My new interrogator looked at the man beside the lie detector and asked, “Is everything set up and ready to go?”
The tech nodded submissively. “Yes, Sir.”
“Excellent.” He turned to face me. “You are the Captain of the Starsong?”
“Yes.”
He glanced at the displays and seemed disappointed that they barely shifted. “I fail to see how you became Captain. There is no way someone in your previous position could afford to even lease a spaceship for a day. We did check, but there are no reports of stolen spacecraft that match the description of the Starsong.”
How dare he insinuate that I am a thief! He watched as the anger and indignation flashed in my eyes. However, I wasn’t about to let my temper get the best of me and potentially make me slip up. It took some effort, but my voice was calm. “I am the Captain of the Starsong, and I did not steal the ship. Instead of making rash accusations, why don’t you ask questions instead?”
“Fine by me, what did I have for dinner yesterday?” His flippant voice was very condescending, and I immediately knew what he was doing. His scheme was quite obvious to me. He was trying to be a jerk in order to get me mad, probably in hopes that my mouth might run away with me, or that I might react violently – which would give him an excellent excuse to stick me in a holding cell.
Being calm and collected was going to ruffle this guy’s feathers a lot more than anything else. He may be trying to make me mad, but I suspected that it wouldn’t take much for me to kindle his already-smoldering temper.
I wasn’t about to fall into his trap; the best way out of this one was to play it cool. I mildly raised my eyebrow. “Be serious.”
He huffed and looked at his sheet of questions before staring at me once more. “What happened on the Tyndel? How are you now a Captain?”
I returned his gaze calmly as Starsong murmured some details into my mind. I hated to break it to my interrogator, but he really needed to take glaring lessons from my one university professor.
I said, “We had all been trying to escape, as I am sure the others who returned on the Tyndel have already told you. The emergency escape doors were locked, just as the airlock doors had been, so we couldn’t bail. The ship eventually docked on some planet – I don’t know the name or where it was – and there was another ship there. I was told by the one who had commissioned it that it was a gift, and he made me Captain.”
The man looked skeptical. “He made a Cargo Bay assistant a Captain?”
I shrugged lightly. “I will be honest. I spent hours arguing, but since it was the only way off that planet, I eventually accepted. Now I am just trying to do as good of a job as I can to keep my word.”
The man glared at the lie detector screen unhappily before jotting down some notes. He looked back up at me. “Who was this man?”
“Some questions are better left unasked, as any docking station Overseer will tell you. I deemed it wise not to inquire.”
He frowned, apparently recognizing the reference to the policy the five intergalactic companies used. He narrowed his eyes as he noticed that the lie detector had skipped slightly on my last sentence. He focused on me with intense scrutiny. “You deemed it wise not to inquire? Please elaborate on that for me.”
His suddenly smooth and composed voice showed that he thought he had found an opening, a way to unravel my story like a big ball of string. I continued to regard him calmly, although my heartrate had undoubtedly risen a bit. Starsong offered me some more information as I pretended to choose my words.
“Some lessons are harder learned in life than others. Sometimes what one wishes to say, and what should be said, are two very different things.”
He thought hard before speaking slowly, “And what things do you wish you might have said?”
“I believe that you will neither like, nor appreciate, my answer. Sometimes the truth is not a welcome thing.”
He attempted to look open and friendly. “I would really like to hear your answer.”
I kept a straight face. “Very well then. Your brand-name shoes are so obviously fake that I am simply amazed that you even contemplated wearing them in public.”
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It was clearly not the answer he had been looking for. He was so shocked that he was completely beyond words as he simply stared at me in disbelief. The man operating the lie detector suddenly became quite interested in the far wall, refusing to look at either of us.
“Brilliant.” There was no mistaking how entertaining Starsong was finding my interrogators’ reactions.
I tilted my head slightly to the side considerately. “And this is why I usually keep my thoughts to myself. Would you also like to hear my opinion on your fancy watch?”
“Ah, that won’t be necessary. I was actually more interested in your thoughts about the man who gave you the ship. I would like to hear any thoughts you have on that person.” He was trying to move on, but I was sure that my words would have somewhat insulted his pride, which wouldn’t have a flattering effect on his temper.
Well, he did ask for it... “His taste in fashion and accessories was definitely better than yours.”
