Space Pioneer 1 - 2. Chapter 2

Jeff was lying in his bed, gazing at the ceiling, when the captain entered his room. Lest looked at him and smiled.

"Doctor Midad told me you’re all right. I think it’s about time you leave sick bay," he said.

Jeff sat up, but didn’t give a reply. Lest gave him another smile.

"How about you clean up and get dressed, Jeff Caspar? I would like to show you around on my ship."

This announcement finally aroused Jeff’s interest. He straightened and looked around for his clothes. He was wearing kind of pajamas, hospital clothing.

Captain Lest pointed at a pile of clothes on a chair. "The doctor had to cut off your clothes, but I ordered to bring garments, a ship overall and boots to your room," he said.

Jeff looked at the clothes. "Well, I’m going to the bathroom, if you care to wait, captain," he said.

"Take your time," Lest replied, turning to a display.

Jeff grabbed the pile of clothes and went into the bathroom. It was small but provided with a shower that Jeff had already used. He rinsed his mouth with the liquid that was supposed to clean his teeth. A couple of minutes later, he reentered the room. Lest looked up from the display.

"Ready to go?" he asked, pointing at the door.

Jeff nodded. He adjusted the clip on his ear. The tool was great, although sometimes the translation was awkward. Some words were clearly out of context, but so far Jeff had gotten the meaning of what the captain and the doctor had said. He had noticed that neither of them had a clip on the ear and he wondered how they understood him.

The door slid open and Lest stepped into the corridor. Jeff followed him. The smell in the hallway was the typical aircraft smell, not exactly stale, but clearly artificial and recycled. They walked down the hallway, up a staircase and entered a room.

"The lounge area and the galley," Lest explained.

Jeff saw tables and comfortable looking couches and chairs. A counter was to his right. Lest pointed at it.

"We’ll have a meal after our tour through the ship. I understood that so far you have fed on liquids," he said.

"Correct," Jeff replied. The liquids had not tasted bad and Jeff had refrained from asking what they were made of, but the prospect of a real meal sounded good to him. "This would be a delight, I think," he said.

Lest smiled briefly, then walked on. He led Jeff to the cargo bay. The Daidalos was there, moved to the rear and secured. Jeff swallowed at the sight.

"Can I go on board of my ship?" he asked.

Lest gave a nod. "Sure, commander," he said. "We have removed the bodies."

"Where are they?" Jeff asked, turning his eyes to the captain.

"They are in preservation caskets in a room of the ship," Lest said.

"What will you do with them?" Jeff asked.

"No decision taken yet," Lest replied. He pointed at the Daidalos. "Do you want to go on board and retrieve your personal items?"

Jeff nodded. He walked to the ship and entered it. Lest followed him, but remained standing by the hatch.

"Take your time, commander," he said sympathetically, aware that this was probably the last time Jeff visited his ship.

Jeff moved through the ship. He stopped every now and then and touched an item. He had loved the Daidalos. Back on Earth, they probably thought that the ship was lost and the men were dead. Jeff felt a lump in his throat, but then he straightened. It was about time to get back to professional. Soldiers died in war, seamen drowned and astronauts got lost in space. The aliens had rescued him, after all. Sooner or later he would find a way home, but for the time being, his life depended on the alien crew and their ship. He better got acquainted with the alien technology. Jeff refrained from taking along anything. He felt he needed to make a step forward and not a step back. He left his room and went back to the hatch. Lest was awaiting him. He looked at Jeff’s empty hands and gave him a questioning look.

"My life has changed drastically. I have acknowledged the fact," Jeff said.

A smile spread on the captain’s lips and for the first time he looked warmly at his passenger. Jeff noticed the change. He smiled back at the captain.

"I need something to do," he said.

Lest nodded. "I’m glad you’re willing to contribute. In fact, I have a task for you."

"What can I do?" Jeff asked in surprise.

They were crossing the cargo bay.

"The clip on your ear is a translation device," Lest said. "It’s working, but it’s not working properly."

Jeff nodded. "How does it work anyway?" he asked. "I see you don’t wear a clip."

"No," Lest said. "I have a neural implant. It is a must in the space business. It simplifies the matter a lot."

Jeff gave Lest a stunned look. Lest smiled briefly. He led Jeff back to the galley and showed him how to retrieve a meal. Lest handed him a tablet. Jeff saw something that looked like a burger meal. Jeff couldn’t hold back and smelled at it. Lest pointed at the lounge. They sat down at a table. Jeff took a bite and nodded.

"Not bad," he said. "Now what do you want me to do, Captain Lest?" he asked.

"We connected with your ship when you got stranded, but it wasn’t easy," Lest said.

"The computer voice," Jeff replied.

"Yes, our computer was trying to speak in your language, but we didn’t have a language module installed. Naturally," Lest said. "Your language has not yet been added to the language cloud that’s being used in this part of the universe."

Jeff gave Lest a questioning look.

"Most people nowadays have a neural implant. It’s connected to the language cloud and receives automatic updates. Thus we can communicate without much delay. We understand each other regardless what language we speak," Lest explained.

Jeff was fascinated. "How did your computer figure out my language so quickly?" he asked.

"We had been orbiting Mars for a couple of days and we were receiving Earth’s transmissions. We were not interested in them. They were just a by-product, supposed to being stored only temporarily. We noticed your ship shortly after we had completed the jump and quickly identified it as an archaic vessel," Lest said.

Jeff grimaced, but didn’t say anything.

"Sorry," Lest said with a small smile. "We figured what had happened and had our computer analyze your planet’s transmissions in order to sequence the language and provide a communication tool."

"It was done fast," Jeff said. "How did you do it?"

