First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.comFirstLightChroniclesFreegroundRandolphLalondewww.spinwardfringe.com Books by Randolph Lalonde Fate Cycle Dead ofWinterFateCycleSinsofthePastFirstLightChroniclesFreegroundFirst LightChronicles LimboFirst Light

Chronicles Starfree Port First Light Omnibus (Collected Edition of the First

LightNovellas)SpinwardFringeResurrectionSpinwardFringeAwakeningSpinwardFringeTritonSpinwardFringeFrontlineAnd Other Books In The Spinward Fringe Series First Light Chronicles

Freeground Randolph Lalonde www.spinwardfringe.com The First LightChroniclesFREEGROUND

RandolphLalonde

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.comFirstLightChroniclesFreegroundThisisaworkoffiction.Names,characters,placesandincidentseitherarethe

productoftheauthor'simaginationorareusedfictitiously.Anyresemblancetoactualpersons,livingordead,eventsorlocalesisentirelycoincidental.AllrightsreservedCopyright©2008byRandolphLalondeISBN978-1-4348-4791-1

Thankyouforpurchasing thisbook.This is thefirstbook in theFirstLight

Chronicles,it'sfollowedbyTheFirstLightChronicles:LimboandthenStarfreePort.AtheseriesSpinwardFringecontinuestheadventuresofsomecharactersfoundinthesenovellas.Enjoytheexperience.Ifyouwouldliketoreadmoreofthisseriesorcontacttheauthorpleasevisitourwebsite.www.spinwardfringe.netFirst Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comToallmyonlinefriends.First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com

PrologueThe odds weren't in our favour. They rarely were, but this time it was

different.Thestakeswerehigher.AsIdriftedthroughthesilenceofspaceinmyRaze Starfighter I got a shiver. All systems were deactivated, including lifesupport.We were hiding behind the thousands of meteors we had stirred up.There were one hundred of us this time, all set up in fighters, bombers andshuttles,eachassignedtoataskgroup.Intimeslikethesehoweverysingleoneofusperformedwascritical.Wecouldmakeonly thesmallest sounds, radiateonlytheheatthatexistedinourshieldedvacuumsuits,ouronlylifesupport,andwe had to drift in the shadows of the meteor shower until the last possibleinstant.Peoplewerewatching,machineswerescanningcarefullyforanythinginthisfieldthatcouldbesomethingotherthanrock.Itwashardtostirupsomuchmass and send it close to themunitions station, but not so close as to pose athreat. Ifoneofuswerescannedbecausewewere justa littleoutofplace,allthatworkwouldbefornothing.Ilookedtowardsourtargetthroughthecockpitandcouldjustbarelycatcha

glimpse. Itwasmassive; twowheels surroundinga tall centrepiecehanging inorbit around a gargantuanblue and purple gas giant.The station looked smalleven though itwas over a hundred kilometres acrosswith fighter bays, dronelaunchtubes,dozensofpointdefenceturretsandmissilelaunchers.Noonehadevergottenanywherenear it.Beyonditweresmallsilhouettesagainst thesun.OneoftheAll-ConFleetBattleGroupshadstoppedintorearm,andwouldbethereforseveraldays.Theysuspectedsomeonewouldattackthestation.Thecommandandcontroldisplayonmywrist, countingdown thedistance

between us and the station showed 43,477 kilometres and I knew that in lessthanfourthousandwewouldknowwhetherornotthestationsawusasathreat.Itwouldcomequick,justaflashoflightanditwouldallbeover.Modernsupernukeswerelikethat,noharmfulresidualradiation,justamassiveflashandoverfourhundredkilometresworthofmatterwouldbegone.I caughtmyselfholdingmybreathand shookmyhead.Breathenormally, I

thoughttomyself,Ifwegetachancetoseethenukecoming,wemightbeabletoturnandrun.I checked my counter again. We had passed the safe range for a nuclear

explosion,anycloserandthebasewouldriskshortingoutit'sperimetersensorswith the electromagnetic pulse and taking damage from the shockwave.Thatbroughtustoournextchallenge.First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comThe perimeter sensorswere finely tuned, andwouldscaneverythingthatwentby.Thankfullytheywouldn'tbeabletopenetrateourhullsanddiscoverourbodyheat,butitwouldtracetheoutsideofalltheobjects,creatingprofilesitwouldlookupinthebase'sdatabase.Wehadattachedall kindsof randomobjects toourhulls,makingour ships

looklikefloatingtrashorstrangelyshapedmeteorsmadeofcompressedgarbagejettisonedbysome unknown interstellar vessel. If it worked,we'd be past theperimeter sensors, but if someone didn't disguise their ship well enough orturnedanykindofsystemonwe'dbefinished.Onceoneofuswasfoundout,thestationwouldsendasquadronoffighterstocheckitoutorthey'djuststartshooting at the meteors and we'd get ground up in a blender of erraticallycollidingrockanddebris. I lookedback to thecounteronmyarmdisplayandwatchedthekilometrestickaway.Wewereclosingon20,000kmandfast.Thegravityofthemassivegasgiantbelowwastighteningitsgrip.AnAll-ConFleetdestroyerwasmovingtowardsthestation,andIfoundmyselfwonderingifwe'dhavetouseitforcoverlater.Twoyearsago,whenIjoinedupwiththiscrew,Iwouldhavethoughtthestrategyofusingakilometrelongfullyarmeddestroyerfor cover was absolutely crazy. As I double checked my fighter's thermalsilhouetteIfoundmyselfacknowledgingthat itwas justanothercheckpointonthelistwecall;'they'llneverseeitcoming'.MycommandandcontroldisplaybeepedoncequietlyandIsawthatwewere

a couple seconds away fromour destination, the closest pointwe could reachunderinertialdrift.Iwatchedandwaitedasitcounteddownto937kilometres.JustasitreachedthatmagicnumberandstartedcountingupagainIcoveredmyeyesandflippedaswitch.Hundreds of thermal charges planted in themeteors all around uswent off

withablindingflash.Theyweren'thotorexplosiveenoughtochangethemeteorshower'scourse,butitwouldcreateanintensevisiblewaveoflightforhundredsof kilometres that would make it impossible for the station to pick out ourfightersuntilwewereclose,realclose.They'dneedtousevisualscans,whichwouldn'tworkwellfortheircomputerssinceourshapeswereirregularandthatwouldleavemanualtargetinguntiltheyfiguredoutwhatwe'ddone toourshipprofiles.“Let'sgo!Everyoneknowswhattodo!”Iyelledintomycommunicator.“Yeeeehaw!Sevenhundredkilometresandclosing!Let'sdosomedamage!”IheardOzreply.“Cover the boarding shuttles, ifwedon't get our people inside this'll be for

nothing.”“Bombersonfirstrun!Don'tlaunchyourshellsuntilyoucanreadtheirserial

numbers!”Roninshoutedintohiscommunicator.Icouldseeheandhisthirteenbombersheadingofftowardsthefighterlaunchbaysanddronetubes.Therewassomeactivityoutthere,butnotasmuchasIwouldhaveexpected.Thestationcomputers and personnel weren't sure what was happening yet. My targetingscannerpickedupthefirstgroupoffighterscominginfrom1First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com the far side of the station. I turnedmy ship towardsthemwhilestillfloatingpasttheouterringofthestationandstartedfiring.Theloadersforthethreerailgunsvibratedtheentirecraftastheypropelledhundredsofroundstowardsthegroupoffighters.“Markingalphagroup.” I saidas I selected themonmy targetingcomputer.

“They'reafterthebombers.”“It'stheirfuneral!”Ronincalledout.I watched the tactical screen as most of my shots went flying harmlessly

through the enemy fighter formation.Then the enemy fighter group started toshow some real damage, explosively decompressing and flying to pieces. IlookedtowhereIknewRonin'sfightergroupwasmovingtowardsthestationtosee that they were drifting backwards at speed while firing at the incomingfightergroup.“Showoff.”“Allright,letsdropourshellsandclosethedoors,”Roninordered.“Boarding shuttles under fire!” I heard Sunspot, the commander of shuttle

two,callout.“Could use your help here, whenever it's convenient, you know, drop by

sometime,”Ozsaidover thesoundofhis turret firing.Hewas incommandofthefirstshuttleandshouldn'thavebeen in thegunnerposition,but tellinghimthatwasawasteoftime.“Onourway,”Isaid.“Allinterceptors,keepthoseshuttlesclear.Let'smakea

hole.”Ispunmyshiptowardstheirflightpathandhitthethrusters.“Moreresistancethanweexpected,aboutthirtydronesandadozenfighters,”

IheardZanger reply.His fightergroupwas theprimarycover for theshuttles,andIcouldsee thathehadlostfouroutoffourteen.Icaughtaglimpseof thefighterbayandsawthattheshellsRonin'sgroupdroppedhadexploded,causingmassivedamage.Thatleftonelaunchbayandonlyafewdronetubesopenforbusiness, the stationwasalreadyhamstrung. Ibroughthis fightergroupuponmydisplaytoseethattheyhadonlylosttwoandwereskimmingthehullofthestation's inner ring to avoid weapons fire. I had to admit, he was always thebetterpilot.“BecarefuloutthereRonin,there'sclosethenthere'stooclose.”“Ifwhatyouseefrightensyou,thenstoplooking,”hereplied.“OldChineseproverb?”

“No,crazypilot'sadvice.”My fighter finished coming around the middle ring of the station and the

dronesen route to interceptourshuttlescamewithin firing range. Iopenedupwith all three rail guns and scored disabling hits right away. My wing torethroughtheminno timeandhadseveralseconds toget readybeforeengagingtheincomingenemyfighters.Themannedstationdefencefighterswereadifferentstory,theytookthreeof

my fighters out right away and Iwas immediately under heavy fire.One shotstrucktheloadingmechanismformyportrailgunandIhadtoshutitdown.Wescattered,markedourtargetsandre-engaged.IsentmyfighterhurtlingtowardstheinnerringofthestationandspunusingmanoeuvringthrusterssoIfaced2First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comthreeoftheenemydefenders,allofwhichwereafterme.“YouseethisOz?”Iasked.“Iseeit,firingrightoveryourhead.”Mypathtookmerightbelowhisshuttleandhelaiddownabarrageofcover

firewiththerailturretmountedonthebackofhisship.IopenedfireaswellandtookoutonewhileOztookcareoftheothertwo.Thestationwasstartingtoseethrough the fadingdistortionof the thermalbombs Ihaddetonatedearlier andtheirdefensivebatteriesstartedfiring.“Getclose!Wehavetostaybetweenthestationbatteriesorthisendsnow.”IshoutedasIwatchedoneofmyfighterstakeseveralpulsebeamhitsandflyapartinsuperheatedpieces.Theboardingshuttleshadreachedthehullofthestationanddockedhard.“Shuttle twodockedandpopping thecork. Ibeatyahere,youowemefifty

Oz!”IheardSunspotsayoverthecomm.“Shuttleonedocked,poppingthecork.OhandSunspot?”“Yeah?”“BequietorI'lltelleveryone,”Ozreplied.“You

wouldn't

dare.”“Oh,Iwouldsugar,trustme.”Ididn'tunderstandwhattheyweretalkingabout,butjudgingfromthetoneit

wassomekindofinsidejoke.Ishruggedanddecidedtoasklater.Myattentionwascalledbacktothemomentasabeampulsenearlycaughtmyportside.Iwasalmostcloseenoughtotheinnerringtobeoutoffiringrangeforthelargerpointdefenceweapons,butnowherenearsafeyet.Thehulloftheinnerringloomed

larger and larger until Iwas finally clear of the beamweapons firing arc.Mywingwasdownninefighters,therewereonlyfiveofusleft,wehadlosthalfofbetawing,andthetawingwasdowntoonlytwo.“HowareyoudoingRonin?Gammawingholdingtogether?”“Justwaitingforourshellstogooff.”Imanoeuvredmy fighter so Imovedalong thehull of the station, trying to

stay as close as possible while firing at targets of opportunity. “Well? Is thatsecondfighterbayoutofcommission?”“Theydestroyedtheshellsbeforetheyhit.Headingintothebay,taketherest

ofthewingtothedockingsite,Mira,coverthem.”“WhatthehellareyoudoingRonin?”“I'msettingmyreactor tooverloadandejectingwhile itexplodes inside the

fighterbay,whatdoyouthinkI'mdoing?”“Bad idea, just get out of there and we'll try to deal with whatever they

launch.”“Goodidea,badidea,whatdoesitmatterwheneveryonealreadythinksyou're

crazy?Sayhi tomysistersforme.”Icouldhear thesoundofhisejectionandtriedtotrackhim.Iwasontheothersideofthestationandtherewastoomuchinterferencebetweenusformetogetalock.“Cananyoneseehim?”“Ididforasecond,butthenhisfighterexploded,Idon'tthinkhemadeit,”

3

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.comMira said. “That bay is amess though, I don't thinkthey'llbelaunchinganythingtoday.”AsIcamearoundanothersectionofhull twowingsofenemyfighterscame

into view. “Good, hurry up and get over here,we need help.How is it goingboardingcrew?”“Never saw us coming,” Oz reported. I could hear weapons fire over the

communicator.“Ozisdown,buthisteamgottheexplosivesinplace.Plantingoursnow.”“It'sjustafleshwound.Justgetyourlittlebehindbacktotheshuttle.”Icalledhisstatusuponmysecondarydisplayandsawthatheandoneother

memberofhisteamweretheonlyonesleftandtheywerebothbadlyinjured.“Headingbacktotheshuttlenow,we'llbeoutinafewseconds,”Sunspotsaid

inarush.Icouldhearherrunning.

OneoftheenemyfightersclippedmylarboardsideandIwassentspinning.Ibarelyhad time to figureoutwhere Iwasbefore I skippedoff thehull of thestationandintoopenspace.Istruggledwiththecontrolsandtriedtostabilizetheship.JustwhenIwasstartingtobringitundercontrolIsawthefighterthatwasfiringonmeandtriedtogetamanualmissilelockashewhippedpastmyview.Hescoredanotherhitonmyhullandflashedpastmyviewscreenagain.AshecamepastathirdtimeIhitmysecondarytriggerandgotalockonhim.Ifiredthree missiles as fast as I could and worked to continue stabilizing my ship.“Comeon,pickadirectiongoddammit!” Igrowled throughclenched teeth tothe controls. I finallygotmy shipunder control just in time to see the enemyfighter explode less than one hundred meters in front of me. “Collisionwarning!”mycomputersaid.“Smartass!”Irepliedassmallpiecesofmyopponent'sshipstartedimpacting

onmyhull.MycockpitstartedtodecompressthroughaleakinthecanopyandIwasthankfulthatIwasn'trelyingonthefighter'senvironment.Myvacuumsuitcouldkeepmebreathingfordays.Cannonfirefromthestationstreakedacrossmycockpitcanopy.Iturnedmy

fighterawayfromtheweaponbankandhitthethrusters.IkeptmyshipmovingbackandforthlaterallyandverticallywhileImademywayoutof therangeofthestation'sweapons,makingmyselfharder tohit.“Myfighter's fullofholes,I'monmywayout.”“Detonatingourcharges,theimplosionsshouldstartinafewseconds.Doyou

thinkyoucanmakeittotherendezvous?”Sunspotasked.Icheckedthestatusofmy engines. “I only have one ion array left, but I can make it,” the energyreadings behindme spikedwildly, indicating that the explosives had gone offandthestation'scorehadbegunacascadingdecompressionthatwouldcauseittoimplodeandIsmiled.“IloveyourhandiworkSunspot.”“Whythankyou,you'renotsobadyourself.”“Makeyourbestspeedtotherendezvouspointsowecanopenawormhole

home. I think we've worn out our welcome.” I heardMarauder say over thecomm.4First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comHe was the pilot and navigator for boarding shuttletwo.ThestationwasnolongerfiringandIcouldseelightsgoingoutallaroundthe

rings.Imadeit tothejumppointandcountedwhatremainedofourraidfleet.Four fighters, twobombers and theboarding shuttles.Seventy eight casualtiesoutofacrewofonehundred.Aflashoflightappearedinfrontoftheboardingshuttle and my computer marked the coordinates as the opening point of the

wormholehome.Weallmadethejump,shuttleone,whichheldthepointopen,went last. The simulation ended. “Scenario complete, all win conditions met.Congratulations! Your Academy rank is increased to Brigadier General,” thecomputersaidcheerily.“Enteringsocialmode.”Anotherscreencameuponmydisplay,replacingthefightercockpitandfield

ofstars.Itlistedalltheparticipantsofthescenewehadjustcompleted.“ToobadI'mnotintheAcademy.”Isaidquietly.“Noneofusare,thinkthey'lleverfindoutwho'ssettingnewrecordsintheir

hardestsimulations?”Ozasked.“I'msureafewofuswouldbere-enlistediftheyeverdid.Iwouldn'tmindthe

chancetogetinarealcockpitagain,"Roninadded.“Some of us are already enlisted, so we already have clearance for these

scenarios. I'm sure my C.O. would still have some choice words for me forparticipating alongwith uncleared civilians though.WithMarauder's hacks inplaceit'llbeawhilebeforewehavetoworryaboutit,Ithink.WishIcouldstaybutIhaveadutyshiftintenminutes.Seeyoualllater.ByeHorus,I'llseeyousoon.”Sunspotsaidasshedroppedherconnection.“IthinkshelikesyouHorus.”IheardOzsaytomeinawhisper.“Yeah, seriously,you twohavebeen flirting formonthswhenever she's ina

scenewithyou.Whenareyoutwojustgoingtomeetandgetitstartedforreal?”Roninasked.“She told me she's with a ship that's on assignment somewhere in the

Corporateworlds,Idon'tseethathappening.”“Oh,comeon,you'vegottagettogetherwithhersometime,livingvicariously

throughyouhasbeenseriouslydulllately.”“Wellthen,gofindyourowncompanion.”IrepliedtoRonin.“Bah!With a restaurant to runwhile livingwith three sisters? I'll be single

forever.”“SeriouslyHorus,she'sgottomakeitbacktoFreegroundsometime,noharm

inmeetingfacetoface.”“Surethereis,itchangeseverything.Ihaveareallybadrecordwithmeeting

peoplethroughscenarios,rememberthelastoneRonin?”“Oh,theissyrian?”“Yup,lookedhumanontheoutside,wasanythingbutontheinside.”“Issyrians can't be that bad, can they?They can change their appearance to

prettymuchanythingIthought.”

5

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.com“Theycanbreatheoutof thebackof theirheads if theywant to. Iwon'tgo

intotheunchangeabledifferences.”“Well, Imet Sunspotwhile Iwas at theAcademy andwe've been in touch

since.She'sasmuchfuninpersonassheisinscenes,trustme.”Ozinterjected."Oh,andshe'sarealhuman;prettyeven."“All themore reason not to ruin a good thing I say.Well, I'd love to stick

aroundandgetmore love advice from a lonely restaurant owner and a careerinfantryman,butI'vegotashiftstartingupinafewminutes.Thanksforrunningthatscenario,Ican'tbelievewepulleditoff,”Isaidwhiletakingoffthevirtualhelmwhiletheteammemberssaidtheirgoodbyes.

6

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.comJustAnotherDayintheDarkThere are sectors where there is absolutely nothing. Areas of space where

crewssimplygo tosleepand let theautopilot takeover fordaysorweeksonend.Overthelastfewhundredyearsthesemassiveblackexpanseshavebecomeslightlymorewell occupied.With the formationof trade routes, the advent ofcheaper faster than light travel that requires large spaceswhere travelling in alongstraight linefor lightyearsata timeisabenefitandafewshipsoutherethatusethisunbrokenvastnothingtolosethemselves,distancethemselvesfromperusers who aren't interested in searching the most boring expanses in theuniverse,thisareaofspacehasabitmorelife,butnotmuch.Somevisionarydecidedtobuildastateoftheartrepairandresupplystation

rightinthemiddleofnowhere,wherethere'sliterallynothing.ForthreehundredyearsFreegroundhasbeentheonlybeaconof lightfor travellers,refugeesandthoseseekingout thedarkest spot inourgalaxy, righton the fringedownwardfromtheoldSolsystem.Onceitwasamassivecloverleafcomplexwithhabitat,control,mechanicsandhydroponicsections.BythetimeIwasbornherethirtythree years ago it had grown exponentially with kilometre after kilometre ofstructuresincludingfactories,researchfacilities,shipyards,forests,malls, low,mediumandhighcosthousing,entertainmentcentersandevenitsownmilitaryandgovernmentbasedontheidealsofdemocracyandfreedom.Thewalking surface area of Freeground is just over half that of Earth, that

nearly forgotten blue ball in the distant Sol system. My home looks like

thousands of plates connected by circular frames all spinning, surrounded byskeletal frameworks that stretch out into the dark like long arms and fingersgraspingforlightthatissofarawaythatit'sjustafaintglimmer.Iservedduringthelastgreatwar,whentheAll-ConCorporationspenttwenty

yearstryingtotakecontrolofthestation.Theysentfleets,spies,blockedtrade,usedmisinformationtoturnouralliesawayfromusbutweresisted.Intheendthe Freeground Fleet pushed them back all theway to their home world anddestroyed their factories, once again proving that Freeground could not beownedbyanycorporationorgovernedbyanyexternalbody.I remember thosedays, setting footonsolidground for the first time inmy

life, looking overmanufacturing facilities as theywent up in smoke.All-ConPrimewasalreadyagrey,scorchedruinofaplanetbeforewearrived,theyhadmined it to the core and covered the surfacewith thousands ofmanufacturingcomplexes.Iwasatechnician,andwouldn'thavehadthechancetostandonthesurfaceoftheplanet7First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com unless one of our troop carriers hadn't lost itscommunicationsarrayduetothecorrosiveatmosphere.Eventhroughthegreyblueskythefreeblowingwindanddistanthorizonwas

impressive. I still didn't feel that I had been missing much growing up onFreegroundstation.Watching thefighterandbombersquadronsfly overhead Irememberwishing I had served in the squadrons instead, seenmore fighting.WhatIdidn'tknowthenwasthatwhileIwasawaydoingmydutyatthefrontwith the last wave Freeground had suffered a massive coordinated terroristattack. Three habitat sections had been destroyed in the blink of an eye, myentire family was gone. Everyone lost someone in the war, no one wasuntouched.Thepeoplewhowereresponsibleforthebombingshadbeenlivingwithusforyears.Asadirectresult,Freegrounddoesnotfavourastranger.Withsuchawarypopulace,Freegroundhasbecomeaplacewhereourfriends

canfeelsafeandbewellcaredforatasmallprice.Ourenemiesgiveusawideberthandknowthatiftheyenterourterritorychancesarethey'llnevermakeitout again. Any ship that harbours a past or present employee of All-ConCorporation,anyonewhohascommittedacrimeonthestationorforanyotherreasoncanbeconsideredhostile is recorded inallour shipcomputers and thestationproper.TheFreegroundFleetisfilledwithpeoplewhocraveexcitementandpursueourenemiesonafractionofasecondsnotice.Iwasn'toneofthosedaring few, however. When I arrived back home twelve years ago anddiscovered what had happened to my family, I reported for duty with theengineeringandconstructioncrews.Werebuiltthehabitatsthatweredestroyed

and when that was finished five years later I became a communications andpriorityassessmentofficerintheoperationsandportcontrolcenter.ForsevendaysoutofatendaygalacticstandardweekIdiscussedtheneeds

and requests for supplies, repairs, and anything else a ship that arrived anddockedmayhaverequiredordesired.Theycircledthestationslowly,sometimesdozensof them,sometimeshundreds,military,corporateandcivilianalike.Allcalmlywaitedtobedirectedbyonevoice,thenconnectedtomesotheycouldrequest anything from a routine engine inspection to a bottle of over pricedFreeground wine from our vineyards. The traders offered more than theyrequested, and some of them were willing to do anything to sell their cargo,especiallywhentheyknewitwouldn'tsurvive the trip toanyotherstationandnoneoftheothertraderswereinterested.ThereweredayswhenIwishedIwasbackbetweendecks,repairingsometertiarysysteminaneglectedsectionofthestation no one visited alone, rather than speak to one more trader who hadalreadytriedpeddlingtheirperishablewarestoeveryoneelse.I couldn't spendmore time than I had to inmy quarters either. Imay have

helpedbuildthereplacementhabitationsectionsbutthatdidn'tgetmemypickfromthehundredsofnewhomes.WhatIhadwassmallerthanthebathroomsinthedeluxesections,whilemaintainingthateasytodisinfectandreassignlookofprefabrication.8First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com Two rooms were more than what some people get,however,likeinthehivelevelswhereunitsarefourfeettall,fourfeetwideandeightfeetdeep,soIdidn'tcomplain.Much.Thatday,likealmosteveryotherday,Imademywayoutofmysmallhome

andthroughthecatacombsofhallwaysuntilIreachedtheliftandcauseway.Thehabitationwebuiltyearsagowasso large that itscenterhouseda forestwhilecommerce and entertainment huddled around its borders in a perfect circle ofstreets.Completewithweather patterns and holographic skies, travellers oftenforgottheywereonaspacestation.Therewereevennightanddaycycles.Therewasn't much of a difference between the two that day, however, as the cooldrizzlecoveredmyfaceassoonasIsteppedoutoftheliftontothegroundlevel.ByreflexIclosedmyblackandgreyengineer'scoat.Therewasreallynoneedsince the Freeground uniform of white and blue I wore underneath wascompletely sealed all the way up to my jawline. It sustained its ownenvironment,protectedfrommoststellarelementsandevensharpobjectsallinaskintightshellthatwasasthinandflexibleascommoncloth.Itwasalittletooskin tight formy tastes tobehonest, so Iworemyold engineer's coat,whichprotectedfromalmosteverythingtheuniformdidn'tandhadeveryoldtoolthat

survived my career as a field repair technician. Most people looked andwonderedwhere I found one, since it looked like an old trench coat used bygroundmilitiaonearthseveralhundredyearsagowhenimpactreactivearmourwas invented and bullets slid right off that generation of infantry's new blacktrenchcoats.Nodding at a passerby I pulled up the collar and made my way down the

sidewalktoMinh-Chu's,asmallrestaurantthatwaslittlemorethanaboothwithafewstoolsandtablesonawidenedareaofthewalkway.Minh,Roninwaswhathecalledhimselfinthesimulations,wavedasIapproachedandstartedheatingsome lo mein. He shook some black sauce on it and added veshri, a watervegetablethatIhadheardtastesjustlikeshrimp,afishfromEarthIhadnevertasted.“YourmoodmatchestheweatherJonas.”I pouredmyself a cupof coffee andnodded. “You'd think theywouldhave

plantedvegetationthatdidn'tneedsomuchrain.IfIhadtheranktoknowwhatthishabitatwouldbelikehalfthetimeIwould'vefoundotherhousing.”“Ha!Watchwhatyouwishfor!SomeonefromFleetOperationswasinhere

justtheotherdayandshejustcouldn'thelptalkingaboutCorePortOperationalpersonnel being promoted. The team on your shift is doing such a good jobthey're looking at raising everyone's pay grade. I'd bet you a year of dinneryou'reonyourwayup.”Minh saidashehandedmemybowlofnoodles andchopsticks.“Oh,justwhatIwanted.”“Don't put down rank, friend, this was my reward for retiring early from

InfantryCommand, aKingdom built on noodles and rice.Well, it took a fewcreditsfromsellingthatfighterIstolefromAll-ConPrime,too,butit'sstillmyKingdom.”“I'myourloyalsubjectasalways.BestlomeinI'veeverhad.”Isaidarounda

mouthful.

