- “As humanity began spreading across the stars, our internal divisions only became worse. By the time we colonized the asteroids, moons and planets in Sol — our first home system — we’d already faced extinction on numerous occasions. Be it nuclear weapons, stealth-cloaked asteroid strikes, or bioweapons, they were all used. Eventually, the situation got so bad that a united coalition was formed. It was formed around one idea, and one idea only: If humanity was to survive, it needed to spread.” - Gavenic Merle, PhD.

  [Planet Concordia - Manufacturing planet, Lobar sector 54B]

  [Ironglades City]

  [Year 3421 A.I. (After Interstellar exploration)]

  “...As you all know, your enrollment into this academy means you’re the best and brightest in Ironglades City. However, out of those of you who’ve enrolled, only 900 of you are expected to finish. Pilots in training flunk out the most, but to those of you aspiring to become spaceship designers… simply graduating is not enough. To succeed, you must excel!”

  Red sunlight reflected off the principal's face as the man tried getting through today’s speech. Though the smog was thin this far up, the sun was strong. Taking out a handkerchief, Principal Armstrong wiped some of the forming sweat away. Putting away the fabric, he was about to continue again, but... something kept distracting him today.

  Inside the large crowd of students, a black-haired youth was currently being restrained by two guards. Several of the surrounding youths had already moved away, making the commotion even more noticeable.

  “Why are you doing this? I’m innocent,” The black-haired youth argued.

  Having gotten accepted into the academy through a scholarship thanks to his eidetic memory, Ronin had been sure this day would be the beginnings of something great.

  The campus guards, however, seemed to differ.

  “Why in the void would you jump onto campus with a jetpack? You could have killed someone!” One of the guards hissed as he held Ronin by the arm.

  Yeah… apparently jet-assisted landings weren’t exactly allowed around these parts. Nobody had complained when Ronin did it back at district 91. The rich and powerful played by different rules it seemed.

  “Look, I was about to be late for the opening ceremony. What was I supposed to do? Nobody said it was illegal!” Ronin hissed back.

  “Because it's obvious, everyone’s supposed to know! Jetpacks are for emergency use only!” The guard replied.

  The two guards holding him down looked furious as they scolded him. It was a confusing thing, really. Why would someone care so much about something so small? He didn’t get it.

  “We’re issuing you a fine of 3000 credits,” the more talkative one of the guards said.

  Ronin sighed. “Alright, just let me go.”

  There was no way he’d be able to pay that fine. He'd spent nearly every single credit he had to pay for his academy suit, and that was after getting a massive discount due to his scholarship.

  It wasn’t a new suit either. Having been used by several students before him, the thing looked faded amongst the 5000 other suits surrounding him.

  An intermix of matt black and faded purple, the suit had radiation sensors, internal heating, a one-time use energy shield, as well as, of course, a jetpack. Fortunately, the suit didn’t weigh much. In order to even begin studying here, an academy suit was mandatory, and it had to be worn at all times.

  As the guards left, grumbling under their breath as they did, the principal finished his speech, and the opening ceremony ended.

  Ronin, along with the other new students, separated themselves into groups as two distinct crowds of red and purple formed.

  The pilot cadets, easily seen by their distinct red and black suits, headed towards the eastern part of campus.

  Ronin, on the other hand, headed west.

  Looking upon the academy grounds, he still couldn’t believe it. He’d actually made it. Not a single person from his neighborhood even dreamed of going to a place like this. It was supposed to be impossible, but he’d actually done it!

  There was grass here, actual grass! He even spotted trees as he walked, something he’d only seen on the Concordia network before. Further ahead, he saw numerous gray rectangular buildings. One of them, in particular, stood out by its enormous size, spanning several kilometers in length.

  That has to be the ship hangar! Ronin inwardly exclaimed.

  Everything in this world revolved around spaceships. Whether it be designing them, constructing them, or driving them, anything relating to spaceships was maniacally obsessed over.