"Quantum technology," Lest replied. "That’s how you would describe it, but of course there’s more to it. Well, luckily, we were able to connect with your ship and communicate with you. Our computer has meanwhile worked on improving the module. The translation, however, is rough. I want you to work on it, Jeff Caspar. Refine it before we upload your language to the cloud and it becomes part of the acknowledged languages spoken in space."

Jeff looked intrigued. There was something he could do. "I’d be happy to help with it," he said.

"Fine," Lest replied. "Come, I will show you to your room in the crew’s quarters. No need to go back to sick bay. You can work from your room. You don’t have permission to enter the engine rooms and the deck, of course. I hope you do understand. After all, you’re an alien on board of my ship."

Jeff’s lips opened slightly, but then he gave a nod. Lest was right. From the captain’s perspective Jeff was the alien on board of the ship.

Lest showed Jeff to his room. It reminded Jeff of his room in the training center on Earth. The familiar sight and the memory depressed him, but he pushed the feeling aside. Lest showed him a console.

"You can log in here to the language module. The computer has generated a couple of learning sessions. It’s interactive," Lest said. He seized a headset and handed it to Jeff. "Put it on and don’t take off the clip. The computer will communicate with you and thus will refine the vocabulary and so on."

Jeff sat down and put the headset on. Lest introduced him into the program.

"It would be more efficient with a neural implant, but you must work with the headset for the time being," he said.

Jeff looked up. "You mean there’s a chance I could get an implant?" he asked.

Lest measured him. "Would you like to get one?" he asked.

"Well, I guess so," Jeff replied. "I’m new to space, but I can’t imagine I will ever be elsewhere. I want to stay in the space business, I guess."

Lest gave a laugh. "We’ll see, Jeff Caspar. You can’t get an implant on board of my ship. We’d have to stop by on a planet with a medical center, but you won’t get the implant for free," he said.

"In this case I must work with the clip, if you can spare it, that is. I’m a shipwreck and don’t have any money with me," Jeff said.

Lest smiled. "We don’t have money. We work with credits mostly. Let’s see how you can deal with the language module. I could imagine I’ll cover the costs," he said.

"You would?" Jeff asked. "Why so, captain?"

"Good question," Lest replied. "I guess I feel responsible for you. I don’t just want to throw you out on some random planet. I want you to find a job."

Lest broadened his smile. Jeff was wondering why the captain was interested in his well-being. His thoughts apparently showed on his face. Lest patted Jeff’s shoulder, then turned away and left the room.

Jeff adjusted his headset and started working with the language program. The computer had generated a few lessons based on the transmissions from Earth. The computer voice read text to him and asked Jeff to correct it. It was a tedious work, but Jeff struggled through. A couple of hours later, the computer fastened up. It showed Jeff pictures and as soon as Jeff’s brain had found a word for the displayed item, the next picture appeared on the screen. The images soon got more complex. Jeff understood. The computer was learning context. It was way in the evening when Jeff had enough. He took off his headset and wiped his eyes. His stomach was rumbling. He hesitated, but then he left his room and set out for the galley.

He spotted two crew members in the lounge area. Their talk stopped at Jeff’s entrance and the men eyed him suspiciously. Jeff moved to the counter and examined the computer menu. The words of the meals were written in an unknown language. Daglon, Jeff assumed. He didn’t know which button to press.

"Can I help you?" a man asked.

Jeff turned around. The two men had approached the counter. Like Captain Lest and Doctor Midad, they had also pale skin and blond hair. Jeff found the crew members looked much alike, but this was probably just because he was not familiar with their ethnic group. Nonsense, Jeff thought. They looked human and reminded him of Scandinavians, but they were in fact aliens.

"Yes, I’d appreciate it. I can’t read the words," he said.

"What would you like to eat?" the man asked.

"A sandwich perhaps," Jeff replied.

The men eyed him in confusion. The word sandwich had apparently not yet made it to the computer’s database. Jeff thought of the lessons. The computer had shown him the picture of a barbecue.

"A steak would be good also," he said.

"I’m certain we’ve got the other thing you wanted, but unfortunately I have no clear idea of it, but if you don’t mind eating a steak, well, here it is," the Daglon man said.

He pressed a button. A minute later a flap opened. Jeff took the tablet and looked at the plate. The steak went along with a green salad and a vegetable that looked like a potato. Jeff was stunned.

"Thank you very much," he said.

"You’re welcome," the man replied.

The Daglon men left the lounge area. Jeff looked after them. He couldn’t blame them for being reserved. Captain Lest’s ship was much bigger than the Daidalos, but so far Jeff hadn’t seen many crew members. He wondered how many men were on board. Jeff finished his meal and returned to his room.

The following morning started like the previous evening had ended. Jeff was alone in the galley, wondering how he could get the breakfast he liked. Doctor Midad entered the room. Jeff smiled at him and asked his help, but the doctor just stared at him. He measured Jeff from head to toe, a strange expression on his face, an almost frown. Jeff was taken aback. What had happened to the man? He behaved as if he didn’t remember him and was about to give an alarm that he had just spotted an alien in the galley. Finally, Doctor Midad straightened and smiled a forced smile.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

Jeff told him what he wanted, but refrained from any small talk as the doctor was apparently not in the mood for it. The man had already left the galley when the flap opened and revealed Jeff’s meal. Jeff ate quickly and then returned to his room. Were the good times already over? Jeff worried. He didn’t feel much inclined to work with the language program, but finally he forced himself to continue. The computer had rearranged the lessons. Text and pictures followed in quick succession. Jeff had to fully concentrate.

***

Lest and Doctor Midad were alone on the bridge. The spaceship was floating in space on autopilot.

"No mistake, doctor?" Lest asked with an inquisitive look.

"No mistake," Midad replied. "I’ve double checked the results. I’ve actually checked them four times. No doubt, captain. His DNA is 85% Daglon."