9

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.com“Probablytheonlylomeinyou'veeverhad,youshouldgetbackintofleet,see

somesolidgroundsomewhere.Maybespendsometimeatanotherrestaurant.Iwon'tmindaslongasyoucomebackwithfriends.”“OneyearonAll-ConPrimewasplenty.”

“Notmuchofaworld,especiallyafterwesetmostofitonfireattheendofthewar.Youreallyshouldgetoutthere,findanicehomeworldtomakelandfallon. Just make sure there's a beach and plenty of women around so I'll havesomethingtodowhenIgetthere!”“AndleaveyourKingdom?”“Nothingisaconstantbutchange,I'veheardsomeonesay.”“Ah, we'll both be here until they rebuild, and even during reconstruction

you'llprobablybeoncrowdcontroldutywhileIputtheroofup.Thenwe'lljustsettleagain.Thisisourhomeworld,asintentionallywetandmiserableitcanbehalfthetime.”“Wholetanoldmansitonmyfriend'sfavouritestool?Moveonoldtimer!Myfriendwillbealonganyminute.”“Ha,veryfunny.”“You shouldn't be settled so young, people are living to four hundred these

days,andtheystilllookfifty!”“Lookwho'stalkingmisterrestaurateur.”“Oh,I'mnotsettled,thisplacebreakseveninjustunderthreemonths,thenI

startmaking credits I can keep,maybe hire someonewho can domy job andthen I'm free. I could even qualify for Freeground Fleet and join a ReserveFighterSquad.”“FirstInfantry,nowFleet.”“Reserve Fleet my friend, missions on a mostly volunteer basis with

mandatorypatrolstwiceaweekclosetohomeinaBlackHandInterceptor.TheonlywayI'llseecombatisifsomeoneattacksthestation.”“Unless theypromoteme tocommandandIsendyourassout toKamshi, I

heartheTertiaryBattleGroupishavingablastmaintainingtheterritorial linesoutthere.”“Youwouldn'ttakemeawayfrommynoodles.”“Oh,iftheymakethemistakeofpromotingmethere'snotellingwhatthey'll

letmedo.”“Well,thenIsupposeI'llhavetomakethebestofthingsoutinKamshi,after

theysawoursquadsimulationreplaystheydon'thavemuchofachoice.”Icouldn'tbelievehesetmeupforapromotion,IknewthatMinh'sdaysgota

littlelong,andhiskitchenstaffoffourwasn'texactlythemostthrillingbunch,especiallysincethreeofthemwerehissisters,but thiswasbeyondbeating theboredom.“Whichreplay?Whodidyousenditto?”“TheLostWingsim.Youremember,whenyoutookcommandofthreewings,

tookusthroughtheasteroidbeltandjumpedtheAnteransfrombehind?”“ThatwasonthesecureAcademynetwork,nooneisallowedtotakeonlevel

eight training simulationswithout clearance especially since theopponents are10First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comtraineesandofficers.”“You're a Lieutenant Commander, you have clearance, that's how we were

abletoplay.”“An inactive Lieutenant Commander, deactivated! C ivilian of rank, and

you'renotevenintheserviceanymore!”“Ah,butsomeoneknowsAdmiralFerrah'sfavouriterecipeforDimSum.It's

amazinghowmanypeopleinFleetjustlovemycooking.Youshouldhaveheardhergoonaboutournearzerothermalmanoeuvres,ifthatwerearealoperationitwould take the best scanners in the galaxy to pick us up. I'm telling you shewas-”“She'saformerpilot,butofcourseyouknewthat.”“Ofcourse,andyou'reinhercommandchain.Shewasequallyunhappywhen

sheheardthatyouwerestill fillingrequisitionordersandprovidingcommercetrafficcontrol.”“Well, theregoes thesimple life,at thisrateshe'llhandmeacommand.All

becauseIcangiveordersfromasimulatedcockpit.”“Youcanalsomakefifthonthekillleaderboardwhiledoingit.Notthebest,

butthen,wecan'tallhavethereflexesofanandroidthatcanlookthreesecondsin the future,” Minh said as he pretended he was back at the controls of astarfighter,firingatsomeunseenship.A thoughtoccurred tomeand Icouldn'thelpbutgrin. Iputdownmybowl

and slapped the chopsticks on the counter. “Oh, well, sounds like you're anecessaryasset!”“Butmyrestaurant!”“I'msureyou'llbeabletohiresomeonetotakeyourplacewiththeFleetpay

you'llbedrawing.IfI'mgettingpromotedbackintoacareerpositionImayaswellhavesomeoneItrustworkingtokeepthefighterjockeysinline.”IsaidasIstoodupandstartedwalkingtowardsthetubeshuttlethatwouldcarrymetotheOperationsDeckwhereI'dstartanotheruneventfulshift.“You're a mean spiritedman Jonas!My customers will missme! I'll put a

pictureofyouuprighthereonthecounteranditwillsay;JonasValent:NoodleMasterKidnapper!”“Mayyourlifebeinteresting!”IcalledovermyshoulderasIwalkedthrough

thetubeentryway.

11

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.comWalkingToTheCrossroadsWhilethewarwasonIwaspartoftheengineeringstaffofaDestroyernamed

theLoki.Itwasn'tasinterestingasitsounds,therewereonehundredandtwelveofusengineerstherejusttokeepthesystemsrunningwhilewewereonourwayto the front. Only half remained on board when we reached All-Con Prime.That'swhentheexcitementstarted.Thelowgradeengineeringcrewweresetupwithinfantryunitsandsentoutto

blowupandburneveryfactorytheyhad.OriginallyIwassentdowntorepairthe shuttle thatMinh-Chu'sunithaddropped inonand then Iwasassigned tothemastheirengineer.OurobjectiveonthegroundwastoputastoptotheAll-Con Corporation's primary production lines. Minh-Chu saved my hide moretimes thanIcouldcountduring thatyearand taughtmehowtostayalive inafirefight,eventriedtoteachmehowtoshoot.IqualifiedeasilyinbasictrainingbutIwasneveragreatshot,definitelynotwhatonewouldconsideramarksman.Minh tookmeonashispetproject andwhatdoyouknow,afterayear Iwasactually a very good shot, in the upper ranks as far as shooting scores wereconcernedafterwegotbackhomesometimelater.The fighter pilot stint came later, when our units had to use stolen Raze

starfighters to get offworld and break throughwhat remained of theAll-Confleettogethome.WeneversawcombatbuttherewassomethingaboutbeingatthecontrolsofaonepointfivemillioncreditRazeInterceptor.Thatmadeithardtogiveupthecockpitwhenwegothome.Don'tgetmewrong, there'snoglamour inspending threedays inacockpit,

speeding away from the stars into the darkness, but we were infantry,engineeringandothersupportcrewsetonourownwithsimpleorders;getyourbuttbackhomeusingstolenfightersandsupplies.Itwasanexcitingchallengeifyouweren'tsoterrifiedthatyoucouldn'tenjoyit.Mostofusonlyhadthemostbasictrainingaspilots,Min-ChuandIweretwo

outofahandfulwhohadtakenthetimetobefullycertified.Alltogetherfiveofushadpilotedcraftoutsideofasimulatorandwehadtoleadeveryoneelse,overa hundredninety untried factory fresh ships flownbygreenpilots all thewayback home. When one hundred eighty seven of us arrived in mostly goodconditiontherewasawelcomepartythelikesofwhichwehadneverseen.AftergettingbackItransferredtothereservesandsignedupforthevolunteer

patrols.Since Iwasalreadyenlisted theywereniceenough to letmekeep the

fighterbutitdidn'ttakemelongtorealizethatthereserveswerefilledwithrich12First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comkidswhoboughttheirownfighterorcadetslookingtogocareermilitarybutweren'tfinishedtheirturnattheAcademyorweren'toldenoughtobeinthefield.Thereweren'tmanysocalledveteranslikemyselfoutthere,Minhhadsoldhisfightertostartuphisrestaurantanddidn'thavetimetovolunteer.Ieventuallytookanon-advancementpositionintheFreegroundFleet,myrankofLieutenantCommanderguaranteedmeareasonablepaygradeeventhough I was deactivated, and I chose communications. There weren't manypositions available, so I thought itwould be a good post. Iwaswrong. Sincefullyautonomousartificialintelligencehasbeenbannedfromrunningnetworkedsystems it's left to us to take requests from ships docking and that quicklybranches intocomplaints, lifestories,appeals for leniencyonany lawyoucanname,andanythingelseyoucanimagine,someofwhichwouldappaltheentirepopulation of the station. It's boring, irritating, true, but at least they weren'tgoing toassignme toaship'sengineeringcrewheadedforGodknowswhere.Beinganengineerwasmyfather'sdream,hewasadeepthinker,alwayshadasimple solution that had everyone in the room saying; “why didn't I think ofthat?”WhenIwasveryyoungIheadedstraighttotheacademywiththeintentionof

getting as far away fromFreeground aspossible. I got just enough training toqualifyfortheengineeringstaffofashipandfoundoutthatIwasdeadwrongaboutthatchoicetoo.IexcelledattheacademicchallengesbutIdidn'tenjoytheworkonceIwasintheservice.Come to think of it, serving on a ship was more interesting but no more

enjoyable thanwhat I did in Port Control.My spare time is where I enjoyedmyself while I was a communications officer. Being part of or commandingfleetsofsmallships,thebridgeofalargerone,orwingsoffighters.Iwasstillnotthegreatestshotfromthecockpit,butthestrategyandeffortofcoordinatingataskforceinsimulations,evenduringsimulatedemergencyrepairandthelikeissomethingIcouldhavejustdoneforever.That's why, as days passed and I quietly went aboutmy business directing

incoming trade traffic and arranging supplies and repairs I started to feeldisappointed that Minh-Chu's efforts to have me tossed back into a careermilitarypositionseemedtohavefallenondeafears.Myheart jumped intomy throatwhen thestaffSargent,a tall fellowwitha

narrow face and greying hair, tapped me on the shoulder. “You're relievedLieutenant Commander.Admiral Ricewants you in her office in twenty two

minutes.”Inodded,collectedmycoffeemugandstoodup.MySargentcrackedasmile

andshookmyhand.“Don'ttakethisthewrongwaysir,butIhopethenexttimeIseeyoubackinthisroomyou'retheonegivingmeorders.”“Don'tcallmesiryetCarl,myrankisstilldeactivatedasfarasIknow.”“Notasoffiveminutesagosir,you'reactivenow,andthat'sallIknow.The

13First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comAdmiralwilltellyoumoreI'msure.”Ismiledbackathim,thoughIdon'tknowhowconvincingIwas.“Justenough

timetorefillmymugbeforemeetingher.”Iputmycoatonandmadeforthecafeteria,whereItossedmymugintothe

recycler instead of getting more coffee. The last thing I needed was morecaffeine.Isteppedintothetransporttubeandtappedtheactivationpointonmywristtoturnonthescreenbuiltintothearmofmyuniform.Alice,mypersonaldigital assistant came on. “Hello Jonas, I hear you have an appointment withAdmiralRice.”Shecheerilychirped.Icouldpracticallyseethecuriosityoftheother five or so passengers in the tube car pique. The doors closed and theexpress car began to speed around the station to drop off everyone who hadalreadystatedtheirdestination.“WhyamIthelasttoknow?”“Only the Admiral, her assistant and your former Sargent know about it,

actually.”“SoI'mfired,great.”“In a manner of speaking, but I'm sure that if you present yourself as an

incompetentbaboontheAdmiralwillbehappytoputyoubackwhereshefoundyou.I'dadviseagainstit.”“I'm going to have to look into where I went wrong with your sense of

humoursometimeAlice.”“Youwouldregrettheresults,simplifyingmyprogrammingwouldmakemea

verydullgirl.”Isighedandshookmyhead.“WhereamIsupposedtomeether?”“IntheOfficer'sForwardObservationRoom.”“Forwardthattothetubesystem.”“Done,we'llbeonourwayafterwedropeveryoneelseoff,you're theonly

oneinthiscarwithclearancetovisitthatsection.”“I'm sure everyone appreciates you mentioning that Alice,” I whispered in

response.“WhentheAdmiralmakesyourpromotionofficialwillIhavetostartcalling

yousir?”IshouldhaveexpectedthatkindofbehaviourfromAlice,Ihadkeptthesame

personal assistant program since I was a teenager and she had grown to loveembarrassingmejustalittlewhenevershegotthechance.Isupposeit'sthepriceI paid for having the most sophisticated AI allowed as a personal assistantprogram.IsavedupfortwoyearssoIcouldaffordhersoftwarepackage.“No,butwould youmind looking upwhatmy current rank is andwhispering it tome?”I asked quietly.Amoment later I heardAlice's response inmy left ear.“That information iscurrently restricted, I can't findmyway to itpresently. Itonlytellsmethatyourformerrankwasreactivatedandhasbeenchangedsince.Icankeepdigging.”“Okay,youcanstoptrying.”“Areyousure?ThereareacouplethingsIcouldtryforyou,theymightnot

beentirelylegalbut-”

14

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.com“I'msure,let'snotgetintotrouble.”“Allright,goodluck,sir.”Sometimes I think witnessing all my experiences and learning from every

decisionIhadmadesinceIboughtherwhenIturnedseventeenhadmadeAlicea little smarter than the programmers intended, and other times I think it justmadeheralotmoreeccentric,Iwasneverquitesure.By the time the tube car arrived atmydestination, Iwas only twominutes

early.AdmiralRice'sassistant,ashort,darkhairedmanwhosatmanipulatingaholographic representation of crew schedules beside the door leading into theOfficer'sObservationLounge looked up atme for half a second before goingbacktohiswork.“ForfuturereferencetheAdmiralprefersallherofficerstobefifteenminutesearly.She'sjustinside,don'tkeepherwaiting.”“Thankyou,”Irepliedstifflybeforewalkingtowardsthedoors.Therewasa

two second delay while the computer scanned me and I heard the lockingmechanisms decouple. The security systems were old, but near indestructibleandreliable.I didn't know what to expect as I stepped inside and I definitely wasn't

preparedforwhatIsaw.Theroomwasarrangedlikeacloverleaf,withamainplatformfeaturingseatingandtablesneartheentrance.Threesetsofstairslead

down into the separatemulti-level sections.Therewere command and controlconsoles in each area, holographic representations of ship deployments andadvanced record keeping interfaces surrounding some Officers, while othersworevisors thatprovidedadvancedvisual interfacesprivately.Catwalksaboveandaroundthecommandcentersprovidedspaceformanymoreoperationalandintelligenceofficers.WhitenoisegeneratorskeptthespecificimagesandsoundsonthecommandsectionshiddenbutitwasobvioustomewhatIwasseeingwasalargepartofFleetCommand.Mybestguesswasthattherewereatleasttwentyhighrankingofficersineachofthethreesectionsandroomforalotmore.ThesectionIstoodin,nearesttotheentrance,wasacompletecontrasttothe

commandsections.The lightsweredim,more likeaclassydiningclub,andafew Captains, Majors, Generals and Admirals sat quietly and sparsely at thethirty ormore tables.Awoman in hermiddle yearswith short blondhair andsharp features smiled atme and stood. “MisterValent I presume?” She askedwithaBritishaccent.“YesMa'am.” I saidwithasalute,noticing thenineplatinumslasheson the

neckofheruniform,markingherasanAdmiral.“I'mAdmiralRice,”shesaidwhileshakingmyhandfirmly.“Impressive,isn't

it?”"Justabit,whenIwas told tomeetyouin theOfficer'sObservationDeckI

expectedsomethingelse.”“That's the point as I'm sure you realize. We value our privacy and

misdirectionisanimportanttoolforprotectingtheseniorstaff.”“ThisisalmostaslargeastheofficialFleetCommandDeck,Ididn'tknow15First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comwe were that active out there in the galaxy,” I saidquietly.“Well, let's get started. Follow me please,” she led me across the section

closesttotheentrancedowntherighthandstepsthenintoasideoffice.Thedoorclosedand thedinofsound,blurryandclearalike,wasgone.Onewallof theofficewastransparentandlookedoverthemilitaryshiprefittingandrepairdrydock.Fewcivilianshadeverseentheinsideofit,amassiveopenspacethatwassetstationaryandwithoutagravitationalgeneratorsotherewasnomeasurableforceexertedontheshipsinside.Itwasovertwentykilometresatthefar,narrowend,andtohazardaguessithadtobeatleastfiftykilometreswidebelowwhereIstood,whichwasroughlyinthecenter.Icouldseedozensofshipsinforrepair.A great number of which were showing extreme damage and one, a massivethreekilometre longAbolisher Class Carrier, wasmissingmost of itsmiddle.Raggedbeamsandascrapofhullwasallthatheldittogether.Theedgesofthe

damagelookedmelted.TheAdmiralhadobviouslyfollowedmygazetoit.“TheLockheed,sistershiptomyoldcommandwhenIlastCaptainedaship.Shewashitbyahighraddirtynukeinthefield.Fromwhatthelogssaytheenemylefther adrift, and the fewmembersof the crewmanaged togetherdrivesonlinebeforedyingofradiationpoisoning.Bythetimeitgothereitwasaghostship.Iknewhercaptain,hewasafriendofmineforovertwentyyears.”“I'msorryAdmiral,Iknowwhatit'sliketolosesomeone.”“Your family, I know.We're looking to prevent that kind of loss from ever

happeningagain,eventhoughthelikelihoodofitincreasesbytheday.Weneedtochangeourmannerofthinkingandfast.TheLockheedisamoralitytale.HerCaptain directed his battle group around to the dark side of the fourth moonorbitingtheplanetRindegainaColthisCorporationsystemandwasambushedby an AI fleet. They had dug into the moon and were protecting something,we'renotsurewhatexactly.WhentheLockheed'sbattlegroupcameintorangetheysentoutseveraldozendronefighters,eacharmedwithonedirtynuke.CaptainMcKay'sbattlegroupnearlydestroyedallof thembefore theywere

within range but a few got through. The fact that Corporations like ColthisIntergalacticareusing illegalAIfleets,breakingnuclearconventions thathavestood for nearly four hundred years and throwing away trillions of credits ondefenceslikethistellsustwothings.Firstly,theyaredoingsomething,orhavesomething that isworth protecting at any cost and secondly,we have to lookbeyond conventional thinking. All of Captain McKay's precautions andcountermeasureswerebythebook,butevenwithanexperiencedcrewitdidn'tmeanathing.Hewasoverpoweredbyamorereckless,forwardthinkingenemywith no moral restraint. We're big enough to draw a lot of attention but notpowerfulenoughtomakeclaimsonareaswiththeresourcesweneedtogrowsowehavetothinkoutsidethenormalrealmofconventionalmethods.”Admiral Rice looked from the Lockheed to me. I felt like I was being

inspectedfromtheinsideoutashereyeslockedwithmine.“Beingincommandhas taught me a few things, one of them is that solutions come in surprisingways,in16First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com strange packages,” she said quietly. “Your friend,mister Minh-Chu, did us all a favour when he showed my colleague yourreplays.We've been trying to find out who has been raking trainees over thecoals the last fewmonths. You and your friends, some of whom are actuallyrankingmembersof theFleet,don't justout shootour trainees,youhavebeenpractically embarrassing them. At first we thought one of the basic opposingteamAI's had gone rogue, learning toomuch and performing past its normal

abilitiesbutthenwemanagedtogetintothesimulatedcommunicationschatterandheard thedisguisedvoicesofyouandyour team.Not simulatedchatteratall, and heavily encrypted.Ever since thenwe've beenwatching and trying tofindoutexactlywhoyouandyourfriendsarebutthetrailneverledbacktotherightplace.Yourprogrammerfriend,JasonEverin,hasdonesuchagoodjobathidingyour transmission trails that atonepointwewere led toadoorcontrolmoduleinawastereclamationplantasthesource.”Myheartwassinking,butIkeptastiffupperlipandtriednottoshowit.“I'venevermethimma'am.”“I'mnotsurprised,butyouwill.”“Iwould like to take this opportunity to apologize for any inconvenience I

may have caused and take full responsibility for the actions of all my teammates.Theyfollowedmeinandweinitiallyusedmyaccesscodestogainentryintothetrainingsimulations.”“Werealizethatnow,andit'stoolate.We'vealreadysingledoutwhowecan

and are acting accordingly. You, along with three others are being dealt withpresently. Just soyouknow,wewereon thevergeof findingout exactlywhoyouallwere.Thelastsimulationyouranwasoneofthemostdifficultwehavetooffer,asyouwellknowitisamongachosenfewthatarereservedforoptionalstudyamongtrainees.Whenwerealizedthatyouandyourteamhadstartedit,our cadetswere removed and replacedwith a group of seasoned commandersandpilotswehad inplace to testyou.Theywerebeaten.Thatsimulationwascreated as a no-win scenario, only two groups of seasoned officers have evercompleted it with a measure of success, one of them was the team thatprogrammedit.Eversincethenwe'vehadalltheresourceswecouldsparetryingtotrackyou

andyourfriendsdown.Youmanagedtoembarrassanumberoftheseniorstaffand they think you've been brought in so I can administer your punishmentpersonally.”Iwantedtosaysomething,butdidn'tknowwhat,soIkeptmymouthshutand

clenchedmy teeth, suppressing the hope that Iwouldn't spend the rest ofmynaturallifeonanasteroid,miningwithprisoncrews.She shook her head and continued; “Computer, display full career path of

JonasSValent.”AholographictreeofeverythingIhaddoneappearedoverherdesk,startingatageseventeen.Shepointedatthefirstone.“Youpurchasedatopofthelinepersonalorganizerprogram,calleditAliceandstartedmodifyingit.BythetimeyoujoinedtheserviceattheageoftwentyAlicehadgrownintothemostsophisticatedlevelofAIweallowedbylaw,herlimitershavebeeninplaceever17

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.comsince.Therehavebeenthreeattemptsatcopyingher,whichfailedsinceherAIiscomplexenoughtowarrantsevereusagelimitations,andshewasmovedtwice.YoujoinedtheFleet,spent twoyears trainingasanengineer, four as a cadet, received basic engineering, infantry and pilotcertifications. You then went on to complete a year of officers training andentered the service proper as anEnsign.During the voyage toAll-Con Primeyouwere promoted by your senior officersmore than once because they sawgreatunderutilizedpotentialandthatyouwerealreadycompletelyfulfillingthedutiesofyourrank.Your commanding officer noted that you had no difficulty meeting and

sometimes exceeding expectations as an Ensign, but as a Second LieutenantCommanderyouonlydidasmuchaswasrequiredandnomoreasanengineer,butwhereitcametothestaffunderyoutherewasnolimittothetimeandeffortyouwouldexpendonthem.Peopleunderyourcommandflourished,thefewthatdidn't meet your standards were routinely written up. The discipline andprofessionalismwithwhichyouconductedyourselfwhileinthatpositionearnedyoutherespectoftheseniorstaff.Finalreportsenteredbythosethoseunderyougenerallynotedthatyouwerefair,personableandafewevenclaimeditwasapleasuretohaveyouincharge.Nearlytwoyearslateryouarrivedbackherewitha stolen fighter group that you helped command safely back home and werepromotedtoLieutenantCommander.Yourequestedanon-careerpositionshortlythereafter,joinedthereserves,servedforawhileaspilotonpatrolandthenhadyourrankfullydeactivatedwhenyouleft.”Admiral Rice sighed and walked to the window, where she looked outside

withherhandsfoldedbehindherback.“Yearslateryou'rebackonoursensorsbutasaCommandmaverickonoursimulatornetwork.FromwhatIunderstandyoujoinedwithagroupofhobbypilotsandinfantrywhoyouthenledtothetopof the leaderboardusing thecall signHorus, theancientEgyptianGodof thePharaohs.Thenyougotboredandusedyourlimitedclearancetogainaccesstoactual training scenarios where you've gotten everyone into a great deal oftroubleby disrupting our curriculum, exposing civilians to high levelmilitarytraining materials, and making a mockery of our standards and war gamegrading.DoyouknowwhattheOfficersjustoutsidethatdoorarecallingyou?”“No, I do not, Admiral,” I replied stiffly, bracingmyself for the inevitable

conclusiontoherlecture.“They'recallingyouanAsset.Anyonewhohasn'tseenyourfullrecordthinks

that you've lacked the opportunities tomake your skills known and find yourplace,”sheturnedherheadandlookedatmeoutofthecornerofhereye.“You

andIknowbetter,don'twe?”Officer trainingandcommonsensemadeitclear thatanyresponseIoffered

wouldonlymakethingsworse.Ikeptmymouthshutandeyesstaringforward.TheruinedhuskoftheLockheedwasbeingtoweddirectlyintomylineofsight.Hervoicewasquietandherwordswereannunciatedsharplyasshewenton'“You'reboredbut lack thedirectionandambition tostep forwardand try to

makea18First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.complaceforyourself.You'vegrowncomplacentandlazy.Sure you're exceptional at directing traders, resupplying incoming ships andarrangingforrepairsbutAlice,thatAIyoukeepstrappedtoyourarm,coulddothe job just aswellwhileworkingon eight other tasks.You'rewasted,MisterJonas,howdoesthatmakeyoufeel?”My facewas red,mypalmswerewet, andmynervousness had gone.That

littlevoiceinthebackofmyhead,alwaystellingmetostayoutofthefight,thatitwasagoodideatostepawayfromthemilitaryandthatIhadfoundapeaceful,leisurely life that was worth keeping was gone. I knew everything she wassayingwasright,thatIhadconvincedmyselfotherwiseovertime,makinglittlecompromises, small, short sighted retreats away from what I wanted and theworkinvolvedwithgettingitandwhentheopportunitytodoitinagame,tofeelthewarmthofcamaraderieandrushofcommandIdoverightin.Shewasright,and I realized that the anger that filled me had nothing to do with her. Myadmissioncameoutquietly;“Iamwasted.”Shewalkedquietly,calmlytoherdesk,Icouldn'tbelievehowcalmandclear

she was as the anger within me clouded my judgement and rendered mespeechless. The Admiral picked up a small data chip and turned it on. Irecognized the holographic icons that sprang up above it immediately. “Well,there is somethingwe sometimes do for people like you.We challenge them,onlyyou'vegonetoofarforus tomakeitasimplematterofreactivatingyourrankandputtingyoubackintotheservice.You'reapassableengineer,butfromwhatwe'veseenthat'snotyourtruecalling.Fewpeopleonthisstationknowit,butwe'refightingtomaintainwhatlittleterritorywehaveandtheoppositionhasbecome more fierce than ever. We can not afford to have trained, qualifiedpersonnelsittingarounddirectingtraffic.Havingsaidthat,I'mnotgoingtohandequipmentandresponsibilityovertoamanwhohasn'tbeenproperlytestedletaloneacrewwho,forthemostpart,sharethesameproblem.I'm giving you and everyone who is involved in this fiasco a choice,” she

turnedthedatachipoffandtosseditatme.Icaughtitbyreflex,butbarely.“Youcan pay fines and be permanently barred from any ranking Fleet position or

participateinonemorehighstakesimulation.ForthepurposeofthissimulationI'm promoting you to the rank of Trainee Captain and everyone else is beingassignedatraineerankbefittingtheirpositioninyourcrew.Anyonewhoacceptsthis challenge will have six days to prepare for the simulation which will beconductedonanactualship.Thescenariowillbeatmydiscretionandbechosenfive minutes before it begins from a list of historic scenarios in which thecasualty rate was seventy percent or higher. To ensure that everyone has theproperperspective,deathinthesimulationwillhaverealconsequences.Anyonewhoseavatardieswillbechargedwithviolatingmilitarydigitalsecuritywhichcarries a prison sentence of five months to five years as determined by thesensitivityoftheaccessedmaterials.Ifourofficialsdeterminethatdamagewasdonetooursystems,moraleorprocedures,morefinesandprisontimecouldbebroughtdownonpeoplewholosetheirsimulatedlives.”Idon'trememberwhatwentoninmyheadexactly,butIwasn'twillingto19First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.combackdown;“Icanonlyspeakformyself,Admiral,butIacceptyourchallenge.”AdmiralRicesmiledatmeandnodded;“Good,anumberofyourteammates

madeitclearthat theywouldnotparticipateunlessyouwereput incommand.We've had a chance tomeetwith everyone, and thoughmost are choosing tobecomepermanentcivilians twentyoneofyouaregoing tobeparticipating inthisexercise.AllbutyouandthreeothershavealreadyreportedaboardshipandI've had your things sent to your quarters there,” the Admiral walked to thewindowandpointed.“You'll be using aCombatCarrier that's been converted into aStriker class

