✧ starter for @timidblues
It must have been hours… The clever minds that developed the space mech did not anticipate the churning, fiery chaos that resulted from the daring maneuvers that Pokie and her crew regularly drug the poor mech through. The thermonuclear thrusters were fine, but the chemical thrusters, the kind needed to breach the atmosphere and reach escape velocity, ached for maintenance.
A harsh lamp carves out a small space in the otherwise large, oppressive darkness of the engine bay. Pokie holds an instrument and sweeps its laser over the surface of the gimbal, the large pivoting joint that allows steering, at the top of the engine. If she can just get some initial checks, then she can go to bed and it will be easier scheduling more indepth repairs for potential cracks or misalignment in the morning. If she can just push through…
Cursed by evil forces of…well, frankly, low blood sugar, she blinks, bleary eyed, and the little tool vanishes from her hands. Somehow, it’s perfectly sized enough to slide between the safety rails and the grates she’s crouching on in the engine bay. It thumps past bellows and flex hoses, glittering in the light before making a plasticy cacophonous thud below.
Maybe now would be a good time to phone a friend?
“Heyyy,” Momo answers, coughing shortly after. “What’s going on,” she continues in her typical soft, cheery disposition, though her voice is stuffy.
“Hey, uhhh just letting you know thaaaat…I’m still locked and tagged out in the chemical propulsion engine bay. Like… I mean, we don’t have to go anywhere tonight right?”
“No? Did something happen?”
“Umm… so I… dropped, uh, the alignment tool. I… I- I can see it from here. I think I can handle it.”
The static in the line hangs in the air for a moment.
“Well, okay, that’s… still kinda bad. Look, I really think you should go to bed. You sound kinda tired. You don’t want to make any more careless mistakes down there,” Momo croaks.
“Yep! Yea, that would be good. Uhh I will be going to bed soonish. I think. Do you need, uh, food? Like a soup or something?”
“If you can find it, yeah. Thanks bff… Just don’t stay down there too long.”
“Mkay bye, bestie,” Pokie replies before ending the call.
Pokie emerges from the belly of the behemoth mech greeted by the forgiving kiss of the cool night air. She breathes a sigh of pained exasperation. Now everyone will be up worrying about the ship tonight. Who knows what time it was. The sidewalk glitters in the night. If only she could just find…
A cafe! And with that little beacon of hope called an open sign! Maybe she can get something warm for her friend to have and maybe something for herself… if she had any money. Oh well, might as well sit somewhere and have a moment to herself. The doors jingle with a squeak of their hinge and she quickly finds an empty seat. Space aliens don’t really appear on Earth everyday, let alone a small cafe.
