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The Best and the Brightest Part VI By Maggie Finson "Welcome aboard the Heinelin," Naomi greeted both Al and me with a hug as we supervised the men getting my things into the quarters I'd been assigned. One of the perks of being both a female and a Care Giver in space was there were always more willing hands than were needed when you ask for help with something. "Thanks, Naomi." I returned the hug, then stepped back and grinned. "Or should I be saying Mother Naomi?" "No need to get formal here." The redhead shook her head with a little chuckle. "We've known each other since before you even thought of joining Care Givers, Persey. Old friends don't use all those titles when they're just enjoying each other's company, and you know that." "I know," I answered with another grin. "But I just had to say it once, at least. You know how I am." "All too well, dear." Naomi laughed then turned to Al, who had been standing quietly to the side. "Did you have a good flight out?" "Very," Al nodded with an amused glance at me. "Persey was our pilot." "Say no more," Naomi nodded returning her attention to me. "I know you aren't quite settled in yet, but our head pilot would really like to meet you as soon as it can be done." "Sure, just let me get out of this EVA suit and into something I can move around in without being so careful of the furnishings," I responded. "I really don't have all that much to unpack, and everything is already in here." "Great," the redhead nodded. "I'll call her and let her know." I got out of the suit, with Al's help, then stripped off the utility coverall that went under it without a thought for my nudity as I pulled off the 'diaper' that women wore in space to take care of those little emergencies when facilities either weren't available or you couldn't take the time to use them. Putting that into the disposal bin, I padded to the bathroom and did a quick splash and soap, then rinse to get rid of the inevitable aroma that hangs on a body after being in an EVA suit for any length of time. I noted with more than a little pleasure that hot water didn't appear to be a problem at all there and made a note to take a longer, more luxurious shower later on. Getting into my underwear, I looked up at Al, who had been watching the whole sequence of events. "What? You've seen this all before." "Well, yes," he admitted, then shot me a quick, slightly embarrassed grin. "But I'm still enthralled every time I see you nude. Can't help it, you know." "Gotta be something genetic in you guys," I laughed while pulling on my flight suit and low boots, then turned to a smiling Naomi as I started to braid my hair. "Ok, I'm ready." "Looks like the Brigadier is, too," she chuckled while giving a meaningful glance to his crotch. "Hey now!" he protested with as much dignity as he could muster -- which was quite a bit, but entirely bogus in that situation. "I do have something called discipline you know." "Methinks the gentleman protests too much," Naomi chuckled while giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "But that's okay, dear. We know you love us." "See you later, Al." I gave him a quick kiss and headed for the hatch, turning to give him a sultry glance and quick grin. "You go get settled, and I'll call you when I'm finished, okay?" * * * * Rebecca Stevens, the head pilot aboard Heinlein was approaching middle age but doing so gracefully. There was gray in her hair, but she wore it proudly, as if she'd earned each one of them individually and considered them badges of honor. Her attractive face showed a tentative smile as her eyes showed she was considering the best way to begin the interview, which both of us knew this was. "Good afternoon, Ma'am," I started, with a warm smile that I hoped would thaw her some. "Persephone Chartrand reporting for duty." "Welcome aboard, Ms. Chartrand," Stevens answered with a slight warming in her own expression. "What do you think of Heinlein so far?" "I'm impressed with what I've seen, but that hasn't been all that much of the inside as of yet," I told her honestly. "From the outside, she's awe inspiring." "That she is," Rebecca nodded with a wider grin then added. "Wait till you get a look at Magnificent Molly, she's even bigger and newer. But Heinlein is our ship." "Our ship," I repeated with a bit of reverence in my voice. "I like the sound of that, you know." "You should, but do you mind if I ask why?" "No, it's no secret that a berth of any kind on the Heinlein is a real plum for any Spacer's resume," I told her. "But more than that, I'm just happy to be shipping out again, and glad to have the chance of working with an experienced crew on a big ship. There is a lot I can learn here, and I intend to do my best to get all of that I can while I'm aboard." "Would you be disappointed if you don't get to con her?" "I'd be lying to you if I said no to that," I shrugged. "But I'm a pilot first. So long as I'm flying, I'll be happy, no matter what I'm flying." "Good enough for me." Rebecca held out her hand and I took it, pleased with her firm grip and working to return it without being -- well, masculine about it. "You are, by all accounts, a very good pilot, and your personnel folder has some pretty impressive things in it. Flight Instructor on Yotori Station, Personal pilot for Rei Yotori, a very high recommendation from one of my own pilots, and that Argonaut incident." "Thanks," I responded, my thoughts clouding a bit at mention of the Argonaut's disastrous final voyage. "Does that one still bother you?" "I wouldn't be a pilot anyone could trust if it didn't, Ma'am," I answered slowly. "I lost a ship there, and my copilot and friend died in the accident." "Wasn't your fault, Ms. Chartrand." Rebecca's voice softened as she noted my troubled expression. "I imagine you've heard that before, and what you and your copilot did with that wounded bird has become one of the legends Spacers pass around when they're drinking and relaxing among themselves. I only want to know how you think you'd react when something goes wrong with the ship you're flying, here. Didn't mean to dredge up unpleasant memories." "Yes you did," I told her with a small grin. "But that's alright I know why you did it. To answer that question, I'd still work to take care of the people I was in command of, and to get the problem under control. I can't give you a different answer there." "Good enough for me," Rebecca nodded with a smile. "Sorry, for what that's worth. I just wanted to make sure I didn't have some Prima-Donna aboard who would either want special handling or pout about her postings." "While I'll freely admit to having a bit of a temper." I actually chuckled at that thought. "I'm sure as hell no Prima-Donna. There's no room for that kind of attitude in space. You do what you have to, and don't bitch about it. I just kind of lucked out on that 'personal pilot thing', is all. I don't expect or need to get any kind of special treatment or handling, and would hope that no one thinks I would. Something like that would actually be more than a little insulting, if you think about it." "Yes it would," Rebecca laughed and shook her head. "Okay, Persephone, if I may call you that, you are one of the good ones, like Harlan has been insisting since he met you on Luna. I just had to check you out for myself is all." "Call me Persey," I answered with a little shrug. "Everyone does, it isn't as awkward as my full name for most people. And you have a job to do, no need to explain that to me. I'd respect you a lot less if you hadn't approached this the way you did, if that's worth anything." "It is," she replied with a genuine smile. "I think you and I are going to get along just fine, Persey. I value