By T.B. Anderson
Copyright Tyler Anderson
Two
years earlier was when Nolan first stepped onto the Archon Space Pilot Academy campus. She left behind the comfort of her home for the last eighteen years in Taured to pursue her goal of becoming a pilot. She was a hundred miles south from family and she could feel the loneliness start to set in. The campus was huge and she wondered if this is
where she should really be. But she only hesitated for a moment because
she knew she was born to fly. All the natural abilities a pilot needed she
already possessed, but now it was time to find out if she had the other
intangibles it would take to be a great pilot.
The campus buzzed with activity and Nolan
was ready to be a part of it. Earlier that day her assigned mentor had provided
her with the directions to the dorms she would be living in for the next two
years. She picked up her bags off the ground and headed for the northwest
quadrant.
The first day of pilot school came
earlier than expected. At zero four hundred hours Nolan’s dorm door burst open.
Nolan shot up out of bed, unsure of where she was at but she quickly cleared
her mind and realized Captain Boschwein was moving down the aisle between the
beds. She quickly slid from her bed and her feet found the icy floor. Boschwein
was barking out orders but she was having a tough time making sense of what he
was saying because her mind was still fuzzy from the sudden jolt from sleep. The
fog left her mind and Boschwein’s words became very crisp and clear. “My job is
to make you the best pilots this galaxy has ever seen and you can’t do that
laying in your bed. Your days will start at zero four hundred hours and end at
twenty hundred hours. Is that understood?” he yelled. Each cadet saluted in
unison and replied with a unanimous, “Yes sir!”
Nolan stood completely still with
her hand holding the traditional salute. The major approached her position and
stopped. His eyes bore into her soul and all she wanted to do was run and hide,
but she forced herself to stay completely still. The major barked at her, “Why
are you here?” She mustered as much energy as she could, “To be the best pilot
this galaxy has ever seen, sir!” The answer satisfied him and he moved
down the line. When he was far enough away she let out a short sigh, hopefully
only noticeable to her. She did not want to show any weakness. Even though she
had made it this far, the group would be cut down from 100 pilots to 40 in a just
a few short weeks when they faced The Gauntlet.
Boschwein barked new orders,
“Breakfast is down in the mess hall, you have 15 minutes to get dressed, eat,
and be in the classroom before I am.” He walked back past Nolan and to the door,
but stopped short. “And if your not, pack your bags!” And with that, he slammed
the door shut. The slamming of the door triggered a chaos bomb in the room. Cadets
struggled to maneuver around each other, clothes were flying everywhere as they
quickly changed, and plenty of colorful language escaped their lips.
Fourteen minutes and two second
later Nolan was the second the person to sit down. Only one other person beat
her, a woman by the name of Dane. That wouldn’t happen again. Tomorrow she
would make sure she was the first one to arrive, even she had to sleep in her
clothes. She had thought about sitting in the front row of the classroom, but
didn’t want to draw that much attention to herself on the first day. She would
assess the situation and then make the move the following day. Nolan liked to
take control of her life, but her moves were also very calculated and she
didn’t place herself in danger without knowing the circumstances first. For
today the second row would suit her just fine.
Finally, at twenty hundred hours
she emerged from her final class of the day. This class discussed the early concept
of space travel after the people of Earth, Nolan’s ancestors, crashed on Archon
almost 200 years ago. While space travel has come a long way since than, the
intent was to scare the hell out of them and make each cadet realize that one
wrong move could send the pilot and their crew into oblivion. When earthkind
first made their jump through space to escape a doomed world, they made it
without any clue where they would arrive. It was different now because most
ships built for space travel were equipped with technology similar to generate their own gateway to make space travel much quicker and more precise..
Nolan was a descendant of the passengers of the Maiden. Her great, great grandmother and grandfather were aboard the ship. In a relatively short time living on a strange new planet they were able to integrate
themselves into life here on Archon and become very influential citizens. Nolan knew her grandmother was brilliant,
and often her mother would tell Nolan how much she reminded her of her great,
great grandmother. When the Maiden landed on Archon, the technology of the planet was almost two hundred years behind Earth, but with the
help of Nolan’s grandmother they advanced quickly and surpassed Earth’s
capability. Nolan’s heritage was one of the reasons she put in so much extra
work to get where she was today. Her great, great grandmother’s rise in Archon
society due to her brilliant mind placed her in influential social circles.
