The display screen on the wall of the corridor showed a view of the docking station we had just arrived at. This was a decent-sized port on a big planet. We supposedly had 58 new crew members that would show up this evening. All seven current crew members had agreed to show the newcomers around as they got settled in.

Most would be Overseers or Officers with a lot of experience under their belt and they met Starsong’s rather rigid qualification checks. At least half of those coming were married couples whose children had already grown up and left home. All that is left to be seen is if they will turn around and leave the second they see me.

That was a worry for later this afternoon though. We had almost finished docking, so I would be meeting the docking Overseer. Normally an assistant met the Captain of a trading vessel, but Starsong wouldn’t be in the interspace spaceship database yet so he had to be registered as a new ship.

Starsong had already booked and paid for two days in this docking space. Apparently, the original Captain of the Tyndel had stored a lot of astrogold in a hidden cubby in one of the rooms in the spaceship. That Captain had been struck by a fatal heart attack during ship-leave and no one else had known about the rather substantial hidden stash. No one had ever stumbled across the old hidden stockpile either. Starsong had sent one of the robots to collect it, and it now resided in our treasury instead.

“Docking is completed. One of the docking station Overseers is waiting at the base of the ramp.”

That explained the rather thin man with a digital clipboard in his hands who looked rather bored as he waited for me to make my appearance. Starsong had done the majority of the online paperwork, still proclaiming me as Captain. This man just needed to get a picture of the Captain and confirm a few details.

My outfit was in Starsong’s colors, a steel grey and a light cream color. Starsong was once more going with the original ideology that Captain were not supposed to separate themselves too much from the crew, lest they become arrogant and stuck-up, so my uniform was very similar to theirs.

I looked away from the display on the corridor wall and sighed before saying, “Let’s just get this over with. This day is going to be just one big series of meeting people who are not going to believe I am the Captain. I am not looking forward to it.”

The access door slid open, and I put a polite, yet professional, expression on as I stepped out onto the docking ramp. I walked steadily down it as if I didn’t have a problem in the world. The friendly, approachable, and easygoing nature that I planned on using with my crew was not to be seen now.

The man looked me over as I got within speaking range. He said, “This ship is still unregistered. I require the Captain’s presence.” He tapped his screen. “A Captain Wanderer, according to the form.”

I held out my ID card, and he took it in scepticism. He examined it and glanced at me to ensure the faces matched. “You are a Captain?”

The doubt that laced his words made me narrow my eyes as the challenge in his voice roused the rebellious side of my personality and made me want to confront this man. “Yes. Is there a problem?”

The edge on my words had been carefully calculated to make him realize that if I was a Captain, then he was coming rather close to breaching protocol.

He immediately stood straighter with the slight reprimand. “No, Captain. The rest of the paperwork is in order and matches this. I will require a photo of you, and then you are free to start any trading or other business.”

I nodded coolly, not bothering to reply. He tapped his screen before holding up the device for a few seconds, then lowering it. “There. Everything is in order. Have a good day, Captain.”

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“Thank you.”

He glanced between his computer and me a few times with a confused expression before walking away. I headed back up the ramp. I glanced back to see him staring at me again. The second he saw me looking, he walked hurriedly away. That was decidedly odd...

“The communication device of any Captain of a Starship looks very different if someone takes a picture of it. The indentations on yours will create a 3D effect that looks almost like a hologram of a real comet. Video and live feed will not show this.”

‘Okay... Why?’

“It will differentiate a Captain from a crew member. We also thought it would be an interesting detail just to make other people wonder.”

I was beginning to think that running an entire Starship was not giving him nearly enough to do.

* * *

The man and woman at the table were watching me with bland expressions, although I had caught their surprised looks earlier. The man printed a few pages of paper on a nearby printer and passed them to me. “Here are some items I have available and their values.”

Starsong had already told me that supply managers such as these would have several different sets of documents ready to test a Captain they hadn’t dealt with before. Most trades and deals were conducted through regular channels and handled by the procurement area, but setting up such agreements with specialized suppliers such as these was the job of the Captain. Setting up the first agreement also entailed some sort of purchase, with the items being chosen by the Captain.

I looked at the list of items they had in stock, the price they wanted, and what - supposedly - was the going rate. I knew the communication device on my uniform also had video and audio feed for Starsong. By the trade laws that governed the suppliers, a certain number or percentage of the prices they offered had to be listed below market value, although they did not have to tell me which ones were the good deals.

I pulled out a pen and started circling the handful of numbers on the going-rate column that were wildly over-inflated as Starsong listed them. I added a star beside the two good deals that were tucked into the list that spanned three pages.

I passed them back to the man and said, “I am interested in the two with stars. I advise you to have your assistant go over the circled numbers and do some research. I hope your next list is more accurate. What else do you have to offer?”

They both looked faintly surprised as the man took the list back. Most Captains only had a general idea of the going-rates since that was normally Procurement’s responsibility. The man would have purposely inflated the rates of some in hopes of making a good profit, although there was no way that I should have been able to pick them out so easily.

There was no way that I could have been relying on someone to relay information either, since accurately checking the going-rates across numerous planets on short notice was nearly impossible. Prices could fluctuate wildly from planet to planet and could further change if a ship sold a lot of that item recently. It also depended on which ports were on the ship’s itinerary.

The woman pulled a few pages out of her briefcase and passed them over. “I have a lot of fine jewels and rare spices.”

I looked at the list. The woman must have realized that I was more knowledgeable than someone my age should be since her list had more good deals and the over-inflated items were not nearly as inflated. Starsong’s processing capabilities were something only possible with technology built by Starships and an aware AI. He easily picked out the good deals and bad deals for the planets we were heading to.

At Starsong’s prompting, I muttered, “And since when is Falaway spice considered rare in this star system? It is easily cultivated on most planets in this district and should be on the common spice list.”

I shook my head and muttered too lowly for them to hear as I circled and starred several lines on the papers. I pointedly did not leave any mark near the Falaway spice. The woman shifted uneasily, surprised that I had picked out that detail. I suspected that very few ever caught the small detail - and certainly not without a lot of research.

Too bad for them that Starsong was out for the better end of this deal and wanted to prove the capability of his Captain. I was more than happy to play along, getting my own version of revenge for their earlier smug expressions and certainty that they were going to make an excellent profit.

I passed the papers back to the woman. I said, “Once more, I am interested in the starred items and I advise having someone look at the circled ones.”

She turned a bit red as she accepted the papers back with a quiet thank you. I stood up, “Thank you for your time, but I must get going as I have other matters that require my attention.”

In the end, it hadn’t been as bad as I had feared. In fact, it reminded me a lot of bartering with a quick-witted merchant in the common marketplace, which was something that I had enjoyed in the past. Perhaps there was a silver lining to this position...

They both shook my hand as they bid me farewell, looking much more humbled now.