USF Progenitor & Crew: Adventures in Cosmos 01

[#32] Air Pressure

"So, without further adieu, fellas... Ka'eo, Mana, Peter, Stavros, and Christopher... we have come to our destination. Now, am I dropping you off here or at one of the mag-stalls?" Asked Deborah. She looked to be around sixty Earth years of age, given time to observe her.
"Here!" Stavros quickly shouted.
"Stall!" Ka'eo loudly contested.
Deborah and Christopher laughed.
"No-? Here!" Stavros argued loudly, not wanting to try the mag-stalls at all.
"No, guys, let's go ahead and park on a mag-stall and go up to that catwalk up there. Can we park on that one? Please? For the view, guys, come on," Ka'eo said, hardly taking command.
"Man, I thought you said you were tired," Peter complained. "If we park up there then we're just going to have to walk all the way back down again! Remember, we're trying to get back to the ship now, man."
"Well, remember, we were going to-," Ka'eo pointed at his own head as though signifying to think.
"F$ck no! I'm not walking! Not unless it's back to the ship," Stavros interrupted, placing his hand on the table as though to mark a line. "I'm not f$cking walking anymore. I want to go back to the ship and not fall off of a magnetic wall. Thank you."
Deborah laughed. She told Ka'eo her concern, "It sounds like your friends might want to go back home, hun. I think I'll drop you all off down here."
"No, yeah, but they want to walk home! We can check out what's uhh... you know, what's up there-," Ka'eo smiled and cycled glances between the crew mates and Deborah, speaking sleaze with charm.
"I agree with them, Kai'eo, sorry to burst your... fun. We should take it easy for now, and then we'll do another spin around the asteroid's city. We're not going anywhere anytime soon, my man," Christopher soothed, smiling calmly. "Meaning, we'll be here, you guys can always come back and visit."
Stavros had a big grin on his face, showing it to Christopher. He said lightly, "Thank you!"
"Yeah, we want to go back home, not f$cking walk more, man," Peter complained redundantly.
"Yeah! Ka'el..." Mana said, tagging along with the majority vote weakly.
Ka'eo looked at everyone in the shuttle. They all looked as though they were ready to move on to the enactment process of a new law. Ka'eo jested with a quote, "I want... my F$CKING... MONEY."
Peter and Stavros chuckled while Mana raised a quick eyebrow and shrugged.
Christopher smiled and got next to Deborah in the cockpit, placing one hand on the back of her seat then gesturing her to fly toward the garage. He told her, "Yeah, so, let's go ahead and land there at the garage, and I'll get these guys home safely, no problems. And I can happily satisfy your gas bill." Christopher abruptly remembered the argument he just had with his manager back at the Starport. He thought about him and said in his mind, f$cking tool bag, I hope he f$cking suffers for what he said, not knowing sh$t about me at all that stupid pr$ck. He imagined kicking the manager out of the back of her ship to satisfy his repressed rage, but he handled his stress with the self-proclaimed mediocre notion that there would be better days coming up.
Deborah, having agreed with Christopher and the majority rule, helped them get closer to Christopher's shuttle, landing her craft safely on one of the available landing pads.
"Alright, guys, I'll go get her. Just wait for me up here. Shouldn't take long," Christopher directed, switching his sunglasses to its shades mode. "Thanks, Deborah, I really appreciate it! You're super cool and a very sweet woman, I love that." He gave her a 100-credit slip from his wallet and said, "Spend this however you like."
Deborah smiled excitedly and gasped, then she said, "You're welcome, love. Oooh, I love your sunglasses! Those are pretty darn cool. And do be careful while piloting yourself out of here, okay? You're all so dear to me and fragile like angels! Always think twice, okay?" Deborah stood up and gave Christopher a big hug, rubbing his back hastily, patting him off, then gave the crew hugs and handshakes one-by-one.
"You're an awesome woman, Deborah. Thank you, again! Come visit me at the Starport," Christopher said, feeling warm and ready to get back to flight again. He glanced at Ka'eo who glanced at him and disclaimed then asked, "If I'm not fired, of course. Out this way again, or?"
"Yes, out the back. Pull the lever there to disengage the safety lock, and then press that button in while holding the other button next to it," Deborah instructed. "The ramp will activate on its own. You be safe!"
"Thanks, Deborah!" Christopher said, feeling like he got a free ride, a real steal for him, credit slip included. Still, he was very happy for their driver to have been a woman of Deborah's caliber. Christopher was impressed with her, and he wondered if they would ever see each other again while he walked across the giant garage to the ship access terminal.
Ka'eo watched as Stavros, Peter, and Mana walked out of Deborah's storage space and went down the ramp, exiting her ship. Ka'eo wanted to keep her as a PCD contact, so he asked, "You got a StarWeb profile, CID number?... Deborah?"
