A dutiful, ace soldier from Mars faces a dilemma. She can accept an offer from an infuriating gen-eng man from Venus, grab her loyal cat + dig up her inner rebel and maybe become the first human to explore the Galaxy. OR she can keep flying security...
Location Stamp: Space cruiseliner Solar Wind, home port Mars, owned by the Stellar Cruises Inc., destination: Jupiter, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy
I was born on Mars, but my life really started years after I stopped hoping for something special. That day, the boat I shipped on cleared the Asteroid Belt. Jupiter loomed ahead, while Mars sat on our ass. The rest of the Cosmos ignored us.
My schedule was as simple as it gets. At oh-five-hundred hours I had a personal fitness training session with an alien tourist, Zan'Zar.
***
File Excerpt: Zan'Zar of Cha'na species
A towering squid stacked atop of another squid, plus a vicious-looking beak. Male. Full height is seven-foot-something. Coloring is purple and indigo, luminescent, muscular.
Fitness level: top-notch.
Character: excitable, naïve, highly sensitive and too young to have been noticed in anything to stain his spotless reputation.
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***
Next, at oh-seven-hundred, I was to commence my official duties, like finding misplaced toothpicks for the sahibs... oh, pardon me! I would be finding their toothpicks for the fabulously wealthy alien passengers.
Alas, shortly before oh-six-hundred, right in the middle of my session with Zan'Zar, a security alert blared into my ear. "All security personnel, to the Conference Room PS-126X."
I responded immediately by bumping the workout soundtrack to the atom-splitting volume. The 23rd century beats vibrated through me.
"Spin the staff! The staff! Spin it! On eight... On seven..."
"Is your voice simulator out of order, Miss Vera?" Zan'Zar's tentacles whirled the staff through the air in three different planes.
"No!" I yelled even louder. "Now spin again! On six... On five... Strike! Finish strong!"
"Finish? Already?"
"Yeah... And four. And three. And two. And.... done!"
My alien trainee froze with the staff over his head, in neutral position, seemingly reluctant to part with it. If I wasn't in a hurry, I would let him play a while. It was a cool staff, not going to lie, an exact replica of the legendary weapons used by the Lunar Guard.
***
File Excerpt: Lunar Guard of human species
The Lunar Guard was the first group of humans to settle outside Earth with the goal of the independent exploration of the Milky Way Galaxy. The organization was active between the years 2,202 and 2,280 CE and became obsolete after the humanity joined the Interstellar Alliance, regulated by the Interstellar Transportation Board. The Lunar Guard derived its name from their biggest known enclave on Earth's satellite, the Moon.
***
I made a ceremonial bow, my hand clutching my tunic over my heart and all that. "This bow had been reserved for the most elite among the Guard. I think you've earned it today."
My tourist beamed.
"High five!" I offered my hand and he slapped it with his tentacle.
"High five, my guru!"
For a second, Zan'Zar was more like a buddy than a sahib, made me almost proud of being a human. It was a great feeling, if fleeting. From previous experience, I knew not to cling to it, particularly with the emergency team meeting coming up. It was bound to be about some new humiliate-the-crew rules from HQ.
Alas, I had to be there, so I pilfered a plushy towel from the stack and wrapped it around my sweaty torso. Behind my back, the virtual reality emitters faded out the Lunar Guard arena. Their proud banners winked out, the silver sand dissolved and their tympani shut up.
I was back in the year 2696, facing my own challenges.
It was just before oh-six-hundred hours. To be precise, it was oh-five-forty-nine, and the seconds ticked down towards oh-five-five-oh on my visor. The passenger decks stood between me and my penultimate goal, the fabulous, the coveted, the incomparable Conference Room PS-126X.
Even though the Health Club was on the opposite end of the ship, I was in luck. At this ridiculously early hour, the Solar Wind wasn't yet crowded with the milling vacationers, so I didn't have to navigate the labyrinth of the service tubes to stay out of the passengers' sight.
My only obstacles were the luxurious carpets, intended for the sahibs strutting on their pampered feet, not a high-performance run in combat boots; the 'optimal' gravity settings that favored the alien passengers over the human crew, and the 'optimal' atmospheric settings that did the same.
But I could make it if I breathed in, breathed out, and ran with my heart pounding all my worries away. On three... on two... go!
Actually, I loved it.
Loved it.
It.
Panting like the bellows after my sprint, I skidded to a hard stop in front of Otto Shameel, my boss, with 30 seconds to spare. He eyed me flatly.
Twenty nine second to spare. Twenty eight. Twenty--
