Lillene

Enjoy!

“You are the new owner?” 

Serenity turned to see one of the currently birdlike shapeshifting Tsarualk, the people from Aru’tsa’lkeet who built the ship. This one was far less flamboyant than most, with a modest reddish-brown crest that matched the feathers of his back and wings, while his belly and side feathers were a cream color. The only variation was a slight change in shade, where the tips of his flight feathers were a deeper, darker red than the rest. Like most of the Tsarualk Serenity had seen on the Death’s Wings, he wore a simple outfit that seemed more to aid in carrying things than for any other purpose.

Serenity nodded, then realized the gesture might not translate. “Yes, I’m Serenity.”

The Tsarualk gave a deep nod that stayed just this side of becoming a slight bow. “Excellent. I do not know if you remember me; we met only briefly on the night of the party. I am Captain Tsa’ikeet; Captain Baxter and I share the responsibility for this vessel while he gains the knowledge and familiarity to fully captain it. Consider us an instructor and a student. Once he is ready to go on his own, I may return home or I may stay with the ship; we shall see when the time is reached.”

Serenity nodded again. Aide helpfully provided an image from the original meeting and a quick set of summarized notes, but this time Serenity didn’t need them; Captain Tsa’ikeet was memorable enough on his own. 

“I do not think that I mentioned the process to take ownership; I meant to, but we did not get that far before your lady pulled you away. We should handle it now, before we leave Berinath. If you would follow me?” Captain Tsa’ikeet seemed to think he’d explained everything.

Serenity wasn’t so sure. “When you say take ownership, what do you mean? Why is that a process?” He’d assumed he’d already done that. On Earth, it would have been mostly a paperwork process; since Rissa bought the ship for him, there might have been a signature he hadn’t given yet, or even several, but that was probably it. He didn’t think anyone would describe that as a “process,” and even if it were missed, all it would mean was Rissa retaining ownership. 

Captain Tsa’ikeet’s crest rose and he tilted his head to the side. “Oh, of course. You would not know. Death’s Wings needs to meet you so that she will recognize you and accept commands from you if that becomes necessary. Normally, they should all go through a regular member of the crew, but extraordinary circumstances can happen. If you were jilomi, there would be more.” He turned and gestured at Serenity to follow him; a “come along” gesture with his wing was easy enough to interpret.

“Jilomi?” Serenity followed the avian captain down the hall. “I don’t know that word.” He’d always thought his command of Bridge was good, so it was a little disconcerting to run into a word he was fairly certain he’d never heard before. 

Captain Tsa’ikeet led the way around a corner, then through a door into a room Serenity hadn’t seen before as he talked. “Jilomi is … there isn’t a right word. Attended? Accompanied? Something like that. Very few who aren’t Tsarualk ever join with a companion, there is no word in Bridge. I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

The room was small and had a single seat that seemed to be built into the floor. Calling it a seat seemed almost wrong; with its distinct metallic base and oversized hand rests, it reminded Serenity of a Star Trek captain’s chair more than anything else. It seemed like an odd style for an avian species, but the Tsarualk were shapeshifters; perhaps they didn’t have the issues with wings that Serenity did in his chimera shape.

Serenity didn’t spare much thought for the chair; his mind was still stuck on the word jilomi. The lack of a true answer as to what it meant meant that Serenity didn’t have any real idea what the Tsarualk meant when he said the word, but Serenity wasn’t certain he should ask more. It sounded both culturally significant and a sensitive topic and it was all too easy to run into issues around those. He was curious, but was his curiosity worth indulging? It sounded more like a marriage ritual than anything else, but at the same time it couldn’t be if only Tsarualk “joined with a companion.”

“Most of the ships we sell don’t have a true shipmind; they’re expensive to add and few outsiders see the point. I’m happy that your wife was willing.” Captain Tsa’ikeet waved towards the chair. “It won’t matter much to you, but that’s the shipmind’s interface; while we can hold the introduction anywhere for an outsider, this is the traditional place.”

Serenity moved forward and set a hand on the seat. It didn’t look like anything special, but he still couldn’t resist sitting down. He blamed a little too much television when he was a child; even if this wasn’t a starship’s bridge, it was still a captain’s chair.

Captain Tsa’ikeet turned as he spoke, like he was turning towards someone standing in front of the chair. “Death’s Wings, this is your first full owner. His name is Serenity. Serenity, is there anything you would like the Death’s Wings to know about you?” 

:Serenity, there is something trying to make contact with me. The protocol is unusual but appears to be based on a variant of the wireless network installed throughout the ship.: Aide’s words surprised Serenity for a moment before he realized what it had to be: the shipmind. He should have expected it.

:Go ahead and talk to it. Find out if it’s the ship’s shipmind.: The reminder of Aide’s presence gave Serenity a suspicion about the word “jilomi,” especially since the term was connected to “something more” about the shipmind meeting him and something contacting Aide when the captain told the Death’s Wings he was the new owner.

