The Right Spin

The air was crisp and cool and blew, ever so gently, across the wide open plains. Swaying grass the only indicator of the current. The sky was clear with only wisps of white high into the stratosphere. Where is and the ground met seemed far beyond human comprehension. The sun was bright and nearly directly overhead as it was just on the other side of the afternoon. The sounds of birds, carried in the air across many, many miles, completed the picturesque moment and for a long while young William Johnson kept silent. He’d learned long ago that such moments were to be treasured because they were few and far between. He was just 14, having traveled to Auraxis in his mother’s womb, but he could feel changes coming. The wormhole to Earth had collapsed five years earlier and there were struggles forming that failed to escape his attention no matter how his parents tried to make otherwise. At this age, however, there was no way he could comprehend what those changes truly meant and what they could bring. To him the world ended where his parents began. They were a barrier of strength in ways he could only understand after they had long passed. He only sensed the world beyond them, and the changes in it, in glimpses they couldn’t hide. It wasn’t anything they ever said or did in front of him but it was in their eyes and the tremble in their voice that secretly crept in out of nowhere. They were oblivious to the change but William was not. It was by their voice and the look in their eyes that William came to really know them. By these two simple things his parents communicated more than mere words ever could. A look could convey a myriad of emotions: love, pain, compassion, anger. The tone placed on a simple word spoke volumes. William came to know several versions of the word “no” simply by tone. He also learned that tone often bellied what words tried to hide. It was these tones and looks that first gave him hints that there were things that even scared his parents and this thought brought a fear to his innocent heart not matched for years to come. It was the fear that perhaps the invincible was quite fragile after all. It was the moment that William realized his parents were not always going to be able to protect him and this thought was as alien to him as telling a bird it could never fly. It seemed almost unnatural.
But those thoughts were in the past. It was now time to enjoy what saw in front of him in the present. He was laying sprawled in the grass wearing a pair of blue knee length shorts, a white shirt that buttoned down the middle and had a length of cloth that wrapped around his back and fastened just to the left his stomach. What it fastened with was a slim, rectangular shaped device that, while fashionable, doubled as a communications device. At his right hand, on the ground, was a thin book-sized sheet of black plastic. There were no telling marks on it of any kind. A purple baseball hat was pulled low over his eyes to keep the sun out of them. Their only identifying mark was a stylized “A”. He’d gotten this hat from his father a few years back who, in turn, got it from the company he worked for. His father worked as a geologist for Engitech Innovations. Lately the company had been contracted to design an anti-gravity propulsion unit for use in conceptual next generation mobile battle platforms. The project was codenamed MAGS: Mobile Ancient Gravitic System. The “A” simply stood for “Ancient”. This marked a milestone for the company and indeed all of Auraxis because it was the first time Ancient technology was seriously being used for non-regenerative projects. His father said the “A” stood for Ace. William’s father’s passion was the earth… William loved the sky.

William sat up, stretched his arms and picked up the black plastic sheet. He ran his index finger down its side and it lit to life. Data displays indicating wind patterns, speed, weather patterns and a grid layout for the five square miles around him. His finger danced across the buttons below the data displays and one screen replaced another in quick succession. Soon a path was laid out from the ground, five miles away, quickly climbing into the air and interwoven between hills, rocks and other natural structure. He laughed under his breath and a wide grin came across his face. A single button flashed green on the plastic sheet. William’s heart leapt in the same moment the button was pressed and five miles away a sleek purple flight drone exploded away from the ground leaving scorched earth behind. William’s father jumped from his seat in surprise and followed the drone with his eyes until he lost it in the sun. He smiled to himself and collected the data pads that flew from his lap an instant after the drone took off and sat back down. Across the top pad words of war and rumors of war scrolled ominously.

