As it happened, Dayton colony was currently aligned with Regina, and as such, the trip took little more than a day. During that time, Jason and Rick had relatively little chance to get to know their new traveling companions before the ship landed. About the only thing that they knew was that the boy could cook.

It had been quite the scene when Jason had stepped out of the cockpit to find young Mathew Hawkins standing in front of the stove. There was a pot of boiling liquid looking much to close to boiling over for Jason’s comfort and a skillet filled with crackling hot oil in which several balls of some type of protein or other were rapidly browning. The sink was filled with more soiled bowls and other cooking implements than it had ever been in the short time Jason had owned the boat.

“What in the sphincter o hell you think you’re doing boy,” exclaimed Jason. “Trying to set my ship a’fire.”

The boy jumped at the sound of his voice. “Sorry, sir,” said the boy, now frightened that he had done something wrong. “Just thought I’d make dinner for you’all. Didn’t mean to step outa bounds.”

Jason was about to reply when the sound of boots on ladder rungs issued from the double bunk that Jason had allocated to the boy and his mother earlier in the day.

“My son causing trouble, sir?” asked Linda Hawkins as she climbed up into view.

“Dunno, is he safe to be doing that?”

“What,” the woman looked to her son, “Cooking? He’s been doing that most of his life. Been workin’ in the kitchens since he was six. Don’t worry sir, he won’t burn your ship down.”

“Good to hear,” Jason was still not convinced. “See that he don’t.”

The meal had turned out surprisingly well. Certainly better than anything that Jason or Rick had yet put together, seeing as neither had any talent in the kitchen. Most of the time dinner for them had consisted of cold protein bars and cider.

Jason had at one point, about two weeks back, gotten the idea in his head to use the stove to turn one of those cold pr