Alen was sifting through applications to send to Captain Olson for approval. Ideally, it would be Olsen himself doing this. Still, he was busy shifting his entire life around, selling off his old ship, notifying his current crew of his change in occupation, and offering positions to most of them. However, Alen would be surprised if more than half accepted. Even if being a merchant was almost as dangerous as being a pirate hunter these days, maybe more so, it certainly had a very different job description, and not everyone would be comfortable with that. Alen would never have taken the job if it hadn't fallen in his lap. That might be a bit of an understatement. It was more like the job put a gun to his head, said sink or swim, then threw him into the deep end. Luckily for Alen, it seemed he could swim, but how long would that last?

Alen reviewed the remaining applications after removing the worst or most suspicious of the lot. He still had three times as many applications as there were positions to fill. With a sigh, Alen decided it was time to get picky.

He's just started re-reviewing the next candidate when the door to his office opened without any message or warning. He looked up from the screen, wondering if there was some emergency, only to see the oversized Erik walk in, bowing his head to avoid hitting it on the door frame, wearing his usual grin as he spoke. "Heyya boss! Long time no see!"

Alen grinned back. "I thought you were never gonna leave the Sybil at this rate!"

Erik shrugged. "Not gonna lie, there's a lot going on over there that I like. Did I tell ya about the assault pods yet? Anyway, yeah, I figured you'd be sitting around all being official and stuff and could use a break. So I borrowed a shuttle and came over here to give ya one!"

Alen shook his head. "I don't suppose I have any choice in the matter?"

Erik's grin turned only slightly feral. "Nope! None at all! Now, you can haul your captainy rear out of that seat and join me for a drink or five, or I can lift you up, chair and all, and walk you down to the mess hall!"

The large alien was walking around the desk to make good on his threat when Alen held up his hands in surrender as he stood up. "Alright, alright! I know when I'm beat! But we can't drink too much. I still gotta finish going over those applications!"

Erik nodded as he turned and led the way. "Yeah, sure thing, boss, whatever you say!"

As Alen walked into the hallway, Vanessa stood there, waiting for him. A few of the less familiar sailors on the ship looked on in morbid curiosity as Alen greeted her. "Hey, Vanessa. Erik still treating you alright?"

Vanessa nodded. "Erik's nature remains as consistent as the temperature in the void."

Alen smiled worriedly. "That's more or less what I was afraid of. He's not likely to stop at one or two drinks, is he?"

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

This time, Vanessa shook her head. "I believe you have made an accurate assessment of the situation."

Alen sighed. "I was afraid of that..."

Then, making a quick tactical assessment of the situation, Alen decided it was best to go along with the large man. He turned to Erik as they walked toward the mess hall, which attracted the attention of every deckhand in the vicinity. "So anyway, tell me what it was like riding in one of those assault pods."

Erik laughed and slapped Alen on the back as he started to wax poetic about the experience. A move that might have sent him flying not long ago, but these days, he was more or less always prepared for one of the large man's friendship assaults. "Oh man, you gotta try riding in one of those things! It's like nothing you've ever done, I promise you that! Maybe you should come with us the next time we assault a ship! Leave ol' stuffy Commander Reid in charge for once!"

Alen laughed at his friend's antics while he wondered where the night would go and just how much trouble the three of them could get onboard a single ship...

Alen woke late after sleeping off the effects of a night of "stress relief" in the form of way too much drinking. As he walked to the bridge, there were some chuckles and whispers from the crew that let him know things had gotten out of hand enough for stories to get around. Thankfully, he was pretty relaxed on discipline when they weren't in danger of being in combat, so it's not like he was setting a bad example or going against his expectations of the crew. Still, he wondered if some of the fuzzier parts of the night hadn't gotten a little wilder than he'd like.

As he walked onto the bridge, Alen winced at Reid's very crisp and very loud announcement of "Captain on the bridge!"

Alen looked over at his first mate as he sat down and glared. "Was that really necessary?"

Reid grinned back at his captain. "Oh, sorry, sir, you're right. That is no longer the proper form of address, is it... Your Majesty?"

Alen, who'd been enjoying the shade provided by lowering his head until he could cover his eyes with his hand, looked up. "My, what now?"

Reid's grin had grown into what could only affectionately be called a "shit-eating grin" as he formally bowed to Alen while explaining. "I believe our glorious leader loudly proclaimed himself 'king of the one-footed tribe' last night. I felt I should acknowledge your raise in station."

Alen covered his head again and groaned. "I don't remember that.... or much of anything for that matter. Just tell me, was anyone hurt? Did I...er we break anything?"

Reed pulled up a data pad, and Alen's fears only grew. "Well, sir, one of the drink replicators did need a replacement part. Apparently, sir Erik, your sworn knight, by the way, thought that it wasn't dispensing fast enough, and he tried to fix it by, ahem, 'giving it a good whack!'" The commander flipped the page and continued. "On an unrelated note, Erik has also reported to the med bay this morning to get his swollen hand seen to." Putting away the clipboard, Reid summed up the rest of the report. "Other than that, there were no noteworthy events last night other than a few more than the average number of workers showed up hungover to their stations this morning."

Alen nodded, then winced again. "Well, take the cost of repairs out of my salary. As punishment for my unruly knight's outburst, have him put on an exhibition match against Vanessa for the men this morning before his hangover wears off."

The commander grinned as he repeated his earlier bow. "As you wish, my liege!"

Alen started to roll his eyes but thought better of it and instead added one final order. "Oh, and get someone to bring me a large glass of water and a large mug of coffee. And make sure there's more coffee brewing!"

This time, Reid only saluted. "Yes, sir, sire sir!"