The Nomad

Steky took the transport tube from the station hangar to the Nomad Class Jump Freighter.  The interior of the translucent plexisteel had indicators where you could swipe your hand to turn portions of the wall transparent. This was seldom done, as the spherical transport rotated swiftly to counteract the g-forces as it wound its way through the station and across the umbilical to the great ship. It was so precise that so long as you couldn't see, the ride felt like a standard elevator in a planetside high rise. 
 
The hatch opened and Steky stepped out onto what appeared to be a balcony overlooking the vast docking bay of the station hangar.  There was a complex system of automated docking equipment for cargo containers, but she didn't see any ships.  In fact, the entire bay was empty besides the equipment.
 
"Where are the ships? Where is the nomad?"
 
The sales agent looked at her with a quizzical expression on his face, "Pilot, you are aboard the Nomad."
 
Steky gripped the steel support, even though thick plexisteel separated her from the dizzying drop of thousands of feet and her face turned pale.  The sense of scale was something she had never experienced firsthand, not only because she had not piloted a ship of this magnitude, but because her person had been isolated in her pod and senses extended through the neural network of the ships she piloted.  Now she stood disconnected, and had to take in the vast size of the Nomad's cargo bay through her naked senses. 
 
She consciously released her grip on the support, and took asserted her control over both herself and the situation, ordering the first officer to report to the bridge.  Turning on her heel, she stepped back into the transport.
 
"First Officer... is it Soderstrom?"
 
"Aye Captain, but you can call me Lars"
 
"I am not your Captain yet, Lars, but send me a report on the condition of this ship by 1900 hours. Make sure it is complete and honest, because you don't want to have to revise it after I become your captain.  If your report indicates that the ship is in less than satisfactory condition, and I do not make the purchase, I am sure that your current employer will be less than pleased with you." Steky gave the agent a sharp eye.  "In that case enough funds will be wired to your account that you won't need to work for some time, and I will provide you and your family a private shuttle to another system.  If your report is inaccurate, the shuttle you take will deliver your remains to your family."
 
First Officer Soderstrom saluted, and went off to prepare his report.
 
Steky turned to the agent, "If his report is acceptable, the funds will be wired to escrow by 2400 hours. I will be performing my own inspection in the meantime."
 
"Of course, Pilot. I will return to my offices to await your decision"
 
Steky pulled on a set of crewman's overalls and spent the next 8 hours inspecting the important subsystems of the ship in person, starting with the engine room and capacitor control section.  Nobody noticed her, and she listened to their conversations to try to judge the moral of the crew for herself.
 
At 18.47 the First Officer transmitted his report.  It included subsections from the various bureaucratic heads aboard the ship.  The crew aboard this particular Nomad consisted mostly of Minmatar Thukkers.  They were culturally conditioned for life aboard a jumpship, which was important to peaceful and efficient operation.  The crew consisted of 3,721 crew with 5,764 dependents for a total of almost 10,000 lives aboard.  As the ship's capsuleer, Steky was chief executive but would rarely interact with what amounted to a town government, complete with legislative and judicial branches. If the ship's social government did its job properly that is.  The ship officers formed the executive branch, and it was their responsibility to ensure that all systems aboard the ship were maintained in top working order to function on command from the pilot. 
 
Life aboard a jumpship is unlike anywhere else, mostly due to the practical considerations of jump travel.  Once a person joined such a ship, it was usually for life... and the lives of their families and children.  For if one disembarked, they would forever lose contact with their loved ones that remained aboard, their destinies branching into separate timestreams the moment the ship took its next jump.  Due to relativity, months or even years would pass for those that disembarked, in what was a short milk run for the jumpship between regions of the galaxy. For parents, it was particularly difficult to leave a child at university, and at the next station receive message transmissions that the student had graduated, married, or had children of their own.  For this reason one often found multiple generations of crew serving aboard a ship like the Nomad. 
 
Steky's thoughts returned to the report.  The crew was relatively light. It had been docked in Jita for several years and 7.4 percent of the crew had taken other employment during that time.  They had not been replaced as the ship was waiting for sale.  Otherwise, there had been no recent upheaval aboard, and all the ship's subsystems were in excellent condition.  Lars, the First Officer, did make a note that the ship had served as a ferry between gated systems in empire, and that few aboard had much experience operating or maintaining the ship's jumpdrive. That said, it had been maintained according to specifications and the maintenance schedule.  Lars warned that even he hadn't jumped in more than a decade, but was up to the challenge if the Captain had confidence in him.
 
Steky smiled and sent her final approval for the sale to both the sales agent and the escrow company.  She was amazed to see the reply message appear almost instantly with the transfer codes to the ship computer.  She entered the code, and immediately her name appeared on the header of the console and over the archway to the stateroom.  She sent out the message to prepare for jump in 24 hours.  It was time the crew start learning about life in Atlas.