Deborah responded positively, saying, "I assure you I do! Here's my contact ID number. Do you know how to accept the quick CID transfer thingermabob?"
"Yeah, here," Ka'eo confirmed, pulling up his PCD and setting it to OPT (Open Port Transfer) mode, scanning for another PCD. He brought it closer to Deborah's PCD, and the two devices both made a sound like a jingle then a lock securing itself.
Deborah smiled and said, "There. So, now, if you all ever need a ride again if you're in a jam and i can make it in a hurry, you may contact me. I work here often, and I keep up with the times. You know. Someone my age has to keep updated fast, fast, fast. Everyone and everything is getting so technological, you know?"
"Yeah," Ka'eo said, chuckling warmly.
"If you know where I could get my hands on that genuine quality life elixir fluid, and I'm not talking dirty here, you'll let me know?" Deborah asked interrogatively, as though fiending.
"Very true, Deborah. If I had any to give you for free, I would," Ka'eo gave.
"I'm willing to pay, too," Deborah said. "So, you let me know."
Ka'eo nodded, "Okay." He smiled warmly and asked the crew, "Now, are we ready to go, guys?"
"Way ahead of you, Ka'el," Mana replied, fixing his hat and walking toward the garage building's ship access panel.
"Nice, alright," Ka'eo nodded, giving an ignored thumbs up to Mana's back. He turned around to face Deborah. "Thanks again for the ride and everything else, for... giving us the opportunity to be a part of your ship and company. We leave you now, and hopefully we'll meet again, some time... soon, maybe. See you, Deborah!"
Deborah smiled comfortably, aware of the edginess in his voice and words, but certainly aware of the dangers of his journey. She took one look at him among the rest of the crew members and definitely noticed he had a sharper side that wasn't far from utility. She concluded, "You betcha, honey. Have a great journey! Bye, boys!" Deborah, to the crew, was clearly a sweet woman, also strong, good-spirited, and happy hearted.
"Alright, guys, let's take off," Ka'eo said, feeling like he didn't want to leave her company, now worried for her and the life serum request. He had to let go and hope for the best.
The crew waved at Deborah's mining vessel as it cruised up into a hover then whipped itself out of the garage building area, getting in line with the other ships and disappearing from their view.
Mana said, "She was cool. Reminded me of your mom, Ka'el."
Peter giggled and said, "Yeah, that's what I was going to say! She reminded me of Aunty Cheryl."
"Like how she looked or sounded?" Stavros asked with a tone of understanding.
"Yeah," Peter said, chortling. "Ka'eo, didn't she remind you of your mom?"
Ka'eo agreed with a nod, "I wonder what my mom is doing now." He sighed then informed the crew, "You know they gave her an extension of 'life force,' yeah? They're testing it on her, you know, slow and steady, after she agreed to try it, and they're doing some necessary tweaking on the mental aspect, fixing the bugs. I'm... honestly surprised she was willing to do the procedure, but I did hound her as much as I could. The thought of losing my mom? Eh."
"No, yeah, my mom, too. I think the USF asked all of us, right? If our families wanted to be clued in on the augments and test experiments they come up with, they were supposed to sign the forms. That's what I tried telling them to do. So... it seems like they're going to. And if they want to try anything else that the USF offers, then it's up to them," Peter explained.
Mana said, "Yeah, my mom was supposed to, too, but... she's still... I dunno. She got the first batch and tried it, and it worked, but it didn't change her age and the fact that she was still aging. She's getting older, and I think... I think she might have signed up for the next tests. I dunno. It's been a while since I've spoken with her, so... yeah, anyways."
"Well, that's your mom, Mana, you're supposed to talk with her about it. And what about your dad?" Peter consoled like a concerned mother.
Mana shook his head in disapproval and kept his eyes on Peter, waiting for more of his concerns.
Ka'eo took the attention and said, "I always wondered, what if they f$ck us or our family over with these experiments? That's why I had to pull some strings to make sure that sh$t went right. I had a nightmare about it a long time ago, and thought a lot about... what if they die, go through the revival program, and then don't come back the same, like Pet Cemetery?" Ka'eo didn't tell the crew that he pulled strings for them and their parents, as well, and he didn't intend on telling them either. He felt that telling them could agitate them into feeling disrespected, as though they had been lied to. The life elixir was still a controversial topic that Ka'eo and his crew were luckily able to take for granted.
Mana went ahead and excited, "Well, lucky you, you f$ck! How did you do that?!"
"Yeah, Ka'eo, how did you pull strings for your parents, what do you mean? I was told that everyone runs through the same experiment and program," Peter added on, slightly jealous.
