Veteran. Maybe you should appeal your case. They might let you off on a shuttle if you move fast. After all, we’re still in orbit and—”
Veteran Harris’ hand leapt from my shoulder as if I’d bitten it. He glowered and his eyes slid from side to side, glancing at the troops around us who were listening in.
“Shut up, McGill,” he rumbled then quickly marched away toward the exit.
“Ha!” Carlos said, coming up to me and staring after Harris. “You smacked him harder than he smacked you. What do you think? Did Harris really vote to bug out and join Hegemony?”
I shook my head. “Hard to tell. If he wanted that, he could have bailed out after returning from any deployment over the years.”
“Maybe it’s a matter of pride,” Carlos said. “He can’t leave on his own because that would make him look like a coward to everyone in the legion. But if we all bailed out together, he could do it with dignity.”
I looked at Carlos and nodded. “No one will ever accuse you of being insightful, but you might just have something there.”
Carlos took my backhanded compliment well. He beamed and strutted. I guessed it was because, for him, praise was hard to come by.
-6-
The only person aboard Minotaur who didn’t seem depressed was Natasha. She was excited to have the chance to visit Tau Ceti which she referred to by its nickname: Tech World.
“It’s a techie dream,” she told me. “They have stuff there you just can’t get on Earth.”
“Isn’t it some sort of space station? A merchant clearinghouse in orbit?” I asked, making conversation.
“Yes, there is the orbital market. That’s all most people know about the world. But there’s much more to the system than that.”
We were in line at the cafeteria, and I plucked an orange from a fake tree and rubbed it on my uniform. It was an old habit, one I continued to indulge even though I knew there wasn’t a spec of dirt left on fruit aboard a legion ship.
“That’s an example right there,” she said, pointing to the tree I’d just relieved of its fruit. “These trees in the cafeterias are new tech marvels from Tau Ceti. Have you ever wondered how a spindly tree like that can grow fresh fruit every night?”
“This thing cost hard Galactic credits?” I asked, looking at the tree in surprise. “I figured the fruit was glued on there by the staff to make it more appealing. You’re saying it actually grows like this?”
“Every night,” Natasha said, plucking one of her own. “See the leaves? They’re real. This tree can grow anything we want. If we load it with a new DNA sequence it can grow new fruit fast .”
“Huh,” I said. “The food has been better on this trip.” I marveled briefly then carried my tray to a table and sat down. Natasha trailed behind and sat opposite me. She seemed to be almost in a trance as if her mind was working overtime.
“The possibilities…” she said. “There’s so much tech out there, James. It’s mind-boggling. We’ve lived on Earth all our lives while the vast galaxy has been just beyond our reach, wheeling around us, and creating new products we’ve never even heard of.”
She proceeded to talk about tech miracles she’d heard whispers about but which she’d never yet seen. The gusher of money that had reached Earth had doubled the number of consumer and government products from alien systems, but rather than satisfying her, a glimpse of the true economy of the Galactics had served to inflame her desire for more.
I went to work on lunch, shoveling and chewing. For me, eating is a pretty serious business. She’d barely touched her meal by the time I’d reached the half-way mark on my plate, and I have to admit I was eyeing her portion and wondering if she was going to need help with it.
“Tau Ceti isn’t like anywhere you’ve ever been,” she went on. “It’s more advanced than Earth in every way. The Tau have completely covered their planet with a single gigantic
Veteran Harris’ hand leapt from my shoulder as if I’d bitten it. He glowered and his eyes slid from side to side, glancing at the troops around us who were listening in.
“Shut up, McGill,” he rumbled then quickly marched away toward the exit.
“Ha!” Carlos said, coming up to me and staring after Harris. “You smacked him harder than he smacked you. What do you think? Did Harris really vote to bug out and join Hegemony?”
I shook my head. “Hard to tell. If he wanted that, he could have bailed out after returning from any deployment over the years.”
“Maybe it’s a matter of pride,” Carlos said. “He can’t leave on his own because that would make him look like a coward to everyone in the legion. But if we all bailed out together, he could do it with dignity.”
I looked at Carlos and nodded. “No one will ever accuse you of being insightful, but you might just have something there.”
Carlos took my backhanded compliment well. He beamed and strutted. I guessed it was because, for him, praise was hard to come by.
-6-
The only person aboard Minotaur who didn’t seem depressed was Natasha. She was excited to have the chance to visit Tau Ceti which she referred to by its nickname: Tech World.
“It’s a techie dream,” she told me. “They have stuff there you just can’t get on Earth.”
“Isn’t it some sort of space station? A merchant clearinghouse in orbit?” I asked, making conversation.
“Yes, there is the orbital market. That’s all most people know about the world. But there’s much more to the system than that.”
We were in line at the cafeteria, and I plucked an orange from a fake tree and rubbed it on my uniform. It was an old habit, one I continued to indulge even though I knew there wasn’t a spec of dirt left on fruit aboard a legion ship.
“That’s an example right there,” she said, pointing to the tree I’d just relieved of its fruit. “These trees in the cafeterias are new tech marvels from Tau Ceti. Have you ever wondered how a spindly tree like that can grow fresh fruit every night?”
“This thing cost hard Galactic credits?” I asked, looking at the tree in surprise. “I figured the fruit was glued on there by the staff to make it more appealing. You’re saying it actually grows like this?”
“Every night,” Natasha said, plucking one of her own. “See the leaves? They’re real. This tree can grow anything we want. If we load it with a new DNA sequence it can grow new fruit fast .”
“Huh,” I said. “The food has been better on this trip.” I marveled briefly then carried my tray to a table and sat down. Natasha trailed behind and sat opposite me. She seemed to be almost in a trance as if her mind was working overtime.
“The possibilities…” she said. “There’s so much tech out there, James. It’s mind-boggling. We’ve lived on Earth all our lives while the vast galaxy has been just beyond our reach, wheeling around us, and creating new products we’ve never even heard of.”
She proceeded to talk about tech miracles she’d heard whispers about but which she’d never yet seen. The gusher of money that had reached Earth had doubled the number of consumer and government products from alien systems, but rather than satisfying her, a glimpse of the true economy of the Galactics had served to inflame her desire for more.
I went to work on lunch, shoveling and chewing. For me, eating is a pretty serious business. She’d barely touched her meal by the time I’d reached the half-way mark on my plate, and I have to admit I was eyeing her portion and wondering if she was going to need help with it.
“Tau Ceti isn’t like anywhere you’ve ever been,” she went on. “It’s more advanced than Earth in every way. The Tau have completely covered their planet with a single gigantic
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