Chapter Text
“That's the answer I was looking for.” Kadet scans the workshop of her friend. “I've had enough of spacer bathrooms for a lifetime.”
After traveling across the Belt while being wanted for confidential data that may hide the truth about a corporate war in motion, Kadet felt it was only fair for her to take a break from that madness for a while being on board of Sleeper's Rig.
She has to admit: she much prefers to be zooming around in her airbike instead of locking herself in a ship with people she doesn't know heading to places she knows much less. But Kadet's carrier on the Far Spindle is gone, alongside the chance of going back to residing there for the time being. Any other stations are either too small to roam, have incredibly poor infrastructure or don't have that “city” feel to them. She has a chance of getting her life back in Darkside, and from the looks of it, her sleeper friend is looking forward to visiting it soon. Kadet feels like she has to pay back all the help she got from Sleeper, especially after pulling her along her dangerous adventure. So… working for them on any contracts might do the job.
“I'll make myself at home on your Rig.” Kadet picks up the Hexport drive and tucks it in a pocket.
Glancing one last time around the workshop, she looks at the rack on the wall where her airbike is safely secured and located. The Sleeper's eyes follow her gaze along.
Kadet gives them a hard look. “You better have room for my bike.”
Sleeper stares back, a little concerned as they realize that Kadet wouldn't be so easily separated from her bike.
“...Maybe. You’d have to look around, sorry.” They answer awkwardly after a few seconds of thoughtful silence.
“Sick.” She kicks off from the wall next to her, ready to pick up her airbike and get moving. “I'll be on my way then.” Kadet waves off, pulling the open framed object from her back and hopping into it once she is out of the workshop, daftly speeding away.
Kadet arrives at the Rig after a good while looking around for the ship, briefly wondering why she didn't just wait for Sleeper to show the way. However, she manages to find the docked ship, with its entrance already open, and carefully carries her airbike in so as to not knock off loose cables or crooked panels. When looking around where to go next, she sees a figure approach from the cockpit, distractedly looking to the side.
“Sleeper… We need to talk about–” He almost bumps into Kadet, but catches himself back. “Oh, what the–?”
“Oops, my bad.” Kadet floats back from blocking the door. The young man with short light hair and bright eyes kept staring at her, puzzled.
“Haven’t seen you around…” He raised an eyebrow out of suspicion. “Why are you on our ship? New crew, or what?”
Kadet raises her arms, taken off-guard by his tone of voice. “Whoa, Sleeper just invited me in! I'm friend!” The man crosses his arm defensively, and she signals to outside the door. “They helped me back in the Far Spindle with something big, so I felt like joining y'all to repay the favor. I'm Kadet.”
He analyses the ex-courrier for a while, letting out a sigh as he does. She has seen him a couple of times before and assumes he might be close to the Sleeper, and most probably the pilot of the ship.
“...Yeah, sorry. Maybe I heard Sleeper mention you.” The guy rubs his temples “Too many people, too many problems… I'll just trust you won't be trouble.” He looks up at Kadet again, his expression a bit more relaxed. “The name's Serafin.”
Kadet nods reassuringly “Don't worry, all the troubles I could bring were left at the Far Spindle. I am clean for now.”
Serafin grimaces, an unmistakable hint of doubt still in his eyes “...Right.”
He kicks off towards outside in a rush, speeding past Kadet. “Anyways, I have to find the Sleeper. Don't go snooping around.”
“Will do.” Kadet answers, even though she doubts that Serafin heard her. Despite his defensive, and potentially territorial display, she can't blame him for his worries, as the Belt is full of opportunists up to no good. She knows it will take time for her to get acquainted with her new crewmates and feel at home on the ship.
Right, she needs to know more about the ship and find somewhere to keep her airbike for the time being. Kadet thought of asking Serafin, but he left so quickly that she had to return to exploring the ship on her own.
She carefully pushed through the corridors, leading herself away from the cockpit, assuming that she'll find other rooms if she followed that way. As she deftly floated, one of her hands traced the walls of the ship as she looked around, noticing the mix of strained panels and pipes, and carefully repaired metal structures.
It didn't last long until she met another member of the crew, floating from a side room towards the corridor that Kadet was about to pass by.
“Oh!” The person exclaimed as they notice Kadet approach. She had dark skin, braided hair and flashy orange bagged pants. Different from Serafin's reception, her kind eyes perked towards Kadet a little more curiously. “Are you a new crewmate, perhaps?”
“Sure am.” Kadet swings the bike gently to the side, leaning into it as well as showing it off. She rests a hand on her chest confidently. “Kadet. Former courrier.”
The young woman smiles excitedly. “Oh nice! Great to have more people on-board, and you look like nice company.” She leans gently against the metallic frame of the doorway, resting a hand on her hip. “I'm Nia. I hope we can get along!”
Kadet smiles back, feeling more comfortable at the warmth of being properly welcomed aboard. “Oh who knows, I think we'll get along just fine.”
