The shelves that lined the open bedroom were littered with several odd objects of undetermined age and worth, each of them meticulously placed with care against the mahogany wood. Beige walls surround the heavily carpeted floors, and weaved among the lush fibers of the carpet were expertly designed patterns that added color to the homely room. Paintings and pictures littered the walls, and stacked on several of the shelves were heavy, leather backed books. The smell of paper and antiques permeated the room.
The center of the square room was completely bare, leaving only the carpeted floor. A small bed was pressed to the side of the room, showing that it was living quarters but sleeping wasn't a necessity. Thin sheets stretched across the small bed, not a wrinkle in sight, proving the fact that the bed hadn't been used for quite some time. Jane stood in the center or the room, her long blonde hair cascading down her back as she examined her surroundings. She was in her own bedroom, each object on her desks and shelves was her own from over the years. She wondered what one could learn about her from examining her bedroom. Her bedroom was cluttered but clean, not a speck of dust in sight. There were no windows, those would be highly illogical because of the location of her bedroom. There was only dark, empty space around her large spaceship that she lived in.
Jane held her hand in the air and motioned towards a small monitor on the edge of the desk and swung her arm to the right, sending light streaming into the air. Transparent screens appeared all around her, each of them full of information. She peered at them curiously and then motioned with her hand again, sending them all away after catching the time and the things she needed to accomplish for the day. It was time for her to get ready and head out onto the bridge.
She turned around to glance around her bedroom, her most welcome place to be in the entire spaceship, wondering once more what could be gleaned about her from the state of her most personal space. Someone examining her room would be able to pick up that she was very sentimental about the past with her many trinkets, books, and paintings that lined her walls, several of them centuries of years old. They might wonder why her bed was never used, which would be difficult to explain as she had no need of sleep. Every living being needed rest, and yet here she stood, never sleeping a day in her extremely long life.
She didn't consider herself cursed, but if others knew the truth about her they would either shy away from her or pity her. She was a freak, stuck to live through all of time and space, an anomaly. She couldn't die and was forced to keep her secret safe from everyone she encountered, knowing that she would eventually outlive all of the people she met and interacted with.
This bedroom was her respite; her welcome alcove, so different from the stark corners and hard floors the rest of the ship offered. While she might not need rest like all of the others, her time alone was something that she relished. Aloneness is what protects her; it protects her against developing feelings for the people she knew that she would eventually watch fade away and leave her.
She was not to be bothered while in her bedroom by any of the crew, so Jane was free to do whatever she wished. Throughout the night, when the rest of her crew assumed she was sleeping, she instead brought up all of the records and activities of nearby planets. She found it satisfying to find situations where she could offer help as she scoured the many goings on of the worlds. She would keep up on politics and offer advice where she could, sometimes scouring police reports and helping to find murderers, or helping out major corporations as well. She used a secret code name as she did her research and offered her advice, sending coded messages that couldn't be traced back to her, all of them labeled "Metis."
She had grown very adept at giving aid from behind the scenes without being noticed over the centuries. She had an unquenchable desire to do whatever she could to help lift others to make their lives easier; being immortal helped her to realize just how important living life to the fullest was.
She turned to a doorway in her room, its dark wood standing out against the beige walls. She held her hand to a scanner at the side of the door and with a silent exhaust of air the door slid to the side and disappeared into the wall. She stepped into the bright bathroom among the white walls and shining linoleum floors. She glanced at herself in the mirror, her blue eyes illuminated by the bright lights. She brushed back her long blonde hair into a high ponytail and turned to grab her clothes that were pressed against the wall by an invisible hand. She slipped out of her silk robe, letting it fall to the floor and grabbed her black pants from the wall, letting her fingers run through the tight, stretchy material. She pulled them up her legs as the material clung to her tightly, accentuating the form of her calves and thighs. She grabbed a belt that hung in the air next to her other clothes and strung it through the loops around her waist. In the place of a regular belt buckle was a silver button, which she pressed as the belt automatically tightened itself around her to the perfect fit.
