Delphi Colony (Delphi in Space Book 8) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1 You Can’t Be Serious

  Chapter 2 Getting Ready

  Chapter 3 Academy – Day One

  Chapter 4 The Paraxeans Move Forward

  Chapter 5 Academy Week One

  Chapter 6 Board Meeting – July 5th

  Chapter 7 Two Weeks of Hell

  Chapter 8 Finally, A Break

  Chapter 9 Guatemala

  Chapter 10 Board Meeting – August 2nd

  Chapter 11 Final Exam

  Chapter 12 Artemis Mission Prep

  Chapter 13 First Week of Classes

  Chapter 14 What About Earth?

  Chapter 15 A Home at Last

  Chapter 16 Board Meeting – September 6th

  Chapter 17 Freeloaders

  Chapter 18 Board Meeting – October 4th

  Chapter 19 StarMerchant One

  Chapter 20 Artemis

  Chapter 21 We Ain’t No Communists

  Chapter 22 Oh My Gosh

  Acknowledgments

  Delphi Publishing

  Copyright © 2020 Robert D. Blanton

  Cover by Momir Borocki

  [email protected]

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Printed in the United States of America First Printing, 2020.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  https://www.facebook.com/StarshipSakira/

  Chapter 1

  You Can’t Be Serious

  “I can’t believe this!” Catie said. “You’re actually going to make me go to the Academy so you can go to Artemis?”

  “No! You’re choosing to go to the Academy so you can captain a starship one day. Sam and I are going to Artemis to establish the first human colony in a different star system,” Marc, Catie’s father, said.

  “I don’t need to go!”

  “Yes you do,” Marc said calmly.

  “Why?!” Catie demanded.

  “Catie, you know I love you,” Marc’s brother, Blake said. “But you need to learn how to follow. You’re a natural leader, but like other natural leaders, you struggle when you’re not in charge.”

  “I do not!”

  “The Russian rescue mission and changing our acceleration profile on the Roebuck, are just two glaring examples.”

  Catie gave Blake an angry glare, then plopped down on the sofa and turned away from everyone, trying her best not to cry.

  “How long have you been planning to go to Artemis?” Blake asked. He and Marc had discovered a starship off the coast of Hawaii. With it, they had propelled Earth into the real space age. Now that age was about to include colonizing another planet.

  “Not that long. It seemed like Sam wanted to do something different, like she was tired of being a lawyer, foreign minister, what not. She’s been managing the colonist training, and that’s making her happy. So I figured we should go with the colonists so she can continue her work.”

  Samantha, Marc’s girlfriend, and company lawyer, just squeezed his arm to signal her appreciation.

  “But how can you leave? You’re the President of Delphi, geez, you’re the freaking Monarch of Delphi!” Blake said.

  “We have a prime minister now,” Marc said. “She’ll handle things. I’m in instant contact via the quantum relays, so the only real difference is I can’t make personal appearances. I think we’ll let you do those.”

  “No way!”

  “Come on,” Samantha said. “Jackie will love it. She gets to buy whatever gowns she wants, be the host of a nation for a night. It’s not like we have some event every week.”

  “But . . .”

  “Blake, it’s time for you to step up,” Marc said.

  “I was just trying to figure out how to step out, now you want me to step up!”

  “Just a little. Delphi holds, what, maybe two or three public events a year.”

  “It was a lot more than that last year!” Blake said.

  “But that was because Sam was promoting goodwill by leveraging Catie. Can’t do that while she’s at the Academy under an assumed identity.”

  “Hey, I haven’t agreed to go yet!” Catie squeaked.

  “We all know you’re going,” Samantha said. “Quit fighting it.”

  “I’m going to have lunch with Jackie,” Blake said. “I’ll discuss it with her and let you know!”

  With that, Blake stomped out of Marc’s cabin. He was trying to be mad, so he slammed the door behind him. He went to the hub and grabbed one of the Foxes to fly down to Delphi City. “What am I getting myself into,” he thought.

  “Daddy, are you serious, you’re going to Artemis and leaving me here at the Academy?” Catie asked, reengaging in the conversation. She couldn’t believe her father would go someplace without her.

  “This is what all my work has been about, why shouldn’t I go on the first colony mission?” Marc asked. “Sam and I can use a break.”

  “A break! How is leading the first mission to colonize another planet a break?!” Catie asked.

  “Hey, we’ll have about a year of focused work,” Marc said. “It will be without all this extra drama that comes with politics here on Earth. Besides, unless I step away, Prime Minister Nazeri will not have a chance to step up and really run Delphi Nation.”

  “But you’re still going to be in the middle of all the big stuff, aren’t you?”

  “Somewhat, but then I get to turn away from it and focus on the colony. And Sam gets to spend all her energy on the colony.”

  “Whatever,” Catie said. “I have to go figure out what it means to go to the Academy. I sure hope Liz knows something.” Catie left the cabin in what could graciously be called a huff.

