by M. D. Cooper
Her father’s head snapped up, eyes wide.
“Dad, seriously, my son is here. There won’t be any hanky panky.”
“What about me?” Flaherty asked. “Don’t my poor eyes and ears count for anything?”
Mary snorted. “After what you told me about your escapades on Sabrina? No. I think you can handle anything.”
She turned to face the cockpit, considering a chat with Leeroy, but then her eyes settled on her sleeping son and Figgy—who had looked up at her as she approached.
Maybe just a bit of shut-eye would be nice….
She slowly lowered herself into her chair, careful not to disturb her son. Figgy watched through lidded eyes as Mary reclined the chair, and she reached out to stroke his coat of shaggy fur.
“Good Figgy,” she whispered as her head hit the headrest and she closed her eyes, sleep overtaking her almost instantly.
* * * * *
Flaherty heard Mary’s breathing even out in less than a minute after she laid down. He rose quietly and walked to the three seats where she, Drew, and Figgy lay.
These two people were the most precious things to him in the whole galaxy. Would it really be wise to take them along with him? Sera was renowned for getting into trouble. With Tanis at her side—if she’d convinced Tanis to join her efforts—that trouble would be of epic proportions.
He let out a long sigh. No, the best place for his daughter and grandson was the place he least wanted them to be. Out in Sagittarius.
With heavy heart, he walked to the cockpit. He couldn’t lie to his daughter, so he’d have to get Leeroy in on it.
Hopefully they’d all forgive him someday.
A NIGHT OUT ON HIGH VICTORIA
BY AMY DUBOFF
CAPTAIN
STELLAR DATE: 08.06.8948 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: ISS I2
REGION: Inner Canaan, New Canaan System
Captain Rachel Espensen surveyed the bridge of the I2 while crewmembers made the final preparations for the journey ahead.
At less than two hours until their scheduled departure, they were officially in crunch time.
Rachel smiled.
“Everything set?” a familiar voice said behind her.
She spun around and brought her hand to her forehead in a salute. “Admiral Evans, sir.”
“At ease, Captain.” He smiled. “How’s the command chair treating you?”
“It’s a big seat to fill,” she replied. Then privately over the Link added,
“I’ll keep her safe, sir.”
Joe cocked an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? You have some special super powers I’m unaware of?”
He looked so serious, for a moment Rachel thought he actually expected her to have some.
“Easy, Captain, I’m kidding.”
The admiral clasped her shoulder, and Rachel let out a relieved laugh.
She chuckled.
A NIGHT ON THE STATION
STELLAR DATE: 12.18.4241 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: ISF Academy, High Victoria Station
REGION: Victorian Space Federation, Kapteyn’s Star System
Rachel dropped her nose to the floor for her eighty-seventh push-up. This is the most idiotic thing I’ve ever done.
Well, perhaps not the most idiotic, if she was honest with herself. However, in a culture where genetic modification was the norm, and her nano could adapt her body at a cellular level, doing push-ups served no practical purpose.
Rachel dropped to her knees at the one hundred mark. The nano throughout her system kept her organs functioning at optimum efficiency, so she didn’t feel the slightest bit winded. If the intention of the exercise was indeed mental discipline, she was going to need to do a lot more than one hundred push-ups for it to make an impression.
“On your feet! Five kilometers,” Sergeant Greggors ordered.
More laps, seriously? Rachel rose to her feet, barely keeping her glare in check when her gaze passed to the drill officer.
Rachel snorted in her mind.
She pushed the thought aside, not wanting to dwell on her parents. Every time she felt she was on the verge of homesickness, she’d remember what life had been like before the Intrepid Space Force academy—when she was ready to do anything to get away.
“Faster!” Sergeant Greggors’ order to keep up the pace on her laps returned Rachel to the present.
Stars, I hate running even more than push-ups. She wouldn’t have thought that was possible.
Her theory about the academy having no genuine interest in physical conditioning through the exercise was supported by a distinct lack of a running track. The hangar had some padded mats thrown in an open area of the deck between the fighters for floor exercises, but the five-kilometer circuit was nothing more than five loops around the perimeter of the room.
Rachel passed by one of the new ARC-4s and gazed at it longingly as she ran by. I’d give anything to be out in the black rather than stuck in here.
He laughed in her mind.
Even if she couldn’t take an ARC-4 out for an evening of fun, there were still other options. If she didn’t do something—and soon—she was going to lose her mind.
Rachel flashed a well-honed pout in his direction.
Justin shook his head.
She eyed him.
Justin almost ran into a fellow cadet running ahead of him to the right.
Rachel smirked.
Her entire life, she’d felt like she was living in limbo. Though she’d spent the first few years of her life in the Sol System, Victoria was the only real home Rachel had ever known. However, her fellow colonists viewed it as a temporary stopover on their way to New Eden. Consequently, Rachel found herself caught between their impatience to get started with their new lives, and her own desire to have a place to call home.
With her parents counting down to the eventual arrival at New Eden, Rachel had turned to the Space Force to provide a much-needed distraction. Her parents had insisted that she needed structure, and maybe they were right. But the ISF wasn’t actually what she wanted.
Really, she craved adventure. She was counting the seconds until everyone loaded back onto the Intrepid and returned to the black.
But for now, she was stuck on Victoria and the orbital structures within the system, bored with the dull monotony of her everyday life. Running laps was not how she pictured spending her time in the academy.
Justin or no Justin, she needed to make her own adventure.
With a plan forming in her mind, Rachel sprinted to the finish line of the five-kilometer run.
