"All hands, prepare for Jump sequence in T-Minus 60 seconds."
The Captain's voice echoed through the ship, speaking through the PA system wired to every corner of the Initium Novum. It was time for the scheduled hyper space jump that would take the ship to the next star system, in search of a new home. The jump was made roughly every month, after resources from wherever they end up are gathered and scans for a habitable planet have concluded. It was routine.
However, this one was special, at least for a few on board. This would be Xavier Reeth's final jump as captain, and only a day before the 150th anniversary of the ship's first launch.
Everyone on board had to prepare for the jump, as always. Most magic devices could not function while the ship was in hyper space, and it was always a good idea to hang onto something.
"Jumping in 5-4-3-2-1."
The ship's power core flared up. Perhaps most odd was the fact that the sound of reality bending around them was silent. Almost unfelt, the ship was catapulted at faster-than-light speeds, and in less than a minute, it was over. The power core calmed, and the 10 million inhabitants of the Initium Novum resumed their daily lives as if nothing happened at all.The captain looked to his crew on the bridge, and gave what might be his final order as their captain.
"Begin scanning, and send word to the extraction team if you find anything... Who am I kidding, you all know the drill. Lets get it done."
To his surprise, the entire crew stood up and turned to face him. Then all at once, they saluted, crossing their right arms to their chest with a closed fist. The Captain's gaze shifted around the room, taking it in. It was their farewell to him. Xavier couldn't help but smile. It nearly brought him to tears.
"It has been an honor to serve as your Captain. Each and every one of you should be proud of the work you've done, and take pride in the work you must continue to do. I know that one day, we will find what we're looking for out there, and it will be through your efforts that the people of this ship will finally see what it's like to live in a place outside of this metal tomb..."
His gaze rested upon Lydia near the end of his short speech. She was standing close by, joining the rest of the crew with a salute.
"You will be called heroes when that day comes. The true saviors of humankind."
His gaze broke from her, looking back at the rest of the crew.
"At ease. There is work to be done."
With that, the crew turned and went back to work.
Lydia nodded, returning at ease before turning to her work. The optical sensors masked behind a pair of incredibly life-like green eyes scanned across the multiple displays before her. They offered her a near limitless variety of information: coordinates, ship vitals, engine status, mana fuel levels, performance metrics and statistics, even plotting out vector calculations of stray meteorites to avoid or minimize collision damage. Beside the displays was a holoprojection of this new star system, with a prospective optimized route already plotted out along coordinates shown in the starmap.
To a human, it might seem like an overload of information. To Lydia, who had been the Initium Novum's lead navigator since its maiden departure, it was all in a day's work. She examined it all to ensure that there were no missing parts of data, no planets where there should be none; she'd hate to experience a miscalculation like the Delta CrA Majoris IIb fiasco again. Unmapped or unregistered planets suddenly popping up where the systems showed empty space - she shook her head briefly, mimicking the human behavior patterns she'd learned, to remove the thought. Regardless, all seemed in order.
The android navigator turned, green eyes fixating on Captain Reeth. Good captains came and went, but truly exceptional leaders like Xavier were hard to find. He was strict, but fair; demanding, but rewarding for a job well done, and always pushed humans and androids alike to perform at their best. Lydia approached him with a warm smile and extended her hand out to him, which he accepted in a heartfelt handshake before pulling the red-haired android into a hug.
Lydia eased against him into the embrace, smiling softly at him as they pulled away. "Captain, it's been a pleasure serving you these past thirty years. Statistically, you've been the most effective captain of the Initium Novum since its creation. But, emotionally," her hand pressed against the left side of her chest, where a human heart would normally be. Her voice had a wistful hum. "In my heart - if I had one, I'd say you have been my favorite captain thus far." The corners of her lips pulled up into a smile. "I hope you don't mind me mentioning that," she added, dropping a bit of the formal tone she was once forced to carry around the captain.
"Shall I address you as Xavier from now on? Or would you prefer I continue to address you as Captain Reeth?"
"Of course I don't mind dear, it's a beautiful sentiment. And you can call me whatever you like now. To be honest, I'm actually looking forward to finally being able to drop all the formalities."
Seeing her smile immediately made him smile back. She had that effect on the man, always giving him a reason to smile. If he'd had it his way, they would be more than colleagues, more than friends, but business always trumped pleasure. Still, that never stopped him from trying.
"However, there is something I need to speak with you about, in private. Something important."
It wasn't the first time he'd asked to speak to her in private. What usually followed was a bit of playful banter and an attempt to ask her out, which was always denied. The old man had been pursuing her romantically for years now, always being turned down, yet never giving up. It was almost like a schoolyard crush that just never faded.
