sheer, unadulterated terror,” Grogan said. “Take it from a med-tech on his fourth tour with Alamo. Savor the boredom, relish every moment if it. When it isn’t around, you’ll find you miss it. Put in for a transfer to medical if you want some real fun.”
“ Come on,” she replied, “why did you even sign up for this anyway?”
“ Because Ouroboros needed a med-tech, and no-one else from my department had signed up. I’m filling a needed role, and it’ll look good the next time I go up before a promotions board. You never know, the Captain might even give me a battlefield bump. He’s done it before.”
“ This is just a job to you?”
“ Eight hours a day, seven days a week, twenty-eight days of paid leave a year and good pension benefits, Spaceman. Plus I get to serve my country, which is a nice bonus, and they pay for all of my training. In a few years I can sign up with any one of a dozen hospitals at a nice job and settle down. Don’t you have a plan? What about you, Cooper?”
“ Hell, I am...was, doing exactly what I wanted. Still, I figured that I’d end up with a corporate security outfit at some point. Deep space experience would look good.” He sighed, shaking his head, “Though I thought that would happen in fifteen, twenty years, not now.”
“ Scuttlebutt said you were transferring to the Fleet,” Cantrell said.
“ The deck telegraph got it wrong. It was offered, I said no.”
“ Aren’t we good enough for you, Cooper?” ask Grogan with a mock-frown.
“ It just...I’m not trained for it. I don’t have any experience, and almost all the enlisted are one sort of technician or another. All I have to do to break something is look at it the wrong way.”
“ Quinn’d take you on,” Cantrell said. “He loves fixing stuff.”
“ No, I’m out, I think, after this mission,” Cooper said. “Don’t know what I’ll do. I guess I’ll think of something.”
“ I’d think hard about that,” another voice said. Caine drifted into the room, and she continued, “After all, the reason all of us are out here is because of what you came up with. You prepared the mission profile, got all of the ducks in a row. That’s something to be proud of.”
“ I will be,” he replied, “once we get my friends back and we get them safely back to Alamo.”
“ Not Mars?” Caine replied.
“ That’s the Captain’s job. My work is done when we’re back on a friendly deck again.”
“ Are you here for some pills as well?” Grogan asked with a sigh.
“ I’m afraid so, and I’m not the last. I think most of the crew are down with it.”
“ Smart of you to be at the head of the line, anyway.” He grabbed the bottle, then said, “I’d better go around the key areas and start delivering. Too many people are reluctant to get ‘em when they need ‘em.”
“ Does he always grumble like that?,” Cantrell said to his departing back.
“ He had a rough fortnight,” Caine said. “I think Duquesne pitched this to him as a bit of a holiday. We aren’t likely to give him much business, at least, I hope not.”
“ Me too,” Cooper said, looking at his hand. The plastoskin looked strange, wrong; Duquesne had cobbled it together out of specifications in the database at Hydra Station, and evidently the Cabal were behind in bionics. Either that, or they didn’t care to hide it.
“ Got a job for you, by the way.”
“ A job?”
“ Captain wants you to give everyone a run down in small-arms training. We’re not expecting to use it, but from the reports, we’ll be in some rough places. Unarmed combat might be a good idea, as well.”
“ I’m not sure I…”
“ If not you, then who’s going to do it?”
“ I’m with Cooper,” Cantrell said. “I had enough training in Basic to last a lifetime.”
“ I doubt you trained with someone who came top of his class for
“ Come on,” she replied, “why did you even sign up for this anyway?”
“ Because Ouroboros needed a med-tech, and no-one else from my department had signed up. I’m filling a needed role, and it’ll look good the next time I go up before a promotions board. You never know, the Captain might even give me a battlefield bump. He’s done it before.”
“ This is just a job to you?”
“ Eight hours a day, seven days a week, twenty-eight days of paid leave a year and good pension benefits, Spaceman. Plus I get to serve my country, which is a nice bonus, and they pay for all of my training. In a few years I can sign up with any one of a dozen hospitals at a nice job and settle down. Don’t you have a plan? What about you, Cooper?”
“ Hell, I am...was, doing exactly what I wanted. Still, I figured that I’d end up with a corporate security outfit at some point. Deep space experience would look good.” He sighed, shaking his head, “Though I thought that would happen in fifteen, twenty years, not now.”
“ Scuttlebutt said you were transferring to the Fleet,” Cantrell said.
“ The deck telegraph got it wrong. It was offered, I said no.”
“ Aren’t we good enough for you, Cooper?” ask Grogan with a mock-frown.
“ It just...I’m not trained for it. I don’t have any experience, and almost all the enlisted are one sort of technician or another. All I have to do to break something is look at it the wrong way.”
“ Quinn’d take you on,” Cantrell said. “He loves fixing stuff.”
“ No, I’m out, I think, after this mission,” Cooper said. “Don’t know what I’ll do. I guess I’ll think of something.”
“ I’d think hard about that,” another voice said. Caine drifted into the room, and she continued, “After all, the reason all of us are out here is because of what you came up with. You prepared the mission profile, got all of the ducks in a row. That’s something to be proud of.”
“ I will be,” he replied, “once we get my friends back and we get them safely back to Alamo.”
“ Not Mars?” Caine replied.
“ That’s the Captain’s job. My work is done when we’re back on a friendly deck again.”
“ Are you here for some pills as well?” Grogan asked with a sigh.
“ I’m afraid so, and I’m not the last. I think most of the crew are down with it.”
“ Smart of you to be at the head of the line, anyway.” He grabbed the bottle, then said, “I’d better go around the key areas and start delivering. Too many people are reluctant to get ‘em when they need ‘em.”
“ Does he always grumble like that?,” Cantrell said to his departing back.
“ He had a rough fortnight,” Caine said. “I think Duquesne pitched this to him as a bit of a holiday. We aren’t likely to give him much business, at least, I hope not.”
“ Me too,” Cooper said, looking at his hand. The plastoskin looked strange, wrong; Duquesne had cobbled it together out of specifications in the database at Hydra Station, and evidently the Cabal were behind in bionics. Either that, or they didn’t care to hide it.
“ Got a job for you, by the way.”
“ A job?”
“ Captain wants you to give everyone a run down in small-arms training. We’re not expecting to use it, but from the reports, we’ll be in some rough places. Unarmed combat might be a good idea, as well.”
“ I’m not sure I…”
“ If not you, then who’s going to do it?”
“ I’m with Cooper,” Cantrell said. “I had enough training in Basic to last a lifetime.”
“ I doubt you trained with someone who came top of his class for
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