Jenny took me to the recruitment office and the ride was rather quiet and somber. Yesterday had been a lot of fun, but it went by in a blur. We had gone to a park in the neighborhood that morning and I played with the kids while Jenny looked on from a bench.

Afterwards, the four of us went to a restaurant where the kids played in a ball pit, arcade and various types of jungle gyms. My sister and I talked on and on about our parents, the good and the bad, while we watched the kids run around.

Later, we went home and put the kids to bed for a nap. We played a few games of Chess and I beat her four to one. She finally gave up when Sam got home from work. That was the queue for Tyson and Kayla to wake up and we soon heard the booming stampede of children's feet running for the stairs. Shortly followed by squeals of "Daddy's home."

I helped Jenny cook dinner, we ate and all five of us played a V.R. game together. The kids went to bed, I sat with Jenny and Sam for a time and we talked a bit more before everyone went to sleep. I was very thankful that none of us brought up what was going to be happening today.

Beside me Jenny sighed. She turned in her seat to look at me and said, "Jonny, you don't have to do this. You really don't. We can find-"

But I cut her off. "Jenny, stop. I know you are worried about me. You're worried I'm going to end up like Dad. You're worried I'm going to go away and I'm never going to come home. Don't. The ASFC is a safe place now. And I'm not going to be anywhere near any of the conflicts out there on the border. In fact I'm going to try and get a position on Olympus." I said pointing to the massive arm of the space station passing overhead at that moment.

The Olympus space station was the most ambitious project ever proposed by James Malaki, the man responsible for bringing humanity to the stars, introducing alien races to earth and forming the ASFC. All these things unified Earth in a way it had never been previously.

Olympus consisted of three rings locked together on all three axis. There was a central equatorial ring that rotated around the Earth. Branching off of it were four arms going north and south and meeting up with an enormous thirty mile wide pillar placed at both of Earth's rotational poles. All three rings were sixty miles thick.The entire structure spun around Earth faster than the planet itself causing artificial gravity in the space station. The outer surface was lined with solar panels and collected enough energy to power not only the station but the globe as well. The electricity was channeled down the pillars at the planet's poles that also acted as orbital elevators. Communication arrays line the inside of the station rings and granted the Earth complete communication and a global wireless internet. Olympus was both a trading market for other planets, the solar system in general and the first way station when coming to or leaving Earth.

"Jonny." She smacked the dashboard "Let me talk. If you go out there and something happens to you. You know it's going to break me. I have Sam but you are the last of my family and you're almost a son to me. I can't lose you too. So you better damn well be careful."

I leaned over and pulled her into a hug. "I Will, I promise."

"We have reached your destination." The car said as it pulled into a parking spot.

I got out and Jenny helped me carry my bags to the drop off point where others were waiting. "You better write to me every week. Every single week I'll be looking."

I gave her another hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I will." I said.

She smiled at me and I could tell she was holding back tears. Before the dam could break she turned and went back to the car. Opening the door she sat down and gave me a last look. "What is your destination?" The car asked and she shut the door.

I saw her lips mouth "Home" and the car backed out of the parking spot and returned in the direction it had come from. Her hands and face were against the back window until we couldn't see each other anymore.

"It's always hard, kid" a voice said to me and I felt a gentle pat on the back. "Leaving family like this".

I turned and saw Staff Sergeant Scott Miller. He was the one who helped recruit me. I nodded and handed him my orders. He pulled the papers out and glanced at them before giving them back. "Andrea is a good base. Be glad that you don't have to go to Peru or Dubai. They're both shit holes."

"Thank you Sergeant Miller, I don't think I could have done this without you." I told him

"I knew this was the right thing for you and I knew that you knew it too. So I did what I could. I'm sure your father would be proud even if your sister is heartbroken." He replied

Jenny would never understand, could never understand. She didn't want to and anything I told her went in one ear and out the other. I can't explain it to her in a way that can overcome her grief from our parents death. When she sees the ASFC or anything alien, It always brings up our parents' deaths. And for me to join the Star Force, then would mean to inevitably see me in the same way. I understood her feelings, and I know it makes me seem like a real cold hard bastard for going anyway; but, I need to.

Sure, some part of me wants to follow in my father's footsteps, like his father before him. But, some part of me also looks up into the stars at night and wonders what's out there. I get a feeling, like I'm being drawn inexorably to the stars. I can't even explain it to myself but there is a part of me that feels like I do not belong here on Earth. That I belong out there.