She slipped on her blue shirt, a perfect match of color to her dark blue eyes. The material was the same as her pants, forming to her like an extra layer of skin, flexible yet thick to protect against the elements. The sleeves extended to the end of her wrist, covering a small silver bracelet that looped around her right wrist. Next she slipped on her long black boots over her feet, they continued to extend up her calves almost to her knees, perfectly forming themselves to her and tightening automatically. They were made of a thick, leather type of material, the high heels and soles of her shoes formed of a hard rubber that created a loud click as she walked.
She exited her bright bathroom and once again crossed the threshold of her room to the glass doors that were currently darkened so that no one from the outside could look in. She waved her hand over the glass partition and automatically the darkness dissipated until she could look out to the long hallway extending towards a lone lift at the end. She waved her hand again as the doors slid open with a silent hiss; she passed between them, her heels clicking against the shiny white floors. The walls of the hallway were bare, the color a bleached white, the corners sharp and contrasting.
She walked to the elevator completely undisturbed and waved her hand over the sensor. A quiet beep sounded in the air and the heavy doors slid open. She stepped inside of the small compartment and pushed the button that would lead her to to the next level down and stood with her back straight, right on time to be making her entrance. The clock to her right said 0800 precisely, just the time when she was assigned to be on the deck.
The doors to the lift slid open and before her stood her second in command, a Treshiss from the planet Demotoid. Her green scales seemed to shine against the bright light overhead. She had the same form as a humanoid except for the green, scaly skin and lack of hair. The Treshiss had been working with Jane for years, and she knew that she could trust her companion with her life.
"Captain." The Treshiss said, barely pausing to look up from her e-book. Her forehead extended very high and small ridges and bumps lined her head against the scales. She was one of the few crew members that were allowed onto the bridge of the control room and in the hallway leading to Jane's personal quarters.
"Triss." Jane acknowledged with a bow of her head as she walked down the hallway to stand near her associate. She held her hand over the sensors near the door, and with a hiss the doors slid open. Triss remained to the side as Jane stepped through the doorway to the center of the bridge and examined her workers around her. She was on a raised circular platform above the rest of the large area, the high ceiling and open atmosphere accentuating the space. Below her and extending out out to the front of the spaceship were rows upon rows of her crew members.
Upon her entrance all of her workers had snapped to attention, they stood with their backs straight and heels together as they stiffly held their right hands to their temples. Her crew members were all a mix of several different races spanning across several planets, though most of her group were considered humanoids. Aliens and humans alike stood in their rows, all at attention in respect for their captain. Their skin colors, shapes, sizes and anatomy were all different, but one thing remained the same; their uniforms. Each crew member wore dark red shirts with small insignias over the right chest and tight black pants and belt with the silver buckles. Their black boots were no way near as high as Jane's, and instead only extended a small area above their ankles. Jane's uniform differed in color and the rank of insignia she had on her chest, but she had specially requested taller boots and had received no confrontation on the matter.
"At ease." Jane stated as she peered around her, taking in her surroundings. Each member of her crew were required to speak the intergalactic language of the Queen's English that was from the planet earth. Her crew relaxed and turned back to their duties, sitting back into their chairs, a few turning where they stood, to tap and motion towards the transparent screens in front of them. They were lined into long rows, each of them with their own space to examine their screens and keep the ship running and functioning smoothly.
"Report." Jane said kindly as she looked behind her to her associate who had remained standing in the doorway. Triss was wearing a red shirt and skirt, the style completely different from the assigned uniforms the rest of the crew were required to wear. It was of the same material as Jane's, though the design was custom. The skirt fit nicely against her thighs but stopped well above her scaly green knees, and the sleeves of her shirt only extended to her elbows. Triss had designed it herself, and because of her position Jane had relented and let her choose her own clothing, her request reminding her of her own altercations to her own personal uniform. The two of them were peculiar in their tastes, as no other crew member had any conflict with their uniforms.
Triss had been her second in command for years, and was extremely loyal and obedient to Jane. Though Jane was of higher rank, she treated Triss as an equal and put complete trust into her.
