Hey, this is Dave the Miracle Maker again up here in the high desert of Southern California. I finally got my pool going and took my first dip but of course, then we had a couple of thunderstorms. There are only eight days left until I leave on my vacation. I will probably make a couple more posts before I go. Today I would like to talk about basic meditation. Many of you who have never meditated before might think that you need to hire an expensive guru or take some expensive course online. When you think about meditation the image of some munk on a mountain top sitting for hours might come to mind. You might think that I don’t have the money or the time to sit through some guided meditation course. Those things might be good as you get deeper into your meditation journey, but to start out you don’t need any of that. When cut away all the BS meditation boils down to concentrating on your breathing. Concentrate on your breath going in and your breath going out. When you sit down to meditate, you don’t have to sit for hours. Try ten to twenty minutes at first. Sit in either a comfortable chair or on the floor, put your hands in your lap close your eyes, and concentrate on your breathing. Try to clear your mind of all conscious thoughts, but if a thought creeps in don’t stress. Concentrate on your breathing and it will pass. One of the things that I did to stop the thoughts from creeping in when I first started was to count my breaths. When I reached fifty to one hundred breaths I would stop counting and sit in peace and quiet. This is when you think about what you want to manifest and go over your affirmations in your mind. After you’ve done that sit for a few minutes more and enjoy the inner peace. After you have sat to meditate a few times try to lengthen the time that you sit and meditate. When I come out of a meditation I am filled with a sense of inner peace and joy. The benefits of mediation are many. It gives you inner peace, joy, and happiness. I recommend that you meditate at least twice a day. Once in the morning after you wake up and once at night before you go to bed and watch the miracles happen. Let me know what you think in the comment section and have a glorious day.

Now for your reading please check out chapter 14 from the Battle for Europa, book one of the Space Corps Chronicles.

Chapter 14

Alonzo Garcia stumbled up the docking tube to board the Port Royal and rubbed his throbbing forehead. He felt hungover from the partying they did burning up their two-day pass before shipping out. His mind drifted back to an incident on the first night after their AIT training. David insisted on going to the red light district in one of the more seedy sections of the colony. They stopped in at an establishment known as Dolly’s Droids.

After sampling the pleasures of life-like female androids, they sat down at a table to have a beer. Two naval officers entered the bar. One of them was a friendly-looking middle-aged man with sandy blond hair. He wore captain’s bars. They stopped by their table. His fellow officer, an older man with a more serious bearing, wore the rank insignia of a first officer. Conversation buzzed through the bar room.

“Can I buy you, gentlemen, a drink?” the captain asked.

David smiled. “I make it a habit to never turn down free beer.”

The captain motioned to one of the server droids and ordered a pitcher of beer. “Did you gentlemen just get out of basic?”

“Yes sir. We finished up our Advanced Infantry Training and we’re enjoying some of this fine android flesh before we have to ship out,” David said.

The captain laughed. “You can hardly tell them from real women. What ship are you gentlemen shipping out on?”

Louis Martin motioned to Alonzo. “My mate here and I are, assigned to the Port Royal when we burn up this two-day pass.” The captain nodded and looked at David.

“Paul and I are going to Mars as peacekeepers. We’re shipping out on the CEU-Pathfinder.” The balding first officer looked at the timepiece embedded in his wrist. He seemed anxious to be on his way, but the captain ignored him.

“Be careful when you get on the ground on Mars. Those miners are a rough lot. They’re also having trouble with insurgents.”

“We will sir. Thank you for your concern,” Paul said.

“I won’t keep you, gentlemen. Good luck,” the captain said.

“You too sir. Thank you for the beer,” David said. Later that evening Alonzo found out that the young captain they had talked to was the captain of the Port Royal.

Alonzo wiped the sweat from his brow. “That’s fucking great. My captain probably thinks I’m a lush and a pervert who likes banging androids,” Alonzo said to himself.

“Had a little bit too much to drink, did we?” the young ensign said fanning the air in front of his face when Alonzo arrived at the ship.

Alonzo smiled. “You could say that.”

