Captain Trader Helmsman Spy by Gallagher Karl K

Author:Gallagher, Karl K.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kelt Haven Press
Published: 2022-05-09T00:00:00+00:00

***

Azure Tarn’s bridge was only fully staffed for critical operations—departure, landing, and tight passages in hyperspace. For long, boring stretches she only needed one watchstander.

When flying in the Censorate, the Landrys wanted two watchstanders at all times. Most of the crew were qualified as watchstanders. The first mate rotated people through the three shifts, making sure everyone shared shifts with all the other possible watchstanders. Day shift would see the bridge half-full, with training of new crew or systems maintenance. Some of that slipped into the swing shift. Night shift was normally free of interruptions.

Two weeks out of Kiwara, Argel and Roger were scheduled for a night shift together. He took the helm seat in the center, monitoring their course to make sure the autopilot was properly correcting for currents. Argel drifted over the other positions, refreshing her memory of their functions and checking for readouts approaching the safe limits.

Everything was nominal. She settled at the sensor console on Roger’s left, watching for wandering aetherbergs or unexpected shoals. He lifted his hand to her shoulder. She snuggled into it.

An hour later they were still snuggling, each with one hand free for operating their console.

It felt private. Really, it was private. The bulkhead separating the bridge from the officers’ cabins was several times thicker than the one between cabins. Nobody would hear them through that.

“Ever thought of being captain of your own ship?” Argel asked.

“I guess it could happen,” answered Roger. “I never thought about it.”

Asking, ‘Why didn’t you think about it?’ wouldn’t be useful. She tried working from the other direction. “How did you wind up as helmsman?”

The new tension left his arm as she moved away from talking about the future. “Oh, they gave us tests in school. I scored high on reflexes and spatial orientation, plus decent in math, so they recommended driving or piloting for me. I went to a training course. Then Captain Landry hired me.”

A Corwynti’s story of how he landed a job would have mentioned at least six relatives and a new spouse. “What did your family think?”

“My dad thought it was a good job. Mom didn’t care, any job was good as long as I was working. You’d like her. She’s a worrier.”

Had he clipped a ‘too’ off the end of that? Argel didn’t mind. She was glad one other person shared her desire to shake Roger and shout, ‘Will you think about your future for two minutes?’

Argel cursed herself. She was doing it again. Wanting to talk about relationships and talking about careers instead. Because on Corwynt they were all mixed together and it was less scary to talk about jobs than emotions.

She didn’t care if Roger ever captained a ship. She wanted to know if his future included a wife. Also if the wife-piece was a shape Argel could fit into. If it didn’t . . . she needed to make a plan for the post-Roger phase of her life.

Not that she wanted to. She loved Roger. He was handsome, sweet, and funny, and he’d proved he’d die for her.

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