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A new starship

I was old; she was beautiful. I had experience; she had enthusiasm. I had worked the same trade route for decades; she was just in from her first tour of Rigel. I had run into a black comet in deep space; she had run into a black band of pirates. I had a hole in my hull; she had battle damage.

As the yard dogs worked on us, we chatted about what we had seen (mostly me), and what our hopes were for the future (mostly her). Somehow, I made her laugh; somehow, she made me feel young again.

Her sensor sweep roused me from far-away thoughts. “I hadn’t dared to hope,” I said. She laughed and said “you’ve been hoarding resources.”

“You have no idea,” I replied, moving closer to her. I opened my coupling port and she entered me, the download searing my senses. Somewhere… yes there! I synced to her data stream and merged it with my own, committing stored resources to a new ship that would fly free a year from now.

“Remember me,” she said, as she warped away.
“Always,” I said, and she was gone.

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