They continued to stare at me like I was crazy. Johnson's mouth was opening and closing like a fish before he finally said.

  “The hell are you talking about? An orbital station is not built; it is purchased with gactic credits and built by nanites. It is the core of the entire system, no civilians or guilds can warp ships or get any commerce into or out of the sor system without one. I mean, if you really didn't have one then your sor system would be…” he trailed off as his mouth fell open, and his face slowly drained of colour.

  “Would be, what?”

  I heard Ripter let out a sigh before he answered

  “Well, it would allow anyone to decre your pnet a combat zone and then any Celestial Count could send a Gactic Federation Alliance carrier to… well cim the sor system and all its resources. It's basically what we will be doing after we graduate. The only way to prevent it is to have an orbital station. It decres the owner of the orbital station the owner of the system and Gactic Federation ws apply, preventing any of the Celestial cns from reaping the resources.”

  “I uh, I guess I had better start saving to get one then…”

  “Quickly, this is not something you want to let drag out.”

  “Yea, but you need like a million credits to buy one”

  “Yea or a medium perk but who has one of those just lying around. Haha.”

  The three of them started ughing until they noticed I wasn't, and they quickly turned to stare at me in a mix of astonishment and curiosity.

  “You don't… Do you? Ripter asked me

  “Uh, well, you see…” I began to reply before Johnson suddenly started screaming at us.

  “Shut up! Everyone shut up,” he gred at each of us before continuing in a whisper.

  “This conversation is over, do not speak, do not even think! If it is recorded it can be viewed and who the fuck knows what someone can do with that, so here's what is going to happen. We know nothing we say nothing, and we all agree that when we get out of boot camp we will send a message to Kenna Mackenzie we will use her civilian hud account that is attached to her home world body and from there she can direct us to the orbital station that is already in her home world system, and we can join up with her there.”

  He waved the other two away, indicating for them to run fast, before turning to look at me and stared intensely into my eyes. I was starting to feel uncomfortable until a message appeared on my hud.

  “Hud to hud messaging. Security protocols on these are insane. If you have a medium perk, then the second you wake up in your home world body, scream: I spend my medium perk on an orbital station. If you don't have one, it will be purchased instantly and the Gactic Federation Laws will apply immediately. However, if there is already one in your sor system it will inform you there is already an orbital station and what its name is, you can then message us that name, and we will be able to come get you off that pnet.”

  He nodded his head, turned and ran away as he began screaming and calling out about how cool the tattoo was.

  *******

  In the middle of a grassy field covered in hundreds of marine squads who were ying down shooting at a castle. A certain squad who were still on their feet as they advanced across it like they were enjoying a Sunday stroll through the park. All the surrounding soldiers couldn't help but think they were crazy, the squad was ughing in the middle of a war zone.

  “Sergeant Sanchez, after st week this mission seems kinda… uh, easy… do we really have to hang with these ptoons, or can we just deal with that castle? I mean seriously, I know those missions started at our standard but by the end of the week it was insane fantasy impossible missions, and they kinda make this one feel like we are on a newb mission.”

  “Yea, sarge. Can we just deal with this already?”

  “Alright, alright. Let me get approval from the LT. before we go storming the beginner castle.”

  The soldier who was ying nearby couldn't help but overhear this conversation and was getting curious to what kind of training they had been put through. Was their Lieutenant harsh and cruel?

  “Alright, we have a green light. Let's finish this nonsense.”

  He continued to y in the grass, watching this squad of marines suddenly charge forwards and sm into the walls of the castle. Before he knew it, they had started throwing each other onto the wall until only one soldier was left outside, who then jumped as high as he could and caught the hand of a marine ying on the wall. He was hauled up by them before they all disappeared into the castle. He turned his head to look at the marine ying next to him and whispered.

  “They are insane, think they will die?”

  “Fifty credits says they are already dead”

  They both started ughing only to be silenced by a ding on their HUD's informing them that their mission objective had been updated to mission complete, head for extraction.

  “Hey, uh, what did you say that squad's name was?” the other marine asked him as he blinked in confusion before slowly turning to look at the marine and whispered.

  “Uh, the uh, the emblem said Steel Hellians squadron”

  Before the second marine stood up he looked at the first and whispered back “I’ll have to remember that” then he stood turned and started running towards the extraction zone, the first marine stumbling to his feet and quickly following. He had no doubt in his mind the Steel Hellians squadron would soon become legends.

  *******

  On a server aboard a Gactic Federation Alliance Prisoner Transport ship named GFAPT9102. It was a room, and in the middle of that white room with padded walls was a transparent pstic chair that seamlessly integrated into the floor. Upon that chair was a dy wearing a straight jacket that was locked to the chair so she could not stand. She was slowly rocking back and forth as she whispered to herself.

  “Don't worry little bumpkin, I know your secret and soon everyone will know your secret, it will get out, and then you will be ruined, and I will ugh and ugh because I have already gotten the st ugh, that's right little bumpkin, I have won because I know your dirty dark little secret that you don't want anyone to know, but I know it. For my name is Eloana Twiddles, daughter of Celestial Count Malcolm Twiddles, and I know what you don't want anyone to know because it will be the end of your little backwater bumpkin world. That's right, you nasty little bumpkin. I know your dearest filthy pnet is all alone without any orbital station to protect it, and best of all, it is all alone.”

  She paused as she cackled and pulled against the restraints as she kicked her legs about before finally settling down. She slowly turned her head up to look at the camera in the middle of her room and smiled the biggest and happiest grin she could before she started screaming.

  “And I told, I told, I told, I told! I told my dearest daddy everything!!”