"You are the idiot." my answer was ready.
"How dare you!" she was furious.
"You are the one who calls for help AND yells at the helper." I said.
"But I DID tell you to knock!"
There was no point in arguing with her faulty logic. I was surprised how someone like her became an envoy to a major power in the Solar System.
"Fine." I said. "I am sorry. The next time you are about to die, I will knock."
She just turned her head away.
"Well, okay, tell me then; why did you call me?" I asked.
"No."
"What do you mean 'No'?"
"After this moment, I decided not to tell you."
"Excuse me? How do you expect me to do my job if you are so uncooperative?" I raised my voice a little bit. I don't know if I was shocked, angry, frusturated... or perhaps even drunk.
"I don't want to stay in the same cabin. Please move somewhere else." she said.
"Come again, please?"
"You heard me the first time. And it is not like I am throwing you out into the streets... This is a luxury liner. Find yourself a cabin."
If she wasn't a VIP, I would be the one to throw her out.
"Good. I didn't want to stay here in the first place." I said and got out. And once again, I went to the cockpit.
As soon as I entered the cockpit, Tom turned around and welcomed me.
"Hello again, Commander. Is everything under control back there?" he asked.
"Yes, there was nothing to worry about." I said. "False alert."
"But be careful Commander." he said. "Hearing many false alarms often lead to some sort of... lethargy in security."
"I am well aware of that." I said. "I actually wanted to ask for a favor."
"Of course." Tom said. "What can we do for you, Commander?"
"Please open a secure channel to Martian Navy HQ at Olympus Mons." I said.
"Alright..." he said. "But I will warn you, there will be some transmission delay caused by our distance to Mars and the encryption system."
"That's okay, thank you." I said.
"The channel is open... HQ is responding." co-pilot Braun said. Commanding pilot Tom gave me a headset to talk.
"Olympus Mons, this is Commander Kagan of Martian Flight 09, enroute to the Alliance embassy with envoy Nuan Qing."
"Flight 09, confirmed. This is Olympus Mons, we are listening."
"I would like to ask a question." I said.
"Go ahead, Commander."
"I will need some sort of team to handle the security matters in the ship and at the embassy. However, I was doing this job all by myself so far. Is there any further information on that? Is the rest of the security team in Flight 17?"
"Flight 09, hold on..." the HQ responded and paused. "Commander Kagan, as stated in your mission briefing, the Alliance police force at the embassy will be ready for service under your command once you arrive at the embassy. However, for the duration of the flight, you will have to handle it yourself. But if you require, you are allowed to coordinate the ship's crew members for security matters. Is that all?"
"My mission briefing?" I was confused. I was never given a formal briefing of the job.
"This is Olympus Mons Naval Headquarters, signing off."
The secure connection was closed without waiting. It was clear the HQ was disappointed with my question which they seemed to have seen as unnecessary. But it wasn't my fault!
I removed the headset from my head and gave it back to Tom.
"Thank you."
Tom grabbed the headset and put it somewhere near the wall. The cockpit didn't have the artificial gravity equipment, so it was a zero-g area. The headset was staying in the air without being hanged on to anything. But of course, during manuevers and landings, things would have to be secured.
"Do you guys never leave the cockpit?" I asked. "Are you planning to sit here for the entire two weeks?"
Tom looked at Braun and spoke.
"I remember this guy sitting in his seat for a whole day when we were travelling from Earth to Luna." he said.
Braun looked back at Tom.
"I remember him sleeping in the cockpit for a whole week when we were going to Titan." he said.
"How long have you two been working together?" I asked them.
"Well, we met at Sirius Mining Enterprises, near Ceres." Tom said. "I was the pilot of a passenger ship back then, and he was working at the refinery. I think this was... Like, seven years ago."
"Yeah." Braun said. "It was six or seven years ago."
The concept of 'year' was a semi-standart measurement unit through human civilization which was based on planet Earth's rotation around the Sun. Even those who didn't live on Earth were comfortable using it. But more often than years, the Modified Julian Date (MJD) was used; both for daily affairs and scientific measurements.
"So, when you were working at the refinery, how did you decide to become a pilot?" I asked Braun.
"I was a mechanical engineer back there." he said. "I loved being in control of those monstrosities we designed for processing minerals at an unmatched rate. But one day, I had to travel to Io for business. This guy was my team's pilot in that flight."
Tom nodded. Braun continued.
"Well, living my life underground back at Ceres, playing with my huge machines all day... I noticed how much I was missing out in the skies. I already knew what Ceres looked like from high above; but once we got close to Jupiter at the end of the journey, the colors and movements of the clouds amazed me. I felt small against the universe for the first time. Storms bigger than entire planets! Nothing I could design would be nearly as magnificent as a gas giant."
"I wish I could see Jupiter up close myself." I said. "I saw countless photos, I have observed it through telescopes, but I have never travelled there during all my years in Navy."
"That's something you MUST see." Braun continued. "Anyway, I gathered my courage and asked for permission to get into the cockpit. After a short security scan, I was allowed. I met Tom there for a second time, after our initial encounter at Ceres. He told me all about planets and space travel, and I became interested."
"Long story short, this is how he became a pilot." Tom cut the story short. "Excuse me, I have to... do some weight reductions."
He got out of his seat and quickly exited the cockpit.
"Why do you need weight reductions?" I asked Braun. He laughed.
"He just needs to take a dump. Oh, by the way, there is something cool I wanted to show you. Just hold on a minute."
He got out of the cockpit to probably get something from the back of the ship. I settled down on the pilot's seat, waiting for him.