"Yeah. I know," Ka'eo said. "Don't worry, guys, I'm not getting some better deal than you and your parents. It was just extra protection to make sure the procedures ran properly and didn't f$ck them up afterwards. Obviously, none of my family members got f$cked with, nor did yours, so the USF is pretty good and responsible. And Mana, no offense, but it sounds like you're not helping you and yours get that serum. You should get in contact with your mom and your dad and whoever else and tell them to get the f$cking serum while the USF still allows it."
Peter hasted into conversation saying, "Yeah, Mana, you should get your mom and your dad to try it again, it's super easy. Not like the last one that you said your mom did. It's like what they did for us, it regenerates your cellular activity in your body, reverses atrophy like rebuilding protein blocks, and then it feeds your brain, like refilling a tire with air-."
Ka'eo was nodding along, acknowledging with a hopeful outlook, then he interrupted, "It's a bit more complicated than that, though, Peter."
"Yeah, well, so they regenerate your cells and then it gives you an ability to reconstruct yourself like you're going through the aging process all over again, now. You're basically reversing in age like Benjamin Button for a major part of the process. And that's how we get the augments afterward, because they attach to us... and are basically made to become like..." Peter continued, trying to explain.
"Like our actual body parts or, yeah," Mana kept on with Peter at a low, droning tone. "Yeah, I'll see if my mom and pop did already. Later, though."
"Good idea," Ka'eo said.
Right then, Christopher's shuttle was revealing itself, the landing pad's pod doors having opened, and the platform the shuttle was on rising to the top. Christopher was walking all the way back from the other side of the garage, which was far off from the crew.
"Why didn't they just drop us off next to the terminal?" Stavros asked, chuckling. "They made Christopher have to walk all the way there. And us, to the ship."
"She would probably think, hey, nothing wrong with a good walk! It's good for the young people!" Ka'eo replied in her defense. "But, yeah. Lazy f$ck."
"Oh. Alright," Stavros lazed.
After a delay, Peter chuckled at Stavros's response.
Christopher walked up to the crew and asked them, "You guys ready to depart?" He didn't wear a smile this time.
"Yeah," most of the crew affirmed.
Ka'eo said, "No, I think we should walk more."
Stavros and Mana chuckled, Stavros saying, "No, we're not doing that."
"Yeah! Nooo, okay?! We're not f$cking doing that. Okay? B$tch?!" Mana rasped jokingly.
"Alright, everyone, shut the f$ck up and just get on the f$cking ship... ?" Peter joked along, laughing, sounding happy and reignited. He pretended to go alone to Christopher's shuttle then stopped and waited.
Mana and Stavros laughed while Ka'eo stood in place suddenly feeling dehydrated and sleep deprived.
Christopher laughed, kept his grin wide and pleasant, then said, "Well, let's get going then. Come on, guys. Get in the shuttle!"
The crew got into Christopher's shuttle which was prepared to launch. Christopher was flipping some switches on and letting the shuttle recalibrate. Suddenly, the ship was experiencing launch failures. Christopher tried to get the ship up and running three times, but it failed each time.
Stavros chuckled and said, "See? We took too f$cking long!"
Peter looked around the cockpit with a serious look on his face, wondering if the nightmares were ever going to end.
"God dammit!" Christopher murmured to himself, laughing like he wanted to sob, leaning forward onto the cockpit's dash instruments. "Guys, uhhhh." He stayed leaned into the dash, dropping his arms down. With his hands hidden beneath, covering his groin, he then began tapping rhythmically beneath the instrumentation panel. He tried to stay focused on thinking about what to do next, referring back to the owner's manual in his head.
"You know what we need? We need some music and a good walk up to the catwalk where I said we should go," Ka'eo joked, as though he knew all along this would happen. "It's leg day! Come on, f$ckers!"
"Wait, it could just be a fuel cell deficiency, now that I think of it. I've got plenty of fuel cells in the back," Christopher said, beginning to sound more humble. He leaned back in his chair and stretched then said, "If you guys can go grab me that, we can get it installed and that should be good enough." He was enjoying stretching, looking meditative with his eyes closed.
"Well, your ship definitely f$cking departed while we were gone," Ka'eo told him. "Speaking of departing."
Christopher couldn't help but snort. He held one hand to his forehead, closing his eyes and smiling. "Kai'eo!" He exclaimed. He started laughing to himself again, then sighed. Looking up at them, he said, "Sorry, guys."
"You don't have an onboard AI system, Christopher?" Ka'eo asked.
"No, not in this ship," Christopher answered, ceasing in his laughter. "This ship doesn't handle all those extra capabilities very well, surprisingly."
"F$$$$$$$$$$ck! Aaaaahhhll!!" Mana fake screamed.
"Yeah, so, what the f$ck do we do, now?" Stavros asked. "Peter, why haven't you said anything?"
"I don't know," Peter answered, defeated, trying not to laugh and act the same way Christopher was being. He stared into his PCD and finished typing up another report on SitRep, his eyes looking tired.
