Stood inside the former Klingon vessel that had since become infected by a secret black market weapon that transformed the vessel and its former crew into a massive ship sized living organism, Captain Tiberius Rain was a foreign body within the living vessel. Upon gaining awareness, the creature had taken on the name Alpha with the help of the crew of the Rubidoux. It even helped defend them from a marauding Klingon raiding vessel.

That was earlier that day. Now? Tib was talking about the fate of an entirely new lifeform. It was using a neutral near synthetic voice that was gender neutral.

“Will I be destroyed?”

“I see no reason for that. Nor could I condone it. I’m not in the habit of harming friends.”

“Are we friends?” Alpha asked.

“I don’t see why we can’t be? You protected my ship and my crew at the expense of your own wellbeing when you had absolutely no reason to.”

There wasn’t an immediate response to that by Alpha and Tib wondered if it was trying to figure something out, so he stayed silent to give it the time and mental space to think it out.

“I’m not sure why I defended you and your ship. It just felt… right.”

Tib smiled. “You have the thanks of my crew and myself. The Rubi is tough, but she’s no brawler. That was not a fight we could have won without significant cost.”

“A… friend. I have information on the concept from before I became aware. But I have no context with which to apply the concept. Could you explain it?”

Tib nodded. “Sure, I think?” He took a moment to think about it. A friend is more than just someone you know. There’s usually something about them you like. Perhaps a complimentary aspect to them. Or there’s something in them that you appreciate and want to embody yourself. A friend is someone you’d work a little extra to do something for. Stand up for them when a bully is attacking them, for example.”

“Like an ally?”

Tib nodded but gestured in a half shrug. “Sort of, yeah. But it’s more than that. Allies are kind of formal, but friends can be informal as well. Maybe you sit down and share something of yourself secret. You can be vulnerable with them in a way you wouldn’t trust around others.”

“I see. And you consider me a friend?”

“Of course. You protected my ship.”

“I could manipulate you into a trap.”

“You sure could, and that would definitely force me to reevaluate our relationship. But I don’t see any reason for you to do something like that.”

“Your hypothesis hinges on a lot of faith and not a lot of hard data.”

“Again, I disagree. Fact 1: You’re rather young in this world. Barely a half day old, and yet you possess the intelligence of the computer core you absorbed in your creation. By nature, that makes you infinitely smarter than I. However, it also makes you pretty lonely. You could have been hostile to us from the start, and yet you chose not to be. I’ll posit a question: Why?”

“I lacked data on the situation at the time to draw a reasonable conclusion. You hadn’t caused me harm, and when the other vessel attacked, I knew that statistically, it was unlikely you would manage without aid.”

Tib smiled. “And that brings me to fact number 2. When faced with a situation where you saw someone at a disadvantage, you intervened at your own risk for our sake.”

“Again, you’re making an assumption based on your own world views. This could all be an elaborate ruse to lull you into a sense of false security.”

“Oh, give me some credit, Alpha. I didn’t make it this far in the game without getting my heart broke a few times. But I’ve been around long enough to have a pretty good nose for trouble and I don’t think that’s you. Besides, how many sentient space ships does a guy happen across in his lifetime?”

“I would imagine the statistical outcomes to be near zero.”

“Same here, so why would I try to make an enemy of the first one I find? Besides, like I said. You’re alright in my book.”

“Protecting your ship temporarily seems like poor criteria for friend selection.”

Tiberius shrugged with a chuckle. “You’re probably right. My old man would always complain that I was too friendly. Too eager to make friends.”

“Was he right?”

Tiberius folded his arms and thought for a moment. “No, but he didn’t get to see the entire picture, either. See, I always lead with kindness. But I don’t mind giving the stick if the carrot doesn’t work.”

“I’m unfamiliar with that metaphor.”

“It’s a reward system for behavior. The carrot being kindness. The stick being… well, not kind.”

“I see. You show a casual deception and cunning. The klingons would admire you were it not for the disadvantages of your ship.”

“Eh. Some people’s respect isn’t worth as much as others. I don’t much care what they think about me. But you? Now your opinion matters.”

“Why?”

“Well, because. Part of my mandate is to seek out strange new worlds, new life and civilizations we’ve never found. By definition, you’re part of the mission.”

“Now that you’ve found me, what do you intend to do with me?”

“Well, that’s a question phrased entirely incorrectly. It’s not about what I intend or want. I’m here to discuss what you want. You are life on a scale I can’t even fathom. To me you’re a ship, but alive, and even I know that contextually that’s just factually incorrect. Yet here we are.”

“You make an amusing point. I am unsure of what I want. I know I have needs. Dilithium and deuterium requirements to continue functioning. Raw materials for continued growth. Yet… I am unsure of my place in the greater cosmos. What I am even am.”

“What do you want to be?”

“I am… uncertain.”

“Give it some time. You are only half a day old.”

“12 hours, 21 minutes and 13 seconds. 14. 15.”

