adventures in vents

Darcy knew where all the parts in the shop were; since she was the one who generally ordered and organized them. The only reason they had a part for the busted power at all was because of her keeping assorted parts on hand. Jesse preferred the “order it once we need it” method, which would leave them waiting for weeks. It took ages to get anything delivered out here.

She’d looked over the power converter the night before, but now she did a closer inspection. The part she had wouldn’t be enough on its own; she didn’t know what these guys had done to their ship but it had wreaked some havoc. Still, it wasn’t anything she couldn't fix. She retrieved the part she needed, watching the engineer from the corner of her eye the entire time. She didn’t generally like having anyone in her space while she worked, but she supposed she’d have to just suck it up.

The power converter had a hole in it and the main power source inside had been ruptured. Darcy was short and had to reach inside the converter to pull out the old power core. She basically had to boost herself up and dangle half inside to get a grip on the core and begin to work it out.

“I can help you with—“ the engineer; Miles, she remembered; started to say. Darcy paused in her tugging and raised her head. He seemed startled by the fierce glare she gave him.

“I can do it myself,” she said sharply and he held his hands up in surrender. Darcy grit her teeth and continued working, finally pulling the dead core free. It hit the ground with a loud thud, dead wires trailing from it like weird little internal organs. Darcy blew a loose strand of hair out of her face and then picked up the new core. She could tell Miles was still watching her as she struggled to wield the heavy part. She refused to ask for help. She didn’t need to be mocked or accused of being incapable of a simple task.

Pointedly ignoring Miles, Darcy took a breath and hefted the part over the side. It nearly pulled her in with it, and she smacked her head against the hatch and had to clamp her lips shut to keep from cursing. It took some maneuvering and she probably looked completely ridiculous squirming around with her torso inside the converter while her legs flailed in the air, but she managed to get the power core inside. The possible brain damage she’d sustained was worth it.

Darcy wriggled out of the converter and proceeded to rummage around in the toolbox for a flashlight and a few other things. She returned to the converter and Miles reluctantly spoke up again.

“Attaching all the little wires is tricky,” he said. “If you want to save some time, I can help.”

Darcy had the small flashlight between her teeth because her hands were full, but she threw him another annoyed look. She hoisted herself back up into the converter, arranging her tools and pulling the flashlight out of her mouth.

“Look, I said I could fix it,” she told him. “I know how to plug in wires.”

“I didn't say that you didn’t, I just meant that it takes a long time to get them hooked up.”

“Not the way I do it,” she muttered, swinging herself up so that she was sitting on top of the converter. She wrapped the tip of each wire in a tiny bit of conductor foil, then situated them where they’d need to hook into the converter. She leaned back down next to the core and held up a small magnet, spinning it in a slow circle around the wires. The conductor foil responded to the magnet and shot up, taking the wires with them and Darcy was able to easily get the wires into their thin, tiny slots.

She sat up, smiling a little as the power core started whirring to life. She had almost forgotten Miles was even there, and she let out a startled squeak and nearly fell off the converter when he appeared next to her.

“That usually takes over an hour,” he said. “It’s been like ten minutes.”

Darcy almost felt something like a spark of pride in her chest, but she was still wary of him. She hadn’t anticipated an audience while she worked. The power core was up and running, but she quickly noticed there was a problem. It wasn’t producing as much power as it should have. The wires were all fine, so she swung down and started trying to sniff out the source of the drain.

“It could be damage to the adapter that links it to the control panel,” Miles suggested, watching her like he thought she might attack him for talking. Darcy pursed her lips, but she cautiously went around to check the adapter. The suggestion made sense, but he also could’ve already checked the adapter for damage and was just fucking with her. Darcy glanced around the ship as she knelt to inspect the adapter and frowned.

“What the fuck did you guys do, fly into an asteroid field?” she asked. “It’s a miracle you got this thing here at all.”

“Uh, something like that,” Miles mumbled from the other side of the power converter. Darcy shook her head, focusing her attention on the adapter. It took a bit of careful searching, but she figured out that the propulsion system was siphoning more power than it needed, draining power away from the converter. She had to dismantle the adapter, sort out the wiring and controls inside, and reassemble it. She glanced at the time.

Daniel had said she could stay if she got the ship ready by three. She had forty-five minutes to make sure the systems were all functional again. Darcy took a deep breath and began rapidly taking apart the adapter. Disassembling it wasn’t all that hard; sorting out exactly what was wrong and putting it back was going to take some time though.
She discovered a control switch inside that was bent, disrupting the power flow. Huffing, she grabbed her tiny pliers and began daintily fixing the switch. She had just gotten the adapter put back together when Daniel came sauntering back into the room.

“So, is she operational?” he asked. He didn’t seem like he was expecting much. Darcy stood up and squared her shoulders, powering on the control panel. Everything lit up exactly the way it was meant to. She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out and say, “told you so.”

“Well, look at that. Little Miss Honest Mechanic might actually know a thing or two,” Daniel remarked.

“So, a deal’s a deal, right?” Darcy asked and he shrugged.

“Yeah, sure. A deal’s a deal.”

Darcy could’ve collapsed with relief, but instead she just nodded.

“We refuel and leave in an hour,” Daniel said. “If you’re not onboard when we leave, we’re not waiting for you. We’re already behind schedule. Miles, crew meeting.”

Miles sighed and followed him out. Since Darcy had already packed and brought her meager belongings with her, she didn’t have to worry about being late. But there were a few tools back in the shop that she had bought with her own hard earned paychecks, so she wasn’t leaving them behind. If the shop suffered without her and her functional tools, all the better. She scaled down the exit ladder and dropped to the shop floor, finding Daniel off to the side with Miles and the rest of the crew; presumably telling them they’d be leaving today instead of in a week. As she turned to head to her work station, she ran smack into Jesse.

“Where the hell have you been?” he demanded. “Mrs. Hannigan’s harvest droid was supposed to be done today.”

“Well, then. Why don’t you try fixing it, Jesse? Wouldn’t that be a novel idea? Oh, but that’s right. You did sustain an injury last night. Maybe it’s slowing you down?”

He gave her a look that could’ve curdled milk. “You have way too much attitude for some skinny gutter rat.”

“Good thing you don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

Darcy pushed past him and went to her workbench, gathering her things.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve found employment elsewhere,” Darcy explained. “You should be thrilled. You were getting sick of me, right?”

Jesse glanced from her to the spaceship and back again. He snorted.

“I know that crew is all men, but are they really that desperate?” he asked.

“Don’t think all your sweet talk is gonna get me to stay,” Darcy said, turning to walk away from him. He caught hold of her arm and wrenched her around to face him, making the bruise he’d already given her twinge.

“When they decide to drop you back here, don’t come crying for your job back.”

“Don’t worry. I’d sooner put a blaster in my mouth than step foot in this place ever again.”

She jerked her arm free and turned away from him again, striding toward the ship to take her things aboard.

“Well it’s about time you put something in your mouth, Darcy,” he said to her retreating back.

“Well, you can find the barrel of a blaster without a magnifying glass,” Darcy called back, stepping up onto the ladder and looking at his scowling face through the rungs.

“In case it wasn’t clear, I quit. It’s been horrible working with you, and I wish you nothing but misery.”

She climbed purposefully onto the ship, taking a moment while she was alone to slump against the wall and let out a breath. She’d never been off Onius-1, and she had no idea what to expect. She felt a little lightheaded. But at least she was finally leaving.