Original Fan Fiction E.Vent. Shadows of Ghosts Part I CH.7

[Dunne]

Chapter 7. The Race and The Air Show

2315, May 9. U.E.A.
Space Sector Alpha, Planet Rallodawn
Continent Rence, Province Percival
Sphere of Influence: U.E.A. Enforcers, U.E.A Military Owned Planet
Subdivisions; U.E.A Enforcers training facilities
Local Early Morning

The next morning Cale woke up and went strait to the mess hall and got breakfast. He then headed up the corridor to the surface of the base and took a plane tug over to the wired ship. As he was chugging along he saw that Tee was in his vehicle mode and came up along side him. His goggles beeped for attention and his screen lit up with a question ?Race? ? Cale tapped the right side of his goggles and two different things happened: A system diagnostic and capabilities screen of the plane tug came up and a head set came out of his goggles to communicate with Tee over the roar of the tug?s engine. He spoke in to the mikes receiver ?If you think you can beat me with out going into hover mode you have to think twice about what you are going to get yourself into? When he finished that sentence he pressed the top and bottom of the right side of his goggles inward and out came a cable which he plugged in to the computer of the tug to tap in to the tug?s hidden capabilities system. He installed the enhanced features on this tug because nobody used it any more. The tug was an old model, set low to the ground for traction and had large wheels with 4 wheel drive so that it could pull heavy loads and it had all wheel steering. It had a twelve cylinder boxer amidships engine for pulling power and each wheel had its own universal joint and independent suspension. Cale installed a flying configuration on the tug for any reason that he needed to fly. It was an open air tug with the driver exposed to the elements. It wasn?t used as often as the closed cockpit tugs and was only used in emergencies. Nobody knew about the tug?s secret. Cale spoke into the mike again,
?We?ll use runway 4, that one is abandoned but they keep it paved for emergency, we?ll start from the beginning of it. When I give the signal we go, whoever reaches the end of the runway wins the honor of beating the man or machine, anything goes but nothing dirty.?
?Okay? answered Tee via text. They reached the end of runway 4 and the stopped. Cale raised his arm straight up he counted down the seconds from 5...4...at 3 his arm was parallel to the ground then he was at 2 45 degrees to the ground, and at one he raised his arm strait up in the air again and held it at one waving his hand furiously in the air. His hand dropped to the ground and both plane tug and robot?s tires squealed as they both peeled away on the runway. Tee seeking to get an advantage a Cale, converted to hover and shot ahead of Cale.
?So you want to do it that way huh?? Cale thought and patted a panel in front of the tug?s dash. The panel pushed up and split in half then flipped over to reveal a key pad and screen of the hidden capabilities of the tug.
?Well, two can play at that game? and he pressed a blue button on the keypad. The tug started to hum and a whole shell came over the body of the tug and then the massive wheels pushed out and tucked completely under the machine pointing the rims down making it more aerodynamic. Then the rear end of the tug opened up with two sliding doors repelling from each other and two closed circular shutters opened up on each end side on the rear of the tug. Since the tug wasn?t pulling anything the 12 cylinder Boxer turned to a high powered super charged engine and Cale pulled ahead of Tee in two seconds. Tee having seen that Cale decided to up the odds, a pair of miniature turbines popped up and where facing in the opposite direction toward the front and then they flipped, pointing to the rear and they ignited with a red burst of flame then blue as they turned in to after burners. Tee caught up with Cale and stayed even with him. They both where nearing the end of the run way. Then the end of the runway came, neither knew who won, Tee knew that he didn?t win because he double checked the final speed and distance he was from Cale, he was the exact same distance away from him and the same exact speed. They both figured that maybe they where evenly matched for each other and decided leaving the age old question alone.
Cale reached the hangar where the wired plane was in storage. Tee sped up ahead of him to get the plane ready for preflight engine warm up. The plane still had its scorch marks from the previous fire and it had the appearance of very used aging plane. Cale intended for the scorch marks to remain unpainted for the sake to lure the pilot in to a sense that the plane was functioning but not at optimum levels. Cale brought the tug down to slow crawl as he came up beside the plane. He got off and went to program the small box under the cockpit instrument board. He climbed in to the cockpit and slipped his goggles down in front of his eyes and started programming the receiver.
