Chapter 34

Dear Will,

Now I have no idea what to call my brother. What is an Optio? It sounds like you have taken some job working on eyes. At least that's the only thing I can think of that uses the Opt prefix. Or was that title some kind of Optical illusion. Maybe you misspelled it and it was supposed to be something more Topical, or since you are going to a water world Tropical. But then again you said you'll be living twenty thousand leagues below. Do they call the capital Verne? Or were they lazy and just called it Nautilus.

Aw, Erica just punched me in the shoulder and told me to stop with all of the bad puns. I'd keep going, but if I did that they'd tie me up and then take tonight's orgy to the other room. Even my dearest girl would leave me all alone. Or at least she'd threaten to. I don't think she'd want to be without my loving touch.

Anyways, congrats on the promotion, of that's what it is. I'm not surprised to hear that you have been given the opportunity to do more. You have always been a dependable person and anyone who got to know you would know that you'll help with anything as long as you have an idea of what is needed. You just rarely stuck your neck out first.

There is a lot to tell you even if its only been four weeks since I last sent a letter to you. Things out here got a bit exciting in the past week. I'm trying to think of where to begin.

I guess the first thing was that they expanded the training class Erica and I have been taking. Someone higher up suggested that they announce that they would allow anyone to enter the class even if they planned to stay on Earth and defend it. We got an influx of adult men and women. Most had CAP scores in the mid five range. It was interesting because you could divide these people into three obvious groups. The first were the clear Erath First sympathizers. They tended to be arrogant and to constantly complain that the training wasn't available earlier. They also were way too aggressive and tend to ignore the lessons the commanders try to teach them.

We have a group like that. Two three man teams and a four man team. They always insist on working together. Its clear that they know that Erica and I have the CAP to volunteer, because any time they set up multiple side events or free-for-alls they insist on being on the opposing side and they will sacrifice tanks to try to get us. It's been a bit of an adventure for Erica and I. But in some ways we welcome it. Knowing that we have someone specifically searching for us has forced us to be twice as alert and sharpened both of our skills. Your sister can drive a tank over terrain that the experts fear to attempt.

The other groups are a bit less obnoxious, but equally interesting. First we have the ones who are starting to believe its real, but who just don't have the drive to raise their CAP scores. Most are in their late twenties or thirties and almost all male. They listen well and try hard. Most definitely lack a bit of imagination, and the number of times the commanders have to repeat lessons is staggering, but they do learn.

Most suck at kissing though and are not much better when the clothing starts flying. Yes, your sister has gotten down with a few of these guys. Many are fairly nice, and a couple could be turned into decent concubines with a bit of effort. Erica and I have talked to a few, but other than Marilyn we don't know any girls needing a concubine and Marilyn is still very happy with her man.

The last group is probably the one that Erica and I like the most. Eight grandmothers showed up the day after they announced that anyone could join. These women all have grandchildren old enough to volunteer, but they came out and said they wanted to learn. At first they struggled a bit. Tank driving requires a bit of muscle, and while these women had tried to take care of their bodies, they were a bit surprised by how much work it was. They didn't give up though, and they pick up the lessons fast. Helen, the woman who organized this group actually has a CAP of eight point nine! She's a former CEO who retired at sixty-five because she wanted two years to spoil her youngest grandchild before he became a teenager. Hank is now twenty-one and has already left for the stars. Helen isn't sure what planet he ended up on, but did say she's seen pictures of four babies she claims are her first great-grandchildren. The woman is definitely a bit of a mother lion. She grows at the Earth Firsties and has taken Erica and I under her wing a bit. She insists that we sit with her ladies in briefings and after matches often invites us for tea. I think at least four of her ladies also have CAP scores above seven, they are a frightening bunch at times.

Erica and I did get a test tank with what I guess is your latest version of the auto-loader. It's a definite improvement. Loading by hand would be faster, but at least I no longer have to take my hands off of the driving controls to get the shell from the magazine to the breach of the cannon. Erica likes it as well although we've learned that she cannot move the cannon while a shell be being loaded. The one time we made that mistake the shell ended up falling out of the sling and landing on her thigh. She screamed in pain and the shell then fell from the breach. It hit me in the shoulder and then got jammed in the controls to the tank's right tread. Obviously we "died" shortly after that. There was no permanent damage, but it was a painful lesson in the limitations of the auto-loading technology.

Grandpa Pickering has definitely joined Earth First. The authorities were going to bring him in to question him about what happened with John. When they got to his house they found a for sale sign out front. I guess they got a search warrant and checked the house. It was empty. A detective looked into things and found that Grandpa purchased a ranch in the northern part of California's Central Valley. He must have moved there before the police went out to bring him in. A few days later a detective stopped by Mom and Dad's house while Erica and I were enjoying a family dinner. He said the California police weren't cooperating, but the FBI had reported that Grandpa's new ranch was on a terrorist watch list. I guess I'm not surprised, but I do worry. Erica and I both now have permits to carry pistols at all times and we've been practicing at the range.