Hello, my name is Jack.  I’ve come to realize that there is one thing that has affected me all of my life.  That has been my cornerstone.  I will break every rule out there, I will run a gauntlet of death, and I will never regret a moment of it.  I will risk life and limb for a simple gesture.  It’s all very selfish, I assure you.  I’m a simple person, and I always have been.  I do what I do so I can impress all the pretty girls.  What else in all the worlds is worth risking everything for?

 

 

Girls

 

Jack stepped out of the lift and into Cowboy Country with a swift stride that took him through the main room in seconds.  Unlike the majority of the Guardian Light, the white walls of Cowboy Country were festooned with symbols and flags and other things designed to remind them all that they were American.  The United States Marine Corps symbol, an eagle standing atop a globe with an anchor driven through it, dominated one wall in all its silver and gold glory.  Another wall hosted the American and Marine Corps flags, and the other walls sported honors they received from creation in World War II and through the centuries since until the Battles of Alpha Centuari.

The first two at least.  Jack had a feeling they were going to be adding a new one soon.  The thought that they might lose, never occurred to him.  He was Jack after all.  And now he was a marine.  And he had Betty on his side.  He looked over at where she walked beside him with a smile that she answered.  Not to mention Hal and his guns of course.  With all of that arrayed against them, the Chinese didn’t have a chance.

Jack left the main room behind and walked into a long corridor leading to the launch bay.  Hatches on either side opened into the sleeping quarters belonging to each pilot.  Sixteen private rooms in all, he idly wondered how Hal had built them.  There had only been ten the last time he was here, one for each Cowboy on the Guardian Light.  Of course, he’d learned never to underestimate the old battleship when it came to being able to rebuild himself.

The hatch at the end of the corridor opened into the launch bay and they stepped through into it.  Jack scanned around the cramped chamber, taking in the stacked ranks of Avenger and Hellcat fighters in their cradles, ready to launch at a moment’s notice.

“Good of you to finally show up,” Charles transmitted.

“Well, you know what they say.  Fashionably late and all that.  And my fashion sense is amazing.”  Jack bypassed the ladders walking to where his Avenger rested, not really wanting to abuse his aching muscles.

“Only if the judges are cows and corn.  Real civilization on the other hand….”

“Can lick me,” Jack responded with a smile.  “Farm girls totally own beach or college girls.”    He glanced at Betty, she smiled, and he felt the gravity melt away.  He kicked against the deck, sending him floating up through the gantries to where the Avenger waited.  He grabbed a bar to arrest his motion, spun around it, and landed next to his cockpit.

“You haven’t met the college girls in Philadelphia,” Charles finally answered.

Jack chuckled and stepped down into the cockpit.  “True.  But can we at least agree that there ain’t nothin’ worth fightin’ for in all the worlds that ain’t a girl?”

“What about Truth, Justice, and the American Way?”

Jack chuckled, sat down, and began locking his restraints.  “What do you think the American Way is?”  He could almost see Charles rubbing his temples in exasperation and smirked as he went in for another pass.  “Those old fogies didn’t say ‘Give me girls or give me death!’ because the sun came up that day!”

Charles sighed.  “You are…very focused on girls, aren’t you?”

Jack shrugged and let amusement color his tone.  “I can’t think of anything better, can you?”

“And suddenly all those fathers don’t sound so crazy to me,” Charles said with another sigh.

Jack smiled.  “I never said they were crazy.  Just a little over protective.”

“You know what?  I really don’t need to know.  Do you think we can possibly get to business?”

Jack shrugged and scanned his displays, making certain that all systems reported online.  “Well, I suppose so, whenever we get shallow enough to do our business.  Maybe just speaking for me, but I don’t want to surf the rapids.”

“Yes, but we should be ready.”

Jack looked at Betty and she nodded.  “Well, I’m ready.  How ’bout you?”

“Jester, you are lucky to have Betty.”

Jack smiled at Betty.  “In more ways than one, Chief.”

She sat up tall on the console, crossed her legs, and smiled that smile that said he had a century or two to stop talking like that.

“Why do I have the feeling you just took that ninety degrees off what I meant and ran with it?”

“Because you know me very well,” Jack answered with a chuckle.

“That is so true,” Charles said in an exasperated tone before the communication system switched over to public.  “All Cowboys, prepare to launch,” he ordered.

Jack looked at Betty and she nodded.

“Mischief, here,” Katty reported from just off his wing.  “We’re ready.”  He remembered her from boot camp and pilot training.  She’d been a dancer before The War and volunteered at the same time he had.  He’d been surprised to learn she’d been shot out of her fighter defending Fort Wichita.  This would be her first chance to fight again since that day.

“Buckaroo Flight is ready,” Ken’s voice said next, reporting for himself and the new recruit he was charged with acclimating to the squadron.

“Dutchman Flight is go,” Jessie added.

That made all six fighters of his division ready to fly.  “Chief, Jester Division is ready to fly,” Jack reported, Betty transmitting the words to Charles for him.

