Starcorp 1: Escape from Sol

“I love you,” Daphne whispered after cuddling her head atop Benjamin’s chest.

The two of them had just finished making love. Daphne threw her left leg over Benjamin’s left leg while wrapping her left arm around his waist. She pulled her body forward until it was snug against his. She inhaled and let it out in a soft sigh. She nestled into the heat that emanated from his body while breathing across his chest.

“I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you,” Benjamin whispered back.

Daphne was gratified by these words. She smiled at the hearing of it and tightened her embrace. She had never wanted anyone’s love as much as she wanted Benjamin’s. Hearing this sentiment verbalized by him was the height of satisfaction for her. She could not imagine experiencing greater pleasure from any future event. Her instinct was to hold on to this experience for as long as she could. A second later she shut her eyes in the hope that the absence of sight would enable her to dissolve into this moment.

Benjamin was equally enamored with the moment. His sexual encounters had been many, but his romantic adventures had been few and far in between. This truth was a result of his seven years of life in space. Benjamin quickly learned, after immigrating up into a starcorp, that the majority of women there, especially the ones that were far older than he, were eager to entertain his sexual desires. And those that were not eager were usually happily affixed with a significant other. He also learned that most single women, of advanced years, were reluctant to be in a traditional marriage contract. Social contracts were far preferable.

The female population of the starcorps had a large minority of women of senior age with twenty-something-year-old anatomies. For these women, the prospect of tying themselves to any one man was regularly frowned upon. This was especially true when it came to men that had financial portfolios that were, largely, inferior to theirs. Typically, these women were all about the physical pleasure of the sex act and had no use for the romance. As a young new immigrant to the starcorps, Benjamin was happy to indulge their desires. He dove into the social market with reckless abandon.

The Social Market was the catchall term for all non-traditional and contractually governed mating that went on within a starcorp. The system was managed by lawyers, in place of pimps. They authored and filed social contracts for a fee. The starcorps embraced this as an effective way of tracking sexual partners and stemming the spread of social diseases. It also had the benefit of curtailing expensive and contentious divorces. The extended lives of the spacers, coupled with their extended youthful vigor, were beginning to destroy the institution of marriage. Social contracts had the virtue of having preset lifespans. It also worked out financial responsibilities and awards in advance. All non-traditional social contracts came to an end automatically and had to be renewed to be continued. The Social Market did not replace the institution of marriage, but it did influence the creation of an alternate name for them, traditional social contracts.

The process of entering, and negotiating the terms of, a social contract came about as a compromise between marriage and prostitution. Early in the existence of Spacers the starcorps discovered that policing the sexual practices of their long-lived inhabitants was problematic at best. This was because of their dependence on their resident shareholders as their workforce. In space, there was no way to commute employees in from outside of the starcorp. The last thing any starcorp wanted was for large numbers of its resident shareholders selling away their stock and relocating to a more socially agreeable starcorp. Pandering to the appetites of their workforce was a practice that all starcorps engaged in. None of them wanted to be the least desirable community to live in. Because of this competition between starcorps, changes in social norms were quick to be tested. What proved to be agreeable to the majority of the populace was adopted, and what proved disagreeable was discarded. Because of these broad changes in propriety, virtuous Earthers began to look upon the starcorps as havens for loose moral conduct. This was a popular indictment of the starcorps among Earthers.

Social contracting was born out of this trial and error method of social evolution. In effect, social contracts empowered any two or more individuals to devise a contract that restricted who they were permitted to be sexually intimate with. The overwhelming majority of these agreements incorporated regular payments by one or more of the signatories to one or more of the other signatories. There was only one fixed rule in the framework of a social contract, there could be no explicitly worded obligation requiring any signatory to have sex with anyone else. Despite this restriction, all knew that this was implicit in the contract because of the exchange of money. Financial penalties were levied against any signatory that broke faith with the contract, and early back-outs of a contract necessitated putting into effect monetary awards or penalties calculated at a pre-agreed upon scale. In effect, it behooved the payee to keep the payer happy, and it behooved the payers to cut their losses if they were not.

