Lunarly: A Fire Sale Classic

Plight - Neglect Builds Independence

Plight's

"Parental Guide: Neglect Builds Independence"

       She had known her daughter for a week and Plight already wanted her egg back. Gretchin was the little runt's name. She liked drawing and reading and blowing things up. Good hobbies for a girl of thirteen, except that Gretchin liked to do everything with her mom.

       Plight didn't have time to draw lilies or assemble C4. She was busy captaining a ship and making sure the Alpha Centauri shuttle left the system without being hijacked or otherwise harmed. She also needed to meet her new subordinates, the Bergine Squad, and plan their arrival on the moon.

       Gretchin didn't understand what responsibilities were. She just wanted to play all day. Plight thought about putting her to work, give her orders to pass on, fetch documents or equipment, test and refill the ship's armaments. However, Gretchin was too easily distracted to be trusted with anything important, so Plight never bothered.

       Now she knew why families were banned on Earth. At least in the civilized parts. But on the moon, they still had the barbaric practice of raising one's own, and since Plight wouldn't be on Earth to pay for Gretchin's upbringing, the little brat had to come along.

       Plight dropped a 300 Proof pill into a shot of water and drained it down. She filled the glass with another shot, but a knock on her door stopped her. Now the brat is interrupting mommy's liver exercises? But when she opened the door, it was Leo standing outside.

       Hollow Leo was what the others in the Bergine Squad called him. He looked hollow, with his sunken grey cheeks and light white hair. His chest was concave and his eyes reminded Plight of what death might be like, black and empty. His breath smelled of rot and his body smelled of fish. He was the commander of the Bergine Squad. "Hello, Plight." Even his voice was hollow. He held out a gloved hand.

       "Leo." Plight shook his hand, and frowned as she felt metal cutting into her palm. "What is that in your gloves?"

       "Franatic alloy. All of my clothes have the alloy sewn in, a necessity caused by an experiment long ago." Hollow Leo smiled. His smile made Plight feel ill to the point where she thought she might vomit. "But that is not important right now. May I enter?"

       "Yes," said Plight, stepping aside. "Come in."

       Leo took one step inside and let the door slide shut behind him. He blended well with the wall, his pallor matched the decor of the ship. Plight would have preferred the natural metal color, but studies suggested that pale paint helps with the stress of a long voyage. However, a ship as technologically advanced as the Galileo, Plight had expected something a little more sprucey then just plain pale paint, maybe something holographic or even dimensional-graphic. "Do you want to live, Captain Plight?"

       Hollow Leo liked to talk in riddles, often referring to life and death. Disconcerting. "I like living," she replied. Although, on the moon, was it really considered living?

       "I ask, why are we landing at the Hale port?"

       "The port?" asked Plight, sitting on a pale leather sofa. She motioned for Leo to sit in the opposing recliner, but he did not move. "Hale is the closest port to the navy base on the moon. Why?"

       "That is a foolish thought Captain Plight. A thought that might put my men in danger, and that is something I am here to help avoid."

       Foolish? What about calling a superior a fool? "I hope you have not come here just to insult your ranking officer."