Escape to the Stars!

by Glenn L Erickson

  Chapter 11: The Trip to Midway

  Alexi joined around fifty other young people aboard the Climber. It was a smallish glassed-in compartment with thinly-padded chairs equipped with multi-point seatbelts. Assistants were relieving the passengers of their luggage and belting each passenger into a chair. The young lady that assisted Alexi touched the back of her left hand and asked quietly “Have you used the ‘fresher recently?”

  Alexi was startled for a moment and shook her head. The lady undid her restraints and urged her to visit the restrooms in the lobby quickly. “We are leaving in five minutes and I need you seated!” Alexi nodded and hurried to the restroom. She was back in less than three minutes and plopped into the seat puffing lightly. The assistant grinned at her and said “Many of the passengers are so excited about the lift that they forget to go too!” Giving Alexi’s restraints a last tug, she exited the car. As the door was secured, Alexi saw the young woman blow her a kiss. Unsure, Alexi waved back.

  “Welcome aboard climber A23.” A voice announced from the ceiling. “We are less than a minute from ascending and I need to remind everyone that smoking is prohibited and that you may not unbuckle your restraints until told to do so. The chairs you are in are merely for the beginning of the trip. After a few minutes of acceleration, we will reach cruising speed and you will be able to ascend to the other levels.”

  “Restroom facilities are limited to single-occupancy so please use them quickly and leave them clean for the next person. Motion-sickness tablets are available on request. Oh, and the consumption of narcotics or alcohol anywhere in the climber is cause for ejection!” The speaker popped and went silent. Alexi stared at the speaker, disbelieving her ears. Then she glanced around to find several of her seat-mates in shock or snickering to themselves.

  The speaker popped again and the voice said “By the way; the ejection warning was just in jest. The use of alcohol or drugs other than prescription meds isn’t really banned; we just take them away from you to use ourselves later!”

  The speaker popped again and stayed off. A tone sounded and Alexi felt her ears compress from increasing pressure. A shudder rattled the car as the traction fields engaged to the riser and began to move them upwards. Since this was her first time in a climber, she had no idea what to expect. The view of the surrounding countryside quickly fell away and she began to feel heavier. A screen at the center of the car displayed their speed in MPH and KPH.

  She alternated watching the speed displays and glancing out the windows. Shortly after they left the station, all she could see was sky. She tried to lift her head but it was uncomfortable so she desisted. A faint whistling noise slowly faded as they reached the upper atmosphere.

  She watched in fascination as the sky faded to violet and then utter black. A few minutes later, she suddenly felt lighter as the Climber reached cruising speed. The displays were stable at nearly 1000 mph or 1610 kph. She heard the speaker come to life and a moment of background noise before the pilot began to speak.

  “Welcome to space! We are now 25 miles or just under 48 kilometers above the Earth. As you can see from the displays, we are traveling at nearly 1000 miles per hour or 1610 kph. You may join the crew on the next level for a celebratory drink of Tang!”

  Mechanical sounds accompanied the releasing of their restraints. Rising to her feet cautiously, Alexi felt unsteady and clung to the grab-bar just over her head until the world steadied. Glancing around, she was secretly pleased to see that many of her fellow passengers were looking a bit pale too.

  When she felt stronger, she tottered to the spiral staircase at the center of the car and slowly negotiated the steps. As her head cleared the floor of the next level, she was cheered by the crew sitting on stools around a curving bar that seemed to encompass the entire level. Then she realized the reason: the view out through the surrounding windows was spectacular.

  The rising sun was washing the entire area around the base of the tower with warm light. The terminator was still visible far to the West as a receding eclipse of darkness. The windows to the East were nearly opaque to block the unfiltered solar radiation. As the sun moved more directly overhead, those windows would gradually clear to allow those seated at the bar a breathtaking view of Earth.

  A cold, sweating glass of an orange liquid was offered to her as she stepped away from the stairway. “Congratulations on your first Climb!” An attractive young man said as he stood patiently waiting for her to accept his offering. Numbly, she took the glass and then moved to a relatively un-crowded area behind the stairway. The young man followed her and turned the back of the stool away from her, indicating that she should be seated. “The effects of Climbing can take a while to wear-off. Everyone needs to sit until they get their “Climber Legs”!” He grinned and then dashed off to greet the next cautious passenger braving the climb from below.

