With her blood system circulating the variety of stimulants Reti was already back to her old self, slinging her guitar over one shoulder and her rifle over the other and carrying her bags in her hands. She wanted to get a head start on setting up her quarters aboard the Monolith, straighten the place out and get her various awards and accolades all hanging on the walls. Something to remind her why she was chosen for this program, the excellence expected of her. And excellence was all she could give. She was more than two million light-years away from home, everyone she had known and cared for was long dead. All the papers she had written were gathering dust in some university library, the specimens she collected on display in a natural history museum. Maybe the scientific community still remembered her. But it was as least as likely that she was forgotten, a name cited in a couple bibliographies and nothing more. Dr. Kaatis hadn't spent her life persuing knowledge for her legacy to be left behind. The Andromeda project would make sure that she was a figure in every history book printed! Schoolchildren would learn about her, the Homefleet would celebrate the success of their greatest mind! She was intelligent, she was driven, she was experienced enough-

She was getting a message. Or rather, a message was just coming through after all these years. Her head was reverberating with a gentle buzzing sensation, the mechanical eye the epicenter. After a moment or two it stopped, only to start back up again. She had gotten a few. Reti tapped the lens of the orb twice, the needle connecting it to her brain retracting so she could pull it out. The holographic projector hidden in its pupil turned, displaying her inbox on an easy to see digital screen. Most of them where messages from loved ones, her siblings, her parents, Heskal. A sad smile played across Dr. Kaatis's face, a clawed finger marking them to be read later. But the most recent one (only 650 years old) was listed as an urgent notice from [url=https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/546802855076429824/624994462682316831/ecbel-oueslati-entertainment-design-week-08-ecbel-oueslati-09.png?width=400&height=283]Russel Rotshield[/url], the eccentric billionaire who had dreamed up and funded the project. The Demoness skimmed it, her good eye glancing at the first couple paragraphs of meaningless congratulations. 

The third was when it started getting good. [color=98FB98]"As you likely know, you were selected for this expedition due to your background in the sciences, medicine and space exploration. Your achievements in the field and in academic settings are commendable. With that in mind you have been selected as the Team Leader of Group Tau (see the attached roster) and are a Class Four operative. This is the second highest class in the program and it comes with considerable privileges as well as responsibility. You have near complete autonomy to work with and use your team as you see fit in pursuit of the project's goals. You will receive further information once you have been settled in on the Monolith. Good luck."[/color]

She wasn't just a member of the greatest leap forward that the UGC had ever gambled on. She was one of the leaders. But there was no time to reflect on the momentous importance of her situation. The techs were already herding everyone onto the shuttle that would put them on the Monolith, their new home. A short jump and a couple hours of bureaucratic red tape and everyone was checked in. Reti spent the time familiarizing herself with the composition of her team.  [color=Firebrick][i]Barrette, Edalyt, Vex...[/i][/color] It was going to take a bit of work to memorize them all. But she had the time to do it, as well as the space. The Monolith had a wing where Team Tau resided, a common area with sofas and seats where people could talk, watch holo-movies and play games, even a few ancient arcade cabinets and pinball machines (Rotshield had been somewhat famous for his love of the things.) A canteen was open 24 hours a day, a variety of food and drink available. And each team member had their own room lit a sterile white.

As Team Commander Reti had expected something better than that, but nothing lavish. Her room was three times the size of the ones she had seen, bookshelves pressed against the far wall and filled with a variety of literature. Her bed was a far cry from the cots she had used on her previous travels, king sized and covered with soft pillows and fluffy blankets. A personal holographic console stood at a desk set up within a few paces of the bed, framed paintings covering the walls and small sculptures scattered about. Considerable privileges indeed. But all the expensive furniture in the world couldn't compare to the diplomas and accolades she was already pinning to the walls. All that really mattered was whether or not Little Kat was happy and judging by the noises he was making as he tramped around his new home, he was.