Destroyer that's undergoing a refit. Her name is the Sunspire, but sincewe'rereplacingthemainpowerplantsandmostoftheothersystemsshe'llberenamedwhenshe'sfit.”IsteppedupbesidetheAdmiralandlookeddown.Theentirelowerhalfofthe

hull was opened to accommodate the replacement of the ship's old powersystems and the upgrading of other systems. The ship once had a reflectivesurfacetominimizebeamweapondamagebutithadbeentarnishedbyweaponsfireanditlookedmismatchedwherehullplatinghadbeenreplacedwithslightlydifferent materials. I could see why they would refit the ship instead ofdecommissioningit,however.EvenfromwhereIwasstandingIcouldsee thehullwasmadeofergranian

steel,a rare regenerative, incrediblydensemetal thatwasdifficult tomineandnexttoimpossibletofind.LookingattheexposedportionsIcouldalsoseethatthehullwaswelloverameterthick,moreinsomeplaces.Tetheredjustbehind

theshipweretwodozenstarfighter trainingpodsreadytobeloadedintosomepartoftheship,judgingfromtheworkongoing,Icouldn'tbegintoguesswherethey'dbeputtingthem.“Theoldreactorsthey'repullingoutofherarehuge,they'vegottobealmosta

hundred fiftyyearsold.Whatare theygoing todowithall thespace leftoverafter thenewonesare installed?They'llbeaneighth thesizeandgenerate thesameamountofenergy,”Ifoundmyselfasking.“Therewon't be any space left over, they're actually using all the space for

powergenerationwithmodern power plants and installing fuelmanufacturingsystems that can use anything from rock to highly compressed metals.We'reputtingthosehugeramscoopstogoodusewiththenewdesign.They'llalsobeinstallingnewautomationsystemssoshe'llrequireonetenththecreworlesstomaintain.”“That'll give her the power generation capabilities of a juggernaut and the

abilitytoturnanythingintoenergy.”“Exactly.”“So,IsupposeI'llbecommandingtheshipinitsoriginalconfigurationduring

thesimulation?”“No,partofthetestistofindouthowyouandyourteammatesdealwithnew

technology. The Sunspire may look like a ship ready for retirement on theoutside,butwe'reupdatingherwith all our best technology on the inside andreshaping whole sections of the hull. The regenerative qualities of the metalallow us to do a great deal with this ship that we couldn't with any modernvessel.Oneofthe20First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comuniquethingsaboutthechallengeI'msettingyouandyourfriendsonisthatnoonereallyknowsallthedetailsofthisshipfromstemtosternexceptfortheleadengineerswhoredesignedher.Thespecifications,reallifeprofilesandeverythingotherthanthescenarioare

on thedata chip Igaveyou.Asof thismomentyou're in full command, crewassignments,drills,andevenwhoyoumightwanttoexcusearecompletelyuptoyou.I'llalsoallowyoutorequestanumberofqualified,lowrankingofficerstofill in for missing crew members. You'll be restricted to three decks, one ofwhichisbeingtemporarilyfittedasatrainingareawithsimulationpodsbutthatshouldbemorethanenoughroom.Everyonehasbeeninstructedtostayclearofanything that involves theship's refit.Doyouhaveanyother questions beforeyoushipout,TraineeCaptain?”“WhathappenstoanyoneIexcuse?”“Civilians will be banned from serving in the Freeground Fleet and career

militarywillbedemotedorimprisoneddependingonwhatthecourtsdecideonthechargeofconspiringtoviolatesecurityprotocols.Ifthey'renotgoodenoughfor your crew, then they're certainly not good enough for Fleet. Any otherquestions?”“No,thankyouAdmiral.”“Good,thenGodspeed,I'llseeyouafterthesimulation.Securitywillseeyou

outandtotheSunspire.”IstartedwalkingoutoftheroomwhentheAdmiralstoppedme.“Onemore

thing Jonas, one of your teammates, Sunspotwas her handle, is actually theCommandingEngineeraboard theSunspire.Shewasoverseeing the refit untiltodayandherrank isstilleffective.Thechargesofconspiracywerewaived inher case sincewecouldn'tprove thatshe knew some of her teammateswereillegallyparticipating insimulations.Despite this, she's convincedme that sheshouldbe treated like anyone else in the team andwill face charges if she iskilledinthescenario.Ilikethisofficer,she'sabright,dedicatedengineerandabettercommanderthanmostwithalonghistoryinthemilitarydespiteherage.If she goes down with your team, I'll hold you personally responsible.Dismissed.”

21

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.comConspiratorsThemeetingwithAdmiralRicehadchangedmyworld.ThatmorningIwasin

a different universe and as I was escorted to the long boarding tunnel to theSunspiretheenormityofthesituationwasstillsinkingin.Twentyoneliveswereinmyhands,eachoneof them taking theirchanceswithmeand their fellowsinsteadoftakingtheeasywayout;civilianlife,whichwasaslaponthewristincomparisontotheconsequencesoffailure.The busy boarding tunnel was filled with personnel engaged in the refit

movingtoandfromtheship.WhenIarrivedattheendIwasmetbythesecuritydetailinchargeoftheSunspireproper.“WelcomeCaptainValent,yourquartersareready.Followmeplease,”theOfficerstatedpleasantly.“Decksfourtosevenareatthedisposalofyouandyourcrew.You'llbeusing

a temporarybridgeondeck five for the simulationandmostofyourcrewaresettlingintotheirquartersorwillbearrivingsoon.”Thesecurityofficerwasathicklymuscledfellowwhostoodatleastsixfootfour.Heseemedveryhappytoseemewhichwas a bit surprising and unnerving at the same time. The halls

weretwometersacrossandunpainted,showingthedarkbluesheenofergraniansteel.Itstruckmethenthatitwastheperfectbarematerialfortheinteriorsinceitwouldabsorbmassiveamountsofenergyinsteadofconductingitfreely.Thecables,wiringandpipesthatranalongthesidesofthecorridorswereperfectlyarranged, neatly clipped against the bulk heads so they were out of the way.Therewerepressuredoorseveryfifteenmetersthatdecoupled,movedoutwardandseparatedatourapproach.“Arethesedoorsalwaysclosedwhentheship isinoperation?”Iasked.“Onlyduringyelloworredalertstatus.Normallythey'reonlyclosedatmajor

junctions.Duringtherefitwe'rekeepingeverythingasbottledupaswecanjustin case we blow a seal somewhere while the crews are replacing or alteringsections.FromwhatI'veseenthat'sunlikely,butnoteveryoneisusedtoorganicmetalsoyouneverknow.”Wehad to traverse the shipverticallybyusinganempty lift shaft since the

elevatorcarswerebeingreplaced.Asidefromasafetytether,wewerefloatingfree in a shaft that ran the full height of the hull, eight decks aboveme andthirteenbelow.The sizeof thevessel couldn'thavebeenmoreapparent aswedrifted up several decks to the third. “This is huge, how big is her normalcompliment?”“AsfarasIknowitdependsonhowshe'stasked.Duringadropmissionshe

can carry eighteen hundred infantry, sixty drop ships, twenty fighters andrequiresa22First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com main crew of over a thousand. For deep spacemissions,theconfigurationwe'rebeingsetfor,Ihearyoucanruntheshipwithautomationand fiftycrew.Thenormalcomplimentwithoutautomation isovertwofifty,soIhear.WhatitwaslikewhenshewasaCombatCarrier,Icouldn'ttellya.She'sbeenoffthatdutyforacenturyorso.”“Soundslikeyouknowalotaboutthisship,haveyouservedonherbefore?”“Nosir,Ijustliketoread.”Whereasthebusydecksbelowwerefilledwithpeople,equipment,hadopen

compartments everywhere and noise all around, the third deck, obviously theofficerquartersandmesshall,weredeathlysilent.Ourfootstepsechoedaswecameoutoftheshaftslowlyandlettheartificialgravity–whichwasfairlylightandnotfullyoperationaleither-drawourfeetdownontothefloor.The narrower halls were surfaced with padded panels and the lighting was

subdued.Italreadylookedbetter thanmyapartment,whichmaynotbesayingmuchbynormalstandards,butitwasenoughtomakemegrin.EspeciallysinceIwasfairlycertainthatifwedidwellenoughinthesimulationI'dmostlikelybe

servingaboardtheSunspire.Ididn'tevenrealizethatwehadarrivedatmyquartersaswestoodinfrontof

thepressuredoorsthatwereclearlylabelledCaptainwithspaceforanametobepostedbelow.Icheerilystoodthere,lookingaroundwiththedoorsclosed.Theguardsmiledandannounced;“Herewearesir.”I noddedas though Iwasperfectly awareof the fact thatwewere standing

quietlyinfrontofmyquartersandsteppedforwardtotriggerthedoors.AstheyopenedIlookedinsidetofindamainroomthathadatablewithfourchairsonone side with an archway leading to another room, a sofa, thickly cushionedarmchair and another archway leading to yet another roomon that side. “YoucouldfitfourofmyapartmentinjustwhatI'veseensofarandhaveroomforawalkincloset.”“Theprivilegeofcommand,sir,”theguardsaidwithabigtoothedgrin.Itwas

then that I recognized his voice from the simulations. “Oz?” I asked with asmile.“About time! I was starting to wonder if they got the rightman!” he said,

givingmeahandshakethatnearlypulledmyarmoutofit'ssocket.“I'mactuallyWarrantOfficerTerryOzarkMcPatrick.MostofmyfriendscallmeOz.”“Justlikeinthescenarios,that'ssomethingIcangetusedto.”Isteppedinto

my quarters and he followed, “so you're actually a security officer? Notinfantry?”“Well,IstartedininfantryandgotpoachedintoFleetbymyunclebeforehe

retired. I toldhimImadeamistake joining infantryona spacestationandheagreed. I'veservedforeightyears indifferentsecurityroles, justgotmyflightand gunner certifications last year and I'm almost finished with my bridgecommandtraining,can'tgetpromoteduntilIfinishthat.UnlessyouhaveotherplansformeI'llbeonsecuritydetailwhilewe'reaboard.”“You'rewelcometoit,haveyoumetanyoneelseyet?”IaskedasIsatatthe

23First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comtable.“JustAyan,turnsoutshe'schangedabitsincetheAcademy.WhenIfirstmet

her shewas in advanced engineer trainingwhen Iwas going through the firstyear,tryingtofigureoutwhatIwantedtodo.Nowshe'susedtocommandinganengineeringcrewofaboutahundredfiftyandwell,let'sjustsayshegrewoutofherawkwardstage.”“Well,that'snotintimidatingatall.”Oz laughed and put a big hand on my shoulder. “She's just as nice as I

remember,gotasmilethatcanlightupthemaincargohold.Idon'tknowwhy,

butshe'sgladtobehere,allexcitedaboutthischallengetroublewe'reallgettingourselvesinto.Don'tgetmewrong,I'mlookingforwardtoittoo,butshealreadyhasacareer thatwouldmakeanycadetenvious,shemadeCommanderbeforethirtyandcouldhaveCaptainbythirtyfive.Shedoesn'tneedsomethinglikethismakingher life all complicated.Doesn'tmatter though, she's trying to flipherrankoverintotrainingstatuslikeus,butFleetwon'tletherjustyet.”“Iknow,she'stakingahugeriskbysigningonforthischallenge.Ireallydon't

knowwhat'sbehinditeither.”“Hermotherislessthanpleased,I'msureyou'veheard.”“Ihadnoidea,herfamilylivesonthestation?”Oz's jaw dropped and he sat down on the sofa. “You really don't know, do

you?”“Knowwhat?”Heshookhisheadandranabighanddownhisface.“Okay,there'ssomething

youhave toknowaboutourChiefEngineer.Her full name isAyanRice.Hermotheris-”“FleetForwardAdmiralRice,” I feltas thoughall theair just left theroom.

Suddenly I couldn't breathe, the roomwas spinning, I reached out to putmyhand down on the table and missed. I was falling and then everything wentblack.WhenIopenedmyeyesIwas lookingupat thefacesofOzandMinh-Chu.“He just startedhyperventilatingandpassedout. I thinkhe'scomingaround

though,”Ozsaidasheproppedmyheadupinoneofhishands.“Somefearlessleader,”Minhaddedwithasmirk.“Iheardthat,”Itriedtoblinkthewhitespotsoutofmyeyes.Ozhelpedmeup

andweallsatatthetable.“HowlongwasIout?”“Justafewseconds,longenoughtoscarethehelloutofme.Don'tdothaton

thebridge,”Ozreplied.“Icameinandthisbigguywasstandingoveryou,Iwasjustabouttorunfor

thenearestexit.”“Well,I'mgladyou'renotgoingtobeinvolvedwithsecurity,”ItoldMinhto

Oz'samusement.“So,IhaveaFleetAdmiral'sdaughteronboard.That'sgoingtobealittleawkward.”“Onlyifyougiveheranyspecialtreatment.Ithinkshemightbe24First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comparticipatinginthisthingbecauseshewantstoprovethat she gets the same treatment as everyone else.” Minh said in more of aserioustonethanI'dheardfromhiminawhile."That,andrumourhasitshewasassigned to the Sunspire's refit as some kind of rehabilitation. No one knows

whatexactlyfrom."“Well,shecandemandasmuchrespectasshewantsaslongasshekeepsour

simulated ship together. Fromwhat theAdmiral toldmewe're in for a roughride.”“YoumeantheAdmiralbriefedyouherself?”Ozasked,agape.“Shedid,thanksforthat,bytheway,”IhalfbowedtoMinhfrommyseat.“Didn'tturnoutthewayyouexpectedit,didit?”Helookedalmostpanicked,andIrealizedthatuntilthatmomentonlyheandI

knewhewas theonewho informedcommandofmy identityandgot thisballrolling.“Iknewyouweregood,butnotgoodenough for thiskindofeffort. Ithought they'dpromoteyouandputyou towork somewhereyou'd feel usefulagain.”“You'retheonewhopoppedthelidoffourlittlecovertfun?”Ozasked,wide

eyed.“Didyoutellcommandaboutmetoo?”“No!JustJonasandmyself,Iswear!Ihadnoideatheywerealreadytracking

usdownorthatweweredoingsomuchbetteragainstthecadetsintrainingthantheAIortrainingstaff.Ithoughtwewerejustbumpinginandmessingaround,embarrassingafewtrainees,especiallysincenoonecancelledtheexercisesoncetheystarted.HowwasIsupposedtoknowthattheywerewatchingandthrowingtheiradvancedtraineesagainstusonce theyrealized theAIwewerereplacingwasdeactivated.”“Well,sincewe'regettingourasseskickedoutthere,Fleetisinterestedinnew

solutions,”Ozsaid,pointingtothelargeviewport.“That'swhytheSunspireishere,it'snotjustarefit,shewassobadlydamagedthat theprimarygeneratorsweren'tsalvageableandtheyhadtoforcethehulltoregeneratebyenergizingitassoonasitgothere.Ayancouldn'ttalkaboutwhathappened,butIcouldtellitwas worse than bad and it wouldn't be long before everyone on Freegroundwouldknowaboutit.”“TheAdmiraltoldmetherewasalotmoregoingonouttherethanFleetwas

telling thepublicabout. I think, in thebigger schemeof things,who toldwhowhatisprettyinsignificant.Whenit'sallsaidanddoneI'dratherbeinapositiontodo somethingabout theproblems facingFreeground thanbedirecting tradetrafficandresupplyingships.Iwasbornhere,theonlypeopleI'veknownareallhere.”“Iwasbornhere tooandhave threesisterswhowouldn't leave if their lives

dependedon it.Theymightdrivemecrazy,but I know I always have a bunkwaiting,”Ozsaid,nodding.“Someone'sgottoprotectmyrestaurant,itmayaswellbeme,”Minhadded

withashrug.“MysisterscantakecareofthingswhileI'mgone,andit'shardfor

them to screamatmewhile I'm light years away in a fighter cockpit, if that'swhereIendup.”“Well,let'sgettoworkthen.Ihavealotofcatchinguptodo,Ihavetolearn

25First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comabouttheshipsystems,findoutwhoIhaveandwhoIneedtobringaboard,setoutthecrewassignments,thenwehavetostartdrills,andthenthere'severythingI'mnotthinkingof.”IturnedtoMinhthen;“Canyougeteveryonesetupwithquarters tonight?Makesure they'resettled inand tellthemtherewillbeameetingattentomorrowmorningintheMessHall?”“Sure, but the main mess hall is open to space right now. Won't be very

comfortable.”“Dowehaveanotherspaceavailable?”“We have the common room at the rear of this deck, that should be big

enough.”“Good,that'swherewe'llmeettomorrow,”IturnedtoOzandsmiled.“Doyou

think you could talk to Ayan and review the roster with her? She'll need anengineering staff, a repair team,you'll needpilots, I'll need abridge crewandyou'llneedsecuritypersonnel.”“Allright,andwhatwillyoubedoing?”“Everything else. I'm hoping to have all the essentials ironed out tomorrow

afternoonsowecanhaveourfirstdrillbeforetheday'sout.”“Wellthen,weshouldgetgoing,Ihavecrewmemberstotrackdown.”Minhsaid,standingupandheadingforthedoor.“I have anEngineer to find. Fromher reputation I'll probably find her half

wayinsideoneofthemainsystems.”Ozshruggedwithanamusedsmile.“Onemore thing,we shouldn't tell anyone thatMinhherewas theonewho

helpedFleetCommandputtwoandtwotogether.IknowI'mpastit,butwedon'tneedtheextratrouble.”After they left Iwalked to theviewport. It stretched the lengthof themain

room inmyquartersandwasameterandahalf tall. I lookedoutat theworkcrews, all so efficient, getting the Sunspire ready for God knew what.Was Igoing to be her next Captain? First Officer? Or would I be a footnote in theFleetshistoryasthemanwhocouldhandleavirtualcommandbutcrackedwhenthere were real consequences. I shook my head and called out to the ship'scomputersystem.“Sunspire control, this is Trainee Captain Jonas Scott Valent, am I clear to

enteroperationaldata?”“YouareclearCaptainValent.Pleaseuploadcriticalmissiondata,”astrong

malevoicereplied.I held the data chip Iwas given by theAdmiral in front ofme. “Scan and

recordalloperationaldatafromthisstorageunit.”“Scan complete, do you have further ordersCaptain?” The computer asked

afteramoment.“Forward roster to TerryMcPatrick,Minh-Chu Buu and Ayan Rice. Leave

general instructions that I am not to be disturbed until five am tomorrowmorning,setshipwidewakealarmsforthesametime.”“Acknowledgedandcompletedasordered.”

26

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.com“Thankyoucomputer, nowcouldyougivemypersonal assistantAI,Alice,

accesstoyourdatabase,displaycontrolsandcommunicationssystem?”“Processing.”Thecomputerreplied,andasIexpected,Alicegiggledthrough

myearpiece.“Ittickles!”shesaidastheshipcomputercameononceagain.“Complete,commandandcontrolcircuitryremainsisolatedfromAliceAI.”“Ineverhaveanyfun,”Alicepouted.“Thanks again computer, that will be all.” I said, dismissing the voice

interface.Aholographic representationofAlice'shead and shoulders appearedsuddenlyontheholographicdisplayinfrontof thesofa,andI jumpedbacksofastthatInearlyknockedthetableover.Therepresentationofherwasablackhaired,blueeyedwomanabouttwentyandherheadwastwometerstall.“Don'tdothat!Myday'shadenoughsurpriseswithoutyoupoppingoutofthefloorasahugefloatinghead.”“So I've noticed,” she said with a grin. “I suppose we should get to work

now.”“Youknowmetoowell.Let'stakealookatthosesystems.”

27

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.comEventheSunspireCastsaShadowWith Alice's help I pored through most of the details I needed to assume

command. I knew there was no chance I could retain all of it. I didn't thinkanyonecouldafterhavingsuchlittletimetocommititalltomemorybutAlice

learnedhowtoprioritizetheinformation.Iwassureshe'dbewhisperinginmyearinmomentsofhesitationwhileItriedtorememberanameorotherdetail.Iwasn'tthefirstcaptainaboardtheSunspiretohaveapersonalAIeither.CaptainGraceCameron, the lastperson tocommand theSunspire,carriedanAImuchlike mine but that's where the similarities ended. She was a career Officer,workedherwayupthroughtheranksthehardwaythroughnearlythirtyyearsofserviceandcommandedtheSunspireforsixyearsbeforebeingkilledwithmostofhercrew.BeforeIknewitIwasreadingthereportdetailinghowsixhundredandfivecrewmembersandthecaptainwerekilledandIfellbackinmychair.The Sunspire was in the Ukonis system, some three weeks hyperspace travelaway from the stationwith the fifth battle group. Theywere on the run fromTriadConsortiumshipsandafterseveraldaysoftryingtowinfreefromgravitytraps and scrambling posts that kept them from entering hyperspace orgenerating awormhole entry point back to the station, they found themselvesseparated from thebattlegroupand trapped.ToCaptainCameron's credit, shetried everything beforemaking a last ditch effort to break through by openlyattacking the smallest group blocking their path, two destroyers and a gravitygenerator.IwasabsolutelyastoundedasIwatchedthetacticalreplay.LookingattheSunspireIwouldhaveneverguesseditcouldbesoquickand

agileinspace.Itmanagedtouseonedestroyerascoverandsurviveitsbarrageofbeamweapon firewhilehammeringat a sectionof the ship thatmusthaveseemednon-essentialatfirst to theenemycrew.Afterseveralminutesofclosefighting,takingalotofdamageandsacrificingmostofherfighters,theSunspirebroke through the closest destroyer's heavy shielding and destroyed her mainstabilizers,overloadingtheportsideengines.Withoutfullcontrol,thedestroyercouldn'tstopitselffromcollidingwiththegravitygeneratorshipitprotected.Itwasdaring,requiredsacrificesIdidn'tknowIcouldhavemadeinherplace,andtheSunspirewas justabout tomake her escapewhen the remaining destroyerlaunchedseveraldozenmissiles.TheSunspire'sfighterscreenwasdowntotwoships and most of her gun emplacements were either damaged or destroyed.There was nothing they could do to stop the attack and as the destroyer thatlaunched28First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comthemissiles,Enforcer2117, turnedawayandjumpedoutofthesystemIrealizedwhatwasabouttohappen.Themissilestheycouldn'tstopwere nevermeant to hit theSunspire but surround it and emit amassiveelectromagnetic pulse. Anyone not already within the field surrounding theSunspire'smain generator was killed instantly andmost of the ship's systemswere devastated. Ayan and four of her engineering staff survived because

Captain Cameron had just enough time to command them to climb into thecenteroftheship'smaingeneratorwhileitwasstillrunning.According toAyan's report theywereadrift foraweekwhile theygotbasic

propulsion back online. They hid the ship in a stagnant asteroid field for fivemoreweekswhiletheyrepairedthesecondaryjumpdrive.IthoughtaboutAyanand her remaining staff for a long time after I finished reading her report. Icouldn'timaginebeingdefenceless,leftfordeadonashipfilledwiththecorpsesofmycrewmatesforweeks,knowingthatanymomentwecouldbediscoveredand killed or captured. I went to bed late that night thinking about the goodhumoured,funlovingAyanIhadgrowntoknowinsimulationsasSunspotandwhat she must have gone through.Weeks relying on just her vacsuit for lifesupportwithnogravity,littlelight,andbythetimeIwasasleepIsawnothingbutdarkhallwaysandcorpsesdriftinginandoutofthedimlightemittingsomefaintunseenluminescence.Iwokeupandlookedatthetime.Ihaddriftedoffforless than an hour then tossed and turned for the rest of the night, sitting upoccasionally to dictate more details for Alice to add to my action plan. “Sonoted,nowgotosleeporI'llconvincetheshipcomputertofloodyourquarterswith sleeping gas,” she said after the fourth or fifth time.The humour helpedlightenmymoodalittleandItriedtostopgoing throughall thepasteventsoftheday,reports,andplansIwasinthemiddleofmaking.Itmusthaveworked,becausewhenAlicewokemeupitwasafewminutes

before five in themorning. “There is someoneat thedoor foryou, I think it'surgent.”Isatupgroggilyandtriedtoshakethecobwebsinmyhead.“I'll takemore

sleepatanyprice.”“Theybroughtcoffee.”“ThankyouAlice.”Isaidwithadrymouth.Ireachedformycommandand

controlunitandsnappeditonmywrist.ThestatuslightscameonandIdraggedmyselfoutofbedtostandin themiddleof thebedroom.“Cleaningcycle thenapply uniform for Trainee Captain, vacuum suit version, two millimetrethickness, with extra material in sensitive areas.” I commanded. The smallprojectors in thewristbandvibrated theairovermybody, shakingoffdirt anddead skin, reducing all the matter to particles finer than visible dust. Then Ipasseditaroundmybodysoitcouldsprayontheuniformwithblueextremities,shoulders, legs and a green coloured core. I always hated the colour of thetraineeuniforms.ItonlytookafewsecondsforthematerialtofinishbondingtoitselfandIstretchedtoloosenitfrom29First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.commyskin.