“Well done, Espensen,” Sergeant Greggors praised. “I like that drive.”
I doubt he’d approve of my motivations.
She smiled at the drill instructor. “Always looking forward to what comes next.”
“That’s the spirit!” the drill sergeant nodded. “Now hit the showers. We resume at 0600.”
No human should be awake at that hour, Rachel silently bemoaned.
Not that time meant anything in space, where one wasn’t beholden to planetary rotation for daylight hours. Hell, the Intrepid’s master clock was still synced with the Mars Outer Shipyards, nearly thirteen light years away. But the fact that she was told when she had to be up is what bothered her, just like she hated being ordered to touch her nose to the floor, or to run circles around the room. They were trying to break her—to beat her into submission—but she’d find a way to forge her own path.
Rachel set off toward the dorms, and Justin jogged to catch up to her.
Her eyes darted toward him while a coy smile played on her lips.
Rachel shrugged.
He kept his gaze straight ahead.
Rachel scoffed.
A tingle of satisfaction worked its way through her chest. She knew she had him.
Justin audibly groaned.
She smiled over at him.
Justin’s impression of her plan hadn’t improved by the time she finished relaying the details, but a commitment was a commitment. They returned to their dormitory to begin the preparations for the night of partying.
Rachel’s first order of business was a shower, as her drill sergeant had suggested. Her own spin on the activity, however, offered an opportunity to don appropriate ‘going out’ attire.
The ISF’s uniform left much to be desired by way of figure flattery, but Rachel had made a point to bring along a short party dress among her limited personal possessions. The color-changing fabric could be programmed in any number of hues to match the occasion, and its scant cut could easily fit under her training jumpsuit.
She slipped the garment inside the folds of a clean jumpsuit, along with a pair of dress sandals and a folded shoulder bag, and then headed to the shared washroom.
After showering, the other cadets were too distracted with their own routines to notice when Rachel slipped from the open locker area into a private toilet stall to dress. She put on the party dress, with the canvas bag looped over her shoulder and pressed against her side, and then donned the jumpsuit over it, securing the sandals inside the tops of her socks. The loose fit of the jumpsuit was just enough to hide the hidden accessories.
When she emerged from the stall, she saw that Justin was exiting from a stall two doors down.
Marty approached. He’d do just fine.
“Argh!” Rachel exclaimed, gripping her head. She leaned against the wall of the corridor.
“Are you okay?” Marty ran over to her.
“Ugh, yeah…” Rachel massaged her temple. “Sorry, it’s nothing to worry about. I got evaluated for an early AI pairing, and it messed me up. I guess that’s why we don’t get them this young, huh?”
“You’re sure you’re okay? That seemed pretty bad…” Her roommate looked her over with concern.
“Eh…” Rachel massaged her temple some more. “You know, maybe I should head over for a med exam, just to be safe.”
“I can walk you,” Marty offered.
“Whoa, you okay, Rachel?” Justin said on cue from behind her.
She turned toward her friend. “Oh, just another headache. Really wish I hadn’t taken that test yet!”
Justin sighed. “I don’t know why you’re so eager to have another consciousness inside your head. You get into enough trouble as it is.”
“Yeah, you know me…” Rachel took a cautious step, then fake-stumbled toward Justin.
Marty frowned. “You really need to get to Medical.”
“I’ll take her down, don’t worry about it,” Justin told the other cadet.
“Okay,” Marty nodded. “If anyone asks, I’ll let them know you headed down there.”
Rachel gave him an appreciative smile. “Thanks! Don’t wait up for me.”
“See you later.” Marty resumed his walk toward the dorm.
Due to the sensitive condition of individuals seeking medical care, the waiting area for the infirmary had network blocks around it. All Rachel and Justin needed to do was step inside, deactivate their local Link access, and then leave—anyone searching for them would think they’d entered the blackout zone, and hadn’t been treated yet. The cover was
weak, but it only needed to hold up for the next hour or two, until everyone went to bed. After that, they could sneak back in while everyone was asleep, and no one would be the wiser.
The lobby was empty, as Rachel had hoped, and she quickly disabled her local Link access.
“How may I assist you?” an AI attendant asked over the audible systems in the lobby.
“Took a wrong turn,” Rachel replied.
“Your Link access is disabled.”
“Yeah, it’s acting up. I need Tech Support, not Medical.” Rachel laughed. “Have a nice evening.”
Justin nodded to Rachel that his own Link access was down, and they left the lobby before the AI could question them further.
“Think he’ll report us?” Justin whispered.
“Nah, we’re not worth the three nanoseconds of his processing time.”
Under the cloak of relative invisibility, Rachel and Justin took a route through back corridors toward the mess hall.
Administratively, the academy functioned independently from the rest of High Victoria and the ISF fleet. However, when it came to practical functions like food supply, the academy’s operations were merged with those of the larger station. By extension, waste generated in the academy’s mess hall was transported to the central processing facilities for recycling after every meal. The post-dinner shipment made the perfect means of transport outside the academy’s security perimeter.
Rachel stopped fifteen meters down the hall from the waste collection bin.
Justin’s brow furrowed. “We’re not really hitching a ride in the organic waste, are we?”
“Better than being melted down along with the metal. It’ll get us past the bioscanners.”
“Are you sure?” Skepticism laced his voice.
“Believe it or not, my plan isn’t entirely original. I got the tip from a cadet who was about to graduate. The automated disposal systems aren't online yet, so we can hop in one of these bins, and it'll take us to the central compost center.”
“And you’re sure it wasn’t a setup?”
Rachel shrugged. “I guess we’re about to find out.”