  If a person sought wealth, he worked on spaceships. If he wanted fame, he drove them. If he wanted honor, he worked on military ships. But if he wanted everything this world had to offer, he designed them himself. It was the path off world, and into the galactic market. The only path. Ronin's path.

  Walking further into the academy grounds, Ronin could see students begin to section themselves off into smaller and smaller groups as they headed for the surrounding buildings.

  He too soon became part of a smaller group. And as he entered his own designated building, he, along with 49 other students, headed for the lecture hall.

  Walking through the hall’s double door, he heard a ping from his optical implant:

  [Ding! Student Ronin Maximus confirmed for attendance, access to syllabus granted.]

  Interfacing with his government issued implant, he pulled up the new courses he’d just gained access to:

  MAT 1002: Mathematics of Orbital Dynamics

  PHYD 1032: Introduction to Sublight Propulsion.

  PHYD 1045: Introduction to FTL (faster than light) Travel Engines.

  And finally, there was the course behind all of his excitement!

  SPD 101: Introduction to Spaceship Construction.

  If he could master this, he could build himself a foundation that could take him far.

  Finding himself a seat amongst the other students, he sat down, then pulled up a text on spaceship construction.

  Hmm, as he began scrolling through the document, two major obstacles became evident.

  First, this was going to be a lot of work. Just obtaining the necessary baseline knowledge would require years of study. Never mind the math, physics and materials science involved, the amount of stuff he'd have to know just to do the computer programming alone, was enough to make him balk.

  Further, spaceships, especially the larger ones, were enormous. Hundreds of people normally cooperated on the relatively smaller models, such as a corvette. Larger models however, such as a cruiser, would require at least 10 times that.

  Seems I will have to start with the smallest models out there first. Maybe a pod, or a shuttle? Ronin thought as he began visualizing how to do this.

  The media always portrayed spaceship design as a wonderful thing. If you got accepted into the academy, your future was supposedly set. It never showed the difficulty of actually setting up your own company. Be it the amount of labor needed to build a ship, hiring the people who could, and achieving the capital to do so, it was never mentioned.

  This was where the second major obstacle came in. When digging into the details, doing something like this alone was pretty much impossible. The licenses, finances and logistics involved in this... Heck, simply getting a factory, alone, was not something a street rat like Ronin could do.

  Most likely, even if he did well in the academy, he’d be slaving away for years under another company.

  No, this won't do, he thought, his body tensing and his eyes widening as he entered a state of absolute focus.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  I need funds, I need a marketing strategy, and I need a gimmick!

  He knew he had to be realistic, but at this rate, he’d never achieve his dream. His already widened eyes turned bloodshot as he steeled himself: By hook or by crook I’ll get those credits! The best path, for now, is patents. If I can invent something groundbreaking, I can rake in all the capital I need!

  “Mr. Ronin! Are you ok?”

  “Huh?”

  Startled, Ronin exited his internal world, noticing several people in the lecture hall staring at him.

  “Uh, what? Yes,” he responded, laughing awkwardly.

  “Listen, if you need a toilet break, just say so,” a brown haired, spindly student beside him spoke.

  “And what kind of toilet break would that be?” Someone else broke in. “I’ve never seen someone so tense before! It almost looked as if his eyeballs were about to pop out!”

  Several in the lecture hall started laughing.

  “—Alright, that's enough,” The lecturer interrupted, pulling up a hologram: “Now, onto the different engine types produced by Ironglades…”

  Ronin had been so absorbed in his inner world; he’d not even noticed that the lecture had begun. Shrugging off his embarrassment, he cleared his mind, then refocused. Now was not the time to daydream.

  “…”

  As the lecture went on, some extra reading materials were recommended. The various localities for practical work and study were also mentioned.

  Most of this information, however, could actually just be downloaded via the optical implant, so Ronin, after the first lecture finished, decided on heading back home. He had to start earning credits for that cursed fine he’d just been given anyways.