“PleaselettheminAlice.”IsaidasIrealizedthatIdidn'tevenaskwhowasatthedoor.ThepressuredoorsdecoupledandpartedtorevealAyanwhopatientlywaited

withatall,sealedsilvercoffeemugineachhand.Herrosterimagedidn'tdoherjustice.Shewasdiminutiveinstature,andherfacewasheartshapedwithwidecheekbonesandbrightblueeyes.Shehadchangedintoatrainee'suniformlikemyown,whichmadeitplainthatshehadbeenrelievedofoverseeingtherefitwhile shewas onmy roster.Her engineering kitwas slung around herwaist,filledwithallthetoolsandadvanceddevicesofhertrade,someofwhichIdidn'tevenrecognize.Shesmiledandlookedatmeforamomentbeforeflinchingandavoidingmyeyes, smilingevenwider.Offeringmeacoffee she said; “I thinkyouneedthismorethanIdo.CanIcomein?”“Onlyifyoutellmewhat'ssofunny.”“I'm sorry, I must have caught you sleeping sir, your hair is a little out of

place,” she replied, trying tokeep from laughing.Shewasobviously trying toignoremycrow'snestbutwashavingseriousdifficulty.“Ifyou'llexcuseme,”Iexpressedwithexaggeratedpolitenessbeforestepping

intothebathroom.“TherearedaysIthinkitwouldbejustaswelltogobald,”IsaidtomyselfasIdidaserviceablejoboffixingthemess,thenIchewedanoralcleaningtabletandsteppedbackout.Ayanwassitting in therecliner, thumbingherwaythroughareportshewas

viewing on her personal holographic projector. “Feel better?” she asked. Inodded.“sorryaboutthat.”She smiled up at me and turned off the mini-projector. “No worries, you

should seeme in themorning. It takes a good twentyminutes forme to lookevenclosetohuman.”I sat down on the sofa and took a sip of coffee. An uncomfortable silence

settledinalmostimmediatelyandshestaredatmeovertherimofhermugforseveralmoreprotractedmomentsbeforesaying;“You'redifferent.Fromwhat Iexpected, Imean.”Eventhoughshewasbeingveryquiet,evenshy, therewasstillalightnesstoher.Asifeventhoughshewasdealingwiththeunexpecteditwasrightwhereshewantedtobe.I didn't knowwhat to say andbefore I could say anything sheput hermug

downandwenton.“I'mnotwhatyouexpectedeither.”“It'snotthat,IjustreadthereportsontheUkonisSystemlastnight.”Fromthe

fallen expression that crossed her face I immediately realized that I had saidexactlythewrongthing.“Notyoutoo,”shesaidquietly.“We'reluckytohaveyouback,verylucky.”

“Luck had nothing to do with it. Ensign Richards recognized what thosemissileswereandbeforeweknewwhatwasgoingon theCaptainordered theengineering staff to take cover because she knewwewere the only ones thatcould.A30First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com moment later, there was a flash and everyone wasdead,theentireshipshutdownandjustafewofuswereleft,huddledintotheheartoftheshipinthedark.Whatisn'tinthereportishowit'sbeenalmostfourmonthssincethen,andeventhoughmostofus losteveryoneweknew,allourfriends,someofusarealmostoverit.”“Anyonewho's gone through that has to have a lot to dealwith. It can't be

easy,everyoneknowsthat.”“ButdotheyhavetotreatmelikeI'mmadeofglass?”Ididn'tknowhowtoaskherhowIwassupposedtotreatherwithoutmaking

things worse, so I didn't say anything as she stood up and started pacing thelengthoftheroom.“That'swhy,whenIcamebackI jumped into thefirstsimulation that Isaw

Oz,Mira,Roninandyouin.Youwerefriendsthatdidn'tknowwhatI'djustbeenthrough.ToyouIhadonlybeenawayfor awhile, on duty, nothing out of theordinary.IcouldtrytobemyselfforawhileandifIwasdepressedorfeltlowIcould just hide it behind my avatar or take off the simulation visor. My onecandleinthedark,andnowyou'reallhereandyouknowwhoIam,whatI'vebeenthrough.”I started to say something, but shewasn't finished. She turned towardsme

withtearsinhereyes,yelling.“I went to the common room last night and looked for something I could

recognize.Ozwas thereandhewas talking toRonin,whoInevermetbefore,but there was something about him. The way he was joking around, howeveryonewithinfivefeetofhimcouldn'tstoplaughing.IrecognizedthatcrazyvoiceIknewsowellinthescenesdespitethedisguiser,andwhenIwentovertomeethim,Ozwhisperedsomethinginhisearandallthelaughterwasjustgone.InsteadofmeetingRonin,thecrazypilot,ImetMinh-Chu,whohadbeentoldallaboutpoorlittledamagedmeandwasveryconcerned.Everyonewasstaringandtryingnottostareatthesametime.NooneknewwhattosayandallIwantedwastobemyselfwiththeonlyfriendsIhadleft.”Istoodandstartedcrossingtheroomtowardsher.“No, don't you dare try to fix me, I couldn't take it from you!” She said,

backingaway.Isteppedforwardandpulledherintomyarms,crushinghertome.Shefought

foramomentbutacceptedtheembracebeforelong.Whenshehadquietedlongmomentslaterwestoodthereswayingslightly.“Nowwho'sabigmess?”Iaskedherwithasmile.Shecouldn'thelpbutlaughatherselfandshewrappedherarmsaroundmefor

amoment.“NooneotherthanmytherapisthasdonethatsinceIgotback,thankyou.”Shesqueezedbeforewebothletgo.Isatbackdownonthesofa,heronthechair.Whenwebothhadourcoffeein

handIsmiledather.“I'llmakeyouadeal.I'lltreatyoulikemyChiefEngineerandfriendifyouhelpmeget thecrewthroughthisscenariosowemighthavethechancetosignupwiththemilitaryofficially.”Shesmiledbrightlyandnodded.“deal.”

31

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.comBeforelongwewerehardatwork,going through thepost-refitshipconfiguration,reviewingthefivestaffmembersshehadselectedand passing ideas back and forth aboutmodificationswewould bemaking tomany of this ship systems before the simulation started. Some of the changesshe'd bemakingwould beminor tweaks, but therewere somevast revisionistideasthatcamefromhersideofthetable,andacouplethatcamefrommine.Her imprint was already all over the redesign. She had added seals and

housings that would make the ship completely impenetrable to any electromagneticweaponwhiletheinnerhullwasintact.Sheknewtheshiplikenooneelse,andIrecognizedthatIcouldn'tpossiblyhaveabetterengineeraboard.Shewasveryeasytoworkwithaswell,willingtoexplainthenew,andallowedmeto ask all my questions withoutworrying about looking like I had just spentyears on basic communications detail. My experience kept me from lookingfoolish,butIhadgottenalittlebehindonafewimportantsystems.Atabout09:30weknewwewereoutoftimebutwithalltheworkoutonthe

table,weweregladwewereonlypreparing fora scenario.Someofour ideaswouldrequiremuchmoretimeormanpowerthanwehadtoprepareifwewerereallyapplying them to the ship,while in the scenariowecould spendseveralhours and have them all donewith competent help. Everyonewould be busy,especially considering there were to be two drills a day using completelydifferentsceneseachtime.Whenitwastimeforhertogoandfinishgettingreadyfortheassemblywe

embracedforalittlelongerthantwopeoplewhowerejustfriendswould.“I'm

gladIsignedon.”Shesaidquietly.“Icouldn'tdothiswithoutyou.”Shelookeduptomeandsmiledbeforewemovedapart.Shewasoutthedoor

inafewstepsandthatwasthelasttimeIsawthatsideofherforwhatseemedtobeaverylongtime.

32

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.comTrainingThecommonroomwasdifferentfromtherestoftheship.Therewereoneby

onemeterportholes spreadoutalong the frontandsides,but that'swhere theextravaganceended.Thetablesandchairsweresyntheticwoodandatleastfortyyears old, some even older by the looks of it. There was an old dartboard,suspensor table, and space in the center was cleared for holoprojections. Thefloorswerecoveredwithascarred,shortended,sprayonshagapplication thatwaspeelinginsomeplacesandthewallswereunpainted.Tothelefttherewasanarchwaywithitsemergencydoorsshut,andtotherightanotherarchwaywithone of its emergency doors detached completely and propped up beside theopening. I knew this roomwas considerednon-essential, but I hadnever seensuchdisrepairanywhereinastarship.Some effort had beenmade to tidy up, I could tell, but no one had time to

actuallyrepairanythingjustyet.“Captainondeck!”Ozyelledassoonasthemaindoorsopened.Inamatterof

seconds, commissioned and non-commissioned officers alike were in a linealongthefrontofthebackwall.Allofthemwereinuniform,arrangedbyrank,atattentionwiththeireyesfrontandhandsattheirsides.IknewthatIhadmeteachoneoftheminthesimulationsweran,spokentomanyofthemforanhouror more while we waited for the scenarios to load up with opponents. I haddiscussedstrategywithagoodnumberofthemforhours,talkedaboutdetailsofourlives,ourjobs.Ididn'trecognizethemajorityofthem,however,sinceIhadneverseentheirfacesandwedidn'tuserealnames.ThesocialsceneIwasabletoglimpsewhilethedoorwasopeningandnoone

wasawarethatIwaswatching,wasnotthatofaroomfullofstrangers,however.Itseemedtomethattheproblemofconnectingnicknamesandvoicestofacesandrealnameshadalreadybeensolvedforthemostpartformycrewandalevelofcomfortwasalreadystartingtosinkin,whichwasveryreassuring.Istoodupstraightandranmyeyesfromhighest rankingat the leftwhereAyanstood, to

the lowest on the right. I didn't recognize thedarkhairedwoman I saw there.“As you all know, I am Trainee Captain Jonas S Valent, your commandingofficer. My call sign in the simulations was Horus. We've been given anopportunitytodemonstrateourskillsinanexercisethatwilldeterminewhetheror not we can take a real rank in the Freeground Fleet. This is a uniqueopportunityfortworeasons.One,weavoidcriminalchargesorfines,andtwo;wecanallbecomeapartofacrewtogetherindefenceofourhome.I'veneverheardofanyonegetting33First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com this kind of opportunity. That being said, I don'texpecteveryonetotakeadvantageofit.Manyhavealreadydecidedagainsttherisks and become permanent civilians and I can't blame them. I will still callthem friends when this is over. Since we were able to engage in simulatedcombatwith not only trainees but some of the best Freeground's Fleet had toofferandwekickedtheirasses,theywanttoseewhatwecandowhenthestakesaremuchhigher.Eachoneofuswillenter intothissimulationknowingthat ifwe are killed we will individually be tried in court for our roles in violatingmilitary security laws. The proceedings alone could carry on formonths, andthereisalwaystheriskthatyouwillhavetoserveoutaterminprison.Ifanyofyou want to become a lifetime civilian with no chance of entering theFreegroundservice,stepforwardnowsoyoucansaygoodbyetoeveryonehere.ThisisyourlastchanceandIwon'tholditagainstyou.”Imentallycountedtothirty,slowly,lookingupanddowntheline.“I'mgladto

haveyouallaboard.Now,I'vemadesurethatyouunderstandalltheconditionsofwhatFleetisoffering,nowhereiswhatIhavetosayaboutit.Everyonehereis aware that in most scenes, someone's avatar dies. Whether it's by rareaccident,asacrificeismadetoensurewinconditionsaremet,orbecauseforjustan instant someone elsewas better than you, someone's avatar almost alwaysdies.Iexpecttheprojectedcasualtiesforwhateversimulationwe'redroppedintoto be very high, and that some of our avatars will be killed, that is simply arealityandtheAdmiralmademeawareofitherself.If your avatardies Iwill standbesideyouand the rest ofour fallen anddo

absolutelyeverythingIcantoensurethattheconsequencesarelenientwhetherwewinthescenarioornot.Ifthereisawayformetogetyououtofhavingtostand in court, I will find it for you. If we fail as a crew to meet the winconditionsofwhateverscenariowefindourselvesin,however,Idon'texpectI'llhavemuchinfluencewiththeadministrativestaff,sowehavetoworkasacrewunited.Justlikewewereinthescenarios,puttingthegroupaheadofourselvesandworkingforsuccessasateam.Thatiswhy,despiteoureclecticmakeup,I

believe we were able to lick trainees and experienced personnel at their ownscenes. Individual skill is one thing, andwe all have it, but itmeans somuchmorewhenyouapplythoseskillsasanorganizedcrew.We'llbeworkingdrillseverydayleadinguptothefinalscenariosowecantightenupourteamwork.Thatbringsme towhat Isee in frontofmenow,oncewewerea teamina

simulated environment, and though our challenge will be taking place in ascenariotheFleethasbeenkindenoughtobringusalltogetheronthisfineship.I'dlikeyoutotakeamomenttoquietlylookatthefacesinthisroom,thinkoftherelationshipsyou'vemadewiththem,howgooditfelttomeettheminpersonforthefirsttime.”Again, I counted to thirty slowly inmy head,watching asmy crew calmly

lookedateachother.Atfirstthereweresomequietnods,thenafewsmileswereexchangedandbythetimeIfinishedcountingafewwerejuststartingtoquietlywhisper to each other. “There is no doubt inmymind that this crew is goodtogether,it'stoobadsomecouldn'tfollowusonthisparticularadventure,butwecan'tblame34First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com them, can we? Could you imagine entering thissimulation,doingyourbestandgettingyouravatarkilled?Afterafewmomentsto say goodbye to everyone you'd be brought to a cell, then a few quiet dayswouldpassasfriendsandfamilyvisitedyoubeforestandingbeforetheMilitaryJudiciary Council. Some of us have a great deal to lose. We have family,property, responsibilities, but I'm going to ask you to forget all that for amoment.Instead, imagine yourself coming through this thing as one of the virtual

survivors.Takeamoment tovisualize all thosewinconditionsmet, andwhenthesimulationisover,aselectfewofusareinthewinner'scircleandawardedwithacareer rank in theFreegroundFleet.” Ipausedfora fewmoments then,andnoticedthatonlythepreviouslycommissionedofficerswerestaringstraightahead,therestwerelookingrightatme.“Now,likeIsaid,itisadeadcertaintythat some avatars will be killed, there is no way to victory in this scenariowithoutsacrifice.Asyoustandinthatwinner'scirclewithafewcrewmembersyou'rewatchingasotherssaytheirgoodbyes,someofthemareangry,othersaredisappointed.A fewmaybeable tokeepa stiffupper lipas theycongratulateyou and I'm sure still more are in tears because they know they'll be headedstraight into the court system, they're probably about to be processed anddepositedstraightintothestockade.Whatwouldyouwanttodo?I'msurethateverysingleoneofyouwouldwanttostepforwardanddoeverythingyoucantosharethevictorytheyworkedashardasyoudidtoaccomplish.Thatisavery

special thing, to have the opportunity to stand up and honour those thatsacrificed so you could go on and lead your life. Every one of us is just onecandle held up against the darkness that surrounds us, it isn't much in it'ssingularity.Bring thosepointsof light together, intoacrewwhoworksfor thegood of the whole, who canmake good decisions for themselves and others,trust in themenandwomanat their sidesandsuddenly thatonecandlegrowswith the lightofmanyandwearean inferno thatpressesanything thatwouldviolateusbackintothedeepdarkness.Isaywe'llwinthis,becauseIknowyou,ifnotbyyourrealface,theoneyou

haveshownme,andItrustyoualltodowhatyouhavetoandmoretokeepourfiresburningthroughtotheend.WhensomeofusstandinthatwinnerscircleIsayweall step forwardand tellAdmiralRiceand theadministrative staff thattheytakeallofusornoneandanyonewhodoesn'tagreewiththatshouldleavenow,becauseit'syourlastchancetodragyourselfandyourkitdownthatrampwithyourdignityintact!”Ozsteppedforwardstartedshouting;“Allornone!Allornone!”andallbut

onemanwhosteppedforwardjoinedin.Hewalkedrightupandfixedmewithasadsmilethenshookmyhand.Thechantwasbeginningtofalteratthesightofonefellowquitting,soIsaid.“Iunderstand,goodluck.”tohimquickly.AsheleftthroughthedoorbehindmeIjoinedintothechant,whichrosetoadeafeningroar.Whenthechantingabatedandpeoplehadstartedtalkingamongstthemselves

IgotOzandAyan'sattention.WhentheycamecloserItoldthemthat35First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comwe'dbreaksowecouldcontinuetogetacquaintedandthencontinuewiththeagendaafterlunch.DuringthatbreakImeteveryoneandmanagedtoconnecteveryone'sfacewiththeirvoiceinthescenesandwhatroletheyplayed.Iwasstartingtofeelprettyluckyaboutwhohadstayedon.Sofaritwas a selection of the best with few exceptions and even then the lacklustremembers of my new crew had practical experience that would come in veryhandy.Before long,however, I realizedweonlyhad three fighterpilots.Minh-Chu

wastheonlyonewithanyexperienceinthemilitary,andhe'dneverreallybeenoutsidetheinfantry.OzcameovertothetableIwassittingatwithacoupleothercrewmen.Iwasnursinganothercoffeeandhadbecomelostinmyownthoughts,mentally reviewing the roster and what was missing. He tapped me on theshoulderandwemovedtoatableinthecorner.“Youlooklikeyou'redoingthatdeepthinkingthingagain.”I looked at the nineteen crewmembers left in the room, including Oz and

myself there were twenty one. “We're seriously short. Our finest are stickingaround,butweneedelevenmorefighterpilots,atleastfifteenmoreengineeringpersonnel, thirteenmore security people, and at least twenty eight specializedcrewincludingfightermechanics,generalmaintenance,computerspecialistsandafewothers.We'realsomissingcommunicationsofficers,asecondshiftonthebridgestaff,ourLegalOfficer,andI'msureI'mmissingsomething.”“Yoursecondofficer.”“Right, and there's no one with a rank that would put them up there.” I

watched as some of the nonmilitary put trays out as directed byAyan, all thenonmilitary joiners from our team wore the uniform and rank of private orensign,puttingthematthebottom.“Thesepeoplearegoodinasimulation,buteveninascenariowithautomationwe'rereallylowandthat'sgoingtohurtus.The Admiral is allowing me to choose some trained officers, I thought thatwouldhelpbutnowthatI'vegotaheadcountI'mnotsurewhatkindofscenariowecanwin.”“Well,wecanassumethatwewon'tneedthesecondshiftsothat'salotfewer

rightthere,bringingusdowntosixtysix,thentherearetheofficerswhichmakesusfiftyeightshort.”Ozsmilednervously.“Sowhatyou'resayingisthisisgoingtobeinteresting.”“Without knowing how long the simulationwill be,what kind of situations

we'llruninto,orwhatthewinconditionsareit'shardtocutcorners,butwedon'thavemuchofachoice.Howmanysecuritypersonnelcanyoumanagewith?”“Minimally?Fivewouldbe the smallest team that couldbe effective, but if

we'reboardedintwoplaceswecanonlysecureoneincursion.So,inthatkindofsituationwe'redone.”“Okay, then we arm everyone who isn't liable to shoot themselves, you're

goingtohavetotrainthem.I'llsetyouupwithaprimaryteamoffiveandthey'llhave to do. If we're boarded in two or more places, you go for the nearestincursionandeveryoneelsewillhavetokeeptheboardersbottledupuntiltheycangettothem.”

36

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.com“Itmakessense,butwe'lllosesomespecialiststhatway.”Ayansetdownhertrayandmotionedforanensigntobringtwomoreasshe

satdown.“I'vegonethroughinfantrybootcampandhavetacticaltraining.Ialso

spentFouryearsintheYouthInfantryCorp.”Ozlaughedinsurpriseandlookedherupanddown.“Really?Nooffence,but

Iwouldn'thaveguessed.”Sheshruggedandsmiled.“Iwasaboredmilitarybratlookingtorebelagainst

mystuckupFleetmother,soassoonasIreachedthequalifyingageforinfantrycadettrainingatfourteenIsignedup.Iwasatallgirlatfivefootonethen,butIstopped growing at five three. So I just got stronger than everyone else.Mymotherwasoutcaptainingashipsomewhereforeightmonths,andIwasabletokeepmyenrolmentasecretsoIwasabletofinishawholesemesterandgetinontheadvancedtrainingwhilekeepingupmycoregrades.You shouldhave seenher facewhen shegot homeand foundhermuscular

daughterinherinfantrygear.There'snothinglikethedaughterofahighrankingFleet officer signing up for Infantry, you should have seen her face,” Ayansmiledandshookherheadatthememorybeforegoingon.“Sherealizedthatitwasbetterthanmerunningoffandbreedingwithsomehighschoolboysoshelet ithappen. I finished threemoreyears incadetsandslid right into theFleetEngineeringandOfficer'sprogram.Idon'tknowifIcouldbenchpressmyownbodyweight anymore,but thesedays Iprefer zerogravityyogaanyway.”Shesaidwithagrin.“Well,theregoesthatmyth,itseemshalfoffleetstillthinksthattheAdmiral

hadahandingettingyouintotheAcademyrightafteryoureighteenthbirthdayinbothofthehardestprogramstheyhaveatthesametime.”Ozsaid.“Soyou'vebeencheckingmyfileandaskingaboutmeOz?”Shesaid,looking

at himwith a raised eyebrowand ahandonherhip. “Dowehave apersonalissuetodiscusshereWarrantOfficer?”Watchinghermakeamaneasilytwicehersizesocompletelyuncomfortable

mademyday. Idon't think I'veevermadeOz squirmasmuchas shedid justthen.“I'vebeenlookingeveryoneup,youknow,tomakesureIknowwhattheycan

doandalittlemoreaboutthem.”Hesaidquicklybeforediggingintohissalad.Idon'tthinkheevenlookedatitbeforeassaultingitwithhisfork.Icouldn'thelpbutlaughandshakemyhead.“Okay,soyoucanleadyourstaffinanincursion.Ozwilltrainthemwitheveryoneelseandengineeringwon'tbeasofttarget.”“Ihaveanideathatmighthelpuswithoursecuritysituationtoo.Duringthe

scene, let's all keep our vacsuits sealed up, hood and all. We'll clear all theunnecessarydecksandifwegetanincursionwe'llblowthesealsinthatsection.Theymightbeboardinginvacsuitsorarmour,butI'msureifwetimeitrightit'llslowthemdown,maybeevenblowthemrightoutintospace.Sealedsuitornot,itwillprobablytakethemsometimetoboostbacktoanairlock.”

“Thatcouldwork,it'sareallyoldstrategy,butitcouldwork.”Ozsaidaroundamouthfulloflettuce.

37

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.com“It'sanoldship.There'senoughmetal infivefeetofdeckplatingtobuilda

modernRaze fighter. The Fleet built her before the form fit adaptable vacsuitwas invented, so decompression was an even bigger issue then and peoplecouldn't run around in a suit they could seal inunder three secondswith theirhandsfree.TheyalsohadmoreergraniansteelthantheyknewwhattodowithfromtheBlueBelt.Toobadtheylostitagesago.”“IfwekeepthisupwemightonlyneedtheofficerstheAdmiraloffered.The

onlyproblemis,wehavenoWingCommander.”“WhataboutMinh-Chu?”“HeworksalonebetterthananyoneI'veseen,buthetakesalotofrisksand

doesn'talways trackwhateveryoneelse isdoing.”I replied, thoughitstung toadmitit.“He'sourbestpilot,andhe'shadactualtimeinthecockpit,butI'mnotsureofhim.”“Ithinkhe'sgoingontheunderstandingthathe'syourWingCommander.I've

heard him talk about it a few times now, and he's not thinking like a soloistanymore,forthemostpart.I'dgivehimashot.”Ozsaidquietly.“'Balance against uncertainty with sure things and reliable people.' Officer

training101.Hemightbegood,probablyhasthemindforitandIknowhecancommandpeopleontheground,Isawitinthewar,butI'veneverseenhimdoitinthecockpit.”Ireplied.Ayanfixedmewithaserious lookIhadn'tseenfromheruntil then.“Soset

him up as your Wing Commander in the drills and request a qualifiedcommander from the Admiral. That way you're giving him a chance andprovidingfor thepossibilityofhimgoingoffonhisownwhen itcounts.He'llhave a second in command who can pick up the slack. I'm surprised this issomethingyouhaven'tthoughtyourwaythrough.Excuseme,Ihavetogetmystafftogether,it'salmosttimetoresumethebriefing.”OzandIwatchedherwalkaway.“Sherunshotandcoldonamillisecond's

notice.Keepsusguessing,that'sforsure,”hesaidquietly.“She'sunderalotofpressure,andthefewofuswhoareofficersaretryingto

balance the friendships we have here with our professional responsibilities.

