Fan Fiction ❯ Game Over [FFC] ❯ What the Blazes Am I Doing on this Spaceship? ( Chapter 1 )

Game Over

By Time Lady

Chapter 1

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This is an original story belonging entirely to me. Please do not copy or reproduce without my written permission. Copyright Time Lady/Hali Denenberg.

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"Good morning Captain!" shouted a voice from somewhere in the room. Tegan ignored the voice and pulled the covers over her head.

"Come on, Captain," coaxed the voice cheerfully. "Up, up, up, up! It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood, a …," the voice began to sing. Tegan groaned and groped around to turn off what she thought was an especially annoying clock radio.

"Let's go, Captain," said the voice. "You've got a busy day ahead of you. Time to get your butt out of bed."

"Who?" Tegan peeked out from under the covers.

"I am offended," said the voice in a hurt tone. Tegan detected a faintly British accent. "I can't believe you don't remember me, your Digital Audio Visual Entity? Who do you think runs this ship? Who keeps you on time?"

The Aries, a state-of-the-art spaceship, came complete with Dave, who could run the entire ship alone should the need arise. With the crew of four, though, Dave mostly assisted the crew in their duties and filled in when someone was off-duty.

Tegan attempted to sit up. The whole room spun as she remembered a party the night before. She groaned. "Some party last night," said Dave. "Here, take this." A panel next to the bed slid open. Inside was a glass of water and two tablets. Tegan sat up and reached for them then washed the tablets down with the water. Her head cleared as the tablets took effect. "Man, what a hangover…" she muttered to herself. She looked around the room. The bed was centered in the middle of one wall, with end tables on either side. Each of the remaining walls had doors. One wall had two doors. On the wall opposite the bed, next to the door, was a large computer console and view screen. The view screen showed a floating, digitized head, with an unruly mop of brown hair and eyes that would have been pupil-less if it weren't for the small, black dots in the center. The head didn't seem to be attached to anything.

Tegan mustered her strength and climbed out of bed. Blue carpeting tickled her bare feet as she made her way to the wall with two doors. Choosing the one on the right, she luckily found the bathroom on the first try. Blue tiles lined the floor and half the wall. The rest of the wall was white, like the white bath mat and fixtures.

After taking care of necessary business, Tegan turned to what must be the shower. Space ship showers were designed for minimum water usage, since water was costly to carry on a small craft. Whatever water was used would be sent to system recyclers and purified. Tegan studied the controls. Not wanting to scald herself or freeze, she carefully estimated a temperature and entered it into the control panel. She stripped and hung her nightshirt on a convenient clothes rack next to a robe. Towels hung ready next to the shower. The shower automatically turned on as Tegan stepped in. The temperature was perfect.

Tegan felt almost back to normal by the time she finished. She grabbed a towel and quickly dried herself, then wrapped herself in a soft, blue robe that had the ship's insignia embroidered in gold on it. Tegan noticed another door in the bathroom and opened it. The door led into a combination dressing room and closet.

Along the back wall hung a myriad of clothes including flight suits, formal uniforms, dresses and gowns. To the right shelves and drawers contained undergarments, shoes, boots, and various accessories. On the left, next to another door, was an autostyler, something Tegan never thought she would own, let alone get to use. The autostyler whirled into action the instant Tegan sat in the plush seat.

"Welcome to the Acme Autostyler," buzzed the unit. "How would you like your hair today?"

"French braid," replied Tegan.

"Makeup?"

"What are my choices?"

"Basic, office, dramatic, official, glamorous."

"Basic."

"Nails?"

Tegan looked at her nails, the victims of several home manicures. "Full manicure. Give me French nails. May as well do a pedicure too."

"Process will take ten minutes. Please insert hands and feet in the spaces provided and close eyes and mouth." Tegan did as she was told. She felt feather light brushes and sprays on her face, hands, and feet, along with gentle tugs at her hair. Ten minutes later the autostyler said "Thank you for using the Mark 4 Autostyler by Acme Autostyler Company. You may now stand."

Tegan opened her eyes and stood. Her nails were absolutely perfect, unlike the results of her home manicure. She looked into a mirror. The makeup was flawless, yet not overdone. Her hair was in a perfect braid.

