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"You'll be fine," Brinley said, as though she read my mind. She probably felt the same way I did. She seemed as nervous. "We'll take care of each other."
I nodded. "I'm glad we're traveling at the same time."
"Me too." She smiled softly. "I'm going to finish my coffee, then turn in."
"Night." I rose and covered a yawn as I dropped my cup in a bucket outside the galley and made my way out of the mess.
"You can't mean to consort with them?"
I hadn't seen Jones until he spoke. He stepped out of the shadows near the sleeping quarters, his eyes on me.
"Huh?" I was too tired for pleasantries right now. "Did you want something?"
He took his time to answer. "I want the aliens to back off Earth," he said finally. His voice was rough, gravelly.
I rubbed my forehead. "You're on a station on the moon. Aren't you headed to Agus too?"
He huffed. "Because I want to learn more about their power systems. They're better for the environment. I'm going to take that back to Earth. To make it better."
"That's admirable—" I started.
"Yeah. Then we won't need them anymore. Earth can stand on its own. They can fuck off where they came from."
A knot of anger stirred in my chest. "Is that what this is about? Good, old fashioned racism? I thought they'd stamped that out decades ago."
"I don't care what colour they are," he hissed. "I just want them gone from Earth. We don't need 'em, and here you are, having dinner with one, making eyes at another." He wore his dark hair in a low ponytail. He gripped it now and clenched his teeth until his face turned red.
"Are you stalking me?" I asked. That, unfortunately, hadn't been stamped out. Even with better mental health care, people slipped through the cracks, as they say.
He sighed and dropped his hands to his sides. "No, I just happened to see. You can't want Earth to become a colony of some other planet. We'll all end up slaves." He didn't sound delusional, just scared.
"The IF would never let that happen," I said.
"Let?" he echoed with a bitter laugh. "Once our minerals are gone, they won't care. They'll abandon us to…" He shook his head. "We can't let that happen."
"We won't," I said firmly. "Humans are badass, and other planets will help—"
"At what price?" he asked. "No one ever does anything for free. Ever."
That was true, but I wasn't going to be dragged into a debate right now. "Look, I'm tired."
"Just watch yourself," he hissed. "Don't trust any of the aliens. Be careful. Promise?"
I didn't owe him a thing. Perhaps he was unhinged after all. How had he passed the psych test?
"I promise I'll be careful," I said. That was an easy promise to make. I had no intention of getting injured, or anything else for that matter.
"Good." He nodded. "If you need help getting away from them, you only have to ask. I'll… I'll do something."
I didn't know what he might do, and I suspected he didn't either. I made a mental note to check his assessment when I boarded the ship in the morning. If anything strange stood out, I would speak to my supervisor. Before the ship left with Jones on board. He wouldn't thank me for getting him kicked off, but if he needed help, he should go back to Earth and get it.
"Thank you," I said awkwardly. "I'm sure I'll be fine. It's nice to, um, have someone watching my back."
He nodded, flashed me a smile which might have been charming at some other time, and turned and walked away.
I watched him through narrowed, confused eyes and gave my head a shake. Some of what he said made a lot of sense. Earth could use some more sustainable energy, and shouldn't become too reliant on other worlds. On the other hand, places like Agus and Frey-T had benefited from IF membership for over eighty years now. It wasn't perfect, no organisation was, but it did seem to help its member worlds more than it hindered them.
Unless, of course, he knew more about it than I did. That was entirely possible. I had spent the last few years studying and paying little attention to galactic politics.
"I should keep doing that," I said to myself. A couple walking past stopped to stare, but I flashed them a smile and kept on walking toward my accomodation. With any luck, I wouldn't be next to 'babe' and 'sweet cheeks' tonight. Or the walls here would be nice and thick. Very thick.
I found room seventy-one and slid the card into the slot beside it. Humanity had yet to find a better way to unlock doors. The door slid aside and I stepped in.
The room contained one wide bed, a small wardrobe, and a table. No scope for more than a night or two. I guess the moon didn't want too many people to overstay.
I stripped down to my underwear and tossed my clothes in the direction of the table. I preferred to sleep naked, but in the case of a sudden drill, I decided it would be better if I didn't. Running around the station naked was something I didn't want to do, if I could help it.
I slipped into bed, pulled the covers over myself, and let my mind wander. If I dreamed tonight, it would consist of red fur, blue skin, and conspiracy theories. Preferably the first two. Maybe separately, maybe not.
A girl could dream, right?
