Saturn's Rings ~ f. millstone

No Guts, No Glory

"Come on! Grab your shit and let's go, Vicar! We gotta go talk to an old lady."

Willow stood at the bottom of the stairs, shouting up to Max who was taking his sweet time. Parvati leaned against the door, waiting for the other two crewmates to join her. The captain noticed how eager she seemed to get to the Groundbreaker. She was the first one to be ready as soon as ADA announced they had permission to land.

Willow turned to the engineer, gestured up to the vicar, and rolled her eyes. "That's my bad, inviting an old man aboard, God love him."

She smiled nervously and took a deep breath. "Hey, Captain? You got a minute?"

She shrugged. "I honestly probably have all day, since it seems like Max doesn't want to join us anytime soon. What's up?"

"I heard that Groundbreaker's got a real good engineer. A lady named Junlei Tennyson."

"What about her?"

"I was thinking that maybe I oughta meet her. If you got time to swing us by, I mean. I don't got much experience fixing actual spaceships. I bet you a can of boarst and beans she could teach me all manner of stuff."

"Yeah, absolutely. You could probably teach her a whole bunch of stuff too ya know," Willow smiled, nudging her with her elbow.

Parvati let out a light laugh. "Thanks, Captain. I'll be sure to make it worth your time."

The captain was about to tell her that wasn't necessary, when she heard footsteps coming down the metal staircase. The man who rounded the corner was none other than Vicar Max himself.

"Well if it isn't the man of the hour!" Willow greeted with outstretched arms. "Glad to see you alive, Vicar, I had my doubts for a second."

He rolled his eyes and gestured to the door. "Are we ready?"

"We are now," she responded with a teasing grin.

As the three descended the stairs outside of the airlock, they were greeted with the bustling sounds of the Groundbreaker, as well as the overwhelming heat. However, the latter was overlooked because they were all looking above at the stars.

"Captain. Hey Captain! I'm in space! I never thought I'd be able to say that."

Willow smiled at Parvati's excitement. She was looking all around her with wonder and intrigue. Max was doing the same, but more subtly, not wanting to be caught enjoying himself. Even Willow couldn't help herself but stare at the stars. Come on, it's space. How could she not?

"That's not the point," A trooper's voice was overheard by the captain. "This halfwit just knocked out one of my workers-"

The conflict piqued her interest. A few steps off the ship and they were already going to have to break up a fight.

A Mardet rolled her eyes. "Yeah, with a tossball stick. I heard you the first time. There weren't any witnesses."

"No witnesses? He's not even denying it."

The man in question shrugged casually. "Jackass had it coming."

"Shut it, Felix. You're not making this any better."

The trooper got closer to the man leaning against the wall with an accusing finger shoved in his face. "You get cute with me again, you little Back Bay brat, and I will toss you out an airlock."

"This is the Groundbreaker, not Byzantium," the disinterested Mardet clarified. "You ain't the law here. I am. Now move along."

Defeated, the man in armor sulked away, muttering, "I don't have time for this. I need a drink."