Four years have passed…

William sat in the cockpit of the prototype light fighter Engitech Innovation was testing, the X-A2 Mosquito. It was designed to be a lightly armed scout fighter and what it lacked in staying power it made up for in speed and maneuverability. William, because of his father’s leverage, was allowed into the test program. He spent hours everyday, outside of work, pouring over diagrams, flight recorder data, computer simulations and pilot reports to learn the fighter inside out. Now was his turn to take it up. His helmet ran a real-time HUD with readouts from key systems that could be rearranged on the fly. The cockpit itself was snug and seemingly wedged between two large vertical thrust engines and pivoted 90 degrees once the desired altitude was achieved. It was an old design but still elegant and little improved upon since it was first seen on Earth during the 20th century in the AV-8B Harrier atmospheric fighter jet. A black plastic data pad was attached to the right thigh of his flight suit and he ticked off each item of the pre-flight checklist. After 10 minutes of diagnostics he flipped off the data pad and radioed to the control tower.

“Tower, this is Eagle 1, come back,” William clicked open the radio frequency.
“Roger that, Eagle 1, this is Tower. Acknowledging receipt of pre-flight data. You are green for test flight of vertical anti-grav engines and afterburner fire,” the radio clicked closed.

William verified the positions of the engines using the display readouts and by quick visual inspection. He clicked them then from standby to active. The sound of the engines spurring to life sent a chill up his spine. For a moment he forgot what he was here for and got lost in the moment but quickly found himself and turned on the cockpit recording device and spoke aloud notes and he noticed things in the cockpit.

“Peter’s was right; the engines do seem to fire a bit hard when going to active for the first time. A simple modification of the power distribution buffers should correct this. It makes for one hell of a jolt, though!” he exclaimed.

William then flipped on the active radar with little fanfare. It was linked to a series of satellites providing real-time coverage of the test area. This data was tied into the fighter’s radar giving superior accuracy when compared to all non-military hardware of the same grade. The radar showed him 200 meters from the control tower to the southwest and 100 meters from the storage hanger to the east. The fighter sat at the beginning of a runway one mile long. While vertical thrust takeoff was fairly common it still consumed large amounts of energy and not every aircraft needed it, therefore making the traditional runway necessary.

“Radar showing path clear. Releasing ignition breakers and firing engines to 25% of maximum.” William gripped the flight yoke with his right hand and grasped the throttle with his left. He flipped open the safety latch for the Vertical Thrust Breakers with his thumb and depressed the switch. The way the engines were designed to work is as follows: All thrust is provided by the two main engines on either side of the cockpit. While the main form of propulsion will be the anti-gravitic drive, the afterburners use solid consumables therefore are operated by an entirely different set of mechanics. For ease of use the pilot can alternate between these two modes using a trigger on the throttle that can be depressed by thumb. There are three settings the switch recognizes; on, off and afterburner. Once the safety latch is flipped open and the VTB switch is depressed the onboard computer registers that the anti-gravitic drive is to be fired. This is the “on” position. The intensity of which they are fired is determined by the position of the throttle control. The “off” position is registered by the computer when the throttle control is in the lowest position, the VTB switch is depressed and safety latched is closed after the system was already in the “on” position. The third, and final, position is the “afterburner” position. The afterburners are fired when the computer recognizes the VTB in the “on” position and the pilot flips the VTB safety latch closed and holds, thus depressing the VTB switch as well. It should be understood that the engines themselves actually consist of two units within a single housing. Obviously, by default, the anti-gravitic drive is in the primary propulsion position. However, when the afterburners are fired, this drive shifts downward allowing the afterburner drive access to the exhaust port and air intake port. The air intake port is only used is this mode because the anti-gravitic drive is purely energy based technology and requires no kind of combustion to operate. When the VTB safety latch is released it flips open, afterburner fire is halted and the anti-gravitic drive slides back into place. The movement of these two engines from one position to another takes a grand total of three seconds. It is this significant delay that has prompted the project leaders to rethink the design. This is in no small part due to pressure applied by every test pilot involved in the program.

William slowly pushed the throttle forward until his HUD read engine output at 25%. The cockpit shook a little but nothing too distracting, however, at higher engine output other pilots have noted that the vibration suppressors seemed to be inadequate. William expected this to be the same with him as well. In unison with the throttle increase the fighter slowly lifted from the ground until the force of the engines was not enough to push any further. This plateau was at about 75 feet. William made note of his height from the ground, which matched what the specs for the engines said it should be, and allowed a sly grin to cross his mouth. “Tower, this is Eagle 1. Reading expected output from primary engines. Engaging afterburners.” The reply was quick, stern and too late.