From one of the racks she chose a plain, blue two piece flight suit with the Aries emblem embroidered just over her right breast. A pair of matching blue boots and a utility belt completed the ensemble. She looked at the dressing table in the room. On top was what looked like a watch. After closer examination it turned out to be a slim line com-link with a visual interface to Dave. She put the com-link on her wrist, then picked up a lazgun from the table and examined it. The safety was engaged to prevent it from accidentally firing. She clipped it onto her belt.

Standing in front of a full-length mirror, Tegan just stared at herself. Even on dates she never looked this good. She tried the door next to the autostyler and found it led back to her bedroom. From her bedroom she tried another door and found her private office. On top of the desk were several papers. Tegan walked over and rifled through them. One paper read "Planet Strellom, capitol city of Astra, main government building. Meet with Nebras Mec, the Lord High President."

"Hey Dave," called Tegan. Dave's face appeared on a view screen. "What's this?" she asked as she showed him the message.

"Our destination. You're supposed to meet the Lord High President of Strellom. He wants to hire the crew of the Aries to locate something."

"What am we after?"

"He wouldn't say. You'll find out in about eighteen hours."

"Eighteen hours?"

"That's about how long it should take us to get there." Dave's screen went blank.

Tegan spent another fifteen minutes organizing her office, which she apparently hadn't done when they first left on the voyage. In one drawer she found two small cards with her name on them. One was a BioID card, which contained information about her medical history and other pertinent data stored on ultra microchips inside. The other was a monetary debit card. Tegan ran it through a reader on her desk. Five hundred thousand galacs were registered. In the interplanetary monetary unit of galacs, that was a small fortune. Payment for a previous job that, due to the hangover, was slightly fuzzy. Vaguely she remembered running the blockade to transport a negotiator to a peace conference. Peace ensued, and the reward for putting the Aries into danger was hefty. Not enough to pay off the ship, but enough to manage the payments for a while.

"Can I transfer some of this to another card? I should keep some galacs with me, but I don't want to carry around a card with five hundred thousand galacs." Following Dave's instructions, Tegan found a blank debit card and transferred fifty thousand galacs to it. The card with the remaining galacs was locked into a security box, then she slipped the debit card into a pocket on her utility belt with the BioID card.

Tegan also found a couple of microbooks that looked interesting. She popped the microbooks into a pocket of her utility belt, then searched the room for a microbook reader but found nothing else of interest.

She walked out of the office to a long corridor. A total of twelve doors were along each side of the hall, with one door at each end. The door directly to the right of the one she exited led back to her bedroom. Across the hall were more bedrooms, for crew or passengers. Three of these were marked, identifying the crew member residing in it. Next to Tegan's office was a large rec room, with exercise and entertainment facilities.

Next to that was the commissary. Tegan walked over to an Acme Food Dispenser Unit. Hungrily she ordered a toasted buttered bagel and hot chocolate. Hot chocolate and a bagel appeared on a tray. "Thank you for your order," buzzed the FDU.

After breakfast Tegan decided to check the doors at the ends of the hall. One door lead toward the aft of the ship. Tegan found a sick bay with an Acme medidroid on duty. In the sick bay, she also found the microbook reader. Beyond the sick bay were a teleportation room and an elevator. On the lower level Tegan found a shuttle bay with two small shuttles, the engine room, and a cargo hold. The upper level was just more machinery, computers, and storage areas.

Tegan returned to the main level. She walked over to the only door she hadn't opened. The door quietly slid open to reveal the ship's bridge. The bridge was all gleaming white, except for colored lights and switches and a dark view screen covering half of one of the walls. The controls were arranged so that no more than four people were necessary on the bridge to operate the systems, but simple enough that one person could operate them from the command chair. The comfortable looking command chair was situated so it could observe the entire bridge. In one corner sat an Acme Liquid Refreshment Dispenser.

"Good morning Captain," buzzed the Acme Liquid Refreshment Dispenser. "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"I already had a hot chocolate."

"Juice?"

"No, thank you."

"Tea? I am programmed to brew a perfect cup of tea."