honesty in my staff as much as competence. And call me Becky. The rest of my pilots do." "Well, you got both of those when you got me, Becky," I answered without overt pride or shame. "I'm generally a pretty up front person." "So I've heard," Rebecca laughed and rose from her desk. "Well, I know Captain Hastings told you he really had no room for you on the bridge rotation, but I'm Head Pilot on this ship, so you'll get your chance to con her, I promise. Mostly though, you'll probably be working with the shuttles on survey work, transport, things like that." "Like I said, if I'm flying, I'm happy." "Yes, I think I'm going to like you a lot, Persey." Becky gestured towards her office hatch. "Go ahead and get yourself settled in. I'll be having a meeting with all the pilots, new ones included, tomorrow or the next day. Depends on how long my first interviews go on and I understand that you ladies brought a lot of pilots in when you came." "Oh, counting those still in training, around a dozen," I agreed. "Then I can see I'm going to be busy for a while." Rebecca gave me a wry grin. Better expect that meeting either late tomorrow or the next day, then." I liked Rebecca Stevens almost right away. We pretty much understood each other from the start. * * * * On my way back to my quarters I stopped by the training area to make sure there would be enough free time on one of the simulators for me to make use of the next day. Walking up to a counter at the side, I addressed the man seated behind it. "Hi, I'm Peresephone Chartrand, one of the new pilots here." When he turned around, I noted to my pleased surprise that it was Harlan Mercer. "I think we've met, you know." "Sorry, Harlan, I just hadn't recognized the back of your head is all," I answered with a grin. "I was just wanting to check on the availability of a simulator for me to work in tomorrow." "Wait one, please?" he asked, turning back to what he had been doing and speaking into a microphone. "S'Okay, Sev. I've got the one you wanted loaded and ready to go now. Have at it." As I watched him flip a series of switches on the console behind the counter I realized why he had missed my entrance. "Got sim duty today do you?" "All week, to be truthful," he shrugged. "All the senior pilots take our turns here as flight trainers. Don't worry I expect Becky will have you enjoying yourself back here in no time at all, too. By the way, have you met Becky yet?" "Yes, I just came from her office." "Good." With a nod he waved at me to sit down on a stool high enough to let me see over the counter without appearing like I was waiting in ambush for whoever was on the other side. Make yourself comfortable while I slot you in a time. How long do you think you'd want to do tomorrow?" "I'd like to have at least an hour," I told him. "But I'll quite happily take what I can get." "Got more than enough time open after 1200 hours, if that'll work for you." Checking his screen he nodded. Before that, though I can only get you a half hour slot at a time. Got your new kids training up in the morning now." "Oh, then I'll most likely be here with them, too." I let out a sigh while thinking that Al hadn't lost any time at all getting that scheduled. "S'what I heard from the general," Harlan agreed, then looked up at me with a wide grin. "Look, if you don't have anything planned later, I'm off duty in an hour and would be happy to give you a cook's tour of the ship, and introduce you to some of the other flight crews here." "Sounds good. I'd like that." "Great." He replied with another grin while shooing me away. "Now go find something else to do for an hour, please. You're distracting me and some of the others in here just now." "Better get used to that," I teased while giving the others I was 'distracting' a cheery little wave. "There are a lot of Care Givers in this new group who are flight, you know." "So I heard." "See you later then," I told him as I headed out of the training area. "Gawd! I've died and got into Heaven by mistake," someone moaned as I left. "More'n a dozen of 'em in flight! This is gonna be one real happy trip." I closed my eyes, shook my head, and stifled a giggle. Then headed for my quarters to finish up my unpacking. But not before giving them all a cute little shake of my butt as I made my exit. * * * * The Quarters I'd been assigned were spacious for a space going billet, designed for paying passengers when Heinlein was hauling people instead of freight. I was the odd numbered person there, so again, I had quarters to myself, not that I thought that would present the problem it had once before. * * * * "One last thing here," Harlan told me towards the end of the thumbnail tour he'd been giving me as we stopped in front of a view port and he pointed out a fairly large shuttle clamped to the hull about twenty meters away from the port. "That's Glory Road, an all purpose bird we use a lot. I have it on pretty good authority that she's going to more or less be your own special baby this trip. You'll be part of the pilot rotation, but most of your time is going to spent flying this one." "Really?" Glory Road wasn't pretty on the surface or sleek like an atmosphere capable craft, but there were indications that the ship was more than she first appeared. Like the larger than normal steering/cooling vanes for one thing. "She's got a pretty good sized power plant there, doesn't she?" "A pair of Rolls Royce series fifteen-thousand A's," he agreed with a grin. "Two of them?" I gave him, then the shuttle a longer looking over. "One of those babies would push a regular shuttle, or even a bigger ship plenty fast. What about G-compensation for crew?" "Gee wee's double the size of normal," Harlan answered, then pointed out a bulge just below the tip of the shuttle's blunted nose. "That's a high powered mining laser, we use her a lot for survey work and obtaining samples. Occasionally getting chunks of ice for water replenishment while en-route, too. Got air scrubbers, and even bunks in there. With a crew of three, she could stay out for, oh, six, seven days. A little longer if you didn't mind stale air. Carries enough fuel to reach about fifty Gees in a pinch and keep that up for awhile." "Is there any room for people aboard her?" I questioned half jokingly. "Well, the living space is kind of crammed in with the command cabin," Harlan shrugged. Most of the space not taken up by engines, life support gear, and fuel tanks is left open for cargo or passengers in a tight spot if they don't mind an uncomfortable ride. She also carries three sample drones for getting things back to Heinlein in a hurry." "All of that in a thirty meter ship." I shook my head in wonder. "I'm going to need a shoehorn just to get in." "Thirty-five meters." He corrected with a chuckle. "And it isn't that bad. I get in and out of her with no problems." I thumped his chest lightly and grinned. "Yeah, but you are a little more -- umm -- compact in places than I am, you know." "Oh yeah, I noticed." He leered at my chest, then my hips and bottom for a few seconds after saying that. "Lech!" "A proud, card carrying member of that group, too, I might add." Harlan joined me in laughing. "Us space rats kind of come by all that naturally, you know." "That has come to my attention one time or another," I agreed. "Ok, let's go see the flight crew lounge, and that'll be about it for this time out." He adroitly changed the subject while heading away from the port. "Right behind you," I chuckled. "Where it's safe to walk." The lounge for flight crews was really well set up, with entertainment decks, a non-alcoholic bar, comfortable seating, and even a few curtained off alcoves that held bunks for catching a nap when one was on a long duty pull but not flying. Not all the