Sophia was surprised to discover that FedEx had already opened an office on the station. It was on 15 below, two levels up from the bottom court. The court itself had the same basic layout of Chaka Court, but it had a distinctly more American feel to it. In the middle, where Chaka Court had the rice stall that Sophia liked, this court had a taco stand, and the breakfast stand on Chaka was a Starbucks here. The people wore mostly American-style clothes, and many wore smocks that announced them as part of the staff for this hotel or that.
The FedEx office was toward the end of the court, and Sophia was even more surprised to find Craig behind the counter. "Hey," she said. "How's your first day on Shoshone going?"
"Easy peasy," he replied. "I worked at a FedEx place on the surface for a while. They were happy to get someone who was already trained."
"Awesome."
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said. "I've a couple packages for the surface. You can do that?"
"Sure can. We've made arrangements to convert the money even, so you can pay in credits and send anywhere, as long as it's not a banned substance."
"I don't think so," Sophia said. "I've a necklace, a scarf, and a shirt for my kid brother."
"Must be nice," Craig said, his voice wistful. He took the packages from Sophia and found a small box that would fit them all.
"What must be nice?"
"Family that accepts you and all. My dad barely talks to me since I came out. Mom only hisses that I'm tearing the family apart. And that's being gay. Can't imagine what they would think of trans."
Sophia snorted. "Yeah well, mine don't even know. I ran away. Couldn't ever tell them." She wrote the address on the box and slid it back to Craig. "Still it's Christmas, ain't it?"
"Yeah, it is. I should send my family something too. Now that I've got some money coming in again."
"Yeah, hey on that. Tamela and Sherry and I voted. If you want, the room is yours."
"Cool thanks," Craig said. "I'll stop by after work, figure out the details. And, whatever your family thinks, you're cool in my book."
"Thanks," Sophia said, grinning as she bit her lip. She turned and headed toward her medical wing and work.
YOU ARE READING
Shoshone Station: The Galactic Consortium season 2
Science FictionLess than a year ago, they arrived over earth's sky. They call themselves the Galactic Consortium and they are human, or at least, simian - from the same genetic line as humans. They claim to have terraformed this planet centuries ago to serve as a...