“Please scan your wrist across my scan pad.” Alonzo looked up at the young naval officer standing in front of the boarding hatch of the Port Royal. He ran his wrist across the scanner. The scanner read the information from Alonzo’s biochip embedded in his wrist. “Welcome aboard, Mr. Garcia. I am Ensign Palmer. Fleet Marines HQ is on E deck. The Fleet Marine berthing areas are of levels E-3 through E-5. Find a bunk, store your gear, and report to your HQ. You’ll find a set of turbo lifts halfway down this corridor.”

“Thank you, sir,” Alonzo said, firing off a snappy salute, and stepped aboard the Port Royal.

“This ship is bloody huge,” Louis said, heading down the corridor next to Alonzo. The smell of industrial cleaner filled the air.

“Tell me about it, bro. I could get lost on this tub real quick.” They followed the crowd of marines toward the turbo lifts and waited in the corridor while the marines ahead of them filled the lifts. When the next lift arrived, they made their way to the back of the lift. Marines poured in filling the lift like sardines in a can. The turbo lift descended into the bowels of the ship and a few seconds later, the doors opened. The marines inside the turbo lift filed out. A corporal standing by the door motioned down a long corridor.

“Report in at HQ and then find a bunk. Stow your gear. You have a briefing at thirteen hundred and thirty in the conference hall,” the NCO said to Alonzo and Louis. They followed the other marines to the reception center and waited in line, reporting for duty. When Alonzo reached the head of the line an NCO asked him to run his wrist across his scan pad.

“Find a bunk, and stow your gear. Report to the conference room for a mission briefing,” the NCO said. After reporting for duty, they rode the turbo lift down to the Fleet Marine crew berthing deck. The doors slid open and they stepped into a maze of corridors. Three-tiered bunks lined the narrow hallways. At the end of each bunk, setting recessed into the bulkhead were three sets of lockers. Attached to the bottom of each bunk were three small pull-out drawers to store clothing. They stowed their gear and headed back to the turbo lift to report for the mission briefing.

Garcia and Martin stepped into the conference room at Fleet Marines HQ. They found a seat near the back of the room and waited while the room filled with marines. The murmur of conversation filled the air. Several Marine Corps officers sat on a raised podium at the front of the room. A stocky dark-headed marine commander stepped up to a microphone.

“Gentleman, I am Commander Dawson. Welcome aboard the Port Royal. There are some things I’d like to go over, so your transition to life in space will go smoothly. First, on your birthing decks, you will find a VID screen near the junction of each corridor. If you get lost, ask the computer for directions. On each berthing deck, there is a mess hall and an enlisted men’s lounge. Your head and shower facilities are on the main corridor. There’s also an enlisted men’s pub on each berthing deck. When you are not on duty, you may use the ship’s REC facilities on A deck. There is a movie theater, a bowling alley, a PX, and a comfort station, but you will have very little spare time. You will be on duty for eight hours each day, plus you will spend two hours of your own time in the gym. Muscle atrophy is always a problem while in space. We will hold several training events while underway. It’s all to prepare us for leaving the solar system,” Commander Dawson said. He paused, took a drink from a glass of water, and continued.

“Regarding our mission, we are going, like the old TV show from the old system said, boldly where no man has gone before. We will seek out alien cultures to establish trade. We will gain new technology, form alliances, and look for worlds to colonize. On your induction forms, you marked yes on the box about showing an interest in going career.”

Martin grabbed Garcia’s arm and whispered, “I marked no on that box.”

“Hush,” Garcia said pulling away.

“This will be a long mission. Don’t expect to see Earth for the next twenty-five years.” Louis’s jaw dropped. “On the good side, you will make a lot of money. You’ll get the going rate of pay for your rank, plus hazardous duty pay. The payroll clerks will deposit it in your bank accounts every month. There’s not much to spend your money on out here at space, considering your room and board is free.”

“What about the time dilation? He’s not saying anything about that. We may spend twenty-five years out here but a Century or more might pass on Earth,” Martin said.

“Shi. The scientists have figured out a way around that problem, but we don’t have that much to go home to anyway,” Garcia said.

