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[NOVA] Someone's Engineering with Dinah (K 1.3)
Ksenia, it's the morning after the dinner party. You have one advantage that people with actual digestive systems lack: no lingering effects. You had a miserable hour after leaving the dinner last night, but once it was over, it was over. Mei, on the other hand rolled out of the bottom bunk (the bottom bunk!) looking like pure hell and stumbled for the Refresher just in time for her morning workout date with Sung.
What's your morning routine, Ksenia?
You know Dinah will be in Engineering. Even last night, during dinner, you noticed that she had Engineering readouts slaved subtly to one of the screens in the room. She seems relaxed and in charge, and despite how attractive she was in last night's green sheath dress, she wears her well-worn coveralls like skin. She looks up as you pause at the door and smiles, in a sharp contrast to your first meeting with her here, just over a week ago.
"Cribbage. Recovered?" There's no apology, she's not concerned that it was something she or Dai did that made you sick, and no frustration at your abrupt exit.
What's your morning routine, Ksenia?
You know Dinah will be in Engineering. Even last night, during dinner, you noticed that she had Engineering readouts slaved subtly to one of the screens in the room. She seems relaxed and in charge, and despite how attractive she was in last night's green sheath dress, she wears her well-worn coveralls like skin. She looks up as you pause at the door and smiles, in a sharp contrast to your first meeting with her here, just over a week ago.
"Cribbage. Recovered?" There's no apology, she's not concerned that it was something she or Dai did that made you sick, and no frustration at your abrupt exit.
Comments
Yeah. Bottom bunk. I was pretty clear that it was my bunk. I didn't even see her in there until I'd already scooted in. Our shoulders touched, that was it. She was completely out of it, didn't even stir. I considered picking her up and depositing her gently on top bunk, but then I'd have to put "the arm" on, and that's a whole mess. My tummy still felt a little bit off and I just climbed up to crash above her.
Morning was much better. My systems kicked in at 0445, and I was up, sliding out of bed to make sure I was gone before Mei. I know, it's petty, but I like the idea of being the hardest worker around. I poured a nice glass of cool water for Mei, moved a chair over near her bedside and set the glass there. Three glasses of wine, she'll be dehydrated, I bet.
I don't bother showering or eating before a workout. Since there's a nice long corridor in front of the bunks that leads through the common room, down between the gym and med bay, then back around past engineering, I jog enough laps to equate a 15K hump. I run a 5 minute km, so I'm done in less than an hour and a half. By then, I've got a good lather worked up, so I head into the room to grab my shower stuff. Mei's gone by then, so I snag my tower, shower shoes and uni, then hit the refresher.
My routine is pretty standard on ship. Run three days a week, weight lifting and cardio the other days, always at least ninety minutes. I like having patterns, it helps me feel comfortable wherever I am. I charted out my little running path as soon as I saw the Jane's deck plans.
I've had my paste and brushed my teeth by the time I come in on Lourdes in Engineering. I'm feeling brand new, and yeah, she's cool not to give me hell about my sudden exit at dinner. I answer her with a curt nod, "Aye aye, right as rain."
Since she's very organized, I give Dinah some space. I hang by the door, reaching up to a pipe with my left hand to sort of hang out. "What's on the schedule this morning? Need any help with anything?"
She pulls out her tablet, nods to the cleared-off worktable. "You up for a game? We could link our tablets again, play head-to-head. Nothing as intense as last time. My head still hurts from the righteous beating you gave me in A-Runners 4-D." She brightens with a thought. "You ever play video Pyramid? I've got the official League-licensed game. Even paid for it. Never used the head-to-head mode, though. Zoo thinks I'm wasting my time. I can scroll the FTL status ticker on my screen just in case."
I follow her look to the worktable, then head over. "Pyramid? That sounds fun. You'l have to show me how it works. A couple guys from my old unit were into Gen 1 of it, but I was all in on fantasy gravball and I even played on an amateur team then. You know, just messin' around." That's a total lie, we were the best gravball team in the division. Those asshats brought me on because it was co-ed, but by the time we got to the semis, I was outscoring most of them.
"I get you on double and triple-checking." I say it casual when I pull a seat up to the worktable and wait for her to link up. "Routines are good."
