Alpha Class: A Kurtherian Gambit Series (The Etheric Academy Book 1) Read online

“Jeo has his hands in many tasks for the Empire. Your education is, but one small part of it.” Peter sat down at the table and pulled Ron’s tray over. “Back to my original question. Why dump this?” He took a bit of the liver and smiled.

  “It’s gross.” Tina stared at the tray. “Who mixes fish and lime?”

  Peter took another bite of the liver. “Is that what this is?” He then bit into the pie.

  “How can you eat that?” Nestor stared at his future boss.

  Peter paused from eating Ron’s lunch. “In a few short years, we all are going out there.” Peter waved his hands around and pointed up. “When we go, we are leaving many of the luxuries we have come to depend upon. Liver and onions will become a rare, barely remembered meal for many of us. Where would we get beef liver up there?”

  “Good riddance, then,” Ron mumbled under his breath.

  Peter laughed again. “Everyone has different tastes.” He scooped up the tuna casserole and ate it in one bite. “I would suggest you begin to get into the habit of eating what you take. Soon this might look like the finest thing you have ever seen. We don’t know what is on the other side of the gate or if we can eat what we find there. Try not to waste things.” Peter finished off the pie and sucked down the beets. “I will see you tomorrow in class. Enjoy your night off.”

  Peter hopped up from the table and sauntered off toward the main food line.

  He was still hungry.

  “I guess he told us.” Ron looked at his now empty tray. He stood and walked over to the dish disposal area. Everyone else began eating.

  Might as well get in the habit now.

  ~~~~~

  Chef Van Norman looked alarmed as he passed a giant submarine sandwich to Peter. “Is what you told them true? Could we starve on the other side of the gate?”

  “No. Do you really think the Queen would take us somewhere and not protect us? We have several dozen ships filled to the bulkheads with supplies. That doesn’t even include what we’ve packed into the asteroid. They needed a wake-up call that’s all. Many of the luxuries will go away, but I doubt we’ll run out of tuna casserole. Which by-the-way reminds me of my mother’s cooking.”

  “Good. Glad you liked it. I’ll start ordering a few things for back up then. Thank you, Peter.” The Chef pulled out his tablet and began typing furiously.

  “No need to thank me. Can you send that recipe to the Guardians cafeteria?”

  “Of course. Anything else?” Van looked at the Guardian leader.

  “No. I’ll just come down here if I want anything special. Have a good rest of your day.” Peter smiled at the older man and left.

  “With men such as him in charge, how can we lose?” Van stared at the now closed door for a moment before going back to work.

  ~~~~~~

  “Oooo sexy man at two o’clock!”

  Diane stared at her sister and shook her head. Not this again.

  “Leave Peter alone. Remember what happened with John? You could have been floating in space without a suit if Jean had been more pissed off at you. Besides, he’s Wechselbalg and heard everything you said. If he were interested, he would have stopped.”

  Dorene laughed at the expression on her sister's face. “She wouldn’t have done it. You know her favorite way to kill someone is using one of her toys.”

  “Like that is any better. Which do you prefer, an agonizing death without air or having a puck destroy you?”

  “Well, when you put it like that. You know I’m just messing around. The Guardians are just eye candy. Trust me, I learned my lesson with Jean. No touchy touchy. It was a spur of the moment thing. Call it a bit of fun with my new body.” Laughing, Dorene turned away from the office door and walked back to the desk she shared with her sister. She let out a sigh. “What’s next on the agenda?”

  “Assignments. Bravo class was originally slated to be with BMW this term. However, the Queen has put those three on notice, so they are skipping students this term. We need to send Bravo somewhere that is both interesting and challenging. Any ideas?”

  “What about Adam and his group?” Dorene leaned over the desk at the chart her sister called up.

  “No go. They have Foxtrot this term which is good. From what I hear they had it kind of rough over in the stores department. Something about boxing themselves into a corner. It took security half a day to get them out after Merideth pinpointed where they were. Not a lot of sensors and cameras down there. That is being corrected as we speak. I read them the riot act when I thought they had lost an entire class. Another Moon mission we do not need.” Diane shook her head while Dorene snickered.

  “It’s not funny, DJ! Have you ever been down there? It’s like that movie we watched that one time about the Ark of the Covenant. Shipping containers as far as the eye can see. The kids weren’t paying attention and dropped containers on all sides of themselves. The EI in charge was only following orders that they inputted in. Not a lot of teamwork for that group yet. Too many prima donnas.” Diane smiled. “That gives me an idea for them. What is Lance doing at the moment?”

  “You want to send them to General Reynolds?” Dorene sat up and stared at her sister.

  “Why not? He was in the military for years. He should be able to handle a few new recruits. Craig especially could use a bit of Military indoctrination. If we were still on Earth, Craig could make a good Marine. The General’s mentorship will help forge them into a team. Besides, it doesn’t hurt to ask, does it?”

  “True. You ask, though. Patricia doesn’t like me all that much. She and Jean are friends, and she took offense at the whole pinching incident.” Dorene slouched back into her chair.

