Chapter 2

The well-built man twisted his body around, checking as he did so that the bright yellow projectile was no longer heading directly for his head. A short swing with his right arm and the gladius he was wielding slashed the ball in two.

"Yes!" he hissed exuberantly as the two halves of the sphere flew harmlessly either side of his body.

"Session complete, prepare for the resumption of gravity." As the AI's voice reverberated off the metal walls the man calmly flipped over so that he was correctly orientated and as the gravity was slowly returned he allowed his body to drift downwards, the floor once more became the floor rather than just another flat surface.

Albert Murray really enjoyed reflex training in free fall and working with the AI was faster than using a human opponent. Not as tricky, the Marine Commander was willing to admit but much, much faster, even with the enhanced reflexes and musculature that his fellow Marines possessed these days.

As his feet hit the deck Bert, as he was known by his peers made his way to the cage that held his kit and pulled out a towel. Behind him the AI began using various beams and transporter nodes to collect together the remains of the balls it had been using as projectiles, recycling them for the next training session.

Bert headed for the shower room, dropping the gladius he'd been using to slice up those balls into the recycling bin as he passed it by. One of the big advantages of the replicators was that you didn't have to clutter the place up with items that you didn't use all the time. As long as you had sufficient raw material and power you could replicate things as you needed them. The likes of knives, forks and spoons no longer filled drawers, even the sports equipment he had just been using was produced as it was required and recycled after use.

There was very little that actually belonged to anyone any more, which seemed to have solved the problem of petty theft overnight. Nobody needed stolen property when they could replicate anything they might want without risk or resulting to skulduggery.

That wasn't strictly true he knew; original artwork was very much in demand, whether it was a picture, sculpture or a sound track of some sort. Copies of anything, classical or otherwise were available straight out of the machine but something original still required some input from a sentient being.

Many of the houses in the colonies were like miniature art galleries, decorated with the efforts of both citizens and concubines alike. Bert knew of at least one guy in his regiment who led an extremely varied sex life because he traded the pictures his concubine created for time with other owners' slaves.

Not that Bert was artistic, unless you considered killing the dickheads to be an art form.

He tossed his towel onto the bench and hopped into the running shower, one the AI had already set to his own preferences of pressure and temperature and relaxed after the strenuous workout.

The AIs had tried to convince people to use the ultrasonic showers they had but like many others he preferred the feel of water cascading over his skin. Bert chuckled to himself, as he personally believed that the AI's considered humans to be little more than their Neanderthal forebears at heart because of their insistence on sticking with so many outdated ideas.

Bert didn't really care, he enjoyed bringing his women into the shower and washing them down by hand, something that neither of his concubines objected to in the slightest.

Life certainly was different after extraction and even now, three years after his pickup, Bert wouldn't say that he was entirely acclimatised to the way things were. He wouldn't say he was suffering because of the changes, but the way some things were still didn't seem right.

He refrained from singing as he scrubbed the sweat off his technologically enhanced body and tried to decide what he was going to do next. Being a passenger on a freight run was boring and he'd already used most of the limited facilities on the Aurora class freighter that was carrying him.

The gym, available with or without gravity could only take up so much of his time and keeping fit wasn't the chore it used to be. The medical facilities and the nanites that infested his body saw to that.

Without other Marines to talk to, Bert was getting stuck for ideas of how to pass the time, at least he only had another week to go before they arrived at Demeter and he could disembark. He'd tried talking to the crew and they were pleasant enough, but they were Fleet Auxiliary, not even real Navy and they tended to keep themselves to themselves.

Toweling his body down he figured he'd go back to his bunk and have another look at what was available in the AI's library section. You never know, there might be a history text that he'd find interesting.

"How are things?" asked Alice Freeman as she stepped onto the bridge.

"Fine," replied Jon Wells, the First Officer, from his position leaning against the command chair.

Alice raised an eyebrow at the Lieutenant who was first officer of the ship and he shrugged in response.

"How else would you describe hyperspace?" he asked philosophically. "There's nothing to look at and 'Eddie' is performing as normal. The load hasn't budged an inch and I'm bored almost to death."

Alice couldn't help grinning at the look her First Officer gave her, "Come on, Jon," she said, "If you wanted excitement you should have joined the Navy." She gave him a sly look, "You could always ask for a transfer if you want, you know? I'd be glad to endorse it."

"Do I look brain-dead," he replied in mock indignation. "I've got brain cells that work, thank you very much."

"So, other than being bored, is there anything else that I, as the Captain of this wonderful ship, should be aware of before you go off duty?" she asked.

Jon brought himself up to a close approximation of attention and responded, "No, Ma'am." The grin he had plastered across his face gave a lie to the formality of his posture.

"Then I have the bridge," Alice replied just as formally. "Now get your ass off my bridge and go see if that woman of yours can get you interested in life again."

"See you, Alice," called Jon as he left the bridge a happy smile on his face.

Alice took a slow walk around the bridge before settling into the command chair. Ships these days didn't really need a crew when they were travelling in hyperspace, there was nothing to see and not a lot to do.