Space Era. A new timeline to replace AD. This new century was marked by the establishment of Cloudbase or what is usually called: the 'Dyson sphere'. A megastructure, building in the space that humans live in. Or more precisely, an artificial planet.
At Cloudbase US-2 better known as 'Edison'. Riker Lynch never thought. Even though Edison had technologies that had not even been applied on Earth or even in other Cloudbases, the space colony looked like classic Europe.
"Do you want to take benefit of our promotions or try our new menu, Sir?" the barista asked Riker.
"No. Just one Caramel Macchiato, please."
"Alright. Standard sugar, less or no sugar?"
"Less. Maybe with… your phone numbers as latte art would be cute."
Riker smiled mischievously. The cute, golden-haired woman behind the cash register smiled so charmingly.
"If you become our regular customer… maybe, sooner or later we will find out each other's numbers," replied the coffee maker.
"What a great marketing strategy, Miss..." Riker replied. For a moment he takes a glance at the name tag of the woman who is standing in front of him, behind the bar. "… Rebecca."
"Visiting Edison for the first time, Sir?" Rebecca asked. Her eyes were moved to the backpack on Riker's back.
"Please tell me Edison wasn't as boring as it seems, was it?" Riker responded to Rebecca humorously.
"If you're a fan of art and technology, Edison is the right place for you."
"I love art, and I am tech savvy… but I think I'm a fan of yours, Rebecca."
Riker left the coffee shop. Of course, without getting Rebecca's number. As he walked, he admired the large Renaissance-style buildings around him.
Edison is not very busy, and most people there walk or ride bicycles. Buses are the main transportation there.
Several times, Riker ran into groups of people and what he always caught from them was conversations about technology.
Using the bus, Riker arrived at his destination. A hotel resort called The Intercontinental. The building is surrounded by beautiful views.
Instead of relaxing, Riker could feel his adrenaline pumping. He took a breath to calm himself and he entered the building which looked like any other building in Edison.
Arriving at the receptionist's desk, Riker said to the woman on duty there. "Hai, ma'am. I am Velasco. I came here at the invitation of Professor Hideson. I brought matches from Earth that he ordered."
Riker's words sounded strange. However, the receptionist still showed her friendly smile. "Okay, Mr. Velasco. Please wait a moment," she replied then picked up the phone. "Guest for Professor Hideson. A shipment of matches from Earth has arrived."
After the woman made her call, she looked at Riker with a natural look, like nothing was wrong with their conversation. "Please wait a moment, Sir."
After taking a seat and waiting in the lobby for a while, a stiff-looking person wearing a suit approached Riker.
"Mr. Velasco?"
"Yup, that is me."
"I'm Klaus. Please, come with me."
Klaus who was wearing glasses on his cold expression face, stepped ahead of Riker. However, they didn't head to the main elevator of The Intercontinental. Instead, go deeper into another part of the hotel.
There, they entered another elevator. Klaus opened and closed it by scanning his thumb.
"Travelled to space many times, Mr. Velasco?" Klaus asked.
"Of course. But usually, I visit US-1..."
"Hmmm…, standard for travellers, right?"
"Yeah, you are right, Klaus."
That was the only conversation between Riker and his guide as they slid down until the elevator stopped. Coming out of it, Riker followed Klaus down an iron-lined and paneled hallway.
The two arrived in front of a steel wall. There is a scanning device there. A retina scan tool. Klaus brought his eyes closer to the device.
Jssst!
The wall in front of them opened by sliding, divided to the right and left. While Riker stepped into a dark room, Klaus pressed his thumb against a device located on the inside of the door.
A soft 'beep' sound was heard. The door to the room closed. One by one, the lights in the room came on. That's when Riker realized. It turned out that he was in a big yet wide room. It looked like a hangar.
After all the lights in the hangar were on, he could see the head and torso of a white-silver giant robot displayed in front of him. Klaus who was standing behind him speaks.
"Mr. Velasco, you have been chosen to run the Operation Fireworks."
***
While talking with Lieutenant Colonel Alexis Saunders, Karenina walked through an area of The Core, the headquarters of Earth's Space Tactical Operation Squadron (ESTOS).