“Negative on that Eagle 1, you must climb to 200 feet bef-” and at that moment William flipped the VBT safety latch closed and squeezed.

From outside the fighter one would have seen the light blue energy discharge from the primary engines disappear, the fighter seemingly hover for a moment, and a brilliant red flame explode outward, blowing most things not properly secured to the ground several yards away. In an instant the fighter disappeared from view with only the roar of its engines echoing through the test area.

One week later…

After the stunt he pulled the previous week and the piles of complaints that piled upon Lt. Peter’s desk from project scientists, William found it best if he kept a low profile for the time. He was only assigned to the project because of his father and didn’t want to make him regret giving his son this opportunity. But, boy was it worth it. The engines preformed flawlessly and the ride, all 20 seconds of it, was beyond description. William was sure it was the closest he’d ever been to the exhilaration and the purity that was true flight. The power at his command in those few moments was awesome and at the same time intoxicating. It was as if the cockpit, indeed the entire fighter, melted away and he was in a state of freefall. In that moment he was addicted and it was a vice he was happy to indulge.

However the reality was now that those in charge of the program were upset, to put it mildly, and they couldn’t care less about whatever spiritual moment William may have deluded himself into believing. He put a multimillion credit project at risk for, as they put it, a “joy ride.” William knew it was a stupid stunt and something he should have been able to resist but couldn’t. Now he simply prayed that this wouldn’t bite his father in the posterior. That was something he would never have been able to forgive himself for. Luckily, this would not be the case but that wasn’t to say young William got off scot-free in his own right. He was promptly yanked off the test pilot roster and assigned data correlation duties. The only thing he’d be flying for some time, at least with this company, was a desk. Not as sleek as his original “office” but at least he was still on the project in a manner or speaking.

His days were filled with data pads, engineering reports, budget speculation and the occasional pilot report. These he read, again, like they were holy writ. However, they were few and far between and, strangely, becoming scarcer as the weeks turned into months. Something was straining the project from the outside but William could hardly guess what. Scientists and engineers were reassigned at test pilot lockers emptied at an alarming rate. Everyone was tenser that usual but no one could put their finger on what it exactly was. It seemed to some that the project was on a backburner but no one could figure out why. The technological advantages of an anti-gravity aircraft were too great to be ignored. But then a thought occurred to William: What if the resources needed to develop the technology were badly needed elsewhere? The project was making great strides every day and was, by most account, exceeding expectations. The theoretical seemed to be upon the precipice of the practical. So, the logic would follow, what would be important enough to divert funds and personnel from an endeavor teeming with this much potential? It must be something big. The news had been speaking of increased Terran Republic aggression but that the Vanu Sovereignty was successfully making progress is pressing them back. It was not a secret that the MAGS project was funded, in large part, by the Vanu. They seemed especially keen to develop the Ancient technology and quickly. But, if they needed the resources they invested into the project someplace else that might explain the cutbacks. Even in the private and corporate investors bailed the project could still continue without much interruption. But if the Vanu left… that would be something else entirely. Though these developments were quite worrisome they did prove advantageous for him. A little over a month after being yanked off it William was reassigned as a test pilot to the X-A2 section of the MAGS project. He couldn’t have been happier but when he shared the news with his father his feelings dampened. Sure, his father was happy too but there was something troubling behind his eyes. It was that same look he’d seen now and again growing up that seized his heart like a cold fist tightening its grip. His father simply played it off as concern for his son because of the dangers of this particular stage in the X-A2’s development: energy weapon trials. While William understood the reason for worry he knew there was more to it but decided to let it go. Tomorrow would be his turn at the flight yoke and trigger.

