Jasmine sat on a cot in the infirmary, surrounded by her fellow humans and those aliens sworn to her.
“...So here is the big dilemma,” she clasped her hands together, weaving the fingers in thought, “Admiral Aralukia wants to continue jumping into unknown space, and when shes satisfied, only then will we go back to the pirate stronghold planet Lukia,”
“I sense an incoming but…” Brick sighed.
“But,” Jasmine nodded with a sympathetic smile, “there are only three of us,” she pointed to herself, Itsuki and the sleeping Beau, “who can pilot this ship… and I’m too big a risk to even activate the console,”
“And if I pilot,” Itsuki spoke out in broken English, “I awake 3 days like Bo,”
Jasmine nodded in thanks, knowing how much he hated talking aloud.
“We’re dead in the water with only two pilots, even if they did shifts, there's no telling what damage physically and mentally it would do staying connected that long.”
“So how do we get to pilot?” Harri asked a little too eagerly,
“You’d have to get a translator installed,” Jasmine confirmed his suspicions.
“Great,” Harrismiled, “where do we get one?”
“Thats the thing, Dr Xant has the files to recreate the translators, but we dont have the ability to make them…”
“What? The ship made kaiju, but can't make a translator?”
“No system access,” Itsuki rebutted, “alien tech needed.”
“This is…” Jasmine rolled her eyes as she mulled the word in her head, “a human ship, we haven't been able to integrate it with alien tech yet. It's complicated.” ‘And gross’ she added internally. “The point is, I wanted to inform you all what it's like to have a translator installed, so you can make the decision properly,”
“So… how bad is it?” Deepra asked, folding her arms defensively.
Jasmine looked to Itsuki, and then to Xant. The doctor closed his eyes, unable to communicate with the other humans at all.
“Its, life changing,” she settled on the descriptor, “depending on what facilities we’ll have access to, it will either be a painful but removable component in a suit,” she tapped her living power armour, “or a new, alien internal organ surgically fused with your brain and spine.” she pointed to the small circuits above her ear, “You will never feel the same again, it is invasive and freeing, powerful and terrifying. You can sense others from far away and your strongest memories will resurface and be relived. Anger, sadness, grief and desperation can be weapons used against you…”
She looked down solemnly.
“No more masks, no more lies,” Itsuki warned them, “nowhere to hide your thoughts,”
“So what you're saying is,” Harri piped up, “not only will I get to talk to aliens, but I’ll get my own set of power armour as well?” Deepra elbowed him in the ribs.
“Did you not hear the part about losing all sense of internal privacy and emotional integrity!?” she scoffed.
“We're already on an alien pirate ship, might as well get the force powers to go with it,” Harri retorted, “in for a penny and all that,”
“Does it hurt?” Oskar asked.
“In the beginning, yeah, but you get used to it,” Jasmine answered.
“Does it compromise any other organ functions?” Emily, the doctor asked. Jasmine sighed.
“We don't know, we’re all installed with different prototypes and there will be unique problems that will arise when you get one; they will need to be calibrated and… we’re not sure how it will go. Human genetics are more varied than alien; I can't guarantee it will go smoothly or even work.”
There was silence,
“Is it going to help everyone?” Brick asked cautiously.“Yes,” Itsuki responded,
“Then that's all I need to hear, eh?”
“I’m not missing out!” Harri replied gleefully.
“It's not about ‘missing out’,” Jasmine said a little more sternly, “there is no shame in saying no, You should get the choice.”
“I didn’t,” Itsuki growled“Alright, alright…I’m sorry,” Harri apologised, finally reading the room.
“Okay a final show of hands, who is volunteering for a translator?”
To Jasmines surprise, everyone put their hand up.
“We already volunteered to be on a pirate ship without a translator,” Deepra explained, “being able to understand everyone a little better can only be a good thing.”
“You say that…” Jasmine chuckled, “Okay, leave it with me, I’ll speak with the admiral.”
—
Jasmine stood with her retinue on the bridge, facing the admiral and awaiting her verdict.
The pirate princess was surrounded by guards and advisors, quantity over quality as she was the only one to ever speak and clearly not used to negotiating her position.
“I have been advised that's our fleet is [3 weeks] away from Lukia, you and your entourage would only have to pilot until then,”
Jasmine shook her head vigorously,
“No, that's not going to work. Our only pilot is currently pushed to his limit, and we don't have the supplies to fuel the ship to get there, not even considering feeding ourselves or the entire crew….”
“You have a second pilot,” Aralukia glared at Itsuki, Jasmine glared back.
“He can do [8 hours] a [24 hour] cycle, pushing a voidsinger longer will cause injury and leads to costly mistakes.”
“A folly to continue,” Araklukia growled, annoyed that the humans were making things complicated. “At that rate stones will hatch before we make atmosphere.” Her pincers clicked together, cracking like old bones. “There is an unsanctioned station [12 hours] away, we can send scouts to announce our arrival so they do not shoot the rajavan ship on sight. Then we will dock, I shall make our introductions and you shall request the translators. What do you intend to trade?”
Jasmine was blindsided by the question.
“Trade?” She asked for clarification.
“Trade, barter, exchange of goods,” Araklukia snorted smugly, “surely you did not think your contribution credit ions would work beyond the councils reach? That they would just do as you asked, maiden?”
Jasmine thinned her lips at the condescension.
“I thought we would be working together on this-”
“This is your ship, you are lecturing me about your crew, so this is your venture,” Aralukia stated.“In that case…” Jasmine had to think on her feet, “We have whatever was brought on board, the cars and computers in the cargo-”
“Ha!” Araklukia chuckled, “I have seen your tech, voidsinger tech is only worth while to a voidsinger, the detached to not have time to Tinkler with dead metal.”
Jasmine paused, looking at Xant, giving him permission to speak.
“What about the left over monsters in storage?”
“Namegiver…” Xant shook his head sadly “the specimens are decomposing, we won't be able to use any of their materials,”
“Decomposing??”
“That's why we were dissolving them,”
“I have heard enough,” Aralukia stood from her position, “If you have nothing to trade, then we will continue to Lukia without stopping and informing anyone of our location-”
“Wait!...” Jasmine sighed defeated, “the council were offering planets for any information on my species, we will find something to pay them.”
“Tsk,” The admiral looked Jasmine over with every remaining eye, the young humans inexperience was glaring for everyone to see. “As you insist on your venture, Voidsinger, you shall be responsible for its outcome, if you lose more than we gain, I will assume command indefinitely.”
Jasmine bowed her head,“I can accept that, for now.” Jasmine acknowledged, watching Aralukia leave and her entourage leave them alone on the bridge.
Now, they had to work out what they were worth to scavenagers of the void.