Girl Talk

Linda sat in the engine rooms keeping an idle eye on the systems. Now that the ship was in hyperspace, there really wasn’t a whole lot to worry about. The main power plant might fail, but frankly there was only so much she could do about it. Mostly, she was there to give everyone a few minutes’ warning before they all perished. Oh well, plenty of games on the system to pass the time.

The door to her small office hissed open and a slender, wiry feline alien entered the room. It was the ship’s steward. She’d been hired pretty much off the street by Nathan. Apparently she’d spent time working for some Aslan clan traders but had jumped at the chance to head back towards Aslan space. Nathan wasn’t sure if she was basically just working passage until they came close to Hierate space, but having a dedicated steward was important. You certainly wouldn’t trust the passengers' comfort to the Hudon twins. As a result, Linda hadn’t paid too much attention to the Aslan and was even now grasping for a name to put with the face.

“Engineer Stone?” asked the Aslan, “may I speak with you for a few moments?”

“Of course, “ said Linda. “And please, call me Linda. There’s no need for titles when it’s just us talking.”

“Very well, Linda. Please feel free to refer to me as Helpful.”

“Helpful?”

“It best describes my function. My formal name is far too long and complex for most humans to bother with. Helpful will be fine.”

“Very well, Helpful, what can I do for you.”

“Originally, I am from Hraduse. Although there’s a mixed population of Humans and Aslans on my homeworld, I’ve mostly dealt with members of my species and not yours. I’ve spent most of my career in Aslan conglomerates. As a Steward, I’ve been given a great deal of training in how to assist other species, but for the most part, I’ve never had to put it into practice. In this new assignment, I find I have some questions and I’m hoping that you can give me some insights.”

“I’ll do my best. What’s on your mind?”

“Captain Fletcher is male, correct?”

Linda was taken back a moment. “Yes. He’s a male.”

“That’s what I thought. But Captain Fletcher is not the pilot?”

“No, Mr. Collins is our pilot. I suppose it might be a little unusual, but Mr. Collins has an excellent piloting record, better than anyone else in the crew so Nathan hired him to handle that task. But Nathan is still the Captain.”

“He is also the medical officer?”

“That’s what he does best so that’s the job he’s taken on -– at least during the flight. Hopefully, there won’t be many medical emergencies while we’re aboard ship. The medical officer is generally needed at the start and end of the trip when we’re processing low passengers. Because Nathan is also the owner of the ship, he’s more than just the ship’s doctor. He’s responsible for the administration of the ship and having a relatively relaxed job means that he can get the paperwork done during the trip.”

“I see. Captain Fletcher owns the ship. So that makes sense. I understand that Humans see gender differently than we do, but it’s very different when you actually see the differences first hand.”

“Ah, I can see where that might be confusing. Humans don’t necessarily link gender with function. In fact some humans who feel the need and have the money can change their gender. It’s all a little complicated.”

“In my training, we learned that it was easier to treat all our human passengers as male, even if they acted in female ways. This seemed simple enough, and it has worked so far, but I’m concerned that I will fail to render good service as we move forward. So I am hoping to gain a better grasp of how human gender works.”

“It’s very fluid. I think your basic training will serve you well. The primary difference between males and females is which one of us gets pregnant. Beyond that, all bets are off. But as long as you treat all our passengers well, I suspect you’ll do fine.”

“Thank you, Linda. I appreciate your encouragement,” said Helpful, getting up to leave.

“Oh, Helpful,” said Linda.

“Yes?”

“Just so you’re clear. Captain Nathan is our ship’s doctor and he’s male. The pilot is male. The navigator is male. One of the gunners is male and the other is female.”

“One is female? Which one?”

“Sam.”

“But I thought Sam was--”

“It’s short for Samantha. Samantha is female.”

“I just thought he was a little short. Or young.”

“Sam is female. But she likes to blur the lines a lot.”

“I hope I remember. I don’t want to offend her.”

“That kind of mistake might tickle her pink.”

“Is that bad?”

“I mean, she’d think it was funny that she fooled you.”

“I see.”

“And, just to round out the crew, I am female.”

“Of course you are, you’re the engineer. That’s why I came to see you.”

“And, I believe you will be perceived by me and the rest of the crew as female.”

“Correct.”

“Does that help?”

“Quite a bit. Are there any additional resources I might consult?”

“Check with the ship’s library. Although, it’s pretty human-centric so it might make assumptions you aren’t aware of.”

“I will bear that in mind. Again, thank you, Linda. This discussion has been most...helpful.”

“Was that a joke?”

“Did you find it amusing?”

“A little bit.”

“Then it was a little joke,” said Helpful as she left the office.