Recruit: Book One of the Universal Conflict ( Under Constant Editing)

Chapter 48

  The week went by quickly and soon the day came to leave. To Corys surprise his parents had decided to come with and help with the fight. The new cruiser had arrived a couple of days earlier and was waiting for the mercenaries to complete the crews warrior contingent.
  Krystal had already called for the troop transports so they would be able to board immediately upon their arrival. Everyone looked to the sky when they heard that the shuttles were on their final approach to the field. In minutes four cloaked transport ships landed blowing the snow around the squad. Shielding their eyes from the snow, Brad and Sally watched as depressions from the landing struts appeared in front of them. Following orders the ships stayed cloaked until the new fighters showed up. It was only a minute or two before the caravan of old school buses pulled into the field. Cory stopped them before they would have crashed into the shuttles. As the men disembarked the shuttles decloaked and lowered the boarding ramps. Many stared in awe at the transports as they boarded finding it hard to believe they were actually going to leave Earth.
  "Please board quickly," Krystal said "time is of the essence."
  The leaders saluted as they hustled the troops on board. As soon as they were boarded the transports lifted off closing the ramps as they gained altitude. The reason for such haste became clear as fighter jets closed in trying to stop the departure. The transports added power and sped out of range in seconds leaving the Earth behind, the sky rapidly going from blue to black with the stars shining steadily in the absence of an atmosphere.
  Behind her Krystal heard a couple of the mercenaries talking.
  "Holy..." one exclaimed " We're really in space!"
  "Did you think the Colonel was was lying?" his companion scoffed "You were told we were going off world for this mission."
  "I think I'm gonna be sick." the first man returned.
  "You do," Cory said from the co-pilots seat "and you'll be the one to clean it up."
  The man groaned in response as his friend laughed loudly. The rest of the men were busy talking to the other members of the squad, those who spoke English, finding out that everyone there had been fighting for at least five years trying to reclaim their homeworlds from the Ruchkitay invaders. Twenty minutes later Cory called out to the new recruits to look forward.
  "Your new home for awhile. Take a look." he said.
  "Whoa! Look at the size of that thing!" exclaimed the soldier, who had felt sick a moment ago, when he saw the cruiser.
  "Your cruiser, is called the Starblade," Krystal informed them "We will escort you to the supply area for translators. Since you'll be interacting with many different beings they are a necessity. After we get on board, I'll address everyone, so more later."
  Brad and Sally, sitting behind Cory and Krystal in the flight crew seats were awed at the sight of the stars stretching out to infinity.
  "The view alone is worth the trip." Sally told her husband.
  "Yes it is," Brad agreed "More exciting is the fact we're going out there. I haven't been this excited in years. How 'bout you?"
  "Thrilled beyond belief." Sally replied, happily.
  Cory smiled at Krystal when he heard his parents exchange. He hadn't seen them this excited in a long time.
  "After we get the troops settled, we'll head to the Vengeance." Krystal told her in-laws "Your quarters are there with the squads."
  "Alright." they said in unison.
  Once in the hanger the human fighters gathered in formation awaiting Krystals address. Once finished, she took them to the supply area and gave each one a translator. The looks of amazement on their faces when suddenly they could understand alien speech drew a chuckle from Cory as he remembered his first reaction to the ability.
  "Time for us to return to our ship." Cory stated leading the way back to the hanger bay.
  Five minutes later Brad and Sally were being shown their quarters on the Vengeance. Cory left to go to the bridge where Krystal was in communication with the Starblade, preparing to head out, beginning the voyage to rejoin T'ilveshs' part of the fleet.
  "We'll be ready to enter stardrive in a few minutes." Krystal told Cory "Are your parents settled?"
  "Just about," he replied "I'm heading back to get them now. Hold off until I bring them to the bridge. They're going to want to watch."
  "Alright," Krystal agreed "but make it quick. I want to get underway. We need to get back to the fleet."
  At that Cory double-timed it back to his parents quarters to hurry them along. When he got there he found them sitting on the couch waiting for him.
  "Let's go!" Cory said excitedly "Krystal is holding off our departure so you can watch."
  Returning to the bridge with his parents, he showed them the observation chairs directly facing the main viewport. Once seated Krystal gave the order for both ships to leave Earths system.
  As they watched, Brad and Sally held their breath, suddenly the light shifted as they gained stardrive velocity.
  "Return course vectors optimal," Shree relayed confirmation from the Starblade "Stardrive attained. We're on our way."
  "Thank you, Shree." Krystal acknowledged, turning to her in-laws she said "You might not be so excited when we get back to the main fleet. It will get dicey, at times."
  "I certainly hope so." Brad retorted "That's why we came with. Don't want Cory to hog all the fun!"
  "HEY!" Cory exclaimed "How was I to know you were adrenaline junkies. You never even took me to an amusement park while I was growing up."
   "Just where do you think your thirst for excitement came from?" his mother admonished him "It wasn't an accident, it's genetic."
  Cory just laughed as they watched space pass by, stars were streaks of light shifting from red to blue. In two weeks they would be warping to a different galaxy. The adventure was just starting. The looks of trepidation emerging on the faces of the veterans. They knew what lay ahead and it worried them. Brad and Sally felt the tension in the room grow but still kept smiles on their faces.
  "No use worring about what hasn't happened yet." they philosophized "Doesn't do any good, anyway."
  With that, the Lansings left the bridge.