Story
Ok, here it is. You have all been nagging me about it. Just PLEASE don't act like the eighth graders have been acting about it. It's very annoying and embarassing.
I Am a Soldier
By:
Christopher Ramos
The deck beneath my boots vibrated with the familiar hum of the six ton engines in the aft part of the ship. The klaxons rang in my ears as I ran through the blinking reddish hue toward my gun post. My peers were running in all directions, but I shut them out along with the dim lights and the chaotic ring of the klaxons. That’s what I am trained to do, for I am a soldier. My name is Patrick Montgomery, 2nd lieutenant of the EES Starship Centauri. We are under attack by the Stesh Federation 31st Armada. We are the escorts of a civilian convoy enroute to the Aldebaran system. A shudder went through the ship causing me and others to catch ourselves on the wall, but I kept going; that was my duty, and that is all that matters.
I kept jogging the labyrinth of corridors and lifts until I made it to my station. Two marines saluted me as I jabbed the button to open the door to my turret. I threw myself on my seat and sealed the door behind me. With practiced efficiency I began the startup procedure. Thirty-three seconds. I had it engrained in my mind. I went through the check list one piece at a time. Life Support, five seconds. Comm., twelve seconds. Auxiliary power, four seconds. Weapons, eight seconds. Backup systems, four seconds. It was all ready to go. Thirty-three seconds. Efficiency was my job, for I am a soldier. There is no alternative, only the right way.
I got my targeting system calibrated and looked for the nearest target. There were only seven capital ships escorting the twelve civilian ships. We were outnumbered, but I don’t think about the odds. I concentrate on my orders, my duty, my training, and my survival. I don’t think about anything else because I am a soldier; I do what I am to do. I found my target in three seconds. Efficiency. I tracked it down just like in the simulators and calculated my shot just like I had for the thousands of times I had in training. I found the opportunity of shot and fired. Target destroyed. Efficiency, success. There is no failure.
I did not think about the life I destroyed. He probably had a family with a wife and kids. I probably just created a widow and the kids will never grow up with a father. But it is not my job to think about that. Leave that up to the press to debate about. Kill or be killed. I am a soldier, there is no failure. I must finish the job with efficiency and success. I don’t think about the consequences, I just do it. For me, there are no consequences, just my duty; for I am a soldier. I found the next target in two seconds. It took me another six seconds to destroy another family. Kill or be killed. There is no failure. Just success.
I heard the screams of my comrades as they were killed in explosions on the ship. But I do not think about it. There is time for that later. My duty is my priority. I saw the bodies being shot into the hard vacuum. I saw their fixed look of surprise as their corpses froze, but I do not think. I act. Then I felt the sickening shudder as the ship split apart. But it is my duty to protect my empire. I flipped on the backup batteries and calculated how many shots I had left. Eight. Eight shots and then I would flip the power from life support to weapons and I would have four more. Then that would be it. I made my twelve shots and decimated twelve more families. Then I sat back in the darkness and the cold of space crept in. I had five minutes. I am a soldier. I would not be remembered, just another name on a memorial wall. Just another statistic for the general to look at, another number added to the death toll. But I do not think about that. I just act. For that is my duty. For I am a soldier.
I Am a Soldier
By:
Christopher Ramos
The deck beneath my boots vibrated with the familiar hum of the six ton engines in the aft part of the ship. The klaxons rang in my ears as I ran through the blinking reddish hue toward my gun post. My peers were running in all directions, but I shut them out along with the dim lights and the chaotic ring of the klaxons. That’s what I am trained to do, for I am a soldier. My name is Patrick Montgomery, 2nd lieutenant of the EES Starship Centauri. We are under attack by the Stesh Federation 31st Armada. We are the escorts of a civilian convoy enroute to the Aldebaran system. A shudder went through the ship causing me and others to catch ourselves on the wall, but I kept going; that was my duty, and that is all that matters.
I kept jogging the labyrinth of corridors and lifts until I made it to my station. Two marines saluted me as I jabbed the button to open the door to my turret. I threw myself on my seat and sealed the door behind me. With practiced efficiency I began the startup procedure. Thirty-three seconds. I had it engrained in my mind. I went through the check list one piece at a time. Life Support, five seconds. Comm., twelve seconds. Auxiliary power, four seconds. Weapons, eight seconds. Backup systems, four seconds. It was all ready to go. Thirty-three seconds. Efficiency was my job, for I am a soldier. There is no alternative, only the right way.
I got my targeting system calibrated and looked for the nearest target. There were only seven capital ships escorting the twelve civilian ships. We were outnumbered, but I don’t think about the odds. I concentrate on my orders, my duty, my training, and my survival. I don’t think about anything else because I am a soldier; I do what I am to do. I found my target in three seconds. Efficiency. I tracked it down just like in the simulators and calculated my shot just like I had for the thousands of times I had in training. I found the opportunity of shot and fired. Target destroyed. Efficiency, success. There is no failure.
I did not think about the life I destroyed. He probably had a family with a wife and kids. I probably just created a widow and the kids will never grow up with a father. But it is not my job to think about that. Leave that up to the press to debate about. Kill or be killed. I am a soldier, there is no failure. I must finish the job with efficiency and success. I don’t think about the consequences, I just do it. For me, there are no consequences, just my duty; for I am a soldier. I found the next target in two seconds. It took me another six seconds to destroy another family. Kill or be killed. There is no failure. Just success.
I heard the screams of my comrades as they were killed in explosions on the ship. But I do not think about it. There is time for that later. My duty is my priority. I saw the bodies being shot into the hard vacuum. I saw their fixed look of surprise as their corpses froze, but I do not think. I act. Then I felt the sickening shudder as the ship split apart. But it is my duty to protect my empire. I flipped on the backup batteries and calculated how many shots I had left. Eight. Eight shots and then I would flip the power from life support to weapons and I would have four more. Then that would be it. I made my twelve shots and decimated twelve more families. Then I sat back in the darkness and the cold of space crept in. I had five minutes. I am a soldier. I would not be remembered, just another name on a memorial wall. Just another statistic for the general to look at, another number added to the death toll. But I do not think about that. I just act. For that is my duty. For I am a soldier.
posted by Chris at 6:27 PM
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