This was it. Valorie’s first day on the bridge of the Helianthus. She had wanted this since she had gone into hiding. For that entire year and a half, she only talked to her sisters and only when it was necessary. Now was her chance to stretch and show off.

As she crossed the bridge, she guessed which station was hers by the fresh connectors added under the displays. The seat had a lot of wear and tear compared to her previous assignment, but it had more cushioning. She actually sank into it as she settled in.

She was not the first one to reach the bridge. Leon was at the station across from hers, and the Captain was hovering next to him. Yulia was the last to arrive, patting Valorie’s shoulder as she walked by her.

“Don’t forget to buckle in.” Yulia said, smiling with excitement. Once she was at her station, her easy-going movements became precise and quick.

Valorie watched for a moment before remembering to look for the buckle. There were two straps, one on each side starting above her shoulders and ending at her waist. First, she fiddled with her displays until she could rest her hands on the bar below the display. Comfort achieved, she started on the safety belts. She pulled each one over her shoulders, crossing her chest, and locking in. It was tight, but with everything in arms reach, it was cozy, too.

With her body cared for, she eased her physical control, and reached out beyond the Helianthus. Collecting data on their surroundings was her first priority. The large amount of life across Luxe Station created a picture so busy it was overwhelming. She could report on it all, but who would find that useful? On the imperial ships, it was her Ward’s duty to sort through the excessive amount of data. They would cherry pick the useful information for the rest of the crew.

Valorie felt a weight form over her chest. She was alone now – and she would have to learn to do both jobs. She could do it, if she tried hard enough. She had to do it. Her body grew tight with the growing tension. Unlike the clone’s body, this one was sensitive to every sensation. It was unnerving, but not altogether unpleasant.

She reached out for her sisters. New images flooded in. A control room from two different perspectives, and the bridge of an imperial scout. The main feeling she received from all three sisters was a severe sense of boredom. Through them, her senses reached even farther, picking up a dozen other sisters. A soothing sense of kinship eased her unhappiness. She was never alone.

“Reconnecting fragment, please report. Follow the Language Initiative: Use your words.” A voice reached out to her mind. The words were not spoken out loud, but over a telepathic network. The voice originated with one of the perspectives in the control room. It was one of her sisters working in the Luxe Control room. Valorie responded in kind.

“Evie reporting. Assignment, FL Helianthus. Preparing for departure.” Her boredom evaporated the moment she answered.

“Evie! This is Luxe control, Olli here. You’re back!”

“Oh, Evie! No wonder you didn’t report right away. This is Hexa, also with control. How’re you doing? Finally getting out of here?” The control room had a dizzying number of displays. Each had a piece of information covering every ship in the system. There was only a small pocket of glass window that escaped the screens. Olli remained focused on the list of departures, but Hexa’s eyes drifted to that open pocket of stars.

“Yes. I am finally getting out of here.” Valorie said, mimicking Hexa’s tone. From Valorie’s eyes, they would be seeing the bridge of the Helianthus. “I’m excited, but I’m nervous.”

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“So, I understand.” Hexa said. The longer they talked, the more their differences faded away. Valorie did not need to describe her feelings, her sisters would already know.

“Everything is working out, then?”

“So far. Captain Hughes still bears our kind well. He has not changed.” Valorie smiled as she remembered the Captain’s greeting. The warmth spread among her sisters.

“Mother was right.”

“So far.” Olli echoed Valorie’s sentiment. It quelled the growing optimism. There were no words shared for a moment, as each of them digested these shared thoughts. Valorie remembered her original issue.

“I am without a Ward.” Valorie began, but Olli interrupted.

“We will help.” She answered, “Your departure will begin soon.” Her voice was urgent. Valorie knew the time for the Language Initiative had passed and they fell back into the exchange of raw data.

Valorie refocused on her wire connection to the computer systems of the Helianthus. Her current setup allowed her to observe and provide feedback. She could not make any changes to the system beyond the data she provided. With her sisters guidance, she shared all the information she thought might be useful.

Valorie heard the light ping of notifications, and it grounded her in reality once more. She stretched her arms out in front of her, before trying to get a peek at her crewmates’ reactions.

“Well, that’s handy…” Yulia muttered. She had opened her notification and was scrolling through the collected data. She would pause to make adjustments on the multitude of flips, keys, and displays in front of her.

Gareth had gone back to his seat, and was looking through his own data. His expression seemed far away, but he caught Valorie watching him, and nodded. His confirmation was encouraging, and Valorie settled back into her seat. So far, so good.

The ship shuddered as the docking crew started moving the Helianthus to the exit bay. The ship was held in place at the gate by large mechanical locks seated on tracks that led from each dock to the exit bay. The locks moved in programmed unison, but the forced movement was jarring.

“Valorie, have you connected with the Luxe control station?” Gareth interrupted her observations.

“Yes, sir.”

“How long until decoupling begins?”

“10 minutes, sir.”

“Good.” He said and then opened the ship wide intercom. “Consider this your 10 minute warning, everyone. All passengers must remain in their quarters for the duration of the flight. Safety restraints are recommended during take off and are required for jumps. Failure to heed this order will result in delays at best, and injury at worst. Quinns?” He said. When he called for Quinns, he narrowed the range of the intercom down to engineering. A new display popped up at each station with a video feed of Quinns. Valorie moved it to the side, out of the way but still in sight. New displays never popped up exactly where you wanted them.

“Yeah, Gary, I’m all tucked in for take off.” Quinns answered before Gareth could ask. He sat at a station like the ones on the bridge, but Valorie did not recognize the room he was in. It was smaller, or at least appeared so with the amount of equipment stacked in every available space. She could feel him near the bay, so she thought it might be the engineering offices.

“Thank you. Sachi?” Gareth asked. Her feed replaced Quinn’s video.

“I am prepared, Hughes.” She said. Judging by the view of the Garden through the glass behind her, she was resting in her quarters. She had strapped herself into a chair that looked new. It was so cushy she nearly disappeared into it. Her room was decorated with intricate patterns of gold and purple. It was a rich style Valorie had only seen a few times when dealing with personnel from the Guild.

“Very good.” Gareth’s transition between conversations was seamless. “Serge?”

“Would be ready, of course, but got stuck checking all the passengers. Won’t be much longer, Captain.” He said. His camera was from his PD, staring up at him as he sped along one of the hallways. He looked angry, but Valorie was beginning to think this was normal.

“Will you be in your quarters?”

“For take off.” He said. The ship shuddered again as the dock crew reached the exit bay and the track ended. Serge stumbled without falling and swore under his breath. He glanced down at the PD camera again as if he had forgotten it was there. “Right. Union rep was a real talker. Feel bad for her assistant.” He said, trying to hide his embarrassment. Yulia chuckled from the front seat.

“So, you got along well, then?” Leon looked up from what he was doing, a smirk playing across his face. The video feed cut, and Leon chuckled as he went back to work.

“You have the jump coordinates ready?” Gareth asked, and Leon nodded.

“Yeah, I’m on the second set now.” He smiled, “It’s gonna be a fun trip.”