Fiction Fragment Friday
It was pointed out to me that I needed a bit more character development for Royce (Ro) Southerland in this series. I have a lot of backstory for here that may eventually come out, but that needs to be organic. The goal of this week was to further craft the voice of my bridge crew and how they interact with Captain Moss. It is also moving forward one of the themes I’ve been trying to build on from the first few stories.
World and character building continue to be my first focus while laying seeds for upcoming plots.
“Have you ever wondered why they paint ships grey?” The bridge had been silent for a while as we all went about our routine. Pablo had been hard at work coding some data automations I had requested and was lost to the system. Miss Southerland was working on her novel’s final editing pass. She had offered to let me read it when she finished and I was intrigued until I found out she had based some of the characters on her fellow crewmates. I wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate to read it knowing that. I had been trying to figure out how to make the ship stand out among the listing for cargo vessels when the question had wormed its way into my mind and would not let me focus on anything else.
“Sir?” Miss Southerland’s head tilted a bit to the right as she turned to look at me. It was a completely understandable look of confusion.
“Grey Miss Southerland. Every ship I have ever served aboard or booked travel on was painted grey. I was just wondering why that would be. Is the grey pigment cheaper to buy in bulk? Did someone pass a regulation I’ve never heard about? Maybe there is some heat dispersal purpose. There must be some reason.”
“I don’t think it’s a regulation,” added Pablo without ever raising his eyes from the workstation. “My Papi won tickets for us on a cruise ship as a kid. The thing was as white as could be with a giant cartoon mouse on the side. To be honest I thought it was kind of dumb. If the docking ring hadn’t had portholes we never would have seen the artwork.”
“Miss Southerland why do you think ships are grey?”
“I’ve never really thought about it. I guess because they are. I mean early on the first ships being built were grey for some reason, so they just kept being grey. No one asked why they just did it that way because that’s how it was always done.”
“A bit cynical but makes a lot of sense. How about you Pablo? Why do you think they’re grey?”
He actually stopped typing for a moment and glanced back at me. “It has to be for efficiency or cost. The shipyards set a default, so they don’t have to switch out colors and take downtime recalibrating. It’s all automated so the fewer variables the more efficient. “
“Not a bad suggestion.” I hit a button on my tablet to open a communication channel to Cargo Chief Louise. “Chief I want to get your opinion on something we have been wondering about up here on the bridge. Are you busy?”
I heard pots and pans clanking in the background and remembered that she was scheduled for a cooking class today. We had four crew members who had signed up and were showing interest in the galley. I had not worked out how we would free them from their regular duties to take shifts, but Chief Louise assured me that she and the rest of my senior staff had an idea they would share once it was fully fleshed out. “Just doing clean up after class sir. What’s on your mind?”
“Why do you think most ships are painted grey? Why not black, blue, or any other color?”
“Grey seems like a good canvas. You can paint names, logos, and registry IDs and they probably won’t clash or blend in.”
The voice of my Chief engineer Marsha Burton came over the line telling me she was in the galley with Louise as well. “I always thought it was because grey hides the micro meteor impact scars better. Either that or thermal balance. If you painted a ship black it would absorb too much solar radiation. Grey is a good middle ground. It radiates evenly so the hull isn’t stressed as much moving from direct sunlight to indirect.
“I hadn’t really thought about either of those ideas. Thanks for humoring me. Moss out.”
I sat there contemplating for a moment before Miss Southerland turned and asked, “Well sir what do you think the answer is?”
“Well Miss Southerland I find that most things are done for multiple reasons without people fully understanding why. I suspect there is something to your inertia hypothesis, Pablo’s efficiency idea, and the aesthetic reasons our chiefs gave. I also think most people don’t really want to put a spotlight on themselves. Grey is safe. If everyone else is grey they blend in. It’s the one ship that is blue that all eyes will be on.”
“That’s certainly true. My sister had blue hair for a while and with Mom trying to make sure we all looked prim and proper she certainly stood out. She loved it though. Some people thrive in the spotlight.”
“Do you think we are in the spotlight Miss Southerland?”
“Well, our reputation certainly stands out and the company keeps a close eye on us.”
“True. We are also one of the few Scuttlebee class star ships still operating as far as I know and those olive-green uniforms are uniquely hideous. Of course, the uniforms might make people look away instead of towards the crew.”
“Well, they’re not good for finding a date on the station that’s for sure. You already ordered new suits though.”
I made a few notes on my tablet as I let the ideas form in my head. “The Oddity already stands out for being different. It gives us an identity. Now how can we mold that image into one that still makes us stand out, but also makes people want to spend money with us. I have a lot of plans, but we need to improve profits before I can invest much more. “
To my surprise Pablo jumped in before Miss Southerland could. “So, you want to lean into being unique, but spin that as a positive to potential customers while minimizing our many well-known negatives. That is not going to be an easy task sir.”
“No, it is not. I think we need to ask ourselves what makes this ship special and who do we want to be? I for one don’t want to be another grey ship in the dark that they can keep ignoring when they aren’t looking down at us. I want to be a Navy Blue ship that is proud of its differences and demands to be seen.”
“Do you really think a paint job is going to be enough to change our image? Maybe we should just paint ‘We’re Not That Bad’ across the hull.” Miss Southerland looked at me incredulously.
“Of course not. The only thing that can change our image is us, but color is a statement. Your sister knew that. It isn’t just what we are telling everyone else either. It is a message to us that we are done hiding.”
“That’s all well and good sir, but how will it make the ship money?” Of course, Pablo would cut right to the core issue I was really struggling with. The entire paint color conversation was my own way to distract myself from the frustration of not being able to figure out the solution to the profit issues. I was starting to realize that I didn’t understand the problem I needed to solve.
It was Miss Southerland who saved me from my spiral into hopelessness. “Marketing. It’s like a book cover. Make yourself stand out so they look closer. We have to build a solid track record and offer some different services, but no one will ever know if we don’t stand out on a list.”
“Exactly Miss Southerland, and that is why are going to find a way to game the system and change our ship registry from Odyssey to Oddity.” The full plan started to develop in my head as I spoke. “Let’s get our Chief’s up here and get to scheming. Odd isn’t enough. We’re going to be unforgettable.”