“How’s the ship now?”

“All systems are nominal. I have provided a list of materials needed. We may need to hire someone to execute more advanced repairs and maintenance. I would recommend hiring specialty staff while we are travelling.”

Aurelia wasn’t happy to hear this. She wasn’t in a very good mood in general. She hadn’t sequestered herself in the middle of nowhere just for the sights. The fewer people in her space, the better, but she knew that there were more complications when travelling in the cold void than there were sitting on a planet.

“Fine. Give me a vetted list of recommended individuals and groups within ten thousand light years. Look for people who specialise in warship maintenance and people who specialise in civilian ship maintenance. Ideally those who have experience in both. Temperament doesn’t matter so long as they do their damn job.” Aurelia rattled off as she hobbled through the halls.

“Of course, miss. I have found three hundred and forty seven individuals and four groups that fit this criteria.”

“And goes without saying but no one with anti artificial intelligence sentiments, for obvious reasons.”

“That cuts the list down to three hundred and five individuals and three groups.”

“Just pick whoever you think would be best. Vet them yourself, and if you think they are a good fit, give them a salary of thirty percent above average.” Aurelia resigned. She wasn’t exactly a people person and she knew her assistant was more of a people intelligence than she was.

“Yes miss.”

“Do the same for security and personnel management. I can’t be fucked dealing with people, so get someone who can. Also, Addison, no one with any ties to the Guul Imperium. Not dealing with those zealot fucks more than I have to.” Aurelia walked up to the door of the bridge and stopped in her tracks. “Actually, for the head of security, See if you can find Jezka.”

“I have sent her an offer, miss.”

“Thank you Addison, I suppose I keep you around for a reason.”

“For my charming wit and devastatingly good looks?” Said Addison smugly.

“Oh yes, your servers really do it for me.” Said the redhead as rolled her eyes half-heartedly. She opened the door to the bridge to see the snow-haired woman tapping away at one of the keyboards in the room. She seemed entirely preoccupied with whatever she was looking at, so the scientist simply sat herself down on the throne. She let out a sigh of relief as she did so. She may hate the room, but damn it if it wasn’t the most comfortable chair on the ship.

“Okay Addison, go through preflight checkup. Once you are done, let's get move on.” Aurelia said with a sigh, allowing herself to sink into the chair. A holo lit up in front of her going through thousands of processes each second, diagnostics listing off faster then Aurelia could see, the advantages of an artificial intelligence. After half an hour of staring at a screen she could barely follow, the stream of data paused on several red lines.

“Excuse me, young miss, there seems to be several systems that are offline.” Said the artificial assistant. When she spoke up, Isobel jumped in her seat in surprise as if caught doing something she shouldn’t. then spun herself around in the chair.

“O-oh! When did you get here?” She stammered. Aurelia couldn’t help but cock a smirk at the young woman. Her creation seems jumpy and nervous, something fascinating to the scientist as despite her apparently timid nature, she was several times stronger than any human.

“About forty minutes ago. Just running diagnostics, then we head off.” Aurelia turned her head back to the holo in front of her.

“I can’t wait! There is so much I want to see and experience. Milvine art is fascinating, they do realism with such precision that many of their artists are accused of taking pictures rather than painting!” Exclaimed the excitable android. “Raxth music is also fascinating, have you heard of K’rek-Toki? Their music is so brutal and emotional, it is so striking and powerful.”

The scientist was very familiar with these, and just nodded along as her creation continued speaking about music and art while she looked deeper into the errors. Nothing was apparently wrong, which worried her far more than the alternative. Several non-vital systems were offline, just some lighting and some power draw from some of the life support. None of these things were important, or at least, had little importance, but the fact that any query made with Addison showed little else was wrong made her feel uneasy.

Aurelia let out a loud sigh and shook her head. When they had some crew on board, she would hand off the duty of looking at these little issues to them. The scientist looked up at the rambling android and cleared her throat audibly.

“Right, so, are you ready to go? Well everything we own is here, so, more so just declaring that we are now leaving.” Aurelia spoke awkwardly. There wasn’t to be any grand speeches or accolades. Just up and out. Isobel lips spread into a wide grin, punctuated with an enthusiastic nod. Aurelia responded in kind.

“Right, Addison, shift the bridge while you get the engines running, I think Isobel will appreciate the view.” Aurelia chuckled.

A few seconds later, the floor underneath them suddenly started vibrating, offering the feel of going up a very slow elevator. The metal walls outside the windows began to descend as they climbed up, and within a few minutes, the hazy light of an overcast sky crept into the bridge. The bridge suddenly stopped, causing the android to wobble in place before adjusting her footing.

“Okay Addison, get this whale moving. Take a seat wherever you want Izzy, our first stop is the Qrira system.”