?Hey Cale, the computer is telling me it already had a diagnostic run down. I think it is ready for its pilot?
?Okay I?ll bring the plane up front to have it ready for our guest. The commander is having the pilot do some ?evasive maneuvers? before he sets him off for the day? he emphasized on the evasive maneuvers to mean that the commander was training the pilot on a simulator for the stunt show. Cale jumped back down and reached the tug. He hitched it up to a floating hover thruster trailer and brought it near the plane. He then remotely controlled an over head crane with his goggles and brought it to lift the plane on to the floating trailer. Setting down the plane on the trailer he returned the crane to its place. He hitched up the trailer to the tug headed off, with Tee behind him keeping an eye out for any problems. Cale drove to runway 7A4 and unloaded the plane from the trailer. He then returned the trailer and came back to the plane to get it ready and primed. Afterwards he left Tee to input the remote signal frequency for the radio controller from Cale?s goggles. He decided to call his girl to tell her to get ready for a show he was about to put on for the compound recruits.
?Computer, connect to United Earth Alliance Nation of America. Receiver of call Salen on State of America, Hawaii, connect? The computer stated the connecting status of the call ?Connecting, establishing connection, initializing connection, securing. Connection complete.? Salen appeared on his goggle view screen.
?Hi lover boy are you going to give me a movie? Because I?m really bored now because I finished my yoga class. She was wearing one of her yoga suits, consisting of a pink colored cotton pants and a thin pink cotton sweater.
?Well, I know that you sure have been practicing,? he said.
?Your right, I?ll save it for later and I?ll just leave you holding on to the bait? she said.
?Well then, here is the movie I promised you, wait for it to come and I?ll give you the picture directly to your holocom screen?
?Okay I?ll show you some positions later.? He signed off visually leaving her with his P.O.V. of his goggles. She saw anything he saw, so that way she wouldn?t miss anything Cale wanted her to see that he was going to do with the pilot.
A parade was getting started and Cale decided to go to see what was going on. He took the tug and Tee followed close behind him. The small parade was in the staging process and was a little chaotic. Marchers, performers, a band and many crewmen where getting ready. Cale didn?t know there was a parade scheduled for the day and so he decided to contact The Commander on the matter.
?Computer connect with Commander Jackson?s Holocom unit, sender Cale? The computer connected immediately since the signal was only world bound and only directly to the Commander.
?Hey Cale, I thought that you would be working on that remote of yours?
?Well, yes Jack, sir, but I have a question, was a parade scheduled for today? Because I was not told about it?
?Why yes their is a planned parade today and I meant to tell you but the drum major for the parade band can?t come because his uniform was shrunk in the Laundromat?
?How can a band uniform be shrunk in the Laundromat? Aren?t those things made of wool and polyester??
?I don?t know and yes they are. Can you substitute for the drum major??
?Hey, I like music but I don?t know anything about being a drum major?
?Can Tee do it??
?Well... He does appreciate classical music and Old Earth music. I guess that he could maybe lead the band but I don?t know that he could be seen if he is so short? Tee walked up to Cale and exclaimed.
?Hey, I can. And I always wanted to lead a band, since no one offered me the job before I always practiced in the Holoroom most of the time. The only time I was ever asked to direct was when Cale needed me to do a piece for him when he was going out with his girlfriend. Sir, I can and will do it, I just need to upload a program?
?All right then it is settled. Tee will lead the band, and the air show is saved. Cale I am signing off, I need to host the ceremonies? and with that the Commander signed off. ?Okay Tee, go get your program and get ready we only have 20 minutes before the parade starts.?
?Don?t worry; I have every tune that they need to play. I don?t need the program; all I need is a uniform.? Cale heard him.
?Well I am not going to produce one for you, I don?t sew but I do have a Replicator for clothing, I?ll go get it. By the way what are your measurements??
?They are up in your screen; I?ll get the band warmed up?
?All right then I?ll get the uniform ready?
