Sweet Dreams

Posted on May 25, 2023 by Dave the Miracle Maker
Beagle sleeping on wicker basket. Free public domain CC0 photo.

Hey everyone this is Dave the Miracle Maker. It’s another wonderful day up here in the high Desert of Southern California. Only six days left until I leave for my vacation. I have my pool ready so that my wife can relax by the pool while I am away. Today I would like to talk about dreams. Do you monitor your dreams? If you don’t I think you should. Some people use a dream journal and write down what they dream. As a writer, this is beneficial. I have written two novels that I received the idea for the book in a dream. The first book that I received the idea from a dream was a novel titled, Door Number Two. In the dream, all I was given was the title and an image of what the book cover might look like. When I woke from the dream, the idea for the story came to me. This book wound up being book number four in a series. I wouldn’t have written the series if not for the dream. The second book that came from a dream is titled Gone Missing. The idea came to me from a dream. I wrote the idea down in a Word document where I list all of my ideas for stories and novels. I usually write at night before I go to sleep and sometimes before I fall asleep I think about the story that I am writing and sometimes think about where I want the story to go. This allows my subconscious mind to go to work. When it came down to writing the book, I was a few chapters in and I had been writing before I went to sleep and I had another dream. This time I only saw images, but the images related to what I was writing about, so when I woke up and started writing again that night I used those images from the dream to advance the storyline.

If you are not a writer, but you are trying to manifest your best life, or you are trying to manifest something new in your life that you want, visualize it in your mind before you fall asleep. It could be anything from a significant other that you desire, more money, or a desire for health and happiness. it all depends on what you want. Visualize your best life before you fall asleep so your subconscious mind can go to work and manifest a miracle in your life. Feel free to leave a comment and live your best life. Peace out.

For your reading pleasure check out chapter 15 from my science fiction novel, the Battle for Europa which is book one in my science fiction series, the Space Corps Chronicles.

Chapter 15

Light burst through the room. Captain Chambers lay asleep between two naked women. One was a busty redhead and the other was a petite blonde with long curly hair. The smell of alcohol and cheap perfume permeated the room. Chambers’ eyes shot open the women groaned and both of them pulled the covers over their heads. Chambers wormed his way from between them, shielding his eyes with his hands, and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Rise and shine lover boy. Liberty is over. We have to get back to the ship,” First Officer Bannister said. He sauntered up to Chambers’ bed and ogled the two naked women.

“I thought we talked about you barging in like this. Did you have to use the manual controls for the lights? I set the room’s computer to medium glow.” Chamber knuckled sleep from his eyes.

Banister laughed. “Medium glow is for candy asses. Get your ass out of bed.”

Chambers glanced up. “Can you at least get me some coffee first?”

“That I can do.” Bannister headed to the food and beverage dispenser. “Ladies, would you like some as well?”

The busty redhead threw off her covers and sat up. “I’d love some. Put a little Bourbon in it. I like a little kick in my coffee in the morning.”

Banister smiled, staring at her hard little nipples. “Jack, your standers are improving. At least you’re sleeping with human girls now. Those android hookers are so boring.”

The petite blonde sat up next to her friend. “There’s nothing like the real deal. You want to give it a try pops?”

A big grin crossed Banister’s face. “I’d love to, but we don’t have the time. Lover Boy and I need to get back to the ship.” Bannister handed out the coffee while Chambers dressed. The two women sat on the bed naked drinking their coffee. Bannister paced the room waiting for Chambers to finish dressing. Seeing that they weren’t going to make any more money, the women finished their coffee, dressed, and left the hotel room. Chambers sat down at a small table, setting near the bed, to enjoy his coffee. Bannister sat down across from him. “I have to hand it to you. Your taste in women is improving.”

“You’re just jealous.”

Banister shook his head. “No, it’s not that. My money is as good to chippies like that as yours. I enjoy seeing how deep into debauchery you can slip. Finish your coffee and let’s head to the shuttle port.”

“Yes, Mother.” Chambers downed the rest of his coffee and stood to his feet.

After arriving at Mars, Chambers logged onto the admiral’s conference call. The admiral praised everyone for a job well done. He issued orders allowing all personnel forty-eight hours of liberty. The shuttle pilots ferried troops to one of the planet’s shuttle ports. It was an armed militarized facility laying a few miles to the southeast of the New London colony. The second watch took control of the bridge at fifteen hundred hours. Chambers and Bannister took the captain’s shuttle to the surface of the planet.

They left the shuttle at the shuttle port and rode in a military convoy of tracked vehicles to the colony. Two miles outside of the colony, rebels from the Martian resistance attacked. They poured laser and small arms fire into the vehicles firing from concealed positions in the rocks above the trail leading to the colony. Laser flashes lit up the night. Marines poured out of troop carriers and repelled the attack. When they arrived at the colony, Chambers and Banister entered the John Glen Plaza. The plaza was a city unto itself. They headed to the nearest drinking establishment.

The John Glen Plaza, along with the rest of the buildings in the colony, thrived under a massive steel dome. Oxygen and gravity generators in the sub-regions of the building provided life support. Every type of business establishment known to mankind filled the streets of the plaza. Savvy businessmen stood ready to take credit away from the military personnel. The John Glen Plaza also catered to the local miners. Chambers spent his forty-eight-hour liberty getting drunk and chasing women. Bannister spent his forty-eight-hour liberty trying to keep Chambers out of trouble. The fun over, Chambers sat in the lounge area on the captain’s shuttle. He was waiting for it to lift off the surface of the red planet. Bannister sat down across from him and set a hot cup of coffee down on the table in front of the captain.

“You sure know how to spoil a good time. You could at least put some Irish cream in that coffee or better yet, bring me a Jack and Coke.”

Bannister smiled. “That’s all the troops need: to see their captain stumbling in drunk on his ass.” Chambers sighed and took a drink from the coffee cup. The shuttle left the surface of the red planet heading back to the ship.

Chambers stepped onto the bridge of the Port Royal. He took his seat in the captain’s chair next to Bannister and gazed out at the fleet orbiting Mars. “Things look a little empty out there. Where’d everybody go?”

“The main battle fleet broke orbit over an hour ago,” Banister said. “It’s all this baloney taking place on Europa. It’s got the council’s dander up.”

“Any word from the admiral on our departure time?”

The communications officer’s console beeped. “Captain I have a VID transmission coming in from the admiral now,” she said.

“Play it on the forward viewscreen.” The image of Admiral Ivanov filled the screen. Chambers smiled. “Good evening Admiral. What can I do for you?”

“Captain Chambers. Are you ready to leave this blasted red planet behind?”

Chambers nodded. “You’d better believe it. When will we be breaking orbit?”

“Our scheduled departure time is at eighteen hundred hours.”

“I see the main battle fleet has already left.”

“Ya. They are dealing with this foolishness on Europa. They should have the blockade of Jupiter in place by the time we arrive.”

“I hope we won’t get caught up in that mess.”

“That is my hope as well. You have three hours to get your vessel ready for departure. I will leave you to your duties.”

“Thank you, sir.” Admiral Ivanov’s image disappeared from the screen. Chambers glanced at his first officer. “Mr. Bannister. Would you care to join me in the officers’ pub for a beer?”

“That sounds like a grand idea.”

Chambers turned to the helmsmen. “Mr. Walker, you have the bridge.”

Chambers and Bannister rose to their feet. They left the bridge and ambled down the main corridor. Hustle and bustle filled the ship. Crewmen were returning from their forty-eight-hour liberty filling the corridor. Inside the officers’ pub, they climbed onto a barstool and a fat bartender waddled up. He smelled of alcohol and cigarettes.

“What can I get you, sir?”

“Two beers,” Chambers said and glanced at Bannister. “What do you think our chances of not getting involved in this BS on Europa are?”

Banister shrugged. “Who knows? This character, Shawn Gallagher seems like a hothead. In some ways, he reminds me of you.”

Chambers laughed. “His name sounds familiar. I may have served with him a few years ago in the PPF. I’ll have to do a check on the VID-net.” A young blonde-headed woman in a skintight blue dress stepped up next to the captain and shot him a smile. The captain motioned to the bartender and bought her a drink.

“Calm the raging hormones Lover Boy. We have to be back on the bridge in three hours. You don’t have time to mess with any of the comfort girls right now.”

Chambers laughed. “Three hours is plenty of time.”

“Check Federal Defense Force personnel records. If you find that you did know Gallagher, you might want to discuss it with the admiral. We could open up some dialog.”

“I hope we don’t even get involved with that BS.”

“Yeah, but you know about old Murphy and his law.” They finished their beer and Bannister bought the next round. Three hours later, they strolled onto the bridge and took their seats on the command platform.

The new deep space fleet broke orbit leaving the red planet behind. Chambers looked over at the second watch helmsmen. “Mr. McGuire, plot the course. Let’s go to Jupiter.”

***

Chambers woke up at zero five thirty ship time three weeks after leaving Mars. This particular night, he slept alone. He dressed, poured himself a cup of coffee, and sat down at the small table in his room. Finished with his coffee, he entered his conference room and logged onto the video net for the morning conference call. After hearing from the department heads, he logged onto the admiral’s call and reported the status of the Port Royal to the admiral. Finished with that bit of business, he headed to the officers’ mess. Bannister met him in the hallway.

“How’s our golden boy this morning?” Bannister asked.

Chambers shrugged. “I’m fine Mother. Care to join me for breakfast?”

“I don’t mind if I do.” Chambers and Bannister strolled down the main corridor and entered the officers’ mess. They took their place in the serving line. The smell of freshly cooked food caused Chambers’ stomach to rumble. They moved through the line piling food upon their trays. The captain sat down with a plate filled with scrambled eggs, a slice of ham, bacon, and hash browns with wheat toast. Bannister poured them each a cup of coffee and then sat down to enjoy his biscuits and gravy.

“Did you check the fleet records to see if you served with this Shawn Gallagher that has everyone so worked up?”

Chambers took a bite of scrambled eggs into his mouth with his fork. “It’s kind of slipped my mind. I’ve been busy.”

Bannister took a drink from his coffee cup. “I hear he has a younger brother serving in the Fleet Marines. From what I hear, they assigned him to peacekeeping duties on Mars.”

“That must be hard. Being the little brother of the CEU’s most famous traitor.”

Bannister nodded. “You know the political boys got to be all over him.”

“Shawn Gallagher does have a point. The council could be more lenient on personal freedoms.”

Banister’s eyes widened. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“What? Do you think Mr. Carson might call me on the carpet? I ignore the beady-eyed little son of a bitch.” He gave Banister an icy glare.

Banister let out a sigh. “Jack. You need to watch what you say. You never know who might be listening. They have brought Ship captains up on political charges before.”

“So what are they going do? Send me back to Earth?”

Banister shook his head. “No, but they could relieve you of command.”

Chambers shrugged. “Let them try.”

Finished with breakfast, they headed down to the gym for their morning workout. No one onboard the ship was immune to the daily regimen of weight lifting. Chambers didn’t want anyone under his command to suffer from muscle atrophy. Bannister spotted Chambers on the bench press. When Chambers finished, they switched places. After the bench press, they worked on their arms by doing bicep curls. From there they went to the leg machine. By the time, they finished their workout they exercised all the muscles in their body plus worked up a good sweat.

After their workout, they hit the showers. Chambers set the temperature setting to, medium-hot and vigorous massage. He enjoyed the rejuvenating effects of the hot water. Later, they sat on a bench in the locker room dressing. Chambers put on his uniform and was putting on his boots. He reached over to have a drink from a water bottle that was set on the bench next to him when the bottle floated away. He tapped the talk button on the lapel of his uniform.

“Captain Chambers to engineering. What happened to the gravity generator?”

“I don’t know Captain. It quit on us. My techs are troubleshooting it right now.”

Chambers brushed a drop of water from his forehead and watched it float away. “Good. Keep me posted.” Finished with his conversation with the chief engineer, Chambers made contact with the bridge. “Captain to the bridge.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“I’m sure you’re aware that the gravity generator is down. Make an announcement. I want all personnel in gravity boots. Chambers out.”

Bannister laughed. “Let the fun begin. How many people do you think will forget to put on their boots?”

“Yeah. It’s all fun and games being weightless and all, but when the generator comes back on, we’re sure to have a few casualties. Let’s get to the bridge.” Chambers finished putting on his boots.

They lumbered onto the bridge of the Port Royal in their gravity boots and took their seats on the command platform. Chambers set his bottle of water down on a console in front of him and the bottle started to float away. He reached out, grabbed it before it could get away, and strapped himself into the seat. Everyone on the bridge used safety belts to strap themselves to their chairs. Chambers flipped on the com-unit on his console. “Bridge to engineering.”

“Aye Captain,” the chief engineer said.

“How soon until we have the gravity back?”

“We’re working as fast as we can, Captain. We had a power surge and fried a few relays. We should have the gravity restored in two to three hours.”

“Okay. Keep me posted.” Chambers cut the transmission. He turned his attention to the forward viewscreen and stared out at the vastness of space. Three hours later, Chambers’ com-link beeped and he pressed the talk button on his console. “Chambers here.”

“Captain, we’ve fixed the gravity generator. We will bring it back online in ten minutes,” the chief engineer said.

“Good. You people do good work.” Chambers flipped on the ship’s PA system. “This is the captain. Engineering will restore gravity in ten minutes.” Nine minutes later, Chambers’ water bottle, which had floated up to the ceiling, fell. It bounced off the top of his head. He flipped on his com-unit once more. “Captain to sickbay. How many casualties do you have to report?”

“Two, sir. A falling weight-lifting disk that had floated up to the ceiling in the gym hit one of our sailors. We had some marines leaping back and forth. One of them was in the air when the gravity returned. He fell to the deck and broke his leg,” the chief medical officer said.

“Who were they?”

“The sailor was Ensign Palmer. The weight-lifting disk broke his foot. The marine’s name is Louis Martin. The medical teams are bringing them in right now.”

“Let me know when you’re done treating them. I’d like to talk to both of them.” Chambers switched off the com-unit. After his tour of duty on the bridge, Chambers went to the sick bay to visit the injured crewmen. Finished with that, he joined Bannister in the officers’ mess for dinner. Later that evening, he checked the fleet records on the VID-net. He discovered that he was right; he had served aboard the same ship with Shawn Gallagher when he was in the PPF. They were both, part of the onboard Special Forces unit, but had served on different teams. He looked up everything he could find on the VID-net about Gallagher. God, I almost like this guy. If we’d served on the same team and had closer contact, we’d be friends.

During the three months that followed, the fleet admiral held three training events. One of which consisted of defending the ship from a mock invasion. As they approached Jupiter, the admiral divided the fleet into the red and blue navies. They played ship-to-ship war games. When they made their approach to Jupiter, Chambers sat on the bridge. He stared out the viewscreen. The battleships surrounded the planet like a pack of hungry wolves. Other smaller, but no less deadly ships, patrolled closer to the planet and its moons. They looked like a pack of hyenas facing off a pride of lions.

“It looks like we’ve caught up to the main battle fleet,” Chambers said.

“Captain, I have a small space cruiser heading outbound from Europa. They should pass within five hundred meters of our position. They seem to be in quite a hurry. Do you want me to move to intercept?” the helmsmen asked.

Chambers shook his head. “No. If the main battle fleet’s not worried about them, then we won’t bother either. They’re most likely some miners that decided they’ve had enough of this foolishness.”

“Captain, I have a text message from Admiral Ivanov. He says that Admiral Delacroix is in command of the main battle fleet. He has asked us to maintain our current position,” the communications officer said.

“Very well. Reduce speed to point zero one.” Chambers turned back to the communications officer. “Tell Mr. Ivanov that I’ll contact him on the VID-net in my conference room in five minutes,” he said and left the bridge.

***

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Basic Meditation

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Dave the Miracle Maker
Free spritual journey image, public domain spirituality CC0 photo.

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.”

***

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Project Serenity

Posted on May 21, 2023 by Dave the Miracle Maker

Hello everyone this is Dave the Miracle Maker again. I finally finished my pool and I think I’ll jump in it today. It’s starting to get hot up here in the high desert of Southern California. As far as my writing goes I am in the process of editing two novels and I started a new one, which will be the sixth book in my Mike McDonald Action Adventure saga. I only have ten days left until I leave on my vacation and I am looking forward to it. I have been doing some research on cryptocurrency. BitCoin seems to be the most popular. One of the things I have been reading about is Project Serenity. They claim that if you join Project Serenity you can multiply your net worth in as little as two years. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme. It gives you a wealth of information that if you use it will help you grow your net worth and live a life of abundance. With all this talk about the US changing to the digital dollar, it might be a good thing to invest in cryptocurrency. Click the link below to check it out. Leave a comment to let me know what you think. I wish everyone the best, stay positive and manifest the life of your dreams. Peace Out.

Project Serenity

For your reading pleasure check out chapter 13 from my science fiction novel, the Battle for Europa, book one of the Space Corps Chronicle series.

Chapter 13

Shawn Gallagher watched the battle unfolding in real-time on his VID screen. He sat in his office at the computer console. Linda identified the incoming PPF vessels and transmitted the information to Europa. Shawn’s new security team hustled him into his office. He protested saying that he wanted to get an M-23 Blaster and join the fight but the security detail would not let him out of his office.

“You’re too valuable to lose, sir. I can’t let you out the door,” his head of security said. He had five burley agents standing behind him to back his play. Shawn heaved a sigh and relented. He had to be content to watch the battle unfold on the VID screen. The PPF vessels split. Five turned to engage Guatav’s fleet while the other five swept down toward the surface. The blocking force fled, the superior numbers of Kesler’s fleet, but Kesler’s ships pursued. Flashes of light filled the screen when Kesler’s ships destroyed the fleeing vessels.

Shawn hit a button on the computer’s virtual keyboard accessing the cameras on the surface. Laser fire lit up the night. He sat helplessly as the vessels swept over the surface at treetop level had been trees on Europa. One by one, Kesler’s fleet destroyed the enemy vessels. The last ship landed in front of the building housing his office. Shawn slammed his fist down on his desk in frustration. Commandos poured out of the vessel. They formed a defensive perimeter and Shawn watched the firefight take place outside. The images appeared on his VID screen. Laser bolts and solid projectiles flashed on his screen. The troops in their fighting positions opened up on the commandos from the PPF vessel. When he saw the last man fall, Shawn jumped to his feet. “The battle’s over. I want to go outside.”

“Let me make sure it’s safe, sir,” his chief of security said.

“I said I want to go outside! I don’t give a God damn if it’s safe! I’m the president of this frozen piece of ice, am I not?” Shawn yelled and headed for the door.

“Yes sir. Give us five minutes to get a security detail together.” His security chief activated his com-unit.

“I can suit up while you’re doing that.” Fifteen minutes later, adorned in an EVA suit, Shawn stepped out onto the surface of Europa. He carried an M-23 Blaster. The security team surrounded their president. He surveyed the battlefield taking in the bodies and the frozen blood on the ice.

“Did we lose anybody?” Shawn asked his head of security.

“The word I’m getting is that we have one KIA and two injured.”

Shawn cursed under his breath going from body to body looking at the dead. “What a waste.” He rolled a body over onto its back, knelt, and looked into the face of the man’s EVA suit. Fog filled the inside of the faceplate from the man’s shallow breath. “Call the medics. This man’s not dead.”

***

Shawn sat at his desk in his conference room looking at his cabinet members. He poured them each a glass of Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey and glanced from face to face. His eyes finally rested upon the face of his chief intelligence officer. “Jerry. What do you think the feds will do now? What do your intelligence operatives tell you?”

“What Mr. Bonelli said. They intend to squash us like cockroaches under their feet. The main battle fleet left Earth’s spacedock and is heading our way.”

Shawn took a drink from his tumbler and enjoyed the raw taste of the whiskey. “How much time do we have?”

Holliday shrugged. “Six months, give or take a few weeks.”

Shawn nodded. “What about this other fleet we’ve been hearing about on the news?”

“The deep space fleet? I don’t think they’ll give us any trouble. Their mission is to head out for the unknown, not to fuck with us, but who knows? They could merge with the main battle fleet and we could have to deal with them as well.”

“What do you think their strategy might be?”

Holiday paused, lighting a cigar. “They’ll try a blockade at first. Once they see that isn’t working they’ll land troops. The feds will figure that once they take us out, the other mining colonies will surrender. They’ll eventually land troops on the moons of Saturn as well. If this thing goes south, we can expect a federal presence out here for years to come.”

Shawn leaned back in his chair and his eyes turned to his friend and secretary of defense, John Wilson. “John, do you think our troops will be ready by the time the feds show up?”

Wilson took a drink from his tumbler filled with whiskey. “With the help of Kesler and his MERCs, we should be. They will still outnumber and outgun us. We’ve only got so many people. I hope Mr. Wolf shows up with those ships before the feds get here. Things will be tight with only Kesler’s fleet. The extra ships will help.”

Shawn turned his attention back to Holliday. “What about our awe-shit plan?”

Holliday laughed. “Things are moving along. The vessels are under construction. We’ll be ready.”

A troubled look crossed Shawn’s face. “What about that other matter?”

“He’s completed his basic training on the moon and the brass assigned him to peace-keeping duties on Mars. He’s currently in transit on the CEU-Pathfinder. It is due to arrive on station at Mars in three months.”

“Keep me posted on that. I’d like to make a move on that situation as soon as possible,” Shawn said, rising to his feet. He downed the rest of his whiskey. “Gentlemen, we have much to do before the feds show up. I’m going to have a little chat with our PPF officer in the detention center. That will be all gentlemen.” Shawn crossed the room to the door and stepped out into the main corridor. His security detail moved taking up positions around him.

Shawn entered the detention center flanked by his security detail and moved down an aisle way to the cell holding Dillon Kincaid. His nostrils flared.

“Sergeant, could you have your guards hose this place down? It’s starting to smell,” Shawn said to the guard in charge of the detention center.

“Yes sir, Mr. President.” The guard unlocked Kincaid’s cell door. President Gallagher and his security detail entered the cell. The guard closed the cell door behind them. Kincaid, still suffering from his wounds, lay back on his bunk, but he struggled to set up.

Shawn held up his hands. “No don’t. You might aggravate your wounds. Sit back and relax. I’d like to talk for a bit if you don’t mind.” Shawn pulled up a chair and sat facing Kincaid. His security detail stood with somber looks on their faces. They were close enough to come to the president’s defense if necessary.

Kincaid propped himself up on his pillows and a grin crossed his face. “Sure, let’s talk. I was hoping I’d get a chance to meet the man that was giving the CEU such fits. You don’t look crazy.”

Shawn laughed. “I can assure you that I am not. I love my freedom. That’s something that is in short supply in your federal system.”

“It’s not so bad in the military. What do you want?”

“You won’t be in the military forever.”

“Yeah. So?”

“I want to ask you a few questions.”

“You know that under the Code of Military Justice, I don’t have to tell you anything but my name rank, and serial number.” Someone in the next cell coughed.

Shawn nodded. “I know. You probably don’t have any information that we don’t already know. My intel people are good at what they do. I’m curious about a couple of things. I’ll ask the questions. If you don’t want to answer, then don’t.”

“Okay. Shoot.”

“Why did the PPF send you in here with only ten ships?”

“It beats the hell out of me. They wanted to send more but the council overruled them. They must have thought that we could catch you, boys, by surprise and make a clean sweep. They wanted things handled quietly so they could get you boys back to work. They want helium and hydrogen flowing like normal. They didn’t figure on you people linking up with those MERCs you have working with you. Those ships caught us by surprise.” Kincaid put his arms over his head and stretched.

Shawn smiled. “Yeah, I used to be in the PPF myself. Their intelligence is lacking.”

Kincaid nodded. “The PPF and intelligence are an oxymoron.”

“So true. Why, when you saw how many light battlecruisers you had facing you, didn’t you abort your mission? You didn’t stand a chance of completing your objective. You could have turned tail and headed back to Mars,” Shawn asked.

