Awakening the next day, it took my hazy mind a moment to realize I understood the text before me. I could tell that the readout in the corner was a clock, telling me it was around seven in the morning ship time. Glancing around my room, I could understand all the different names and remote functions of the tags it created. Just for fun, I triggered the shower remotely as I undressed. I didn't have just a basic factual understanding of the language either, I understood the full nuance of it as if I was a native speaker, well, writer in this case. I knew more about the grammar than I'd probably ever use.
Stepping into the shower, I mentally pinged Hailey's location. The map opened and centered on her location down in the maintenance bays even at this early hour. Did this girl ever sleep? 'Pulling' down the communication function, I sent her a short audio message asking her if she wanted to cook breakfast together again today. Those pancakes yesterday had been really good, and I wanted to learn more about human food. Living on nothing but either reconstituted algae and seaweed or cheap trash meant for an alien palette left me interested and excited about exploring genuine human cuisine.
I also wanted to spend more time with Hailey. She was so quiet and reserved. The few small smiles that I had managed to earn from her made me want to see more. She'd been alone for so long, her friends and family were likely all long dead, and yet she kept going. She could have just as easily gone back into cryosleep and set the system to never wake her up again, sleeping away the rest of her life until the ship broke down. Instead, she'd attached herself to me, to the point she'd been terrified at the mere thought of me leaving her behind. I was alerted to a received message by a soft ping.
'Performing maintenance. I would enjoy preparing a meal with you again. It was... fun. I will finish my maintenance routine at eight and meet you in the kitchens.' I didn't want to leave this sweet young woman on her own. She deserved some happiness of her own, and if my spending time with her was what made her happy, I'd be more than glad to.
Right, it was now almost a quarter-way through the hour. By the time I finish spoiling myself with this shower, with instant temperature control, I'll have about a half hour free. I wonder if there are any manuals on the systems of the ship available for me to read while I wait. In answer to my thoughts, a catalog appeared, a transparent golden window in my vision. Right, I could get used to this type of convenience, now how about something on the FTL system. The list quickly shrank until there were only three titles left in the window. The first one had some incomprehensible name with a bunch of random letters and numbers. I'm guessing that's the manual for the actual model of drive system this ship uses. The second was titled 'Subspace And You, A Beginners Guide To Understanding The Universe', and the last was 'Beyond The Stars, Theories Of FTL Travel.'
The first one is probably full of technical jargon that I wouldn't understand yet, and the third one sounds like it's more about hypothetical alternate forms of FTL, second one it is. Stepping out of the shower, I found that the floor had spontaneously eaten my old clothes, and a fresh, clean pair was sitting on a pedestal waiting for me, or maybe it was the same pair that had already been cleaned.
In my days as a void-rat on freighters, I didn't really get to learn much about the ship systems. A void rat like me didn't handle complex systems like an FTL drive. I, and others like me, got to do dangerous work like EVA repairs in flight. Better hope you had that hull panel welded on in an hour, or that course change was going to splatter you all over the hull. We were called void rats because our lives were as valuable as a rats', which was to say not at all.
I certainly learned what I could though, I listened in on the actual engineers whenever I could get away with it. Whatever digital library the ship had, I would try to find some way to access it if it was restricted. Unsurprisingly most of the material I managed to get my hands on flew right over my head. It all usually had copy protection as well, meaning I couldn't take it with me to read over later, as soon as I was off that freighter, it was gone unless the next one had another copy.
Lounging on my bed-turned-sofa I opened the beginner's guidebook and dove in. Subspace, as I already knew, was an alternate dimension with different laws of physics than normal space. This text further elaborated that the only thing that was known to cross between the two was gravitons and their macroscale effect on the universe, gravity. I guess this ship's heavy use of graviton-based technology explains how it can see here, then. With how the reactors use the stuff for power, it's no surprise their sensors can see it too.
Also explains why you don't usually don't go running off into unexplored space. Run into an uncharted black hole, neutron star, hells, even a red dwarf's gravity will ruin your day. running face first into any of those gives me the shivers. Anyway, the theory goes as to how ships can move faster in subspace is because it's some kind of 'super-vacuum' that increases the speed of light itself in subspace. So you're not technically going faster than light, it's just that light is faster here.
One thing that jumps out at me though, this book says to breach subspace you create two gravitational singularities to 'pull' space apart, kind of like pulling on a piece of fabric and creating a space between the threads. So, if you need some graviton tech just to enter subspace, why don't the Itzli or any of the other races have graviton sensors that can see in it. Is there some alternate method for breaching subspace? A soft chime interrupts me before I can think about it anymore. Hailey is done with her maintenance duties, it is time to make delicious food.
Entering the kitchen, I find she's wearing a skin-tight jumpsuit the same as yesterday, having just finished her maintenance work. A long loaf of bread is sitting on the counter in front of her that she carefully cuts into thick slices. She glances my way and a quick file transfer sees a new window open in my vision with a recipe. French Toast, bread dipped in an egg-based batter and toasted, then topped with fruit, syrup, or cream. I'm already starting to drool just thinking about it, and the pictures with it aren't helping.