Her instructor was familiar with her
family lineage and called on her often during the class to provide insight.
Nolan kept her answers brief because she didn’t want to draw any unwanted
attention on the first day. The threatening looks from the other cadets had
been kept to a minimum, which she was glad for. She didn’t want anyone thinking
if she made the top forty percent it had been because of her family ties. She
would prove she belonged when they faced the Gauntlet.
Two months later it was time for the
Gauntlet. The room was dimly lit and it held a hundred round simulators that
were just big enough to fit a single person. Nolan lifted the simulator goggles
and placed them over her eyes. Since the first day of class this was the moment
she had been waiting for, her first opportunity to prove she truly belonged.
Nolan had worked hard and sacrificed to get her ready for this first test.
While some of the other cadets utilized their free time for socializing and
drinking, she studied and trained. She knew she was ready.
The screen in front of Nolan was
dark, but it felt like heat waves from the sun and was causing her hands to
sweat profusely. Discretely she wiped her hands on her pants to give her a
steady grip on the steering consul. Her eyes wandered to her left and right,
scoping out her competition. On her left was Dane, who was the only person in
Nolan’s class who she considered to be an equal. The two shared similar
qualities. Both were natural risk takers, creative, and fast on their feet.
Nolan and Dane had been battling for the top spot for the last two months with
each taking their turn at the top of the leader board. But today only one would
walk away as the clear leader. All the books in the world wouldn’t save Nolan
today, she was going to have to let her instincts take over and the knowledge
she had learned over the last two months permeate her strategies tow win. On
Nolan’s right was Hash. He had asked her to join him for a drink several times,
but she had rebuffed him gently each time. There was no way she could have a
relationship and have the time she needed to concentrate on being a pilot.
Despite her polite rebuffs, they often worked together in class and she
definitely enjoyed his company. She thought maybe after all of this they could
go out on a date. Wait; was this really where her mind was going at this
crucial moment? She shook the thoughts from her head and reminded herself what
she needed to do. First, make sure she was in the top 40 in the event. Second,
she had to win.
Boschwein strode down the aisle
between the simulators. “Please put your glasses on at this time. Your
simulator pods will now close.” Nolan picked up her goggles and placed them
over her eyes. The doors to her pod closed and she was left in utter darkness.
Inside the pod a slight crackle emanated from the speaker and the simulator
screen came to life with a video feed of Boschwein. His voice was stern and his
instructions clear, “This is not a team exercise. You must forget the
friendships and connections you’ve forged during your time here. Today the
cadets in these simulator pods are your enemies. Your job is to prove to me
that you are the best and win. Your focus needs to be one hundred percent locked
in on the task in front of you.” Boschwein’s face turned very serious, “Good
luck to you all. The simulation will now begin.”
The Gauntlet was a simulation that
took place in the desert of southern Archon. It was a beautifully painted red
desert with natural land bridges and arches. The simulated ships were small
A-65 fighters that were designed more for bruising other ships rather than
skillful maneuvering. Nolan knew the academy was very intentional in their
selection. They would have no weapons system and they would have to knock each
other out of the sky to win. Only the best pilots would be able to fly these
ships with skill and not look like a bowling ball crashing through the pins.
Nolan took hold of the steering console
and all other noises faded away. The countdown started to tick away on the
screen. This was her moment and she was ready —three, two, one. The test begun
and her ship sat alone on a cliff overlooking the barren landscape below. She
flipped on her thrusters and lifted off the ground. Her ship had only managed
to get a few feet above the ground when several cadets attempted to ambush her
from the sides. A smile escaped her lips. It was time to show them who she
really was. She hovered and watched the approaching ships. The two vessels were
closing in fast on her, but she had to be patient if this was going to work.
Nolan flipped on the rear thrusters and kicked up dust in her wake. Her ship
easily escaped the attack and the two ships crashed into each other. That was
two down she thought. She wondered if any other cadets had been eliminated so
quickly. There attack had been careless and they had relied solely on the
element of surprise. If they had been paying attention in class they would have
realized a tactic like that only had around a ten percent chance of even
working on someone like her.
