The compartment was a little cramped, but I wasn’t going to complain. It had a soft bed, rugs on the floor, and the walls weren’t made of a metallic alloy. It hadn’t taken long for the Stolavii captain to surrender once the destroyers were peeling his ship into pieces. I felt nervous, but excited at the same time. I was no longer a slave, but I still needed to learn to make my way in this new world. I wondered if I would even want to go home, it wasn’t like there was anything waiting for me there, outside of a whole lot of people that needed killing that is.
I was assigned to a small room, and Vik promised to come by and speak to me soon.
Just as well, since I needed to understand the Isyth economy a little better before trying to negotiate a salary and benefits.
“Ann, can you fill me in on the details a bit, for the Isyth Empire’s economy?”
I stepped into the alcove with the sonic shower to get clean. Water might be free in the Isyth Empire, but on ships it was obviously still a precious resource for drinking only.
Ann said, “You already know food and water are free. The exception to that are pre-cooked meals and eating out in restaurants, but even that is cheap since you’re just paying for the salaries and the rest of the overhead for a business. After all, they have no food cost.”
That made sense.
Ann continued, “The Isyth Empire has no taxes. They make their money and pay for the government, military, ships, and personnel by owning all resources.”
“All resources?”
Ann said, “The four Isyth Empire member species, and five inhabited worlds are at the point they’ve taken most of the natural resources from their home planet and solar systems. The government runs all mining facilities in resource filled but otherwise dead star systems, including hiring all the people to make the work possible. Then they sell those resources at a flat rate to resource haulers, and other ships. The base of the economy is not free enterprise, but the rates to purchase resources are extremely reasonable and have been stable for thousands of years.
“The ships take the resources back to the five planets and sell it to various companies. It is against the law to fix prices at that point, and there are enough sellers and buyers to keep the prices down and reasonable through competition, while still having plenty to pay off the ships crews, fuel, and wear and tear on the ships. Not just private ships do this, military ships do as well. It just makes sense, while patrolling and ensuring the safety of planets and resources, they can also make the money required to maintain their ship and personnel. Energy use is still the highest cost to travelling through space.
“The companies refine and use the resources to feed their fabricators. Fabricators make things on demand, which cuts down on production waste. People can either order online, or they can go to a store and browse via holograms. They can also show you full size holograms of what clothes would look like on you. That’s a rather simplistic explanation of the economy, but it should suffice for understanding.”
Right, she hadn’t addressed ship building, or natural fabrics which can’t be mined from an asteroid, and any number of other things, but it did give me a grasp on the basics. I already knew about my salary. As a slave, I’d been making right around thirteen hundred credits a year. Which meant a technician’s job was worth about thirteen thousand a year. Of course, the Isyth Empire didn’t have technicians, the intelligent assistants did all that.
“What’s the average pay for a bridge crew person?”
Ann said, “Around twenty thousand a year, but it varies.”
That didn’t sound like a lot, but I got the idea that credits were far more valuable than the American dollar. Plus, no medical or food bills would make a huge impact on a personal budget. If I lived and worked aboard a ship I wouldn’t be paying for a house or apartment either, which also meant no electric, water, or gas bills.
“What are the prices for one of those internet interfaces, and weapons.”
Ann said, “It depends, you can buy a wall screen, a handheld device, or an implant which would give you an overlay. The prices run between fifty or a hundred credits. The latter comes with other benefits, but some people can’t get used to it. The advantage of course is it works anywhere through quantum entanglement, can interface with most devices, and runs on bio-electric energy so never needs to be recharged and doesn’t cost money to run.
“Weapons are a controlled thing, only those aboard ships or in some military or police capacity can buy them. They usually run between ten and fifty credits, but have maintenance costs attached. You’ll have an opportunity to look and decide if Vik hires you, most likely anything you choose will be manufactured on, or already aboard, the ship.”
“Other benefits to an implant?”
Ann said, “Well, it can appear to create visual holograms of anything that isn’t really there. It inserts the image or overlays it on what your eyes see. So, in the shopping example, you can shop online for a dress, and have that system give you a three-dimensional view of what you’d look like without even going into a store. While working on the bridge, you can view several screens at once, or combine them into one of your design. You can watch entertainment programs anywhere, or interface with a camera to see who’s at your door when you’re in the sonic shower. You could view diagnostic reports, without looking down at a screen on a device. Look up someone’s contact information if you forget their name without it being awkward. It can also interface with weapons to aid in aiming.”
Well, I didn’t need the latter one, I never missed what I aimed at, but that all sounded good. I also knew Earth was already flirting with that tech and calling it AR, or Augmented Reality, though obviously, it wasn’t nearly as capable yet, not to mention the goofy looking computer glasses.
“Why doesn’t everyone use it?”
Ann said, “Personal preference, some find it too distracting and prefer a physical device rather than a virtual one.”
That probably wouldn’t be an issue for me, my spatial awareness and training meant I already took in more than the average person at all times. Of course, now all I needed to do was get hired.
“How much do clothes cost?”
Ann replied, “A ship uniform or suit runs between two and five credits. Civilian clothes are one to two credits. If you work aboard a ship, you won’t have to worry about it. Most ships have small fabricators just in case something comes up. My advice is not to worry about it yet, you must wear a ship’s uniform or suit when in space, in case of life support failure.”
