An Authors Notes will be coming later, detailing what went into making this story. I'm thinking of doing a CyberFire Extras series when I'm hit with writer's block on my other projects that would visit random times in Jett's life both before and after he meets Spitfire. Tell me what you think in the comments below.

Location: Alpha Centauri System.

Date: 2722.

Planet: Alpha Centauri Aα. Local Designation: “Terra Centauri.”

The exodus from the Sol had become the stuff of legend. The story of a brave group of soldiers defending a civilian fleet as they made their escape to another star system had been told for generations. Contact with Earth had officially ended two centuries ago but in reality it had ended in transit to the new star system. Colonies were quickly established all over the system from the outer gas giants of Aquarius, Gemini, and Prometheus to the few rocks that managed to maintain a stable orbit in the trinary star system.

Terra Centauri was a bit of a dry world to say the least. Mostly desert, the vast majority of its water was contained underground in vast cave systems so large that even rain could fall inside of them. Surprisingly it was habitable. Still had the same average temperature as Death Valley with a few exceptions but in this system, it was as close to temperate as anyone was going to get. Most of the settlements had been built in the shadows of mountains or what passed for them around here. Large rock formations with ridiculously large overhangs and elaborate and large cave systems jutted out from the planet’s surface. Geologists were still working on their origin but they were rich in metals and other natural resources and were perfect places to begin building cities. And best of all, they were in the shade. Still most of the planet’s inhabitants lived underground in the sprawling cave systems and artificially created Geofronts. The planet had become a new Earth.

Much of the old fleet had been decommissioned in the three hundred plus years since it had arrived. The only things still in service were the large O’Neil Cylinders of Rama I and Rama II and the various other Toruses that made the trip. Many of the inhabitants of the system woke up every day with an odd sense of excitement. They were completely detached from the rest of humanity. A good nineteen twentieths of it, by some not so conservative estimates was still living in Sol giving the Lost City of Atlantis feel to the whole thing. Still, life moved on as normal.

Former Fleet Admiral Halsey, now Principal at the Daniel and Jett Academy for Science and Engineering sat with his wife on the courtyard bench. Ajax smiled. The weather was nice, and Alpha Centauri City was located in just the right location where the twin suns would always spill just enough light to give a sunset like appearance to the city almost every day without completely burning it. The temperature remained at a comfortable twenty nine degrees Celsius. The ‘hill’ the school was located on offered a pretty good view of the solar collection fields just outside the city limits. Beyond that was what passed for a forest on a desert world. Large collections of ‘trees’ adapted to collecting yellow light sat beyond almost all the mountain ranges away from the shadows absorbing light, taking in carbon dioxide and what little water existed in the terrestrial lakes nearby. Oxygen content in the atmosphere amounted to a low seventeen percent while Carbon Dioxide amounted to a rather high zero point eight five percent. Still life got by here either through slow accumulation or through augmentation.

Principal Halsey sighed, “So what should we do during summer break? Students will be away for a good three months.”

“Which month are you going by?” Vice Principal Ajax asked.

“Earth months.”

“Oh good. I was going to say, three months would be a bit of a long time to be away from school,” the Android smiled.

“Tell me about it. Three hundred years and I still haven’t gotten used to this system’s time scales. A thirty one hour day, one orbital cycle takes five years to complete, and the axis isn’t tilted so we don’t get seasons.”

“If you want seasons you can either go to Rama II or Aquarius and all its beautifully lush moons.”

“With gravity at three fourths of a G in some places and a third in others? Sorry but the one thing I have gotten used to is the higher gravity here.”

“Yeah… So what are you going to do about those reports about those trouble makers, again?” Ajax asked.

George smiled, “Nothing. It’s summer, I’m on vacation, and as long as they keep up their grades and clean up the messes they make, I have no problem with them. Plus I think someone needs to knock the G-ball team down a few pegs.”

