Return of the VCS-Nightmare

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As the old Voyager freighter blasted out of the hangar, Billy glanced over to his new Chief Engineer, who was tinkering with a small junction box in the cockpit area. So how long have you been a mechanic? Why are you all the way out here on Barrier Gate Station? Evan turned for a second, then went back to his work. Been a mechanic all my life, I guess. But why all them questions? Billy flipped on the autopilot, and swung the chair around to face Evan. Well I like to know who I'm working with, especially if they are going to be my new Chief Engineer. When Evan heard the words Chief Engineer he stopped cold, looking at Billy for a good half-minute before speaking.

Chief Engineer, now hold up. Of that cruiser that's all banged up in the Nebula? Well I never... That's a mighty fine offer there. But I wanna' make one thing clear. If I take this job, Ev'thang is under my perview, correct? No meddlin' in the works or sayin' stuff like "I saw this on the neural net and I wanna' do it on ma ship"... Evan paused, looking for the right words. Before he could start speaking again, Billy spoke up.

That's how it works on a warship, doesn't it? I was never in the Military, but I've spent time on heavy warships before. Back in the days of the Vagrant Raiders we let our Engineers do all the technical side. Not because we couldn't learn how, but because we know they usually know better than a bunch of fighter jockeys or armchair pilots. I assure you, you'll have final say. In Fact, I wanted you with me on this trip because the Junkers want to try some newfangled tech on the Nightmare when they are rebuilding it. I'm not going to lie, I'm skeptical. But given the damage the Nightmare has taken something out of the box is necessary. It's why I hired you to come with and vet the design, but also hire you as the Chief Engineer. You'll have your own department, and have final say on any shipboard components that go into the NIghtmare. That said, I know Tactical guys like to assume control of any weapons system, so I'll expect you to work nicely with weapons folk onboard. Would that be a problem?

Evan started putting the cover panel back on the junction box he was working on. As he cleaned up his work area, he responded. Billy, I work with people all day. I've dealt with many over-confident buffoons who didn't know what the difference between a power coupling and a capacitor was. I may be an engineer but I also have people skills. On Houston, it's customary to have a drink to seal a deal.

Sitting down in the Co-Pilot seat, Evan pulled out a small flask of liquor. Taking a swig of the unknown drink, he offered it to Billy. Billy took it, and took a small sip from the flask. Wincing from the flavor, Billy capped the flask and looked at the inscription on the side. You can take the man from Houston, but you can never take the Houston from the man. Love you Darlin', Cathy

Handing the flask back to Evan, he asked Who's Cathy?

A sadness etched onto Evan's face, as he ran his fingers across the inscription. He took a deep breath, and put the flask back in his pocket. Cathy's only the sweetest lady ever to live in the Sirius Sector. A Heart of Gold, with a temper like a firecracker. Evan looked out the window, his voice getting quieter. She died. She was working in a small shop on Houston, when a thug came in and shot her. The LPI said she was standing in the way of the cash register, and the guy was high. I was off planet at the time, workin' a contract for DSE in New York. I couldn't even make it to the funeral. After that, I left Liberty. Couldn't stand bein' in Liberty after the LPI closed the case as unsolved.

Billy saw the pain and sadness in Evan's eyes, unsure of what to say. Eventually, he spoke. I'm sorry. Loosing a loved one is hard.

Puerto Rico System, On Approach to Vieques Shipyard

Given the stellar radiation the autopilot could not handle navigating Ponce Fragment field, Billy had taken over piloting from the Autopilot system. Glancing over to his right, Evan was using some grease to lubricate the seals on his exosuit. Satisfied that there was no audible signature to moving his arm, he capped the small bottle of grease and popped it into a small pouch on the hip. Noticing Billy glancing at the suit, Evan spoke up. I built it myself, y'know. Usually people with Brittle Bone Disease are stuck with office jobs or live in Zero G. While I don't really have a problem with either of those, I've always been interested in getting my hands dirty. Built my first mechanical assistance rig when I was 12, using it to get around. As I got older I found a lot of suits really don't work well in engineering jobs, or they are to bulky to work in tight corners. So I built this guy myself, out of spare parts and a little bit of ingenuity. I hate squeaks, so I use this lubricant I ordered from Gallia of all places. It's damn expensive but works wonders. Plus, it's useful when liftin' boxes of parts. Evan looked at his exosuit happily, giving it another once-over.

It's certainly impressive, I'll give you that. Certainly an out of the box solution to a problem that really sucks. Given you hadn't taken the suit off I thought you had some sort of disability, but I didn't want to ask. Anyway, we are just about there so lets get ready to meet our new Junker friends.

Billy initiated contact with Vieques Shipyard Traffic Control, and Landed in one of the various hangars. Shutting down the engines, he saw the external pressure sensor climb to 1 Atmosphere, and equalized the ships atmosphere with that of the station. Almost immediately, the smell of grease and fuel filled the ship.

Ah the unmistakable smell of a Junker facility. Shall we?


//Small Interlude as a new thread will be created for the Junker Interactions on Vieques.

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Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power.