“I had my orders, and my honor to think of. I had no other choice.”

“You know, we could use some good pilots. You’d find serving in our new military to your liking. You’d have a lot more freedom, a hell of a lot better chances for advancement, and you could get rid of that damned biochip. We don’t use them here.”

Kincaid’s bottom jaw dropped and his eyes widened. “You don’t? How do you keep track of your people? How do you pay them?”

“We keep track of them the old-fashioned way. We pay them with real money. What do you say? Do you want to sign up? I could get you out of this cell and into a fighting unit within the hour. All you would have to do is take the loyalty oath.”

Kincaid paused, thinking, and shook his head. “No, I threw my lot in with the Federal Defense Forces a long time ago. They’ve been good to me. I’ll stick with them till the end.”

Shawn sighed. “I didn’t think you’d go for it. But I had to try. Before I leave, is there anything I can get for you? Are they feeding you all right? Is there anything you need? Are the medical people attending to your wounds as they should?”

Kincaid smiled. “Everything’s fine. The food’s pretty good. It’s much better than PPF ration packs.”

“Tell me about it,” Shawn said, standing to his feet. He put his hands in his coat pockets.

Kincaid looked up. “There is one thing if you don’t mind.”

“What’s that?” Shawn asked.

“Things get pretty boring in here. Could you bring a checkerboard? They play chess here. I was never that good at chess, but I’m the checker King. During the day when your guards allow the detainees to mingle in the common room, maybe I could get a game going. Some reading material would be good.”

“Sure. I’m sure I can arrange that. I might even stop by and play a game or two if you don’t mind. I’m still getting used to this presidential stuff. I like chess, but a good game of checkers is always fun. It would be a welcome distraction,” Shawn said and stepped out the door.

Shawn sat in his conference room near a large glass window and looked out at the starlit night sky over the icy surface of Europa. He poured himself a tumbler half full of Jack Daniels whiskey and filled the rest of the tumbler with Cock a Cola. Leaning back, he took a long pull from the tumbler and stared out the window. God, I hope we’re ready. I don’t want the blood of these people on my hands.

The door chimed and the head of Shawn’s security detail stepped into the room. “Mr. President. Mr. Holliday is here to see you,” His security chief said.

Shawn smiled. “Send him in.” He crossed the room and poured another tumbler of Jack and Coke for his head of intelligence. Holliday stepped into the room. “What can I do for you, Mr. Holliday?”

“Oh, I thought I’d stop by and see how your talk went with our PPF officer.”

“I’m glad you came by. Have a drink.” Shawn handed Holliday his drink.

“Ah. You are a man after my own heart.” Holiday took the drink.

“Have a seat.” Shawn motioned to a table. Holliday sat down at the table and they swiveled their chairs facing the window. “Europa looks so peaceful at night.”

Holiday nodded and produced a cigar. “Yeah, but that ice out there is going to turn bloody before too long.”

“I hear you. I’ve been sitting here thinking about that wondering if we’re doing the right thing. As you said earlier, the feds could squish us like so many bugs before this is over. We could all die here. If they come in here like gangbusters, the blood of these miners will be on my hands.”

Holiday lit the cigar. “Yeah, but what’s the alternative? To stay under their thumb? Freedom isn’t free. We’re all here of our own free will. Every damn one of those miners is behind you one hundred percent.”

Shawn nodded. “Do you think we’ll be ready?”

Holliday shrugged. “If Mr. Wolf shows up with those ships and we get them spaceworthy before the feds show up, we’ll have a fighting chance. How’d the talk go with our PPF prisoner?”

“As good as we can expect. Those old boys are hard nuts to crack and they are loyal to the federal system. I don’t think he has any information that we don’t already know. What do you think?”

“I agree. My intel boys had a couple of chats with him. They didn’t learn much.”

“I tried to talk him into switching allegiances. I told him that we could use some good pilots.”

Holiday laughed. “I bet that went over like a fart in church.”

“He respectfully declined. He’s career PPF.”

“What are you going to do with him?”

“There’s not much we can do, but hold him until this is over. He asked for a checkerboard. I might stop in and play a few games with him. Maybe he’ll let something slip. Maybe he does know something, but he doesn’t realize it. Who knows what little tidbit of information he might have that we could use.”

Holliday shrugged. “Who knows?”

“I kind of like the guy. He reminds me of someone on the old crew that I used to serve with when I was in the PPF.”

“Well Mr. President, I’m going to head to my quarters and hit the rack. I have a feeling that things are going to get busy around here,” Holliday said rising to his feet.

“I do too.” Shawn stood up. He stuck out his hand and they shook. “It’s having friends like you that make things bearable around here.”

After Holliday left the conference room, Shawn sat back down at the table. His thoughts drifted to his brother David. He took a pull from his tumbler of Jack and Coke staring out at the surface of Europa.

***

They kept busy on the surface of Europa during the weeks that followed. The military forces of the New Republic spent twelve hours every day, training. The miners used bulldozers to create icy earthworks surrounding the facility and built narrow canyons and trenches out on the surface. The plan was to ambush the federal forces while on the approach to the main mining complex. They hollowed out fighting positions near the rim of the canyons and booby-trapped their floors with explosives.

Shawn kept busy reviewing reports from his commanders and kept track of their preparations for the coming federal invasion. He received reports from the Governors on the moons of Saturn about their defensive preparations. An attack there seemed unlikely.

One afternoon, Shawn, along with the head of his security detail, was out on the surface. He drove a half-track to the rim of one of the canyons and switched the forward view to full magnification. Shawn watched the ongoing work below him when the com-unit on the vehicle beeped. Shawn flipped a toggle switch activating the com-unit. The image of his secretary appeared on the viewscreen.

“Mr. President. I received a VID transmission from Linda in spacedock. She says that a large force of light cruiser appeared on her screen coming out of the asteroid belt. She says they are heading our way.”

Shawn’s features turned grave. “Has she made contact with them yet?”

“No. She’s hailed them but has not received a response. Linda says these ships look like nothing she’s ever seen before.”

“Let’s hope they’re Mr. Wolf and our new ships, not the PPF boys coming back for round two. Tell Linda I’ll contact her as soon as I am back in the command center. Have John put the troops on, alert.” Shawn heaved a sigh. He shut off the com-unit, ending the transmission, and looked at his security chief riding in the passenger seat. “What do you think?”

“We need to get you back to the command center as soon as possible.”

“Let’s go.” Shawn whirled the half-track around, descended from the canyon’s rim, and headed back to mining site A.

***

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What are you grateful for?

Posted on May 19, 2023 by Dave the Miracle Maker
Asian couple about to eat noodles

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Hello, this is Dave the Miracle Maker and it’s starting to get hot up here in the high desert of Southern California. I have been busy getting my pool ready for the summer before I go on vacation. I’d like to ask you, what are you grateful for? I am grateful for so many things. I am grateful for my family, my home my good friends, my dogs, the money in my bank account plus the money that I make online, and that I am in reasonably good health to name but a few. I encourage you to write down on a piece of paper everything that you are grateful for. If you are trying to manifest a better life, a significant other, or mone money, you need to be grateful for it in the present moment. You need to believe that you already have it. Instead of focusing on what you don’t have, be grateful for what you do have. That doesn’t mean that you don’t desire more. When you are trying to manifest your dream life, and you are grateful now for the things you want as if you already have them, watch the miracles happen. Let me know what you think. Peace out.

Now for your reading pleasure here is chapter 12 of my science fiction novel, The Battle for Europa. The Battle for Europa is the first book in my science fiction series, the Space Corps Chronicles.

Chapter 12

Dillon Kincaid’s hands gripped the armrest of the captain’s chair on the CEU-Thunder Claw. Sweat beaded up, on his forehead. The muscles in the back of his neck felt as taut as a guitar’s E string. He gazed out the viewscreen at the ships orbiting Jupiter and her moons. The woman manning the com station on Jupiter’s spacedock had been hailing them. Kincaid had not allowed his communications officer to respond. He drummed his fingers on the armrest of his chair and then wiped the sweat from his brow.

“It would have been nice if the intelligence people had let us know about these ships. Who are these people anyway? They can’t be miners,” First Officer Adam Beasley said. He adjusted the view on the forward viewscreen bringing it to full magnification. “This is looking more and more like a suicide mission.”

Kincaid let out a snort. “Hell yeah it’s a suicide mission, but we’ve got it to do. I guess the brass thought these miners would be sitting on their fat asses waiting for us. They hired some MERCs. Miss Jessup Contact the Raven, the Condor, the Eagle’s Claw, the Sparrow Hawk, and the Firebird. Tell them to act as a blocking force. I’m going to lead the rest of us to the objective.”

The Thunder Claw, along with four other PPF vessels, increased its downward angle sweeping toward the surface of Europa bypassing Callisto and Ganymede. The ships orbiting these moons broke orbit to engage and the ships Kincaid had assigned as the blocking force turned to face the threat. The MERCs employed by Ludwig Von Wolf hammered the PPF vessels with laser fire. Blue-green flashes of light lit up the night.

***

Inside the com center on Jupiter’s spacedock, Linda Van Horn watched their viewscreen. It reminded her of the fireworks displays back home, only this was much more deadly. She contacted the military headquarters on Europa. The PPF fleet split. Half of them headed toward the moon’s surface. Two of the ships, acting as a blocking force, took direct hits. The torpedoes penetrated their shields and burned through their hulls. Their fusion reactors overheated and exploded. A blinding flash of white light filled Linda’s viewscreen. A debris field filled the space surrounding the spacedock. The three vessels of the blocking force that remained turned to flee.

***

Gustav Kesler sat on the bridge of his flagship watching the scene unfold. “Should we let them go?” the vessel’s captain asked.

Gustav shook his head. “Negative. Annihilate them.” He pulled a cigar from the front pocket of his uniform blouse and fired it up. The smell of tobacco smoke filled the bridge. Twenty ships from Kesler’s fleet pursued the fleeing PPF vessels. They fired a volley of proton torpedoes. Three distinct explosions filled the viewscreen. A debris field filled the space in front of their vessels.

“Turn around and take us to Europa. Let’s see if we can catch those other ships before they land,” Gustav said to his helmsmen.

***

God, it’s almost like we’re flying through a gauntlet. Kincaid’s space cruiser descended toward the surface of Europa. Laser fire from the surface ached up toward his ship. Ships from the MERC’s fleet made short work of his blocking force. Now they nipped at the heels of his small assault forces. Two of the ships in the assault force took direct hits from proton torpedoes. They exploded killing everyone on board. Two more took hits from the moon’s laser cannons and crashed into the surface.

“Take us down on the deck!” Dillon yelled to his helmsmen as they swept over the surface heading toward the main mining complex. The Thunder Claw flew through a narrow canyon. She tried to avoid the ground fire from the laser cannons. Men in fighting positions dug into the canyon walls that fired at them with M-23 Blasters and machine guns.

“Captain! Our shields are down and I’m losing control of our forward thrusters! We coming in too hot!” the helmsmen yelled.

“Set us down in front of their main compound! Even if you have to do so in a controlled crash!”

“Aye Captain.” The helmsmen set the Thunder Claw down in front of what had once been Consolidated Mining’s main office complex. Kincaid felt a sharp jolt when the ship touched down and slid to a stop. It broke off one of its landing struts. Commandos threw on their EVA suits and grabbed their rifles. They rushed through the airlock, ran down the exit ramp, and formed a defensive perimeter around the ship. Kincaid and the officers on the bridge ran to the exit hatch, put on their EVA suits, and ran down the exit ramps to join the battle.

Men rose from a trench in front of the mining complex opening up with their Blasters. They lit up the night sky over Europa with laser fire. Outnumbered, Kincaid and his team put up a hard fight. Their armored EVA suits, after repeated hits, failed. Kincaid’s breath caught in his throat. A hole burnt through his upper chest. The impact caused him to spin around and land on his back. His chest felt as if it were on fire. Through the face shield of his EVA suit, he saw the blurry image of a man standing over him with a gun. Awe shit, Kincaid thought and slipped into unconsciousness.

***

Cyrus Bonelli stood, transfixed. He gazed out the window of his council chambers at the lights of New York City. Hover cars moved through the air in front of the window. Acid reflux burned the inside of his throat. Moments before, Cyrus had received word of the destruction of the PPF vessels. They had attempted to land on Europa. One of the vessels in the blocking force managed to fire off a VID Com seconds before Kesler’s ships blew it to bits. I should have known they would hire mercenaries, but where did they get the funds? Cyrus wondered. Damn, Damn, Damn. Cyrus called an emergency meeting of the Joint Chiefs. They gathered in his council chambers. “Gentlemen,” Cyrus said stepping before them. “The folly caused by the bureaucrats sitting on the Council of Economic Unions has come to pass. It is now time for the military to intervene. Operation Bold Strike will begin at zero six hundred hours.”

“Begging your pardon, sir, but it wasn’t the Planetary Patrol Force’s fault. They only allowed us to use ten ships. The intelligence was bad,” the general from the Planetary Patrol Force protested.

Cyrus raised his hands. “I understand. I’m not blaming you people. It’s them bastards on the council floor that are to blame. As I was saying. Bold Strike commences at zero six hundred hours. Once your ships are on station, you will set up a blockade. You will demand the surrender of this rabble that calls themselves the New Republic. If they refuse to surrender, we will launch a full-scale assault on the moons of Jupiter. Europa will be our primary target. I want their leadership taken alive. I want them brought back here in chains to stand trial for treason. I want those tanker ships moving. Our supplies of helium-3 and hydrogen are running low. The bureaucrats on the council floor have their panties in a bunch. Who knows what they’ll come up with next? Gentlemen, you have your orders. Make it so.” A murmur went through the crowd of assembled officers. Cyrus watched the generals of the main branches of the Federal Defense Forces file out of the room.

The fleet admirals received encrypted transmissions putting them on alert. The ships were made ready for space. One-third of the main battle fleet left the spacedock orbiting Earth and headed for the moon. They would link up with several more ships orbiting the lunar spacedock and head toward Mars. The main bulk of the fleet broke orbit with Mars and headed toward the asteroid belt. They would be the first ones on the scene and it was their duty to set up the blockade of Jupiter.

“Mr. President. You have an incoming VID flash transmission on your VID screen. It’s marked urgent,” Cyrus’s aide said when he entered the room.

“Who is it?”

“He says his name is Shawn Gallagher, president of the New Republic.” Cyrus stormed out of his council chambers and into his private office. “Computer, play incoming video flash message marked urgent.” The image of Shawn Gallagher appeared on the screen. Cyrus sat down behind the computer screen glaring at his adversary. “I’m not used to having casual conversations with traitors and insurrectionists. State your business!”

Shawn leaned back in his chair. “Mr. President. I want you to know that you got a lot of good men killed for nothing. All you had to do was to concede to our demands and the takers would be flying once more. You’d have all the helium and hydrogen you need. Now over one hundred men are dead.”

The veins in Cyrus’s neck pulsed and his face flushed. “We will never give in to blackmail and deceit from vermin such as you. Those men went to their deaths because of a bunch of bureaucrats. Bureaucrats who chose to play patty cake with a bunch of terrorists. Their blood is not on my hands, but I can guarantee you that there are more men and ships where those came from. We’re coming and we will exterminate you like the vermin you are! When I have you back on Earth, in chains, I will make it my duty to fire the laser bolt that takes your life.”

Shawn shrugged. “You know, you should try not to take things so personally. If you care, one of the PPF personnel survived. A Captain Dillon Kincaid. Our medical people are seeing to his wounds. Once he recovers, we’ll place him with the rest of the detainees. When you concede to our demands, we will work out some kind of prisoner exchange. Hell, we might even negotiate some trade deals. Who knows? We could even become friends.”

“Fuck you! Computer, end transmission!”

***

Captain Chambers lay in bed sound asleep between two naked androids. Light exploded through the tiny crib when First Officer Bannister entered the room. Chambers groaned. Crawling from between the two naked female androids, he turned set his feet on the floor, leaned forward, and placed his head in his hands.

A smirk crossed Banister’s face. “Of all the dives in the colony, you have to pick, Dolly’s Droids? God, Jack. You’d put your pecker in a knothole if you had the chance.”

Chambers smiled. “Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried one. You don’t have to cuddle with an android when you’re done. You turn them off. They’re fully functional in every way. Their skin texture is so smooth you can’t tell that they’re not real women.” The redheaded, big-breasted android, now in sleep mode on the bed began to stir. The blonde remained asleep with her large breasts pointing to the sky. Banister noticed a tiny field of freckles covering the redhead’s nose.

“You do have a thing for blondes and redheads.”

“You’ve got to quit barging in on me like this Craig. Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?”

Banister sighed. “I did knock. I about beat the damned door down. Let’s go, my friend. We’ve got marines to pick up. The fleet leaves at fifteen hundred hours. The Port Royal needs her captain.”

“God, my head hurts. What time is it?”

Banister laughed. “Zero seven hundred Earth Standard time. I know how to fix that hangover. Breakfast at the officers’ mess and about a gallon of good old Navy Coffee.”

“Yeah. It might rot out your insides, but it will kill your hangover.” Chambers stood to his feet and Bannister waited while he dressed. They stepped out into the dim hallway, covered with maroon carpeting, and headed down the corridor toward the exit. Squinting, because of the dim light, Chambers noticed four marines in the hallway. They sprung to attention and snapped off salutes. Captain Chambers, along with First Officer Bannister returned the courtesy.

“As you were, gentlemen,” Chambers said, wondering if these were some of his marines. After speaking with the Marines, Chambers, and Bannister left Dolly’s Droids heading across the mall to the exit. They put on their EVA suits, caught a bus to the shuttle port, boarded their shuttle, and settled in for the ride. The shuttle lifted off the surface. Captain Chambers looked out the porthole next to his seat and watched the cratered surface of the moon recede below them.

They had left Earth three days ago, and when they arrived at the lunar spacedock, the place looked crowded. Federal Defense Force vessels filled every docking port at the spacedock. The new fleet of Deep Space vessels had to take a higher orbit away from the clutter. There had been no place for them to dock. Chambers gave the ship’s crew a two-day pass to visit the colony before they continued to Mars. Now, the spacedock looked deserted and their fleet was the only ships in orbit.

“Where is everybody?” Chambers asked, looking out his porthole.

“It has something to do with the situation on Europa. I expect we’ll hear about it once we’re back on board ship.”

Chambers nodded. “I hope we don’t get caught up in that mess.”

“The powers that be want to keep us out of it.”

The shuttle gained altitude and entered space. It headed toward the massive fleet gathered above the spacedock. Chambers saw green flashing lights. The massive steel launch bay doors opened. Their shuttle flew through the launch bay doors and sat down on the launch bay of the Port Royal.

“Home at last,” Bannister said.

“Yeah, let’s go get that breakfast you were talking about. I need some caffeine.”

“What’s the matter? You’re not feeling chipper this morning?”

Chambers shook his head. “Fuck you, Craig. I feel like a warm bag of shit.”

Banister laughed. “You have such a way with words.” They stood to head for the shuttle’s exit hatch.

Finished with breakfast, Cambers entered his conference room. He answered a flash transmission on the VID screen. The face of Admiral Boris Ivanov filled the screen.

“Good morning, sir,” Captain Chambers said nodding at the image on the screen.

“Good morning Captain. I wanted to inform you about the events which transpired on Europa a short while ago.”

Chambers leaned back in his chair. “I’ve been busy with other things for the last couple of days and haven’t kept up with the news. I noticed that most of the main battle fleet has left. What’s up?”

The admiral’s expression turned grave. “The PPF launched an assault on the New Republic’s main complex. The council wanted to keep things low-key, so they only sent in ten ships. It was a bad mistake. The New Republic forces obliterated our PPF comrades. It seems that the miners on Europa have some mercenary forces working with them. President Bonelli ordered an immediate blockade of Jupiter. It is in preparation for a major offensive.”

Chambers’ eyes widened. “How will that affect our mission?”

“I hope we don’t get drawn into this conflict. If these rebels on Europa don’t allow us to pass through their space, then we may have to blast our way through. We need to use Jupiter’s gravity to assist us on our journey to the outer reaches of the solar system.”

“Maybe they’ll listen to reason. If we explain that we’re not part of the assault force and that all we want to do is head for deep space, maybe they’ll let us pass.”

“I hope so. If not, we’ll shoot our way through. Will the Port Royal be ready for a fifteen-hundred departure?”

Chambers nodded. “Yes sir. We have some marines to pick up, but I’m sure everyone will be on board in time.”

“Good. I’m sure you have pressing duties to attend to. Carry on.” Admiral Ivanov’s image on the screen disappeared and the screen went dark. The shuttle pilots in the fleet spent the next eight hours shuttling marines to their ships. When the marines arrived, they marched to the turbo lifts, rode down to their berthing areas, stowed their gear, and met in the assembly hall for an orientation briefing once the ships were underway.

Captain Chambers sat in the captain’s chair on the bridge of the Port Royal. The time was fifteen hundred hours Earth Standard time. First officer Bannister sat beside him. The communications officer received word that they were clear to leave orbit. Chambers looked at his helmsmen. “Mr. Walker. Take us out of orbit. Let’s take up our position in the fleet. Set a course for Mars.”

“Aye Captain.” The Port Royal broke orbit. It took up its position with the fleet and the new fleet of deep space vessels left Earth’s moon behind on route to Mars.

Cambers looked at his communications officer. “Miss. Barrow. Contact Fleet Marine headquarters. Patch Commander Dawson through to my panel.”

“Yes sir,” the young blonde-headed communications officer said.

“Captain. What can I do for you, sir?” Commander Dawson asked.

“I wanted to see how things are going. Are your marines settled in?”

“They’re fine, sir. We’re right in the middle of an orientation briefing. Would you like to come down and address the troops?”

“I’d love to. I’ll be right there.” Chambers stood to his feet and looked at his first officer. “Mr. Bannister, you have the bridge.” Chambers stepped through the set of double doors leading to the main hallway. He headed down to the turbo lifts and rode a lift down into the bowels of the ship to the deck housing the Fleet Marines. He stepped out of the turbo lift, passed through the office complex, and entered their main assembly hall. Men sat at tables and chairs facing a stage. A Marine Corps officer stood on the stage addressing the troops.

When Commander Dawson saw, Captain Chambers enter the room he smiled. “Gentlemen. Let me introduce our captain. Mr. Jack Chambers.” Chambers stepped up onto the stage. He shook Commander Dawson’s hand after returning his salute. The men stood at attention when Chambers stepped up to the podium.

Chambers smiled. “Gentlemen, as you were.” The men sat down. “On behalf of all the naval officers and enlisted personnel, I’d like to welcome you aboard the Port Royal. You, gentlemen, are fortunate to be on this vessel. You are making history. You are among the first who will venture out of our solar system. I trust that you will adapt to life on board the ship. I’m sure that Commander Dawson will keep you busy. We have some training events scheduled soon. We will be in space for the next three months before arriving at Mars. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. All though I respect the chain of command, my door is open to anyone.”

A young dark-headed marine raised his hand and stood at the back of the room. “Sir, I have a question.”

“That’s what I’m here for. State your name, and ask your question.”

“Sir, my name is Louis Martin. From what they’re telling us, this could be a long mission. I planned to do only one hitch. I’d like to get back home to England as soon as I can.”

Chambers stepped up to the edge of the stage. “They told me that everyone assigned to this ship had marked yes on that box in their induction form. The box saying that they might consider a career with the Federal Defense Forces.”

The young marine shook his head. “Not me sir. I marked no in that box.”

“They were using old-fashioned pen and paper forms in San Diego. Their digital-pad system was down. Private Martin must have smudged his form. It’s possible, that the clerks in Diego made a mistake,” Commander Dawson interjected.