A loud Bang in one of the dorms got their attention as a Black haired Halfling, as they were called, and his white haired twin ran by laughing. The pair carried two heavy duffel bags each, probably due to leaving for summer vacation. Their skin had energy lines running up and down their bodies. The products of organic and artificial life forms Halflings carried the best of both worlds and very little of the negatives. The black haired boy flashed a brilliant sapphire blue and his brother flashed a bright emerald green.

Ajax turned, “Are you going to do something about that?”

George grinned, “Nope.”

A similar sounding boom across the campus was heard. The two boys stopped and high fived each other before a loud noise of doors opening behind them got their attention.

“Haleister!” a voice screamed.

A group of muscular boys ran out of the building covered in a green slime. A few slipped on the ground on their way out.

The black haired boy stopped and turned and flashed a grin. He was a little bit skinny in appearance but reasonably toned. His moppy black hair whipped as turned. His brother ran his fingers through his slicked back white hair and made a finger gun and ‘fired’ it.

“Which one?” the pair asked.

“Both of you sick little fucks!” one of the boys yelled. He was tall, almost a full two meters, muscular build; Captain of the Gravity Ball team. Roy was his name. He cracked his knuckles.

The black haired boy smiled, “Gee, Dak. I don’t feel sick. Do you?”

“Nope, I feel fine,” he grinned.

The boy raised his arm and moved to strike the black haired boy. The boy smiled and simply stood still. Just before the fist impacted his face, the green slime flashed and crystalized. The other players behind him were also held in similar crystal prisons.

“See?” the boy turned to Dak, “I told you it’d work!”

“Yeah, yeah. You’ll get your fraking credits when we reach Aquarius,” Dak rolled his eyes.

“What did you little shits do?!” Roy yelled.

Dak grinned, “Jax?”

“Ah, you see, it’s simple really,” Jax smiled, “This is a simple final exam project for AP Nanotech. Cool isn’t it? When it hits the CO2 in the air the molecules begin binding with the carbon and form a crystalline lattice. I won’t bore you with the details but it makes a pretty good immobilizer, doesn’t it?”

Dak smiled, dropping his bags to the ground, “I’ll say. I declare this experiment a success! Again!”

“You little shits! When I get out of this I’m gonna pound you into dust!”

“Cool. Hey, speaking of getting out of somewhere, where are the twins?” Jax asked, “Our car leaves in half an hour.”

The sound of laughter got their attention. The two brothers turned. Two girls were running out of the girls’ dorm across the courtyard. One of them had light brilliant amber hair with light brilliant orange highlights done up in a small flame like pony tail. She had some messy bangs covering her forehead and two large locks of hair that fell just forward of her ears. A pair of brilliant orange eyes complimented a mischievous grin. She was athletic and wore a leather bomber jacket, a pair of skinny jeans and sneakers. Glowing gold energy lines ran up her body. Her sister had snow white hair that was tied back in a military styled bun. Emerald green eyes focused behind her before she turned her head and caught up with her sister. She too had an athletic build and had a similar attractive body like her sister. She wore a leather vest over a blue tank top that went with her jeans and sneakers. Arctic blue energy lines ran up her body.

Behind them a group of cheerleaders chased after them, shooting daggers at them as a green slime stuck to their uniforms.

Dak cringed as Jax laughed, “The mad scene. Enter the Ophelia twins.”

Jax and Dak grabbed the extra bags they were carrying.

“Hey Sera, think fast!” Jax tossed her a duffel bag which she swiftly caught.

Seraphina gave him a glare, “Nice try Akira.”

Jax cringed, “I’ve told you a thousand times to not call me that!”

Dak handed Fleta her bag.

“Thanks,” she panted.

Behind the pair, farther across the courtyard, screaming was heard as the material crystalized.

Seraphina grinned, “Oh but I know how much you love that name.”

She slung her bag over her shoulders and booped him on the nose.

Jax swatted her finger away before poking her forehead, “My middle name is ‘Jax’ and that’s what everyone calls me. And I like ‘Jax’ better.”

Dak spoke up, “Just like I like ‘Dak’ instead of Dagonet.”