“Confirmed, Tower, within radar range of ground drones. Engaging test pattern, Alpha,” William responded and slid the rudders to the Mosquito slightly and gently pushed the flight stick forward. The fighter responded flawlessly and soon was heading at a slight downward angle onto a large barren field of dirt and rock; at least it was to the naked eye. The radar read two troop transport vehicles, a single light tank and three armored jeeps. The trial for today was to push the energy weapons of the fighter to the spec limit in a live fire exercise. The goal wasn’t to destroy all the drones but to track energy consumption of the weapon while flying at near top speeds to determine the feasibility of this design over the traditional fighter ordinance package. William would take 4 quick strafing runs at the drones. After each run he’s pull up hard on the flight yoke, climbing steeply, push the throttle full forward, make a tight 180 degree turn and dive again at the drones to begin an additional run. The critical part of the exercise was that the fighter needed to be firing its weapons at maximum discharge while beginning its powerful ascent. These two forces would tax the Ancient power core to its maximum. So, with the radar alight and a tone indicating a drone within range, William depressed the trigger.

In his home, Arthur, William’s father, was once again sitting in the warm sun while studying geological surveys. He picked up a tall glass of lemonade and swallowed deeply. It was a bit sourer than he liked but Becky, his wife, seemed to like it that way. Or, at least, that’s what he thought because she never seemed to mind his gentle suggestions of more sugar. In all honesty he appreciated the refreshing coolness of it more than the flavor this day. Most of the time he enjoyed the sun but today it seemed oddly hot. Becky said she didn’t feel anything different but then she spent most of her days in a cool, climate controlled, home. He ran the wet glass across his warm brow and felt a welcomed chill run down his back that forced him to adjust his position upon his chair. He heard a shrill ringing within his home and he groaned. Only one place called here at this time of day; work. Sure enough Becky was walking out to him, commlink in hand. She smiled warmly, took the glass from his hand, replaced it with the commlink and proceeded to consume the remaining liquid. Arthur raised an eyebrow and Becky’s smile widened. Putting the commlink to his ear he first noticed strange noises in the background of the caller. Shouts and weapons fire? The voice on the line was a fellow colleague and his voice was panicked. Arthur tried to calm him but nothing worked. The sound of glass shattering tore his attention from the phone and to Becky, still standing by him. He saw her eyes first. They were staring in terror at something across from her that he hadn’t seen. Everything seemed to slow down and go silent except an uncomfortably close, but quick, pop sound. Arthur then saw his wife’s face twist in pain and hands went to her stomach. Then, two more quick pops. These jerked her chest one way and then the other and a red mist burst out and covered Arthur’s face. Becky fell to her knees first and then fell backwards and never moved. Arthur couldn’t understand what he had just seen and, strangely curious in a surreal way, turned to his right to see for himself what could tear apart flesh like he had just seen. His gaze met three figures adorned in red and black armor, all with weapons drawn. Though one, the one in front of the other two, had his pistol pointed at where his wife once stood. A thin trail of smoke escaped the front of the barrel. He turned back to his wife and went to move to her but as he stood he felt as if a sledge hammer had been swung against his spine. He fell forward on top of his wife’s lifeless body and met her empty gaze. Instinctively he recoiled and turned himself over and saw his wife’s killer already upon him. A thin smile, not dissimilar to Becky’s as she handed him the commlink earlier, something he still grasped, crossed the soldier’s lips. He heard two more pops and felt two impacts on his chest. His head fell back and the dropped the commlink to the ground. Before darkness took him he saw countless beams of purple energy streak across the impossibly blue sky. This seemed strange to him and he wished to know what they were. That would be his final thought.