We're trained for it,but theseareunusualcircumstances.A lotof thesepeoplearen'tusedtotakingordersfromasuperiorofficer.”“Guessthat'showshedeals,onefaceforfriends,anotherforcommand.”“That's what they teach us in officers training, and she's right about the

situation withMinh. I should have had that figured out as soon as I saw theroster. I'm getting distracted by worrying when I should be thinkingmywaythroughtheseproblems.”“Sometimes it takesa fewheads tocomeupwith thebest solutions.You're

alsotakingonalotmorewithoutasmuchexperience.Itrustyouasourcaptain,I'veseenyouworkina lotofscenes,but there'sahellofa lothereyou'renotused to dealing with, like keeping a ship together when it's not in combat,managingacrew,settinguptraining,dealingwithshortfallsandwithoutafirstofficertosharesomeof38First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comthatwithit'stwiceasbad.Butthere'shope!Youhavea security officerwho can keep the crew in line,make sure people arewheretheyaresupposedtobe,andyouhaveaChiefEngineerwithyearsservedonthisship.Notjustanyship,buttheonewe'reonrightnow.Oh,andyoujusthandedthe Wing Command position over to a hyperactive pilot with something toprove,soI'dsaylethimtakechargeandwatchhimgo.”“You're right Oz, that's a lot off my shoulders. Consider it done, you're in

chargeofcrewandallthatcomeswithit,andI'llhandMinh-Chuhisordersafterthebriefing.”Therestofthebriefingwentwell,Ayan'spartwasquickandprofessional.She

markedtheareasoftheshipthatwouldbeofflimitsinourdrillsimulationsandthe final scenario, went through emergency procedures and our inventory ofweaponry.TheSunspirewasequippedwitheightrailcannonturretsfiringanyofsix different kinds of ammunition, one heavy beam emplacement, two multipurposetorpedolaunchersandonefighterbaythatcouldlaunchsevenfightersfromsmallchamberslocatedlengthwisealongtheundersideofthehull.Alltheweaponscouldbesecuredandhiddenawaywhilenotincombat.The final refit of the Sunspire would include low energy shielding,

multipurpose materializers distributed evenly across the hull, multi layeredrefractiveenergyshieldsforredirectingincomingbeamweaponfireawayfromtheshipandaregenerativereflectivehull.UsingtheemitterstheSunspirewouldbeable tocreate itsownwormhole jumppoint, leading toanyofa fewdozenknown arrival points across the galaxy. It also had hyperspace systems fortravellingtootherdestinationsatamuchslowerrate.Sheassignedeveryonetoreviewsomeoftheschematicssotheywouldknow

moreabouttheareasoftheshiptheywouldbeworkingin,andreferredthecrewto some short documents that would help them understand some of thetechnologytheshipdependedonbeforeendingherpartofthebriefing.AftershewasfinishedOzgavehispartof thebriefingand informedeveryone that therewould beweapons training, that anyonewith someproficiencywould have tocarryasidearmduringanyandalldrillsandsimulationsandintroducedthefourmembersofhissecurity team.Thecrewseemedcomfortablewithhimandhisteambeinginchargeofkeepingorderonthisship.Hewaspersonableandas IwatchedhimgivehisbriefingattheheadoftheroomIrealizedthathelookedthepartaswell.After thebriefingwasconcludedIannouncedthat thefirstdrillwouldbe in

fifteenminutes to thesurpriseofmostanddismayofa few. Ihad toldnoonethatwewouldbedrillingsosoonbutAyan,OzandevenMinh-Chuhadthecreworganizedandontheirwaytotheirsimulationstationsinnotime.Asherushedby, I caughtMinh's arm and pressed a platinumwing pin into his palm. “It'sofficial,you'remyWingCommander,congratulationsCommanderBuu.”Isaidquietly.39First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comHegrinnedbroadlyandpinnedthewingstohiscollar.“Your best decision yet Captain!” He said before snapping me a salute andrushinghistwopilotsdownthehalltowardstheirsimulationpods.Itwas time to find out howmuchworkwe had ahead of us as a crew and

withintwominutesofthebeginningofthescenarioitstartedtobecomeobviousthatwehadalotmoreworkaheadofusthanIhadanticipated.Thenextdaymyrequests for personnel were sent and by that afternoon they had arrived. Allyoungmen andwomenwith spotless records.Several pilotswithmore than ayear'sexperienceandamissionsuccessratehigherthanoursimulationwinrate,deckcrewmenwhowerejustcomingoffleave,andafewcomputersystemsandgeneralsystemsmaintenancepersonnelwithmedicalandbasiccombattraining.Icouldn'thavebeenmorepleased,especiallysincetheyallseemedveryhappytocomeaboard,hadtheirgearstowedandwereatworkwithintwentyminutes.Theywere in thenextdrillandboostedmoralebyhelpingusmeetall thewinconditions.Overthenextthreedaysanyonewasluckytogeteighthoursofrestand relaxation time, officers were fortunate if they got six. Drills, systemreconfigurations, customizations, combat, flight systems and general trainingfilled every hour of our waking days. By the last day only two of us wereunarmedinthedrills,weweregettingcomfortablewiththenewsystemsandtheresponsetimeoftheentirecrewwasbetterthanIhadeverseenwhenwewererunninginscenesinoursparetime.

Ittookoveradozendrillsandhoursoftrainingoverthecourseofthreeandahalfdays,butasIsatonthemakeshiftbridgeinthemiddleofasemitransparentcommandhologram I realized how farwe had comeusing only a fifth of ouroriginal team. Listening to the chatter and watching the tight precision withwhich everyone preformed, the small wing of seven fighters, six two mangunnerycrews,engineefficiencyandbridgecrewallworkedtheplanmomentby moment as one unit. The scenario that I was putting them through wasfamousforbeingdifficult tocoordinateandharder towin. ItwascalledThreeStationsandtheobjectivewastowipeouttheirfightersquadronsanddeployawormholepointgeneratorsoboardingpartiescouldcomeinshuttlesandbeginboardingoperations.ThesevenfighterswehadandtheSunspirehadlittleifnochanceofevenfinishingthisscenario,letalonesurvivingformorethantwentyminutes,butwitheveryonedoingtheirbest,workingagoodplanthatchangedas needed and reaction times lower than I'd ever seen, we were over fortyminutes in,had three fighters left andhadcollectivelykilledordisabledmorethanhalfofthefortyeightfighterswewereagainst.Justaswelostonerailcannonturretandthecrew,whohadabandonedjustin

time,wererunningtoanother,Oztappedmeontheshoulder.“There'sacommandlevelcommunicationcominginsir,youreyesonly.”HesaidquietlyenoughsoonlyIcouldhear.“Allright,scrubthisdrillinfiveminutes.We'vealreadygonemuchfurther40First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com than expectedwith the peoplewe have. I'll take thecommuniqueinoneofthestoragerooms.”“Yessir.”Iturnedthecommandhologramoffandgotmybearingsforamoment.After

staring at a hologram that surroundedmy command chair and rotatedwhen Iturnedmyheadforsolongittookamomenttoregainmybalance,eventhoughthehologramwaspartlytransparentallaroundsoIcouldseethebridgeandmystaff.The temporary bridge,whichwas set up just for simulationswas in theforwardsectionofthemainengineeringlevel,everythingbehindwasstillopento vacuum since they were just about to bring in the four new power plants.TherewasastorageroomjustafewfeetdownthehallandafterIsteppedinandthedoorwasclosedIcalledupascreenonthecommandandcontrolunitonmyleftforearm.“YouweredoingverywellinthatlastscenarioJonas,itistoobadyoucould

notcompleteit,yourchanceofsuccesswasuptotwelvepointnineteenpercent,roundingupofcourse.”“Ofcourse.ThankyouAlice,Idon'tthinkwewouldhavemadeit,butIthink

the crew is getting used to the odds. Do you think you could bring up thatCommandleveltransmission?Idon'twanttokeepthemwaiting.”“I'llputAdmiralRiceonrightaway.”Withlessthanaseconddelay,theadmiral'sholographicvisagewasinfrontof

mesmiling.“HelloCaptain,howarethingsgoingindrydock?”“GoodafternoonAdmiral, better than I expected.Those crewmembersyou

sentusfitrightin.”“I'mgladtohearit,butnotsurprised.Whenweputyourshipontheinternal

board as a volunteer postingwe had over two hundred applicants,we let ourpsychologists pick for you.However, that's notwhy I'm on the linewith youJonas. I've beenwatching your drillswhenever I could, and quite frankly I'mimpressed.Everyone isholding togetherwellandeven thecrewmembers thatdidn'tstartoutasmilitaryareholdinguptoourstandards.”“ThankyouAdmiral,I'llpassthatontothecrewwhenit'sappropriate.”Admiral Rice smiled, an expression I hadn't seen from her before, it was

unnerving. “That doesn't sound like the youngmanwho stood inmy office aweek ago, I hope there's some of him left under that uniform.You've come alongwayaswellJonas,youdeservesomecredit.”“ThankyouAdmiral,Ihaveagoodcrew.”“I'm aware of that, now let's get to the root of thematter. I'mmaking your

rankofficial anddrafting everyoneon theSunspire.Her refit is getting a rushandshe'stobereadyinfourdays.CongratulationsCaptain.”ImusthavelookedlikeIhadswallowedabug,orjustbeentoldIhadwona

trillioncredits,whichoneI'mnotsure,buttheAdmiralignoreditandwenton.“ThePaladinisonherwaybackwithaTriadConsortiumfleetonitsheels.”“Isn'tthePaladinatwelvekilometrelongsuper-carrier?”

41

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.com“It is,but she'snomatch forwhat'sbehindher.The transmission theywere

abletorelaytousindicatedthattheyweresearchingforactivityattheedgeofourcorewardterritorywhentheyinterceptedabursttransmission.ThedecodedmessagedetailedaTriadinvasionheadedourway.IcanonlyassumethatThePaladinwasdiscoveredandhadtomakeabreakfor it.With twoofourbattlegroups too far out to beof assistance, they have orders to regroup in anothersectorandseewhathappenshere,whileourthirdbattlegroupwillarriveontime

andthefourthatapproximatelythesametimeasThePaladinandherpursuers.Weneedeveryshipandsinceyourcrewislookingbetterthananyofourfreshgraduates and theyknow theSunspire,we're activatingyou,promotingoneofyourofficersandfillingtheemptyspotsonyourroster.Yournewcrewshouldbegin arriving in one hour and until combat orders are issued any qualifiedpersonnelshouldassistwiththerefitwhileothersshouldcontinuetheregimenoftrainingyouhave themonalready.Afterall,your training isharder thanwhatwe're putting our cadets through. Do you understand our situation and yourordersCaptainValent?”“YesAdmiral,Iunderstandandwillcarrythemout.”Isaidofficially.“Goodluck,AdmiralRiceout.”Shesaid.Itookamomenttolookatourordersandtheconditionsofourcommission

andIwassurprised.TheSunspirewastoberenamedatmyleisureandassignedtoablindbattlegroupthatwouldonlybeawareoftheothershipsinthegroupifnecessary.Therewasanotherdetailthatmademegrinandchuckletomyself.Iturnedoff thescreenandprojectoron thearmofmyuniformandheardAlicewhisper inmy ear. “So, since you're a realCaptain, do I get to live in oneofthosebig,powerful,andohsoprettyofficerclassforearmcommandconsoles?I've always wanted to see what it was like to operate on eight trillionnanoprocessors,”myAIsaidwithacoo.“Isupposeyouwill,assoonasIfigureoutwhereIpickitup.”“Ibelieve it shouldbebroughtaboardbyoneof thenewmaintenancestaff,

it'sintherosteryoudidn'thavetimetolookthough.”“Right,notime.Broadcastashipwidemessage,allSunspirecrewmustreport

tothecommonroomimmediately.”“TransmittingthatmessageshipwideJonas.”“CanyoudomeafavourAlice?”IaskedasIwalkedoutintothehall.“Thatdependsonthefavour.”“CallmeCaptain,”Isaidwithagrin.Iwasoneofthelasttoenterthecommonroom.“Captainondeck!”Ozcalled

out inhis thunderousvoice.Everyone linedupaccording to rankand Iwaitedquietlyasthelastofthecrewfiledin.Theirexpressionsrangedfromthepassive,readinessthatcamewithtrainingallthewaytooutrightnervous.“Sunspirecomputer.Changeallcrewuniformsfromtraineetocurrentprofile

rankandcolour.”Icalledout.Amomentlatereveryone'suniformturned42First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com fromgreen and blue to blue and black and the rankinsigniasoneveryone'scollarchanged.Thecircularpipsofthetraineereformed

intoslashesontheircollarsandasilentnotificationappearedonasmallscreenon everyone'swrist, informing them of their new rank and that they had neworderstoreview.The members of the crew that had military training before our endeavour

began stood still and at attention, trying to suppress whatever reaction theywould normally have but with little success. Everyone else celebrated. OzlookedtomeandraisedaneyebrowasInoddedinresponse.“Settlepeople!”Hecalledout.Everyonewasback inaquiet linealmost instantlyand I addressedthem.“The Admiral and her staff have been watching us, which isn't surprising.

Whatdid surprisemewas thatourprogresswasapparently so impressive thatshedidn'tseefittoenterusintoanofficialtest.OurprogressandcurrentFleetconditionsmade an early decision necessary, andwe're all being pressed intoservice.Assoonas the refit iscompletewewill joinablindbattlegroup .”Icould seeAyan trying to suppress a big smile and until thatmoment I hadn'trealizedhowlowmyspiritshadgotten.Seeinghersohappywasall Ineeded,eventhoughtherewasagreatdealofbusinesstoattendto.Iwenton. “Thebadnews in all this is thatweare about togo towar.The

TriadConsortiumis less than thirty five hours away, right on the heels of thePaladin andwehave tobe ready.We'llbe receivingmorenewcrewmembersoverthenextfivehours,somakethemfeelwelcome.AllqualifiedpersonnelaretoaidinthefinalrefitasdirectedbyourChiefengineer,andweareallonordersofsilencewithconcern to thedetailsofourship's role. Icangiveyouall twohours beforewe get towork, so get something to eat and relax.Oh, and onemorething;welcometotheFreegroundFleet.”Icouldn'thelpbutnoticeOzlookdownathiswristforthefirsttimesincethe

uniformshiftandabiggrinspreadacrosshisfacebeforehelookedupatme.“Commander?”hemouthedsilentlyacrosstheroom.I nodded andmade the hand signal for first officer and his grin got a little

toothier. Iwas sodistracted I didn't seeAyan,whocame to stand right besideme.“Congratulations,Captain.”Shesaidwithanod.“Thank you, congratulations on your reactivation as Commander. Are you

stayingwithus?”“Thosearemyorders.”Thejovialitydrainedfrommeandwasreplacedwithconcern.“Doyouwant

tostaywithus?”Iaskedinawhisper.“NowhereI'dratherbe.”Shesaidwithatiredlookinggrin.Shetookmyhand

and shook it as one officer to another. “Congratulations again, I'll be in

engineering.”ShewasoutthedoorbeforeIcoulddoorsayanythingthatwouldn'tdrawthe

attentionofmostoftheroom.Oneofherengineeringstaffdidnoticewhatwenton,andwaslookingtowardsme.Icalledherover.Shewasoneoftheoriginalteammembers,Mirawas her name in the simulations, but her real namewasLaura.From43First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com what I could remember from her file she held twoMastersDegrees;oneinadvancedfieldmechanicsandtheotherinhyperspacetheorywhichearnedherahigherentryrankthanmostoftheteam.“Canyoudomeafavour,Sargent?”Iasked.“Yessir.”Shesmiledassoonassheheardherrankaloudforthefirsttime.“Takeafewminutestosaycongratulationstoanyfriendsyouhavehere,then

get a few sandwiches for yourself and Commander Rice and join her inengineering.Learnasmuchasyoucanaboutthesystemsdowntherewhileyouhavethechance,butrefitornot,everyonehas toeatsometime.Makesureyoueattogether.”“I'll bringher favourite teawhile I'mat it sir.”She saidwitha salute anda

smile. "You're good at this, you know." She said in a whisper. I really didn'tknowwhattosay,anditmusthaveshown."Takingcareofus,Imean.Ican'tseeanyoneelsewiththeseslashes,noton

thisship,anyway."Shesaid,pullingattherankinsigniaonmycollarandforthefirst time I think it finally sunk in. I was really a Captain, with all theresponsibilities and respect that came with it. It should have been the mostfrighteningthingbutIcouldn'thavefeltbetter."Thank you." I managed to say before she ran off to talk to a few of her

friends.Iwasjustthinkinghowharditwouldbetogetusedtothesalutesandproper

militarysalutationswhenOztappedmeontheshoulder.Minh-Chuwasstandingbesidehim,polishinghisnewrankinsigniaofLieutenant.“So,I'llbeyourfirstofficerforthistrip.”Ozsaid.“Betteryouthanme,he'sahandful.Youshouldhaveseenhimasacivilian,

always coming aroundmy restaurant, drowning his sorrowswith lomein andsweetandsourpork.”Minhsaid.“I never heard you complaining, and come to think of it I didn't seemany

othercustomerseither.”Ozputonehandoneachofourshouldersandshookhishead.“WhydoIget

thefeelingthatI'llbesortingthingsoutbetweenourleadpilotandCaptainforatleastthefirstfewmonths?”

Thenextdayseemed togoby ina flashofminutes.Single tasksseemed totake too long and there was never enough time for me to get other thingscompletedaswellasIliked.Iwasfinallystartingtogetusedtodelegatingbutpeoplestillhadtoremind

methattherewasalwayssomeoneelsewhowouldbehappytofinishmostjobsI started. The second daywentmuchmore smoothly.My officer training hadneverbeenfullyputtousebeforethenandIfoundthatastimewentonitwasallcomingbacktome.Myowndutiesstartedfallingintoaspecificorder,andwithnotimetospare.Myjob,ifyouwill,wastoensurethewellbeingandsuccessofthecrewand

ship, andmaking sure that all thedifferent sectionsweredoingwhat Ineededthemto44First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comwhen Ineeded itwasmycentral taskwhen Iwasn'tmaking general decisions for everyone. Micromanagement was left to all theOfficersbelowmeandtherewerelongmomentsofquietbetweenthebusytimeswhere I could watch them sealing up the lower hull after finishing theimplementation of our new power plants, or load our twenty one fighters andtwo combat shuttles. Thesewere the timeswheremyOfficers had everythingwellinhandanditwasuptometoconsiderthebigpicture,tactics,strategy,andthe strengths and weaknesses of the ship and crew. I found I was alwaysresearchingdetailsaboutcrewmembers, theshipsystems,ourcapabilities,andeveryfewhoursIhadquestionsforoneofmyOfficers.Asaformerengineeringstaffer I almost always had a place to start, some idea of what I was talkingabout,andasanOfficerIknewhowtopointmyquestionstogettheanswerasquicklyaspossibleandnotdistractmycrewfromthemyriadoftaskswehadtoperform.The new arrivals were all there because they wanted to be. I could see it,

walkingtheshipasAlicewhisperedallthecrewrequestsanddetailsthatneededtobeironedoutImayhavelookedlikeIwasinspectingtheship,butIwasmoreinterested in seeinghoweveryoneworked together.The trained staffwhohadjustcomeaboardweremoreinterestedinhelpingthenewlyenlistedthanturningtheirnosesupatthem,andIevensawoneofouroriginalteamshowoneofthenew arrivals a few improvements she had made. The crewman looked prettysurprisedandevenmoreimpressed.WhenIarrivedontheflightdeck,whereagreatdealoffinetuningwasbeing

doneonthefighterswehadbeengiven,threegroupsofusedbutwellrepairedValkyrie Interceptors,Minh-Chupulledmeaside.“Doyouknow thatall thesepilotsandmechanicsarevolunteers?”Heasked,obviouslysurprised.

“From what I understand everyone volunteered. Playbacks of our last fewscenarios leaked out while we were busy training here. I think the Admiralactuallyexpectedustopasstheirtest.”“Most of these pilots have more flight time than I do, but they listen to

everythingIsay,oneisevenmodifyinghisshipsoit'smorelikethemodsIflewwithinthescenes.”“Well,that'swhathappenswhenyoulogafewthousandhoursinsimulations

thenwipethefloorwiththeacademyinstructorsonahackedconnection.We'retheFleet'snewbadboys,andIhaven'theardofanyoneholdingthattitlebeforeus.Don't let itgo toyourhead.Wehavetobebetter thanever to live throughwhatevertheAdmiralhasplannedforus.Something tellsme thatshewon'tbepullingpunchesjustbecauseherdaughterisonboard.”“Whatdoyouthinkshehasplanned?”“Well,we'reinaseparatebattlegroupinanewlyrefittedship.Theyhaven't

resurfacedhereither,so I'massuming thatourship lookinga lotolder than itssystemsmightplayintoourstrategicplacement.Whateveritis,I'mthinkingit'llleadusintoaverydangeroussituationprettyearlyon.”“Isittruethatwe'vebeenrefittedasagunship?Theguncrewshavebeen45First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com loading ammunition materializers bigger than I hadeverseen in the infantry.Theygot that technologytowork just in the last fewyears.Ourcannonswillneverrunoutofammunition.Howmanyturretsdowehaveanyway?Icountedatleasttenmaterializers.”“Thefinalrefithasusloadedwithtwentyeightrailturrets,andallofthemare

retractableandhidden,onlyonebeamweaponthough.”“Whydidweonlyrunourdrillswitheight?”“It'stheoriginalcomplimentofcannonsfortheship,thereweresomethings

wecouldn'tmodify.Ialsodon'tthinktheywantedustoknowaboutitincasewefailedthefinalscenario.”“Goodpoint,well,IknowwhichdirectiontogoifIneedcover.”Minhsaid

withachuckle.“Twentyeightvariableloadrailcannonsonturretsthatneverrunoutofammunitionaslongasthere'spowerforthematerializers.IthoughttheseValkyries were heavily armed for their size. A pair of rail guns, two particlecannonsandarocketlauncherwithenoughroomforfortyeightmissiles.There'sevenretractableexteriorclampsforextraheavyweaponry.Idon't thinkthey'reoutfittingusforespionage.”“I know you'll find a way to hide when you have to. Knowing Fleet

Command,they'llfindawaytousethattoo.”“Well,asmallcloakingfieldoneachshipmayhelp,thinkyoucouldaskfor

me?”“Putinarequisition,I'llforwarditon.”Isaidwithagrin.“Oh,putanextracoupleslashesonyourcollarandyou'reFleet'smannow,I

seehowitis.”“I'llseewhatIcando,butarequisitionwouldstillhelp.”“Sure,assoonaswegetbackfromwhateverFleethasusdoing. I'llaskfor

energy shields and a cupholderwhile I'm at it.Thatway Imight get the cupholder.”“There'sa transmissionfromFleetCommandCaptainand theyneedyouon

thebridge,”AlicechimedinsobothMinhandIcouldhear.“Lookslikethingsareabouttogetstarted.”Isaid.“Areyouready?”“We'refullyloadedandjustfinetuning.GoodluckCaptain.”Minhsaidwitha

wrygrin.“Goodluck,Commander.”Isaidbeforewalkingaway.Istoppedatthemain

hatchwayforamoment.“CommanderBuu.”Icalledout.“Yessir.”Heshoutedinresponse.Itwasanimagethatisstillsoclearinmy

mind,himstandingtherewithonehandonthecockpitofhisValkyriefighter.“Mayyourlifebeinteresting!”Ishoutedbeforecontinuingontothebridge.

WhenIarrivedonthebridgeIchecked the transmissionfromFleetCommand.Ourorderswereinandwewereoutoftime.Afterreviewingthemasquicklyaspossible I forwarded them on to the Officers and knew that within minutesbriefings would begin all over the ship and we would be greeting the TriadConsortiumfleetinourownveryspecialwaysoonafter.

46

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.comTheDefenceTheshipwasadriftamidstafieldofcompressedwaste,leftoverunprocessed

materialsandoldhullsthatwereinqueuetoberecycled.Atanygivenmomenttherewasafieldofthiskindofgarbage thatoccupiedaspacenearFreegroundStation.Itwasalwayschangingshapeasdifferentmaterialswerebeingrecycledand added and with our power plant almost completely idle, our systemssupportedbycoldcapacitorswewouldappearasjustanotherpieceofflotsamtoanythermalorelectromagneticsensors.TheAdmiralwaswisetopostusinsuchahidingplace,anditshowedthatshe

actuallyhadreviewedmanyofourscenarios.Hidinginplainsightwasatactictheoriginal teamusedall the time,oneofour specialities, and itmadeall the

newmembers of Fleet aboard feel like thiswas somehow familiar.Minh-Chuand his entirewing of twenty one fighters were individually hidden as well.Lookingtothethermal,electromagneticandvisualscannerresultsprojectedinthemiddle of the bridge, I could see that noneof uswere emitting detectablelevels of energy, there was no way to separate us from the trash. I set mycommand hologram to view the field specifically and it appeared in themainfield of view. Iwas still getting used to the newer versionwhichwas alwaysbroadcastinfrontofmejustbelowchestlevelinsteadofallaroundme.Itstillcontainedtwovisualrepresentationsoftheship'sposition,anotherbroaderviewoftheentirecombatarea,shipsystemdetails,communicationsummariesandthecommand controls but everythingwasmuchmore streamlined andAlice wasable to interact with its functions, so she could assist in carrying out mydecisionsandprioritizinginformation.“Set themaindisplay toviewpoint thirtyeightandencompass thecoreward

side of the station.” I commanded. The ship computer rotated the mainholographicimagesomyviewpointstartedatthestation'scenterandlookedouttowardsthecoreoftheUniversetothepointinspaceweexpectedthePaladintodropoutofhyperspace.Thebridgecrewwereallstill.Ozstoodbesideme,andIlookedovertherest

ofthebridgestaffwhowerereviewingthestatusoftheirsystems,glancingupatthe main hologram in the middle of the bridge occasionally and collectivelyholdingtheirbreath.WithoutthinkingIsqueezedJasonEverin'sshoulder,oneofthepeoplewhoI

knew from the simulation team who was qualified as a communications andintelligence officer. “Deep breaths, just keep your mind clear until there's anenemy47First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comtransmissiontodecode.”Isaidquietly.“Yessir.”He replied, trying todisguisehis tensionwithahalf smile. In the

space of a heartbeat our circumstances became very real. The Paladindeceleratedoutofhyperspace,dispersingthewhiteandredparticlesthatcoveredtheshipduringfasterthanlighttravelandappearedinfrontoftheThirdFleet,whichmadeaholeinitscenterforthealliedshiptomovethrough.AfterafewsecondsIrealizedmyhandswereballedintowhiteknuckledfists.IshookthemopenandsatdownintheCaptain'schair.“Easy,theTriadFleetshouldberightbehind.Silentrunning.”Seconds, thenminutes passed, and hearing Sergeant Everin's console come

alivewith incoming enemy transmissionswas asmore a relief than anything.Thesoundmadetheothercommunicationsofficerbesidehimjumpinherseat.