Fleta frowned, “What’s wrong with Dagonet?”

Dak sighed, “It’s the name of the jester to King Arthur.”

Fleta cracked up, “Oh my gosh! You poor little boy!”

Seraphina smiled and placed a finger on Jax’s chest, “Don’t lie Jax. I know you secretly like it when I use your real name.”

Jax turned red, “My name sounds like a girl’s name.”

“Your name is Japanese for intelligent,” She said pushing him against the wall with a grin. Jax was beat red.

“Can you let me up? We have an elevator to catch,” he said.

“Aww, but you know how I like it on top,” she said licking her lips.

Roy gritted his teeth in the background.

“Would you stop it already?!” he said pushing her off of him.

Sera burst out laughing, “Oh my gosh! Jax I swear you are so easy to get!”

“Laugh it up you succubus,” he said brushing himself off, “Our elevator leaves in a few minutes so you wanna get going?”

“Oh alright. I’ll mess with you when we’re on the ship,” she laughed before quickly turning and kissing him on the cheek, “Catch me if you can lover boy!”

Fleta laughed and ran after her sister as they bounded down the hill towards the main parking lot. A car was waiting for them.

Jax was red, “Crazy bitch!”

Dak shook his head, “You're an idiot, Jax.”

“Shut up butthead.”

He and Dak took off running after the girls. They soon caught up with them. The four ran down the hill, laughing at their recent exploits as well as simply laughing for the hell of it. It felt good to laugh with friends.

A fast looking four door car was waiting for them in the parking lot. A strong looking woman stood near it with a pair of aviators on her head.

“Where have you four been?” she asked, “The elevator leaves in twenty minutes!”

The four boys and girls reached the trunk of the car and tossed their bags in.

“Sorry Gene,” Sera laughed, “But we had some last minute business to take care of.”

Gene sighed, “What did you guys do?”

“Nothing related to the Gravity ball team or the cheerleading squad,” Jax laughed as he climbed into the back seat. Sera sat next to him while Fleta got the other back seat. Dak rode shotgun.

“Again, what did you guys do?” Gene asked as she hoped in the car. The car rotated on its spherical wheels one hundred and eighty degrees before heading out of the parking lot and onto the main road of the city heading towards the orbital elevator.

“We just took a little something, something from our nanotech project,” Jax grinned, “If the Gravity Ball boys didn’t mess with the Matrix Team’s Grids we wouldn’t have had this problem. We almost had to forfeit because of it.”

Gene looked up in the mirror at Sera and Fleta, “And what’s your excuse?”

“We just don’t like the cheer leaders,” Fleta laughed.

Sera threw an arm around Jax, “So we decided on a little double teaming.”

Jax smiled, “And it worked beautifully.”

The car drove through the city streets toward the orbital elevator. Large buildings reached up to the large rocky overhangs while other buildings reached down. Like stalagmites and stalactites. Monorails connected the buildings and ran through the city like a system of arteries.

The car pulled onto the highway and drove up onto a freeway overpass that gave a brilliant view of the city.

“So next year’s our last year at the Academy,” Jax said nostalgically.

“If we want,” Seraphina said.

Gene looked up in the mirror, “I think you should all stay. The school’s good one, of the best in the system, it runs high school all the way up through ten years of college so you can get your PhD’s in whatever you want there. Plus you four are already there. So why not stay?”

Dak turned, “Well I’m comfortable staying there. It’s a nice place. We’re all there, we got good friends. Why not? Us vs. the world.”

Fleta briefly glanced at Dak before staring out the window, “I’m game.”

“Me too,” Seraphina smiled, “Jax?”

Jax put a hand to his chin, “I don’t know, there was a science academy out in the belt that I was thinking about...”

“WHAT?!” came the collective cry of three other people. Jax flashed a small smile before getting serious again and turning to look at his friends. Dak looked worried as hell as well as Fleta but Seraphina looked absolutely terrified, like someone had just informed her that a family member had died. Jax instantly softened as he gazed at her face as she looked like she was about to burst into tears.

