The few repairs were quickly done. Not because of his awesome skills, he just ran out of spare parts.

  "Simon," he sighed, "what does the reading say?"

  "Marik, this sed distributor switch seems to be fully w again."

  "Yeah, redundancy for the stove," he mumbled. "Simon, we o leave at 8800. Please call the delivery guys again and then ask for a departure permit or whatever is needed here."

  "Marik, yes, will do that."

  "Simon, I saw a shower in the back. How is the status?"

  "Marik, fully operational."

  He almost grinned. It would not have been the first ship without a shower. The st one had none, but then it had been a single jump only. For the long journey ahead, a shower was good news. He got some clothes from his bag a for the shower. A shower while there was 1.2 g gravity and some time, yes, no way he would skip this. It took a moment to get the unfamiliar trols to do what he wanted but theood uhe warm water for 0040 until the tank was empty. A quice at the reverse osmosis unit firmed that a daily shower would be possible. Yes, jackpot!

  "Simon, are you human made?"

  "Marik, sorry, I was installed after pletion. Acc to the certificates, no, the ship’s frame came from KRxAL. But this shipyard delivers to humans too."

  "Simon, thanks."

  Now, showered and with clothes, he was ready to start the journey. Even with a passenger, although he wondered when Jerka would e aboard. If she was ing at all. And no way to tact her, they had not exged pad addresses.

  Well, the deliveries would not arrive until 8000. So, he ruffled the bs and sheets to something fortable and slept, to be fresh for the departure and the first jump.

  * * *

  "Knock, Knock?"

  It took a few seds until he was awake. "Jerka!"

  She stood in his open hatch. And she had totally ged her look, wreen jeans, ripped off above her knee, and a cropped bck t-shirt that almost showed her navel, with a rge cut-out at the shoulders, so one could see her thin bra straps. A finger-sized golden der was on a around her neck. He had not much experieh humans (and less with women) but it looked rather like she was on her way to clubbing than to an ielr jump trip.

  "Like what you see?" She smiled.

  He suddenly felt like he was the prey. "Well, nice, er, outfit, but, er, how oh did you ehe ship?"

  She waved his question away. "I travel seldom with a human. That calls for some celebration."

  That was more information than his half-awake brain could handle. He slowly got out of the bed alcove and stretched. "Let's show you the ship. Last ce to stay back. Simon, I mean the AI thinks it is 0.06% per jump for resting in limbo."

  She giggled again. "The's dance limbo. No seriously, you're flying, and so will I. I take the across?"

  "Be my guest." As if he had any say in it.

  He still sat on his bed, leg dangling, and reprocessing the versation. He did not get far, the AI chimed.

  "Marik, it is 8000. Oh, you are already awake. The deliveries are waiting at the airlock."

  "I'll get them!" shouted Jerka and was off to the airlock.

  He wondered if ships were that easy to hack or how else Jerka had foury. Anyway, she was here and there was their departure to prepare for. And he seriously needed some clothes, he was still only in his briefs.

  "Simon, how is the departure clearance?"

  "Marik, we are cleared for 8800 as scheduled. The fusioors are cold, the tai superdug coils are ready. We have from 8500 to start the fusioors with station power, which should be more than enough. After 0500, we would reach the first jump zone. I have done a preliminary optimisation and decided on Ross 334231, an uninhabited brown dwarf star without ps or clouds."

  "Simon, I will e to the cockpit to see the route."

  He simply slipped on a pair of bck training pants over his briefs and a dark blue slouchy hoodie, fortable attire for a jump. Even if he wao match Jerka's clubbing outfit, none of his clothing items came even close. Well, since he had set off from Fallerian almost two years ago, he had been going to non-human systems only. Nobody there cared about his age or what he was wearing. Probably not even if he was clothed beyond bare basics. And no exposure to human fashion: He had just bought whatever was there whegrew some clothes.

