blasted last night, but you don't see me bringing some pretty boy home, s he thought bitterly. That's probably because Grace is all tall and willowy and I'm all short and hard. The girl's probably got genetic modifications that keep her that way, while I take fitness supplements and work weight resistance to keep my strength above average. If I didn't have a chest or hips I'd look like a short boy, s he arrived at the lift door and joined Ashley in waiting for the car to arrive.
“Good morning,” Ashley said with a fading smile. “Or maybe not?” she asked.
Stephanie hadn't realized she was scowling. She relaxed and smiled a little at her friend; “Good morning. Do you remember much of last night?”
“It was a blast.”
“Oh, so you didn't drink whatever it was that wiped my memory pretty much clean?”
“Nope, I learned my lesson with Michnikel a long time ago. Stuff gets you feeling good in a hurry, and by the time you hit the bottom of the bottle you're in full blackout mode.”
“Let's petition the Captain to have it banned.”
“Let's,” Ashley agreed, grinning exaggeratedly. She had changed her vacsuit as well. Her new one was navy blue, she had transposed the dragon she normally detailed her suits with onto it but this time it was line drawn in black. Stephanie also couldn't help notice that she had chosen a very glossy texture.
The new vacsuits the Captain and Liam had added to the system the night before were much better than the ones that they had used previously. Their thickness and texture was more adjustable, hers was matte black and a little thicker than before, half a centimetre in some places, and they were easier to apply. After being shot the day before she could appreciate the tighter weave they had implemented. Even though it looked nothing like combat armour, the new vacsuits were just that. They were so dense that the wrist materializers needed several seconds to create one. A suit had to be made on a relatively flat surface then put on, which was a change she could live with considering the extra protection it provided.
They were also more comfortable somehow. To her it felt like she was really wearing something with substance but it still moved with her. With the addition of the emblem of the ship, the upper half of a silver skull with Triton written in the place of its teeth, they were starting to feel like uniforms. Only proven crew members would be marked with the skull, everyone else only had the Triton letters on their chest. The silence between the pair was thick as they stepped into the express car. It was one of the smaller ones, made for four or five.
“What's wrong Steph?” Ashley asked with concern.
“It's nothing,” Stephanie answered reflexively. “I'd just like to remember where I've been and what I've done.”
“Well, we mostly hung out and got to know the deck crew. Some of the new military folks were there too and then you started conferencing the bridge staff in on the party. You kept on trying to feed their holo images drinks. It was hilarious,” Ashley giggled. “That's pretty much the highlight reel as far as you're concerned. Oh, and you hugged the Captain and Alice a few times.”
“I got mushy?”
Ashley nodded exaggeratedly. “It was cute, helped you make nice with the new people. I was hangin' off of ya for the night though, so you didn't embarrass yourself or anything. As soon as I saw that green and black bottle in your hand I knew I shouldn't stray far off.”
“Michnikel.”
“Yup.”
Silence settled over then again and the doors parted to reveal the main hallway of the command deck. It was built around the bridge, a broad, four meter hall that ran in a semicircle behind both levels of the forward section on deck fourteen and thirteen. To the right of the main bridge was a security and intelligence compartment with work stations, an isolated data storage unit and a fully secure meeting space that neutralized all recording devices. That section was closely tied into the bridge, so whoever was in charge could actually command and control ship security and intelligence services from the bridge as though they were in the room.
On the left hand side of the bridge there were briefing rooms, a secure command area for sensitive communications and the officer's lounge. There were many other rooms along the front edge of the ship but many of them had been locked down for the better part of a decade or more. Across from that side were the Senior Officer's quarters. All but four of them had been closed off completely, Wheeler had disallowed most crew members from enjoying what must have been the most luxurious quarters on the ship. Most of the crew who had seen the command deck were secretly hoping that Captain Valance would start reopening them and offering them to bridge staff and other senior crew members.
Even though many sections of the command deck were still closed it was very busy. There were a dozen or more people going to and from the bridge and they were all wearing the new vacsuits. Each one had a brand new Arm Command and Control Unit, which didn't surprise either of them since the first thing they saw when they looked at the materializer was a menu of different units to choose from.
Stephanie didn't need a new one, but decided she'd get the smaller wrist versions. They did everything the full arm version did, only they were five centimetres wide and one thick and the systems were divided between a pair. Ashley had chosen a version that covered two thirds of her left forearm and was almost invisible when it wasn't in use.
“What is it? You're normally bouncier than me in the morning,” Ashley asked in a whisper.
“Like I said, I don't like forgetting things.”
“Grace could probably fix you up if you go to medical. They have an organic materia-” Ashley stopped, looking at Stephanie's expression. “You remember her and Frost hooking up last night, don't you?” she asked in a hushed whisper.
“No, I saw them in the hall this morning. But that's no-”
“You're jealous,” Ashley giggled. “You couldn't stop looking at them last night, I knew it.”
“I'd be just as likely to sleep with Grace as Frost.”
“Well, I can see why, she's really something.”
“You're completely missing my point. I'm not into that loud mouthed pain in the ass. I mean, Frost?” Stephanie shuddered exaggeratedly.
Ashley laughed and put a sympathetic hand on Stephanie's shoulder. “Aw, next time I see them together I'll hose them down. Would that make you feel better?”
Stephanie gave her a look of frustration and confusion. “Hose them down?”
“Oh, where I grew up the owners had a lot of yard space and a few dogs. When they got, um, frisky with each other we'd spray them with cold water so they'd run off.”
“Oh, well. In that case, make sure I'm there,” Stephanie said with a little smile as they stepped down into the main bridge. “But I'm not carrying a torch for Frost,” Stephanie said in an insistent whisper. “I just haven't run into anyone I really want to bunk up with, I guess I'm just envious. I mean, if he can hook up with someone, what's up with me?”
“Riiight,” Ashley teased, rolling her eyes.
When they arrived on the bridge Stephanie sat down beside Agameg Price, who was the Officer of the Watch. Ashley went straight to the pilot's station to get the update from the night shift pilot, a dull brown furred nafalli who had a musical voice, especially when she became excited or agitated. “I'm Ashley,” she said as she sat down in an observer seat that came out of the floor to the right of the nafalli.
“They call me Panloo. Your Captain discovered my application and since my sleep schedule was already disrupted I was put to work,” her big, deep green eyes seemed to twinkle, her smile came easily and her pink nose would twitch occasionally as she spoke. “I slept all the way from Burr Frimm until I caught my connecting transit, then I slept longer still. If there is something else you must do, I could do another entire shift.”
“If it's all the same I'd rather get to the controls early so the computer can keep running me through the system details. The more I know about this boat the better I'll feel about the Captain keeping me as his lead pilot.”
“You've served under this Captain before?”
“For a couple years, I was his pilot aboard the Samson, ” Ashley brimmed. “He trained me personally.”
“That must have been interesting.” Panloo checked their hyperspace status and locked the controls. “I've never been on a ship like this before. Even when there's nothing really happening we're all running through simulations and tutorials. It's so exciting.”
