The Girl in the Tank: Galactic Consortium, Season 1

Episode Seven: The End of Quarantine ch. 3

"Well, that was quick, and clever," Captain Lannister said with a nod towards the view screen. Princess Sarasvat, the President and an elderly Native woman stood side by side on the White House lawn, all smiling.

"The Shoshone thing, sir?" Cheyenne asked as she settled on to the couch in his office. She had been lying to her mother about bringing the kids on the station. If it was one iota safer on the station than on this ship, if they had one iota more stability, she wanted her kids. She was not going to let her mom guilt or bully her into leaving them in a ramshackle house on Earth with a woman who spent half her life hyped up on anxiety meds. Not when she could give her kids the future; a Consortium education. They could grow up to be space pilots, healers capable of rebuilding incredible damage, hydroponics engineers capable of feeding millions. Loyalty to her country ran deep through Cheyenne, but her loyalty to her children knew no bounds.

"Yeah, the Shoshone thing," Captain Lannister said.

"But that was this morning."

"One day is enough sometimes, Walker."

He'd said a mouthful. "So, what was the solution, sir?"

"If the Shoshone don't think they are being treated fairly, they can be a cultural collective, inside the Consortium."

"Inside the Consortium?"

"The government was already thinking of a suitable native name for the station anyway, to show them honor. So now it's official. It will be dubbed Shoshone station and a portion will be set aside for any Native Americans wanting to escape Earth. Those that choose to stay, stay under the same reservation system as always," Captain Lannister explained. "But I don't suppose that's why you wanted to talk to me?"

"No, sir," Cheyenne said. "But it was about the station. I am not sure who I need to talk to about this, but I figured you'd be the right person to start with. You know I have to stay longer, finish treatment. I was hoping that could be on the station, closer to home. And there's going to be other civilians there, markets and school and stuff and..."

"Let me guess, Walker, your kids?"

"Yes, sir."

He nodded. "I will let command know that. We will put in a request to talk to the State Department on your behalf. We can go from there."

"Thank you, sir."

Cheyenne received a communication later that day from a Consortium diplomat, a squid girl named Zeta. She had a human face, with a bluish cast to her skin, and a dozen or more long slender protrusions hanging from her chin. Cheyenne had been told that "squids" were a mixed race, part human and part C'thon. The protrusions that grew from various parts of their bodies and gave them there name were genetic anomalies resulting from blending incompatible DNA, not real tentacles. Her Earth counterpart was Jack, the man who had escorted her kids to the press conference weeks ago.

Zeta was very optimistic about the possibility of bringing the kids onto the station. "My parents moved a lot," she said. "I was riding elevators and taking orbital hoppers by myself before my second sept." The Consortium divided the early years into three seven-year deks. Zero through seven you were a baby, Seven through fourteen was childhood and fourteen through twenty one was adolescent/young adulthood. "Your kids will catch on quick."

They spoke for some time and Zeta assured her they were working on protocols for getting earth kids integrated into their educational system. Cheyenne herself already had a place aboard the station as long as she needed medical attention and finding her work or helping her get started in a new life would present no difficulty.