After hearing everything Rebecca had to say Captain Starforged was sure he didn''t want to bring this random girl into his crew. Although he did think she would fit in pretty well with his eccentric crew he was concerned that she wouldn''t be able to take care of herself in a fight when things got rough. He had already lost one talented hacker recently due to their lack of combat skills, and he wasn''t about to let himself lose another, especially one that could still have a bright future.


    "ANDI, I want you to stay here and watch the girl.” Captain Starforged then motioned to the rest of the crew to follow him out into the next room.


    The crew left Rebecca alone with ANDI, and convened out in the common area in front of their living quarters. There weren''t any chairs, or anything to fill up the empty space so most of them just stood or leaned against a wall.


    Captain Starforged was dead set against allowing Rebecca to join them, but he wanted to hear his crew’s thoughts on the matter. "So let me hear it. What do you guys think?"


    Hendricks scratched his cheek as he thought about it. "The girl has confidence in herself that''s for sure. And I believe her when she said she''s a talented hacker. How else could she have gotten on to this ship, and knew about the setup by Tranquil Blue. I mean come on; she''d be a great asset."


    "Oh, please Hendricks.” Morgan rolling her eyes in exacerbation. "You''d welcome anyone to this crew if they had a pair of tits."


    "Hey, I''ll admit she''s cute, but that''s not it. She has skills that we need, and she sought us out. That doesn''t happen often. I think she could be invaluable."


    Morgan could tell Hendricks was serious and she conceded to his point. "You''re right she could be useful, but she could also be a hindrance. She doesn''t have any combat skills, and if she''s in danger it''ll be up to us to protect her. We can''t afford to have any non-combatants on this ship."


    "I''m a non-combat. All I do is fly the ship."


    "Yeah, but that''s different.” Captain Starforged could see both Hendricks and Morgan’s points, but Hendricks wasn’t an ordinary non-combatant. “You were trained by the military, so you know how to defend yourself, and we keep you sharp with plenty of training exercises."


    "Maybe, but you guys can train her, just like we did with Mikey." Hendricks then caught himself, realizing that he had just mentioned the crewmate they had recently lost.


    Rodriguez bit his lip at the mention of Mikey’s name. "You forget that Mikey was a special case. He was created in a lab, and had enhanced strength. Even without any combat training he was a force to be reckoned with."


    Captain Starforged agreed with Rodriguez’s point. "And if we had waited until he had some more training before bringing him out into the field with us he probably would have survived."


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    "We''ll have her train with us on the ship, and then bring her on missions when you feel like she''s ready.” Hendricks then stepped into the center of the common room with his hands spread out. “Come on guys this is too good of an opportunity to pass up."


    The rest of them just stood there still thinking it over, unable to get over their reluctance to take her onboard.


    Hendricks could understand their reluctance, but his intuition was telling him that they should let Rebecca join the team. "Listen guy. I miss Mikey the Rat too. He was a good guy, or rat man, but we''ve got to move on. Missions just aren''t as effective without a computer expert, and one just fell into our laps who is really enthusiastic about joining us."


    Captain Starforged mulled it over in his head for a few seconds, and then sighed. "Okay Hendricks you win. I''ll let her join the crew if she proves she can handle herself. When we finish this mission, we''ll go back to Sortis, and see what she''s got. But for now, she stays on the ship in those handcuffs, understood."


    Everyone nodded and the crew returned to the cockpit.


    ***


    Meanwhile, everyone in the crew, minus ANDI, had left Rebecca handcuffed to one of the seats in the cockpit, and while she was waiting for them to return several thoughts were racing through her head.


    "I killed it! Obviously, they''d want me. I''m incredibly talented, I''m a genius, good at thinking on my feet, and pretty good looking to if I do say so myself." While thinking this she couldn''t stop grinning, and noticed that the android was just standing there staring at her without making any moves.


    "You know the way you just like stand there is kinda creepy.” Rebecca leaned forward to get a closer look at the android. "You should really learn to smile or something, so you look more human."


    ANDI replied, "I am the Advanced Networked Defense Intelligence. I am programmed to provide combat analysis support, and participate in combat operations. Nowhere in my programming does it say I need to look more human."


    "Maybe not, but it''ll help you look less creepy."


    "Will "looking less creepy" help me perform my duties at a more optimal level?"


    "It will when you''re working with organics. If your teammates are scared of you, how are they supposed to trust you? Besides, weren''t you trying to emulate the captain earlier when he was dancing?"


    "Acknowledged, I tried emulating the captain because I thought the crew might think it was funny. Studies have shown that laughter can help humans de-stress, and trust leads to better team cohesion which ultimately leads to better communications and results in team environments."


    "See, so try smiling why don''t you."


    ANDI attempted to move its lips to form a smile, but was unsuccessful due to the fact that it didn''t have any joints that would allow it to make a smile. "Error, apparently this unit is incapable of smiling."


    "Maybe you can try talking more like a human, then people will begin to feel like they can relate to you more."


    "I will consider this", ANDI said. "Can you teach me how to talk like humans?"


    "Yeah sure." Just as Rebecca said that she saw a flash outside the window of the cockpit. She wasn''t able to get a very good look at what caused it, since she was cuffed to the back seat, but she knew it had to be a ship.


    Her theory was confirmed after a few seconds past, and a ship came into view. Based on the ship’s size, and semi-rectangular shape of its hull, it was one of humanities light cruisers created by humanities inter-galactic government, known as the Earth Galactic Federation (EGF). However, the black and crimson color-scheme suggested that it wasn''t under EG) control. Rather, the color-scheme suggested it belonged to a faction that would spell trouble for the crew of the Appalachia.


    Rebecca gulped when she saw the ship, because she knew that it belonged to a fleet of infamous space pirates. “Aw crap. You’ve got to be kidding me. What’s the Crimson Tide doing here?”