In A Starship's Wake

Chapter 38: A Full Complement

A chicken bone from last night's dinner rolled back and forth between Joseph's teeth as he read the messages from Rebecca again. They were among several documents open on his notescreen, all about her. He'd read them several times already trying to decide whether to hire her. After lunch he'd be interviewing her by video call, and that was probably when he'd make the final decision.

Unless the interview went bad in a spectacular fashion she was going to get the job. She was qualified, if a little green, and Captain Friedrich had nothing but good to say about her. To add to that, they had technically already seen her in action. Tyrone was right about a full crew on the new ship, and she was the best option that didn't involve hiring a stranger at the shipyards.

Joseph still had some anxiety about the whole thing, and stemming from hiring an outsider. Rebecca wasn't a complete unknown to them, but they had never met in person. He wasn't that comfortable about hiring Silas either, the man Justine's father had recommended, but her father was a much closer connection than Captain Friedrich.

The bone splintered slightly as he bit down a little too hard. He plucked it from his mouth and tossed it on the plate in front of him before it could cut his mouth or something. Dental professionals would probably tell him not to chew on it anyway.

"A little aggravated over there?" Justine asked from across the kitchen.

"A little, I guess." Once again, he'd put a little more force in than he'd intended. The bone nearly bounced off the plate.

"Is it my cooking or something else?" she laughed.

"Definitely not your cooking." Justine's presence had improved the quality of their meals significantly. The two men were not bad cooks, but neither of them would have bothered cooking a whole bird of any kind. "I'm just a little agitated about the job interview."

"I thought you already wanted to hire this girl."

"I do, but that doesn't mean I'm comfortable with it. Tyrone told you I was going to start with a partial crew originally, right?"

"Yes, and I'm glad you changed your mind about it."

"So am I, but the biggest reason was that I didn't want to hire people we didn't already know. Now here I am, about to hire someone I don't know."

"She does come highly recommended. She isn't a total unknown either, she was on the Comet."

"If she hadn't been I'd be even more uncomfortable with it. I'm glad we're in range of the instant communication beacons so I can interview her face to face before making a final decision." Joseph began to clean away the remains of his lunch. It was almost the appointed time for that call, and it would be bad manners to keep her waiting.

"I agree with you about that by the way," Justine said. "I wasn't thrilled with Tyrone's thought to just hire someone at the shipyard. We aren't that large of a company, I don't want to trust our livelihoods to just anyone. There are plenty of fine out-of-work starmen hanging around shipyards in search of a new gig, but just as many are there for a reason."

"Thanks, I feel vindicated a bit." Joseph said. "I should get back there."

"Alright, hope it goes well."

"Me too. I think it should, she seems like a good fit." He walked down the corridor and into the workroom, closing the door behind him.

Seated at his desk, he thought back on the days when he was going to job interviews trying to get work. He'd been nervous for every one, and it struck him as somewhat perverse that he was just as nervous now that he was the interviewer. Only now did he realize there was just as much for the interviewer to be worried about. Every interview was a chance to pick the wrong candidate.