(This is a prequel to my story "Legally Human" I wrote some years back.) "I had just gotten a full upgrade and refit and additional program skills. By then I had been in service for about a thousand years and that meant I was going to be used in a more dynamic way. The impirium naval command brevetted me to Sub altern. It's kinda like an ensign but for droids. I was originally going to be assigned to a destroyer as a captains code key but something happened and I was temporarily assigned to a civilian merchant marine vessel as a security pilot. My mission was to ensure that this civilian craft flew it's flight plan and linked up with another ship then deliver what was put on board. This was the first time I was programed and skill-set to kill if certain parameters were met. The civilian vessel was a 200tn far trader, Empress Marava class. She was named "Dragonsflame" and was owned by a retired Merchant Marine named Darryl Tolk. Apparently he had done work with the higher and more shadowy people in the Impirium as this particular mission was generally never done by civilians. I wasn't sure what to expect from this Captain or his crew. While I almost never serviced civilians the few I had were rather rough. When I reported aboard I found a well run in ship but impeccably clean and smart. Clearly this Captain cared a great deal about his ship. I also met his first officer Rick Stewart, he seemed a little swarthy and shady and entirely unsure about what i was there for. The Captain on the other hand seemed to little notice of the fact I was a droid. He didn't like sub altern for some reason and insisted on calling me ensign. I had to admit from the start despite the possibility of having to terminate him I liked him. The mission itself was rather uneventful. I did most of the piloting as the Captain preferred to wander about the ship and the engineering space making adjustments. The first officer seemed to spend most of the flight in the computer room or once we took on our cargo in the cargo space in a environment suit armed as if he was going to invade Zholdane. While I would find that Stewart to be a rather nice human and would not have minded if he desired some personal service. He seemed very aware of how dangerous the mission was. Captain Tolk on the other hand seemed to be completely oblivious to the situation and seemed to be totally at ease. His only concern seemed to be the ship and the crew that did not come along on this flight. He would sit with me in the co-pilot seat and between flight-deck checks and course corrections would engage in small talk. He was quite interested in me as a droid as he had never worked with one. He posed his questions very carefully, like I was a real person about how long I had been in service and some of the assignments I had been posted to. He seemed rather pleased that I had progressed this far. He even asked what my plan was once I became legally human. He also seemed to fully understand why I was assigned to the ship and oddly, it didn't bother him. The Dragonsflame picked up and delivered its classified cargo with almost no a hitch. There was a brush with what was likely a pirate vessel but the Captain and I were able to maneuver away without being seen. But what stuck with me was that It had been the first time I was seen and treated like a human being. It was also the first time I felt sad having to return to regular duty. Captain Tolk told me at first i though was a joke. He told me to look up his family after I made legal human. That he had something he wanted me to have but it would need to wait until my service to the Navy was complete. At the time I though it funny as it was unlikely I would. 500 years later i would learn that one human told me the truth, and meant it." -Captain Melody Eurkas, Dragonsflame