I blinked slowly at the Communications Officer while asking, "Are you sure this message is legitimate? I am having a hard time believing it."
He said, "I even contacted the Integration Program directly to double check. They have confirmed that the offer is real."
I rubbed my temple. "We have about two hours left before they finish loading all of those crates of metal." I grabbed my Guide and tapped the screen a few times as if accessing a program, "Starsong, what are your thoughts on this?"
Those in the Bridge glanced at me as I addressed the ship, although they knew that he was aware and always listening. They tended to get much more nervous if he responded through the speakers though. As I had halfway expected, he added some things to the Guide's display. I scrolled through the message from the Integration Program that I had already read five times.
The pirates we had referred to them had gone there and been accepted into the program. The Integration Program strongly believed in training and a good career. All eight of the pirates had requested to join the Starsong. Those in the Integration Program were offering some rather large incentives for us to accept them into the crew.
They would be on probation for six months and, if they passed, they were to officially join the crew. As long as those who passed probation were on board, all docking fees in this star system were waived. Trading tariffs and taxes were also reduced to almost nothing. If none of them passed, then no incentives were offered.
This planet also belonged to that star system, and considering that we planned to return here several times a year if possible for more of this valuable metal, those incentives would make a huge difference. I highly doubted that Starsong would allow them on board though...
"I am currently pulling everything I can find on them. Other than their latest intent to become pirates, they have done nothing illegal that I can find. A large recession on one planet cost them their jobs and no places were hiring."
I was slightly surprised. 'You are willing to allow them on board?'
A complex graph appeared on my screen. "The retention rate of such people is over 90% if they pass the probation period. The biggest problem we are having with hiring assistants is due to the fact that assistants are usually younger and have no plans on remaining with a one-person operated ship. They plan to transfer into a large company as soon as they can for career stability."
I took a deep breath and slowly released it as I realized he was right. 'And because of what this group went through, they will have no desire to try and switch jobs once they get a decent one. They may not get hired, or another ship would have no qualms about firing them for any small error, whereas we may keep them solely due to those incentives.'
"Exactly. I can supervise them closely to ensure they follow the rules. We are allowed to leave them on the nearest inhabited planet if they break major rules, so that isn't an issue. The incentives are also extremely good; some of the best this program has ever offered, probably because all of them want to go to the same place. It is easier for them to offer exceptional incentives to one ship than to offer moderate incentives to eight ships or companies."
'So you want to accept the offer and go back for them?'
"Yes. It will only take us five days to backtrack that far, and we can take a different route to stop at other planets for trades before we continue with our original itinerary."
They hadn't been pirates for very long, but it still made me uneasy. 'As long as you are willing to watch them closely...'
"You have my word. They will be closely monitored."
I closed my eyes as I let that sink in. I opened my eyes and gave the Communications Officer his instructions. "Respond to them and let them know that we will accept their offer. We should be there in about five days. Send Starsong's placement quiz, and once they submit the results, send them the training tutorials for whatever position Starsong assigns to them."
"I will begin at once." He began compiling the information.
I leaned back and examined the various displays on the wall. Starsong's placement quiz looked at what they thought their strengths were as well as what positions they hoped for, before making them answer well over 500 questions, mostly multiple choice, to determine where their true strengths would shine and what role their disposition would manage best in.
I would have to mail off my brother's gift before I left this port since this change of plans would put us behind our original schedule by at least twelve days.
* * *
The Cargo Bay Overseer was not entirely impressed when I told him that he was getting one of the eight new rehabilitees. He grumbled, "Let me get this straight. You just accepted eight former pirates on board, and you think they are just going to work out? These are pirates. I am not sure if you encountered pirates on your last ship, but they aren't something you just invite in for tea. This is a serious mistake."
I raised an eyebrow in mild warning. Voicing his concerns was one thing, but the near-refusal was perilously close to crossing a line.
I evenly replied, "They technically aren't even pirates since they never did anything other than float around in a derelict of a spacecraft for a week. Starsong checked their backgrounds just as thoroughly as he has checked everyone else's. He will be monitoring them both on-shift and off-duty."
He shook his head. "I still do not like it. I don't trust pirates."
"They aren't pirates. They will be given a fair chance, just like everyone else has been. Starsong will be monitoring them."
Hiring pirates wasn't exactly a new concept, and it certainly was not the first time that former pirates had been retrained into a productive role in society. My brother actually had a co-worker who had been a pirate. Supposedly, he was the most dependable person in that place. The ones who were willing to work were generally very loyal. It was the handful of ones that didn't want to reform that caused the issues.
The Overseer shrugged. "I guess we will see..."
He continued eating his lunch as a different Overseer asked some questions about our changed route and which planets we would be stopping at. We now had two more stops before we resumed our previous travels. One stop to pick up our eight new assistants, and another stop at a different planet on our way back to sell some supplies.
After lunch, I wandered through a few random corridors on various levels. I made sure to pass by every area at least once a day since it provided an easy way for anyone to ask me a quick question that they may not have otherwise approached me with.
Some people were getting more relaxed with my unpredictable appearances and would stop to chat for a few moments before resuming their work. In time, more would learn that I was fairly relaxed and not just checking to see if they were working.
My rather unlimited access to all areas of the Starship meant that I popped up in areas where many didn't expect to see me, which often took them by surprise. The Maintenance crew just waved when they saw me at this point. They had found me in some rather odd spots, including the back room behind the engines. They had probably given up wondering what I was doing.
I also didn't really have anything else to do, so these walks kept me from going crazy. I already heard a voice in my head, so crazy didn't seem like it was that far off most of the time.