"That looks amazing Hailey, what do you want me to work on."
"Get a bowl and make the egg mixture." A cupboard is helpfully highlighted by my NIL, telling me where I can find a bowl.
"Use one with a flat bottom, it should be easier to soak the bread in." Following her advice, I grab a wide, shallow bowl and slide the cupboard closed.
I spend the next few minutes gathering ingredients. With how crazy this ship has been so far I almost expected to find actual eggs in the cold storage. A spaceship is still a spaceship though, and practicality has to take precedence, at least in this case. I find a carton of homogenized eggs, some milk from something called a 'cow', and then some spices from the dry storage.
I started mixing them together, watching as the spices refused to incorporate, and floated on top instead. Scowling, I mix harder, sloshing the mixture around the bowl furiously. I freeze, as with one last furious stir, I send a wave of the mixture flying out of the bowl and all over the front of Hailey.
"Ah, it's sticky." Hailey calmly put down her knife and grabbed a towel. Before I could say a single word, she started unzipping the front of her suit and wiping up any liquid that had seeped through.
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I was paralyzed, hypnotized by her pale smooth skin, until my brain rebooted, and I quickly turned my body away. My heart was beating wildly, and my face felt warm. I had never had a girl back when I was on The Hab. I had never been shy about telling people that, when I was old enough, I was getting on the first freighter out of there. None of them had been interested in such an uncertain future, why get involved with somebody you knew wasn't going stick around?
Matchups on The Hab weren't strictly controlled, but they weren't completely free for people to choose who they wanted either. We didn't have that kind of luxury with our limited space and population. Certain people were encouraged to pair up, those with exceptional health and resistance to radiation, or that had valuable skills they wanted to ensure were passed down. The more important you were, the more say you had on who you married as long as it met the needs of the community. Some men, with particularly valuable skills or traits, even managed to marry multiple women, but that was rare. Very rarely did someone ever get to marry another because they loved them, the practicalities of survival took precedence. The result was that marriage and children were treated as transactional and an obligation, not something you did because you personally desired children.
And now I had a girl next to me innocently exposing more skin than I had ever seen before in my life, and I had no idea how to react to it. Was I being polite by not looking, or was I insulting her? Did humans where she came from even care about nudity? With how casually she was cleaning her body in front of me, it didn't seem like it.
"The bread is ready, Rama." Her quiet voice pulled me out of my anxiety-induced paralysis and I turned around as she handed me a cutting board of perfectly slice bread. During the time I'd been trapped in my own head, she had finished cleaning herself and zipped her jumpsuit back up.
"A-ah, right. I need to soak it now right?" I checked the recipe.
"Yes, soak each side for thirty seconds. I will prepare the cooking sheets." Turning, she walked away towards another cupboard, and I fought not to follow her with my eyes.
Right, soak the bread, for thirty seconds on each side. Grabbing several slices of the bread I did just that. My fingers were soon coated in a thick layer of the custardy mixture as I used them to push the bread into the liquid and then flip it over when it was time. Hailey had since returned with a pair of greased metal cooking sheets that I placed the bread on when it was thoroughly soaked in the mixture. Soon, the bowl was empty, and the sheets were filled with soggy bread.
"Let me wash my hands real quick, and I'll help put it in the oven." I moved over to the cleaning station and quickly washed up.
"Right, let's get these in the oven then." Returning, I picked up the two sheets of bread. Carrying them to the oven, Hailey opened the door, allowing me to slide them inside. While those baked, we prepared some sausage and bacon to go along with it.
"So, is all this food real? I mean in the sense that it's real meat from a real animal or fruit from a real plant?" Feeling awkward, I latched on to the first topic I could think of to break the silence.
"Yes, but also no. Did this meat or the eggs come from a real animal? No. However, it is also indistinguishable from a genuine cut of meat from an animal. The Molecular Organic Synthesizer System uses waste products such as exhaled carbon dioxide and excrement and resequences the base elements into the exact form of almost any organic product required on the ship. Everything from the shampoo you wash your hair with, to the food you eat is created by it and they are functionally identical to the authentic version." She tilted her head and look at my lack of reaction curiously.
"You seem unbothered by this. Many people are put off by the idea of consuming something that was made from their own excrement." I shrugged, leaning on the counter.
"I'll be honest, I've had to deal with worse to survive. Being a void rat on a freighter's not an easy life. " I gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"Honestly, if I'd known what I was in for, I probably would have never left that hab station. It's a harsh life that only the suicidal, desperate, or stupidly ignorant would choose. I was the last if you were wondering. Compared to being a void rat, living on the hab was paradise."
"Do you regret it?" Her clear blue eyes looked up at me as she moved to stand beside me.
"Never, not in a million years. If someone told me they could send me back in time to tell my younger self to stay home, I'd refuse. Living on that station isn't really living. You're just slowly suffocating day after day as you die a little more. Anything resembling life is choked out of you, your future already decided. From the moment you're old enough to understand, you know that nothing will change. People on that hab ten generations from now, will live and do the exact same things as those of today." I sighed, and Hailey pressed into my side, wrapping an arm around me.