The man clenched his jaw, but tried to contain his reaction since he was finally getting some details. “Oh? How so?”
“Well, they certainly couldn’t get any worse. I am not sure who hemmed your leggings, but I sure hope you didn’t pay for that quality of work.”
I had clearly struck a nerve, but the man showed remarkable restraint and managed to grit his next words out from between his teeth. “What did he look like?”
I tilted my head to the side as I replied, “You know... Now that you mention it... I never actually saw him. I only heard his voice.”
The lie detector was on my side, not that it helped the man’s fraying temper any. He demanded, “Then how did you know it was a man?”
I spoke truthfully. “I don’t really know. I assumed from his voice.”
“How can his clothing be better than mine if you didn’t see him?” Oh yeah, my words had definitely struck a nerve or two there. He must really pride himself on how he dressed.
“I didn’t say that I saw his clothing; I said that his taste in fashion is better. He is the one who designed the Starsong’s uniforms.”
I was pushing the man’s patience further than was probably wise. He took a deep breath as he reined in his anger once more. “Did he make you sign any paperwork?”
“No.”
“Did you see where he went?”
“I wasn’t outside for very long.”
“You are evading the question...” His temper was clearly fraying, likely making it harder for him to concentrate, but he still caught my evasive response.
I frowned slightly at him. “I did not see him walk away.”
“Have you ever seen that man before?”
“No.”
“Have you seen him since?”
“No.”
“Has he contacted you since?”
I stepped delicately around this one, hoping that the man was too busy writing to notice anything the machine may pick up. “I haven’t had any calls, although I am sure he is keeping tabs on the ship and crew, but it isn’t as if port manifests are that well protected...”
He jotted down some notes with his pen, the harsh strokes showing that his mood had not improved any. From what I could see, he was planning to set up traces for anyone who checked the Starsong's trade manifests. He now had the fun job of tracking down someone I had only heard, who was likely employed by one of the five big intergalactic companies.
I was suddenly glad that it was this man questioning me since the original interrogator would not have let my jibes break his composure. He was also undoubtedly far more experienced with interrogations and would have caught my slight side-step.
He checked his list of questions before glancing at me. “Thank you for your cooperation. I don’t have any more questions for you at the moment, and I am sure your crew will be wondering where you are.”
I let the other man remove the lie detector pads as I replied, “Thank you. I do have duties to attend to. Although I am surprised that you would assume that my crew would be unable to locate me. What experienced Captain leaves the ship without someone on the ship ready to assist?”
It was quite common for a Captain to have a tiny and well-hidden earpiece so whoever was eavesdropping on the other end could provide small details or assistance. He raised an eyebrow as he stood up to escort me out. “I have met enough who were not that well prepared. I assume they were listening the whole time?”
“Yes.”
He grunted noncommittally as he led me through the various hallways to the front doors. An idea was rolling around my mind. It was a very tempting thought, but I wasn’t sure I dared do it.
“Go ahead. It will prove that your claim of having people listening on the ship is true. It will also show that they are good at pulling up information for their Captain.”
He opened the front door and let me walk past. “Here you go. Safe travels.”
I nodded. “Thank you. “ I turned and started to leave before I paused and glanced over my shoulder. “Oh, by the way...”
He had been heading inside, but paused. “Yes?”
I smirked slightly. “For dinner yesterday, you went to the Aurora Borealis Diner and had the pepperoni lasagna.”
His jaw dropped as he once more lacked words. I continued walking towards the waiting hover taxi without glancing back.
“I think you just proved to him that you are a force to be reckoned with. I am watching him through some security cameras, and he is still staring after you in complete disbelief.”
‘I am amazed that you managed to locate that detail.’
“His wife posted a picture of their plates on the reviews of that Diner. I am sure he will figure it out. Eventually.”
I had to work hard to not grin or laugh in glee, which might have made the cab driver think I was more than slightly crazy. ‘I haven’t been that bratty since I tormented my brother in my teenage years...’
“I can see that I will have to keep you under wraps if you get into a mischievous mood.”
‘Good luck with that one. My family never managed it.’
“I have more resources and capabilities than they do.”
The taxi started flying back to the docking station, and I finally allowed myself a slight smile. I had managed to get through the interrogation with a lie detector. Hopefully, it would keep most groups interested in the ‘rogue AIs’ away from me.