Forge of War (Jack of Harts) (38 page)

Jasmine smiled and shook her head.  “We never
were
.  We just…hadn’t
realized
it yet.”

Jack brought a hand up and rubbed his temple, feeling more out of the loop than ever.  “Could
some
one explain what’s going on here?”

Betty smiled at him.  “Remember when I told you that we didn’t know if we were Terran or Peloran?  Those of us born to Terran partners from Peloran parents?”

Jack cleared his throat and tried to remember that conversation.  It came back and he nodded.  “Yeah, I remember.  Hal said you were all Terran…” he trailed off and let out a long breath or realization.  “Whether you knew it or not.”

Betty beamed at him and clapped her hands together.  “You
do
pay attention!”

Jack tipped his cowboy hat to her and winked.  “Always, Ma’am,” he teased.  He still didn’t fully understand what had happened, but he thought he had the general idea now.  And the rest would come in time.  What mattered was that…it was better now.  He thought.  He felt.  “So you’re Terran.  I gather that makes a big difference?”

Betty nodded and led them onto the landing field.  “All the difference in the worlds.”  She waved her hand at the Avengers resting on the pavement, waiting to fly.  “The Peloran never would have designed that.  Well, the original one we flew back at Earth.  It was too cobbled together.  Too…kludged.  Too…reckless.”  Betty shook her head.  “We sometimes get caught up on the idea that we’re all human, but when it comes down to how we think, the Peloran, the Terran, the Shang…we’re all really
alien
to each other.”  Betty sighed.  “I think that’s why the Peloran stay at such a distance from us, even when they’re here, even when they’re friendly.  I think they’re just not
comfortable
with us.”

Jack frowned, counting the number of Peloran he’d actually interacted with in his life.  Really spent time with.  He blinked as he realized it was really only one.  “What about Aneerin?”

Betty shrugged.  “He’s…different.  Always has been.  Sometimes I think he’s closer to Terran than he is Peloran.  I think that’s why they’re not comfortable with him.”

“I suppose that could be,” Jack whispered and nodded ahead, pointing out the men and women waiting for them.  Over four dozen in all, they were the shortlist of volunteers from Terra, Alpha Centauri, and Epsilon Indi.  They were the ones that Jack thought just might make good Cowboys.  Most of them were Marines, but a few came from the Navy or the Space Force, each one wearing the rank and uniform of their service.

Jack walked up to them, hearing the hum of two-dozen holoemitters, and the pilots and cybers saluted him.  He returned their salutes with a smile.  “Gentlemen.  Ladies.  I’ve called you all here for the final test I’m going to put you through before we all decide who will fly with us.”

The volunteers nodded in understanding.

Jack’s smile grew and he let out a long breath before he spoke in a quiet voice.  “We’re under attack.  Right now.”  The volunteers frowned as they tried to make sense of his statement.  His words didn’t match his tone at all.  Jack pulled in a deep breath and shouted them into motion with the best drill instructor voice he could make.  “
Scramble
!”

Pilots and cybers jumped and ran towards their fighters as Jack, Betty, and Jasmine turned away and ambled over to their Avenger.

“You are so evil,” Betty whispered.

“Warming up?” he asked.

Betty snorted.  “Oh yes.  Of course.”

Jack stopped beneath their massive fighter and smiled.  “Betty?”

“Ready,” she answered and he felt the fighter’s gravitic systems twisting gravity around him.  New Earth’s weight lifted from his shoulders and he felt light as a feather.

Jack sighed in relief and kicked off the ground, jumping up towards the open cockpit.  He heard pilots swear as he floated up and gravity subtly pulled him onto the edge of the cockpit before settling back to New Earth normal.  Jack grunted, held the canopy for a moment to steady himself, and stepped down into the cockpit.  He sat down in the seat with another sigh of relief and pulled in a long breath.

“Launch,” he ordered with a smile.

“Launching,” Betty answered and he felt gravity fade away again as the fighter’s gravitic systems removed the fighter’s mass from the equation.  Maneuvering thrusters flared as the canopy came down, and the nearly weightless fighter lifted up into the air.

