to carry out his parent’s work. Like many Asian families, they expected their young(s) to study and get their master degree and carry on their family name. However, Thomas drew the line when his parents told him that they had negotiated an arranged marriage with a partner company for him. Thomas at the time was only 18 and was far too young to accept such an involuntary arrangement. Thomas did one thing he knew a boy his age could do, run off into the military and join the war. Of course, he also had something to prove to his parents so he enrolled into the Naval Academy to become an Officer instead of starting out as an enlisted. Of course, his parents had to mask their embarrassment by pretending this was all part of a big plan in educating Thomas to become a better adult and thus provided funds for his tuition.
Much has changed since those days. Every minute he’d spent at the academy as a cadet has taught him important things that made his family affairs seem rather insignificant. Also, he had learned to enjoy the life in the military more so than what he had imagined. Now, it had been four years and he has done everything the academy has asked him to do. Today, the graduation ceremony will take place to congratulate the cadets and we would walk out as full fledge Midshipmen. Through his time in the academy, he had grown fond of his unit. Jason was the grease monkey who loved to work with machinery. Buck, but we knew him as Butcher, was going to be a Marine officer and watch our backs against enemy boarding parties. He had one hell of a sense of humor. Janet was one woman you do not want to mess with. She ranked top score in weapons and martial arts qualification by a long margin. Nick was a geek, always digging through computer hardware and occasionally soldering himself. Thomas couldn’t wish for a better group of friends than these guys and it sadden him that they will all be going their separate ways once they leave the academy.
Of course, the class couldn’t go without the ones you hated. Cadet Richard and Cadet Jessica had always been competitive and followed everything by the book religiously from the start. They had been at each other’s neck since the start and when cadets were assigned to their team, they were steamrolled over by massive amounts of demands and expectations. Despite leaving cadets crawling back to their dorm, they do get things done. Not the best of method but that’s the way the bread crumbles.
Seeing as the alarm clock will go off soon, Thomas decided to get up and take a quick shower. The extra time would allow him to square away his dress uniform for the ceremony. After all, he gets to strut his commissioned rank, even if he was just a junior grade, it was an achievement he had not know possible considering how his parents had been during the entirety of this whole ordeal. They still expected him to fail or drop out so he’d return to them and they’d say, “I told you so, you should’ve listened to us.” Not exactly the best group of people to ask for motivations. That is why he enjoyed his friends company.
After the shower, Thomas ran a hand through his dark colored hair that’s been cut the previous day. He looked at the face that stared back at him from the mirror. The academy had done little justice to him. Physically, he’s in tiptop shape with a medium built body leaning more toward a pale skin complexity and standing at 5’10. Stress, however, definitely showed on his face. With that in mind, he wondered what the field would do to him if the academy did this to him in just four years. He had originally rejected rejuvenation treatment offered before the academy began but now, he reconsidered. Rejuvenation treatment effectively slowed down the aging process of a human being. When someone receives a treatment at age 22, the individual will look in their twenties for the next 50 years. Their life expectancy will also increase by an average of 35%. The idea of looking like you were in your twenties by the time you were 70 years old was an offer impossible to reject but the cost of the treatment doesn’t come cheap though. Once the treatment wore off after 50 years, the human body will resume its natural aging process. As a result, you would still look in your fifties by the time you hit the 100 years mark and still be healthy enough to stay clear of Elder Care Services. Thomas would think more about this after the graduation ceremony and the ball that’s being held tonight. Now dressed in his dress white uniform, he made a final inspection in front of the mirror before making his way to the parade ground.
As anyone had expected, the ceremony was long and boring with the usual long speeches from the naval instructors who were proud of their cadets’ progress and the UGTO officers’ looking forward to having them in the fleet. Thomas had wish the speakers practiced a little bit more in sounding more genuine, maybe he wouldn’t have dozed off occasionally. He had his hat to thank for, the brim managed to hide his eyes and avoided being caught. The day the ceremony had taken place happened to be a nice season so the event coordinator decided it would be best to hold an outdoor ceremony. Otherwise, if they were indoor, they would be required to keep their hats off and on their lap.
Once the ceremony was over, Thomas made his way to his car so that he could go ahead and reserve a table at a diner his friends and him enjoyed. He was the man for the job because he knew his parents would not show up for the ceremony and they never did show up. As he drove to the diner, he wondered if he was the only officer whose parents did not show up. It didn’t bother him, after all, his parents never did approved of this. In fact, he felt somewhat satisfied. His parents not showing told him he was now in control of his life walking his own path, not one laid out by his corporate family.
The rest of the day involved having lunch with family at the academy cafeteria or some favored restaurant not far from the campus to showing them around their academy and showing off what they had done there in the past four years. However, the main event was going to be tonight, at the formal ball and everyone was invited.