"We should arrive in the Medusa Nebula shortly, the ship has been running smoothly and we have experienced no difficulties since you were last on the bridge." Triss reported, drawing out every "s" with a hiss as she typed into her e-book, a small tablet that was outdated for the times but she preferred the old technology. Jane couldn't blame her for wanting to keep things from the past, as her own room was littered with things she had picked up over the years that had sentimental value to her. She liked to keep the past close to her, loving the influx of old memories as she examined her many odd trinkets.
"Excellent." Jane responded as she stepped away from the circular platform she stood on to a small staircase by the side of the bridge. As she stepped down the stairs she noticed that the crew members closest to her stood or sat straighter and began typing and motioning faster with more precise movements as she approached. Each crew member had a choice of standing or using a chair, while the chairs were more popular for several of the humanoids, there were still those who preferred to stand. The chairs were dark black with high backs, though it seemed as though no one near her were resting far back enough to touch the back of their chairs and instead sat on the edge of their seats to look fully engaged with their work. Jane knew that her crew members respected her. Several of them had gone through life or death challenges by her side, gaining confidence in her leading abilities and putting their lives into her hands.
The crew members in the control room were all of the highest and best trained of her ship, each of them representing and controlling every aspect of the ship. Only the best were allowed into the control room, and each of them acted as leaders and main officers for the rest of the ship: in charge of communications, transport, supplies, and maintaining the order of the ship. They each played a specific role which they were highly trained for.
She had been the captain of the large spaceship for several years now, working for the intergalactic peace organization, otherwise known as the Star Fleet. They were a type of police force; establishing peace and communications among the many planetary systems and organizing help efforts to the planets in need of assistance. They were also very highly adept at covert operations; able to defuse any high-risk situation- including the more dangerous ones that involved fighting or weapons.
A young man sat in front of her, perched on the edge of his seat as he focused intently on the transparent screens in front of him. Jane approached him, monitoring his screen as well.
"Hello Jefferson." Jane said warmly as she stepped to his side. She knew every name of her crewmembers, something she was very proud of as it was an incredible feat. Several hundred workers manned the gargantuan ship, each of them with their own small role and job to play, and she knew every duty and every member of her ship. It was something that her crewmembers adored her for, adding to their respect for her.
"Captain." Jefferson replied, nodding up to her, obviously pleased that she had taken the time to approach him and talk to him. Because Jane had so many workers it was impossible for her to spend personal time with each and every one of them on a daily basis, though she always spent an adequate amount of time throughout her day to approach her crew members at random and chat.
"Has the leak in engine 2467 been fixed?" Jane asked, referring to the charts he was monitoring.
Jane watched as his expression showed his confusion and amazement at her ability to register and comprehend all of the many codes that streamed quickly across the screen, something that required years of training to decipher all of the codes. It was a job that required specific training, the likes of which that a captain of the ship did not have to learn. Jane had picked up on it anyways, wanting to comprehend everything that took place on her ship. She had centuries of experience under her belt, learning another code was something simple for her as she had all the time in the world to master it.
She was frustrated that there had to be secret codes used in order to keep the ship running, but she knew it was for a good reason. Pirates weren't unheard of in this day and age, and something they liked to do in order to capture a ship was to hack into the engine feed and blow the engines before breaching the ship and taking over so that the ship would be unable to escape their attack. Jane had had a few run ins with pirates over the years, though several of them were deterred to attack her extremely large ship. The codes had been enforced as a protocol by the intergalactic Star Fleet; they wouldn't let her run her ship unless she adopted the specific codes as well.
Jefferson was very talented for his work as he was trained in the Star Fleet specifically for this work of monitoring the engines. It was a difficult task of understanding the codes in order to keep the engines running. The engines powered everything from the movement of the ship to flushing the toilets, and Jefferson had done an excellent job of keeping things intact ever since he arrived a few months earlier.
"No, but I'm sending a few Grogs down to the engine room to make the adjustments." Jefferson responded, his fingers flying across a seemingly invisible keyboard which was another transparent screen across his lap.
Jane nodded, knowing that it was a wise decision. The Grog race was a very durable species; large and lumbering, their skin made of hard, shell-like material like one of those cockroaches back on earth, they would be fully capable of enduring any type of radiation that might have escaped during the leak. She patted Jefferson on his back. "Good. Let me know when that leak is fixed," she said warmly.