The original design purpose of the Social Contract was to circumnavigate the anti-prostitution law that was in existence when the starcorps were subject to Earth rule. Later, when Earth rule was no more, and the long lives of the Spacers began to over strain the institution of marriage, the starcorps legitimized the practice of social contracting. The Social Market evolved out of this act. The good looks of a spacer could earn him, or her, a considerable income. And the wealth of a spacer could garner him or her numerous lovers. For Benjamin, his participation in the Social Market quickly became financially lucrative and slowly became emotionally draining.

Over time, Benjamin became less enthralled with these detached relationships. He became hungry for the affections of more than one of these ladies that he contracted with and despondent when he did not get it. Shortly, he emotionally armored himself against this new reality. He willed himself not to become infatuated with any of the women that exploited him for sex. Over time, this defense created a void that begged to be filled. Daphne was the solution that filled this vacuum.

Benjamin was not looking for a relationship when he first saw Daphne. He had become accepting of the prospect that an ongoing romance with anyone would likely not happen soon. He also expected that the woman that filled this position would be several years older than Daphne. It is for these two reasons that he, initially, dismissed Daphne as a potential love interest. This perception changed within a time span of one week from the day he first saw her. Daphne’s beauty and her apparent affinity for him overwhelmed his concern about her age and caused him to entertain thoughts about sharing his life with hers.

“I wish I could move in,” Daphne mused as her head lay atop Benjamin’s chest. “I spend all my spare time here anyway.”

Daphne already knew what the reply to her pondering would be. This was a subject they had discussed before and resolved upon. Her remark was far more of a wish than a serious suggestion. Benjamin was aware of this distinction but chose to respond despite this.

“You don’t need that expense,” Benjamin whispered back with a soft shake of his head.

Both Benjamin and Daphne knew that her parents enjoyed some financial allowances for the care of their children. They were also aware that her parent’s allowance would be reduced if she formally changed her status to an independent resident. This change would subject Daphne to living expenses. To avoid this expense, she would have to make the move without reporting it to the starcorp. This act would make her, and her parents, vulnerable to fines and back charges once the starcorp discovered the truth. This was a risk that Daphne was neither willing to take or to ask her parents to take. By RG01 law, they were engaged in a misdemeanor offense already. Sexual relationships, without a contractual agreement, were prohibited. But this was a minor offense that carried a minor fine, and it would only apply to the two of them. This offense would be far greater if they were signatories to a social contract with a third party while engaging in prohibited sex. Benjamin and Daphne reasoned that it was better to keep things as they were. Daphne came to this conclusion with a significant amount of reluctance.

“So, how long do we do this?” Daphne whispered after a pause.

This was a subject that had never been discussed or decided upon. This was because both sides assumed that their relationship would be formalized when Daphne became an independent resident. She asked this question, at this moment, because of her concern that Benjamin and her father might be released from the project at different times. Daphne feared the prospect of being separated from Benjamin due to events outside of her control.

Benjamin did not share Daphne’s concern about this. He had surmised from the beginning that they would not soon be separated. He anticipated that this project would keep them both fixed in this location for several years to come. He did not discuss this with Daphne because the subject never came up before. And he gave little thought to it because it carried so little weight in his thoughts. It is for these reasons that he gave her query a casual response.

“For as long as it takes.”

“Yes, but what happens if you or my Dad get transferred back to DCT,” Daphne challenged softly?

Daphne had not seen or heard of this happening to anyone else. But she feared it would occur eventually.

“I doubt they’ll be sending your father back anytime soon. And I know I’m not going back for some time to come,” Benjamin reasoned out loud.

Daphne pushed her upper body up off his chest, braced her right forearm against the bed and gave Benjamin a look of curiosity before questioning this with a surprised inflection.

“Why do you say that?”

