Chapter 2

Take me to the Moon.

“Harry, have you got your backpack?” Anita asked.

“Yes, let’s be on our way,” said Harry.

The group headed down the street towards the river a few miles away. It was a blustery balmy day. The roads were quiet in the sleepy neighborhood.

I rode with Harry in the front, and both of them were careful with their siblings at the intersections.

“What a lovely day! I love cycling,” I said. “Come on, you horrible lot, lets go down this way. We are almost at the river.

Cars passed them leaving a wide gap as they turned and went down the hill to the river.

“Bejoggenfus the great! That is stupendous,” said Anita.

“Anita that is an excellent word. It encapsulates well what I think. Yup, now I know why you said to come down to look at your mother’s building,” said Harry. “Who can build so fast?”

“Philippa, the Empress from the Collective, has a big building company. Most of them are beetles. She says no one can build stuff as well as they do. Grandpa has a building in the Empire hundreds of floors high and has thirty floor that go deep underground. They built in hardly any time at all. It will be finished in three months or less!”

“How big is it going to be?” Chuck asked.

“The river here is two miles wide. The building will look as if it is floating above the water. It will be a mile deep and a mile high and the size of two city blocks. It is ten times the size of the United Nations building. It will be the biggest building on Earth for some time,” I said. “They are dredging the river on both sides of it and downriver as well. There are hundreds of huge drillers working underwater and underground. They are building the top part while drilling underneath. It is on a shelf held up by some anti-gravity goodie. There are zillions of drones and AI construction bots. On the shuttle you can look at the holograms of how they are building it and what they are doing underground.”

“Bejoggenfus and his uncle!” said Harry. “Anita I think you should licence that word it is so useful. It could even be a good name for our next dog. I don’t think it is the type of name cats like!”

Chuck laughed, and I giggled. Anita rolled her eyes.

“Picnic time boys and girls, chicken and fish,” said Harry.

“Harry stop talking like Dad. You and Ben are always trying to be just like him,” said Anita.

“Yes dear,” said Harry.

We all started to giggle as Harry laid out the food on a picnic table.

He pulled out several bottles of soft drink and water and put them on the table from his monster backpack.

It was great food, and I ate like a pig and so did everyone else. Harry packed his bag after throwing the garbage in the bin.

He beckoned to Anita.

“We will cycle home and get ready. We both want to see dad and Ben before we go with you guys,” said Harry. “Your dad will fetch us at 3:45 and then we fly to the moon.”

“Harry if you carry on like this everyone will know you are cracked in the head!” Anita rebuked him.

Harry laughed. Then snorted. I started to giggle and snorted. Chuck laughed. Anita stood with her hands on her hips. “Come on idiot, someone has to be the adult here!”

We all laughed.

***

“This is an awesome shuttle Chloe. Who would have thought you had an underground hanger that went below the park?” Harry remarked.

“Watch this!” I said as I started the shuttle and opened the hanger doors. The shuttle climbed vertically and then jumped out of the atmosphere.

“Wowie,” said Anita enthusiastically. “This is amazing. Chloe, can we visit the moon? Please, pretty please, can we?”

“Ok, but we can’t be there long. Chuck text mum please.”

Minutes later we whipped around the moon and headed back as I asked the AI to navigate and fly the craft to Hawaii.

I contacted flight control as we reached the atmosphere and discussed my flight path options with the controller from the Empire. I saw she was teaching someone who was carefully watching and listening.

“This is all new since mum is in charge. Before we flew around cloaked and said nothing to anyone,” I said. “We now have Empire flight rules and the new scanners can see through our cloaking.”

“What was all that stuff happening on the moon?” Anita asked.

“We are building bases and putting in defenses. Coming up on my left is one of the planetary defensive platforms.” I told them.

Harry and Anita looked at it closely on the hologram. Chuck grinned at me and put up his thumb.

“It’s like I have been a zombie while lots has been happening,” said Harry.

“Yeah, it is strange,” said Chuck. “Nearly all of us children went touring and you were one of the few who was left out. What happened?”

“I was booked for a cricket camp and my father said there would be plenty of opportunities to visit the Empire. It also didn’t seem terribly real to me. It was like reading about somebody who had a strange story to tell. I really like cricket, but now all of that stuff seems much less important and I get a lot of exercise in the morning doing the fighting. I love the exercise stuff we do and the marine AI an awesome martial arts instructor.

“I think I am pretty scared I’m going to make a fool of myself at this simulation competition. I was better at the other stuff, the old stuff with all the weapons from Earth. The new stuff and the new rules is a whole new thing, and it is taking a lot of learning,” said Harry.

“How much have you done?” Chuck asked.

“I did the first year of the Collective War College and the simulations. I am about a third through the second year. I also did half a year of Uzliumbax simulations.”

“That is pretty good!” I replied and it was. He did a lot in hardly any time.

“How are you going Anita?” I asked.

Anita blushed deeply – “I have done a bit more.”

“How much have you done?” Chuck asked.

“I have done two years of Collective War College and all the simulations. I also did the Uzliumbax stuff but a whole year’s worth.”

“That is awesome!” I said. “You guys are really fast workers. I reckon if both of you compete you would do pretty well.”

“Did any of you do the pirate attack on my Grandpa?” Chuck asked.

Harry and Anita looked at each other and grinned.