  “Is she going to be okay?” Samantha asked.

  “I’m sure she will be, the question is, will the Academy be okay,” Marc said.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  Catie went down the hall to the cabin she shared with Liz. They shared a cabin on Delphi Station and a condo in Delphi City. “At least we used to share them,” Catie thought.

  “Liz!” Catie hollered as she opened the door.

  “Hey, what did your father want?” Liz asked.

  “He’s making me go to the Academy!”

  “That’s great!”

  “What do you mean?! It’s terrible!”

  “Going to the Academy will be great for you.”

  “But what about our company, designing our new ship, flying?!”

  “That stuff can wait. Do you know how long? Are you going in as a senior?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I should have asked more questions,” Catie said.

  “Cer Catie, the plan is to have you go in as a cadet second-class,” ADI said.

  “Second class! A sophomore, no way!”

  “Catie, a cadet second class is a junior,” Liz said. “They count back from your graduation year.”

  “Why can’t I be a senior?”

  “There are several reasons that the Captain and Cer Blake discussed. But it came down to having a believable backstory,” ADI said. “As a cadet second class, it is possible to create an identity for you that will stand up to scrutiny. But as a senior, that is almost impossible, as they are only accepting seniors from the other military colleges.”

  “So I have to go for two years?”

  “You will be going to complete your degrees. If you complete them within the year, then you might be able to graduate early. You’ll have to discuss it with Cer Blake,” ADI
explained.

  “Call Uncle Blake,” Catie ordered her Comm.

  “Hello, you’ve reached Blake. If you have this number, then you’ll understand that I’m currently unavailable so that I can have some time alone or I’m with someone. Please call back or leave a message!”

  “Grrr,” Catie growled, “he must be with Jackie!”

  “Hey, you can wait until tomorrow,” Liz said. “Let me tell you about the Academy. It’s going to be tough, but you’ll learn a lot, and your time there will eventually be some of your fondest memories.”

  “But this is different than the Naval Academy,” Catie complained.

  “They’re modeling our Academy on the U.S. Academies, so it’ll be close.”

  “So, why is it going to be tough?”

  “Their goal is to break you down so they can build you up. They want to break into that sense of individuality and get you to think as part of the team.”

  “I already think like that,” Catie said.

  “Well, you play well on a team, but that’s different than thinking like a part of the team.”

  Catie pouted but quit arguing. “So, what’s it like?”

  “First, during Basic, or whatever they call the first few weeks, do not stand out,” Liz said. “No matter how perfectly you do something, they’re going to find fault. Don’t react, just do your best to correct whatever they tell you to, even if it doesn’t need it.”

  “That sounds like fun,” Catie said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “It’s horrible, but it’s only a few weeks. And during Basic, time management is key. You’ll never have time to do everything. You have to work with the other Plebes to share the load. When it was especially bad, one of us girls would volunteer to be the one late so she could finish up for everyone. It’s things like that that will get you through it.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Smiling will get you in more trouble than anything. The instructors are not amused when you’re amused,” Liz said. “Just keep your game face on the whole time.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Uncle Blake, tell me what’s going to happen,” Catie demanded over her Comm after she finally found him. He was down in Delphi City at a bar.

  “You know what’s going to happen. You’re going to the Academy, I’m getting stuck playing host for a bunch of stuck-up people, and your father and Sam are running away.”

  “But why a junior?!”

  “It’s the best we can do. All the seniors are from other military schools. So whatever cover identity we come up with, they would know it was fake. But if things work out okay, we’ll let you graduate with them.”

  “But what am I supposed to do? How are things going to be set up? And what is this Plebe training thing?”

  “Okay, well, at least I can do this right,” Blake said. “The first thing you need to understand is this is going to be the hardest thing you’ve ever done in your life. You have to report on Tuesday, and after that, you’re beyond our help. If we have to intervene, it will spell the end of your time at the Academy.”

  “Oh great!”

  “You’ll do fine. But this summer is about forming bonds, learning to form bonds. That is what will make everything else in your career easier.”

  “So they’re going to break me down to build me up, like Liz said.”

  “Pretty much. Now some advice. You do not want to stand out during Basic. You want to blend in, stay in the middle, keep your head down. They will be looking for cadets who are trying to act like they’re special, and the instructors and upper-class cadets are going to make it abundantly clear that they are not special,” Blake said.

  “That’s what Liz said. But she didn’t know how you guys have set things up.”

  “You’ll have three weeks of Basic here in Delphi City. That will all be about getting you in shape, breaking you down into moldable clay, and building you back up. Then there are three weeks in Guatemala. That will be about teaching you how to push through the pain. How to survive anything. You’ll be crawling around in the jungle. They’ll take you right to the edge and keep pushing you, you’ll have to push back or fall over.”

  “That definitely sounds like fun,” Catie scoffed.

  “But there is nothing like the feeling you’ll get when you survive it. And you will survive, and that is an order!”

