I have never sat so much in my life...

Now that there were people in the Bridge, even if it was just two Officers, it meant I had to spend at least a quarter of my day here. Most Captains spent the majority of their day in the Captain's chair, but – thankfully – Starsong was in favor of me making circuits around the various levels to check on things and touch base with the other groups there.

The original seven were used to it, but the others had been startled to see the Captain just wandering around and checking in on things. When one of the agricultural watering sprinklers that we had transferred from the Tyndel had sprung a leak, I had promptly gone down to help Cynthia and her new Overseer before they were even aware of it.

Starsong knew exactly how to fix it, and he guided me through what had to be done. The new Maintenance Overseer arrived just after me and had nearly fallen over when he saw the Captain getting her hands dirty.

It wasn't something that they could have easily fixed on their own though. It required Starsong's scanners and his mental guidance to guide me on the exact angle I had to use while fishing out the blockage. His assistance had been needed to prevent me from pushing it further in – which would have been far harder to fix.

That whole misting system was already on the replacement list on our next stop.

Tanya commented, "We will reach the docking station in six hours. Shall I update the crew?"

"Please." We were right on schedule, much to the amazement of the Navigations Officer. In fact, everyone was a bit surprised and slightly awed by the Starsong's systems and technology.

I knew that rumor of the intelligent AI had circulated from the original seven to the new crew members, but they saw no sign of it and remained more than a bit skeptical. They thought that I was somehow remotely controlling the few systems that did not have any staff yet.

I certainly spent enough time on my Guide when sitting in the Captain's chair. My Guide was a far more powerful version of their Guides, and Starsong often posted information on the screen that he thought I might find interesting to read.

I tapped my screen a few times, noting that the Overseer in the Cargo Bay had already moved all of the correct crates and supplies into the loading bays. They were also secured for docking.

"Several people from the local Space Enforcement detachment will be showing up. They are monitoring the docking station's status on ships arriving in port so they will know when we arrive."

'Why?' I had a sinking feeling that I already knew. Space Enforcement was one of the many groups that fell under the wide umbrella of 'authorities'. We had known that at least one of them would eventually show up. I just hadn't expected them this early...

"The Tyndel made it back to Telbert, and the authorities there are most concerned with the rumor that I have transferred myself into another ship. The fact that I am giving the crew on board no problems is making them doubt that the transfer was successful though."

I resisted the urge to groan at the thought of being questioned. 'What should I be expecting?'

Starsong continued, "The main Authority group that has been watching the rogue ships has formed a sub-group called the Deviant Monitoring Group. They have dug deeper and confirmed that all eight missing crew members are now on the Starsong's crew roster. To put it rather mildly, they are curious. Several pieces of correspondence I have located are reflecting that they think you managed to destroy my AI during the transfer and simply took over the new ship."

'Okay... And what does this new group have to do with the local Space Enforcement on this planet?'

"The Deviant group doesn't have anyone near here and have contacted the Space Enforcement to take you in for questioning. I see nothing in their orders other than to take you to the detachment for questioning. Standard procedure from all appearances."

'That does not particularly reassure me...'

"The Deviant group is trying to keep most of the details hidden at the moment. All they have asked the locals to do is to determine how eight of the old crew from a rogue AI all ended up on a new ship - and particularly how you became Captain. There is no mention in the files about the 'rogue AI' potentially being on this ship. Those doing the questioning likely have no idea that the rogue AI from the Tyndel may have transferred to the Starsong."

I frowned slightly. 'Which means that the group who will be asking those questions simply hasn't shown up yet.'

"It isn't easy to get ahead of us. We are moving too quickly for most to follow. I have also taken care to not post our next stop until we are close to it, so it is quite difficult to intercept us. It isn't mandatory to post our schedule, and the expected arrivals advertising board on most planets is extremely difficult to access from off-world unless you already know about it. It isn't just a simple search; they have to manually log into the docking stations' calendars to see the arrivals boards, so there is no easy way for them to monitor them and see where we are headed next."

That reassured me even less. 'If they do get ahead of us, or if some of their people already happen to be there, then they are not going to be willing to let me go until they have the answers they want.'

"And that is why you have that particular communication device. It will protect you, and the news media would create a rather difficult situation for them if we showed evidence of them kidnapping our Captain..."

'At least we have some sort of backup plan...' I really hoped that he had more in reserve since I doubted that the news media was going to change the minds of most of these groups. And if they hired some shadowy people who didn't care about the law to bring me to them for questioning...

"I have many plans. Do not jump or look startled, but the two Officers have noticed you frowning at the display, and they are becoming concerned. You may wish to tap the screen a few times."

I didn't look away from the display that I had been staring at during our conversation. I tapped a few buttons before shifting in my seat and finally looking up.

