Nostalgia for Infinity

[Leslie Durant]

Leslie listened attentively as Sparks went on, filing each little bit of information away. Her Coffee sat on an armrest, forgotten for once. She laughed as Sparks described the Coalition and their hysterical paranoia.

"I can't say I know much about these Coalition times, but they seem like charmers," She said, smiling. "Although I imagined the moniker would involve more engineer...stuff and less vaccsuits on fire."

She continued to listen and nod as Sparks described the various jobs she'd held. Her mention of attending University got Leslie's attention. Leslie had attended Brabant University on Manhattan herself, gaining a background in Business Administration which she'd put to use in her new start-up. Most of her friends (ex-friends, Leslie thought dryly) had thought her insane for taking on this line of work instead of joining one of the big three. She thought about that and shook her head. Sitting behind a prison of glass, looking out and wondering what the outside world was upto...that life was not for her. The life of a Trader was hard at times, and working alone did get on your nerves, but Leslie did not regret her decision.

"Most people I've met in the practical fields don't buy into the Uni thing. I tend to agree, I don't know about the other colonies...but there's a lot of railroading going on in Liberty's Universities."

The Big Three needed their thralls to run the giant wheels of corporate machinery that made Liberty tick. Leslie had this mental image, oft repressed, of Hamsters running a wheel till they perished, replaced by new and willing hamsters. She shuddered.

Leslie critically noted that most of Sparks' qualifications appeared to be informal affairs. Work was done, and not much record remained of what work she'd done. She also took note of the fact that Sparks omitted several large timeframes in her description. While it was possible she just wasn't doing anything during that time, Leslie found that unlikely. It's probably got something to do with why she's stuck in the middle of nowhere trying to fade into obscurity.

She nodded with equanimity as Sparks finished her story, looking at her expectantly.

"Seems like you didn't leave a long paper trail behind for most of the work you did. I'll verify what I can, for procedure's sake."

She frowned. "Sorry to hear about your condition, Sarah." She refrained from commenting any further on it. Some people could be touchy about their flaws, perceived or real.

She looked up with mild surprise as Sparks asked for her story. After a moment of thought, she smiled. "A lot of similarities with your own story, actually. I completed a Masters in Business Administration from Brabant last year, and instead of choosing the slave life in one of the Big Three, decided to start up something of my own."

She winced, thinking about some of the stupid things she'd done to get this started. "Took out a loan and bought the first Adventure Galley. That was just a freighter, all I could afford at the time. After that, I trawled the colonies for work and eventually found enough to upgrade to what I have today. As for why I do it..."

Leslie's smile was almost benign.

"It's fun."

Leslie drummed an armrest with her fingers. "Anyways, you certainly have plenty of experience from the looks of it, even if most of it is undocumented. I'd be willing to give you a go, but here's how we'll do it."

Her smile disappeared, and she was all business again.

"We'll head out to Barrier Gate and you'll meet the guy who usually does my maintenance. He goes by the name of Levi. You two can go over the ship together and if Levi gives you the all-clear, you can begin your duties."

She raised a finger.

"I'll also need your biometric data, both for my records as well as for referencing with Criminal Databases across Sirius."

Looking at Spark's expression, she smiled apologetically.

"It's standard procedure, really. Just making sure that you're not a homicidal killer who happens to have creaky bones." She smiled at her own bad joke, and leaned back in her chair.

"While we get that done, I'd just like to know more about you. On a personal level, that is. Do you have any friends around here? Relatives? Angry boyfriends who might scuttle my ship to get to you? And of course, feel free to ask any questions you have."