THE INFINITE BROOD (Starcraft/Supreme Commander Crossover Quest!)

You frowned, then tapped at the console - bringing up the internal schematic. You'd had Matt and some of the other SACU pilots running engineering on the E1, and you were pleased to see that they had taken on the load of additional passengers in stride. The life support systems had been expanded - an easy mathematic scale, just build a few additional units - and the food fabrication system was keeping up with everyone's needs. You skimmed a few attached reports and saw that the civilians were happy enough. It seemed the nanofabrication technology, while impressively advanced, wasn't exactly out of their context.

Seem to have basic nanofab capacity - nothing as good as food production, but decent metalwork was one note you had.

Well, it was four in the morning. Were any of them even awake?

"Might as well take the walk," you said, half to yourself. You looked down at your tank top and rumpled shorts - and at the feat sweat that had soaked it. You made a face, then tugged off your top, chucking it into the recycler. You tapped at the controls and set the clothing fabber into making you an undress blue uniform with general tabs. You got into the shower and let the water warm your shoulders, easing the knots. Not as good as someone's hands...you shook your head.

You had never married. Never had time for it. Beyond a few small relationships with people at or equal to your rank, and the girl on Deneb, you'd been too focused on your job. On the needs of Earth. You felt that worst at times like this. You turned off the shower - annoyed in one way. Relieved in another. At least now you were thinking normal shower thoughts about lost chances and warm beaches, not about...

Them.

You started through the spine of the ship, accepting salutes and greetings from crew at work. You dallied a little checking on the ACU. Some techs who had pissed their CO off were busy repainting it by hand, a punishment detail that was made all the more humiliating by its utter lack of utility or point. Soon, your ACU wouldn't even look scratched. Your eyes settled on the place where the chunk that the Ultralisk had smashed out of your chest armor - clean metal now. You watched as one of the surly techs skimmed over it with a sprayer, misting UEF blue in place. You lifted your gaze to the ACU's masklike face and felt a sense of settling confidence. You could handle the Zerg. One ACU could take them on and win.

You already had mental plans for artillery and entrenched defenses, airforces and...hmm, did they even have wetnavy bioforms?

You were thinking along those lines as you came to the civilian quarters. The laughter of children hit a chord you hadn't expected - and you saw that a few of the local Terrans had even taken to decorating the walls with bright splashes of color and graffiti. You supposed it being their part of the ship, it wasn't...exactly against regulations. Still, you pursed your lips as you walked past it - then almost got run over by a twelve year old who was sprinting past, laughing as she held her arms up and waggled them dramatically. "You can't catch me!"

"Yes i can!" An age mate, also laughing, sprinted after her. "Get back here, you lousy old Zerg!"

The two went around the corner and you frowned slightly. "It's normal to them," a voice startled you and you saw one of the older civilians was out, enjoying a cup of coffee.

"The Zerg?" you asked.

"Aliens in general," he said, sniffing and then sipping from his coffee. His face was all weathered lines. "I lived through the Guild Wars, the Civil War, now this?" He shook his head. "It's too much for an old man like me to take, I think. All these things. Used to be simple."

"What were these guild wars?" you asked.

"Oh...some claim jumping and mine stealing between the Confeds and the Kel-Morians. I guess the KM bastards got their last laugh, what with the Confeds going down to dirt and the Dominion rolling in. Course, last I heard, their trade and mining grants are being fierce constricted by the Emperor." He pursed his lips slightly. "The Confeds won in the end, but it was a hell of a fight. And it didn't have these damn Zerg or Protoss or you Earthers sticking your noses in. No offense, ma'am."

You snorted, dryly. "None taken."

"...what would you have done? A resource sqabble like that?" the old man asked, in the frank, direct way that you were getting increasingly certain was the Terran norm - at least out in the colonies. You shrugged one shoulder.

"All mining in the UEF is autonomous. The Kel-Morian combine, if they're a mercentile organization, would need to switch purely to shipping and managemnet. Course, the actual shipping is autonomous too."

"Aut...so...what, you folks don't have miners? Don't have jobs?" the old man asked.

"The UEF provides jobs to everyone who wants one," you said, shrugging. "For those who don't want to work for the Federation, you can take BGI. Uh. Basic Guaranteed Income. Similar to how you live now - basics on the fabricators, small homes, access to the public data nets and public transport. Assuming, of course, you follow the law and maintain order as expected by the UEF."

"Oh is that all?" the old man narrowed his eyes at you, suspiciously. You supposed you could see his reason for fear - but you were being honest. The UEF gave every human everything they needed, organized and maintained by Adjutants - well, those Adjutants who hadn't been subverted by Cybran disloyalty programs. It was the first time in humans long history that someone had made an empire, a real empire, that didn't depend on slaves.

Technology Sets Us Free, had been the slogan in one political campaign. Couldn't remember which one.

"We are here to bring an end to the Koprulu's cyclical dictators. I mean, how long did the Confederacy last? Ten years?" The old man seemed unconvinced. You opened your mouth, about to continue to try and batter through his prejudices when a shout came around the corner. "Uh, just a second."

"It's my turn, I need food from this damn magic box-"

"It's a line, I was here fir-"

"Listen, you bitch!"

The two people squabbling were a craggy faced man, maybe thirty - hell, maybe twenty considering these people's access to medtech - with squinty eyes and a hunched posture, and...oh. Uh.

The woman was in her late twenties, possibly her early thirties. She was strongly built, lithe and graceful like an acrobat, her physical strength visible even in her baggy colonial trousers and loose tunic with blue dungaree jacket with fraying edges on the sleeves and hem. She had brilliant red hair, tied back into a long ponytail, and was rolling her eyes to the heavens as the man berated her.

"You've been nothing but a stuck up queen bitch since you moved in next to me - always cutting infront of me in line, stealing my chance to get food first."

"It's. A. Nano. Fabri. Cator." The woman said, putting fierce, harsh emphasis on each part of the word. "It doesn't run out of the good stuff."

"What's going on here?" you asked, and thanked Christ you didn't squeak like a schoolgirl.

"This bitch cut in line," the craggy faced man said, turning to face you, scowling.

"I just got here first. It's too early in the damn morning for this, uh g...General!" She started, standing up slightly.

"It's a nanofabricator," you said, dryly, to the man. "In the time you spent berating your neighbor..." You typed at the console and it spat out a coffee cup. You took it and handed it to the redhead, who took it with a wry little smile at you, her eyes sparkling. "...you'd have already gotten the food."

"I..." The man blinked, and for a moment, looked faintly confused. He glowered at the box. "Ah hell, I'm not even hungry anyway."

"Cantankerous old coot..." the redhead muttered.

"I'm glad not all of your neighbors are quite so bad," you said, casually.

"Thanks, General," she said. "Uh. Clarke. General Clarke."

You inclined your head. The urge to say oh, just use Sam was almost overpowering, but sounded so...damn awkward in your tongue. You instead coughed and waited expectantly. She blushed - her cheeks were made for blushing, being as pale as they were. "Sarah," she said, offering her hand to you.

You took it.

---
HEAT: 1/6

[ ] "So, uh, Sarah, why'd you choose to be a colonist?" (Diff 2 Charm check - 2 heat)
[ ] "So, uh, Sarah, how are you enjoying the Expeditionary 1? Sorry it's...got such a plain name." (Diff 2 Charm Check - 2 Heat)
[ ] "I can move that asshole to a new set of rooms, if you want! Or...you?" [Flirty] (Diff 3 Charm Check -2 Heat)
[ ] Write In