?Oh and make it a little larger around my joints so that I can move better or else it will clump up? Cale ran off waving to Tee in receiving his measurements and jumped to the tug?s seat and flew off in the tug?s flight mode. Tee walked off to look for the band, he thought to him self
Finally some thing that I will be recognized for as a talented being and not a mechanical. He reached the warm up area of the band and started to look around. Some where milling around, a light touch of gossip in the air but the atmosphere was tense, due to the fact that a performance was going to come with in 20 minutes, others where polishing their instruments, tuning, dumping old spit on the ground with a little splatter when it landed, and some others where running through parts to squeeze a little more practice time before performance. Tee found an instrument case and stood it upright length wise so that it he could be seen by the players. He shifted to hover mode and flew up to the top, setting down and standing up. He scanned the crowd and sized up the band. He then selected a sound tone and selected a descending and rising setting. He straightened up and sounded a tone, it was a fluttering high pitched tone like a whistle going up and down, twice it repeated the pattern and it stopped. As if Pavlov had trained the band the snare did a small sequence then the band snapped to attention with ?Hut!? The response echoed thru the airfield and caught the attention of a few heads, but then the heads lost interest and went back to work on the parade preparations. Tee greeted the players.
?Good mid morning to you people? The band mumbled good morning and Tee called out again ?Good mid morning people!? This time the band shouted.
?Good morning, sir!?
?Good, very good? he commented ?I will be substituting as your drum major today, due to because of some misfortunate accident at the dry cleaners, it seems that they shrunk his uniform and can?t attend with us today. I have all of your pieces memorized and I can direct all of you despite my height handicap of one meter. Here are some eye screens which will assist me in the process of leading you. The screens provide read outs of the music, tempo, exact time, foot placement and other essentials to this. There is one for each of you as I have pre-counted the amount from the storage locker in your equipment transport, familiarize yourselves with the device that I assure you find fascinating while I wait for my uniform. I am sure that this is the first time you all use them and I want all of you to make sure that you now what the capabilities are and the various readouts and functions are for.? Tee jumped off the case and each player picked up an eye screen. He waited patiently for his uniform to be made, reviewing the music to him self to pass the time.
Cale was busy with The Replicator, a machine that could reproduce or create any solid object. It was essential in such a planet that never had any supply routs directed to it. Cale punched in the measurements from his goggle readouts and he readied the machine for the process. The machine beeped and he looked at the input screen. The screen said
?Request colors and enter information necessary applicable? Cale thought about the color of the uniform, remembering that it had white, black, gold and blue in a certain way but he forgot the design. He pressed both sides of his goggles and Salen?s face came up. She looked cute she was wearing another of her White Terri Cotton out fits and she was fixing her hair. It was up in a little bun held together by two hair ceramic hair sticks and had little fireworks wisps of hair coming out and drooping down and a single long pony tail coming out the bun, with one small wisp of hair dangling in front of her right eye, curled with a tip in the bottom of it. She cocked an eyebrow and slyly smirked at Cale,
?You miss me already? I was only gone from your view for only a few minutes and I?m certainly not getting in to trouble....? she suggestively asked him.
?I know, you are not in trouble, besides you?re a good girl when I?m away? he said ?I need some help with the color scheme of the band uniform, do you remember how the color design was set?? ?I do, fortunately for you. It?s a white pant with two stripes to the outside black then gold set on it. The jacket was is white also with blue and black trim with gold buttons the shako was black with white and gold and a blue plume. Now since Tee will sub drum major it will be an opposite scheme which is useful in denoting the drum major from the rest of the band. His uniform will be black, the pants will be black with a white and gold stripe along with that the jacket is also black too with the gold buttons and the blue white and yellow trims, and finally the shako which is also black with a white plume?
?Got it all thanks? he said and he winked at her meaning to her that he will be with her later on. Typing the necessary information in to the machine, he ran back to the plane tug and got it ready at the end of runway 7A4, leaving the cockpit canopy open and ready for the unsuspecting pilot. He ran the trailer back to the hanger and prepared to bring in the other planes after they where done. Some old bi-planes where zooming about in the air. Cale admired the old machines, watching the old magnet-tape movies of those things dog fight always gave him the warmth of patriotism when ever he saw those movies. He tried applying for a job as an Enforcer once but since he listed his skills in Mechanics, Inventions, Flying and Enforcer Trained in that order, the interviewer deemed it fit for him to play as a mechanic, something he did not mind. He didn?t mind but he loathed the fact that too many of the trainees relied to much on automatic targeting systems, they never experienced the real pitched battle in a dogfight up in the air with nothing but tracers and a cross hair to guide your shots with and if lucky, maybe a leading reticule. He noted the lack of finnes or hardened combat skill among them, most of the time he considered them green, even if they had graduated.