"Maybe later." Tegan turned away from the Liquid Refreshment Dispenser. She sat in the command chair. Haukea, the ship's navigator/mechanic, sat in the navigator's seat. Or rather, Haukea occupied the seat. Whether or not Haukea was sitting was hard to say, as Haukea was a six feet nine inch mass of vines emanating from a sort of plant bulb. Haukea rose to its full height. When Haukea moved towards Tegan, each of the vines on its lower half moved as if it was a small leg. The upper vines served as arms. "Greetings Captain," it said. "Weapons tech Quique and First Mate Bjorue have yet to emerge from their quarters."

"I figured as much," said Tegan. "I don't quite think anyone has quite recovered from that celebration yesterday."

"Shall I endeavor to awaken them?" asked Haukea.

"I'll give them another thirty standard minutes," replied Tegan. "If they're not up by then, I'll have Dave wake them. Set a course for the planet Strellom. We have a meeting there."

"Is this the company's next assignment?"

"Yeah. Until the ship is paid off, the Aries and its crew are still at their beck and call," returned Tegan. "We'll go over all the details once everyone is here."

---

The bridge was quiet for the next thirty standard minutes. Haukea made the course adjustments. Tegan had become engrossed in one of the microbooks when Haukea said, "Captain, it is time."

"Right." She set down the microbook reader. "Dave, wake `em up. Do whatever it takes."

A grin crossed Dave's digital face. "My pleasure."

About fifteen standard minutes later, First Mate Adrienne Bjorue and Weapons Tech Dell Quique staggered onto the bridge. "Nice of you to join us," said Tegan dryly as the Liquid Refreshment Dispenser gleefully served the newcomers coffee.

"Sorry," said Adrienne. She brushed a strand of short, brunette hair out of her brown eyes. "Last night was a bit… excessive." The first officer sat down in the command chair next to Tegan. Adrienne was of a fairly average build, slender, and attractive.

"Yeah," agreed Dell as he took his coffee. "But how could you not party? I mean, how often do we help bring about interplanetary peace? Even if we don't get to blow anything up…."

"It is still possible to celebrate without excess," interjected Haukea.

Tegan didn't comment, as she herself had some trouble getting out of bed. "Right now, we need to get a few things sorted out," she began. "Currently, we are on course for the planet Strellom, where we have an appointment with the planetary president. If we keep up the good work, the company will keep giving us top level missions, so maybe we can get the Aries paid off and be able to freelance. If not…."

"If not, we wind up a glorified interplanetary taxi service," interrupted Dell. "We heard all this before."

Tegan glanced over at the weapons tech and wondered if some of the muscles on his physique weren't also in his brain. The guy was all muscle. Tall, golden hair, blue eyes - perfection unto himself. "First rule before a contact: get all the data you can on the situation. We need to know what kind of situation we're walking into."

"I've prepared data files on Strellom already," said the computer.

"Then I suggest we each spend some time going over the data," said Tegan. "We don't want to arrive on Strellom looking like a bunch of idiots."

"For most of us, at any rate," added Adrienne as the attractive brunette pushed Dell's hand off her shoulder.

"Note to self: Dell stays aboard the ship," thought Tegan. "If anyone needs me, I'm going to be in my office studying the data," she said aloud as she stood up.

Taking advantage of the situation, Dell plopped into the vacant command seat. "This looks like a good opportunity to have some breakfast," said Adrienne. She stood and walked off the bridge.

"Interesting," stated Haukea.

"I suppose you could do better," sneered Dell.

Haukea blinked in surprise. Its eyes narrowed, as if considering its options. "I probably could," returned Haukea. "However, as our species are not compatible, such an endeavor would be a waste of time."

---

In her office, Tegan perused the data Dave had compiled. All natives of Strellom wore narrow bands across their foreheads of varying colors and patterns. Each band was unique to a family. At one time the color denoted family rank, but that practice ended several hundred years earlier. Bands were put on babies shortly after birth. Two bands joined by a gold marker signified marriage, with the wearer's family band on top. A white band worn with a colored band signified marriage to an off-worlder. A black marker joining two bands meant the wearer was widowed. Tegan realized she'd have to make sure the rest of the crew understood the meanings of the bands. No need to risk an incident. After reading through basic cultural data about Strellom, she reached the section of current events. A race of beings, known as the Jawf, had tried to invade Strellom and failed.

"Dave, what information do we have on the Jawf?" she asked.

