A check on the fabricators started off our morning the next day. I had woken up to find Hailey once again slumbering peacefully next to me. I have to admit, I haven't slept this well before as far as I can remember. I gave her another lecture on why it wasn't appropriate for a captain to be sharing a bed with his officer. But Hailey simply let it wash over her with such a look of pleased contentment on her face that I just gave up.

I was planning on starting off our tour of the ship with a freshly cooked breakfast. Tayle had sent me a message saying she had managed to catch Tank after his shift and invited him and also sent a message to Arvin letting him know he was invited. There had been no reply from Arvin so far, and Tank had declined, saying he already had plans. Maybe it was just me, but if I were him there wouldn't be many plans I wouldn't cancel if someone offered me a tour of their starship, meals included.

So Hailey was tending to the fabricators making sure their intake hoppers were topped off and loading the results of their overnight operation on the lift while I prepared breakfast. I'd have liked to have her help me cook breakfast again but she had insisted that we needed to be responsible for our end of the bargain and keep the fabricators running nonstop as much as possible. I'm sure they probably wouldn't mind if we took an extra day to finish their ordered goods, but Hailey just gave me this disapproving look and chided me about 'getting lazy.'

This whole 'get Hailey to relax around me' plan of mine may have backfired. Who am I kidding, I wouldn't have it any other way, not for the entire galaxy. I know I'm not the smartest person around. I'm impulsive, and I'd rather do what I'm interested in than what I need to do. My one redeeming feature I guess is that I'm self-aware maybe? Still doesn't help me with actually overcoming my personal failures, so having Hailey around to give me a kick when I need it is a good thing.

Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked by my introspection here. It's time for breakfast and I want it to be 'nova. I'm gonna blow them away, so I need something good. I've had a lot of different foods for breakfast since I started this journey a few weeks ago, so I think I should be able to come up with a pretty nice spread.

To start with, I want something with eggs. I'm going to try my hand at these 'omelettes.' Hailey made them for me once, and I'm not sure my cooking skills are quite up to it yet, but I want to try. I can customize them each to their own taste, hopefully. It's been years since I saw them last, so I don't know how much they've changed. I'll just have to go with my instincts on this one.

Winri always liked sweets, so I'll make hers with fruit jam and cheese, like those 'Korean' egg sandwiches we had when Hailey and I were staking out the beacon. Speaking of steak, I'll go with that for Gericht's omelette, along with fried hash browns. For Tayle I'm not sure, maybe just go with a vegetable filling. Onions, bell pepper, and maybe some mushrooms. Hailey's and mine will be a bit of a combo, so steak, mushrooms, and cheese.

I also really liked those pancakes we made too, so I'll have those with all the different kinds of toppings I can think of. I'm certain these will be a hit with Winri if no one else, she really has a sweet tooth. When I was on The Hab, every time traders would show up, us kids would buy whatever little trinkets we could afford with the spare scrap we'd saved away. Winri always, without fail, spent all of hers on candy.

I'll cook some bacon and sausage up, too. Nothing wrong with some extra protein on the table in case someone doesn't like the omelettes for some reason. I'd never be able to respect a person who doesn't like omelettes again, but that doesn't mean I want them to starve.

What else? Oh, there was that one with the fresh fruit, 'yogurt', and that 'granola' stuff that was really good. It was nice and light, and I bet Tayle would probably like that. She was always so busy trying to watch us troublemakers and still get her own work done too, that it seemed like every time I saw her eating, she was on the go. She never had time to just sit down and have her meal in peace. Plus, there's already a bunch of the same toppings for the pancakes that you would put on the yogurt.

I need drinks too, so tea and coffee boosters are a must. Fruit juice too, I think. I'll have to make sure that there's creamer available too, for the boosters. I shudder to think what kind of effect coffee will have on Winri, but I'm morbidly curious enough to want to find out.

Still, that should be just about everything. Oh, if I'm making hashbrowns for the omelette, I might as well make extra and serve them on the side too. There, that should be plenty of food, and everybody should be able to find something they like. Now the fun part, cooking all of it.

