Ergas

Here’s a story and a world I created in 2013. Unfinished and unedited.

Margaret Breslow

The dictator of the Ergas Pod System stood on her porch of the Government and Security Pod. Margaret Breslow watched Ergas Military Class #53 graduate on the parade ground. Since 2031, Ergas’ barracks had been producing a small temporary class. Each civilian, man or woman, was required to serve two years if they didn’t continue education after high school, and they had to serve just one year after college or technical school. This unit would serve its term and then be disbanded unless the Pod System came under attack. By order of Dictator Breslow, every able-bodied citizen would be ordered to reform their units, arm themselves, and report to duty to defend the system.

Each pod had anti-gravitational magnets powered by solar and hydro power. They hovered about one hundred feet from the ground, which was covered by water from global warming. The year the last ice caps melted, it rained acidic water, killing nearly every resource. Luckily, the governments had put species in protective shelters early on, and now they were thriving in pods high above the waste-water. The pods had domes to prevent the acidic water from entering the safe havens.

Margaret’s War Advisor was giving the commencement speech to the graduates. Samuel Tribble had been one of the best War Advisors; he had reorganized the military, upgraded their weapons, and raised morale exponentially. Margaret had allowed him to do just about everything and requisition state-owned materials.

Margaret focused mainly on the internal matters at hand: keeping the general populace satisfied with its communist state. It wasn’t always easy, but Margaret had switched up the ideology to better suit what she felt would work. There was equality in marriage, free healthcare, as well as a high education system. People could go as far as they wished in school and then work in a variety of employment fields. They could go back to school if they wished and change their jobs. However, everything was state-owned and everyone received equal pay, because no one had a job not beneficial to the Ergas Pod System.

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The Thurstons

“Mom! I’m going to school!” Joseph Thurston yelled up the stairs.

“Alright, honey! I’ll be working late tonight at the hospital. See you tomorrow,” Savannah Thurston said.

The Thurstons lived, as all people did, in the Residence Pod. Each could house four hundred people. It was simply a large neighborhood. Each family lived in a state-owned dwelling with all the accommodations any middle-class family needed. Each house had two floors, two bathrooms, and enough bedrooms to suit the individual family’s needs. Any changes could be approved by the Residence Board at no cost to the family.

Savannah Thurston had lost her husband three years ago in a shuttle accident along with three other people during their commute to work in the Agriculture Pod. The shuttles were grease-powered and used to travel from pod to pod. Although they were driven robotically, there were still accidents. Joseph was going to school at the College for Future Educators, and he was a sophomore there. Savannah also had a daughter, Anna, who had chosen not to go to college, even though her mother prodded her to. Instead, Anna was in the army and doing very well. She had told her mother that she was interested in making it her career.

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In the Field

As Joseph was on his mid-morning trip to school, his sister, Anna, was in a field exercise. Her unit, the 8th Ergasian Experts Regiment, was practicing infiltration techniques. Anna’s platoon was the designated recon team, while the three other platoons provided security backup if the recon team was spotted. Quickly, the platoon roped from their customized military shuttles into the main entrance of the dummy pod, which was set up like a government pod. Once inside, the three squads split up to secure the landing zone (LZ) so reinforcements could arrive.

The 49th Ergasian Regulars were the Opposition Force (OpFor). Anna’s team knew nothing yet of the Regulars’ placement or composition. When both shuttle service landings had been cleared, a company of the 8th Experts flew in on five transports, not touching the ground before all the soldiers jumped off. As this company took over the job of LZ security, Anna’s unit moved to the rest area above the service landings. Two more companies of Experts were landing, bringing the total force on the pod to battalion strength.

Over the secure communications line, Anna heard her captain’s voice:

“Stand down, Experts. This exercise has been terminated. Board the transports and gather at the barracks. We have a new assignment. Out.”

“The hell is that all about?” Anna said.

“Easy does it, Corporal Thurston! We could be going into the real deal,” Sergeant Holden said.

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Margaret Breslow

Margaret Breslow sat down with her War Advisory Committee, led by Samuel Tribble. Mr. Tribble stood, nodded to Margaret, and cleared his throat as he began the briefing. The Committee followed his pointer on the map and perused their reports in front of them. Margaret remained stone-faced. A small repair operation wasn’t too much of a problem, especially if she could get the 8th Experts out there in support of the 24th Engineering Regiment.

“Madame Dictator Breslow, I would recommend the 39th Experts, as they are fresh and well-rested. They would better support the engineers, since the 8th Regiment has just been in a field exercise,” Mr. Tribble said.

“I suppose you are right. I thought the 8th would be ready and excited, but perhaps I am wrong, indeed. It is settled, then. Tell the 39th to assist the 24th Engineers. The 8th will have the rest of the day to rest,” Margaret said.

“Should we prepare a response team, Madame Dictator? This pod repair is on the outer regions of our system, close to the Republic. They don’t like us, ever since we split ways,” one of the committee members offered.

“That’s a sound idea. Have the 8th serve as the Quick Reaction Force,” Margaret said as she stood and dismissed the members.

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In the Field

“What do you mean we’re to stand down, sir?” Anna asked.

“It means, Corporal, that we get the rest of the day to relax. That exercise has been done dozens of times. We all know the drill,” Sergeant Holden replied. He left the squad to their clean-up duties and resumed his own in the Sergeants’ Quarters. Anna shook her head. Sarge is right; we’ve got the recon job down really well. She returned to her barracks room and shut the door. Pulling off her combat vest, Anna set it over the desk chair and sat down. She laid her safety weapon on the desk and began to disassemble it.

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The Thurstons

Joe Thurston walked out of the classroom with his friends, Hal and George. They whistled at the cute girls passing by, who in turn watched the handsome men saunter away. Laughing, the three friends left the confines of the classes for the open space of the Rest Zone. They broke out their lunches and began to eat.