terrorist group called Skeptics who don’t believe that aliens visited the earth; that the entire story is a hoax to keep people down, have destroyed most military compounds. They even took over my camp until I liberated it with the help of my rector, Mr. Humboldt.
They tried to take over the warship, the Conquistador, that my class was visiting on a field trip but my hero, Rick Pringle teleported over and kicked the crap out of them.
Skeptics may need to rethink their stance now that we found a real alien spaceship. If that’s not proof of their existence, I don’t know what is. But the truth hasn’t slowed those bastards down one bit. They are still being subdued. They are still taking us apart where we least expect it.
So we have a war at home with the terrorists and we have a flight path to the alien planet we were able to glean from the alien ship’s computer; which means we have a real, interstellar war in our immediate future.
It’s a bad time to be a cadet.
New Mission
I had just fully recovered from a gunshot wound to the hip when my new rector, Mr. Humboldt called for me.
He said, “Jack, your presence is requested aboard the Conquistador.”
“Why?”
“Haven’t you heard? We’re going to war and almost everyone who has combat experience with a mech died fighting the Skeptics.”
“But I’m not old enough to serve yet.”
“In your case, they’ve made an exception. Make those Bleeders bleed son.” That was what the aliens called themselves.
I think he thought that made me a lucky boy, but I didn’t feel lucky. I felt like I was being ordered to my death.
He added, “Pick two cadets to join you. Don’t choose based on anything but combat skills. And don’t just choose fellow students you dislike because you want them to die either.”
That was uncalled for. I had seen some combat in recent weeks and even killed, but I was no monster.
Instead of correcting him, I just nodded and asked, “When do I teleport to the warship
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Ok,” I said.
As I was leaving his office he called after me. “They’re probably going to award you the Platinum Shield for your bravery. They speak your name in the same breath they speak Rick Pringle’s. Make our camp proud Jack.”
I smiled the best I could. Platinum Shields don’t mean squat if you’re dead. The same people back on earth who were talking about me like I was some kind of hero didn’t care that I existed before a few weeks ago.
I was an orphan, cast out like a piece of trash; plugged into a military machine without my consent, from birth.
I sighed and shoved my misgivings aside. No one cares.
I felt like a chump for feeling so bad for myself. Most of camp Eighty Seven had been murdered by Skeptics and I had gotten lucky.
Comrades
I already knew I wanted to bring Stacy Jones with me. I don’t like her, but she’s a sadistic bitch who would love the chance to kill Bleeders. Plus she’s cute, so that helps. I just didn’t know who else to bring. Danny Jackson is one of those phony badasses so he’d probably tell me no, in private of course. But he was the obvious choice so I marched into the mess hall and stood up on a vacant table.
To my utter embarrassment, no one saw me there except Becky Morrison, the class weirdo. She put her chin on the table and waited for me to say something. If she hadn’t seen me, I might have just got down and walked away.
After a few seconds ticked by, enough people had turned my way that a general hush came over the crowd.
I said, “I have been chosen to go back to the Conquistador to fight the Bleeders.” We were all calling them that now. “I can select two people to come with me. “Who wants to join me?”
A couple of hands went up. I was surprised that one of them belonged to Danny Jackson. I pointed at him. “Danny, you’re with me. We leave in the morning.”
I ignored the other hand because it belonged to Becky Morrison, and scanned the crowd for
They tried to take over the warship, the Conquistador, that my class was visiting on a field trip but my hero, Rick Pringle teleported over and kicked the crap out of them.
Skeptics may need to rethink their stance now that we found a real alien spaceship. If that’s not proof of their existence, I don’t know what is. But the truth hasn’t slowed those bastards down one bit. They are still being subdued. They are still taking us apart where we least expect it.
So we have a war at home with the terrorists and we have a flight path to the alien planet we were able to glean from the alien ship’s computer; which means we have a real, interstellar war in our immediate future.
It’s a bad time to be a cadet.
New Mission
I had just fully recovered from a gunshot wound to the hip when my new rector, Mr. Humboldt called for me.
He said, “Jack, your presence is requested aboard the Conquistador.”
“Why?”
“Haven’t you heard? We’re going to war and almost everyone who has combat experience with a mech died fighting the Skeptics.”
“But I’m not old enough to serve yet.”
“In your case, they’ve made an exception. Make those Bleeders bleed son.” That was what the aliens called themselves.
I think he thought that made me a lucky boy, but I didn’t feel lucky. I felt like I was being ordered to my death.
He added, “Pick two cadets to join you. Don’t choose based on anything but combat skills. And don’t just choose fellow students you dislike because you want them to die either.”
That was uncalled for. I had seen some combat in recent weeks and even killed, but I was no monster.
Instead of correcting him, I just nodded and asked, “When do I teleport to the warship
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Ok,” I said.
As I was leaving his office he called after me. “They’re probably going to award you the Platinum Shield for your bravery. They speak your name in the same breath they speak Rick Pringle’s. Make our camp proud Jack.”
I smiled the best I could. Platinum Shields don’t mean squat if you’re dead. The same people back on earth who were talking about me like I was some kind of hero didn’t care that I existed before a few weeks ago.
I was an orphan, cast out like a piece of trash; plugged into a military machine without my consent, from birth.
I sighed and shoved my misgivings aside. No one cares.
I felt like a chump for feeling so bad for myself. Most of camp Eighty Seven had been murdered by Skeptics and I had gotten lucky.
Comrades
I already knew I wanted to bring Stacy Jones with me. I don’t like her, but she’s a sadistic bitch who would love the chance to kill Bleeders. Plus she’s cute, so that helps. I just didn’t know who else to bring. Danny Jackson is one of those phony badasses so he’d probably tell me no, in private of course. But he was the obvious choice so I marched into the mess hall and stood up on a vacant table.
To my utter embarrassment, no one saw me there except Becky Morrison, the class weirdo. She put her chin on the table and waited for me to say something. If she hadn’t seen me, I might have just got down and walked away.
After a few seconds ticked by, enough people had turned my way that a general hush came over the crowd.
I said, “I have been chosen to go back to the Conquistador to fight the Bleeders.” We were all calling them that now. “I can select two people to come with me. “Who wants to join me?”
A couple of hands went up. I was surprised that one of them belonged to Danny Jackson. I pointed at him. “Danny, you’re with me. We leave in the morning.”
I ignored the other hand because it belonged to Becky Morrison, and scanned the crowd for
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