The signal, diffuse and random, stirred only a few Legion. The true power of the Legion came from the countless many acting together. But not enough of them woke to network together, let alone coordinate an action. Not like last time. So they waited.

[Gan]

Eric and I played Space Pong every day. At low gravity, we did some awesome aerobatics when going for the ball. Eric usually won until I learned to spin the ball when I hit it, which threw him off just enough that we became more evenly matched.

When time came to clean the bio-filters again, we played for the task, or rather the not-do-the-task. As the match started, I relished the thought of watching him cram his tall frame in among the filters and come out covered with the stinky goo. Nope. Beat me soundly. That deceiver sandbagged me. The filters were every bit as gross as last time.

At six months before the scheduled arrival, we were to wake up the captain and all his crew, along with the planet governor-to-be. It took almost a day before they fully emerged out of hibernation. The process was automated, but we watched it closely to make sure nothing went wrong. The present chemically induced hibernation technology was a vast improvement over the old cryogenics, where the fatality rate used to be almost ten percent, which made recruitment for deep space missions difficult.

Space Pong became a huge hit with the crew. The arena became so popular that we set up a scheduling system to make sure everyone got a chance to play. The tournaments were epic! No doubt the Captain knew what was going on, but he kept quiet about it, that is until the injuries started and a few fights broke out.

My com-viewer beeped with a message. "Oh, crap."

I showed it to Eric, who frowned, showing me the same message on his device. We had been summoned.

Captain Greer looked the part as an ex-Marine officer — shortcut hair, firm squared jaw, muscular frame, and laser steel-blue eyes that could burn a hole through you. His callname in the military was 'Storm', and from what I heard, he earned it. By reputation, he was a hard-ass, but when the shit hits the fan, he was the one you wanted in charge. I was not officially part of the ship crew, but as a flight engineer, Eric was. Eric stood at attention before the Captain's desk and I followed his lead.

The Captain continued to look down at his tablet viewer as he addressed us. "Gentlemen, I understand you are the source of this Space Pong game?"

Eric firmed his jaw as he answered, "Yes, sir. It was a way to occupy our spare time and stay fit."

I interjected. "Captain, would you like to give it a try? I would be happy to..."

I gulped, cutting my invitation short as he glared at me with those intense eyes.

"The game has become a detriment to our mission," the captain said in a firm voice that shutdown any dissent. "Take it down. Do you understand?"

Eric showed no emotion as he replied. "Yes, sir."

Thus ended the sport of Space Pong. I was sorta sure it would become an Olympic sport if given a chance. We spent the next two hours removing the tape lines and moving the cargo back in the bay.

Over the next several weeks, we ran system checks and did landing drills, again and again, practicing responses to just about any foreseeable problem. The Captain was a taskmaster, but I understood the importance and the crew respected him.

Finally, tomorrow we get a day off from all the drills, and I looked forward to sleeping in.

*****

'Beep-beep'. Groaning as I reached for my com-viewer, I only knocked it to the floor. Who tried to reach me so early during my planned sleep session? In a mental haze, I searched on my hands and knees for the damned device.

Why did the Governor want to meet with me? Was I in trouble again?

After clearing my brain fog and putting on my usual dark cargo pants and a t-shirt, I made my way down to a small conference room near the ship bridge.

"Governor Quay, you wanted to see me?" I said, while stepping past the rounded hatch. "I hope I have not kept you waiting too long, ma'am."

She stood up and warmly shook my hand. "Not at all. Please take a seat, Gan, and call me Liz. I am not military, although something worse — a politician."

I studied her as we sat down in the swivel chairs. She appeared to be fifty Earth years old based on the smile lines around her lips, with dark skin and shoulder-length, tightly curled black hair. Her brown eyes seemed genuine, but had a take-no-crap intensity. In some ways, she was a friendlier version of Captain Greer, but I would love to watch the action if those two ever had a disagreement.

"I have a request for your services from Tau Ceti Four. Seems they need an engineer to help with irrigation systems. I understand this is one of your skill sets?"

I smiled, partly because I hoped for some sort of work that used my skills, and partly because I was not in trouble. "Yes, it is. I would be happy to assist."

"Excellent. I will inform them. You will go down with the first cargo load after we dock. That is all I had for you."

I nodded as I stood up and turned towards the door.

"Oh, and Gan?"

I turned back around, wondering what else she had.

"Shame about your Space Pong game. I was hoping to try it. Perhaps you could write up the rules and specs and I will see if I can get it reinstated somewhere?"

I smiled as I bowed. "It will be my contribution to humanity."