They will never have the true mark as an Enforcer if they did not have blood shed experience he thought to himself. He saw one of the biplanes land, the tail expelling crystallized water/smoke in a facade of a downed plane. The pilot that was shot down was the one that Cale was going to have fun with. He attached the tug to the plane as soon as the pilot landed and towed it to its proper landing in the museum hangar. He left the old machine amid the other fighters of the early 20th, 21st, 22nd and late 23rd century. There was a spot in the hanger that was not used, a new exhibit was to be made in that spot for the 24th century Aerospace Fighters, some thing the XJP-53 ?Drooper? would occupy when Triad Industries would release a model to the public. The impressive and awesome machines lay at aesthetically presentable intervals with in the spacious hangar. Cale looked at the machines then snapped back to his work and detached the bi-plane to its proper place and set off to find a good spot on the field for the opening parade. He claimed his spot with some flare sticks and picked up Tee?s uniform and ran back to give it to him. Tee already had the band warmed up and they where running thru the rehearsal of going down the runway. He walked up to tee and tee stopped the band, giving them the rest of the time off, he walked over to Cale and collected his uniform. He inspected the uniform with his eyes; one of them zoomed in on the material.
?Well? he said, with a smile ?I say that it is as close to the real thing but it isn?t the original but it dose the trick just well? he stated.
?I?m glad Salen helped a bit especially in the color areas, but of course I made those other adjustments too, the ones for where your joints move, they should work nicely if you don?t move too far, oh and their stretch meshed spandex? he lowered his goggles down and walked back to the tug to drive off to his viewing spot.
It was not uncommon for a robot to direct something mostly people associated directing with traffic or other machine or things that most humans now would not think or dare to try mostly because they where either monotonous or dangerous or demeaning, seeing Tee direct the ban was something out of the ordinary, most robots they ever saw that directed where the ones that did autonomous concerts and for them it was a spectacle to see a robot as short as and yet Talented as Tee to direct a band which was at the most a few feet taller than Tee. Tee brought the band to a stop in front of the Parade Begin line and had them set
?I hope you, yet I know that all of you have this all figured out, just watch me then and it should go easy? he said to them. He brought the Mace up and proceeded to his flourish with all of the other tricks in-between and here and there and the rest, he stopped and brought the mace strait up pointing up to the sky with the tip and gave the whistle command and the drum line started the take up cadence. The performance was a spectacle to the audience and including the parade judges that where there mostly in part that the whole band was in sync with the very beat step and stride and angles in the block and the music, something that was rare to find in bands. The spectacle was even greater because it was a robot that was doing it not a human and it was doing a rather fine job of leading the block.
The parade ended and Tee gave his speech wishing the Band luck in their next gig. He rushed over to where Cale was and joined him.
