Chapter 18: A Contest for Helmsman

The door to my pod was closing as I sat down in the breakfast booth. I looked over at the replicator and sighed. “Cashew Chicken with white rice,” I said.

Bryn emerged from my bedroom. The blonde beauty was smiling merrily as she approached. “I keep catching you eating,” she said. “Perhaps I should sit next to you and keep you company.”

“I still have another meeting to hold,” I said.

“Helmsman?” Bryn asks me.

“Yes,” I replied. “Luther agreed to train as my damage control officer. I’ve also found my sensor officer.”

“Why not have a contest?” Bryn asked.

“What?” I replied. “I am not sure what you are saying here.”

“The helm position is one that requires someone who can quickly respond to your orders. Why not set up a simulation room with multiple helm stations and a captain’s chair. Allow the AI to start a simulation and you give orders to the helm. I’m not sure how to score it though,” Bryn said.

I paused and looked up at the ceiling. I could picture what Bryn was saying and it almost made sense. “What about the fact that some of the helmsmen will get my orders wrong. I can’t have the simulation stop to correct one person. Over time they would all move the ship slightly differently.”

“A simulation like you are describing does exist,” the AI answered. “It is possible to score each helmsman on how well they respond to orders, and how accurate their movements are. The feedback they receive will adjust to encourage them to return the ship to the ordered vector should they make a mistake.”

“So the simulation can change for each of them,” I mused. “How many potential helmsmen are there?”

“There are eleven citizens who are rated as potential Goddess and Hero class helmsmen,” the AI answered.

“How many helmsmen in total among all the citizens on the ship?” Bryn asked. She sounded a bit surprised.

“There are thirty-seven citizens that are currently receiving training on helm operations on ships of all sizes,” the AI answered.

“Not too much of a surprise,” I admitted. “It must be one of the more stressful posts and also one where most ships would want more than one person trained so that you can relieve people. The sensor position doesn’t need constant manning, as the AI can help, but no human commander will want the ship on auto-pilot without a human at the controls ready to make immediate adjustments.”

“So you’ll want more than one helmsman from this,” Bryn pointed out.

I paused and then stared at Bryn. “You’re right. And that means a contest will be the best way to find who can listen.”

Bryn smiled and then pointed up at the ceiling. “Better get it on the schedule with the AI,” she said.

“I’d rather have it be a snap event. I don’t want the prospective helmsmen to have time to plan ahead and try to game the simulation. As soon as there is a simulation room ready the announcement needs to go out,” I said.

“If you would care to head to the simulation room two floors above the one you are on, the announcement can go out,” the AI responded.

I just stared up at the ceiling. “How?”

“Tests to make final decisions have become more and more common as colonial transportation continues. There are two dedicated simulation rooms on every ship that can be swiftly converted for any type of test. It will be ready for a helmsman test before you arrive,” the AI said.

“It does make sense,” Bryn told me. “Should I get dressed and go with you?”

“Not today,” I said with a sigh. “This may have been your idea, but I need to be able to concentrate on rating the prospective helmsmen.”

“Awwww,” Bryn said playfully.

I looked at the young woman. “Are you sure you are from Iceland? You sound remarkably American.”

Bryn giggled. “My sister and I worked hard to fit in once we started attending college in the States. I’ll leave you alone now.”

I had finished my meal. Bryn allowed me to slide back out of the booth and stand up. She took the tray from me.

With a nod, I started walking to the door. “AI, how will the announcement go out?” I asked.

“It will be transmitted to everyone who might find attending to be a benefit,” the AI said. “Prospective Goddess helmsmen will be told that attendance is mandatory.”

“Good,” I said as I walked out of my pod.

The hallways were quiet. I listened to the whisper of my footfalls as I walked to the elevator at the central hub. I arrived there just as the doors to an elevator opened. Two teenage girls wearing cheerleader outfits were making out in the back of the car. I stepped in while pretending I had not noticed them.

The girls opened their eyes. One of the duo immediately backed away. “Vicky, there’s a citizen here.”

“I’m not going to do anything,” I said as I turned to look at the doors. “AI, you know which floor I need.”

The taller of the two cheerleaders sighed. I sensed that she had put her arms around her friend. “We’re safe. Jason knows we are returning to our pod. He wanted to get us away from that one jerk.”

“I’m disappointed in many of my fellow citizens,” I said quietly. “Too many forget that we have a job to do.”

The doors to the elevator opened. “Citizen Walker, this is your floor. Exit the elevator and turn to the left. The door to your simulation room will be open.”

I stepped out of the elevator. The two cheerleaders offered a cursory bye as I followed the AI’s instructions and turned to walk down the hallway. A doorway stood open. It was a bit wider than the other doorways I had seen.

I quickly reached the doorway and looked in. The room was laid out with four helm stations along each wall. In the middle of the room there was a captain’s chair as well as four stationary chairs. I moved to the captain’s chair and carefully looked around the room. “I hope each helmsman had noise cancelling headphones so they don’t hear each other respond to my commands. That’s going to be a challenge for me. I have to track the answers of all the prospective helmsmen too.”

Just then the AI called out. “If you are hearing this, a training exercise for large ship helmsmen will be starting on blue deck. All people hearing this announcement are invited to attend. You will not be participating, but can use this exercise to gain insight into the potential to hold similar training exercises in the future.”

“Interesting announcement,” I said. “It will be interesting to see if anyone bothers to come.”

I had barely finished speaking when the AI spoke. “Captain Walker, an Estefani Avila is requesting to speak with you.”

“Put her on,” I replied. “Go ahead Este.”

“Did you hear the announcement?” Estefani said excitedly.

“I’m the reason for the announcement. I was thinking of the best way to identify a helmsman for Freya. One of my concubines mentioned a contest and I discovered that other commanders have done the same in the past,” I said.

“Can I come?” Estefani asked. “I know I’ll never be on the bridge, but I do want to get an idea of how it will work.”

“Certainly,” I replied. I could hear footfalls outside. “I should let you start moving. There are people in the halls, so I probably need to welcome some of the contestants.”

“On my way,” Estefani said.

There was a click from the ceiling. I choked back a laugh and looked towards the door as I stood next to the captain’s chair.

The first person to enter the room was a lean man who was taller than me. He looked over at me and stopped. “Wow! Girl, that’s an incredible figure. How long did you have to lay in the medical pod.”