Thomas remained in his dress white uniform throughout the day. Time passed by fairly quickly and the evening ball rolled around. Thomas had rendezvous with his friends prior to entering the auditorium. The facility was impressively massive. However you look at it, it could easily house an entire battalion. Many Midshipmen, their families and guests were already here. Grabbing the good tables Thomas presumed. For the next hour, the auditorium was filled with people and various songs were played.
(eScala - Palladio)
Thomas sat with his friends through most of the event. He wasn’t the type to get up and dance under the spot light. That was the job for Buck, the soon to be Marine officer. Not only did Butcher know some moves, he had a way with words around the ladies. Thomas saw Buck as a grade A player. Despite the type of personality Butcher has, he has a way to motivate people around him. He’ll have your blood pumping and you’d feel like you could take on the universe. However, there was one female Butcher avoided in the entire academy and that was Midshipman Janet. What Butcher was asked why he would avoid Janet, he never gave a straight forward answer and dodged the question. They could only assume having worked together, they developed a mutual respect for each other. Speaking of Janet, she had stripped off her dress uniform for a lime green dress for the ball. This may be the first time to see her feminine side in the four years. Despite being physically built from the years of training, she did retain some curves and at the moment, she enjoyed showing off every inch of herself. She even went as far as teasing our BCG (birth control glasses) guy, Nick who has always been on the shy side when working with female members of the academy. Thomas honestly thought Nick and Janet went well together. They were the complete opposite and but when given a task to work together, those two would handle the situation professionally as if they knew what each other think. Many cadets had envied their talents. Jason was a calm joker of the group but he is not without kindness. Many occasions, he had attempted to set up a date between Nick and Janet but Nick always chickened out on the last minute. Having made no progress in the years and in a desperate attempt before they graduated, Jason crossed the line with one of his plan. He had convinced Nick to write a love letter and leave it in Janet’s locker along with a bouquet of rose. At, which, Jason decided it would also be funny to shove Nick into the shower room that Janet was currently using. Problem was, Jason did not know Janet wasn’t the only one using the shower at the time. Nick ended up receiving several lethal dosage of angry female rage and got a taste of Janet’s martial art skill.
These guys were Thomas’s friends and they got him through the academy. Thomas wasn’t even sure how he would fare if they weren’t around to help him along the way. Yet, his friends saw him as their team leader, something Thomas did not believe he deserved.
Then a blur of red caught Thomas’ attention. He turned his attention to the floor searching for that hint of red that had briefly stepped into his peripheral vision. A moment later, a group of male Midshipmen opened up enough for him to see her. A lady in a long red dress that clung to her body like her second skin. She had long dyed red hair that glimmered in many shades of the fiery color. Then her eyes, Thomas could drown in that deep sapphire blue. His eyes slowly wondered down and laid sight on the ampleness rising and lowering on her chest as she breathed. Realizing where he was looking at, he blushed and tried to turn his gaze away but something about her kept his eyes locked onto her. As if she noticed Thomas staring at her, she turned to meet his eyes. Thomas was afraid he was going to receive a glare but instead, her lips curled up into a smile and she made her to the bar. As she strolled across the floor, Thomas got a view of her callipygian swaying from side to side and mentally punched himself for the way he’s acting.
He was somewhat confused by the way he was acting. Maybe the relieve of finally having graduated from the academy had lift some weight of his shoulder and he’s being more human now? Or maybe he was just so used to working with his class at the academy that he sees everyone as brothers and sisters to him and never acted on feelings. All he knew was he had never seen this redhead before at the academy. It could be someone’s family member.
“May I have a seat?” A voice melted in his ears.
Thomas snapped straight out of his seat once he realized the redhead had made her way to his table while he was zoned out from questioning his reaction.
“Y-yes, of course, please.” Thomas replied and offered her a seat by pulling a chair out.
“Thank you.” The redhead sung her reply through smiling lips, also coated with glimmering red lipstick. She set two glasses of beverage on the table before settling down in the chair Thomas had offered. Thomas returned to his seat and became quiet, unsure of what to say.
Noticing how nervous Thomas was, the redhead introduced herself first. “I’m Alyson but you can call my Aly.”
“Nice to meet you,” Thomas responded with a fake smile. “I’m Midshipman Xing, Thomas.”
“Please, you can relax around me. You seem pretty tense. Wasn’t this event hosted for your enjoyment?”
“Well yeah, I can’t explain it myself. I’m usually not like this.”
“Well, please have a drink. I hope you’ll like sweet wine. It might help you loosen up.” Alyson sung sweetly as she offered Thomas a glass of wine that she had brought with her.
“T-thank you.” Thomas took the glass after nervously thanking her and took a gulp out of the beverage. Bad idea. He was not prepared to consume a mouthful of alcohol right away and ended up coughing and making a fool of himself.
“I’m sorry, I’m not myself tonight.” Thomas grabbed a napkin and placed it over the mess he had just made. “Funny, I’m the calm one in my team but here I am making myself look like a Fung (phonetic for FNG which stood for Freaking New Guy) on his first day at the academy.”