  Fortunately, the communal shuttles were free of charge now. Having been registered as a student, many things were now free: From free transport to and from the academy, free food on academy grounds, to free treatment at a public hospital of his choosing.

  Exiting the lecture hall, he walked out to the edge of the academy plateau, approaching a large, sharp-angled ship. Spanning 15 meters in length, the ship had a black metallic color, helping to highlight the white letters written on it.

  ISFA Transport, Ronin read as he entered the airlock.

  His back straightened a little and his shoulders squared as he walked into, then down the spaceship’s seating area.

  This will be my new life from now on. I’m part of the elite now, he thought as pride filled him.

  Finding a seat, he plopped down, then mentally nudged his implant.

  A holoscreen appeared before him.

  “Hmm,” he mused, scrolling through the list of available livestreams. What should he pick today? Entertainment, maybe? No, he was an esteemed student of the Space Force academy now, it was time for something different.

  After finding the channel he wanted, he mentally nudged the implant again, and a news segment began playing:

  “—Just in, Mayor Brunstein denounces the recent terror attacks on transport lines,” a finely dressed news reporter said.

  The screen shifted onto an old man standing upon a podium. With a grim expression, the man spoke:

  “To call themselves the Concordia Liberation Movement, is a defilement of the word liberation! If these individuals actually cared for our planet's independence, they never would’ve committed such atrocities. Make no mistake, this is barbarism with makeup on. If these terrorists are actually serious about change, they should turn themselves in…”

  “Those CLM roughnecks aren't letting up at all I see,” Ronin grunted as he leaned back in his seat.

  Over the last few years, there had been a series of crimes committed by a group calling themselves the Concordia Liberation Movement. Fortunately, they’d never done anything too serious.

  The ship jolted, breaking Ronin out of his train of thought. Outside the window, he saw the silhouettes of drive plumes as the ship's thrusters activated. The ship swayed slightly, likely due to its poor inertial dampeners. Regardless, the transport ship was ascending, and in mere seconds, it left the plateau.

  Ronin gazed upon the literal forest of skyscrapers below. Rising and falling along with the terrain, the buildings reached kilometers deep as old mining sites were abandoned and more people moved in.

  He lived down in one of those valleys. For now.

  The fusion drive began ramping up as a soft female voice started counting down: [Strap yourselves in, engaging central thruster in 4, 3, 2, 1.]

  VHROOOM!

  The g-forces rapidly doubled as Ronin was squeezed deep into his seat. Unable to contain himself, a foolish grin began tugging at his lips as he felt the ship’s power. This was what it was all about. Speed!

  Traveling out over the city, the innumerable neon lights sprinkled the gray concrete below. There were purple lights, green lights, blue lights, whitish-yellow lights — wait... whitish-yellow lights? These lights also seemed to be moving upwards. What was going on?

  BOOM!

  A shuttle further down exploded into flames as one of the lights reached it!

  This isn't neon lights... these things are missiles!

  BOOM!

  Another light struck. This time, it was a building. Ronin watched in horror as the gray structure began collapsing in on itself. Just how many people were in that building?

  The transport ship began swaying back and forth and he could hear the pilot panicking. A brief look around, revealed shock and fear everywhere. Not a single passenger seemed to know what to do.

  “Void dammit,” Ronin cursed.

  None of these people would be of any help! Gritting his teeth, he began looking around for a solution… This ship didn't have movable windows or doors like the ships from the slums had. Still, there had to be something...

  That's when he saw it. An emergency exit!

  Bolting up from his seat, Ronin stormed across the walkway, reaching the escape hatch in seconds. Firmly grasping the door handle, he pulled it with all his might.

  The hatch wouldn't move.

  He tried again. Come on!

  He dug deep, deeper than ever before and-

  POOF!

  Both Ronin and the escape hatch flew out of the transport ship.

  Glancing up, he saw a missile heading directly for the ship he'd just escaped.

