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“Y! I’m going to Earth!” Apollonia said excitedly over the comm.
“You seem quite excited,” the doctor replied. “I am very happy for you, Nor! Is there someplace in particular you wish to experience?”
The question actually caught her off-guard. She hadn’t given much thought to where she was going to go; she didn’t really know of many particular places by name, barring some of the large Ark Cities.
“I . . . guess just to see the homeworld?” she replied. “Have you ever gone there? What would you recommend?”
Dr. Y seemed to hesitate in answering. “No, I have not been to Earth before. I hear nice things about it from members of the crew, however.”
She would have thought he’d been everywhere.
“Well, I don’t know if you have any free time or anything but . . . do you want to go with me?” she asked hopefully.
Dr. Y hesitated again. “I am sorry to say that that is not really an option for me at this time, Nor. I am still very busy with work.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” she said. “Hopefully I can see you before I go, at least.”
“I am positive you will,” he replied.
For a moment, she smiled. Then he continued.
“As you need to get several more vaccines if you are going down planetside.”
“What? Why? You gave me so many already!”
“And those are all still valid,” Y replied. “However, you will be exposed to yet more diseases on a planet. They are, after all, teeming with life.”
Her brow furrowed and her mouth turned into a scowl. “Just how important is it that I get them?”
“You will not be allowed onto Earth without them,” he said. “Some actually serve to kill off non-Earth microbes that you may be harboring that could pose a danger to the natural biome of Earth.”
“Oh,” she replied. “Just how many are we talking?”
“Only seven,” Y replied happily.
“Dark take me,” she moaned.
“This is to prevent that,” Y said. “Now, I have you scheduled for a 1300 appointment. Will that work for you?”
The Craton had a crew complement of nearly 20,000 beings.
Brooks looked over a tenth that number, arrayed before him in serried ranks. Their dress uniforms smart, metal gleaming. All at attention, waiting for his words.
He’d looked over a much different crowd not long ago, people joining into the Sapient Union. He’d felt a pride then, and he felt a different kind of pride now. The people of New Vitriol had been entering into something that would enable them to change their lives for the better.
These men and women had climbed higher still, joining the elite of the voidfleet and rising to join one of the finest crews on the finest ships in the Sapient Union.
“Before his official departure from duty, the Captain will be conducting an inspection,” Urle said. His voice was artificially amplified, reaching every ear easily.
Those officers and crew who could not be in the room with them watched from elsewhere, only those on the most essential duty still at work.
It was rare for so many of the ship’s crew to not be on duty. The infinite emptiness of space was hostile, and they could not let their guard down.
But now, with the ship in the home port, surrounded by pickets and friendlies uncountable, it was, they were, at long last, safe.
He’d have liked to stand before the entire crew, but there was no space on the entire ship large enough for all of them to comfortably fit. Even fitting a mere 2,000 filled the largest room on the ship. Normally it was a storage room, but it had been cleared to create temporary housing for the emigres from MS-29. With it emptied, its occupants now in queues to leave the ship, and the walls taken down in haste by Commander Sulp, there was just enough space.
Brooks stepped up as Urle moved aside. He said nothing, but walked down the row swiftly. Urle was surprised, and moved to follow him.
“Lt. Srul,” Brooks said to a man, smiling. “You were on the bridge crew of the Kilimanjaro at Terris, weren’t you?”
The man smiled. “Yes, sir. I was pulling my second shift when everything went south and you pulled us out.”
“I recall you did well. I was saddened when you transferred to Quartermasters, though I’m sure you do them credit now.”
He moved on. His system could have told him the name of every crew member he saw, but he knew many of them just from memory.
He stopped to speak to some – Sturmer, who’d been a midshipman on the Sunspot, the first ship Brooks had served upon. May, who had been in his same year at the Voidfleet Academy. Chi, who he’d helped through the jitters of her first deployment. And so many others; Hensel, Inderhock, Postemsky, Nizami, Xiao, Anh, Keita . . .
He took care to look to every face he could, to show just the hint of a confident smile that calmed the nervous and bolstered the already-strong.
There were so many he could not hope to reach, no matter how much he wished. If only life had enough time that he could get to know all of them, he thought.
Every single face in that crowd – human or alien – had a story to their lives. Their own hopes and dreams and fears. Fully realized beings.
He reached the end of the row, gazing to the last face, then began a slower walk, returning to the middle.
“It is an honor to serve with you all,” he said as he walked, his voice now amplified. “You are the finest crew I could ask for, serving on the best ship in the Sapient Union. I leave my station soon, to attend a hearing on Earth. But I shall return, one way or another.
“In my absence, you are in the hands of Acting-Captain Urle. He has my full confidence.”
Stopping his stride, Brooks turned to face them all head on, and gave a slight bow.
“For the years we’ve served together and the years yet to come – I thank you all.”
“Salute!” Urle cried.
As one, two thousand beings brought their hands to their brows to salute their captain.
Other Terrestrial 