Choosing the communications officer

It took most of the rest of that day to get everything loaded and their business in the system concluded. While Rye’s belongings were not that excessive, Dustin had taken the time to put a call in to Star Command back on earth and had arranged for a truckload of Vodka as well as a sampler of other spirits to be shipped as a provisional start to future trading. It’d be almost another year before a Velca ship could swing by to make good on the trade apparently, but in the meantime after some rough negotiation he along with Meli had been able to source a range of supplies in exchange for the drink from the artificer-general. Not at as good a price as he’d gotten for the first crate, but that was quantity and buying on credit over directly trading a rare commodity for you.

At last however, everything was loaded and the three members of the Solar Ascent’s crew had gathered once more in the ready room - this time to share a meal. Rye had changed out of her formal jumpsuit and into a rough looking sleeveless version that revealed muscular arms covered in that same golden fur Dustin had noticed before. She had kept the dungarees over the top however - although the pockets of these were now stuffed almost to overflowing with tools and odd bits of tech that she tinkered with idly, mostly to keep her hands busy Dustin suspected. “Alright” he said at last, calling the attention of his crew mates to him once they had all finished eating. “I think it’s time we discuss our next move. Chief science officer?”

Meli straightened up in her chair, wiping the last remnants of her food into her mouth with a fingertip before speaking. “As I stated previously captain, I believe our best course of action now would be to acquire a capable diplomat to aid us in interspecies dialogue and cultural matters. There are a few options here, and the decision is yours. First, we have the Thossa…” this prompted a shudder of revulsion from Rye with a muttered “slimy slug folk, ugh” half under the woman’s breath. Meli pretended not to notice and continued “…alternatively the Shynix. Both are not signatories to this mission, but are easy to recruit so would move us closer to completing our initial task. As you are aware, we require the signature of several additional races not on the initial nomination to complete the first phase.” At Dustin’s blank look, the Velca woman’s ears flickered into mild-amusement before shifting into a far more flirtatious position “Ah, I forgot. I told you that when you were trying hard not to contemplate my behind, Captain.”

Dustin smiled at her. “Perfect tone for flirtation, Meli, however appropriateness of the comment? I don’t want to embarrass our new chief engineer before we’ve even left dock.” The Velca blushed, ears flickering into a position marking mild shame as she turned to Rye who was contemplating a gyroscope. “Don’t worry about it, I’m used to folk being like that” the Rabyth muttered, waving one hand idly before adding “and hurry up with our choices so I can get on to my own embarrassment before I pass out from stress over here.” Meli nodded, turning back to Dustin as she continued. “The final alternative would be the Feliax, one of the other species that sponsored this mission - although I am not sure how well you would handle their culture this soon” that earned a snort from the Rabyth woman. Dustin glanced at her and Rye shrugged before tossing the gyroscope back into one cavernous pocket and swinging around to face the table fully. “The Feliax are polyamorous-monogamous sluts that make even my kind look like puritans.” She said, which got a cough from Meli.

“That is not entirely true Rye. Feliax have a pride or pack mentality similar to large cats on earth - although they are more canid in appearance. They are tremendously loyal to the primary partner in their relationship, although their relations with other members of their pride are far more promiscuous. This, combined with some odd reproductive issues and quirks that impact some members of their species that we can discuss when or if it becomes relevant later has lead to them gaining a somewhat… poor reputation on the galactic stage, despite being founding members of the galactic council.” Meli explained, before settling back in her chair and taking a sip from her drink. “The choice is yours as to which of these species we meet next though captain.”

Dustin sighed. “I didn’t just want a rundown of who we could pick. I want your input. Both of you, please Rye.” The chief engineer sat up straighter in her chair and looked at him pensively for a minute before sighing and replying. “Not the Thossa please. Their slime gets everywhere, and it takes months to get it out of your fur. The Feliax - for all I mock them, our chief science officer is right. They’re founding members of the council, and for good reason. Sluttery aside, they’re some of the most charismatic of all the original council species and are almost frustratingly good at diplomacy. The Shynix are nice enough too - they’ll find dealing with some of the more prudish species a little easier as well, although we’d probably need to re-purpose a cargo hold to allow them to roost or they’d get stressed after a few weeks in space.” With her summary finished, the bunny fell quiet, glancing to her side at Meli.

“From a mission perspective, pick any one. From a personal perspective, the Feliax would be the most interesting to work and research with” Dustin wasn’t entirely sure Rye had picked up the secondary meaning to that statement as Meli concluded “while either the Shynix or Thossa would be less interesting, they each have benefits in connecting with some species due to their physiology.” Dustin shook his head. “So basically, the Shynix would mean a bunch of effort for only one extra signature on our mission, the Thossa are out because I’m not going to risk conflict between two members of the senior staff this early in the trip, and the Feliax are going to be hard for me to deal with because they’ll probably want to get into a relationship with me. And you too presumably Meli if they normally want to be in a pride?”

The Velca shook her head. “Not probably. Certainly. It will be a requirement for you to get into a relationship, and me too as we are a couple. They insist on relationships as part of their dealings with any missions like this. I’ll explain the details to you at a later point.” Dustin sighed, before waving a hand towards the nearest speaker as he made a choice. “How long will it take to get to Feliax space Sola?” The AI’s reply was measured for once. “Direct travel, assuming we are not scanning for additional routes with human-weave interactivity would put us there in two weeks. However, scanning the route ahead, if we take a few small detours we are likely to be able to achieve several signatures along the way through trade or use of my systems to assist smaller species. I will consult with the chief science officer later, but if we expect the trip to take two months we should be able to gain a great deal of respect during the journey as well as fully test many of my capabilities.”

Sola’s voice cut of cleanly and Dustin stood up, walking around to the automat and ordering up another coffee. “Ok, well that’s settled then. We’ll get some rest tonight, and in the morning Meli and Sola can come up with a suitable plan for us to gather signatures along the way while we head out to a jump point. I’ll go over some of the features of the ship with you while they’re doing that Rye; it’ll take too long to go into everything tonight.” The chief engineer nodded, her hands playing fitfully with a socket-wrench for a moment before setting it onto the table. “Alright then. In that case, I guess I should do my bit of sharing. I did say I would earlier on, and if we’re going to be shacking up with a Feliax it’ll be useful for you to know. In which case, best to get this dealt with early. Sit down please captain - it’s embarrassing enough talking about this without you looming over me.”