  “You need to apologize to Jean. If you do that most of this crap will go away.” Diane glared at her sister. “You and I have far too much work to do that will make a difference in many lives. Fix this issue please?”

  Dorene only nodded and looked down at her tablet.

  “Now. Where are we on the exercise program the Queen wants?” Diane touched a button on her console bringing up a vid screen.

  “I’m all set. My plan is to build upon the fitness program the early development and intermediate schools already do. I agree with the Queen, the kids at least are getting too sedentary. Working with the Guardians and the regular crewmen trainers, I have come up with some basic classes which should help. If it works for our students, we can move the program to the regular lower and high school programs. This way incoming Academy students will be in better overall physical condition to begin their more advanced program. Teamwork and basic cohesion skills are definitely lacking with our groups. Only two classes are actively working together so far: Alpha and Delta.”

  Diane nodded her agreement. Dorene continued, “Good. Also, I need you to help me set up some basic lifesaving and shipboard firefighting classes, just like I went through in the Navy.” In her heart, Dorene realized that these cadets would need to become true warriors soon. Continuing her thoughts, she said “They will be introduced to some of that when they do their term with Captain Thomas on the Defender. For now, we will make them voluntary. It will give the kids an option to do something that’s constructive rather than spending all their spare time in the game room.”

  “That sounds like a plan. Just so you know, some of those games they’re playing are getting noticed by the flight teams and fighter command. The class groups have a small competition they started up and have been battling each other. Lots of new tactics and off-the-wall stuff coming out of that room.” Diane showed her sister the email from the other departments.

  “Hmm. Well, that changes a few things. Keep track of that if you can. The winners will get the first crack at the fighter groups for their third term. It’s going to create chaos on our schedule, but the Queen does need pilots. Thanks. That helps.” Diane pulled up the schedule and started making notes on it. Dorene groaned and covered her face. When would she ever learn to keep her mouth shut?

  This only meant even more work to do.
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br />   ~~~~~~

  Jeo Deteusch was not having a good day. Building an interstellar spaceship is child’s play compared to an interstellar asteroid base that moves. Hollowing out the asteroid was a bitch and a half. It helped that some real live aliens came along with the right equipment to do it, but it still sucked. It was obvious that gravitic engines would have to be the power source, but Jeo kept going back to an idea that had plagued science fiction writers for more than half a century. The Orion drive. He wanted to build one. But both ADAM and SAMANTHA, his personal Electronic Intelligence or EI, ratted him out.

  It was just so cool an idea.

  Conceived in the 1950s by the United States Military, the idea was to detonate nuclear explosions to propel a rocket or in this case an asteroid through space. The fissionable material was easy to find in the asteroid field. He just floated the idea past Bobcat and the Queen a short while ago, and they shot him down. Too dangerous and too insane. Using a mix of Kurtherian and Yollin tech they could make gravitic engines more efficiently. He really should blame William for giving him those books in the first place. The parallels to real life were all there, except for that bit about Maple syrup.

  “Jeo, you have a call from the Academy,” Samantha spoke breaking into his mental conversation with himself.

  “Put it on screen please, number one.” Jeo looked up at the hologram and smiled. Samantha didn’t look amused.

  “My programming forbids me to play, sir. The call is on your tablet.”

  His tablet made a noise, and he answered the call. A youngish woman’s face appeared. He recognized her as one of the Academy Administrators. They were both pretty hot, but rumor had it they were much older than they looked and would kick ass if needed.

  “Chief Engineer Jeo? Are you available to discuss this Semester’s class?” Diane looked out of the tablet into the young man’s eyes. She knew all about this one’s hijinks from a conversation she had with Gabrielle one night.

  “Of course. Is it Dorene or Diane this time?” Jeo smiled at the woman.

  “Diane if you must know. You will be teaching Alpha Class this term. You took Delta Class on a small tour of the world the last term. We were hoping you would do the same with these students.”

  “Those Delta’s were pretty cool kids. Really smart and knowledgeable about the world. I had a lot of trouble coming up with unique places to go. Alpha Class? Weren’t they with Bobcat on the moon?” Jeo glanced at his main work screen and tapped out a message to Badile.

  “Yes, the moon. The Queen has assigned Guardian Commander Peter as your bodyguard this term. He is to stick to you like glue is what the Queen said.” Diane smiled at him through the screen.

  “Wha... Why do I need a guard? We are in space.”

  “Peter,” Diane stressed his name to Jeo. “Is tagging along to watch out for the kids. He has his own assignment where they are concerned. He might even tell you what it is. He’s not guarding you and them. He’s guarding you from them. Bobcat and his merry men almost died a few weeks ago. Please try to not let that happen to you. Now, where are you planning to take them?”

  Jeo shook his head to clear out the cobwebs and confusion that suddenly seemed to have taken over his brain. “Signing up for this extra job was not a good idea on my part.” He noticed the woman’s expression and realized he spoke that aloud.

