After finishing most of the tour of the ship (the bridge had to be skipped because some were having a confidential conversation there), Saein had a look at the two rooms she had claimed for Bond and herself. They were pretty much identical, she picked the one with slightly less manly colours. She picked up her big bag and her suitcase full of metal from the land cruiser, dragged them to her room, and let herself drop onto the bed. It was a nice soft bed, really big too. âTen crew members, not counting the captain. Five big beds. I wonder if she expects us to repopulate the Earth when we find itâ she joked to herself.
âIf that were the case, she would have hired equal amounts of men and women, and of compatible species onlyâ MAK chimed in.
âGood points, MAK, but I was talking to myself.â A bed like this would have been nice a few years ago. Maybe... No, âYou donât play that game anymore. Besides, you couldn't, not with anyone on this ship.â
âI donât play what game anymore? Iâm not aware of any entertainment programs having been uninstalledâ MAK asked for clarification.
âTALKING TO MYSELF!â
âYou sound stressed, and incoherent talking to oneself may be a symptom of a mental health problem. Would you like me to schedule an appointment with doctor Greenhaven?â
âI donât think the doctor can make the voice I keep hearing go away, but Iâm sure I have a few tools that are just right for the job. So shut up, MAK, until I mention your name, or else.â
Silence. Saein brought her thoughts back to exactly half of the crew having rooms. She was annoyed the captain had left it to the crew to figure out who got those rooms, it was a way to reward selfishness and laziness. It wasnât fair, though, to assume the others who had been quick enough to claim rooms were selfish or lazy, maybe they had reasoned the same way she did, or maybe they had different good reasons or just good luck.
âMAK, who else has claimed rooms?â
âCassandra Lassion, Colin Seartjik, Eddie Ackers, and Bond Mason. Shall I shut up again now?â
âYes, that would be nice. But donât worry, I wouldnât really attack you with wire cutters... maybe just a little screwdriver.â She still intended to give the room away, and now she knew who she didnât need to offer it to. Who of the remaining five had to do a lot of work every day, and did she like? Minn, obviously. But what if Minn was too modest to accept? She remembered the bed was really big, if she put a pillow in the middle it could be considered two beds, and maybe an easier to accept offer. Maybe there was a way she could use that offer to find out more about the character of the others who had claimed rooms...
Saein wondered what it would be like if Minn did accept the offer to share the room, and what it would have been like if she had been a Firni too. The girl seemed to have a nice personality, she was pretty, and best of all, she appeared to be a great cook. She might have long term potential. âSaein Vernig,â Saein said to herself with a mischievous grin, âyour intentions arenât pure, and you know it. Youâre going to get yourself in trouble that way.â
Time to get back to work. She took her datapad, wrapped up her notes about the small issues she had noticed and the few repairs she had made in a nice report, added the sentence âIâve seen new ships that were in a worse stateâ and asked MAK to deliver it to the captain. Work done, time to wander around the ship aimlessly.