“Regardless, the needs of the service come first. You’ve been in the Marine Corps for five months. You still have three years and seven months on your first tour. We can’t turn this fleet around and head back to Earth because of one man. When your hitch runs out, we’ll be out of the solar system. You’re with us for the duration. Make the best of it.”

“Yes sir. Thank you, sir.” Louis Martin sat down.

“If there are no further questions, I have other duties to attend to. I expect that during our mission I’ll get a chance to speak to each one of you. Again, I’d like to welcome you all aboard.” Chambers stepped away from the podium and the marines stood and applauded.

Back in his office, Chambers sat down at his oak conference table. He logged onto the ship’s personnel records. He looked up Marine Corps PFC, Louis Martin’s records, and read everything that was there. The file held the young man’s records and the personal opinions of his teachers. It held reports from the political officers from grade school until the present. He flipped on his VID screen and sent a flash transmission to Commander Dawson. A few seconds later the image of Commander Dawson appeared on the screen.

“Hello, Captain. What can I do for you?”

Chambers swiveled back and forth in his chair. “I was going over this PFC Martin’s records. He’s shown no discipline problems in the past. His teachers, and his drill instructors, say that he has excellent leadership potential.”

“Of course, he only arrived aboard ship this afternoon, but I know the DIs down on the lunar recruitment depot. They don’t sugarcoat things. If they say he’s a squared-away marine, then that’s what he is.”

“It sounds like he’d be an excellent candidate for the new officers’ training academy. The admiral’s orders are to hold officers training classes. He wants people with leadership potential to advance through the ranks.”

“Yes sir. We’re trying to fill out the classes now for the marines. I could talk to Private Martin about it.”

“Better yet, send him up to my office. I’d like to broach the subject with the young man.”

“Will do sir. I’ll send him right up.”

Chambers ended the VID transmission. He continued to scan the files of the new marines aboard his ship. Ten minutes later, he heard a knock at his door. “Enter.”

Louis Martin stepped inside, stood at attention, and snapped off a salute. Chambers returned the gesture. “Private Louis Martin reporting as ordered, sir.”

“Have a seat. I was going to have some coffee. Would you like a cup?”

“I wouldn’t mind a spot of tea, but if coffee’s all you have, I’ll take a cup.”

Chambers laughed. “That’s right. You’re English. I’m sure the beverage dispenser can come up with a good cup of tea.” Martin waited until Chambers returned and handed him a cup of tea, then he sat down. Chambers leaned forward in his chair resting his arms on his desk. “Private Martian, I’d like to talk to you a little more about the question you asked me in your orientation briefing. As I said before, the needs of the service come first. We’re on a mission that could keep us away from home for twenty-five years or more. We can’t have marines trying to quit on us, or resorting to mutiny, because their hitch has run out.”

Louis nodded. “I will do my duty, sir. However long the mission lasts.”

“I could try to arrange a transfer to another unit and leave you on Mars to serve as a peacekeeper, but I have another idea. Might I make a suggestion? I was looking through your records. You have high marks on your test. Your teachers and superior officers have inserted positive comments into your file. They say things such as, ‘This marine shows excellent leadership qualities. The admiral has ordered us to start Officers Training Classes. I suggest you sign up. You’re with us for the duration. Why not make the best of it? This way, when we arrive back home, twenty-five years from now, you’ll be at a higher rank with a fatter wallet.”

Martin’s eyes widened. “An officer? I never thought of myself as an officer, but I will give it some thought sir.” Louis tossed back the rest of his tea and Captain Chambers stood up extending his hand.

“Give it some serious thought. You could have a bright future in the Federal Defense Forces. You’re dismissed.”

“I will sir. Thank you, sir.” Martin snapped off another salute, turned on his heels, and left the room.

***

The Port Royal and the rest of the fleet crossed the vast gulf of space separating Earth from Mars. The fleet held two training missions. One of which consisted of an occupation of a large asteroid. Another consisted of landing troops on board a derelict vessel. After searching the vessel, the ships opened up on the derelict with their weapons. They fired their lasers and launched volley after volley of proton torpedoes. The ship exploded into a floating cloud of debris.

Life onboard the ship became routine. When they launched the officers’ training classes, twenty-five people signed up. They assigned the officer cadets the temporary rank of third lieutenants. After spending eight hours in class, the recruits had to work at various parts of the ship for four hours a day serving as the officer of the day. They also stood fire watch when their turn came around. Their days were long and hard with very little sleep.

When the Port Royal approached the red planet, Bannister sat on the bridge. He couldn’t help but marvel at how peaceful the planet looked. The spectacular view from space masked the deep turmoil on the surface.

“So beautiful, yet so volatile,” Bannister said to himself. The red planet is a powder keg ready to explode. When she does, she’ll run red with blood. He flipped the toggle of the com-unit on his console and called the captain to the bridge.

***

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The Home Doctor – Practical Medicine for Every Household.

Posted on May 15, 2023 by Dave the Miracle Maker

Hello everyone. This is Dave the Miricle Maker and I hope you are having a great day. It’s another beautiful day up here in the high desert of Southern California, but it is starting to get hot. I just riecently started a new novel, titled Katrina. It is the sixth book in the Mike Mcdonald Action Adventure Saga. I also have been working on my pool out back to get it ready for summer. My cell phone desided to fall out of my pocket and take a swim, so I was without a phone for a couple of days. It works now after I let it dry out for a couple of days lol.

Today I would like to talk about The Home Doctor – Practical Medicine for Every Household. I highly recommend this book. If you are like me and you don’t go to the doctor unless you think you are about to die, then this is the book for you. It gives you practical advice on things like, how to recognize the symptoms of a stroke or a heart attack, how to do a self-breast exam plus much more. It tells you how to deal with common ailments as well as what medical supplies you need to keep on hand in case of an emergency. I think this book should be in every household. Check out the link below and let me know what you think.

The Home Doctor – Practical Medicine for Every Household

Now for you reading pleasure check out chapter 11 of my science fictionnovel, the Bttle for Europa which is book one of my science fiction seies the Space Corps Chronicles.

Chapter 11

David Gallagher, Alonzo Garcia, and the rest of the inductees poured out the doors of the bus.

“On the deck you slimy little worms! See the little yellow footprints on the sidewalk? Let’s see if you are smart enough to form up, on those footprints, and stand at attention!” the sergeant riding the bus yelled. Sweat beaded up on his forehead and spittle flew from his mouth. The inductees hustled onto the sidewalk forming up into ranks. “Move! Move! Move! We don’t have all-day people!” the sergeant continued. He paced back and forth in front of their ranks stopping in front of Gallagher and Garcia. Martin and Rosenbaum stood to his left. The sergeant’s nostrils flared. “You boys smell like the inside of a spittoon! Have you little worms been drinking?”

“Yeah, yes we had a few beers,” David stammered.

“That will be the last alcohol that will pass through your slimy little lips for the next thirteen weeks!” The sergeant stepped back surveying the entire group. “You pukes have to be the most disgusting batch of humanity I have ever seen! I am Sergeant Ray Blackburn! I am the senior drill instructor! From now on, you will address me as sir! The first thing and the last thing that comes out of your pie holes will be sir!” he yelled.

“Sir! Yes sir!” the inductees yelled back.

“Form up in columns of two! Left face! That means to turn to your left, in your civilian puke’s language! Move! On the bounce! Left! Right! Left!” The sergeant led them down the sidewalk to a rectangular-shaped building. They headed into a room on the bottom floor. David’s heart pounded inside his chest. The drill instructor’s assistants ran beside the troops yelling their lungs out.

“Have a seat you slimy little worms!” Blackburn yelled. He made his way to the front of the room while the inductees sat at tables facing forward. The shuffling sound of chairs sliding across the floor filled the room. In front of each inductee set a black marker and a small digital notepad.

“Pick up the black marker in front of you and write six zero five on the back of your hand! You are now in Platoon six zero five! The digital pad setting in front of you is your journal! Write down all the happy little things that you want to remember about your experiences at boot camp!” Blackburn paused to catch his breath. “Sergeant Duncan and Corporal Morales will be passing their campaign hats around! If you have any guns, knives, chewing gum, tobacco, or any other form of contraband, put them in the campaign hats! After you pass the hats forward, you should have nothing in your pockets! There will be no smoking or drinking while at boot camp! There will be no sexual fraternization whatsoever!” The sergeant took another breath. “Let’s talk about article ninety-one of the uniform code of military justice! It says that you will not disobey a lawful order! Article eighty-six prohibits you from being absent without leave! Article ninety-six prohibits disrespect to a senior officer! Learn these articles! Learn them well! Laser them to your brains!”

They passed the campaign hats forward. The inductees received a list of gear they would receive from the quartermaster. The list consisted of sixty-six separate items. The drill instructors marched them into an adjoining room and they stood in a line next to a long line of tables. Moving up the line, they received their gear. The first item they received was a seabag to put everything in. They received six sets of uniforms, six pairs of boxer shorts, six pairs of socks, and two pairs of boots.

With their gear stuffed into the seabags, they marched into an adjoining room. A long line of barber chairs was set near the bulkhead at the front of the room. The barbers stood behind their chairs with smiles on their faces.

“How would you like your hair cut?” a fat Italian barber asked David when he sat down in his chair.

David grinned. “Block it in the back, and take a little off the sides.”

“Would you like to leave the sideburns?”

“Why not? Let’s leave them.” With five swipes of his electric scissors, the barber relieved David of all the hair on his head. He took off his sideburns with one swipe each. David reached up and felt his bald dome when the barber finished.

“Move it boot! You’re not the only little lamb that we have to sheer today!” Corporal Morales yelled. After the haircuts, the inductees marched back to the receiving barracks. They toted their seabags over their shoulder. Sergeant Duncan marched them up to the top level of the three-tiered barracks. David breathed in the smell of pine-scented cleaner. Sergeant Blackburn instructed them to find a bunk and to empty the contents of their seabags. The drill instructors ordered them to put their gear into the footlockers at the end of their beds. Finished with their gear, they stripped down and marched to the showers for a head call. Sergeant Duncan ordered them to shower by the numbers. They washed and rinsed in an efficient manner cleaning one body part at a time. Goose flesh formed up, on David’s flesh and he shivered from the cold. After the head call, they marched back to their bunks. Sergeant Duncan ordered them to put on a pair of skivvies and retire for the evening. The time was zero two hundred thirty hours Earth Standard. God what have I gotten myself into, David wondered when he laid down in his bunk.

***

The sound of metal trashcan lids banging together brought David from a deep slumber. He bolted upright in his bunk wondering where he was and why someone was making such a God-awful racket.

“Drop your cocks and grab your socks my little worms! Out of those racks! Move! Move! Move!” Sergeant Blackburn yelled. The inductees scrambled out of their bunks. A few were moving too slowly for their instructor’s taste. They had their bunks, mattress, and bedding tossed onto the deck. “Form up at attention in front of your bunks! I haven’t got all day ladies!” Blackburn yelled. The inductees scrambled to obey his order. Sergeant Blackburn and his two assistants strutted back and forth inspecting the troops. They carried short rubber Billy clubs. When they caught someone slouching, they swung the Billy club. They struck the offender’s calf knocking them to the deck. “Since you’re down there, give me twenty! Sound off like you’ve got a pair! One, two three four! I love the Marine Core!” Blackburn yelled while those who received the strike to their calves did pushups. Blackburn stopped in front of David. “Are you eyeballing me boy?”

David’s heart hammered inside his chest. “Sir! No sir!”

“Are you calling me a liar?”

“Sir! No sir!” David yelled.

“You are calling me a liar! You were trying to eye fuck me, boy!” Blackburn punched David in the stomach, dropping him to his knees. “While you’re down there, give me twenty!” David assumed the position and started doing pushups. His arms trembled and he tried to catch his breath. Finished with the discipline, they marched the inductees to the head to shit, shower, and shave. After the head call, the inductees dressed. They made their racks and cleaned the squad bay. The drill instructors marched them down to the mess hall for morning chow at zero six hundred hours.

***

They spent the first week of their training in the receiving barracks learning close-order drills and doing a massive amount of PT. They attended classes where they learned military history, military protocols, the chain of command, and the order of battle. The instructors trained them in the operation and maintenance of the M-23 Blaster. They issued them M-23s and had them the rifles everywhere they went. At night, they went to more classes covering military terms and procedures. By the end of the week, they were fully indoctrinated and ready to start training in earnest.

In their Military history class, the instructor paced back and forth in front of the group. “Have any of you heard the name, John Rizzo? I know you’ve seen his name on the wall of fame,” the instructor asked but no one answered.

“John Rizzo was the commandant of the Marine Core under the old United States of America. During the chaos after the Third World War, Rizzo held the Marine Corps together. He defeated the bands of rebels and bandits, which terrorized the nation. Rizzo’s marines invaded Canada and Mexico, defeating the bandits and rebel scum there. They formed the North American Union. Rizzo also helped form the European Union and helped form the system of government we know today. When you are in your bunks getting ready to retire for the evening, when your drill instructor tells you to say good night John Rizzo, wherever you are, remember this. It was good marines like Rizzo who bled and died so that we could be here today.”

David leaned over and whispered to Alonzo. “Finally, they tell us who John Rizzo was. We’ve been saying good night to the bastard at lights out ever since we arrive.”

The following morning, the drill instructors ordered platoon 605 to pack their gear. With Sea bags over their shoulders, they left the receiving barracks and crossed the parade ground to the main barracks. It was where they would spend the rest of their time at boot camp. They marched to the top tier of a three-tiered barracks. Over the next three weeks, their training intensified. Rolling from their bunks at zero five-thirty, they made ahead, call, and then headed to the parade ground for morning PT. At zero seven hundred, the drill instructors marched them to the chow hall for breakfast. They had twenty minutes to eat, and then they ran the obstacle course.

They took classes in first aid, and hand-to-hand combat and learned the proper use of a bayonet as a defensive and offensive weapon. One of the inductees asked why they needed to train with such an archaic weapon.

“When all your standard 223 rounds are gone and your energy packs are dead. When you’ve fired off all your explosive rounds and all else fails you can use the M-23 Blaster with a bayonet attached as an offensive or defensive weapon. If the bayonet breaks, you can use your blaster as a club. A marine doesn’t stop fighting until he is dead,” Senior Drill Instructor Blackburn yelled.

They attended a class on water safety. The drill instructors ordered them to jump into a swimming pool wearing a pack with full combat gear. It was a timed test to see how long they could survive floating in the water. David thought for a moment that he was going to drown. He felt weak, but he managed to make it through the exercise. The drill instructors also taught them life-saving techniques.

“I know you little worms are wondering why we’re teaching water safety here on the moon. Most of you will ship out to Mars or become part of the Space Division of the Fleet Marines, think about this! At the end of your first hitch, or on your second, should you re-up, they could assign you to the straight-leg Navy on Earth! There are two mighty big oceans back home. Should you fall overboard, or get your ship shot out from under you, you’ll need to know how to survive!” Corporal Morales yelled.

David clung to the side of the pool to catch his breath.

When they weren’t taking classes, they ran with Sergeant Blackburn. He led them on ten-mile runs. He would leave the main complex and head into the bush. They stayed under the massive dome, which housed the entire base. The area they ran through was as rocky and rugged as any place on Earth. The environmental division of the Federal Defense Forces had brought in topsoil. They planted trees and shrubs. There was even a stream meandering through the base. David saw pan-sized fish swimming in the stream.

They also did massive amounts of PT. When one of the inductees screwed up; the DIs beat him with their rubber Billy clubs. He forced the entire platoon to do PT. Close to the end of the first phase of their training one inductee was always causing problems. He was getting the entire platoon into trouble. One evening the platoon had to march in circles for hours carrying buckets of sand in each hand. That night the platoon held a blanket party. One person held the offender down with his blanket over his head. The rest of the platoon filed by his bunk swinging socks filled with bars of soap. They battered his chest and upper body.

David’s nostrils flared and his breathing accelerated. His heart pounded inside his chest. “Shape up, you SOB,” David whispered and took his turn bashing the inductee. His screams filled the barracks. No drill instructors appeared from the DI shack to save the day. The next morning at reveille, the inductee seemed like a new man.

Gallagher, Garcia, Martin, and Rosenbaum formed a tight group within the platoon. The sergeant appointed David as squad leader. Alonzo, Paul, and Louis were the most trusted members of his squad. The fourth week of their training was spent in the field. They marched out into the bush, participated in live-fire exercises, and had to crawl under barbed wire obstacles. The instructors fired machine guns and laser carbines over their heads. Simulated explosions showered them with dirt and debris.

David kept his head down. Biting back the fear, he tried to keep his hands from shaking. A sense of exhilaration shot through him when the bullets screamed overhead. They crossed a slimy mud bog while under fire and formed a defensive perimeter on the bank on the far side of the creek. After the live-fire exercise, they bivouacked in the brush and played war games. The drill instructors designated Platoon 605 as the red army while platoon 606 was the blue army. David led patrols, looking for the enemy’s base.

On the final day of the exercise, the red army assaulted the blue army’s base and won the exercise. They marched back to the barracks, a tired, dirty gritty bunch having completed the first phase of their training. Once again, they packed their seabags. This time, their move was a short one. Platoon 605 marched down the stairs to the second tier of the barracks and took possession of the bunks.

***

Platoon 605 spent the first week of their second phase of training working in the mess hall. They crawled out of their rack at 03:30 hours to help feed the hungry marines. The sergeant in charge of the mess hall kept them busy until 20:00 hours. Then they would attend their evening classes. Finished with their week of mess hall duty, platoon 605 trained in chemical and biological warfare. They received training in the use of the Mark I EVA suit. Sergeant Duncan marched the inductees to a metal shack. He had the NCOs on the outside of the room close the hatches sealing them inside. Sergeant Duncan gave the inductees a demonstration of the suit’s capabilities.

“The Mark I EVA suit is your basic light-duty EVA suit. Unlike Mark II, you can put it on over your clothes. They designed it for short-term EVA missions. Missions like traveling from an atmospherically contained vehicle to an atmospherically contained building. The Mark II is for missions of longer durations. You must be nude inside the Mark II suits. The Mark II has urine and shit bags, which secures to the inside of your legs. It also has a camel pack for water and a nitro pack for nourishment. You access them through tubes inside your helmet. You can survive in a Mark II suit indefinitely. But you have to change out your air tanks when they are empty. You have to re-supply your nourishment packs and re-supply your water bladders. You have to change out your waste bags when they get full,” Sergeant Duncan said. “Pair up with another inductee. When you put on your suit, have your buddy check your seals and air tanks. Then check his.” A murmur went through the group of inductees.

Once all the inductees suited up in the Mark I EVA suits they did their equipment checks. The attendants drained the atmosphere inside the sealed room. They turned off the artificial gravity. The inductees interacted in the weightless environment. They learned how to move about in the EVA suits. After their EVA suit training, the inductees of platoon 605 marched to the rifle range and spent a week dry firing the M-23 Blaster.

“Remember breath control and remember your sight picture. Give the trigger a gentle squeeze as you exhale,” Sergeant Blackburn said. He instructed the inductees on the grass by the firing range.

The following week, the inductees of platoon 605 practiced their shooting skills. They fired from the standing, kneeling, and prone position, firing from three hundred yards, using, 223 rounds, explosive rounds, and a short laser blast. By Friday, everyone in platoon 605 was shooting well and everyone qualified. By the end of eight weeks, the inductees of platoon 605 had begun to work as a unit. Those who had been on the fat side when they entered boot camp had thinned down and muscled up. Those who were too skinny, hand put on weight and added muscle; the beatings with the Billy clubs had ceased. Now and then, the Inductees would hear a rare word of praise from their instructors.

Once again they packed their seabags and moved down to the bottom tier of the barracks for the third phase of their training. They spent the final four weeks of boot camp in close order drill, getting ready for graduation, and endured several inspections. The officers went over their uniforms and paid meticulous detail to the proper wearing of the uniform. They also graded them in the military bearing and decorum.

“You’re almost there my little worms!” Sergeant Blackburn yelled one evening. “We’ve got to polish off the rough edges and turn you into marines!” The night before graduation, the inductees stood at attention in their barracks. Sergeant Blackburn and the base commander gave them their last inspection. The base commander gave them a passing grade and left the squad bay while Sergeant Blackburn looked at his platoon with pride.

“Congratulations! You are no longer maggots or worms! You are no longer inductees! Today you are Marines! Tomorrow, during the ceremony after you march in review, you will all receive the rank of PFC. After the ceremony, you will receive a three-day pass! You will report back here at zero six hundred hours there days from now. We will provide transportation to Advanced Infantry Training! Remember those Mark II EVA suits that Sergeant Duncan spoke of during your EVA training? You will spend the next two months using them! After that, you’ll get your orders and travel to your first duty stations! Get some rest marines! Tomorrow’s a big day!” Sergeant Blackburn yelled and left the squad bay. A loud cheer broke out amongst the ranks.

“We made it, man!” Alonzo said and grabbed David up in a bear hug.

David’s chest puffed out and a grin crossed his face. “I had my doubts at first. I didn’t think I had what it takes.”

“You’ve got to be kidding mate. You were my rock. It seemed like you did everything right. When I felt like giving up, I looked at you. I figured if you could hang in there, then so could I.”

“This had to be the hardest thing I’ve ever been through in my life. After this, AIT has to be a cakewalk,” Paul said. Little did he know that he would later, remember those words and laugh at his naivety.

***

After Graduation, David, Alonzo, Louis, and Paul headed to town to enjoy their three-day pass. It was the first time that any of them had the chance to see the lunar colonies. They got a brief glimpse when they passed through on the bus heading to boot camp. The first thing they did when they entered the plaza, a large indoor mall under a massive dome, was head to the local pub. David looked down at the front of the server droid’s dress when she delivered their drinks. He noticed the fabric of her sheer white top, which barely contained her ample bosom.

“It’s hard to believe they’re not human,” David said and picked up his drink.

“Human or not Mate, those titties look real,” Louis said. He gave the blonde-headed female server droid’s left breast a squeeze. The droid let out a squeal. Paul gave her a playful slap on the ass when the droid turned and headed back to the bar. The smell of tobacco smoke and stale alcohol drifted across the room.

“Her butt felt real,” Paul said. The back of her skirt barely covered the cheeks of her ass.

“Her tit did too,” Louis said and laughed.

“You couldn’t get away with that with a real girl,” David said.

“You might get yourself a real good shiner, Mate,” Louis said.

“You clowns are such pigs. If you were a Latin lover like me, the women would fall all over you. You wouldn’t have to get grabby. They’d be grabbing you,” Alonzo said. After getting good and drunk, they found a local tattoo parlor, had the Fleet Marine emblem tattooed on their left biceps, and then found one of the local brothels. After their three-day pass ran out, they climbed back on the bus, still half-drunk, and headed back to the base. Once they boarded the bus, they stowed their Mark I EVA suits and leaned back to enjoy the ride. When the bus arrived on base, they climbed, out and stood on the same sidewalk, with the yellow feet painted on its surface.

Bleary-eyed and hungover, they gathered with the other marines and waited for the bus that would take them to their AIT training.

“Isn’t this like the military, hurry the fuck up and wait,” David said.

The marines of platoon 605 boarded buses which took them through the base to an exit. It was on the opposite side from where they entered upon arriving for boot camp. They traveled for over an hour, still inside the massive domed structure. The buildings lining the road gave way to trees and shrubs. The trees and shrubs gave way to the rugged cratered landscape of the moon. The bus stopped at an airlock when they reached the south bulkhead and pulled inside. The outer airlock doors opened. The bus pulled out onto the barren lunar landscape. An NCO ambling up at the center aisle stopped next to David’s chair.

“You gentlemen might as well relax and enjoy the ride. It will be a few hours before we arrive at the training site. It’s off in the middle of nowhere. Platoon six zero five will debark at Camp Lunar Bravo. Platoon six zero six will go on to Camp Lunar Charlie. When you disembark, you will need to suit up in your Mark I EVA suits. You will receive your Mark II EVA suit when you arrive at the camp,” the NCO said.

