Chapter 1 – Space

Back in the year 2130 AD. Earth's resources were growing few and far between. Precious metals were beyond scarce. When a single bar gold cost more than an entire country there was bound to be problems. Wars were being fought over the last remaining resources on the planet. It was a realization hundreds of years in the making. Everyone believe that Earth was all we ever needed. As the years passed, it was easy to see that we had outgrown our planet. When the last shots were fired in the war for the surface, everyone collectively looked to the stars.

The mining of asteroids was already a common practice, but to colonized space there were two serious problems that needed to be overcome. Space and Time. The nearest inhabitable planet was so far away. Even with the best technology available, it would take generations to fly there. Weapons of war were melted down and repurposed to the drones used for asteroid mining were redesigned with antimatter drives and fitted for passenger transportation. Even with the fastest engines money could buy hibernation chambers would still be needed. Years of knowledge and technologies were shared from different governments. For the first time in forever the world worked together for a common goal. Once everything was built and tested, mankind collectively congratulated themselves on the achievement. Launch sites were designated, ships were built, and space travel because the new job to have.

Overpopulation turned out to be mankind's greatest strength. What point is space travel without people to colonize these other planets? Once the first government funded colonies were settled, organizations popped up all over the world. Space travel had become a booming industry. All at once there were people setting up research stations, new permanent settlements, and even luxury resorts on far away planets. If you have the credits, you can find anything you want in space. If you want your dream home with a purple sunset, there is a planet for you. If you don't have the money for that, then there is something for you too. Ships needed crew to take off and land. Companies were hiring employees to transport people and cargo to various locations around the galaxy. Sign up and hop aboard to get paid for your time.

At the loading site, a woman carrying a small container of luggage as she struggled toward the launch pad. She was wearing a classy red business suit with her hair up in a bun. She had a very professional look. "It's going to be okay." She said under her breath as she fought against the wind. The wind was always stronger out at the airfield, but it was extremely powerful today. She almost lost her ticket in her hand. With a quick gust her hair ripped itself out of the bun. She did not stop to fix it. With her long brown hair blowing in the wind, she continued to walk toward the launch pad. It was almost as if the wind was pushing her backwards away from the launch pad. Nature holding her back, warning her against her impending doom. If she believed in signs, this would have been a good one.

As she climbed to the top of the stairs, she could see the launch pad. Standing by a small ship was a man holding up a large digital sign. The man was wearing boots and a standard SEU Aeronautics jumpsuit. Vertical dark blue and gray lines from head to toe. The sign he was holding read, Welcome home from Prison, Babe. She was not amused. She shouted, "Am I in the wrong place or did you forget to change the sign?"

The man smiled and put down the sign. He pressed a button to make the letters disappear. Then he said, "Sorry, I just bought it from a guy over is hangar 6. I didn't know how to change the letters, but I thought it was funny." He approached her with his hand extended. "I'm Jack Myer, I will be your pilot today."

She accepted his handshake and said, "I'm Lana Davies. Where is everyone else? I thought this was going to be a full crew?"

"Oh, right now they are over Australia." Jack said, as he took her luggage. "We had to load up the cargo yesterday. They said there was bad winds conditions coming our way. If you can't tell, they were right. We didn't want to be stuck on the ground waiting for clearance. Captain said we could have left already. The only thing we were missing was you."

Jack stepped inside the airlock and waited for her. Lana followed him as he pressed the airlock cycle button. The outer door shut, and the sound of the roaring wind was gone. Lana fixed her hair and said, "Thanks for waiting. I am glad you didn't leave me behind." Lana lied through her tear. She was not excited for this trip.

The inner airlock door opened, and Jack put her luggage inside, he said, "Strap yourself in and let's get out of here." Jack sat down in the pilot seat and strapped himself in with a 5-belt harness. Lana sat down next to him and buckled herself into the seat. These were serious seat belts. Lana thought to herself, were they overkill or was the flight going to be this dangerous? Jack turned on the power and said, "I hope you don't mind if we skip some of the mindless protocol. The captain told me to hurry." With that said, Jack picked up his headset and put it on. He pressed the button and said, "Tower, this is Shuttle 201 on route to the POLO, request permission to launch. Over."