Thirty minutes later and Nolan was one of
ten cadets that remained. Nolan was so close to victory that she could taste it.
She checked her radar to see if any cadets were approaching from the rear, but
there was no sign of anyone. She pumped the accelerator and tore off at a break
neck speed. A few seconds later Nolan heard the familiar beeping that indicated
a ship appearing on her radar. She looked down to see which direction it was
approaching from. It was on her right and it was coming in fast. Her eyes
scanned the simulated terrain in front of her and she saw a stone arch in the
near distance. A smile crept on her face and she knew exactly which maneuver
would take care of her next attacker. It was almost too easy that even a slight
chuckle escaped her lips. The ship caught up to Nolan and matched her pace.
After a few seconds of flying side by side the opposing cadet accelerated in a
side sweeping side motion directed at knocking Nolan’s ship off her course.
This was exactly what she had anticipated. As the ship came in to ram her from
the side she quickly maneuvered into a half barrel role, which put Nolan
directly over the other ship, but upside down. The other cadet didn’t even have
time to react to the natural arch bridge ahead of them because they had been so
focused on Nolan. Nolan smiled and watch the ship crash into the rock
formation. Boom!
It was now down to Nolan, Dane, and Hash.
The cliffs and natural stone structures disappeared and gave way to a sandy
desert with rolling hills. There would be fewer opportunities for her to use
the natural landscape as a weapon, and she knew she had to be at her best to
beat Dane. In her eyes Hash was lucky to have even made it to this point. Of
course he was a good pilot, but not nearly as skilled as Dane or herself.
Two blips appeared on her radar. One was coming
from the north on a straight collision course with her ship, while the other
was coming from the southwest direction in an attempt to catch her. She wasn’t
sure who was who, but that didn’t matter because she already had a plan. She
would wait until she knew the ship in front of her was about to fire and would
release her flare bomb to distract her pursuer from behind, and then dive for
the surface and let the other two go down in the cross fire. Nolan watched and
waited until both vessels were close enough. She flipped up the switch to
release her flare. Just a few more seconds more she thought and it would be perfect.
She pressed down on the button, but nothing happened. Her thumb tapped down the
button rapidly a few more times. Still nothing. Her screens flickered and drew
her focus away. It was all the distraction that the other two ships needed.
Hash let his missile fly and it connected. Nolan was out. She couldn’t believe
it and stared at her screen in utter dismay. Moments later Hash received a
direct hit from Dane and he was eliminated. Dane had won. Nolan couldn’t be mad
at Dane, she was a great pilot, but something gnawed at her. It was too
convenient that her controls had gone haywire at the exact moment she was
attempting her maneuver.
She sat in her simulation pod for a few
more seconds because she needed the isolation to gain her composure. She could
hear the muffled hooting and hollering from the other cadets for Dane. Nolan
finally gave in and raised the doors to her pod as light came flooding in. It
took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the light, but she could make out
Boschwein waiving his hands in the air to quiet the room. “Congratulations to
our top three pilots, Cadets Bask, Hash, and our winner Dane. Celebrate your
victory now because tomorrow we start the real thing.”
Nolan watched as the cadets gathered
around Dane to congratulate her. Some embraced her in hugs while other gave her
congratulatory slap on the back. Nolan wallowed in her disappointment and
anyone that looked at her would know not to talk to her. The voices of
congratulation for Dane were like echoes in Nolan’s head. Her mind was running
through the last few minutes over and over again, something just didn’t feel
right. Hash placed his hand lightly on her shoulder, his touch bringing her
back to the present. “We almost had her.” She tried to respond but found that
her emotions were to close to the surface, and this was not the time or place
to let them out. Without a word she brushed his hand from her should and headed
for the door. Hash didn’t attempt to follow her, he knew better. Nolan passed
by Dane without so much as a glance. She was happy for her friend, but she knew
if she had looked at her those emotions would have come bubbling out and she
did not want to be viewed as a petty person. She hoped Dane knew that. The door
in front of her slid open and she quietly disappeared into the hallway beyond.
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