Alpha Centuri: The War Ch.1

Chapter 1

Beep, Beep, Beep! Gordon Swift slammed his fist down onto the off button of his alarm clock. He rolled sleepily out of bed, moaning and groaning. Silently he looked at his alarm clock. Ten o’ clock! Suddenly he was wide-awake and struggling to pull on his dark blue jeans.
Gordon of course is the son of the beloved Ethan Swift, former Captain of the Discovery and now Councilman of Waterfall City. Gordon looked just like his father at his age: Tall and gangly, blonde hair, and hazel eyes. How old was Gordon? Twenty-two. He was now attending Varnagan’s Institute of Technology in Tusirus. Gordon owned a small home not far away from the school on the second level of Tusirus, which he shared with his roommate C.J McDermott. C.J was a British boy the same age as Ethan and attending the same school. He had come on the first British ship to Thor, called the Opportunity with his parents when he was two. Now he and Gordon were inseparable.
But today it was neither school nor his job at the hardware store that prompted Gordon to wake up that wonderful Sunday morning. That particular morning he was supposed to be at his parents’ house in Waterfall City where his father had invited Rogancus and his family to have lunch with them. And he was running late.
C.J walked into Gordon’s room as he bustled about trying to brush his teeth and comb his hair at the same time. {And quite unsuccessfully too.} “What’s the rush?” C.J asked sleepily. He spoke with a British accent. Gordon’s own noisy awakening had awakened him.
“I forgot to set my alarm earlier.”
“Again?”
“Yeah. Now I’m gonna be late for lunch with my parent’s… ”
“Is Rogancus’s family going?”
“Yup. With Akala too. Haven’t seen him in awhile. Gotta go. See ya!” And being done getting ready, Gordon sped out the door.
“Gordon! You forgot breakfast!” C.J called after him from the doorway. He chucked a cereal bar at him and Gordon caught it neatly in his hands. He opened in and ate the contents. Then he put on his helmet and jumped onto his yellow hoverbike which somewhat resembled a hovering snowmobile. He turned it on and sped down a special hoverbike ramp to the lower levels. His bike hummed as he sped toward the gate, avoiding pedestrians and other hoverbikers, along with a few mounted keela riders. When he reached the gate he waited patiently for the darned guards to open it. Once open, he sped through the gates all the way to Waterfall City, trying hard to go only at the country road speed limit. Soon he reached the town, waited for the gate to open, and sped down to his old home.

**********

Ethan was greeted at the door by his two old escapadees Falakirk and Setenet. He pet their heads affectionately as they hissed and growled friendly growls. He stepped inside and was suddenly engulfed in his mother Lily’s arms.
“Oh hello Gordon! I haven’t seen you in a while with you being busy with school and all. How is C.J doing?” His mother said, then releasing him from her hug.
“Oh…same old…old. He works with me at that old hardware shop in Tusirus.” Ethan walked into the room. “So you got a job eh? I guess we won’t be sending you money anymore.” He said. “Does Varnagan’s academy still pay for your house?”
“Yeah, they will pay for the house till I graduate. And no, you won’t need to be sending me money. With both me and C.J working at that shop, we have more than enough money for food and stuff.” Gordon answered, stepping into the living room.
Ethan was now growing old, or rather, is old. The aged man was now in his sixty’s, his wife Lily in her fifty’s. Ethan’s hair was graying, and had a short scraggly beard. Lily looked as if she hadn’t aged a bit, aside from a few wrinkle marks on her face. Another man stepped out of the kitchen. He was dressed in a chef’s hat and apron and had a warm smile. “Uncle Joe!” Gordon exclaimed. Joe stood there smiling. “Hello Gordo! Care to try one of my fish chips appetizers?” Joe asked.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Gordon replied. Joe was a great cook. He was now about the same age as Ethan, although his spirit was very much still like that of a small boy. He was very much like an uncle to Gordon, even though he was not really his uncle biologically. Joe moved out shortly after Gordon was born, but was at their house almost twenty-four-seven. Joe assisted greatly with building Gordon’s room and was his elementary school teacher. Even now he still taught kids languages, history, math, and other important subjects.
Joe reentered the kitchen and came back out with a steaming plate of pancake fish chips topped with minute slices of spices and flavorings. He placed the plate on the small coffee table and watched Gordon, Ethan, and Lily munch on the delicious appetizer. “Don’t ruin your appetites! For lunch we’re having vleego meat with spiced kroala leaves. A favorite Thorian dish.” Joe announced. Gordon’s stomach growled. Vleego meat was his favorite. A vleego was an animal that resembled a large moose, but was gray and yellow in color to blend in with the strange grasses of the Thorian plains.
At this moment Rogancus’s family arrived. First walked in Rogancus, then his wife Rasha, and then his son, Akala. Akala was one of Gordon’s closest friends. He saw him often growing up and was only three months younger than himself. Ethan and Rogancus shook hands, and exchanged friendly words. Rasha and Lily embraced, while Akala and Gordon conversed together quietly.
“Are you still playing football?” Akala asked Gordon.
“Yeah. Are you still playing okre?” Asked Gordon.
“Of course. I’d rather play okre than be tackled by a big drooling human.”
“I’d rather play football than having a maniac of a Thorian trying to beat me with a stick.”
Together they laughed. “Are you guys gonna just stand there, or are you going to come eat?” Joe asked them all. The group went into the kitchen and feasted joyfully on the wonderful meal Joe had prepared for them.

