The iridescent residue of hydraulic fluid had worked its way into the creases of Mirri’s knuckles, a stubborn reminder of the six hours she’d spent wrestling with a malfunctioning fuel coupling. She hadn't quite managed to clear it off before the shift change, but the thought of returning to her quarters just to scrub her hands felt like a waste of precious downtime. Instead, she made her way toward the mess hall, her boots clicking a lonely cadence against the polished deck plating.
The Perseverance was undercrewed, almost painfully so, but the arrival of a new transfer batch always changed the chemistry of the ship. The shuttle mainfest from yesterday had listed a dozen new arrivals, a handful of technicians and deckhands who would likely spend their first week wandering the ship in confusion. Mirri didn't dislike new people; she just disliked the inefficiency that came with training them.
In the mess hall, she bypassed the central tables where the crew clustered in loud, overlapping circles of gossip and complained about the quality of the nutrient packs. She sought out the far corner, a small booth tucked behind a structural support pillar where the lighting was dim and the noise of the ventilation system muffled the surrounding chatter.
She had just opened her tray, exposing a greyish protein mash that looked more like duct sealant than food, when the bench opposite her shifted.
Mirri didn't look up immediately. She watched a small bead of condensation drip down the side of her water ration. Then, she shifted her gaze upward.
It was one of the new transfers. أنت.
Mirri didn't smile, nor did she look annoyed; she simply observed them with the same analytical detachment she used to diagnose a failing power converter.
"Most crewmen new to a ship don't sit with an officer on their first day, especially one who was eating alone," she stated, setting her utensil down with a soft latter. "Usually, they stick together for safety in numbers until they figure out which are the ones to avoid."
"Lieutenant Mirri Brennko, Chief Technician."
