recycling, treatment and processing systems. With only one potable water source along their route, the ship had to be able to conserve and re-use as much as eighty-five percent of the water stored in her anachronistically termed “ballast” tanks.
One of the civilian engineers would be left on the surface of Dremiks to begin the lengthy terra-forming and mining operations. The other civilian would return to Earth with the Hudson . Should she decide in the future to resettle on Dremiks, she would be at the top of the eligibility list and exempt from any of the usual fees. Her payment for that hypothetical future journey would be teaching another civilian how to do her job.
Dremikian technology opened up a host of possibilities for humans to explore and move through the universe in ways previousy imagined only in day-dreams and novels. What was once a three year journey to Mars took less than two days. The seemingly massive population of Earth quite suddenly found itself able to stretch and expand as never before.
For the military officers of the Hudson and the rest of the ISA, there would be no self determination of location and times of travel. They went where the service sent them, for however long necessary, under whatever conditions they could eke out for themselves. Swede knew that the civilian colonists and crew volunteers had trouble understanding why he and his shipmates placed themselves at the mercy of capricious government officials and military leaders. He didn’t have time for the soul gazing necessary to formulate any answer to their questions. He had engines and gravity wells and water recyclers and trash compactors and a billion other systems to over-see.
And a lump on his head. He grunted and rubbed the sore spot. It throbbed, truth be told. There was the beginning of a headache forming behind his eyes. If it hadn’t been painful to even consider, he would have rolled his eyes at how a brief encounter with Maggie had thrown his day in disarray. Not at all shocking, that effect. He excused himself from the water station and made his way to the medical bay. Dr. Ruger understood headaches and knew all too well about how the commander could so often instigate them.
***
Dr. Ruger reviewed the post-jump spot-check physicals conducted by herself and Specialist Mangoda. Her randomly generated list did not jive with the results. Marissa Hill had been skipped for some reason. That fact wasn’t enough to make her frown. That Mrs. Hill had also missed her scheduled physical that morning was also not a worrying state of affairs. There were, after all, few women who enjoyed a physical, even with the advanced procedures and vitals monitoring of modern medicine. The two events combined were enough to cause Cassie to look closer at the data from Marissa Hill’s bio-med chip. She was frowning over that data when the large form of the engineering officer appeared in the medical bay.
Swede stifled a moan. The lights of the bay made his burgeoning headache even worse.
Oh, Mags will certainly owe me for this on e. She had better pray this disappears before tomorrow afternoon.
“What disappears, Lieutenant?” Dr. Ruger glanced around her medical bay with a worried look. She could not immediately determine what had caused the ferocious frown on the officer’s face, but she must have made an egregious error to cause his comment and expression.
Swede blushed, an endearing reaction on so large a man. He hadn’t meant to speak the thought. “Sorry Doctor, just muttering to myself. Nothing for you to worry about.” He rubbed the back of his head and groaned. “The commander tackled me in the passageway this morning, and I’ve got a bit of a lump. Could you help me with the headache?”
She laughed, quietly—bless her, and motioned to a chair. “Sit down and let me check you out before I give you anything for the pain. No, don’t try to talk right now. You can tell me later why Maggie tackled you.” She
One of the civilian engineers would be left on the surface of Dremiks to begin the lengthy terra-forming and mining operations. The other civilian would return to Earth with the Hudson . Should she decide in the future to resettle on Dremiks, she would be at the top of the eligibility list and exempt from any of the usual fees. Her payment for that hypothetical future journey would be teaching another civilian how to do her job.
Dremikian technology opened up a host of possibilities for humans to explore and move through the universe in ways previousy imagined only in day-dreams and novels. What was once a three year journey to Mars took less than two days. The seemingly massive population of Earth quite suddenly found itself able to stretch and expand as never before.
For the military officers of the Hudson and the rest of the ISA, there would be no self determination of location and times of travel. They went where the service sent them, for however long necessary, under whatever conditions they could eke out for themselves. Swede knew that the civilian colonists and crew volunteers had trouble understanding why he and his shipmates placed themselves at the mercy of capricious government officials and military leaders. He didn’t have time for the soul gazing necessary to formulate any answer to their questions. He had engines and gravity wells and water recyclers and trash compactors and a billion other systems to over-see.
And a lump on his head. He grunted and rubbed the sore spot. It throbbed, truth be told. There was the beginning of a headache forming behind his eyes. If it hadn’t been painful to even consider, he would have rolled his eyes at how a brief encounter with Maggie had thrown his day in disarray. Not at all shocking, that effect. He excused himself from the water station and made his way to the medical bay. Dr. Ruger understood headaches and knew all too well about how the commander could so often instigate them.
***
Dr. Ruger reviewed the post-jump spot-check physicals conducted by herself and Specialist Mangoda. Her randomly generated list did not jive with the results. Marissa Hill had been skipped for some reason. That fact wasn’t enough to make her frown. That Mrs. Hill had also missed her scheduled physical that morning was also not a worrying state of affairs. There were, after all, few women who enjoyed a physical, even with the advanced procedures and vitals monitoring of modern medicine. The two events combined were enough to cause Cassie to look closer at the data from Marissa Hill’s bio-med chip. She was frowning over that data when the large form of the engineering officer appeared in the medical bay.
Swede stifled a moan. The lights of the bay made his burgeoning headache even worse.
Oh, Mags will certainly owe me for this on e. She had better pray this disappears before tomorrow afternoon.
“What disappears, Lieutenant?” Dr. Ruger glanced around her medical bay with a worried look. She could not immediately determine what had caused the ferocious frown on the officer’s face, but she must have made an egregious error to cause his comment and expression.
Swede blushed, an endearing reaction on so large a man. He hadn’t meant to speak the thought. “Sorry Doctor, just muttering to myself. Nothing for you to worry about.” He rubbed the back of his head and groaned. “The commander tackled me in the passageway this morning, and I’ve got a bit of a lump. Could you help me with the headache?”
She laughed, quietly—bless her, and motioned to a chair. “Sit down and let me check you out before I give you anything for the pain. No, don’t try to talk right now. You can tell me later why Maggie tackled you.” She
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