Commander Dawson’s com-link on the lapel of his uniform beeped and he spoke into it using a low tone. Finished with his conversation, he looked back at the assembled marines. “I have some good news, gentlemen. The ship’s captain, Mr. Jack Chambers would like to say a few words. He’s on his way from the bridge right now,” Commander Dawson said. Another murmur went through the assembled marines. Captain Chambers strolled into the conference room five minutes later. Garcia couldn’t help but notice his impeccable-looking uniform with the shiny captain’s bars on his collar. Commander Dawson introduced the captain. The captain welcomed them aboard the ship and discussed some upcoming training events. When his talk turned toward the mission and he spoke about the length of time that they would be in space. When the captain opened the floor for questions, Martin’s hand shot up, so Captain Chambers called on him.

Martin stood to his feet. “Sir, when I filled out my induction forms, I marked no in the box where they ask about going career. I plan to only do a four-year hitch.”

Commander Dawson stepped up to Captain Chambers. “The batch of inductees from San Francisco had to use pencils and paper forms. The digital-pad system was down. Some of the induction forms got smudged.”

Captain Chambers answered Martin’s questions. He said that he sympathized with him, but they couldn’t turn the ship around when his enlistment time ran out. He said that the needs of the service come first and that he should make the best of it. Later, after the briefing, Garcia and Martin lay back lounging on their bunk. They didn’t go on duty until zero six hundred hours. A young dark-haired lieutenant stepped up.

He looked down at his digital pad. “Which one of you is Louis Martin?”

Martin looked down from his bunk and said, “That would be me, sir.”

The lieutenant motioned over his shoulder with his thumb. “You’re wanted on A deck. The captain wants to see you.”

“I told you that you should have kept your mouth shut,” Garcia said.

***

After saying their goodbyes, David and Paul headed across the spacedock to the docking tube connected to the CEU-Pathfinder. David stepped into the rear of a line of marines entering the docking tube. While traveling through the clear docking tube, David stared out at the vastness of space. The moon orbiting below seemed small in comparison. David’s eyes moved to the ships docked at the space station. Others orbited the moon and a massive fleet set in orbit by themselves.

“I bet that’s the new deep space fleet everyone’s talking about. Which one of those ships is the Port Royal?” David said.

Paul shrugged. “Who knows?”

“I doubt if we’ll ever see Louis or Alonzo again. Those guys on those ships are going to be in space for a long time.” They reached the head of the line at the entrance hatch of the CEU-Pathfinder.

The naval ensign standing at the head of the line flared his nostrils breathing in the smell of alcohol. “Run your hand across my scanner.”

David did as instructed. The bio scanner read the information on his biochip logging him onto the ship. “Go down the main corridor to the turbo lifts. Take it down to the third level. Transit Marine HQ is on level three. Check-in for duty there. Crew berthing decks start on level four, but if you can’t find a bunk on level four keep going down until you do. Once you stow your gear report to the conference room on level three.”

“Yes sir,” David said. He fired off a salute and they headed down the corridor, riding the lift down to level three to report for duty. The officer on duty in the receiving area processed their orders. David and Paul found empty bunks across from each other on the second tier in a crowded section of level six. The three-tiered bunks were like those on the Port Royal. Only the passageway between the bunks was narrower.

They attended a similar briefing, as did Louis and Alonzo on the Port Royal. The commander in command of the transit marines explained the protocols of ship life and explained that they would be doing some training to prepare them for their duties on Mars. He said that they would put in an eight-hour day, training and cleaning the deck. They would clean the bulkheads and maintain the crew berthing decks and also spend two hours a day in the gym. Their day would start at zero six hundred hours. After evening chow at eighteen hundred hours, their time would be their own.

After attending the orientation briefing, David and Paul lay back on their bunks. They enjoyed some idle time before going on duty the next day. An announcement came over the ship’s PA system. It was the captain saying that the ship was now leaving spacedock en route to the red planet. A young naval ensign with sandy blond hair stopped in the corridor. “Which one of you jarheads is David Gallagher?”

David rose on his elbows looking up at the ensign. “I’m Gallagher.”