“Hey,” he said throwing his arm around her, “I wasn’t serious. Just joking is all.”

Everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief. Sera scowled and turned her nose up at him, refusing to meet his gaze.

“You're an asshole,” Sera said before softening her look and staring down at her feet, “Don’t do that to me again,” she whispered.

Jax grinned, “Aww, was my little spitfire worried there?”

Sera’s lip curled upwards, “Shut up!”

Jax smiled and pulled her close as he stared out the window, “Knew it.”

“Ah! Hey! Let me go!” Sera laughed.

“Never.”

Gene laughed, “You know when Catherine hears about what you four did she’s gonna be real upset.”

“Yeah she’ll chew us out,” Sera laughed.

“But we’ve been chewed out before,” Jax finished.

Gene smiled, “Don’t expect me to help you guys out this time.”

The orbital elevator came into sight.

“So whatcha wanna do when we reach Aquarius One?” Dak asked, “Hit up our beach? See a movie? Gene’s club? Night on the town with the rest of the crew? Amusement park? Find somewhere else cool to hang out? Go exploring? Something?”

“Why worry about that now?” Jax asked, “Let’s get on board the Titan first and have some fun there. We have three months to enjoy the summer.”

“Then in college it’s all about that spring break,” Sera laughed.

“Yeah, yeah, keep your clothes on missy. We still have a year to go.”

Gene shook her head, “You four Halflings are nothing but trouble.”

The car pulled up the complex. The five people got out and removed their bags before Gene sent the car back to her home in the city. They ran into the structure, got their tickets, and checked in with security before running towards the terminal and onto the car.

“Window Seats!” Jax yelled and everyone moved to the front of the car that offered the best unobstructed view. More and more people filed onto the car. The seats were fitted in a fashion similar to a movie theater with each row being higher up than the last. Bags were stored underneath the seats.

Even though the car had yet to move the view it offered was still nice; a nice panoramic view of the desert world and all its wonders. Mountains in the background, openings to massive system of caves beneath the planet where most of the water was, little surface lakes with water so clear you almost couldn’t even tell they were lakes.

Suddenly a voice came on, “Ladies and gentlemen; our thirty three minutes our up. Please fasten your belts and prepare for assent. We hope you enjoy your ride.”

Everyone fastened in. A minute later the car jerked and began to rise. The view changed as more and more of the planet became visible. Past the mountains were the faint sparkle of other surface cities and settlements and soon the coast of the planet’s only Surface Ocean was visible. Soon that gave way to the curve of the planet and the darkness of space as the car rose higher still. Soon the planet disappeared beneath them and gave way to a brilliant starscape. Somewhere among them was Earth…

Suddenly the view was obstructed by a metal bulkhead as the car pulled into the spaceport station. The bulkhead gave way to an interior hanger area. Through the windows of the car one could see into the windows of the station as people moved about while other glanced at the arriving elevator.

“Thank you for waiting, our ride is now over. Please unfasten your seatbelts and leave the car in an orderly fashion. Do not leave any personal belongings as…”

“Alright. Now let’s find our ship,” Sera said as everyone stood up and stretched their legs before grabbing their duffels and heading out of the car. After getting through the usual space port garbage of security and other stuff they five friends left the elevator part of the station and stepped onto the main promenade of the station. The five moved towards the hanger deck of the station where shuttles were leaving to rendezvous with all the other ships too large to dock with the Orbital Elevator.

They hoped onto a shuttle and took their seats. A few minutes later the ship departed for the Titan. The Titan was huge. It was a massive ship consisting of two oval sections giving it the appearance of an infinity sign. In the middle where the two sections jointed together was a rotating ring section, the sky deck. The rear section of the ship had four large engine pylons extending from it, two on top and two on the bottom. The way the ship was constructed allowed it to have four large ‘bubbles’ where people could inhabit. The gravity also allowed for the ship to never have a direct up or down. Everything was relative.