  She tried the orange concoction and found it a bit strange. The taste was only faintly reminiscent of the oranges she remembered but, after a few more sips, she found the taste pleasant though a bit too sweet. She was surprised to find a history of the drink printed on the glass. She carefully turned the glass as she read and was amused to learn that American Astronauts had favored the drink in early manned space-flights and several generations of young Americans had embraced the drink for that reason.

  She absently watched as the Earth slowly receded beneath them. A steward came around and offered pre-packaged sandwiches and fresh fruit. Alexi chose an apple and an egg-salad sandwich. She gradually became more aware of the conversations going on around her. She was particularly conscious of the admiring glances cast her way by the male members of the group.

  She was aware she was attractive but until being selected for colonization, she only had had eyes for Pieter. They had met at the University and had both applied for the program, but a hidden health issue had side-lined Pieter. Their relationship had wobbled a bit but Pieter overcame his disappointment quickly and became her unflagging champion and mentor as she struggled to pass course after course. She was sure that Pieter was even more ecstatic than she was when she graduated with honors.

  They had planned on marrying early in their relationship but Pieter had become cool to that thought after he had been rejected for colonization. “I can’t marry you and either, hope to be included as a spouse or risk your being rejected too because you’re married. I do love you dear Alexi but I will not be the reason you miss this wonderful opportunity!”

  She had tried to argue against it but she found no comfort from her parents or siblings. They were all for her going and countered any argument she had for staying. Finally, her father took her on a long walk on a frosty evening and warmly recounted to her how he too had hoped to be selected. He was an outstanding engineer but he was rejected because younger, more-qualified engineers that were more current in his area of technology were needed. He had swallowed his disappointment and volunteered to help mentor many of these younger engineers.

  He finally related to her that she was the only hope that a member of their family would ever get to colonize the stars. “We’re proud of you Alexi. You carry the hopes and dreams of us all with you. We cannot be there when you climb to the Stars, but our hearts and love will be with you.”

  She hugged him fiercely and he led her home with his arm around her shoulder. She reveled in his scent as she always had growing up. It was a faintly earthy aroma that only increased if he sweated while splitting firewood or carried her on his shoulders around the yard at a gallop. She wanted to remember that smell so that it would carry her through any dark times ahead.

  She was startled out of her memories by the stool next to hers being taken. She turned and found herself gazing into the laughing eyes of the young steward. “You’re sitting here all by yourself! I saw this and said to myself that you are too beautiful to be so alone.” He paused to see what effect his words would have on her. He was disappointed to only elic
it a faint smile. “I was remembering my poppa as we parted on the day I left for the university.” She stopped and looked down “We’ve spoken since but I haven’t been back to see him.” Sadly turning to look out at the unblinking stars she added “Now, I will never hug him or anyone else in my family again.”

  Feeling awkward, the young man struggled to find something to say to distract her. He too had applied to be a colonist but had failed to make the necessary marks in school. He had been told that if he continued his education, there was always a chance he would be selected later. He had rebelled at the thought that he hadn’t been good enough and had quit school and applied to work at the Space Elevator complex. Beating out hundreds of other applicants for this job had boosted his self-esteem but he knew that he was still not where he wanted to be.

  He gazed at Alexi as she continued to look out at the stars and realized sadly that she was unattainable to him. She had succeeded. He had quit. Reflecting on his reaction to his rejection and subsequent actions, he was suddenly overcome with guilt and not a little shame. Easing away from the bar so as not to disturb her, he silently resolved to re-apply himself.

  The others in the car seemed to sense that Alexi wanted to be alone. It wasn’t until she had yawned several times that she once again became conscious of the room around her. She turned and glanced around and found that only a couple of people and an older steward were still in the car. Getting up from her stool, she found she was stiff from sitting. She stretched luxuriously for a moment and the climbed the stairs to the Observation Lounge.

  She found a seat facing outward and isolated between two partitions. She placed her pad in the seat to claim it and then went to use the facilities. When she returned, she found a steaming cup of tea waiting for her. She glanced around for her benefactor but the only suspect, the young steward, was nowhere to be seen. She seated herself and then tasted the tea. It was a fragrant Darjeeling, one of her favorites. She wondered how he had known.

  The windows in the lounge went all of the way to the floor, so you could see the curvature of the earth recede as time passed. The sun was moving west so her windows were gradually polarizing against the glare while still allowing her to look out. Some of the warmth leaked through, causing her to get sleepy. She ended up dozing in the chair for an hour.

