Martin stepped on board, and had the sudden, all-encompassing feeling of being watched that he supposed you always had with a brainship. It only made him more nervous.
"Hello. I suppose you're the new face, are you?"
Martin didn't have to look around for the voice to know that it was coming from the speakers in the console itself. He nodded, self-conscious, hoping that he wasn't making a complete fool of himself.
"Er, yes. Martin. Martin Crieff. Nice, er… nice to meet you, Gertie, isn't it?"
The ship laughed, and he cringed. It didn't sound like a bad laugh, though. So maybe he had a chance?
He heard steps on the ramp, and the ship spoke again, before he could even tell who was coming up.
"Hello, Douglas. Arthur. I suppose you've already met Martin?"
Douglas looked Martin over with the air of someone who has been looking for something, and you don't quite measure up. In Martin's case, in more ways than one. Arthur, on the other hand, looked positively delighted, and started waving the moment he saw the new man on board.
"Hello Gertie! Hello Martin! This is brilliant, isn't it? I think she already likes you!"
Douglas snorted, but some of the suspicion started to ease away, and Martin started to relax in the face of such unwavering optimism.
"Er, one thing. This is a- I mean-"
His confusion over the situation must have been obvious, because Douglas came up with the answer without his having to finish his own question.
"Gertie may be able to fly herself, and we may already have someone to do all the heavy lifting - also known as me - but this is a cargo-come-passenger ship, and thus, there is a need for more than just one or two people on board."
Martin sorted that through in his head, and he had to admit, it did make sense.
Restlessly, he looked around, taking in the readouts and the basic layout of the place. There were seats all around, presumably for the passengers, as well as an a door that presumably led to a galley area and another that led to the hold, and others to passenger and crew rooms.
"Where's Carolyn, then?"
"She's coming over now, actually," said Gertie. "And it's a cargo flight, so you'll have something easy to start you off with."
Martin nodded, absently.
This was going to take some getting used to.
...
AN: I have absolutely no idea how many people know of the Brainships in Ann McCaffrey's books, but if you don't, then you should look them up. They are amazing and I've had this AU in my mind for AGES.
I have this up on Tumblr and AO3 as well, but thought I'd put it up here for you guys. There's also a picture of Gertie in the other places.