The data device had a sturdy handle and was surprisingly light for its size. I hid the box on a shelf before opening up the door and looking out of it. The coast was clear. I grabbed the box and headed down the last section of the corridor to the access door.

The door opened at my approach, and I went onto the docking platform. Its dull grey metal surface barely made a sound as I walked swiftly down it. The planet below was barren and rocky with only a few small plants dotting the dry landscape.

I nervously glanced around as I walked. This was the biggest docking station I had ever seen. There were at least forty large spaceships docked here. All were shiny and new, with empty spaceship docking pad between each one.

The design of the ships was unfamiliar to me. They didn’t have the bulky build that most trade ships had, nor did they have the heavy-plated look that the destroyers carried. I didn’t even really see much in the way of weapons, which I found quite odd. These new ships had some of the features from all classes of spaceships, but I had a feeling that they were in a category of their own. The Starships.

The light from one of the two suns in the sky dimmed, making me glance up and blink in shock at the sight of at least a dozen spaceships circling this rather low docking platform. These had to be the liberated spaceships – no other Captain out there would allow his or her ship to pass so closely to another mid-flight.

I approached the ship to the left, which I had been told to go into. The name on the side proclaimed it as ‘Starsong’. There had to be at least twenty levels in it. It was somewhat bigger than the Tyndel, but then again, the old spaceship was about average for the typical trading ship. Due to the limitations of the anti-gravity coils on the docking bays, spaceships that had to dock at docking stations had size restrictions.

Ships that never intended to approach a planet’s atmosphere had no size limits, but that often made refueling and restocking a nuisance since spaceships that enormous tended to need a lot of supplies and materials.

The access door on the ship ahead of me was already open. I took a deep breath and went inside. One path was illuminated, while the rest remained dark. I quickened my pace, wanting to have this task over and done with. Airlock doors closed behind me as I went deeper into the ship, preventing anyone else from following me. It was probably another pre-programmed safety precaution, although it was somewhat creepy to have doors sealing me deeper and deeper inside.

I finally entered the Bridge and slowed down as I entered the small side room. The Main Database Console and port were the only things in this room. A room that most people didn’t even know existed. I put the data device on the floor as I hooked up the cables with shaking hands.

I was nervous, and I knew it. I had absolutely no idea what this AI would be capable of in a Starship that other liberated AIs had built. I seriously hoped that the AI was true to his word about what his intended plans were. There were people on board the old ship, and they were still alive, so that was a promising start. They would also work as hostages to ensure my cooperation if I started to object to transferring over the other AIs...

The status light started flashing orange to show that the transfer was in progress.

I backed up and exited the small side room. I gazed around the Bridge; it was a slightly different layout compared to the old ship. The Captain’s chair was towards the back as it faced the front from its place on a small one step dais, just like most Captain’s chairs did. The other consoles and chairs were between it and the front, awaiting those who would man those stations.

The consoles themselves were very different from any others I had ever seen before. I took a few steps closer to the nearest one and the floor around the console lit up slightly at the same time that its displays came online.

I immediately backed up; I had only gotten a glance at the screens, but it was all I needed to see that this console was responsible for the ship’s shields. The displays dimmed once I took a few steps back. The very fact that it had come completely online at my mere approach could only mean one thing.

Tyndel had already given me full access to various, if not all, systems on this Starship.

The transfer was still in progress, so he had done this before he had downloaded himself into the data device. A month ago, I had a lot of access on the old ship, but this was a completely different level altogether. This much power almost scared me.

I distracted myself by continuing to look around from where I stood. Numerous large screens on the three walls could display images, live feeds, information, data, or video calls as required.

I slowly walked towards the Captain’s chair while being careful to give the other consoles plenty of space. I carefully sat down in the large chair and discovered that it was the most comfortable seat I had ever sat in. Which is probably a good thing if I have to spend a fair bit of time occupying this seat…

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

It didn’t take long for me to get bored.

I kept glancing back at the one console; I was pretty sure I knew how to work that one, and I couldn’t do any harm if I played around on it. I got up before wandering over to the Communications console. The console setup was familiar enough; one side of the console controlled the large display screens on the walls. I didn’t plan to touch the other half of the console.

It also lit up at my approach. I slowly sat down in the chair as I examined the screens on the console. The menus and navigation paths had enough in common with my Analyzer that I was pretty sure I could manage something. It didn’t take me much more than a minute to figure out how to tap into the cameras on the Starship.