  When she awoke, dinner was being served in the bar downstairs. She headed down and opted for a chicken sandwich and yogurt, with iced tea. She allowed herself to be drawn into a conversation with the young steward. She thanked him for his kindness with the tea earlier and he blushed slightly and said “You are most welcome.”

  They talked until she started yawning too often to be ignored. Seeing her covering several yawns in a minute, the steward suggested that she get some sleep. “We’re going to be stuck here together for just about another twenty hours, so we don’t have to rush getting to know each other all at once.” He added action to words, bid her good night and headed up to the crew area.

  She put her empty cup in the tray next to the counter and headed down to the sleeping compartment. Finding an empty tube she grasped the bar overhead and swung her feet in first. Wriggling a bit to squirm further into the tube, she then reached out and closed the air-tight hatch. She touched the control that opaqued the glass for privacy and then shrugged out of her clothes. She pulled the light blanket over her and dropped off to sleep far faster than she had though possible.

  By the time they were less than three hours from reaching Midway, she had exhausted her repertoire of stories and jokes. She had played every game on her pad at least once and was about to climb out the top hatch to see if she could speed things along. Many of the other passengers were the same way and a couple of the men had had to be separated when they went at each other over a minor disagreement.

  Her weight had been dropping steadily as they had neared Midway. At first, it was a novelty, and then it became a hazard if you stepped down too hard or tried to stop too suddenly. More often than not, you ended up floundering about until you touched down again.

  The crew arranged for several competitions involving low-gravity effects. One was where you poured water out of a glass, and then tried to catch it with the same glass. They passed out squirt-guns and, while the men thought they were great fun, it seemed as if only the women were getting wet. Paper airplanes would fly for several minutes.

  When they were only an hour from arrival, she felt light as a feather. She had wandered down to the bottom floor and was pacing around the central spiral stairway for exercise. For fun she would jump up lightly and grab a pair of the overhead bars and slowly pull herself around the perimeter of the room. Feeling the urge to go, she allowed herself to settle to the floor. She shuffled her feet as she had been taught and headed for the bathroom.

  Afterwards, feeling hungry, she grabbed some toast and an orange, then retreated to what had become ‘her’ stool to eat. She had just finished eating when the speaker came on and announced “Arriving at Midway. All passengers must return to the lower cabin and strap in. A steward will assist you if needed and to answer any questions you might have.”

  Alexi slowly headed down to the lower car and returned to the same seat she had used on lift-off. She was completely belted-in before the young steward came around to check on her. He smiled self-consciously but said nothing. Alexi looked after him as he moved on and wondered at his change towards her. She couldn’t really pursue that thought as the Climber began to slow and she felt her weight dropping away, then she lifted gently against her straps. As the deceleration began to build, she hoped that the straps were adequate and secured properly.

  Her stomach protested a bit and flipped over a couple of times. She heard a subdued curse from one of the other passengers and turned in time to see him grab an air-sickness bag and use it. Alexi felt a bit green too but she hoped that the man had the presence of mind to hang onto the bag.

  The silence when the Climber eased to a complete stop was deafening. Only the hiss of the ventilator and a faint buzzing from one of the light fixtures intruded on the quiet. Then the young steward unbelted and floated towards the ceiling. The speaker came on “All passengers may unbuckle now. Please discard any air-sickness bags in the plastic can near the stairway. Follow the Steward’s instructions closely and you will all soon be back in gravity.”

  Alexi released her restraints and grabbed for the overhead bar. She fought down an urge to hang onto it and scream. She had been warned as to the effects of weightlessness but nothing could over-rule the body’s reaction to falling endlessly. She fought to remain calm and was pleased to see that she was already beginning to enjoy feeling weightless. She glanced around and saw that many of her fellow passengers were also clinging to the overhead bars with death-grips and pale, sweating faces. To their credit, no one actually screamed, though a couple of people looked on the verge of it.

  The steward was experienced and quickly distracted those worse-off by urging them to pull themselves over to the stairway and up. One by one, the passengers were persuaded to release their death-grips on the bars and allow the steward to guide them out of the car. By the time the car was half-empty, Alexi felt stable enough to manage on her own.

