Defender of the Empire: Cadet #1 (21 page)

             
NOT EVERYONE. Scrae muttered dryly.

             
“Rylynn.” Marius said in a tone that expressed this wasn’t the first time he had said my name. The next thing I knew was he touched me. I gasped as I felt that strange thing happen again. I could guess now, based on what I was feeling, that strange feeling was the excess energy flowed from me to him. That was my guess because I was no longer feeling that crazy sugar-high need to pace back and forth. My gaze met Marius’s and I knew that he had felt the same thing because there was a single, shared thought that I could see in his expression:
What the hell was that???
It was the exact same thing that I was thinking. All of this happened in the second before he pulled his hand away. And just before he did I saw the dark panther limed in starlight. She was looking at me gratefully. She disappeared as Marius removed his hand. My mouth opened on many questions but I never did get the chance to ask because the announcer called “Team Twelve, please come before the judges!”

             
“Not intimidating at
all
.” Marius drawled wryly as he stood up.

             
I held his gaze as I stood up.
You will answer my questions when this is over.
I thought before turning away. From the wary expression in his gaze he had understood my silent message. We followed behind Westley and Jason into the simulator room.

              I’m not sure what I expected of a simulator room, but the room we entered was not it. Maybe something with more color? I really don’t know what I had been expecting. As this was my only first week here I had not been in this room before. I think I was the only one as Jason didn’t seem as awed as I was. I mentally shrugged. These things must be common in Citizen homes. For you, who like me have probably never seen a simulation room before, I can tell you that it wasn’t an incredibly large rectangular room. But it was very tall. Dark gray-blue paneling rose from the glossy black floor to a floor above my head. At that point it transitioned to rose-tinted windows that I just
knew
everyone was watching our actions through with judging eyes. In the center of the room was a glossy black round table that had four consoles. A latent glow came from the center of the table.

             
As a group we shared a glance and made a decision. The three boys sat down at the consoles that would run their chosen position. Westley was our pilot and captain. Marius took weapons. Jason took communications and jump coordination. I, well I took the last seat. My job was to help where I could without messing anything up. Perhaps easier said than done.

             
“Welcome Team Twelve.” A different voice from the one who had invited us in greeted. And, unless I was greatly mistaken, the voice belonged to Michel. And here I thought he wasn’t participating in the competition. That just goes to show you what I know. “Your mission,” Michel the announcer continued, “is one of exploration. You are the commanding crew of an LFP class starship. Begin simulation when you are ready.”

             
From my classes and cram sessions with Westley I didn’t have to ask what an LFP class starship was. An LFP or Legion Fleet Pilum was a much larger class of ship than either the lightweight LFA or the more muscle bound Legion Fleet Gladius. Being larger did not mean that it was not fast. It had both speed and agility on its side coupled with a mean punch. The LFP typically carried a SCF cannon. The
Terrenza
was the first pilum class starship built.  The SCF or Solar Core Flash, was a laser unlike any in the galaxy, or so Marius had told me. It was a doorway into the hell that makes up the heart of a star. The weapon consisted of two linked jump gates. One opened on the nozzle of the cannon. The second opened in to the heart of a nearby star. The flash would last anywhere between a twentieth of a second to a second in duration. In that time a direct ray of raw power would blast into space.

             
“Having your finger on the trigger of that particular gun is both euphoric and traumatizing.” Marius had said once as if he knew. Looking at him now I could see the boyish glee of having the biggest gun. I could also tell that he was glad that it wasn’t real.

             
Westley looked at each of us before nodding and telling the computer to begin. The lights around us darkened as the table brightened. An LFP appeared in the center of the holographic field. Stars glittered in the background. On the console in front of me I could see both the condition of the ship’s systems as well as what it was sensing around it. I glanced at the coordinates and, unsurprisingly, I didn’t know them. I figured that since we were on a mission of exploration that we wouldn’t be anywhere known.

             
Westley had us cruising toward the nearest planet when Jason announced that we were not alone. Not a moment later a large, and I do mean
large
, ship appeared off our starboard side. On the screen it was at least four times the size of our ship. It looked like a cross between a firefly and a crab. It had the body of the bug. Even had a glowing tail section. The crab came in the many jointed-like arms that came off the main body.

             
“Well, hello there.” Marius muttered, green eyes jumping between the ship in the hologram and his station’s readings.

             
“They are sending a message.” Jason informed the rest of us.

             
“Let’s hear it.” Westley commanded.

             
Jason hit a few buttons and soon the room was full of a strange series of… sounds that were both guttural and chirpy. It was brief and to the point.

             
“Do we know what was said?” Westley asked Jason.

             
The younger boy shook his head. “No sir. It isn’t in the database.”

             
Cool. First contact
I thought just as Marius called out “They appear to be charging weapons.”

             
“Raise shields and arm the Chars.” Westley said quickly naming a more common weapon that served as a shield drainer. Chars were missiles that delivered a potent substance that had the strange quality of sticking to and eating through things when exposed to a vacuum. It was a bizarre substance that ironically enough hails from the mines of Lenti.

             
“What about the big girl?” Marius asked as he typed in the previous order. He, of course, meant the SCF.

