I'm making steady progress on the print projects. I'm learning a few new tricks, experimenting and trying new things. It is fun. I'll be back to writing (though I've been dabbling a bit off and on) after Christmas.
On to the snippet!:
In the Army Now:
Gaston
Recruit Sergeant Day was desperate to make
quota. It wasn't easy on Gaston. You'd think that farm boys and girls would
make good troops, but not so much.
Part of it was education. At best they had a
grade school education. Some barely knew the basic three “R's”;
others had lost that much from toiling on the family farm. Things were
improving though, and he'd had two recruits just last week.
But the ship was leaving tomorrow. And he
needed two more to make quota. Two, and he was desperate.
Which was where the two screw-up slackers
came in. The duo had been bumming around town and the surrounding area, unable
to keep a job for long. Kaufman was a klutz and accident prone. Conway was only
marginally better. Both had recently gotten fired from a nearby electronics
store for playing video games.
He'd been working on the duo for months,
filling Conway with ideas whenever they were in town. He knew they liked the
look of him in uniform and seeing some of the girls hanging around hadn't hurt.
Both lads were young gangly teenagers who had
worked the family farm while wanting something more. They'd left in a huff,
looking to find their fortune in town and then in the capital. Living on your
own was proving expensive, especially when you had to pay for everything
without being able to hold down a steady job. Conway had one hell of a hairdo,
wild and unkempt. He spoke with a drawl that sometimes made him look stupid.
After spending time with him,
Day knew there was a mind behind the slacker attitude. And he was aware that if
he got Conway, his shadow would fall in line and follow. In the end,
he let Conway do the work for him.
“Boner” Conway was the leader of the duo.
Working with the recruiter, they convinced his best friend
Kaufman that a five-year hitch as a reservist would be a cakewalk. They'd get
their time in as a low level MOS, just coast with some minor adventures. Once
they were through, they wouldn't re-up and would use their money to start
their business on Gaston.
Sergeant Day only felt mildly guilty about
leading Kaufman on. The duo should have done their homework, but again, they
were slackers. And Conway was full of big dreams. He'd already gotten an earful
about the duo's idea of hitching their star to the new tech and starting a
business together.
But, to do that they needed funding. Working
as a day laborer in town wasn't cutting it. Kaufman had just lost his job at
the plant when they'd been shut down due to a fire.
“Dude, the best part? The best? We get
anti-geriatric treatments. Full medical care for life! Plus, we get to go to college. Full ticket,” Conway drawled.
Kaufman looked skeptical.
“Can I hear a hey hey for college girls?” Conway
said with a grin as he made a pumping motion. “We'd be getting nooky nonstop!”
He then made a crude hip thrusting motion. “Uh huh, yeah baby,” he said, mock
slapping a phantom rump.
Kaufman cocked his head,
but it was clear he was intrigued. He'd heard of college,
but he had not gotten beyond a basic education. Conway had but only because his
mother had insisted. His family had kept him on the farm a lot since they'd
always been chronically short of hands to run it. Conway's dad had invested in
parts to get the family tractor back up and running, which had given their farm
a leg up. Conway had learned about how to get the parts and maintain the
vehicle and even convinced his dad and uncle to buy a pump and other gear. But
he'd made it clear he wasn't going to spend the rest of his life as a hand on
the farm. And when it came time to decide, he'd hitched a ride
to town and stayed there.
That was one reason Kaufman had hitched his
star to his best friend. He wanted to get away from the farm, see the galaxy,
and start their business. Conway dreamed big and talked a good game. It all
came down to money. But, to get the money they had to invite a bit of risk.
“Okay,” Kaufman said with a nod. “You talked
me into it,” he said with a relieved sigh.
“You get a sign-up bonus. It's
small, but you can bank it and use it later,” the recruiter explained.
“See? Already making money,” Conway drawled.
Kaufman broke out into a relieved grin and high fived him.
“Where do we sign?” Conway asked as he turned
back to the recruiter.
“Right this way, boys. It's
good you are doing this; the shuttle lifts off in twelve hours. If you wait too
long, you'll be stuck for months before the next one comes
around. This way, you get to start fresh. And the best part? The navy is paying
for your tickets to Agnosta!”
“Cool!” Conway said with a grin.
Sergeant Day smiled indulgently. He almost
felt guilty.
Almost.
Like leading sheep to the slaughter. They
might be screwups but once they were off planet they were someone else's
problem.
}{%}{
Agnosta
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