The Infinity Chronicles Volume 1

Act-3C: Getting away from it all...

Act-3C: "Getting away from it all..."

Fate is a peculiar bedfellow, especially where Alex is concerned. He recalls the fight in vivid detail, but he can't explain how he was able to destroy 5 ships, all of a displacement more then 50 times that of his fighter. The remaining Commercant fled with light damage. Alex's fighter, with nary a scratch save for some ionization on the wings from near misses, recovered the escape capsules of Blue Balls, Bad Ass, and Joy Boy. He was awarded the Navy Cross and later recommended for the Medal of Honor, though that was later retracted when it was learned who he had chosen for a bed companion. Only this one moment of glory kept him from spending the next 10 years in prison. He returned to Earth the Hero of the People, even though he was a hero in disgrace.

"Well, you have a safe trip anyway Commander." The controller said, jarring Alex back to the here and now.

"Yeah, uh, roger that, and thanks." Alex stammered, as he flipped the COM circuit off. He felt the deck plates under his feet tremble as the fusion reactor came online. Green lights lit up on the helmsman's station, indicating that the gravitics and main thrusters were getting enough power.

"Engineering to bridge!" Came Cygna's voice over the 1mc.

"Bridge, go Cygna!"

"We're ready to lift Master." She called up to him. Alex flipped the COM switch to transmit, and called the tower.

"Barnard's Star to Melbourne Control, we are ready for lift. Have you got an opening for us?"

"Roger that B-Star, we have a path. We're feeding the box coordinates to your nav-system as we speak." The tower responded.

Alex flicked the switch, and saw the holographic display light up, showing the boxes he would have to fly through to avoid hitting other airborne traffic.

The pattern was straight and steady, with a gradual climb and subtle turns that would lead him up and out of Earth's atmosphere. Once clear of the atmosphere, he would follow another set of boxes to roughly Jupiter's orbit, then he would be free to navigate by sensors. Most ships chose to skip to Hyperspace just outside of Jupiter's orbit, since there wasn't much to see other then Saturn's rings. And considering how many times he and Karen had hopped shuttles as kids and went out to look at Saturn's rings, he'd just as soon jump when he was able.

Pushing the throttle forward, and easing back on the stick, he was surprised at just how nimble this particular Commercant was. Flipping a switch on the joystick, the ship's landing gear raised and locked with a resounding 'thunk!' that was both heard and felt throughout the ship, as he switched the controls over to the autopilot. He considered boxing to be beneath him, and decided to let the autopilot handle it for now. He'd have plenty of time to fly in star systems without a holo-grid system.

Like Marrok.

Karen stumbled out onto the bridge a moment later, wearing a long T-shirt with a cartoon character from Earth's distant past on the front, a large headed yellow canary flipping off everyone looking at it. She flopped down in the navigators seat, and pouted quietly.

"Hi." Alex said, looking at her, as she tried to ignore him. Alex returned his attention to the controls.

"It's still not fair." Karen whined.

"Neither is winding up in a collar, which I seriously doubt that you would enjoy." Alex stated more then said. The air, which had seemed to take on an icy feel when she first walked in, seemed to thin, as she settled herself into the chair, and frowned.

"But why?" She asked, looking at her brother with a questioning glance. He smiled back to her.

"Look at yourself in the mirror sometime, and you'll have your answer. Most teenage girls don't walk around alone on Center, unless they want to end up in a collar. That is taught to them very early if they are to survive living there." Alex said, as his explanation seemed to adjust his sister's views on the galaxy at large.