?They are about to start and he is already in route to the position? Cale said Tee looked up and saw the plane something that was not hard since he had a telescopic lens and zoomed in. Cale taped the right side of his goggles and the plane began to loose control mostly out of simulation and nothing in reality, but to the audience it was a stunning piece of majesty because the plain it self was even showing smoke, something Cale was doing to give the pilot a sense of danger on his plane, and that danger was being broadcasted in to the microphone that the audience was listening to for the commentary from the pilot,
?Folks sorry but I am going to have to go off air for sec. I am going to have wrestle with this thing for a moment? the loudspeaker projector burst in to some static then went silent, and now since the pilot was not speaking every one was looking up at the pilot. Cale had the cockpit POV and was bringing in the plane for a few loops, the plane itself barrel rolling as it performed them and at the same time pulling figure eights in mid air. His goggle display was showing the approach of nine gees and he eased off the climbing barrel roll he was executing. He set the plane in to a free fall program that itself bringing the audience close to the edges of their seats. The plane tumbled, a flat spin out, something every pilot dreaded if they where going to crash, fortunately the plane was built to make such fake death plunges and was rotating at a speed that seemed fast but was actually slower. He set another program in and the plane started to tumble on all three axes in a death dance. The plane was not really falling it had hover thruster pads that where unidirectional and was only spinning in mid air with a slight speedy plunge to the ground. The audience was hanging by a thread, never before had they see something so fake go so real. The plane tumbled to a halt and performed a three point landing on a set of plates that where set down long before by Cale to tow it off the tarmac. Cale clambered down to the Tug seat and gunned the engines, flipping the Hover Thruster drive on and clearing the crowd, the crowd already stunned of what everything that had happened already they where more dumbstruck to say anything from the last spectacle and the one happening before them. He guided the tug over to the trailer in which the plane landed and he hitched it up , resetting the wheels so they could drive on the ground again, the hidden hover-thruster drive shutting down. He drove the plane out of sight from the crowd, it already past its own shock and forgetting what had happened; refocusing its attention to the already started next attraction. He parked the tug with the trailer and disembarked walking away from the fighter knowing that the pilot was still there but letting the pilot come out of shock. Just then he heard the pressurized seal of the cockpit exhale a hiss and the canopy rose soon followed by the pilots figure. Young brash about the same age of Cale and very fuming, his black hair was matted to his forehead by sweat, its gelled features of spike commonality where melted, the heat and sweat of the cockpit breaking apart the water based goop, his figure tense and taught, his flight suit wrinkled excessively than normal, and his green eyes flaming for revenge hatred, and humiliation. He covered the distance between the fighter and where Cale was standing in mere moments before he reached him he yelled.
?You! You little punk I aughta?.? He began to raise his right arm to ready his hand in a direct drive to Cale?s jaw. A switch went off in Tee and his eyes, complacently white, turned blue, his defense system of his owner/creator activated, and the rule of robotics number 3; to protect and preserve without injury to either party. He raised his right arm and took aim at the assailant to Cale; a floating reticule on his photovoltaic receptors and small blue and green targeting lasers jutted out and painted the assailant. Tee?s right wrist bent down and a mini rotary cannon popped out of the right side of the arm and swung over the top, locking in to position and the barrel began to whir. The assailant looked at Tee and before he followed thru with his direct strike at Cale, he turned to a possible new way to vent his anger and frustration along with the humiliation. He approached Tee and got ready to kick him well when Tee fired the Mini-rotary. It sounded like little whistling puffs but in fact they where dulled rubber bullets, the only thing that Tee was allowed to fire under the UEA Doctrine Laws of Existence and Conducts for Robots, Which only allowed him to fire rubber bullets or stun bolts, both non-lethal means of deterring attackers or threats. The pilot shrugged back and started to complain.
?Hey! Ow! Lay off you tin bit can! I said quit it!? He protested.
?Tin Bit Can!? I?ll show you, you little,? and Tee fired more rounds in to him. Cale looked a little awed but unfazed by the first attempt of the attack, but then he sparked back to reality when he saw Tee go in to his Defensive mode, he noted the blue eyes on the robot and he called to him ?Tee, enough, stand down already? The whirring sound and whistling puffs died out as Tee retracted the mini-rotary and stood with his arms crossed in defiance to the attacker. Cale walked up to the pilot to close the distance between them.
?Have fun on your ride?? he asked, the pilot looking at him with a face of malcontent and said ?You where the one with the remote huh?? he said, pointing his index finger at him.
?Yes it was me, and I had good reason too, Kardon? he said. The pilot looked at him with surprise but still with narrow eyes of suspicion.
?How did you know my last name?? he asked staring down to Cale in suspicion.
?I know much of you Mark, and not just your last name, your record, your history, even your small time rap sheet, even to the point of what clubs you go to during leave to Xoltroz? Xoltroz was a frequent stop by single UEA Enforcer marines whom where on shore leave, the planet itself was based on sexual gratification, and the whole entire thing was franchised but in truth the planet was one the most sanitary of the UEA, next to Dexion, a planet known for its parties, its personal record that still stands in history was a party that lasted four months straight.
