A Spaceman

Chapter 9--A cannibal

"So, what're you in for?"

"Oh I'm not alone, how lovely," I mutter, as I rub my wrists where the tracker bracelets sit uncomfortably. I'm going to disable those tonight. Just on principle.

A girl with stringy hair and ratty clothes is sitting on one of the steel tables.

"This kitchen. You cook. Instructions, here," the behemoth guard who walked me here says, pointing at a wall mounted tablet.

"Yes, yes, I don't plan on following those go away," I say, waving a hand at him.

"Dude, who are you?" the girl asks.

"Sorry-----Jay Darc," I say, extending a hand, "And you would be?"

"Sophie," she says, shaking my hand as though she's not used to doing such a thing.

"A pleasure---go away," I say, to the guard, "We've got these, we're not going anywhere, bye now."

He walks away reluctantly.

"They hate it when you talk in English to 'em," she says, hopping off the table.

"Good, I shan't let them know I speak Russian, I assume you're kitchen staff as well?" I ask.

"I'm dish washer and I get to do their laundry," she says, "Fucking Russians---you never did say what you're in for? You look like, educated and shit, are you a spy or something?"

"Heavens no, nothing so exciting. I'm an innocent immigrant. As it happens my brother whom I'm estranged from is rather important in the New American military, really don't know why they trust him, but that makes me suitably unpopular with the Russians," I explain, "And you?"

"Oh I immigrated illegally, I was leaving New America because it sucks, and now I'm an illegal alien," she says, shrugging, and walking around the kitchen, "So can you actually cook?"

"Yes, my dear, I can actually cook," I say, smiling.

**

I am so bored. Tess says she's studying and still feels low leave her alone. right okay fine. fine. fine. I will I just will she's fine you're just obsessing because you are bored. bored bored bored. I want to fly. I want to fly so badly. I miss flying. There were those sixteen horrible years when I was growing up and didn't get to fly and now I get to and I want to all the time. it isn't fair.

But I'm staying for Tess she's going to OTS in the fall and I hated that and it was miserable and a significant number of people died or went insane so I need to be here for her. but I'm so bored.

Fine. Tess was right. time to do something. arrange a battle and get me in it. that's more complicated when I'm not flying missions. Oh I'm so close to just bidding back to the North Rim if I asked, Hawking would have me out in a day. But I'm not. I'm not. I'm not.

Nothing is even fun anymore. the Russians aren't even entertaining right now. usually I can send the Isylgyns orders for an extended, complicated attack. And the Russians will dodge all my complicated traps and lures with ease only to fall into the most obvious, bizzaire I really didn't think that would even work brazen high casualty move, at the last minute. Really, they're usually so very clever and interesting and fun to annoy because the Isylgyns aren't mine I'll just blow up an entire space ship just for the fun of it and then they'll freak out because there is no logical reason to do that and----ah such fun. I typically have two charts done up, mine and what theirs should be considering mine and they usually do exactly what they should. Except for now. they're being stupid and obvious and I don't like it.