  She pushed off towards the stairway and expertly caught the handrail and then bounced off the opposite rail upwards. She sailed up the stairway, guiding herself by small touches to the fixtures. The young steward grinned widely when he spotted her emerging from the stairway on her own. He gallantly gestured towards the hatch he had just passed the previous passenger through and stayed out of the way as she sailed past. She said a quiet “Thank you” as she passed him.

  Crewmembers were stationed along the walls of the passageway leading to rotating section of the station. They kept the passengers from blundering into the walls and spoke encouraging words to them. A few made faces to each other as particularly inept passengers went by them. Alexi caught herself snickering in response
. One crewman heard her and his face flamed red in embarrassment.

  She smiled at his discomfort and continued deeper into the station. She came to a section with rotating lights and printed warnings about artificial gravity just beyond that point. She made sure her feet were pointed towards the bright yellow cushion at the far end of a padded tube that was slowly rotating. She felt her feet swing to the right a bit so she grabbed the rails and allowed centrifugal force to pull her towards the pad. She touched down like a pro and moved out of the way for the next passenger.

  The station was spinning just fast enough to offer one-third gravity. That allowed most passengers and returning Spacers to acclimate before going onward. She was directed into a room that had a curving floor. She looked around as the rest of the passengers finally arrived a few at a time.

  A crewman stepped to the front of the room and said “Welcome to Midway. You will be here until the shuttles you are scheduled for, arrive.” He glanced at a display on the wall and added “The next one is due in two hours. Meanwhile, may have access to all points on Midway except any area marked with yellow-and-black paint or taped stripes. Those lead to engineering spaces or to crew quarters. You will find the galley spin-ward about 60 degrees and a rest area even further around. If a curtain on an alcove is closed, don’t disturb the person resting in there.”

  “Silence is to be observed in rest spaces and no loud noises of any kind are permitted anywhere on the station. If a uniformed crewman directs you to or away from an area, obey instantly. It is for your own safety. In case of an emergency, stop where you are and move out of the way of uniformed crew-members. Someone will soon direct you or guide you to a safe waiting area.”

  “Touch nothing you are not authorized to operate. Violators will have the offending digits removed.” The man said this with a straight face and looks of concern showed on many faces. Softening his tone somewhat, the man added “Well, we may not actually remove the digit or appendage, but you are likely to never forget the result of touching something you do not understand.” He held up a hand and several passengers gasped; his first and second fingers were missing!

  “No, I didn’t get them cut off because I violated that rule I just told you. This happened because I was careless! I am a highly-trained mechanic with hundreds of hours of hard-vacuum experience. I lost these when I tried to use a tool I was not completely qualified to use.”

  Putting the gruesome reminder out of sight behind his back, the man added “Space is unforgiving. If you give it the slightest of chances, it will kill you! So take nothing for granted and always double-check that what you are about to do, won’t expose you or someone else to vacuum, or worse.”

  “I do encourage you all to explore the station as it will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many of you. Just remember this ‘rule of thumb’: if in doubt, don’t!”

  One passenger that didn’t understand, raised a hand and asked “If in doubt, don’t what?”

  “If in doubt, don’t. That’s the rule here. If you have a doubt about how to do anything, wait and ask a uniformed crewmember for help. They will all be more than happy to assist you. They would rather take a moment to keep you from harm, than fill out the paperwork it takes to send a body back!” He said this with a straight face, but a few individuals caught on and chuckled.

  “Again; welcome to Midway! Enjoy your stay and thank you for volunteering to be colonists”

  The passengers crowded for the entrance so Alexi hung back until most of them had pushed through the doorway. She trailed the last of them on a tour of the station being led by an older crewman. She saw the crew quarters, bathrooms and recreational center. She caught glimpses of spaces beyond open doorways that held noisy machinery or emitted strange smells. The galley looked any cafeteria on Earth, except that the counter followed the gentle curvature of the station. It was a large space and it was strange to see people further around the curve, apparently standing with their bodies tilted towards her.

  She separated from the tour here and snagged a sweet-roll and some juice. She sat as far away from the aisle as she could to have a moment to herself. She wasn’t sleepy and her shuttle would arrive soon, so she looked out at space through a small porthole and then quickly turned away as the apparent motion of the stars caused her stomach to lurch.

  Finished with the snack, she stashed her small pack in a locker and then wandered the halls, peeking into forbidden spaces and watching the activity around her. As the time neared for her shuttle to dock, she found a vantage point near the docking port and admired the skill of the pilot as the shuttle slipped into place and was secured.

