Galaxy's End: Book One by LeRoy Clary (popular ebook readers txt) 📗

Captain Stone said, “Turn right. Let’s look at what they’re building.”

We strolled down the hallway as if we belonged, neither walking too fast or too slow. I nodded to people coming the other way, most wearing work clothing, and a few nodded or said hello. Nobody demanded that we return to our rooms or be shot.

The shops had glass set into the doors from the middle to the top. Many had windows along the hall so we could see people busy at their labors.

It struck me that most were not military in appearance and that they seemed happy enough. Not forced workers by any means. I saw them talking, laughing, and staring back at us. Self-darkening glass revealed where welding went on. The harsh sounds of cutting, bending, and fitting pipes came from another room.

Intelligent creatures of many varieties wearing all manner of clothing worked behind the glass observation windows. Despite the diverse mixture on Roma, many were new to me. Others were similar to ones I’d seen before. At one window members of a small rodent-species were workers under the direction of a symbiotic being who reminded me of a shrub. What the relationship between them was, I couldn’t determine, except that it guided the rodents into small spaces, usually carrying tools with them.

At one window, I drew up short when a furry creature resembling Bert waddled onto a ladder and performed a task with a meter. When it turned to face me, the being was not the same race as Bert. I felt both disappointment and relief. If it had been an attractive female Digger, I may have lost Bert. I also had to admit that not only could I not tell Bert’s sex, but I couldn’t recognize a pretty Digger if I met one.

Behind the same window, a bird-like woman balanced on a thin wire strung as a support from which she worked. She appeared as comfortable as I did while standing on the ground. Fascinated, I watched a small tan thing that wore a harness rush through conduits trailing three or four wires and optical feeds. I couldn’t tell if it was intelligent or a well-trained pet.

I turned to the captain. “Why let us see all this?”

“Why not? We can’t go anywhere or tell anyone. If they don’t accept our offer to work with us, I suppose they’ll put us out an airlock and be done with the problem we pose.”

“Really?”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen. But it could. Stay on your best behavior.”

There were more hallways, more workshops to look at, and eventually, we decided to return to our rooms. Fortunately, the captain knew where they were because I was lost.

I fell onto my bed and the more I tried to go to sleep, the more awake I became. Images of the day flashed past me. Things I should have said, and others I shouldn’t have. Instead of forcing myself to sleep, I closed my eyes and attempted to relax.

Eventually, I went to sleep.

A knock on my door woke me. I was still in my bed, on my back, and hadn’t moved and still wore the same clothing. I opened the door as the woman outside was about to knock again. She was as startled as me, while I faced a balled fist about to pound my nose instead of the door.

We both laughed. She said, “When you are ready, the admiral would like to see you in her quarters. Please take time to dress and I’ll escort you and your captain.”

I hesitated. “You can come in and sit while I use the fresher and finger-comb my hair.”

The young woman stepped inside as she said, “The fresher will have a comb and all you need. Especially suitable clothing.”

“Thank you,” I said. “Where is it?”

“Oh, they didn’t tell you?” Her face wore a scowl. She pointed to a wall that had a floor-to-ceiling viewing screen and the image of a small island situated in a blue sea. Birds soared above, and now and then a fish leaped from the water. “You can change the image to suit your tastes, of course.”

Of course, I didn’t understand anything of what she was attempting to convey.

She realized my helplessness and moved quickly to the right side of the screen at the foot of my rumpled bed. She walked into the sea, disappeared, then returned.

I gingerly entered the wall and found myself in a large room with a shower, sink, and all else a woman might need. Clothing hung along one wall.

I saw suits, military-cut and other, overalls, pants, shirts, and things I didn’t recognize but figured out. I selected a simple one-piece that resembled what the crew of our ship wore.

The entire left wall of the room was made of shelves, each with dozens of scents, soaps, depilatories, creams, and things I didn’t recognize. The shower seemed to know the exact temperature I preferred.

I found a comb and ran wet fingers through my hair, then the comb. I gave my neck a single squirt of a perfume called a night for love. It was sickly sweet, and I wished I hadn’t. It didn’t lose potency when I washed it with water. Facing where I thought the door should be, I paused. Walking into a wall would be embarrassing and probably hurt. My hands reached out and felt for emptiness in front of me.

The young woman was smiling when I emerged. Captain Stone was in the hall watching and she also smiled. Lots of smiling going on. All but me.

We retraced the path to the admiral’s suite of rooms and entered. My eyes flicked around, searching for hidden doorways. There were probably several if they were similar to the one in my room with the sea view, but I couldn’t find any. It was probably