“How much do ships cost?”
Ann said, “The smallest, a scout sized vessel with FTL would cost around a hundred thousand credits. It would also cost about that much to run it and maintain it each year. Destroyers are about half a million. Cruisers and larger ships run into the millions of credits.”
I grabbed a glass of water, and took a seat to wait as I considered my change of fortune. I’d only been a slave for two days. The downside of course was that they must have records of me, if they ever took me again, I’d be spaced, not re-enslaved. I couldn’t afford to be caught by the Stolavii ever again.
The door chimed a little over an hour later. I didn’t feel neglected, I figured if Vik was a captain of his own military ship, he’d probably been debriefed on his adventure by some higher ups, I’d be the lower priority. I got up and walked over to the door, and opened it.
Rilok said shortly, “Follow me.”
I smiled and wondered if he was like this with everyone. An ass I mean.
“Lead the way.”
He grunted and turned, and I followed him down the corridor. The Isyth ship was nicer than the Stolavii ship. The corridors were still unadorned, but instead of some metal they were some kind of non-metallic composite. They were also bright, and off white. The floor was also carpeted in dark gray, the same gray in the black and gray ship suit Rilok wore. I couldn’t help but notice, that there were no access ports anywhere that I could see, just a display near every door. Perhaps since the A.I. handled all the repairs, it was an enclosed secondary system that only small repair bots could access.
He led me into a small conference room, and stood against the wall. Vik was seated at the table, as was Telidur.
Vik said, “Take a seat.”
I sat across from him, the chair was comfortably soft but supporting.
Vik evaluated me for a moment, and it was hard not to smile at the handsome well-built blue alien, but I managed it.
He said, “Let me tell you a little about us and our ship. I’m Captain Vik of the Isyth cruiser Scythe. The Scythe is a cruiser class design much like the ship you were on with a few major differences. She’s also on detached duty, and is not part of a fleet. What we do is stick our nose into things, and see what, if anything, tries to bite it off. Our primary mission right now, is to figure out what the Stolavii are doing with all the humans they’re enslaving. Not all of them end up as ship’s crew.
“Lieutenant commander Rilok is my second in command, he also holds the bridge position of navigation and operations. Outside the ship, he guards my back. Lieutenant Telidur is our pilot. If we can come to an agreement, you will in effect be joining the military, have the rank of Jr. Lieutenant, and be taught what you need to know to control the weapons systems, both external and internal. You can resign at any time from the military, and at that point any weapons would be confiscated before you left us.
“The Scythe is somewhat of an experiment, we are not just the bridge crew, we are the only crew. The rest of the ship including combat droids to deal with intruders, is controlled by the main artificial assistant, Jillintara. Any questions?”
Me, alone, onboard with three hot blue males? Where do I sign? Even if one was a bit of an asshole, that still left two to make a connection with. I just hoped there was no rules against fraternization, or I’d be wearing out the vibe I planned to purchase as soon as possible. A girl had needs, and I had a pretty high libido, more so than most healthy nineteen-year-old women. Still, I wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t imagine it would take much effort on Vik’s part to get me in bed. I already liked him, and our chemistry made my body sing. Hopefully, it wasn’t one sided, but it was impossible to tell.
“How is it possible to have a command crew of three, four if you add me. No one can work all the time.”
Vik nodded, “Jillintara can control the entire ship under most conditions, and we will work one shift together. If an emergency comes up, we’ll be summoned to the bridge. Even at two hundred gravities of acceleration, space is big, and there’s always plenty of time to react before battle is joined. That’s what makes it an experiment of sorts. You’ll also be required to purchase the interface implant for data access and visual overlay, so you can be aware of the ship’s status at all times, from anywhere if there is an emergency. It will even work off ship. The system has worked pretty well so far, but Jillintara has been challenged as the weapons officer, as well as controlling everything else when in battle. Which is why I want to hire you.”
I wasn’t naïve enough to think that was the only reason. I’d demonstrated competence, and the ability to meet a challenge, but there were probably a lot of people already in the military who would love a posting like this. Maybe it had to do with their mission? I was a human after all, maybe that would come in handy at some point?
“I’m interested, how much does it pay?”
He said, “Most military of that rank earn fifteen thousand credits a year, add five thousand for bridge work, and another five for the hazards of our mission. I’m willing to pay you thirty thousand a year, instead of the normal twenty-five. I’ll also pay you a signing bonus of five hundred credits which will bind you to serve at least one year, you’ll need to purchase the interface, weapons, a ship suit, and then you’ll have plenty left over for other things. I suggest you hold onto most of it, until you get paid at the end of the first month.”
“That’s acceptable. Where do I sign.”
Vik laughed, “You just did. Recorded verbal agreement. My assistant should be transferring the terms as stated along with the five hundred credits. It will take us two days to reach our ship at the refit yard, which should be ready for re-deployment when we get there. Order what you want today, and it will be waiting on the ship when we get there. Rilok will take you to the med-lab, where you can get the interface installed, ten credits will automatically be deducted on insertion. After insertion, it will take ten minutes or so for it to interface with your visual and auditory senses.”
“Understood.”
Vik smiled and said, “Welcome to the team.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Rilok sighed, “Come along lieutenant.”
The rank startled me, but I smiled again and got up from the table…