Jethro: First to Fight Read Online Free Page B

ready to listen and in most cases eager to do the job. The dreamers
wanting a new and better life with a bit of adventure, and then there were the
lay about sods who wanted a free ride without having to actually work. They
thought it was just shining a seat with their ass and staring at a console.
Free medical care, implants, just kiss the right ass and you're kosher.
    The parasites were coming out of the
colonies with a vengeance. All thought they'd get their kicks, look pretty, and
many thought they would be an admiral in no time. Resentment over how stifled
the command structure had become was a problem. Also, after the return of the
first Marine Expedition to Agnosta, several people have realized they really
could die in the job they were in. That apparently had made the rounds and
sobered the worst of them.
    A lot of the parasites were people with
nowhere else to go. They either signed on out of desperation, or in order to
try to con something... or were coerced into doing so after committing some
crime.
    He really couldn't blame the colonial
leaders, the colonies really needed only so many people to run them, the excess
needed to do something. Normally they did make work, stuff to keep busy or
stuff a droid or drone could do. Or “service work” another growing headache
they were going to have to deal with soon.
    There wasn't much of a backlash yet
against repairing the robots, but there was a tide of resentment for those who
didn't have a job and sucked up resources. A colony couldn't afford that, and
space colonies like Pyrax even less so. It was no wonder that artists,
musicians, and other entertainers were few and far between in Pyrax.
    Anvil had its own share or problems, her
repairs and restoration had drawn thousands to her to share in her new found
wealth. Some had been worthy to stay, but he'd heard a lot of grumbling lately
about the refugees. There was a growing transient population on the station.
Some were students, they had overtaxed the dorms and were now sleeping in the
park or in the halls or hot bunking. Things were getting crowded.
    Pyrax had a population that was expanding,
with only so many places to expand into. Not many people knew how to make a
colony. Sure Capital Colony was supposed to be the showcase, but so far that
had turned into a debacle of corruption and overspending. Everyone was looking
at the navy to clean up the mess. It wasn't their job!
    There were three startup companies that
were on the books as colony makers. One company was called just that, colony
makers. How original. He liked Sod busters. Unfortunately not one had the
industry or ability to actually do the job. Again, dreamers, they can talk the
talk, but they can't walk the walk. They can't actually go beyond pretty words
on paper.
    He rubbed his jaw. No, the more he
thought about it the more Agnosta was sounding appealing. It would solve a few
of his problems. But it would open up a can of worms with the politicians. He
wasn't sure he was ready and willing to deal with them just yet.
    There was however, something he could do
about the colonies. He'd have to look into it carefully, but maybe he could
sell some of their surplus to the 3 start ups, see if they would put it to use
and not warehouse it or resale it. He'd have to look into that, he mused.
    John had left him in one hell of a lurch
here, he knew, in some ways he resented it. This exile a year ago was a problem
and an ever growing one the longer John was out of the system. Dealing with
Walker, the public, and the various corporations cropping up was getting to be
a headache. Spirit of space! Before the Xeno war he'd been a Yeoman himself!
    Agnosta had been a bit of a headache.
He'd approved the mission, it had sounded like a good way to get some of the
Marine equipment tested, get some face time with the colony administers, check
on their progress, and maybe get some idea of what had happened to the admiral.
Losing a pair of promising Marines hadn't been a part of