Saltation Read Free Page B

her attitude one of challenge, and it wouldn't do to have an argument with her roommate on their first day, Theo reminded herself. She shrugged, hiding the sigh. "Plus a half? You're older than me," she conceded, and Asu nodded, apparently mollified.
    "Please," she said, like she was giving Theo a present, "take whichever bunk pleases you." She glanced around again, frowning slightly. "Surely this can't be all the space. I will look more closely, but first, let us be secure."
    She turned to the box she had placed on the table in the joint room. Theo carried her bag into the bunk room and set it down on one of the desks.
    To her eye the top bunk was the best. The storage was good—more than she needed—the lighting abundant and directional, and twin fans—
    "There!" Asu exclaimed.
    Theo drifted out to the joint room, more curious about what was in the mysterious box than she was willing to admit even to herself.
    "What is it?" she asked, blinking at the squat console with its array of varicolored lights.
    Asu stared at her. "A Checksec, of course. Didn't you bring one? I mean, we've got to be careful. People are always snooping to see when you're traveling next, and if anyone's home, and intercepting the banking and everything. You never know if someone's listening with a vibcounter, or using a chipleak detector, or tapping net-calls. I mean, you can with a Checksec . . . but without one, all your business is public."
    "But we're—" Theo swallowed the rest of her protest, suddenly remembering the "bug" Win Ton had found on board the Vashtara . Maybe Asu had a point, after all, she thought, warming to her roomie slightly.
    That glow had faded by the time Asu had gone on to explain—at length—how in her house each room had a Checksec and they got calibrated every five days, and moved about randomly as well, so that anyone trying to spoof one would have a very hard time. And . . . it all sounded like too much trouble to Theo. She excused herself as soon as the Checksec had shown all its eyes green, which Asu said meant they were clean, "For now," she'd added darkly; and went to get settled in to quarters.
     
    Some time later, Theo sat very much at home on the top bunk, marveling at the amount of unused storage still available to her, wondering what else she might want to own here that would fill up the space. Chaos, the counter in the joint room had a coffeepot already, and if she could get a tea maker she'd have storage for all that tea Father had suggested she not bring. Well fuff on him, she thought—and smiled.
    Father had been right about her packing, she allowed, and she was glad not to have done all the huffing and puffing that others of her classmates had—
    From next door came yet another scrunching noise, and perhaps a swear word she didn't know. Asu was still at work trying to fit a house's worth of goods into a closet's worth of space, now that she was finished setting up her Checksec. Honestly, you'd think there wasn't a Safety Office on Asu's world, whatever it was.
    "Oh, Theo, come see!" Asu called.
    Theo sighed, but in the interest of keeping peace, slid off her bunk and went to see.
    The alcove room had a single bed, with a large expanse of wall behind it. That wall was now adorned with a life-sized—or maybe, Theo thought on quick second appraisal—a larger than life-sized image of a lusty nude young man with amazing ear jewelry, among other fine and entirely visible qualities, standing in front of what must be an ocean.
    "Ah . . ." Theo managed, trying to recall the information about decorating campus suites that had been in the school's orientation materials.
    "Yes," Asu said, smugly. "Jondeer had much the same effect on me when I first met him dressed like this on the Ridyea beach. How was I to know he was a full member of the Bovar System Scavage A-Team?"
    Theo laughed despite herself—"Well, you could say he was out of uniform, couldn't you?" She sighed, and managed a calm question.