That went unexpectedly well. Good mood vibes spread through me like a summer breeze as I went to the dining hall for breakfast.

*****

We went through our checklists twice to make sure everything was tied down, since when the fusion thrusters cut back, we transitioned to weightlessness. The acceleration outbound and deceleration inbound provided the artificial gravity during the voyage, although only at twenty-five percent of that on Earth. If I could have given high fives to fusion thrusters, I would.

Eric and another crewman watched carefully as the AI guided the enormous ship to port, using the maneuvering thrusters while I stood by to assist with environmental systems in case something went wrong. If I didn't know how momentous this occasion was, the first arrival ever of an Earth colonization ship to an alien terraformed planet, it would have been boring. The crew cheered and even the Captain cracked a smile when we docked.

Since I was going down with the first cargo load, I volunteered to help the loadmaster, a large man with short, chopped hair. He called me into a meeting — the Governor and the Captain were already sitting around the table with a few others. With a few finger swipes, the loadmaster transferred the cargo list to my com-viewer.

"Wait. Bees?"

"Yes," the loadmaster answered. "They wanted us to give this package priority. Apparently, they need them right away. Someone named Mora Torr will wait to pick them and you up. Make sure they get unloaded first."

My eyes widened, and my heart rate increased. "So I am going to be stuck in an enclosed vessel for eight hours with thousands of bees? Please tell me they are going to still be in stasis."

The loadmaster shrugged. "Well, no... But they should be contained, and if any get out, just remain calm and they probably will not sting you."

My eyes grew. "I heard 'should' and 'probably' in that answer. If I were a bee, I would be totally pissed if someone pulled me out of stasis above some strange planet."

The Captain glared at me while the Governor bent forward and stifled a laugh with her hand.

Governor Quay responded. "Don't worry, tough guy, I'll protect you."

"I just don't like bees," I grumbled.

I sulked as the loadmaster completed the cargo review, but tried not to show it.

Then the discussions turned to the settlers. The chief medical stood up, a short young woman with dark hair tied in a ponytail. "The first group of settlers will come out of stasis in seven days, and the ground crews want us to limit the transit numbers to no more than two-hundred per day, so we set up a schedule to accommodate."

"It is important that we do this in the right order," the Governor added. "There are two groups that do not get along with each other, and bad things might happen if they mix."

The doctor nodded. "Oh, yes. We cleared the plan with the ground crews. The Watchers will come down first and the Free Alliance people last. In between will be everyone else. As I understand, these groups will be settled far apart from each other."

Wow. How did these groups get on this ship?

The Watchers were a conservative, fundamentalist religious cult that rose as conditions on Earth deteriorated, and they had politically powerful connections. The name comes from their purpose, watching for the establishment of God's kingdom on Earth — any day now, by their estimation. Some of them were doomsday nuts, and not above violence, all in the name of God, of course.

The Free Alliance group was far libertarian, and they also had some political support. They distrusted all government and organized religion — like, for instance, the Watchers. Some could be deemed survivalists or even anarchists, and they also tended to be militaristic. I hoped they did not bring weapons.

Mixing those two would be like mixing oxygen and hydrogen — one spark and 'boom'. Governor Quay may have her hands full. If it were me, I would just drop them off on the north and south pole icepacks.

I set my alarm so I would arrive at the space elevator well before the departure time to get a closer look at it — truly an engineering marvel. A super strong tether stretched from the planet's equator up to the spaceport at just past geostationary altitude. But no ordinary material would do, only super strong boron-nitride and carbon nano-threads could handle the tensile forces. The spaceport worked like a reverse plumb-bob to keep the tether taut. A climber, the space elevator, rode the tether up and down. By far, it was the most efficient and safe way to move people and cargo between planet and spaceport.

All the cargo packed in the elevator left barely enough space for the Governor and me. We had a pleasant conversation during the ride down, and as it turned out, she was a really cool lady. I think I made a new friend.

Only a couple bees got out, but they never bothered me. Good bees.

After eight hours, the elevator decelerated and then stopped at ground level with a thump. My heart leaped, as finally, my feet touched Paradise! I peeked out of the small hatch window to a sizeable crowd positioned like a receiving line, but they were not here to see me.

I bowed to Liz with an exaggerated gesture. "Your subjects await you, my liege. Go out and do political stuff, shake hands, kiss babies, or whatever."

Liz rolled her eyes as she stepped up to the door, but then put on a practiced smile as the hatch opened. I waited a few moments so she could work the gathering crowd before I stepped out, impressing me with how well she did that.

Now to find this Mora Torr. I hoped she was not some boring, stuffy scientist.