“What’s the plan, sex machine?” Symone asks from behind him. He spins around; surprised that she has appeared behind him. The shuttle bay isn’t overly busy.
“You got here quick! I’m looking over this thing to figure out what’s supposed to be wrong with it” he replies. Symone takes a gander at the hovering 3D image, using her fingers to slowly spin the large orb around. She starts pointing at various areas of the comm buoy.
“Well, right away those signal boosters will need replacing. This actuator is done…That PD chamber could be swapped out…” she stops talking, suddenly slapping Zhang on the arm. “You knew all this already, you lazy moon-slug!” He laughs.
“Hey, I’m just training my staff” he smirks, tapping the side of his head for effect.
“That will be a first” Santiago interjects, having arrived with a hover tray loaded with storage crates. Friendly as always, Zhang notes.
“What’s all this?” He asks. Santiago chucks a datapad at him.
“It’s a repair job. This is the repair equipment. Including an android…thing” he snaps.
“They’re called robots, not androids since they aren’t human shaped. But I’m sure a technical expert such as yourself knows that” Zhang retorts. If his barb annoys Santiago, he doesn’t show it. He simply opens one of the larger crates.
“Maybe you should just let Symone do the heavy lifting on this one” he jokes. Zhang slams the datapad down on the nearest crate.
“I can handle it myself” he growls. Santiago gives him a condescending pat on the shoulder.
“Sure you can. Symone, the control unit is in the crate under this one” He says, drawing an almost apologetic chuckle out of Symone. They start opening the crate, but Zhang firmly presses it shut.
“Keep the ‘android’, I’m going out myself to fix it” He barks. The laughing response infuriates him. “I’m really getting sick of people not taking me seriously. You can both leave anytime” he snaps, briskly making towards the nearest EVA suit locker.
“Don’t be ridiculous, just send the robot” Symone says. Zhang waves her off, stomping across the shuttle bay. He stops to watch a shuttle zoom into the bay, presumably with the new pilot on board. His anger dissipates as he watches the landing process. Perhaps his spirits will be lifted by the appearance of some heavenly creature stepping out of the shuttle.
His hopes are dashed as a swarthy, somewhat gangly man appears at the shuttle door. He awkwardly steps out and salutes an approaching group. Nemmy and Ravaan have arrived in the shuttle bay. His spatial awareness needs some work, Zhang realises. This must be the new shuttle pilot. Oh well. He decides to suit up first, before making his way over for an introduction. Still feeling a bit odd towards the Captain, he deftly moves over to Ravaan’s side.
“Ah, Lieutenant Zhang Wei, this is Sergeant Itzcoatl, our new pilot,” Ravaan says. The two men firmly shake hands.
“That’s your full name?” Zhang asks.
“It is indeed, Sir” Itzcoatl replies with a slightly exaggerated smile. Ravaan waves at Zhang’s suit.
“Lieutenant, why are you wearing an EVA suit?” he asks. Zhang is puzzled.
“I’m going to fix the important thing out there, Commander. Like you ordered me to do when I was sleeping?” he says. Ravaan smoothly ignores the jibe.
“You have repair drones for this exact purpose”
“I’m proving a point”
“The point being that you would put yourself at risk for no reason?” Ravaan replies. Zhang’s anger returns with gusto.
“No, Sir, simply to show that I can do it, and people can stop assuming I’m some incompetent idiot or a fraud,” he says, aiming the last word at Nemmy. She simply looks away, confusing him for a moment. Perhaps he went too far. Itzcoatl steps in, putting a strong hand on his shoulder.
“I will accompany you if you wish. I’ll get more shuttle time logged, and you could use the help” he suggests, with the calm confidence of someone giving an order rather than a suggestion.
“Fine. But I don’t need help. Just watch a master at work” Zhang boasts, mustering all his confidence. He heads towards the razor-thin energy shield protecting the shuttle bay from the vacuum of space, pushing through it without hesitation. Zhang drifts for a few seconds before activating the boosters on the EVA suit and slowly manoeuvres himself across the Boomslang for a few moments. He does love the old girl. Of all the ladies in the galaxy, she’s his favourite by far. He glides along for a few more seconds before boosting off towards the dark orb nearby.
