Difference between revisions of "The Chronicles of Horatio Cain"

Revision as of 22:48, 26 June 2010

Preface

The Chronicles of Horatio Cain is a piece of Player Created Fiction written by Horatio Cain. The Chronicles were originally published as a partwork on the EVE-online forums [1].

The Chronicles of Horatio Cain

Part 1

Cain gazed from the observation deck of the hangar at the Kisogo State War Academy School to gaze at his new vessel, the Intrepid.

It wasn't much to look at, an Ibis class frigate, an old mult- role vessel. Many had been decommissioned, but the State War Academy had been granting them to promising graduates as their first training commands. Caine still smiled as he looked at it. It wasn't much but it was his. He had come a long way...

Horatio Cain had been a tube child. Cain had been grown, rather than born. His name was not originally Horatio Cain either, as he had no parents. He was, for much of his young life, known as orphan 34458. Raised in the cruel and rough State run orphanages, Cain learned to be self reliant and resourceful. He had committed murder before the age of 14 when he was forced to kill an older boy who had threatened to take advantage of him. From then on none of the older boys bothered Cain and he had earned their respect.

Like most orphans of The State he was expected to find employment at the age of eighteen or face life in a prison labor camp. He managed to find work as a cargo loader on a space station owned by the Kaalakiota Corporation. He was indoctrinated and initiated as a citizen of the corp and proved himself a tireless and efficient worker and took the name Horatio Cain from one of his favorite holo-vid characters. Cain found that the work was not much better than what he would have endured in the prison camps but at least he was getting paid and he was a citizen. As a Deteis he had to prove himself among the veteran dock workers who were mostly of Civire heritage.

As a young man the lessons Cain learned in the orphanages served him well and he proved to be resourceful and ruthless, and had maneuvered to a position as foreman in less than a year after carefully discrediting the former foreman and taking credit for several new innovations in the loading operations for his loading team.

He came to the attention of Tristan Oliver, who was the manager of the station and the two became friends. Tristan admired the young man's ambition and offered to give him the opportunity to enter the school of his choice. Cain jumped at it and was granted a commission in the State War academy. Cain had ever dreamed of being like his childhood hero, Horatio Cain, the brave and stalwart Caldari ship captain.

Cain promised Oliver that he would not let him down and driven by a promise and his ambition Cain set out to prove that even though he was a tube child he could be as formidable as any Caldari pure-born.

Part 2

Horatio arrived at Kisogo via an Interbus Transport. The State War Academy Space Station orbited the seventh planet in the Kisogo system.

He was glad to finally debark the vessel and walk around hangar to stretch his legs. He noticed that the others who also got off the transport were young Caldari as well and seemed to be milling about haphazardly as they took in their surroundings. Just then the main entrance to the hangar opened and an imposing Civire male dressed in full battle fatigues entered.

"Get in ranks you worthless Fedos!" he bellowed. "You incompetent swine couldn't serve aboard a Gallente Yacht much less a State Garbage Scow!"

Cain along with his fellow recruits tried desperately to placate the immense drill instructor. The motley assortment made one long, haphazard line.

"Unbelievable, I truly fear for the future of The State if this is our best and brightest!" The instructor howled, "I will whip you into shape if it kils you, mark my words tube spawn!

"I am Gunnery Sergeant Clive Nickel and you shall address me as Sir at all times, you rotten maggots. I have served in the Caldari Navy as a Marine since before you were genetic mass in a test tube!

"While you attend courses here at The State War Academy that will train you to be competent officers in service to The State or a Corporation. I will train you how to behave like competent officers, or kill you in the process!"

Cain heard two of the recruits in the line snickering as the Sergeant came to the end of his speech and without warning the huge man sprang into motion. In seconds, one lay on the deck with Nickel's boot on his throat while the other receeved a hea butt that sent him sprawling unconscious to the ground with a ruined nose. Sergeant Nickel waited until the other recruit passed out under his boot heel, while the other recruits looked on in frightened astonishment.

"Let these two Gallente man-*****s be a lesson to you, if you think about ignoring me!" he said, staring coldly back at the gathered recruits.

Over the next few weeks, Cain, along with the rest of the recruits learned to respect and loathe the sergeant as he harshly indoctrinated them into the academy through harsh physical training and abuse meant to teach them discipline, while they studied their courses in starship command and tactics.

Cain did better than many of the recruits thanks to his upbringing. Cain had earned everything he had, including this chance to graduate the academy, so self-discipline was not new to him. Many of the recruits were the pure-born sons and daughters of corporate families who had used their influence to get them commissions in the academy.

Cain also had to quickly establish himself atop the pecking order with the males early on. Many of the young men, led by a Deteis named Tam Renfro who was the son of a Director to the Sukuuvestaa Corporation, had taken to making fun of Cain for his name. One evening while the recruits were cleaning their dormitories, Cain walked right up to Tam and hit him hard enough to break his jaw. From that moment on, Cain was no longer chided for his name and once again, had earned the respect he deserved. He would also gain an enemy in Tam Renfro for the rest of his days at the Academy....