I let her show me the ropes, spend my time quietly watching, asking a few questions, just to make sure I get it. It's tricky stuff, less twitch, more finesse. I think she'll get her come=uppance.
"How long have you and Zoo worked together? And how'd you land the Jane? She's a mighty fine ship." My questions are genuine. I'm quite curious, pretty sure it doesn't come across as small talk bravo sierra.
Then she proceeds to tell you a story of how the two of them wound up owning the Stalker Jane, four years ago. It is a complicated and improbable story, loaded with profanity and coincidence. Some of the elements include shore leave on a pleasure orbital, a midget, a game of poker, three cigars, a strip club named Lucky Wanker's, and, of all things, a defrocked Reformed Buddhist monk. She ends with, "So Zoo tells him, you'll get your pants and your prayer beads back when you sign over the title. A bet's a bet! So he did." She's got tears of laughter running down her face from telling this story, and she obviously gives not one shit whether you believe her or not.
Ksenia, how's the game going? You getting the hang of it?
I'm laughing at her story the whole time. This girl can spin a yarn. It's probably a bunch of bravo sierra, but hell, I like it. Interesting bit about the Merchant Space Academy. That means neither of them are military. Not sure how I feel about that. Could be good to just get away from the whole deal.
I don't mention that Merchant Space Academy was my fallback option. I don't think it would sound right.
Video Pyramid is pretty sweet. I think gravball is a derivative, like rugby and football. Not sure which came first. I've got the hang of it. "So you two own this ship free and clear?"
"Nope. Let's say she was a fixer-upper. Her bones were good, and the FTL is still cherry, had just been overhauled before we took possession. We've got a note with Wuxing, should be paid off in another six years if we keep getting the runs. Four if they're all like this one, whatever it turns out to actually be."
She turns it around. "Do you owe anyone for your cyber? Looks milspec, the arm anyway, and you carry yourself like a Marine. You have any debt to the military?"
Mistake. A frakking mistake. Stupid fingers.
"Ah, so the M-T contract is sweet." I comment. I figured they didn't entertain like that often. "Good. I hope this is a milk run and you two get good marks from Church. He's a pretty good boss. As tight as you two run the Jane, I think you're on the right track."
She asks about my arm, and I look down at it. And she frafking scores on me! "Damn!" I don't complain. No do-overs.
In answer to her question, "I was Space Corps. Sanchez and I signed up at the same time. Met him at the recruitment office, actually, right before we shipped out. We parted ways after Basic, each got different assignments." Ha! Now I scored on you, you redheaded witch.
"The Corps was good to me." I tell her, my normal routine. "I flew all over the galaxy, did lots of interesting shit that I'll take to my grave, and pretty much loved it. Then one mission went tits up and I got blown to hell. Ended up all cybered up."
Now for the rough part, "It took me a while to... adjust. Bunch of bureaucratic bullshit happened, and I found myself out of the Corps with a medical discharge. Good news?" I hold up my arm, "As long as I take SecOps jobs like this or do non-merc work, my cyber is mine, free and clear. Bad news? The upkeep and maintenance is on me. And it aint cheap."
It feels a little like a job interview, and a little like a blind date right now. You know what? Scratch the date thing. "Nothing I couldn't drop out of, with a damn good offer." Then I push my offense forward real hard, hoping that took her off balance.
"Something's pinging the SAD monitor, entanglement blinked for a fraction of a second. Check the Entropy Curve, would you?" She points to a screen a few feet away that has flared to life with a set of complex graphs and a scrolling series of numbers.
For a moment, I wonder if she might be trying to distract me, but I cast it aside. Per her instructions, I hop up from my seat to check the display. "Anything in particular to look for?"
Looks like it might be time to roll the dice.
Challenge: (Rolled: 2d6. Rolls: 6, 2. Total: 8)
Lourdes: no roll
Duty: (Rolled: 1d8. Rolls: 5. Total: 5)
Starship Ops: (Rolled: 1d8. Rolls: 7. Total: 7)
Dinah: (Rolled: 1d8. Rolls: 3. Total: 3)
Cybernetics: (Rolled: 1d8. Rolls: 2. Total: 2)
"UH huh," I say as if I don't believe her (I do). "You conjured this pulsar on the sensors because I was kicking your ass. Again." I chuckle. Sorry, I'm competitive, it's a thing I do.
