accumulated enlistment time. In other words, you’ll start all over as an ensign with your full ride still ahead of you. The Navy does not want these things falling into the wrong hands, and so far, none of them have. Keep it that way. You are required to have the unit on your person everywhere outside of your own room. My advice: Wear it, on the chain or wrist or, even better, chained to a navel ring or a nipple clip … or whatever else it is you females pierce. Never take it off, not in the bathtub, not to make love.”
“What about losing it, as opposed to misplacing it?”
“Never happened. Oh, the penalties are severe, theoretically, as bad as setting it off without just cause. But it has a location finder in it, and the only way to turn that off is to destroy it, and the only way to do that would be to toss it into a blast furnace. These little critters are tough, Podkayne.”
I looped the chain around my neck, not having a pierced navel or nipple or labia, if that was the word he was looking for.
“So where’s my room, William?”
“Follow me, please.”
I was so glad he didn’t say “Walk this way,” because it is such an old joke and he was flamboyantly effeminate, and there’s no way I could have managed that sashay in a low-grav field I wasn’t used to. I was seriously rocket-lagged, and behind on my sleep. My days aboard ship had been busy ones. More about that later.
We went down a corridor and passed a common room on the right that was empty this time of night. There was a big gym on the left —not a luxury, but a necessity, a place I’d be spending at least an hour a day to keep my muscle tone up to Mars standard. Three people were working out on the machines. We passed a sauna and a small automated 7-Eleven store where you could buy those minor items that weren’t worth a trip to the PX.
Then up an elevator to the twentieth floor and a few steps around a gently curving corridor to room 2001. Hey, I’m on a space odyssey! William informed me there were ten rooms on each floor—which he called a deck. He keyed the door and had me press my palm against it, and the barracks computer memorized my print.
“We had a wire from an Admiral Redmond a few days ago,” he said as he opened the door and stood aside so I could pull my baggage train inside. “He said to tell you this was his room when he was an ensign and assigned to Europa. He thought you might like it. Luckily, it was available.”
I looked at his face, but it was all innocence. I had the feeling that a wire like that from an admiral would be read by William as pretty much an order, and I hoped nobody had been dumped in the hall because I was coming. You don’t need that when you’re the new kid on the barrack.
The first thing I saw was the cat. He had a black face and ears, blue eyes, and a cream-colored body, black legs with white socks, and a black tail. He had a lot of fur, a regular powder puff. He sat in Sphinx position in a comfy chair, front paws tucked under him, eyes half-open. He swiveled his head to look at me for a moment, didn’t see anything interesting, and closed his eyes again.
“Oh, that’s Kahlua,” William said. “I thought I had sealed the cat door, though I wouldn’t put it past him to pick the lock. He belongs to the previous tenant … sort of. I’ll banish him to the hall.”
“Let him stay. I imagine the owner will know where to look for him.”
“I’m sure she will. Very well.” William then gave me a brief tour.
My family are innkeepers from way back, and we have our own code words for amenities in rooms. This one was below a Hyatt, but far above a 6 and maybe a cut above a Holiday Inn. You could call it a suite, because there were two rooms, but you don’t call quarters a suite in the Navy.
Living room with a couch and a media wall and a table and a few chairs. Kitchen nook with a two-seat bar counter, small fridge, microwave, heating surface, little pantry, and enough utensils to
“What about losing it, as opposed to misplacing it?”
“Never happened. Oh, the penalties are severe, theoretically, as bad as setting it off without just cause. But it has a location finder in it, and the only way to turn that off is to destroy it, and the only way to do that would be to toss it into a blast furnace. These little critters are tough, Podkayne.”
I looped the chain around my neck, not having a pierced navel or nipple or labia, if that was the word he was looking for.
“So where’s my room, William?”
“Follow me, please.”
I was so glad he didn’t say “Walk this way,” because it is such an old joke and he was flamboyantly effeminate, and there’s no way I could have managed that sashay in a low-grav field I wasn’t used to. I was seriously rocket-lagged, and behind on my sleep. My days aboard ship had been busy ones. More about that later.
We went down a corridor and passed a common room on the right that was empty this time of night. There was a big gym on the left —not a luxury, but a necessity, a place I’d be spending at least an hour a day to keep my muscle tone up to Mars standard. Three people were working out on the machines. We passed a sauna and a small automated 7-Eleven store where you could buy those minor items that weren’t worth a trip to the PX.
Then up an elevator to the twentieth floor and a few steps around a gently curving corridor to room 2001. Hey, I’m on a space odyssey! William informed me there were ten rooms on each floor—which he called a deck. He keyed the door and had me press my palm against it, and the barracks computer memorized my print.
“We had a wire from an Admiral Redmond a few days ago,” he said as he opened the door and stood aside so I could pull my baggage train inside. “He said to tell you this was his room when he was an ensign and assigned to Europa. He thought you might like it. Luckily, it was available.”
I looked at his face, but it was all innocence. I had the feeling that a wire like that from an admiral would be read by William as pretty much an order, and I hoped nobody had been dumped in the hall because I was coming. You don’t need that when you’re the new kid on the barrack.
The first thing I saw was the cat. He had a black face and ears, blue eyes, and a cream-colored body, black legs with white socks, and a black tail. He had a lot of fur, a regular powder puff. He sat in Sphinx position in a comfy chair, front paws tucked under him, eyes half-open. He swiveled his head to look at me for a moment, didn’t see anything interesting, and closed his eyes again.
“Oh, that’s Kahlua,” William said. “I thought I had sealed the cat door, though I wouldn’t put it past him to pick the lock. He belongs to the previous tenant … sort of. I’ll banish him to the hall.”
“Let him stay. I imagine the owner will know where to look for him.”
“I’m sure she will. Very well.” William then gave me a brief tour.
My family are innkeepers from way back, and we have our own code words for amenities in rooms. This one was below a Hyatt, but far above a 6 and maybe a cut above a Holiday Inn. You could call it a suite, because there were two rooms, but you don’t call quarters a suite in the Navy.
Living room with a couch and a media wall and a table and a few chairs. Kitchen nook with a two-seat bar counter, small fridge, microwave, heating surface, little pantry, and enough utensils to
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