Candice and the Survivor Paparazzi

Candice looked to Jacky, then beyond him to the approaching Phil and … the extremely large rodent. She decided immediately from trying to guess his species. He looked like a rat. But the very word rat carried with it so many derogatory meanings she dared not use it. That would be like calling Jacky … Monkey Boy. She would only be 97% accurate, and that last 3% might prove very insulting.

She absorbed the last couple of sentences spoken by the rodent and from them extrapolated a zillion opportunities. Mining vessels? Survivors? This place might very well have possibilities. Maybe she wasn't so smegged after all. Or maybe she would be. She smiled her most pleasant smile.

She reached out and took the furry paw daintily. She really wasn't sure what to make of the creature. Her programming covered humans, not aliens – although she did know a bit more about certain house pets than she cared to know – including some very disgusting tidbits involving rodents. Again, she decided it best not to mention that.

“Candice Kane. I supposed you could call me a Captain, though owner would be more accurate. My mothership is an extra galactic exploration vessel.” She frowned. “And I have to admit that it is currently unavailable. I arrived in my Honeybee X, the short ranged scout vessel.” She gestured to thin air.

She paused and looked up. Her ship hadn't taken its cue to exit Intruder Mode. “Honeybee? Exit … exit … uhm …” Maybe it was better not to use the word ‘intruder’. That might not be appropriate. “Honeybee, could you be a dear and … reappear.”

After repeating herself one more time – this time closer to the airlock – a vessel looking somewhat like a futuristic Starbug crossed with a Space Beagle with the wings retracted appeared. It was more than a little obvious from its position on the Flight Deck that the landing hadn't exactly been … textbook.

“Her sensors and communications were overloaded when the uninhabited planet blew up. I had detected a temporal anomaly in the vicinity of the planet and diverted to investigate. When the planet started to explode, I tried to engage my warp drives … and ended up here. I believe this is some sort of parallel universe. That would account for not seeing my mother ship anywhere. It would take a lot more than an exploding planet to hurt her.”

“So … anyhow, you mentioned that this was a mining vessel. You don’t suppose there is employment available here while my ship repairs herself?”