As we're focused on the shape of this plane, I ask her curiously, "The thing last night with Sanchez. Were you goofing around, or are you actually interested?" I'm not looking at her. My tone is light. I'm not prying, I'm just making conversation.
Man, she has him pegged. "Sanchez? Frak no. Shit, we were in Basic. I've seen him whine like a puppy and puke after a 50 klick hump. The last thing I want is to be intimate with the guy."
I like Dinah, but there's no way I'm telling her about how extensive my cybernetic replacements are. That I haven't had plans for any side of beef in a very long time. Hell, it was hard enough asking about her plans for Sanchez.
"He's a fling kind of guy, though. You've got him nailed to the wall there." I figure that puts that to bed. I hope.
I'll throw her an abrupt subject change, "Married twice? How'd that go down?"
There's clearly something unsaid in that last sentence. "What about you? Romance? Back in the day, or... someone special now?"
"Damn, girl," I react to the two husband story, "That's some awful luck." Ugh, she's turning this back on me? Why did I not see this coming?
It's easy enough to talk about my history. I rattle it off, "Back in the day? Some fun on furlough. There was one guy who was pretty special, but then I was shipped out for a year and he moved on. It was mostly bad timing and always moving around, you know? I didn't have time for somebody serious, didn't want to settle while I was climbing through the ranks." I snort derisively, "Not like I'm pulling a Sung and bumping uglies with a squaddie. That never works out. It's like, shitting where you eat, man.... no offense to Sung. But well, you know how that worked out" Oof, that's a conversation killer.
I shift a bit, swallow, shrug. But she's still waiting for an answer about now. I see it. "There's... there's nobody special now, no." I look over at the Video Pyramid screen. I don't want to talk about this, it's still raw.
She moves back to the table, raises her eyebrows at you like, "Ready?" and unpauses the game. As you both get back into the rhythm, she asks, "What about Mei? I've seen the way she looks at you, like you're a big sister, primary school crush and commanding officer all at once. She's pretty..."
I nod when Dinah's ready to play. I'm soooo ready to play. Then she asks me about Mei. That floors me. And yeah, she slips a score in on me. Damn.
I'm not pausing the game! I keep playing, "Mei's like a little sister. I-I love her, but, you know, not like that." I feint with the ball, then set up a sweep, "I don't think she's interested, either. She's just, you know, really sweet. I'm pretty sure she's more into Sanchez." I glance up, "Or you." There, how's that hit you, Dinah? "You into girls?" Abrupt subject change again, the person asking questions is in charge.
She gets swept away in thoughts of penis and you score two, easy, in quick succession, just before the final buzzer sounds. Ksenia 11, Dinah 9. "Hey, that was low, Cribbage. Making me think about sex, and then putting it in the hole. Twice."
She reaches across the table to shake your hand in congratulations for the victory. "And don't think I'm off your whole love life situation. I am notoriously nosy. And interfering."
I didn't think mentioning girls to her would throw her into a tizzy, but yes, I took advantage of her distraction. It was probably overkill, the second goal. But, you know, insurance.
Dinah offers to shake, and she puts forth her right hand, naturally. That's nice. Some folks get worried about shaking hands with my cybernetic arm. I shake her hand with the same pressure she offers, no more. Her warning about being nosy gives me an opening.
I might as well just tell her. "Listen. There's nothing at all interesting about my love life. I haven't been with anyone since I got these" I look to my arm, then down to my leg. Back up to her, "My body's way more frakked up that you'd think. So I'm celibate. It's a choice." There, that was straightforward. No tells, flinching or whatever. And it's true. Celibate. Choice. All true.
"Listen, Dinah." I say it calmer than I thought it would come out. "I like you. I want us to be friends. But I'm not going to saddle somebody with... me. There's a reason the Corps let me go, alright? M-T might look the other way, but I'm seriously damaged goods. It's not about my broken heart. It's better this way." I scoot back the chair, it sounds loud on the metal floor. Stand up. I need to go, I think.
Then I'm out of there. I need to clear my head.
--End Scene--