“Thank you, Sergeant. Is it as rough as everyone says?” David asked.

The young NCO smiled. “No. It’s worse. Living in an EVA suit and being in a weightless environment for a long duration is no picnic. It’s even worse when you’re expected to fight in one.”

“Well that bloke made my day,” Louis said after the NCO moved on.

Alonzo shrugged. “We survived boot camp Bro. We can survive this.”

David leaned back in his chair to catch some sleep. Alonzo gazed out the window watching the lunar landscape roll by. Louis produced a deck of cards and talked Paul into a game to pass the time. The buses bounced over the lunar landscape heading to a remote military installation on the dark side of the moon.

They pulled up to the desolate base at the bottom of a massive crater. It consisted of several prefabricated buildings, which were set facing a common parade ground. There were several atmospherically contained vehicles parked on the parade ground. Stacks of building material were set near the buildings. The NCOs on the bus instructed the marines to suit up in their Mark I EVA suits. Once suited up in their EVA suits, they headed through the airlock and stepped out onto the harsh lunar landscape.

Outside a sergeant wearing, his, own EVA suit brought the marines to attention. He marched them into one of the larger buildings. They assembled in a reception hall inside the atmospherically contained building and took off their EVA suits. A dark-headed stocky NCO wearing a spotless Marine Corps uniform stepped to the front of the room.

“Gentlemen. I am Sergeant Brown. Your senior AIT training instructor. You will soon receive your Mark II EVA suits. After chow, we will hold class on the suit’s operation. You will spend the next month securing this base building fighting positions and going on recon patrols. You will work twelve hours shifts. Six hours of that time will be spent building fighting positions and six hours on patrol. After you’ve built the fighting positions and secured the base, we will be on a twenty-four-hour alert. You will spend six hours in your fighting positions and six hours on patrol. There will be rotating shifts. Platoon six zero six will be completing the same task as you. They will also prepare to assault this base. That assault should take place some time near the end of the month. After the assault, you will pack your gear and ship out taking over their positions. You will then become the aggressors.”

After orientation, the marines of platoon 605 marched off for their evening, chow. They received training in operation and hygiene for living in the Mark II EVA suits. After class, they marched to the barracks at twenty-two hundred hours for eight hours of sleep. The following morning at zero six hundred hours, they assembled on the parade ground wearing their new Mark II EVA suits. Some went to work securing the perimeter and others built fighting positions.

Other groups of marines went out on patrol armed with M-23 Blasters, which were set to low-power laser fire. They were looking for marines from platoon 606. Platoon 606 was the blue army. If they made contact they would engage them with nonlethal laser fire. If the marine scored a hit in a vital area, the suit would let out a beeping sound designating a kill. For the first two weeks, David, Alonzo, Louis, and Paul built fighting positions. When they filled their shit bags or urine bags, they disconnected them. They set the bags aside for the sanitation squad to dispose of. At the end of their shift, they headed inside for a shower, a hot meal, and some needed sleep. They also went on a few patrols. On one patrol; they walked into an ambush set by a recon patrol from the blue army.

After two weeks, they finished constructing the fighting positions and securing the perimeter. From then on, they spent six hours a day manning the fighting positions. They spent another six hours on patrol working on rotating shifts with very little sleep. Three days before the end of the month, David and Alonzo lay asleep in their racks along with Louis and Paul. The alert sounded. They jumped out of their bunks, suited up in their EVA suits, and ran to their fighting positions.

The blue army attacked the base firing their M-23 Blasters. They cut through the wire pouring into the compound. The troops manning the fighting positions fired off simulated claymore mines. They returned fire from the firing ports in their fighting positions. Green laser flashes and mock explosions lit up the night. The assault lasted for three days and ended when the blue army seized the entire base.

The marines of platoon 605 assembled with their gear the morning after the assault. They shipped out heading for the base to the north. The marines of platoon 605 became the blue army and the marines of platoon 606 took on the title of the red army. When platoon 605 arrived at their new base, their first order of business was to access the base’s defenses. After that, they would start offensive operations. They became the aggressor force and began reconnaissance missions on their former base of operations. For the next three weeks, they played cat and mouse with the patrols from the blue army.

David led his squad on several recon patrols. On the twenty-eighth day of the month, they loaded up into tracked vehicles. The assault went about the same as when they occupied the blue army’s positions. The blue army pinned them down for an hour before they broke through the wire. They received heavy laser fire from the defensive positions. When dawn broke on the second day of the siege, they secured the last building ending the assault. Two months after boarding the buses for their AIT training, they climbed onto the buses once more, headed back to the recruiting depot, and assembled in the room near the receiving barrack. It was the same room they had assembled when they first arrived at boot camp.

Senior drill instructor Ray Blackburn stepped to the front of the room. He sat at a wooden table behind a microphone. To his left set a stack of envelopes with names written on each one. Excitement filled the air and conversation buzzed through the room.

“First let me say, congratulations, marines upon the completion of your training. Before me, I have your orders. When I call your name, come to the front. After you receive your orders, report to the bus stop outside. The buses will take you back to the lunar colony. Inside your packet will be a two-day pass, which you can spend here at the lunar colonies. Then you will report to the shuttle port. You will catch a ride to spacedock where you will make connections to your first duty station.”

Sergeant Blackburn called the names and announced the duty stations. Some of the marines received assignments to one of the bases on Earth’s moon to serve as peacekeepers. Most received orders assigning them to Mars.

“PFC David Gallagher,” Sergeant Blackburn said. “Two days from now you report to the CEU-Pathfinder. She’s a troop transport which will take you to Mars where you will serve as a peacekeeper at the Martian colonies.” David stood to his feet and went to the front of the room to get his orders. “Alonzo Garcia. You will serve in the Fleet Marine’s new Deep Space Division. You will serve on the Port Royal. She’s in spacedock now. She’ll still be there in two days after your two-day pass expires.” After receiving their orders, David and Alonzo stepped out front and stood near the bus stop. Louis and Paul stepped up next to them after they received their orders.

“Where are you headed?” David asked Louis.

“I’m assigned to the Deep Space Division on the Port Royal with Alonzo. It doesn’t sound right mate. These blokes with the gold oak leaves don’t know their ass from a teakettle. I only planned on doing one hitch. Exploring deep space might take a bit longer,” Louis said.

Alonzo shrugged. “I guess you can straighten that out when you report for duty.”

“Where are you headed?” David asked Paul.

“I’m shipping out on the Pathfinder with you. We’re going to Mars,” Paul said.

“You guys can have Mars. Who wants to spend your time trying to corral a bunch of rowdy miners, when you can explore the galaxy? We’re going to make history, bro,” Alonzo said, putting his arm around Louis Martin’s shoulder trying to cheer him up.

“They are having a problem with rebels on the red planet,” Paul said.

“History and the red planet can wait. Let’s get on board this bus and head to the colonies. I need a beer,” David said. Two days later four friends gathered in the lobby at spacedock. They were half-drunk and hungover.

“This is it, mates. Who knows when the four of us will be together again,” Louis said.

“I’m sure we can locate each other on the Military VID-net. I’ll search for you guys and send you a message,” David said.

“Take care bro. It’s not gonna feel right without you guarding my back,” Alonzo said, grabbing David up in a bear hug.

“Old Louis here will back you up if you get in a tight spot,” David said, trying to swallow the lump in his throat.

“I’ll see you back in Cold Water when we’re out if I don’t see you before,” Paul said to Louis and hugged him.

“I doubt it, mate. As soon as I part company with the Federal Defense Forces, I’m heading back to jolly old England.” Finished with their goodbyes they parted company. Two-headed for Mars, and two-headed for the stars.

***

Posted in Home Remedies, Law of Attraction, meditation, Self Help, subconscious mind, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Never Give Up

Posted on May 11, 2023 by Dave the Miracle Maker

Image by rawpixel.com

Hey everyone this is Dave the Miracle Maker again. It’s a beautiful day up here in the high desert of Southern California. The wind quit blowing, finally. I recently finished the first round of edits on my new novel, the Mojave Kid and I finished the rough draft of my new novel, Gone Missing over a week ago. I will start editing it in a couple of weeks. I am getting ready to go on a vacation at the end of the month. I will fly to Alabama and visit my brothers and sisters in the motorcycle club. I will spend four days there for our National Rally and then fly to New Hampshire to see my daughter and grandkids. I am looking forward to the trip. I will take some pictures and post them on a blog.

My question of the day is do you ever feel like giving up? If you do, please don’t. Never give up. If you do not quit, you’re not broken. If you do not quit, you are not a failure. It doesn’t matter if you are a new writer struggling to write your first novel, or you are trying to grow your online business and things aren’t going too well, or you are trying to manifest more money or a better life, never, never give up. If you are a new writer and you are looking at the daunting task of writing your first full-length novel, if you write three to five hundred words a day, every day, by the time six to nine months have passed you will have completed the rough draft. If you are struggling with your online business, don’t give up. Do something every day to promote your business and never say, “I can’t do this.” Tell yourself, “I can do this and I must do this now.” Even if you don’t believe it. If you are using affirmations to manifest a better life, don’t give up. Make saying your affirmations a daily ritual. Sometimes the universe will test you to see if you are serious about what you want, and sometimes it is in your darkest hour when things seem like they are not going your way that success will come. So never give up and never surrender. Write that book, build your online business, and manifest your best life. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. Peace Out!

Now for your reading pleasure check out chapter ten of my science fiction novel the Battle for Europa. book one of the Space Corps Chronicles.

Chapter 10

Shawn Gallagher sat in his communications center attempting to make contact with Linda at Spacedock. After receiving the call from his secretary, Shawn jumped back into his land rover. Foregoing the inspections of the new fighting positions, he headed back to the office. Shawn looked down at a screen. It showed the radar signatures of over three hundred ships approaching Jupiter. He instructed Wilson to put the troops on alert. Men manned the fighting positions on the surface. Some of which were still under construction. They manned the laser cannons to protect the moon from an attack from space along with main battle tanks and troop carriers.

No one worked the mines and everyone prepared to fight. Under the laws of the New Republic, if you were not in the military, you were part of the ready reserve. You trained with the military on your scheduled days off. Everyone on site had orders to stand ready to fight in the event of a federal invasion. Shawn drummed his fingers on the control panel before him. He wiped the sweat from his brow and depressed the com button calling spacedock.

“Linda. Come in,” he said into the microphone setting at the control center.

“We’re kind of busy up here right now, Mr. President.”

Shawn caught his breath. “Have you identified those vessels?”

“Sir. We’ve hailed them and are waiting for a response. They don’t look like Federal Defense Force vessels, all though they could be PPF. They’re still out there a bit.”

Shawn drummed his fingers on the console and tried to control his breathing. “Contact me as soon as you identify those ships. We’re kind of on pins and needles down here.”

“Tell me about it. If those are PPF boys, they’ll try to take us out first. We’ll keep you updated, Mr. President.”

Linda leaned back in her chair looking down at her computer screen. “Hurry up and wait.” She stood to her feet and crossed the room to the beverage station. “You want some coffee Jan?” She looked over her shoulder at the girl manning the workstation next to hers.

Jan Cunningham smiled. “No. If I drink any more coffee, I’ll pee my pants. I wish that whoever is out there would contact us soon.”

“They’re still out there, but I’ll give them another try.” Linda sat down at her workstation with her coffee. She took a tentative sip, enjoyed the caffeine rush, and depressed the button on her control panel. “Inbound vessels approaching Jupiter. You are approaching a no-fly zone. Please stand down and identify yourselves. If you are not aware, the political climate has changed. You are now in the New Republic’s space. Please respond.” Linda released the button on her console hearing nothing but a garbled response.

Linda strained to hear. “Repeat that last transmission please.” she adjusted the volume on her headset.

“This is Gustav Kesler. I work for Ludwig Von Wolf. You people should be expecting me. I need to meet with your leaders to discuss the deployment of troops.”

Linda leaned back in her seat and depressed the com button on her console. “Roger that. We were afraid you might be PPF. Things are a little tense around here. Please provide your flag ship’s registry number then bring your ships into orbit. I’ll contact the president and make the needed arrangements.”

***

Shawn heaved a sigh of relief. Linda informed him that the fleet approaching Jupiter was friendly. Leaning back in his chair, he paused for a few seconds. He let the tension flow out of his body, and leaned forward, pressing the com button on his console. “Linda. Have Mr. Kesler meet me here in front of the office complex.”

“Wait, one minute Mr. President.” Shawn waited while the traffic controller contacted the approaching fleet once more. “Mr. President. Mr. Kesler says that he will land his shuttle in front of site A office complex. ETA thirty minutes.”

“Excellent. Have him bring his key personnel. We’ll hold a briefing in my office. Thanks for the good work, Linda.” Shawn ended the transmission. He changed frequencies and called his secretary of defense. “John. Call off the alert,” Shawn said when Wilson answered the com.

“What’s up boss?”

“Those ships out there are the MERCs employed by Mr. Von Wolf,” Shawn said.

“I thought they might be.”

“We’ll hold a briefing in my council chambers in fifty minutes. I want all staff members to attend.”

“Roger that. I’ll make the contacts and we’ll see you in forty-five.”

Gallagher and Wilson met Kesler’s shuttle on the shuttle pad in front of the office complex. They watched as the lights of the shuttle descend from orbit to land on the shuttle pad. Tiny pieces of ice flew into the air, the boarding ramp extended and the exit hatch opened. Shawn watched two men, dressed in shiny black EVA suits lumber down the exit ramp onto the shuttle pad. He stepped forward to greet them.

“Gentlemen. Welcome to Europa.” His voice reverberated through the speakers on his EVA suit. “If you’ll come with me, we’ll head inside. I’m sure you people need rest after a long flight. If you want, we’ll get your people fed and housed and discuss deployment options later.”

“My people are fine. I’d prefer to do business first,” the taller of the two men said. He spoke perfect English with only a trace of a German accent.

Shawn nodded. “If you’ll follow me, we’ll head indoors and hold a briefing in my conference room.” The two new arrivals followed Gallagher and Wilson across the shuttle pad and to an airlock. There was a hiss of air when they stepped into the airlock and oxygen filled the chamber. Once the light at the top of the inner door turned green, Shawn took off his helmet.

“This way gentlemen,” Shawn said when the inner doors opened. He led them down the main corridor through the office complex to his council chambers. Once his cabinet members arrived, Shawn looked across the table at his guest. The man in charge was a tall muscular German. He had jet black hair, dark eyes, and a handsome, yet rugged-looking face. Shawn noticed a fading scar running down the center of his forehead to his eyebrows. Next to him sat a barrel-cheated blond-haired man with bushy eyebrows. He was in his early thirties with ocean blue eyes. His facial features were sharp and well-defined. There was a star-shaped scar on the cleft of his chin. These guys look like brawlers. “Gentlemen if you will introduce yourselves, we’ll get started.”

The big German shrugged. “I am Admiral Gustav, Kesler. This is my friend, Captain Robert Danziger.”

Shawn stuck out his hand, catching a faint trace of Vodka, and they shook. “Pleased to meet you.”

“We work for Ludwig Von Wolf. He instructed us to put our forces at your disposal,” Gustav said.

“Before we get down to business let me introduce my staff.” Shawn introduced the other men sitting around the table. “How many ships do you have?” Shawn asked after the introductions.

Gustav shrugged. “Three hundred fifty.”

“Our intelligence sources are hearing rumors. Some say that a small force of PPF ships has already left Mars heading our way. Others say that the feds are assembling a large force of Federal Defense Force vessels.”

Gustav nodded. “We’ve heard the same rumors. We have to be ready in either case.”

“We’ve all seen the news broadcast about this new fleet of deep space vessels,” Holliday said.

“I saw that broadcast, but I doubt if that fleet will give us much trouble,” Gustav said.

“What are your thoughts on the deployment of your vessels?” Shawn asked.

“The bulk of our forces will stay here. We’ll orbit the planet and various moons. I plan to send fifty ships to Saturn. We’ll keep one hundred ships in reserve at the edge of the asteroid belt.”

“Then you feel that the feds will attack us here on Europa? They could bypass us and attack the colonies orbiting Saturn,” Holliday said.

“The battle will be here, on Europa. This is the seat of your new government. The federals will desire to crush you like a bug and get the helium and hydrogen moving again.”

“Ludwig said that he would send teams of trainers to help us train our new military,” Shawn said.

“That is correct. We have people to help you train your new armed forces and also teams to help you shore up your defenses. Mr. Von Wolf requests that you join him at his base in the asteroid belt at your earliest conveyance. He’s obtained some ships that he would like you to inspect. If you get these ships, once they are space-worthy, they will support my fleet. Mr. Wolf rarely entertains guests. You should consider it an honor.”

“My ship will be ready for space in a couple of days. It is my honor to be the guest of Mr. Von Wolf.”

Gustav nodded. “It is good. Once you are in space, I will send the coordinates to his base in the belt. Few know of its location. He moves his headquarters about frequently.”

After the meeting, Shawn took Kesler and Danziger on a tour of the facilities. He showed them the military complex and the training facilities. When they finished reviewing the troops, Shawn took them out on the surface and showed him what they had done so far to prepare for the moon’s defense.

“What you have done is good, but it is not enough. You’re building fighting positions out away from the colony guarding the approaches. You have neglected the defenses up close to the colony itself. What if they fly in and land shuttles on your front door?” Gustav asked.

“We never thought of that,” Shawn said.

“Not to worry. That is why we are here. Your fighting men are in fair shape, but my people will hone them into killing machines.”

***

Over the next three days, Gustav’s elite commandos arrived on Europa. They landed on the other moons of Jupiter as well. Some of them began training the troops. Other teams of engineers arrived to build better defensive positions. Shawn assigned his vice president the task of securing housing for their guest. The training schedule increased its tempo and its intensity. Gustav’s fleet moved into defensive positions orbiting the various moons of Jupiter. Others orbited the planet itself. Fifty ships broke orbit heading for Saturn. They did their best to ready themselves for the coming federal assault.

The chief maintenance officer showed Shawn his new presidential space cruiser. Shawn took the ship to space. He took a few revolutions around Europa before taking a cruise around Jupiter itself. That evening, Shawn prepared to leave for the asteroid belt and his visit with Ludwig. He lumbered up the boarding ramp, along with John. A young captain who was part of the flight crew assigned to the new ship started to head for the cockpit.

“Excuse me. Captain, O’Brian. If you don’t mind, I’d like to take her off the surface. She’s a fine ship. I’m still trying to get used to her,” Shawn said. He breathed in the smell of mints, on the young blond-headed captain’s breath.

“Sure thing Mr. President. She’s your ship. I’ll have my men settle into their cabins while you do the pre-flight checks. After that, we’ll be in our ready room if you need us.”

Shawn sat down in the captain’s chair and John sat down next to him in the co-pilot’s spot.

John grinned. “You have to start acting presidential. A president doesn’t fly his, own ship.”

“We’re going to miss the election. Who knows? I might not be president when we get back,” Shawn said. He flipped some switches as he powered up the ship.

“Fat chance of that.” They started their pre-flight checks. Shawn applied thrust and brought the new presidential space cruiser off the surface of Europa. John contacted spacedock on the com-link informing them of their emanate departure. Linda gave them clearance to leave the system. Shawn took the ship for one revolution around Europa and took a swing around the gas giant known as Jupiter. He broke orbit past the moons of Jupiter and headed to the asteroid belt. They stayed in the cockpit for over an hour before Shawn leaned back in the seat and stretched.

“They tell me that there is some Crown Royal chilling in the beverage dispenser in the lounge. What do you say to going down there and tilting back a few shots?” Shawn asked.

“That Canadian whiskey would go down real smooth.”

Shawn leaned forward, flipped a toggle on his console, and activated the ship’s PA system. “Captain O’Brian, we’ve had our fun, for now. Would you report to the cockpit?”

“We’ll be right there,” O’Brien said. His voice reverberated through the speaker on Shawn’s console. Two minutes later, Captain O’Brian and his co-pilot stepped into the cockpit. “What do you think, Mr. President?”

“She handles like a dream.” Shawn stood up from the captain’s chair.

“Let me know whenever you want to have some more fun. There is nothing in the REGs about not allowing the president to fly his, own ship.”

“I will. Let us know if you guys need a break.”

“We’ve got a full flight crew. There are four more of us settling into our cabins. We’ll handle her round the clock, but if you two want to put in some more flight time, let us know.” Johnson said.

“We’ll do that,” John said.

Johnson paused, looking up at Shawn. “Mr. President. It’s an honor to be on your flight crew. I hope you enjoy the flight.”

“I’m enjoying the hell out of it already. It’s having good people like you two onboard that makes things worthwhile.” Shawn stepped out of the cockpit. John followed him down the corridor to the presidential lounge.

They stepped through a side door into the lounge. John took a seat in one of the plush lounge chairs. Shawn went to the beverage dispenser to pour them each a shot of Canadian whiskey. John gazed about taking in their luxurious surroundings. He breathed in the fresh new smell of the vessel.

“This sure is going to take some getting used to,” John said when Shawn handed him his shot of whiskey. John took a sniff of the potent brew and took a sip.

“Tell me about it.” Shawn plopped down in a seat next to his friend. “When people call me Mr. President and treat me with such respect, I don’t know how to act. It feels like they think I’m someone that I am not.”

“They’re not showing respect to you so much, although I do see some hero worship in some people’s eyes. They’re showing respect for the office. You’ve managed to give these people hope.”

Shawn shrugged and downed his shot of whiskey, enjoying the buzz. “I may have after it’s all said and done, got a bunch of people killed including ourselves.”

“True. That could happen, but freedom is worth taking that chance. They’re all volunteers. Everyone involved is doing so of their own free will. They needed a strong leader to point the way, thus the hero worship.”

Shawn nodded. “What about Ludwig? Do you think he’ll have the ships?”

John shrugged. “He seems like a man of his word. The ships will be there.”

“Yeah but what kind of ships? And what kind of shape will they be in?”

“I expect they’ll be rough. They’ll need some work, but we’ll fix them.”

“I hope they’re not too bad. They had better be worth what we’re paying. Our stock of gold from Mars is getting thin.”

“Yeah. We’d be in a world of shit if the PPF or God forbid pirates, boarded us. Especially if they discovered what’s in those hidden compartments. The ones under the deck in the cargo bay.”

They spent the next four hours talking. The more alcohol they consumed, the more outlandish and wild the conversation became. They solved all the problems in the solar system. Or so their alcohol-drenched minds thought. They talked, laughed and they enjoyed each other’s company as only good friends can.

***

Three weeks into their journey Shawn lay asleep in his cabin. He felt a violent jolt, which woke him from a deep slumber. He flipped the toggle switch on the console next to his bed and called the cockpit. “Mr. O’Brian. What’s going on?”

The voice of Captain O’Brian reverberated over the speaker next to Shawn’s bed. “We’ve got some company, Mr. President.”

“It’s not PPF, is it?”

“No sir. It’s a couple of pirates. We’re showing them the error of their ways right now.”

“Good. I’ll be right there.” Shawn stepped out of his cabin. John joined him in the hall and they headed down the narrow corridor to the cockpit. “How goes it, Mr. O’Brian.”

They stood in the doorway of the cockpit watching. On the viewscreen, they saw two of the most dilapidated ships that Shawn had ever seen. “These boys want to play rough. We’re about to give them a lesson in manors,” O’Brien said.

“Unidentified cruiser. Power down and prepare for boarding, or will destroy you. We need to inspect your cargo,” the voice coming from the speakers on the co-pilot’s console said.

“Inspect this,” Johnson said and fired a laser blast at the vessel which had sent the transmission. The two pirate vessels fired back. The presidential cruiser shook. Shawn had to grab the nearest bulkhead to remain on his feet.

“Mr. President, please find a chair and strap yourself in. Things are about to get rough,” O’Brien said.

