I am trying my hand at writing science fiction. While this is not Freespace, I did take inspiration from it. Read this and please let me know what you think. This is the beginning of something more.
Delta Jones sat quietly in his seat despite the excitement rushing though him. He had been waiting for this moment since he was a kid. Since he had first flown with his father in the Border War relic. The antiquated machine was nothing more than a piece of junk, but for Delta, it was much more. It was the gateway to the to the world of fighters and space combat. It was the door to the world that became the center of Delta’s life.
It was when Delta was fourteen that his parents realized his dream was more than a little boy’s childhood fantasy. It was a man’s dream to serve his people. Delta’s father, Lennie Jones, tried his best to stop the willful teen. Lennie told stories of his years of service in the navy, but then Lennie realized that he would be a hypocrite if he said that his journey in the military was useless. It would be a lie if Lennie said that he regretted the time he spent in the military. Or that it didn’t make him a better man. Lennie suddenly became an understanding father and gave his support to his son.
Delta’s mother, however, wasn’t won over to Delta’s cause. Mary Jones was a woman who despised the government and all of its agents. She was the reason for Lennie’s resignation from the Navy. Her ultimatum ended Lennie’s military career, and she was determined to stop her son from attending the Naval Academy in Sol. Only Lennies’s support and his warning to Mary kept her from doing something stupid. However, one day, Delta decided he has had enough of his mother. He decide that he had to leave or risk failing himself. At a young age, Delta packed all of his worldly possessions, bought a one-way ticket on passenger liner to Sol, and left his home of sixteen years.
Delta glanced out his window to take one last look at his home. It was beautiful, he decided. He loved the architecture of the white dome that covered the colony. Its construction had taken over 5 years by the finest crew in the entire Terran Commonwealth. Back then the colony elders had decided that Eagle’s Eye was no longer a second-rate mining operation. They needed to expand, and the profits from the Border War were more than enough for the gargantuan project.
Before Delta could even walk, the elders’ decision to aggrandize the colony finally bore fruit. The colony’s decent quality of life and its exceptional spaceport attracted all sorts of characters. It ranged from plebs to the bourgeoisies, merchants to mercenaries, and many ex-Border War pilots and marines settled there. Among the latter was Lennie Jones, a pilot looking for a job and a home. Luckily, there were plenty of opportunities at the bustling spaceport. He eventually took a job as a freighter pilot. It wasn’t too terribly exciting, but the pay was good and the risk was neglegible. It was an ideal place for Lennie and his new family to settle themselves.
“Attention,” a voice boomed. It was a low voice that resonated throughout the ship.
“Attention all passengers!” the voice paused. “Please be seated and activate the SHAB unit. We are preparing to jump. I repeat, be seated and secure yourself for the jump.”
Delta, now wide awake and fully alert, looked around him. Most of his fellow passengers were complying with the pilot’s order; the foolish and adventurous were standing around waiting for someone to tell them to do otherwise. Delta quickly lost interest in them and proceeded to turn on the shock absorption unit and strapped himself to his seat. He did this with smooth fluid movements showing his familiarity with space travel.
“Jumping in 10 seconds!” the pilot reported.
Most of the standing passengers rushed for their seat. Delta smiled at their stupidity. It is well known that standing during a jump without any support is extremely dangerous. The turbulent journey through the subspace tunnel will guarantee a concussion and a few weeks in sickbay. The only thing that prevented the earlier humans from giving up subspace travel was the shock absorption (SHAB) unit. The small device protected the earliest pioneers by enveloping them in a crude stasis field. Current SHAB units are more advance and even more minute, but the fundamentals are the same.
“Jumping in 3...2...1...Jumping now!”
No matter how many times Delta has made the jump, he can’t help admiring the beauty of the subspace portal. The fabric of space was ripped opened by the brute force of the subspace engine. Particles of unknown and wonderful properties painted a monochrome of blue at first. Then white particles streaked by, followed by lavender, and red until the whole visible spectrum attacks the human eye. The sleek passenger ship moved tentatively through the portal and into the turbulent subspace tunnel.
Delta, unlike most, actually enjoys the ride. The violent storms numbed by the SHAB unit could still be felt by him as slight rhythmic vibrations. It hypnotized him and relaxed the tight muscles in his back. Then it all stopped and Delta snapped out of his trance. The ship gained speed quickly and was expelled from subspace.
Give me some constructive criticism.
P.S. This is just the beginning. Delta is heading for the Naval Academy where he will become a pilot.
[This message has been edited by Megadude (edited 01-26-2002).]
