"Are we off then, Captain Taylor?" one of the engineers asked Morgan as they finished loading the last boxes.
"No, not yet, Oliver," Morgan replied vaguely while consulting the voice message he'd just received. "We're expecting a new arrival. A new navigator called Kendrick. He should be here any minute now if my information is correct."
"Good, let's just hope he can read maps," Oliver chuckled. "The last one wasn't any good. I wonder if he had some difficulty with his central system," Oliver continued.
"That might explain why he directed us to the opposite site of the world instead of joining the fights at Alpha Centauri. But I always thought he was afraid of fighting. Either way, I've never been so embarrassed in my life when I tried to explain Master Kane what had happened." They both laughed heartily as they packed the final crate in the cargo area.
"What do you know about this new fellow, then?" Oliver asked.
"Not much. Only that he graduated at the best of his class and have been working the grades ever since. He must have done something good, because he requested service at the Ziota system. Don't know why."
"Maybe he heard there was a chance of fighting now that the rebels have emerged from their caves again."
"Yep, that might be the case. The rebels weren't as easily beaten as we expected, even though we still have most of them locked up."
"By the way, are you up for another round of space ball tonight?" Oliver inquired.
"You bet. You owe me a victory, remember," Morgan chuckled. "It's good tone to let the captain win, you know."
"Is it? I've never heard about it," Oliver smiled. Morgan gave his back a hard clap and watched smilingly as Oliver took an involuntary step forward in order to maintain his balance.
"Ever heard about double shifts either?" Morgan suggested sweetly. "That's what you'll get if you treat your superiors this way."
"All right, old man, perhaps I'll let you get off easy this time."
"Hah, I'll show you who's
old
around here when I wipe the floor with your ass later on."
At the same time, one of the soldiers came running toward them. "Captain, come quickly. You have a visitor."
"Good," Morgan replied. "That must be the new navigator. See you later, Oliver. Hope you have plenty of salve to treat those aching muscles of yours come morning."
***
Morgan followed the distressed soldier and wondered how the fellow could ever hope to do well in a war. He seemed a nervous wreck already, and they hadn't even left the planet's surface yet. He made a mental note of the soldiers name and vowed never to let this pinball guard his back in a shootout if he could help it.
"What's the problem, soldier?" he asked as they turned toward the main gateway leading toward the control room.
"No, problem, exactly, but... I'll think you should see for yourself, Captain," the soldier replied enigmatically as he walked faster than before as if he wanted to rid himself of an unpleasant task as soon as possible.
Morgan followed easily and couldn't wait to see the fellow that had made this before called tough guy into a quivering kitty. He must be spooky, indeed. Probably had loads of tattoos all over his face and a shining knife in his belt. Yes, a really scary fellow that could act like their new navigator.
***
"A woman?" Morgan almost shouted. "E. Kendrick is a damn
woman
?" He stared at the proud creature standing in front of him. She returned his stare with her own frosty look and stood so calm and collected he knew she had been through the same scene many times before.
Worse than that, she was not bad-looking either, with the shapely figure that was far too revealed in the tight skin suit she was wearing. This would never work out, Morgan thought. What idiot had sent him a woman instead of the ruthless man he had hoped for? Even worse, someone had sent him an attractive woman as well. Damn it. How was he ever going to maintain discipline with this one onboard? But did he have any choice at all? They needed a navigator and he didn't want to waste time waiting a couple of days for another one.
He looked around. The men were already much too interested in the newest member of their group. No wonder. Women were a rare occurrence among their people, and he had never heard of anyone of them being in the corps. Instead, the few women they had were always kept safe and secure by their mates, and if they didn't have mates, their male relatives would protect them instead. Now, this one was much more mysterious for not having a protector with her.
"A female navigator? I've never heard about it before. Are you sure you're in the right place, Missy?"