Catalogue of space objects, but most of the numbers and designations were lost on him.
"Thought so, yes." The captain nodded and punched his keyboard for a while. "Tell me. Do you suffer from sea sickness?"
"I beg your pardon?" Daniel was stumped by that question.
"Sea sickness. You know, when you start throwing up when the floor waves under your feet."
"No, I don't think so, sir."
"Right. You will be going there then. NGC6637. Don't forget. Your cabin terminal will be granted access to everything we have on that place, you will be sent a memo on what is asked of us so you can prepare for this place."
"Thank you, sir."
The captain dismissed Daniel, but called his name as he was at the door. "Zacharias... I'm sorry about what happened. Really."
Daniel just nodded. Then he left the office and was escorted back to his cabin which was closed and locked behind him. He hated that little part of the deal, it wasn't that there was a place to run off to here.
He flipped on the terminal, took the screen from the wall and lay on the bed with it. "Let's see where they want to ship me off to..." A small blinking symbol attracted his attention. He tapped it and was asked if he wanted to open a personal message. "Huh... who would... Hmm. Yes."
"Note that this message has been checked. No modifications have been made to the original content," the tablet told him.
"Hello, little soldier brother," Malcolm's voice said.
Daniel stabbed at the tablet, making the voice stop. All bloody Qurgon pirates on a deadman's chest, he thought, what's this? Almost feverishly he tried to think of a reason why Malcolm of all people would send him a message. A spoken one for that. He couldn't think of one, so he punched the tablet to listen to the message.
"As usual it is difficult to get in touch with you. That is probably why nobody ever tries." Malcolm had this uncanny ability to make people feel guilty by just saying things in a certain way. The bloody prick. "Things here are going well, of course. Belinda is doing well, and the children are growing up to be good and reliable people."
"Damn you, dear brother." Daniel's mood dropped below zero with ease and practice.
"We got them a poodle. They work so well at their schools that Belinda told me we should get them a pet, and they wanted a poodle. I am not sending you a picture of the pooch. That costs too much."
"Of course. You sit on your money, that is how you get your wealth." Daniel snorted.
"I do want to praise you, soldier. You stayed on your post. Really, amazing. Not even a small note on our father's fifth dying day."
Daniel closed his eyes, groaning. He could kick himself. The family had agreed that each year, on father's dying day, they would send notes to each other. He had totally missed it this year, as he had been on the mission that got interrupted by the Qurgon pirate ship. The fact that he had not been able to, even if he had thought about it, did not matter to him. He had forgotten it.
"I hope this little reminder is enough of an incentive for you, big brother," Malcolm sneered. "Cynthia of course came to your defence, as she always does. Just thought you'd like to know."
It took all of Daniel's willpower not to fling the tablet against a wall.
6. Tailored
Daniel's confinement had been ended. He was relatively free to move about on the star base, as long as he did not wear the uniform. He felt odd walking around in civilian clothes. He had to buy something more appropriate than his old vacation stuff. Colourful shorts and bright shirts were not helpful in keeping a low profile.
He spent a lot of time in the library where the big Spacenet hookups were. He put in an effort to learn as much about NGC6637 as he could. The heart of NGC6637 was a class V sun, in what on Earth was known as the Sagittarius zodiac sign. It was part of a binary star system, and the planet
"Thought so, yes." The captain nodded and punched his keyboard for a while. "Tell me. Do you suffer from sea sickness?"
"I beg your pardon?" Daniel was stumped by that question.
"Sea sickness. You know, when you start throwing up when the floor waves under your feet."
"No, I don't think so, sir."
"Right. You will be going there then. NGC6637. Don't forget. Your cabin terminal will be granted access to everything we have on that place, you will be sent a memo on what is asked of us so you can prepare for this place."
"Thank you, sir."
The captain dismissed Daniel, but called his name as he was at the door. "Zacharias... I'm sorry about what happened. Really."
Daniel just nodded. Then he left the office and was escorted back to his cabin which was closed and locked behind him. He hated that little part of the deal, it wasn't that there was a place to run off to here.
He flipped on the terminal, took the screen from the wall and lay on the bed with it. "Let's see where they want to ship me off to..." A small blinking symbol attracted his attention. He tapped it and was asked if he wanted to open a personal message. "Huh... who would... Hmm. Yes."
"Note that this message has been checked. No modifications have been made to the original content," the tablet told him.
"Hello, little soldier brother," Malcolm's voice said.
Daniel stabbed at the tablet, making the voice stop. All bloody Qurgon pirates on a deadman's chest, he thought, what's this? Almost feverishly he tried to think of a reason why Malcolm of all people would send him a message. A spoken one for that. He couldn't think of one, so he punched the tablet to listen to the message.
"As usual it is difficult to get in touch with you. That is probably why nobody ever tries." Malcolm had this uncanny ability to make people feel guilty by just saying things in a certain way. The bloody prick. "Things here are going well, of course. Belinda is doing well, and the children are growing up to be good and reliable people."
"Damn you, dear brother." Daniel's mood dropped below zero with ease and practice.
"We got them a poodle. They work so well at their schools that Belinda told me we should get them a pet, and they wanted a poodle. I am not sending you a picture of the pooch. That costs too much."
"Of course. You sit on your money, that is how you get your wealth." Daniel snorted.
"I do want to praise you, soldier. You stayed on your post. Really, amazing. Not even a small note on our father's fifth dying day."
Daniel closed his eyes, groaning. He could kick himself. The family had agreed that each year, on father's dying day, they would send notes to each other. He had totally missed it this year, as he had been on the mission that got interrupted by the Qurgon pirate ship. The fact that he had not been able to, even if he had thought about it, did not matter to him. He had forgotten it.
"I hope this little reminder is enough of an incentive for you, big brother," Malcolm sneered. "Cynthia of course came to your defence, as she always does. Just thought you'd like to know."
It took all of Daniel's willpower not to fling the tablet against a wall.
6. Tailored
Daniel's confinement had been ended. He was relatively free to move about on the star base, as long as he did not wear the uniform. He felt odd walking around in civilian clothes. He had to buy something more appropriate than his old vacation stuff. Colourful shorts and bright shirts were not helpful in keeping a low profile.
He spent a lot of time in the library where the big Spacenet hookups were. He put in an effort to learn as much about NGC6637 as he could. The heart of NGC6637 was a class V sun, in what on Earth was known as the Sagittarius zodiac sign. It was part of a binary star system, and the planet
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