Four of them were just keeping out of the way, watching everyone go by. The other two were giving directions, as easy going as anything. Things are under control, people feel safe. It hasn't even been five days I don't think.”
“You're right, things have gotten better and it looks like they'll keep on improving.”
“That's more like it,” Ashley said as she leaned her elbows on the rail and put her chin down on her hands. “Now I just have to figure out how to get Finn put back together.”
“Captain hasn't forgotten him. I caught him looking at using whatever tech is inside him to help. That framework system. We don't have anyone aboard who can figure it out though.”
“How can we have so many people aboard without one real doctor? I mean Grace is good, but she's the first to tell everyone she's not fully qualified.”
“It's the luck of the Samson. We got by on emergency nanos and automatic diagnostic and medication machines most of the time. I'm sure Captain will get us to port so we can get him help.”
“I know, it's just hard knowing he's stowed away.”
“You really liked him.”
“I don't know Steph. I think I was bouncing out of my thing with Silver.”
“Finn wouldn't toss you like Silver did.”
“I know, he's so nice.”
“Did you say something about not finding a doctor on board?” Asked a salt and pepper haired woman from behind. She was wearing a loose skirt and high, sleeved corset top. “There's one in habitation here. He saved Gerry when an AI tried to dose him to death.”
Ashley's eyes went wide. “Where is he?”
“He's on the second level, just over there,” she pointed to an apartment door across the way. “Probably still asleep though, we were all up late last night. He's called Doctor Eugene Marsters.”
“I'm going to leave him a message,” Ashley stated as she looked him up on her command and control unit.
“You are?” Stephanie asked.
“I'm Linda,” the woman nodded. “I have to be going, my husband should be up soon.”
“Thank you Linda,” Stephanie said, taking her hand and shaking it briefly. “What do you and your husband do?”
“We're astrophysicists. I'm wondering if you could do us a favour?”
“What can I do?” Stephanie asked.
“This ship has a long range sensor array, do you think we could get access to it sometime?”
“I'll talk to the Captain. I'm sure he'll give you time with it once things calm down a bit. I'm Chief Vega, by the way.”
“I know, the hologram of you saving Gunnery Chief Frost is out, everyone saw it.”
Stephanie was surprised but smiled after a moment. “I haven't seen it.”
“Most people are pretty impressed, I just like having guards around who don't interfere with anything we're doing. Some have stayed behind to help after their shifts. Keep it up,” Linda said before moving off.
Ashley finished sending her message and checked the time. “I have to be on the bridge in fifteen,” she looked excited, like she could break into dance at any second.
“Think you could concentrate while waiting for the Doc to get back to you?”
“I'll have to, I have a whole shift ahead of me. Oh God I hope he can help.”
“I hope so too. Everyone liked Finn,” Stephanie agreed. “Just take it easy if he gets put back together again, take it slow. You don't want to rebound off this one.”
Ashley bounced on her heels and nodded. “Yup. I gotta go,” she hugged Stephanie briefly and they both set off for the forward lift.
The Tour
Captain Valance walked through Hangar One looking at the piles of big and small parts. The largest of which was the majority portion of a two hundred ninety meter long hauler that looked like it had been torn apart on one rear quarter when its hyperspace emitters failed. It was a good pick for salvage, if that's what he were interested in, but there was an oppressively foul smell coming from it. They never bothered to remove the dead. He shook his head and moved on. What kind of ship was Wheeler running? He asked himself, not for the first time.
The sitting room in the Captain's quarters was a wreck. He had to seal it during the gathering the night before so no one could see it. There were bottles everywhere, even a broken one that looked like it had been stepped on. Old clothes, a half disassembled small engine of some kind, entertainment cards, a game board torn in half, and other oddities were strewn across the stained and disused furniture. He couldn't wait until Liam could make time to get a team working on bringing the cleaning and general maintenance bots back on line. He'd set a pair of them onto the official Captain's quarters and just walk away for a week.
Not a priority. He thought to himself as he looked at three fighters piled in a pyramid. The top one was turned upside down so its cockpit canopy was squeezed between the two on the bottom. So many things still aren't a priority. The ship's calming down, smaller grievances will start crossing my command panel, and I'll be saying that more and more. I can hear myself now; 'I'm sorry ma'am, strawberries from the materializer will never taste like the real thing, I can't spare maintenance people to recalibrate your unit. Again, it's just not a priority.'
Assistant Deck Chief Paula Mendle came through one of the double doors leading to the hanger to hanger walkway. “Good morning Captain, you shouldn't be here. It isn't safe,” she said with finality.
“I want this entire deck cleared today,” he ordered, ignoring her comment. Her tone was a constant source of irritation.
“I'll have to find out what the Chief's plans are first,” she rebutted.
“Do you have Hanger Two set for a few ships to land?”
“We have five hundred square meters sir.”
“How big is the entry?”
“Just over twenty.”
“Not enough, I want everything that doesn't start as is pushed out into space or into a mass recycler by the end of the day. Everything you keep must be stowed at the back of the hangar or in long term storage.”
“The mass recycler on this flight deck doesn't work,” Paula contested, putting her hands on her hips.
“Then it all goes, set it adrift and if we need the raw materials for recycling drag parts back in,” Captain Valance answered, turning towards her. They faced off, looking down a roughly cleared aisle between the waste parts and hulks of ships. “That's an order, Assistant Chief.”
“Chief Vercelli won't like it,” she said with a scowl.
“Then he can make his concerns known to me. Do we have a problem?”
Paula just scowled at him.
“Speak freely, because at this point I'm wondering if we shouldn't leave you out at the next port. Anyone who doesn't pay attention to what's going on, doesn't listen, is dangerous.”
“Where do you get off telling us how to run a flight deck? How to keep a hangar?”
“No need to answer that sir, I'll take care of this,” Angelo said from the walkway doors.
“I want him to answer. A week ago we were serving on a deck that knew what to do with us. Just left us to do our work the right way,” Paula shouted at him. “Now we're here, and he thinks he knows everything.”
“You're wrong. The Captain here expects me to make the right decisions, asks me about why I go about things a certain way all the time, but when he gives an order it's for a reason, it's for the good of the entire ship. How convenient it is for us doesn't make a difference,” Angelo answered in a mild tone.
“He's right, Assistant Chief. There's another reason why you should just take my order as law, aside from the fact that I'm your Captain. Sometimes you don't get to know why an order's given, you don't have the rank to find out and it's even better at times that you don't ever learn more than you have to.”
“This isn't a military ship! We deserve to know what's going on, we're all volunteers! Or at least we may as well be for the chump fodder we're getting paid!”
“If that's the way you're thinking, then find an emergency shuttle with a hyperdrive and get off my deck,” Captain Valance said flatly. “If you haven't noticed, everyone here, even the civilians, know this ship is out here to fight Regent Galactic, maybe even the Eden Fleet, and they're doing their part. The few who aren't in line are squared away in the brig.”
“We're just one ship, what's the point?” Paula asked, looking from Angelo to the Captain.