She holds up her airbike again. “Hey so… you've been here for longer…” Kadet nods towards the object. “...Do you know anywhere I can keep her around for now? Anywhere safe?”
Nia clicks her tongue and a sigh escapes her mouth, still holding a gentle smile. “I'm sorry, I haven't been here for too long either, so I'm afraid I can't help…”
“But… the bunks are in here, if you wanted to know.” She turns her back to nod at the slightly cluttered room, with the many compact bunk openings on the walls of a narrow short corridor. “I don't think a bike fits here though, you might want to keep that somewhere else.”
“That's all good. Already great to know where I'll be slumping after contracts.” Kadet winks.
Nia grins, nodding. “Well, you can head in and take a look to see what's the most comfortable bunk for you.” She floats to the side, giving space for Kadet to enter.
“Of course, gotta claim the best spot before anyone else joins.” Kadet pushes off into the room, carrying her airbike with its thin frame over her shoulder. She looks around to see the bunks that were less cluttered.
“Then good luck with it.” Nia speaks as she leaves the room. “I'll be at the galley if you need any help. I'm dying for something to snack…”
And with that, Nia kicks off towards somewhere else on the ship while Kadet proceeds to continue looking through the place. After meeting Nia, she feels a bit relieved about the possibility that Sleeper knows how to pick their crew members well.
Kadet is able to spot the bunks that are claimed, since other crewmates hang their belongings next to them. She notices there were more bunks taken than the amount of people that Kadet met on the ship so far, which surprised her quite a bit, considering the first time she met the Sleeper, she could have sworn that they only had one other crew member. Maybe they're desperate for crew… or more likely, the crew are desperate for their help.
She barely notices it, but when passing by a bunk that she initially thought was empty, Kadet spots a small figure sitting on the ground next to it. Their back was leaned against the wall of another bunk while their legs stretched towards the base of their own where the drawers are kept. They had some kind of deck on their lap, connected to a slate and some weird device that Kadet can't recognize, and they wore a hood that covered their face.
Kadet lets out a short and soft whistle, and the figure immediately trembles, startled. Her face turns to face Kadet and she sees a surprisingly young face, with sharp eyes alarmingly staring at the intruder of her focus.
“Sorry.” The former spindlejack lifts a hand peacefully. “You can keep workin’ on whatever you're doing. I'm Kadet, new crewmate.”
“...Right.” The young woman murmurs, distraught. “I’m Juni.” She sustained her stare towards Kadet, sending a sign that in the moment, her work was more interesting than chatting with a stranger.
Kadet takes note of that and kicks off. Guess she'll need more time to get to know more about some of the other crew members.
After touring around, she's able to find a bunk for herself that was both available and comfortable. But like Nia said, there was no space for her airbike. Kadet decided to secure some of her belongings there before returning to her journey of keeping her airbike somewhere else in the Rig. She takes one last look at Juni, who is now deeply focused reading some kind of code in her slate, and leaves the bunks silently. The search continues.
While floating across the different sections of the Rig, she had to admit: The ship is held together pretty well in comparison to many ships she met. Kadet couldn't help but notice the effort behind its repairs, taking into account her basic mechanic knowledge from her old shipfitter days… and that the last ship she took was in such rough shape she thought she would never make it to the station without being voided to space through some sudden decompression.
Of course, not every ship is perfect, but she recognizes the efforts of maintenance, especially in older, scrawny ships. A crew can recognize its battle scars and identity, and yet still provide for its needs, and the Rig is no different. A ship that has gone through tough jobs, but has gone through careful repairs and upgrades too… it has history, and it is respected for it.
Kadet's fingers linger around a slightly bent, but clean panel on the wall. She wonders who is the one responsible to refit and repair the ship with such passion… it could be Serafin, or the Sleeper, or maybe even someone else.
Her train of thoughts is interrupted when she notices she was about to walk into a completely new room without paying much attention.The corridor leads her to a lonely doorway, and she only notices it when its automatic doors open while Kadet was distracted.
She is greeted with a relatively small room, scrap components and repair equipment nested in webbed nets on the walls, similar to an engineer’s bay. Tools were organized in a magnetic panel in one of the walls in front of a table… where a person was also found working on jt.
The figure turns their head almost immediately when the door opens, their attention on their work immediately drifting towards the person that just arrived. Their eyes glanced through their rounded glasses, and met with Kadet’s.
But… Kadet could swear she has seen that sight before.
“...Hello?” They spoke faintly. They had messy short hair that waved everywhere, and had headphones on before they lowered it down to address the newcomer. Kadet stood still, taking in their appearance, their posture…
The person leans forward, also staring at Kadet and her bike, a little confused as well. They don't seem to recognize her, but their expression changed to a friendly one, as if they assumed that this person might be a new crew member.
“May I help you?” They smile sympathetically.
Where has Kadet seen them before? Why do they look so familiar? It bothers her that the Sleeper has someone on their crew that she knows but doesn't remember.
She finally opens her mouth to speak, to say the only words that made sense for her to say in the moment.
“...Have we met before?”