"Will you join me in the map room for a moment?"
Lydia tilted her head with a knowing smirk as she followed him into the map room. "Certainly, Xavier," she mused, immediately making the adjustment of addressing him by first name without skipping a beat. "But, if this is another one of your attempts to woo me, Captain, I might warn you: now that we're no longer professionally involved, I might actually be more receptive to your advances."
Her green eyes eyed him with playful concern. "Be careful not to bite off more than you can chew."
Once inside, they were alone. It was a small room with a holoprojector in the middle. With the flip of a switch, the Captain turned it on, and the room went dim before being filled with a map of the known galaxy. Every star and every planet ever discovered could be seen, zoomed in on, and examined. After a moment of gazing at the projection, Xavier's attention turned back to Lydia.
"I'm happy to hear you say that. There is little more that I could ask for than to have that chance... and it's that little more that I actually wanted to talk to you about."
His smile faded, and was replaced with a somber expression. It wasn't often that he looked at her without a smile. His gaze shifted again to the stars in front of them, and he began moving the map, sifting through the path they had taken through the galaxy since the ship first began it's mission.
"You've been working up here as lead navigator since before I was even born... Since the ship's inception. You've been there for everything, mapping our path along the way, suggesting promising star systems to search. You've been doing everything you could to make our mission a success, and in my 30 years as Captain, not once have you disappointed me with your duties. You've even gone so far as to avoid becoming involved with the Captain in order to keep such complications away from your work. A decision that... while I somewhat regret, I also greatly respect. You have been nothing short of excellent in all that you do."
The projection finally settled on the ship's current location, and his gaze shifted back to her.
"And it is for that reason, along with my desire for some changes on this ship, that I want you, Lydia, to take up the mantle of Ship Captain, as my successor."
Lydia had her eyes on the starmap, studying it intently while she listened to her now-former Captain. At his mention of her accomplishments, she bowed her head humbly in appreciation but allowed him to continue.
When he finally made his intentions known, however, Lydia paused. Blinking, she processed the information: an android becoming Ship Captain would mean an android becoming part of the Council. No android had ever been on the council in the entire 150 year span of the Initium Novum's voyage. To Lydia's knowledge, no android had ever even served an elected role on Vitae.
In a few moments she had already run through countless calculations and simulations. There would likely be unrest, discord... perhaps even rioting. To appoint an android to the council would acknowledge that artificial intelligence had come far enough to exist as its own entity. Of course, this was something Lydia already knew. It was clear that AI were capable of being autonomous, of thinking on their own and making their own decisions - but for it to be publicly acknowledged in such a dramatic fashion gave her reason to be concerned. Was society ready for an android Captain?
For several more silent moments, the android struggled more with the words than with the actual understanding. "I must admit, I did not expect this," she admitted, acknowledging the rare circumstance in which her situational assessment abilities failed. "I... I am honored and humbled, Captain." She bowed deeply from the waist, eyes meeting Xavier's as she righted herself. "But is that wise? There has never been an android Captain of the Initium Novum before."
She waited almost anxiously for the captain's answer. Her own fate hung in the balance, in more ways than Xavier could possibly imagine.
"Human or not, you are the most qualified person for the job. I know everyone on the Bridge; everyone who has any potential at all of being a good captain, and you are the best out of all of them."
Xavier walked over to Lydia, gazing at her proudly, longingly. His hands rested on her shoulders as he softly spoke.
"I'll be damned if I'm going to let human paranoia about AI deny this ship the greatest captain it could ever have. I can't say that it will be easy for you, but I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't confident that you are strong enough to handle it. It's time that AI like you were treated with the respect you deserve. You've earned this, I truly believe that Lydia."
Lydia nodded hesitantly, contemplating. It would be a long road ahead, but Xavier's words were reassuring. What would the Council think? What would her boss think?
Nonetheless it would be an important step towards the progress of AI and their recognition as sentient beings capable of individual thought rather than simply as machines made to serve man's will. Lydia's eyes softened as she returned Xavier's gaze, her timid smile showing both her anxiety and her determination to become Captain.
"Thank you, Captain. I will do my best to make you, the humans, and all the AI proud."
He smiled, and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead before pulling her into another warm embrace.
"I know you will. I have no doubt."
After a few moments, he pulled away from her, still smiling to her.
"I'll be heading t the council meeting shortly to give them my decision. Afterwards, we can go out for drinks, and I can give you the news."
Returning the smile, she replied. "Yes I'd like that."