  “Is everyone going to be going through the same thing?”

  “No, the cadets from another military school will only have a week of general orientation here in Delphi City. Then they will become the leadership team that runs the program for the next two weeks. When you go to Guatemala, they’ll still be the leaders, but they’ll be having a completely new experience. Kal’s team will run the program, and they’ll make real Marines out of you.”

  Chapter 2

  Getting Ready

  “Blake, please order the Victory to Earth orbit,” Marc requested. They were in his office; Marc had flown down to Delphi City the day before so they could meet in person.

  “You’re going to use it as your colony ship?” Blake asked.

  “We’ll use the Sakira first. It and the Roebuck are the only ships that we know we can add jumpdrives to. But I’d like to start work on converting the Victory in parallel with converting the Sakira.”

  “One second, . . . Okay, it will be here in seven days,” Blake said. “You should keep at least one flight bay active.”

  “I was planning to,” Marc said.

  “Good. Ajda has the plans that she and Catie made when they modified the Sakira for the asteroid mission. You can tell her to start making cabins.”

  “I should do that right away. I plan to convert one of the flight bays to passenger cabins, and use part of the second for cargo space.”

  “What about the Paraxeans? I assume you’ll send them to the first planet.”

  “We will. By the way, does it have a name?”

  “Catie and I assumed the Paraxeans would want to name it.”

  “I’ll let the governor know. And yes, I’m planning to send them there. But I still haven’t heard if we can move that asteroid in one piece.”

  “Hmm, with Catie at the Academy and our mysterious Dr. McDowell’s communication issues, how are you going to find out?”

  “I assume I’ll send Catie to get a status update,” Marc said.

  “That’s not going to be easy, she’ll be pretty much locked down for the next three weeks. You’d better send her now.”

  “Call Catie . . .”

  “Hi, Daddy,” Catie said, not exactly her usual exuberant self.

  “Hi, Sweetie. I wonder if you would be willing to go visit Dr. McDowell before you head to Delphi City.”

  “I don’t know, I’m going to be pretty busy getting ready for the Academy.”

  “Don’t be that way, it doesn’t suit you.”

  “I know, but I should still be mad at you.”

  “It’s your choice.”

  “Yeah, right. Anyway, I’ll go see him this morning. For the Paraxeans.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Still mad?” Blake asked.

  “She’s trying to be.”

  “Well, that’s an improvement over yesterday.”

  “I’ll take what I can get. How big a force are you recommending I take with me?”

  “Half a flight bay; so twelve Foxes and eight Lynxes; are you going to take an Oryx?”

  “I wish we could, we’ll have to wait for Catie’s new ship to be built and make a run before we can get the Oryxes,” Marc said.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Dr. McDowell, . . . Dr. McDowell!”

  “Oh, . . . hello, Catie,” Dr. McDowell muttered.

  “How are you doing with the jump ship concept?”

  “The power requirements are driving me crazy. And that engineer, Ajda, is not helping any. You know, she has a bad temper.”

  “What’s the problem with the power requirements?”

  “To make it work with four prob
es, you have to lock them together. That means you have to use their regular grav-drives,” Dr. McDowell explained. “Their fusion reactors are then having to supply all that energy, and it takes forever to charge the capacitors up to jump potential. Before you get there, something changes, and you have to use the energy to adjust the grav drives. It’s an endless cycle.”

  “Oh, you don’t know about the antimatter reactors,” Catie said as she realized that their compartmentalization of knowledge had bitten them, again.

  “Antimatter reactors?”

  “Yes, we have more powerful reactors we can use,” Catie said. “With them, we can supply more energy. But it means we won’t be able to use probes anymore. We’ll have to build ships.”

  “Antimatter reactors,” Dr. McDowell said again. “I guess that would provide more power. Whatever, get me four ships, and I can test this out. Until then, I’ll work on my other projects.”

  Catie was surprised that Dr. McDowell didn’t show any interest in the antimatter reactors, but he had always been a strange one.

  “I’ll go talk with Ajda about the ships,” she said to Dr. McDowell’s back. He was already back to working with his equations.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Ajda, do you have some time?”

  “I do, especially if you can get that idiot, Dr. McDowell, to quit asking for impossible configurations for these probes,” Ajda said.

  “I just talked with him. He’s going to wait for us to design a ship that he can use. He suspects his power requirements are impossible to meet, but he didn’t know about the antimatter reactors.”

  “I can assure you that his requirements are impossible to meet!”

  “So we have to design a small starship. I assume the antimatter reactors are too big for a probe.”

  “You assume correctly. And they’re not going to be too easy to fit in anything smaller than the Roebuck, unless you make them significantly smaller.”

  “Even if we only had it contain the drives? No flight bay, or cargo bay?”

  “These drives he wants are huge. And those reactors aren’t small either, especially with the power requirements he’s asking for, plus all the extra capacitors,” Ajda said.