“Firing torpedoes,” Johnson said. Shawn watched what looked like fiery darts shoot out from the underbelly of their ship. The pirate vessels turned to flee. “Try and outrun that, suckers.” They watched the image on the viewscreen of one of the torpedoes honing in on the trailing pirate vessel. The heat-seeking missile locked onto the engine’s heat signature. It ran up its exhaust port and they saw a blinding explosion on the viewscreen. A debris field filled space in the front of their vessel. The remaining pirate ship escaped, heading into the asteroid belt. It made a sharp turn around a large asteroid on the outer edge of the belt throwing off the pursuing torpedo. They saw another flash when the torpedo hit the asteroid blowing it to bits and pieces.

Shawn laid a friendly hand on Johnson’s shoulder. “Good shooting, Lieutenant.”

***

The rest of their voyage to Ludwig’s base in the asteroid belt was uneventful. They were approaching the coordinates that Kesler had transmitted to them. Three small space cruisers appeared, from nowhere. Captain O’Brien was at the helm. Gallagher, and Wilson, stood behind the command chairs watching the ships on the viewscreen. They looked sinister, with their black exterior and sleek lines built to resemble a bird of prey.

“Inbound space cruiser. Identify yourself,” a deep voice with a sharp German accent, said. It came over the speakers on Lieutenant Johnson’s console.

“This is the New Republic’s presidential cruiser. The NR-Free Bird. You should be expecting us,” Johnson said into the microphone on his console.

“Wait one moment, Free Bird.” After a pause, the voice came back over the speaker saying, “Free Bird. Please follow us. Reduce speed. It gets tricky amongst these asteroid clusters.”

The three ships turned heading into a large cluster of asteroids. Captain O’Brian reduced speed following their escorts.

“I remember when we were in the PPF; we used to come in here chasing pirates and smugglers. I hated it. The asteroid belt is vast and mainly clear, but when you get into these large clusters, it can be dicey,” John said.

“I know. It makes for some tight flying,” Shawn said.

“I hear that colonies are living out here. I’ve heard some live in hollowed-out asteroids. Others live on space stations orbiting some of the larger asteroids,” O’Brien said.

“These hard rock miners are a strange breed. How could anyone stand to live out here?” Johnson asked. Their escorts led them through several more asteroid clusters and traveled deeper into the heart of the asteroid belt. They approached a massive asteroid. Shawn saw a flashing red light. It bordered a rectangular-shaped section of the asteroid’s side near its bottom. A large set of steel doors, painted to look like the rocky exterior of the asteroid, slid open. Their escort ships flew inside.

“Into the heart of the beast,” Shawn said. O’Brien followed their escorts through the opening and into the bowels of Ludwig’s lair. The steel doors slid closed behind them. Shawn glanced at the viewscreen. Green landing lights on a landing pad far below them flashed. O’Brien increased the down angle and reduced speed. Following their escorts, they touched down on the landing pad two minutes later and parked their ship behind their escorts.

“Gentlemen. You’ll need to suit up in EVA gear until we pass through the airlock and enter the main complex,” their escort said. He led them to the exit hatch along with O’Brian and his crew. They put on their EVA suits, entered the airlock, the outer door opened and they stepped down the exit ramp. A group of men, wearing black EVA suits, stood near the three vessels, which had escorted them to Ludwig’s base.

Shawn recognized the voice of the man who had made the radio transmission to his ship.

“If you Gentlemen will follow us, we’ll get more comfortable.” They followed the big German across the landing pad, into an airlock, and heard a hiss of air. Oxygen filled the chamber, the big German took off his helmet and Shawn took off his. He looked at the man’s scared-up face, his bald head, and his massive frame.

The big German smiled. “Welcome to Mr. Wolf’s paradise. I’m sure you and your men will enjoy your stay.”

“Thank you. I’m sure we will. I’m Shawn Gallagher. This is my secretary of defense, John Wilson.”

“I am Kurt Bruner. I will take you and Mr. Johnson to Mr. Wolf. I will also show your men their accommodations. They will have a lot of fun here. We have women, cards, and alcohol. As you Americans say, we party hard when we’re not working.”

They followed Bruner out of the airlock and stowed their EVA suits in a utility locker. He led them down a narrow corridor to a turbo lift. The turbo lift took them up, three levels, and the doors opened. They heard loud music coming from down the hall.

“If you men will come with me, we’ll get you settled into your cabins and we can start the party, yah?” one of the other German employees of Von Wolf said. They stepped out of the turbo lift and Shawn’s flight crew followed.

Gallagher and Wilson stayed in the turbo lift with Kurt Bruner. The turbo lift rose to the top level, they stepped out of the lift and Bruner led them down a long catwalk. Shawn looked down into the depths of the hollowed-out asteroid. He glanced down at people working on lower levels. Bruner stopped at a doorway on his right, rang the door chime and the door slid open.

“Mr. Von Wolf. Your guests have arrived,” he said.

“Good. Come in gentlemen,” Ludwig said. Stepping into Ludwig’s suite, Shawn stopped. He gazed about at the luxury. He checked out expensive paintings and sculptures as well as other priceless works of art. “Welcome to my little bit of paradise in the asteroid belt. Come. I have some scotch chilled.”

“Thank you. We’re glad to be here,” Shawn said while Ludwig led them through his luxurious living room to his study. His eyes widened taking in the antique books on the bookshelves. Ludwig motioned them to a seat. They sat on comfortable leather-bound chairs on the other side of a wooden coffee table from Von Wolf who sat down in an expensive leather recliner. Ludwig picked up a silver bell setting on an oak end table next to his chair, and gave the bell a shake, causing it to tinkle. A scantily clad Chinese woman in her early twenties entered the room. She carried a tray with shot glasses and a bottle of whiskey. Shawn recognized the woman as the one who had been with Ludwig on his ship when he came to Europa. Shawn breathed in the smell of her expensive perfume. Ludwig took the tray and filled the shot glasses.

“Thank you, Yoko. That will be all. Leave the bottle and tray.” After they had tossed back a shot of whiskey, Ludwig looked up. “I trust you’ve brought the gold?”

“Did you secure the ships?” Shawn asked.

“I have the ships. They’re rough, but my people can repair them. Of course, I’ll supply men to help with the repairs plus transportation as agreed.”

“We brought the gold. It’s in the cargo bay of my ship. I’ll have my men unloaded it,” Shawn said.

“That can wait. You and your men need some rest after being in space for so long. What do you say we go see your new ships at zero eight hundred hours? That will give you and your men time to rest. While we’re having a look at the ships, your men can unload the gold. I have spare rooms here in my suite. You and Mr. Wilson can stay here. If you want, you can join my men in the pub for a while. I can also send up some women from the club.”

“That won’t be necessary. We’ll enjoy some more of this fine Scotch whiskey and hit the rack. What do you say, John?”

“That sounds like a plan. I’m bushed. But I wouldn’t mind if you sent one of, those Chinese girls. I like that little China girl of yours. Your servant, Yoko.”

Ludwig smiled. “Yoko is not a servant. She’s more, but I have the girl for you. Her name is Mei Ling.” Ludwig looked at Shawn. “And for you?”

“I’d like to get good and drunk on this fine Scotch whiskey and go to bed alone.”

Ludwig laughed. “A man after my own heart. It is good to see one who enjoys the simple pleasures in life.”

***

Twenty-four hours later, Ludwig’s servants cooked breakfast. They sat down to a feast that Shawn hadn’t tasted the likes of in a long while. They stuffed themselves with fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and pancakes. Shawn thought the food taste delectable. “How do you manage to get fresh eggs, all the way out here in the belt?” Shawn asked.

Ludwig smiled “I have my sources.”

After breakfast, Ludwig took Gallagher and Wilson onto his yacht. When they were in space, Shawn’s presidential flight crew unloaded the gold. Ludwig took them even deeper into the asteroid belt. They flew through a maze of asteroid clusters. Ludwig flew toward several larger asteroids that floated in space by themselves. He turned coming around behind one of the larger asteroids and powered down. Hidden behind the asteroids, lay a small fleet of derelict ships.

“They’re rough, but we can fix them,” Ludwig said. He set the forward viewscreen to full magnification. “They’re mostly frigates and small cruisers. There are a few small battlecruisers mixed in with the bunch as well.”

“I’ll say they’re rough. Are you sure we can fix them?” Shawn asked. Debris from the ships floated in space.

“Yes. Most of them can still fly. We’ll tow those that can’t fly. They are older cast-off Federal Defense Forces vessels with a few PPF ships mixed in. What do you think?”

“We’ll take them. My people should have already unloaded the gold. Our funds are starting to get low. It’s harder to smuggle the gold out of Mars now,” Shawn said.

“Forget about it. I’m a businessman, but this is not about the money. I’m investing in you and your new government. If you succeed, I stand to make a lot more money than I do now. I can go legit and not have to worry about keeping one step ahead of the PPF. If there is anything else you need, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“We could use some people to take these ships back to Europa for us and some mechanics to help us get them in shape. We need some trainers to train our new Space Corps,” Shawn said.

“Like I said when you first arrived; that’s part of the deal.”

“We’re done here. Let’s head home. I’m kind of anxious to see who won the election,” John said. Ludwig turned his yacht around and headed back to his base. They said their goodbyes at the airlock inside the bowels of Ludwig’s base. Ludwig handed Shawn a bottle of his best Scotch Whiskey.

“This is for you to celebrate winning the election when you get back home.”

“I don’t know if I’ve won yet,” Shawn said.

Ludwig smiled. “I told you. I have my sources.”

Gallagher and Wilson stepped off the exit ramp of the presidential space cruiser. They had been in space for more than four months. Four men stood on the landing pad to greet them, wearing black EVA suits.

“Welcome home Mr. President,” one of the men said.

“Who are you, people?” Shawn asked.

“We’re part of the new secret service. We found a federal infiltrator, while you were away. He’s been amongst us from the beginning. He’s in jail now sir. We’re here to escort you to your office,” the man said.

“I guess this means I won the election?” Shawn asked.

“The vote was unanimous. Congratulations sir.” The detail led them into the main office complex. Shawn’s com-link beeped. The voice of Linda Van Horn in spacedock reverberated through the speakers in his suit.

“Welcome home Mr. President. I hate to interrupt, but we have a situation unfolding up here. We have ten ships inbound showing up on our scopes. I’ve identified them as PPF vessels.”

“This is it then. They’ll be in for a rude awaking. Alert the troops,” Shawn said, ending the transmission.

The secret service agent in charge grabbed Shawn’s elbow. “We’d best hurry sir.”

***

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What do you want?

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Dave the Miracle Maker
Focus On Change Fashion Yourself Trends Concept http://Image by rawpixel.com

Hey, this is Dave the Miracle Maker. It’s a rainy day up here in the high desert of Southern California. I finally finished the rough draft of my new novel, Gone Missing. I enjoyed writing it and I hope you will enjoy reading it once it is published. Today I would like to talk about what you want. So what do you want? Are you trying to manifest more money, the love of your life, or maybe a new vehicle? If you are you need to be clear on your intention. This is something I learned listening to the Genie Script course. You might say, I want to be rich, I want the love of my life, or I want a new car, but statements like that are too vague. When you are saying your affirmations say something like, I now manifest ten thousand dollars a month in my bank account that gives me the ability to travel the world, help my parents, give money to the poor and homeless, and live a life of abundance. Or you could say I now manifest a loyal, loving partner to share my life. You might say, I now manifest a brand new black, Corvette with custom wheels and I will pay cash for it. Be creative it’s your manifestation so give it some thought and be clear about exactly what you want. Above all Do No Say What You Don’t Want, because you will get it. Since I started to listen to the Genie Script I have noticed small changes in my life. Such as unexpected money coming my way. So far it has been small amounts, but if you are grateful for the small things, the big things will come. One thing that I was trying to manifest was being able to go to my motorcycle club’s national rally, coming up in June in Alabama. I didn’t have the money for the trip, but rather that saying that I’m not going, I don’t have the money, I said that the universe will provide, and it did. I’ve already bought my airline tickets and I fly out of Las Vegus on June 1st. So be clear about what you want and manifest your best life.

Now for your reading pleasure chapter nine of my science fiction novel, the Battle for Europa.

Chapter 9

Captain Dillon Kincaid sat in the Allen Sheppard lounge, drinking a beer. A cloud of tobacco smoke hung in the air. The noise inside the pub felt deafening. The jukebox blared out the lyrics to a loud neo-pop tune. Kincaid winced in pain from the headache pounding through his skull. He motioned to one of the server droids to refill his beer. The sexy-looking female android, wearing a skintight mini skirt, sashayed across the barroom.

“How may I serve you?” she asked in a sensual computerized voice.

“Get me another beer. Make it a Red Bomb.” The android bent down to retrieve his empty giving Kincaid a glimpse into a deep valley of cleavage. If you don’t look too close, they almost look human. The android turned around to go after his beer. Kincaid gave her a playful slap on the ass, the android giggled, swinging her hips, and headed back to the bar. She came back a few minutes later with his beer and purposely brushed up against Kincaid when she stepped up to the table. She set down his drink. Kincaid felt a shiver run down his spine.

“Please scan your wrist across my scan pad,” the android said. She leaned over and held out a small palm-sized pad. The front of her low-cut dress fell forward and Kincaid gazed down the front of her dress. He scanned his wrist across the pad deducting the funds for the beer from his bank account.

“Thank you, sir. Please enjoy.” The android glided across the bar. Kincaid took a drink from his beer, the com-link on his uniform beeped and he touched the lapel of his uniform.

“Kincaid here.”

“Dillon. This is Commander Logan. I’m sorry, but I had to cancel your three-day pass. We have a situation brewing. Be in my office for a pre-mission briefing in a half-hour.”

Dillon let out a sigh. “Great. I was starting to have some fun. I’ll be there.” Kincaid brushed his hand through his short dark hair and ended the transmission. Tossing back the rest of his beer, he headed for the exit.

Kincaid strolled into the office complex housing the Planetary Patrol Force headquarters. The PPF office was on the top floor of the orbiting spacedock that was set above the main lobby and traffic control tower. It housed offices for each branch of the service. He made his way to the commander’s briefing room breathing in the smell of tobacco smoke when he sauntered through the door. Kincaid glanced around the room, taking in the room’s occupants. The captains of five PPF vessels sat around the conference table. They had grave looks on their faces.

“Dillon. I’m sorry about having to cancel your leave. This can’t wait,” Logan said. He clenched his teeth around a cheap cigar, and they shook hands.

“No problem sir.” Kincaid took a seat at the table.

The Commander stood to his feet. “I’m sure you are all aware of the situation on Europa. It is our job to bring this problem to a satisfactory conclusion.” A murmur went through the room when Commander Logan turned on a viewscreen. The screen showed a still photograph of the mining complex on Europa. “This is the last photo taken by the cameras on Jupiter’s spacedock before the takeover. We have an intelligence source on Europa, but since the takeover, he hasn’t been able to contact us. I suspect they may have some light weapons. They have no ships, except for the tankers sitting idle on their moons. There was one PPF vessel docked at Jupiter’s spacedock when they took over. The crew is either dead or held captive.”

“What’s the plan?” Kincaid asked.

“When you leave this room, you men will go back to your ships and leave spacedock. You will rendezvous with five other PPF vessels currently orbiting Mars. This will give us one hundred men on the ground. Your mission is to come in low and fast, bypassing the orbiting space station, and land on Europa. You will seize the office complex of the mining facility. You will arrest the ringleaders of this rebellion. Your orders are to hold your positions until the main body of the Federal Defense Forces shows up. I suspect there will be a sizable occupation force on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn for years to come. This batch of rabble-rousers shook the tree to the top.” Commander Logan paced back and forth in front of the assembled officers.

“Why are they using us? With all the trouble on Mars, wouldn’t our services be of more use there?” Kincaid asked.

“That’s a nut we’ll leave for others to crack. We may see combat on Mars shortly, but for the moment, the battle is for Europa.” Forty-five minutes later five sleek-looking PPF cruisers left the spacedock, broke orbit with Earth’s moon, and set a course for Mars.

***

Cyrus Bonelli sat at the head of the table in his council room. He looked at the assembled officers sitting around the table. Servants brought food and drink. Bonelli didn’t have much of an appetite. He grimaced from the taste of acid reflux in his throat. Ever since this business on Europa started, his ulcer had been acting up. God when I catch that Shawn Gallagher, I’ll enjoy firing the laser bolt that takes him out.

“The bureaucrats upstairs have decided to approach this problem low-key. They are assembling a team of PPF commandos to move on Europa. They’re only sending ten damned ships. This mission will fail. When it does, I want you gentlemen to be ready. I want you to assemble a major force and head to Europa. You will smash this rebellion with an iron fist.”

“I don’t know sir. The PPF is a capable force. It may very well succeed,” one of the officers said.

“Utter nonsense. The PPF is an elite fighting force, but they don’t have the heavy firepower that is necessary. Their leaders are controlled by the bureaucrats above us. They have only allowed them to send ten ships”

“Sir what about Mars? We don’t want to cut ourselves short if something happens there,” someone else said.

Bonelli sighed. “That is a good question. Mars is another can of worms. If we allow this to go on, on Europa, the situation on Mars will deteriorate. Consolidated Mining sends employees to Mars and half of them disappear. They have their biochips removed and we can’t keep track of them. These people that have dropped off the radar make up the bulk of the Martian resistance. The rest are unruly miners. You will have your hands full there. I leave it up to you to work out the details. We’ll need to leave enough ships behind to contain any problems on Mars. At the same time, we need to assemble a big enough force to take care of this rabble on Europa.”

“Why not bypass Europa and attack the moons of Saturn?” one of the generals asked.

“Because their leadership is on Europa. Cut off the head and the snake dies. Gentlemen, this battle will be for Europa. If we don’t stop them there, Mars will try to declare independence next. I would like to see a blockade of Jupiter. While you do that, build your forces until you assemble a large enough force to squish them like the worms they are. I will leave the planning and execution of this mission to you. The fate of the CEU rests upon your shoulders.” Cyrus clinched his fist and banged it on the table. “The general, who brings me the head of Shawn Gallagher on a platter, will receive another star. Scratch that. I want him alive. His death will be at my hand. Gentlemen, you have your orders. I won’t keep you.” Bonelli ended the meeting. The sound of sliding chairs and the footfalls of military men leaving the room filled Bonelli’s ears. He stood up and crossed the room to the window. With troubled thoughts, he pulled back the curtain gazing down upon the lights of New York City.

***

Light exploded into the captain’s cabin on the CEU-Port Royal. Craig Bannister strutted into the room, breathing in the smell of cheap perfume. He looked down at the sleeping form of Captain Chambers. He lay between two good-looking naked women, one a sexy blonde and the other a cute brunette. Chambers sat up in bed knuckling sleep from his eyes. The two naked women moaned in their sleep and pull the thin cover over their heads.

“Rise and shine, Lover Boy. This is our big day,” Banister said.

Sliding from between the two women, Chambers sat on the edge of the bed. “Good Lord Craig. You’ve got to quit barging in like this. How’d you get in here anyway?”

“There are ways to bypass cabin door bio locks.”

“I have my room’s computer set for a five AM wake-up call. What time is it now?”

“Zero four-thirty. I’ve got fresh coffee in your conference room. You want to be ready for the six AM conference call, then the Admiral’s call at zero six-thirty. We’ve got a busy day ahead of us. Let’s get to it.”

Chambers put his feet on the floor. “Aye Captain Bligh. I thought I was in charge?”

Bannister ignored the captain’s comment and glanced over at the girls. “Get up ladies. Let’s get dressed and head back to the comfort station. You can go back to sleep when you get there. Our golden boy has work to do.”

“All right love. Are you sure you don’t want to give it a go?” the brunette said.

Bannister grinned enjoying her British accent. “Some other time dear.”

The women dressed, while Bannister and Chambers watched the show. When the women left, Bannister waited while Chambers put on his uniform. They stepped through the doorway leading to the captain’s conference room. Bannister went to the food and beverage station and brought them both back a cup of coffee and a sweet roll.

“I thought this day would never get here,” Chambers said. He took a tentative sip of his coffee.

“I know we’re going have to hustle if we want to make the eighteen-hundred launch window. That’s why I woke you early.”

“God this coffee’s strong.” Chambers made an ugly face.

“Columbia’s best. It does chase the cobwebs from your brain.”

After leaving the spacedock for space trials, the Port Royal joined the fleet. They spent three months in space cruising halfway to Mars and back. While undergoing space trials they had a skeleton crew. They tested the ship’s lasers, blasting a few asteroids to hell, with the plasma torpedoes. The Air Force personnel launched space fighters. They flew a few training missions. The cruise was uneventful. It gave the officers and the skeleton crew onboard a chance to get used to the ship and their workstations.

After arriving back at spacedock, they spent the next two months obtaining supplies. They had the maintenance crews fix the few glitches in the systems that they found. As the new crew members arrived, the existing crew trained the new personnel. The ship now held a full crew, except for some marines, which they would pick up at the lunar spacedock. Chambers gave the crew two weeks’ leave to settle their affairs before the mission’s launch date. Today was the day. The new fleet of deep space vessels would travel across the solar system, and head into the unknown.

Chambers looked at the digital readout above the door of his conference room. The numbers read 06:00. He moved to the communications center to the right of the conference table, activated the VID screen, and logged on for the morning conference call. The department heads log onto the system, and their faces appeared on the VID screen.

Chambers smiled. “Gentlemen. The day we thought would never come, is here. We’ve got a lot to do today before we launch so let’s get a status report. Let’s start with the bridge.”

Bannister’s face appeared on the VID screen when he logged onto an adjoining console next to the Captain’s. “The third watch officers are on duty now. The first watch is in the ready room. The second watch crew has orders to be onboard the ship by thirteen hundred hours. The bridge will be ready to meet the launch window.”

“Good. I want all personnel on board the ship by fifteen hundred hours. Let’s hear from the engine room.”

The image of the chief engineer appeared on the screen. His voice came over the speakers of the Captain’s VID system. “Aye Captain. The engine room is ready. The fusion reactors are up to full power. I have a full crew down there checking out the systems. The rest of the engineering personnel will be on board by fifteen hundred hours. We’re ready to go, sir.”

Chambers nodded at the screen. “Good. Let’s hear from maintenance.”

“We have a crew doing some last-minute checks. Half our personnel is on board now. We’ll be ready sir,” the Chief Maintenance Officer said.

“Excellent let’s hear from security.”

“Security is ready sir. We have a crew on duty now and the rest will be on board by fifteen hundred, sir.”

“Good. Fleet Marines?”

“Sir. My officers and NCOs are on board. We’re ready to go now. We need to pick up some jarheads on the moon.”

“Excellent Commander. Let’s hear from the boys down on the farm.”

“We’re ready to go, sir. We’ve harvested our crops and slaughtered our latest batch of meat-bearing animals. The refrigerators in all the galleys are full. Everyone is on board and ready to leave,” the chief horticulturist said.

“Excellent. Let’s hear from the mess hall people.”

“The galleys are ready to feed people now sir. We have a few people who still are not on board but they’ll be here by fifteen hundred,” the chief cook said.

“Good work. Let’s hear from sickbay.”

“My doctors are on board now. We have a few other medical people who still need to show up. They’ll be here by fifteen hundred,” the chief medical officer said.

“Good. I want all crewmembers to put in at least two hours a day in the gym. We’re all in danger of muscle atrophy out here. I want you to coordinate with our entertainment chief. Schedule your people so they can have time in the gym. Doc if you see any patients who show signs of muscle atrophy, I want you to notify me at once. Let’s hear from our chief of entertainment.”

“All the entertainment facilities are up and running. That includes the theaters, the bowling alley, and the gym. The pubs are open and the girls at the comfort station are on board. They’ve had their doctor’s exams and are ready to receive customers,” the entertainment czar said.