"Not a lot," replied the computer. "They are insectoid, and rarely tolerate beings not of their race. Any research has to be done from a distance. Their species has grown too numerous for their own solar system. They send a brood queen and a portion of their population to take over a pre-selected system, starting with one planet. As the population increases, they expand to other worlds. That is all that is my data banks at this point."

"Thanks Dave," said Tegan. This definitely was not going to be an easy job. Sitting back in her chair, Tegan began to formulate a few plans.

She found the crew at lunch in the commissary, save Haukea. The plant creature, who was monitoring the ship's engines, absorbed a special nutrient blend from a large tub of its native soil in its quarters at particular times of the day. Dave summoned Haukea to the meeting in the commissary.

"We're going to have to be very cautious going in," Tegan told them. Then she explained about the Jawf.

"All right!" exclaimed Dell when Tegan finished. "Action!"

Tegan winced. She still had a way to go before the Aries would be paid off. "The warning systems are going to have to be monitored carefully. We don't want to accidentally wander into a skirmish."

"Damn," muttered Dell.

"Because we're in an alert situation," continued Tegan, ignoring the interruption, "I want someone on duty at all times. How long do we have before we arrive at Strellom?"

"Without looking at the instruments, I would estimate about sixteen standard hours," replied Haukea.

"Right. Dell and Haukea will remain on the ship tomorrow," said Tegan.

"Us? Why us?" complained Dell.

"Logically," interjected Adrienne, "If the Jawf attacked, you would fend them off. And Haukea to fix whatever damage you managed to do."

Dell was about to protest further when he felt someone kick him under the table. He suddenly seemed to forget whatever his complaint was going to be.

"Watch order will be me, Adrienne, Dell, then Haukea. Once you've finished your daily responsibilities, you may have the rest of the time off. Dave will alert you when your time starts. Any questions?"

Most of the crew appeared satisfied, except for Dell. Another kick kept him silent. "Captain, as I am unable to absorb nutrients for another twelve standard hours, I am willing to monitor the bridge while you intake nutrients," offered Haukea.

"Thanks. I won't be long," said Tegan. The vine covered creature shuffled out of the commissary. Business taken care of, Tegan could now turn her attention elsewhere - particularly her growling stomach. As she walked over to the FDU, she felt eyes boring into her. She glanced over her shoulder to find both Dell and Adrienne staring at her rear. "What, did I rip my flight suit?" asked Tegan.

Adrienne's face turned bright red. "Uhh…. no… there was something flying… I'll have to have Dave sweep for bugs in case we picked something up on t he last planet. In fact, I'll do that right now." Looking rather flustered, the first mate tried not to run out the commissary.

"Oookkkaaayyy…" said Tegan with a shrug. She took her tray off the FDU, carried it to a table, and sat down.

---

Twenty standard minutes later, Tegan walked onto the bridge. Haukea stood. "Greetings Captain," it said. "Everything is status quo."

"Good. Go a head and take a break. I'll take the watch for the next few hours."

"Thank you Captain. I will briefly refresh myself in my solar pod, then I will continue engine maintenance." Haukea shuffled off, leaving Tegan alone on the bridge.

From the command seat, she could easily monitor all the ship's systems. All was quiet, except…

"Care for a drink Captain?" asked the Liquid Refreshment Dispenser.

"No."

"Juice?"

"No."

"Soda?"

"No."

"Wine cooler?"

"No."

"How about…"

"How about you be quiet for a while?"

"Okay, okay," said the LRD in a hurt tone.

Shaking her head in exasperation, Tegan pulled out the microbook reader and tried to pick up where she left off earlier. It was difficult to get into reading, with having to constantly shift her attention to the monitoring systems. Time passed quickly. About twenty standard minutes before Tegan's shift ended, Adrienne walked onto the bridge. "Thought you could do with a bit of company," said the first mate.

"Yeah. It was getting a bit boring with no one around," admitted Tegan.

"Hey! What am I? Chopped liver?" complained the Liquid Refreshment Dispenser.

"No, you're a machine that doesn't know how to keep its vocal circuits turned off," returned Tegan as she glared at the LRD. Shaking her head, she turned around to find Adrienne staring at her. "Something wrong?" asked Tegan.

