standing in front of her.
“How’d you get ahead of the colony ship? We’ve been traveling for hundreds of years.”
Striker had a glint in his eye. “Wormhole. Found it while I searched for a planet to shelter life.”
He really must be a pirate, then. In an instant, he’d chased away all of her romantic notions. She was conspiring with a renegade! Her mind sped as she rethought her situation. Her repulsion must have shown clearly on her face.
“Oh, I see how it is.” Striker threw a length of old cable down the corridor. It rattled to emphasize his words. “You colonists think you’re the best and the brightest, only taking the select few with high test skills and ideal genetic code. If you had your choice, you wouldn’t even associate with someone like me, someone whose ancestors were left behind to die of pollution and radiation poisoning. Sorry to disappoint you again. My forefathers had to do something. They had to find some way off that putrid rock. What were they going to do, lie down and rot?”
Aries recognized the validity of his logic. “Look, Striker, I’m sorry. You’re the first person I’ve met who wasn’t born on the New Dawn . It’s hard to reconcile you with what they taught me. I mean, for one thing, they said pirates were all second-class riffraff with no moral code.”
“Is that right?” He turned all his attention on her. “Saying everyone left behind was immoral kind of eases their guilt for abandoning their fellow man, doesn’t it?”
“They didn’t just say it. I heard the recorded transmissions myself, in my history class. Pirates overtook one of the central space stations and killed the guards. They severed all communication with the mainframes. My colony hasn’t been contacted by another ship in the centuries since. For all we know, the New Dawn could be the last colonization ship left out there.”
“Where else were they supposed to go? The planet was dead. The space station was the only place humans could live.”
“I don’t know. All I’ve been told is they look out for their own good.”
He cocked his head. “This coming from a woman who turned her back on her people for her own freedom?”
It was a direct blow. Aries fell back against the wall with the truth of it. Her body prickled with shame and her face heated. She was more selfish than anyone. The Guide spoke the truth about maintaining genetic diversity, yet she’d endangered the future of the race by escaping, taking her unique DNA with her. How could she possibly judge the pirates?
A pang of guilt shot through her. This man, pirate that he was, had saved her from the desert and everything in it. She forced her eyes up to study his pained face. He looked far closer to the ideal man than any man aboard the New Dawn . Who were they to decide who should further the species? The first colonists had acted like God, choosing who would live and who would die. But Striker’s ancestors hadn’t died.
“Aries.” Striker walked toward her. “I’m sorry. I’ve been alone all these years and I’m surprised I can still use my voice, never mind engage in polite conversation.”
“No, you’re right. I acted selfishly by abandoning them. Here I am, giving you grief when you saved my life.” She put a hand to her head as if to ward away a fever. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m still coming to grips with a lot of things.”
“All I know is, desperate people are forced to take extreme measures. Listen, these colonists you describe sound like blowhards, if you ask me. Not only do they make you marry someone you don’t want, but they won’t let you live your own life. At least the pirates don’t care whom you choose, or when you stay, or if you go. Now, I understand the colonists’ rules are to further the species, but it’s someone else’s vision of the human race, not yours. That’s my opinion.”
He turned around and continued walking down the corridor. Aries watched him leave, wondering
“How’d you get ahead of the colony ship? We’ve been traveling for hundreds of years.”
Striker had a glint in his eye. “Wormhole. Found it while I searched for a planet to shelter life.”
He really must be a pirate, then. In an instant, he’d chased away all of her romantic notions. She was conspiring with a renegade! Her mind sped as she rethought her situation. Her repulsion must have shown clearly on her face.
“Oh, I see how it is.” Striker threw a length of old cable down the corridor. It rattled to emphasize his words. “You colonists think you’re the best and the brightest, only taking the select few with high test skills and ideal genetic code. If you had your choice, you wouldn’t even associate with someone like me, someone whose ancestors were left behind to die of pollution and radiation poisoning. Sorry to disappoint you again. My forefathers had to do something. They had to find some way off that putrid rock. What were they going to do, lie down and rot?”
Aries recognized the validity of his logic. “Look, Striker, I’m sorry. You’re the first person I’ve met who wasn’t born on the New Dawn . It’s hard to reconcile you with what they taught me. I mean, for one thing, they said pirates were all second-class riffraff with no moral code.”
“Is that right?” He turned all his attention on her. “Saying everyone left behind was immoral kind of eases their guilt for abandoning their fellow man, doesn’t it?”
“They didn’t just say it. I heard the recorded transmissions myself, in my history class. Pirates overtook one of the central space stations and killed the guards. They severed all communication with the mainframes. My colony hasn’t been contacted by another ship in the centuries since. For all we know, the New Dawn could be the last colonization ship left out there.”
“Where else were they supposed to go? The planet was dead. The space station was the only place humans could live.”
“I don’t know. All I’ve been told is they look out for their own good.”
He cocked his head. “This coming from a woman who turned her back on her people for her own freedom?”
It was a direct blow. Aries fell back against the wall with the truth of it. Her body prickled with shame and her face heated. She was more selfish than anyone. The Guide spoke the truth about maintaining genetic diversity, yet she’d endangered the future of the race by escaping, taking her unique DNA with her. How could she possibly judge the pirates?
A pang of guilt shot through her. This man, pirate that he was, had saved her from the desert and everything in it. She forced her eyes up to study his pained face. He looked far closer to the ideal man than any man aboard the New Dawn . Who were they to decide who should further the species? The first colonists had acted like God, choosing who would live and who would die. But Striker’s ancestors hadn’t died.
“Aries.” Striker walked toward her. “I’m sorry. I’ve been alone all these years and I’m surprised I can still use my voice, never mind engage in polite conversation.”
“No, you’re right. I acted selfishly by abandoning them. Here I am, giving you grief when you saved my life.” She put a hand to her head as if to ward away a fever. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m still coming to grips with a lot of things.”
“All I know is, desperate people are forced to take extreme measures. Listen, these colonists you describe sound like blowhards, if you ask me. Not only do they make you marry someone you don’t want, but they won’t let you live your own life. At least the pirates don’t care whom you choose, or when you stay, or if you go. Now, I understand the colonists’ rules are to further the species, but it’s someone else’s vision of the human race, not yours. That’s my opinion.”
He turned around and continued walking down the corridor. Aries watched him leave, wondering
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