New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

---

“They look authentic,” Brooks commented, glancing back at them.

“Ah, yes, you’re from Earth, aren’t you, Captain?”

“That’s right,” Brooks replied.

The man clapped his hands together.  “Well, I’m glad I can get a chance to meet you.  I had not thought it would happen so easily, to be honest.  We’ve got quite a lot to talk about!”

“Such as?” Brooks asked, putting his hands behind his back.

“Well, our friend Jan Holdur for starters,” Trevod said.  “But tell me – have you ever been horseback riding?”

It was an unexpected question, but Brooks took it in stride.  “A long time ago,” he admitted.

“Do you remember how?”

“I expect I can manage,” Brooks replied dryly.

“Good!  You see, I had it on my itinerary that I was going riding, and I just don’t see why we can’t do something pleasant while we talk.”

Brooks agreed only grudgingly – though, he had to admit he would like to see a real horse.  He hadn’t seen one, or ridden one, since he was a child, before the Ring Collapse.

“All right,” he agreed.

“Excellent.  My valet will take you to get fitted for your clothes.  I’ll meet you at the stables in twenty minutes.”

Another butler drone appeared, imperiously telling Brooks to follow.

It took him to another room where a third drone scanned him, then provided him with a riding outfit that he frankly found ridiculous.

“I’ll keep my uniform,” he told them.  It would be sufficient.

When he was taken out to the stable – which was a true historical creation.  Putting his hand on the wall, he could tell it was made of actual natural wood.

It had to cost a fortune, he thought.

But then, this man had his own space station.

“Ah, Captain!  Oh, you didn’t change?” Trevod asked, riding up, turning his horse at the last moment so it nearly hit him.

Brooks did not shy back.  He had only known horses from childhood, but he’d known other animals.

“I’ll ride fine in this.”

“You know, the horses don’t much like the smell of spacesuit oil, but . . . suit yourself.  Bring his horse!”

It was an actual human stablehand who brought out the horse.  He did not make eye contact with Brooks as he handed him the reins, and then offered cupped hands to help him up.

Ignoring that, Brooks moved towards the horse’s head, speaking softly and reaching out to stroke its neck to put it at ease.  It was extremely well-trained, though, and clearly had been made to get used to strangers, as it seemed to accept him fairly easily.  Then, waving the stablehand away, he put his foot into the stirrup and jumped up.

It wasn’t elegant, but he mounted by himself, leaning in to pat the horse’s neck again.

“What’s the horse’s name?” he asked.

Trevod seemed caught off-guard by the question.  “Rebel,” he said.  “But that’s not important.  He rides well.  You’re lucky, Captain – I don’t let most people ride him.”

Brooks did not want to agree with the man, and simply nodded, but he did feel lucky.  The horse was beautiful and powerful.

On another world he’d ridden varnia – a useful, if highly willful animal that few even knew the origin of.  They’d been spread among the stars before humanity had even left their atmosphere, and adapted to worlds quite different from their original planet.

Wherever tech was at a premium or wasn’t suited, varnia could be found used for transport or carrying cargo or any one of a hundred tasks.  Even eating, if you could stomach them.  Their flesh was mildly toxic to humans when raw – though Dessei preferred it that way – but cooking it would denature the poisons enough to tolerate.

The main difference between them and a horse, he now realized, was how much easier a horse was to control.  He found himself over-compensating as he tried to follow Trevod out through a gate onto a perfect grassy field.

Trying to lighten up his touch, he stroked Rebel’s neck again and watched Trevod.  The man had his horse, a beautiful white stallion, in an easy canter, and would glance back occasionally.

“I did not imagine that a star captain would be so comfortable in the saddle,” he commented.

Trevod did not seem as comfortable as Brooks would have expected.  The horses, he surmised, were something he had gotten but did not ride that often.

The fields curved up into the distance, following the interior surface of the cylinder.  Brooks did not know how much of the interior area of the station was made into this faux natural setting, but it extended off for kilometers in each direction it seemed.  He rode through a field of heather, hearing a curlew cry.  Bees flew among the flowers, and he wondered how deep the facsimile went.

Trevod rode nearby for a time, and Brooks wondered why the man had gifted him this; there was no love lost between his companies and the Sapient Union, and this was certainly not just showing off.  The man had to have some sense.

Trevod rode closer, and Brooks readied himself for whatever the man’s plan would turn out to be, but Trevod just seemed amused.

“Let’s race,” he said.

“Agreed,” Brooks replied.

---

< Ep 8 Part 19 | Ep 8 Part 21 >