Jaunts of the Mantis

by Jim Henderson

  Ximon shook his head in dismay. Then he decided maybe he needed a nap and asked Raiza to join him in his room.

  He awoke a few hours later and, true to form, Raiza had washed all his clothes and laid out fresh ones. She had also made a nice lunch for him in bed. He thanked her, “Thank you, Raiza, you are a great comfort.”

  She said somewhat sultrily, “You are always welcome Ximon. I love to serve you.”

  After a nice lunch, he got on the computer to look on ScoutLink. He was planning to look for potential next jobs and possibly another crew member. However, as soon as he got online he saw he had a couple messages.

  First, he had an invoice for the job. The job was worth 30,000 CR, but he’d been paid 64,000 CR. The document accompanying it explained that he was paid for the job, plus a bonus for additional information and first contact, plus a small fee for post-mission consultation. The message also had non-disclosure agreements for both him and Elsbeth to sign.

  “Well, sweet, I can pay Elsbeth, buy those parts, and still have a chunk of money.”

  He immediately sent Elsbeth her salary, plus a bonus for additional work. He also sent her the contract documents again and offered her a small signing bonus. At present, he could afford to be generous. He also told her, let me know how much you will need to hire a maintenance assistant for a few days.

  He also had a message from KSF ACR Control thanking him for his mission completion and pointing him to the job board to consider more opportunities to serve. That was nice, since he was planning to go there anyway.

  Next, rather than scrolling through people on Scout Link, he posted a job offering. He was asking for applicants with Scout Survey Operator / Scientist experience, preferably also with some lesser experience in Navigation or Engineering. He offered a monthly contract and clearly indicated the initial plan was to take KSF ACR jobs.

  Then he looked at a few ship components he hadn’t discussed with Elsbeth, specifically a turret and weapons. Offensive weapons were too expensive, but he found a used refurbished turret that would fit and bought it and a basic chaff thrower (defensive anti-laser weapon) to go in it. He just hadn’t liked being totally “naked” out there. He was sure that Elsbeth would be thrilled at installing it.

  He bought upgraded navigation, scanner, and translation software packages for the Mantis computer. He restocked the galley and bought some miscellaneous other supplies. This included replacing a couple old vacc suits, adding a few additional air tanks, and stocking the small weapons locker with a shotgun and a few pistols.

  He also sent Raiza to the maintenance company for a “reluster.” This was sort of like a spa day for a companion bot. They basically treated her ‘skin’ with deep moisturizer that restored its flexibility and suppleness. Then they treated her hair, replacing some, recoloring it to its intended shade, and super moisturizing it. Finally, they did a full maintenance check and tune up. They even installed slight upgrades to her voice processing software and some ‘companion’ routines.

  After all, what good captain doesn’t take care of the whole crew?

  Ximon spent some time just strolling around the city, but mainly hung out around the ship. Over the next several days, Elsbeth and a middle-aged mechanic fixed a bunch of stuff on the ship – the arm, some tuning stuff she hadn’t gotten to, and LOTS of minor wiring things. She was NOT thrilled that Ximon had bought a turret without consulting her, but they got that mounted and got the chaff thrower in case. It wasn’t much, but it was SOMETHING. She didn’t sleep on the ship (as he did), but she showed up every morning and left late every afternoon. Only occasionally did she appear hungover when she came in and she did great work regardless.

  During that he got several inquiries about the job opening and examined their profiles. He rejected a few out of hand as too inexperienced, but 3 candidates looked promising a) Idayvo Oretes - a 30-ish year old guy with skin so black Ximon couldn’t make out details from the photo, b) Scott Jacobs - a retired guy pushing 60, and C) Ekh-agh-gaen an actual Canid. The latter was interesting -- Canid are a substantial minority within the Republic, but they tended to be concentrated closer to the areas bordering Canid space. He decided to interview all of them via video call rather than his “coin toss” like last time. He also invited Elsbeth to participate to get an additional perspective and because they might have some maintenance role.