“Mr. Gallagher. I have orders to escort you to the Political Advisor’s office on A deck. Let’s go jarhead. On the bounce.”

“That’s frigging great.” David swung from his bunk and jumped down to the deck.

***

When Louis entered Chambers’ office, he expected the captain to dress him down. The captain said that he wanted to talk to him further about his question during the briefing. Louis prepared himself to answer for his actions. Captain Chambers asked him to consider signing up for the officers’ training course. Louis’s eyes widened and his bottom jaw dropped.

Later, back at the berthing deck, Louis climbed into his bunk. Alonzo looked over at him giving him a curious glance. “How did your little meeting with the captain go?”

Louis grinned, stretching out on his bunk. “He asked me to consider going career. He said that they are starting a new officers’ training class. He asked me to consider signing up. What do you think?” A marine in a bunk across from them passed gas.

“Did you shit yourself?” Alonzo said and everyone laughed. “I say go for it, bro. I marked yes in the box asking about a career in the Federal Defense Forces. The pay’s better, the living quarters are better and the duty is better when you’re an officer. When they come around asking, I’m gonna sign up,” Alonzo said after the laughter died down.

Louis let out a sigh. “Well, mate. If you plan to sign up for the classes, then I guess I will too. I might as well make a bloody good show out of this deal since they won’t turn the fleet around when my enlistment runs out.” They talked for a few hours wondering what the new officers’ training course would be like. At eighteen hundred hours ship time, they headed down to the mess hall for their evening, chow. After supper, they went to the enlisted men’s club, tossed back a few beers, and went back to their bunks for the night. They wanted to make sure they had plenty of rest for their first official tour of duty on board the Port Royal.

Alonzo and Louis woke to reveille at six hundred hours the next morning, climbed from their bunks, and headed to the chow hall. After breakfast, they reported for duty at Fleet Marine HQ and spent the first hour of their day doing PT. After their morning PT, they descended to a lower deck and participated in a training exercise.

The training scenario lasted several hours. It involved making a simulated shuttle landing on an enemy vessel. Holographic projectors created a damaged enemy vessel complete with aggressive aliens. After the training exercise, they went to the mess hall for chow. After chow, they went to a classroom to receive a critique of the training event. The lieutenant in charge of the briefing berated them on their performance. He said that they would get better in the future. After the briefing, they received orders assigning them to duties throughout the ship. Alonzo and Louis received orders instructing them to mop up their crew berthing deck. After their first tour of duty on board the Port Royal was over, they headed to the gym, worked out for two hours, and headed to the mess hall for their evening meal. Finished with chow, they headed to the enlisted men’s lounge to play cards. The top sergeant stepped in, puffing on a cheap cigar, and carried a small handheld computer. A cloud of tobacco smoke hung in the air.

“Listen up Ladies. The brass wants to start a new officers’ training class. They have me taking names. Are any of you sons of bitches tired of working for a living? Do any of you want to become officers?”

Louis threw his cards on the table looking at the marine sitting across from him. “I fold mate,” Louis said and looked up at the sergeant. “What the bloody hell? Sign me up, Top.”

“Me too Top. I’d make a good officer,” Alonzo said. The top sergeant shook his head and laughed.

“Garcia, I don’t think you could follow your own, orders without screwing up. But you’re a hard charger and I like that. Before you know it, I’ll be saluting you.” The sergeant entered their names into his handheld computer. “Report to the training center at zero nine hundred hours. You’ll do two hours in the gym after morning chow before you report for classes. Even officers and officer cadets have to put in their gym time. This bucket’s captain doesn’t want any muscle atrophy on his watch.”

Alonzo and Louis’ lives aboard the ship fell into a routine. They rose at zero six hundred hours, ate breakfast, and spent two hours in the gym. After that, they attended officers’ training classes for the next eight hours. After evening chow, they served as officers with the temporary rank of, third-lieutenant. The rank of, third-lieutenant was mainly to find a place for them in the chain of command. The enlisted men and regular officers considered the rank as the lowest of the low. They put in four hours before falling into their racks at twenty-three hours. During the journey to Mars, they served in various departments throughout the ship.