William successfully completed two strafing runs on the drones but after the first he knew there was a problem. The power core simply couldn’t power both the engines and the weapons at maximum efficiently. It was the backup generators that kept the engines going as well as they had been and that wasn’t saying much. If it wasn’t the engines sputtering it was the weapons that locked and threatened to short because of excessive blank firings. “Tower,” William radioed, “this is a waste of time. I don’t trust this bird with another ascent. Either the guns are gonna blow off or I’m gonna drop the engine. I’m callin’ it, over.” Instead of a response he only heard static. “Tower, are you there, over?” Still static. “Tower, this is Eagle 1, please respond, over!” The radio clicked a few times and a whispering voice came on. “Eagle 1, this is Dr. Fontaine… (static) something’s happened… (static) Terran… (static)… everyone gone, they’re all… (static) oh, God. They know… (static) No! Please, I’m a…” The line clicked closed. Terran? The Terran Republic? Were the rumors true? Is that why the Vanu pulled personnel and resources, because the TR were closer then the news let on? If the TR held the control tower then they held the air strip so going back would be suicide. It was also logical to assume that they held already, or were advancing upon, the MAGS research facility. Then it struck him; he was only considering military and government sites. If you want information you want scientists too. Many were home this part of the week thus making very easy targets. Home was the only place he could go. He punched in the coordinates into the computer which brought up a NAV point on his HUD. At full speed he’d be there in five minutes. William adjusted his course and punched the throttle full. The force of the engines pushed him hard against his seat and the ground beneath was nothing more than a blur of greens and browns.

About a mile out from home William slowed the fighter down to a little less than half power so that the radar could pick up any hostile signatures in the vicinity. While he knew the radar wasn’t equipped to detect individual people it could see large equipment and vehicles. Transports, jeeps or anything of that size he could get a lock on thanks, in part, to the current drone configuration. William took the fighter high above the ground in a matter of seconds as to avoid any visual detection but kept the onboard target imaging unit zoomed onto the ground. This allowed him a true birds-eye view of what could be waiting for him. He crept a mere 250 feet from his home but nearly one mile above it. The zoomed imaged, while not entirely clear, showed him what he had feared. He could make out the red/black colors of a jeep just on the other side of a hill, 20 meters, from the back of his home. He clenched his jaw and felt his stomach turn. His fist tightened on the flight yoke but he fought back the urge to dive. He needed to see more. The TR was obviously near his home but, he tried to convince himself, they might be looking for something else. William knew the thought rung hollow even before he finished completing it. No, the TR was exactly where they intended to be. The only question that remained was if he had arrived too late. Slowly he panned the targeting imager down and found his answer and it made his blood run cold.

Just outside the back door lay his mother, lifeless, on the ground and his father, face down, atop of her. William’s breathing slowed and he felt his chest grow heavy. Each pulse of his heart seemed to shake his whole body. His brow tensed, teeth clenched and his lips pulled back in a feral snarl. Then he saw his father flip onto his back under his own power. All anger drained away from William in that instant and panic gripped him. He saw three TR soldiers advance upon his father, the once closest with his rifle drawn and aimed. At that moment William didn’t think, he just acted. He powered the energy weapons to full and kicked in the engines to maximum. Before the fighter’s weapons were even in ranger William was firing and alarms within the cockpit were screaming. William never heard them. His entire reality consisted of three TR murderers, himself and the crosshair in his vision. Purple bolts of energy danced inside his targeting reticule. He saw the foremost soldier’s rifle kick back twice and then he looked up. It was too late for him. A barrage of fire incinerated his chest and what remained of his lifeless husk was on the ground before his compatriots could react. Already William was pulling the nose of the fighter up, resisting the will of gravity and centrifugal force, straining the engines and power core, and unleashing the power of this Ancient technology on earth and living flesh. Torn and scarred rock and dirt mixed with scorched tissue and hair and flash boiled blood. Fragments of their uniform caught his exhaust and disappeared into the wind. Things were not going well for William either right now. His engines had given out under the strain and he didn’t have enough power to avoid hitting the crest of the hill behind his home. The nose of the fighter plunged deep into the earth and just before the fighter flipped over onto its back William pulled the ejection lever. The canopy exploded open and away from the fighter and William was blown free of the body but not before the tail, continuing its journey up and over the nose, slammed into his legs, breaking one and sending him spinning into the air. William didn’t remember landing.

Two months later…

It was discovered that there was a Terran Republic spy within the MAGS project. Upon capture by the Vanu nothing was released of his fate but there was no shortage of theories. The fighter division of the MAGS project was cancelled. It was determined the extreme forces placed upon the airframe were too great to be compensated by a modified Ancient power generator. It wasn’t all bad news, however. Great strides were being made in the hover battle platform division and it looked that within a few years a new type of tank might strike fear into the Terran Republic and New Conglomerate, respectively.