Well, I guess it's a good thing I started early because this is taking a lot longer than I expected. I've been at this for over an hour already, and I only have all the meat cooked and sitting in warmers. I'm starting in on the pancakes next, with several different varieties. I've got batter made for chocolate chip, apple cinnamon, blueberry, and peanut-butter banana. I think I may be slightly over-ambitious with my goals here.

So that's the pancakes all done and under warmers, that just leaves the omelettes and their filling, but I'm running out of time. This took way longer than I expected it to. I think I'm going to have to call in some backup on this one. It's only a matter of seconds to call Hailey on my NIL.

"Hey, Hailey, I'm kind of in over my head, again."

"That seems to be becoming a common problem for you, my Captain." Hailey's amused voice echoed in my head.

"Yes yes, your poor inept Captain would have long ago gotten himself killed without his amazing second in command. You can tease me later, I'm running out of time and I still have the omelettes left to make. Could you please come and help me?"

"Well, I suppose it is a commander's duty to support their Captain, but these fabricators aren't going to run themselves either."

"Hailey, you aren't really going to make me beg, are you? I can tell you it's not an attractive sight. There's a lot of crying, wailing, and flailing about. You really don't want to see it."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Oh, I don't know, that sounds like it might be amusing to watch. I was actually just waiting for the last fabricator cycle to finish, but now I'm kind of interested in seeing this begging routine of yours." This girl, I swear.

"You can see it later, Hailey. Like in five thousand years later, maybe. For now, I really do need some help with finishing breakfast."

"I'm already on my way, Captain. Just give me a minute to clean up, don't want to ruin everything by making it taste like rotten algae and metal."

"Thanks, Hailey. I owe you one, again."

"Don't worry, Captain, I'm not keeping count." The voice channel closed, and I shook my head.

It really was different having a Hailey who would tease back. I loved this side of her, it made it that much more fun to be around her. The ship itself seemed less lonely now. With only the two of us on board, it could be a very eerie feeling if we weren't together in the same room. This was a ship meant for hundreds and that was far too much space for only two people, so having someone else to talk to and banter with helped ease that sense of isolation.

Hailey soon appeared in the doorway from the cafeteria to the kitchens wearing a fresh jumpsuit. No words were said as she went to work, already knowing with a single glance what I needed to be done. We'd gotten surprisingly good at our coordination in the kitchen. We kept conversation to a minimum while we cooked, simply enjoying the silent companionship and working together to create a delicious meal.

It wasn't long before I was finished with the filling for the omelettes, and Hailey began to cook them, having finished preparing the egg mixture. My part with the omelettes done, I set about preparing the drinks. Fresh coffee and tea went into the brewers while cold juice was pulled from the cooler.

The blare of my NIL's alarm pulled my attention away from my preparations for breakfast. Tayle, Winri, and Gericht had arrived in the docking bridge, awaiting transport to the ship. Hailey had already loaded the last fabricator cycle onto the lift and it was merely awaiting my presence to descend into the docking bridge. I could unload the lift at the same time I picked them up from the docking bridge.

Looking at Hailey, she gave me a nod and a smile, her cooking not stopping for a second as she also noticed the arrival of our guests. Giving her a smile in return I headed for the kitchen exit. Hailey should likely have the final preparations done by the time I returned. She was almost done with the omelettes, and the rest of the food was already on the tables in the cafeteria.

I jogged down the hallway, excited to show off my ship, and hopefully convince the few friends I still had to leave with me on it instead of staying in this stagnant dead-end station. All staying here would do for them was lead them to an early death after a miserable life. I stepped onto the lift packed with crates and boxes and triggered its descent into the docking bridge.

Soon enough, the walls of the station airlock gave way to the open air of the docking bridge. Below me, I could see them waiting. They looked like they'd cleaned up as best they could. Tayle was wearing a simple outfit of a white long-sleeved shirt and pants instead of her well-worn work suit. Gericht had a similar outfit in darker gray, with Winri standing out in a bright pink skirt and short sleeves.