"Yes Captain." He responded, absolutely beaming by her praise.
Jane stepped past him and headed down the row, nodding her head at the fellow crewmembers. She stepped up to a Lestradeck, an intelligent creature with wide bug-like eyes that extended over a majority of its white, bald head. Its three fingers in either hand were flashing and tapping against the transparent screen as it kept track of the numbers and reports being fed to it of the necessities the ship ran on; the food, supplies, etc. Lestradecks were very excellent at keeping track of numbers and were a perfect candidate for the job.
"Ezekiel." Jane acknowledged as she stepped to the Lestradeck's side. It was a nickname dubbed to him, as his real name was much too difficult for others to pronounce. Every crew member with a difficult name, specifically those from the planets in the outer rim, had an English nickname chosen. As everyone was required to speak English it was fitting to have Earthly names. She then said his real name, a series of clicks and hums to which he responded in kind. She then conversed with him for a few moments, asking him about how the numbers were going along and then his home planet and family he was supporting. Ezekiel was pleased to be conversing with her in his native tongue and happily talked about his home planet and family that waited for him. Jane had visited his planet before and had developed the language; she was capable of learning an innumerable amount of languages in a surprisingly short amount of time.
Jane spent the rest of her morning walking among her crew members and engaging in conversations, passing from the bridge and into other areas as well. The ship was enormous and had several floors and rooms, and she inspected most of them and the crew within. She certainly was a favorite among her crew members; knowing their names and speaking all of their native languages, not playing any favorites among them and recognizing them for their hard work. They all loved her and were willing to lay down their lives for her, which was something that she did not take lightly.
Eventually she made her way back up to the control room and stepped up onto the bridge. Triss was still on the bridge, in her own little corner off to the side. Next to the entranceway towards the lift that led to Jane's private room was a small little enclave with a desk and chair. Triss' green head could be seen poking up from behind the chair as she leaned over her e-book that rested against her desk. Her job was to assist in running the ship, where Jane preferred to manually approach her crewmembers to check on progress Triss chose to send messages from her small e-book. They both oversee the goings on of the ship and run it, and should anything happen to Jane, Triss would step up to take her place as captain.
Jane stepped to Triss' side, the Treshiss offering her a brief glance in acknowledgement of her arrival then quickly returning her gaze to the information on her e-book.
"Anything new?" Jane asked, resting a hand on her friend's shoulder as she peered down at the small screen.
A small black, forked tongue flitted out between Triss' green lips and returned quickly into her mouth as she examined her screen, "two Grogs have solved a leak in engine 2467, according to the engine master." She stated. She didn't take the time to get to know the individual names, but Jane recognized the engine master as being Jefferson.
"Good." Jane replied, squeezing her shoulder affectionately before turning. Triss didn't waste time with small talk and that was about all of the information Jane would be able to pull from her, so she decided that it was time to get to work. Triss stood, her shift time over. Now that Jane was on the bridge Triss was free to leave to her own quarters, and would return when Jane's shift ended and she took over once more.
Jane stepped into the center of the circular area above the rest of the control room. The room extended out in front of her, a large plate of glass extended for several hundred feet at the end of the large room, a window that separated their spaceship from the dark space beyond. She watched as they navigated forwards, the stars shining brightly in the distance. The large room, about the size of a hangar or a large bay, was naturally dark in order to let in as much light from the wide window as possible. She was very proud of the design of her spaceship, and had actually put in several of the design plans herself. No other spaceship had the capabilities of supporting such a large window, but Jane had designed a way to support the curved, thick glass that spread along the far wall.
The color coding was very specific. The large control room below her where the rows of crew members worked was dark; the floors and walls black with dark blue accents, creating a dim lighting for them to work in as their transparent screens shined in front of their faces. The bridge that Jane stood on was bright white, contrasting against the dark expanse in front of her. The entire area behind her as well was white; the walls, entrance to the lift, and Triss' space brilliantly bright. Her crew continued to work diligently, though she could hear them chatter amongst themselves and it was all a rather pleasant atmosphere.
