The Engineering Episode
28 Jan 2022Aurora Bael
Felicity Farseer is a goddamn treasure.I arrived late for my appointment by several weeks in a different ship than I had originally scheduled, and still she took me in. We chatted a while over coffee about where I'd been and what I'd seen. She was very interested in my idea about taking constellations as seen from Sol and using them as a road map for short term exobiology and stellar cartography expeditions. Said something like "I'm sure that would give those poor land-locked core systems worlds a sense of perspective!" But of course when she asked if she could buy the data from me, I didn't have any to give her.
"I sorta... Died," I finally admitted.
She chuckled into her coffee, nodded and said, "Yeah... That'll happen." And that was it. No questions no probing, no asking what I meant. "yeah, that'll happen" like it was just a fact of the universe. It was...comforting, in a way. There's this air about her, like she has seen things that would turn a lesser woman's stomach and dove back in for seconds. The smell of the frontier hangs thick around her, with a distinct undertone of a lost and simpler time when the galaxy was new and begging to be seen. For her to shrug off the idea of surviving your own death just...fits. Might have happened to her before, too, but I didn't ask.
After the chat it only took a few minutes to describe what I wanted done, negotiate the pay, and hand her the fob so her team could get to work without the alarms going off. Within the first dozen hours, Asmodai already looked completely different than she did when I landed. I asked Ms. Farseer, and apparently she wasn't happy with the simulations of atmospheric flight and landing with the new thruster tuning I had requested. So for no extra charge, she added stabilizers, ailerons, and a rear spoiler to improve the Krait's naturally shitty aerodynamics. "A smaller ship wouldn't need them," she said folding her arms and admiring her design as it took shape. "Or one that just stayed in space. But with all those landings, you'll appreciate the extra control. Trust me."
Of course I trust her. And it's hard to argue the result.
After two days in drydock I was getting antsy and jonesing for a smoke. Only problem is all the places it's possible to breathe at Farseer Inc. are non-smoking, non-vaping, no airborne drugs of any kind zones. So I snuck into an unused bay to light up quick. Damn near had a heart attack when this squirrely little thing said "This is a No Smoking Area," right over my shoulder. When I was done crawling back into my skin I saw she had popped open a wiring panel and was diverting a CCTV feed to her personal tablet. To watch them work on her ship two bays over. "I won't tell if you won't," I said, and she smirked and tossed me an unopened pack and a lighter.
Mouse... Said her name was Mouse. I don't believe it for a second, but who tf am I to judge? Cute little thing, too. Short, stacked, a little too chipper. I got the feeling she's not in the business of letting people inside, and I can respect that. We chat a while and wouldn't you know it, she's just joined up with the same squadron as me, The Stellar Cartographers' Guild. She's a straight-up explorer, almost never lands, just scan, map, and go after the next beautiful stellar vista.
"I love my DBX," she says all wistful. "I can't imagine exploring in anything else." I leave out the dirty details, but I tell her I needed something bigger for all the equipment I'm purchasing for my research. She seems confused until I start telling her that the main reason I'm exploring is my hunt for new forms of life. She smiles like she's about to say something fun about aliens, but with a glance at her screen, she starts cursing in German (who the fuck still speaks German?!) talking about how techs never install her FSDs correctly and how she'll be spending a month or more sorting out all their mistakes. I bite my tongue about how professionals probably know what they're doing. But I notice on her screen she's not here tricking out a DBX at all. Nope, it's a goddamn Challenger. "So? Variety is the spice of life!" She says and immediately I can tell she's an Earther. Who fucking says that shit? Down-homey ass Earthers, that's who. I look again and there's a goddamn Federation emblem right on the nose of her ship. I must have been snarling because she asked me what was up. I think I made a crack about bootlicking fascist-enabling liberal governments stealing a good Alliance ship and to her credit, she kept her cool. Said she could respect the ideas the Alliance promoted, but more than that, she just really liked Lakon Spaceways. Of course I had to agree.
... I gotta chill the fuck out about politics. I stand to make a lot of enemies if I keep that shit up. Dammit, Rory, remember who to be mad at. The people are mostly mislead. It's the leaders who are to blame. Anyway Mouse gave me a frequency to reach her on and I gave her mine and we promised to meet up next time we pass through the Squadron's home system for a drink or something. So check it out! I made a proper friend for the first time in a long time.
...Shame it's going to be a while until I get a chance to see her. Now that I'm back in the bubble, I'm starting to feel that itch on my trigger finger...
I better call Bob. I think it's time the two of us get a little work done. For old times' sake.
Till then: stay frosty,
- Rory