Art Prodigal Child -part 1 The Frontier is a dangerous place, every world and organization maintain their own militia. The Clans are no difference, each clan contribute ships for the common defense. For those not familial with the Clans, we are a group of families that have left behind the comfort of a planetary life to live in the deepen of space. Our homes, are massive ships of ice almost like mobile space stations, design to provide artificial gravity by spinning. Everyone in the clans is expected to fight, and it would surprise any onlooker who could see the bridge of my granny's privateer “The Long Dagger”, that the all the position were manned by teenagers and children. My siblings or cousins. My sister Grail fiddling with her radar scope caught my attention, “What up sis ?” I asked as I lean over from my comm station to look.” “Not sure, getting some strange echo at the edge of the repeater resolution.” she answer looking like she was going to wack the console for good measure. By now Barnes playing the captain had notice us and walked over from his command station. “What up you two ?”, he asked looking as commanding as possible. “look to me as a ship, playing cat and mouse with us, it popping in and out of radar range. Very likely tracking us by our radar emissions.” I answer before Grail could say anything. “Maybe a merchant craft, trying to say out of sight, we are an arm privateer.” Barnes said as he lean over the console “More likely a pirate, and he very likely not alone, I bet that he has at least two other ships out there to box us in.”, I countered, “Best way to know is turn up the power on the set and send out a omidirectional ping. If they are outside of our radar range in a few seconds the return ping will show us every thing around us for a couple of light seconds.” “Or reveal our position !”, Barnes sputtered. Ignoring him I reach over to Grail's console control to turn up the gain. “Don't!' Barnes commanded as he grabbed my arm. I reacted without thought, my reflexes from years of zero combat training kicked in and next thing I know, me and Barnes where struggling. Barnes is no stranger to Art of the Embrace, the system of hand to hand zero G combat and we had sent
many of hours practicing with each other, but this was no practice session and next thing I knew, there was a sick
cracking noise when I threw up a counter to Barnes' attack. He went down and every one started to rise from
their stations.
“Back to your Consoles!”, I commanded, and my siblings and cousins obeyed, every one sat back down
and went back to their duties. I started toward the med kit when the lights on the bridged blinked and hatched to
bridge open. Granny walked onto the bridge with my uncle Spider.
“Simulation over, Grail and Xenon take care of Barnes!” she barked as she turn to me. “ Rodworth, go to
your cabin till I come for you.” As she said that I looked at her eyes, I couldn't tell how angry she was. Instead
she looked more as if she was studying me. Spider for his part looked amused, but then again Spider was a wild
card and trouble maker. Maybe this incident would put all of his actions in different light with the clan. I was the
new wild dog, in the kennel.
Of course I obey, and made my way through the corridor of the Long Dagger to my cabin. As I enter, I
plopped my self down on my Zero gee bunk and started to brood. How much trouble was I in. I felt the ship
change course, from the best I could tell we were returning to the family clan ship. Not good as we were
schedule not to return for weeks. It was then Spider enter the cabin, not even bothering to ask permission.
“So how bad did I mess up ?”, I asked ignoring his lack of manner in entering without my permission. “So how bad did I mess up ?”, I asked ignoring his lack of manner in entering without my permission.
“Bad?”, he laughed, “You hit the jackpot boy.” You impress not just Granny but every one of the crew
that was watching. You were right about the trap, but that not what impress everyone. It was how you took
charge. Striking down your brother when he wouldn't listen then how you got all those younglings to remain at
their stations and continue with their duties. You clinched it, everyone agree, except me, that you should take
over as head of clan when granny is ready to call it quits.”
“Why not you ?” I found myself asking.
“Cause Barnes is the better man for the job. He's caution and thoughtful. He thinks rings around you,
that is if you not around. When your near it tend to cloud his judgment. He would have caught on to the trap, if
he saw it first. Instead it became a pissing contest. Heck I seen the both of you in matches, he could have beaten
you if he did not hold back. You don't have that problem, you react without thinking about the fallout. Well what
is done is done, you need to live with the consequences. That why we are heading back, Granny call a gathering
of the clans. She had to, the video of the bridge event has already been transmitted throughout the clan fleet. I
swear we clan folk love to gossips. She already contacted both Johan Star beam and Ronan Ice Digger, to see
about marrying you two off.
I hear that Dora Star Beam is level head deep thinker, a fine girl to keep you in line, If not a bit ruthless
for my taste, and Ronan's clad needs someone like Barnes to mellow out his wild daughter. Can't have you both
together on the same ship, there no room for two alpha dogs in the same pack..” Spider dole on.
“Marriage! Marriage to Dora Star Beam!” I shouted in my head. Last thing I remember of Dora was that
she was a dole little fuss pot that kept to the sideline whenever the clan would meet and us kids got together. I
then remember the part of sending Barnes off to the Ice digger clan, I couldn't picture him not being among us,
his family. Maybe Spider was right! But before I could say or ask Spider about what to do, Granny walked into
the cabin.
“Sorry, about entering without your permission son, but I saw your door open.” She stop talking when
she spotted Spider. Granny gave him one of her famous look that I have seen cause lesser men drop to their
knees, “Spider.” Spider look at me and simply nodded and fled the cabin.
“I'm not sure what Spider told you.” She continued, “but the truth is that you and Barnes have always been
slated as the future clan chief. You both have show many traits that a leader needs, and to tell you the truth I had
a hard time deciding. That is till now, to everyone that was watched you and your brother struggle on the bridge
took the decision from me. I'm glad that it ended as it did, some times these struggles for leadership can take a
fatal turn. It not uncommon. I'm just happy all that happen was a broken arm. Now to other matters, generally
clan folk are free to marry who they wish, but you do not have that option. I have to decide who will provide you
the traits that you are lacking as a leader.”
“But Granny, Dora Star Beam!”, I whined.
“Dora has gown into a lovely young woman, and she smart, hate to say it, much smarter than you. She'll
watch your back, and I am sure that any children you two have will be future leaders too. So there no but.” she
countered and found I myself lowering my head in surrender. My Grandmother kissed my forehead, “ Believe
me I've dreaded this moment, It wasn't too long ago that I had to watch your dad and your uncle Spider go through
the same trials. It left a gulf till this day between Spider and me. Believe me he wasn't always the way he is now,
but the clan come first.”With that she was gone and I was left alone to ponder the future.
It took several hours for the Long Dagger to intercept to our clan ship. Presently our Clan ship was in
orbit around large asteroid that the clans had call Apollo. It was a gold mine rich in everything from Uranium
and Thorium, to ice and oxygen and wasn't surprising that most of the fleet was also in orbit mining it for
resources. Both the Ice Digger and Star beam clans had dock with our clan ship, along the inflatable tube
docking that ran the length of center hole of the ships.
As I watch from my cabin porthole, there was a knock at my hatch. “Enter.” I said, and was surprised to
find my Grandmother at the hatch way. She drifted in the micro gravity of the ship and reach out her hand,
“Come with me boy !”
