A Starship Called Starsong

Chapter 37

I opted out of joining the evening activities in favor of some quiet and relaxing reading in my room. I had a sitting area after all, so it was a shame not to use it. Besides, we would be arriving at our next stop tomorrow, and many people were planning for their ship-leave, whether it was just an evening out or a full day event.

I had grabbed a few interesting-looking books from Cynthia earlier, so I sat down on a soft chair to relax while enjoying a cup of hot chocolate. The sitting area was a quaint little room with enough seating for eight people. I kept it clean, tidy, and presentable in case I ever needed to have a meeting with some of my Officers in a more informal setting.

I hadn't read more than a few pages before Starsong interrupted, "Your brother is calling."

Shane usually didn't call so early in the evening. I quickly put down my book before heading to my room. I normally spoke to him while sitting on my bed; a bed normally took up most of the space in the average bedroom on a spaceship. I would have a much harder time explaining why I was sitting on a rather luxurious chair...

My computer had chimed twice before I hit the button and backed up to sit on the edge of my bed. My brother was sitting in the living room of his apartment. His warm and amused gaze met mine as he said, "I got your package today, love the picture by the way."

I grinned at him. "Happy birthday. I thought you would like that one. I am surprised it got there that fast."

"What do you expect when you ship it like that? You didn't have to ship it with priority service, you know. A slower mailing service is much cheaper, and I know something would eventually show up since you wouldn't have forgotten about me."

"Huh? I paid for regular express."

He held up the package wrapping that was clearly marked for one of the faster mailing services. I had a suspicion about who was to blame for this one and shook my head slightly. "I will have to ask around, but I think I know who upgraded my package..."

"Guilty as charged." Starsong did not sound the least bit repentant either.

Shane shrugged, completely unaware of the byplay. "If it is a guy who is trying to charm you, then I want to talk to him face-to-face before you two do anything drastic."

The complete irony of his statement had me laughing. "I am quite certain that you are safe in that regard, Shane. The vast majority of this crew are old enough to be my father. Quite a few of them happen to be married, and their spouses are also working on board."

Shane raised an eyebrow in amusement as he bantered with me. "And is this particular guy among that group?"

That gave me pause for a moment. "To be honest, I have no idea how old he is, but he certainly isn't young. He has been kicking around long enough that I don't even want to ask how old he is. He is more of a mentor than anything else."

"You may call it old, but I call it having plenty of experience."

Shane shrugged, dismissing the topic. "Good enough. Just keep your wits about you. Oh, by the way, I looked up the ship you said you were currently on to see if they had an itinerary posted. There isn't one, which doesn't really surprise me, but I noticed that they have you listed as Captain. They even have your picture posted. I am not sure how they bungled that one up, but you might want to get it fixed before someone notices and takes exception to it."

I winced slightly, and Shane noticed it. He frowned. "Rachel?"

I sighed heavily. "I wasn't the one to submit that paperwork, but the docking station staff believed it..."