The radio was silent for a second then a voice called back, "Shuttle 201 this is Tower, that is a negative on your request. Wind conditions are too high. All aircraft are grounded for the next 4 hours due to wind advisory. Over."

Jack replied with disgust, "Come on Lloyd, we are running late."

Once again there was a long pause then the radio said, "Shuttle 201 this is Tower. I repeat, wind conditions are too high. All aircraft and shuttles are to remain grounded. Over."

"Copy that Tower." Jack said with distain. Then he glanced at Lana and said, "Hold on." Jack flipped a bunch of switches and powered up the thrusters. With a loud wining of engines, the shuttle came to life. Within seconds Jack pulled back on the control stick causing the shuttle to turn toward the sky. Anything in the cabin that was not tied down started to fall backward. Each making a distinct sound at they hit the back wall. In a panic, Lana double checked her seatbelt to make sure she would not share the same fate.

Lana opened her mouth to ask a question, but the radio turned on again, "Shuttle 201 this is Tower, I see you pointing your nose skyward. I hope you are not doing what I think you are doing. Over."

Jack picked up the radio and said, "I hear you, Lloyd. But we are in a time crunch. See you in 14 years." Jack clicked the radio back into place and launched the ship. The boosters on the back of the shuttled fired as the ship took off. Lana was speechless. The sheer force of the thrusters planted her in the seat so firmly that she could not move. The seat was designed to reduce the G forces of takeoff, but the shuttle rocketed forward so quickly Lana couldn't speak or even breath for a few seconds. All she could do was watch out the window as the sky faded from blue to black. It was like watching the Earth slowly disappeared.

Within a few minutes the pressure released. The wind was gone, and the sound of the boosters disappeared. After being thrown back in her seat for so long, Lana now felt she was being propelled forward. Suddenly Lana felt something touch her chin. She looked down to see it was her necklace. It was floating. They were in space. Without making eye contact with her, Jack said, "They are definitely going to fine us for that. I am sure I will hear about that later."

With a look of desperation, Lana said, "I don't feel so good."

Jack turned to her and said, "You can't puke in space. There is no puking in space! Breath. Focus on your breathing." He reached over and grabbed a plastic bag out of the back and handed it to her. Then he said, "If you puke put your head in this… and try not to drown yourself."

Lana took the bag and focused on her breathing. Jack made some course corrections then he said, "I know I am a good pilot and all that, but I didn't think I was going to be taking your breath away on the very first flight. Is this your first time in space?" Lana did not reply she just nodded and focused on her breathing. Jack rolled his eyes and said, "They didn't tell me you were a Leg. A little bit of a heads up would have been nice."

Lana moved the bag away from her face and said, "Sorry, I should have told you. I did the training simulator." Lana stopped talking to breathe a few more times.

Jack pressed the button on his headset and said, "POLO this is shuttle 201 requesting your coordinates for intercept, over." He released the button and looked at Lana, "The training simulators aren't quite the same as the real deal, is it?" Lana shook her head no. Jack continued, "You keep breathing in that bag and listen. When we get to the ship, stick with me and I will show you around. Just don't tell anyone that you are a Leg. They will never let you live it down."

Lana started to feel better. She watched as Jack piloted the shuttle toward their destination. Zero gravity slowly became easier to tolerate. When she was 100% sure that she was not going to vomit Lana took the bag away from her face. At this point she noticed all the objects floating around in the compartment. There were articles of clothing, drink containers, and empty food containers all floating around. Also, her luggage was included in these items floating among the debris. She asked, "Forgive me for asking but, what is a Leg?"

"A Leg?!" Jack smiled as he said it, "It's Drifter terminology. People on Earth call us Drifters. So, to counter that, Drifter's call people on Earth… Legs. Because it is their only known method of travel."

Lana nodded, "I see. I guess that would describe me pretty well."

"No, not you. You're not a Leg anymore." Jack said as turned the controls. The shuttle rotated a bit so Lana could see the Earth. Then Jack continued, "You're one of us now." Lana peered down on the Earth with a newfound sense of wonder. Everyone she has even known and meet in her life lived on this little blue ball that rotated beneath her. It was a beautiful moment. Then a container of peanuts floated in front of the window blocking the view.

