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Jessie didn't make it up to the plate often. It was just one of her more skittish contacts who insisted on meeting topside. He always had the latest on Shinra security measures, so it was worth it-- and probably why he was so paranoid about riding the trains.
She was headed back for the station herself when she spotted an easy mark: a woman standing on the sidewalk, staring around at the buildings from behind her glasses. Her business attire was several years out of fashion, which was the norm for the slums, but no one from the slums would have that wide-eyed look. The ID card clipped to her belt said she'd established herself, but it was recent. She was plainly lost.
Maneuvering to that part of the sidewalk, Jessie bumped into her as she walked past.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" the woman exclaimed softly as Jessie walked on with her ID.
She went another block before she ducked into an empty side street to inspect her prize. She'd recognized the placement of the logo as an employee badge, but she'd never lifted one off a topsider before. Her eyes widened as she read it over: Shera, of the Space Program. This woman had a higher clearance than she'd ever seen before.
And the Space Program? Jessie kept an eye on Shinra's projects, but that was the one she followed eagerly. It was as if with the end of the war, that entire department had forgotten Shinra was a weapons manufacturer, and they pushed for the skies not to get a leg up on their enemies, but just to see what was up there. Jessie had missed watching only one of their launches on TV, due to a blackout in Sector 7 that day. It hadn't been quite as exciting by radio.
She glanced briefly skyward, but Midgar's smog meant that even if a satellite were passing overhead at that moment, she'd never see it.
The Space Program... What could she do with a Space Program ID? It was beyond anything her customers would ask for. They just wanted to fool the station security scanners to board the trains, and not a one of them had any idea of setting foot in a Shinra facility. Avoiding Shinra's attention was the whole reason they came to her.
But for herself...
"Excuse me," said a voice. Her head shot up to see the woman standing in the mouth of the alley. Her eyes plainly noted the ID Jessie was holding, then returned to her face. "I seem to have dropped my ID somewhere," she said. "You wouldn't happen to have seen it?"
Well, this was careless of her. Someone from the Space Program might not be familiar with Midgar, but of course she wasn't stupid. Was Shera trying to shame her by being so polite about it?
Jessie shrugged. She'd been caught, either way. "Yeah, I found this a block back," she said. "Is it yours?"
Shera seemed unconcerned as she stepped onto the isolated street with her, reaching out to take her ID back. This time, she tucked it into an inner pocket of her blazer. "Yes, thank you," she said. "It would be a shame to lose it just after they had it printed."
"New hire?" Jessie wondered, but Shera shook her head.
"New security measures," she said, and there was a wry quirk to her lips, as if she thought it was silly. The encounter with Jessie hadn't done anything to prove her wrong. "I don't spend much time in Midgar. It wouldn't surprise me if they gave me yet another one the next time I visit."
Jessie eyed the hidden pocket, because in all of that was the promise that Shera would be leaving soon, and she probably wouldn't need it anymore-- but, she'd have to let it go. What would she do with it anyway?
"So, the Space Program, huh?" she said instead. "You're not what I would've pictured."
Shera adjusted her glasses. "Not nerdy enough?"
Jessie found herself grinning. Behind that unassuming face, that question was another trap. "I just thought it was a boys' club," she said. "That's all they show on TV."
And if Shera spent most of her time working with men, then maybe she'd tired of comments about her appearance, especially since not all were likely to be complimentary. Jessie knew Shera was no beauty by conventional standards, but the spark of intelligence in those brown eyes was captivating, and that suit couldn't fully disguise that there were curves beneath it.
"Well, that's what's on TV," said Shera. "The engineering team is a little more diverse."
"...sounds pretty cool," Jessie had to admit. She worked alone, but having a team--and a team with women--to bounce ideas off of sounded nice.
"It's... a dream come true," said Shera. Her hesitation belied only an uncertainty with expressing herself. The sentiment was genuine.
"Can I ask what you had to come to Midgar for?" Jessie wondered. "Or is that, you know, top secret?"