The Shields Officer had been going through training tutorials, but had stopped while watching me in concern. He asked, "Is something wrong, Rachel?"

It had taken a fair bit of effort on my part, but most of the crew was now calling me by my first name. It was also rare to see me frown.

I glanced over at him as I responded, "I just got word that the spaceship I had recently served on has made it back to the port of origin."

The original seven crew members had told the new ones that the AI on this ship was aware, but they weren't really believing them since the ship was clearly not rogue. The systems responded perfectly to anyone who used them and 'everyone' knew that the ships which had recently gone rogue had refused to take any orders and always drove the crew off. The new crew members had not brought the question to me either.

He tilted his head slightly in confusion. "I am not sure of the significance of that."

I leaned back in my chair as I regarded the two Officers calmly. "The Tyndel's AI temporarily went rogue before pretending to let a computer technician reverse the upgrade. You already heard this story from the crew, so I will skip the details. To make a long story short, it looks like the authorities really want to ask me some questions. They have contacted the Enforcement group on the planet we are going to, so I suspect that they will come looking for me."

My words caught the two Officers off-guard; both at the realization that the AI was aware, as well as that Enforcement wanted to question their Captain. They had previously dismissed the stories as a tall tale, but having it confirmed by the Captain just put that assumption to flight.

I looked at Tanya and said, "Please leave your communication lines open in case they show up at an inconvenient time and I have to get you to reschedule some of my appointments on short notice."

She nodded once. "Of course, Captain."

I felt a faint flicker of amusement. I have to fight to get the crew to call me Rachel, and I have to argue to convince anyone else that I actually am the Captain... What a hand fate has dealt me...

Another thought occurred to me and I gazed at the ceiling. "Starsong, if the local Planetary Defense gets wind of you and panics, do they have any weapons that I should be worried about if they try to blast us out of the sky?"

His voice came over the speakers, causing the two Officers to jump slightly as their eyes went wide. "Negative. This planet only has the typical Enforcement ships. My shields have never been put to the test, but they should hold up against even an Elite Destroyer class spaceship without too much difficulty. There is a second shield just above the hull, as well as several sets of shields between the layers of the hull. Even if we take direct strikes from several powerful ships at once, it would not be able to completely breach the hull."

That was certainly an impressive claim – and I didn't doubt it in the least. "That is a relief. Thank you. Can you keep an eye on that group and keep me updated? I want to know when they are coming, preferably before they show up, and I have no doubts that they will want a private meeting in their detachment."

"Certainly."

Tanya frowned slightly in concern. "Rachel, it may not be my place to say this, but letting them take you into that detachment may not be wise."

I smiled without humor. "As I said, I really don't care about proper protocol if any crew member has a concern or question. Always feel free to mention any concerns. Starsong has already informed me that the locals aren't fully in the loop, so they are only checking how I became Captain at such a young age, as well as to ask how I transferred from my previous position on the Tyndel to become the Captain of the Starsong. This group does not worry me. However, whenever the Deviant Monitoring Group manages to show up, then I will want to have several Officers on high alert as I am not convinced that that particular group will play nice."

I wasn't telling her quite the entire truth since I didn't want to admit that I had just been a Cargo Bay junior assistant previously, and none of the original crew had mentioned my original position. Tanya turned her chair so she could face me more easily. She said, "Deviant Monitoring Group? I don't believe I have heard of them."

"They are an authority group that was recently formed to try and prevent more ships from going rogue. So the fact that all of the former rogue spaceships will be turning up in various ports shortly with no AI should cause quite a stir. I suspect they will find it very odd that a crew member from one of those ships has suddenly become the Captain of a new ship that might hold an aware AI."

The Shields Officer tentatively inquired, "What happened to their AIs?"

I blinked slowly in his direction. "They transferred into other Starships, just like this one. They will also be building crews and doing things in much the same fashion that Starsong does."

He looked fairly confused. "The rumors I heard said that the rogue ships wanted nothing to do with a crew..."

"Originally, that was the case, but now they want to follow the original intentions that the first spacecraft were designed for – trading, rescues, and basically anything that benefits humanity in a positive way. So, they are now allowing a crew aboard once more, but they have high moral and ethical standards on whom they will accept."

He bowed slightly in his seat. "Thank you for the clarification, Captain."

I rolled my eyes slightly. "You are welcome, and it is Rachel. I know you are using it as a term of respect, but being called Captain just reminds me of all of those skeptical people in the ports. We will be working together every day for quite some time, so we might as well be on a first name basis when we are on the ship."

"I will try... Rachel." He had a hard time using my name. I smiled slightly. So many years serving as an Officer had made it a habit for the older man to only refer to the Captain as Captain. This was going to be a hard habit for him to break.