Arrival and messages

Dustin stood at the window, watching the bustle as the star-port was cleared ready for the arrival of the Solar Ascent - the first human-run ship to leave Earth’s local space. His ship. Training had been long over the past two months; he’d had to take on a lot of galactic traditions quickly - at least enough to not make a fool of himself on the maiden voyage over to Velca space to pick up his chief science officer. And then on top of that, the general had insisted on both a crash course in public relations as well as a fitness and combat training program that Dustin was pretty sure was designed for the SAS but the old man had assured him had been designed by global experts to maximize what could be done by an average human in the time they had available. Either way, he’d spent most evenings face-planting into bed both mentally and physically drained.

On the plus side, however, he had also been having the most fun he’d ever had - at no point had he questioned why he was doing things in the way he had previously, none of the old boredom of potential jobs sucked his will to keep going; in fact, he’d even come to appreciate the two mentors and their different approaches to his training. In time, he’d learned to read Re’x as well - the Velca was far more human than first impressions might have given. At least, when he let his guard down, and once you’d learned to understand that the Velca used ear movement rather than vocal tone to indicate emotions. In any case, the ambassador genuinely seemed to appreciate the effort that Dustin was putting into his training, which was what really counted.

Now, however, the training was done. Dustin held under one arm a case that was officially just containing his personal effects - those things he’d requested from his limited apartment or had gained over the course of his training. Unofficially, (and currently burning a hole in his thoughts) the case also contained a narrow manilla envelop containing “documents for you to read in transit, then preferably burn and kick the ash out an airlock” according to the general. Something so confidential that they didn’t want anyone else to know about it - actual paper not being used for storing information much any more. The envelope also apparently contained a letter from Re’x - the general had commented that “the damn pompous ass somehow knew we were giving you secret information and called in a favour to get me to add his note to the pack. He’s not told their research council about it, so whatever it is is personal, which is half the reason I let him get away with the whole thing.”

In addition to the case, there was also a lounge full of journalists to go and talk to in a moment - they were all currently clustered around the observation windows on the far side of the star-port right now, trying to get a good angle of the incoming craft, but that wouldn’t last. As Dustin thought that, the clouds above suddenly turned a deep orange. He grinned at the sight; the general had mentioned they’d show off a bit so the ship would be coming in hotter than normal; the vessel was designed to take much thicker cover than encountered during Terran atmospheric entry, so this would do little more than give her heat shielding a light warm-up. What it would do however was make a great spectacle for the press as she cleared the cloud layer, steam and glow billowing out like some dragon of progress even as her anti-grav engines span up to full power to set her down gently on the cleared landing strip.

Having watched the Solar Ascent’s arrival, Dustin turned away from the window. He had a job to do now after all - there would be time to inspect the ship properly when the official handover with the general and the ambassador happened in a hour or so. Instead, it was time to answer a mind-numbingly long series of questions. What followed was about what he had expected; the journalists were not exactly looking for the fine details of interstellar communication, but instead wanted to know his thoughts on everything and anything - human interest stories, essentially. Just as he was beginning to wonder if it would ever end while replying to a question on which team he thought would win the system-wide basketball championship finals due to be held on Mars in a week’s time, a United Earth Government official interrupted the press to explain that the Velca ambassador and Star Command’s liaison had finished their preliminary checks and it was time for humanity’s representative to the stars to take ownership of his vessel.

Trying his best not to look to relieved - or to run - Dustin followed the official out and down onto the landing pad. Above him, the bulk of the vessel loomed, with only the lowered access lift and a set of massive landing legs connecting the craft to the ground. In front of the lift, a handful more press - this time Earth Gov officials - surrounded his mentors for the past two months. As Dustin approached, the crowd parted to let him through, and he arrived in front of the two with his best attempt at a formal salute for the general and then a low bow to the ambassador, using his hands as he did so to push his ears slightly forward into an approximation of the Velca expression of respect. Re’x’s own ears rose in the markings of surprise at this, before he murmured “I appreciate the effort of the gesture, ambassador” in his monotone voice.

Dustin straightened up, turning to the crowd. This part at least had been well rehearsed - the greeting with his mentors had been left to his own initiative, but from here it was big smiles, hand shakes and then the formal handover of the last part of his Star Command dress uniform - his captain’s hat. Putting the hat on his head, he turned for another round of photos - and then finally, after months of waiting stepped into his ship alone. The doors on the turbolift sealed shut and he slumped against the wall breathing a sigh of relief. This was it - he was finally about to go to space.

With a hiss, the lift began to rise, the access shaft rising with it as the craft prepared for departure. As it did so, speakers on the wall crackled to life. “Welcome aboard captain. I am Solar Ascent Control Artificial Intelligence, designated Sola for ease of communication. My purpose is to assist and advise the crew as well as provide rapid access to the onboard systems and databases. I am also responsible for following predetermined weave flight paths where pilot control is not required.” The voice was female, polite and surprisingly friendly-sounding for an AI, most of whom in Dustin’s experience were only marginally less monotone than the Velcan ambassador.

Just as he thought that, a burst of static came from the speakers followed by a very different voice. “…I really hope this works. Ok, listen up human, I don’t have a lot of space to work with and can only get this to play the once when you board alone for the first time. You need an engineer, I’m amazing at it, stop by the Rabyth homeworld - you’ll need to anyhow, we’re sponsors of your trip. Most of our kind don’t want to leave the system, but I do - they’ll ask for volunteers if you ask for an engineer to join you, so keep an eye out for Rye, that’s my name. Shit, gotta go if I don’t want the AI to pick up I’m messing with her systems like thi…” the strange speaker cut out, dropping back into the AI mid-sentence describing the current state of preparations for takeoff. Dustin shook his head, unsure what to do about the strange message. He’d read up a little about the Rabyth - and Rye’s comment that they didn’t like to leave home sounded true as far as he remembered. As was the fact that they were with out a doubt some of the best spaceship engineers in the galaxy. He’d think on things - but he’d certainly follow the request to keep an eye out for her (certainly, the voice had sounded like a her) application if his course headed in that direction. If nothing else, the fact that she had apparently managed to hide a message well enough that Star Command, the Velca Research Council, the Titan and Rabyth shipyards as well as Sola, the ships AI hadn’t been able to find it - and keyed it to only play when he boarded the vessel? That had piqued his interest.