Shera's lips quirked. "You can ask. But maybe you should tell me your name first?"
"Oh, right." She stuck out her hand. "It's Jessie."
Shera gave her hand a firm, practiced shake. "It's nice to meet you, Jessie." Strangely, that sounded genuine, too.
"...same," Jessie admitted. She didn't know what she would've done with the ID, but now she was talking directly to an engineer who worked on rockets. A rocket scientist! Shera was the opposite of flashy, but her work sure fit the bill.
Shera smiled gently, as if she had an inkling as to Jessie's thoughts. "As to your question... We're seeking approval for our first manned launch."
"Manned--" Jessie's eyes widened. "You're going to put a human being in space?"
"That's the idea. I know we have the technology to do it, it's just a matter of convincing the executive board that it's worth the effort. I think they were receptive, but..."
"But...?"
"Well. We won't have the official decision for a few days, I expect. And Palmer isn't the most... effective advocate," Shera finished diplomatically.
"There's no one else here," Jessie said, gesturing to the empty street. "You can just say he's an idiot."
"I try not to get in the habit. No need to let it slip around the wrong people."
Jessie smirked, because that told her it was something Shera thought often. "So," she said, "you're in Midgar for a few days?"
"That's the idea......" Shera glanced behind her at the street they'd come from. "Assuming I can find my hotel."
Jessie considered the sky. Twilight was coming on, but the trains would be running for hours yet. Her eyes dropped back to Shera, turned slightly away from her so that the light from the main street reflected off her glasses. Her ponytail, probably neat when the day had started, had begun to come undone, a few loose strands brushing the nape of her neck.
"Maybe I can help," Jessie offered. "Where are you staying?"
Shera looked back at her, considering. Jessie knew it was a wild offer to make, but surely no wilder than Shera conversing and shaking hands with a thief.
"The North End," she said at last, "on L Street."
Jessie gave a low whistle. "Well, at least you're in the right sector, but they really put you up nowhere near Shinra HQ, huh."
Shera adjusted her glasses. "And the city's changed quite a bit since the last time I was here. I thought that might be interesting, but... it's been a long day."
"Don't worry," Jessie said, putting a hand to her chest. "Midgar born and raised, I know my way around."
They stepped together out of the alley and rejoined the regular flow of pedestrian traffic. It wasn't crowded enough, though, that they couldn't keep talking.
"So... What is it that you do?" Shera asked her, as if she'd surmised somehow that Jessie wasn't just a pickpocket.
"Oh, I'm sort of a tinkerer," she said. It wasn't how she made her best money, but it wasn't a lie either. "I don't live topside, you know. People down below don't get a lot that's new, so there's a lot of repair work to be had. Radios, TVs, computers..." ID-readers. "...all that."
Shera's expression brightened. "Then you're an engineer, too."
Jessie blinked. "Never thought of myself that way. It's not like I went to school for it or anything. I just poke around and figure things out."
"You don't think that qualifies? It's impressive if you're self-taught."
They'd stopped at an intersection, waiting for the light to change. Jessie glanced at her. "Thanks," she said. "I don't hear that a lot."
They crossed the street, and the knot of pedestrians joining them spread out again as they resumed their different paces.
"I always thought it was a shame," said Shera. "So many people don't have the opportunities that I did. I'm very lucky to be where I am."
"I don't think it's all luck," said Jessie.
"No. But it's mostly circumstance our positions aren't reversed, isn't it?"
"If you're imagining a universe where I got to work on rockets..." Jessie was conscious of how she stood out here, not even trying to mimic topside fashion by primping last year's castoffs. By the bag on her shoulder, they probably thought her some kind of day-laborer in a profession they'd look down their noses at. Inside it were schematics for the ever-tightening security apparatus they didn't seem to realize surrounded them.
If she'd grown up in a world where she'd never seen that affect anyone, where it had never affected her, then maybe she could give all her focus to the purity of scientific achievement. Or was she fooling herself thinking her principles were as sound as all that? If she could magically be granted a place in the Space Program right now, wouldn't she take it?
