Ad Astra - The Alagore War

AA V0 Prolog, Chapter 3

1/30/2069 (military calendar)

CIA-operated Spaceship, Lunar-Mars Trajectory

*****

Staring at the magnetic chessboard, the US Army Captain, Matthew Ryder, picked up the black knight figurine and moved it to the side, taking out his opponent's pawn.

"Bad idea," King said with a confident tone.

Warrant Officer 1 Rommel King took his queen and, intently and slowly, dragged the figurine across the board until it aimed toward his captain. He then looked up and smirked, confident with his move.

Ryder carefully stared at the chessboard as he tried to plot his next move. Seeing that his XO had successfully trapped his king, he leaned back and said, "Checkmate."

"Three games in a row," King said. "I have no idea how you became an officer."

"If you don't ask," Ryder said. "I am not going to tell."

The two stared at each other and laughed.

"Wanting to punch the person who came up with this game," Ryder replied.

Rommel King found his superior officer's annoyance humorous. "Welcome to the job, sir."

"Don't worry, boss," Eger Wallace said. "You will get that redhead one day."

Looking over at the two sergeants, Ryder saw one of them working out with his buddy, Bruno Barrios. The two are nearly inseparable, so the team nicknamed them the 'Twins.' The two of them were racing on the treadwheel, working on maintaining their form in this zero-gravity environment.

"You are hilarious, Eger," Ryder replied.

Ryder and King started their next game. At first, the captain forced his XO on the defensive. But with one move, Rommel King exploited the mistake and took out the captain King.

"Something got you distracted," King said. "You are usually better than this."

"I am just excited. It has been a childhood fantasy my entire life, and I thought I never got the chance to go to Mars."

King stared at his captain with a puzzled look. "Really? You didn't get enough sand and rocks in Iraq?"

"Close, but they are not the same. One is always trying to murder you, and the other is a place of wonder and adventure."

"And which place is what exactly?"

Ryder stopped and thought of what he had just said. With a chuckle, he responded, "The sand color is different."

He then waited a moment to respond as he collected his thoughts. "I always look up at the night sky, looking for answers now, that otherworldly feeling you get when figuring things out? I think that is why I took this job. I get to see all these different places and test my metal, and going to another world somewhat represents that."

"Interesting," King said. "You could have always joined the Space Force or the Marines."

Ryder gave his second-in-command a look. "I am not that desperate."

The two laughed again.

Taking a deep breath, Ryder grabbed the folder that was hovering next to him from the lack of gravity. Once open, he reviewed their mission.

Before their retrieval operation, His team, Combat Fire Team-1, better known as "Comanche," was conducting its first lunar training at USSF Base Lunex when they received sudden new orders. Without any details, they were told to cease all training operations, board this CIA-operated spaceship, and head to Mars. They were to protect a possible high-value package and bring it back, sadly, to Space Base Raymond in Colorado.