  She watched as space-suited figures used puffs of gas to maneuver containers off of the shuttle. She could see other figures passing along a translucent bellows-like umbilical into the station. Shortly afterwards, she saw all activity around the shuttle cease. She heard the announcement for her flight.

  Heading towards the shuttle, she had the passageway mostly to herself. She wanted to board early so she could choose her seat. She passed the back of her hand over the scanner and the screen showed her picture and pertinent data. The crewman at the hatchway leading to the shuttle waved her forward saying only “Try not to punch holes in the walls please.” He matched the warning with a radiant smile at her. She smiled back and pulled herself into the shuttle.

  She had seen pictures of the interiors of shuttles before, but they failed to convey the close quarters she was now seeing. She had toured the interior of a passenger plane in a museum once but that seemed spacious compared to this! The shuttle smelled of bodies, warm electronics and stale, recycled air.

  This vehicle had seen some years of hard use. The seats were padded but worn. Each seat had a fold-away magnetic table and reading lamp. As she took a seat near the back, she saw a notice about leaving personal electronics off during docking and un-docking. Reminded of her pack, she headed back to the hatchway and into the station. The man at the hatchway called after her “We are leaving in half an hour!” She waved at him in understanding.

  She retrieved her small pack from the locker where she had stowed it and headed back to the shuttle. She silently berated herself for nearly leaving it on the station. Sailing past the man at the hatch again, he grinned knowingly and called out quietly “Almost left it behind right?” She didn’t answer but she was sure he saw her blush in response. His chuckle confirmed it.

  She strapped into the seat and placed her pad on the tray within the zone marked with a charging symbol. The pad came on and connected to the shuttles’ wireless data transceiver. She spent the time waiting for the shuttle to fill up by catching up on messages. She wrote a lengthy letter to her father and sent a short note to Pieter congratulating him on his marriage. She then reviewed the safety procedures relating to passengers in a zero-gee shuttle. She wasn’t particularly eager to use the communal bathroom but she quickly checked that she still had her personal evacuation device. It was where she had tucked it: in an outside pocket for quick access.

  While she had the bag open, she inventoried it to see if she needed to replenish anything. A solid clunk and a change in the air-pressure told her she was too late to go back into the station for anything. Fortunately, she was adequately prepared.

  “Welcome aboard Shuttle Tiderion. Please ensure that all personal belongings are placed in the pouch in the seatback ahead of you or clipped under your seat. Please turn off all electronic gadgets. Seal any food or liquid containers and stow them in the mesh bags beside your seats.”

  “We will be pushing off shortly, so make sure seatbacks and tray tables are in their fully-upright and locked positions.” She heard a few low groans from some of the passengers. She wondered at the reaction and decided to ask one of them about it later.

  The lights in the cabin flickered and then she saw the power and utility umbilical’s detach and retract. A few drops of water escaped from one and flashed into ic
e crystals. A space-suited figure snagged each umbilical and clamped the ends to brackets. She felt barely-perceptible pushes from her seat and saw the station slowly retreating. They drifted further and further until the space station was fully revealed.

  The station was tethered to the Space Elevator cable by one arm of the non-rotating docking section. The rotating part was a slowly-revolving disk. Lights showed both from portholes and exterior fixtures at irregular intervals. Above the station was a stationary section where the shuttles docked. She could see two other shuttles docked there but they were bulkier. She assumed they were meant for cargo. She saw a mirror-image station taking shape on the opposite side of the cable. It looked to be about half completed

  The entire station was bathed in Earthshine from below and sunlight on the far side. As she watched, the bulk of the station eclipsed the sun completely, plunging the shuttle into deep shadow but lit from below by Earthshine. She could still see the tether continuing out into space by the faint gleam of reflected sunlight.

  The shuttle turned gracefully away from the station and continued coasting away. She had read that the shuttles had to be a certain distance away and above the station before they could fire their main engines. While she waited, she drank in the sight of the Earth as night slowly engulfed the near side. The terminator crawled past the Space Elevator anchor-point in Malaysia. She could see two climbers heading towards Midway, and at least one other heading down. She wondered briefly how they were sent back down. China and Japan were brilliant jewels scattered on a blanket of black velvet. She strained to see her home in Petropavlovsk but clouds blocked her view.

