had low log ceilings and huge windows that looked out into a vast forest of very old pine trees. The sun was sending rays of light down into the dense underbrush and forest floor that slanted away from the lodge.
Since the end of the counter was curved, all six of them could see each other fine. Ray and Tacita sat on the two chairs at the end of the counter. Roscoe and Fisher on one side, when Fisher stopped serving and sat down.
Maria sat across from Roscoe near Callie, clearly enjoying her eggs and ham as much as he was. She had smiled at him when they arrived and said hello, but nothing else.
Luckily she hadn’t said much else. He would have had a hard time talking, since she affected him so much. He really needed to get past that problem if they all were going to work together.
There was an amazing attraction between them, and if they weren’t trying to save a few billion lives, he might be trying to get close to her right now. If they did save these planets, there would be time. They were both Seeders, they had lots of time.
But that didn’t mean he didn’t want to get to know her better. Much, much better.
He had spent most of the time since their last meeting with his start-up crew, working to figure out his new ship and build plans on recruiting.
Since they were all from the Sector Force that consisted mostly of trained fighters that guarded the Milky Way sector by sector, they all felt comfortable recruiting top staff from that. But they would not take so many as to leave Sector Justice depleted.
Some of the most advanced cultures in the first sector, meaning the first sector of the Milky Way seeded, had some top militaries as well. That would be good recruiting grounds as well.
They might not have The Huntington fully staffed in three weeks, but they would be able to fly and fight if they had to.
So after only six hours of uneasy sleep in his new command cabin, which was huge and had no personal touches at all yet, he had managed to be on time to the meeting with Chairman Ray and the others.
Roscoe was almost done eating the fantastic eggs, soft toast, and melt-in-his mouth ham when Maria pushed her plate away and turned slightly to face Chairman Ray, who we also just finishing.
“I have something I think we all need to talk about.”
Roscoe loved the sound of her voice. It was firm and solid and slightly deeper than he would have expected coming from someone only about five-four and with so many freckles.
“Start us off, Chairman Boone,” Ray said, nodding.
Maria set up a small device on the counter in front of her and Fisher, who was standing inside the u-shape of the counter eating, quickly moved to take her plate and dirty silverware.
She touched the top of the device. In the air over the counter between them and the kitchen, an image of the Local Group of galaxies appeared. Roscoe recognized it at once and even knew where in the spiral arms of the Milky Way they were now located and the area of his home world in a small satellite galaxy near to, and almost touching, the Milky Way.
At times he had trouble grasping the size and scale of the entire Milky Way, but he was slowly, over the last centuries, coming to realize how impressive the Seeders were. And how lucky he had been to be recruited into their ranks.
“There are theories that are pretty solid that the leading edge of the Seeders entered the Local Group of galaxies here,” Maria said.
She had one of the small cloud galaxies in the group near one side brighten.
Roscoe nodded to himself. That was the theory he had heard as well.
“That was about five hundred thousand years ago,” Maria said.
Roscoe noticed that both Ray and Tacita nodded, but said nothing.
Maria went on. “If we follow the pattern of Seeders, we tend to jump as we move forward to the closest next galaxy or star cluster and then move on, like we are doing now into Andromeda and its satellite galaxies, leaving behind many of us to help and protect and guide
Since the end of the counter was curved, all six of them could see each other fine. Ray and Tacita sat on the two chairs at the end of the counter. Roscoe and Fisher on one side, when Fisher stopped serving and sat down.
Maria sat across from Roscoe near Callie, clearly enjoying her eggs and ham as much as he was. She had smiled at him when they arrived and said hello, but nothing else.
Luckily she hadn’t said much else. He would have had a hard time talking, since she affected him so much. He really needed to get past that problem if they all were going to work together.
There was an amazing attraction between them, and if they weren’t trying to save a few billion lives, he might be trying to get close to her right now. If they did save these planets, there would be time. They were both Seeders, they had lots of time.
But that didn’t mean he didn’t want to get to know her better. Much, much better.
He had spent most of the time since their last meeting with his start-up crew, working to figure out his new ship and build plans on recruiting.
Since they were all from the Sector Force that consisted mostly of trained fighters that guarded the Milky Way sector by sector, they all felt comfortable recruiting top staff from that. But they would not take so many as to leave Sector Justice depleted.
Some of the most advanced cultures in the first sector, meaning the first sector of the Milky Way seeded, had some top militaries as well. That would be good recruiting grounds as well.
They might not have The Huntington fully staffed in three weeks, but they would be able to fly and fight if they had to.
So after only six hours of uneasy sleep in his new command cabin, which was huge and had no personal touches at all yet, he had managed to be on time to the meeting with Chairman Ray and the others.
Roscoe was almost done eating the fantastic eggs, soft toast, and melt-in-his mouth ham when Maria pushed her plate away and turned slightly to face Chairman Ray, who we also just finishing.
“I have something I think we all need to talk about.”
Roscoe loved the sound of her voice. It was firm and solid and slightly deeper than he would have expected coming from someone only about five-four and with so many freckles.
“Start us off, Chairman Boone,” Ray said, nodding.
Maria set up a small device on the counter in front of her and Fisher, who was standing inside the u-shape of the counter eating, quickly moved to take her plate and dirty silverware.
She touched the top of the device. In the air over the counter between them and the kitchen, an image of the Local Group of galaxies appeared. Roscoe recognized it at once and even knew where in the spiral arms of the Milky Way they were now located and the area of his home world in a small satellite galaxy near to, and almost touching, the Milky Way.
At times he had trouble grasping the size and scale of the entire Milky Way, but he was slowly, over the last centuries, coming to realize how impressive the Seeders were. And how lucky he had been to be recruited into their ranks.
“There are theories that are pretty solid that the leading edge of the Seeders entered the Local Group of galaxies here,” Maria said.
She had one of the small cloud galaxies in the group near one side brighten.
Roscoe nodded to himself. That was the theory he had heard as well.
“That was about five hundred thousand years ago,” Maria said.
Roscoe noticed that both Ray and Tacita nodded, but said nothing.
Maria went on. “If we follow the pattern of Seeders, we tend to jump as we move forward to the closest next galaxy or star cluster and then move on, like we are doing now into Andromeda and its satellite galaxies, leaving behind many of us to help and protect and guide
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