Her navy blazer and matching pencil skirt looked spectacular against her olive skin. She wore a loose cream-colored blouse under her jacket and she’... swept her thick black hair into a low bun. Her triple-strand pearl necklace clicked softly as she moved. She smiled when she saw me, looking for all the world like Corporate Princess Jasmine. ‘How was yesterday?’ she asked, handing me a stack of papers. I shook my head with a half smile and traded her the papers for the second cup of coffee I was. “Approaching system boundary,” Blaine called out breaking me out of my reverie. “Break out in six, five, four...”My hands grabbed the arm rests of my command chair and squeezed the metal. My mind filled with the imagined sound of the metal protesting the abuse as Corsica burst back into normal space.As soon as we emerged I turned to Ensign Munfree. “Make sure our identification signals are transmitting properly. Then find out where the system commander is and let him know we have arrived.”“We. I think my not wanting to share her was motivated simply by a selfish desire to have all of Courtney’s attention focused on me.“You and Stefan can hang out. He is kind of your speed,” I replied sourly.Jessie didn’t seem to care. He was growing in confidence by leaps and bounds now that he was calling himself an Apprentice Master. I absolutely hated it. I only liked it when he was not so self-assured and an easy target to make fun of.“Don’t you two have to go stick your fingers up my mom’s ass. Still, some upgrades would do you good. Make sure that you're up to snuff, in case even the CS end up in combat. Here you go, Decurion. Your pod assignment. If you want it next to your former sponsor, well ... I've met her. I wouldn't blame you. Hell, I'd hit that, too."Your badge and uniform are over there. Pick them up, and then go ahead to the Civil Service pool and meet your new comrades as you select your new playthings. Kill two birds with one stone. I'm telling you ... Earth selectees.