"Was I naive and stupid when I left? Thinking I could beat the odds and work my way up to being independent in a system specifically engineered to keep those on the bottom where they were? Definitely, it was only sheer luck that you found me. Would I say the same if you hadn't saved me? Probably not, I'd likely curse myself for ever leaving, dying cold and alone in that crevice. But I didn't die there, cold and alone, and I'm grateful every time I wake up on this amazing ship with the incredible young woman that saved my life." Admit it, Rama, you've got it bad. I mean, who wouldn't? A girl like this swoops in and saves your void-forsaken ass? You'd be hard-pressed not to fall for them.
I pull her tighter into my side, and she leans into it, her face warm against my chest. Neither one of us talks for a while, content in the silent comfort we share. We're two lonely souls on a ship with nowhere to go, a problem I should think about. Right now though, things are fine just the way they are. All the problems in the universe can wait until after breakfast.
Breakfast is, as usual, delicious. The rich, fluffy toast is smothered in syrup, fruit, and whipped cream. A cup of the bitter "coffee" that humans drink as a booster pairs well with the sweet meal. As we clear away the dishes, I ponder what my next course of action should be. I could try to become a smuggler. With a ship like this, no one could ever catch or ambush us. Still, it's not without its risks. A lot of people would kill for a ship like this for their own, or even just its technology, and I could find myself doublecrossed at any time. I don't really have any interest in it either, to be honest. I don't really need the money anymore, this ship is almost completely self-sufficient.
I'm not sure where we would go, maybe see if we can't find some trace of the S.U.N.S. We don't really have anything to go on, but we deserve better than to fade away on derelict stations, and maybe we can find out what caused Hailey to be abandoned here and if she has any family left. First though, maybe I should pay a visit to my home. I left the hab without ever saying goodbye, not even to Uncle, I just snuck away on a freighter. I didn't have many people who cared about me on the hab, but there were some. I feel like I owe it to them to check in on them, to let them know I'm alright. I could help them too, the machine shops on, and I still can't get used to saying it, my ship could fix a lot of the problems on the station. The only thing left is to ask Hailey if she's alright with it. I know she'd agree with anything I decide because I'm the captain, but that's not the same as her liking it.
"Hailey, would you be ok if we visited my home hab station and tried to help them out?"
"S.U.N.N.S regulations allow ship captains to exercise their own initiative in executing disaster relief and aid programs." I gave her an exasperated look.
"That's not what I'm asking, Hailey. I want to know if you personally are ok with me taking us there to visit and try to help them. If you're not comfortable going there, I want to know. I was planning on just heading into unknown space afterward, try and see if we couldn't find some trace of your home and if you have any family left. If you want, we can skip right to that instead of dropping by the hab first." Hailey gave me a long, slow look as if she had trouble comprehending what I was saying. A slow blink of her eyes and a small nod of her head were my answer.
"As cargo, my desires are irrelevant. However, I have no personal objections if you wish to visit your home." I knew I was forgetting something.
"Not anymore you're not."
"Eh?" Navigating the menus of my NIL at the speed of thought, I pulled up the cargo manifest. Sure enough, a HAILEY was listed among all the other goods and materials on board my ship. Strange that she was listed as cargo instead of a passenger, maybe because they didn't typically carry civilians? Another box appeared in my vision, declaring in big red text that I was performing an invalid action. Cargo could not be transferred to the crew manifest.
The Hells with that, this is my ship. I'll do what I want with it. I glared at the interface, and something in the back of my head thrummed with cold heat. The dialogue box disappeared, and a progress bar briefly replaced it before it also disappeared. The crew manifest opened, showing Hailey now listed as a regular crewmember. I tagged her in the system as being a 'commander' and my second-in-command.
"Wha- How did you?" I never thought I'd see the day when this normally cool and collected young woman was left so completely caught by surprise. Her wide eyes stared up at me, and her mouth hung open in astonishment.
"Did you really think I was going to leave you listed as a piece of cargo, Hailey? You deserve better than that. I don't know what kind of country your home was, but you're worth more than that." Hailey gets up from where she was sitting across from me at the table and makes her way around to stand in front of me as I turn to face her.
"Did I-" I get no further in my question before I am engulfed by a hug.
Even sitting, I am only a head or so shorter than her. So when she hugs me it is more accurate to say she is hugging my head. My face is pressed against her chest as she holds me tightly. She smells vaguely of lubricant and ozone, like a well-maintained engine room.
"Thank you." Her voice is so faint I barely hear it, even with my head right below hers.
Returning the hug, I wrap my arms around her slim waist. Sometimes I feel as if I am taking advantage of Hailey. She's given me everything I ever wanted, and in return only asking, no begging me, to not throw her away. I don't know what happened to her in the past that made her this way, but it makes me more determined than ever to repay her a thousand times over for what she's done for me. I don't know how yet, but when I do, nothing is going to stop me from paying her back for the new life she's given me.