After hearing from all the department heads, Chambers ended the conference call.

“Thank you, people. I want duty rosters for the next week on my desk covering the first week at space before we launch. It’s going to be a busy day. Let’s get to it.” Chamber logged off the system. After the conference call, Bannister went to the bridge. Chambers uploaded reports from the department heads and transmitted the reports to Admiral Ivanov’s VID system on the Saratoga. He logged onto the system once more. This time he logged in for the admiral’s conference call. The faces of the various captains in the fleet appeared on the screen. Captain Chambers listened attentively. Admiral Ivanov asked for the report from the Port Royal.

“Sir. The Port Royal will be ready to man the portholes at eighteen hundred hours. All essential personnel is on board now. The rest of the crew will be on board and ready for departure by fifteen hundred hours.”

“Good work, Captain. I know this mission is going to be long and hard on us all, but it will also be very exciting. I am looking forward to leaving the solar system and seeing what’s out there,” Ivanov said.

After logging off the system, Chambers stood up. He crossed the conference room and entered the bridge. Taking his seat in the captain’s chair, he gazed down upon the officers manning their workstations. A few consoles beeped and he felt a slight vibration coming from the deck. “They look sharp,” Chambers said.

Banister nodded. “That they do. They’re all anxious to be underway.”

“Me too. Let’s head down to the galley and get some breakfast. I’ll buy.”

“Now that’s an offer I can’t refuse. Even if the food is free.” Bannister glanced at the helmsman. “Mr. Walker, you have the bridge.” Chambers and Bannister stepped from the bridge to the main corridor. They snapped off salutes to a few people as they passed by.

“I can’t wait to get underway either,” Bannister said.

Chambers breathed in the smell of freshly cooked food. “I know. All though I don’t relish being away from home for the next twenty-five years.”

“You’re going to miss your harem. You won’t have as many women falling over you out here, but this is our chance to make history.”

“What about you? I know there’s no steady woman in your life. You date once in a while, but isn’t there anyone you’re going to miss?”

“No. I was in love once, but my mistress called. My first love has always been space. It’s out there where all the action is and where you make history. It’s where you either make or break your career. This is a chance of a lifetime.” Bannister stepped into the serving line. The food service workers filled their trays. They loaded them up with scrambled eggs bacon, hash browns, and toast. Steam rose from their plates. They poured themselves a cup of coffee at the end of the line and found a table.

They were quiet while they ate, but it was a comfortable silence, born from long years of friendship.

“That was some good food, for ship fare,” Chambers said after they finished eating.

“It sure beats the hell out of that shit they used to feed us in the PPF.”

Chambers grimaced. “Do you remember those canned lima beans?”

“God. Don’t remind me. I don’t think I’ll ever eat another lima bean in this life.”

Finished with breakfast, Bannister returned to the bridge. Chambers took a tour of the ship. He visited each department and checked their readiness to make sure that they were ready for departure at eighteen hundred. When he passed the exit hatch, he saw Ensign Palmer standing by the open inner airlock door. A small line of crewmembers stood in line and Palmer logged them onto the ship using his handheld scan pad. Once they ran their wrist across the scan pad, the scan pad downloaded their name to the ship’s computers.

“How goes it, Mr. Palmer?”

Palmer snapped off a salute and Chambers returned the gesture. “It’s going okay sir. They’re starting to, trickle in. If we get any no-shows, after fifteen hundred hours, we’ll locate them using their biochips. We’ll send the shore patrol after them.”

Chambers nodded. “I hope that won’t be necessary.”

“I don’t think it will. Most of the crew will start to show up around fourteen hundred to fourteen thirty. They’ll want to get as much out of their liberty as possible.”

“I hope you’re right. I’d hate to have to bring anyone on board in handcuffs.”

Palmer smiled. “I don’t think that will happen, sir. The majority of the men feel it is an honor to go on this mission. They feel it an honor to serve under you as well, sir.”

“Thank you. I am honored to have such a fine crew. I’m especially glad that you are going with us, Mr. Palmer. Your help has been invaluable. You’re a fine young officer.”

Palmer smiled. “Thank you, sir.”

The captain continued his tour of the ship. The crew showed up by ones and twos until thirteen hundred hours. Then the floodgates opened and they came in waves. A line led from the docking tubes out to the corridors of the spacedock. By fifteen hundred hours, everyone was on board. Captain Chambers held another conference call at fourteen thirty. The ship was ready for departure, except for some last-minute supply issues. The officer in charge of the cargo bay reported that they were loading the last of their needed supplies and they would be ready by eighteen hundred hours.

The crewmembers not on duty settled into their cabins getting ready for departure. By seventeen forty-five, in the time-honored tradition, the crew manned the portholes. They stood at parade rest. Chambers took his place on the bridge and Bannister sat beside him. Chambers waited for word from the traffic control officer and thought about the fleet.

They had twenty deep space battlecruisers, of which the Port Royal was one. There were ten main battleships and four auxiliary ships. They had fifty light cruisers, fifty destroyers, and fifty frigates. The deep-space battlecruisers worked in concert with the main battlecruisers. The light cruisers, the destroyers, and the frigates protected the battle cruisers. The auxiliaries served as supply vessels as well as construction platforms providing the fleet with supplies and equipment.

Chambers turned on the viewscreen and changed the view to show the port side of the vessel. The voice of the traffic controller came over the communications officer’s, speakers.

“Port Royal, you are free to leave spacedock.” They heard a slight pop when the explosive bolts freed the ship from the mooring lines.

Chambers felt a thrill shoot through him. “Mr. Walker, take us out. Let’s join the fleet.”

“Aye Captain.” The ship moved forward through the metal hanger heading for the exit. Dignitaries sat in bleachers watching their departure. They sat behind super-hardened glass bullheads. A bottle of champagne, secured by the bottle’s neck with a metal tether, swung down making contact with the ship. The bottle smashed into the hull, christening the vessel. It broke into minute pieces, of glass and floated off into space. The Port Royal exited spacedock and took its position in the fleet. The new fleet of deep space vessels took two revolutions around the planet and broke orbit. Leaving Earth behind, it headed for the unknown.

***

Posted in Law of Attraction, meditation, Self Help, subconscious mind, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged | Leave a comment

Choose to be Happy

Posted on April 30, 2023 by Dave the Miracle Maker
Portrait of a cheerful boy http://Image by rawpixel.com

Hello everyone this is Dave the Miracle Maker. It’s another beautiful day up here in the high desert of Southern California. It’s starting to warm up, but it’s not too hot yet. How many of you feel sad sometimes? Did you know that you can choose to be happy? Sometimes things happen in life that make us sad, such as someone dying or something else happens, and there is nothing wrong with that, but you don’t have to suffer. Eventually, you need to focus on the positive things in life and not dwell on the sad things. It’s a little bit harder to do when a loved one passes away. Several years ago my brother crashed a motorcycle and died. I went through a rough patch where I was beyond sad, but eventually, I quit dwelling on the loss and got on with my life, but it took more than ten years to get to the point where I could talk about him to someone else and not get choked up.

If you dwell on the sad situations in your life for too long, it will keep you from manifesting the life that you want. What do you have to do with your body to feel sad? Usually, your head is down, your shoulders are down and your voice is shallow. You move slowly and say things like, why does this always happen to me? or nothing ever works out. Put your shoulders back, your head up, and your chest out and put a big smile on your face. Choose to be happy and manifest the life of your dreams. Peace out.

Now for your reading pleasure chapter eight of my science fiction novel, the Battle for Europa.

Chapter 8

David Gallagher and Alonzo Garcia looked out of a porthole as their shuttle approached the spacedock orbiting the planet. They stared out at the massive vessels docked at the space station. Alonzo’s eyes widened. An entire fleet of larger vessels was in a stationary orbit off by themselves. A spider web of mooring lines and docking tubes connected the vessels to the space station.

“Look at those ships over there. They’re gigantic!” Alonzo said.

“Those are the ships of that new fleet they were talking about on the news. They’re leaving the solar system and heading to deep space.”

Alonzo nodded. “I’d love to get assigned to one of those babies.”

David shook his head. “Not me. I don’t mind being gone from Earth for a year or two, but those ships might not come back for quite a while.” Their shuttle approached a huge set of steel doors. They saw a red flashing light when the shuttle bay doors slid open. Their shuttle flew through the launch bay doors and onto the landing bay. The outer doors closed behind them. They felt a slight jolt when the shuttle touched down on the bay.

The voice of the shuttle’s pilot came over the shuttle’s PA system. “They have restored oxygen and gravity to the landing bay. You may disembark.” David and Alonzo stood to their feet, stepped out into the aisle way, and followed the crowd to the exit ramp. When they stepped onto the bay, David paused, shivering from the cold. He glanced around. Several other shuttles were docked nearby. Young men and women made their way across the bay to an airlock. A few older men in military uniforms were, mixed in with them that arrived on the shuttles. The noise of conversation drifted across the deck. David looked up. A launch control center, enclosed in hardened glass, towered above them.

“Let’s move it! Follow the crowd to the airlock! Show the receptionist in the lobby your orders and she’ll direct you to your connecting flight! We need to clear this launch bay so we can bring in some more shuttles!” a dark-haired naval ensign standing next to the exit ramp yelled.

“Right. Yes sir,” David said. He followed the crowd toward the airlock with Alonzo walking along beside him. They crowded into the airlock with several other inductees. There was a hiss of air, the inner doors opened and they stepped out into a massive lobby. Green carpeting covered the deck and to their right. There were large glass windows that looked out to space. Spaceships of every size and description were docked at the space station.

In front of them set four reception desks. Lines of inductees and military men in uniform stood in front of the desk. Conversation buzzed through the room. On the bulkhead behind the reception desks, mounted near the ceiling hung a large VID screen. It announced the arrivals and departures of various ships. They fell into the back of the nearest line.

“Hurry up and wait,” Alonzo said.

“I guess that’s something we’re going to have to get used to.” After a half-hour of waiting, David reached a reception desk.

“Scan your wrist across my pad,” the blonde-haired female ensign at the reception desk said. David breathed in the sweet smell of her perfume. Thinking that she looked pretty in her uniform, he complied with her request. “You’re shipping out on the CEU-Pathfinder. Take corridor C to dock tube twenty-five. The Pathfinder will leave at twenty-three hundred hours. You have two hours to kill. Boarding will start in one hour.” She shot David a smile and handed David his boarding pass.

“Thank you, ma’am.” He stepped out of line. Alonzo stepped up to the desk scanning his wrist on the scan pad and the ensign gave Alonzo his boarding pass.

“We’re on the same transport. How do you want to kill the next two hours?” Alonzo asked.

David Shrugged. “Lead me to the nearest pub.”

They explored the spaceport for twenty minutes and found the local watering hole. Inductees dressed in civilian clothes and military men waiting for transport filled the barroom. Loud music from the bar’s computerized jukebox filled the air. They sat down at the bar next to a couple of other inductees. The smell of alcohol and tobacco smoke filled the room.

“What are you blokes drinking? I’ll buy,” a blond-headed inductee sitting next to David said, extending his hand. “I’m Louis Martian. This bloke with the big nose is my buddy Paul Rosenbaum.”

“Beer. Make it a Blue Bomb. I’m David Gallagher. This is my buddy Alonzo Garcia.” They shook hands.

“Ignore this asshole. My nose is not that big. Well not quite as big as a house anyway. What ship are you guys going out on?”

“The Pathfinder. It leaves in a couple of hours,” Alonzo said.

“Us too. Maybe we’ll be in the same platoon. I hear Fleet Marine boot camp is brutal Mate,” Louis said. He motioned to the bartender and ordered four Blue Bombs.

“From what I hear, it’s way out on the dark side by the penal colonies,” Paul said.

“I ain’t a scared,” Alonzo said, puffing out his chest.

The bartender brought their drinks and David raised his glass. “A toast to whatever wild adventures awaits us at the lunar recruiting depot. To a glorious career in the Federal Defense Forces, however short or long it may be.”

“What did you put on your forms when they asked about whether you would consider going career?” Louis asked, belting back half of his beer.

“I marked the no box. I want to do my hitch and then try to get into some kind of trade school. Maybe after doing a hitch in the federal forces, my low GI rating won’t matter as much,” David said.

“I marked the no box. I can’t see spending the rest of my life out here in the solar system. Once my hitch is up, it’s back to bloody old England for me. My parents sent me to the North America Union to live with my uncle in Michigan. They thought I’d get a better education at the NAU. I went to high school in Coldwater Michigan with Paul here, but I miss home.”

“I marked the yes box. It could be an exciting career,” Paul said and looked at Alonzo. “What about you?”

“I marked the yes box. I figure to do one hitch and see how I like it. After that, I’ll decide whether to go career.” They sat in the pub drinking and getting acquainted. An announcement came over the room’s PA system. It said that boarding would begin on the CEU-Pathfinder. David bought the last round. He and Alonzo, along with their new friends, stumbled down the maze of corridors in a drunken stupor. They entered the docking bay where the CEU-Pathfinder was docked in space. They joined a long line of inductees at the docking tube. The tube opened, and David led the way through and entered the airlock. A naval ensign pointed the way to the passenger bay. They found seats in the back near the lounge area. The ensign that met them when they boarded the ship stepped up in front of the passenger compartment.

“If I could have your attention. I am Ensign Taylor. I’ll be your flight attendant for the trip. We will leave the spacedock shortly and head for the moon. It should take us about forty-eight hours to get there. You’ll find a set of controls on the armrest of your chairs. The backrest lowers making a more comfortable bed. If you’re hungry, the galley will be open until midnight. The lounge will be open for the duration of the flight. If you’d like to play cards or do some drinking, that’s the place. It will be your last chance for booze if you want to drink. There is no drinking of alcohol at boot camp. The lights will dim at twenty-three hundred hours for those who would like to get some sleep. We will show an in-flight movie once we’re underway. Turn on the VID screen on the seat in front of you. The major entertainment channels are available through our satellite link. ETA for departure is ten minutes. You can watch the show on the VID screen or look out of the, nearest porthole. If you need anything please feel free to contact me. I hope you enjoy the flight.”

“I say we go get some brews and then come back to our seats. I’d kind of like to turn the VID screen to the exterior view and watch us leave spacedock,” David said.

“I second that Mate. Especially the part about the brews,” Louis said. Once they retrieved their beer, David sat at his seat flipping through the channels on the VID screen. He used the touchpads on the screen and stopped on the news channel when he saw a familiar face. The face of his brother, Shawn, filled the screen. The video announcing the independence of the mining colonies on Europa and the creation of the New Republic replayed. David’s fists balled up on his thighs. His nails dug into the palms of his hands, his face reddened and he let out a sigh. “What has that crazy son of a bitch gone and done now?”

“What?” Louis Martin said.

“That’s his brother. Forget about it,” Alonzo said. “It’s about departure time.” Alonzo reached over and touched the touchpad on the screen. The view changed showing the exterior of the ship. They heard a slight pop when the explosive bolts securing the mooring lines to the ship fired. The bolts blew, throwing the cables back away from the ship. The vessel drifted in space for a few seconds before the helmsman applied forward thrust.

David changed the VID screen to the movie channel. They watched a movie about the early colonization of Mars. He settled back to enjoy the movie trying to forget about the news and tried to ignore his pounding headache. The pilot of the CEC-Pathfinder flew the ship through one rotation of the planet and headed to the moon.

***

The flight to the moon was uneventful. After the in-flight movie, David, along with the rest of the inductees on board, drifted off to sleep. It had been a long hard day for them all. All though there is no day or night, in space, the ship operated on a twenty-four clock as if on Earth. They woke up at zero six hundred hours and headed to the galley for breakfast. They spent the better part of the next two days playing cards in the lounge and drinking beer. The CEU-Pathfinder entered the moon’s orbit. All four of the young inductees still felt the effects of too much alcohol.

Ensign Taylor stood before the inductees once more. Most of the recruits crowded around the portholes. They were checking out the view, taking in the orbiting space station. Ships were in space awaiting departure. Others entered orbit waiting to dock and still other ships broke orbit heading to Mars or Earth. Shuttles flew back and forth from the surface ferrying troops.

“Gentlemen. I hope you enjoyed your flight. We will dock shortly at the lunar station. Gather your things and form up at the exit hatch,” Ensign Taylor said.

David and Alonzo picked up their traveling bags and stepped out into the aisle way. Louis and Paul stepped out behind them. They followed the crowd to the exit hatch, feeling a slight jolt when the ship docked. David looked out the nearest porthole. Workers wearing EVA suits equipped with jetpacks attached the mooring lines. A long tube extended, from the space station. One of the station’s workers moved to the end of the tube using the jetpack in his suit. He secured the docking tube to the Pathfinder’s exit hatch. The docking tube inflated. It stabilized when the space station’s oxygen tanks pumped it full of air.

Another ensign standing at the exit hatch opened the airlock. The inductees disembarked.

“This is cool,” Alonzo said, stepping through the outer airlock and into the docking tube. He took a little hop and floated up to the top of the tube enjoying the effects of weightlessness.

“Let me give it a try,” David said, taking a little hop, and floated to the top of the tube. The sensation made his stomach feel queasy.

“Gentlemen. Let’s move it. You’re backing up the line. We’ve got a lot of troops to disembark,” An officer behind them said. They floated back down to the bottom of the tube and headed toward the space station. The docking tube, made from a super-hardened rubber, wiggled back and forth. David put his hands on the side of the tube to maintain his balance. He looked through the clear rubber fabric taking in all the ships.

At the end of the tube, David stepped through another airlock and entered the space station. A red monitor mounted on the wall next to the ceiling said: Main Lobby. In front of the digital read-out, a red flashing arrow pointed the way. David turned left and they headed down the hallway following the crowd to the lobby. The narrow hallway intersected with a larger corridor. They turned right joining the crowd.

Military men and women moved against the stream. They were heading to the various ships docked at the space station. In the lobby, they stepped into line at the reception desk. Behind the reception desk, recessed into the bulkhead, set a bank of turbo lifts. When David reached the head of the line a naval officer sat at the desk. A young red-headed woman looked up and smiled. David glanced at a field of tiny freckles across the bridge of her nose. “Scan your wrist over my pad.” David complied with her request. “Mr. Gallagher you’re on shuttle flight three oh two. It leaves at twenty-three hundred hours. Take the turbo lift behind me. The shuttle bay is one deck below us.” She printed David’s boarding pass and handed it to him.

“Thank you, ma’am.” David stepped out of line. He stood to the side waiting for his friends to receive their boarding passes.

“I hope we get lucky Mate. I hope they assign us to the same platoon”

Paul grinned. “That’s all I need, to have you picking on me about my big nose for the next thirteen weeks.”

David laughed. “We’ll be too busy to worry about that big honker of yours.”

“Not you too?” Paul enjoyed the good-natured teasing. They stepped into the turbo lift, along with six other inductees.

“Shuttle bay,” one of the inductees said to the turbo lift’s computer. The lift descended one deck below. The doors opened and they stepped into another smaller lobby. Green carpet covered the floor and a lone reception desk occupied the center of the room. A large set of metal doors set behind the reception desk recessed into the metal bulkhead. Above the doors, a red digital readout displayed the words: shuttle bay airlock. Padded benches lined the bulkhead in front of the desk. David headed over to a food and beverage station setting in a corner. He bought four beers and walked back to where his friends awaited. They popped the tops on their beers and sat down in the lobby to wait.

David drifted off to sleep in his chair. The voice of the receptionist announcing the boarding of flight 302 caused David to jerk his head up.

“Come on Amigo. That’s our flight,” Alonzo said. They stood to their feet and crossed the lobby to the airlock doors. The doors opened, they entered the airlock, the inner door opened and they stepped onto the shuttle bay. Several shuttles were set on the launch bay awaiting passengers. David glanced up at the launch control center towering above them. It consisted of a supper-hardened glass bulkhead. The traffic controllers worked behind it. It was one floor above them on the same level as the lobby.

“Boarding pass?” a young female ensign standing by the door said. David handed her his boarding pass. “You’re on flight three zero two. Follow the catwalk to the fourth row of shuttles. Yours will be the one on the far end by the bulkhead.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” They headed down the launch bay to their shuttle. The hatchway stood open with the boarding ramp extended. They went on board following several inductees up the ramp. David found four seats together near the middle of the passenger bay.

“More hurry up and wait,” Alonzo said.

“I know. It will be past bloody midnight before we even take off, I bet,” Louis said.

“Patience my friend. This Limy hates to wait for anything,” Paul said. The passenger area filled up. A member of the flight crew retracted the boarding ramp and closed the exit hatch.

“Please fasten your seat belts. It’s a short hop to the surface. The take-off is quite exhilarating,” the voice of the shuttle pilot said coming over the craft’s PA system. They fastened their seat belts. The shuttle moved across the launch bay lining up with its assigned launch tube and then came to a stop. David heard the voice of the traffic controller saying that flight 302 was free to launch.

“Here we go. Another E-ticket thrill ride,” Alonzo said. The Gee forces slammed them back into their seats. The shuttle shot down the tube spitting them out to space. Louis and Paul crowded around the portholes. They looked at the vessels docked at the spacedock. David and Alonzo looked over their shoulders. The shuttle descended toward the surface of the moon. They saw domed structures scattered about. There were towering boxy buildings rising above the ground. David noticed several tracked vehicles traversing the streets of the main lunar colony. The shuttle headed toward a large metal tower with a hardened glass dome at its top.

A set of steel doors opened underneath the glass dome. The shuttle lined up on the red flashing lights on the edge of the launch bay doors and flew inside the shuttle port. The launch bay doors closed. David felt a slight jolt when the shuttle set down on the metal deck. The launch control officer restored oxygen to the bay. One of the members of the flight crew opened the exit hatch and extended the boarding ramp. They picked up their gear, followed the crowd of inductees down the aisle, and exited the shuttle.

“Head through that airlock to the lobby and then take the turbo lift down to the bus depot. Your buses should be waiting as we speak,” an Air Force flight attendant standing by the exit hatch said. They headed toward the airlock following the crowd to the lobby while the first group of inductees entered the turbo lifts. Squeezing into a crowded turbo lift, they felt their stomachs drop. The lift seemed to descend forever.

When the turbo lift stopped, they stepped out into another lobby and stepped through a set of metal doors and into the bus depot. Several buses were lined up at a curb. They were long snake-like vehicles with three passenger sections that were set on steel wheels inside a metal track. The track helped the vehicle maintain traction on the lunar surface. A rubber buffer separated the passenger cars. An enclosed boxy tractor set hooked to the passenger cars to pull the bus across the lunar landscape.

They headed to the nearest bus, stepped through a small airlock, and entered the last car on the bus. David found seats at the rear of the car and they settled in for the ride. When the bus filled up with inductees, the inner airlock door of the garage opened. The bus pulled into the massive airlock. It jerked to a stop for a few seconds. The inner doors closed, a hissing sound filled the airlock and the outer doors opened. The bus pulled out onto the main thoroughfare running through the lunar colony. David felt his stomach lurch and for a moment, he thought he was going to get sick. He looked out his side window. People wearing EVA suits shuffled along a pathway near the street. Others entered and exited the various buildings. “It seems like a busy place,” David said.

Paul nodded. “I’ve heard they have some wild underground pubs here.”

“My parents brought me here for a vacation when I was a wee bugger, but I don’t remember much about the trip,” Louis said.

“I could care less. I want to get some sleep. Wake me when we get three,” Alonzo said. They left the lunar colony behind heading across the cratered surface of the moon. David glanced at several buildings off to the left that appeared to be some type of mining operation. Military men in gray digitized urban camouflaged fatigues moved down the aisle. They stopped now and then to talk to the inductees. The NCOs on board seemed warm and friendly with the recruits.

“Where are you guys from?” a young sergeant asked when he stopped by David’s chair. David breathed in the smell of stale beer and tobacco smoke. You almost couldn’t smell it because of the scent of mints that the sergeant was chewing.