             
Westley frowned. “Set the coordinates, but don’t fire. I don’t want to use her unless we have to.”

             
“Aye captain.” Marius said with a grin at Westley.

             
Westley shook his head. “If they fire, take out their weapons.”

             
I frowned as I read the scans of the other ship. “They haven’t raised their shields.” I muttered. No one seemed to hear me. Oddly enough it reminded me of a strange little boy who had showed up one day on the same street that Aunt Sylvie’s house was on. He had been odd. I had often thought him stupid in the extreme. You see, he was always going up to people and shouting a mild challenge or taunt of some kind before showing whoever it was his weapon of the day: a stick usually. If the one he was challenging ran away or made to defend themselves he would attack them. However, if they showed him whatever weapon they had and stared him down he would drop his stick. Then he would try to be their best friend if they would let him. Most didn’t want anything to do with him. Which made sense because he was a tad crazy.

             
The last person he did the strange challenging thing with was Ace. Unlike everyone else before him, Ace had made the kid his second. Carden had told me that the kid was an abandoned Lu’f. The Lu’f were a minority group on Lenti. The tended to stick to the forests and their clans. What I had thought a stupid exercise, Carden had explained was the kid’s attempt to fit in. He needed to know who was beneath him, who was his equal, and who was the boss. It had been one of those rare moments where Ace had surprised me with his understanding of those around him.

             
It made me wonder, what if the unknown race we were dealing with, even if they were part of a simulated situation, were like the Lu’f?

             
“Put the shields down.” I said louder so the boys could hear.

             
The guys all stared at me in shock. “Why?” Jason asked in bewilderment.

             
“They have charged weapons.” Westley pointed out as if I had somehow forgotten that.

             
“What if they are like the Lu’f of Lenti?” I asked. At their frowns I continued with an exasperated sigh. “They haven’t raised their shields. Our first reaction was to raise shields and arm ourselves when they charged their weapons. They haven’t done that at all. All they did was shout a taunt and showed us they have teeth.”

             
“That may be, but they have threatened us. I am not lowering the shields.” Westley said. And I could understand his concern. It was stupid to lower your defenses with an armed weapon pointed at you.

             
However, I couldn’t give up. I had this gut feeling that we needed to take this particular risk or suffer a fight against a force we did not know.

             
“We are supposed to be exploring.” I said. “Part of that is attempting to understand the new races we come across. If they are indeed like the Lu’f they are seeking to know if we are lesser then they or their equals. Raising the shields when they have yet to do so is a coward’s move.”

             
“That is
if
they are like these Lu’f.” Westley pointed out.

             
“Yes, it is a big
if
, but our mission is to explore this sector. We cannot do that if we run or shoot them out of the sky. This is their ground, in a matter of speaking. If we are not careful we could start a war with an unknown.”

             
“She has a point.” Jason said thoughtfully from his seat. “A misunderstanding similar to this is what started the first war with the Zar’daka.”

             
“I can always keep a finger over the shield button.” Marius added.

             
Westley frowned before sighing gustily. “Lower shields,
but
have a finger over them in case this goes south.” Westley ordered. Turning to Jason he said “See if you can’t make sense of their language.”

             
Jason nodded as the shields went down. We went still as we waited for the other ship’s response. Even though I had been the one to suggest dropping the shields I was uneasy.

             
Nothing happened...

             
For long moments the other ship did nothing. Outwardly we didn’t either. Meanwhile each team member was occupied with something. I watched the ship and the readings on my console. Jason worked furiously to try to decode the language. Westley and Marius watched the ship, Marius with his finger over his console.

             
Finally Marius relaxed. “They have deactivated their weapons.”

             
“Do the same.” Westley commanded.

             
“They are sending another message. Hopefully it will be long enough for the computer to crack their language.” The last Jason muttered.

             
“Patch it through.” Westley instructed. More of the strange guttural yet chirpy puzzle filtered into the room. When there was a pause, Westley glanced questioningly at Jason. The younger boy shook his head. Westley turned back to hologram and straightened his shoulders and said “I am Captain Westley Trin of the,” he paused and glanced at us. After a moment he smiled and continued “LFP Surprise of the Spectral Empire. I am afraid we don’t yet understand you.” He finished in a regretful yet strong tone.

             
More of the strange language flowed over our ears before Jason gave a triumphant cry. He plunked a few buttons and the guttural chirping reformed itself to something we could understand. The voice even sounded familiar. It was Admiral L’Seral. “Well done, Team Twelve. You have succeeded in your mission. None were lost in this simulation and you made first contact. You will advance to the second challenge next week. Same time.”

             
As she spoke the simulation ended and the lights came back on. Jason whooped and we all grinned at each other.

             
“Good job guys.” I said as we got up and left.

             
“I told you we would make a great team. “Jason reminded us.

             
Westley tapped my elbow and asked quietly. “What made you think to lower the shields?”

             
“A Lu’f boy back home.” I told him. “He acted much like that ship did. It was also a gut feeling.” I said in a softer tone.

             
Westley grunted “You have good instincts.” He glanced about before saying “I am sorry that I did not listen to you immediately”