Chapter 46

“Oh, something else,” Zeke said with mild concern.

“You may also find that Mariah now behaves more like Freya, and she has an opinion. Something weird happens when I put a lot of DeRay crystals in a ship. I don’t think the computer is a sentient AI either,” Zeke warned the girls.

Jada frowned, “What? Is it possessed or something?”

“Hum, well, if you mean like us, then yes.”

“Oh! Why would an entity do that?” Jada asked with some confusion and worry.

Zeke shrugged, “I can only guess they find it a nice way to help us magicians. It does give them people to interact with and a purpose.”

“They are not supposed to take over a human’s mind or body except in a dire emergency. But I’ve never read anything that says they can’t take over computer-operated machines enhanced by DeRay crystals.”

“Freya and I came to an agreement, and she has agreed to operate under a revised version of Asimov’s laws, considering she is a spaceship, not a robot. She has since told me that all ships like her shall be informed of the governing rules.”

Paula giggled, “I think you are correct. Louisa said she loved being a spaceship. She was happy that I was her captain for the day. She walked me through all the displays and explained where everything was and what it did.”

“She even let me manoeuvre the ship to dock with Harry’s ship when we linked up. She was a good teacher. I bet she gives Rod lessons, too. It was nice knowing that she wouldn’t let me crash the ship while still trusting me to drive it.”

“Yeah, Bella never gave me any grief if I felt like driving. I always like to dock my ship, too. She was always good at letting me bounce my problems and ideas off her when I was studying. I never felt lonely with Bella along for the ride.”

“I’m finding Freya has slightly different opinions. She seems more mature than Bella, but that’s not a bad thing. We are already comfortable with each other, and our working relationship is progressing nicely.”

“It’s a shame you can’t have sex with her,” Jada said snidely.

Zeke frowned, “Are we going to have a problem working together, Jada?”

Jada blushed scarlet and dropped her face down. “I’m sorry, that was a stupid thing to say. I guess I don’t take rejection well.”

“Jada,” Zeke said softly as he lifted her chin. “I didn’t reject you out of hand. For the most part, I do like you, and I enjoyed being with you. However, we have barely known each other for more than a few days. I also have a lot on my plate at present.”

“Your job and my commitments are not conducive to starting a heavy romance. I’m happy to spend time with you when I can, but I cannot commit to being around when you want me to be.”

“Any type of relationship we have has to be on those terms for the foreseeable future. You also didn’t seem to like the idea of sharing me, and I’ve warned you that monogamy is not an option for me.”

“You just want to play the field, and avoid commitment,” she retorted mulishly.

“No, that isn’t what I want. I do care about the people I’m intimate with. Jada, I wore you out. As a Lord Wizard, my needs are hard to satisfy. I need partners of both sexes to satisfy them fully. I know and accept what I am.”

“Now that you have magical items, it would be better, but still not enough. I’m sorry if this disappoints you, but it isn’t something I can change, and I don’t want to change who I am.”

Zeke stepped away from the sullen woman.

“I think we should get on with the job. We can’t change what has happened, but we can move past it. I need to teach you both how to deploy the net on the runner, retrieve it, and empty it.”

“Come this way, please,” Zeke said and turned to go to the hold where the new Z3A was located.

Over the next four hours, Zeke taught the twins the joys and sorrows of being a salvage operator.

They each took turns at the controls as they worked the space around the ships. Zeke had asked Freya and Mariah to move to a lower orbit than the one he had cleaned out the night before.

While they had a scanner on the Z3A, Zeke reminded them that their ship did too. He had Mariah scan as far as she could around his planned work zone. He also reminded them that it was best to not stray too far from their ship.

He set a limit of 100km before they should alter their orbit or get the ship to come to them. He reminded them that they should always fill the tanks and top up the food stores in the Z3A before leaving Mariah.

While the runner held enough oxygen and supplies for two weeks, they should never need it. The fuel should be sufficient to get them back to the ship, even if they had been out wandering for several weeks.

Even so, Zeke recommended shifts of no more than three hours. Two was his preference. If they picked up the quota for a run, be it by size or weight, in less than that time, they simply returned to Mariah and dealt with it.

He reminded them that the debris would still be waiting for them. Most of it had been out in space for decades. He spent a lot of time on safety and reminded them about hot loads, both radioactive and physically hot. He taught the girls how to test for either situation and how to deal with them.

The girls quickly learnt that finesse and patience produced rewards. They learnt how to judge their speed and the speed of the debris. How to move the little ship, so the net intercepted and caught the debris safely without them holing the net or the ship.

They learned how to pick their paths to avoid other debris, so they didn’t become the junk. Then how to drop their loads in the main hold and, eventually, how to park the Z3A in its bay.

After the lessons, the girls were surprised by how intense and exhausting the sessions had been.

Back on Mariah, Zeke made lunch as they discussed the runs and the difficulties they had.