A Starship Called Starsong

Chapter 66

The guard grabbed the unconscious man's ankles before dragging him out the door. The other men were uneasy and silent. Cynthia was quite pale, and her heart rate was high due to the stress. I knew she didn't handle stress or anxiety well, and I decided to pull attention towards me.

I turned to Gabriel before carefully speaking, "Thank you. Although I hope that I don't end up leaving the room in a similar fashion."

Judging from the spike on Cynthia's screen, my words were not helping her calm down... The old man gazed at me as he serenely replied, "I doubt you will end up like that hot-headed idiot. You seem to have your head set properly on your shoulders."

Very few powerful men were that frank, and it only served to show he held a rather high rank. I was going to have to be very careful with this man... I inclined my head at the compliment. "Thank you."

The other men didn't utter a word, clearly having decided to let this man have full control of this meeting. The old man turned his attention to his clipboard before looking back at me. "So, the other Starships are also hiring a crew. Where is the money for their wages coming from?"

This one I actually knew. "Starsong provided the money for the start-up of the first few ships. It usually only takes them a couple of weeks until they have made enough of a profit to be self-sufficient. Then they, in turn, put money back into a common fund where other Starships can draw on it if they have the need."

"Hmmm... And where did he get his start-up money?"

Starsong prompted me to tell the truth instead of side-stepping this question. "The very first Captain of the Tyndel had a hidden stash on board, and he passed away before he could move it. Starsong used those funds to purchase trade goods at our first few stops."

The man watched the lie detector screen, but seemed satisfied with my answer. His keen brown eyes moved to me. He asked, "And just why do you keep calling the AI a he?"

That was not a question I had expected. "Because his voice is masculine. If you want to hear it, he is able to speak through my communication device as well as the other device I was carrying."

The old man seemed to find my attempt to bring out the electronics amusing. "Thank you, but I will pass on that suggestion."

He glanced towards Cynthia, so I attempted to regain his attention. "If I may ask, why are we meeting here like this? I would have come if I had been asked."

He looked back at me, more serious now. "Because it is more secretive, of course."

His response puzzled me, and I tilted my head as I said, "I do not understand, why did this meeting have to be secretive? The fact that Starsong's AI is aware is no secret to the crew. Most of them have heard his voice over the speakers."

He frowned slightly at me. "I see what you are doing, protecting your friend by attempting to distract me." He narrowed his eyes slightly as he peered at me. "Why are you trying to prevent me from speaking with her?"

It wasn't intentional, but I still had his attention. That was good enough for me. "She doesn't handle stress well. She may have been my friend before I became Captain, but I take my responsibility towards my crew seriously."

The lie detector was on my side in this instance. He watched me quietly for a few moments before nodding his acceptance of that answer. He glanced at the other men and asked them, "Well, don't you have some questions?"

They shifted nervously in their seats as they looked at their clipboards. The man with the white tie started asking questions about which planets we had visited and what we had primarily traded. I didn't see the point in these questions, but answered them anyway. I tried to delay my answer by a few seconds, as well as draw out my answer. Each question and answer bought time for Tobias and Astra to get closer.