The PSS Lucille whined as its engines powered down after hitting its cruising velocity. Captain Jake Lee placed his hands behind his neck and tilted his head back. He had grown accustomed to the constant acceleration over the last three days, and when it stopped, he found himself leaning forward to counteract forces that were no longer there.

“Slingshot complete, Captain,” Pilot Cini Macanama said. “I’m recalculating our trajectory.”

Jake twisted his neck to the right until it cracked. He twisted his neck to the left and lingered to look at Cini. She was a beautiful girl. No, he corrected himself, a beautiful officer. He knew he could be court marshaled for such thoughts, but that was what made her titillating. Cini was lanky with more bones than limbs. She pulled her legs up on the chair until her knees dug into her flat chest. Her neck leaned forward and her arms looked like they sprouted from her knees as she pushed controls. For safety reasons, Jake could not see her projected controls, and her fingers looked like they were massaging ghostly shoulders.

“No need to recalculate,” Jake said. “In the old days, we’d eyeball the starfield and check for inconsistencies. I’ve flown this route for the past ten years, and I don’t even have to consult the charts to know where we are. We didn’t deviate. Now, put down those controls and relax. We have another couple of hours before our next maneuver.”

“Captain, section 35.2(a) subsection one clearly states that after completing a slingshot, all trajectories must be re-fed and rerun by the computer.” Cini’s army green eyes didn’t move from her controls as she spoke. Jake admired Cini’s skinny, apish face, the skin stretched so tight that her features appeared sunken.

“Have it your way, Ms. Macanama.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“You’re not piloting a military planetship anymore, Cini. This is a governmental pleasure vessel.”

“Run by the military, captain. I’m still an officer as are you, and we have regulations to follow.”

“Do you think the thousand passengers drinking three hundred gallons of alcohol and eating two hundred pounds of raw fish every day care about military procedures? They only care about getting from Earth to Europa safely and enjoyably. There’s a place for procedures, Cini, and I’m going to clue you in to something my twenty-five years in the navy taught me: the people who write the regulations, they were never pilots, and the people who write the programs that run our computers that fly these ships, they were never pilots either. You have to learn to trust in yourself and your skill over what the computer or the manual tells you. It’s your gut that’s going to save your life in an emergency, not chapter so-and-so from regulation so-and-so.”

“As you say, Captain. I have three more programs to run to finish the recalculation.”

Jake laughed and waved his hand for Cini to continue. Jake knew he shouldn’t judge Cini. He was like her when he was young: ambitious, rule abiding, he can’t figure out what changed in him over the years; cynicism is a sneaky beast.

***

I had hoped to write more. Below, you’ll see a sort of outline of where I was heading. Today was a very good day. My headache vanished, I accomplished much around the house, I had a wonderfully heated debate during work (which I won, sort of) about a future direction of the company with people who influence decisions, and I came up—at Doolies’s suggestion—with a fantastical story to break me away from the accountant stories. Thanks to a busy evening at work, I managed to write the notes and the above introduction before driving home. After cooking and cleaning, all my caffeine-induced energy waned, and I struggled to write much else.

I’m hoping that since I have a plan and at least one interesting character (Cini), you will see a part two of this story.

Notes (includes spoilers—not that anyone cares):

Outline: Jake wants Cini. Pirates intercept vessel. Handling of situation. Endgame.

Paul = Jake (pilot) – very good pilot; talks way too much for too long; believes he knows what’s best at all times; disappointed with the new technology that takes decisions away from him.

Laura = Cini (co-pilot) – artsy but believes in technology; is a pilot b/c it gives her free time to explore her creative interest; very hard worker.

Planetship = Intercontinental 1501 – two-week “cruise” to different planets; high security; 1000 people onboard.

Pirate = terrorist? Computerized voice – all computer-controlled pirate ship with a set program that the pilot knows what will happen; the scenarios are all publicized so there’s never a misunderstanding; pilots (and the 1501’s computer) have been instructed to obey the instructions, pay the outstanding amount, and be on their way; the amount is taken from the captain’s salary (as per Intercontinental’s attempt to keep costs down), and Jake wants to make a run for it. The smaller asteroid-jumper planetships are driving the profits of the planetship industry down, as is the higher antimatter costs because of a crisis around the mining station of Jupait, a mining colony that circles and creates antimatter within the great gravity of the gas giant. (All parallels, all cheesy—this is about the decision and the politics.)

Original Outline:

Old school pilot – beginning to appreciate what the new technology of the starships provided him. Jake: runs afoul of privateers on his trip to a planet. His co-pilot, a young whippersnapper, trusts the ship to make all the decisions. Jake decides to take control at a crucial moment, trusting his own instincts over the computers, and the ship is destroyed. Choice: should I take control or let the computer fly; result: ship is destroyed, all two-hundred passengers killed. Foil, the co-pilot, who believes in the ship’s technology over Jake’s cowboy flying.

Original idea:

Today’s story: simple, sci-fi story of a guy in a spaceship fighting aliens in a spaceship.