Aurora: CV-01 Read Online Free Page B

invited.” Hmm, sarcasm, another bad choice.
    “Still the troublemaker, I see.”
    “Better than being a kiss-ass,” Nathan responded in a matter-of-fact tone. He was already on a roll, so he figured there was little use in stopping now.
    “I would’ve thought the Academy would break you of that habit.”
    “Funny how that habit only seems to surface when I’m around family.”
    “Then why don’t you do us all a big favor and just stay away. Or at least keep your attitude under control until after the election. Do you think you can do that much for your family?”
    Nathan wanted to say something more, a lot more. In fact, what he really wanted to do was to punch Eli right in his smug mouth. But there were cameras everywhere, and the car that would take him away from this circus once and for all was pulling into the long circular driveway.
    Nathan turned around and stepped up to Eli, standing right in his face and giving him a stone cold stare, the same one he had learned to use when standing at attention during inspections at the Academy. It took Eli by surprise, and for a moment he was unsure what to expect. He had never before seen such a stern look in Nathan’s eyes.
    Nathan took his brother’s hand firmly and shook it once. “Give my best to your family, Eli.” He let go of Eli’s hand and gave him what appeared to onlookers as a brotherly hug. Eli’s hands dangled at his sides in disbelief as Nathan whispered in his brother’s ear. “So long, asshole.”
    Nathan released his still shocked brother and stepped aside to smile and wave at the cameras that were watching from the walkway near the main house. Then he turned and got into the back seat of the car that had just pulled up behind him.
    And that, is the last time I’ll have to play that game.

CHAPTER 2

    Despite a slight hang-over, Nathan arrived at the Academy Flight Complex bright and early. The previous night’s events had only served to remind him of how desperately he wanted to leave it all behind and start anew. Today, he would leave the surface of the Earth, not to return for several years. It was the perfect way to begin his new life.
    The complex was unusually busy that morning, as most of the graduates from the Academy’s North American campus were also departing for new assignments. As he worked his way through the crowd, he saw many familiar faces, as they bid farewell to fellow graduates and underclassmen. It had been a long four years for them all, during which most had formed significant bonds.
    The graduates were leaving everything they knew behind, only to be cooped up inside big, metal, high-tech boxes hurtling through space. It was both exciting and frightening at the same time. All these young men and women, from every walk of life and every corner of the North American continent. Each for their own reasons had left their lives and their loved ones behind. They had endured exhaustive education and grueling physical training. And many of them had failed along the way, forced to return home in disgrace.
    And it wasn’t just on this continent. There were similar scenes playing out on Fleet Academy campuses in both Europe and Asia. Each of them were turning out hundreds of graduates per year. And still it was only a fraction of what was needed for the Earth to build an adequate defense. For the Jung controlled the resources of four of the six core worlds, as well as many of the lesser colonies out on the fringe.
    But still the volunteers came in droves each year. And those not accepted to the Academy contributed in other ways. As ground forces, trained to defend against surface assault. Or as workers and technicians, who built the ships needed to defend the Earth from space. But they all shared the same sense of purpose. They were defending their burgeoning homeworld as it rose from a thousand years of darkness and despair.
    As he waited in line to check-in, Nathan thought about his Academy roommate, Luis. They had become the