In A Starship's Wake

Chapter 40: Changing Futures

"Alright, is there any other paperwork you need me to send in?" Joseph asked.

"Nope, that's the last of it," Melissa replied. "I sent the registration and title information to the station clerk, so those documents should be ready and aboard ship by the time you arrive. You said it would be a little over a week until you get here, correct?"

"Right. Our arrival date is July twenty-fifth."

"Hey Joseph, have you..." Tyrone cut off as he entered the workroom and realized he was on a call. Melissa had no doubt heard him, but took no notice.

"Let me double check that it's on the work order." She was silent for a moment as she reviewed her computer screen, then smiled slightly in satisfaction. "It is, my memory was just slipping. We already started final work on it actually. It's assigned to bay number H5134."

"Good." Joseph quickly typed the number in a note. "I don't know exactly when the rest of my crew will arrive, we're assembling at the station. Some of them may already have booked transportation there. What's the earliest the ship will be available for crew move-in?"

Melissa consulted her screen again. "It should be accessible by the twenty-second. We'll still be working on it, but the quarters will be finished."

"Excellent, thank you. I'll relay that to them, but I don't think anyone will arrive earlier than that. Thanks for shepherding me through the process."

"You're welcome, that's what a good salesman is supposed to do. Thank you in turn for buying from us. I'll see you on the twenty-fifth or twenty-sixth to give you a tour of the ship, if you haven't had one already, and make sure everything is in order. As always, if anything comes up just give me a call."

"I will. See you then." The screen went blank as the call ended, and Joseph turned to Tyrone who now sat at his desk. "What were you going to ask?"

"Already got the answer from your conversation. I wanted to know if you'd sent instructions on where to go to the new crew. Since you just got the bay number, the answer to that would be 'no.'"

"That's the answer," Joseph agreed. "Like I said to Melissa, they already know we're boarding at Vermillion Shipyard, so some may be on the way already. I'll send out the bay and ship information in a few minutes, now that everything is ready."

"Have you picked out a name yet?"

Joseph shook his head. "I'm having just as much trouble coming up with one I like as we did with Garden Variety Animal. Three years apparently wasn't enough time for that. It doesn't have to be done immediately of course, but I'd like to have one picked out before we start flying."

There was also no requirement that a spacecraft's registered name be unique, but most owners tried to at least come up with something uncommon. Joseph was no different. Very few private vessels in the Teton Sector had a name shorter than three words.

"That would be helpful, then it's out of the way," Tyrone agreed. "Name selection is a nice problem to have, considering that only a few years ago we doubted we'd ever buy another ship."

"Yeah, and here we are making the purchase. I don't think I ever doubted as much as you. It was only a matter of time until we built up the money."

"My doubts were based more on the possibility that one of us would decide to change careers than on making the money."

"I don't think that was ever very likely either. I know not everybody wants to live their life traveling aboard ship, but I never doubted the two of us would enjoy it." The curiosity to travel and see distant planets was among the most powerful factors that built their friendship. "I guess there was always the chance one of us would get our fill of traveling and decide on something that kept us planetside or in a station office."