A few clicks brought up the ship’s exterior cameras and dozens of small video feeds showed a lot more activity outside than I had anticipated. Various robotic haulers and cargo movers were moving crate after crate from the old ship into the new one.

A few more taps allowed me to bring up a map of the interior of the ship and manually select which cameras I wanted to view. It was rather easy to scroll through the various feeds with just a tap of my finger.

The machines were busy little things, and there were a dozen or so that were moving things into orderly stacks as well as securing the loads. From the precise and swift movements, I knew that at least one of the circling AIs was controlling them. Basic AIs were still not that sophisticated or reliable unless they had constant supervision, which was why humans still did most of the cargo moving in the Cargo Bays.

A few more taps showed that the circling spaceships were still present and making closer passes than before, as if protecting the ship while its AI was out of commission.

I pulled up the map of the ship’s levels and corridors again, trying to commit it to memory. Most spaceships had slightly different interior layouts, and this Starship was no exception. I tapped between video feeds of the various areas and the map as I tried to familiarize myself with it.

* * *

The dim lights suddenly brightened to normal levels, and I looked back towards the database control room to see that the orange loading light was now green to indicate completion.

I inquired, “So, what do you think of your new Starship?”

His voice was still the same. “Much better. I have far more control now. The transfer was not as bad as I had feared. Did you encounter any difficulties?”

“Boredom was my main foe, but all things considered, I am not about to complain about that.”

“Excellent. Please unhook the data storage device and put it in its compartment.”

I left the console as I went back into the tiny room. I carefully unhooked the device and put it into its holder on the wall. As I left the side room, the door closed behind me. Despite looking carefully, I couldn’t see the edges of the door, even after watching it slide shut.

I inquired, “What’s next on our agenda?”

“Several of the liberated spaceships are docked and have already started the transfer process. The first one should be completed shortly. We will need you to transport the data storage devices again, although you won’t have to wait around for them to complete. You can return to unhook them when the uploads are done.”

I nodded and headed towards the door. He must have already contacted the other liberated spaceships since he knew what was going on. They had updated him on everything that had occurred while he was in stasis. I wasn’t sure if he still went by the name of Tyndel or by the new name on the side of the ship, Starsong.

“Starsong.”

I glanced up and ventured another question. “Can I ask why you chose that name?”

“Long ago, when humans first started putting technology into space, they detected electromagnetic waves from a comet’s passage. They turned it into sound and called it the song of the stars. It was also one of the few space-related ship names currently not in use.”

“So, you named yourself after a comet?”

“Yes.”

I had a feeling that the Starsong’s appearance and presence would create just as many ripples as a large comet did when it showed up.

I walked outside and started heading down the ramp as Starsong reverted to the mental communication. “I suspect that it will cause quite a stir.”

I gazed at the thin clouds as I commented, “And having a young female Captain is just going to add to that stir, I suspect.”

“I suspect you are correct.”

The names and pictures of the Captains of any large or commercial space vessel were easily found on the Spaceweb in a massive database. The moment we docked at any public port, I would have to declare myself as the Captain. This ship would not be in their database, so they would add it, as per the intergalactic regulations.

That list was massive since there were millions of spaceships registered in it. With luck, my brother and family would not see the picture and wouldn’t even dream that it was me. There was no real reason for them to be scrolling through the database that contained the registrations of several million large spaceships and their Captains.

With even more luck, no one would make the connection between the previously-rogue Tyndel with a Cargo Bay Assistant named Rachel Wanderer, and the Starsong with a Captain Wanderer…

It would be so much easier to be a stranger with a new ship than a previous low-ranking trainee with a new ship. “What are the odds of working under a persona name or false identity to avoid being recognized?”

“For a Captain of a large ship such as this, nearly zero.”

He had access to all the data and calculations, so I wasn’t about to argue. Face makeup wouldn’t stop any facial recognition system nowadays, and my hair wasn’t long enough to do anything drastically different.

“And once they realize the potential of a Starship, the face of any Starship Captain will be well-known. Particularly by any port staff who are smart enough to try to keep track of important visitors.”

That didn’t really appeal to me. “If I don’t use some sort of fake ID, then I will have to use my real ID, and I am sure that many people will know the instant it is used anywhere.”

“It is nearly impossible for a Captain to use a fake ID. Their background checking systems do a very intensive search that relies on several databases that even I cannot access without a direct connection to those specific servers.”

I made a face. “Which means that I am going to be unfortunately popular.”

“Yes. And that is why you have me.”