"Ah…. um…," Adrienne looked flustered again. "Uhhhh…. "

"How about a latté?" asked the LRD brightly.

Tegan stormed over to the Liquid Refreshment Dispenser. "Look, I have asked you nicely. Now I am going to say this so you get it through your circuits. Shut the bloody hell up!"

"Captain, you're yelling at a drink machine," stated Adrienne, hiding her relief at the LRD's interruption. She glanced at a chronometer on the console. "Look, your watch is over. Why don't you get some rest?"

Tegan nodded. "Thank Murphy I don't have one of these in my office."

As soon as the door slid closed, Adrienne turned to t he LRD. "For what it's worth, thanks for the interruption, and I'll take that latté."

The next morning, Dave awoke Tegan with the news that they were now orbiting Strellom. He already finalized the appointment with the Lord High President. She had three hours before she had to be at the government building.

This time, Tegan had the Acme autostyler do her hair in a chignon with official looking makeup. Matched with a formal uniform, Tegan appeared ready to do business. Even though she knew the people of Strellom spoke unilan, the interplanetary language, she placed tiny, invisible translation patches behind her ear and on her throat, just over her vocal cords.

She found Haukea and Adrienne already on the bridge. Dave teleported Tegan and Adrienne to the government building fifteen minutes before the meeting to a teleportation pad in a reception room. Waiting there was one of the handsomest men Tegan had ever seen. Chocolate brown hair and eyes, muscles stretching his dark green uniform to its limits. His long hair was pulled back by a green clasp. A single, narrow purple band across his forehead marked his family. Tegan's eyes darted up and down his body as she felt his silent appraisal of her. One word came to mind instantly to describe the officer - dangerous.

"Captain Caprivi?" he said in a rich, deep voice that made Tegan's stomach quiver. This man could be very hazardous. She stepped forward.

"Yes. And you are?"

"Commander Rand Syler." He appeared surprised that the petite woman was the one in charge. "The Lord High President is waiting for you in his office." With that he turned on his heel and stalked off toward the door. Tegan almost had to run to keep up with his long strides. Adrienne followed.

Guards in burgundy uniforms saluted as they approached the office of the Lord High President. Commander Syler pressed a button next to the door and announced their arrival. Chivalry is dead, thought Tegan as Commander Syler stepped in before her.

The Lord High President of Strellom sat behind a clear plastic desk. A presidential insignia was emblazoned on the wall behind him. Other than a few plants, the office was starkly utilitarian. Behind the desk sat an elderly man, amber eyes sparkling beneath a yellow and black band. A long, gray beard and gray hair flowed around his red robes of office.

"A pleasure to meet you, Captain Caprivi," said Nebras Mec as he stood and extended his hand toward Tegan. Tegan briefly shook President Mec's hand and sat. Commander Syler stood at attention.

"Thank you," she replied. "This is my first mate Adrienne Bjorue."

"I'm sure you must be wondering why I've asked for your services," began the Lord High President. "Our solar system is in grave danger. Our sun has become critically unstable. Scientists estimate we have about two months. There are not enough ships to handle a mass evacuation of all five inhabited worlds of our system. We can't build enough in two months and we don't have the resources to purchase them. In addition, where could the populations of five worlds go to live before their own ship's supplies were exhausted?"

"And how can our ship help?" asked Tegan cautiously.

"One thing may be able to stop the reaction and save our system." President Mec paused for breath. "We want you to find a star stone."

Tegan looked at the Lord High President incredulously. Blair and Adrienne glanced at each other in surprise. "But star stones are just legend," Tegan said.

"Maybe not. Several of our researchers studied legends and compared them to histories. Star stones do exist," affirmed the Lord High President. "We've narrowed it down to one sector of the universe." He pressed a button on his desk. A 3-D galactic map appeared. The Lord High President pointed to one area. "Here. In this part of the Gamma sector. That's the most we've been able to discern."

"That is not a lot to go on," said Adrienne.

"I told you we didn't need outside help," gritted Commander Syler.

Tegan turned to glare at him. He stood behind her, arms crossed, staring at her scornfully. "We can handle a challenge," she said aloud. "Our team will find the star stone." Commander Syler looked like he swallowed a lemon. Smiling, Tegan turned back to the Lord High President.

