A Critical Meeting

[Thexare]

A rather mismatched pair entered the conference room shortly after Billy's message was sent. One was a pale blue-eyed redhead wearing a maroon blazer over a deep green blouse, with a maroon skirt cut slightly above the knee. The other, a slightly disheveled-looking man with closely cut brown hair in stained maroon coveralls with the right sleeve neatly cut off, revealing the cybernetic replacement arm. The two sat down opposite Billy, and the man rested his artifical arm on the table with a quiet but noticeable thud.

The redhead spoke first. "I'm Alice Whittington," she introduced herself, with an accent common to Bretonian spacers that was a mild mix of Cambridge and Leeds with just a hint of Dublin, and motioned toward the man, "and this is Darren Wilson, one of Aquila's lead technicians. He has some experience with large-scale projects, so I brought him along as a technical advisor."

The man nodded when he was introduced. "I was on the team that got Canberra up and running, and I've been involved with several projects since. Don't mind the stains, there's nothing caustic. This time."

Alice sighed at the end of that and shook her head. "We hear you have a very interesting ship that needs some very interesting work. Why don't you tell me about it?"