I opted out of joining the evening activities in favor of some quiet and relaxing reading in my room. I had a sitting area after all, so it was a shame not to use it. Besides, we would be arriving at our next stop tomorrow, and many people were planning for their ship-leave, whether it was just an evening out or a full day event.

I had grabbed a few interesting-looking books from Cynthia earlier, so I sat down on a soft chair to relax while enjoying a cup of hot chocolate. The sitting area was a quaint little room with enough seating for eight people. I kept it clean, tidy, and presentable in case I ever needed to have a meeting with some of my Officers in a more informal setting.

I hadn't read more than a few pages before Starsong interrupted, "Your brother is calling."

Shane usually didn't call so early in the evening. I quickly put down my book before heading to my room. I normally spoke to him while sitting on my bed; a bed normally took up most of the space in the average bedroom on a spaceship. I would have a much harder time explaining why I was sitting on a rather luxurious chair...

My computer had chimed twice before I hit the button and backed up to sit on the edge of my bed. My brother was sitting in the living room of his apartment. His warm and amused gaze met mine as he said, "I got your package today, love the picture by the way."

I grinned at him. "Happy birthday. I thought you would like that one. I am surprised it got there that fast."

"What do you expect when you ship it like that? You didn't have to ship it with priority service, you know. A slower mailing service is much cheaper, and I know something would eventually show up since you wouldn't have forgotten about me."

"Huh? I paid for regular express."

He held up the package wrapping that was clearly marked for one of the faster mailing services. I had a suspicion about who was to blame for this one and shook my head slightly. "I will have to ask around, but I think I know who upgraded my package..."

"Guilty as charged." Starsong did not sound the least bit repentant either.

Shane shrugged, completely unaware of the byplay. "If it is a guy who is trying to charm you, then I want to talk to him face-to-face before you two do anything drastic."

The complete irony of his statement had me laughing. "I am quite certain that you are safe in that regard, Shane. The vast majority of this crew are old enough to be my father. Quite a few of them happen to be married, and their spouses are also working on board."

Shane raised an eyebrow in amusement as he bantered with me. "And is this particular guy among that group?"

That gave me pause for a moment. "To be honest, I have no idea how old he is, but he certainly isn't young. He has been kicking around long enough that I don't even want to ask how old he is. He is more of a mentor than anything else."

"You may call it old, but I call it having plenty of experience."

Shane shrugged, dismissing the topic. "Good enough. Just keep your wits about you. Oh, by the way, I looked up the ship you said you were currently on to see if they had an itinerary posted. There isn't one, which doesn't really surprise me, but I noticed that they have you listed as Captain. They even have your picture posted. I am not sure how they bungled that one up, but you might want to get it fixed before someone notices and takes exception to it."

I winced slightly, and Shane noticed it. He frowned. "Rachel?"

I sighed heavily. "I wasn't the one to submit that paperwork, but the docking station staff believed it..."

He sat up straighter with a look of confusion. "Surely the Captain would have corrected it if it were mentioned to him or her."

How could I possibly explain this one?

"You might as well tell him the truth. He will learn of it eventually and be hurt that you didn't trust him before with this knowledge."

Starsong had a valid point, and I really didn't want to keep secrets from Shane. I sighed heavily as I gave in to the inevitable and lifted my eyes to gaze at my brother. "Shane, the Captain isn't going to do anything about it because I am technically the Captain."

He stared at me in complete disbelief, waiting for the punchline to the joke. When I didn't speak, he shook his head in slight frustration. "Rachel, this is a rather serious matter..."

I decided that it would be easier to show him some proof. "Give me a moment."

I got up and removed the computer from where it hung on the wall. I spun the screen with its built-in camera so he could truly see the size of my bedroom. I walked towards the bedroom door and then into the sitting room. I propped the computer up on an end table while taking a seat in a nearby chair where he could see me and a good portion of the room.

He was simply blinking in shock, unable to reconcile the facts into logic. I started speaking slowly, "Remember that rogue AI?"

Shane nodded silently as he focused on me.