piloting and Nav people there were male, either, but all of them made me feel welcome. * * * * The Heinlein did have strap on boosters, as I'd noticed when approaching the first time. We were doing an easy fifty Gees by the time that first burn finished up. Pretty damned impressive for a ship of that size and mass. It was pretty clear that someone was in a hurry to reach Mars, or maybe just to get us out of reach to the closer elements of Earth's Space Forces. Maybe both, and on sober thought, I decided on the latter. The following days were a confusion of getting everyone settled in, continued training for the girls in Masako's group, and me getting settled into a duty rotation in Heinlein's active crew. Not to mention grabbing some simulator time of my own when I got the chance. But my last days as an official student were approaching quickly. There was one last Personal Intimacy class that I needed to attend and I would be officially graduated from the training roster and really be a full-fledged Care Giver. On reflection, it hadn't seemed like all that long ago that I'd first gotten off that couch and seen a lovely, but skinny young lady in the mirror for the first time. I caught the surprised looks from Masako, and others in her class, as they spotted me among the gathering for that last class in Personal Intimacy. I answered those with a slight shrug and a grin for their benefit. I'm sure my eyes were fairly crackling with repressed amusement when I did that. "Settle down, ladies," called Doctor Wantabe as she swept into the rather sizable recreation room of the Heinlein that we had co-opted into a class room. The furniture, mostly very comfortable couches and chairs had been re-arranged into a conversational grouping around a white board and dry erase markers. I also noticed several off duty male hands hanging around, whether to watch the new girls, or in hopes that this class would need volunteers for demonstration purposes. Captain Hastings was among those, beside a large, pleasantly put together fellow who seemed very close to him. Doctor Wantabe stopped by the white board to write: Advanced Physical Intimacy Final Ethics "Anyone care to make a guess what we're going to talk about today?" she asked with a wry grin. Mike Hastings actually raised his hand. "Yes, Captain?" "Is this the class where you talk about whips and chains and candle wax?" he asked, sending a ripple of laughter throughout the room. Doctor Wantabe was consoling. "Alas, no, Captain, that was about two weeks ago. Sorry you missed it." He blushed at her answer and the collective giggles from the assembled ladies. "Anyone else?" "Sensei?" asked one of the girls softly. "Are you talking about Marriage and Children?" "Yes, I am, very good Susan." She turned and wrote that on the board as a pair of bullet items. "Let's start with Marriage. Anyone have a thought on how marriage will affect your careers?" "Won't it end them?" asked another, a pretty Hispanic girl quizzically. "I have four husbands and a sister wife, Carmen," was the Doctors response. "I'm still here." "Four?" demanded another halfway astonished voice from across the room. "And a sister wife," corrected Ryoko. "And, this is as good a time as any to announce my engagement to my fifth husband, Commodore Fred Hastings." There was a murmur of applause and congratulations. "Polygamy and the group marriage has become the accepted norm in space, girls. Just because you get married doesn't mean you stop being Care Givers along with everything that the job entails." "And they're ok with that?" asked another of the girls. "Don't assume anything about everyone," cautioned Doctor Wantabe. "As you girls advance in your careers, you will receive marriage proposals. Make sure your betrothed understands that even if you try the monogamous model in your marries lives, exclusivity to one partner sexually is not something you have the luxury to bring to that marriage. Unless you resign your positions, with all the fines and penalties that implies. Quite simply, girls, we have too much invested in you to lose you that way. Captain? Would you care to comment on your opinion of the Spacer view of marriage?" "Well, I guess I could, Doctor. I'm not exactly an expert." "Don't be shy," she encouraged while gesturing him to the front of the room. "We're eager to hear your view." He rather hesitantly made his way there, grinning a lop sided grin that reminded me a bit of Al as he appreciatively looked out at the sea of female faces gazing expectantly at him. "Boy, here's a sight that will live in my fantasies for a while," he quipped. We all giggled. "Well, I can't talk about an entire society of people with any kind of authority, so I'll have to rely on a personal anecdote I'm afraid. As far as my friends and the other Captain's in my company go, the group marriage is pretty much the norm. I'm still single, but I'm a part of a relationship with my good friend and lover Todd over there." Todd was an imposing fellow with ebony skin and the features of an idealized Tribal Chieftain. Did I mention that he was also handsome enough to draw interested looks from most of the girls there? The room paused to exchange looks between the two and Todd's somewhat embarrassed wave with his fingers as The Captain went on. "My mother wasn't a Care Giver, and while she and my dad were exclusive to each other, I can't tell you how many times I've been told how rare that was. It wasn't that they loved each other more than some of my other friends in group marriages love their particular spouses; they were a different generation from the beginnings of civilian space flight. "My dad was twenty when Spaceship One was launched the first time. Back then, being in a group marriage was a crime. And while the ratios weren't 1:1, they were certainly a lot better than today." All the way through that part of his discussion, I couldn't help but note the little glances he and Masako exchanged. Well, it sure looked as if someone was going to be learning about the marriage and working aspect of being a Care Giver sooner than most of us there would. "That's a very valid point," interrupted Dr. Wantabe. "The ratios are one of the prime reasons why group marriage is the norm in Space and becoming accepted even on Earth. Did you have anything else, Captain?" "Just that we're pleased to have all of you girls joining us and we look forward to serving with you," he said before returning to his perch with Todd. It seemed that were going to discuss children. Not the care and feeding of same, but bearing them in this part of the discussion. I thoughtfully rubbed at my shoulder where the birth control implant had been placed and let my own thoughts wander for a moment. What would it be like, carrying another life around inside of me? Pleasant? Uncomfortable? Both or a mix that varied? I honestly had no real idea about that at the stage I had reached, but was more than certain I'd be finding out in good time. With a certain Brigadier General if I had my way... The Doctor smiled, answering a question I'd missed during my wool gathering. "You want to know if I was born male or female, is that it? Who would like to hazard a guess?" There was a cacophony of voices raised with one opinion or the other that lasted for a while before Ryoko, I still had to consciously make myself think Dr. about her when I thought about her, though I knew she was one. "Whoa! Quiet down here, please. Let's have a show of hands for each choice." "Male?" She did a quick count and wrote the number under a new heading on the board. About half of us were guessing along that line though I had my doubts there. "All right," she said once the votes had been tallied and marked down on the board. "That's about fifty-fifty. I'll answer your question at the end of our time together today." A generally disappointed groan filled the room from proponents of both sides before Dr. Watanbe got things under control again. "Let's get back on topic for a few minutes. I promised you all honesty, and I meant it. I just never promised promptness. Now, you all have received your hormone restriction implants. They actually do more than restrict the hormone flow that ripens an egg for release when your monthly visitor comes calling. I would like you all to think the phrase I'm about to say. 