Butterflies of the Dark Star

7 (REVISED)

"ARRIVAL TO THE USHAVEX NEBULA INBOUND. PREPARE FOR ORBIT AROUND MOVIUM 1XH. PRIMARY ORBITAL SYSTEMS ACTIVE."

Nova plugged her datascroll into the computer to upload her new schedule — each shift adjusted to near perfection of work, breaks, meals, and rest, along with small spaces for her to enter any notes for her use. It blipped with each registered block, and she left it to get into her work clothes, with a toolbelt and her last name plastered over the back of the black fabric. It covered her casual wear from any dirt and grime she was sure to confront on her first day of internship of shadowing another engineer while they prepared the droid launch. Nova adjusted the size of the belt and examined the small spots for handheld tools. I'm guessing they'll give me whatever I need when I get there... "Neo?" she asked as she grabbed her datascroll when it clicked its completion. "What's taking you so long?"

Nova scrolled through the schedule. Her first shift extended into several of her internship. To report to Droid Bay A — refer to Map. Nova clicked on the small block to open up the document and added directions. Report to... Thuni Horizol... Droid Engineering Division. Horizol? Her mind wandered and grasped for the sense of familiarity. Isn't that the engineering student Overseer Mikean mentioned...?

"I didn't mean to take so long."

Neo left the small hall to the wash station, donned in a much fancier lab coat then the dedicated school ones which had undetermined goop splattered in awkward or outright bizarre places. The spiral starmark of the I.A.R on the back of the gray fabric lined with snow white. He adjusted the cuffs and grinned at her, messing with the folds. He bounced in place and twisted his fists. Any other movements led to his inability to stand still. "How do I look?" he questioned with a small turn. "It does look official doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it almost doesn't fit you," Nova teased, then shook her head when Neo frowned and examined it once more at the waist. "I'm kidding, Neo. You look great." She grabbed the back of his collar to fix it when he tried to reach it, and she patted his back as he shuffled through the inner pockets. "Have you taken a look at your schedule yet?"

"Look what came with it." Neo ignored her question and tugged out a thick black rod which forked at the end. He extended it further, and touched the tips with his fingers after a moment of cursory hesitation and a lost fight to impulse. Nova took a large step back when he pointed it to the side. "Anomaly suppressor." He pushed his thumb on the top of the grip, where a strange shimmer of light wrapped around the shaft and forked points. "Neat."

"Great, they gave you a weapon to hurt yourself with." Nova scoffed.

"It's a safety measure — it only affects anomalies," he explained and touched the tip again with the base of his palm. Energy flowed against his skin, but never struck it. "Anomalies have unique wavelengths — this just... makes it so they don't misbehave to the point of no control." He smiled and turned it off, folding it back into his coat pocket. "You said something about a schedule?"

Right, back to the matter at hand, Neo. Nova pointed at his desk. "Shifts came in. I need to start heading to the Droid Facility Bay to meet with an engineer called Thuni Horizol," she said when he wandered over to pick up his datascroll. "I have a break between then if you want to catch up in the eastern mess hall." Unless something major comes up...

Neo examined his schedule. "I need to head over to the anomaly labs in central command for safety orientation."

Nova loomed over his shoulder, where he tested time when it beeped an alert for a chance of tardiness. Beneath the orientation shift, the training block in the range that Admiral Mythrai adjusted for the interns to take. Nova checked her own, with her training block sometime after her break before rest and recreation. "Guess we're both busy for our first day," she joked and sent her fist into his shoulder with a point at his schedule. "You might want to start heading to center command now before you end up being late." He remained still, and she pinched him. "Neo? Hello?"