The ten days back went as smoothly as they did getting to Genesis VII. Luckily, being Acting Captain is pretty easy when nothing is happening. Everyone on board seems to have silently agreed that any decisions, that need to be made, could wait until we have our real Captain.

Entering the bridge, Terry immediately turns to address me: “Fir- Captain Henley, we’re about twenty minutes from the Port. We’ll be docked in thirty.”

“A. Call me Clark, Terry. You know I don’t care for formality. B. I’d like a quick ship report before we get in. If we’re gonna be back at Port, we might as well get everything we need. Lance, how are we for engineering?” I look over to my green clad friend.

He checks his screens and panels for a second before giving a thumbs up. “Nah, we’re all good. Maybe some basic supplies but nothing my men can’t handle.”

I give a nod and gesture to the cyborg, up and behind me, “Simon? Aside from the three deaths, I assume everyone else is still ready for action.”

“That is correct, Sir. Aside from the two rifles and the pistol we lost in that excursion, we are operating just as we were before.”

“Great, Brenda? Does the science team need anything else?” I glance up to my right to catch her in the corner of my sight.

Startled to hear me address her, she stumbles over her words. “O-oh, no. Wait, yes! We’ll need a new terra-pulser.” Seeing my look of confusion at the name, she puts on a motherly face, “the spike that you had me throw into the wall on the planet.”

“Oh, yeah. That thing. Understood, I’m sure you can find one on Lang?”

“Yes, I put in the order right after I discovered we’d be returning.” She’s got a proud smile on her face.

“Thank you, Brenda.” Tapping a panel on my chair’s arm, “RIN, patch me to med bay.” I haven’t heard any reports of any sick crew members but it can’t hurt to check.

“Hello?” Dr. Medli’s voice echoes onto the bridge.

“Hey there, Dr. Medli. It’s Clark. Just checking if you need any more supplies while we’re docked at Port Lang.”

“Ah, thank you, Captain. We don’t need much and anything we need is easily obtainable in the time we’ll be there.”

“Sounds good! Thank you for your time.” Tapping the panel once again, I close the channel. From behind me I hear a soft giggle. Turning back, Brenda has her head down and she’s covering her mouth. “You have something to say?”

“Oh, haha, no. It’s just really nice to see you actually acting like a real Captain! You’re doing everything right.”

I roll my eyes. “Shut the hell up, Brenda.”

“There it is!” Lance spins around, snaps, and points a finger at me.

“You too, Lance.” I push myself out of the chair and step up next to Terry. The Port is within sight now and we’re beginning the docking sequence soon. “Terry, we’re all set to dock?”

“Yes, Sir. We should be within range of their tractor beams in Five… Four… Three… Two…” Right on time, a blue light stretches out from the Station and envelops our ship. The bridge is enveloped in a soft aqua hue as the viewing screen is filled with the beam. Terry removes slides the engine power to zero and removes his hands from the controls. The ship continues to move, slowly, towards a large, open ship bay.

As the ship is pulled in, tractor beams turn on and off as they take turns grabbing our ship and pulling us in until the next one can grab hold. Simultaneously, various gangways reach out to prepare to attach to our air locks. “Alright, folks. Good job, even though it’s only been twenty days. I’m gonna head down and go meet the Corporal. Take the day off. We’re here for a week, so you can do any business you need to on the other days. Let’s just hope our new Captain is even half as good as Rock.” Hearing the bridge doors close behind me, I begin my trek down to the nearest air lock.

Exiting on the other end, I’m surprised by Corporal Galvin waiting to greet me. “Ah, Corporal! It’s a surprise to see you down here. I thought we were meeting in your quarters.”

“No need for that, Captain.” He waves his hand slowly in front of him, gesturing for me to follow him. “Walk with me, Henley.”

I turn and begin walking alongside him down the hall. The right wall is large windows showing the bay holding our ship. Leaning over, stretching my neck, and looking up, I can see the bottom of the ship’s saucer section. At the center of the saucer’s base is a small, closed half sphere: our bridge. It seems like seems like a speck on the ship. When you’re on the ship, it never feels too large. But when you’re here - on the outside - looking at the full package, it’s absolutely massive. Stories upon stories of living quarters, computer bays, scientific laboratories, storage, and so on. It’s a technological marvel. It's of the more traditional design, a saucer attached to an 'L' shaped base with two engines stretching back up from the rear. Humans weren't very inventive with their ship design and tended to just copy their favorite fictional vessels.