"Welcome! One and all to the tour of the amazing William Cody." I spread my arms theatrically as the lift came to rest on the deck of the docking bridge.

I received a good-natured eye-roll from Tayle and Gericht, but Winri at least cheered, looking excited about the tour.

"Tough crowd I see. Let me just get all this cargo unloaded and we can get started, I hope you brought hungry stomachs, because I made a scrap-ton of food."

"Yea, we're looking forward to whatever new and exotic flavors of algae you have for breakfast." Tayle's expectations of my efforts were low, as usual. I didn't really give her too much of a reason to think otherwise when I still lived here on The Hab. All the better, to shock her when she finally saw the spread I'd put together.

Gericht said nothing and moved forward to help unload the lift. Tayle soon followed his example, and even Winri, small as she was, looked ready to help try and move crates bigger than she was. I appreciated their willingness to help, but I didn't need it, and they were guests today not crew. I hoped that I would soon be able to call them my crew.

"Whoa there, you guys are my guests today, so no manual labor allowed. Besides, I've got this just watch." I interjected with a raised hand.

They backed off with puzzled looks making me realize that they hadn't encountered any of the graviton tech my ship used. I usually kept the grav-sleds onboard and let the work crews on The Hab unload the lift by hand. But this early none of them were working yet so I figured it was ok to use the sleds without making a spectacle out of it. Well, a spectacle to people I didn't want to make it one to.

Clapping my hands for show, I used my NIL to order the sleds to rise and move off the lift. Gericht raised an eyebrow, which was about the most extreme expression of his interest one was likely to get, while Winri was much more expressive of her awe over the feat.

"Wah! So fancy! I wanna ride one!"

"It's not a toy Winri." Tayle gave me an appraising look as she chided Winri for her childish need to ride the floating slab. Clearly, she had not been expecting something like this and was reevaluating her expectations.

I puffed up in pride at getting one over on Tayle. Looking after me when I was just another brat living on The Hab, she had remained unflappable. I remember her getting worked up very rarely, usually only when one of us did something that was actually dangerous. When that happened, she made sure you knew you'd fragged up in explicit detail.

The grav-sleds deposited their cargo on the deck of the docking bridge before seamlessly sliding out from underneath their cargo. Then they returned to the lift, where they stacked themselves neatly in a corner. Winri was enamored by the whole process, watching on with a grin on her face and looking ready to bolt at a moment's notice to try and ride one. Thankfully, Gericht kept a firm grip on her shoulders, preventing her from going anywhere until the process was finished.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Come onboard. Breakfast is going to get cold if you wait too long." Winri needed no encouragement and dashed onto the lift, while Gericht and Tayle made their way over at a more sedate pace. Still, they were all onboard soon enough, and I ordered the lift back into the ship with my NIL.

I sent a message to Hailey, letting her know that we were on our way back up if she wanted to decide where to meet us. It didn't feel right having their first meeting with her as she was making breakfast. It felt demeaning as if I was telling them that she was just the cook. No, their first impression of Hailey should be as my second in command and partner, not some subordinate that was here only to do the chores.

Hailey either agreed or picked up on my thoughts somehow, because she sent a message back saying that she would meet us at the lift on the main deck when we arrived. She'd already finished setting the table and was making her way there now. By the time we cycled through the airlock and made our way to the main deck, she'd be waiting for us.

My nervousness increased, there was no turning back now. How would they react to Hailey, and how would Hailey react to them. A million thoughts crossed through my mind as the lift passed the doors of the lower deck, and soon there was no more time to worry because the doors of the main deck were opening.

Hailey stood there, the very vision of perfection. Her hair looked like it glowed under the lights, and she looked as if she was fresh from a shower, not as if she'd been running fabricators and cooking all morning. Her form-fitting jumpsuit did nothing to take away from the air of warm but professional welcome she exuded, her hands clasped in front of her. I turned my head to see what reaction her appearance had caused.