A Starship Called Starsong

Chapter 35

I watched the main display with a faint frown as the last of the refugees came out of the small space shuttles. All three shuttles were small enough to fit in the loading bay with room to spare, and we had just re-pressurized the room again after their last round trip.

'I assume the life support area has already noted that we will be using more oxygen crystals?'

"Yes. They have already taken our new guests into account for all of the life support systems. We have enough oxygen crystals for months, even if we count this bunch into that calculation."

Most spaceships carried far more oxygen crystals than they would need and had them stored in several storage areas in case a hull breach made some stockpiles inaccessible.

I wasn't sure why I wasn't entirely thrilled to have this group on board even if I did want to help them. Protocol kept me on the Bridge at the moment, leaving the tasks of helping the newcomers to the crew, but part of me didn't really want to meet them anyway.

"They aren't yours." Starsong's soft words rang true in my heart and in my mind.

I exhaled slowly as I continued to watch the live feed. They weren't part of my crew – and truth be told, I didn't really want them on the Starship. I wasn't too sure why their presence bothered me so, but it did. Like strangers at the docking stations, they didn't belong on board.

The crew on board were my responsibility, and the efforts I had gone through to have them somewhat relaxed in my presence had turned the 103 crew members into something closer to friends.

I was more than happy to mingle with my crew and visit them. I had about as much desire to meet these refugees as I did when I was supposed to meet the docking station staff right after docking. It was something I would have preferred to avoid.

'You are limiting where these people can go, right?'

"The Stewardship Officer has already informed them that they are restricted to common areas on levels 16, 17, and 18. We have put them in the empty assistant rooms on levels 16 and 17."

I sighed faintly. "Only two days until we reach the next planet with a docking station, correct?"

The Navigations Officer replied, "Yes. We are already reaching traveling velocity, and I have our target speed set a bit faster than usual. We may hit some turbulence due to the speed, but I will keep an eye out for any larger solar winds and slow down for them."

Apparently, I wasn't the only one who wanted to bid our guests farewell sooner rather than later...

       I eventually got to my feet. I had to meet with the leader of our refugees regardless of how much I didn't want to. "Which level is the leader on currently?"

The Communications Officer frowned slightly at his screen. "Without some sort of communication device or tracking chip, I cannot tell which of the untracked bio-signatures on those three floors belongs to which individual. Let me check the cameras and see if I can locate him."

Starsong's voice came over the speaker. "The leader is in the dining area."

I glanced up as I headed for the door. "Thanks, Starsong."

"You're welcome. I will add a new training module to the Officers' Guides so they can track independents on the ship.

I passed through the door, and it closed behind me, saving me from having to comment. I walked down the empty corridor on my way to the elevator. I sighed heavily before exiting the elevator on level eighteen.