The Upgrade

[Rak]

" 'Aight! Stand clear! " the voice shouted through the crackling intercom, signaling for the group of people below to start shuffling away from the drydocked vessel, but even though the warning was given three times now, a few were not in a hurry to gather up their tools, making the already tired looking man up in the watchout tower to run his oil-stained hands over his equally as dirty face. " You mother fuckers, I swear one day I will just let her rip with you still next to the damn thing..." he muttered to himself, before covering his poorly-trimmed moustache from view with an even dirtier looking coffee cup, his other hand held over the brightly-red switch and at the ready.

"Right, commencing capacitor discharge in three, two, one..." For a moment the ship before them seemed as it had been only a few moments ago, but everyone in the hangar bay already felt their hair tingling, the smudged tablets flickering as the huge amount of power needed to sustain the shield bubble was suddenly cut off- a sudden and lout crackling sound echoing off the walls as the invisible barrier collapsed, sending sparks of static electricity jumping between the gaps in the hull panels.

One or two of the drydock workers already nodded to one another, smirking as their nostrils flooded with the scent of ozone, but the real fun was yet to happen. The old docking port had seen thousands of ships, but it never got boring- the sight of the shield battery capacitors being drained.

"Right, restoring the shield in three, two, one..."

...

-SNAP-

A few of the people down on the ground winced as the loud noise did its best to challenge the padding of their ear-protection, though they did not turn their gaze away as the view of the ship seemed to almost distort for a moment as the powerful barrier that kept the old vessel in one piece was recharged within seconds, filling the air with that specific stench as all of the grime and dust that had gathered on the outside of that heavy plating was heated up to a few hundred degrees just from that discharge.

Still, the impressive sight was short-lived as that same crackling sound followed, signaling the others that it was safe to approach the old Bullmastiff once more, even though the owner held back, sitting on a few crates, slouched over with a bored look on his face as the cig he held between his lips tried its best to cover his view of his ''pride and joy''. He could not believe he had to use that damn thing for what he had in mind. Even now, the visit to Cassini had stayed unlogged in his mission file as he already could enjoy the uncomfortable feeling of his virtual credits being drained as every single second ticked by.

Taking his own initiative was something to be expected from him, that he knew all too well, but this was his own hard-earned money he could feel burning and once again he pondered quietly to himself if trying to turn that old frame into something more suitable for the sensitive nature of his job was worth the investment. The recent funds transfer to the Research and Development unit, as per part of his advancement, was also felt all too well.

"Hey, she's in better shape than some of the ones I've seen here, boy. These old bitches are hard to kill." Came the gruff chuckle of the lead mechanic behind him, making the much younger male turn his attention to him, before just shrugging at that remark. "Fucking doubt you ever seen a dog in your life, Ben." Rak murmured as he reached up to take hold of his cig, freeing up his lips for the cup of coffee that was offered to him.

Expensive, tasted like crap, but he needed it more than anything else right now. At least the bitter taste could distract him from the thought of how much money he was lobbing into that project of his, because the man next to him was not helping in any way.

"If ya grew up on 'Tan, then neither have you, you little shit." Ben chuckled as he took a sip of his own, adding another layer of dirt on his moustache as it desperately tried to act like a filter. "Anyway, who do ya want me to send the bill to?"

Rak winced. No, the fucker wasn't helping at all. "Guess."

"Guess? Heh...you poor bastard." The older man smirked behind his coffee-dripping bush as he nodded silently, more to himself than the teen next to him. "So how's it like there? Ya know..." He asked, lifting the cup to his 'stache again, though this time taking a mere sip, apparently eager to prolong the dialogue between them, even though his younger partner wasn't as considerate, his cup already having been emptied and set aside, the cig once more occupying his maw, that cloud of smoke enveloping the two again.

"Mph..beats hauling cargo around, that's for sure.." Rak finally replied, having taken the cig out for that moment, shaking his head some. "Kinda hard to get used tho. Screens, screens, manuals, reports...you know. That sort of crap." He added in a dismissive fashion.

"Well, you sounded absolutely thrilled with your promotion. Though to be fair, you never struck me as someone, who could put all of his time into one of something." Ben cackled, having given up on acting like a bretonian, instead downing the cup right there and then before setting it aside as well as he continued. "God damnit, boy. Ya should have staid where you are." he finally added, giving the teen's shoulder a pat with his dirty hand, though that notion went unnoticed, judging from that rather thoughtful expression on the lad's face.

"I mean, so what if supplies are bein' hauled around by drones now. What, wasn't it entertaining to fuck around with that freighter of yours? Heck, we patched it up together, damnit. Don't tell me you don't miss the bloody thing." Ben pressed on, completely unaware with the slight frown forming on Rak's expression, the next exhale drawing the smoke through his nostrils instead.

"But nah, you wanted to fly with the big boys? Well now, where's the attitude now, eh? What have ya done so far? Gotten a bigger ship, I'll give you that, but that wasn't the reason you applied, was it?"

Rak never really considered himself as the patient man, but for the sake of respect for Ben, he held his tongue, allowing the 60something rant on over his shoulder, while his own gaze was transfixed somewhere behind his new transport and out in the distance.

".... .... .... bunch of faggots." Ben finally calmed down, but only because he saw some of the dock workers wave his way. Seemed like talking time was over, his smirk turning into a more serious expression this time. "Anyway...if ya gonna go meet with the guy, be careful. They don't do nothin' for free. Expect something retarded to be asked in return."

"As usual." Rak added.

"...yeah." Ben nodded as he grunted, lifting his chubby self off the crate, before lifting up his fist as his moustache curved up into a smile. "Ye, but at least their docking workers ain't this shit eh? Theil' fix her up good, as long as you got the money for it. All we can do is prepare the couplings to make the installation easier when you get the parts. If you get them." he added with an afterthought. "If not, I always have a decent few parts from around Liberty. Could strike a deal with some of the boys I know, maybe they can haul something interesting in." he finally shook his head as he saw that those suggestions weren't really heard.

A bump on his fist did snap him back to his senses as Rak smirked up to him, retreating his own hand. "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind, old man. Right, go and make her pretty. Gonna have to look good for the date, yeah?" he finally laughed a little at the thought itself as he pressed the glowing tip of his cig against the side of the crate, before dropping it on the ground there and then as he stood up, turning around to leave the work to someone who knew what they were doing.




//Note to the mods. Tell me if I need to censor this thing or not.