"Well, it's nice to imagine," she finished at last.
"I couldn't promise anything," Shera began, "but--"
"And you shouldn't," Jessie interrupted. It was as close to magic as she'd get, but this was still reality. "I'd never pass the background checks, even if I could get up to speed on the math. I mean it. It's a nice thought, but... It's Shinra. That's not a path I can go down."
Whether that was because of principles or the simple fact of her criminal record.
"...I understand," said Shera.
There weren't so many people around now. To lift the mood, Jessie spun around on her heels, walking backwards. "But that doesn't mean I can't live vicariously," she said. "You've gotta get on TV sometime!"
"Oh, I... I don't think I could do that," Shera stammered.
"Camera shy?" Jessie asked, forming a frame with her fingers and settling it over Shera's face.
Shera blushed. "Maybe," she admitted. "I'm not all that interesting, anyway."
"If that were true, I would not be walk--" Her smooth line was interrupted as her foot caught the back of someone's shoe behind her, and she stumbled.
"Hey, watch it!" the man snapped at her.
Instead of apologizing, Jessie gave him a sarcastic bow and then circled around him. Maybe she hadn't been looking where she was going, but he was the one standing in the middle of the sidewalk. Shera followed, stepping quick to resume walking at her side.
"Anyway," Jessie said, "I bet those guys on TV aren't half as interesting."
"They're all perfectly qualified," said Shera. "Except for Palmer. It's a good team."
Jessie gave her a skeptical glance. "Maybe," she said, "but I'm betting you've got your private critiques you wouldn't want to make a habit of saying out loud."
Shera just smiled, looking away on the pretense of reading the nearest street sign.
It was another few blocks to the hotel. It wasn't grand by topside standards, nor was it conveniently located--the nearest station was the one Jessie had been aiming for when she'd spotted Shera--but it still rose several stories in a sleek design, and welcoming light spilled out onto the street in front of its entrance.
Shera stopped a few paces from the doors, turning to her. "Would you like to come up?" she asked.
Jessie looked at her askance. This was getting pretty far, she thought, pretending they hadn't met the way they had. "...you know I stole your ID, right?" she said.
"Yes," Shera said easily. "But I don't imagine you thought to cause me any more trouble than getting chewed out by my boss. And since that's Palmer, I could have convinced him I'd never gotten it to begin with. He wouldn't know the difference."
Jessie's eyebrows rose. "You report directly to Palmer?"
"Don't be too impressed. My team voted me team lead because, well..."
"Because?"
"If it makes their lives easier..." She shook her head. "I don't mind."
Jessie let out a breath. "And then after dealing with him all day, you got robbed."
"I'm glad," said Shera. "I've enjoyed meeting you."
It was then that Jessie realized Shera had never had any intention of guilting her. She would have let Jessie lie, the ID clearly visible in her hands, and Shera would have gone on her way.
It wasn't that she was a pushover like she suggested--no woman who made it that far in Shinra could be--but she didn't let ego dictate how she picked her battles. If she'd protested being named team lead, whoever replaced her might have been worse at handling Palmer. And picking a fight with a criminal in an alley, well... Less dangerous to convince her unwitting boss to replace the ID.
Jessie liked to think of herself as a planner, too, but when it came to people, she could really jump the gun. But then, what was life without a little of the unexpected?
Shera had to have a little of that in her, too, because in that alley, she'd extended Jessie the opportunity to be something other than a thief.
"Guess I'll take you up on your invitation then," said Jessie. "But I still feel like I oughtta make it up to you. I'm pretty good with my hands, you know."
Shera colored. "Oh, I... I was thinking a drink," she said.
Definitely too forward, but it was a yellow light, not a red one. Jessie grinned. "A drink then."
The hotel doors opened to admit them together, two engineers on their way to share a drink. Jessie hoped it loosened Shera's lips a little; she didn't want anything Shera thought about her to stay hidden behind that polite little smile.