Free Starlight's Edge by Susan Waggoner

Mr. Sutton a cup of tea. “He’s been going to the base every day to work on cataloging the data he brought back.”
    She was sure Mr. Sutton already knew this and wondered why he was sitting here in her tiny living room.
    â€œNo problem,” Mr. Sutton said breezily. “David’s always been a hard worker. We have big plans for him, his mother and I. He made an excellent impression on Owen Nash in New York a few weeks ago. A few more years in the Time Fleet, and David will be able to write his own ticket. Politics, business, finance.”
    Zee almost laughed. None of those fields sounded like anything David would be interested in. “I can’t imagine—”
    â€œThe thing is, Zee, none of that will happen if David starts asking for short hops. The way to rack up the glory points is the long hauls, getting deeply into a culture and coming home with a load of data. Or doing what Paul’s doing, going starlight’s edge.”
    â€œStarlight’s edge?”
    â€œFleeter talk for risking it all, volunteering for hazard duty. We’ve tried landing in Pompeii before, but the coordinates go wobbly around there. There are places where time folds back on itself, and Pompeii seems to be one of them. We were trying to land a crew around the year 77, two years before the volcano that destroyed the city. Unfortunately they arrived in the arena of the amphitheater in the middle of a gladiator battle. We lost them all.”
    â€œThen why go at all? Or why not go to a city that’s like Pompeii but safer?”
    â€œThere was no city like Pompeii. The wealthy, who couldn’t bear Rome’s heat and clamor, had villas there. They showed off their wealth by commissioning statues and works of art. Their walls were painted with elaborate scenes, and they retained poets and playwrights as members of the household, always ready to entertain their guests with new compositions. There were many things in Pompeii that existed in no other time or place, and new things were being created every day. There are historical records of what happened that night. Those records survived until the meteors, but only partial copies have been found. And who knows how much never survived at all?”
    Zee was quiet for a moment. She hoped David would never go on a mission that dangerous.
    â€œYou must be very worried. For Paul, I mean.”
    â€œWorried? I’m proud. Paul’s brave, and he knows the value of competition.”
    Zee felt defensive, as if Mr. Sutton was saying David didn’t know the value of competition, or was a coward for not trying to snag the assignment for himself.
    â€œBut David doesn’t want—”
    â€œDavid doesn’t know what he wants right now,” Mr. Sutton said, cutting her off again. He paused and took another sip of his tea. “Our family has a long history of leadership, Zee. One of my ancestors was the fifth prime minister to hold office after the meteors. Another helped establish the Alliance of Democracies. It’s taken a long time to amass the power we have, and it cannot be squandered. We always assumed, perhaps naively, that when the time came David would choose someone like Mia. The Aariaks, have you heard of them? Mia’s family. Very much like ours. She would have understood that continued success requires teamwork. Coming from a past that included belief in individual happiness and all sorts of other frivolous pursuits, this may not come naturally to you. But believe me, it’s what it takes to succeed on New Earth, and we cannot let anything, or anyone, keep David from that success.”
    Zee was speechless, which Mr. Sutton didn’t even seem to notice. He took a final sip and stood to go. “I’m glad we understand each other.”
    Zee felt a chill run up her spine as he let himself out. She thought again about the night of the party, when she and David were almost dematerialized instead of the table.