I ask, “I want a run-down of your systems. Just how special is this ship?”
Zai explains, “I will keep this simple. I am flexible; I can get tiny or massive as needed. Almost nothing can touch me. I am strong and pack a crushing punch, almost enough to take on a capital ship. Mary underestimated the need for speed; I will work to improve that. You are correct in that I am far brighter and will do everything in my power to protect this ship and deliver our cargo.
“I am easily outmaneuvered in the world of business where lies and double-dealing are beyond my grasp. Mary saw the world as black and white; I was made in her image. It’s why I need a captain, a human that can offset my shortcomings. I can see the data and know that pirate attacks are increasingly more frequent and more daring. They’re attacking ships much larger than they are; and throwing all caution to the wind.
“Mary figured something precious has or will be transported very soon. They don’t want to miss it. They’re looking too hard and losing too many people over anything else.”
I admit, “I came to the same conclusion. They doubled my price for this delivery. It’s odd; they’re paying more for the transport than the engine is worth. Something isn’t adding up here.”
Zai responds, “They want you on that planet. Someone does. Otherwise, your delivery makes no sense.”
I chuckle, “That’s a wealthy planet, way too much money for their own good. Probably some wealthy babe wants a big engine for racing her tiny ship.”
Zai informs me, “Your worm drive is better than mine. In an hour, I will be done making the changes. Then we are off to deliver your engines and see what new adventure awaits us. Your body says you need sleep. I upgraded the bed, sheets, and blanket. Go to bed, Tim.”
How does she know my name? Maybe the old memory banks from my ship?
The ship reconfigured itself, the door to my bedroom opens for me. I take the hint. I like this new AI, but something tells me I don’t want to be on her bad side. As I lay down, naked in my own bed, I remember her saying, “mere human male.” It’s funny that even a genius woman sees me as a lesser being, just like mom did.
Our society is based on females. Men are rare; we produce sperm, and they need it to make children. Very few men are required for that. Most of our sperm is thrown away. I am allowed a life, but I have zero shot at anything above a low-level physical job. I got lucky. My last captain figured out what a man was good for. She gave me ownership of my old ship when she died. I am the only known male captain in this quadrant, so I get all the shit jobs.
Hell, my own family booted me on my first day of life. I was too far below their station. They were rich and powerful, somehow having a newborn male put them at risk. The government became my parent on the day I was born. Some parents I had.
Chapter 2 — An Order
A MARCHING BAND IS MARCHING IN MY BEDROOM!
I scream out, “DAISY! Shut the fuck up!”
I now remember what ship I’mon, “ZAI! TURN OFF THAT ALARM!”
Zai replies with a slight smile in her voice, “Good morning, Tim. We will make planetfall this morning in four hours and twelve minutes. After you shower, wear your good clothes, then breakfast will be ready for you. Wait, I need you to come to the bridge immediately.”
I stand up, and the ship reconfigures itself so that I am up on my old bridge. I sit down on my chair.
Zai sounds excited as she says, “There is a pirate ship up ahead. It’s much bigger than the tiny ones we have seen. I am blocking their communications. This is a formidable ship. I will play with them, so you can see my capabilities. The jamming is to prevent them from learning about us. They’re coming at us quickly, closing the gap. They will be using physical projectiles, plasma, lasers, and torpedoes.”
The lasers came first. Where they try to hit us, that part of the ship turns into a mirror and redirects the laser back at their own torpedoes. Their own lasers are blowing up the torpedoes the pirates shot at us. Okay! This is cool.
The plasma came next. Instead of hitting the ship, a hole opens, the plasma is taken and then looped around and back at the other ship. One less laser cannon for them.
The physical objects, basically giant cannonballs, came next. They were fired first, but they’re relatively slow. It’s coming at us. It’s still coming. I am half expecting an arm and a tennis racquet to send it back. A split second before impact, I throw up my arms, bracing for impact. It never hit. The ship’s side opens up and forms a tube that the projectile follows. Once it exits through the tube in the ship, a net corrals the ammunition, and the ship stores it.
Zai informs me, “They now think I ate their projectile. I hate when captains litter space for no reason.”
I add, “Not to mention you just gathered more resources.”
Zai continues, “Hmmm, you’re pretty smart for a man. I can do this all day. We don’t want to be late, so I will speed this along.”
We move closer to the ship, and nothing touches us. Zai starts slicing them up with a nasty plasma cutter when they begin to run away. Their ship blows up in less than a minute in a large bright explosion. We spend thirty minutes cleaning up the zone of fragments from the blast. Anything organic is sent to a sun for disposal.
We continue on our way again. This is an impressive spacecraft.
At two hours from planetfall, I send a message asking for a dock number. This is routine for us. They know my ship and my cargo. They will give me a docking number that’s big enough and can accommodate my load and the type of connectors on my cargo bays. The connectors have changed a few times over the last 100 years. As you probably guessed, mine are older.
I have no doubt that Zai can adjust to any type. She is smart enough to not break our cover. As my ship maneuvers into the space dock, I get an order for my next delivery. They’re paying handsomely but won’t say what the cargo is. I deny the order. It’s obviously something hot. Hell with my luck, it’s probably why everything is weird out there now. No way I want any part of that. They can fuck that order all night. They need to find some other captain who is more desperate than I was before Zai came along.
It doesn’t take long to unload. It’s a single large and heavy object. With a large crane arm, it’s easy to unload one big crate. Standing in the loading bay are four women. They look like a mother and three adult children. They’re dressed like the ruling class, in fine stylish suits. The shoulders have the classic white shoulder boards with several layers of thin platinum. Their suit coats are a bright red, indicating their class. They have the traditional pineapple-styled headgear with a dark visor hiding their face and altering their voice.
I put up my hand like a stop sign, “Whoa there. I already told them no. I’m not taking this load. So, go back to your pristine cloud mansion. You’re not going with me today or any other time. Weird shit is going on out there. You four are hot enough that you need four battlecruisers.”