"Well, apparently, I was the only one who wasn't terrified of speaking with an aware AI, so he asked me to become a liaison between him and the crew. He later transferred from the Tyndel onto the Starsong. Since I was the only one who didn't mind speaking to him, he made me Captain. Although Captain is the technical term that the docking stations will accept. In the end, I am still more or less just relaying Starsong's preferences and orders to the crew."

Shane watched me for a few moments while digesting that rather unexpected explanation. "Shit. You aren't joking..."

My brother knew me pretty well. "No."

He rubbed his temples in thought. "I haven't paid much attention to the groups chasing the rogue ships since you told me you got a transfer onto another ship, but you do realize that if these groups figure out you have been on speaking terms with an aware AI for a month, that it won't exactly be a good thing?"

I leaned back in my seat as I once more faced the dread I felt when I thought about those groups. My voice was steady, although my serious tone showed that this had already crossed my mind more than few times. "Oh, believe me, I am aware of it. That is one of the reasons I don't go on ship-leave every evening when we are in port. I also keep to the busier public areas when I do go out."

Shane's mind was already trying to find more advice for me, regardless of the rather insane situation I had gotten myself into. "That is good... But those guys have plenty of power to stop anyone on any street. I don't think most of them have the authority to board a spaceship without permission or a warrant from the local enforcement agency. Those warrants aren't that hard for higher-ranking Interspace Enforcement Officers to get though..."

"If they do manage to get on board the Starsong, they won't manage anything more than what the AI allows them. Starsong has already assured me that he won't tolerate anyone who tries to drag me off. If they have questions, I am sure we can go to a meeting room for a private discussion while Starsong supervises."

Shane made a face. "I highly doubt they will be that accommodating. I know Captains' duties take them off the ship regularly when docked, and I suspect that they will strike then."

"There isn't much I can do. Starsong has full access to my communication device, so he will know the instant that anything goes wrong."

He rolled his eyes in slight annoyance as he tried to talk some sense into me. "Rachel, be realistic, before your overconfidence lands you in hot water - again. This group isn't one you want to underestimate. Starsong may be an aware AI, but he is still an AI that is stuck inside a computer. Even if he knows you are in trouble, there isn't much he can do. They may not even bother questioning you; they may just attack the ship."

I muttered, "Then they had better bring an Elite Destroyer or four if they don't want to be fleeing with their tails tucked between their legs."

Shane either didn't hear me or was ignoring my comment as he kept speaking, "Most planets have some pretty impressive Planetary Defenses, and if the ship is docked when they use those, then it is just a sitting duck since every port I have seen requires the shields and weapons to be offline before allowing people to dock."

Most ships took time to get such systems back up and online but, once more, the Starships were an entirely different beast. One that you really didn't want to piss off...

I tried to think of how to explain this to my now-overly-paranoid brother. "Shane, the Starships are really advanced. They built their own ships, and they expect these groups to try to attack one day. Starships may look like an unusually sleek cargo hauler, but anyone who ends up in a fight with one will quickly realize they have more in common with a destroyer. Any attackers will also swiftly realize that their scanners won't work on the Starships or Starship technology. They won't even be able to tell if we are charging weapons or if they are offline."

He rubbed his temple as he made a face. "I am having a very hard time believing this, but considering that all of the previously rogue ships are back in port with the AIs missing, this is making far too much sense."

I did have one worry though. "You might want to keep this quiet though. I would hate to think what might happen if someone tries to hold you hostage."

He sighed and closed his eyes. "No worries there. I won't mention it to anyone. No one would believe me anyway." He took a deep breath and opened his eyes as a faint grin touched his lips. "Why couldn't I have a normal sister and only have to worry about an unsuitable boyfriend..."

I narrowed my eyes. "You said that you wanted to interview any guy before I so much as kissed him. You said nothing about a sudden career change."

He smirked at my jest. "So, a Captain, huh?"

I could tell that he was over the worst of the shock now, and I smiled in return. "You should see the chair in the Bridge that I get to sit on."

"That poor Bridge crew..."

I sat up straighter. "Hey! They still smile when they see me, so I can't be that bad!"

"Sister dearest, you are clearly forgetting that we grew up in the same house..."

The conversation went back in time as I defended some of my past actions and choices.

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Author's Note:

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