“Comm check” rings a voice. Zhang’s boosters spin him round to see a shuttle quickly following him out of the shuttle bay. This chap is eager to impress. He turns back towards the comm buoy.
“You’re loud and clear, chick.”
“Receiving loud and clear. So, what are you doing out here?” Itzcoatl asks bluntly. Zhang focusses on contacting the buoy, attaching a mag-lock to the metal before responding.
“Fixing this thing” He grunts, wrenching round a tool belt and slowly rummaging through the various objects, taking care not to let anything float away.
“No, what are you actually doing out here?”
“You ask a lot of questions for a new person”
“If you don’t ask, you don’t learn, don’t you agree? On a different subject, how does the Captain feel about relationships amongst the crew?” Itzcoatl asks. Zhang bites back a surprised cough. He checks the comm link to make sure it’s only between the shuttle and his suit.
“Thankfully, it’s allowed, although I don’t think the Captain herself is willing, sadly” he replies, mindful of his recent experience. A soft chuckle is the response.
“I’m not particularly into women, Lieutenant”
“In that case, we can be friends, because I don’t like competition” Zhang jokes, drawing more laughter as he unlatches the nearest panel. His suit registers a large heat increase. Puzzled, Zhang presses a small scanner against the buoy. He instantly realises his mistake but is too late to close the panel. He fails to muffle a yelp as an energy discharge washes over his suit.
“Something wrong?” Itzcoatl enquires. Zhang clenches his teeth, bracing himself against a wave of sharp pain.
“No, everything’s fine” he groans.
“If you are having trouble, the shuttle manifest shows one of those android things on board”
“It’s not an android, it’s a robot!” Zhang snaps back, angrily wrenching a loose energy dissipater out of the buoy and chucking it away. He clutches the cord connecting him to the buoy for a moment as another wave of pain hits him. It’s worse than he thought. He came out to make a point, and he just injured himself instead. The embarrassment is as bad as the pain. But he has made his choice, so he grits his teeth and gets on with it. Despite the shaking in his hands, he fully opens the panel and physically realigns the remaining dissipators in the section. It’s not perfect, but it will do until a proper maintenance team arrives to refit the entire unit. Straining loudly with the effort, Zhang hauls himself up towards the top of the buoy.
“So, tell me, Itzcoatl, if I’m pronouncing that correctly, are you the one man for life type, or do you prefer to have a collection?” he asks, trying to keep Itzcoatl’s mind away from the pained sounds he makes with every movement.
“Whatever seems appropriate at the time. Sometimes I’m greedy and sometimes I’m not. Much like yourself, I would presume. As an aside, most people simply call me Itzy”
“Since it’s just the two of us out here, let’s keep things relaxed then. You can call me Zhang. I’m not big on ranks or formalities” Zhang says, beginning calibration work on the topmost actuator sticking out from the orb-like body of the buoy. “I’m relaying some instructions to the shuttle for equipment and a robot to handle some quick swap outs”
“Receiving. The equipment and the android will be with you short
ly” Itzcoatl says. Zhang sighs his exasperation.
“I made a joke at your expense whilst I’m sitting here in this warm, comfortable shuttle. I apologize Zhang” Itzcoatl jokes.
“I’ll remember this if you ever come down to Engineering” is Zhang’s light-hearted retort.
“I’ll make a point of that. But let’s talk more about you. I presume you are not the monogamous sort?” Itzcoatl quips. Amusement overtakes pain temporarily for Zhang. That’s the understatement of the century.
