Chronicles of Athena Lee Book 3

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Flight school! The best part was that it was in space on the UN’s new space station, Hope. Major Ahlf traveled with us to the spaceport, and then we left the surface of the Earth. The UN surprised the world by building Hope shortly after the Cyber Wars. It had been a massive undertaking that cost a fortune. Where that money had come from was still a mystery. Only one high-profile newsie investigated those rumors, and she died in an air car crash shortly after. No other reports had been filed after that.

Our shuttle was more of a flying box with wings than a real shuttle. As troop transports go, it really sucked. We had one window to share, and all 100 of us were trying to use it. They had just piled us in and sealed up the doors. No spacesuits for us. The Major said that we would get our equipment once we made it up to the station.

The station looked massive. It was bigger than many of the colony ships that Earth had produced. It resembled a large spinning toy top with its three levels and pointed ends. A surprisingly elegant design. Judging from the many windows and sheer size of it, there must have been room for thousands of people on board. We could see several hundred suited workers still finishing up construction on the station. The final level looked to be almost finished. As we began to dock, several of the US Air Force’s newest spaceplane, the X-50, flew by. Maybe this wasn’t just a UN space station?

The docking bay resembled what pictures of the hangar of an aircraft carrier looked like. It was a large warehouse-like room, empty in the middle. On both sides of the bay were X-50 space planes. From the numbers, it looked like there was a full squadron present. These fighters, unlike the Mark 1 Starfury, had upgraded missiles, double War Shot cannons, triple the armor, and fly by drone capability.

Their presence surprised me because our instructors back in the program had said that the fighters were only in the testing stages. With a grinding noise, the large hangar doors closed and a whoosh of air signaled that the bay was being pressurized. A flashing green light gave the OK signal. Our cargo container was unsealed, and we were let out.

Stumbling out of the cargo container, we noticed that three other transports were unloading just as we were. All four groups of us began to line up in columns as if awaiting inspection. Overhead, we heard a loudspeaker call “Attention!”

“This is your Commander Major Johann Ahlf. As you can see, there are four groups of trainees. In the coming years, you will be tested as we train you to be either the best pilots this world has ever seen or its greatest military commanders. You are the best that this world has to offer. You have been specially designed to meet every trial we can throw at you. Believe also that we will.

In a moment you will be led to your housing areas. But first, take a moment to study the fighters before you. Soon you will be flying them.” We all studied the gleaming white fighters. The ships were without US markings and carried an unusual symbol on the tail section. It was a golden pyramid with an eye in place of the point. The letters N.O.S. were shown underneath the symbol. It would be many years before I understood what that symbol meant, either to myself or to the galaxy at large.

A trio of sergeants marched up to our groups. “Attention! Each group will be split into quarters and will room in mixed dormitories. This is to help integrate the groups. Never fear, each group will be receiving the same training. Now count off one to four.”

Our groups began to call out numbers. I was a four. My brother Anthony was a two. We were separated into four new groups and led off into the bowels of the station. Each group had its own section on deck one of the space wheels. The station had three movable wheels that spun in sync with Earth. These wheels provided internal gravity to the station. Our dorm was on wheel three, deck five, subsection four. The other groups were on the same deck, but different subsections.

Upon arriving at our section, Sergeant Smith told us to pick a room and a bunk. There were fifty rooms. My new bunkmate said that his name was Miguel 009. He was from the program base in Argentina. That meant the other two groups had to be from somewhere else too. This was going to be fun!

“Attention! Get unpacked, get your new rooms shipshape, then report to the cafeteria for shipboard lessons!” Sergeant Smith pointed to a door at the rear of the hallway. “Go through that door and turn left. The cafeteria is at the end. You have fifteen minutes to report.” He then left the room.

Miguel and I smiled and got to work unpacking. He and I had the exact same items to put away. His program and mine had to be the same one. Rushing a bit, we both finished early and left the room to meet our new family. We soon learned that the other two groups were from Norway and Great Britain. All had similar training to ours.

As a group, we filed out of the room. Following the sergeant’s instructions, we found the cafeteria and sat in the chairs we found there. Computer terminals built into the tables lit up, and our lessons began. This was now our new classroom with our new classmates.