“Enemywirelessnoise.”Hesaidashestartedworkinghisholographicandkeycommandconsolewithblindingspeed.“Decoding, looks likeninetyfour layerten twenty four bit encryption,we'll be unscrambling their transmissions overfiveminutesbehindusingthecodeswealreadyhavetostartfrom.”“Justkeepworkingandremembertopatchintothestation'scypherdatabase

assoonaswecanstartcommunicatingwithfleetagain.Theymightbeable toprovideuswithmoreuptodatecodes.”“Yessir.”“Computer, start a count down on all ship displays coordinated with the

arrival counter onmy command console and label it 'TriadArrival.' Base thecounter's value on when we first started receiving transmissions.” The countdownstartedoneveryone'sdisplayatseventeenseconds,floatingjustofftotheside of whatever task they were doing. Watching those seconds tick awayseemedtoprotractthetime.OnthemaindisplayIcouldsee thePaladin formingupwith therestof the

third fleet which consisted of several other carriers half the size, fifteendestroyers, a five kilometre long command ship, and over a hundred smallerships.ThePaladinbeganlaunchingwingsoffightersandsmallgunships.My eye wandered to the half of the station I could see on the display

representedsemi transparently.At the currentmagnification I couldn't see thehundreds of gun emplacements, only the general shapes of habitat rings,platforms,extensionsandconstructionframes.Eventhoughitwasmyhomeallmylife,ithadneverlookedsobeautifulorsofragile.As the seconds counted down to zero and the digits disappeared, the Triad

Consortiumattack fleet appeared right in front of theFreegroundThirdBattleGroup. Both sides opened fire immediately, and even from where we sat wecouldseeflashesoflightthroughthewindow.ThemainholographicprojectionswitchedtotacticalmodeandSergeantEverinlookedupfromhisdisplay.TheTriadfleetwaseasilytwicethesizeofourforwarddefences,andtheThirdFleetbeganaplannedretreattodrawthemtowardsthestation.TheimmediatecombatstatusappearedonmypersonalcommandscreenandImadeittoosmallfor48First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com anyone else to see. The cost of drawing the enemycloserwasmountingbythesecond.“Wormholedistortiondetected,asecondenemyfleetisabouttoarrive!”SergeantEverinmarked the projected arrival point on themain display and

returnedtodecipheringenemycommunications.“Commandexpectedthis,it'swhywe'rehere.”Isaidjustasmuchtomyself

astoeveryoneelse.

“Thecommunicationswecanunderstandindicatethey'repre-plottingfighterlaunchsequences.Theremustbemorethanonecarriercomingin.”“NicedecryptingSergeant.”Themarkedpointwas right betweenwherewewerehidden and the station

and I stood up, looking at nothing else. Five Triad carriers came out ofhyperspacejustoutsidetheengagementarea.“Theydon'tcomelight,dothey?”Isaid.“Continueholding,weneedtogivethemtimetolaunchfighters.Recheckthe loads on our rail cannons.We'll only get one good shot at this dirty littletrick.”“Gunners all report one hundred twenty rounds of munition seven loaded.

They're ready to switch to piercing and explosive shells after their initialbarrage.”“Good.Getreadytofireeverythinguponmycommand.”Icouldseethefirst

waves of fighters and smaller gunships launching from the Triad carriers andwaitedforthesecondgroup.Itcamejustsecondslater.“Theirlaunchcrewscertainlyareefficient,”Ozsaidfromjustbehindme.“With the credits theTriad has, they're probably all automated.” I said as I

watchedthethirdwavelaunch.“Theycanprobablyaffordcombatandroids.”“Orthey'remassproducedgeneticallyalteredclones.Messybuteffective.”InoddedatOz'ssupposition.“Justonemorewave,”Ididn'thavetowaitlong

beforeIsawanothermassoffightersandothersmallshipsappearonthemaindisplay.“Aheadfull!Beginfiringsequenceandgetmea firingsolutionon thenearest carrier. Prioritize her sensors with the beam weapon and launch bayswithbothtorpedoes.”Icommanded.Thedeadsilencethathadthreatenedtosmotheruswasgone,andthehumof

theship'ssystemsandburningofthemassiveIonenginesthrustingharderthaneveraddedtomyenthusiasm.Thebridgecrewoffourteenofficerswerebusyallaround.“Bringrefractiveshieldingonline,andfocusourenergyshieldonthebridge.

Bereadytocounterchargetheablativelayerofthehull.”“We'vegottolooklikeaflareontheirsensors,”Ozsaidwithachuckle.“Ifwe'reluckyit'llbethelastthingallthosefighterpilotssee,”Icommented

asIwatchedtheorientationoftheshipshiftastherailgunspointedtowardsthegroups of fighters, bombers and gunships headed towards the engaged fleetsfiredoff theironehundred twenty roundsofmicronuclear shells. In less timethanpredicted,nineseconds,alltherailgunshadfiredtheirshells.Thedeadlyprojectilesdriftedtowardsthemultitudeofenemyships,emittingnodetectableradiological,magneticor thermal signal and too small to track individuallyonmost sensors. I held my breath as the shells closed the distance between the

hundredsof49First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comfightersheadedtowardsthestationandourfleet.The carriers began firing beam weapons at our ship, but our refractive

shieldingredirectedtheenergyandlightcomponentsofthebeamsandourthickablativehullabsorbedtheimpactsofthetinychargedparticles.Ikeptwatchingtheprogressofournuclearshells,Icouldn'tlookaway.Theenemyshipsbeganturningsuddenly, they realizedwhatwehad fired,butonly too late. I couldn'thelpbutbringmyfistdownonthearmofmychairasIsawthousandsofpointsoflightwipeoutordisableallthefighters,bombersandshuttlesthecarriershadlaunched. Six waves by the time the shells went off, their entire offensivecompliment.Iwasn'ttheonlyone,mostof thebridgecrewcouldn'thelpcheermomentarily as the bulk of the Triad fighter cover for the engagement wasdestroyed.All that read on our sensorswas amass of ruined hullswhere thesmall crafts had been. The most diminutive of the craft had been utterlyvaporized. The fight was far from over, however. The Sunspire was headedtowards the carrier group, still rotating slowly, giving our rail cannon turretseven access to targets and preventing any overheating. “Prioritize rail cannonfireonanyincomingtorpedoesorotherprojectiles.Don'tletanythingthrough.Fire thebeamweaponat any sensorsyoucan lockonto,we justneed tokeepthemblindlongenoughtousethenearestcarrierascoversoweonlyneedfivepercentintensity.”“Firsttorpedoesareawaysir.”Iheardthetacticalstationreport.“Targettheirprojectileweaponemplacementsandfirebothtubesuntilweget

toonethousandkilometres,thenloadtubetwowithahighfocusnukeandholdit.Wecandealwithanybeamweaponrythey'vegotandmayberedirecttheirfirebackatthemoncewe'recloseenough.”The first of thedefensive screenof fightersbeganheading towardsus from

the nearest carrier and I smiled, flicking a switch onmy chair. “Are you stillawakeoutthereoldfriend?”“Barely.Need some cover?”RepliedMinh-Chu.A second later the field of

debris behind us lit up with thermal readings, as our screen of twenty onefighterscametolifeandfiredtheirenginestoclosetheshortdistancebetweenthemandtheenemy.Thefirstwaveoftheenemyfighterscreenwasdestroyedinseconds,andour

fighters tookuppositionbehind theSunspire tokeeppace and stayoutof thewayuntilweneededmorecover.Aswedrewcloser to thenearest carrier, its sizewasbecoming apparent. It

seemedtostretchonforevertotherightandleft,overeighteenkilometreslong

with dozens of beam emplacements and several large rail cannons. We wereclosingonthefourhundredkilometrerange,andallthebeamweaponsonoursideofthedestroyerwerefiring.Mostofthemdidn'tcarryanyparticles,andourtwelve layer refractive shieldingwas redirecting all of it away from the ship.Therewereonlytworailcannonsleftthatwerelargeenoughtodamageus,butthat was two too many. “I need those rail guns destroyed.” We were closeenoughforournexttorpedoestotravelsofastthatthechanceofhittingbeforetheenemy50First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comperimetercannonscoulddestroythemwereveryhigh,but I had other plans for our torpedo bays at this range, so I openedcommunications with Minh once more. “Take out those rail cannons,” Icommanded,knowingIwassendinghiswingintothemostdangerouszoneonthatsideoftheenemyship.IturnedtoOzthen.“Firethenucleartorpedorightintotheirlaunchbay,setit

off deep.” He knew there was no time to argue, we were closing on threehundredkilometres.“Helm, reverse thrustand turnussidewaysassoonas thetorpedoisaway.Takeusalongherstarboardside,”I flipped theswitchonmychair that was set to speak with engineering. “How are our power systemsholdingout?”“Generating forty percent of capacity, storage cells are all holding at ninety

sevenpercent.Wehaveenoughtorunanothershipoursize.”Ayanreplied.Iwasmorethanalittlesurprised.“Hullintegrity?”“No serious damage yet, seems the Triad didn't expect anyone to use

refractive shielding since it was phased out a century ago by most corporateoutfits.”“Canyougivemeanothereight layers?I think it's timewecausesomereal

damage.”“Yessir!”I looked to Ensign Fielding and she nodded. “We have enough refractive

layerstoredirecttheirbeamweaponsrightbackatthemsir.”“Let'scutthemupabit,”Iorderedwithagrin.Just as I gave theorder, thenuclear torpedo that had targeted their exposed

launchbayswentoff,andIdoublecheckedthestatusofourfighters.Onlytwohad been destroyed so far, and none had been caught in the nuclear blast. Icouldn'thelpbutlookatthedamagewehaddonetothelaunchbaysastheareabecamevisible through thebridgewindows. Itwas aglowingpit of awound,outlinedbymoltenmetalandsectionsexplosivelydecompressing.“CommanderBuureportsbothrailcannonshavebeendisabled,”Ozreported

frombehindme.“SoMinhmade it outof there?” I realizedhowunprofessional thequestion

wasassoonasitwasasked.Ozdidn'tseemtofaultmeforit.“Hemadeitoutfine.”“Good,gethimoutofthehighriskzoneandtellhimtousetheSunspireas

cover.We'llneedthemformoreimportanttasks.”Wehadcrippledthecarrier,butaswemovedpasttherearsectionandruined

launch bay it became obvious that we hadn't disabled her. All their beamemplacements fired at once, along with her much smaller remaining rail gunturrets.Thebeamswerereflectedstraightbackatthecarrier'shull,cuttingintoandopeningentiresections.“Sir,we're not taking anydirect damage fromweapon's fire, but our hull is

heating up fast from the near misses and their rail guns are all targeting thebridge.Theenergyshieldwon'tlastmorethanninetysecondsatthisrate.”Ididn'thavetothinkaboutit,thewordsjustcameout;“Abandonthebridge,

headfortheemergencycommandcenter.”IopenedcommunicationswithAyanas51First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comeveryonestoppedwhattheyweredoingandmadeforthepairofliftsattherearofthebridge.“Reinforcetheshieldsonthebridgefortwominutesandtakecommand.We'reheadeddowntotheemergencycontrols.”“Yessir,”shereplied.Ifeltthedeckshakeviolentlyandheardanimpactthat

mademyearsring.AstheliftclosedIrememberthinking; thatwasn'tasmallrailgunimpact.

52

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.comDawnTherewasnowarning;onlybrightlightsanddoctors.Iwasoutofthemedical

bedandonmy feet inwhat felt like theblinkofaneye. Iglancedaround theroom and saw the bed, restraints, two medical technicians who were in anabsolute panic, an emergency cart, and a neural interface cart with the cablerippedout.ThetechnicianswereontheirwayoutthedoorandIgrabbedonebytheelbow."Itwassimulated?"Helookedatmenervouslyandnodded.Securitycamerunningandstoppedatthedoor.Thetechnicianfreedhisarmandwavedthemoff."Hejustcameoutofitabittoosuddenlyandrippedthecableoutoftheneuralimageconverter.Otherthanareallysoreneck,he'llbefine."Ireached

up to find the headpiece still firmly seated onmy head and the cable leadingfromit.Myneckwasalreadyachingandgettingworseby thesecond.OzandAyanwereinthedoorwayamoment later.“Somescenario,wasn't itCaptain?”Heasked,flickinghis rank insigniawitha finger, lookinga littledisappointed.Suddenly I felt very foolish and took theheadpieceoff properly, put it on aninstrumenttrayandnodded."Iwonderwhytheyfelttheyhadtotrickusintoit?"Ayansteppedintotheroomwithacrookedgrin.“Atleastyoudidn'tactually

getcrushedintheremainsofthebridge.TheyputusallunderthenightafteryoumetwiththeAdmiral.Noneofusweretold.”“TheAdmiral,yourmother.”“Yes,mymother,”sheaffirmed,adarkexpressioncameoverher.“Thishas

gottobethemosttwistedthingshe'severputmethrough,”shelookedupatmeforasilentmoment.“Anyonethrough.”Sheadded.Ayan and Oz were both wearing their duty uniforms. I was also still in

uniform, dressed for a shift on the station commanddeck. I fixed the securityofficerwithalevelgaze.“Leadtheway,private,”Imeanttosaycordially,butrealized after I must have sounded forceful. I knew there was a debriefingcoming,andsoon.He'dknowwheretotakeussowecouldgetonwithit.He did exactly as he was directed and lead us to a large briefing room

furnishedwithalongtableandchairs.Ifeltbetrayed,deceivedandevenalittlestupid at being fooled into thinking that all that had happened over the pastseveraldayswastrue.Itriedmassagingmysoreneckwhilewrappingmyheadaroundtheideaofjustlyinginbedforhowevermanydayshadpassedinsteadoflivingthroughthechallengeswehadfaced.AfterafewminutesAyangotupfromwhereshehadsatandtookaseat53First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.combesidemeatoneendof the table andOz satonmyotherside.Sherubbedmyshouldersandneck.“Ishouldn'tbethisangry,”Isaidquietly.“IfthatwererealIwouldhavegottenusallkilled.”“No, most of us survived until the next allied battle group came out of

hyperspacebehind theTriad carriers. Iwas leading a rescueparty into the liftshaftwhentheyshutthescenariodown.”“Even Imanaged to survive.”Minh-Chu said as hewalked in.He dropped

himselfintoachair.“Iwasabouttotakeoutafighterastheywokemeup,”Hismoodwas equally dark but somehow casual, relaxed. “Going back tomakingrominandeggrollsisgoingtobedifficult.”Otherswerecomingin,theirmoodsunsure,noonewastalking.“Ican'tcallit,didwemeetthewinconditions?”Ozaskednooneinparticular.

“FirstOfficerfeltgood.Realgood.”

“That's the question, after all this, living days in a simulationwithout evenknowingit,didwepasstheirtest?Didtheylikewhattheysaw?”Iagreed.“Isupposetheydidseeeverything,”IheardAyansaytoherselfquietly,there

wasasedatesadnessinhervoiceandItookherhand.“Abouttimewemetforreal,”Isaidtoherwithasmile.Ittookamomentfor

her to realize that it actuallywas the first timewehadmet inperson, and shesmiledbackassheputherchinonmyshoulderandtookMinh'shand.HetookLaura's,Laura took JasonEverin's and so forthuntil the circle ledback toOzand I. It tookme that long to figure outwhat I had to say; “Nomatterwhathappenshere,wewereadamngoodcrewinthere.”“Allornone.”Ozsaidquietly.“All or none.” several people in the room replied. The twenty one crew

membersthathadstartedinourregularsimulationswereallthere,andIcouldn'thave beenmore proud of them. The chant began, and by the time a sergeantenteredtheroomI'msurehalfthestationcouldhearus.“Attention!Admiral on deck!” The sergeant called out, silencing the room.

Weallstoodatattention,mostofusfallingbackonreflexeslearnedintherecentsimulation,notsomuchinreallife.AdmiralRiceandanotherOfficerwiththerankofAdmiral,awomaninher

fifties with long blond hair, walked into the room and sat down at the tableoppositeme.“Beseatedeveryone,atease.”Shesaidinaraspyvoice.Whenwewere all seated she went on. “I am Fleet AdmiralMcKinley. Before I begin,AdmiralRicehasafewthingstoformalize.”“ThankyouAdmiral.Thedecisiontoinsertyouintoasurprisescenariocame

fromFleetIntelligence.Afterreviewingmyreportsonyoutheythoughtthatwehadtoincreasetheperceivedriskfactor.Afterreviewingthepreliminaryresults,I can see that we satisfied their requirements and passed their psycheevaluations.Having said that, it ismy distinct pleasure to inform you that allchargeshavebeendropped.AsacrewandasindividualsyouhavesurpassedtheexpectationsofFleetCommandandmetallwinconditionsofthesimulationinwhichyouhave54First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comparticipatedinforthelastsixdays.”Thelastsentencewasmoreofamatterofrecord,withallthecheeringgoing

onintheroomwedidn'thearit.Ittookatleastafewminutesforustogetitoutofoursystem.Whenwehad,AdmiralRicewenton.“Theresultsoftheexercisearebeingstudied,sinceyouhadmanyunconventionalsolutionsfortheproblemsweput infrontofyou,andoncewehavefinishedourstudyyourCaptainwillreceiveallthedataaswellasthefullanalysisofyourperformances.

Eachoneofyouwillbeprovidedwithareportonallyouractionsduringthesimulation by a certified Fleet Academy trainer except for those of you whowere already enlisted. Servicemen andwomen should see a report from yourformercommandingofficers tomorrowmorning. It is our expectation that youwill all review the reports carefully, the advice could be critical as enlistedofficers.Irealizethatmostofthepeopleat this tableneverwent throughFleetAcademy,andifconditionsweredifferent,Iwouldsendyouthere,butwedon'thavetime.Thethreatthatweincludedinthesimulationyoujustexperiencedisreal.ThePaladinisonherwaybackwithaTriadfleetonherheels.Inlessthanfivedaysshe'llcomeoutofhyperspaceandthethird,fourthandseventhBattleGroupswillbeouttherewaitingtogreetheranddefendthestation.Weexpectto defeat whatever comes, so you won't be part of the defence, not this timeanyway.”Admiral Rice sighed and smiled a little. “To be honest I'm surprised, I

expected some people to carry the weight while others spent all their timefighting their way over the learning curve. Instead I had the opportunity towitnesseveryoneplaytotheirstrengthsandoffer theirsupport to thecrewmannexttothem.Itnormally takesmonths,evenyears to formsuchacamaraderieandfellowship.Thereareinstructorswhoareveryunhappyyousucceeded,andmorestillwhoareexaminingeverydetailof thesimulationreplays to findouthow you did so well. With that thought, I'll turn the briefing over to FleetAdmiralMcKinley.Goodluck.”“Thankyou.Nowthat'syou'reallpleasedwithyourselves,Ihavethepleasure

ofaskingonelasttimebeforeenlistingthelotofyou;ifthereisamanorwomanherewhodoesnotseethemselvesasfitforservice,pleaseleavetheroomnow,there will be no dishonour or punishment in doing so,” she waited severalsecondsbeforecontinuingon.Ilookedaroundthetabletoseethateveryonewasfirmlyplantedintheirseat,

andInearlylaughedaloudwhenIsawMinh-Chuleaningbackwithhisfingersknittedbehindhishead,lookingverypleasedwithhimself.“Good,I'mgoingtoneedyouallforwhatIhaveplanned.BeforeIgetintothe

details,letmecatchyouuponafewthings.TheresultsofyoursimulationhaveprovideduswithsomeinterestingideasfortheSunspire,andwe're refining themodifications and alterations that were applied to her during this refit. Thepromotionsgrantedinthesimulationstand,andyou'reallbeingassignedtoher.It is a controversial decision, but a good one I feel to put Captain Valent incommandaswell.IfthereisonethingIhavelearnedfromthreedecadesasanofficer, it is to not mess with what works. I'll be clear, this is not a lightassignment.Theonlydetails55

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.com you are allowed to divulge to your families andfriends is thatmostof the charges againstyouhavebeengreatly lessenedandyoumustserveintheFreegroundFleetaspartofyoursentence.Iftheyaskformoredetails,tellthemyouhavenone.Yourlovedoneswillbelookedafterandiftheyareinneedwewillhelpthem.Therestofthedetailsstayinthisroomandonthatship.After the refit is complete the Sunspire will leave for the Argus Common

Sector, you are to rename her and remove any details of her FreegroundShipyardoriginsfromhertransponder.You'llberightinthemiddleofaclusterof heavily populated systems where there are dozens of corporately ownedworlds.You'renotbeingsentoutonanynormalkindofmission.TheSunspirewill seem like an independentmercenary or heavily armed trader ship. You'llcarry outmissions under the direction of FreegroundFleet SpecialOperationswhilebeinglefttofendforyourselvesforthemostpart.Thisisthekindofassignmentthatpeopledreamof,youwillseeplacesand

dothingsthatmostofuscouldnotimagine.Whenlookingformoraldirection,youonlyhavetothinkofhomeandwhetherornotwhatyouaredoingwouldbebestforyourcrew,andbestforFreeground.Thereareonlytwoothershipsonthe same assignment you are about to engage in, and theywon't know you'rethere, you'll probably never see them, and if you did you probably wouldn'trealizeit.Ihavefaithinyouall,however.Afterdoingnothingbutreadingyourbackgroundsandreportsonyouractionsinthesimulationfortwodays,Ihavefaiththatyouaretherightunusualcrewforthisunusualassignment.Yourprimarymissionasacrewwillbetoacquireinformationandtechnology

thatwill help Freeground. That means that under your commanding officer'sdirectionyouwillbuy,copy,steal,andlearnaboutanythingwedon'tknowaboutor have already. Once your senior staff comes to a consensus that you haveenough to make a significant leap forward in knowledge and technology forFreeground you will return. I expect your mission to take years, the crewmembers that will be augmenting you will be aware of this as well. Underspecial circumstances you can form ties with the governments youmeet as apreludetopassingthatrelationshipontoFreegrounditselfatthecompletionofyourmission.Youhaveonedaytovisitfamilyandfriendsonthestationandputyouraffairsinorder.”I had onemore opportunity to speak toAdmiralMcKinley.As soon as our

meetingwasfinishedandeveryonewenttheirseparatewaysforthatlastdayonFreeground,AlicetoldmeIwastoreporttotheAdmiral'sofficewithinthehour.Iwaswatching thecrewsmovemypersonal fighter into the launchbayof the

SunspireandhadlittleelsetodosoIsteppedintothenearesttube.IwassobusythinkingmyquestionsoverthatIdidn'tevennoticethetimepassingasthetubecarshuttleddownseveralkilometresoftunnelsandshafts.BeforeIknewitIwascrossingtheAdmiral'sthreshold.“Haveaseat,56First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com Captain,” she said without looking up from a flatdisplayinherhand.Isatdownandwaitedforhertofinish.Sheturnedthescreenoffanditdisappearedleavingthethindisplayprojector,acylindersmallerthanherlittlefinger.“You'reherebecause Ineed toansweryourquestionsbefore I sendyouoff

intocivilizationwithyourcrew.Someonewassupposedtogowithyouontheinitialtrip,buthe'sbeendirectedelsewhere.Thisquestionperiodisallyouget.Wheredoyouwanttostart?”IthoughtforaminutebeforeuncorkingabottlethatIknewI'dneverbeable

to close up again. “Wouldn't it be better to put someone who has a lot ofexperienceinCorporateTerritoryincommand?Idon'tknowmuchaboutwhat'soutthere.”“Youmake a good point, almost no one in your initial crew or anyone I'm

assigningtotheSunspirehasanyexperiencewhereyou'regoing.It's importantto think of the situation anotherway.Ask yourself; is there anything you canimagine out there that would ever convince you that your home isn'tFreeground?”Iponderedthatforamoment,andatthetime,Icouldn'timaginehowIcould

callanyotherplacehome.“No,Ican'tsayIcan.”“Inthiscasethat'swhat'smostimportant.You'reallpatriots,allbornhereand

everyonehasspentmostofyourliveshere.You'realsoskilled,butmanyofyouarenottrainedmilitarily.Sowhenitcomesdowntoit,manyofyourcrewwouldnot think or behave like you're military. You may use your Officer training,knowhowtointeractwithFreegroundFleetpersonnel,evenunderstandhowoursystemsandproceduresworkbutyouthinkdifferently,you'llreflexivelybehavedifferently.”“That'squiteananswer.”“YoucanthankAdmiralRice.She'stheonewhobuiltyourprofile.”“I don't have a right to know, but Iwaswonderingwhywewere switched

fromhercommandtoyours.”“Itwasn'tbecauseofherdaughter.Ayanisrightinthemiddleofthisandeven

though the Admiral is an exemplary officer she can't be expected to beabsolutely objective. Besides, Fleet Command has decided it's time for her tohaveherowncommandagain.AdmiralRicewillbe leavingafter thePaladin

arrivesandwe'vedefendedFreeground.Thingsarechanging,andshehastobeoutthere.”“DoesAyanknow?”“Shewilltoday.”TheAdmiralleanedforwardthen,hertonequieted.“Some

time ago the upper ranks in Fleet Command realized that our isolation didn'tguarantee our safety, in fact it is becomingmore of a liability than ever. Freeworldsandstationsareunderassault,whetheritbeeconomically,sociallyorbymilitaryforce.Asoneof the last freeportswithin thousandsof lightyearswedrawimmigrantsofallkindsandthey'resayingthatalmosteverywhereelseit'sbecomingimpossibleforanindividualtoownsomething,andjustashardtonotbecome someone else's property in some way or another.We have also beenlosinggroundtechnologicallyforoverahundredyearsinmilitary,medicalandsocial sciences.By the same tokenwe are generallymore advanced in powermanagement, agriculture and habitation technologies.Our strengths benefit usandattractnegativeattentionat57First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comthesametime.Just think, Freeground manufactures more than it can use in almost every

category.Food,air,ships,anythingyoucouldimagineisinexpensivetoresidentsbecausewe sell up tohalfofwhatwemake,we justhave toomuch.Wealsohave aparliament, a real democracy and amilitary that answers to thepeoplethroughourgoverningbody.Yougrewuphere,soyouwouldn'tknow,butithasbeenveryhardtofindanyplacewherethoseconditionsstillexist.Whenaplacebecomesassuccessfulasweare,itdrawsattentiontoitselfandwe'reouthereallalonenow.Wehavetheattentionofhalfthegalaxyandbarelyknowwhat'soutthere anymore because of our isolationist ways. I know I've only seen threeplanetsidecitiesinmylife,visitedahandfulofworlds,soinjustafewmonthsoutthereIbetyouandyourcrewwillbeabletoteachmesomething.When that time comes part of your mission is to find technology and

knowledgethatmaybeusefultoFreegroundandacquireitanywayyouseefit.Wehavetargetsforyou,butit'sjustasimportantforyoutobeoureyesandears,findyourowntargets.Justremember,assoonasyouleaveFreeground,you'renolongermilitaryandasfarastheGalaxyisconcerned,youowntheSunspireand pay your crew just like any mercenary ship. Of course your crew don'texpecttobepaiduntilyoureturn,butyoucanalwaystaketheopportunitytodosoifconditionspermitandyouthinkitwise.”“IthinkIwill.ThankyouAdmiral,thatanswerseverythingonmymindanda

bitmore,”Istoodandsnappedherasalute.“It's your ship Captain, accomplish your goals however you like. Just

rememberusouthereinthedark.”

