Jai was sitting at her desk, consulting an outdated starmap on her tablet, when she heard a crisp knock at the door. She'd narrowed down where they might go to just a handful, but none of them stood out as having any value.
"RAVN, who's at the door?" Jai asked without looking up. She crossed out the name 'Sablon's Reach' in her journal. Even though it was in range, there was absolutely nothing useful there. Not even Tribute ships made many trips.
"Co-Pilot Serrin is outside, Pilot Ulrik." RAVN replied.
Hearing that, Jai closed the journal and placed it back inside the desk's drawer. She cleared the rest of the desk and made sure the room was presentable before sitting back down, facing the door.
"You can let her in." Jai said to RAVN. The door slid open to reveal Tess in casual clothes.
"Hey Jai! Did you hear we got ten hours of shore leave?" Tess said, stepping into the doorway enough to trip the sensor, but without actually entering the room. "If you're not already booked, I was thinking of stretching my legs. You feel like tagging along?"
"I appreciate the invite Tess," Jai said, trying not to blatantly disinterest. "But our schedule's taken a lot out of me and I'd prefer to rest."
Tess was nice enough, but it was pretty obvious that the captain had asked her to keep an eye on Jai. As a result, no matter how kind Tess was, Jai had absolutely no interest in spending time with her outside their official duties. At the same time, Jai had no intention of letting Tess know that she knew she was being watched, so she had to handle this carefully.
"Look, that's part of why I'm asking. You've been running hard, and you're not exactly mingling with the crew." Tess said, pushing past Jai's rejection without missing a beat. "The promenade's got plenty to do and the spin-grav here is on the higher end. Not bad enough to knock your lunch out at least. Besides, I know you're eager to spend all the money you've been earning. Every new hire is."
"Sounds fun, but I'm not really up for it." Jai replied, doing her best to look exhausted. Which wasn't all that hard actually.
"You know..." Tess said, her words dangling in front of Jai like a string in front of a cat. "There's a coffee spot here that actually uses real beans. Not the GMO lab grown stuff either. Certified pre-Lightfall strain, right out of the dirt."
Jai actually hesitated for a moment there. It had been so so long since she'd had good coffee, and now that she could afford the expensive stuff, why shouldn't she treat herself? Seeing Jai hesitate, Tess pressed her advantage.
"What if we make it a bridge crew thing?" Tess asked. "Bring Thren and Liya along. You oughta spend some time with Liya, she's a little younger but I reckon you two might click."
"The astrogator younger than me?" That news caught Jai a little off guard, completely breaking her impassive front. "I had her pegged closer to your age."
"Oh, star no." Tess said with a dry chuckle. "She's barely nineteen, not even an adult yet. But I get why you'd think that. Liya's an old soul, for sure. Plus she always veils on the bridge. Doesn't make it easy to tell how old she is."
Seriously?! Jai thought, her pride a little wounded. I'm already on the young side for starship crew. Where are they finding these children? Orphanages?
"We don't have enough in common to make it worthwhile." Jai brushed Tess off more firmly this time. "I'll maintain professional conduct. Beyond that, my social life isn't your concern."
At that comment Tess sighed and stood in the doorway for a while, staring at Jai with... was that pity? Jai sat there in silence for a while as Tess watched her, unsure what the best way to ask her to leave was.
"Would you go if I stayed on the ship?" Tess eventually asked, catching Jai off guard.
"Why would-"
"Listen, you're right, Sera asked me to keep an eye on you. What we're doing out here isn't a game, and you're still an unknown factor." Tess's admission was almost as stunning to Jai as it was embarrassing to see how badly she'd managed to hide knowing about it. "You just gotta hang tight for a few months, show you're not gonna crack under pressure, that we can trust you. Then Sera'll put you in command where you belong. You're the Pilot, young or not. But right now? You're a risk."
Tess paused, giving Jai a chance to speak. Seeing that she wasn't going to, Tess continued.
"Do you know how many Pilots we've lost since I joined the crew? Six. Six gone. It's a hell of a job, and the easiest way to mess it all up is pushing yourself too hard. Not just the body. The mind takes a beating in hyperspace too. I've seen Pilots lose themselves to psychosis 'cause they never gave themselves a break."
"I can handle it." Jai finally retorted with a hint of anger. "Most Pilots belong in a museum. But not me."
"Most of our Pilots have been on the older side, yeah. Even for this line of work" Tess suppressed an eye roll but Jai still caught it. "Doesn't mean being young makes it any easier. If you don't have something solid to hold onto, Jai, you're just running yourself into the ground. Bright future or not, you gotta keep yourself together or this job's gonna chew you up and spit you out."
"Fine." Jai huffed, upset that she had been worn down, but unable to find any more reasons to turn Tess down. "Only if it's just me, Liya, and Thren."
She'd be lying after all if she said she actually liked solitude. Her life just hadn't worked out in a way that allowed her to ever let her guard down around others. Even now, when she was pretty sure she could trust most of the people on the ship not to stab her in the back, it was too hard to make those first steps.
"Great! Thank you, Jai." Tess seemed genuinely relieved to see that she was willing to socialize. "You're gonna like it. I'll tell the others you're on your way. Meet them by the airlock in fifteen."
Tess then stepped out of the doorway, allowing it to slide shut with a click. Left alone again, Jai sighed. Hopefully this wouldn't be a complete disaster. After everything she'd been through, how was she supposed to connect with a normal teenager?