  All of those people... They're about to die, he thought in bitter determination.

  He still had himself to worry about... This wasn't over yet.

  Using the now airborne escape hatch as a springboard, he jumped off, gaining more distance from the coming explosion.

  As he managed to glance up again, the missile struck, and the spaceship went up in a glowing ball of fire.

  The resulting shockwave blasted his eardrums, momentarily blinding him as hot shrapnel flew past his head. Below, more rockets were still coming.

  Activating the jetpack, he tried maneuvering out of the way but took a glancing blow from one of the rockets. Fortunately, the academy suit’s single use energy shield activated, protecting him.

  One more hit like that and I’m dead, Ronin thought.

  He had to leave, as to where? It didn’t matter, as long as there were fewer rockets.

  Firing off the jetpack on maximum power, he raced down towards the more distant megastructures of Ironglades, suffering several close calls as he did.

  “…”

  After gaining some distance, the missiles were still coming, but they were now further apart, and he could dodge them as long as he remained vigilant.

  However, another issue arose.

  BEEP! BEEP!

  His implant alerted him of his academy suit's power supply. It seemed to have reached critical levels. There was only 2% power remaining now by the looks of it.

  Well, that's certainly not good.

  The jetpack had been designed for short duration emergency landings, not this. Ronin bit the bullet, immediately turning off all the suit’s functions as he began free-falling towards the ground.

  Looks like I'll have to dodge the missiles the old-fashioned way.

  Adjusting his body, he altered his fall trajectory by moving his hands and legs, trying his best to manage. Fortunately, the missile barrage had tapered down by now, making them easier to avoid.

  As he reached terminal velocity, the sides of the valley he was falling into, began rapidly closing in. From 40 kilometers from one side of the valley to the other, it narrowed to 20, then 10, 5.

  He could clearly see the ground now.

  At this speed, if he activated the jetpack too late, he’d end up as a flat stain, smeared across the rocks below. Too soon however, and the little power left would run out before he made landfall, pretty much killing him all the same.

  If I only had some goggles... He grumbled. This wind blasting my eyes is not making this any easier!

  Waiting until he didn't dare anymore, he activated the jetpack on full blast.

  VHOOM!

  BAM!

  Making landfall, Ronin landed hard. He felt a jolt of pain travel through his body as he struggled to breathe.

  At least I'm alive, he thought, attempting to regain himself.

  He began slowly circling the area in an attempt to "walk" himself back into shape. His gait was awkward and bowled, and his back was bent, making him look like a hunchback.

  Ugh, don’t think I broke anything, but I do feel like a cripple, he inwardly groaned.

  Organizing his thoughts as he walked, he attempted to make sense of what'd just happened. There had been so many missiles, and for them to strike at the heart of Ironglades all at once... Who could have done something like that?

  It can't be the government, he reasoned.

  The only ones that stuck out were the CLM, but weren't they small-time terrorists?

  All he’d heard about this group was that they sometimes damaged transport lines. They supposedly only used 2nd grade incendiaries — basically fireworks. But this… This was not small-time crime. This was a full-blown military scale insurgency.

  His back got a little better and he began looking around the area.

  This valley’s too deep…

  He’d studied maps before and remembered pretty much every area from here to his home. This valley should have already ended half a kilometer further up. Nothing of what he saw here was recorded on the net.

  Also, this deeper part of the valley looked...unusual. The valley further up was a classic combination of mining site and skyscrapers. But this bottom level… It almost looked as if it had been heavily fortified for combat.

  In front of him, there was an entrance leading into a dark mine. Behind him, there were fortifications, weapons and… people?

  Hang on. Ronin felt a chill run through him. Why are these guys carrying rocket launchers?

  The armed group turned towards him, then began pointing and shouting.

  Ronin had to get out of this place, quickly.

  Not thinking any further, he hobbled his way towards the dark mineshaft. This was not what he'd signed up for at all, he just wanted to be a ship designer!