  “Who said you had a choice? The Queen wants what the Queen wants. We just try to carry out her orders as quickly as possible.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  “On your left!” Yana jerked her pod to the left to avoid a missile that seemed to come from nowhere. It was getting pretty hot out here! There was an alien craft on her tail firing nuclear missiles at her.

  “Yana! Jink left and I’ll take him.” Maxim’s deep voice sounded in her ears. Checking her readouts, Yana could see her teammate’s pod coming up on her six. The alien ship was gaining on her and drawing closer and closer. Trust Maxim to shake his own opponent and come to save her.

  Just as she went left a large explosion rocked her ship. Momentarily shaken, she allowed the Electronic Intelligence full control of the pod. A big mistake in combat. Flying these things was a give and take of control. Losing that control in a combat situation was very bad. Sensors on her screen started screaming as multiple missiles appeared in the space surrounding her.

  “Countermeasures.” Speaking the voice commands Yana authorized the E.I. to take over defense while she resumed control. Micro puck defenses shot out from all sides destroying six of the incoming eight missiles. Explosions shook her pod once more as the enemy opened fire with kinetic weapons. The first missile hit her pod on the rear section. The gravitic shields took the brunt of the explosion, but the shockwave tossed the pod into a temporary spin. She could almost feel the engines as they fought to retain balance and control of the small pod.

  “Yana, you still have one after you. I can’t get to you!” Checking her screen, she could see Maxim fighting off two of the invaders.

  Fingers scrambling across the screen Yana regained control of the pod. “Chuck, where is that missile?”

  The E.I. never got to answer as a nuclear explosion rocked her ship. Bright light flooded her cockpit as she closed her eyes.

  This was the end.

  “You are dead! Good job Yana. I think we lose this one.” Ron’s voice penetrated her thoughts. The pod simulators were so real!

  The rear access port opened, and light from the outside room streamed in. Ron and Tina stood in the hatchway smiling at her.

  Yana had to smile. It was her own fault for even climbing into the thing in the first place. “How is Maxim doing?”

  “He’s great. Those two chasing him were surprised when he used your death as a distraction and zapped them from the rear. We just fell off the top spot in the rankings. Our class dropped to third after your death.” Ron grabbed Yana’s hands and helped her out.

  “Third? Why?” Yana grimaced as she fully stood up. The simulators were a tiny bit cramped inside.

  “Bravo and Foxtrot moved up. They are doing way better than us at this scenario.” Ron pointed his class leader toward the ranking board.

  “What about Charlie, they had pods and fighters last term? They should be kicking ass all over the place.” Yana peered at the ranking it read:

  Bravo Class 28 kills vs. 3 deaths

  Foxtrot Class 26 kills vs. 2 deaths

  Alpha Class 24 kills vs. 3 deaths

  Charlie Class 20 kills vs. 4 deaths

  Echo Class 15 kills vs. 2 deaths

  Delta Class 13 kills vs. 3 deaths

  “Their leader, Daniel, had surgery last week. His appendix burst unexpectedly.” Tina pulled up the notice on her tablet.

  Looking closer at the smaller girl’s tablet, Yana replied. “Is that why we all got notices to check with medical before the term starts?”

  “It was Dr. Running Wolf’s idea. According to her, we weren’t checked properly for hidden medical issues. They have a new scanner set up in medical to take care of that. It uses some of the new Yollin and Kurtherian medical technology. Meredith says it only takes a half hour from start to finish to diagnose you.”

  “Meredith? The E.I.? Is she who you get all this information from?” Yana glanced at Tina’s face.

  “Not completely. I have lots of friends around here. You forgot I grew up at the base in Colorado. TQB and the Etheric Empire is made up of many of my friends.” Tina smiled.

  “Your inside information is why we love you, Tina,” Yana smirked at her.

  “And here I thought it was my charming personality.” Tina started laughing.

  Ron turned away from the constantly updating screen to see his two classmates laughing. Girls.

  “Maxim and Nestor just took out the rest of the aliens. That moves us up to second place. We could possibly win this one!” Ron looked excited.

  “Ron, just remember that we three died in our pods. Just because it looks like one, this isn’t a game. We could die for real.
Todd says that the pod simulators are really close to real life, but they are missing something from the experience.” Tina’s voice changed to a more serious tone.

  “Todd. Isn’t that your brother? How does he know so much about pods and real combat?” Yana stopped laughing.

  “Like many of the younger boys, he’s obsessed with the newer pods and pilots. Mom let him drag one of these units into our old bedroom. He practices on it almost every day. Some of the pilots have even given him, and his friends check rides a few times. He didn’t qualify for the Academy, but Uncle John says he’s a shoo-in for pilot training.”

  “Cool! When we finally get to that point, maybe he can give us a few pointers.” Ron beamed at Tina who only smiled back.

  Yana shook her head. “OK lovebirds. Let’s go congratulate the boys. We have to start packing anyway. Tomorrow we start the next phase.”