Theo replied.
“Okay,” Michael said with a sigh. “Where do you want to start?”
“When did the E.D. F start?”
“The E.D. F started in 2054.”
“What was there before the E.D. F started?”
Michael looked over at Jana with a puzzled expression on his face. “Before the E.D. F, there was a big alliance between somebody called N.A.T. O, and a space agency called N.A.S.A.” he picked up little Theo and hefted him onto his knee.
“Together they patrolled the solar system, however men and money became a problem, and piracy soared, so much so that freighters carrying goods from planet to planet took up arms to defend themselves against the pirates.” He said pausing as Theo was sat in rapt attention.
“So when E.O.C. A, the Earth and Outer Colonies Alliance were formed in 2051. They quickly pooled all the resources of planets in the solar system and the outer colonies, to form the E.D.F. And its purpose is to defend the solar system, and its outer colonies from attack.”
Theo paused for a while, trying to take all this in. Finally he asked, “have there been any attacks since the E.D. F daddy?”
“Not since the pirates’ way back in 2057,” Michael replied.
Just then Jana came over and handed Michael a cup of coffee. “Here,” she said as she smiled lovingly at the two of them.
“Thank you my darling,” Michael replied, smiling warmly and taking the cup. Jana beamed and then busied herself with her daily chores.
Then Theo began again. “What makes up the E.D. F daddy?”
Michael, taking a sip of coffee replied. “There are five different departments that make up the E.D. F, there is the E.D. F Troop Division, which trains and maintains control of all the soldiers in the E.D.F.” He took a short breath.
“There is the E.D. F Navy, who maintains control of all the starships, and their crews in the E.D. F, of which I am a member of,” pausing to let Theo take this all in.
“There is the E.D. F engineering services, which builds the starships, constructs bases and outposts and produces most of the equipment for the Troop Division and the Navy.” He took a sip of the coffee, before continuing.
“There is also the E.D. F research division, who has many scientists who come up with designs for the Troop division and Navy, build and test new types of starships, weapons, and structures. As well as helping in civilian projects,” Michael took another breath, before draining his cup.
“Finally there is the E.D. F Intelligence services, which monitors threats from within and without the entire E.O.C.A.”
“One day I want to be in the Navy, just like you daddy,” Theo said yawning.
“Well, a Naval officer needs his rest,” Michael replied, “time for bed for you, little fellow.”
“Do I have to dad, I want to know more,” Theo sighed.
“In the morning, now I’ll see you off to bed.”
Theo trudged off to his bedroom with Michael following behind. Theo changed into his pajamas, and Michael gently tucked him in.
“Daddy, will you tell me a story.”
“Okay son.” He picked up a book, from the side of Theo’s bed, Robinson Crusoe, and began reading from it.
“If I have a bad dream, will you stay to chase the nightmares away?” Theo asked sleepily.
“I will always be here, I’ll make sure the nightmares don’t get you son,” Michael said as he stroked Theo’s hair, slowly he drifted off into a deep sleep.
As Michael quietly left Theo’s bedroom, he noticed that Jana had sat down in front of the viewer, and began watching.
“This is the outer colony news service; I am Annika Raumov, the headlines tonight. The new colony on Geki Alpha is nearing completion; this is what E.O.C. A spokesman Abdullah Abundu had to say about the development.”
“The colony is coming along very well indeed; we have stable water and oxygen supplies, and now have a working hospital and sanitation, we are now working towards permanent homes for the colonists.”
“Thank you Mr. Abundu. In another story, there seems to be some trouble in the Connaught sector, near the Agemman system. We now go live, to the office of private enterprise on Agemman, come in Mr. Mike Jones.
“Hello,” came the voice of a red haired man, in a smart suit.
“What is the cause of the trouble near your planet Mr. Jones?”
“I am currently representing a mining consortium called Connaught mining services. Eight light years from Agemman lies an asteroid belt that has been found to be rich in iron, nickel and sulphur deposits, which the mining company have been exploiting for several years,” the man paused for breath.
“However, within the last month three of their mining ships have been lost. Two have not been seen or returned. And the one that was found has been damaged beyond repair, and with no crew onboard. What I want to know is what exactly is the E.D. F going to do about it?”
“Thank you Mr. Jones, we now go live to E.D. F Naval services operations commander, Commodore James Watts. Commodore; are you aware of the situation near the Agemman system, and what is your response?”
A portly looking Commodore with greying hair appeared on the screen. “Yes we are aware of the situation near the Agemman system, the E.D. F Navy sent an anti pirate task force of an Alexander class medium cruiser, and two Gandhi class destroyers there three months ago,” he said with a dutiful nod.
“However, no pirate activity was detected and the task force returned to base. In light of these new attacks, the Navy are already sending a Montgomery class carrier, equipped with a full wing of Peregrine fighters to the area, which will provide a more permanent anti pirate presence, as well as reassurance for the people of the Agemman colony,” the Commodore paused for breath. “The carrier is currently on route, and should arrive by the end of next week.”
Jana turned the channel over, as Michael was coming down the hall.
“Have you heard about the trouble near Agemman?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Michael said. “It’s probably just some terrorist cell, or some colonists wanting their five minutes of fame.”
“Maybe,” Jana said. “But I think its more than that, my gut tells me something is wrong over there.”
Michael was in the kitchen fixing himself a drink, “like what?” He asked. “If it was pirates, that last task force would have found something, and if it’s terrorists, it’s a job for intelligence anyway. So there’s nothing to worry about, right?”
He made his way over towards Jana, and gently cuddled her. “Even if it is pirates the Montfort has got it covered when it gets there anyway,” he said softly, trying to ease her worries.
“So the Montfort is the ship that has been sent, your cousin is on that ship,” Jana added.
“I know, I bet Jake is sorry the day he signed up now.”
“I hope he’s okay.”
They spent the rest of the night cuddled closely in front of the viewer.
Chapter 2
The next day Theo returned to his relentless questioning, Michael decided to take them all to the famous shopping arcades on Orion IV. Jana didn’t want to go too far, and Theo was just happy to go on a shuttle ride.
So that morning they set off. Michael thought that since Delta base orbited Orion IV, a quick shuttle ride down to the surface wouldn’t be too far to go.
