A Starship Called Starsong

Chapter 7

I was just finishing up a light bit of routine work in the Cargo Bay when a ticket flashed onto my Analyzer's screen with an orange light. I glanced up at Mack, who was whistling a cheerful tune while using the degreaser on the cargo crane's steel tracks. I spoke loudly, "Hey Mack, the heating table in the Officer's dining area went out. They need it fixed ASAP. I don't see Steve online, and I don't have access to that area."

Steve was a slow riser and usually didn't show up for another half hour, but keeping the Officers happy kept Steve happy, which was an important detail since his best friend was my Overseer.

Mack called down, "Steve is still in the Medical Bay. I have to continue working on this, but I will contact one of the Officers to give you access to that dining area."

I had not been aware that Steve was still in the Medical Bay. "Is Steve okay?"

"He hit his head and has a bit of a concussion, so they are keeping him there for a while longer."

"Okay. Mind if I pop by on my way there and leave him a get-well card?" He was either seriously injured or the Medical Bay had no other patients. Those medics liked to dote on people, and it was a pretty good bet that Steve was milking it for everything he could. The card was a good excuse to check if he was going to be 'incapacitated' for just a day or an entire week.

"Sure. Tell him that I will come visit him once I finish this, but it will take me almost all day."

"I will let him know. If he has his communication device, you two can probably still talk as you work. I think I know how to establish a live link, but it won't last more than a day."

He looked at me in surprise. "You know how to set up a live link? I tried setting it up before, but never managed it. I will leave my line open, so you can give it a shot. It will probably be a relief for him to have someone to talk to."

"I will try, and if it doesn't work, I will let you know."

A live link was close to a true telephone call, not like the communication device's usual transmissions where it recorded everything before sending it. A communication device allowed you to stop a transmission before it was sent, which was a great feature, but it wasn't good for long idle conversations.

Live links were not encouraged on spaceships during work shifts, but that rule was not enforced on this ship, so it was just the difficulty of setting up the live link that prevented most people from even attempting it.

I jogged down the corridor, being careful at intersections so I didn't bump into anyone. The Cargo Bay really was a long ways away from most areas on the ship and walking always seemed to take too long.

I slowed as I entered the Medical Bay. A lady in a white medical uniform smiled as she greeted me, "Good morning! How are you doing today?"

I ignored the faint pressure at the front of my head. "I am doing well, thank you. I just dropped by to see Steve."

"Certainly, he is awake right now. He is in room one."

Room one for a concussion that occurred two days ago... Oh yeah, they must be bored. Steve looked up as I stood tentatively in the open doorway and greeted me fairly merrily, "Hi Rookie, fancy seeing you here. What did you break?"

I ignored the name that he had picked up from Mack. The day I left, chances were that they wouldn't even remember my name unless they saw it on the tickets I had closed.

They didn't even have the scanners monitoring him, which was a clear sign that the medics were allowing him to stay here just to keep them from going crazy with boredom. "Mack asked me to drop off this get-well card until he can drop by. He has to regrease the crane's tracks, so he won't be in for some time. He also asked me to see if I can establish a live link between your communication devices if you feel up for idle talk."