ESTOS is one of the units from Stella Polaris, United Earth Force's elite squad. They are a special black op space team.
"I trust the pilots who have served in Oceania," Lieutenant Colonel Alexis Saunders said to the young brunette woman next to him. He continued. "They never hesitated to shoot the cockpit."
"I am nothing compared to you, Lieutenant Colonel. Such an honor for me to serve in space with the White Wolf."
After graduating from Blufield's Antioch High School, Karenina Windsor decided to continue her studies at The International Governance University.
At that time, Kalvin Windsor, Karenina's father, had just been appointed as one of United Earth's top officials. His daughter received a scholarship to study at the university that promised its graduates to become world officials.
Karenina didn't want to waste this opportunity. She is determined to become a Space Era economist. But she didn't expect beforehand, her heart was attached to the Defence and Security faculty.
That means she can continue to the military academy for 2 years and become a United Earth Force (UEF) soldier. Now, she has officially held the rank of Special Lieutenant.
"They overrated me. After all, the leader of this operation is Captain Aiden Wildemann. We'll just be a sweeping team," Alexis responded to what Karenina said earlier in her distinctive deep voice.
"That's if needed," added Alexis with a thin, sweet, and dashing smile.
Karenina's physical appearance is too attractive to be a United Earth Force officer. Since earlier, her figure has stolen the eyes of male UEF soldiers in The Core.
How could not be like that? There are not many beautiful women with a height of 178 centimeters who wear 'battle suits', the special Mega Armor pilot clothing, walking around the UEF military facility.
The name that came out from Alexis' lips made Karenina smile because it touched her heart. But as a UEF soldier, she didn't want to get too caught up in what she felt.
"Is Captain Wildemann in space yet, Lieutenant Colonel?" Karenina asked. She was just making small talk.
"He should have..." Alexis replied as he looked at his watch. "Probably, if I'm not mistaken. They just arrived near DS-2119."
Karenina and Alexis enter a very large hangar. That's when Karenina shuddered as she saw a dark blue aircraft carrier in front of her.
"Luna Eclipse…!" Karenina whispered loud spontaneously.
"She looks beautiful, doesn't she?" said Alexis.
Not just attractive. Karenina is famous as a young female officer whose physical, mental, and intelligence have been tested.
So far, she served as an officer in conflict countries. Now, she is recommended to join ESTOS. Amazingly, she was immediately assigned to the most respected elite unit in UEF.
Luna Eclipse is a very well-known and feared aircraft carrier. Because it is used by the Alpha Pack Squadron, an elite force under the leadership of Alexis.
"We will embark in 1 hour. Our destination is DS-2119-2. Our job is to be watchdogs. We do not take orders from anyone and do not command anyone. We work alone in the dark. Prepare yourselves!"
Lieutenant Colonel Alexis Saunders gave instructions to his men. Karenina takes a breath. She noticed that his boss was unmarried and still looked so handsome at the age of 40.
In her heart, Karenina felt very proud. Now she is an ESTOS soldier under the fierce gaping-mouthed white wolf's head banner.
***
Elxi von Rochelle sat elegantly in her family's private space jet. On the opposite side, Victor von Rochelle, her father sat quietly. He is reading using a tablet.
Sometimes, Elxi feels bored with space travel which displays darkness and the glow of celestial bodies. She wished she could just live on Earth. He really loves that planet.
Lilibet or Euro-1, the Cloudbase where Elxi lives is more magnificent than London or Paris. But she preferred the vast Earth. There, she could board a plane to travel around the world. Not using the sky train.
"Besides, there is real sunlight there. I love it. Earth's—"
While she was busy imagining what she could do while on Earth, the ray of sunlight that showered Elxi's space jet was blocked by something.
Victor looked out the window. He moved his head because he wanted to see. Where did the shadow that enveloped his space jet come from?
Then, he opened communication with the pilot. "What is that, Stephane?" Victor asked.
From the cockpit, the space jet pilot answered his employer's questions. "That was… Luna Eclipse, Sir."