Read Star Brigade: Odysseys - An Anthology for Free Online

got aerospace superiority.”
    “We’ll see about that,” Tyris challenged, fingering one of the large icicle-like spikes jutting backwards atop his head. Innovative as Khrome was, his PlaMa faction choices were as old-fashioned as a backwater planet dweller’s.
    “Who am I?” The Tanoeen ran his fingers over his side of the globe, accessing his player data. After realizing how late Bevrolor’s rant was running, he had asked his friends to choose his faction. At a glance, Tyris instantly regretted that decision. His faction was a pre-hyperdrive culture, still using gas-powered automobiles. The Tanoeen’s annoyed expression must’ve been telling, as his three friends chuckled fiendishly.
    “That’s what happens when you’re late, Ty,” Surje giggled, only to visibly fret over not clarifying what he meant, which always made the Voton over-clarify. “Late to play. The game, I mean—”
    “Can we begin already?” Khrome cut in before the Voton over-clarified them all into semi-unconsciousness.
    “Let’s,” Tyris rubbed his hands together. Everyone put on their thin gameplay visors, syncing with the PlaMa holo globe before them to access their resources, player options and characters.
    Once all four players brought up their massive 7’x7’ holoscreens, the latest Planet Master game commenced.
    Jan’Hax played as a post-hyperdrive civilization, hell-bent on unifying all nations on this fictional planet into one world government. Surje, always up for a challenge, chose a consolidated faction of moon and space station colonists, rebelling against Jan’Hax’s aspiring global empire.
    Each player’s massive holoscreen displayed whatever aspect of their faction they were currently maneuvering. Several smaller screens appeared in the corner of the larger screen, ready to be accessed at a player’s discretion. The mood was light and fun, with the usual competitive jabs being flung back and forth. Just another regular PlaMa game, like when they were Star Brigade recruits.
    Back then Tyris had roomed with Surje, and the two hit it off instantly. During their first month on Hollus Maddrone, Surje had introduced Tyris to Khrome, a huge PlaMa dork already who had gotten their mutual Ciphereen friend hooked. The trio became inseparable, even outside their twice-a-week PlaMa games. A short while later, Khrome had befriended another recruit in the form of Jan’Hax, bringing the young Ciphereen into their circle. Despite a grating penchant for long and fancily worded explanations, Jan’Hax ended up using a pre-hyperdrive society to win his first ever PlaMa game. In short, he fit into their group like a missing puzzle piece.
    Of the quartet, Tyris was the only one not from a Union memberworld, colony or territory. Being a legal alien from a non-Union world had earned Tyris the informal classification of ‘outworlder’. The Tanoeen wore the label without shame, but Khrome forbid him from using it on just himself.
    “Why do you care what I’m called?” Tyris had asked in confusion.
    “Because,” the Thulican had replied blithely, wearing that trademark sparkly grin. “We’re all stationed somewhere that’s not a homeworld for any of us. Technically we’re all outworlders.” Hence, how their group’s informal name came about over a year ago. Since then the group had enjoyed a recurring cast of satellite members, many who made guest appearances during PlaMa game nights. But the core four members of the ‘Outworlders’ remained unchanged.
    As expected, the PlaMa game was a seesaw of action, suspense, twists, and strategic genius between four experienced players who knew each other too well. But in time, certain mistakes revealed player weaknesses. Jan’Hax surprised no one by dismissing Tyris’s tribal faction and attempting to subjugate Surje’s spacestation/moon colonies by force instead of negotiation. This, along with the Ciphereen’s overextended forces that were uniting the planet, left him open to