The shuttle glided into the cruise ship’s hanger. A series of docking arms secured it before an airlock attached itself to the side of the ship and sealed. The group departed the shuttled and emerged inside the terminal of the massive space liner.

Dak took a deep breath, “Ahh, feels like home.”

Jax had his nose buried in a holoscreen as he walked off the ship. Seraphina walked up behind him and glanced over his shoulder.

“Hey, whatcha looking at?” She asked.

Jax closed the screen, “I’ll tell you in a few. I think I just found something far more interesting to do than hit up the waterpark today.”

Sera grinned, “Oh really?”

Jax turned, “Yes really. If you’re up for getting into a little trouble.”

“Alright. Hey Fleta, Dak, how about instead of going to the waterpark today we get into a little trouble?” she said in an overly enthusiastic tone.

“Shut up,” Jax said, “Come on, let’s get to our room.”

“Do I get to share a bed with you again?” Sera asked.

Jax turned red, “I will kill you in your sleep.”

“Yeah right. You love me and you know it.”

“Fuck you.”

“Ooh, alright,” She laughed.

Jax turned, “Would you stop it already?”

Dak shook his head, “I swear you two are fucking married.”

Gene laughed, “Imagine that?”

“I hate all of you,” Jax sulked.

“Whatever you say Akira,” Seraphina giggled.

“Keep it up. I know where you live bitch.”

“I ‘LIVE’ with you. We’re all orphans remember?”

Jax sighed, “Yes I remember. And as much as we all grip and shit, you guys are the closest thing to a family I’ve got.”

“I’m your brother too dimwit,” Dak flicked his head.

“Oh let him be, Dak,” Fleta smiled, “He’s having a moment.”

Seraphina threw her arm around Jax, “Well if it makes you feel better, you’re family to me too.”

Jax smiled and gave her a light kiss on the cheek, “In spite of you being a crazy bitch sometimes, you can be cute when you want to.”

Sera blushed.

“You gonna ask her out anytime soon you impotent old fuck?” Dak laughed.

“I don’t know. You ever gonna ask Fleta out?”

Dak cringed. Fleta turned red and glanced at him.

“Yeah, chew on that, Snowball.”

The five approached their room. It was a nice suite made for eight but it would fit nicely for the five. They held up their key and entered the room. It opened up to a beautiful living room. A TV was embedded in the wall to their immediate right with a large L shaped couch sitting opposite. A coffee table sat in the middle with it being flanked by a love seat that faced a large smart glass window that overlooked the inside of the ship. To their right and left were a kitchen and a dining room.

The view was amazing. A small city was self-contained within the ship. Their hotel was one of the tallest structures within the ship and was situated within the center of the oval shaped dome. Beyond the large dome was a nice view of the stars. One of the engine pylons was visible extending up through the dome and into space.

The buildings within the ship had a sort of rustic architecture in symbiosis with a diverse group of flora. It was evening on the ship and most of the passengers were out enjoying the night. Jax however had a few other ideas.

“Alright, so there are only three suites available here and the other rooms are doubles. So take your pick,” Gene said, “Just saying. I’m getting one of the suites so… fight it out.”

With that the bartender turned and headed down the hallway to one of the suites.

The two boys and two girls both looked at each other.

“CALLED IT!” Came the simultaneous cry of four Halflings. They all frowned.

“WE SPLIT THEM.” They all said again before frowning.

“So who are we sleeping with?” Jax asked.

“Dak,” Jax called.

“Jax,” Dak called.

“Jax,” said Seraphina.

“Dak,” said Fleta.

“EH WHAT?” both Jax and Dak asked.

The two girls gave predatory grins and crossed their arms. The two boys blinked and broke out in cold sweats.

“Uh, majority rule?” Jax suggested.

Seraphina grinned, “Yeah well girls beat majority so… you’re coming with me.”

She walked by him and began dragging him away by his collar while Fleta did the same.

***

Jax frowned, “I can’t believe you did that to me.”