Lana grabbed the container and handed it to Jack as she said, "Isn't it dangerous to have his much stuff floating around in here?"

Jack took the container and replied, "No, not really. This is a community shuttle. Everyone uses it but no one cleans it out. At least I tried to clean it out. Last trip I opened the airlock so most of the junk in here got sucked out into space… but so did the passengers."

Lana blinked at him a few times. She was not sure if he was serious, or this was his bizarre method of humor. After a few seconds of silence, Jack took his hand off the controls, opened the container, and started eating the peanuts. With his mouth full, Jack said, "Want some?"

Lana shook her head no. She was still feeling a little uneasy about being in space. But she could image, from a Drifter's perspective, the idea of being ejected into space while cleaning was funny. Jack looked at Lana and said, "Sorry, I just realized, if this is your first time in space. You haven't gotten the full tour yet. You ready?"

Lana wasn't sure what he was talking about. She asked, "What is the full tour?" Jack let go of the peanut container and smiled at her. Then in one quickly motion he reached over and unbuckled her seatbelt. Lana floated away from the seat. Her slightest movement pushed her way from the seat. This was her first time being weightless. Naturally, she panicked a bit. Lana flailed around trying to grab her seat, but her movement only pushed herself further away from the chair.

Jack grabbed her arm with his. Then he said, "You are using too much power. It only takes a little effort to move yourself a great distance in space. Hold onto me." Lana grabbed his arm to stabilize herself. Then Jack said, "Okay, now use that railing." Lana reached out and grabbed the rail. She pulled herself closer to the window. Moving around in space required a certain finesse that she had never used before. It took her a few minutes to get used to it.

Eventually, Lana got back to her chair and used her seat belt to pull herself back into the chair. Then she shot him a glance and said, "How did I do for my first spacewalk?"

Without taking his eyes off the controls Jack said, "Not bad. You might be a natural." Jack pointed to the white spot in the distance then he said, "Good timing to get back in your seat. We are almost home." Lana squinted at the spot as it slowly became visible in the distance. It was a ship marked with the SEU Aeronautic logo. Jack added, "It might not look like much, but we have been flying around in that ship since before you were born. It's an old Gambus Class Frigate. The company added a few engines to the back for speed. It's certainly not an impressive ship on the outside… or on the inside… but when we are done you can say you rode in the oldest fastest ship in the galaxy."

Lana agreed, "Sounds nice. By the way, I don't know what a Gambus Class Frigate is."

"You don't have to." Jack responded putting his finger on the headset button. Then he said, "POLO, anyone home? Paula, are you there? I am parking on Airlock 4. Over."

The radio was silence then a female voice responded, "No you're not. Airlock 4 is still broken. It still cycles and everything, but you can't connect to it."

Jack let out a long sigh, then he said, "Everything is always broken."

There was silence again and the voice came back on the radio, "I mean, you can use Airlock 4 if you want to. I am not going to stop you, but you will never get the light to turn green. Use on Airlock 1. Over."

Jack turned the controls a bit to the left as they neared the bottom of the POLO. Jack said, "That was Paula. You will like her."

Lana eyed the ship taking in the details as Jack moved the shuttle into position. There were 2 shuttles mounted in tandem next to each other on the side hull. There was one larger shuttle with a cargo box attached to it on the bottom of the ship. Lana began to wonder. Then she asked, "This ship has no landing gear?"

Jack replied, "Yeah, the POLO is too big to survive reentry to Earth. All the goods are transported via shuttles and drop ships. It makes life easier for us. Prevents us from loading and unloading cargo over and over again. Give me a second, this takes the slightest amount of concentration." Jack piloted the shuttle up and into the airlock position. With a loud mechanical clunk, the shuttle locked into place. Jack powered down the controls and turned everything off. He pressed the button releasing his seatbelt and stood up. Lana watched as he walked away with disbelief. Lana took off her seat belt and stood up. She had not even noticed that the items floating around the compartment had all dropped to the floor. There was gravity here.