Mana said, "Yeah! Why, Peter?!"
"F$ck! Why are you asking me?!" Peter exclaimed in excitement. "AAAAAHT!!"
Mana jested in return, "No, Peter! It's... f$ck! We're f$cking... not going back to the ship! We're all stuck here! Dying! Aaahhd!"
"Aaahd!" Peter said dryly and loudly, laying his PCD down momentarily. He chuckled then rubbed his eyes, sighing. Only this time, nobody else laughed. Everyone was truly over being stranded and away from the Progenitor frigate, and they wanted to figure out how to get back to it without the luck they continued to face. Everyone was silent for half of a minute. Peter then said jokingly in a serious tone, "I'm calling... the cops!"
"F$ck, wait. I think I'll try something. Hang on," Christopher said, still amused by the fact that the entire night had been a sh$tshow for him and them. He was having fun, but in seriousness, he was surprised that all the unexpected twists and turns were possible. Christopher thought he could've expected it, knowing his past hangouts with Ka'eo in the abnormal circumstances, up until Ka'eo finally got on his own two feet again.
After Christopher tapped on a few buttons on the touch screen of his dash, then pressed a few buttons above his head, turning some devices on and off, he started his ship again. The ship started up in complete darkness with only the buttons lit up, but the sound of the engine's hum was audible.
"Ohhh! Yyyesss!!" Peter expressed in surprise. "You got it up, right?!"
Stavros shouted, "Finally!"
Mana raspily said, "Yeeeaaaaaahhh!! That's what I f$cking like to hear!!"
"So, what happened?" Ka'eo asked Christopher. "Why wasn't it working before? And why are all the lights and sh$t still off?" Ka'eo noticed and felt the difference between the shuttle prior and then.
"Alright, guys, so-it looks like-I left the ship on when we began our walk," Christopher admitted, giving a disappointed smirk. He turned to look back at the crew who was stuttering in their laughter. Christopher then wore an open mouth smile while his eyes darted around at everyone, wondering why they were acting happy. "Uhhh, so I turned off a few extra bells, whistles, and features, and that got the ship's battery right. It's on its last little bit of charge, I guess."
"Nice! Good f$ckin' thinking, man! And thank you for the entire night, man! This has truly been awesome!" Ka'eo told Christopher, sounding larger than life, feeling like he was saved from another horrible snag in his journey.
"Yeah, now we better go before the ship turns off and then we're all just stuck here, again," Stavros said, chortling.
Peter urged, "Yeah. You gotta f$cking keep going, because what if the ship suddenly dies mid flight?"
"No, it wouldn't do that. It wouldn't even start. It'll give a warning and then set itself to a recovery hover that slowly drops the ship's altitude, then it lays there until the battery is completely out of juice. The battery level on here shows that it's got a quarter left, so... I was exaggerating," Christopher explained, smiling.
The crew all expressed, "Oh!"
Mana responded, "Cool!"
"Awesome!" Stavros shouted. "Yeah, so are we going, now?"
Christopher broke into laughter again, feeling like he was babysitting a bunch of kids. He was kind of seeing Stavros as a puppy, the way he kept begging to leave. "No worries, guys, I'm with you," he said to the crew. He lifted off slowly as another few ships were rising from the garage. Right after they took off and flew into reduced traffic, two security ships landed and exposed their crew to public view.
"Oh, sh$t! Did you guys see those guys? We're lucky we f$cking left when we did, man!" Peter said, catching everyone's attention. "The way they landed looked like there was going to be a problem."
"What? Who?" Stavros asked, his voice getting deeper. He looked out the window, leaning forward and back to see.
Christopher said, "Don't worry about those guys. It's just H&G. They're doing security operations or something. We don't have anything to do with that. Right?"
Mana sat there feeling confused like maybe they were actually running from something or somebody. He didn't discount the times he noticed security personnel walking near them, past them, or staring at them from a distance. Mana figured it was just because they were new inside of the mining facility, making them look different.
Peter felt like it could've had something to do with Ka'eo and his running around crazily in H&G Diamond Drilling Corp.'s shady areas. What changed his mind was thinking about how shady and lacking in security those areas were. Still, in his mind, if security were to approach them, Ka'eo was going to have to stand for himself, defending whatever it was that he was doing.
Ka'eo said, "They looked pretty professional. Their ships, though! Did you see them? All shiny and sleek!"
"All shiny and sleek!" Stavros mimicked, poking fun.
"I agree, they've got some awesome looking ships, for sure. Okay, little bit of a sharp drop here and then... okay, hang on, here," Christopher said, steering them beneath what looked like a line of mining vessels lasering more of the asteroid's insides, breaking it apart, the ore and rock pieces blasting out from where they lasered.