I look down at my feet and I see the dirt I stand on, and it just feels wrong. How could I ever explain this to somebody? I'd be taken to a psychiatrist.

I had lied to her. There were no plans to work at Olympus, I even doubted I'd ever be given that option. It didn't matter. That's not what I want. "I want to be out there," I said aloud while looking up.

Sergeant Miller clapped me on the back and said, "Well you're in luck kid, that's exactly where you're going".

He grinned broadly at me and it took an eternity before I realized I had spoken aloud. Before I had a chance to say anything the bus pulled up. I reached down and grabbed my bags, gave Sergeant Miller a last nod and made my way to the bus.

It was a large bus, capable of holding at least twenty people but there were only four of us going. I didn't know the others but I got in line behind them and when it was my turn to step on the bus I handed the driver's my papers. He glanced at them briefly, handed them back and gestured for me to take a seat.

I put my bags in the seat across from me and sat down. Sergeant Miller smiled and waved to all of us as the bus began to move. Soon we were out of the city and the bus rose into the air as we headed North.

****

I must have dozed off because I jolted awake as the bus landed on the road heading into Chicago. Air traffic within the city was restricted so we'd be on the ground for the rest of the way. It was my first time here and even though we were still dozens of miles from the city I could see the tall buildings clearly through the front window.

Several minutes after entering the city, the driver stood up at the front and turned to us. Behind him I could see the building we were headed to, it was a massive starport. We hit a bump and the driver held the seat to stay on his feet. "Okay, listen up." He locked eyes with everyone to make sure he had all of our attention. "When the bus stops at the west terminal, you will get up, take all of your bags and go to the StarForce security checkpoint on level five. To get there, you must take the elevators on the south side of the terminal. So after we stop, enter the building and hang a right, make your way to those elevators."

"When you get there, you all need to show your orders to the OoD, that's the officer on duty. NOT" and here he emphasized the word 'not', "the secretary. She will call the officer on duty if you ask. If you give her your paperwork, she will look at it and that's it. She may even take it. Your paperwork is for Star Force personnel who are authorized to view it. The secretary is not authorized. Keep this in mind while you're up there. The OoD will give you orders from there."

As he was finishing the bus came to a stop. "Good luck", he said to us as he stepped off the bus.

The four of us filed out with our bags and followed his instructions. The elevators he mentioned were easy to find and we took one up to the 5th floor. When the doors opened we found ourselves in a waiting area, I approached the desk and spoke to a middle-aged woman there. I told her that the driver had told us to request the officer on duty. She told us to sit down and wait, gesturing with dismissal.

After several minutes waiting quietly a man in uniform came out. "Good evening gentlemen, I'm Lieutenant Riggs. Hand over your paperwork." He carefully went through each before handing them back, except mine. I was last and instead a look of worry flashed across his face. He looked down and checked his watch. "Cadet Kaine, you're going to Italy, we need to get you on the plane now, it hasn't left yet and if you miss it there won't be another for two days. The rest of you are going to Puru and that one doesn't leave until tomorrow morning. The three of you wait here; Cadet Kaine, follow me."

Lieutenant Riggs walked quickly and I struggled to keep up with him without running. He took me through back areas and down winding corridors. We came out at a security gate. "Go through security, I'll meet you on the other side. I'm going to grab you some food for the trip." He said before walking away.

The line was long and by the time it was my turn Lieutenant Riggs was already back. He swiped a key badge on a turnstile and walked past the security checkpoint, waiting for me to exit. I placed my bags in rolling tubs and they were passed through scanners. I myself had to walk through a full 3d biometric scanner.

Once through he handed me a bag with three MREs, otherwise known as 'meals ready to eat' or ration packs. "Don't open any of them until the plane is at altitude" he said and led me on.

A short time later we came to the gate. We were lucky as they were just about to shut the door. I kept the bag of MREs but the rest of my belongings, with the exception of my orders, were taken by an attendant to be placed under the plane. I showed my orders to an official at the gate and was rushed inside the plane.

The plane was nearly full and I sat down at the first empty seat I came across. My neighbor was a kid about my age but thinner and more wiry with a shock of dark hair. He had large glasses and smiled at me when I sat down. "Hi there." He waited for me to buckle my seat belt then held out a hand and said "I'm Christian Munchunkin."

I shook his limp hand and said "Jon Kaine, nice to meet you."

Sitting in the chair next to him I realized he was half a head shorter in the seat and I could only imagine that if the two of us were standing I'd tower over the guy. Further conversation was impossible as the flight attendants began running the safety spiel.