Jack grabbed her luggage and waited for her at the airlock door. Lana stepped inside the airlock as Jack pressed the button and the interior door closed. There was a hissing sound as Jack pointed to the lights and said, "The airlocks on this ship are kind of old. The doors won't open until the whole system is pressurized. You know you can enter when the light turns green." Jack pointed to the lights on the control panel.

Lana took the luggage from him and waited. After a few seconds the light turned green, and the door opened. Stepping out onto the tunnel, Lana found herself in a small 2-meter confined tunnel. They moved forward to the secondary airlock doors. They had to wait again for the doors to stabilize pressure then the second doors opened. After the second set of doors opened, they were immediately greeted by a man leaning again the wall with his arms crossed. He was wearing the old faded green jump suit and smoking a cigar. Lana could tell he was at least 60 years old. Jack nodded to him then turned to Lana and introduced her, "Lana this is Captain Garcia." He smiled at the captain and said, "Captain, this is our plus one for the trip."

Lana did a little wave and said, "Hello."

The captain pulled the cigar out of his mouth and smashed the end into the wall. Captain Garcia cleared his throat then angerly said, "10 grand, Myer. That's how much it cost us every time you pull a bullshit stunt of yours. It cost us 10 grand."

"Bullshit stunts?"

"Yes," the captain said as he cleared his throat, "You want to explain to me why you took off from Vellus International without clearance from the Tower?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders and replied, "The Tower was going to hold us for 4 hours. You said every hour we have to wait cost us fuel. You said we were in a hurry."

The captain shouted, "Not that much of a hurry! Rather than spending 1,000 credits on fuel, now we have to spend 10,000 on a fine! Where is the logic in that?"

Jack strolled over to the captain with confidence and put his arm on his shoulder. Then he responded, "The logic is that we can leave now instead of in four hours, and we aren't going to be back in 14 years! In 14 years, they won't even remember us let alone the one time we left early. I put actual thought into this."

After a few seconds the captain move out away from Jack and said, "They are still going to charge us. It doesn't matter how long the flight is. You keep pushing like this and the SEU will pull your contract. You know what will happen then? Don't you?" With that said the captain walked away.

Jack waited for a few seconds then turned to Lana and said, "That's the captain. He is a sweetheart really." Lana did not respond. Jack pointed to the hallway and said, "We can still complete the tour if you are interested? There are a lot of other people for you to meet."

Lana was unsure, but agreed, "Sure, I hope everyone is as cheery as him."

Jack led Lana to a door in the back of the ship. The room had pungent smell of carbon, and everything hummed with the sound of mechanical motors. Lana was certainly no expert but even she could tell this was the engine room. Tools and spare parts hung on the walls as they worked their way to the back. Jack finally came to a stop near a man working at a nearby table. Lana could see the man was in his 30s, dark hair, wearing black coveralls, and a gray shirt. Due to the noise of the working equipment the man didn't notice them. He continued to work on a project of some kind. He was minding his own business soldering parts into place. Jack leaned into Lana's ear and said, "This is Steve. He is the hero of the ship. Your classic fix it man. He is that guy who knows everything there is to know about everything. Leave him naked in the desert with an empty can of beans and he will build a spaceship and fly away wearing a million-credit suit." Jack tapped Steve on the shoulder.

Steve turned around with a big smile said, "Hey, Jack." Then Steve noticed Lana and said, "Who is your new lady friend? We have a new crewmate or something?"

Jack shook his head and said, "No, this is Lana Davies. She is just along for the ride to Sengis 01." Jack stepped out of the way so Lana could greet Steve properly.

Steve held out his hand to shake hers. It was at this point Lana realized his clothes weren't black or gray. They were dirty. Literally, years of grease and oil on his coveralls. It was like a road map of his life's work. His hands were also covered this black dirt that seemed to stain his palms. Despite not wanting to Lana shook his hand. Then she said, "Nice to meet you."

Steve said, "Chief Engineer Steve Newman. You have any mechanical problems here on the POLO you come see me. Or you can see Gena, she is out fixing the airlock right now." Lana pulled her hand away to see Steve had left a black handprint on hers. Steve noticed this. He quickly wiped his hand on his coveralls in an attempt to clean it. Not that it helped much.