The captain held two training events while on their way to Mars. One consisted of a landing on a derelict vessel and another consisted of a landing on a large asteroid. Louis and Alonzo led patrols during each exercise wearing their copper third lieutenant bars. They kept so busy that the three-month journey to Mars seemed to fly by. One day Louis sat enjoying a few moments of free time when he looked up at a viewscreen in the enlisted men’s lounge.

“I’ll be, go to hell. Look, mate. We’re here,” Louis said to Alonzo. Alonzo looked at the massive red planet filling the viewscreen. The captain’s voice came over the PA system announcing that the fleet had entered orbit.

“Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to Mars,” the captain said.

***

David entered the Political Advisor’s office on A deck of the CEU-Pathfinder. A young blonde-headed female ensign, sat at an oak desk in the outer office when David stepped into the room. Breathing in a faint trace of her perfume, he stood at attention and offered up a salute.

She returned the salute along with a smile. “Can I help you?”

“Someone told me to report to the political advisor’s office.”

She looked down at her computer screen. “Are you Private Gallagher?”

David nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

She batted her long eyelashes. “Commander Blackwell is with another marine right now, but he’ll be with you in five minutes. Have a seat.” David sat down on a long plastic bench lining the bulkhead. The young naval officer went about her business. Three minutes later another marine exited the office door to his right. The female officer looked up. “Commander Blackwell will see you now.”

David jumped to his feet and entered the political advisor’s office. He looked down at a dark-haired, man who looked to be in his early thirties. The man wore a naval uniform and sat behind a wooden desk behind a computer console. David snapped to attention and fired off another salute. The commander returned the gesture. He stuck out his hand and they shook.

“Welcome aboard, Mr. Gallagher. I’m Commander Blackwell. Please have a seat.” David sat down in a chair facing the commander’s desk. Smoke rose into the air from a lit cigarette setting in an ashtray. David breathed in the foul odor. “Mr. Gallagher, I’ve been going over the personnel records of our marines in transit and I have a few questions.”

“Fire away.”

“I see in your records that you have some relation to a Shawn Gallagher. He’s the one that’s causing all the fuss on Europa.”

David let out a slow easy breath. “That’s right. He’s my brother.”

The commander nodded. “I see here that in a previous interview you said you do not share his insurrectionist beliefs. Is that still the case?”

David leaned forward. “Yes sir. As far as I’m concerned, my brother is dead to me. I am loyal to the CEU and the federal system. I don’t see why you people can’t see that.”

The commander leaned back in his chair and took his smoke from the ashtray. “It’s not that we don’t believe you. We’re doing our job. I can see where having a brother made famous like this could cause problems. Are there any problems that we need to be aware of?”

David shook his head. “Other than the occasional snide remark, no. Now and then, someone might say something like; there goes that traitor’s brother. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

The commander took a puff on the cigarette and snuffed it out in the ashtray. “So far, you have a clean record. Your instructors in boot camp gave you high marks. Have you ever considered going career?”

David shook his head. “No. I plan on doing only one hitch.”

The commander looked down at his computer screen. “It says in your records that you applied for a robotics school placement. They turned you down due to a low GI rating.”

David nodded. “Yes.”

“Would you consider changing your mind about going career? Or agree to sign up for one more hitch? If you did the brass would consider granting you a waiver on the GI rating. They do it for career military personnel all the time. We have a robotics school in New Chicago. It’s a wonderful campus near the Great Lakes. After completing the class, you would have to serve at least six more years. It would be as an officer or technician. That would depend on how long you study. You would be able to choose which branch you wanted to serve. Each branch has a robotics division.”

“I’ll consider it.”

“Do that. So far, you’ve not given the political affairs office anything to worry about. Ignore those snide remarks. If they persist, contact me. Of course, we’ll continue to watch you, but we do that with all the troops. Keep up the good work. You’re dismissed.”

David stood to his feet, saluted and the commander returned the salute. He left heading back down to the crew berthing decks.

