Carcosa housecleaning pt.1; New arrivals
23 Sep 2021Nathan Atterlein
"Jess, uh... about that arc welder."No response, only radio static for a good ten seconds.
"You forgot the carabiner again, haven't you?" she sighed.
The conversation stopped there. Time stood still for a moment, under the many stars of the Eol Prou sector. The arc welder was floating further away by the minute. Silence enveloped the commander in his maverick suit. Only the loud thud of metal remained audible for him, as he slowly made his way toward the airlock of the carrier. Awkward silence during the agonizingly long trek out of space exposure.
"That god damn carabiner."
The entrance keypad could do with a bit of maintenance as well. After multiple attempts at punching in the correct combination, the metal structure finally yielded to its master's command. As the gap between the sliding panels increased to size a human can fit through, Nate slipped into the airlock, initiating the pressurization process immediately just to save time with the unbearably slow mechanism. As the doors closed, and the room filled up with air, the local speakers began buzzing with radio static once again.
"This is the sixth time you lose it. You're not going out on another spacewalk until you get another welder. And this ship can fall to pieces, for all i care."
"I know you do, this is pretty much your home, after all." he smirked.
After a few seconds of silence, the reply followed.
"Would say keep your snarky remarks to yourself, but the audio receiver is completely fried in your compartment, hope you enjoy yourself."
The smirk degraded into a less amused expression.
"Not sure what I was expecting after traversing tens of thousands of light-years to this place." he mumbled.
As the airlock greenlit passage to the hallways of the Rocher, Nate lifts his face.
"But it was well worth the trip, after all.
The lounge area was usually bustling with activity around this time. Situated right next to the bar Tortuga, it's never a surprise to see all sorts of weirdos appear in the vicinity for a refreshment. Business was mostly conducted in the area as well, since there is really no need for formalities among scoundrels such as the Crimson Privateers, and the people they associate with. Groups of people such as liberated imperial slaves, kumo crew members, that forgot to set their alarm clocks to a time before the departure initiated to Carcosa. Representatives of the ones referred to as The Nameless, who are very much appreciative of the Rocher's presence, after receiving help with eradicating the dictatorial control over their home system. Anarchists from all around the bubble, impossible to name individually, but as a unit regarded similarly as the ones they're here in service of.
The Nameless
Nathan walks into the bar, sits down to a table right next to the entrance, occupied by a red haired woman. They greet eachother with a nod, then proceed to listen to the crowd. Nate breaks the silence after a few seconds.
"I got the welder. Scooped it up before it got out of sensor range."
She didn't respond.
"I'm not losing it again, I swear." he smiled playfully.
"You better not." -she growled- "I hope you're doing you political affairs with at least a tiny bit more professionality than your shipkeeping."
A few seconds pass in silence, once again.
"We have a lot of work to do. And I'm not only referring to the carriers repairs." she notes, with a lighter tone.
"But we're not on the clock." -Nathan exclaims, while leaning back in his armchair- "We can do this months on end. It's not like this is our first dance with a large organization. This is mostly why all of you are here in the first place. Don't tell me you're already folding under pressure"
"I'm not. It's just that..." -she paused for a moment- "you're idiotic behavior can get extremely exhausting sometimes."
"Can't help with that." -Nate smiles, slowly standing up from his rest- "I'm going off to Asura for a time. I trust you'll keep everything under control while I'm out."
She nods, also getting up, stretching her back. "Don't get blown to pieces, idiot!”
They depart in opposite directions.