Jack buckled himself in and the fighter rotated to point straight up.  And that was when the Avenger’s main engines engaged, shooting them up into the blue sky above them.  They accelerated so fast that he actually felt his weight return and a breath of air escaped his lungs.  He coughed, holding on as ice crystals flared off the Avenger’s nose and played across the fighter’s body.  A glance at the displays showed him contrails filling the air beneath them.

Jack looked forward again to see the sky brighten as they left what cloud cover there was beneath them.  Then it began to darken again, and stars began to appear in the sky.  The blue faded to black, the contrails disappeared, and the Avenger’s engines pealed away from the fighter’s body.  They were in space.

Jack glanced at the displays to confirm that they were the
first
in space and smiled.  “Good job, Betty.”

“Thanks,” she answered and spun the fighter around so Jack could see New Earth below them.

One by one, the other fighters tore out of the atmosphere, finally beginning to join him, and Jack kept track of which ones arrived first.  He tracked the last who arrived as well with a frown.  He didn’t believe in instant failures, but he marked a mental strike against those who weren’t prepared to fly at a moment’s notice.

“Nice of you to finally join us,” he transmitted as the last Hellcat flared into position with the other two-dozen fighters.  “The enemy ran when they saw us, so no fight.  Just remember that we
all
have to be ready to fly at a moment’s notice.  Our base could die without us.  Now follow me,” he ordered and pulled the fighter around to face a waypoint glowing on the canopy.  “Burn it, Betty.”

“Burning,” Betty answered with a smile and the engines flared back to life, accelerating them towards the fleet in orbit.  The other fighters spun and followed, keeping better formation with them this time, and Jack smiled.  They approached the fleet and he scanned it, seeing the six Peloran warships, surrounded by German, French, and even American warships, all dwarfed by the Peloran flagship.

The Avenger’s engines disengaged for a moment, and then began burning forward, slowing the fighter.  The other fighters mimicked the burn, and the swarm of fighters passed the outer screen of scout fighters and warships.

Hal appeared on one of the displays.  “Hello, Jack.  Good to see you again,” the
Guardian Light’s
cyber said with a smile.

“Good to see you too,” Jack answered and scanned the other displays, making certain they were on good approach.  “Betty’s talked to you I assume.”

Hal nodded.  “About a great many things actually,” he said with a chuckle.  “You are clear to land.”

“Thank you,” Jack said, aiming a suspicious glance at Betty.

She shrugged innocently.

“We’re coming in now,” Jack added to Hal.

“Make yourselves at home,” Hal answered with a nod and faded away from the display.

Jack looked back to Betty again and she held her innocent look.  “Fine,” he said with a chuckle and looked back to see the
Guardian Light’s
kilometer-long bright white spire dominating space before them.  “Keep your secrets.  Just land us,” he ordered.

“Landing,” Betty answered with a pleased smile.

Jack rolled his eyes and they passed through
Guardian’s Lights
deflection screen into the main landing bay.  The white bulkheads filled his eyesight, broken up by the massive tree dominating the far end of the hangar.  Betty brought them down to the deck with a soft bump and the canopy opened, hissing slightly at the change in air pressure.  Jack unbuckled himself, pulled himself out of the seat, and stepped up onto the edge of the fighter.

“Betty?” he asked.

“Ready,” she said with a smirk.

Jack sighed, shook his head, and stepped off onto a grav wave.  He made a show of surfing it down to the deck and stepped off with a smooth motion, then turned and watched the other pilots climb out of their fighters.  Betty and Jasmine followed him down the grav wave, their holoforms looking perfect on the way down.  Jack shook his head and laughed at their show as they stepped up to either side.  The holoemitters in his uniform hummed to life on their approach, taking up the effort of projecting the cybers.

“That’s fun,” Betty whispered.  “I see why you like doing that.”

Hal walked up to them with a relaxed gait and Jack pushed a hand out towards the cyber.  Hal took it and gave him a firm shake no holoform could manage, along with a wink.  Jack nodded back at Hal’s true physical avatar.  Then they turned and waited as the other pilots and their cybers congregated around them, the hum of holoemitters filling the space to his sensitive ears.