'Monthly status and information, kudasi.'" I did, and was rewarded with a readout on my physical status -- Hormonally, and keyed to my peak periods of fertility -- hovering in front of my eyes. Wow. That was a surprise. Masako, wearing a troubled look raised her hand at that stage and told her. "I must have done something wrong, Sensei. I don't get why everyone is so astonished. Because I don't see anything at all." Dr. Watanbe smiled warmly and shook her head. "That would be my fault, dear. Japanese is your native language. You need to think Monthly status and information in English, then kudasi. For those of you who don't already know, kudasi is Japanese for please." "What you're looking at, ladies," said the doctor, "is a real time uplink of what your bodies are doing hormonally right now. Today's date is, obviously today. Last Day to commit is the last day you can order the implant to cease its function, allowing an egg to mature for you to be fertile and impregnated." "Sensei?" asked Carmen. "Is this a sure thing? Are you saying we will be able to get pregnant whenever we want?" "While the Inhibitor is active, you will not become pregnant," she replied. "Its information will make it more likely you can conceive when you want to, but nothing is fool proof. It took me three months to conceive the first time. Now, I must make you aware of something else along this line. Alright, girls, now think Status Off, kudasi. The inhibitor also affects the Ph value of some of your bodies systems. Specifically to tend toward the alkaline in your vaginal secretions." That drew some shocked, and worried reactions from the gathering. One girl even asked almost plaintively if we were acidic. "Well," laughed Dr. Wantabe, "not to the point that anything other than litmus can detect. We don't want to hurt our lovers. However, it is a fact that X chromosome sperm are less vulnerable to high alkaline environments than Y chromosome sperm. Who can tell me the significance of what I just said?" "We're much more likely to have daughters instead of sons," said Sandy Malcolm, a lovely mixed race girl who was very hard not to notice. "The nanites in your bodies communicate biochemically with the inhibitor," Doctor Wantabe nodded. "Whatever Y chromosome sperm manage to survive the altered Ph of your wombs, the nanites are dispatched to dispose of." "So, we can only have daughters?" the same girl demanded. "Why?" "The ratios," said Susan suddenly. "If our daughters are born in space, they're more likely to stay there, aren't they? That will eventually put the Care Givers out of business," she said. "Our best projections put that date sometime in the next three hundred years or so," smiled Doctor Wantabe. "No need to worry about job security here for the time being, believe me. There's plenty of work in the meantime. However, Sandy is not entirely correct. You are not only allowed daughters. Each of you, once in your service lifetimes, can order the inhibitor to create an environment favorable to conceive a son. If an X chromosome sperm wins out, don't fret. The chance is only used up when you have given birth to a son." She sobered. "Choose who you will bear that son for very carefully my dears. Men, being men, will all pressure you to pick them. They'll tell you how important it is for them to have a son to further the family name and such." "But," asked Maria. "How can we find time to raise children with all that we're expected to do?" Now that was a good question. One I was interested in learning the answer to myself. Not that I had plans to start having babies right away or anything. A girl just likes to know these kinds of things for when it does come up. Another instance of the longer term female viewpoint on life in general, I suppose. "That, Maria, dear, is a challenge I work through every day. In a large part, the group marriage helps. Some ships will not have the facilities to allow for children. Some do. Apollo Freight has one of the best records in this regard, so you are all very lucky there. Captain? I believe every vessel on a cruise of more than a week allows children, does it not?" "You're correct, Doctor," he replied. "Although, we are considering extending that benefit to every vessel period. Once I know how the board of directors votes on that, I'll be sure to let you know." She graced him with her brilliant smile. "Thank you." She put the marker down for a moment, watching all of us carefully and gauging individual expressions as she did. "I know I've given you girls quite a bit to think about. Good. You are supposed to think about these things. Talk amongst yourselves and, of course I will be available for you to answer any questions you have. Oh, and lest I forget." She picked up the marker and drew a large circle on the board, then drew a line straight down from it and crossed that line again. "My birth certificate reads Ryoko Wantabe, with an F on the gender line." "How we were born does not define who we are," Ryoko said softly. "The choices we make do. The Right Thing is often the Smart Thing. I have spent my life and will continue doing so until I have no breath to fuel my body in service to my fellow man. It was and is The Right Thing to do. There are no further classes today, my dears. The time is yours to spend how you see fit. When we reach Mars you'll be given the phrases to reset your inhibitor. I trust no one has a burning need to become pregnant before then?" There was a spatter of uneasy giggling. "I thought not. Good evening girls." As I was leaving, a grinning Naomi moved up to stand beside Ryoko and called for attention. "Girls, there is one last thing to take care of before you all head off for whatever you plan to do with your free time, if you wouldn't mind waiting for just another few minutes?" I had the feeling that somehow I'd been had as Naomi smiled and gestured for me to join her and Dr. Watanbe in the front of the class. Once I'd done that, with more than a few curious glances from the gathering, Heinlein's Ship Mother gave the entire gathering a brilliant smile. "Now I'm sure most of you already know Persephone here, I would think." She started and shrugged at the mixed giggles, groans and cheers the comment drew. "What many of you may not know is that she very graciously agreed to be a student instructor, and to be a defacto Mother for her own incoming flight. As such, her own training was slowed just a bit." I blushed, wishing I could just kind of slide out of the room without anyone noticing. Fat chance. Every eye in the room, including those of the Captain and the other men present, were firmly fixed on me. "Well now, Sister Persephone is officially finished with her training, though she will still be an instructor, and an active pilot with us here." Naomi reached up to remove the small pin that denoted my rank as a Sister, and put it gently in my hand. "In recognition of her graduation, and the unfailing service she has given to more than a few of you as either a mentor or simply an instructor, I'm very pleased to announce her promotion to the rank of Aunt." There were general hoots and cheering, along with applause as Naomi pinned the new emblem on my jumpsuit. Ryoko was smiling