Jane extended her hand infront of her, motioning for her own transparent screen to appear. Instead of just one screen as her crewmembers were faced with, several screens extended in front of her in a semi-circle, all of them within her view. She could still see beyond her transparent screens and keep an eye on the large window to see where they are going, and could see all of the crewmembers in the control room beneath her. She began to work.
She quickly pressed and tapped into the air as she moved through the many pages of information fed to her across the several different screens. She quickly processed everything she saw, her first priority to determine the course of her ship and her immediate responsibilities. She had recently completed a job and was heading into the next area, and her task for the day was to find another job for her ship and crew. Her range of responsibilities were very wide; normally she would act as a form of police force, monitoring the star fleets and keeping other space ships on track. She swept through her many alliances for any peacekeeping jobs or even covert ones for her specially adept crew, but couldn't find anything that stuck out to her. They were currently in a lapse of responsibilities, and her ship was merely traveling into the next area.
She sent messages and read through the ones she had received, finding places where she could offer her advice. She typed her messages quickly and sent them to the different areas, counseling and advising those that she could. Not finding any immediate concerns that she could help in, she began to delve into the news reports and government happenings in the nearby planets. To anyone watching her actions, as she was in a position for every eye to be on her from any location in the room, they would just assume that she was finding another job for them. Little did they know that the responsibilities she took upon herself were not just the ones that she had been assigned- working for the intergalactic Star Fleet. To them, she was just guiding the ship and looking for new jobs. In reality she was sticking her fingers into every nook and cranny and helping those that she could, keeping her identity secret, as she had been doing for centuries.
An interesting case caught her eye as one of the screens scrolled through the top headlines of a nearby planet. "Man snaps and kills entire family and several co workers before being killed by local police." She tapped on the headline and swiftly read through the article, apparently Arthur Dent, and average 40 year old human with a secure job at the mail office and a small family suddenly went rogue one morning and killed his wife and three small children, then calmly went to his job and began killing all of his co workers. It was dumbfounding, there was no cause of depression in the man and he had no reason to snap. She closed down the article and turned back to the rest of her work, until another case caught her eye.
This case was very similar to the one on Arthur Dent, it was of an elderly school teacher named Natasha Romanov who had killed all of the young students in her classroom. It was tragic, apparently she had been suffering from depression for years and had lived at home alone with six cats, though the reasoning behind her mass killings were still unknown.
She continued to search, dread filling her stomach as she found case after case of mass murderings, mainly from seemingly normal people. And it wasn't just from humans, humanoids and other forms of alien life were also suddenly killing each other. There was no logical explanation for the phenomena, and it left Jane feeling sick and perturbed.
After spending some time sifting through the increasing number of attacks, suddenly the reports stopped. The documents and reports of the killings began disappearing, they were no longer showing up on the news articles and all records of them seemed to have evaporated. Curious, Jane digged further, hacking into the top secret documents and police records. Finally she found the records, dozens of reports of the mass murdering filling her screens. So the governments had stepped in and shut the public out of the knowledge of the murders, Jane mused, wondering what was going on as more and more cases began to fill onto her screen as she poured through the police and hospital records.
Jane stepped into the shower, the glass doors automatically closing and locking behind her. She pushed a few buttons on the tiles in front of her and closed her eyes as the warm water fell onto her body from the ceiling. The amount of cases she had found on the killings was monumental, popping up all over the universe among several planets. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed as her body relaxed, forcing the reports and negative thoughts from her mind. It had been a long day and she had been extremely busy, taking breaks from her work on the bridge to walk around the ship and converse with her crewmembers and grabbing a few bites to eat. Not that she needed to eat, but her lack of sustenance would be noted on the monitors so she had to keep her facade of being a normal human, and not immortal.