  The ten steps of the dder to the cockpit did not give time for more musings. The rgest s (again, n 3D here) showed a rotating animation of the suggested route, four jumps across the gaxy, even through the outer core of the gaxy. He did not look at the transit systems iail. No, the entire route was too much, he had never been jumping that close to the core, and none of his mentors had either. Anyway, that was not pressing. With the accumuting errors, ay system was the best destination for the first long jump. And there was only one system in the general dire, which the AI had selected.

  "Simon, we reach this one, Ross 335271?"

  "Marik, no, Ross 335271 is just out of reach." Well, that firmed it.

  "Simon, then I firm the route for the first jump. A's register your route to the flight trol for now."

  "Marik, dohe airlock has cycled and the spare parts and food have been delivered and booked from your wallet."

  "Simon, thank you. Now take the wallet offline. And when was the airlock cycled before?"

  "Marik, when you entered."

  "Simon, and after that?"

  "Marik, just now. Station energy is ready. we start the fusioors?" He felt like the AI wao distract him from the question. Had Jerka hacked the logs too?

  "Marik, please firm the reactor start?"

  "Simon, yes."

  Every time he witnessed a fusion core ing up, he felt like the lights and s were dimming. Which was of course nonsehe ption of the lights would have no impa the gigaulses o ighe psma fusion. Still, the waiting bar filled half the s, with the indicators plotted left and right of the growing bar. It felt like a tiny, tiny whomp, when the indicator ged to positive power band the bar turned green, first for core 1 and soon for core 2. They were good to go, on the first try and with 0100 to spare. Time to up his and store the new provisions in the galley and the nearts in the small workshop. "Simon, where is Jerka?"

  "Simon, there is no one on board but you."

  "Simon, did the airlock cycle again?"

  "Marik, no. Only once since your arrival."

  "Simon, from now on a andard procedure: before important manoeuvres a PA to all spaces on the ship."

  "Marik. ok."

  "Simon, now PA, dedog in 0050, prepare for weightless and then low g."

  He really should add Jerka to the ma. He did not feel well doing things illegally.

  The annou pyed.

  * * *

  His room was secured, and Jerka had cmped her bag too in the wall- inside her . But she was not there. He trusted her that she had secured the spare parts and provisions. Instead, he rushed back to the cockpit. "Simon, ok, starting dedog sequence. Hello, Cobasian II trol, here is freighter 0834-sdf on the pre-registered flight to Ribbentoa for 8800 departure."

  "Yes, ok." The station was not answering following any protocols at all. "Freighter 0824-sdf, go."

  At the same moment, a jerk, a flicker, alessness, all indig that the station had opehe cmps without any warnings or checks. Even his stomach lurched with the ued ge in gravity. And even though it was only 8724. The normal procedure should be a warning, then closing all hatches, then dedog. Now they slowly drifted away. "Simon, 0.05 g rolling and then accelerating in the same g-vector as before. Are all hatches closed and sealed."

  "Marik, firm, all sealed. We still follow the calcuted path. Orientation for acceleration as in dog position. I am warming up the main engines. I would suggest only three for this long jump to avoid problems with overheating the distributors."

  "Simon, yes, proceed."

  If the AI said so. Overheating power distributreat. He quickly flipped through the few still w internal cameras. No Jerka, but then half of the ship was not covered. She would have surely noticed the departure.

  He stood up slowly to not bump into the ceiling: 0.05 g was nearly weightless, just enough to drift to the ground and allow to shuffle around carefully.

  "Jerka, you are ok?", he shouted down the cockpit dder.

  Her face appeared moments ter. "Yes, fine, I hear you well. Luckily all were stored before that premature departure. You also voted for some dark fashion, nice." He blushed which made her smile. "So I see the route?"

  He nodded dumbstruck.

  She jumped up, ign the dder in the low g and nded elegantly. Apparently, ner to low g. In the low gravity, her green hair flowed around her head like kelp. But her eyes were on the dispy while his eyes were glued on her. "Show me."

  "Simon, dispy route please."

  " you enable gesture?"

  He gulped. "Should be on." He had a hard time fog on the dispy.

  "What is our jump range?"

  "Short of 100 pc acc to spec."