**********

Later that day, everyone sat in the living room {or parlor as Gordon and his family called it} talking about recent events in the world. Setenet and Falakirk lay curled by Gordon’s feet. Lily and Rasha knitted and crochet.
“The recent revolts and sabotagings in Viraxia have angered India’s government. I heard that they have even sent out troops to quell the rebel movement. Who is their leader? Do you know?” Ethan asked Rogancus.
“I know much. Viraxia’s Thorian spokesman visited me yesterday. He says that the leader is a man named Kahn, or “Lord”. No one knows his real name, only the members in his inner circle. They won’t give it away, for fear of enemies tracking him down and killing him.” Rogancus responded. Gordon had heard of the Viraxian uprising. It was a human town off the coast of one of Thor’s many seas. Originally an Indian colony, Viraxia grew to be the biggest human city on the planet, for other human colonists settled there as well. Now with the new “space rail road” that connected Earth with Thor, human growth was on the rise, and towns were springing up by those not wanting to live among Thorians. The space railroad was also so fast that troops and settlers could reach Thor in six months on train.
But now some Viraxian citizens have formed a rebellion group called simply the Rebellion. They did not want be ruled by a foreign government, light years away. Other cities under the rule of India, China, or Russia have formed their own rebellion groups, sabotaging important government buildings. Now, India’s government has set out to kill important military leaders of the Viraxia rebellion.
“What can we do to help?” Asked Ethan. “We all want our independence.”
“I think we should meet with this “Khan”. It would also be wise to meet with key leaders on Earth. Who knows. This could turn out to be more than just an uprising. We could be looking at all out war.” Rogancus stated. “Already India’s military is taking complete control of the city. Maybe we could try to shelter Khan while he is here in our city.”
“I could arrange for a meeting with the U.K and U.S leaders over holo-net. But contacting Kahn could be a problem. India has probably cut off the Rebellion’s communications to the outside. We must send someone in to retrieve him. But who and how?”
“Adam will do it.” Rogancus and Ethan said together in unison. Adam was Paul’s successor as commander of Waterfall Cities Guard. Paul died but only a few years after when his heart went kaput. But he would have been proud to see how well Adam Johnson had done. Adam was also the only one crazy enough to attempt getting Kahn out of there. Ethan summoned him to the Great Hall immediately. One half hour later, Akala, Rogancus, Ethan and Gordon found him in the top floor of the Hall. They all sat at the table. “So, what am I here for? Have a Gutak patrol for me to raid?” Adam asked.
“Actually, we want you to sneak into Viraxia, find a man named “the Kahn”, sneak him out, and bring him here.” Ethan said. Adam whistled softly. “That’s a lot to ask from one man don’t you think? I’ll need some help. I doubt anybody from my task force will go. Anyway, we can’t just walk right in with weapons and such. The Indian army is there!” He exclaimed.
“Precisely.” Rogancus noted.
“I will go with him.” Akala said, standing up. Rogancus sighed.
“I can’t talk him out of this one Ethan. A warrior spirit runs through his veins. It is futile to persuade him. You may go Akala.” Rogancus said reluctantly.
“If, he goes, than so do I!” Cried Gordon, standing up.
“But your mother Gordon... she will never approve of you going into harms way.” Ethan pointed out to him.
“I am not a child anymore dad. I can make my own choices. You can persuade mom can’t you…”
“I will try. For now…” Ethan paused. “You have my approval.”
Gordon smiled. He was going on an adventure.