"Space, among the stars," she asks, sounding wistful.

"No, no war. Not that I know of. Ajei might have known, but she's--not here. And USA doesn't bother with space anymore. And...I don't think there are any colonies." And she flushes, looking down. "I'm sorry. I honestly don't know. I might know later, but I'm not sure how that will work from here."

After all, at least five of the other soldiers were coming in from overseas. Smuggling them in would be a problem, but the knowledge they'd bring would be beyond valuable.