"Although it wasn't the view that started me, I never grow tired of admiring the stars," he said dreamily, "one of the advantages of being 95% of one's time onboard a vessel with its purpose of sailing between them." He tried the dark liquid and raised his eyebrows. "Oh my," he sounded surprised, "you are full of surprises, dear Commandant. I hope you disclose the origin of this whiskey sometimes." And he smiled and took another sip. He then leaned over the datapad when Ian showed him Stevans notation. "Yes, I know of the problems with the life support system. I hoped that it wasn't that big a problem, but I guess I am wrong. I don't mind wiping the computer and rebuilding its OS. All important data is saved as a backup at Curacao. Whenever we dock at home the backups are automatically done before we take off again." A beep from his personal pad interrupted him. He took it out of his other pocket and looked at it. First he frowned and then his mood suddenly lightened up. He turned and showed Ian the pad, containing a message. "Seems Reverie got avenged, although it does not fix anything on her, nor is able to bring back all the people," he chuckled, "but nevertheless, it makes good hearing."
He took another mouthful of the whiskey, put away his personal pad and turned again to the admiring view. "So, let's talk about some numbers, shall we?" he faced Ian again and was suddenly more a business man than a captain, "I know that at this early state you can't say anything definitive, nor would I expect it. Much is uncertain and there are many factors which will show up over time that neither Stevan nor any of your men will notice at first. But an overall estimation of the time and costs should be possible, shouldn't it?"
He smiled, drained his glass and put it down.
