Back during The War, a lot of nations sent ships to sail with The Fleet. Many stayed for a bit and then left to pass on Aneerin’s lessons. The HMS Audacious was one that stayed. She was a dreadnought, one of the few sent to us, and led the British Commonwealth ships during the Hyades Campaign. She was a real anchor of The Fleet, right up there with the Guardian Light. I served on her for a time when she first joined, introducing her to Aneerin’s way of doing things.
The Jews lost a lot of people in World War II and the Islamic Jihad, so it surprised very few that they colonized a new world just for them as quickly as they could manage it. Also not a surprise was that New Zion became one of the most heavily defended worlds in the Western Alliance. It is in fact one of the few that stopped a Shang strike cold. I’m an advisor there, helping elected officials understand the weapons at their disposal.
Those who wondered why we had no Contact often assumed grand conspiracies or catastrophic disasters that kept them away or hidden. Some suggested a far more mundane reason. Perhaps they simply could not agree on how to Contact us. Perhaps it was not grand design, but grand incompetence. Many thought that if their governments spent as much time in committees or on fact-finding missions as our own, Contact would never happen.
I served on Columbia for a time during The War. She was a good ship, built back in ’56. Back then the politicos decided to limit the construction of dreadnoughts to one a year. So the Navy used the funding for ten dreadnoughts and built her, the most massive single warship ever built by the American navy. A bit big for me, but she was a good girl. Since I retired, we still hook up when we can. I love the looks on her crew’s faces when she welcomes me on board.
Columbia is a name long associated with America, the ethereal woman who calls us to progress into the future. We named cities and universities after her, and spacecraft named for her led us into space. And then there is Columbia, the fifth American colony world, where statues of her and Uncle Sam greet everyone at the spaceport. I’m one of many who act as Columbia’s face to visitors, guiding them everywhere they wish to go.
The Martian Affair on Amazon
Forge of War on Amazon
The Audacious Affair on Amazon
Angel Flight on Amazon
Angel Strike on Amazon
Angel War on Amazon
The Family Affair on Amazon
The Thunderbird Affair on Amazon
Wolfenheim Rising on Amazon
Wolfenheim Emergent on Amazon
The Gemini Affair on Amazon