I entered the Bridge and saw that the Officers from both the day and evening shift were present. All of them looked relieved to see me. Tanya stood up and came over with a look of faint concern. "Are you okay?"

I smiled reassuringly at her. "I am fine. Cynthia was also unharmed."

She sighed in relief. "You had us worried there."

"That was not the way I had planned to spend my evening..."

The Weapons Officer snorted faintly. "I hope not. Half of the crew was ready to grab weapons and forceshields before storming the place."

Tanya leaned against the wall since the evening Navigations Officer had claimed her seat at the console. I sat down in my chair as I responded, "I kind of gathered that the crew got more than a bit upset at the news. It took me over an hour to get from the main access door to the elevator because they all wanted to make sure I was all right."

The Weapons Officer's eyes softened as he regarded me. "You put a lot of effort into making them forget your rank and relate to you on a personal level. Surely you didn't think that they wouldn't react if something happened to you."

I inclined my head at the truth of his words. "I didn't expect to see such a strong reaction this soon."

"You seem to have picked a loyal bunch."

I shrugged slightly. "To be honest, Starsong has done all of the hiring. I just welcome them on board."

The Weapons Officer tried to enlighten me. "We all know Starsong is present, but we can't really see him. It can be hard to relate to someone you can't see. However, we can see you, so you are the one we form a connection with."

I considered it and concluded that he was very likely correct. I inquired, "And just how did you fare with Starsong giving the orders in my absence?"

The Officers looked at one another, waiting for someone else to answer. I rested my chin on my hand as I waited for someone to break the silence.

The Weapons Officer eventually spoke, although his words came slowly, as if he was reluctant to answer this question. "It was different. And it was certainly a learning curve. He was able to display things on our consoles to show us exactly what he wanted. Not that we did much besides make unreasonable demands of every official on the docking station. Astra was the one who launched all of the strikes."

Something about his wording worried me. I spoke with trepidation, although I suspected that I didn't want to know the answer. "What do you mean by making unreasonable demands of every official?"

The Communications Officer responded to that question, "Ronan managed to ambush one of the men who remained in the market after forcing you into the shuttle. He stole his phone and found a message from the Deviant Monitoring Group hiring them to kidnap you. It specifically told them to use another crew member as a hostage to ensure your good behavior."

He paused. "We got... quite aggressive with a number of the higher ranking people in the docking station and city regarding the Elite Destroyers that had attacked us, while also demanding to know what role they might have had to play in this kidnapping. It would be safe to say that we have them thoroughly rattled, never mind how the news stations and local social media are going ballistic over the unprovoked attack and the message granting permission to kidnap a Captain."

I closed my eyes and took a slow breath before muttering, "I somehow doubt I will be able to show my face in public on this planet again..."

The Weapons Officer commented, "We haven't even gotten to the part where Tobias arrived and the Planetary Defenses tried to attack because he wasn't listening to the Space Traffic Control's demands."

I groaned as I looked at him incredulously. "Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not. Tobias took out all of the Planetary Defenses' weapons without missing a beat. Captain Astar then chewed them out pretty good for not doing anything to help with this whole fiasco."

Most planets had an impressive Planetary Defense in case of pirates or attacking spaceships. A planet with this big of a port would have been armed to the teeth. A single ship even getting close enough to damage such defenses was unheard of – until now. I had a feeling that they wouldn't have wanted to annoy David any more than they already had... "And?"

The Communications Officer checked the display on his console. "We have let all of the groups know that you two are safe and sound. The two destroyers are currently docked at a repair station and will be entertaining the mechanics there for quite some time. Captain Astar got on Tobias and left as soon as you two said your farewells. Astra is still in orbit, both as a threat in case the locals try anything stupid, as well as for the planet's protection since we pretty much flattened their defenses."

I began to wonder what the odds were of me changing my name and escaping to a remote corner of the galaxy...

Starsong quickly derailed that train of thought. "If you attempt that, I will personally go pick up your brother before coming to find you. But I am containing the news feeds about your kidnapping to this planet. I am also preventing them from posting your picture; they are still able to see it in the spaceship database if they log in, but I have encrypted it so that it is impossible to copy or take a picture of. Much to the annoyance of the news reporters."

Perhaps I might be able to show my face on other planets after all...

The Communications Officer continued, "The fact that two Elite Destroyers attacked a trading ship without provocation has also put the Intergalactic Space Commission in hot water since the Deviant Monitoring Group was under their authority. Several from the main council are on their way here in specialized high-speed jets. They should arrive sometime tomorrow afternoon and have requested a meeting with you and the local Enforcement leaders to determine exactly what happened and how they are going to smooth things over."

"I have been eavesdropping on their communications, and they were unaware of what that group had planned. They are also not entirely convinced I am actually an aware AI."

I really did not want to attend this meeting, but it really wasn't optional. I sat up and leaned against the back of my chair. "What time are we expecting them, and where are they dragging me this time?"

The Communications Officer smirked slightly. "We apparently made quite the show of force. They are letting us pick the time and location. If I may provide my input, I suggest we invite them for an evening meal in one of our meeting rooms. It worked very well for the last set of peace negotiations."

"I am in favor of this idea. I have more control in case something unexpected occurs, and we can demonstrate our hospitality, which will make the kidnapping look even worse."

Having my feet on my home ground, so to speak, appealed to me better than going to an unknown Enforcement station. The chairs were more comfortable here as well.

I nodded slowly. "Let's do that. Starsong has given his clearance to let them on board. Please let the cooks know so they can plan accordingly."

The Communications Officer promptly turned to his console to begin relaying that information.

I looked around. "Anything else you can think of? Any random questions or comments?"

Most present shook their heads no. The Weapons Officer replied, "This bunch may underestimate you due to your youth, but don't let them walk over you."

I smirked slightly. "Those who underestimate me tend to have a bad track record and never come out on top..."

He grinned in silent agreement. Tanya commented, "I am just glad to have you back."

"And I am glad to be back."

I looked around, but none of the others had anything to say. They might approach me later on or in private. I stood up. "In that case, I know my presence is keeping half of you here even though your shift ended some time ago. I plan to relax the rest of the evening, but feel free to contact me if you need me."

The Officers from the day shift walked out of the Bridge with me, leaving the evening shift to keep an eye on things. The Bridge crew always had the ability to contact their Captain if problems arose. I made sure that they knew they could call me, even if they had to wake me up.

I doubted they would do that though; the evening Bridge crew were more accustomed to hearing from Starsong and would check with him first since they knew he didn't sleep and he was my backup.

A hot bath sounded really good right about now...