David and Paul’s lives aboard the ship fell into a routine. All though they had to take part in some training events, they had more free time than the Fleet Marines. In the evenings, David and Paul spent much of their time playing cards and gambling with other marines. Paul excelled in mathematics. He had an uncanny ability to count the cards. David found that he had a natural ability with cards no matter what card game they played. They developed a system to send signals to each other from across the card table. Most of the time, they won more than they lost. Several of the other marines suspected that they were cheating but they couldn’t catch them.

One evening, David won a large pot. He cleaned out a large muscular marine sitting across from him along with his short partner. When David stood up to rake in the debit chips, the large dark-headed marine shot to his feet.

“There’s nothing worse than a card cheat. Except for a traitor, but I guess that runs in the family,” the dark-headed marine said.

David dropped the chips on the table. He reached up, grabbed the marine by the lapel of his uniform, and slammed a hard right-hand fist into his face. Blood splattered into David’s shirt. The big marine flew backward hitting the bulkhead and sliding to the floor. David overturned the table, scattering debit chips everywhere. He jumped on top of the big marine and grabbed him by the ears. Using both hands, he slammed his head against the deck several times.

Paul leaped to his feet and the big marine’s buddy charged him knocking him into the bulkhead. Paul brought his knee up slamming it into the man’s groin, the man stumbled back and Paul drove a left hook to the man’s jaw. Over the din of battle, David heard a shrill whistle. He felt a burning sensation pass through his body and his entire body twitched before he lost consciousness.

The brutish-looking security officer holstered his weapon, which had been set to stun. He looked at the four prone figures lying on the deck. “Call for backup. Let’s get these sons of bitches to the brig before they wake up,” the officer said to his partner.

His partner looked around at the spots of blood covering the floor. “God I hate this job. These damned jarheads are nothing but trouble.” He holstered his weapon, activated his com-link, and called for backup.

David spent the next three days in the brig. One evening the dark-security officer that stunned him appeared at the door of his cell.

“On your feet Gallagher. The CO wants to see you. Turn around, back up to the cell door, and put your hands through the slot.” David did as instructed. The security officer applied wrist restraints to his wrist. He unlocked the cell door and escorted David to the turbo lifts. A tingling sensation shot up David’s arms. They rode the lifts up to the Marine Corps HQ and the security officer led David down a narrow corridor. They passed several brown doors lining the hallway and then stopped at a doorway on their right.

The security officer led him inside. A dark-headed man in his early thirties looked up from a mahogany desk occupying the center of the room. David paused taking in the room’s décor. He noticed the seascapes adorning the walls and the pictures of old sailing vessels.

“You can take off his restraints,” the man said in a gravelly-sounding voice. The security officer freed David’s hands and left the room crossing a sea of plush blue carpet. “Have a seat Mr. Gallagher.” David sat across in a chair facing the desk. “Mr. Gallagher, I’m Lieutenant Commander Cartwright. I am in command of the marines in transit. I’ve talked to the other men involved in this incident. We allow gambling, but we tend to frown on marines getting into brawls in our lounges and no one likes a card cheat. So were you cheating at cards?”

David squirmed in his seat. “Not in the sense that I did anything to the deck such as bottom deal or have aces up my sleeve. I’m a good player. My friend Paul is good at math. He counts the cards. He doesn’t know exactly what card will come next, but he’s right more than he’s wrong. We play the odds.”

The commander nodded. “I checked the statements from the other men. They said that the man who accused you of cheating said something derogatory to you. He accused you of being a traitor, like your brother?”

“That’s correct.”

“He said something about it running in the family?”

“That’s when I socked him.”

The Cartwright arched an eyebrow and chuckled. “I don’t blame you. I would have socked him too. You’ll get your pay docked for three days’ pay and reduced in rank to buck private. This is the first black mark on an otherwise clean record.”

“I guess the political boys will want to see me again?”

The commander shook his head. “I don’t think so. If you’d blown him off and not smacked the son of a bitch when he called you a traitor, then they might be, concerned. You’re free to go. I’m releasing you to your unit.”

David rose to his feet. “Thank you, sir.”

“You’re welcome. And Mr. Gallagher, try not to get in any more trouble. Let the other fellows win once in a while. At least wait until we get to the red planet. After that, you won’t be my problem.”

***