“Oh relax, Akira. You’re gonna enjoy sharing a bed with me and you know it,” the girl laughed.

“I’m not dating you,” he countered.

Sera grinned, “Yet.”

Gene had gone off into the city to meet up with an old friend, leaving the four to their own devices. Everyone changed into bathing suits and brought along towels and goggles. The two boys had to admit that their female counterparts looked rather attractive in their bikinis. But they would never admit that to anyone except themselves.

Jax led them past the waterpark towards one of the service areas. He placed two fingers on his temple and watched as the security cameras up ahead go offline and the door unlock. He glanced at his hand and watched as his fingerprints vanished. He opened the door and let his friends inside.

“You all remember how to breathe underwater right?” he laughed.

“Moron, we don’t need to breathe,” Dak frowned.

“I know.”

He led them through a series of service areas, each of the cameras were fooled into thinking everything was fine as well as any other sensor in the area. Soon they reached a door that had a ‘Do Not Enter’ sign on it.

“So you said this would be better than the waterpark?” Sera asked.

“Yup.”

“Just what is it?” Fleta asked.

“This,” Jax said opening up the door. Behind the door was a series of pipes as well as pools of small pools of water. Some had clean white sheets in them while others had nothing but foamy soapy water. Down a set of stairs was the floor that was covered in a foot of foam and water. Many of the pipes were spraying water in random directions. The whole room was huge and was a giant haphazardly and messy kind of a shower.

“What the hell is this?” Dak asked.

Jax smiled, “Ship’s clean water pumping station 53 as well as Clean Laundry Soaking Station 66. I hacked the ship’s systems report on the way here. Apparently this whole room has been on the fritz for like a month and they can’t seem to get it fixed. Report says it sprays water and foam all over the place and is just one massive mess. No one’s bothered to fix it and whenever something happens down here the crew just ignores it. Perfect for us.”

Seraphina smiled, “You’re fucking crazy, you know that?”

“I know. I’ve checked the pools are all safe. They just dump the sheets in there to soak for a bit after they’re done washing them. Apparently it does something with the nanofibers but I’m too lazy to learn about it at the moment so… Last one in is a rotten egg!”

He tore his shirt off and threw it at Sera before bounding down the stairs and into the mess of water and foam. Sera threw his shirt off of herself and pulled hers off revealing a blue bikini that complimented her body perfectly.

“You’re on!” She ran after him and sloshed through the water as he grabbed a hose from the wall and sprayed her.

Dak and Fleta looked at each other, shrugged and dropped their towels and tore off their shirts and dove in after them.

Fleta splashed Dak and took off in some random direction as Dak chased after her. Sera put up her hands and laughed as she attempted to stop the stream of water before she decided against it and tackled Jax to the ground, covering the pair in a soapy foam. They both laughed as they rolled through the water before Jax stood up, picking Sera up with him and dumping her in one of the pools where a group of sheets was soaking at a nice 21 degrees Celsius. She emerged with a sheet hanging off her shoulder and laughed before pulling Jax in with her.

Outside the service room, outside the city even, the ship was getting underway. The inertial dampeners activated as the powerful thrusters fired and tore the ship out of the gravity of Terra Centauri. The large cruise ship aligned itself on a course with the tropical ocean moon of Aquarius One. There, Jax and Dak’s sister Catherine was waiting, her summer vacation beginning as well. There the family would get together as well as meet up with more friends and enjoy a beautiful three months in paradise.

Right now though, life was perfect. The story would go on. The powerful engines of the Titan fired and set it on its course. The teenagers were blissfully unaware as Terra Centauri began receeding into the light of the three Suns of the Alpha Centuari System.

Things would go on as normal. Jax and Sera would live a long and happy life together. Dak and Fleta would do the same. Gene would meet some fiery and adventurous boy and live happily ever after. Friends would live happily together, life would go on, and things would be perfect. The best had yet to be…

The stories don’t end just because we stop telling them…

***

“Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more.”

― Erica Jong