Lana glanced around the room and asked, "I have never seen such a… impressive collection of tools and equipment. Do you take care of this all by yourself?"

Steve pointed to the other tools boxes and said, "No, Gena works here with me. She is my Co-engineer. She is a wizard with some of this stuff. Good thing too, or I never would have gotten that new Gravity Generator installed." Steve pointed to some of the machines around the room explaining what each of them did. Lana politely listened as he talked about each one. Then Steve turned back and said, "Do you know a lot about ship propulsion systems?"

Lana smiled and shook her head, "Actually no. I am just a financial consultant. But all of this stuff is very interesting."

Jack finally injected himself back into the conversation, "It's been good talking with you, Steve. We are going to finish the tour." Steve nodded and returned to his desk. Jack and Lana walked to the exit and back to the main hallway.

Once outside Lana checked her ears and said, "How can he sit in there without going deaf?"

Jack smiled and said, "Earplugs. Everyone in engineering wears earplugs. The newer models aren't quite as loud. To be honest, this ship is so painfully outdated it isn't even funny. We need two engineers just to keep it afloat." Lana did not feel very reassured by this statement. As they continued the tour, Jack pointed out the equipment room, crew quarters, mess hall, the lavatories, and the very last room at the end of the hallway, the bridge. Lana noticed that there was no hibernation chamber room. No medical room? Where were the hibernation chambers? Lana thought maybe she should ask but she held her tongue.

Entering the bridge, Captain Garcia was sitting in the middle of the room. He shot Jack an angry look then turned back to the main screen. At the front of the bridge there were two pilot seats. One was empty the other held a woman wearing pink shirt and gray sweatpants. Lana couldn't see much more of her. To the left was another man sitting at the comms station. Jack tapped Lana on the shoulder and said, "Let me go around the room here. You have already met the captain. At the wheel we have Paula Johnson, she is our head pilot. Over here at comms we have our second in command, Mr. Wright."

Wright stood up and turned toward Jack. Then he retorted, "Mr. Wright? We use titles on this ship. I am Lieutenant Wright to you. Mister is a title reserved for a bunch of lazy corporate Legs." Lt. Wright gave Lana a questionable expression and asked, "Who is the newbie?"

Jack stepped out of the way again as he introduced them, "This is Lana Davies. She is joining us on our trip to Sengis 01."

Lana stepped forward and shook Lt. Wright's hand. Then she said, "Nice to meet you. You have a very lovely ship."

Lt. Wright did not smile or make any level of emotion. He shook her hand the said, "Do you work for SEU Aeronautics?"

"No, actually I work for the Gi6 Mining Corporation." Lana stepped back and explained, "I am a financial consultant. You guys are doing a supply run to the Sengis colony. We need to go to the Sengis colony. Basically, my company paid your company for a ride along."

Lt. Wright did not respond. There was a long uncomfortable silence then he finally said, "Your company sent you on a 7-year one way trip to a mining colony? Whatever they are doing must be very important." With that Lt. Wright turned back to the comms station and sat down. Lana thought he was a little strange. But what can you expect? Everyone in space is a little different.

Jack walked up behind the lady in the pilot seat and said, "Last but not least this is Paula Johnson. Head pilot and professional chef."

Paula turned sideways in the seat facing Lana then she replied, "You are only saying that because you walked by the mess hall and smelled my Bessarian Jambalaya. It's amazing how polite he is when there is food involved." Paula shook Lana's hand and said, "I'm Paula, and I hope you like Cajun food."

Captain Garcia interrupted their introduction as he said, "Johnson, before you get distracted talking about food, did you run the numbers?"

Paula quickly turned back to the console and replied, "Yes, I did." She pressed a few buttons and brought up a display on the big screen. Then she said, "If we take the course set by the computer, we will sling shot off Mars in 26 days. Then Jupiter 9 days after that. Then we are going fast enough to make it to Sengis 01 in the Procyon System in 2,533 days. Which is 6.93 years. The computer says our trajectory has a margin of error is less than 0.001%."

Captain Garcia smiled for the first time since Lana had met him. Then he said, "If only my crew had that margin of error. Lieutenant, is there anything on comms?"