“You could say that, yes. The only thing better than the company of a fine lady is the company of several fine ladies” he says. The robot quietly scuttles about the buoy, performing various basic repairs. Zhang actually is very fond of the robots. He has even given them all names, although only Symone could ever know that. He rubs his hands together. At least the suit was keeping him somewhat warm if it did nothing to limit the rolling pains he was feeling from the energy backlash. Probably burns, or some kind of slight nerve damage. His feet were tingling in that annoying way. Samuel will be dining out on this anecdote for weeks, Zhang grumps to himself. He bodily shakes the thought away. No, people will take him seriously, no matter what he must do to prove himself. Not that he wants to lose his sense of fun.
“Well, my new Captain certainly appears to like you” Itzcoatl offers. Zhang stops working for a moment.
“Are you serious?” he asks.
“Absolutely. It’s written all over her face. Surely an expert such as you can tell?”
“As it happens, we’ve had a bit of a…falling out,” Zhang replies, careful to keep the details to himself. “I don’t think I’m her favourite person right now”. He had reacted angrily to her, but he was ashamed more than anything else. He’s had plenty of rejections, but this one stings him more than most. He had genuinely opened up, but she had misinterpreted his actions and, more importantly, his motivation. Still, the risk is always worth it. Those soft, pouting lips, those large inviting eyes, and of course, that incredible-
A loud buzzing in his suit snaps him back to reality. Disorientated, Zhang flaps about, struggling to find the cause of the alarm. He gasps as he looks down. In his reverie, he has forgotten the power feed to the actuator now attaching itself to his leg. The waves of pain were quickly replaced by an agonising stabbing, punching the air out of his lungs. He bit down angrily on his lip as he desperately struggled to remove the actuator.
“Lieutenant? Your monitors are spiking, is everything alright?” Itzcoatl asks. Zhang focuses entirely on detaching the actuator. A scream bursts out of him as he accomplishes his task. Thankfully, the suit’s safety features prevent oxygen loss, but it can do little for the body shaking pain that renders him immobile. He tries to move his hand, but the pain is too much. Feeling utterly humiliated, all Zhang can do is hang there, his only movement a constant involuntary shaking. One of the repair robots flits past his field of vision, efficiently making quick work of what was supposed to be a simple patch-up job. He strains with one last effort to regain control of his body, but blackness consumes him.
“You can wake up now, Lieutenant Wei,” A voice says. Zhang lets awareness fill him for a few seconds, before jerking up. His pain is gone, along with his suit and most of his clothes. He recognises the inside of the shuttle.
“What happened? How did I get here?” he says. Itzcoatl steps round from behind an open unit, with each of his large hands firmly grasping a clutch of medical strips. He kneels next to Zhang, and Zhang notices several of the strips already over his body.
“You blacked out, so I pulled you in. The emergency Med-Nets will prevent any further damage to your skin or your nervous system. But you’ll need some recovery time”
“Uh, right. Thank you? What about the buoy?” Zhang says, already knowing the answer.
“The robots have fixed it; we are already going back to the ship” Itzcoatl replies cautiously. Zhang’s wail fills the shuttle. But Itzcoatl has predicted this.
“Don’t worry. I used the shuttle to release a signal blocker to temporarily blind the ship. You can tell the crew you did indeed do most of the work, and whilst hurt. It will be most impressive, I think” Zhang raises an eyebrow.
“You can do that?”
“Yes, I can”
“Why though?” Zhang asks, truly curious. He has known this pilot for all of an hour.
“Well, I thought you could use a hand. You wanted respect, yes? You’ll get some now, I think” Itzcoatl replies calmly. A beep interrupts Zhang’s response.
“Sergeant? Are you receiving this message?” Ravaan’s angry voice demands. With a chuckle, Itzcoatl leaves Zhang’s side and answers the comm.
“Yes, Commander. My apologies, I accidentally unbalanced the energy circuits whilst following Lieutenant Wei’s progress” Itzcoatl. Ravaan harrumphs.
“Perhaps you will require more training before taking full shifts” he states.
“Yes, Commander” Itzcoatl agrees. He ends the comm link and chucks Zhang his uniform back. “Keep the hole in the leg covered until you can change clothes” he quips to Zhang as he begins the docking procedure. Rushing into his clothes, Zhang just sits next to Itzcoatl, bewildered as much as appreciative. If he is just trying to win over crew members…well, he’s made a good start. Frankly, having someone on board who just wants to do pleasant things for people is overdue. Plus, as much as Zhang likes Samuel, having a more sociable male friend will be a pleasant change of pace.