It was generally understood by all that were living and working within RG01 that discussion about the work they were doing was discouraged by the governing authority. But all knew that this was unenforceable and most people there spoke on what they knew, in limited amounts, with their closest confidants. There was little fear that this practice would do them any harm. There were no reports of this happening before, and all believed that anything they said was not going to leave the Saturn System. Where security was lax about the exchange of information between individuals, it was stringent with regards to the transmission of it outside of RG01. All external communications went through an RG01 Security bottleneck. Everything going out of the planetary system was censored and redacted when necessary.

Benjamin and Daphne were small time offenders of this prohibition against the discussion of the business of RG01. This was primarily due to Daphne. She had little interest in the details of what was going on inside RG01. The consensus among the population was that they were engaged in a military buildup. This was all that she cared to know about what was happening. For Daphne, the details were irrelevant and boring. Benjamin understood this to be the case and gave no thought of bringing it up with her, until this moment. Her sudden interest in his connection to this project gave him reason to tell her what he knew.

“I’m going to be here long after this construction project is over,” Benjamin confessed hesitantly.

Daphne was perplexed by this report. She took a moment to sort out her confusion and then asked the question that this process produced.

“Why?”

Benjamin paused long enough to second guess his decision to tell her what he knew and then he proceeded to answer her question.

“I’ve been recruited into RG01’s fighter pilot program.”

“You’re going to be a fighter pilot,” Daphne echoed back with a shocked expression. “How? When?”

“They recruited me into the training program three months back,” Benjamin explained promptly in the hope of counteracting her dismay. “I accepted,” he confessed a second behind.

“So, you’re a soldier?” Daphne questioned with an inquisitive look.

“No,” Benjamin corrected with a slight shake of his head. “At the end of the training, I will be a licensed fighter pilot.”

“But after that, you’ll be a member of this military that they’re constructing?” A confused Daphne spoke with a questioning inflection.

Benjamin understood her confusion. He had only recently learned the mechanics of his association with this Space Force that was being put together. Had he been speaking to anyone other than her he would expect that person to know this. His mistake was in forgetting that he was speaking to Daphne. Benjamin promptly set himself to the task of clarifying his situation to her.

“Once I graduate, I will be qualified—temporarily, to hold a commission in the RG01 Space Force, but this is something that I can either accept or decline. It’s going to be an all voluntary military. Anyone that accepts the commission will instantly become RG01 shareholders, and anyone that reneges on their pledge of service will automatically forfeit their shares. Fines and penalties could be added on top of that if they abandon their post during an active conflict.”

Benjamin hesitated for effect and then added a final thought with an expression of excitement. “This is a whole new kind of military.”

Daphne had no response to this. Her mind was hard at work processing what she had just heard along with the level of excitement in the voice of its teller. Benjamin interpreted her silence as proof that she had no questions and picked up where he left off two seconds earlier.

“Shares will be divided out by rank and cumulative time on duty with a differential for non-hazardous, hazardous and extreme hazard duty. To hold on to my commission, I will need to start a one-year tour within ten years of my last tour, in either a reserve or active duty capacity. If I lose my commission, then I would have to go through the training again to get it back. And to bridge my seniority I would have to complete ninety days of active service for every year I was away.”

“But you won’t have to go to war,” Daphne challenged as though she was pointing out the obvious.

Benjamin noted the satisfaction Daphne derived from the idea that he could avoid being a participant in some future conflict. Upon seeing this, he concluded that she did not perceive his position on this subject. Once again, he set himself to the task of clarifying something for her.

“This is an opportunity,” Benjamin declared with a hint of excitement. “RG01 is going to be a new kind of starcorp. The other starcorps may own RG01’s equipment, but they don’t own the people that will be running it.”

Benjamin took a pause to see if Daphne comprehended what that meant. After noting her confusion, he continued with his explanation.

“They’re going to have to negotiate terms with RG01 just like any other starcorp. That means that there are no upper limits to the potential profits. This is a ground floor opportunity. Only a fool would back out of this program.”