Lt. Wright shook his head and replied, "Radio silence. Nothing but commercial traffic."

Captain Garcia cleared his throat and said, "Very well, all crewmembers are aboard, and we have been authorized to leave orbit. So, Johnson set the course for Sengis 01."

Lana watched as the crew jumped into action. Jack sat down in the second pilot seat while Lt. Wright buckled himself into his seat. Lana suddenly realized that she probably needed to do the same. She quickly moved over to the nearby seat and strapped herself into the chair. Both Captain Garcia and Lt. Wright saw her do this, but neither said a word.

For a few seconds the ship rumbled. Lana could see the stars outside moving as the ship changed course. Soon enough, Paula pulled took control of the stick and stated, "Coordinates set. We are at full speed. Setting Autopilot… Now." Lana was expecting a huge jump to hyper speed. But in truth, it was an uneventful maneuver. Lana felt kind of silly for using the seat belt. Maybe the gravity generator played some part in the lack of G forces in space. She was unsure exactly.

Captain Garcia stood up and stretched his back then he said, "Good job. I say it's time for dinner and a nap." The captain walked over to the exit and said, "Myer, you are on helm for the next 2 hours. Consider it a penalty for your actions earlier."

Jack gave him a thumbs up and said, "I love you too, captain."

Lt. Wright unbuckled his seatbelt and followed the captain out of the bridge. Paula stood up from her seat to follow the captain but stopped to look at Lana. Then she said, "Did you think my piloting was as bad as Jack's? I am feeling a little bit insulted."

Lana smiled and said, "Sorry," She unbuckled herself and stood up. Lana brushed it off by saying, "Every ship is different I guess."

Paula smiled and put one arm around Lana. Then she said, "Don't worry about it. I am forgiving the first time." She shot a glace back at Jack then said, "Right, Jack?"

Jack took the display off the main screen and said, "You bet. I will just sit here all by myself while everyone is eating. By the way, I was giving Lana the full tour of the ship before I was struck with this duty. Paula, can you do me a favor and finish it up for me?"

Paula put her arm around Lana and walked with her over to the exit with Lana. Without looking back, she said, "I guess I can. Better for me to do it then to feed her to the wolves."

In the mess hall, Paula was mixing up the food while Lt. Wright and Captain Garcia sat at the table across from Lana. Captain Garcia wasn't saying anything at all. While Lt. Wright was staring at her in the most uncomfortable manner. Lana couldn't help but think they were the "wolves" Paula was previously talking about. Lt. Wright seemed to be particularly annoyed by Lana's presence.

Lt. Wright finally began his interrogation and he asked, "So Lana, you said you were a part of the Gi6 Mining Corporation? How many trips like this have they sent you on?"

Lana thought about it but before she could speak, Steve and Gena entered the room. Steve shouted, "Paula's Jambalaya! Did we do something right or is this our last meal?"

Lana saw Gena for the first time. They smiled at each other. Gena wore a SEU space jumpsuit with the arms tied around her waist. For her upper body she wore a simple tank top to complement her muscular arms. Years of carrying wrenches had gifted her with the tools to turn them. Gena looked at Captain Garcia and said, "We finally got another female on board this ship. It's about time." Gena held out her hand over the table to shake Lana's. Then she said, "I'm Gena. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Lana said as she shook Gena's hand and gain a little more carbon dust in the process. Gena and Steve sat down next to Captain Garcia. Steve pulled a lever to release the magnetic grips on the chairs. He adjusted the chair and sat down. Everything has magnets just in case of a zero-gravity situation.

Before Lana could respond Lt. Wright said, "Lana was just telling us about her experiences in the field."

Everyone was staring at her. In the last moment Lana decided to take Jack's advice. She lied, "I have been on ships like this before. One or two times. I am the low man on the totem pole, so I get all these kinds of jobs."

"These kinds of jobs?" Lt. Wright questioned her further. "Can you explain that for us? What exactly are these kinds of jobs that you do?"

Captain Garcia let out a small cough as he turned to Lt. Wright and said, "Don't be an asshole. She is just along for the ride."

