I didn’t see Anna very much back in the day. I was busy fighting while she was helping jumpstart the Wolfenheim Project. But I saw her sometimes when The War brought me back to New Earth. She was always happy and chipper and cheerful and all the other qualities that make people who are not morning people want to shoot first and not apologize later. I think I suspected who she was just from that. Yeah, I wasn’t in on that part of the plan at first. Plausible deniability. But I think I knew in the back of my mind. She was one of the cutest little killers I ever met. She was a joy to be around, unless I hadn’t had my morning dose of caffeine yet, or when she was giving me that judgmental look. Completely unearned on my account, I assure you. Few people are better to be around than a cute girl bouncing around and smiling at everyone she meets. She was good for Wolfenheim.
We created the rumors that John Smith was a Cowboy because it would help us recruit more people to the Wolfenheim Project. The Cowboys were already famous at the time, some might use the word infamous, and the name brought much attention to our project. And John Smith was as photogenic as anybody could wish for the face of a new project. He was certainly much better looking than Malcolm or I ever were. And he compared favorably to Olivia, who was a hero in her own right. The two of them did wonders for our press. The Hero of Serenity and New Earth on the one hand, and the ridiculously name John Smith on the other. No one ever believed that was his real name, and the rumors that he was a former Cowboy forced into a new life by vengeful superiors played off the reality of Olivia’s ridiculous court martial. Those two were a perfect storm that gave the Wolfenheim Project life. And John Smith played his role with a baby-faced innocence that was magnificent. Yes, I am proud to say that he was a Cowboy. He was one of the best of us.
Betelgeuse is an old red supergiant that has been blowing chunks of itself out into space in successive waves for eons. The star itself would cover our own star system out to the Jovian orbit, and outer shells of water, dust, and energy that used to be the star spread far out beyond our own Neptune or Pluto. It’s a large and dangerous system to fly through, but the Branan didn’t have to fly though most of it when they began their first colonization program. Their homeworld was one of six small planets orbiting the gas giant closest to Betelgeuse, and that gas giant continually plowed a reasonably safe course through the star’s outer shells where its planets and moons could live in general peace. So their first “interplanetary” colonization efforts were actually very short hops to other planets orbiting that very same gas giant. They were dangerous enough to start with, especially in a system like Betelgeuse, but they gave the Branan a taste for interplanetary colonization that would forever drive them in search of new frontiers.
Anna was like our friend Mister Smith. She was a Cowboy before they joined the Wolfenheim Project. Yes, I know who she was, but I’m not going to tell. That’s not me being a snot. I just don’t want to tattle on her. She was always judging me as unworthy back in the day, completely unfairly I might add, and I’m not going to give her any more ammunition in that direction by letting the secret slip out. Not that it’s nearly as much of a secret now as it was back during the Wolfenheim Project’s early days. But it’s the spirit of the thing. She chose to start a new life, with a new name and a new identity, so she could help the Wolfenheim Project succeed. And you know what? I respect that enough not to spill the beans even now. Honest. Scout’s honor. You gotta ask her who she was cause I ain’t telling.
I needed to recruit many people to turn Wolfenheim from a dream into reality. John Smith was one of the more important ones. He commanded the fighter group that defended Wolfenheim, and gave them a chance when the time came to fight our enemies. Rumors leaked that he had been a Cowboy before joining the Wolfenheim Project. We released them, and then refused to comment on them. They could not possibly be true, you know. We knew all of the living Cowboys were at Sunnydale, preparing to attack the Hyades Cluster. It is a good thing nobody knew about the Gemini Project at the time, or there may have been some uncomfortable questions. It is an open secret now, so I can confirm in this journal at least. Yes. John Smith was a Cowboy. And no. I am not prepared to say which one he was, even in this journal. That is his secret to tell, not mine. But know this. He was a brave Cowboy in his time. And he earned every accolade he received as part of the Wolfenheim Project.




Forge of War on Amazon
Angel Flight on Amazon
Angel Strike on Amazon
Angel War on Amazon
Wolfenheim Rising on Amazon
Wolfenheim Emergent on Amazon