BoTH Chpt 13

==Blood on the Horizon - Chapter 13 -==
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===Sleeping in the Greenhouse===
"It's beautiful," I wept as I looked at the simulated sunlight and overgrown greenhouse that was deep within the station. I knelt and smelled the overgrown grass and then spotted the pond that was further up, driving me to rise and look at the fish teeming within. 
 
A grin spread across my face as I enjoyed the life that was here, it might just be plants and fish, but that was more than I had been able to see for the last two years. 
 
Laying back against the grass and closing my eyes to the simulated sun, I could almost pretend that I was back on earth, the soil beneath me felt right, and the smell was almost home as well. 
 
"I think I'll explore the rest of the station later," I yawned and let my head fall back against the grass. "I think I should get some rest." 
 
With a final, pleased sigh, I drifted off into the peaceful embrace of sleep. 
 
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Waking up a few hours later, I sat up and rubbed the remnants of exhaustion out of my eyes, feeling more rested from the nap that I had just taken than I had from getting a full night's rest over the last two years. 
 
"I'm going to have to see if there are any fishing poles around," I looked at the fish pond. "Some fried fish sounds really good right now." 
 
Then, I left the greenhouse, I had rested enough for now and there was work to be done.
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===Taking the grand tour===
"One intact Potemkin carrier," I noted as I looked in the other full berths of this remote base. "One damaged Texas class battleship and one Invader JumpShip," I sighed and drank some water to stave off the incoming headache. "And I get to go over the contents of every single one of them." 
"We'll start with the Age of Discovery," I read the ship's title from the side. "Might be fun."
 
Moving via gantry, I reached one of the airlocks and began cycling through, the ship's power systems still being active enough for this sort of thing even after hundreds of years without being serviced.
"Say what you will about the Star League and other nations in this universe," I rapped the side of the ship once I was inside. "But they built things to last." 
 
Then, turning on the light that was attached to the kit I was using, I started navigating to the cargo bay of the massive Warship. 
 
"This was a waste of resources," I sighed as I looked at the mostly empty bay. "The Potemkin class could have been the best thing to happen to the merchant marine for every nation. Twenty-five dropships to ferry the cargo to and from the planet, and enough space for passenger capacity as well." 
 
I shook my head as I inspected the crates that were left and began taking notes. "Lots of ammo supplies and spare SLDF uniforms, not much advanced tech here," I opened up one of the crates to find stacks of SLDF-grade neurohelmets. "Okay, there's some advanced tech here. But I don't think there's all that much on this ship at least."
 
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After a few hours, I finished my inventory of the Age of Discovery's cargo bay and decided that it was time for a break. 
 
Grabbing a fishing pole and some baits I had found, I went to the greenhouse and got set up, once again smiling at the green that was around me. 
 
After a few minutes of waiting, a fish grabbed onto the hook and I reeled it in, a grin spreading across my face as I pulled the catfish off of my hook and dropped it into the bucket beside me. 
 
I was going to eat well tonight.
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===Finally something else to Eat===
I wasn't quite sure how they had managed to get the flour to stay shelf stable for this long, but I wasn't going to question it as I mixed together what I needed to fry the fish up, the egg substitute working as I breaded the filets and mixed in the spices that I was using to season. 
 
My homemade cajun probably needed a bit of work, but I didn't have any hot sauce available, and I desperately needed something besides the MREs that had been left aboard the Manassas. 
 
And so, I lowered the basket into the fryer, the sound of the fish cooking a delight to my ears as I moved over to begin cutting up the potatoes I had found in the greenhouse as the smell of freshly cooked food filled my nose for the first time in over a year. 
 
"Remember to pull it out when it's golden brown," I reminded myself as I looked over the fryer at the fish cooking within. 
 
After a couple of minutes, I pulled the fish out and set them to the side on a plate before letting the oil heat up again, once the temperature reached what it should be, I lowered the fries in and watched as they quickly began cooking. 
 
"I'm glad that salt doesn't really go bad," I muttered as I tossed the fries in a bowl after they were done frying, the salt I had tossed in with the fries seasoning them. 
 
"And now for dinner," I put the fries on the plate and sat down at the nearby table. 
 
Using a fork, I easily cut a small piece of the fish off and chewed it thoughtfully before swallowing, a feeling of contentment settling over me as I enjoyed the taste of something similar to home. 
 
"It's not quite as good as it could be," I ate a few fries. "But it's a damn sight better than those MREs." 
 
I ate the plate and then went back to the kitchen where I fried up the rest of the fish and potatoes I had gathered earlier. I knew that I was going to pay for this later, but right now, I was hungry, and I was going to eat as much as I wanted before my stomach and brain decided to get on the same page.
 
I knew that there was a lot left to do, but for a minute, I almost felt like I was home again, and that made all the difference.
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Chapter 13