A Starship Called Starsong

Chapter 28

I eventually left the viewing platform and walked back to the Starsong. The docking station staff would be watching me through the cameras, and I looked forward to getting out of their view.

I walked up the ramp, and the guard by the door nodded a welcome of return. Returning the nod, I went inside.

'Where is Romeo? I think I have to apologize for that last stunt...'

"On level twelve, in the plumbing control room 8B."

'Thanks.' I went off in search of the mini giant.

He wasn't hard to find since he was at a computer station going through training modules. He looked up as I entered and quickly stood up. "Captain, how can I help you?"

I smiled at him. "No need to stand on ceremony, Romeo. I just stopped by to apologize for not explaining what I had planned to do on the ground. I hope your trip up wasn't too bad."

He relaxed marginally. "There is no need to apologize. I did get up safe and sound."

My tone was dry, but my grin showed that it was in jest. "Yeah, but I know that I personally prefer to have more between my feet and the ground than a veil of light."

He chuckled and relaxed somewhat at my informal manner as he shook his head. "I can say that I felt the same. It was a neat trip, and I would do it again if it was needed, but it isn't something that I would do just for the fun of it."

"I really hope it isn't needed again, but I do appreciate your readiness for any task that you may be asked to undertake. On that note, how are you finding the training?"

His eyes lit up as he began talking about the training modules and practices that the lessons set up. It was clear that he was doing what he loved in this position.

Unanticipated rides into the sky notwithstanding...

        I visited for a while longer before leaving him to continue the module he had started. I wandered through the ship's corridors, but it was fairly quiet. Most of the day's work had been done and most were on ship-leave.

I eventually headed up to the Bridge. I had barely passed through the doors when Tanya greeted me, "Welcome back, Rachel."

I said, "Thank you, Tanya, and a huge thank you for helping me with that earlier fiasco as well."

She grinned. "No problem at all. The Starsong's cameras allowed us to zoom in and get a good close up of the activities. The look on the guards' faces was more than worth it." She turned to her console and tapped a few buttons, "Although, I have to admit that the tractor beam has garnered quite a bit of attention. It only happened an hour ago, but you should see some of what is being posted on the local spaceweb."

I slowly sat in my chair as she pulled up several pictures on the large display screens. There were only six pictures of me and the guards, but there were a dozen or so of Romeo and Benjamin taking their unanticipated trip skyward. Two pictures of me happened to show my communication device, and I now saw why Starsong had said that it stood out in photos. The comet looked real, just in miniature, as it seemingly hovered in front of my communication device.

Tanya spoke again, "There weren't many pictures since it happened pretty quickly and people weren't prepared. However, there are two videos, and one of them caught almost the entire thing."

A video popped up, shot from somewhere to the side of where we had been standing. It was very clear that the guard was deliberately delaying me. The person videotaping it had been close enough that our words came faintly over the screen.

I watched and grinned as the Bridge crew responded almost instantaneously to my call. The guards' expressions changed from taunting to stunned as the tractor beam appeared and whisked the two towards the loading bay door.

I commented, "I have to admit that it was pretty impressive how fast the three of you responded."

The Weapons Officer was technically in charge of the tractor beam, although most in this room had access to that function. He grinned smugly at me. "It was worth it just to wipe the smirks off of their faces."

I gazed at the pictures and video once more. "It made me feel better, although I think that there will be more fallout from this."

Tanya pulled up a few spaceweb pages showing the pictures and videos. "It is already spreading quickly. Most think it is just a hoax since there is supposedly no tractor beam technology that is capable of working in orbit. The other side of the coin is that all of the pictures and videos line up and came from at least a dozen different individuals of various backgrounds. Not to mention that quite a few people in the city saw the beam in the distance, even though it wasn't visible for more than a minute."

I sighed faintly. "Can you keep an eye on it? We are leaving port tomorrow morning, so things should halfway return to normal until we get to the next port."

"Certainly."

I took out my Guide and started scrolling through the status updates as I tried to keep on top of everything that was happening on the ship.

*        *        *

I had my hands behind my head as I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. I had hung a poster there, showing a nebula space scene that I had used as a computer background for as long as I could remember. It was about the size of my bed and very contemplative to look at.

My alarm clock hadn't gone off yet, but I had no desire to get up early. My eyes traced the faint green and blue clouds, the printing quality reminded me more of a glass window than a thick piece of paper.

'Are you in my head at this moment?'

Silence reigned.

'I'll take that as a no...'

I knew that Starsong knew I was awake. I also knew that as soon as I left my private quarters, or if I started working, that he would once more be listening to my thoughts. As the Captain, I was never really off-duty, so he was listening to my thoughts most of the time.

I considered it once more, but having him listen to my thoughts really didn't bother me anymore. He wasn't human, regardless of how much he sounded like one at times. He wouldn't gossip or spread tales with what he heard.

He offered advice and knowledge wherever it might be needed, and commented upon anything that he thought I needed to know. He beat my old Analyzer by so many light-years that it wasn't even funny. I still remembered how to use the Analyzer, but its reports seemed stilted and inferior after listening to Starsong for so long.

I exhaled slowly as I realized that I had started counting Starsong as a friend. It had been a month since he had almost killed me, and two weeks since he had started speaking with me regularly.

His support had been unfailing since. He had hauled me out of some tight situations and negotiations, with us always coming out on top. He had guided me through an interrogation with a lie detector, through negotiations with suppliers and traders, and so much more.

He was actually doing most of the work, as he had promised. I tended to play the part of liaison or mediator as I relayed information or touched base with people so they knew that they were 'part of a bigger team'. Outside of the ship, I pretended I was the Captain while relying on his advice and guidance.

Acting as Captain for two weeks had changed me, and I highly doubted that it would be easy to reverse even after so short a time. I no longer just concentrated on my tiny area and ignored everything else. My mind was already used to looking at the bigger picture and how groups interacted, something that had previously not been wise for a junior assistant.

There was no way to simply leave the ship and start over again as a simple assistant. I was in this for the long haul - and I knew it.

At the moment, I planned to ignore the fact that there were undoubtedly people out there who wouldn't mind strapping me to a chair for questioning. You couldn't exactly plan for something if you didn't know any details. I would undoubtedly once more be relying on Starsong whenever those people decided to put in an appearance.