A Starship Called Starsong

Chapter 1

Here is a line for those who like to note if they are First Time Readers (FTR) or Re-Readers (RR). 

I wiped sweat away from my eyes as I tightened the last bolt into place. It was hot under this thing... I rolled out from under the large sewing machine and tried to shake the solid steel contraption, but it didn't even budge. And with the bolts I used, the sewing machine will die of old age before those bolts come loose.

I put my tools back in my belt pouch and stood up. "There you go," I said. "I fixed the gears and bolted it securely to the wall, so it should be good to go."

The nearby seamstress glanced up from the leggings she was hemming and replied, "Thank you, Rachel. I asked Maintenance to come look at it about a week ago because I thought it was loose, but Steve was too busy, and I know he is the only one in that area since he doesn't have any assistants at the moment. I didn't think it would actually fall off the wall, or I would have added that detail to the repair request."

Busy. Right. Busy playing pool with Mack all day instead of doing their jobs. Steve's last assistant had quit, and he hadn't bothered finding another one since Mack let him assign small things to me. The Captain only saw that things were getting done, so he never looked any deeper than that.

Technically, minor repairs like this were supposed to be done by the Maintenance group, not someone from the Cargo Bay. I kept my expression polite and friendly. "No problem. Glad I could help. I know the engine thrusters have been acting up intermittently, so Steve is probably trying to locate the problem."

"That is probably it. Since you are here, could you take a look at the light fixture in the fabric room? The far light only turns on about quarter of the time, and I really do need it to ensure I grab the right color."

This is nowhere in my job description... "Sure. I can take a look."

I headed to the correct room while the seamstress started checking all the settings on the sewing machine I had just fixed. This may have been a hundred light-years away from my official tasks in the Cargo Bay, but I was not about to voice a complaint or let them even think that I resented doing the tasks they assigned.

It was far better to do minor repairs or small fixes for the general crew members than to have to deal with the Cargo Bay Overseer, Mack. He was a bit of a jerk at times and preferred to avoid work if he could. Although to give him credit, he is always more than happy to attend the meetings, and he is like a kid in a candy store whenever he has a reason to use the Cargo Bay crane.

Steve was just as lazy as Mack. Steve tended to let others do the small stuff whenever possible, although he personally did all of the Maintenance work tickets submitted by the Captain, Officers, or anyone who worked in the Bridge to gain favor. That still only comes up to a grand total of a couple dozen people... Leaving me to try and help out the other 180 crew as well as manage my own duties as a Cargo Bay assistant.

By myself, I could never get the wait times below five days, simply because my true duties took priority. Had Steve actually done any of the tickets on the days I was unable to help him, we could have caught up fairly easily.

I propped a ladder beneath the misbehaving light as I dismissed my internal complaints. We were in the middle of a voyage, and my help in the Cargo Bay was really only needed when we were docked or moving trade goods between the various holding bays. At the moment, I didn't actually have any work left that fell within my duties - and I hated being bored.

I removed the screws and let the light fixture dangle on the supporting chain that all lights on spaceships were required to have. I pulled out my favorite gadget, a handheld device called an Analyzer, and I was very glad that I had spent my own money on this better model.