He rushed up the steps and through the archway to the atrium of the building where a receptionist greeted him before he could look around.
A minute later he was shown into the commanding officer's room. A balding man sat behind a desk with a built in display. When Dylan walked in it showed a map of the nearby star systems, with enemy territory in red and their own in blue. The map had a lot of red on it.
“Sir, Captain Dylan Gray, reporting for orders.”
“Ah, Captain Gray, come in, sit down.” The commander waved his wrinkled hand towards the chair nearest to him. Dylan did as he was told. Until now all his orders had come from his previous captain, the now Admiral Keane. Before him sat someone who'd been an admiral for over ten years and probably didn't hold out much hope to be promoted further.
“What mission have you got for me?”
“We need you to take some food from here to another planet of ours. It's a relatively new colony and the planet's recent crops failed due to drought. They're also having problems with a few diseases and need medical aid.”
“That sounds more like a job for a cargo runner. I have a reasonable amount of space for cargo but my ship's outfitted for battle not deliveries.”
The admiral didn't reply but motioned towards the map. On the other side of all the red was a blue blob that spread around one solar system and towards the left edge. Somewhere off the map he knew the blue connected up.
“That's where I need you to take it.”
“Across all that area?”
“Yes. The supplies need to be there in as few days as possible. A transport could take it around the edge and be there in just over a week but you could go through the middle in half the time.”
“When do I get started?”
“Right away. The cargo is already on its way to your ship. We can go there now and talk over the rest of the details on the way.”
The admiral stood up again and Dylan had to hurry to his feet. For an old man he could move faster than Dylan expected.
The two transports joined the hyper-way back to the docks and his ship. Long before they got there Dylan could see the container of cargo sitting right by the main hold of his ship. Beside it was his logistics officer already overseeing the loading of the food and other resources his crew would need to replenish their mandatory stores.
As soon as Dylan got out of his transport he noticed a group of slaves there to help with the transfer process. Walking out of the loading hatch came the same slave girl he'd met only an hour or so earlier. She gave commands to several of the men around her in a language he didn't understand, and they lugged the boxes and crates wherever she directed.
Not wanting her to notice him, Dylan led the admiral into the ship while she was in the container, They went up to the higher deck where they could observe the progress without being directly involved.
After making polite small talk the admiral handed Dylan the electronic tablet with his official orders and a stored list of all the cargo he was loading and where it needed to go.
“Did you also get my request for extra crew?” Dylan asked before the admiral could leave.
“Yes, but there's no one here of the right level. You'll have to keep going with what you've got. We're expecting some recruits in the next few months but none have arrived and many more Federations ships are asking for extra hands.”
Dylan nodded. Admiral Keane had said similar words last time they'd seen each other.
“I hear you picked up some crew on your last couple of missions? A Thorian as well?” the admiral continued.
“I did. All of whom are now working on the Sapphira in my service. And on that note, do you see that girl down there?” Dylan pointed at the slave. The admiral looked her over as she helped Dylan's logistics officer work out where the cargo should be stowed.
“What of her?”
“She's a slave. If I bought her, could we call her a recruit?”
“No slaves are allowed on a fleet ship. You would have to declare her free, but if you think she would help.” The admiral took another look at her as she issued more orders to the men helping with her.
Dylan knew this wasn't the normal way to acquire crew but so far every new recruit had been found in some inventive way. Buying a slave was possibly one of the simplest.
“You'll need to get enough information from her to sign her up as one of our staff and she will need to pass the background check, but it's up to you what you spend your money on.”
The meaning wasn't lost on him. There would be no refund if she proved to be a reliable member of his crew. All he might get is gratitude, and a little recognition, but the money would be gone. He also suspected the admiral thought he had further ideas about the pretty girl but that line of thought was nothing new from men like the admiral.
With the important hand-overs done, Dylan escorted his superior to his transport and then went to see his logistics officer, another of his new recruits. She smiled when she saw him.
“Captain, the cargo is safely stowed and we're ready for departure.”
“Excellent, thank you, Trell. The girl, in the pale blue, was she helpful?”
“Very. I couldn't have done it without her. Everyone here speaks a muddle of languages and not very good English. She was brilliant with them as well as keeping track of what went where.”
“I'm thinking of hiring her,” he said, not mentioning her current slave status.
“A brilliant idea, captain.” The enthusiastic crew member beamed and bounced on the spot, as she often did when she was excited.
With the extra boost of confidence from one of his own trusted crew, Dylan's uneasiness at buying the slave diminished enough for him to act, and he hurried over to her before she could leave.
“Hello, sir,” she said to cover her surprise.
“Hello...”
“Auraylia, sir.”
“I'm assuming you're still for sale, Auraylia?” She nodded her head and the edges of her lips twitched up in a barely restrained smile. “And you still want to see space?”
Again her head bobbed up and down vigorously.