#2 - Backstory, Dominique Astra reflects: Military Women and Prefab/Programmed Military Structures

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This wasn’t to say that there weren’t egotistical women in positions of command. The ego was simply let out of the bag after they made it to command, in a position that couldn’t be jeopardized by a male peer or superior whose feelings got bruised. Though, between women of equal rank, eager to ascend, over-cautious attitudes made friendship challenging. This dynamic was often too subtle for men to pick up on, even though it was a very male characteristic.

After The Obliteration—mankind’s first brush with extinction—the crisis, and long-lingering sadness and fear meant that it took nearly a century of bleak functionality to be overtaken by an interest in fashion. Buildings were the most visible sign. Once the celebration of life became morally acceptable again, these structures turned more fashionable in an explosion of the creativity held in check for so many years. The military bases were a mix of sentiments, with more creative constructions infiltrating to combat the sterility of their underlying function.

Also following this timeline, the conservatism that blanketed the new world-government had largely eased. Where global government entities still retained some administrative control, it tended to be strict, often petty, as was the case for the military housing policies.

Most of the permanent units near the base were dedicated to military personnel who never left Earth or civilians who had something to do with the military. A spacer could get a permanent unit if there was enough money involved—that much hadn’t changed, even with the Post-Oblit government. EBMMP had jurisdiction over new construction in the towns that surrounded their bases, as well as those along the Bullet line. In these locales, they also had the overriding decision on who rented what. Instead of a house for everyone in these intentionally small cities and towns, the normal policy was to rotate housing for intermittent residents, setting aside a number of dwelling units for that purpose. Otherwise, the ship and the stars were a spacer’s home, with transient-only residency on Earth. Some of the Earthbound never left the safe confines of city-centers, virtually dust-free thanks to the nocturnal cleaning bot swarms of all types. Regardless of beautiful or gaudy styling, it still felt sterile.

Beyond these boundaries of rigidity, there were centuries-old forests. Dominique’s favorite inn was nestled in those woods, was like a comfy chair after work. With its lone Erada-bot on a lazy and inefficient tour of the inn’s common area, there was dust and dirt wherever one looked. Real nature. She needed that as counterbalance to the stiff military energy.