Lt. Wright defended himself, "I am not being an asshole! I just want to know all the details. It seems kind of strange for the Gi6 Mining Corporation to send a financial consultant 14 years out and back when they could just send a simple comms message and be done with it in a few days."

Lana dug deep into her knowledge of Sengis 01 and replied, "Yes, that would be the easy way to do it. However, if you have ever been to Sengis 01 colony you would know that the surface of the planet is uninhabitable. They receive six or so big sandstorms a year so they can't build a communications array. They would never receive any of these simple comm messages. The only way we have been getting messages in and out have been through transport ships." She looked around sarcastically and finished, "Like this one."

Lt. Wright wasn't done yet, he asked, "If all that is true then why send a financial consultant?"

"Because the miners have been floating in the red for the last 5 years. They should be making a quarter of a million dollars annually, but they are barely making 30% of that. Either they have no idea what they are doing, or they are selling their Rhodium ore too cheap for its actual market value."

This stopped Lt. Wright's questions. He seemed almost satisfied with her answers. Lana could tell he had more questions boiling in his head, but he did not share them. After a bit of silence Gena said, "What is Rhodium?"

Steve answered her, "It's the Gi6 Mining Company. They deal in precious metals. High value. Easy Capital. This is what they do. There is only so much of it on Earth. No one would go Sengis 01 if there wasn't something valuable to be harvested there." Lana nodded. From their responses she was pretty sure they were convinced.

Captain Garcia started to cough again. The he got up and left the room. Lana and the other watched him go. Gena said, "Captain's cough is getting worse."

Lana could hear him coughing out in the hallway. Then she asked, "Is he sick?"

Gena replied, "Very sick. Captain has lung cancer. Had it for years."

Lana was confused, "Years? There are treatments for that. He can get a new lung. They have cloning facilities that can make you a new lung in a few weeks."

Steve shook his head, "Not for free. The captain needs two lungs, a liver, and God knows what else. That's expensive. He only has so many credits. That is why he is still doing deep space runs at his age. He is waiting to see if the cost goes down. The longer he spends in hibernation sleep the better his chances are to getting the replacements he needs."

Lana was shocked. She had never heard of someone waiting for the price to go down on life saving surgery. She had to think about it from his perspective. Every time you come back to Earth time has skipped forward years maybe even decades. To Lana it really shined a new perspective on the Drifter lifestyle.

Paula brought over the first wave of Jambalaya bowls. She placed a bowl in front of Lana, Lt. Wright, and Steve. Then she handed out the silverware and said, "This stuff is nuclear level hot, so if you burn your tongue don't say I didn't warn you." With a small giggle she returned to the kitchen to get more. Lana stared at the bowl of food. It wasn't like anything she had ever seen before. The jambalaya part was normal enough, but the meat was black. Like it had been burned horribly.

Lana smelled the bowl then asked, "What kind of jambalaya did you say this was?"

Captain Garcia returned from out in the hallway. He was done with his coughing fit. He answered for Paula, "Bessarian jambalaya. It is made with the meat from the Bessarian squarms on Glarbos 09." Lana didn't know what to say to this. She gave him a blank faced as he returned to his seat. The captain sat down and looked up to see Lana's confusion. He followed up by saying, "It's an eel."

Lana finally understood. It was eel jambalaya. Not exactly the tastiest sounding food to eat. Paula returned with another three bowls for Gena, the captain, and herself. She sat down next to Lana and said, "It's okay if you don't like it. It has an acquired taste."

Lana shook her head, "Oh no, it's not that. I just realized that we almost forgot someone. Excuse me." She stood up and took her spoon and bowl. As she was walking toward the door, Lana realized that when she left the room, they would more than likely talk about her. She was more than curious to hear what they thought of her. She pushed to door open and walked out into the hallway. Then she stopped and listened.

After a few seconds, Gena said, "She seems nice."

Steve added, "Yes, very nice."

Gena retorted, "Very nice?"

Steve countered himself, "I mean, not too nice. I mean she just seems like a nice person. You don't have to read too much into it."

Lt. Wright cut in by saying, "She is a Leg. A corporate Leg on top of that. She is probably here to spy on us and report back to SEU. They send undercover business types on trips like this all the time."