Daphne did not know how to take this news at first. The knowledge that Benjamin would not be leaving RG01 anytime soon gave her comfort. But the prospect of him going into battle was equally unsettling. For the first time, she was eager to know the plans that the starcorps had for these weapons.

“But, we’re not really going to war with Earth, are we?” Daphne implored with a wide eye expression.

“I don’t know. We could,” Benjamin confessed with a shake of his head.

Daphne was made even more distressed by this answer. She pushed herself up into a seated position on the bed and looked upon Benjamin with an expression of extreme concern.

“You can’t go to war with Earth, Benjamin,” Daphne insisted sternly. “We have family down there. We have friends and people we know. How could you even think about doing something like that?”

“No one thinks that,” Benjamin countered quickly.

“What do you mean nobody? Who is nobody?”

“RG01 has been gathering pilots from out of every starcorp in the system. There are more than three hundred of us here.”

“Three hundred,” Daphne repeated with an astounded inflection.” What are they going to do with three hundred fighter pilots?”

“Daphne, relax,” Benjamin implored.

Benjamin paused from his response to give his plea time to take effect. Two seconds later he picked up from where he left off.

“Right now, we’re mostly doing nothing. We haven’t even seen our fighters yet.”

“I don’t understand… What are you doing?”

“Well, so far they’ve processed us into the training program. We’ve done some drilling, small arms training, some mental preparation training. We’ve watched an endless series of videos on codes of conduct—ethics—it just seems like a lot of busy work. Trust me, they’re not planning anything for the immediate future.”

Daphne took a moment to take all this in. At the end of this, she expressed her confusion about what he had just said with an undertone of hysterics.

“They can’t be building all of this just to have you sit around and do nothing. My Dad said that they’re building this giant basestar out there. That can’t be for nothing, Benjamin.”

“I don’t think they’re meant for offensive purposes,” Benjamin suggested in a whisper.

Benjamin reached out and took Daphne’s hand into his before speaking again.

“I’m sure they are there in case Earth attacks us.”

“Why would they do that?” Daphne continued with a hint of hysteria. “Earth doesn’t have a Space Force.”

“But it could, Daphne,” Benjamin earnestly returned an instant behind. “Earth is potentially the single greatest industrial power in the solar system. Once they get their act together the starcorps will be no match for it. They’ll be able to out-produce us in warplanes a hundred to one. And more importantly, they have the manpower to put in those warplanes. For every one of us, there are twenty-five-thousand-of-them. If Earth went on a war footing today, they could be attacking us within a year. We have to prepare for this, Daphne—We have to.”

Daphne took this information in with a gradually expanding sensation of terror. She had heard talk like this before, but in the past, she was not really listening. The idea that Benjamin could play a role in such a conflict brought her attention to a sharp focus. Her greatest concern at this moment was that Benjamin might be harmed if such a conflict came to pass.

“But, you’re not going to fight, are you?” Daphne questioned with a hint of fear in her tone.

Benjamin hesitated to answer out of a reluctance to say what he suspected that Daphne feared to hear. In the end, he confessed his intention with an intonation of solemn regret.

“Daphne, I have to do this.”

Daphne did not wait for him to finish before countering with her objection. An expression of fear was on her face as she shook her head in disbelief.

“No, no, you can’t do this, Benjamin. You have to promise me that you will turn down the commission if it’s offered—Please—do it for me.”

Benjamin weighed this request against his feelings for the person staring at him with a pleading expression. After several seconds of this, he gave the only honest response that he could.

“I can’t make that promise. I’m sorry.”

Daphne continued to hold her stare for another few seconds. At the end of this, she leaned forward against Benjamin, rested her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. Shortly after situating herself into this embrace she whispered the only thought that existed in her head.

“I can’t lose you.”

Benjamin returned her embrace with a hint of a smile before responding to her declaration.

“This is all preparation, Babe. Chances are it will never happen.”

Daphne gave a moment of thought to this and then whispered out her thinking.

“If you’re staying, then I’m staying.”

“You can’t,” Benjamin disputed with a shake of his head.

“I’m staying.”