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  Pilot Voodel glared angrily at the sergeant. “Put her down now. I’m not going to let anyone hurt Divazz any further.”

  Leevaal understood where Voodel was coming from but he had his own mission. He walked down the aisle toward the pilot standing in the way of the hatch. “Move away. I’m taking her to medical.”

  “Is she hurt?”

  Leevaal looked at the woman in his arms. “Not physically, but she’s been overdosed with chemicals to alter her emotional state. I signed up to fight the Aneplé, not this.” Leevaal kept walking forward, determined to help the woman, and stepped past the pilot who had been blocking him.

  Chapter 15

  Deznoic was not sure what to think about the new trainee standing in front of him. Normally, he would be thrilled to receive someone who had Johnson’s training scores, but Johnson came with unusual baggage. From his perspective, Johnson’s background was cryptic and therefore his training suspect.

  Connor had briefed him on Johnson’s background and shared with him information that was close hold. Johnson had been recruited from a planet under observation. And, although Johnson had originated from one of the more advanced planets under CIG’s observation, he had still been raised in a technologically deficient environment. Deznoic was also aware Johnson had only recently been fitted with a chip and was still adapting to the new technology. He wouldn’t be surprised if there were still numerous gaps in Johnson’s education, which caused him to further question the validity of the training scores.

  In addition, both Connor and Admiral Griken, the two most senior officers aboard the Zuonopy, requested Deznoic provide them with daily reports. While they had been courteous, it was still an order. He hoped the additional reporting wouldn’t become an annoyance, although he suspected it would, until Johnson’s short tour was over.

  As Deznoic looked over the trainee standing in front of him, he tried to understand why they were interested in him. Johnson was thirty years younger than the average recruit even though he looked older than most of the senior officers on the battle cruiser. Deznoic also wondered how he managed to score as well as he did coming from one of the observed planets. He considered the possibility Johnson’s training scores were phony. As far as he was concerned, he needed verification the scores were valid. He wanted evidence the training record had been earned and not falsified. He couldn’t imagine either Connor or Griken fabricating a training record. However, lately there had been a number of incidents involving senior officers that had caused tremendous Fleet losses. With all of the questions running through his head, he believed it would be safer to take a more cautious approach before he signed off on the Trainee’s insignia. He wouldn’t wait for a catastrophic event to determine the Trainee’s competency; he would figure it out for himself. He would also test whether Connor and Griken were serious about not second-guessing him when it came to running his squadron.

  “You may think you are ready for your solo and first seat flights, but I want you to repeat some of the lessons and a few special ones we developed in-house.” Deznoic observed a disappointed expression on the trainee’s face, probably from being directed to repeat critical training modules, but Deznoic was also interested in Johnson’s reaction. He believed the trainee’s response would tell him what type of individual he was, especially since it appeared as if Johnson had access to both Connor and Griken.

  Brad looked at the list of training requirements Deznoic forwarded to his tablet. Although he tried to hide his disappointment, he suspected he had failed. He wondered if Travis would question having to redo so many of the courses. He quickly calculated in his head the time the courses would take him to complete, if he increased the reaction speed of the protagonists in the modules. It might not be so bad. He reminded himself it wasn’t worth complaining. He was the new guy, and while he disagreed with the need to redo the modules, he needed to trust the decision behind assigning him to this squadron. “Message received. Would completing these modules by the end of the next third shift meet your requirements?”

  “Schedule your second seat training requirements on my calendar when you are ready. You are assigned to Silver Team with Pilot Drosey. The team leader is Lieutenant Lenes Palscom. Dismissed.”

  “Message received,” Brad responded as he nodded a salute and turned away, leaving with Sperzs.

  “We are very fortunate to be assigned to this Squadron and Silver Team,” Sperzs explained, as he led Brad across the platform to Pilot Palscom’s vehicle.

  “Why is that?” Brad asked, wanting to know more about the Squadron and his new bosses.

