“This is just for tonight,” she explained as she led me through a roomy passenger lounge. “I’ll get you set up with a cabin of your own tomorrow. I’m afraid we don’t have companions assigned to the rooms, but feel free to call me if you need anything. You can order room service if you get hungry, and there’s a clothing fabber in your bathroom.”
She opened a door marked ‘Passenger Stateroom 6’, and I stopped to stare. It was huge! There was a living room that must have been thirty square meters, and that was just the entrance area. Beyond that the map showed a kitchen, study, bedroom, two storage rooms and a huge bathing area.
“Your passengers must be rich,” I said.
“Not usually. It’s a big ship, and there aren’t many of us on board, so space is rarely a problem. Also, I don’t mean to embarrass you, but I’m afraid you’re going to find that Felicity is very poor. Even the little Dark Space colonies we trade with are generally quite rich compared to what you’re used to.”
“Really? Well, I guess that just means I’ll be rich too someday.”
Naoko smiled, and hugged me. “That’s the spirit. Get some rest now, Alice. Breakfast is at 0800. Can you find your way to the mess hall?”
“The one in the crew space up on deck 12? Yes, I see it on the map.”
“Good. I have breakfast with my captain, but I’ll meet you there afterwards.”
“I’ll be there.”
Then I was alone.
I raided the suite’s pantry for a snack, and considered what to do next. I’d never had my own fabber before, and I was tempted to play around with it. But the bed was calling me.
Rest, then.
The bedroom made my old dorm room look like a closet, and the bed was big enough for half a dozen people. But it was soft as a cloud, and the covers were as warm as Dika’s hugs. My head touched the pillow, and I was out like a light.
Chapter 5
The scent of something wonderful greeted my arrival in the mess hall the next morning.
The room was pretty nice, a big space divided into smaller clusters of tables and chairs by big planters full of greenery. But I barely paid it any attention, as my nose led me across the room to a long counter with several tall stools. Beyond that was a room where a group of cute foxgirls were doing mysterious things with gadgets I didn’t recognize.
I hopped up on one of the stools, and leaned over the counter to watch. “Good morning, everyone. That smells amazing.”
“Thank you!” One of the foxgirls said, flashing me a smile. “What would you like for breakfast, ma’am?”
I looked behind me. No, there was no older crewmember standing there.
“I’m not a ‘ma’am’,” I told her. “I’m just Alice.”
The one man in the kitchen turned to greet me. “Ah, I see our new cabin girl isn’t above being friendly with the techs. Good morning, Alice.”
“Good morning, sir. You’re Chief Engineer Thomas Benson, right? Sorry, I’m still getting used to this enhanced reality thing.”
“I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it in no time, Alice. Yes, I am Chief Benson, the one man charged with defending this crew from technical disasters of every description. These brave young stalwarts are my techs, Jenna, Lina, Kara and Mina. Don’t let them fool you with those innocent smiles, they’ll get you into all manner of mischief if you let them.”
Goodness, but they were an odd group. Chief Benson was a few cems shorter than the captain and not as stout, with dark brown skin and close-cut black hair. He also wasn’t wearing a shirt, and his arms and torso were solid muscle. Wow. I’d never seen anything like that before, but I was pretty sure I liked it.
The fox girls were all a good bit shorter, maybe a hundred and sixty-five cems, and were all the same morph style. They had furry ears atop their heads, and long fluffy tails that I immediately wanted to pet, but not much fur. They were lean and athletic rather than all curvy like Naoko, but I guess that would be more practical for crawling around tight spaces in engineering. They looked so similar that hair color was probably the only way most people could tell them apart - Jenna had the orange-red color of an actual fox, Lina was a more classic redhead, Kara’s hair and fur were all black and Mina was blonde with a black tail.
“I see the good doctor has you on supplements,” Chief Benson went on. “But surely you’ll have room to sample our culinary efforts as well? Today we’re serving authentic American-style breakfast cuisine.”
“You mean, like, manual cooking?” I asked.
“Precisely! Autochefs may produce a passable product, but there’s no replacement for the satisfaction of preparing a fine meal with your own two hands. Now, you look like a pancake sort of girl to me. Do you like sweets? Of course you do, at your age. Lina, a short stack of blueberry pancakes with maple syrup, and a fresh pot of hot chocolate.”
The whole group worked together with seamless precision, mixing and pouring and doing complicated things with hot surfaces. I could see why the counter was here. It was fun to sit and watch them, and they didn’t seem to mind.
A bot dropped off my nutrient shake, and I gingerly tried a sip. Then a bigger one. Then I was gulping it down as fast as I could. Wow, this stuff was chock full of everything my development manager was screaming for.
Lina set a plate full of flat things in front of me with a grin. “Careful there. Don’t humans get brain freeze if they drink too much cold stuff too fast?”
I set the empty glass aside. “Ahh, I really needed that. I’m fine, Lina, but thanks for checking. So these are pancakes?”
“That’s right, and this is maple syrup. You pour however much you want over the pancakes, and then eat them with a knife and fork.” She sent me a video clip of that. “It’s pretty much all bread and sugar, but it’s good. If you want some protein too we can make you some ham strips, or bacon.”
“What’s bacon?”
Mina’s tail went stiff, and she turned to give me a horrified look. “You’ve never had bacon? Oh, you poor girl. I’ll make you a batch right now.”
“What do they usually eat for breakfast on Felicity?” Lina asked.
“Most days it was fruit and cheese,” I said. “Or sometimes berry mix, for variety. They have this whole environmentally sound vegetarian diet thing going on, which always drove me nuts because I get cravings for meat. I’ve never actually had bread before, either. Processed carbohydrates are supposed to be bad for you or something.”
Lina giggled. “Like anyone still has a paleo digestive system in this day and age? Well, you’ll get lots of new experiences here. We cook a meal for the crew every other day, and we’re always trying something different.”
“Sweet. Oh, this is good! Is it hard to learn how to make this?”
“Nah, pancakes are easy. But wait till you try the bacon.”
Bacon was amazing. So were the sausage patties, and the omelet that Jenna suggested after that. By then other crewmembers were streaming in at a steady rate, and for a while the fox girls were too busy to chat. But they kept putting plates in front of me, so I kept eating.