“Nathan,” Cameron began. “If we’re going to get through this, we’re going to have to get organized, we’re going to need a proper chain of command. And I hate to admit it, but we’re also going to need help, and lots of it.”

“You’re talking about Jalea and company, right?” Cameron just nodded. “I don’t know, Cam. I’m starting to think you might have been right about them after all.”

“Well, until we find somebody else…”

“…Better the devil you know, huh?” Nathan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Who all knows about this?”

“Only the bridge crew,” Cameron assured him.

“Not Jalea?”

“No, she was in here with you when we figured it out.”

“Good, let’s keep it that way. In fact, let’s not tell anybody just yet. I’ll figure out when to tell the crew.” Nathan rose slowly from his seat as if standing tall to face the new challenge. “Very well. Doctor Sorenson. If you could devote all your attention to keeping the jump drive operational, it would be greatly appreciated. Until we find a way to get our FTL systems functional, that prototype of yours is our only way to get around.”

“Yes, Captain,” Abigail answered.

“And if you can find the time, I wouldn’t mind if you did a little research into possibly increasing the range of that prototype.” Abigail nodded her agreement.

“Ensign Taylor,” he said, addressing Cameron in a more formal tone than usual. “I’m going to need a full damage assessment, as well as a proposal for a working crew roster as soon as possible. You’ll have to prioritize positions, and maybe even retrain a few people. But one way or another, we need to be able to fly, and maybe even fight with this ship. It looks like the Aurora is going to be our home for a bit longer than we expected.”

“Yes Sir,” Cameron acknowledged. Despite the fact the she had never thought Nathan was fit to be in command of anything, let alone the entire ship, she was happy that he was stepping up to the challenge.

“And one last thing, I’m going to need to meet with Jalea and Marak as soon as possible. And make sure Jessica is here as well,” he added as he sat back down.

“Yes Sir!” Cameron stood at attention as Abigail left the room, raising her hand in salute. After a moment, Nathan looked back up at her. “Oh please,” he protested as he returned the salute. “Dismissed.”

Jessica entered the captain’s ready room, assuming a slightly relaxed stance in front of the Nathan’s desk. “You wanted to see me, Sir?”

“Yeah, I’m afraid the situation has changed somewhat.”

“How so?”

“You might want to sit down, Jessica,” he warned her. Nathan rose from his seat and walked around to the front of his desk, sitting on its edge in the same manner as Captain Roberts had always done. “It seems we’re a bit farther away from Earth than we originally thought.”

“How far?” she asked suspiciously.

“About a thousand light years.”

“No fuckin’ way,” she responded without thinking, quickly adding an embarrassed “Sir.”

“Yeah, that was my reaction too.”

“How the hell are we gonna get home?”

“We don’t know yet, we’re working on it. But it could take some time. So we’re going to need to start making friends out here. We’re gonna need help, and lots of it. At least until we get the ship up to snuff. So I’m gonna need you to handle intelligence as well as ship’s security. You up to it?”

“Hell yes, Sir.”

Nathan noticed she was grinning more than expected, considering the news. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. I was just thinking about how when I first got assigned to this ship, I thought it was going to be a boring tour of duty.”

“Funny, that’s exactly what I was hoping it would be,” Nathan chuckled.

“Then I guess we were both wrong.”

“Listen, Jess. In a few minutes we’re going to be meeting with Jalea and Marak. I’m gonna need to negotiate some kind of an arrangement with them. We need a safe harbor to make repairs, and right now they’re our only option.”

“I’d advise proceeding with caution, sir. I’ve got a hunch there’s more going on with these people than they’re telling us.”

“Yeah, I got the same feeling,” he said, remembering his last conversation with Jalea. “I can’t tell if they’re revolutionaries or terrorists.”

“Exactly. So don’t give them any more information than necessary. The less they know about us and our situation, the weaker their position.”

“Makes sense. Anything else?”

“And watch what you say around them. I’m pretty sure Jalea speaks our language a lot better than she lets on. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if they all speak Angla for that matter.”

Nathan had already realized that Jalea spoke English better than he had originally thought. But he hadn’t considered the possibility that the others spoke it as well. “You’ve got a suspicious mind, Jessica,” he complimented her.

“It helps when you’re in spec-ops.”

The comm beeped twice, and Nathan pressed the button to answer. “Yes?”

“Jalea and Marak are here, Captain,” the communication officer reported over the comm.

“Send them in.” Nathan got up and went back behind his desk, Jessica rising to stand beside him as their guests entered the room.

Jalea entered, looking more poised and confident than she had since he last spoke with her. Marak was close behind, the difference in him being that he was a little more unkempt after several hours working on damaged engineering systems. Nathan noticed Marak’s appearance and chose to use it as his opening.

“Looks like you’ve been hard at work, Marak. How is it going in Engineering?”

Jalea translated Nathan’s words to Marak. Nathan wondered if Marak really didn’t speak English, or if they were just keeping up a front. If they were, then they obviously were not ready to reveal that fact just yet, so Nathan would have to cautiously play along.

“Marak says that everything is going well. And that your chief engineer is a very clever man.”

“Yes he is. Please, have a seat?” Nathan waited for his guests to sit down before taking his seat. Jessica remained standing, leaning slightly against the counter behind her.

“What may we do for you, Captain?” Jalea was again speaking far better English than before, apparently feeling that the charade was no longer required. And her sudden improvement did not go unnoticed by Jessica.

“Your English has improved, Jalea,” Nathan commented. He wanted her to know that her sudden improvement had not gone unnoticed.

“It is all coming back to me now,” she lied, a polite smile on her face. Nathan had a feeling that she was probably very good at deception, especially with her hypnotic eyes. Nathan wondered if she had been chosen for this assignment specifically because of her unique attributes. He wondered if she had abruptly changed her personality after realizing that playing the beautiful, demure widow with broken English wasn’t going to get her what she wanted. Yet in this role, she was just as convincing, if not more so.

“I’m sure it is.” Nathan thought for a moment, unsure of what to say next. He could dance around the issue, as Jessica had suggested, or he could come clean and lay his cards out on the table. Keeping in his usual character, he chose the latter.

“Look, I’m not going to waste your time dancing around the table here. The fact is, we are a long way from home, and our ship is in need of repair. We need a place to hide out for a while. A safe port, if you will, where we can make repairs, and maybe pickup some supplies as well. Once that’s done, we plan on returning to Earth as quickly as possible. So my question is, what do you require from us in exchange?”

Jalea was still translating Nathan’s question to Marak as Nathan finished. He looked over to Jessica, who was glaring at him, obviously not happy with his straight-forward negotiating tactics. Jalea finished her discussion with Marak and then returned her attention to Nathan.

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