The Honour of the Knights (First Edition) (The Battle for the Solar System)

III - Reunion

Dodds jumped to his feet as he heard the door of his assigned waiting room open, almost spilling the glass of water he held. He stood to attention and saluted Parks as the man entered.

"At ease, Lieutenant," Parks said. "Welcome back, Dodds; and welcome to the Indigo system, I might add."

The room the pair stood in granted its occupants an appreciative view of the planet below them, something that Dodds had spent the last half-hour staring out at. He often made a habit of looking out at the stars, sometimes just for the view, but frequently because it helped him to think. He found the often tranquil views to be rather therapeutic.

"I trust you had a good journey here?" Parks said.

"Uneventful," Dodds shrugged.

"You stayed out your entire suspension on Earth?"

"With my parents. I was giving them a hand with the business."

Parks nodded and his eyes gave the young man a once-over. "Good to see you didn't come back soft and completely out of shape after all that time away. Too many do so after a few weeks of leave." Parks came to stand with Dodds by the window and nodded to the planet far below. "Xalan. Where you will be spending the next three weeks training for the ATAF project. Myself and Admiral Turner will also be stationed there during that period to oversee your progress."

"Who else will be there?" Dodds asked, figuring that he would not be the sole participant in the training program. He had a hunch that his old wingmates were on the surface.

"Aside from yourself and the White Knights, there will be two other teams of five who you will be undergoing the evaluations. At the end of the three-week period, the team who has successfully completed the evaluation and passed the final examination will be the one that will go on to pilot the ATAFs."

"Got it," said Dodds. Sounded easy enough.

Parks paused, then said, "This isn't an individual exercise, Lieutenant. Your success or failure during these tests will be governed by your ability to work as a team and follow orders."

Dodds could feel Parks' stare boring into him even before he turned around to meet it.

"Don't screw this up, Dodds," Parks said in a stern voice, his mood now a lot more serious than when he had first entered the room.

"I won't, sir," Dodds said earnestly. Though Dodds enjoyed a good relationship with Parks - or maybe it was that the commodore just tolerated him better than most others - he was still only prepared to cut the young pilot so much slack.

"I sure hope you mean that, Lieutenant," Parks said, walking towards the door. "Now, whilst you're here you may as well attend a medical examination before leaving for Xalan. Your team mates arrived a few days ago so they will be able to show you around. You should also know that since your departure we've lost Wells to an accident during training, as well as your own replacement. de Winter will introduce you to your new team mate when you arrive at your assigned housing block." The door slid open as Parks approached. He hovered in the doorway, looking back at the second lieutenant who hadn't moved. "Come on. Get your gear together, Dodds, we have a lot to get through before we leave."

Dodds picked up his bag and followed the commodore out, his head swimming with thoughts. It seemed a lot had happened since he had been away and the multiple deaths within his flight group had hit home. Not least because of the casual manner in which Parks had told him about it, as if there were greater concerns than keeping pilots alive. He wondered what other pieces of information the commodore might be holding back.

* * *

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2617

We've been stationed here at Xalan for three days now and I'm beginning to feel more settled. There hasn't been a lot happening so far, but Estelle is making us hit the simulators for hours on end. She's really cracking the whip, but I know this is a big thing for her. She had us on them for sixteen hours yesterday, first thing in the morning until last thing at night, with barely any time for lunch. I had to just get in there, shovel it down my throat and get back into the simulator suite. I thought Estelle was going to choke at the speed she wolfed hers down! She was acting like she hadn't eaten for weeks and like she didn't know where her next meal was coming from! She did the same thing at dinner, too! I'm sure that's not healthy. But there again something like this is a once in a life-time opportunity and she's determined to do whatever it takes for us to be the first to test out the Navy's latest creation. I can't say exactly what it is here or suffer the consequences.