Starship Walker

The Pirate

"Mr Rubilio! Shut off all feeds to the ship's information channels! Announce a technical problem!"

"Yes, Captain."

"Mr Berry! If you continue, you will be guilty not only of disobeying a lawful order, but of a piratical act! Do you understand?"

She listened, was silent for a moment, then replied, "No." Her voice was puzzled, its pitch even higher.

"Mr Berry, we all appreciate that you've had a difficult and stressful experience during the wall passage. You are exhausted and you appear to be delirious. We've reached the edge of the wall and the ship is safe, thanks to you. We will now continue our journey back into the local bubble in the normal fashion. But first, please stop, take off your mask, rest, rejoin us and recover."

"What's this 'wall'?" she asked, her voice irritated.

"Why don't we just pull her off the stage?" an irritated voice whispered.

"Don't try it!" Her voice was full of menace.

"Just disconnect her!"

 "She seems to have grabbed the system off us! Wherever she is in the ship, Gillian's still at the ship's helm as long as she's in her Walk Suit. We can't disconnect her!"

Someone whispered, "What's wrong with her speech? She sounds almost like a three year or four-year old child!"

A more gentle voice spoke. "Gillian, this is Doctor Morris. You were navigating a passage thought the wall to get us back to the local bubble. Do you remember?"

"Of course I remember the passage. But it isn't a wall!"

 "Gillian, try to recall where you are and what you're supposed to be doing. You were piloting the ship through a wall of macro-quantum objects."

She was still irritated. "It's not a wall, you idiots!"

"Well, what is it?"

"It's a vent blade - a fan! There are hundreds of them. They keep the bubble clear." She made an effort to talk slowly and clearly. She tried to be patient with them, but she was edgy and irascible. She was in a hurry.

"Dr Morris! What's wrong with her?"

"According to these readings, she's asleep. She's sleep walking!"

"I don't believe it! She's clearly had a breakdown of some sort. She's psychotic!"

"No, really, Gillian is asleep!"

She was irritated. "Nonsense! I'm wide-awake. And you've just taken your ship through a galactic ventilation mechanism. It could have done significant damage. It was foolish and irresponsible!"

"What is she talking about? The girl's delusional."

A new voice spoke. "How many more of these things exist, Gillian?"

She forced herself to be patient. "As I said, there are hundreds of them!"

"Where are they?"

"Here are four examples." She gave several sets of galactic coordinates, speaking slowly, as if in her child's voice she was talking to simpletons.

"Mr Rogers, examine those locations, would you?"

"Yes, Captain."

The little girl's voice announced,  "Now that we're safely back in the bubble, in a few minutes, I'm going to take us on three big jumps. I'll have us home in half an hour!"

"Captain! The woman is psychotic. She shouldn't be at the helm of the ship. You should disconnect her and drag her from that stage!"

"We can't do that, Mr McWhirter. She's taken control of the ship's systems. She can Walk from any location. The stage is just a convenience."