“Excellent,” Charles transmitted after a few more seconds, presumably after getting Jay’s report.  “Launch as soon as Hal gives us a green light.”

“Roger that,” Jack answered, leaned back in his seat, and let out a long breath.  He glanced over to Betty and she cocked her head the side.  “Division,” he said and she nodded, bringing the entire division into a single conference line.  “Looks like it’s time to do what we do best,” Jack announced.  “Hurry up and wait until we get the green light.”

“So you have experience with that too?” Katty asked.

Jack shrugged.  “Not as often with Aneerin as before.  He likes to keep his warriors fresh and ready.”  He detected a bit of discomfort from her about that word and sighed.  “The Peloran aren’t soldiers or marines.  They don’t stand at attention and salute.  They grab a beer and drink to the next battle.”

“How do they maintain discipline like that?” Jessie’s recruit asked.

“They don’t,” Jack said with another shrug.  “Not in the way you mean it at least.”

“Then what do they do?” Katty asked.

Jack smiled at Betty and she shrugged back.  “Well, you remember all those regulations we had to memorize that tell us how to stand or act when we’re interacting with anyone from a civilian to the commanding general’s wife’s foo foo dog?”

He thought he heard something that sounded like a snort from the other end.  “I remember,” Katty finally said, sounding suspiciously like she was trying to keep from laughing.

Jack raised an eyebrow at Betty.  She smiled back.  “Well, the Peloran version is a lot less wordy and a lot more common sense.  In one word, respect.  In a few more words, don’t do nothin’ ta nobody they don’t want yah doin’.  Unless they’re the enemy.  Then kill ’em dead.  Respectfully of course.”

“But how does—”

The light turned green.

“It’s time!” Jack cut Katty off with a shout and slammed the throttle forward.  Not that he really needed to of course, with Betty on the ball.  But it felt good to push it forward himself.  Like a pilot was supposed to do that when they launched.

They shot through the launch hatch and out into the kaleidoscope of colors twisting through hyperspace.  He saw the other Cowboys shooting out with him, and then frowned as something caught his attention.  Each of the fighters had a different icon associated with them.  Charles had the face of a wolf, Jessie a fox’s face, and everyone else had another animal.  He had the face of a deer.

“What is that?” Jack asked, waving a hand at the icons.

Betty smiled.  “Oh, those are what the Peloran are calling us now, so they can keep us straight, especially now that we have the drones.”

Jack frowned, not liking the way this looked.  “So they get to be hunters while I’m a deer?”

Betty laughed and shook her head.  “No, silly, it’ a hart.”

Jack raised an eyebrow at her before scanning the displays with a skeptical eye.  “No.  I’m pretty sure that’s a deer.”

Betty laughed again.  “Look at the antlers, Jack!  It’s a hart.  H-A-R-T.  An old stag.  The King of the forests.  A noble animal!  Way better than a little fox!” she finished with a shout of derision.

Then he displays flickered again and he looked over to see the drones peeling off the Guardian Light’s outer hull.  The drones slotted into formation around them, one after another, swelling the numbers of fighters around the massive battleship.  As each stopped around Jack and Betty, small twenty-centimeter tall cybers flickered into existence.

He recognized Jasmine instantly and smiled at her.  Others he didn’t recognize, but he had the feeling he was looking at the cybers controlling each drone.  Then he recognized Drew and raised both eyebrows, silently asking Jasmine what was going on.

Jasmine answered with a bashful smile.  “I…well…”  She glanced at Betty.  “We decided that…since we’re different, all of the drones should have different pilots.”

“I picked characters I play in games,” Betty supplied in a proud voice.

Jack smiled at her before returning his gaze to Jasmine.

Jasmine chewed her lip.  “I chose to…”

“Bring Drew back?” Jack finished for her.

“As close as I could,” Jasmine admitted in an unwilling tone.

Charles voice cut into their conversation.  “All flights, move forward and watch for enemies”

“Roger that,” Jack answered and nodded towards Betty.  She smiled and they began accelerating away from the Guardian Light.  “Mischief, stay with me,” he ordered.

“We’re on your tail,” Katty acknowledged.  “Just lead the way.”

“Will do,” Jack said with a nod and stared at the cybernetic Drew.  She met his gaze with a quiet, melancholy grace that felt like the Drew he knew.  The Drew that died a month ago.  It felt weird to see her now, like that.  He rubbed his chin, considering his question, and watching her watch him.  She was wondering what he thought of her.  Well, that was fair.  He was wondering what she thought as well.

“Are you Drew?” he asked very carefully.

She shook her head.  “No.  I’m…based on her…but not her.”

Jack continued to rub his chin, considering her answer.  “How?”

“I have the same psyche profile,” the cyber Drew answered.  “But not the same memories.  The original Drew never had the full scan you want to do, so I’m really not her.”

Jack examined her for several more seconds before letting out a breath, his glance flickering towards Jasmine.  “So you were created because of what I would like to do?”

The other Drew nodded.

Jack frowned in thought.  “Does that bother you?”

Cyber Drew shook her head.  “No.”

