"No, no, no no no no no... this can't be happening. Quera, tell me this reading is false?", Naina said from the middle of a pile of parts, cables and miscellaneous ship parts. She was currently under the floor and only her feet were showing from ankles down from the hole she had crawled in.
"The readings are correct, Captain Melcey," Quera said with no emotions, like always. "I am not programmed, nor capable of telling you false information, Captain Melcey."
"Daew! I've been through asteroid belts, flew near a neutron star, crossed the halo of a couple of red giants, spent 18 months gurgling up fuel to an almost dead star, passed thought exploding nova while in hyperspace, and you're telling me my fuel scoop is dying because of a faulty converter from M-Tech?!" She yelled aloud from the tiny space.
"That is correct, Captain Melcey," Quera said.
"Quera, I'm going to strangle you," Naina said through gritted teeth, as she popped her head out of the tiny space, brandishing a weird screwdriver in her hand.
"That is impossible, Captain Melcey," Quera said. "I am not alive, nor do I need oxygen to-- BEEP." The word "muted" appeared in a nearby monitor and Naina sighed contently and dropped the screwdriver, and a tiny remote from her hands. She let herself fall on the floor, exhausted and sighed deeply.
"I am going to regret this for the rest of my life, but I guess I'm running out of options. I really need that converter and the only way I know is to contact the people living here, outside of Empire borders. Marauders.", Naina said and closed her eyes. She pinched the bridge of her nose between her eyes and took a deep breath. She picked the screwdriver up, looked at it like it was the reason for all of this.
She threw the tool she was holding across the room and hit a bucket with it, but didn't even see it. She rose and walked to the cockpit, washing her hands and face on the way in a small indent on the wall. She plopped onto the pilot chair and pushed a couple of buttons. The word "muted" disappeared from the screen. Naina watched a couple of screens and moved her hand above a shining globe near the chair's right arm rest.
"Well..." she said, "at least the local population doesn't seem to have any Blackjoints in them. The local cluster is owned by... Valkyries?" she said while reading from a screen. "Really? I might be in luck," she said, and a tiny smile crept on her lips. "Quera, plot a course to the nearest Valkyrie base and let me hear the song," she said and leaned backwards in the chair.
"Nearest Valkyrie spaceport is FN-67-33R/6, colloquially known as Boarhead," Quera said. "It's 12.7 light-years to the galactic north and down 15 degrees. Our fuel reserves allow us to travel 15 light-years before needing to be refilled."
"Only 15? That's cutting it close. I can't escape if shit hits the fan. But... that's pretty much my only chance. I can't continue without the converter... Alright, Quera. Punch It."48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ZBV0xD01J
48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxaP1fkYtK