He should have realized something was going on. The Tsarualk were the only species Serenity knew of that had a significantly higher technological base than Earth did, after all, and Tek had managed to create an artificial intelligence in the form of Aide. The Tsarualk had shipminds, which had to be AIs that ran their ships; why wouldn’t they also have AIs that acted the same way Aide did and helped individuals?

Serenity looked up at Captain Tsa’ikeet. If he was right, the avian was in for a huge shock. “When you say jilomi, do you mean an…” Serenity trailed off as he hunted for a different way to say “artificial intelligence.” The term simply didn’t exist in Bridge. “Not-magical assistant? Something like a shipmind, only to help a particular person?”

Captain Tsa’ikeet jerked backwards, obviously surprised. “You know of them? I did not think you did. As far as I have gathered, your people only have advanced calculators.”

The term “advanced calculator” was clearly an insult to Earth’s computers, even if it was also a way of working around Bridge’s limitations. Serenity chuckled at the term; while it wasn’t completely accurate, it also wasn’t exactly wrong. “As far as I know, we have one. It wouldn’t surprise me if Tek’s made another, but I don’t think anyone else has yet.”

Captain Tsa’ikeet started to say something, then turned his head towards the spot he’d spoken to earlier, almost exactly like he’d been interrupted by someone Serenity couldn’t hear.

:The attempted contact claims that she is the shipmind of the Death’s Wings. Should I let her through?: Aide didn’t sound worried; instead, he sounded more like someone relaying a message. 

Serenity grinned internally and sent back a wordless assent.

:Serenity?: The new voice somehow sounded female instead of male, but other than that it reminded Serenity a lot of Aide when they were first talking to each other, tentative and cautious. :I have been listening, but … did you say that you know Aide’s creator?:

:Tek? Yes, of course.: Now that he thought about it, he really ought to mention the spaceship to her. She’d be interested; she’d probably be even more interested if she knew the spaceship was intelligent. Serenity didn’t really want to take the time to talk to her right now, not when he needed to meet the Death’s Wings. A text seemed like a good compromise; he’d better send it before he forgot.

Gah. He really needed to give the ship’s computer a different name. Ship’s computer definitely wouldn’t work, either; it didn’t get across the point that she was a person.

Tek’s reply was immediate, before Serenity actually had time to think about possible names that night actually work. Her text was one word: SPACESHIP?!?

Serenity had to grin at Tek’s enthusiasm. She was excitable and not always as careful as she should be yet he found her likable anyway. He simply didn’t choose to spend much time around her.

:The Death’s Wing has provided some visual information,: Aide informed Serenity. :I’ve reformatted it for your vision; would you like me to overlay it?:

:Sure,: Serenity agreed. He had a guess what it would be, given Captain Tsa’ikeet’s attention to one particular spot. His guess seemed to be accurate when a form took shape in front of Serenity, exactly where the captain’s attention was focused.

The Death’s Wings’s avatar was clearly Tsarualk, but just as clearly she wasn’t bounded by physics or Tsarualk physiology; her entire body appeared to be a pair of black wings. Each feather gleamed at the edges, showing a sharp metal edge. Only her shoulders and head rose visibly from the dangerous-looking wings.

Serenity turned towards Captain Tsa’ikeet. “Is the ship’s name the reason you all have wings?”

The idea hadn’t occurred to him before. Serenity wasn’t used to people who could freely shapeshift; the idea that they might deliberately match their form to the place they worked hadn’t really occurred to him until he saw a more extreme version.

“Of course,” the Tsarualk agreed. “So many outsiders don’t have any idea how to name a ship; it’s always pleasant to find one that does.”

Serenity chuckled at that. It wouldn’t surprise Serenity if Rissa had somehow managed to figure out what the Tsarualk thought was a good name before she named the ship. It wouldn’t have even occurred to Serenity to ask. “Rissa can have all the credit for that one. I expect she named the ship.”

Before Serenity even finished the sentence, he saw another figure fade into view. This time, the figure seemed human, a short woman with steampunk goggles pushed up onto her forehead. Serenity didn’t even have to see her features to know that Tek had decided to make an entrance.

“I take my eyes off you for two months and you get a spaceship of your own! Where did you get it? Why didn’t you tell me?” Tek spat the questions out without giving Serenity a chance to respond. “It’s alien tech, isn’t it? Are there aliens with higher tech than humans? Of course there are, there have to be! Otherwise there wouldn’t be spaceships. Are you sure this isn’t a magic ship? I like magitech but it seems a little less reliable.”

Serenity grinned at Tek’s enthusiasm. He had the perfect way to deflect her. “Rissa got me the Death’s Wings as a birthday present. I’d like you to meet Captain Tsa’ikeet and the Death’s Wings.” Serenity indicated each of them as he introduced them. “Captain Tsa’ikeet, Death’s Wings, this is Tek.”

Serenity wasn’t sure how to introduce Tek. Fortunately, she was definitely capable of introducing herself.

Now all he had to do was get out of the room before she noticed. That shouldn’t be too hard; he already knew she’d be fascinated with the shipmind.

Lillene

I like Tek but she seems like she’d be exhausting to spend time around.