?You have a good record in your skills; it only seems that you like to carry out orders a different way around than what the book says you should? he said. Mask Kardon continued to stare at him ?Yeah so what is it to you, grease grit?? he said. Mark was trying to show Cale up his height against him. Cale looked up at him and smiled, his own height under Activant was a little less than 6 feet, he took off the restraints the Activant that he used on himself off and his height increased to 6?7? at the least five inches taller that Mark. Cale used Activant for the a reason that most people would not find a use for; he used it to keep his height down to an acceptable minimum so that people in the training facilities would not have their egos hurt by a mechanic whom was taller than most of all of them by a head.
?It?s quite pathetic when you use physical stature when you want to assert your dominance over someone, Mark. I?ll not play by your rules but you shall play by mine, and that is by motivation? Cale?s stature slowly returned to its original height. Cale dug in his pocket and produced a small disk, it was plastic the size of an old American half dollar and it was double layered on both sides and very thin.
?This holodisk contains a conversation log of everything you said in that plane you just flew, it has every name you used to refer to Commander Grey and every other insult in the book of them. Now either you could do the punishment that the computer suggests, which is right here with me? He pulled out a small note card size of expandable paper and handed it to him, the card containing every thing that the computer suggested as his sentence.
?Or you can learn how I rigged the plane and I can teach you to be a better pilot, along with knowing every component and how everything backs itself up, along with knowing how to goose the extra power to the plane and how to look for factory defects? he let Mark read the card while he added.
?If you deny either of these, I shall personally this over to Commander Gray and make sure he hears it himself? he said. Mark stared back down at him.
?This is black mail you know that?? he said.
?No, it is not, it is motivation. You see, if you do as I say and listen to me when you take the second option, I shall erase the disk? he offered, giving it to Tee for safe keeping ?but if you refuse I shall have the punishment by the computers standards and that of course is worse than being apprentice to me? he said. Mark looked at him; his eyes became in a way analytical in a fashion, sweeping around Cale for any form of deceit in him. Finally, Mark looked at him.
?You call this motivation, but I call it black mail, but I accept it, if it will keep my record one less black mark then I?ll apprentice under you and complete my sentence? He said, sighing and slightly ashamed of him self, his words where dragged, as if resigning to a far worse fate than dealing with Commander Gray was working with a grease critter. Cale looked at him and noticed the sullen expression on his face and said to him.
?Cheer up, as soon as I am done with you, you?ll fly as well as I do? he said.
?You mean pull crap like the stuff you did to me? Kid, I do that to anyone I don?t like and to people I like? he said.
?Yeah, well, you could learn to do even more crap like that? Cale chuckled, the slight language the pilot used was not of the kind that you might considered colorful, but then it was still peppered it punctuating words of expression. ?Look, just make sure that you come in on time, bring your own work suit and make sure to either read the manual by lengthwise or dump it in you IL chip, that way you can reference it, because what I do goes a lot by the book and even more by improvising methods?
?Yeah, yeah I gotcha, it?s not like I haft to work right?
?In a way yes but you will serve apprentice ship under me for some time before a suitable period of time is completed to relieve you of punishment, and besides, you might want to apologize to the MU Pilot that had to shoot you down, the pilot was pretty much pissed for having the ammo and refresher cleaner stations blown to bits.?
?Oh yeeaah, I remember that. Well I hope the pilot finds me, who ever he or she be, that be the day, I hope finds me soon or I might forget why I was shot down or ever shot down.?
?Whatever, but for now on you fly this fighter, too risky to work on a stock model without removing all of the defects out and tweaking it up?
?Well you do that kid, and I?ll come back for yah? Cale watched Mark walk off, he flipping his hand in the air and already dumping the holographed portion of his group in to his LW chip. ?Cheater? Cale mumbled and chuckled to himself. He looked back to Tee. ?Your favorite shows on tonight, you gonna record or let it run??
?Record it, I could always have it beamed you know?
?Right, well I guess its old magnetape movies tonight then??
?Why not, I have a hankering for some of the ol? digital versatility disks with the anime you like so much and some of the new ones too I guess?
?Anime night it is then. Nostal or Newtype??
?Nostal? They both walked off bouncing ideas of what Nostal they could watch from Cale?s amassed collection. The Fighter behind them began to move on its own and park itself in to the one of the open hangers and shut down for the night ready but bracing itself for a week of hacking and revamping with the mechanic and pilot it came to know only too soon.