"Thank you. Should you succeed, you will be greatly rewarded," said President Mec, a look of relief on his face.

"We don't need them," reaffirmed Commander Syler. "I could go after the star stone myself."

"We need you here," stated President Mec authoritatively. "If the Jawf should try another attack, who will lead our forces against them?"

"You know General Mavesyn leads the forces, not me," argued Commander Syler.

"We need every being possible to fight. The combined forces of our solar system have routed the Jawf several times. We believe they may be responsible for our sun's instability."

"If they want to take over the system, why destroy it?" asked Adrienne.

"The Jawf believe that if they can't have our system, neither can we," stated Commander Syler. "They will destroy our system, then search for another suitable system and try to take it over."

"Won't they ever stop?" asked Tegan.

"Not unless the brood queen is destroyed," responded the Lord High President. "If she dies, then the colony can not survive. The rest of the colony is for the most part mindless drones and workers. But they obey their brood queen without question and will not stop until she is satisfied or dead. You had best be on your guard."

President Mec handed Tegan a disk. "This is all of the information our scientists and researchers have found out about the star stone. I hope this will aid you," said the Lord High President.

"Thank you," said Tegan as she stood. "The sooner I get started, the better."

President Mec also rose and shook her hand. "May Avanos guide you upon your quest Captain Caprivi," he said. "Commander Syler will show you out." Commander Syler frowned.

As they walked back to the teleportation station, Tegan studied Commander Syler. Damn, she thought. Why do all the guys I'm ever attracted to turn out to be creyids?

I don't believe she accepted this, thought Adrienne. We're going to go on a wild potera chase.

"So what do you do, Commander?" Tegan asked.

"I am assistant to General Mavesyn, leader of Strellom's star fleet," he replied tersely.

"Well from the way President Mec spoke, it sounded like you were in charge."

"No. I am the general's chief strategist. Which is why I should be the one searching for the star stone."

Tegan bristled at his response. "Excuse me for existing," she stated flatly. "I'm sure President Mec has a good reason for keeping you here and I doubt it's to help your general!" Tegan stormed ahead of him. Commander Syler grabbed Tegan's arm. A jolt of electricity shot through Tegan's body

"Pardon me, Commander," she gritted, jerking her arm away from him, "but I have a job to do. And the sooner I do it, the sooner I'll never have to see your face again." Tegan pressed the button on her com-link. Dave's face appeared on the mini screen.

"Dave, can you teleport us from here?"

"No can do, Captain," he replied. "There's an anti-teleportational field on the building."

The commander smiled smugly. "The planet has a field that prevents random unauthorized teleportations," he said. "One of our defenses against the Jawf. You'll have to teleport out through the teleportation station." Tegan glared at him.

"Fine. Just point me in the right direction so I can get away from you!"

Commander Syler just smirked at her. "Oh, forget it!" she stated angrily. "I'll ask someone else for directions!" With that, Tegan stalked off down the hall, leaving the commander behind.

Adrienne looked at her in surprise. "Excuse us Commander," said Adrienne coolly as she followed.

He watched Tegan for a moment before following them. This one was different. He'd met other lady captains. None had been so attractive. None had been so fiery. And none had intrigued him the way this one did. The profile he had read about her was right. She might be the one he was looking for. The rest of the crew, well, he'd have to wait and see. That was why he was doing this again. He hoped.

Rand Syler caught up with Tegan at the entrance to the teleport station. She whirled around when he tapped her shoulder.

"What do you want?" she gritted.

"Don't think this is the last you'll see of me, Captain Caprivi," he replied in a low voice.

"I certainly hope this is," she stated as she stepped onto the teleportation pad. Tegan hit a button on her com-link. "Dave, get me away from this creyid," she ordered. Before Rand could respond, Tegan was gone. Adrienne followed.

Damn, he thought. This hadn't started the way it usually did. Now he had an uphill battle. Well, he'd give them a head start. Catching up would be no problem.

---

Haukea sat alone at its station. With a loud yawn, Dell walked onto the bridge. "They're on planet, huh?" he asked.

"Affirmative. Though it would have been appropriate for you have been present at their departure."

"I had the late shift. Cut me some slack."

"I was also on a late shift, yet I was also able to present myself."