  “Firing the main engines in 5…4…3…2…1”. Alexi felt part of her weight return. The gentle acceleration surprised her until she realized that the tether actually had given the shuttle a significant boost in the direction they needed. All they need was a bit more speed to break orbit and head for the Ship yards.

  “Settle back folks and enjoy the trip. We have about 7 hours to go until we reach the Lagrange 5 Shipyards. You can use your personal electronics now and eat what you brought with you. The bathroom is in the back. Welcome aboard!”

  Alexi retrieved her sweet-roll and took a bite. She wanted to finish it before they cut the engines off and they coasted. She had just wadded up the napkin to dispose of it when the muted roar of the main engines went silent. She felt herself lift against the straps holding her to her seat and waited to see if her stomach would react. Several moments passed and her stomach gave no indication of protest.

  She called up the navigation plot to the shipyards on her pad. She noted with interest that several shuttles were in route to and from the ship yards. They were spaced about two hours apart. A string of yellow blips showed the trajectories of the mass-launched loads coming from the Moon. She had watched similar data-feeds from her cubical on Earth. Something was different now. It took her a moment to recognize the difference: there were far more loads coming from the Moon than she had ever seen before. She zoomed in on one of the loads and tapped the image for details. Amongst the standard data on trajectory was the payload: Water. Each container was filled with thousands of liters of water. Reactor fuel possibly.

  She turned to her seat-mate and engaged her in conversation. Alexi had met her at the training site on Earth but they were from different departments and so hadn’t had much contact with each other. They speculated of the future and Alexi kept an eye on her pad’s display to watch their progress.

  As they approached the station, all they could see was the solar shield slowly sweeping past. The shuttle changed course and passed over the top of the shield. Alexi could see the construction details briefly as the shuttle began slowing to dock. She changed her pad’s link to tap into the Pilot’s camera and she watched in growing admiration as the Pilot deftly engaged the docking arm with a minimum of fuss.

  She looked out her small porthole as the umbilical cables were connected. The shuttles lights flickered as power shifted to the station. Alexi gathered her bag and trash and followed the rest of the passengers into the station. She glanced around, anxiously looking for a restroom. She had dreaded using the shuttles facilities and now was near to overflowing.

  She figuratively crossed her ankles and gritted her teeth, willing the sphincters to hold. They finally crossed the boundary into gravity and she streaked towards the nearest bathroom. She was too self-absorbed to realize that she was the spearhead of a vanguard of women headed for the same location. There were a few frantic scuffles as the women searched for vacant stalls. A collective sigh issued from all as they finally had relief.

  The shuttle crew had followed the passengers into the station and grinned at each other as they saw the women, and quite a few of the men headed eagerly for the bathrooms. No one liked to use the shuttles facilities, including the crew. They would empty their bottles later.

  Alexi washed her hands and then left the restroom well ahead of any of the other women. Feeling much better, she keyed her pad and asked the stations’ directory for a route to her assigned quarters. It wasn’t too far away so she made her way there and stored her bag. Her personal effects would be delivered later, after the shuttle was emptied.

  She locked the door and headed towards the observation lounge, following placards mounted on the bulkheads. She wasn’t the first one there: many of the passengers were already there, gaping at the sight of the truly huge ship that was to be their future home.

  She saw two huge counter-rotating cylindrical habitats. She was seeing them end-on and so couldn’t see the entire ship. A dense framework of carbon-composite girders linked the two habitats at each end. The mottled surfaces of the habitats glowed in the brilliant lights as they slowly rotated. Alexi spotted small figures swarming in and around the framework. They were too far away to tell what they were doing but their actions seemed almost frantic. Their size in relation to the ships gave her a better grasp of their immensity. These ships were truly the largest construction projects mankind had ever undertaken.

  She lingered until hunger drove her to seek out food. She endured the yearning looks of the yard workers: Women were out-numbered nearly twenty to one. That wouldn’t change until later in the year when the more of the colonists transited through the station. She found one of the many galleys aboard the station and selected a nice assortment of fruit, yogurt, and tea. She was still too anxious from the trip to eat anything more substantial.

  She headed back to her assigned quarters afterwards and locked herself in. Her possessions had been delivered and she rifled through them to ensure everything had arrived intact. She then took advantage of the tiny bathroom before dressing in thin pajamas and crawling into bed. Her last thoughts were of the future.