  “You may have thought Deznoic came down hard on you, making you repeat some of the training as well as wanting to observe you personally, but as soon as he sees that your performance meets his standards, you will see he is very fair and will allow you independence in scheduling future training flights. He is also supportive when we suggest changes in tactics. Palscom is similar in temperament and is the most knowledgeable pilot on the Zuonopy on vehicle maintenance. Fortunately, he is willing to sharing his knowledge.”

  “Isn’t the information available from the Battle Cruiser’s technicians or the database?” Brad asked, not understanding Sperzs point.

  “Of course Pilot Palscom trusts the Neslin technicians and robots, but it’s his philosophy that we have an obligation to know how to repair the vehicles without their assistance as a backup. He is highly respected on this battle cruiser for his familiarity with the vehicles’ technology and willingness to teach others,” Sperzs explained. “Having skills in this area has helped us during exercises when we are able to perform simple repairs ourselves to get our vehicles back into action.”

  “What is a Neslin technician?” Brad asked as he followed Sperzs.

  Sperzs pointed to a seven-and-a-half-foot primate working at the edge of the platform, “There’s Besin Timjo. She’s assigned to our squadron. Would you like to meet her?”

  Brad looked at the Neslin and gasped. “Uh, not now, maybe later. I should meet Pilot Palscom. He is probably waiting to meet me.” Glancing back at Besin Timjo, he told himself to get a grip. Just because it looks like something that should be caged in a zoo, doesn’t mean it should be. It might take a while before he felt comfortable meeting her. He needed more time to adjust before facing someone who looked like a mix of gorilla, orangutan and bigfoot with a humanoid face.

  Brad followed Sperzs to Palscom’s vehicle. The area looked like an exploded automotive hardware store, with various parts and tools spread in a field surrounding the vehicle. While stepping around spare parts lying all around was disconcerting, he was impressed Palscom was interested in maintaining and rebuilding his own vehicle at a level expected from an expert technician as Brad had read about during training. Swarm Defender Pilot training included the ability to diagnose and replace minor modules, but certainly not to the extent he was seeing in front of him.

  Lenes Palscom, while over a hundred years old, physically looked like ninety percent of the battleship’s crew with his tall, slender, athletic physique and a young teenaged face that benefited from the rejuvenating abilities on the implanted chip. Brad pulled the tiny package out of his sleeve and handed it to Lt. Palscom. “Pilot Voodel asked me to pass this package to you.”

  Lenes took the small package and opened it. He watched the tiny chip blink. He wasn’t sure what he found more interesting, the cloned chip emitting only the signal or the envelope that shielded it. He put the chip down on the table and gazed upward, looking for any unusual activity on the catwalks. He owed his friend Laco a favor, but there were limits on what he was willing to do. Becoming an active participant in a Special Combat exercise fell outside of the limits. As soon as he saw any indications they had traced the signal to this platform, he would cut the signal off and accept whatever happened.

  Sighing heavily, he looked at the training record of the new trainee on his tablet. It looked good. In fact, it looked too good to be true. He supported Commander Deznoic’s de
cision to require the trainee to spend more time in the training modules. Turning his head, he glanced at the catwalks; he then greeted the new trainee. “Welcome to my team. As soon as you have finished the training Commander Deznoic assigned you, we can talk about your schedule. I’m flexible on when you schedule your training flights. However, every fourth day during second shift I schedule maintenance sections for everyone to attend and will expect you to present a maintenance problem with a solution at least once every five sessions. Do you have any questions?” Lenes glanced back at the activity on the different catwalk levels. Seeing an armed squad heading toward his section, he snapped the chip in his hand, and smirked as the lead squad members suddenly stopped and those following ran into them.

  Brad’s confused face followed Palscom’s gaze toward the higher catwalks and the Special Combat Troops falling over each other. “I wonder what they’re doing here?”