"Big deal. You don't have the same metabolism as we humans do. But if you want to make something of it…"

"Captain on board," interrupted Dave. "And she is pissed."

Tegan stormed down the hall to the bridge. "The nerve of that creyid!" she shouted. She plopped into her command chair and stewed silently, the rest of the crew staring at her.

"Anyone want a drink?" asked the Acme Liquid Refreshment Dispenser. Everyone ignored it.

"What happened?" asked Dell. "Don't tell me we didn't get the job."

"Oh we got it all right."

"Then why the mood?" he returned.

"Because I just met the most annoying, self-centered creyid of a man in the entire universe!" Not to mention one of the most handsome, she added mentally.

"Otherwise known as Commander Rand Syler," said Adrienne.

"So what is the job?" asked Dell. Adrienne explained what happened at the meeting. "You're kidding, right?" said Dell.

"Wrong," replied Tegan.

"We're really going after this thing that doesn't exist," said Dell in surprise.

Tegan didn't reply. She needed to work off some excess energy. "I'm going to change out of the dress uniform and take a break. Take a look at the data and see what you guys come up with," she announced as she stood. The crew stared as she stormed off the bridge.

"What did this guy do that has the captain so upset?" asked Dell.

"Behave like he was superior," replied Adrienne. "Personally, I don't see anything special about him," she said offhandedly. "But he seemed to have some sort of effect on Tegan."

"Well…. at least that means that the captain isn't totally immune to the effects of chick magnets," said Dell. Adrienne punched him in the arm.

"Perhaps we should direct our energies towards studying the information on the disk then," suggested Haukea, trying to stave off an argument.

---

Tegan changed to a sweat-suit, then went to the rec room exercise center. Pressing a button on one wall revealed a punching bag. She began working out pent-up feelings on the bag, imagining it was Commander Syler. Fifteen minutes later it began to lose its appeal.

After a shower, she returned to the bridge. The entire crew was looking at printouts. "Did anyone manage figure out anything from the disk?" asked Tegan.

"Someone did a lot of research," said Adrienne. "They managed to narrow it down to one segment of the Gamma sector, but that still leaves a wide area to cover in less than two months."

"What about the legends?" asked Tegan.

"According to legend," began Dave, who had been scanning the data, "the star stone is in a system with three suns and at least five planets. On four of the planets there are keys necessary to unlock doors and release the star stone. You can't get to the star stone without the keys."

"How many systems in the Gamma sector have three suns?" asked Haukea.

"Thirty," replied the computer.

"And how many of them have exactly five planets?" said Tegan

Dave searched his memory for a minute. "Four."

"Remember, the legends vary," interjected Haukea. "Five is an average from the different legends."

"It could even be five regions on one world," added Dell.

"Are there any experts on legends that might be able to help us?" asked Tegan.

"There's one man I've heard of," said Adrienne. "He's supposed to pop up at the Tinu Cafe on Reath from time to time."

"How far out of the way is Reath?" asked Tegan.

"It's on the way to the Gamma sector," replied Adrienne.

"Then set a course for Reath," ordered Tegan.

---

Tegan spent the rest of the day reading over the information on the disk herself. After a not too brief section on the research methodology used by the scientists, Tegan reached the section about the actual legends. Legends of the star stone were found in almost every known language in the universe. She read through the legends until her head hurt. All of the legends referred to keys, doors, and guardians. None of the legends could agree on the numbers. Finding the keys and passing the guardians were a form of trial used to determine the worthiness of the one seeking the star stone. No two legends agreed on the natures of the guardians or the tests. Tegan knew they were in for a tough time.

"Captain," interrupted Haukea over the com system. "I'm picking up activity nearby."

"What type?"

"It looks like a battleship and some fighters."

"Have they noticed us?"

"Not yet."

"Then let's keep it that way."

"Damn," she heard Dell say in the background.

Tegan watched the data on the screen as Haukea adjusted their course.

A few minutes later Adrienne announced "We're way out of their range."

"Were you able to identify the ships?" asked Tegan.

"Not without announcing our presence," said Adrienne.

Tegan sighed. "Keep your eye out. The less said about what we're up to, the better. Let me know if you pick up any more activity."

"Will do," replied the first mate.