“So, Captain Henley.”

“Acting Captain.”

“Yes, we’re here to discuss the assignment of a Captain to the UPC Starship Watanabe.” He continues to walk forwards, hands clasped behind him, without even giving me a glance. “Do you know who your ship is named after?”

“Of course! Shinichiro Watanabe, he was the director of several series such as Samurai Champloo and Space Dandy. His most notable work was Cowboy Bebop, while an interesting take on space for it’s time, we see that things haven’t quite panned out that way. However, it’s storytelling and art direction…” The Corporal has stopped and is now looking at me with a puzzled look. It’s only now that I let my love of anime over take my better judgement. “Heh, sorry about that. I just kinda went off there.”

“No! Very good, it’s nice to know some of you kids still have a taste for the classics.” He stops his walking and steps to the window, admiring the starship in it’s dock. “We named this vessel after him, hoping it would go on to represent the ideas of what his work did: breaking conventions, mixing the unmixable to create something new and unique, and reaching for new heights. Of course, that last one is akin to the Union of Planets motto.” He looks to me expectantly, I smile and nod as we say in unison “Always aiming higher.” He smiles at me, content that I remembered the one thing every member of the Corps should. “And it is in this spirit of breaking conventions, we’ve decided to make you the captain of the Watanabe.”

I stare at him for a moment, attempting to process what I just heard. “S-sorry… Corporal, did you just say that the Corps wants me to captain the UPC Starliner Watanabe?”

He turns his whole torso to me and keeps his face as straight as can be. “Yes, you heard correctly. Congratulations on your promotion, Captain Henley.”

“Whoah! No, Sir, I can’t. I took First Officer purely so I wouldn’t have the responsibility of Captain but still the power. I can’t be the Captain. I’m not fit for this position.” I shake my and wave my hands in front of me in a desperate attempt to emphasize my disinterest.

“Don’t be so modest, Henley! You graduated top of your class, in the leadership track, at the Academy, correct?”

“No… That was Rock.”

“Were you the one who did exceptionally in the combat training?”

I shake my head, dumbfounded. “That was Shauna and Rock. The only thing I did well in was the strategic simulators but that’s purely cause I played to many video games at the Academy.”

“Ah, yes! That was it! Your strategic capabilities had no match! Not even Taggart was able to score higher than you. Also, to be completely honest, we’re out of eligible Captains right now. The Corps is trying to ship out so many ships and crews we’re strapped for officers.” He’s lying, right? This is some kind of a prank. I cannot captain a vessel! This is a terrible idea!

“Now, onto your First Officer.” He’s turns away from the window and begins walking away. I take a few jog steps to catch up to him, still speechless at what’s happening. “We’re giving you a unique opportunity! You will have the first ever Kaeleen First Officer. As you know, the Kaeleens were the first ever space faring race we encountered and formed an alliance with; we made contact with them briefly after we were able to leave the Solar System for the first time. Together, our combined technology led to our ability to create these large ships capable of spanning the Galaxy.”

I stop dead in my tracks. “Sir, if I may, two things. One, you sound like an exposition dump right now. Two, you’re not seriously gonna put me with one of those nymphomaniacs!”

The Corporal turns back to me, looking rather disappointed. “Captain Henley, that kind of racism isn’t very fitting of a Corps Captain.”

“Ninety five percent of their body is an erogenous zone. That’s not racism, that’s just a biological fact. You can’t hug one without them popping off right there on the spot.” He reluctantly purses his lips and nods in agreement.

“Regardless, this is an important assignment for the Corps. Her name is Selai Tenlow and she’ll be meeting you on your bridge tomorrow. I’ll expect you to show her the proper hospitality and show her to her quarters. Once she’s settled, you two can come find me and I’ll give you your next assignment. Go, enjoy your day off. I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, he turns and walks away. I lean over and grab the wall beside me, attempting to steady myself against the large blow I just received.

I need a drink.