  The interviews went fine. All seemed to have reasonable experience. Idayvo Oretes had some good, recent survey/analysis expertise, and a little experience in gunnery, ground operations, and navigation. However, his survey experience was all on newer vessels with newer sensors than Mantis. Scott Jacobs was kind of the opposite issue. He had extensive survey experience on older classes of ships such as the Vanguard, but most of his experience was a decade or more old. He also had a little maintenance experience, but that too was decades old. Ekh-agh-gaen was quite interesting. He appeared to have solid skills, had recent survey experience and a little training in pilot and navigation, but it wasn’t clear when he’d be available.

  It was clear that Elsbeth was watching the interview calls while working. She didn’t ask a lot or provide a lot of commentary, but she later seemed to favor Idayvo, who was Ximon’s #1 as well. His experience was substantial and varied, with useful expertise aside from sensor operations, and he just seemed to be the best fit temperament-wise,. So, Ximon offered the job to him. He excitedly accepted and said he could sign on in a week. He had a few things to arrange first. He also told them they could call him “Iday” so that was a bit easier.

  Then Ximon got to work on finding their next gig.

  Jaunt 2: Little Lost Sheep

  Scoutlink showed quite a few ARC jobs, but Ximon’ s criteria ruled many out because they were too soon, too far in the future, or required a larger ship and/or crew than he had. He bid on two jobs. One was relatively nearby (3 jumps this time) and required only some basic surveying, followed by some investigation on the ground. All the crew’s contracts included going on ground missions as necessary, so he felt OK about signing on for that. The other job appeared to just be a simple scan job and would only require one extra jump from the end of first job, so he applied for that as well. Soon, they were signed up to do both starting the next week.

  Iday signed on board and greeted Ximon warmly, “Captain, thank you again for this opportunity. I look forward to serving aboard the Mantis.”

  Iday was tall and fairly skinny, just under 2 meters tall, with very dark skin, and very short hair. He travelled light, carrying just a duffel bag and a small backpack. He wore some basic grey utility clothing and wore an infinity symbol on a breakaway chain around his neck. After chatting for a few minutes, he got settled into a cabin.

  Then he and Ximon spent several hours going over the Mantis’ sensors, getting him access, etc. Then Iday did some diligent sensor study and testing on his own. He also briefly examined the navigation computer and the fire control for the turret.

  In a few hours Ximon called everyone together and said they’d take off in 2 days to do 2 missions, totaling 6-8 weeks. Iday met everyone, including Raiza and the Mantis AI. He greeted Raiza like any woman and was polite to Mantis. It seemed very likable and it seemed like he’d fit in well.

  Ximon briefed the crew on the mission. “OK, we’ll take off day after tomorrow around 0800. We’ve got two missions. The first one is to investigate a Scout outpost on Cybex Beta 3. KSF has lost contact with the team there and our job is to find out why and take some scans and ground observations. We’ll jump to the Tidaya system, skim, jump to the Propelis system, skim, and then jump to our destination -- Cybex Beta. There, we’ll skim, go in to Cybex Beta 3, do some scans, land, investigate a Scout outpost there, and do some ground observations. When we’re done there, it’s just one additional jump to the Moda system where we’ll take some components to the Scout station there and do a moderately near pass of Moda Sol and some refresh scans of Moda 1. Then back here past a few intermediate jump points. Any questions?”r />
  Elsbeth said, “Can we at least stop at the station at Propelis 7? It’s almost halfway, would give us a chance to stretch our legs, possibly resupply, and they’ve got a few good restaurants, shows, and bars there.”

  Ximon said, “Possibly. I’ll have to check how far out of our way it is and whether there are any advisories. More than anything else, it’ll depend on how we’re doing otherwise. Anything else?”

  Iday raised his hand, “Captain, can you tell us more about this ground work on Cybex Beta?”

  “It’s Ximon. I’m still studying some of the details, but it appears the team there basically ‘fell off the grid.’ The KSF has no idea what happened to them, wants to know about them, and wants an update on what they were working on, which was doing ground observations of some local creatures. As I understand it, we’ll need to land a way off, air raft to near the outpost, hike the last little way, investigate the outpost, and then stay there for a couple of days for observations.”

  Elsbeth piped up, “Hiking? How far are we talking?”