“This is Hal,” Jack finally said with a wave towards the avatar.  “He is the
Guardian Light
, and if you are chosen to fly with us, you will see him very often.  Because
this
is where you’ll fly
from
.  Now we’re going back to base in two hours.  You are dismissed to explore the ship.”

The pilots and cybers and looked at each other in mixed surprise and confusion.  Jack suppressed a sigh and cleared his throat.  “
Fall out
!” he growled, once again challenging the drill instructor that pushed him to the limit during boot camp.  It must have been close enough because they scattered without hesitation.

Jack turned to Hal with a smile and nodded his head to the cyber.  “Watch them please.  Tell me who you like when they’re done.”

Hal smiled back at him.  “I will watch them carefully, you have my word.”  He turned to walk away, then paused and looked back at Jack.  “It is good to have you back, even if only for a bit.  I have grown to find the presence of your people…agreeable.”  He finished with a nod of his head and walked away.

Jack chuckled and turned to look at the stars hanging outside the hangar.  “Well, it’s good to be home,” he said with a wry smile.

Betty and Jasmine returned his smile, while Hal simply waved a hand in the air to show he’d heard every word.

Jack pulled in a deep breath and nodded.  It really
was
good to be home, even if only for a couple hours.

Charles stepped through the afternoon rain, water droplets running off his suit jacket.  He wore the same style of black civilian dress suit he had grown up with, the kind that told anybody who knew anything about Class that the wearer was Old Money.  Dorothy walked beside him, her ankle-length black dress hovering just above the street with each step.  The hem of her dress looked wet from rain splashing off the street, but beyond that the light rain had not soaked either of them.

Dorothy cocked her head to the side and smiled at him.

Charles shook his head with a chuckle at being caught staring, and turned his gaze to their destination.  Landing Books, the oldest bookstore outside of the Terran system, towered over the street like an ancient castle.  Stone parapets decorated the top of the building, round towers held the corners from roof to street level, and large wooden doors hung open, waiting for customers to enter.

Charles walked into Landing Books, Dorothy at his side, and scanned the shelves full of actual paper books.  Some people still bought them even now, and so some stores still sold them.  And Landing Books made certain to place
their
paper books front and center at the main entrance so everybody could see
real
books on sale.

Charles saw many of the classics on display as his eyes scanned the shelves.  He saw many books he did not like because they made him depressed.  Books about crazy men like Don Quixote, or worlds where individualism was dead like Brave New World.  He also saw books that he enjoyed like the Wizard of Oz, and Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.  There were even some based on real history like to Kill a Mockingbird and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.  It was an impressive collection of paper books, one of the better ones in a store he’d seen in his life.

Charles walked past the bookshelves and into the part of Landing Books that most people would recognize as a bookstore.  Digital displays promoted new stories, some of them full holographic previews.  Many of them were just text on pages like books had been for thousands of years.  Some were movies or even full holographic interactive stories that took the watcher’s actions into account.

Bright colors and animals proclaimed the children’s section, while bare-chested handsome men filled the romance area.  He found the science fiction and fantasy areas far more interesting, with the displays full of scantily clad beautiful women.  Of course, he liked them for the stories, but he was honest enough to admit that the girls helped.  The store had all of the other sections any bookstore had, from the self-help to the religious to the travel areas.  It was a good store.

Charles walked to the back of the store, Dorothy at his side, to where the previewing rooms stood, and scanned the room numbers.  Some of them showed green status markers, proclaiming them open for people to use.  A few were red, declaring they were occupied.  A small number flashed between green and red and Charles smiled as he found the one he wanted.  His reservation for room eleven was ready, and nobody had arrived yet.

“Dorothy?” he asked with a nod towards the door.

Dorothy smiled in response.  “The store tells me you can enter now.”

“Thank you,” Charles said to both Dorothy and the store, and stepped forward to open the door.  He walked into the previewing room, Dorothy following, and scanned the clean white walls with a nod.

“Please load the simulation.  Place me on Upper Baker Street near 221.”

