"In each compartment is a set of magnetic pads; set your tablet on it, and it'll charge. It's like a charging mat, and it senses what kind of juice your tablet needs, so it won't burn it out. Thuranin devices are smart."

"What’s a Thuranin, sir?”

The captain shook his head. “The Thuranin are a very advanced race, they lead the coalition that the Kristang belong to. I'm told they look a bit like aliens in sci-fi movies; short and skinny, with big bald heads.”

Now I was completely confused. “The Kristang aren’t in charge?”

“As far as we humans are concerned, yeah, anything to do with Earth, the Kristang are in charge. The Thuranin are the Kristang’s, patrons, is maybe the right word. Anyway, all you need to know is, traveling from one star to another is a slow process in a Kristang ship, so they latch onto Thuranin motherships for the big jumps. And before anyone asks, no, I’ve never actually seen a Thuranin, we stay aboard the Kristang ships.”

“This is getting complicated, sir.”

He nodded sympathetically. “Think of it this way: the Thuranin are the major leagues, the Kristang are, ah, the triple A farm team. And we, well, we’re kind of the semi-pro local league right now. We’re hoping to get promoted to single A ball, but we need to prove ourselves first, and we’ve got a hell of a long way to go. Get back to your bunk, soldier, we’re boosting out of orbit soon. You'll get a briefing later.”