“Me and my buddy, Alonzo, are from San Diego.” The Sergeant extended his hand and they shook.

“It’s a lovely city. I served on a surface vessel based out of Dago once. How about you two?” the sergeant said. He nodded at Louis and Paul.

“I’m from bloody old England, but my folks sent me to school in Michigan.”

“I was, stationed outside of London for two years. I never could get used to the rain. How about you?”

“I’m from a little spot in the road called Coldwater Michigan,” Paul said.

The bus crossed over to the dark side of the moon and outside everything went dark. Alonzo noticed some lights in the distance to their left. He saw several buildings setting enclosed in what appeared to be a walled compound. A fork in the trail led in that direction. “What’s that over there? Is that the base?”

The sergeant let out a low chuckle and then grinned. “No, that’s not the base. That’s not a place you want to be. That, my friend, is one of the penal colonies here on the dark side of the moon. We’ve still got ten miles to go before we reach the base.” The Fleet Marine sergeant moved along talking to the other inductees. A few more passed by and stopped to chat.

“Them blokes don’t seem too bad,” Louis said.

Thirty minutes later, the bus pulled up to the main gate at the recruiting depot. A guard inside an atmospherically contained guard shack pushed a button on his console. The electronic gate slid open. The bus pulled onto the grounds of the Marine base. They traveled down the main road heading to a massive steel structure lit up with bright lights.

“Good Lord! That building looks big enough to house an entire city!” Louis said.

“It does. The entire base is in there. It’s atmospherically contained. It has a gravity generator that provides an Earth-like gravity,” the sergeant said. The bus pulled up to a massive set of steel airlock doors. The outer hull of the building was made from black diamond-plated steel. The doors opened, the bus pulled into the airlock and the outer doors closed behind it. The airlock filled with oxygen, the inner doors opened and the bus pulled into the enclosed base. David glanced out his window while the bus traveled down a paved street lined with palm trees. Grass grew alongside the road, within the massive enclosed structure. The place reminded David of one of the city parks in San Diego.

Three-tiered barracks lined one side of the road. An office complex lined the other. Several Quonset huts set off in the distance. The bus stopped at the curb in front of a barracks on their right. The words: Main Receiving Barracks were written on a sign above the roof. The good-natured NCOs riding the bus with the inductees turned into instant assholes. The bus stopped. The good-natured sergeant who had stopped by their chairs to talk headed to the front of the bus.

“On your feet you slimy little worms! Get off my bus! I don’t care which God you pray to! It could be Mohammad, Allah, Baal, or the state! I could give a rat’s ass if you pray or not! You can give your hearts to Jesus if you want to, but for the next thirteen weeks your ass belongs to me!”

***

Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think. Have a glorious day.

Posted in Law of Attraction, meditation, Self Help, subconscious mind, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Be Happy in the Gap

Posted on April 23, 2023 by Dave the Miracle Maker
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Hey, this is Dave the miracle Maker again. It’s another lovely Sunday up here in the high desert of Southern California. Today I would like to talk about happiness. Are you happy, or do you feel like happiness is overrated? I believe that happiness is a choice. Choose to be happy. Stop dwelling on the negative and concentrate on the positive things in your life. One day my wife was in a bad mood and said, “I’m not happy.” As I spoke of in one of my earlier blogs, I took two seconds to respond and kept my opinion to myself. What I was thinking was, If you are looking for me to make you happy you’re going to be disappointed. True happiness comes from within. You could be a multi-millionaire and provide your wife or husband with the fanciest cars, and the best house in town. You could supply her, or his every desire, but if that person has not found inner peace, the happiness of wealth and material things will fade. Happiness is a choice. Choose to be happy.

Now I’m going to talk about being happy in the gap. If you are trying to manifest the love of your life, or if you make around four thousand dollars a month and you are trying to manifest ten thousand dollars a month you need to be happy in the gap. Your reality is where you are right now. Your proffered reality is when you receive what you are trying to manifest. In between is the gap. Your day-to-day lives as you work toward your goals. Don’t concentrate on what you don’t have because you get what you focus on. Concentrate on what you want and be happy and grateful for what you have now. Choose to be happy and be happy in the gap. Leave a comment below and let me know what you think. Peace Out!

Now for your reading plause, check out Chapter seven of my science fiction novel, the Battle for Europa.

Chapter 7

Shawn Gallagher leaned back in his chair at his desk in the office complex on Europa. He heaved a sigh. His mind flashed back over the last three weeks, and he marveled at all they had accomplished. They had formed a temporary government. With John Wilson’s help, they drafted a written Declaration of Independence and transmitted the document to the Council of Economic Unions. Wilson wrote a manifesto declaring their demands. Shawn transmitted it to the council as well and completed the final draft of their government’s new constitution.

Shawn served as the temporary president. He appointed John as his temporary Secretary of Defense. Another one of his closest friends, James Atkins, filled in as the Vice President. Jerry Holliday accepted a position as the head of security and intelligence. Jerry was another good friend of Shawn’s with a former military background. Another former military man, Chuck Ballantine, became the Secretary of the treasury.

For the past three weeks, the former miners had been busy training. They familiarized themselves with the new weapons, preparing for the eventual federal assault. Others built defensive positions. Chuck Ballantine, who was in charge of the new mint built a press, where they minted gold and silver coins. Their preparations for the federal assault were going well, but Shawn felt vulnerable. The mercenary force that Ludwig Von Wolf promised had yet to show up. If the federal forces arrived first, they would be in a world of hurt.

“When can we expect Ludwig’s MERCs to arrive?” Shawn asked looking up at the men gathered for the morning briefing.

Holliday drummed his fingers on the armrest of his chair. “Any time now. I sent him an encrypted VID transmission. Supposedly they left their base in the asteroid belt two months ago.”

“What do your sources say about the federal response, now that we’ve made the declaration?” Shawn brushed a strand of hair from his face.

“Rumor is that they might be trying some clandestine operation using the PPF. I also hear rumors of a much larger troop buildup.”

“What about our aw-shit plan?” Shawn whipped a few beads of sweat from his brow.

Holliday laughed. “Everything is going according to the plan.”

“It’s good to have friends in accounting that can hide where the money or material is going,” Shawn said. “I still can’t believe we pulled this off right under Consolidated Security’s nose.”

Holliday nodded. “Yeah. It took a lot of time and hard work. If you have the paperwork filled out, right, they give it the rubber stamp and send it on its way.”

Shawn looked at Wilson. “John what about the troops? How goes the training?”

“They’re doing as good as we can expect for men that have been out of the service for a while. We’ll speed up the training when Ludwig’s people get here.”

“Will they be ready when the feds arrive? That’s the question.”

John paused and then lit a cigar. The rich aroma of tobacco smoke drifted across the room. “They will be. When it comes to that, everyone will fight.”

“What about the mint? Are the men happy about the new coinage and the new pay scales?”

Ballantine shrugged. “Pretty much. Right now, our warehouse is full. If this thing goes on too long and commodities get scarce, things might change.”

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll go down to site D and see how they’re coming on my new space cruiser,” Shawn said.

John laughed, fanning smoke from in front of his face. “It was nice of the PPF to have one at the spaceport when this went down.”

“Yeah, I know. As soon as the boys finish the modifications, I need to take a trip to the asteroid belt. I need to see if we can make that deal with Mr. Wolf about those ships. I wish his MERCs would show up first.”

“There is that other matter you asked me to look into,” Holliday said.

Shawn’s face took on a look of concern. “I’d almost forgotten about that. What did you find out?”

“He graduated high school in San Diego, and applied for robotics school but got rejected. They drafted him into Federal Forces like we figured they would. They assigned him to Fleet Marines Space Division. He is doing his boot camp right now at the Lunar training depot on the dark side of Earth’s moon. He’s taken some flack because of all this.”

“I hope he doesn’t suffer too much because of what I’ve done.”

Holliday shrugged. “It’s not too bad. The political officers are keeping an eye on him. From what my sources say, he’s pretty much following the party line.”

Shawn leaned forward resting his elbows on the table. “I wish I could get him out of their clutches. If he was here I could undo the brainwashing that the system has stuffed in his ears for the last fourteen years. When he completes boot camp and advanced training, see if you can find out where his first duty station is. I’d like to send a team to pull a snatch and grab, then bring him back here.”

Holliday nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Good. Keep me posted. I guess that’s it. I want to see how they’re coming with my ship.” Shawn dismissed the men from the briefing and stood to his feet. A sense of sadness and regret sank into Shawn’s being when his thoughts drifted to his brother David. God how I wish he were here with me now.

Shawn stepped out of his office and headed down a corridor. He passed several more offices and exited the office complex. Heading down another hallway, he passed the company store, the miner’s lounge, and the REC room. A large building with a hardened glass dome covering its roof was on top of the mining complex. The top-level housed the support facilities, such as the medical center, and the cafeteria. It housed other facilities that the miners needed to survive on Europa.

The second level housed the maintenance and engineering department. The engineering department held the machines, which provided the oxygen for the facility. It held huge gravity generators, which produced an Earth-like gravity for the mines. There was a network of tunnels that connected all the mining sites on Europa.

Shawn shivered from the cool temperatures in the corridor and hurried to the nearest turbo lift. He rode it down to level two and headed down a narrow corridor to maintenance. A young maintenance tech smiled when he stepped into the maintenance shed. “Hello, Mr. President. What can I do for you?”

Shawn laughed. He was having a hard time getting used to people calling him Mr. President. “I need a sled. I’d like to go over to site D and see how the boys are coming along on my new space cruiser.”

“I got one right here. I charged the batteries and did a tune-up on this one. It’s yours if you want it.” Shawn looked down at the small vehicle. It reminded him of the old-fashioned scooters that kids used to ride. It consisted of a driver’s seat with a T-bar control handle. Behind the driver’s seat was a flat dump bed, which the miners used to carry equipment back and forth in the mines.

“Thanks.” Shawn sat down in the driver’s seat and switched on the machine, using a thumb switch on the left T handle handgrip. The sled hummed to life and rose two inches off the ground on a cushion of air. He turned the handle hit the forward thrust button with his right thumb and cranked the throttle. The machine moved forward and Shawn turned around. He exited the maintenance shed through a large roll-up door and headed down the corridor. Passing several doorways in the metal bulkheads on his left and right, he headed down the corridor. He took a turbo lift down several levels into the bowels of Europa.

Shawn exited site A through a massive set of steel-reinforced doors. The metal bulkhead gave way to the icy walls of the tunnel system. He left site A behind traveling underneath the surface of Europa through the vast network of tunnels that connected the mining sites. Tiny flakes of ice flew up into the air while the sled hummed along. To Shawn, it felt as though he was driving through an ice storm. He leaned over the T bar peering into the tunnel ahead of him. The hum of the sled’s thrusters echoed off the icy walls of the tunnel and provided, a background noise.

Forty-five minutes later, Shawn reduced his speed. The electronic eye on the door registered his approach. The steel doors opened. Shawn pulled into the maintenance building and turned off the sled. He climbed off the vehicle and crossed the messy floor to a raised platform. Men gathered around a sleek-looking space cruiser. Shawn breathed in the smell of grease and oil. He watched one of the men put a fresh coat of ocean blue paint on the exterior of the craft.

“How goes it?” Shawn asked, stepping up to the group.

“Fine Mr. President. Our painter here is going to add the gold trim plus the presidential seal, once the base coat dries. Your new ship should be ready for space in a couple of days,” a young blond-headed maintenance tech said.

Shawn gazed about. “Would you mind if I take a look inside?”

“Not at all. I’ll give you the grand tour.” Shawn jumped up onto the platform and followed the maintenance tech up the boarding ramp. They went through an airlock and stepped into a lounge area. Another maintenance tech rolled out a long roll of ocean blue shag carpet. Shawn looked around the lounge. There were two leather couches, a bar, and a food and beverage center. There was a stereo system and a VID screen on the bulkhead next to the airlock.

“What about the hidden storage areas I asked for?”

“They’re right under our feet. These J bolts on the floor will be out of sight, once they install the carpet. You’ll have to move the furniture and lift these little squares of carpeting to get to them. Pull up on the J bolts, give them a turn and remove sections of the deck covers to access the storage. We tore out part of the former crew area and created a small cargo bay. We also created a hidden storage area under the deck in the bay. We had some guys cut away a section of the hull on the aft end to create a door to unload equipment. They’re installing the hydraulics to raise and lower the ramp as we speak.”

Shawn smiled. “Excellent.”

“Would you like to see the bridge?”

“That was going to be my next request.” The maintenance tech led him forward and through a hatchway to the bridge. Two plush black leather seats were set facing forward. A bank of computer consoles was set in front of the chairs. Mounted in the forward bulkhead was a rectangular viewscreen.

The maintenance tech smiled. “One person can fly this baby with ease. The seat on the left is the captain’s station. He operates the helm. The one on the right is the co-pilot’s station. It doubles as the communications officer’s station. If you have to fly by yourself, let’s say your co-pilot is unavailable. Maybe he’s getting a few hours of rack time; you can divert his systems to your station. We’ve installed small laser cannons and small plasma torpedoes to the bottom of the vessel. This baby packs a big punch. You access the weapons from both the pilot and co-pilot’s chair.”

“Cool. You people are doing a great job.”

“Would you like to see your quarters?”

Shawn nodded. “Lead the way.” Shawn followed the maintenance tech back the way they came. They headed across the lounge to another hatchway. They stepped into a narrow passageway. The maintenance tech opened a door on his left.

“This is your quarters.” Shawn looked into the room and saw a queen-sized bed that was set on a sea of plush blue carpet. There was a small wet bar, a small table, and a doorway that led to what he assumed was the bathroom.

“Nice.” Shawn stepped back out into the passageway. The maintenance tech opened a door on his right and Shawn stuck his head in the door.

“This is the crew berthing area.” Shawn saw four flip-down metal racks. There were two on each side of a narrow passageway, complete with mattresses and blankets. There were storage bins built into the bulkhead underneath each bunk. At the end of the passageway set a table, with four chairs set on the metal diamond plate covering the floor. A hatchway in the aft bullhead lead to what Shawn assumed was the crew’s bath and shower room. They stepped back into the hallway. Shawn followed the maintenance tech to the hatchway at the end of the central corridor. “This is your cargo bay.” Shawn looked across the small rectangular-shaped bay. He watched the men on the aft end raise the door. “We’re putting in the hydraulic system now. When we’re finished, you’ll have a ramp to load and unload cargo, plus another airlock back here.”

“Good. Let your people know that I’m pleased. They do good work.” Finished with the tour, Shawn stood with the men gathered around the small vessel. He shook their hands. “Thank you men for all your hard work.”

“When do you think the feds will attack?” one of the men asked.

“I hope they don’t. I hope they give in to our demands, but if they do, it will take at least six months for them to get a sizable force together. We’ve got a lot of work to do between now and then.”

“Where are you off to now sir?” someone asked.

“I thought I’d check on our new military forces and see how the training’s going. Then I thought I’d take a rover out on the surface and check on the men preparing for our defense.”

“Thanks for stopping by, Mr. President. You’re welcome here any time. We’re putting in a lot of overtime to get your ship ready. The men will do you proud,” the maintenance tech that had given Shawn the tour of the vessel said.

“I’m already proud.” Shawn climbed back on the sled, exited the maintenance shed, and sped down a wide corridor toward a large turbo lift. He rode the lift down to the next level, housing the new military complex. He hit the thrusters on the sled, exited the turbo lift, entered the new military complex, and headed through a -maze of corridors until he reached the office complex. Shawn met Wilson at his office, left the sled there and they climbed into a hovercraft. John climbed into the driver’s seat, flipped a lever on the dashboard and a clear glass dome flipped down covering the driver’s compartment. There was a faint whine inside the vehicle when John turned on the craft’s engine. John moved the T handle in the center of the console forward and the vehicle moved forward riding on a cushion of air.

“Where to first Mr. President?”

“Knock off the Mr. President stuff. I’ve about had enough of that.”

John laughed. “That’s something you’re going to have to get used to. So where to?”

“You’re driving.”

John moved the joystick forward. The hovercraft increased speed and they headed down the main corridor. “Let’s head to the rifle range.” They approached an intersection where two tunnels met. John took a left turn and pulled into a large cavern. The interior lighting lit up the underground shooting range. John pulled up next to the range tower. He stopped in front of a large wooden structure set next to the firing line. Men lay in the prone position at their shooting stations. They fired at targets three hundred yards downrange. Shawn climbed out of the hovercraft. The voice of the range master came from exterior speakers on the tower.

“Cease fire! Let’s take a break!” The soldiers of the New Republic gathered around their new president. The men saluted and stood at attention.

“As you were,” Shawn said and the men gathered around him. “Are you guys ready to kick some federal ass?” A cheer rose from the group.

“You bet your ass we are,” one of the soldiers said.

Shawn smiled. “Good. I hope it doesn’t come to that. I hope the council will listen to reason.”

“Fat chance of that,” someone said.

Wilson grinned. “What other government can the president walk among his people freely? The presidents of the economic unions don’t go anywhere without their entourage. They couldn’t even do that in the old United States.”

“I hope it stays this way.”

The range master climbed down the wooden ladder from his tower. The grizzled old sergeant smiled, extended his hand and they shook. “What can we do for you, Mr. President?”

“I came to see you people shoot.”

“We’ve spent the last three days familiarizing ourselves with the new weapons and snapping in. Now we’re shooting to qualify. If you’ll take a seat in the bleachers behind the shooting stations, we’ll continue.”

“Good. Carry on sergeant,” Shawn said.

“You heard the man! Take your positions!” a young corporal assisting the range master yelled. The men scrambled to their shooting stations. Gallagher and Wilson took seats in the bleachers. The troops opened up with their M-23 blasters. They fired solid projectiles and then switched to laser blast. After using up several energy packs, they switched to the explosive rounds. The sound of gunfire echoed through the underground cavern.

“What do you think?” John asked after watching the first group shoot.

Shawn paused for a second. “They’re doing all right. They could use more shooting time.”

“Have you seen enough?”

Shawn nodded. “Yeah. Let’s roll.” They climbed back into the hovercraft. John headed across the icy cavern leaving the shooting range behind. They stopped to watch some men run through an obstacle course. The troops jumped over walls and ran across balance beams. They climbed wooden towers, and at the top, they repelled to the ground.

“They’ll shape up,” John said.

“Yeah, but we need to be outside on the surface training with their weapons in EVA suits.”

“That’s in the works. Have you seen enough?”

“Yeah. Take me back to my sled.”

John drove across the cavern heading back to the office complex and passed a squad bay. Shawn glanced out the passenger window watching a platoon practice close order drill. His mind flashed back to his days in the Federal Defense Forces.

“Do you think they’ll be ready?” Shawn asked watching the troops marching in step.

“God I hope so.”

***

Linda Van Horn sat at her station listening to music on a set of headphones. She drummed her fingers on her console and logged onto a computer game, trying to stave off the boredom. Normally, a shift in traffic control was stressful. There were always ships entering and leaving the system. She zoomed in with the station’s exterior cameras. She saw all the tanker ships parked on the surface of the various moons orbiting Jupiter. Before they took over the station, a shift in the main control center flew by. You kept busy talking to inbound or outbound vessels and tried to verify each ship’s registry.

Her orders were simple: to watch for and identify inbound traffic. Since the takeover, not a single ship had approached from the Asteroid belt. Jan Cunningham worked at the next station. She crossed the control center from the beverage station, handed Linda a cup of coffee, and offered her a doughnut from a tray.

“Thank you,” Linda said taking a doughnut and a cup of coffee. Jan brushed a strand of strawberry blonde hair out of her face and sat down at her workstation.

“Another boring shift. Things were never like this before,” Jan said. She tossed back her dark hair and took a drink from her coffee cup.

“We’d better enjoy it while it lasts. When the federal troops arrive things are going to get exciting.”

“That scares me. What are we supposed to do if they retake the station?”

“Didn’t you see the directive? If they get by the troops garrisoned here, we’re to seal off the control center. We’re to flee in the escape pods.” Linda blew across the rim of her coffee cup cooling off the hot liquid and brushed doughnut crumbs off her lap.

“I hope it doesn’t come to that. I hope they can reach some kind of agreement.”

A beeping sound coming from her console caused Linda to look down at her screen. “Holy shit!” Linda said. She straightened up in her seat. Her hands moved across the virtual keyboard activating her communications system.

“What?” Jan asked, turning to her screen.

“I’ve got over two hundred frigates and space cruisers inbound from the asteroid belt on my scope. I hope they’re friendly and not PPF!”

***

After viewing the troops, John drove back to where they left the sled. “Where are you off to now?” he asked.

“I thought I’d head topside and go out on the surface. I want to check out a rover from the motor pool and see how the construction crews are doing. Those fighting positions need to be right when the federal boys show up.” Shawn climbed out of the vehicle.

“Climb back in. I’ll take you there and go with you.”

Shawn climbed back into the hovercraft. When they reached the office complex at site A, they donned EVA suits and headed down the corridor to the main exit. Inside the airlock, they put on their helmets and checked their oxygen tanks. Finished with the equipment checks, Shawn opened the outer door. They stepped out onto the surface of Europa. Their gravity boots kept them from floating away in the low gravity. They crossed the icy street to the motor pool. Inside the EVA suit, Shawn shivered from the cold. He adjusted the suit’s environmental controls using a tiny knob on the base of his helmet. They entered the motor pool through the main airlock. John secured an atmospherically contained land rover and headed out onto the surface. Shawn stored their EVA suits in a storage compartment behind the cockpit of the vehicle. On the first day of the strike, the pilots parked the tanker ships on the surface. Shawn had them moved to create obstacles for an invading federal force. He wanted to channel the opposing troops down a small series of canyons, near the mining facility.

Near the top of these canyons, construction crews built bunkers and fighting positions. On the floor of the canyon, a work detail dug spider holes and tank traps. What Shawn hoped to do was to catch the federal troops on the canyon floor in an ambush. He wanted a good field of fire from both sides to catch the federal forces in a crossfire.

“Pull over,” Shawn said.

John brought the Land Rover to a stop. They suited up in their EVA suits and did an equipment check. Finished with the equipment check, Shawn exited the vehicle and John stepped out of the airlock behind him. Using the jet packs built into their EVA suits, they shot up into the air and set down on the top of the ridge. Shawn paused for a few seconds looking across the icy planes of Europa. The surface of the moon looked like a rolling sea of ice. The canyons were created using heavy equipment and they used tanker ships to set them up as obstacles between the series of canyons. The canyons looked like scars upon the ice. The intent was to close off all other approaches to the mining colony. Entering the fighting position through a tunnel leading down into the ridgeline, they descended toward the edge of the canyon and stepped into a ten-by-ten rectangular room. It had an opening in the ice where a man could shoot down at the floor of the canyon below. Two men working in the fighting positions snapped to attention.

“Mr. President, sir. Nobody told us you were coming,” one of the men said. He seemed nervous.

“I thought I’d stop by to see how things are progressing,” Shawn said.

“As you can see sir,” the man said motioning to the room. “We have finished construction of this position. We’re mounting the main guns and storing equipment. We’ll move to the next position shortly. There’s another crew working on the other side of the canyon.”

Shawn took in his surroundings. Construction crews mounted a large laser-powered weapon to the opening overlooking the canyon. Stacks of M-23 blasters along with ammo and energy packs were set in the corner. There were also boxes of grenades and a stack of rocket launchers. “Good. You men are doing good work.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Shawn’s com-link beeped. “Gallagher here,” he said into the voice-activated mike.

The voice of Shawn’s secretary came through the speakers on Shawn’s EVA suit. “Mr. President. I got a com from spacedock. Linda says we’ve got company coming. You’d best get back here in a hurry.”

***

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Make Money Online.