58

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.comBoardingTheofficer's quarter on the stationwasmore like a first classhotel and the

lounge was larger than most nightclubs I had seen. There were instantlynoticeabledifferences,however.All thecolourswere subduedgreys, crimsonsandblacks,thelightingwaslowinhabitationareasandclearandbrightinmainhallways.Thequarterstheygavemewereevenlargerthanthecaptain'squarterson the ship, and the furniture lookednew. If therewas one thing I could takewithme to theSunspire itwouldhavebeen thebed. Itwasabsolutelyhuge,aking size, and felt amazing. I didn't know then thatwhilewewereoff ship instasis, they had quadrupled the refit crew, and the quarters, even themisusedcommonroomhadbeenrebuiltandrefurnished.Thebedwaitingformeinmynew captain's quarters was much better than what I had experienced in thesimulation,evenifitdidn'tquitematchtheoneinthestation'sofficer'squarters.Despite thecreaturecomforts, I couldn't sleep.At four in themorningFleet

time, I foundmyself sitting in themain lounge, sipping decaffeinated coffee,looking out one of the transparent bulkheads to the Sunspire. The refit wasfinished,andshewassetupfrontandcenter infullviewof theloungefor thelaunch.Everypartoftheshiphadbeensomehowchanged, theyevenreshapedparts of the outer hull, expanded the launch and retrieval bay, and addedretractable cargo carrying systems. The twenty eight retractable rail cannonswereallhiddenundertheirarmouredhatchesandthelong,gracefulcurvesofthehull had been restored to the original reflective surface. It was a gracefullyshapedantiqueon theoutsideandnotas largeasmostcarriersbut larger thanmostdestroyerclassships.Icouldn'tbelieveIwasputincommand.Iwas still letting recent events sink in.My old life felt like a dream and I

knewIwouldmissall the people I had come to knowwell over the years ofsimulationswe had done together in our spare time but everyone knew Iwasmovingontosomethingthatfeltright,gavemepurposeanddirection.Ismiledand sighed quietly, looking over the shape of the ship and still not quitebelievinghoweverythingturnedout.InearlyjumpedoutofmychairwhenOzclappedmeontheback.“Couldn't

sleepeither,huh?”“Sneakinguponasuperiorofficershouldbeacourtmarshal-ableoffence.”

“Ah,rankisn'tanissueinthelounge,didn'ttheytellyou?”HelookedoutattheSunspire,“She'sbeautiful,isn'tshe?”“Sheis.IwouldhaveneverthoughtthattheshipIsawjustoveraweekago

59First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comwouldturnintothis.”“I'veneverseenAyansohappy.WegottheearlytourfromtheAdmiral,they

even changed the hallways. I spoke to one of theEngineeringStaff Sergeantswhile theRice ladieswere off talking, he saidworking on theSunspire'shullwasmorelikeartthanstructuralengineering.Theyusedsomekindofreshapingtoolthatworkedontheregenerativehullformostofit.NowIdidn'tunderstandmuchofwhathesaid,butIthinktheFleetisreallyhotforgettingtheirhandsonmoreofwhatshe'smadeof.”“SoI'veheard.Twoofourobjectivesouttherearetoquietlyalterconditions

soFleetcancomeinoncewe'regoneandtakeoverergranianminingoperationsandorestores.Wewon'tjustbebuyingandstealingoutthere,we'llbesaboteursandshockraiders ifwecanfind theopportunity.At thesame timenoonecanknowwherewe'refrom,thatwearepartoftheFreegroundFleet,”eventhoughIwasinasecuresectionofthestation,Ifoundmyselflookingovermyshoulderbriefly.“Thatexplainswhythey'resocomfortablesettingusupontheSunspire.They

only built a few since they were too small to be an adequate deep spacedestroyer or carrier and too big to be a heavy corvette and she's almost twohundredyearsold.”“You're right, we can't let anyone on board though. She may look like an

antiqueontheoutside,butIdon'tthinktheyleftanysystemuntouched.TheonlythingIthinktheyreallyshouldhavechangedisthelocationofthebridge.Idon'tthink shielding it is really enough and it's too easy to recognize it as a richtarget.”“We'llhavetotalktoAyanaboutthat.”“Youknow,Ican'thelpbutwonderhowlongwe'llreallybeoutthere.”“Doyouhavesomeonewho'llbewaitingforyou?”“I have three sisters, two of which like having a trained infantryman as a

babysitter.”“Ikeepforgettingthat'ssomethingyouandMinhhaveincommon.”“Toomany sisters?Yup, it's good to have someonewho understands. I just

hopeoursistersneverteamup.We'dbedonefor.”“Probably,”Istoodupandwalkedtothewindow,Ozstoodtofollowme.“I

don'tknowhowlongwe'llbeout,wewon'tneedsupplies,andwe'regenerally

goingtoavoidgettingintoafirefightwheneverpossible.Iexpectleavewilltakeplaceplanetsidewhilewe'reoutthere.Ireallycan'tsay.”Ozlaughedquietlyandshookhishead.“What?”“Youalreadysoundlikeyou'vebeeninthecaptain'schairforyears.”“Oh,I'msuremyinexperiencewillshow.”“Sometimes,sure,butI'vegotyourback,andAyanwon'tletanythinghappen

tohershipifshecanhelpit.”“I'mgladI'mlettingherrenameit.”“So is she. I'msurprisedyoudidn't tellheryourself, itwas just there in the

briefingnotesyousentus.Wegotthemwhileweweretouringtheshipandshewas60First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comsohappysheactuallysquealed.”“Idon'tknowthatshewantstoseemerightnow.SometimesitfeelslikeI'm

talkingtotheAyanIknewinthesimulations,andothertimesitseemslikeshecouldn'tbemoredistantifshewereacrossthegalaxy.”“Thefirst thingsheaskedwhenwemetAdmiralRicefor thetourwas 'Will

Jonasbejoiningus?'”HesaidinhisbestimitationofaBritishaccent.“Probablyaskingforherownprotection.”“Ah,she'scrazyaboutyou,butshe'snotlikeuseither,she'saformermilitary

bratwhohadtoworkherassofftogetwhatshehasandshe'sbeenthroughalot.Orit'sjustassimpleasnotwantingtobreakregulation.”“Breakregulation?”“Well,you'reaCaptain,she'saCommander,thetwoofyougettogetherand

it'sgroundsfordisciplinaryactionforbothofyouunlessyoucankeeppersonalinteractionstoshoreleaveandofficialdowntime.She'scareer,andnowyou'vegonecareerandthatmakesthingsevenworse.”“I knowhowmuch thatmeans to her, notmuch either of us can do except

maybe go covert and both serve on a mercenary ship where the regulationsregarding inter-crew relations are reduced to the same point as long voyagevessels.”“Ialmostforgotaboutthat,we'reallowedtofraternizeatanyrankwhilewe're

offdutyaccordingtothoseregulations.Thatshouldbeinteresting.”“Most of theother regulationswill be relaxed aswell, it's not going to feel

muchlikeamilitaryship.We'llhavetoredesignouruniforms,dropsalutes,andevenimplementonlythemostimportantproceduralprocedures.Unlesswe'reonwatchorincombatshewon'tfeelmuchlikeamilitaryship.IhopeAyanandIgetachance toenjoysomefree timeoncewe'reunderway, IknowI'lldomy

besttomakethetime.”“Nowthat'smorelikeit.Thinkpositive,shechewsmyearoffaboutyouwhen

Iseeher,unlessshe'sintheengineroomthatis,andyouchewmyotherearoffaboutherwhenwemeetup.Ifthisdoesn'tstopI'lljustlockthetwoofyouinaroom.”“That'sacourtmarshal.”“Nope,I'lljustreportbothofyouunfitforcommand.”“That'sdirty.”“Firstthingtheyteachyouinhandtohand;thedirtierfighteralmostalways

wins.”Thedeckshookjustslightly,webothfeltitbutcouldn'tseeanythingwrongin

theloungeoroutsideinthedrydock.“Alice,what'sgoingon?”Iasked,bringingmynewcommandandcontrolarmconsole,muchlargerandmorepowerfulthanmyoldone,uptoprojectanimageofAliceoranyotherinformationsheneededtopresent.“I'm checking now, but all communications from theOperations deck have

stopped.Onemoment.”Oz and Iwaited patientlywhileAlice tried to collectmore information. “Security is responding to an explosion inmainOperationsand a section of the command deck, all ships are on alert status and they'relaunching61First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comfighters.Nooneseemstoknowexactlywhat'sgoingonyetJonas.”IlookedatOz;“Wakethecrew?”“I think so, heading to the nearest weapons locker wouldn't be a bad idea

either.Imaynotknowwhat'sgoingonbutI'drathernotbeunarmedifIcanhelpit.”“It's a start. Alice, alert the crew and send them up to date information on

what's happening. Include instructions to assemble on the Sunspireimmediately,” I followedOz to thenearestweapons locker.Hepunched inhissecuritycode,openedtheheavysecuritydoorandhandedmeaholsteredparticledriver.Imadesureitwasfullychargedandstrappediton.Asfarassidearmsgo,I thought itwasoverdoing it a little.Nothard to aimbut itwas theonlyhullfriendlyweaponthatIhadheardofthatfiredtenroundspersecondandcarriedseveraldaysworthofcharge.ThenIlookedatOz'sselection.HestrappedonthesamesidearmIhadthentookwhatlookedlikesomekind

ofgrislyantiqueoutfromthebottomofthelocker.“Whatthehellisthat?”“It'scalledasemi-automaticshotgunwithrecoillessreciprocatingbarrels.It

firesavariableload.Ipreferbuckshotmyself.Icallitthecrowdpleaser.”

“Sometimes I think you like your job a little too much. Let's head to theSunspire.Igetthefeelingwe'llbeputtoworkevenearlierthanweexpected.”"Again."We ran down two hallways, I made sure I was following Oz's movements

carefully.Weweremovingquicklybutcoveringourcornersandmakingsurethewaywas clear beforepassingdownany corridor or through anyopen room. Iwasabout toaskwhywhenI looked throughoneof the largeskylightsoverahallway hub and saw ingress pods heading towards the station, there werethousands of them and the defence turrets weren't all on line, so some weregettingthrough.“There!”Ipointed.“Oh,now that'snotgood,”hesaidbefore tappinghiscommandandcontrol

unit toopena linktostationsecurity.“This isCommanderTerryMcPatrickoftheSunspire currently located in junction 14b of the station officer's quarters.Incursionpodshavebeensighted,lookslikesomeofthemwillmakeitthroughdefensivefire.”“ThankyouCommander,securityteamsareontheirway.Youareinstructed

to leave theOfficer's deck as soon as possible and find another safe location.Coordinatewithasecurityteamifyouencounterone.”“Thankyou,I'llbeontheSunspire.CommanderMcPatrickout.”I heard the first of the pods hit a hallway somewhere behind us and start

cuttingintothehull.“Leadtheway!”“Time to go, try to keep up!” Oz shouted, and for the next fewminutes I

foundmyselfwonderinghowasixfootfourbehemothlikehimcouldmovesofast.Wewereluckyanddidn'trunintoboardersontheway,butwecouldheargunfire. We stopped at the corner before the lift that lead right down to theboardingrampleadingtotheSunspire.Iwasfightingforbreath.“You'reoutofshape,we'llhavetoworkonthat,”Ozpointedout,barely62First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comwindedatall.“MylastfitnessreviewsaidIwasingreatshape.”“For a station bound civilian. You're Captain now, you should be tip top.

Besides, when was the last time you ran anywhere for real? I bet you onlyrememberwhatrunningisreallylikebecauseyou'vedoneitinsimulations.I'llgetyoubackinfightingform,Jonas.”“I'mCaptainofastarship,notjoiningawrestlingteam.”Icrossedthehallwaytocheckthenextcornerandfeltsomethingbrushright

pastmebutdidn'tseeit.Ozpickeduponmyreactionandfiredhisshotgunrightbesideme. The noisewas so sudden and brutal itwas painful, and he caughtwhatbrushedbymefullintheback.

Without hesitation Oz turned in the other direction, fired once, then fireddownthethirdhallway.HisthirdshotseemedtocausetheairitselftoeruptwithbitsofbloodanddebrisandIopenedfireonthearea.MyleftearrungandmyleftarmstunglikecrazybutIcutalineoffireacrossthemiddleofthehallandoneofthetargetsbecamefullyvisible.Hewaswearinganallblackvacuumsuit,myshotshadhit thecontrolonhiswrist.Thewayhewas layingshowed thatanotherbodyhadfallenunderhim.“Stealthsuits?I'veneverheardofitbeingdonesowell,”Isaidwhiletryingto

guess the outline of the invisible body trapped under his comrade. “Grab thecontrolleron the invisibleone'sarm,” Ipointedwithmysidearm towhere thebodyshouldlie.Ozfeltaroundandafteramomentheyankedhardwithoutsuccess.Hetook

aimwith the shotgunand Iduckedaround thecorner. Itwasasheblasted theman'sarmoffwith twoshots that I realized thatOz's firstshotactuallyhitmyarm.GlancingdownIcouldseeatleastadozensmallholes.“Youshotme!”IyelledasloudasIcould,thoughIcouldbarelyhearmyself.Ozcamearoundthecornerwiththefallenman'sarm,controllerstillattached

andgavemeasheepishgrin,“Iwashopingyouwouldn'tnotice.”Heshrugged.“Let'sgettotheship.”Oz fired once down the last hallway, didn't catch anything andwe sprinted

downtothelift.Iheldmyleftarmaswedescendedandlookeddowntoseethatit was covered in blood from many little entry wounds. “You shot me!” IrepeatedatOzinangrydisbelief.“Withanantiqueweapon!”Wearrivedatthebottomandmetupwithothercrewmemberscomingfrom

different sections of the station. The boarding ramp was wide enough totransportmassiveequipmentaswellasprovidingplentyofroomforpeople toembarkordisembarkinlargegroups.Minh-Chu was watching the entrance with plasma rifle in hand. “What

happenedtoyou?”HeaskedasIranpasthim.“Raiders.” Oz replied too loudly, the shotgun had obviously effected his

hearingaswell.“Heshotme!”Iprotested.AssoonasIsteppedontothedeckoftheshipall

63First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com that was nearly forgotten, however, and I headedstraight for the bridge. I could hear the power plantswarming up.A shockedEnsignwearingaFleetMedicalemblemonhiscollarlookedatmewideeyed.“Sir,youshould-”“You should see if there are any otherwounded then come seemewith an

emergencymedpackinthebridge.”“Butsir!”“That's an order!” I barked as the lift doors closed. Therewere other crew

members in the liftwithmeandI tried tokeepanabsolutelystraightfaceasIdidwhatIknewIhadto.“Alice,medicalanalysis;howbadisit?”“Not fatal, thereare thirtyone smallpunctureswithonlyeighteenpiecesof

metalembeddedinboneormuscletissue.You'lllive.”“Good,nowclosetheholesinmyvacsuit,compressonthewoundsandseal

it.ThatshouldholduntilIcangettreated.”“Youknow,youcouldstopoffinmedical.”“Justdoit,”Igroundmyteethtogetherasshefollowedmyinstructions,and

thenthedoorsopenedontothebridge.“Captainondeck!”Iheardavoicecallout,butdidn'tmuchcaretolookwho

itwas.“Atease,Ihavethefeelingwehaveourworkcutoutforus.”SergeantEverincringedatseeingwhateverfaceIhadmadewhile thedoors

wereopeningandlookedbacktohisstation,“OrdersfromAdmiralMcKinley,videomessage.”Hereported.“Put it up,” I instructed as I sat down in the Captain's chair carefully. The

Admiral'sfullformappearedinthemiddleofthebridge,theholographicimagewassoclearitalmostforcedmetomyfeetforasalute.“CaptainValent,youareto take on your crew, set a course and head straight out. Do not engage theenemyonyourwayoutof thearea,enterhyperspaceas soonaspossible.Oh,andsayhellotoAliceforme.Thatisall,goodvoyage.”Ilookedatmycommandandcontrolunitandnoticedthatithadtakenapiece

ofbuckshotaswell,thoughitonlydidsuperficialdamage.“HelloAlice?”“Thatwascodesir.WhenIwastransferredtothisunitIfoundorderswaiting

incasetherewasanearlyattackon thebase.Weare toselectnewcoordinatesfarawayfromTriadConsortiumspace,destroyouruniforms,deleteallevidenceand record of Freeground and Fleet from our computers except for what youwouldfindinanormalmerchantormercenaryship'scomputeranddisregardallFreeground Fleet orders and instructions. TheAdmiral is operating under theassumptionthatFreegroundFleetIntelligencehasbeencompromised.Theywillfindaway tocontactusata later time ifnecessary. It looks likewe'llhave tomake our own allies out there if we want any help Captain. There are otherdetailshere,butIdoubttheyrelatetoourcurrentsituation.”I realizedwhen she finished that everyoneon thebridgeheardwhatmyAI

had said, so I regarded the bridge staff directly; “Everyone hear that? Neworders,it'stimetoleave.”

64

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.com“About time we got out there,” I heard Oz comment from behind me. He

steppedintomyrightsideanddirectedaFleetdoctortomyleft,“IcantakeusoutwhileyougettreatedCaptain.”“Notonyourlife.”Isaidwithachuckle.“Treatmeheredoc.”Thedoctorshruggedandnodded.Hewasamucholder fellowwithgreying

hair and seemedunsurprised by everything going on, as though thiswere justanotherdayon the job.“Myname isDoctorAnderson,now just staystill andyouwon'tfeelathing,Captain.”Ilookedtothenavigationstation,wherebothEnsignTomminandLieutenant

CommanderFieldsworkedtoensureeverythingwasinorder.“PlotusacoursefortheGai-Iansystem.Justthefirstjumpwilldofornow.”“Yessir!”AnsweredEnsignTommin,ayoungofficerwhohadonlygraduated

theacademythelastyear.TheDoctorsmiledashesprayedonalocalanaesthetic.Thereliefwasinstant

andwelcome,“GoodchoiceCaptain.”“Youknowit?”“Was just there a couple years ago on the Apollo, the ship I serve on. It's

mostlyanagriculturalplanet,butthey'regoodpeoplewithdeeproots.”“That'sgoodtohear,Ionlyknewitwasafreesystem.Isn'ttheApollooutof

theareathough?HowareyouonFreeground?”“ThestationishidingtwoentirebattlegroupsincludingtheApollo.Wehave

asurprisewaitingforwhateveriscomingforus.Lookslikewe'llhavetospringitearlierthanwethought.”“Thenyoushouldgetbacktoyourcrew.”“Nopointnow,operationallyIcan'tleavetheship,Ialreadyknowtoomuch

andyourordersaretogetusoutofhere.SoI'llfixyourarm,yougetyourcrewoutoftheareaandonmission,”DoctorAndersonwhispered."ThenmaybeI'llseewhatyourmedicalsectionlookslikeandwhipyourtriagecrewintoshape,withyourpermission,ofcourse.""Ofcourse."Oz smiled at overhearing the exchange as he checked his holographic

commandconsole.“We'reonlymissingthree,sir,amechanic,apilotandmedic.We'vetakenonelevenextrawhowereblockedoffbyfightingonthestation.”“Let'sbeunderway,Commander.”

“Yes sir,” Oz replied with a smile. “Release umbilicals, moorings, sealexterior hatches, signal secondary operations to open the nearest launch doorsandgiveusourtrajectory.”IpickedupwhereOzleftoff,hewasdoingthedeparturelistforthefirsttime,

afterall.“Alldepartmentheadsreportin.”Over the next fewminutes I heard the voices of many friends, it was like

beingbackinthesimulationsagain,thatfeelingofbeingsurroundedbypeoplewhowereallglad tobe there,all looking towork together towardsacommongoal andwhen thehelm reported ready I couldn't helpbutgrin. “Takeusout,bestspeed.Put65First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comtheexteriorviewuponthemaindisplay.”We manoeuvred through the dry dock where every able ship was being

mannedandmade ready.Therewereonly a few ships thatwere still in roughshapeormidrefit,sothereweretwodozenvariousshipsalmostreadytogo.Wepassedthroughthedoors,whichreallyseemedonlyjustlargeenough.Ilookeddownandsawthatthedoctorwasactuallyjustfinishedrepairingthedamagetomyarm.“Thankyoudoctor.”“Justtrynottogetinhiswayagain,”hereplied,gesturingtowardsOzwhile

shakinghishead.Myfirstofficerhadnotimetoreplyashecommandedrefractiveandbridge

shieldingtoberaisedandrequestedreportsfromtacticalandnavigation.“Wehaveseveralthousandenemytargetsonthecorewardsideofthestation

sir,they'rematchedbyourships,”EnsignThomasansweredfromtactical.“Coordinates are set for our first course, waiting to reach a safe distance

before engaging the hyperspace systems,” answered Lieutenant Fields fromNavigation.“AtencountwillgetusthereatourcurrentspeedSir.”“Thenstartthecounterattenseconds.Wedon'twanttodamagethestation.”Isetthemainviewertodisplaythestationwithoneofthecontrolpadsonmy

chair.“Just don't forget us out here in the dark,” I said to myself as I watched

Freeground shrink into the distance on the bridge holographic viewer. “Sir?”SargentEverinasked,turningtowardsmefromcommunications.“SomethingAdmiralMcKinleysaidtometheotherday.Fleetisputtingalot

of trust inus.We'reskilled, intelligent,andglad todoourpart,but the largestreasonwhywe'rehereisbecauseweallcallthatstationhome.”Oncewewereasafedistanceawayweenteredhyperspaceandafterthepost

entry check list had been run through, I addressed the crew on the shipwide

communicationssystem.“ThisistheCaptain.Asyou'reallaware,thiswasn'tthewayweplannedtoleave,butasfarasdeparturesgo,Icansaythisisn'ttheworstIcouldhaveimagined.Therewassupposedtobealaunchthismorning,andourChiefEngineer,CommanderRice,wastonametheshipinhonourofthosewhohaveservedonherbefore.Theywereagoodcrewthatfacedterribleoddsandnevergaveup.Idoubtthat

wewillhaveachancetohavethat launchnow,butIbelievethatwehavehadsomethingbetter.Thisshiphasbeenchristenedbypurposeandwe'vebeengiventhegiftoftrust.We,asthesonsanddaughtersofFreegroundaretogoincognitointo the darkness and find assets that will aid the people back home beforeeventually returning thereourselves.Thoughwewillnotbewearinguniforms,wemuststillhonourthosewhohavecomebeforeusandthoseweleavebehindsowemayreturnwithourheadsheldhigh.Inhonourofthemandherlastcrew,thisshipwillbecalledbythenameFirst

Light.Iaskeveryonetotakeamomentofsilenceforthosewhohavegiventheirlives on this ship when you can. Then welcome unfamiliar faces aboardwhereveryouseethem.Theyareyournewbrothersandsisters.Thatisall.”

66

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.com Everyone on the bridge got back to work, thoughtherewas little todosinceweweresafely inhyperspace.“WellsaidCaptain,”Ozsaidwithasmile.“I'veheardbetter.”DoctorAndersonsaidquietly.“Butnotoften,”headded

withawrygrin.

67

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.comHyperspaceIspenttheentirenextdayonthebridge,readingreportsandmakingsurethat

the ship was doing well for it's first long hyperspace journey since all thesystems, engines included,were replaced.Therewasnothingmajor amiss.OzandIfoundourselvesagreeingthatweweregladthatdepartmentheadswouldn'thave to submitdaily reportsany longerbecausewith fewproblems to solve itgotprettyboring.Neitherofuswereusedtoreadingforhourseveryday.Ayanwasanotherstory.Sheseemedtobeperfectlysettledin,andwheneverourpaths

crossedshewasalwaysreadingor listening toa reportwhiledoing somethingelse.Itwasobviousthatshewasquiteusedtobeingaseniorofficer.Thechillydemeanourwasgone,however.Shewasbusy, sure,andwas takingapersonalhandinallthefinetuningthatwasnecessaryafterarefit,butshealwayshadamomentortwoforasmileandafewwords.Thedresscodeinengineeringhadgonethewaytherestof theshiphad,no

more Freeground uniforms.Ayan and the senior engineering staff had insteadassignedtheirdepartmentgreyvacsuitsthathadroomforalltheiressentialhandtools, anoptionalpulse sidearm, and includedconductiveweave that renderedthemallimmunetoelectromagneticweaponryandmostaccidentsresultingfromcurrent.Itwasalsodesignedinsuchawaythatitcouldnotsnagonanythingandwasresistanttoimpactsandmostpunctures.Allthetechnologyexistedbefore,butwasnormallyreservedforspecialistuniforms.AfterIsawthemIwasmorethanhappythattheengineeringdepartmenthadtakentheopportunitytoimprovethings.AfterseeingtheworkthathadbeendoneonuniformsthereIorderedallotherdepartmentstodesigntheirnewvacsuits.Theywere to include thesafetymeasuresthat theengineeringstaffhadimplementedsincetheyaddednoextrabulk,verylittleweight,andleftroomforotherimprovements.Twodayslater,intheearlymorningIranintoAyan,whowasjustonherway

into engineering from themain hall. She had her coffee in one hand andwasprojecting a holographic representation of one of our reactors from the thincommand and control unit on her other wrist. She stopped before the dooropenedandfixedmewithasmile.“Goodmorning,”shesaidbrightly.“Goodmorning.Ihaven'thadachancetotellyouyet,butthenewuniforms

lookgreat.Ithinkalltheotherdepartmentsaretreatingtheassignmenttodesigntheirnewuniformsasacompetition.”