  “I don’t know, but stay out of their way,” Lenes warned him. Lenes looked at Sperzs. “Pilot Drosey, take Trainee Johnson to the training modules. Let him get some training time in this shift.”

  Sperzs led Brad to the training modules and stopped at a door. He looked up at an indicator light and waved his hand to open the door. “This training module is available.” Sperzs stepped aside to allow Brad to enter the module. “Finding your way around the Zuonopy can be daunting. Can you make it back to the room by yourself or do you think you will need me to return later?”

  “Thanks, I think I can find my way back. If I need help, I’ll send an S-O-S.”

  Sperzs looked puzzled. “What is an S-O-S?”

  “Sorry, it’s from my home planet. It’s shorthand for ‘save our souls,’ but it is used when someone is in distress and help is needed,” Brad explained.

  Sperzs mumbled to himself, “Just when I thought I had a handle on your language, you come up with something new.” He pointed across the platform. “Alright, I’ll see you later. Our vehicle is in that far section, if you want to check to see if I’m still in the area.”

  “See you later,” Brad said as he stepped into the simulator. It looked similar to the one on the transport vehicle. It must have picked up on his chip’s signal, since the location of the controls and the first seat began adjusting to his settings even before he sat down.

  “Hello, Brad. I see your squadron has requested that you repeat some of the lessons and has assigned a few others to you,” greeted Travis.

  Brad had finished about a tenth of the courses Deznoic assigned. Emotionally, it was becoming harder to accept Deznoic’s request to redo a good portion of the training. Brad was indignant that the commander questioned his background. Or was it his integrity? Then Brad thought if he had been Deznoic, he might require the same proof, considering how quickly he had completed training. Yet it didn’t make the review easier for Brad to swallow. He was frustrated his first few shifts on the Zuonopy would be spent repeating the courses. “Travis, do you have any ideas on completing the courses faster?”

  “Brad, there are a few things you might consider but there are inherent risks associated with modifying the training coursework Deznoic has assigned to you,” Travis responded.

  “What do you mean?”

  “The training sessions could be grouped into specific categories and you could complete the most advanced lesson as you did on the transport vehicle and be given credit for the other courses. But unlike the original training sessions, you will not be allowed to repeat a specific lesson if you want to review any of the course work. In this situation, a score below ninety-nine percent would require you to restart all of the training courses, in addition to the ones Deznoic assigned.”

  “You’ve got to be joking. Why would a crazy rule like that exist for a minor training issue?” Brad asked in surprise.

  “I don’t make the rules, I just implement them as part of my foundational programming. The reasoning in this specific instance is to discourage individuals who are considering circumventing a direct order.”

  Brad sat still and considered the risks. He had finished a tenth of the courses Deznoic required. Did he want to risk starting over and committing himself to retaking all of the courses, not just the ones Deznoic assigned? If he decided to group the courses as Travis suggested, he could be done within a few hours versus days. “Travis, please list my lessons and scores from the transport vehicle.” Travis projected the courses on the windshield. “Damn it,” Brad muttered.

  “Is there a problem with the list I provided you?”

  “No, there isn’t a problem with the list you provided. The problem is with the courses Deznoic selected. In general, my scores are high but he specifically went after the lessons with my lowest scores, in the eighty-nine to ninety-three percentage range, to discourage me from taking the risk of less than perfect performance.” So far his performance was flawless because these were repeats, but would it be the same if the courses were grouped? “Travis, what do you think about me repeating these courses?”

  “In general, all training is good. I applaud you for taking all the training you can. But you should be focusing on training on more advanced techniques.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m thinking. Lock the trainer and isolate it from all outside influences. I want to focus on grouping the remaining lessons.”

  “Message received,” responded Travis as he brought up twin comets rapidly streaming toward Brad from an acute angle.

  Brad groaned. Although the sensors showed no readings, from his previous training he was aware there could be a mix of anywhere between three to five Aneplé Attack Vipers and Swarm Defenders hidden within the comet tails. “Okay, let’s rock and roll.”

