First Encounters

Suddenly, there was light, seeping in through the curtains, casting away the shadows of the night.  And Jack Beech had had a very shadowy night. 

In common with virtually all of the graduating cadets, he'd allowed himself to go out into the sprawling city and drink himself into total mental oblivion. 

But still, he thought, as a few memories slipped back into his mind, what a way to spend his last night as a lowly cadet. 

Shielding his eyes against the glaring sunbeams, Jack sat up and looked at his bedside clock.  Six a.m. local time.  That gave him one and a half hours to prepare himself for the commencement of the graduation proceedings, in the form of a thirty-minute parade through the expansive grounds of Earthfleet Headquarters. 

Just one more day, Jack told himself as he swung his legs out over the side of the bed.  Within the next twenty-four hours, he would be on his way to his first posting, wherever that may be. 

He yawned as he ambled into the bathroom and ran some hot water in the sink.  If he'd wanted to use them, there were some far more effective methods for personal hygiene, but Jack had always thought that washing was a very human thing to do.  Besides, he thought, none of the other techniques are quite as good at waking you up. 

A few minutes later, he emerged from the bathroom again, feeling much better than when he'd first woken up.  He pulled on his uniform, deciding to leave his over-shirt off for the moment.  Maybe it was a problem with the environmental controls, but first thing in the morning, Jack found his room unbearably stuffy. 

He pulled out his chair at the small table, and keyed the food dispenser's breakfast menu.  After a brief pause for thought, he selected a traditional fry-up with toast and a strong, black coffee, extra sweet.  Today would probably be a long day, so he might as well start it well nourished. 

Elsewhere in the complex, Tania Morrey was also about to start eating breakfast. 

"Eloise!" she called out to her roommate, who had not yet even tried to get out of bed, "Hurry up or we'll miss the start!" 

There was a vague murmur from the bedroom, indicating that Tania had been heard, at least.  She shook her head as she remembered the previous night.  Eloise had drunk a stupendously large quantity of alcohol, and was lucky not to have spent the night in the sanatorium. 

Tania herself seldom drank alcohol, mainly because she didn't like the idea of losing control of herself. 

As she started eating her breakfast cereal, she sensed Eloise enter the room behind her.  She swallowed her mouthful and turned to greet her. 

"Good morning.  Have a good night?" 

Eloise just groaned and pushed her tousled hair away from her eyes.  That was another reason not to drink, Tania thought silently.  No alcohol, no hangovers. 

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