Itzcoatl lands the shuttle with the minimum of fuss, and the pair step out of the shuttle. Ravaan is waiting with Symone and Santiago, with Nemmy standing behind.
“The energy problems interfered with our sensors. What is the status of the comm buoy?” Ravaan asks before the pair even stopped. Zhang pauses, but Itzcoatl steps forward, drawing attention.
“By the time I had fixed my mistake, Lieutenant Wei had completed the repair process,” he says confidently. Ravaan looks over Zhang with a contemptuous eye, but he accepts the explanation.
“Very well. Decent work, Lieutenant” he says.
“I always believed. Didn’t I, Santi? I told you he would blast it” Symone says, jabbing Santiago in the ribs. He grunts, but gives Zhang an almost imperceptible nod, before the trio leave.
“That’s very impressive work, both of you,” Nemmy says with a smile.
“Thank you, Captain” Itzcoatl replies, again stepping in for Zhang.
“We’ll have a proper introduction later, Sergeant. For now, go get settled” Nemmy says. Itzcoatl nods, giving Zhang a friendly pat on the arm. Zhang returns the gesture. Itzcoatl quickly departs, leaving Zhang to stand awkwardly before Nemmy.
“You don’t need to worry about being taken seriously. I think everyone knows how skilled you are” Nemmy cheerfully offers.
“Thank you, Captain”
“You hurt yourself?” Nemmy asks, pointing at the damage on the leg of his uniform. Embarrassed, Zhang fumbles over the ripped material.
“Oh, yeah, there was, I mean, it was an actuator thing-“Nemmy chuckles, holding up her hands.
“I have no head for jargon. Just make sure Samuel has a look at it.”
“Right after I leave the shuttle bay Captain,” Zhang says tersely. He flirts his eyes to the far-off shuttles, the walkway markings across the deck, pretty much everywhere he can except in front of him. Several excruciating seconds pass. He finally assumes the silence is permission to leave and starts to walk away. Nemmy softly takes his arm.
“Wait, Zhang. Before you leave, I, uh, I just want to apologise to you. About…that thing” She says. Zhang looks at her and finds she is also struggling to make eye contact.
“You don’t need to”
“No, I do. I was just embarrassed. By the situation, not you. I over-reacted. It’s been made clear to me that you’ve been affected by what I said. That is obviously unacceptable. I never meant to hur
t you” she says. Zhang watches her shift her weight from left side to right, and back again.
“Uh…thank you, Captain. I appreciate that. I didn’t mean to cause you any upset either” he offers.
“I know that. Look, Zhang…” she says, looking around the shuttle bay, “I can’t pretend that you’re not an attractive man. That would obviously be a lie”
“Obviously” Zhang jokes, feeling the tension instantly lifting. Nemmy laughs loudly.
“Obviously. But like you, I also need people on the ship to see me as credible in my job. So, I can’t really date someone on the crew, no matter how wonderfully handsome he is. People hate me enough as it is”
“Don’t say that. People are just…confused because you are so young and sexy. They’ll get used to it” Zhang says. Nemmy smiles widely, rubbing his arm.
“That’s the Zhang I know and love so much. Let’s keep him around, shall we? Now, you really should go to the Med-Bay” she says, taking the moment to leave. Zhang thoroughly enjoys watching her leave. She is attracted to him. He knew it. So did Itzcoatl, surprisingly. He is an interesting fellow. But as Zhang rubs his mildly throbbing leg, he suddenly feels quite good. The fact that he didn’t actually do the repairs himself doesn’t seem to have been noticed. Given how well things had turned out, he feels quite comfortable keeping that secret. Nemmy turns to give him a friendly wave before leaving the shuttle bay. He returns the wave with a prominent smirk.
Unknown Earth Volume 2 Page 15