After standing for a few moments letting the water run over her body Jane opened her eyes once more. The glass doors to the shower were lined with messages that popped up on the screen, messages from Triss, the time (21:34), and the meal plan for the next day. She tapped on the glass at a small box that lit up, and suddenly the messages disappeared. She then tapped on another box on the glass and suddenly a list of shampoos and scents lit up against the glass. She scrolled down, "apple, bubblegum, citrus, coconut... lavender, lemon... rainforest flowers..." She clicked on lemon. She hadn't tried that one before. She held out her hand to a small dispenser as a gooey liquid was poured into her hand, smelling strongly of lemon. She rubbed it into her long hair, slowly massaging her head with one hand as she tapped on the glass again with her other hand. Eventually a list of music options popped up on the screen, so she scrolled down and chose a song under "opera", an old italian song dating back into the 1600s on earth. She recognized the piece, and a brief memory of attending the concert flitted into her mind as the music filled the quietness of the room. The melody came rushing back to her mind and Jane finally began to relax as she sang along, her voice ringing clearly throughout the room. She continued to sing along to the old opera piece as she rinsed the lather out of her hair and scrubbed herself clean.
Once done with her shower she clicked another small box on the glass and the water shut off, lettering appearing on the glass as she continued to sing along with the music. "Would you like to manually dry off or have an automatic air dry?" She clicked on manual and through the glass she could see a small portion in the wall to her right slide back and a large towel fall into the room, being held in the air by an unseen force shield as the wall slid back into place. Jane waved her hand from left to right as the glass door slid away, sending her melody ro reverberate throughout the small room. Jane stepped out of the shower and onto the lush mat, water dripping from her body as she grabbed the floating towell as the song reached its climax, the melody becoming more complex and of wider range and Jane perfectly sang in tune.
The clothes that she had deposited on the floor of the bathroom had disappeared to be cleaned, though the silk robe now floated in the air by the door. It was dark blue, the same as her uniform, and incredibly soft and smooth as she pulled it out of the air. She dropped her towel on the ground, knowing that it would disappear to be cleaned as she held her robe against her nose. It smelled clean and fresh, still warm from the cleaners. Jane slipped it on as the song began to fade as she held the last note. When the song ended she snapped her fingers as the music stopped, then waved her hand towards the dark colored wood of the door and watched it as it slid open. She ran her fingers through her hair to straighten it as she walked to the center of her room.
Her room was bare in the center, all of her objects pushed to the side. Her bed, never being used, was against the far corner. The she curled her toes against the thick carpet as she stood in the center of her bedroom. No other place on the ship had carpet, she had it specially put into place as she loved the feel and it made her room seem more homey. She gazed around herself at the shelves that lined the walls, all of them made of expensive wood with ornately covered handles, littered with books and trinkets that she had picked up. Her objects spanned centuries and planets, each object of infinite worth to her, though others might think of the random assortment of pens, dolls, trinkets, instruments, currency, paintings, toys and other odds and ends to be useless and of no value. Paintings and photographs lined her walls, each with its own memory. Some of the paintings were her own, though she would never tell anyone, especially since some of them were from a few centuries ago. She took a moment to examine all of the memorabilia surrounding her, reminiscing in the past.
Jane held her hand out in the air and once again waved the transparent screens towards her once more. She can't sleep, so she might as well be productive. Her crew were all still working, as they all worked shifts and slept at different periods of time, but it would seem odd if she were to never rest. So she resigned herself to locking herself up in her room for a few hours at a time when everyone assumed that she was sleeping. She was in her own section of the spaceship, and no one other than Triss were allowed past the bridge unless given direct assent, so she knew that she wouldn't be bothered. The glass doors leading into the hallway were darkened, giving Jane her complete privacy. Jane loved the quiet and homeliness of her room, it was always so calm and peaceful and full of memories.
The screens shone brightly in the dimly lit room, though the light from the ceiling was warm and cast a golden hue around the place, specifically set by Jane to be relaxing. She waved her hand around one of the screens, picking out some quiet music as a backdrop, not planning on singing anymore that night, and then she began to work, skimming through countless information to see where she was needed and offering advice where she could.
She turned her attention towards searching for the mass killings, but all traces of them had been wiped away from the main data frame she accessed. She couldn't even bypass security to pull up the names and files. She frowned in confusion as she continued to dig into the data frame, finding no trace of any random acts of mass killings from seemingly innocent people.
After passing the time in relative silence, the soft melodic sounds of the music filling in the ambience, the sound of heels clicking down the long passageway outside of her room caused Jane to pause what she was doing. She snapped her fingers and the music suddenly stopped as she craned her head to listen to the frantic steps heading her way.