Posted on April 22, 2023 by Dave the Miracle Maker
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Hello everyone this is Dave the Miracle Maker. I hope you all are having a wonderful day. It’ another great day up here on the high Desert of Southern California. I am almost finished with the rough draft of my new novel, Gone Missing I only have a couple of chapters left to write. It has been a fun project so far.

How many of you could use a little extra money? I know I can. There are millions of ways to make money online. Some of them only pay a bit of little money, but small income streams add up. There are also ways to make lots of money. There are sites that pay to take surveys, play games and watch short videos. This is what I do. First and foremost, I write. I have twenty six books that are on sale at amazon.com. Also I blog. If your WordPress blog is a free site consider upgrading to a premium site. This allows you to monetize your blog. You can create a premium content page where people pay money to subscribe and view your premium content. You can also allow WordPress to place adds on your post. When people click on the ad, you get paid. You can also sell products on your blog. I urge all of you to upgrade a premium site and buy your own domain name. I recently upgraded my site. There are also sites online that will pay you to take surveys, play games or view short video ads. You won’t get rich doing this, but if you have several small income streams making you a little money, it adds up. I do surveys on Survey Junkie. Last month I made almost one hundred dollars just taking surveys in my spare time. I am also starting an affiliate marketing business where I sponsor other people’s products. When people click on your affiliate link and buy the product, you get paid a commission. I use Digistore24, but there are several others like Click Bank and warrior Plus. This can make you a substantial amount of money if you build your business, and market your sponsored products right. On the internet you can make a little bit of money, or you can become a millionaire, like Wesley Virgin who produced the Genie Script. All takes is work and you need to believe in yourself. If you are interested in making money online, I encourage you all to jump in with both feet. Start watching YouTube videos and educate yourself. Above all don’t quit or say I can’t do this because you can. Until next time, peace out!

Now for your reading pleasue check out chapter of my science fiction novel, the Battle for Europa

Chapter 6

Cyrus Bonelli stood by a window on the top floor of the CEU council building in New York City. The building was set on the same spot that had once housed the old United Nations building. Cyrus wished that he was back home in Italy. Gazing out at the sprawling city below, he watched aircars pass by in the night. A diplomatic shuttle descended to the roof of the building. God, I hate New York. One more year and my term as president of the council will be over. Some men coveted the position, but Cyrus loathed it. As council president, you were the most powerful man, on Earth. You were also the most powerful man in the entire solar system.

With great power comes great responsibility. Sure, the apartment occupying the entire floor below the council chambers is nice. The perks and the money are good, but the stress could send me to an early grave. As if I don’t have enough on my plate dealing with all these bureaucrats, and now this. If I catch this Shawn Gallagher, I’ll fire the laser bolt into the back of his head that takes his life. That’s why the president only serves one six-year term. The job is too much for one man.

Cyrus turned and gazed at the council floor below. This was where the council made the major decisions that affected the lives of everyone. His mind drifted to the past. In a terrorist attack on 09-11-2001, two jet planes crashed into the old twin towers, bringing them down. The attack killed a large number of people. That catalyst led to the Third World War. One of the last accomplishments of the old regime in Washington was to build a monument to the ones lost in the terrorist attacks. It was one of the only remaining monuments of that failed regime.

Cyrus stepped down from the raised viewing platform and crossed the spectator area of the council chamber. He ignored the hum of conversation, climbed the steps to the platform, and stood behind the podium. The representatives from the colonies fill the chamber. The presidents of the various economic unions and other dignitaries set among them. He looked at the digital timepiece embedded in his wrist. A sense of revulsion passed through him. At midnight, New York time, Cyrus banged the gavel.

“Gentlemen. Presidents and Governor Generals. Let’s bring the room to order.” A hush fell over the council floor. “Most of you know why I’ve called this emergency meeting of the council. If you haven’t seen the news, I’ll play the piece for you now. If I can draw your attention to the VID screen behind me.”

The image of Shawn Gallagher filled the VID screen hanging from the ceiling behind him. Cyrus turned up the sound. On the screen, Gallagher read the Declaration of Independence. He read the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of rights. Gallagher announced the independence of the mining colonies and announced the formation of a new republic. When the Video finished, Cyrus turned off the VID screen. Pandemonium filled the council chamber.

“I’ll have, order on the council floor!” Cyrus yelled banging his gavel. “The question before us is what to do about this son of a bitch. It is my recommendation that we squash this little man and his followers. We need to squash them like the cockroaches they are. I put before the council a military solution.”

“Mr. Chairman. The president of the European Union wishes to speak,” a gray-haired skinny man said. He stood to his feet.

Cyrus grimaced, feeling acid reflux in his throat. “The chair so recognizes the president of the European Union.”

“Mr. President, these miners have us over a barrel. They control the helium-3 and the hydrogen that powers our ships. They mine the deuterium crystals. What about our new fleet of deep space vessels? Will they be a part of this military force to rid the solar system of this rabble?”

“No. The deep-space fleet will proceed with its mission. They do hold us over a barrel by denying us hydrogen, water ice, deuterium crystals, and helium-3. That is why I propose this military campaign,” Cyrus said.

“This is folly. You saw what they did to that helium tanker. In light of the trouble on Mars, I’d think that a major military campaign would be the last thing that you’d want. I propose a limited Special Forces operation using Planetary Patrol vessels and men. Using the element of surprise, they could land on Europa and put an end to this.”

Cyrus felt the heat rising in his forehead. “Need I remind you that it’s not only Europa?”

“Mr. Chairman. The representative for Consolidated Mining wishes to speak,” a mining official jumping to his feet.

“The chair so recognizes.”

“Mr. Chairman. Why not give them what they want? We could give them limited autonomy. The fleet of tankers they abducted belongs to my company. We could demand payment for the tankers, and charge them a tax for moving the loads through our space. We could pay them for helium, hydrogen, water ice, and deuterium, but they will need goods from Earth. We could negotiate trade deals.” The room erupted into chaos.

Cyrus felt a ball of acid form in his stomach. His cheeks reddened in anger and his hands white-knuckled the podium. These spineless bastards are going to let this rabble have their way. The council went back and forth debating the issue well into the early hours of the morning. By the time they reached a decision, Cyrus Bonelli felt like resigning in frustration.

***

Captain Chambers sat in his chair on the command platform of the Port Royal. Next to him, in the first officer’s chair, sat his friend and new first officer, Craig Bannister. A cold chill shot down Chambers’ back. I wish they’d turn up the damn heat. He gazed down at the technicians manning the workstations on the bridge. The workstations consisted of computer panels and virtual keyboards. Cushioned chairs were set at each station for the operator.

His eyes roving the bridge, Chambers looked at the helm. He took in the weapons station, to the left of the helm. The chief weapons specialist directed fire communication with the weapons center. His eyes kept moving, taking in the engineering station, to the right of the helm. The engineering specialist communicated with the chief engineer in the engine room. One of the technicians, working on a computer, let out a curse. Chambers’ eyes drifted to the communications officer’s station. It set in front of the engineering specialist station, but slightly to his right. It filled space on the fore bulkhead next to the main viewscreen. I’m supposed to be in charge of all this? Somehow I don’t feel up to the task.

Chambers’ eyes moved to the left of the main viewscreen. A large bank of computer screens and other instruments occupied much of the bulkhead. He took in the science officer’s station. His eyes locked onto the main viewscreen occupying the entire foreword bulkhead. Space, the wonder of it all. A thrill shot through him.

Chambers drummed his fingers on the armrest of his chair. He waited for the traffic controller to allow them to leave the spacedock. They would soon join the fleet for space trials. Chambers and, Banister had been on board the Port Royal for seventy-two hours. It had been an eventful three days.

“Hurry up and wait,” Chambers said.

“That’s the navy way,” Banister said. “Patience, Captain.”

“Patience, hell. I want to kill something!” Chambers yelled in mock seriousness and they both laughed. He felt like a little kid on a grand adventure. His mind drifted back to his first morning on board the ship.

“Captain Chambers, this is your zero five hundred wakeup call. The kitchen staff will serve breakfast in the officers’ mess at zero six hundred hours. After breakfast, I’ll give you and Mr. Banister a tour of the ship, sir,” the voice of Ensign Palmer said. It came over the small speaker next to the captain’s bed. Chambers woke from a deep slumber, rolled out of bed placing his feet on the floor. He knuckled sleep from his eyes. Goose flesh beaded up on his arms and legs.

“All right. Thank you. I’m up.”

“Very well. Carry on sir,” Palmer said and ended the transmission.

“Lights on.” His cabin lights turned on. He rose to his feet, took his black robe along with a black pair of slippers from his seabag, and put them on. Dressed in his robe and slippers, he stumbled to the food and beverage station. “Coffee, Black.” A cup dropped into a slot, the coffee started brewing and a few seconds later, scalding hot coffee filled the cup. He took the cup, the warm cup feeling good in his cold hands, from the machine. Chambers stumbled over to the table in the center of his cabin, sat down, and took the first tentative sip of the hot liquid. “That’s what I’m talking about.” The hot coffee chased the cobwebs of sleep from his mind and after drinking two cups, he stepped into the shower.

“Water, hot. Vigorous massage.” The water in the shower turned on, Chambers lathered up his muscled body and then rinsed off. “Blow dry,” he said to the room’s computer. Hot jets of air hit his body drying him off. Stepping out of the shower, he headed back to the main cabin, took out a fresh uniform, and put it on. Dressed, he went to the room’s computer control panel. He set the computer system from voice-activated to, voice-activated audible response. From the list of personality choices, he chose, sensual, female. He entered the name, Mary Ann and entered his, own name under room occupant.

“Hello Mary Ann,” he said after setting the controls.

“Hello, Captain. How may I assist you?” a seductive female voice came over the room’s speakers in response.

“I’m fine Mary Ann. I’m checking out the system.” He went to the beverage station and retrieved another cup of coffee, polished his boots, and shined his brass belt buckle between occasional sips of coffee. Finished with his boots and buckle, he put on his boots and adjusted his uniform. He looked at the timepiece embedded in his wrist. It read 0558. The door chime rang. He stepped to the door. The door opened. Lieutenant Palmer and First Officer Bannister stood in the hallway.

“Are you ready for some breakfast sir?” Palmer asked.

“Boy Howdy. I’m about as hungry as an anorexic polar bear,” Chambers said.

“Right. If you’ll follow me, sir.” Palmer led them down the dim hallway.

“Did someone forget to pay the light bill? And why is it so cold in the hallway?” Chambers asked.

“The lights in the hallway are dim to simulate early morning. They’ll get brighter as the day goes by. The engineers turn the heat down in the corridors in the wee hours to conserve energy.”

“Interesting. How’d you sleep?” Chambers asked Bannister.

Banister shrugged. “Like a baby. How about you?”

“Like the dead. How’d you set your room’s computer?”

Banister grinned. “Female sensual with a French accent. I love a woman with a French accent.”

Chambers laughed. “I set mine to sensual, female American.”

“A deck not only consists of the bridge and officers’ mess. It also houses the PX, sickbay, and the officers’ pub. Our fitness center and recreational complex are also on A deck. It consists of a bowling alley, a movie theater, a concert hall, a sports arena, and a swimming pool. There is also a hot tub. There are several other pubs on this deck besides the officers’ pub. The bordello is at the end of the hallway,” Palmer said and led them down the main corridor toward the officers’ mess.

Chambers’ bottom jaw dropped. “The bordello? You mean there’s a whore house on board ship?”

“The brass prefers the term Comfort Station. This is a Deep Space Battle Cruiser. It will be away from Earth for years at a time. Military REGs frown on fraternization among the ship’s military personnel. They realize that people have needs. The comfort girls, and the people working in the PX or at the REC center or in the pubs, work for an outside contractor. They are there to serve the needs of the service. Fraternization with contracted personnel is okay.” Palmer stepped into the officers’ mess. Chambers and Bannister followed. A few low-ranking officers sat at the various tables. They gave Chambers and Bannister the once over. Palmer grabbed a metal tray moving down the serving line. Chambers and Bannister picked up their trays and followed. Food workers piled scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and a stack of pancakes onto their trays. A man in his fifties with short gray hair stepped out of the kitchen. He approached the three officers and snapped off a salute.

“Captain Chambers. First Officer Bannister. Welcome aboard. I am Mess Sergeant Austen Jones. I hope you gentleman enjoy your meal.”

“If it tastes as good as it smells I’ll be happy,” Chambers said.

“If there is anything you need, don’t be afraid to ask.” At the end of the serving line, Chambers poured himself a cup of coffee and they found a seat. On the table, set a pitcher of orange juice, Maple syrup, salt, and pepper shakers. Chambers poured himself some orange juice and poured Maple Syrup over his hotcakes. Taking a bite from the stack of pancakes, he savored the first morsel in his mouth.

“This food is delicious. How can the mess hall maintain this level of proficiency, once we’ve been, at space for a year or more?” Chambers asked.

“The ship is self-sufficient. We grow and raise, our food down on the farm. I’ll show you after we eat. I’m sure the chief horticulturist will give you the grand tour,” Palmer said.

“Interesting. I’d enjoy seeing this farm,” Bannister said. Finished with breakfast, Palmer led them out of the officers’ mess. They headed down the hallway. Palmer showed them the PX, the sickbay, and the fitness center. He showed them the recreation facilities and the security center. Palmer gave them a tour of the science labs, the fire station, and the damage control center. The last place they saw on A-deck was the bordello. Chambers noticed a few young women in skimpy attire sitting at a bar drinking. He breathed in the smell of perfume. The madam in charge took them on a tour. She explained to the captain that all the girls had regular medical checkups. She said that they were free of any sexually transmitted diseases and said that they were there to support the troops.

After leaving the bordello, Palmer led Chambers and Bannister to the turbo lifts. They boarded a lift and headed down into the bowels of the ship. “We’re passing decks A-1, A-2, and A-3 which consists of officers sleeping berths. The officers’ cabins are slightly bigger than the Non-Com quarters. The Non-Com quarters are further below,” Palmer said. Palmer gave them a tour of the shuttle bay, the cargo bay, and the weapons center. Further, into the bowels of the ship, he showed them the Fleet Marine decks. The decks housed their onboard training facilities, office complex, and troop berthing area. The troop area was empty, except for a couple of officers in the officers’ complex. Palmer introduced Chambers and Bannister to the Fleet Marine commander.

Below the Fleet Marine area, was the crew berthing area for the Navy enlisted personnel. One deck below this lay the engine room. Palmer showed off the fusion reactor and the gravity generator. He showed them the huge compressors that provided the ship’s oxygen. Palmer introduced the captain and first officer to the chief engineer. The last stop of the tour was the farm.

Chambers stepped out of the turbo lift and stood in the center of the deck. He gazed about in awe breathing in the rich aroma of animal dung. On the aft end of the deck set several pens where cattle and sheep grazed. He saw an area housing chickens and turkeys. There was a vast field of vegetables and several water tanks. His eyes wandered to an office complex occupying the fore-end of the deck. An older white-headed man wearing a white lab coat approached them.

“Hello, Captain. I’m Chris Webster. Chief horticulturalists. Would you like a tour of the farm?”

“I’d love one.” The horticulturist showed them the lab area where they cloned the embryos. He showed them where they raised the animals until they were old enough to graze on their own. Then he showed them the meat house where they butchered the animals and processed the meat.

“What are these water tanks for?” Chambers asked.

“The four vertical tanks, which are open on the top, are our fish ponds. We raise a variety of freshwater and saltwater fish, plus lobsters and scrimp. Those large circular tanks standing horizontally are the ship’s water supply. The building next to those tanks is the water treatment facility. Every drop of water used onboard the ship gets recycled.”

“You mean that last cup of coffee I drank came from piss water?”

The white-haired horticulturist laughed. “No. The wastewater gets broken down to its purest form. The water in your coffee came from pure H2o. Even the solid waste generated on the ship is, used. We use it as fertilizer to grow our crops. The growth cycles are every three weeks. Every three weeks we slaughter the meat-bearing animals and bring in a vegetable crop. We use growth hormones. We grow our, own feed for the animals. It is very self-sufficient. We can supply the ship’s personnel with a well-balanced diet indefinably. That concludes the tour, Captain. Do you have any questions? If not, I’m sure you have other duties you’d like to attend to.”

“You might want to check the ship personnel records or compile a duty roster. We’re short on people, right now. I’m sure there are things you need to do to prepare for the admiral’s briefing,” Palmer said.

“Yes. Let’s head topside. Duty calls.” They headed for the turbo lifts.

Chambers and Bannister rode the turbo lift down to the shuttle bay at nineteen hundred and thirty hours ship time. They scheduled a shuttle flight to the CEU Saratoga for the admiral’s briefing.

“Are you ready?” Bannister asked.

Chambers laughed. “I’m about as nervous as a two-dollar whore in church, but I’m ready. Right now, the ship is so understaffed that I do not see how he expects us to do any space trials. I have duty rosters from the department heads and I have a list of all personnel on board. I have status reports from every department head.”

Banister gripped Chambers’ arm. “You’ll do fine. This is only a shakedown cruise. We’ll have a full boat when we launch the actual mission.” The doors to the turbo lift opened, they stepped into the launch bay and a young pilot stood up giving them a salute.

“Captain Chambers. First Officer Bannister, your shuttle waits.”

“Lead the way,” Chambers said. The shuttle pilot led them through an airlock, onto the shuttle bay, and led them to the captain’s shuttle setting in the center of the launch bay.

“If you gentlemen will find yourselves a seat and strap in, we’ll take off shortly.” They sauntered up the boarding ramp onto the shuttle. The pilot headed forward through a small hatchway to the cockpit. Chambers and Bannister sat down in a row of seats facing the fore-end of the shuttle. Behind them set the captain’s lounge. The pilot’s voice came over the PA system calling the launch control center.

“Captain’s shuttle to launch control, request permission to launch.”

“Captain’s shuttle you are a go for launch out of tube three in ninety-second. You may proceed to launch gate three,” the launch control officer said. They felt the shuttle move into position. Buzzers ring throughout the launch bay.

“All personnel clear the launch bay.” The voice of the launch control officer came over the speaker once more. “Port Royal captain’s shuttle you are clear to launch.” Gee forces pushed them back into their seats as the shuttle shot down the launch tube and out to space.

Their shuttle landed on the launch bay of the CEU-Saratoga a few minutes later. Chambers and Bannister gazed out a porthole in awe at the size of the shuttle bay. When the launch control restored oxygen to the launch bay, they disembarked. A young naval ensign met them at the exit ramp.

“Gentleman. I am Ensign Hamilton. Admiral Ivanov requests that you meet him in the officers’ mess. He has a banquet prepared. If you would follow me.”

“Lead the way,” Chambers said. The ensign led them through an airlock to a turbo lift on A deck and then led them down to the officers’ mess. They stepped into the mess hall. For a few seconds, Chambers stood staring about. Tables covered with silk tablecloths and fine china filled the room. The officers of the new fleet sat at tables throughout the mess hall. They engaged in light conversation while drinking wine from expensive goblets. Stewards poured drinks and brought appetizers before the main course. They catered to the officers’ every need. The smell of delicious food permeated the room causing Chambers’ stomach to rumble.

“Captain Chambers and First Officer Bannister. If you will follow me, I’ll show you to your table,” a black steward at the doorway said. They followed him through the crowded dining hall.

“This is some fancy, doings,” Chambers said.

“I know you’d rather be sitting somewhere eating a greasy burger with your sleeves rolled up. At least try to act civilized.” The stewards brought plates filled with boiled lobster. Others brought plates filled with roast beef and mashed potatoes. Still, others filled their goblets with wine. Bannister spread a napkin across his lap. Chambers tossed his napkin aside and dug in with abandonment.

Banister shook his head. “I can’t take you anywhere.”

After the meal, Admiral Boris Ivanov stood before the assembled officers.

“Gentleman. If you haven’t seen the news, I’ll play a clip for you that aired on the VID-net last night.” He turned on the VID screen on the bulkhead behind him. The image of Shawn Gallagher filled the screen. They watched him declare independence and announce the formation of the New Republic. A hush fell over the mess hall. When the VID clip finished playing, Admiral Ivanov turned off the VID screen.

“That man’s face looks familiar,” Chambers whispered to Bannister.

“How will this affect our mission?” one of the officers asked.

“It shouldn’t affect it at all. The Navy has other ships and troops to deal with the situation. Rumor has it that they are going to use the PPF forces. When our launch window arrives, the planets in our solar system will be in alignment. We will use Jupiter’s orbit to sling-shot us to the outer edges of the solar system. If these rabble-rousers give us any problem, we’ll destroy them. If they don’t, we’ll leave them for others to deal with.” Ivanov took a drink of wine from his goblet and continued. “You have all chosen to dedicate your lives and careers to the Federal Defense. Don’t expect to see home for quite some time. Sitting before you at the table is your orders. Once we leave the solar system, we will split the fleet. I will take half the fleet to system 23595. Admiral Larsen will lead the rest of the fleet to Alpha Centauri. Our mission is to contact any alien life forms that we encounter. We are to establish trade and secure new technologies as well as habitable worlds to colonize. There are other civilizations out there. I would like to make peaceful contact with them and form alliances.”

Ivanov turned the VID screen back on. He hit the still frame mode and started a slide show. “These images are from the archived rubble of the old regime. These slides show evidence that aliens from out of our solar system have visited Earth in its past.” On the screen, images of a flying disk appeared. Ivanov clicked to the next image. It showed a gray alien with an egg-shaped head, cat-like eyes, and gray rubbery skin.

“These are the grays. These may be some of the sentient beings we will find. Our scientists found some references to some species known as the Paladins. They are some type of Nordic humanoid race, but who knows? Gentlemen, we are about to make history.”

“How long will we be at space?” someone asked.

“Twenty-five years. We expect twelve years of travel time there and back, plus a year on station. Space trials will begin in three days.” A collective sigh came from the room. “I wish we had the technology as they showed in the old regimes’ entertainment shows. It would be convenient to pop across the galaxy using warp drive. It would be like Captain Kirk in the old television show known as Star Trek. So far, that technology eludes us. Our scientists are working on similar technologies to bend space and time.”

Admiral Ivanov opened the floor to questions. There were quite a few, but it was a more somber crowd that exited the mess hall after the mission briefing. Admiral Ivanov took his visiting officers on a tour of his war room after the briefing. The war room consisted of an upper deck above the main bridge. It had a clear hardened dome overhead instead of a metallic hull. With the magnification of the clear dome, he could see all the ships in the fleet. In the center of the war room, set a long table. The table’s surface consisted of a computer screen. The holographic images of each ship in the fleet appeared on the screen. Computer consoles and workstations occupied the bulkheads on the edges of the dome.

“I wanted you gentleman to see this,” Ivanov said. He motioned to the exterior of the clear super-hardened dome. Chambers and Bannister stared in awe at the massive vessels surrounding them.

***

The voice of the traffic controller brought Chambers’ mind back to the present. It reverberated throughout the bridge coming from the communications officer’s station.

“Traffic Control to the Port Royal. You are clear to leave the spacedock. Watch for incoming traffic. Have a pleasant voyage,” the controller said.

Chambers flipped the com switch on the arm of his chair. He overrode the communications officer’s station. “Roger, Traffic Control. We’ll see you in three months.” Chambers looked at the technician at the communications officer’s station. “Contact engineering. Have them blow the docking bolts.” A bang reverberated through the ship’s hull when the explosive bolts blew. The Port Royal drifted from the docking bay. Chambers looked at the technician manning the helm. “Take us out easy. Let’s form up with the fleet.”

“Aye Captain,” the technician said and pulled the ship forward.

Chambers looked at Banister and grinned. “Are you ready to see what this bucket can do?”

“You better believe it.” A grin crossed Banister’s face as well. The Port Royal moved away from the spacedock and took its place with the fleet. The new fleet, along with its support vessels, took a turn around the globe and then broke orbit heading to deep space.

***

Hello everyone, I hope you are having a

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