Pax Galactica - A Space Opera

Chapter 8 - Better, Faster, Stronger

The Sic Semper Tyrannis exited hyperspace and engaged its torch drives, leaving a red streak across the night sky as it matched orbit with the Hyperborea Orbital.

The ring-shaped orbital colony, really a scaled down version of the three ringworlds that made up the new homeworlds of humanity, spun around the yellow star Anemoi. The spin was precisely calibrated to give the people inside the ring both a sense of up and down, thanks to the centrifugal force, as well as an Earth-like day/night cycle.

Hyperborea was a deliberately cultivated wild place. A planned ecology made up of genetic material from dozens of worlds. An artificial nightmare jungle.

Several other centuries old battleships were gathered here too, all sisters of the Tyrannis. It was a tiny family reunion.

* * *

Decker woke up.

His eyes hurt. New eyes always hurt the first time you used them. He rubbed them and blinked a few times. Things slowly came into focus through the pain. Already he could tell his vision was far sharper. He could see all the individual fibers of his sheets without losing any of the fullness of the picture.

His other senses were affected too. The softness of his sheets against his skin was sublime. He could smell a whirl of medicinal residue in the air and separate out all the individual scents. He could even hear the AG module of the nearby nurse drone, something he always considered completely silent.

He stretched. The rest of his body felt fantastic. He was so energized and bouncy. He was also hungry. Positively famished.

Thinking about it triggered his stomach to growl.

He sat up in his bed.

He was definitely in the ship's Sick Bay, with an active privacy field blocking out everything outside a small radius around his bed. He could hear the nurse drone whirring over with her antigrav. That could actually get annoying.

"Oh good, you're up," said the drone. "I'll page the Lodge Mistress."

"Thanks," said Decker, guessing this was the old woman. "Is there any way I could get something to eat?"

"Right away!" announced the drone, and disappeared through the privacy field, which dissolved away just enough to permit the drone to pass through before restoring itself.

The nurse drone returned minutes later holding a tray with unseasoned brown rice, twelve identical carrot sticks, a mathematically perfect cube of hard cheese and a glass of water in it's force field. It was always best to be specific when asking for food from a drone, Decker remembered too late.

"Thanks," said Decker as the drone positioned the tray on his lap.

"My absolute pleasure," said the drone, beaming.

The privacy field rippled and the old woman, who Decker was now certain was the Lodge Mistress the drone spoke of, stepped through it and into Decker's accommodations.

"Mr. Decker," she said, "I'm glad to see you up."

"Lodge Mistress," said Decker, giving her a nod.

"Hm, perceptive," said the old woman, who was indeed the Lodge Mistress. "What else have you figured out?"

"That's it," Decker admitted.

"Well Mr. Decker you must know by now we don't reveal our secrets to just anyone. But you've come far enough along now that I can tell you that I am indeed Lodge Mistress of the Neutronium Dragons. I'm happy to tell you we've decided to nominate you to become a ranger. Congratulation. You are going to be permitted to take the trial."