  Chapter 16

  Shinny walked into her stateroom, exhausted from the exercise. She pushed aside the wheeled bag that had been delivered earlier and threw the battalion gear issued to her on the bed. She had never been greeted as rudely as she had been today. At least she had her own stateroom, for now. She looked around and noted a kitchenette, although she didn’t rate having one. The room was small, but a couple could share it. Shinny hoped it wouldn’t be too long before Brad would start talking to her. In fact, it might have happened by now if the exercise had not occurred. She smiled thinking about the exercise and how well Brad went with the flow, helping her evade discovery. His performance was better than some of the troops’. She wondered what had happened to this battalion.

  Shinny looked at the schedule on her tablet. She had time to put her things away and plan activities for the upcoming shift before she met with her squad in the exercise room. She folded her armor and stowed it away with her praser in the room’s locker, leaving out her training gear. She grabbed her bag and swung it onto the bed. As she unzipped the bag, her tablet emitted a high-pitched squeal. Shinny picked it up and looked at the readings on an application she had developed on Earth. The application detected a listening device in her bag. Searching through the bag, she found a tiny device the size of a rice grain attached to her clothing in a zippered pouch.

  “Great, how many more presents did they leave me?” She asked in a barely audible whisper. Shinny increased the sensitivity of the sensor on her tablet and walked around the room. She found four more bugs between the main living area and the bathroom. She didn’t even want to think why they put one in the bathroom. Shinny pulled out the cap she had stowed in the pocket on her arm, opened it, and dropped the devices into it to shield the signals.

  Walking around the room she stared at the vents, wondering if she was being paranoid. But then again she had just located five listening devices. Walking around again, she counted six vents. That many air vents in a room this small was strange. Shinny pulled a cover off from a floor vent and peered into it. Damn, she thought, as she carefully pulled out a device that would release a drug when triggered. Sniffing the bladder, she recognized the smell. It wouldn’t hurt her, but she would sleep through her shift. She put the device back thinking of ways to override its effects.

  S
hinny tapped her tablet, asking who had entered the room during the past twenty-one shifts. The report showed only custodial technicians entering each shift with cleaning robots. She then asked for a report that covered a period of six months. The report showed a different custodial technician entering the vacant room each shift. It was odd the room had been vacant that long yet cleaned each shift. Looking at the listing of the technicians and their ranks, she realized she was probably bunking in a training room, which explained the frequent visits, vents, and the small kitchen area. Shinny pulled up the biographies of the technicians, still thinking one of them may have planted the devices. Swiping through the biographies she found her answer and requested a visual of two technicians. Ukpres had taken one of the custodian technician training shifts. Either Ukpres was in a rush or had gotten lazy by copying one of the biographies, instead of creating a new one. It was Shinny’s luck that the bio of the individual she copied happened to have had the following shift, allowing her to catch the discrepancy immediately.

  Okay, two can play this game, Shinny thought. She pulled the covers off the six vents and left the room to visit a 3-D printer kiosk. She would print replacement covers that would clean and neutralize the contaminants in the air. As she walked by a recycling bin, she dropped her cap with the devices into it. “Exercise over,” she restated to herself. She smirked at the thought of Ukpres trying to explain the loss of equipment used illegally to bug her room. Ukpres was definitely a piece of work. Shaking her head, she wondered whose team Ukpres was on.

  It had been a long day for Brad but he had completed his training far faster than even he had expected. He looked at the perfect scores on the trainer’s view screen and plotted his next move by scheduling his two-seat training with Deznoic. Looking at the commander’s busy calendar on the cockpit’s windshield, he gestured through the shifts, trying to carve out time on Deznoic’s schedule. He had been worried that he would not have time to visit Shinny; however, since it did not look like he would be able to schedule the flight with Deznoic for a few days, it appeared he would have plenty of slack time to call on his wife.