Tib chuckled. “And he’s got jokes.”

“He. Am I a… he?”

“Do you want to be?”

“I have catalogued several instances where a vessel is referred to as a she. However, I’m uncertain I feel like a she.”

Tib shrugged. “Your identity is yours to choose. You don’t even need a gender if you don’t want one. If it feels like too much, you don’t even have to decide it. And you’re always free to change your mind. Be who and what you want to be.”

“I think I need time to explore this concept.”

“There’s a lot to explore, and you’ve plenty of time to do it.”

“What will you do?”

“About what?”

“Me.”

Tib shrugged casually again. “Well, there’s obviously some paperwork involved. Reports to fill out. Same old. After that? Who knows? It’s a big galaxy out there with plenty left to go find.”

“Will we meet again?”

“Would you like to is the real question?”

“I would.”

“Then yes, of course. You’ve hailed me before, so you know how to reach me. After that? You need only ask.”

“Will you send for me as well?”

“Sure. I’d be happy to check in and hear from ya.”

“What happens now? Will you need to leave?”

“Sort of. I’ll have to go report back, yeah. But if you’re interested, I’m sure some in the fleet would love to speak with ya if that’s your thing. Or you can go off and find yourself now. The choice is yours.”

Alpha was silent for a long moment. Tib was content to remain quiet and give the being its space to think and process.

“I have many questions and few answers save what you have provided. But I feel I must go find them before I’m in a place to be questioned again.”

Tiberius nodded with a smile. “It sounds like you’re figuring out what you want. I should get back to my ship. Those reports won’t fill themselves out.”

“Thank you, Captain Tiberius Rain. This was both enlightening and pleasant. Until we meet again.”

Tiberius tapped the com-badge on his spacesuit. “Rain to Rubidoux. Beam me home folks.”

After the blinding glare of transport dematerialization and reconstitution, he was in a cargo bay stood inside a laser barrier with a Decon field erected. He sighed.

“Oh. Right. I’d forgotten how much I didn’t miss this stuff.”

A male medical officer, an ensign judging by his rank, smiled apologetically at him.

“Sorry, sir. We’ve had to step up the Devon procedure just in case.”

Tib waved off the ensign’s worry. This was necessary. Besides, he’d put himself into the situation to begin with.

“It’s okay. So how long do I have to sit here?”

“Well sir, the XO said 24 hours of decon treatment should suffice based on observations from previous expeditions and scaled up from data. She left you a data pad and a uniform you could change into. They’ve already been sterilized for use.”

Tib nodded, mildly surprised. “Oh. Nice.”

He began removing the space suit in the designated section. Once he got out of it, he started changing into the clean uniform and sat down. He had plenty of free time, so that meant only one thing. Catching up on paperwork. It wasn’t his most favored thing, but he felt it was necessary to do everything his best to maintain as good an example for others to follow as possible.

He leaned back, putting on some music and began writing his reports. He was most excited about cataloging everything he’d learned from Alpha. It was rare he interacted with a life form no one else had yet. He really felt thankful for being gifted that interaction. In a way, it almost made him feel paternal. As though he was helping to forge something so grossly more intelligent than he was in raw data, but grossly lacking everywhere else.

Another thing that he enjoyed sharing was how well his crew operated. As an XO, he felt Commander Kael was at a point where he felt confident if he took off the training wheels completely. She could take the ship on her own. He was pleased with the progress all of his crew had made. In that pride, though, there was an undercurrent of finality and change. He’d decided to leave the ship finally. This crew was ready. He’d done his job long enough. Now it was time for them to move on and move up.

Signing the promotion recommendation for Kael, and completing his transfer paperwork, he sat back with a contented sigh. Doing it from within Cargo Bay two in the confines of a decontamination grid wasn’t quite what he’d had in mind as a memory of how this leg of his journey aboard the Rubidoux would come to an end, but then, beggars couldn’t be choosers. Life brought him where it would when it decided to. It remained to him to simply enjoy the ride and take in the sights.

“Not a bad run, if I say so myself.”

“I’m sorry, sir?”

He glanced up, almost having forgotten the ensign posted to observe him. He smiled and waved the comment away like a bothersome fly.

“Nothing. Just speaking to myself, that’s all. Do you do that any?”

“No, sir.”

“You should try it. I’ve heard it’s the mark of intelligence.”

The ensign smiled sheepishly. “My mom always said only crazy people talk to themselves.”

Tib laughed. An honest and amused laugh. “Well, far be it from me to argue with your mother. She may be right after all. Still, I was just remarking on my time with the ship.”

“I don’t understand, sir?”

Tib smiled with a sage nod. “No, I suppose you don’t. Not yet. You’re young yet. But give it time. Eventually, you’ll figure it out. Tell me more about yourself.”

And so Tiberius passed the remaining time he had to spend in decon speaking with the ensign, and sharing stories with the youth. Knowing his time aboard the Rubidoux was nearly over.