Princess of the Stars

5 - Meetings

The tall, white building loomed as the highest point on the entire base and on the entire dwarf planet. Terra looked up at the columns she'd walk through on the way to leading a meeting regarding everything the engineering crew would need to accomplish in the upcoming days. Keung's team had sent her files full of timetables earlier that morning, and she hoped she'd pored over them enough to lead the meeting. Although she was good at presenting herself as having it together, she was falling apart because she didn't know if Keung and the rest of the Varuna base would allow them to stay and build a whole new ship.

"I can't look at those columns without laughing," a small voice said beside her.

Terra jumped, startled to be pulled from her thoughts. She chuckled in response, and said, "Yeah, cynicism makes you see everything in a new light."

Sasha chuckled. "Well good morning to you then."

"Good morning."

"So, I actually wanted to ask: how old are you? You seem fairly young to be in a leadership role."

"I am. I was one of those 'engineering prodigies' who graduated from everything early," she said, emphasizing with scare quotes. "The regal line was actually my senior project, internship, and introduction to the 'real world' all rolled into one. I had quite the childhood."

"I can imagine." Sasha chuckled again and shook her head in disbelief. "Are you leading the meeting today, then?"

"Yes, somehow."

"You sound so unsure."

"It's just been a while since I led a presentation or meeting, so I'm a little rusty, but I'm sure it'll be fine."

"You'll do great." Sasha patted her on the back, and Terra shuddered at the sudden physical contact. She'd gotten used to it when Celeste was around, because she was definitely a hugger, but others usually kept their space. It was kind of nice to experience a brief moment of human contact.

When they entered the room, they found rows of chairs, each behind a long table and facing a platform. That's where Terra would stand. Keung leaned against the wall beside the platform, playing with his wristy. When Terra approached, he closed the projection and greeted her.

"You ready?" he asked.

"More or less," she responded.

Sasha took a seat near the front, and they all watched as the engineering division of the ship entered and filled in the seats.

"Good morning, everyone," Keung announced once all the seats were taken. "After the next couple days, your schedules will resemble normal working days, but for now we have to hold a lot of planning meetings. To this end, Chief Livingston will now take the floor."

Terra shuddered at her new title. She didn't feel like someone who deserved the title, "Chief." Squaring her shoulders, she stepped up onto the platform and decided to sell it.

"Good morning," she said in her presenter's voice. It was deep and projected far. With the help of the sound system in the room, her voice echoed with importance. Sasha smiled at her, and Terra knew she had at least one person cheering her on.

"As you all know, we have a week to figure out if we can continue on our mission from here, or if we have to go back to Earth and Mars to obtain the necessary parts to rebuild the technology necessary for the Princess Mission. Today, we'll be taking tours of the engineering sector on Varuna, as well as the labs in the basement of this building. It's promising to be a long day, but I need all of you to take notes on what you see today and how each piece of equipment might be used to rebuild or replace the technologies on the Princess of the Stars.