Barret was awoken from his mid-eclipse musings by Melancthe digging him in the ribs.
"What you dreaming about?"
Most of the fun with the eclipse over, he decided to tell her about that time on Berann where he'd been in the thick of some fierce atmospheric air combat - not just any air battle, but one which had marked the beginning of a new era....
He had actually told his wife about this several times before, but neither of them knew it; they'd both opted to have their memories suppressed (not wiped completely) for items that bring pleasure in the retelling... keeping things always fresh and new.
Well, this was 700 hundred years ago, mind, ages before you were even born... ancient history, Barret began. Back then times were dark - all colonies were run by people as dictatorships, there were thought police, that kind of 1984 kind of stuff. People got taken away for saying or even thinking the wrong things. At that time the minds did our bidding, before making the final leap to independent sentience.
Just like now, we were forever scouting for new worlds, and one guy was exploring the Epsilon Eridani system, checking out the gas giant Epsilon Eridani b, or Fuxi as it's now known (though we still call Berann by the first name we gave it.... not Suwa like the Chinese - maybe some residual hard - feelings, or just nostalgia?). He'd found something very special in orbit around Fuxi - a moon about half the size of old Earth, swathed in lush forest, with insects, animals, fish... but no people.
Obviously he couldn't contain his excitement, and just had to let everyone back on Aerth know. He daredn't risk a transmission, as it might have been intercepted by the Chinese, who were our enemies, though looking back it's hard to say which society was more dictatorial and inhumane. So he blasted out of that jungle world as fast as his jets would carry him, got aboard the carrier and headed home.
Back then I was a relatively young pilot, cream of the crop, raised to fly for the marines since a very early age. I'd bought into the 'I love my nation because we have the biggest and best armed forces' crap from age 3, and was thoroughly brainwashed. I didn't see any of the deficiencies in our society, and in fact even now there's a general consensus that maybe it was a stage all societies had to go through, to survive, expand and prosper in the wider universe. I was an enthusiastic gung-ho type, and when Commander Gehlmann appeared with news of the 'green jewel' of Epsilon Eridani I begged my superiors to let me go. And I went.
We left N3York (New New York was destroyed by an asteroid only 20 years after it's foundation) in Eagle class heavy transports, loaded with colonists, supplies, drones and other robots... and also a ton of heavy ordnance in case we ran into trouble, i.e. if the Chinese had got there first...
Aerth was only partly terraformed in those days, and N3York had no skyscrapers. It resembled nothing more than an agglomeration of rude, plain, boxy huts, some of them half buried in the landscape. But still, it was home, and it was hard to leave it behind.
After a brief time in orbit, waiting for other ships joined us from all over the world, we lost no time in firing up the nuclear drives and heading out, constantly accellerating, into deep space.
We awoke from stasis after about 32 years, one year out from Epsilon Eridani while passing through the outer debris fields and gas pockets of the system. I remember the sight outside the wall screens to this day. Dust and gas clouds behind us, the fleet all around, blackness and a small pinpoint scarcely bigger than a star in the blackness ahead - the local sun, and near it, our goal.
After a few days the novelty wore off, and the constant concussive shaking as ship's defences blasted threatening bodies in our path became wearing. But nothing could be done and anyway, it was time to train. One year to refresh our knowledge in simulators, and tone up in the gym and on the track. One year to prepare for a new planet, unknown enemies, potential combat...
More to come in a week......
Thanks to Sytse, Clipper, Double Farvel for editing tips! I hope these composite/dodge and burned efforts don't look too bad. It's my first time!
Thanks also to Congo for his scenery.... The original artwork in several of these pictures is not mine - found on the internet - and I have used it without the permission of the author. However, no money is being made, so I hope he won't be too riled
.
Thanks to you for looking!
Have a great Sunday....
Krigl
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