Paula asked, "What makes you so sure?"

Lt. Wright paused as he was eating his food, then he replied, "Instinct. She claims to have been on several trips like this, but she doesn't know anything about the ship. She put on her seat belt just because she saw me do it. That's a reactive response."

The captain came to her defense as he said, "She'll be fine. We'll keep an eye on her, so she doesn't cause any problems."

"That's my point exactly," Lt. Wright continued, "When a corporate Leg freaks out, we have to fix it. When they puke in the hallway, we have to clean it up. They are the first ones to complain and the last ones to help. When the shit hits the fan, she will be the one that freezes up and guess who will have to carry her to safety? We will."

Lana returned to the bridge. Jack was still sitting in the pilot seat doing his checks. Just as she entered the room Jack picked up the intercom and called the mess hall. Lana could hear the entire conversation. Captain Garcia picked up the intercom and asked, "What's the problem Myer?"

Jack said, "Captain, I think the course might be off. At our current trajectory we are headed straight into Uranus."

Lana could hear the rest of the crew laugh in the background. Steve had a very distinct laugh. Then Captain Garcia responded, "Hilarious." With that the conversation was over. Lana walked over to him and held out the bowl. She said, "Uranus huh?"

Jack turned sideways in the seat and took the bowl. Then he said, "Space jokes. They are way funnier when used in context. Did Paula tell you why she broke up with her boyfriend?" Lana shook her head. Jack smiled and said, "She needed more space."

Lana rolled her eyes and sat down in the other pilot seat. Then she said, "I think you enjoy giving the captain a hard time."

Jack ate and talked with his mouth full, "Life is hard enough as it is. Out here in space we could all use a little humor. At least I think so. It takes a special kind of person to leave home and wander the stars. Special… or broken."

"Which are you? Special or broken?"

Jack opened his mouth to answer the question, but he didn't. Instead, he put food in his mouth and nodded. He apparently didn't want to answer such a personal question. Lana smiled then looked down at the floor. She probably shouldn't have asked. She didn't want to offend anyone, but then she remembered the captain. Lana said, "I saw the captain and his coughing fit. Why don't you guys throw all your credits together and get him the organ transplants that he needs?"

"What credits? Do you think we are rich?" Jack laughed for a second then contained. "We all get 60,000 credits for a run like this. That is only 10,000 each. Let's just be crazy here for a second and say everyone pitched in 100% that's not enough to fix anything. Even if we did save up for a few runs why would we help the captain when we could help Paula? Or Gena? It wouldn't be fair to help the captain when everyone here is saving credits for something."

Lana thought about it for a second. It made sense. Drifters didn't choose to leave their families behind. They go out on a transport job, they come home to their parents dead and their lives in ruins. No one would do this voluntarily. They were doing it out of necessity. Lana said, "The hibernation chambers are like a terrible version of time travel. You stay the same while everyone else grows old back home."

Jack agreed, "Yeah, captain has been in the business for so long that all of his children are dead. He still has some grandchildren left. They are in their 60s. Before too long he won't have anyone but us." Jack finished the bowl of food and added, "There is one benefit to this version of time travel though."

Lana was ready, "What is it?"

Jack put the bowl down and put his hands up to show the distance between his fingers. Then he said, "Let's say we visit Lumiix Station. While we are there, I hook up with a drop-dead gorgeous Latina lady. You know the type. Curves for days, beautiful eyes. The whole deal. Right?" Lana nodded. This wasn't the story she was expecting. Jack continued, "So we leave. We return to Earth. That's 5 years. Then for the next job we go to the colonies in Aquarii. That's 6 years there and another 6 years back to Earth. We go to Alpha Centari 4 years total. Then we go back to Lumiix Station, another 5 years travel. When we get there that beautiful Latina lady is much older now AND introduces me to my 26-year-old son! Now, I have a son that is actually older than I am… and he can lecture me about the importance of safe sex."

Lana blinked her eye for a few seconds. Then she asked, "So what is the benefit?"

Jack replied, "What do you mean?"

Lana asked, "You said there was only one benefit to this version of time travel. How is this a benefit?"

"Well, you get to see what you would look like if you were a Latina."