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Setting The Scene - Chapter Two |
| Written by Dan Greathead | |
| Tuesday, 25 September 2007 | |
Of all the people on board the Smith's, no one was more excited to finally be within a few hours of feeling Earth between her feet, than Trixi. Trixi, like everyone else on board the Smith's had been born on board. Technology when they left Earth had allowed for a ten percent increase in the average lifespan, but that isn't even ten years to your average human. Trixi had read though. All the great works that humanity had produced, she had read, from Shakespeare, to Steele, and King to Keegan. She had absorbed all their knowledge, and had loved every syllable of it. It was not that widely known, but Trixi was the most intelligent human being, period. Trixi looked forward to being off the ship, for one reason. She wanted to live. Trixi was sixteen years old. Four years had passed since the wonderful day that Mankind had entered it's new era. Of the three-hundred inhabitable planets and moons in the solar system, ninteen remained uninhabited. Aside from the Central Planet and it's sisters, which together made up The Core, there were twon main sources of income. Farming, and smuggling. Trixi and her two friends lived on a small moon in the Middle Ring, the least inhabited area of the solar system. They had built a small house, thirty miles or so away from anyone else, and on an island surrounded by at least eight miles of water on all sides. It was ideal for the three friends. Pete, a trainee pilot four years ago, now looked after the land. He farmed and bred cattle, enjoying his peaceful life. K, a girl around Trixi's age, also loved the peace and quiet that their little island offered. It gave her as much time as she needed to work on her engines. She had machine parts of all shapes and sizes brought in by boat, and would continually build and renovate old machines. K's parents had died along with Trixi's parents in what had been called an industrial accident. They had been building a small estate somewhere on The Core. There had been an explosion, and no survivors. That was all the explanation either girl had ever had, and of course while they were unhappy at the outcome, they had no reason to question the cause. After the accident, Pete had given up his dreams of becoming a pilot in the Force, and had taken both under his wing. They had everything they needed. Pete produced all the food they would ever need, and sold the rest of what he produced. Once a month, he and K would travel a hundred miles or so to the moon's main village, and sell farm produce and whatever contraption's K had made at the market. Whilst there, they would pay their monthly tax at the village hall, and then they would travel home. That was pretty much the only contact tehy ever had with the world outside their little farm. Trixi however, was becoming restless. The other two didn't really notice it happening, because it was a vary gradual process. She loved the quiet life, there was no question about that in her mind, but something, somewhere was calling to her, and she knew she had to answer. She had become an excellent marksman, and her hand-to-hand skills were also of the highest quality. That is one thing that could be said about Trixi. If she couldn't do something perfectly, she wouldn't quit until she had it mastered. K's last shipment had been mostly junk, but there had been a few weapons in there, most of them dating back to the Civil War. K had reconditioned them, and as she knew that Trixi would want them, she gave them to her. Every six months, there was a contest in the moon's main village. Not a contest of anything in particular, winning could be by any means possible, although the use of automatic weapons was strictly banned. The village had a population of around three hundred people, but every six months for two days at a time, pretty much the entire population of the moon would descend upon it's capital. Trixi, K, and Pete had never attended, but when Trixi asked them both if they would like to go this time, they didn't hesitate. Three weeks later, they were still there. Trixi had won the contest hands down, beating men and women five times her slender frame in hand-to-hand to collect the grand prize. the only problem was, the prize was yet to arrive. It had been delayed at customs at The Core for weeks. Trixi had managed to get them a bed at the only pub in the village, as she had said, she had to wait to collect her prize. It was one night in the third week of their stay that Trixi got talking to the Captain of a small vessel docked just outside the village. He had explained to her that he ran medical supplies and suchlike from The Core, to the Middle and Outer Rings, and that his pilot had quit a few drops back. Tixix of course told him about Pete, and how he gave up becoming a pilot, and K with her expertise in engines and all things mechanical. When asked about her expertise, Trixi had simply said, "Everything." Copyright 2007 Dan Greathead {moscomment} |
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 27 September 2007 ) |
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