  “As I said, I’m still studying the details, but it looks like 3-4 km. Nothing that’ll break our backs. I’ll send y’all the mission summary a little later.”

  Elsbeth, “Well, I guess I’d better do some more checks on the air raft – I don’t want to have to walk the entire way. Iday could you help me with that once we’re in jump?”

  “Of course, though I can’t purport to be an expert.”

  Elsbeth, “I just need a hand.”

  “Very well. Just let me know.”

  “OK. I’ll see y’all in the morning, just before 0800. I’ll ask Raiza to make us breakfast.”

  They all gathered, chatted a bit, and ate the breakfast Raiza had put together.

  Elsbeth got up, “Well, I want to make a few quick checks before takeoff. Thanks for breakfast.”

  Iday said, “Yes, thank you for the hospitality. Thank you Raiza. If you don’t mind, I’ll stow my things and then join you on the bridge, Ximon.”

  “Please do. I’m sure you’ve seen it more than a few times, but I want you to watch how the process plays out here and then I’d like you to take some practice scans on some of the objects we pass heading for the jump point.”

  “That is exactly what I wished to do if time allowed. I’ll be on the bridge in 10 minutes.”

  Ximon settled in to his seat, did some pre-checks, and had Mantis do some pre-checks. Everything looked good. So, as soon as Iday was settled, Ximon asked for clearance to leave and took off.

  The flight out of system was uneventful and Iday seemed to know what he was doing. Ximon also had him independently calculate a jump solution to ensure he could work the Nav system. Iday’s solution was quite close to Ximon, so he did have some knowledge there.

  Then, they jumped and that, too, was uneventful.

  During the jump, Elsbeth did a lot of work on the Air Raft. She was NOT impressed, but she felt confident it wouldn’t fall out of the sky at the first chance. Except when he was helping Elsbeth or doing some additional refresher training on ship systems, Iday spent a lot of time in his quarters or reading in the common room.

  On the 5th day in jump, Elsbeth caught Ximon at breakfast and launched into him in mock indignation, “Ximon, I was hoping you’d hire a hot boy toy and Iday’s close enough for me. But I can’t believe you hired a PRIEST!”

  “I do remember something from his profile about attending a seminary, but I didn’t notice he was ordained.”

  Elsbeth continued, “He IS ordained and it’s in some religion that preaches self-improvement, kindness, and CELIBACY of its priests until they are DIRECTED to marry a member of their congregation. What kind of companionship is he going to be for me?”

  “As you know, Iday looked like the best candidate. Would you rather the retiree that’s 10-15 years older than us, or” he smirked, “perhaps you were hoping for some ‘puppy love’ with the Canid, eh?”

  Elsbeth groaned and punched him in the shoulder.

  So, he continued, “… and as far as companionship, he may be outstanding at songs, games, stories, gospel discussions, etc. He might be the most enlightening companion you’ve ever had.” Then he put his hand on his own chest, “Present company excluded, of course.”

  She groaned out an exasperated, “MEN!” and stalked off.

  “Be nice to him … and be nice to me.”

  She looked back at him as she left the galley, “Yeah, you wish.”

  The rest of the jump was uneventful. Iday did prove to be quite good at some of the games they did have in the galley computer table, but he was a terrible singer. He was also quite willing to help Elsbeth in Engineering or Ximon on the bridge. When not doing any of those things, he was doing scripture study or taking classes in his room. Elsbeth spent a lot of time in Engineering and, otherwise, watched vids while sipping, or gulping, wine. Ximon did a little of the latter, watched some vids, reviewed the mission notes, and spent some time with Raiza. Some of that was entertainment, but he did work with her on donning and testing vacc suits.

  They came out at Tidaya and all was well. They ran in, skimmed fuel at the gas giant, ran out, and jumped again. Total time about 20 hours. Ximon was getting used to applying more Gs of acceleration and he, Mantis, and the crew all seemed to do OK with it.

  The jump to Propelis was also perfectly boring. They jumped in past Propelis 8 and ran there to skim. While doing so Ximon announced, “Crew, we’re ahead of schedule so we’re going to take a few hours to visit the station at Propelis station. We can be on station for about 12 hours.”