The glass doors to her room slid open with a whoosh as Triss appeared in the doorway, her lizard like eyes opened wide as she bowed as an apology for the intrusion. Jane quickly waved her screens away and beckoned her assistant to enter. Triss briskly stepped forwards, hardly glancing around the room. She had seen the room a couple of times but had never spent a considerable amount of time in it, but she didn't glance around her in awe or even acknowledge the carpeted floor as she stepped forwards with a purpose.
"The Admiral is requesting a conference call." Triss stated urgently, holding a small black object towards Jane in her outstretched hand.
"The Admiral?" Jane asked, in awe. The Admiral was in charge of several of the delegations between planets and was the head of many large corporations, organizations, and spaceship fleets. He was basically the head of government for interplanetary relations and his reach was far and wide, and he was a very well respected man. Jane couldn't believe it, she had only communicated personally with the Admiral a few times, though she had sent him several helpful messages as Metis. Her thoughts immediately turned to the reports she had seen that morning, and wondered if the Admiral knew of the strange goings on and the large cover up that had completely deleted all traces of the killings.
"Yes." Triss hissed back as Jane grabbed the small object from her scaly hand. "He is on hold and expects to speak with you immediately."
Determined to not keep him waiting, Jane strode to the wall in front of her and stuck the black device to the wall, it was a camera that would transmit to the Admiral himself. Triss began pressing buttons on her screen and with a flick of her wrist a large transparent screen appeared in front of the two of them, the Admiral's face broadcasted across it. Steely grey eyes stared down at Jane, his nose was long and curved like a beak over his thin lips. His dark black hair was trimmed very short and was receding from his head and his face was shaved clean. A high collar hugged his neck as his upper chest was barely visible, the heavy silver colored material of his shirt revealing his rank, the buttons completely buttoned beneath his adams apple. Several medals and other insignias adorned his chest that was puffed out slightly as he stood straight, the black background accentuating all of his insignias.
Jane snapped to attention, her heels together as she stood absolutely straight with a stiff salute. Suddenly she became self conscious of her appearance, knowing that she was only wearing her silk robe and her wet hair was unkempt.
"Captain." The admiral acknowledged, his voice nasally yet deep as he peered down his long nose at her.
"Admiral." Jane said in response, swiftly lowering her salute and putting her arms straight at her sides. She watched as his eyes flicked to Triss' location, so she motioned with her head towards her second in command to leave the room. Triss bowed slightly and holding her e-book tightly she left the room, the glass doors sliding shut behind her.
"At ease Captain." The Admiral spoke again.
Jane nodded her thanks and relaxed her shoulders and took a more comfortable stance. "I'm sorry about my appearance, I would have made myself more presentable had I known you were going to call." Jane apologized as she pulled her silk robe tighter around herself.
"It's no matter," he dismissed with a wave, "I didn't wake you, did I?" His expression showed his concern for waking her with his lips pulled into a frown, but Jane could tell by his steely eyes that he didn't care one bit if he had woken her from her sleep.
"Oh, no sir. I was awake." Jane confirmed, though she knew full well that it didn't matter what she said as an answer.
"Good." He stated, though his lips were still pulled into a frown. "I assume that our conversation will be in complete privacy, am I correct?"
"Yes sir, we are in my private bedroom and there are no recording devices in here besides this camera." Jane replied, pointing at the camera that was attached to the wall in front of her.
The Admiral paused and stared at her closely as he carefully chose his next words. "I am in need of your assistance on a rather secretive matter." He stopped, waiting for her reaction.
Jane steeled herself, nodding her head that she would be able to offer that secrecy.
"It regards information that cannot be revealed to the populous, the results of which would be devastating."
Jane realized that whatever he was going to tell her completely corresponded with the planet-wide cover up there had been of the spontaneous killings. She considered telling him that she was aware of the murders, but decided against it. A captain such as her, merely waiting for another order, should not be aware of the goings on of the planets around her. If he knew that she was adept at catching the information that people should not see, bypassing all encryptions and sneaking into the top secret sites, he might lose all trust in her.
