In A Starship's Wake

Chapter 55: Out Of Danger

Seated at the desk in his quarters, Joseph read through his report again. While they were still outside the reach of the Instant Communication Network, he prepared a captain's report for the Teton Sector Border Patrol and the Islinglonde System Guard, to accompany the sensor data they would send. It was mostly finished, but every time he read through it he thought of more details to add. He wanted to get them all down now.

Great Mandan Laker sped away from Kalleta Asteroid Mine without incident. Despite their nosiness, they hadn't aroused enough suspicion to be followed or attacked. Once they put several more empty star systems between them, Joseph let himself relax.

Of course he immediately began to brood about what to do next. There was always too much to think about now. He was getting older, but life wasn't getting any easier.

He'd made no progress for fifteen minutes. Despite the late hour he wasn't ready to sleep, so he decided to take a break. He rose and headed for the door out of his quarters. Maybe when he came back he'd think of another piece of information to add, or at least be ready for bed.

As he tried to scrounge a snack on the lounge deck, the large display window caught his eye. He had yet to test it out himself, he'd only enjoyed the scenery others had selected. Right now it was empty, so he wandered to the control pad and scrolled through the options.

Soon he ran across one he recognized, Hope Beach. He'd been there in person twice. It was a cove on a sheltered coastline, access made difficult by the mountains that surrounded it, and it was a popular tourist attraction.

Once he put the image up he got a surprise. He'd expected to see the view from the beach, but the shot was actually of the beach itself. It had been taken from an observation deck built on one of the mountains to one side, which he'd visited.

Joseph leaned by the window a long time and looked out at a scene a thousand light-years away. Hope Beach was just as beautiful in this picture as he remembered it. He wasn't sure how they'd managed to get a shot when there were no visitors swimming. There were a few campsites for backpackers set up a short walk back from the shore, beyond the reach of the tides, and they were always occupied.

"You finally found a minute to experiment with that I see." Samuel joined him at the rail. "Nice place. Where did you find that one?" Joseph told him, and he nodded. "I keep it on views from home when I set it. I wasn't a long-distance traveler like this before, I've felt a little homesick at times."

"It's one of the drawbacks of the long distance jobs. It took me plenty of time to get used to it, and I didn't have a family to miss."

"Not for now, at least. You spent a lot of time talking with that young lady at Four Machines. Are you still in touch with her?"

"We exchange letters." Joseph tried not to flush. "It takes a while. Even when we're inside the Instant Communication Network, she isn't. It's going well."

"Have you given any thought to what you'll do if you get married? I can't imagine you'll want to keep making fringe system voyages forever under those circumstances."

"Even now I'm not sure I'll do it forever." Joseph tapped on the railing with his knuckles and gazed out at a wave frozen in place. "I've given it some thought. Probably what Justine and Tyrone do, stick to the Teton Sector. At least stay out of fringe systems."

"That would be wise. My impression was that unaffiliated systems were just as dangerous. You'd know more about that they I would though, I never actually flew there."

"Some certainly are. What about you? I hardly expect you'll want to spend the rest of your life in this business. We've had enough experience already to know it's risky."