Again, those were his words, not mine, but a few weeks after the class, a few of my buddies and I were in the canteen when the crew of the Jhi ship walked in. They got in line for some food but didn't get anything to eat. One of my buddies got up and asked them if they wanted to sit with us. The Jhi just looked at my friend, said something back to his friends, then turned around and walked off. Didn't say a word. It didn't leave us with the best impression of them.
Now, the Frosties, that's another story. Have you met any of them?
I've seen pictures but haven't talked to them.
You should; they're great guys. We call them Frosties, but that's just a nickname. Their real name is tough to say. Their skin is ashen. They come from a world where the sun is so bright they mostly stay underground, which leads to the color of their skin.
They're social guys, and they love to drink. The first year I was here, I made friends with a White named Fun Adult. (He laughs.) That's his actual name. Their language is very literal, so that's the name he got. He told me it's tonal also, so that helps distinguish people with the same name.
He's not much older than me and works on a commercial ship. The Frosties don't have their own navy because they're part of the Shin Alliance. Mostly traders, I think. Every time I see him, he brings me a new bottle of alcohol from somewhere. Of course, I have to turn it in for inspection, but most times I get it back.
Were you involved with the raider action yesterday?
No, not yesterday, the Cobras were on call, a nd it wasn't that big of an incursion. I was involved in the action last week. Three ships showed up with an unknown registration. They ignored our inquiries and orders to be boarded, of course. They always do. They tried to put the Earth between Phoenix and us, but they were slow ships. I was here, in the ready room playing cards, as Viper Squadron was on call. We boarded our ship and launched within minutes.
We launched ready one, which consists of eight interceptors. Our flight leader hailed the ships again, ordering them away from Earth space, but they still ignored us. The command was tasked to disable the vessels, not destroy them. It's a standing order to disable if it doesn't put pilots at risk. I think they go over the tech to see if there's anything we can use.
Anyway, when we got close, the ships fired on us. The missiles were antiques and never locked on. We easily avoided them. It only took three missiles to put the vessels out of action and adrift. Then they hailed us. (Laughs.) We ran patrol as a destroyer came and picked them up. It was anti-climactic. With yesterday's raid, there have been three in the last two weeks. The bottom feeders don't seem to be learning.
Why do you think that is?
I'd say it's because they had a free run on Earth for so many years. Different raiders or slaver syndicates took thousands of people from Earth before we got our space program started. No one knows how many. It was incredibly easy for them at the beginning, before Earth could stop them, I mean. Pure profit from their standpoint. Swing by, pick up a species that no one has ever seen before, and sell it to some collector or other intergalactic bigshot. No problem.
They didn't really show up until the end of the ground war, but they showed up frequently after that. From what I've learned about it, we didn't even know it was happening until someone eyeballed them. Apparently, ground side took them for our guys.
Our technology, which we purchased from the Jhi and other races, was being implanted at a breakneck pace, but our eyes were turned downward, toward the Veech on Earth. That enabled the raiders to do their thing unmolested for a while. I guess word got out to the syndicates and pirates that Earth was ripe for the pickings because they started pouring in.
The various militaries of the world soon caught on and fought back, but their responses were fractured and limited. They didn't communicate properly or share information that could have helped each other. That ended with the birth of the TSC, but it took a while to grow and buy enough interceptors to make a difference.
According to our teachers, those first battles went terribly for us. Our pilots, experienced as they were in atmospheric combat, were novices in space. Yeah, it was rough on the old guard at first.
The old guard?
Oh, sorry. That's what we call those members of TSC who fought for their native countries. They lost a lot of ships before they could organize and respond effectively. It was a painful birth, but eventually, the TSC responded with force and stopped most of the incursions. As you can see, they still happen, but most of them are easy to deal with now.
The Veech get most of the credit for the frantic pace of building the TSC, but the raiders definitely...
Oliver!
A young pilot, dressed in a Viper flight suit, makes his way through the Viper ready room. The pilot looks to be around the same age as Oliver. He has a lean figure, with black hair a little longer than Oliver's. The Pilot has a narrow, angular face and black eyes that calmly pass over his friend to land on me.
Oliver stands up to meet his friend. I stand also.
Oliver: Agustin. Hey man, I didn't know you were on call today.
Agustin: I wasn't. Popov came down with the flu or something. I was called up.
Agustin looks at me and offers his hand.
Agustin: Hi, I'm Agustin. Are you the writer that Oliver has been talking about?
I tell him I am.
Agustin: Nice to meet you. Sorry, didn't mean to disturb
