First Shift

A Thursday Prompt story
© 2019 by Walter Reimer


Thumbnail art by  technicolorpie and  marmelmm

Prompt: wound


“Nervous?” Karla asked, and when the palomino mare nodded the feline smiled sympathetically. “You’ll do fine.” She shared a hug with Meredith and left the office, leaving the mare still fidgeting slightly.

Kuma was a slightly larger planet than Terra, and had a correspondingly somewhat stronger gravity and a tropical climate that had most of the population wearing very little or nothing at all. The crew had liberty planetside while the change in command was finalized and new crew positions filled, but by the way Ginny kept hitting her husband, Elroy would likely seek refuge back aboard the Kiss Me in the Dark.

Transcosm’s chief representative on the planet was a tall, slim squirrel who wore a simple mesh vest with a few pouches hanging from the webbing, sandals and nothing else. Mikhal had growled at Karla and Meredith for staring at the rodent as the three of them entered his office. The mare smiled, while the feline had laughed and nuzzled her mate.

The squirrel settled into his chair behind a desk and motioned them to sit down before opening his padd. “Ah, yes . . . Promotion of Meredith d’Estcourt to Captain . . . qualifications . . . transfer of ownership – “

“Excuse me,” the palomino said. “’Transfer of ownership?’”

“Company policy,” Kwinton said, his tail swishing back and forth. “Every captain’s made part-owner of their ship.” He eyed the squirrel. “Makes sure that they take responsibility for maintenance and upkeep.”

“Er, yes, quite right,” the rodent said. He read further before looking up with a smile. “Everything’s in order, Captain d’Estcourt.” He stood and reached across the desk, and he and Meredith shook paws. “Captain Kwinton said that you’d need an office for some personnel interviews.”

“Hm? Oh! Yes, I will.” Meredith still looked a bit nervous and dazed.

“Fine,” and he led her to a vacant room with a desk and two chairs. “The personnel records for the interviewees will already be on your padd,” he said before leaving her alone.

Meredith sat down and opened her padd. Yes, files for Jemel Fikset, Burton Mill and Dashufenke Jax were already there, and although she’d read them through twice before accessing the intercom system through the padd. Most of the work had already been done; Transcosm (and their partners, Imperial Chartering) would make sure to choose furs compatible with the established crew. “Jemel Fikset, come in, please.”

There were a few moments before the wolf entered, giving her time to take a few deep breaths. Come on, Meredith, she told herself, you can do this . . . She looked up and smiled as he entered. “Fair day. Please have a seat.” He did so as she glanced at her padd. “According to your resume, your family runs their own shipping line.” She looked across the desk at him. “Why are you here?”

Fikset’s tail swished. “My family has a tradition,” he said in a clipped, almost singsong tone, “of sending all their sons and daughters to other companies to learn how they run things, and to get experience on as many different ship types as we can. My sister’s aboard a Transcosm ship, the Fox Winning, as a cargo handler.”

“I see. And you’ve applied for helm and navigation.” He nodded, and she thought things over before saying, “Okay then, you’re hired,” and his expression brightened. “You’ll be on mid-shift, my old post. The two engineers and the cargo handlers are a good bunch, and I’ll make sure you get their personnel records so you can make your own judgements.” She extended a paw.

He took it. “Thanks, Captain. See you aboard.”

Mill was a veteran cargo handler, the wolfhound having spent more than ten years on various ships transporting things from foodstuffs to unrefined ore to antimatter, and she hired him after only a few minutes of conversation with him. The mare’s only concern was if he’d be compatible with the day crew, but thought that they’d work that out themselves.

That left the fur Karla had recommended to be her day shift helm and First Officer, and all her nervousness came back and made her stomach churn while she called him in.

The rat didn’t walk in; he slouched, literally dumped himself into the chair, and drawled, “Dashufenke Jax, Cap’n.”

“Are you all right?”

“Hm?” He gave her a smile. “I just know I’m not going to get the job.”

Meredith forgot her nervousness. “How do you figure that?”

A shrug. “You were there. Kwinton called me an idiot, and since you’re taking his job – “

“Wait a minute,” and the rat paused. “Yes, he called you an idiot. I was in the same room, Jax, remember? But,” and she raised a finger, “I was told to make my own decisions, and I plan on doing just that. Now, you were helm aboard a liner. What was that like?”

Jax blinked at her momentarily before the question finally registered. “Pretty bland, actually. Well-traveled routes, same stops over and over again. I’d probably still be there if the company hadn’t fucked themselves over.”

“How’d they do that?”

Dashufenke shifted in his seat, his long naked tail curling about. It reminded Meredith of Varan’s tail, but she forced herself to stay focused on him as he replied, “One of our stops, Serapis, had an insurrection going on, and some of their supporters approached the company with an offer – ship some mercs and guns to the planet in exchange for a shitload of money. They bit, and it was a police operation.” His incisors flashed briefly. “They all got locked up, and the company died.”

“Karla told me that she was helping you get up to date again.”

“Yeah.”

Her gaze flicked at her padd. “And you’re now all current on your certifications.”

The rat nodded.

“So . . . want a job?”

Jax blinked and he sat up straight. “You mean it?”

“I told you that I’d make my own decisions. You’ll be on day shift, and you’ll be First Officer.” She smiled, showing teeth. “I’m not Mikhal; I’ll be taking care of the paperwork for a while, so First won’t be too hard a job. It does mean a raise, though – extra duties, you know.” Meredith rested her paws on the desk and smiled again. “So, interested?”

The rat slowly unfolded himself out of his slouched posture in the chair, revealing that he was a bit taller than she had thought. He stood at attention and snapped a salute, holding it for maybe a second before extending a paw to her and smiling broadly. “I hope I won’t disappoint you, Captain.”

Three days later, the Kiss Me in the Dark’s holds were filled with vanadium and fullerenes, and preparations were being made to leave dock and break orbit. Meredith stood in Kwinton’s, now her, quarters, studying her reflection in the mirror. The gray jumpsuit was brand new, with her family name and the Transcosm logo on it along with four stripes on each shoulder for her new rank.

Her tail and hooves twitched as she fidgeted nervously, smoothing her mane back for the twentieth time.

“Well, they’re waiting,” she told her reflection. “Time to get started.”

Her reflection said nothing, of course.

“Captain on the Bridge,” Jax said as the mare entered, and Meredith sat down in her new seat. “Dock reports umbilicals clear and hatches secure. We’re clear to maneuver.”

“All right. Take us to the inphase point,” Meredith said, and as the rat eased the cargo ship away from the dock she still hoped that no one could see how nervous she still was. She was sure that she’d get past it.

Maybe.