William found himself alone in the world, however. His family was dead and his career cancelled because of failed technology. He currently found himself within a refugee center under the watchful eye of the Vanu military. While still unconscious outside his home a Vanu scouting party found him just before a TR assault team found their missing scout party. William’s home, and the homes of hundreds of others, was burned to the ground. His leg had healed up nicely but felt a bit sore. Doctors told him this was normal and it would pass within a few more days. Now, he simply sat on a drab olive green cot within a massive warehouse. There were countless people here and the noise was deafening. Some people, like himself, sat silent trying to figure out what to do with the rest of their life. Others wept silently or held family members while they wept. Children, oblivious of the pain surrounding them, played games of tag or hide-and-go-seek and screamed in laughter upon being caught. William allowed himself a smile upon seeing their shining faces and recalled a time when he was oblivious to the pain in the world. Part of him yearned for that time again but he knew down that path only lay self denial. The reality of the world finally hit him when after all this time his parents tried so very hard to shield him from it, up until it cost them their lives. William was torn from his train of thought by a Vanu officer yelling above the general din of the warehouse.

“Ladies and gentleman,” he began, “I know this has been a very trying time for all of you. Many of you here have lost your homes; most of you have lost someone in your family. Believe me when I tell you that the Vanu Sovereignty is doing everything in its power to seek justice for these crimes.” He paused for a moment and picked up a small child at his feet who was sitting silently looking up at this man who towered over him, seemingly awestruck. The Vanu officer smiled at the young boy and the boy began to fidget with the light armor the officer was wearing. “Every life taken by the TR or the NC is a life taken from the Vanu. You may not consider yourself our citizens; many here have not even chosen a side in this conflict, and that is alright, but the Vanu Sovereignty believe that all people of Auraxis, citizen or no, have the right to be free from unwarranted attack, free to lead happy and peaceful lives and free to expect peace to be met with peace.” Carefully the officer placed the child down and took a few steps closer to a gathering crowd around him. “I’ll not lie to you. The TR and the NC are a fierce fore. You know this for yourself and I’m not going to insult you by making light of your tragedies. And tragedies they are, let know one tell you different. A brother who has lost an arm in battle has just as much right to relief as a brother who has lost both legs. The Vanu will do all we can for you and your loved ones but the reality of the world also must be considered. While the Vanu is rebuilding your homes, providing care for you, like in this facility, and striving to raise you up to what you once were… we weaken ourselves. The TR and NC are relentless and while we pull brave men and women off the fields of battle to aid you, they strengthen their armies. The Vanu cannot efficiently provide worthwhile defense and aid, simultaneously, for much longer. That is the reality of things.” Feeling the drop in morale in the room he quickly added, “But you here needn’t worry. We have resources in place to care for each man, woman, and child here and that is a great thing! But what about your brothers 10 miles away, 20 miles away? Manpower is short and that is why I’m here today. The Vanu need able body men and women to fill our ranks.” He paused for effect, “No one need feel forced and no one will be judged for choosing the side of peace. Indeed, you should be respected and commended for this choice. If there is none to care for home, why is it worth fighting for? However, all here value their homes, their families and their freedom and there are forces out there that will take it from you if they can. That’s why every strong nation needs strong people to defend it. You’ve seen the honor with which the Vanu Sovereignty has treated you. We ask you to judge us by our actions and not our words. If there are those amongst you who feel the Vanu have earned your trust and the honor of your company, I ask you… no, I implore you, help us. Together we can free the world of Auraxis and bring peace back to your lands!” With that the Vanue officer nodded to the crowd in front of him and took a seat at a desk. Slowly many people found their way to him, leaving what remained of their lives and families behind.

William saw the speech for what it was but knew it held some truths. He also knew he had nowhere else to go. With a long sigh he came to his feet, picked up the “Ace” cap from his father from the cot and made his way to that desk. Reality had hit William with a hammer. With the Vanu, William knew he’d get the tools to hit back.