The Admiral continued, "In fact, due to the nature of the conversation, I cannot tell you over this conference call."
Jane raised her eyebrow. She had told him that their conversation was private, she certainly was not recording it and there was no interference from her end. Her crew had been involved in several covert actions that were never recorded or reported to the public and they would certainly be able to keep their mouths shut. She then realized with a start that he might not be referring to her being incapable of keeping a secret or tracking a call, but instead that his end of the call was corrupted. He might be the one being monitored.
"If you agree to take on this delicate case I will send a partner to assist you and who will inform you on the nature of this task." He paused once more.
"What type of task will this be?" Jane asked, wanting to know if by taking on this case the safety of her crew would be jeopardized.
"It might prove to be dangerous, requiring highly skilled task force members and a devotion to secrecy. I can't say much more on the subject, but know that millions of lives are at stake. I know of no other person who would be able to manage this case as efficiently than if it were left in your highly capable hands." His voice was serious and each word was promptly accentuated to prove his point.
Jane was flattered by his high praise and was slightly shocked that he deemed her capable of doing whatever he needed to be done. She knew that her crew was highly adept at keeping secrets and were efficient during high risk scenarios. If anyone was suitable to the task at hand, she knew that she and her crew were the best option, especially since she already had a basic idea of what she was up against. Mass killings were going on in several planets, a fact that the public did not need to know.
Jane nodded, her decision resolute. "Myself and my crew will be able to handle it to the best of our abilities."
Relief washed over the Admiral's face, though she could see that he was still extremely tense by his posture and his steely eyes.
"Your partner for this task will arrive on your ship at 0800 tomorrow, he will inform you of your task and together you will be able to eradicate this problem." He paused once more, doubt flitting onto his features. "He is very intelligent and highly trained for this task, but he may prove to be... difficult."
"In what way?" Jane asked, wondering what made her new 'partner' difficult. Was he difficult to be around, an attention hog and whatnot? Was he from a highly confrontational planet? Could he explode instantly like the race of blastoides from one of the far reaching planets?
"He is arrogant and is socially inept, he likes to work alone and will not appreciate the fact of working along someone else," he sighed as his thoughts turned to the man he would be sending to work with Jane. "Though he is the best one suited for the job, and he will provide invaluable insight," he finished.
Jane nodded once more, crossing her arms over her chest as she contemplated what she had gotten herself into. Apparently, by agreeing to doing what the Admiral asked, she was going to risk the lives of her crew members to do something dangerous, hopefully saving the lives of millions, all the while working with someone who didn't work well with others. She had a slight idea of what she was up against, her instincts telling her that it would be extremely dangerous for her. Though she was wary of what damage would happen would occur should she accept the task, she knew that she would accept it. If anyone was up to the task, it was her and her crew.
"I will meet with him tomorrow," she affirmed.
"Captain." The Admiral stated with a bow of his head, accepting her offer.
Jane jumped to attention, clicking her bare heels together and raising a salute. "Admiral."
The connection was lost as her screen went black, he had ended the call. Jane relaxed and stepped to the camera that was attached to the wall as she waved away the blank screen. She brought up a different screen and quickly messaged Triss to return. She returned to the center of the room, her mind deep in thought as she fiddled with the small camera in her fingers.
After a few minutes the doors to her room slid open with a sigh. Jane turned to face her friend, whose expectant face showed her curiosity of what the call had been about.
"Be expecting a new passenger tomorrow at 0800." Jane stated, handing the camera back to Triss, avoiding the Treshiss' long nails that were sharpened to points like claws. "Treat him with uttermost respect, he is of a high rank." Actually, Jane had no idea of what rank her new partner actually had, but since she was the captain, and he would be her partner, he would have to receive the same amount of respect as her. Perhaps the respect they showed towards him will help him from being "difficult."
Triss nodded and Jane dismissed her from the room, listening as the doors closed behind her and her shoes clicked against the floor all the way to the lift. Once completely alone again Jane brought up the transparent screens, a new task at hand. She was going to find out what the Admiral had been involved in recently and who her new partner could possibly be.