Introduction

Samantha hadn't wanted to go into space, but she was terribly behind in her bills. If she didn't pay them soon she would be seized and sold into slavery to pay off her debts. Desperate, she took, her friend Sharon's advice, and applied for a position on her ship.

Sharon's ship was an intergalactic exploration and survey ship, and it was hiring for several positions. However, the ship's Captain was initially reluctant to hire her for several reasons, including her lack of training or a degree in any field he was hiring for.

Still, being kind hearted, he decided to give her several tests to see what, if any, position she might be suitable for. To his surprise, she had excellent cataloging and organizational skills.

The way she cataloged things made it easy to find them later, and the way she could organize and pack cargo left him speechless. It took her slightly longer to pack, but she could fit more cargo in the hold than any Cargo Master he'd ever had. If fact, his Cargo Master put in his recommendation for her, since one of the positions they were hiring for was an Assistant Cargo Master. His Chief Science Officer also recommended her for her cataloging skills.

Seeing a chance to fill both positions, and make a profit, he hired her. This way, he only had to pay one person to do both jobs. He did give her slightly more pay than standard, as she was doing two jobs, but he still came out ahead.

As for Samantha, she was ecstatic. Her pay would be more than enough to pay off her debts. Thrilled, she gave her new Captain a big hug, and ran off to tell her friend. The Captain went back to his bridge happy at doing a good deed. The fact that he made a profit while doing it didn't hurt his feeling any either.

Soon after she was hired, Samantha was in space. After the initial fear was gone, she learned to enjoy her work. It was challenging and hard, but she enjoyed it. She even managed to become friends with many of the crew members who had complained at her hiring, as they had seen the Captain's hiring for what it was — a chance to make a buck. However, her hard work, natural skills, and kind nature soon won them over.

Two years later, they were on their way to survey a recently discovered planet when disaster struck, and Samantha was lost.