Jack stared at her and realized what his next question had to be.  “Does it bother you that you were created despite rules that say you shouldn’t have been?”

Drew smiled.  “No,” she repeated with a calmness that impressed him.

He sighed and shook his head.  “Are you happy to be here?”

“Yes,” she answered without hesitation and he felt something slot into place in his mind.  He didn’t know exactly what it was, but he would in time.

“OK,” he said with a broad smile.  “Good enough for me.”  He scanned the others, seeing the many hair colors from blonde to brown to red to purple, and the clothing styles from blue jeans to cyberpunk.  Betty certainly played some interesting games.  He smiled at the redhead wearing a green sundress under a suit coat.  “I have no idea what game you play, but suddenly I’m awful interested,” he said with a wink.

The redhead smiled at him.

Betty on the other hand did not.  In fact, she glared at him.  “Jack, do not be lusting after my redhead!”

Jack laughed at the absurdity of the situation.  “I am not lusting,” he protested towards Betty.  “Admiring on the other hand,” he added with a wink towards the redhead.

She smiled that smile that said he could keep on admiring.

Betty just shook her head, exasperated.  “You’re going to make me change her hair color aren’t you!”

“Oh, hell no!” the redhead shouted back, planting her hands on her hips.

Jack leaned back in his seat, crossed his hands behind his head, and smiled at Jasmine.

Jasmine smirked back, as amused as he was at the confrontation taking place in front of them.

“Characters,” Jack said in amusement, and a dozen sets of eyes converged on him with an intensity that would have sent lesser men screaming in terror.  “Whoa!” he shouted bringing his hands back out to shield him.  “Set those gazes on stun!”

“Explain,” Betty said in a tone that said he better get the answer right.

“Hey,” he said, still holding his defending hands up.  “I’ve always heard writers talking about well-developed characters telling their creator what they want to do next.  I’ve just never seen it in real time,” he added with a chuckle.

“Oh.  Yeah,” Betty whispered, a look of chagrin on her face.

“And I do got to hand it to you,” Jack started up again with a big smile.  “You do know how to make well-developed characters,” he finished with a wink.

Betty’s eyes narrowed and she scowled at him.  “OK.  It’s getting crowded in here.”  She waved at the others.  “You get back to your fighters so me and Jack can have a talk,” she said in a tone that suggested it would be a rough conversation.

The others smiled and turned to flicker out.  The redhead paused and cocked her head to the side.  “Aurora,” she said in a soft tone.

“Beautiful name,” Jack responded as she left.

Betty glared at him, digging her fists into her hips.  “Jack, it’s against regulations for you to flirt with me and you know it.”

Jack smiled back at her.  “I’m not flirting with you.”

She waved a hand towards where Aurora had sat.  “Then what in heaven do you call that?”

Jack shook his head and chuckled.  “I was flirting with her,” he answered as if the answer was obvious.

“Yeah.  Well,” Betty said in disgust.  “She’s me!”

Jack scratched his chin and considered her statement.  “Is she?”

“What?” Betty asked, confused.  “Of course she is!”

Jack paused, considering the best way to say what he’d noticed.  He chewed his lip and smiled as he raised one hand in the air.  “All those characters.  Are they you with a different face, do they ask you if they should do something before they do it?”   He brought up the other hand.  “Or did you set them up to make their own choices?  Will they ever do something that you wouldn’t do?”

Betty frowned at him.  “They are reflections of me, Jack, not completely different people.  It’s like the way you show different personalities depending on who you’re with.”

Hal smiled at her and looked at the displays to see the Cowboys approaching New Washington from every direction.  “As much as I hate to end this stimulating conversation, we’re getting close.  Mischief, you ready?”

“We’re not done here,” Betty whispered.

“I’m five by five,” Katty answered his question.

Jack smiled Betty, letting her know he was willing to continue later.  “Good,” he said to Katty.  “I’m sending a drone through to scout for us.  You stay in hyper for now.  Hellcats aren’t supposed to be able to jump, so let’s not let them know the rules have changed yet.”

“I agree.”

“Cool.”  Jack turned to Betty.  “Send someone through.”

She nodded and he watched one of the Nemesis drones moving forward.  He glanced at it, focused on it, and saw the name of the cyber pilot.  He looked at Betty.  “Really?”

“What?” she asked with an innocent face.

He raised an eyebrow at her as Aurora’s Nemesis disappeared in a maelstrom of roiling gravity.  A second later, the displays of his fighter filled with information transmitted from normalspace.

New Washington dominated the view, a cold blue pearl in the starry night.  Icons appeared around it, first a dozen, then two dozen, and more.  Scores, and then hundreds of ships filled the skies around New Washington, and Jack swallowed the frog that appeared in his throat.  Scout Fleet had missed a few ships.  The Chinese ruled the skies, surrounded by the wreckage of orbital stations.  It was Yosemite all over again, only this time the enemy was sticking around to make certain the point was made.

“Betty?” he asked and began to chew on his lip.

“Yes?” she responded, all trace of their argument gone.

Jack licked his lips.  “We’re going to need a bigger fleet.”