“Of course, Master Hurst,” the store’s artificial intelligence answered in a suitable old English accent.  “Loading now.”

The cobblestone street appeared first, followed by a flagstone sidewalk, and a stone fence next to him.  Grass and flowers and trees flickered into existence, along with houses and sky and clouds.  Finally people walking down the sidewalk and a single horse drawn carriage appeared, and Charles found himself looking on a high-class residential neighborhood in London of the 1880s.

“Would you like to begin the narrative, Master Hurst?” the store asked.

“No thank you.  I am meeting someone here.  Please let him in when he arrives.”

“Of course, Master Hurst.”

Charles opened a gate next to the number 221 and walked onto a flower-lined footpath not that different from the one he had grown up with outside Philadelphia.  He carefully stepped over the flowers and walked across the immaculate yard to a private sitting area he knew well.  He had explored these stories for most of his life, and enjoyed simply sitting and watching the world much more than following the stories.  The London of the 1880s was so interesting to visit.

Charles sat down on a wooden bench, leaned back into it, and breathed deeply of the flower-scented air.  It smelled good, very different from the smells of New Earth.  Dorothy sat down next to him and he blinked as the bench shifted from her weight.  He realized the hum of his holoemitters were gone and smiled at her.  She was using the previewing room’s emitters.

Dorothy answered him with a self-satisfied smile, lifted herself up off the bench, and sat back down with a firm motion that moved the bench again.  She enjoyed having a real interaction with her surroundings.  He did not blame her.  He tended to take that interaction for granted.

Charles patted Dorothy on the shoulder, feeling her as real as the bench he sat on.  She grasped his hand with one of her own, holding it in a firm grip.  He closed his eyes and they sat like that for what felt like a long time, listening to the sporadic English banter on the other side of the wall.  He did not mind waiting.  This was a beautiful place.  Finally, the gate creaked open and he opened his eyes.

“He is here,” Dorothy announced.

“Thank you,” Charles answered and turned to watch his old friend walk into the yard.  “Hello,” he called out with a wave of his hand.

“221 Baker Street?” Malcolm asked with a smile and stepped over the flowers.

“It is an old favorite,” Charles returned with a shrug.  “Never fails to remind me to study the smallest details, for they are often important.”

Malcolm stopped, placed his hands on his suit’s pockets, and looked up at the magnificent house with an intrigued gaze.  “Do you think he was based on someone real?”

Charles nodded.  “It is possible.  The more I learn, the more possible I begin to believe it is.”

Malcolm nodded, walked over to Charles and Dorothy, and held his hand out to her.  Dorothy smiled and raised her hand for him to take.  He grasped it, leaned over, and kissed the back of it in a gentlemanly way.  “My lady,” he whispered.  “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.  My name is Malcolm.”

Dorothy glanced at Charles for a moment, who cleared his throat and covered his mouth to hide a smile.  The twinkling of his eyes betrayed him though, and her smile grew as she turned back to Malcolm.  “Dorothy,” she proclaimed in a regal tone.  “I have heard
so
much about you,”

“All scurrilous lies, I
assure
you,” Malcolm said with a wink.  “Unless it speaks well of me of course.”

“And then it is a
complimentary
lie?” she asked without missing a beat.

Malcolm laughed and released her hand, stepping back to sit down on the bench facing them.  “You’re a good one,” he finally said with an elaborate wave of a hand.

She smiled and nodded, accepting his compliment in graceful silence.

Malcolm turned to Charles with a smile reserved for old friends.  “For what it’s worth, Chuck, I think you made the right decision.”

Charles nodded in return and patted Dorothy’s shoulder again.  His decision to volunteer for the military had
not
been approved of by his family.  Hursts were expected to lead from business or political positions, not fight like a common born brat after all.  “That is why I wanted to talk to
you
,” Charles said with a smile.  Malcolm cocked his head to the side, inviting Charles to continue.  “I need someone with
far
more time than I have.  I also need someone with your contacts,” he finished with a chuckle.

Malcolm chuckled back and relaxed into his bench.  “My contacts?  I’m afraid I have no idea what you mean,” he returned with a perfectly straight face.