broadly and I swear she actually winked at me during the commotion. To say I was speechless would be not quite the truth here. I do recall threatening to get Naomi back for this one, then hugging her. Then I got a hug from Ryoko, and the others gathered around to offer their own congratulations. "I had wondered at your presence here, sensei," Masako told me once she had reached me. "You never mentioned that you were doing all those things at once." "It just never came up when we talked," I offered with a grin. "There was no need for telling everyone after all. It would have just complicated things more for some of you, and me, come to think of it." "Please accept my congratulations, Aunt Persephone." The Japanese girl bowed to me, and I returned the gesture with pleasure. "Happily accepted, Masako. Thank you." "You have the next two days off, Persey," Naomi informed me with a rather interesting little smile. "Go have some fun, you've earned it." As to what kind of fun I found... Well I'll leave that for you to figure out. It shouldn't be too hard to do. I'm pretty sure I don't need to mention that Al was ecstatic, and not just over my promotion. * * * * Communications with Earth had become very spotty over the months since Heinlein had boosted out of orbit there. News items were deliberately censored before being sent out, that was clear from all the gaps in the on-line news services' output to us. I hadn't been able to reach Connie, Claire, or my Grandmother for some time either. It seems that communications to Earth from space were carefully picked through and most of those denied without considering that many, if not most spacers had families and friends back there. "I know it's tough." Al gave me a hug after another abortive foray into the intricacies of e-mailing anyone on Earth from space. "The governments down there have interdicted most forms of communication between individuals in space and on Earth. I haven't heard from my own family for over a month now, and I usually have enough clout to get past crap like that." "It really is starting to scare me, Al," I answered quietly. "Especially with the lack of any real news from Earth about what's going on down there." "You aren't the only one it worries, or scares." My lover let out a long sigh. "It's as if we're already at war with them and they've clamped down hard on any kind of communications going out. We can still get the unfiltered versions, with a little work, and those aren't any more encouraging than the silence." "I didn't think they would be." "There's more." Al drew in a long breath. "UN forces in space, now calling themselves the ISP -- International Space Patrol -- have been boarding ships and forcibly removing any females they find, then sending those to Earth." "Has anyone resisted yet?" I questioned with a lurch in the pit of my stomach. "Not that we've heard of," he replied with a slow shake of his head. "But ships are going missing out here lately. Too many of them all at once for us to comfortably chalk it up to mere coincidence or naturally occurring accidents." "I know." My answer was thoughtful, and sounded worried even to me. "That subject is a pretty lively one in the pilot's lounge most of the time." "Just be careful when you're out there in Glory Road, darling," he advised me. "If you see a ship that looks unfamiliar in type, or designation, scream bloody murder and run for all you're worth. If I lost you to those bastards, I'd start a war all on my own." "I will." My answer was soft, but I meant it then added thoughtfully. "But I'm not out there with my undefended butt hanging out if it comes to that. Glory has some teeth of her own, you know." "I know, and that both reassures and worries me." Al gathered me into a tight hug. "Just promise me you won't take any unnecessary chances when you're out, ok?" "What? ME look for trouble?" "I know you don't go looking for it, dear," he grinned, then sobered as he finished. "But when it finds you, there is this tendency you have to give it as good as you get. In this case, that really worries me." "I knew I loved you for some reason other than the sex," I lightly replied, then turned serious. "I'll be careful. You know I always am." "Yeah, but sometimes careful just isn't enough, you know what I mean there?" "All too well," I answered with a shrug. "Now, do you think we could get to something just a bit more pleasant here?" "What did you have in mi... ummph!" He didn't quite finish that question as I reached for and found the parts of his anatomy that really had my interest just then. * * * * Glory Road was firmly on a vector to intercept some interesting looking rocks that had strayed out of the belt and inside the orbit of mars. I'd flown her a number of times, and even gotten proficient with that nose mounted laser. Heinlein was just under a month out of Mars at that point, so I'd had more than enough time to both familiarize myself with the long range shuttle and her little quirks. It was a fairly easy run. One day out, probably a day to survey the rocks and see if there was anything valuable enough to warrant prospecting, then about a day and a half return. Andrea Lomax, my copilot and nav, turned in her seat and called back to Christophe Puertos, our engineer who was also doubling up on comm. "Anything new from Heinlein recently Angel?" "Not a squawk, Andie," Christophe reported. Those rocks behaving themselves for you ladies?" "Rocks are rocks," I responded with a grin. "Once you establish which direction they're going, and their relative velocity, they don't usually surprise you short of rebounding from a collision with another rock." "Good point, skipper," he acknowledged with a wide show of startlingly white teeth against his olive complexion and a twinkle in his hazel eyes. "Hang on here I'm getting something on the distress frequency." "Get a bearing on it and let me know where it's coming from," I answered, then added, "get a message off to Heinlein that we may have to divert if the thing's close enough. If not, let's make sure someone is on the way to help whoever it is." "On it." I watched the star field from the front view port and wondered who was in what kind of trouble. I hoped it wasn't something truly disastrous, but any need for a distress call from a ship in space was considered a life threatening matter. "Got it, Boss," Christophe announced, then gave his comm unit a strange look. "That's odd." "What?" "It seems to be coming from the same direction as those rocks we're headed for. But it's either a lot farther away, or running into some kind of interference. Fades in and out a lot. And it's an automatic beacon, no voice message comes through with it." "Got an ID on the ship sending it?" Oh shit. An automatic beacon meant that either the crew was incapacitated or dead. "Get that off to Heinlein NOW." "Done, skipper," he replied, then added, "I'm getting a faint ID here. Seems to be the Halcyon, out of Mars." "That's an Apollo ship," Andie put in with a worried note in her voice. "Fairly big gas hauler. I know the exec really well." "How many in the crew?" "Two hundred," she answered, pulling the information up on her own screen then shunting it to mine. "About thirty Care Givers aboard her, too." "Damn." A ship that size, with that many crew, and all it could broadcast was a weak auto-distress beacon. That wasn't good at all. "Christophe, get me a range on that signal." "Closer that you'd think," he answered, preoccupied with the job of getting usable figures on distance and vectors from the weak signal. "Sounds as if the power's fading in and out on the thing. It has to be working off its own battery backup." "Is it within our present range?" "Given the way the signal Doppler's on me, I'd say it is," he