Chapter 21 – Wellspring
Lora Bluestone hated war. Like most Wellspringers, she had mixed feelings about the Agrarian Commonwealth. On the one hand, she liked knowing the Commonwealth Navy was there to protect her planet's space. And membership in the alliance was good for Wellspring's economy. On the other hand, she hated the obligations her world bore as the price of Commonwealth membership. Wellspring produced the bare minimum required as far as its military expenditures were concerned, and even that was controversial among the residents.
One of Lora's children took her hand and gripped it tightly, and Lora gave the smaller hand a reassuring squeeze. Rosanna was a timid girl of five, and the inoculation line was full of strangers, and the whole experience was intimidating for her. Jean