“How did you do?”

“Porquenta said we did the best so far,” said Anita.

“What did you do?”

“Both of us used the communications drones as missiles to knock out the ships and also the boarding gunships. We even managed to hit quite a few fighters. No one boarded us,” said Anita grinning, “both of us also caught the saboteurs.”

“How on earth did you do that?” I asked. I couldn’t believe it.

“We pretended the pirates took over the ship. The saboteurs came out to meet them and we caught them.”

I looked at Chuck, we smiled at each other. These two are smart cookies and Harry isn’t Mr. Dumb as a plum as some people thought. He also doesn’t walk around like a zombie at school during lessons, and he hasn’t fallen asleep once.

“You guys are very clever!” Chuck said clicking his tongue. “That was such a good idea, I wish I thought of that!”

I agreed and nodded. “We are coming towards Hawaii. We will jump in two minutes to the surface.”

“I love this flying in space,” said Anita grinning, “I could really do with my own shuttle. Dad and Ben used a shuttle for work this time.”

“Chloe, do you know what happened to Bird and Hazel?” Chuck asked.

“Someone else gave them a lift. They have been here for a day already. They are coming to the conference.” I told him.

***

At this conference all six of you are participating as individuals. No one has had enough time to learn to work as teams and to work with battle and war AIs. Every future competition will be in the agreed Multiverse format; an admiral, a general and a War AI. Bird you have your hand up you want to ask me a question?” Mum asked.

“My lady who are we competing against?” asked Bird.

“Bird, half of the participants are generals and admirals from Earth. Most of the rest are students in their last year. We have some people from other universes and dimensions and a few of the usual suckers that you guys seem to chew up in this universe. There are one or two Zaos and a couple of Ordreg. They are pretty good according to Grandpa. There are possibly some from the allies but we are not sure who will be attending.

“Grandpa sent me a message today to tell you guys the war is nearly finished, they are mopping up the last of the jellyfish creatures. Oh, I forgot, we are also going to have one of the slug creatures called a Schlogg that used to host the Grork.

“As usual you will be in your own room and they won’t see you until the whole thing has come to an end.

“Grandpa has a new Castle on a planet called Gromelikine and after this we are going to visit for a holiday, as it is school holidays. All of you are invited along with your parents. Grandpa says he has tons of space and he has a surprise flying experience for you. He guarantees you will find it one of the greatest experiences of your lives!” said mum.

“Is he the Emperor of the Uzliumbax, yet mom?” I asked. “He looked just like the Uzliumbax Emperor I saw in my new learning octagon. The Empresses also looked the same except there were some I haven’t seen before.”

“Yes, he is the Emperor. You will hear the story when we are there.

“We are waiting for the adjutant to take us to the room. Harry did you tell your mother you are competing?” Asked my mum.

“Nope.”

“And your father?”

“Nope.”

“Excellent, so if you do badly you never have to tell him. If you do better than him, you can crow. Anita that goes for you too,” said mum.

“Mum, you are so sneaky,” said Chuck laughing.

“I think you are all going to be surprised,” I said and smiled at Harry.

“Hazel you have a question,” said Mum.

“My Lady, who set up the simulations?”

“That, young lady you will find out later.”

On of the officers walked in, a major I think and introduced his adjutant.

“My Lady, please bring your group; we have the room ready for you. The technicians completed the installation of the simulators only this morning,” said the adjutant as he led us to a room filled with twenty simulators. I was pleased to see they were big ones, it meant Porquenta was involved. He sets the hardest simulations ever.

“My lady, the general also asked me to proctor this group. There is a small room next door where we will have lunch at 13:00.” He told mum.

“I will see you guys at 6 o’clock this evening. Have a good day. If I’m a bit late don’t worry about it, I have to get back here from New York,” said Mum as she waved on her way out.

I barely heard her as I was busy switching on my hologram and adjusting the simulator. I am going to use my crystal as a battle AI. There is nothing in the rules to prevent me from so doing and I am sure that Chuck is going to do the same. I asked the proctor if I could speak to Harry.

“You guys still have ten minutes before you are under examination conditions. You can talk to each other until you start,” he replied.

“Harry you and Anita can use everything you were given by Porquenta on the ship,” I whispered.

“Yeah, we did a lot of simulations on the ship after we were optimized and got our crystals. Porquenta wanted to help us catch up as much as he possibly could. I like him, he is a really good bloke. He said both me and Anita are in good shape to show a few people a thing or two,” said Harry grinning.

“Boys and girls, we have sixty seconds until we begin. I hope you teach all the old fogies a thing or two. We heard you guys are pretty good. Best of luck!

“You can begin now, there will be a fifteen-minute break at eleven. I am sure you saw the washrooms next door as you came in.” The adjutant told us.

I began to read my intelligence report on the enemy. A new alien form had been identified who began to infiltrate into our solar system. They were attacking cargo ships and cruise liners. They ate people and there was some evidence they laid their young in people who they trapped in cocoons. They had two forms, the first looked like a Caterpillar and the second like a large beetle. Their ships were very fast, and no one had managed to capture any of them. They were identified after intelligence looked at holo-recorders left running on the ships they attacked. The large beetle was seen to insert a tube from its abdomen into people who were in a coma. They were put in cocoons and carried off the ship. Both the caterpillars and the beetles ate people.