responded with a worried note in his own voice. "Ballpark guess is that she's among those rocks were headed for." "Get me a link to Heinlein," I told him. "And I want it yesterday. With a continuous upload of data to them on this." "Done, Persey," Christophe replied. "Control wants to talk with you. Putting it through to your comm-set." "Thanks. Glory Road, Heinlein." "Heinlein control, here Glory Road," I heard Mike Hasting's voice over my comm. "Be advised that we confirm your ID. It is Halcyon. She was returning from a run to Jupiter and loaded with Hydrogen and other more exotic gasses." "Roger that, Heinlein," I replied. "Have you got a range and vector for me there?" "Confirm that it is on your present vector, Glory Road." Mike's voice came through. "Computer enhancement of signal indicates it is coming from among those rocks. Please advise as to veracity of that." I'd already corrected for reaching the plane and direction that would get us to the rocks. With Heinleins's confirmation that the distress beacon was broadcasting from the same direction, all that was left to do was go to boost. Then brake at the right time. "We get the same thing you do, Heinlein," I responded, getting more worried as things unfolded. "Going to emergency burn to get closer and take a real look. We'll keep sending you the data. Talk to you when we get there." "Roger that, Glory Road. ETA?" I waited a moment as Andie pulled the numbers and put them on my screen. "Uhmm, at thirty gees, max that will leave us fuel to get back, ETA would be six hours fifty-three minutes, Heinlein." "Authorize you to go to full burn, Glory Road," Mike told me after a few seconds that were spent consulting with someone. "Be advised we will divert long enough to pick you up on return. Fifty gees. This was a really bad one then if they were willing to divert the Heinlein even enough to accommodate our shortened return range. I glanced at Andie, who was already running the numbers and waited long enough for them to appear on my screen. It wouldn't really be that much of a stretch for us to manage, Glory Road had a lot of fuel in reserve. "Roger that, Heinlein," I returned. It'll be close, but we should have the fuel to get there and rendezvous with you as is." "Keep us advised, Glory Road." "Will do, Heinlein," I answered. "Glory Road out." "Everyone strapped in?" I questioned needlessly as I noted Christophe just finishing that act in his own acceleration couch. "Ready to go, skipper," he answered with a wan smile. "Andie?" "Ready," she answered with more calm than I was feeling. Making sure my own harness was secure, I pulled my helmet visor down. "Visors down, switch to line feed oxygen." "Done." "Ready." "Max burn to commence in thirty seconds on my mark." I flipped the switch that uncovered the twin monsters built by Rolls Royce that provided propulsion for Glory Road. "Thirty..." Even with a beefed up Gee Wee, fifty gees in a shuttle isn't a pleasant experience. Thankfully it only lasted for about a minute. Once the massive engines shut down, we all drew in ragged breaths. "ETA now, Andie?" "One hour, twenty minutes and seventeen seconds, Persey," she answered. "Okay." I contacted Heinlein to advise them of that then grimaced. "This is not going to be pleasant. The braking maneuver is going to be hell, too, guys." "Tell me something I don't know," Andie replied with a weak chuckle. "The signal is definitely coming from those rocks," Christophe announced after doing another check. "Strange, Halcyon has a good crew. They would have known those rocks were there. I don't like this." "Neither do I." I thought about the number of ships that had gone missing recently, mostly belonging to the larger haulers that were Spacer owned and run by experienced crews, liking the conclusions I came up with even less as they ran through my mind. "Kill the running lights. Sensors on full. I want to see it if someone's in there waiting for us." "Done." "Heinlein, Glory Road," I sent out. "Be advised that we're going in with eyes wide open and as quietly as possible. This feels bad to me." "Confirmed and concur, Glory Road," Mike's answer came through. "Be careful there, Persey." "I am being careful, Sir," I answered, then finished. "Glory Road out." The next few minutes were among the longest I've ever experienced in my life. * * * * "Beginning rotation for braking in sixty seconds," I announced finally while preparing to bring Glory Road's nose around so the main engines could slow us. "If anything but rocks is in there, they'll see this," Andie worried. "Can't be helped," I told her as I got our attitude adjusted for the second burn. "Numbers?" "On your screen, Skipper." As she said that the figures for matching velocity with the rocks and whatever else was with them came up and I keyed in the burn length. "Right. Be ready for another quick turn once we've completed this one," I warned. "Need to be heading in nose first when we do get there." "What do you think we'll find there?" she questioned quietly. "Damned if I know," I replied. "Deceleration burn starting now." Whatever it was, I didn't think any of us were going to like it once we got there. I watched gauges, and the red line of our destination's velocity climbing and the green representing ours sinking to meet it. When both lines were the same length, the burn shut down and I turned our nose into the direction of travel again. "Heinlein, Glory Road has completed approach and is coasting again," I spoke over my own comm link. "We're just about there." "Roger, Glory Road," the answer crackled back. "Getting some interference here." "Here too, Heinlein." Another burst of static covered their return transmission. "Say again, Heinlein. We didn't copy that last transmission." Nothing but static came over the comm. Christophe switched channels to try again, but nothing was getting through but the still erratic pulsing of the distress beacon. "Well, we're on our own for a while then," I sighed. "What's causing the interference, can you tell, Christophe?" "Negative on that Skipper," he responded, still trying to raise Heinlein. "Whatever it is blankets our frequencies pretty completely. Not a solar flare, though, I can tell you that much. Could be someone jamming signals out here." "Yeah. I'm liking this situation less the further into it we get," I muttered to no one in particular. "Christophe, get that laser powered up and ready. I hope we don't need it, but I'd rather err on the side of paranoia here just now." "Powering up now, Skipper," he responded as a low hum first filled the cabin before fading into a small background vibration. "But if there's an ambush waiting in there for us, they'll probably know we have it from the energy signature we'll radiate." "Rather have it up and ready. Get one of those drones ready for launch, too," I ordered. "Andie, put our data feed into it." "Number three," she told Christophe as he made his way back to the cargo bays. "Got it ladies." His answer echoed eerily from the narrow companionway along with our headphones. "Okay, Andie," I told my copilot. Cameras on, wide, slow sweep as we approach. I want to see everything we can in there before we so much as put our nose inside the grouping." "On it, boss. Low light and infrared, slow pan," she answered, keying in the commands on her board. "Little bird's ready to fly." Christophe returned to the command cabin and began activating parts of his console. "Magnetic scan is active and sweeping, Skipper." "All right then." Taking in a long breath I gave Glory Road a light push with the secondary aft thrusters and started us moving forward. "Let's go see what's going on in there." * * * * The cluster wasn't small, or remarkably large as things like that go. We counted fifty rocks of