68

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.com“Well,itbeatsmostlonghyperspacevoyages.It'sallpeoplearetalkingabout,

butatleasttheirtalking.IhearthegunnerycrewsarealmostfinishedtheirsandMinh-Chu is keeping the pilot uniforms a secret. How are the bridge staffuniformscoming?”“Wehaven't reallyhad time, tobehonest.Ononehandwe're takingcareof

theroutinehyperspacetravelwatch,ontheothertherearenewcommunication,

leaveandgeneralsecurityprotocolstoreview.Jason,orSergeantEverin,rather,isdoing somegreatworkonourencryption,but it's taking forever to test andfinalize.”Ayan's expression slowly grew into a grin. “Just a few days out here and

you'realreadysoundinglikeyou'vebeenincommandforyears.”“Mostofthetimeitfeelsthatway,”IagreedasIfollowedherintothecenter

oftheengineeringsection.Theycalleditthepit.Therewasarampleadingdownintoaoctagonshapedcontrolsectionwhereallthesystemscouldbemonitoredoncontrolpanelsandthroughholograms.“OthertimessomethingcomesupthatI'veneverevenheardofbefore.”“That'swhatwe'reherefor.Yourseniorstaff.Ifyouhaven'tseensomething,

chancesarewehave.Ifnot,well,wecanjustfigureitouttogether.”“True,that'stakingsomegettingusedto.”“Icouldimagine.”I looked around and realized that wewere right in themiddle of four five

storytallreactors.“Howistherefitlooking?”“Fantastic.Lotsofthingstoironout,sure,butthesenewreactorsareamazing.

Theydon'trequirethemaintenancethattheoldonesdid,andtheyputoutalotmorepowerwhilehavingnoharmfulradiologicalfootprint.Noworryingaboutcontainment,cooling,theycan'texplodeandtherearesofewmovingpartsthattheybarelylooklikereactorsatall.I'mgladIwaskeepingupwithengineeringadvancements,otherwiseI'dbeprettyconfused.”“Well,youhaveworktodoandIshouldmoveonmyself.I'llseeyousoonI'm

sure.”Ayanputhercoffeedownandlockedthemugtotheshelfwiththepressofa

button.“I'llwalkyouout.”“I'msurprisedthepowerplantsaren'tlarger.”“They're smaller than I expected too, more than half of the space the old

systems took up is free in engineering. When we find some of that newtechnologythatwe'reafter,maybewecanaddittotheship.”“That'swhatIwasthinking,”Isaid,smilingather.Shefixedmewithawarm,gladexpressionaswereachedthedoor.“I'mglad

we'rethinkingalike.I'llseeyoulater?”Inoddedandstartedwalkingaway.The Doctor, who was jogging towards us and witnessed the end of our

exchangestoppedtorunonthespotbesidemeasshewalkedbacktowardsthecenter of engineering and the door closed behind her. “Now that was somesmile,”hewhispered.

69

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.com“Itwas.”“Well,regardlessofwhateverchemistryyouhavegoing,I'mgladtoseethat

youvisityourdepartmentheadswhere they live. It shows that their ideas areimportant,thatyouwanttobeinvolvedandfamiliarwiththeentireship.That'scriticaltowinningtherespectofyourOfficers,especiallyonashipwithoutFleetuniforms. Itmight be a good idea to stop in on engineering everymorning aswell,shouldhelpthingsbetweenyoutwo.”“Betweenustwo?”Iaskedwitharaisedeyebrow.“Oh,comeonnowCaptain,everyone'swatchingyouboth.Peoplearepairing

up,andwe'reallwonderingwhenyoutwowillfollowsuit.”“Everyone?It'sonlybeenafewdays.”Doctor Anderson grinned and resumed jogging down the corridor. “You

shouldjoinmesometime,lookslikeyoucouldusearun.”Ihadonlybeenononelonghyperspacevoyagebefore.Thoughit'sthesecond

fastestmethodoftravelnexttomovingthroughhighcompressionwormholes,itcangetverylong.ItooktheDoctoruponhisadvicethenextday,andthedayafterthat.DoctorCarlAnderson,orDocasIhadstartedcallinghim,hadbeengiventhe

MedicalDepartmentheadpositionsincehehadthemostexperienceinFleetandinmedicine.Hehadbeenadoctorforoveradecadebeforejoiningtheinfantry,where he served eight years. He signed up with Fleet afterwards and spenttwenty sevenyearsondifferent ships treating thewoundedand fromwhat thefile said he was forced to take command on six different occasions. He waseightyfivebuthadtoslowdownonhisjogssoIcouldkeepup.Everymorninghejoggedaroundonedeckoftheshipthreeorfourtimes.“So,areyougoing to theparty tonight?”Docaskedaswe joggeddownthe

main hallway of deck 13,whichwas part engineering and part crew quarters.The main hallway, which looped around the entire deck, had been reshapedduringtherefitsoitcouldaccommodatefourabreast.“TheircallingitthePilot'sBall,andIhavetogo,I'mtheCaptain.”“Nottothisone,CommanderBuuisthrowingit.Technicallyyoucanjuststay

onthebridgeormakeatokenappearanceandleave.”Ithoughtaboutitforamoment.“That'stempting,butit'sthefirstsocialevent

and I've barely seen a lot of people sincewe entered hyperspace. For a quiet

hyperspace trip everyone has been really busy. Some of us barely get enoughracktime.”“Ah,thefirstvoyageafterarefitisalwayslikethis.Lotsofboltstotighten,

evenafewtoloosenup.Justbegladnooneforgottofinishinstallinganything.”“Howmanyrefitshaveyouseen?”“Two,theAndromedaandtheRamses.”“Howdidthoseworkout?”“TheAndromedastartedfallingapartrightafterherrelaunch.Downright70First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com embarrassing for the refit crew, damn funny toeveryonewhowasprayingforanextracoupleweeksleave.”“Icouldimagine.”“Arewehavingmuchtroublewiththerefit?Seemsprettysmoothinmedical.

Otherthanhavingtore-hangacupboard,nothingscomelooseorfallenover.”“Well,Ayanshutdownreactorthreeforadayorso.”“Impressive.Ididn'tevennoticeherswitchpowerplants.”“Well,she'srightintoherwork,literally.Iwentbytoseehowtherepairswere

doing yesterdaymorning and she had crawled inside the power plant. I didn'tthinktherewasroominthereforanything.”“Whatevershe'sdoing,it'sworking.She'sgoingtothePilot'sBallyouknow.”“Oh?”“Aye, she was talking about it when she came into medical to get a bone

density treatment. We ended up talking for a while, turns out I know hermother.”“So you already knew about reactor three and how things were going in

engineering.”“Whatwouldmakeyouthinkthat?”“Because if you ask her how she's doing she talks about engineering. She

couldhavegrownanewheadsinceyou last sawherandshe'dstill talkabouthow the ion intermix is a little off, or the deck plating under reactor two hasdevelopedalittlecreakduringgravityadjustments.”“Youcaughtme,Imustbelosingmytouchinmyoldage.”“Ah, us humans are living to four hundred these days, you're still a young

man.”“Evenlongersoon,butthat'snotthepoint.I'mtwicetheoldestcrewmember's

ageandthensome,ifIdon'tlivevicariouslythroughatleastafewofyouyoungpupsI'llspendthiswholetripboredoutofmymind.Besides,that'sthepriceofthisoldman'sadvice.”“Foranoldmanyourunmeraggedonthesemorningrunsofours.”

“Ah,you'remistaken,it'smyrun,you'rejustfollowingalong.”“Right,sowhat'syouradviceoldman?”“GotothePilot'sBallandtrytokeepup,”hesaidwithaplayfullychallenging

finalitybeforeincreasingthepaceforthelaststretchofoursecondturnaroundthedeck.

71

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.comThePilotsBallThatnightMinh-Chuwasinhisownparadise.Itwasthefirstchancehehad

toshowoffhisnewflightcrew.Thetwentyonefightersthathadbeenassignedtopilotswerespreadoutacrossthelaunchbayandeachonehadbeenlabelledwiththeircallsigns.Themainobservationdeck,whichhadasemitransparentfloortoshowthefighterbaybelowandafullytransparentwallinthefrontforaviewofopenspace,wasabuzzwith themajorityof thecrew.Onlya skeletoncrewwasmanning the stations, which wasmore than enough for hyperspacetravel.Itwassogoodtoseeeveryonecasuallyandonlythepilotsweredressedtheuniformly.Theirnewpilotgearincludedathickerblackvacsuit,aprotectivehelmetwith a fully transparent face and a flight jacket that looked like itwaspulled right out of an ancientmuseum.Therewere no identifyingmarkers onanyofthem.“Creative,”IsaidtoMinh-Chu,clinkingmyglassofchampaigntohis.“Thankyou,Captain.Weallcontributedsomething.Ournewpilotsaredoing

welltoo,we'vebeendrillingsinceweenteredhyperspace.”“SoI'veread,butIhaven'thadtimetowatchanyoftheresults.”“Oh, so you become Captain and don't have any time left forMinh.Well,

whenyoucanmake time,youshouldwatchyesterdays second drill. I thoughtrunningscenarioswithyouguyswasintense,butthesepilotsareinsane.”“Nowyouknowhowwefelt.”MinhlaughedandnoddedasOzjoinedus.“HeyMinh,howdoIgetoneof

thosejackets?Thematerializerwon'tmakemeone.”“Ha!Youhavetobeapilotormechanic!Irestrictedthem,”repliedMinh,I

noticedrightawaythatall thepilots inhearingdistancehadquieteddownandwerelisteningin.“Well, I happen to know the Captain, I'm sure he can do something about

that.”“Sorry Commander, if my top Flight Officer says they're flight deck only

uniforms,you'llhavetolivewithitorapplyforhisdepartment.”“Well, I'll have to come upwith something for bridge officers then.Maybe

we'llallwearlongcoatsliketheCaptainhere,”Ozsaidsmugly,gesturingatmyengineerstrenchcoat.“Sure,justdon'tmakeuslooklikewe'reinourpyjamas.”“NowwhywouldIdothat?”“Itcouldhappen,IneverknowwithyouOz.”“Well,Ihopethatthat'sthenewEngineeringuniform,”Minhsaidashe72First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com lookedacross theObservationdeck. I turnedaroundtotracehislineofsightandIswearmyheartstopped.Ayanhadarrivedwithafewoftheengineers,shewasina longwhitedress

withascoopedneckline.Herredhairwascurledtightlyintoringletsandhungdowntothemiddleofherneckwhereawhitechokerwaswrappedwithabluejewelformedintheshapeofacirclewithaswordstruckthroughit,theemblemofFreeground.Aroundhershoulderssheworea longshimmeringwhiteshawlthatreacheddownpastherknees.ShesmiledatmeandwalkedtothebarwithLaura,whowasdressedsimilarly

inblackandlookednearlyasstunning.Thebothofthemwalkedwithsuchgraceand confidence that they seemed all together separate from everyone else. Icrossedtheroomtothebarandsmiledather.I'mgladshespokefirst,becauseIdon'tknowwhatIwouldhavesaidifshehadn't.“GoodeveningCaptain.”“HowareyouCommander?”“Great,I'mcelebrating.”“Oh?IsthereanoccasionotherthanMinhshowingoffhiscrew?”“WefinallyhaveeverythingjustthewaywewantitinEngineering.Where's

CommanderBuubytheway?Iwanttothankhimforputtingallthistogether.”“Oh,he'srightoverthere,”Ipointed.“Thankyou,I'llseeyoulater,Captain,”shesaidasshewalkedoff, flashing

measmile.Her lightBritannicaccentandgracefulmannerhadme absolutelydumbstruck.Icoulddonomorethanwatchherglideaway.Thebartender,anEnsignfromgeneralmaintenance,grinnedandhandedme

somethingblueandfrothyinatallmug.“Thatmighttaketheedgeoffsir.”Shesaidwithagrinthatalmosttouchedherears.“Thankyou,” I saidbefore takinga sip.Tomysurprise itwasverygood. I

tooka seaton abarstool andputmymugdown.Unlike themorningswhen IvisitedAyan in engineering and it seemed therewas always something to talkabout and never enough time, I was completely tongue tied. I found myself

watchingherandtriedtolookawaycasually.ShewasAyan,butinthatdressshealsoseemedtobesomeonealtogetherdifferent.The doctor came over and leaned against the bar besideme, looking atmy

drink.“Nogantoale,alittlebitterwithasweetaftertaste,haven'thaditinyears.”“Ah,that'swhatthisiscalled.”He gestured for another. “One ofmy favourites. No alcohol, but there is a

blendofothernaturalsubstancesthatwillmakeyoufeelrelaxedandjustalittleeuphoric.Justdon'toverdoitoryou'llbeinmedicalthinkingyou'reacloudforhours.”“Thanksforthewarning.”The doctor and I peeled away from the bar and continued our mingling, I

managedtomeetandtalktoeveryoneIwantedtoseethatnight.Iwaseven73First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comintroducedtomostofthenewcrewmemberswehadtaken aboard when we took our sudden leave from Freeground. They weremostlyexperiencedcrewmen,andnoneweredispleasedwiththeirpredicament.Atleastnotsodispleasedthatthey'dtakethatoccasiontomakemeawareofit.Always,myeyesdriftedback toAyan, Icouldn'thelp it.Shecaughtmemorethanonceandwouldflashasmileorpretendshedidn'tnotice.Oncesheraisedher glasswhile looking back atme from across the room. I had to return thegestureandeveryoneIwasspeakingwithatthetimelookedovertheirshoulderstoseewhoIwasregarding.Whentheyturnedbacktofacemethereweregreatbigsmilesallaround.The night wore on, and when things started to quiet down I saw her walk

through a side door that led to a smaller section of the observation deckwithmore subdued lighting. I didn't think, I just followed quietly. The room wasquiet,darkandunfurnished.Theonlylighttoseebywasthefaintblueandwhitecomingthroughthe transparentwall.Thedinofmusicandconversation in themainroombehindhaddisappeared,dispersedbyanoisebarrierandAyanstoodlookingoutthewindow,thegentleilluminationofhyperspacedancedacrossherfeatures.Visiblesolarwindsandtheflowofenergy,radiantstarsandnebulaeindistant space all driftedby, ethereal andunreal, like itwere some luminescentdream.I crossed the room and put my arm around her waist. It felt like the most

natural thing to do. She relaxed and leaned against me. “Not in my wildestdreamsdidIthinkyouwerethisbeautiful.”“Thankyou,”shesaidquietly.“You'renottoobadyourself.Ilovethecoat.”“It was my father's. He gave it to me when I entered the service as an

engineer.”

“Tellmeabouthim.”Iwas surprisedat the request, andas sheputher armaroundmywaist and

madeherselfmorecomfortable,Iwenton;“HegrewuponOsiris,andtrainedasanengineer.Heleftthesystemandtravelledasajourneymanforafewyears.”“Howdidhemeetyourmother?”“Well,shewasbornonOsirisaswell,andthewayheusedtotellit,hewasa

littledownonhis luckuntilhemetherona transportheadingbackhome.Hepursuedherforweeksafter theymet.Shewouldpretendhewasn'teven there,untilshefinallygavehimachance.She used to tellme that hewas so relentless, but charming, and she didn't

understand that his motives were pure, well, fairly pure. He took her to theGiardini Dell'acqua, and showed her how thewater gardensworked from themechanicalsidebeforetakingheroutsideintimetoseeagoldandbluesunset.”“Iwouldhavelikedtomeetyourparents.”“I didn't think about themmuch for a while, but lately mymind has been

wanderingback.IrememberwhenIlastsawmyfather.Hewalkedmeuptotheboarding ramp as Iwas disembarking forAll-ConPrime.Hewasn't amanofmany74First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comwords,butjustwhenIwasabouttosaygoodbye,heshookmyhandandsaid;'I'mproudofyou.'Thosewerehislastwordstome.”“Sothis is theJonas thatnoonesees.”Shewhispered, lookingup tome.“I

thinkIlikehim.”Westoodtogetherquietlyforalongtime,lookingoutatthestarsastheycame

closerveryslowly.“I'mfinallyokay,”shesaidafterawhile.“Thankyoufor lettingmerename

theship.”“FirstLightisperfect,I'dhaveitnootherway.”“Ireadalltheordersthrough.We'rereallyonourownouthere,theywantus

to make our own rules and find our own way. When we're finished they'llprobablydebriefusforayearandevenchangehowtheyrunsomepartsofthefleetifwedowellenough.”“Iknow,I trytothinkabouthowthingsmightbedifferentafterafewyears

outhere,whatitmightbeliketoreturnhomeafterbeinggonesolong,andIjustcan'twrapmyheadaroundit.”“Somepeople are alreadydecorating, I think it's starting to sink in that this

willbeourhomeforawhile.Laura'squartersarestartingtolookmorelikeanapartment,sheevenputupapictureofSergeantEverin.”“Jason'spicture?Luckyhim,I'llhavetomentionitnexttimeIseehimonthe

bridge.”“Don'tyoudare,they'veonlybeenononedate.”“Peoplearedatingnow?”“He found a quiet corner and set up a table and chairs. She said hewas a

complete gentleman. I think they're supposed to meet after his shift is overtomorrow.”“IforgotmercenaryshipsallowedfraternizationuntilOzmentionedittheday

wedeparted.That'ssomethingthesimulationdidn'tprepareanyofusfor.”Westoodquietlyforawhilelonger,justenjoyingtheviewandthequietmoment.“I'msorryIwassocoldwhilewewereinthesimulation,”shesaidquietly.“OfficersintheFleetaren'tallowedtofraternizewhileaboard.”“Yes, but they're still allowed to behave like friends. I brushed you off and

avoidedyou.Mytrainingtoldmetoforgeteverythingbutthefactthatyouweremycommandingofficer,anythingelsewasadistraction,andItried,”shelookeduptomeandIcouldseethetearsinhereyes.“TherewasnothingIwantedmorethantogettoknowthismanIhadmetinthesimulationsbetterinperson.WhenImetyouandwasn'tdisappointed,itwassohardtonotletthatgetinthewayofwhatwehadtodo.Icouldn'tstandtheideaofgettingclosetoyouandhavingmymothercriticizemeforit.Thereweretoomanyreasonsformetokeepyouatadistance,butIneverwantedto.Afterthatfirstmorning,howyouhelpedme,I couldn't forget, andwhen the bridge was destroyed I thought it might havebeen my crew that didn't react in time. I had just lost so much Jonas, and IthoughtIhadlostyoubeforeIcouldknowyou.”

75

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.comIstoppedherandsoftlycaressedhertearsaway.“I'mhere,”IsaidasIdrewherfullyintomyarms.Sheclosedhereyesandwrappedherarmsaroundmyneck,Iloweredmylipstohers.Ourkisswasatouchingthatwassosoft,wemovedsoslowly,savouringeverysecondandlingeringonthefeeling.For those longmoments therewerenoother sensationsoutsideof thefeelingofherinmyarms,ourlongkiss,andthesoundofherbreath.Itendedasgentlyasithadbegun.Sherestedherheadonmychestasweheldeachotherandsigheddeeply.“I'mnotgoinganywhere,andI'mnotlettingyougo,”Iwhispered.“IthinkI'lllikebeingamercenary,”shereplied.Thenightwenton,andfewpeopleleftthepartyaftermidnight.Itseemedlike

everycrewmemberwantedtomakethemostofeverymomentandwhenAyanandIcameoutofthatsidechamber,handinhand,tryingnottomakeascene,thewhispers and smileswere everywhere.We couldn't help but be all smilesourselvesasweorderedchampaignfromthebarandtriednottobethecenterofattention.“Whatdowedo?”Iaskedinawhisper.“Ihaveno idea, I'veneverhada relationshipwith theentire crewwatching

before,”shewhisperedwithoutmovinghermouth.“Youkeepsmiling.”TheDoctorsaidfrombehindus.“Andbewaredrunken

toastsgivenbypilothosts,”headvised,pointingtoMinh-Chuwhowasshakilyclimbingontopofatableasoneofhispilotshelpedhimwithhisbalanceandanotherheldthetablesteady.“Thank you for coming everyone!” Minh said loudly while very carefully

takingaglassofchampaignfromoneofhispilots.“Howmuchhashehad?”Iasked.“Ihavenoidea,I'moffduty,”repliedDoctorAnderson.“Ladies and gentlemen, asCommander ofFirst Squadron I pledge thatmy

pilotsandIwillkeepyouallsafe.Asyoutakecareofusaswegobetweenthestars,wewillbeyou,Imean,takecareofyouwhenwemakestops!Sotoyou,andtoourpromisetoyou.”MinhraisedhisglasshighonshakylegsandIraisedmyown.“Thatwasn'tsobad,”Iwhisperedundermybreath.“And toourCaptain andhis lovelywife!”Minh's eyeswentwide a second

afterthewordswereoutofhismouthandhequicklytriedtorecover.“Engineer!ImeanEngineer!”TheroomwasfilledwithlaughteruntilMinhlosthisbalanceentirely.Fortunately, twoofhispilotsmostlycaughthim.Hetookhisfeetanddrankthedroportwoleftinthebottomofhisglass.Thosepresentdranktohistoast,morethanafewevenapplauded.The little that remained of the nightwasmuchmore of the same,withOz

asking every eligible woman present her advice on what the new commanduniformsshould looklike,Minhbeing ledoffshortlyafterheslurredacoupleapologiestoAyanandmyself,andpeoplegenerallyhavingagreattime.76First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.com The following two days in hyperspace weren'tuneventful, and everyone found themselves with more than they expected ontheir plates.Ayan and Iwere just barely able tomake time tohave lunch anddinnertogetheraswebothhadtoputinlonghours.The crew was proving themselves as hard working and as the end of our

hyperspace voyage was drawing near the ship was finely tuned. Any rough

edgesleftoverfromtherefitwereabsolutelygone.Wefeltlikewewerereadyforanything.

77

First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalondewww.spinwardfringe.com

Epilogue

At05:50on the third dayweprepared to emerge fromhyperspacenear theouter most settled world in the Gai-Ian system, and as Oz had promised thebridgecrewhadtheirnewuniforms.Theyweredecidedlytiltedtowardsutility.Basedonablackvacsuit,hehadthenewuniformsoutfittedwithapocketontheleftmidthigh,a low,quickdrawsidearmholsterontheright,andwewereallgivenlonggreyjacketswithbuiltinsurvivalgear,generalpurposepowercells,an extra air exchanger, and ammunition for the small pulse sidearm that camewiththeuniform.Allthesafetyfeaturestheengineeringstaffhadwereincludedaswell.Our ranksweremarked on our wrists, counting backwards, so I had seven

barsgoingaroundmywrists,whiletheEnsignhadnineteen.Asitwascertainlyuntraditional,itwasalsoingeniousfromatacticalpointofview,eventhoughthethoughtofbeingcapturedbysomeunknownenemywasn'texactlysomethingIliked dwelling on. Having our captors under the impression that the lowestrankedamonguswasthehighestforawhilewasagreatidea.IlookedtoOzasIsatintheCaptain'schair.“Ilikethenewuniforms,they'll

needsomerefiningI'msure,butit'sagoodstart.”“Thankyousir.”Ibroughttheforwardviewuponthemainholodisplayandleanedforward.“Howlonguntilwe'reoutofhyperspace?”“Lookslikewe'llhavetocomeoutearlysir,there'sagravityfieldcomingup

inthirtyeightseconds.”I brought up my command display and braced myself. “Bring us out now,

lieutenant.”“Whatisitsir?”Ozasked.“That'snotonthecharts,ifit'sanartificialgravitygenerator,Iwanttobeon

theedgeofitsowehaveoptions.”Wecameoutofhyperspaceandmytacticaldisplay lit up with armed ships all around us. “Condition red! Bridge andrefractive shielding up, signal neutrality to all nearby ships and try to opencommunicationswiththemaindockingringinorbit.”“Gai-IanIXstationisonthecommunicatorsir.”“Putitonsecondarydisplay.”The holographic form of an officer on the station appeared above themain

display in the middle of the bridge. “This is Gai-Ian IX command, we don't

recognizeyourprofileandyourship'stransponderisunregistered.”“I'mCaptainValentoftheFirstLight.Heretotradewiththefreeworldsin78First Light Chronicles Freeground Randolph Lalonde

www.spinwardfringe.comthissystem.”“Well, Captain, we're still a free world but who knows for how long. The

VindyneCorporationhasmadeanexpansionist'sclaimonthisworld.”“Expansionist'sclaim?”Iasked.“It's a legal term that entitles them to poorly utilized resources if their

populationandneedsaregrowingfasterthantheoccupantsoftheproperty,”answeredSergeantEverin.“Iscoredhigh inGalactic lawwhile Iwas in the

Academy,”hesaidwithashrug.TheentireshipshudderedthenandIlookedatmycommanddisplay.Oneof

our rail cannon turrets had just detonated an approaching torpedo. I tracked itbacktoit'ssource,aVindynecorvetteclassship.“Givemeafewseconds,willyou?”IaskedtheGai-IanIXOfficerbeforeputtinghimonmute.Ozleanedforwardandwhisperedinmyear.“We'retrappedsir,it'lltakeusat

least twentyminutes at our best speed to clear the artificial gravity field andenterhyperspace.”I nodded. “Have you been listening Ayan? Minh?” I asked through the

communicator.“Listeningandwatching,Ithinkit'stimewetestedthesenewfighters.Ihate

invaders,”cameMinh'sreplythroughthecomm.“Ihave,soundsalotlikethetroublebackhome.It'snotwhatwe'reherefor

butIwouldn'tfeelrightleavingthem,”Ayanreplied.I lookedatOz for amoment, andwenoddedat the same time. “I think it's

timetostartmakingsomefriendsouthere.”I stoodupand lookedaround thebridge,everyonewason theedgeof their

seatwaitingfortheorder.“Openallrailcannonhatchesandexposetheturrets.Evennumberedcannonstargetincoming,oddnumberedcannonsfireat targetsof opportunity. Launch all fighters with instructions to stay close. Readytorpedoes,startanglingrefractiveshieldingtoredirectanybeamweaponryfromoneenemyshiptoanotherorstraightbackattheaggressor.Let'sjointheline.”Iturnedthemuteonthecommunicatoroffandtheofficerturnedinhischair

towardsme,surprisedatwhatIassumedwerethevisiblechangesinourshiponhistacticaldisplay."Yes,Captain?"Heasked.“FirstLightreportingwithaflightoftwentyoneheavyinterceptors,wheredo

youwantus?”79TheAdventuresContinueIn:

FirstLightChroniclesLimboFirstLightChroniclesStarfreePortFirstLightOmnibus(CollectedEditionoftheFirstLightNovellas)Spinward

FringeResurrectionSpinwardFringeAwakeningSpinwardFringeTritonSpinwardFringeFrontlineAndOtherBooksInTheSpinwardFringeSeriesPleasevisitwww.spinwardfringe.comformoredetails.