“Where did you work before?”
“I've worked on the Thissilus. It was a-”
“Two hundred seventy thousand ton tug. Wow.” Ashley's eyes went wide. “We saw that pull a station into place all on its own when we were visiting Fuldo last year.”
Panloo nodded excitedly. “I was the primary on that job! I was supposed to take work on another tug in the Enreega system this week but you know what happened. When the Captain called for people to work here I couldn't resist. Such an adventure, I'll have so much to tell my family when I return home.”
“Have you ever done combat flying?”
“No, but these simulations are a very good teacher. I can't wait for my next shift.”
“You can run them when you're off duty and fly whatever you like.”
“Are you sure the Captain wouldn't mind? We don't have any way to engage in simulations in the upper berth.”
“You're still set up there?”
“Should I be somewhere else?”
“Security should be able to set you up with more permanent quarters. Are you staying long?”
“As long as the Captain will have me I think. I'm very happy to be here, my other jobs were very boring.”
“You do know who Captain is, right? What he does?” Ashley asked quietly.
“I do. Someone in the upper berth had a subscription to Hart News and we were watching his speeches and missions on holoprojectors. He's very good at what he does. I remember seeing you on a couple of them too! I should have recognized you, I'm sorry.”
Ashley laughed. She had met with nafalli before, the younger ones were generally very excitable and chatty. This one was particularly talkative, but she was interesting and pleasant. “I never do anything exciting in those. I'm normally hiding until the Captain tells me to take the controls or running back to the ship.”
“I saw the one where the Captain stormed a small bridge, and while people were still fighting you snuck up to the controls and started flying! That must have been so much fun!”
“It was terrifying to be honest. I try to avoid firefights whenever I can, I'd suggest you do the same,” Ashley said with a smile.
“You're right I suppose, but to come back alive and retell the story. That's something my people prize.”
“I'll tell it to you from my end sometime. Did anything interesting happen on watch?”
“The simulations were the most interesting part, I got to do a decelerating strafe while the deck crew simulated fighter launches. Did you know this ship could launch twenty eight fighters and a gunship at the same time? They drop out of ports in the bottom of the ship while the gunship launches from a main bay.”
“I had no idea. Do we have fighters?”
“I think I overheard them say we don't have any working, but there wasn't much time to chat.”
“Well, I'll take the pilot's seat. You should go see Stephanie in a few minutes. She'll set you up with quarters. I think the Captain is also making sure everyone has a vacsuit and a C amp;C module.”
“C and C module?”
Ashley held up her arm and tapped it so Panloo could see hers. “It's a Command and Control Unit, a computer with one or two small holoprojectors, lots of storage, a couple data interfaces and a two dimentional display.”
“Oh, that's much nicer than my old one.”
“It also makes vacsuits and other clothing with a materializer inside. You'll probably be able to make one once you get into your new quarters.”
“Thank you Ashley, I'll tell you where my quarters are as soon as I'm settled in.”
“You're welcome, enjoy your time off.” Ashley said with a smile as she looked over the ship's hyperspace profile and status. Her copilot was just starting to check in with the exhausted looking fellow he was replacing.
“It's like a city, or a space station in hyperspace, and it's getting better,” Price said to Stephanie from the command chair. She always wished she knew the traits of his race better, she found him so difficult to read. Most of them changed their shape to look more human so they could fit in more easily, but Agameg seemed to care less and less. She remembered when she was first getting to know him aboard the Samson. For the first few months no one even knew he was a shape shifter. He had a very plain default human male appearance he had gotten used to transforming into and used it whenever anyone was around, even in his sleep.
As he spent more time with the crew, got to know them, he used that guise less and less until he would occasionally imitate someone from the crew for fun. He was one of the most good natured people she had ever met, and on a ship that collected misfits and cast offs like a carcass attracts flies, it was difficult to find someone who had a genuinely good heart.
“How is it getting better?” she asked.
“The Captain has been assembling a chain of command, and people are starting to fall into place. Cynthia and Jane have found several security violations, and the brig has a few more people in it, but for the most part the crew are stepping into line and performing their duties. There are many military on board and some of the civilians are following their examples.”
“I'm sure offering everyone a C amp;C helped as well.”
“Only people with their own quarters were offered that privilege. I'm sure the Captain will have them distributed more widely after we've reached port. He expects anyone not tied to a post will be leaving the ship straight away. They're the only restless people aboard according to what I've seen last night. Everyone else has so much to do. The post they're working tells them what tasks they have to perform then they're free to participate in any of the ongoing simulations the Captain and Liam started.”
“Did the Captain sleep last night?”
“I don't know. He spent some time with me last night after the celebrating wound down. Then he went into his quarters until Jane ran into trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“The Captain wanted to tell you about that himself. He's in his ready quarters.”
“You'll be okay while I report?” Asked Stephanie.
“I can stand watch a while longer,” Agameg said with a nervous smile.
Stephanie braced herself as she made her way to the front of the bridge and waited for the door to open. It took a minute, but then the heavy arms pulled the armoured door out of the hatchway to admit her. Captain Valance was looking over an interior holographic scan of a skull. “You're early.”
“So's Ashley, but she's enjoying her new post.”
“And you?”
“I'm pretty sure I'll be happy to work security here.”
“You mean run security. Have a seat Stephanie.”
She sat down in the center chair in front of his desk.
“I'm trying to organize the crew into a military style hierarchy. There have been a few fights and some confusion, so it's necessary. We need order aboard, especially since it looks like we'll be taking on at least another six hundred volunteers when we arrive in port. That head hunter idea you sent me is working out. Almost all the civilians are disembarking and all the military are remaining aboard. They're falling in line well enough, but you'll have to start selecting specific teams and getting to know the people at the top.”
“How many infantry and security specialists do you think we're getting?”
“About a quarter of the volunteers would fit in with your people and won't be used on the gunnery deck.”
Stephanie found herself smiling. “I hope Jane is ready to work with me on this.”
Captain Valance's expression darkened. “She was killed last night.”
“What happened?”
“The night watch picked up a series of encrypted transmission bursts coming from the aft section. Someone had actually gotten our main communications suite working properly without authorization. We still haven't figured out what they were sending, but when Jane Eccleston reported to investigate they tripped an antipersonnel mine. She and her squad were killed instantly. I managed to track down the woman who was behind it, but she killed herself before I could get any useful information.”
