Gen'gah Solar System: Planet Sial'nief IV (Mud)

It was a dark and stormy day. The lightning flashed, breaking the pattern of ominous storm clouds, as I stepped off the transport shuttle. The long journey to home was finally in its last stages. The luxury transporter on which I had traveled for the past month had docked. To most of the empire, this planet on the edge of the empire was known as Sial'nief IV or, as the locals call it, Mud.

It was a farm world. It was where I was raised by my parents. It was where my friend and I had shipped out to join the military so many years ago. It was home.

My foot had not touched the surface of this planet in more than sixty years. I was now seventy-eight years old and in the prime of my life. I was looking forward to a long retirement. With a healthy life and no more fighting, I could live another two hundred years.

After gathering my belongings and checking with customs, I bought a local newspaper, tapping my card on the credit plate. I stepped foot outside the spaceport. Sheets of rain bombarded the asphalt and concrete. I had unfortunately chosen the monsoon season to come back. The city, Kulaco, hasn't seemed like it has changed one bit. The same buildings, steel and glass, dominating the landscape. I knew that the city and its buzzing life would end and lead to a large expanse of farms and ranches. Despite its location in the empire and the size of the planet, Mud was one of the most fertile planets in the empire, unscathed by wars.

I looked out at the asphalt expanse in front of me, looking for an unoccupied taxi. Despite growing up here, I never liked the rain. Seeing one pull up in front of me, I started heading towards it. As I was reaching for the door, a young woman cut in front of me and jumped into the taxi. Before I could even protest, she closed the door behind her and handed her credit card to the driver. I watched briefly as her red hair swung around her head as she spoke animatedly to the driver before heading back to the shelter of the overhang.

I saw another taxi pull up and I hurried run up to it and hopped in, throwing my suitcase in the spot beside me. I pulled out a small card and handed it to the driver. "Do you know this address?" The driver nodded. "Yes, I do, sir. It will take around half an hour." I thanked him before leaning back in the seat. I stared at the freight haulers and loader skiffs carrying stasis crates with meat and fresh food as the taxi ascended and took off. The buildings raced past us, entering the heart of Kulaco.

I opened the newspaper I had bought. I quickly flipped through it. Nothing really had changed. I looked like most of the local government officials hadn't retired and no big news stories had appeared recently.

Nothing newsworthy ever happened on Mud. That is, in part, why I came back to retire. I began to doze, remembering when I had left this planet with my best friend.

Mud: 60 years ago

"Drake, I can't believe we are running away to join the military." Randall said softly, as we strapped into the seats in the jump shuttle.

"We aren't exactly running away. We are eighteen years old after all." I chuckled, as a young officer began to check the straps in the recruit bay.

"This is our ticket out of this dump. All we have to do is serve for our five years, and we can muster out with almost a million credits. Then we just decide where we want to go." Randall stopped speaking as the officer stopped to check on him.

"I know how it works, Randall. I was the one that talked you into joining." I checked my last buckle and relaxed back into the seat.

The officer turned to check my straps. "Will you need a relaxer for the flight?"

"No, ma'am," I answered, as I looked up to see a set of piercing blue eyes framed in a face that would make an angel sing.

"I see we have a flight veteran here." She replied, her mouth curved upwards slightly.

"No, ma'am. This is the first time I have ever left the surface of Mud."

Her brow creased a small amount as I said that. "I would suggest you use a relaxer then. Most people don't handle their first jump well."

"He will be fine, sweetheart. He is the ultimate hard ass." Randall said with a chuckle, from behind her.

She turned and looked back at Randall. "You have joined the military, recruit. I am ,'ma'am' to you." She spoke in a voice that sounded like it contained iron.

Randall shrank back into his seat. "Yes, ma'am," he said, his voice quieter and a few octaves higher.

The officer checked finished checking my straps before moving onto the next one. It was not long after that we felt the jump shuttle lift off. An hour later we cleared the atmosphere, and the jump drive activated.

What felt like a small kick turned into feeling as if I was being turned inside out and tickled all along my exposed insides. The twisting sensation was like nothing I had ever felt before. My sense of position told me all of my body parts were occupying the same space. My toes overlapped my fingers, and they both shared the same space with my ears and nose. I was glad I had taken a shower that morning. My ass was in that same space, too.

Then, with a snapping sensation, we re-emerged into normal space. We were now at the edge of the solar system. Somewhere behind us, much closer to the star, was the planet I wouldn't see for the next sixty years.

I saw the troop transport as the shuttle turned to make its approach. That was a small starship. It was nothing like a civilian starliner. Those flew through normal space at warp speeds. A voyage of five light years would take a week in a star liner. A military craft could cover the same distance in seconds.

The shuttle turned in space and headed for the troop transport. The shuttle bay doors were open and waiting.

We all felt the slight jolt as the shuttle made contact with the deck. Then the female officer came in and shouted, "Up and out recruits! It is time to get your gear and begin your training"

I stood up out of the form-fitting seat. The other recruits were scrambling to grab their personal bags. I moved with a deliberate pace.

"Drake, you are going to get us in trouble. Move your ass!"," Randall said in a hoarse whisper as I grabbed my luggage.

I continued to move with my deliberate pace. The others had already scrambled down the boarding ramp and into the bay. They were the typical scared kids. I had not seen anything to fear yet.

The blond officer stepped in front of me. "Recruit, you had better learn how to run when you are told to."

I smiled and looked her straight in the eye. "Ma'am, there are only two reasons I have ever found to run." I stepped around her and headed down the ramp.

On the deck was the group of recruits from my shuttle. They were all doing push-ups and counting out loud. The sergeant pacing in front of them looked over towards me. "Recruit, these people are going to keep doing push-ups until you are in formation."

When he finished speaking, I dropped my bag where I was standing and sat on it. The sergeant came charging over to me and started yelling at the top of his lungs. "You little shit! I am going to beat the ever-loving crap out of you!" He finished his words just as he stopped in front of me. I could see his leathery face and his hard eyes.

My right leg swept out and pulled his legs out from under him. He fell backwards to the deck, hard enough that his head made a loud popping sound when it hit the deck. Then I rolled off my bag and brought my left leg down hard across his chest. I could hear his ribs crack with the impact.

The officer spoke from behind me. "Recruit, you are in a lot of trouble."

"Actually, ma'am, according to military regulations, it was self-defense. He threatened me with bodily harm, so I had the right to defend myself up to the level of sub-duel."

My argument was sadly unheeded as military police came to escort me to the brig.