varying sizes, covering an area of just under five hundred kilometers wheeling through their own orbits around each other as the mass orbited the sun. Getting in and out might be tricky, but the rocks weren't moving all that fast relatively so I didn't think that would be a problem for a shuttle. How, or why, a big gas hauler would have attempted such a thing remained to be answered. "What was Captain Prandha thinking, taking the Halcyon in there?" Andie wondered aloud, echoing my own question. "Could have been guidance problems," I halfway muttered while lining up for a slow, careful approach to the slowly whirling masses of rock, ice, and whatever else it was made up of. "I don't think so," she replied slowly. "Halcyon isn't one of the newer ships out here, but she's well maintained. There would have been backup systems for a guidance failure that would have kicked in." "Yeah." I was watching the take from the cameras as we neared the cluster. "That leaves one possibility then. Halcyon deliberately went in there." "Why?" "Could have been deliberate sabotage, I suppose," I thought out loud. "Or she could have been trying to get away from something." "What could be out here that would chase a ship in there?" Andie asked. I could see the answer form in her mind as it did in mine while I quietly voiced it. "Another ship." "Oh god, I hope not." She breathed like it was real prayer. Maybe it was. "Amen to that." I'd been doing more than a little praying myself there. * * * * "Got Halcyon on view," Andie spoke quietly as the picture came up onscreen. The big gas hauler was doing a slow tumble among the rocks, but not in any imminent danger of collision with any of them. That tumble was frightening enough, especially because we could see no running lights, or interior lights at all when we looked closely. "Got us a dead ship here," I said quietly into the mike for the recording we were gathering to send Heinlein, while gingerly maneuvering for a closer view. "I make her tumble at -- fifteen per minute. No running lights, no interior lights. No hails from survivors either." "Got the aft starboard cargo tank holed," I went on, while moving my view from bow to stern, noticing a lot of objects in the area surrounding Halcyon. "Also have a lot of debris around her. Moving to take a look at her port side now." "Oh my God," Andie breathed as we worked our way around to the other side of the ship. Her expression pretty much echoed what I was thinking as I could only stare in silence for a few seconds. "Uh, Heinlein, port side engine nacelle and steering vane are gone. There's a rip in her side that I could park Glory Road in without worrying about bumping anything. Looks like engineering took a nasty hit." "Moving view to forward areas now. Maybe someone on the bridge survived." My running commentary was punctuated with a bitten off curse. "Bridge has been holed, too. This wasn't an accident." "Got EVA beepers out there," Christophe told us. "How many?" I questioned, still in near shock from what I was seeing. Sane people just didn't do something like this to another ship out here. "Twelve, no make that fifteen." "How long do you think they've been out there?" Andie asked quietly. "Too damned long," I told her as we exchanged bleak looks then called back to Christophe. "Get me a vector to them, and see if you can raise anyone at all." "No joy, Skipper," he replied after a few moments. "Emergency suit beacons. No voice bands at all." "Shit!" I involuntarily squeezed my eyes shut for a moment as we neared the debris field I'd noted earlier. Andie was staring in almost horrified fascination at the bodies floating there like rings burst bubbles leave on a fluid surface. Some of them had managed to get into their EVA suits at least. "Whatever happened didn't give them much in the way of warning," I spoke carefully into the mike, trying not to vomit on it and foul my face plate as my gorge rose with heat furious enough to burn my throat. "Ahh, God, I make it about twenty, no -- more like thirty bodies in this group. There are others out here too. Too many for us to get back to Heinlein." "Cabrones!" Christophe spat out as he listened and caught sight of the horror we were witnessing. "Whoever did this thing will rot in Hell!" "Uh oh," Andie gasped. "We've got company." A black object detached from the stern of Halcyon with a flare of rockets, and sped into the darkness and shelter of the rocks. "What the..?" Christophe was checking his instruments and not liking what they were telling him. "Don't let them get away, Skipper." "Don't have the fuel to waste chasing the bastards," I answered with regret, "That was a small shuttle. It can't have that much range. Someone was looting Halcyon, and ran for safety when they saw the chance." "Safety?" Andie questioned, then went pale as understanding came. "The ship that did this is out there, and I'm betting it's in pretty close," I responded with a tightening in my chest. "And now it's going to know for sure that we're here. Worse, I don't think whoever is on it will want witnesses getting away from them." "Got something moving towards us, Skipper," Christophe whispered then spoke louder. "Mierda! Whatever it is, it's fast." "Get me a vid shot on the thing, if you can. Then strap in. This is going to get rough." I used a few gentle pushes from the steering jets to take Glory Road to the other side of the wreck, then turned her carefully towards some likely looking rocks we might be able to hide in. The boost hurled us towards my target area and I used the steering vanes and attitude jets to work us in among the rocks. Or at least a rough idea of the bastard's location. "Working on it," Andie answered as a fuzzy picture came up on my screen. "Have it clearer in a sec here." "Moving in from our ten O'clock, Skipper," Christophe supplied. "I see it." The thing was difficult to track visually at all since it had been painted flat black to minimize reflections. "What kind of ship is that?" Andie asked no one in particular. "Looking at those oversized steering/cooling vanes and the way she bulges out aft, I can tell you it isn't any kind of hauler," I answered while trying to get a clearer view as it began to slow with a burst of braking jets that most ships would have avoided as far too wasteful of fuel. "Pirate?" "If they are, they're rich ones," I answered gesturing at the belly of the image I had up. That kind of comm array isn't close to cheap, and I think that bulge forward of the comm is a gravitic lasso. "Are those mass drivers?" Andie pointed to bulges to starboard, port, and mounted dorsally. "That'd be my bet," I allowed Glory Road to coast a bit, until we were well within the cluster of rocks and waited to see what the unidentified ship would do next. "They sure as Hell aren't here to answer Halcyon's distress beacon." "That's what got Halcyon," Andie spat out as the thing passed the derelict and the bodies as it was braking, and showing no sign of working a turn to check on the distress beacon, or for survivors. "I'd say the chances are better than just good on that assessment," I answered. "That thing is designed with two purposes, capturing or killing other ships." "Got a registry number on it," Christophe announced. "RG921." "Checking that against our database now," Andie put in, then shook her head. "Says it's a long range Belt surveyor built by the UN. That can't be right." "Well, that's no survey ship," I agreed. "Probably listed that way to hide what it really was planned to be." The black ship slowed more, and oriented on the cluster of rocks I'd taken Glory Road into. I didn't like that at all, and was ready when Christophe shouted. "Got a big EM buildup over there!" If we hadn't been strapped in, the sideways slewing