“You don’t look alright.” Alyson said and placed a hand on Thomas’ arm. “Hey listen, I’ve had enough fun here and the academy usually isn’t a place for a girl to be. You know what I mean. Why don’t you come with me to my place and I can help you relax.”
Thomas was shock by Alyson’s offer and he stuttered to reply. “That’s rather uhm, kind of you. I don’t think that would be a good idea. I mean not that I don’t want to tag along. I do have a place here to stay for another day or two or something. What uhhh...”
Thomas couldn’t understand it but his mind began to swirl and he was having a hard time comprehending his situation. He tugged at his collar when he began feeling a little warm. The voices around him started to muffle out and he couldn’t understand a single word anymore. Lights brighten and colors magnified suddenly.
“Aw, I do think you might have had one too many drinks tonight. Best get you to a place to rest before you do something you’d regret.” Alyson sung as she stood up from her chair.
Pulling Thomas’ arm over her shoulder, Alyson lifted him from his seat and walked him out of the auditorium. Thomas just saw blurs of colors where ever he looked. He wasn’t even sure where he was anymore. He just walked onwards, guided by Alyson.
She eased Thomas into the passenger seat of her corvette before settling down into the driver seat. She drove for a few miles to a five star hotel suitable for business executives, a place even Thomas wouldn’t be able to rent a room for the night with his current pay grade. Since Alyson had already reserved and pick up her key card to her room, she parked the car and guided Thomas to the elevator. Once they arrived on their floor, she took her to her room and sat him down on her bed. Thomas’ eye became distant as he lost control of himself.
Alyson stood in front of Thomas and softly spoke, “embrace me.”
In his mind, Thomas didn’t hear a word she said but his arms involuntarily reached up and wrapped themselves around Alyson’s waist. She purred softly and pressed herself against him. The light to the room dimmed but in Thomas’ vision, the room got brighter. The brightness soon engulfed his mind in a complete whiteness, his conscious no longer there.
Out through the window of Alyson’s room, the auditorium was barely visible over the horizon. Then an engine trail slowly centipede upwards away from the academy. A moment later, many more engine trails of shuttles were seen leaving the Academy area. On the table nearby, Thomas’ cell phone and pager vibrated. On their screen, the word “Emergency” flashed urgently but in the condition Thomas was in, he was unable to answer either device.
_ [Chapter 1] _ [Chapter 2 }>
I apologize for my lack of writing skills. I've had a story of my DS game character for quite some times now and only recently, I had the determination to write it all out.
[ This Message was edited by: Thrie on 2011-08-22 18:43 ]
_________________
[Fleet Admiral] Thrie \"The Tiger\" Barton of [C.S.S. Armor Tiger]
|
Gejaheline
Fleet Admiral
Galactic Navy
Joined: March 19, 2005
Posts: 1127
From: UGTO MUNIN HQ, Mars
| Posted: 2011-08-20 19:24
Possibly one of the best fictions I've seen for quite some time, and it looks like you've put a lot of effort into writing it.
Keep it up.
_________________
[Darkspace Moderator] [Galactic Navy Fleet Officer]
|
Iwancoppa
Fleet Admiral
Joined: November 15, 2008
Posts: 709
| Posted: 2011-08-21 02:00
Wow! very interesting, makes me want to read more. Cant wait for chapter 2!
_________________
|
MaGoo
Fleet Admiral
*Renegade Space Marines*
Joined: March 18, 2009
Posts: 79
From: USA
| Posted: 2011-08-21 21:02
Awesome man, keep writing, its great  i wonder what the emergency is....
_________________
*MaGoo*
|
-Shadowalker-™
Admiral
Galactic Navy
Joined: September 23, 2007
Posts: 709
From: Shadows
| Posted: 2011-08-22 08:18
This is nice. I like it. 
_________________
|
Thrie
Fleet Admiral
Raven Warriors
Joined: October 28, 2002
Posts: 760
| Posted: 2011-08-22 14:58
Thank you, everyone.
I've spent quite a bit of time brainstorming over this and I already have an outline of chapter 2 and 3 ready. It's just the matter of getting the time to type the contents, correcting and posting it up.
_________________
[Fleet Admiral] Thrie \"The Tiger\" Barton of [C.S.S. Armor Tiger]
|
MaGoo
Fleet Admiral
*Renegade Space Marines*
Joined: March 18, 2009
Posts: 79
From: USA
| Posted: 2011-08-23 01:48
Well good luck to ya m8!
_________________
*MaGoo*
|
SpaceAdmiral
Grand Admiral
Joined: May 05, 2010
Posts: 1005
| Posted: 2011-08-23 02:30
Dayum. Never thought fan fic could get this good.
_________________
|
|
English
Deutsch
Nederlands
)