  "Hmm." She quickly zoomed in and out, zooming in and out of systems he core of which he had never ever heard from. Looking at her, the time seemed to accelerate. The dispy flickered from the in and out zooming and was reflected off her fad green hair.

  "The route is solid for four jumps. But I suggest to rather do five. You see here the third jump, there out of the core. This one especially arrives at a challengiination: A ternary system and gravity might be very different depending on the arrival phase. And the three stars are all nearly aligned in jump dire, which would require too much precision for such a long haul, at 92 pc. I would not push the specs that far into the journey. But if making it five jumps, then why not go a little further out around the core? First jump is the same and then Jasper. Don't worry, transits are free there and then three fortable ones, here, here and here."

  It looked very ving, and not too close to the core either. "Jasper?" The world was marked e. Somehow, he felt like he should remember that name. But holy, he had trouble remembering his name right now.

  "Jasper, homeworld or the Tug, the only water dwellers who made it to spad still are active. They even have a space lift. One of the wonders of the gaxy."

  Oh, those! Of course, he had heard of them, but he had no idea that he could transit there on his route. "Wow, Jerka."

  "Marik, we o get to the final vector and switavigation and to run up the main engines for the jump."

  Out of reflex, he looked at the puter key. "Simon, yes, ready. Give me the 0010 mark then. And two patches, each for the full length plus 0200. One for me and one for a human female, slightly taller. And we will follow this route. Give the new flight pn to Cobasian, if they care at all about our flight pn."

  "Marik, you take the patches. The top one is yours. All preparations are go."

  He took out the tw ced psters out, careful to keep their order. "Ok, we are ready to jump," he trailed off because Jerka had left already.

  Now the slow acceleration had vanished and with it the illusion of up and down. The ship swayed sidewards for a moment, turning onto the new vector aing the mains ready. Using the pause, he floated down.

  “Attention, prepare for mains”, came the warning and the mains kicked in. Not with force but they were slowly building up acceleration. He walked over to Jerka's , where she y on the bunk.

  "You are ready to jump?"

  She grinned. "Are you?"

  "I mean, here is your patch. It should knock you out for just the time of the jump." He held up the drug patch that he had Simon make for her.

  "Don't worry about me. See you ter."

  "Er, no patch?"

  "No, luckily my eyes close in 4D. See." She winked and a sed set of lids closed from the side. Was she really human? Not that it would ge anything. "Great I wish"

  "The main engines are going down for the coil ignition," interrupted Simon, doing the PA as he had ordered before their departure.

  "Yes," he said mely, left her still fused and in awe, and climbed up the dder. 0011 left. He did a short st check, the coils were ready, reactor 2 at jump power too and all the other main systems were green as well, apart from the fourth main engine, which was offline by choice.

  "Simon, for the jump, ramp down the main eo zero thrust and only ramp them up if the coils are ignited evenly else abort."

  "Marik yes. I reend stig the patow."

  "Simon, no I will do it as soon as we are off. I do this blindly, even in 4D. So I would be ready if there is trouble."

  "Marik, I uand. 0010 mark now." A tdown from 10.00 doeared on the main dispy and the standardized jump warning souhrough the ship. Its rhythm accelerated as the tdoroached zero. Then the room folded out, really hard to describe, always fasating and frightening. Almost familiar thanks to the deyed patch. A rick he learned from his st mentor. Well, the patch after ignition was well known but only a few dared it. Some were still saying that one goes crazy in 4D. But that was not true, he once had to jump without, when he had missed. It was torture since waves damped differently, and the noises and light accumuted in the 4D shock e. Closing his eyes was useless, the light shone around through the nose el maybe. During that jump, it had bee noisier and brighter until he thought he would be rattled to pieces and evaporated by the light. But he had no sting physical damage from that.

  However, this time all went well. With the well-trained movement, he put the pat his cheek, even in 4D. If he had watched it in a mirror, he would not be able to do it with all those wrong angles in 4D. Almost immediately, his brain was knocked out, 4D safe.