  Elsbeth grumbled, “Well, THERE’S a shocker.” She then paused, smiled, and said, “Thanks.”

  They docked at the Propelis 7 station without incident (though not without a fee). The station was on the planet’s main moon and focused on mining, some trade, and entertainment. The ‘permanent’ population was about 200K, but there were usually several thousand visitors at any given time. It wasn’t exactly “civilization,” but it did have some decent places and sometimes just stretching your legs was enjoyable.

  They were all in the bridge as they docked talking about options and looking at the ads streaming to their comms. They agreed to head to dinner, eat, and then separate from there. Ximon was going to do a little shopping, Elsbeth wanted to hit a concert at a bar, and Iday wanted to see “the sights” (the views of the moon) and visit his church. They had a real nice meal and off they went with Ximon reminding them before they broke up, “It’s 1900, be back on the ship” then he looked at Elsbeth and emphasized, “CONSCIOUS by 0600 so we can get moving.” She just rolled her eyes and waved over her shoulder as she left, drink in hand.

  It was a nice night. Ximon hit several stores, got some treats for the ship, and bought some trinkets. He also bought himself some clothes and bought some for Raiza (unlike some companion bot owners, he DID keep her clothed … most of the time). She thanked him profusely for his kindness and they had a good night.

  In the morning, he was on the bridge and anxious to leave by 0530. Iday had spent the night in the ship and came to the bridge around the same time.

  Ximon asked Mantis, “Did Elsbeth return to the ship?”

  “No, captain, nor have I received any communications from her.”

  When she wasn’t there by 0545, Ximon called her, but got no answer. He directed Mantis to keep contacting her every 5 minutes until she arrived. He got more frustrated as 0600 approached. He and Iday did pre-checks and Mantis reported all was well with the ship. At 0615 Mantis informed Ximon that Elsbeth was approaching. He had Iday continue with pre-flight while he met Elsbeth in the galley.

  Elsbeth was clearly tipsy and looked like she had either slept in her clothes or been in and out of them. But she wasn’t horribly drunk and appeared to be rushing. When she saw him, she said (as if it was nothing), “Woops, sorry. I had a great time.”

  Her nonchalance was just the thing to set him off, so he tore into her, “I agreed to come here because YOU sugges
ted it and then I set back our take off time about an hour so we’d have a little more time, but you … YOU … couldn’t just get back here on time anyway. And then, to top it off you couldn’t call to let us know where you were at or bother to answer our calls. Did you lose your comm unit? Drop it in a toilet or something? Or did you just not give a damn that we were sitting here waiting?”

  “Ximon, I was only a few minutes late.”

  “I guess when you retired you retired your ability to be reliable in the process. This is crap. You treated us like crap. Now, if you’re not too drunk to read a gauge, get down to Engineering, strap your happy ass in, and watch things while we take off … NOW!”

  She huffed off as Ximon stalked back to the bridge saying, “Taking off in 5 minutes. We’ll be doing a 3G burn to the jump point to make up time.”

  Ximon was very quiet as they headed for the jump point. The sustained high Gs kept them all seated and uncomfortable. He didn’t hear a word from Elsbeth. However, it seemed like Iday (who could obviously see the tension), asked both of them mundane questions in an apparent effort to calm tensions. Ximon reflected that apparently Iday DID have some conflict resolution skills. Ximon had him calculate the jump solution and then went over it with him while making some minor calculations. He hadn’t considered quite all the gravitational fields on both ends of the jump that he should have, but the Nav computer probably would have factored most of that in automatically.

  They jumped without incident and had several more days of lull. After a day or two Elsbeth seemed to have stopped hiding and was seen around a bit more. Finally, on the 3rd day, she caught Ximon in the galley and launched right in, “Ok, Ximon, I got it – I screwed up. I was anxious to blow off some steam and have some fun, I got pretty drunk, got a little lucky, and stopped paying attention. Then I didn’t want to deal with your calls when I already knew I was going to be late. That was stupid and childish. I’m sorry. I can only guarantee it won’t happen again.”