I put us into would have thrown us all against the bulkhead when the lateral jets pushed us right behind the biggest rock I could find in the vicinity. The correction with the jets on the other side was just as bad, but at least we were holding a position with the rock between us and the black ship. "Guess they don't plan on taking prisoners," Christophe quietly observed as something flashed through the area we had recently occupied and then on through the cluster. "That was a nickel iron slug." "Guess not." My voice sounded grim even to me. "Get that drone out of here, Chris. Heinlein has got to know about this. And maybe it'll give me the distraction I need to get us out of the soup." "Better be quick, then," Andie announced with a calm that didn't show in her eyes through the visor of her helmet. "I get a heavy, directional gravitic wave from about where they were." "Great," I swore under my breath and hoped whoever was in command over there was overconfident enough to hold still for a few more seconds. "They must plan on grabbing us, then shooting while we can't move." "All right, got me a probable plot on where they'll be yet, Andie?" "Up on your screen now." "Keep the numbers coming. This isn't going to be fun at all, people." "Number three drone ready for launch," Christophe told me as he made sure he was securely strapped in. "Good, launch on my word, then get on that laser. Go for the lasso and comm array first, if you can, then the bridge, and pick your targets from there." "Might get those in the first sweep," came the response as he worked the controls to make sure they were functioning. "Good to go here, Skipper." "They're moving in closer," Andie reported. "Coming around on our starboard side." "Launch," I ordered and as the slight shudder came from the grapples on the drone letting loose, and its engine firing much closer to us than was comfortable, I hit the laterals and scooted Glory Road hard to starboard and found myself staring right at the RG921's nose. "Fire!" That order was unnecessary as the white lance of the laser's sighting beam brushed under the aggressor vessel, and held there until a burst of sparks erupted on the ship's belly that traveled back to reach the Comm arrray. That collection of antennae and dishes crumpled as it reddened went to white and came loose from the ship. "Lasso's down! They were chasing the drone with it," Andie told us with more than a note of satisfaction in her voice. "Got comm, again, too." "Time to dodge," I announced as the beam played across the forward view port -- more of a slit -- on the other ship. Our Gee-wee protested as I threw Glory Road to her port on a forty degree angle. In the back ground I noted frantic calls from Heinlein for a status report while I roughly slewed the shuttle's stern to orient our nose on the RG921. The laser reached out again even before I had completely compensated for our slewing tail. The black ship's portside mass driver erupted into a coruscating, pulsing glare of electrical arcs that left that section of her hull glowing a dull red. "Got it just before they fired!" Christophe exultantly bellowed. The sudden release of all that electrical potential back into the ship itself caused it's interior lights to flicker then go out for a moment as the electrical systems aboard went off line to avoid being fried completely. Chris didn't allow that opportunity to go to waste. RG921 lurched drunkenly as atmosphere belched into space from a hole burned in her hull just aft of the bridge. The magnified picture on my screen clearly showed the blue/white flashes of electrical explosions and short circuits through their forward port and the ship slowly began to tumble. A tumble that wasn't corrected for. "I think the fights over, kids," I breathed while warily watching the one time killer for the slightest sign of activity that would warrant more evasive action and/or another sweep of the laser. "Just to make sure." Chris took out the remaining pair of mass drivers, with far less spectacular results, then eased back in his couch as much as his webbing would allow with a long, shaky sigh. "It's -- they're -- dead, Persey," Andie quietly reported. "Glory Road!" Captain Mike Hasting's voice reverberated through the comm. "Report, for God's sake! "No need to shout, Captain. Glory Road, is okay. We're kinda bruised up in here, and might be walking kind of funny for a while, but we're all right." "What the Hell happened out there?" he demanded, either forgetting or throwing protocols aside. "We got jumped by an unknown ship type, Heinlein," I tiredly reported. "I repeat, Glory Road was attacked by a vessel of unknown type. We're all right, just a bit shaken at the moment, sir." "Data feed up and recordings sent out," Andie put in while still staring at the now dead ship slowly tumbling through a growing cloud of escaped atmosphere. "Data is on the way, Heinlein," I reported. "Copy that, Glory Road. Receiving it now," Mike Hastings acknowledged, then added, "Salvage and recovery teams are being arranged for with Mars now. Come on home." A glance at our fuel status told me that wasn't happening right away. "Negative on that, Heinlein. Fuel is too low for that trip. We'll try refueling off Halcyon. Otherwise, we'll be lighting a candle in the window for the recovery teams and waiting for a tow. Warn the recovery teams not to eat anything just before they arrive. It's pretty damned ugly around here. We'll try to tag the bodies for recovery but no promises on that one." "Just hit the gas station, and head home, Persey," Hastings ordered. "You three have been through enough. The dead aren't going anywhere in particular, are they?" "That's a negative, Heinlein," I responded with a heavy sigh. "On the bodies, anyway. We'll get back to you on the refueling once we've tried it." "Copy that, Glory Road. Good luck there." "Thanks, Heinlein." I turned to Andie. "We got enough fuel left to get us to Halcyon?" "Sure," she answered quietly. "We used a lot with your maneuvering a while ago, but we should be able to get there with plenty to spare." "Great," I answered. "Something goes right today, after all." "Hey, you did good, Persey," Christophe put in softly. "We're still alive, after all." "Yeah, there is that." My answer was slow in coming. I was fighting the shakes once the adrenalin I'd been working on faded. Plus, there was no internal elation in me over the fight we'd just won. None at all. "Good work, you two," I managed while beginning to move Glory Road past one hulk that had been a ship full of living people, and towards another. We did take the time to do a cursory search for survivors around the UN ship. There weren't any. God is merciful at times, isn't he? I couldn't see any spacer showing a survivor of that crew the least bit of compassion, or forbearance. God help me, if we'd found any I would have been hard pressed not to kill the bastards myself. * * * * I will not detail what we found inside what was left of Halcyon. I had the feeling that the nightmares I still had about the Argonaut were going to have company in the future, though. It was ghastly. I will only say that we managed to hook up some emergency batteries to the cargo tanks, figure out which of them held hydrogen, and rig up the couplings we'd need to transfer some of that to our own badly depleted tanks. I also retrieved the magnetic cubes that held the ship's logs and the data from the last few days of her life for a return to Heinlein. Just before boosting away from that graveyard, I took one last look around it. Two dead ships, hundreds of lives lost, and for what I wondered? Money and power, was all I could think of at the time. Other wars were started for less reason. "It didn't have to be this way you stupid