Charles sighed.  Back when they were kids, Malcolm had always been the person anyone talked to when they wanted to get anything they couldn’t get by walking to a store.  And according to his reports, Malcolm was
still
the go to guy.

“Malcolm, I plan on establishing a new colony, and I need someone to organize the planning for it.”

Malcolm blinked in surprise and stared at Charles.  “A new colony.  Just like that?  In the middle of a
war
?”

Charles smiled and relaxed back into his bench.  “Just like that.”

Malcolm shook his head.  “You don’t think small, do you?  How do you intend to fund this?”

Charles chuckled.  “I am a Hurst, remember? My budget is the closest to unlimited that
you’ve
ever had the option to work with before,” he said with a pointed look.

Malcolm swallowed as the realization that Charles was not joking sank in.  “Why me?” he asked with a shake of his head and let out a long breath.  “I mean, you have people in the family who do planning like this already, right?”

Charles shook his head.  “The family has grown complacent.  They do not see the big picture anymore.  All they see is the profits they can squeeze out of what little thing they want to do.  Everybody capable of big plans like this has long since left for greener pastures.”  He aimed a finger at Malcolm.  “That is why
you
never accepted a position in the family, right?”

Malcolm nodded.  “Yeah, I guess you’re right there.  Although I wouldn’t have said it as bluntly as you just did.”

Charles spread his hands out wide to show he was not hiding anything.  “And
that
is why
I
said it.”

Malcolm scratched his chin and let out another long breath.  “Fine.  I’m interested,” he finally said in a determined tone.  “But I need to know something before I decide.”

Charles pulled in a long breath and held his smile.  “Ask.”

Malcolm nodded.  “How determined are you to see this through?  Establishing a colony is
not
cheap.  What are you going to do if your father finds out?”

Charles chuckled.  “Trust me, Malcolm.  My father
will
find out.  That is part of the plan, you see.”

Malcolm blinked and his face went slack for a moment before he shook his head.  “Oh.  He’s
really
not going to like you after this.”  He brought his eyes back up to stare at Charles.  “How much do you plan on leaving him with?”

Charles gave him a confident smile.  “As little as possible.”

Malcolm shook his head and Charles saw that he was getting ready to walk.  “Look, Chuck, you’re talking about something other than just a colony here.  This is the kind of family infighting that gets people
killed
when it hits the surface.  I don’t want any part of a civil war like that,” he finished and started to stand.

“I know,” Charles said with a calming gesture that stopped Malcolm.  “And I never would have called you if it was a simple fraud and family infighting.  This is
much
more important than any family, even mine.”

That got Malcolm’s attention, and the man turned his head to the side, studying Charles with a careful expression.  “What’s going on, Chuck?” he finally asked in a truly confused tone.

Charles spread his hands out wide again and gave Malcolm a confident smile.  “What is going on, Malcolm, is that I am sick and tired of alien civilizations coming into our territory and making
Contact
with us.  We
know
there are other races out there, beyond the Peloran, the Arnam, the Shang, and the Roderan.  We are a
backwater
, Malcolm.  A
local
power.  To them, we are just some backward race of humanity that needs uplifting to galactic standards the way we uplifted
dogs
,” Charles spat out.

Malcolm’s eyes narrowed and Charles knew he had the man.  But he needed to say just a little bit more to make certain that Malcolm
stayed
had.

“We need to change the playing field,” Charles said in a passionate tone.  “If we stay here, in our little corner of space, and wait for them to come
Contact
us, we are
never
going to be a galactic power.  We have to
go
out there
,” he said, waving a hand at the sky.  “We have to establish colonies in
their
neighborhoods.  We have to sail our ships over
their
worlds.  We have to
join
them out there, or we will never be
one
of them.  And once we are out there, Malcolm, the things we will be able to buy, the things we will be able to discover…a man with the right connections…” Charles let his voice fade away and winked at Malcolm.  “Forget the
sky
, Malcolm.  Forget the few pitiful worlds we own here.  The
galaxy
is the limit to what a man with the right connections could do out there.”