Seren stood on a landing platform where the Persephone was berthed and squinted up into the sunlight at the figure of Elena Galewind, who was perched on a hastily assembled scaffold assessing the hull of the ship.
Elena turned and kneeled, "Hello captain. It would be wise for you to join me up here. We have accumulated damage"."Damage?!" Seren's voice was both angry and curious at the same time "How is that possible?". She clambered up the scaffold and on to the platform. She didn't know if the wobbling was down to the struts or the alcohol but she noticed Elena staring a little too long.
"I'm not drunk if that's what you're thinking."
Elena didn't answer but instead focused on the gaping hole in the Persephone's hull that had exposed the underlying frame, servos and wiring. "As you can see captain, the hull seems to have been corroded in some fashion.", her fingers moved around the hole, "It does not appear to be weapons fire, the corrosion appears to have developed slowly rather than in a sudden burst. I have the droids running scans as we speak."
Seren moved in closer and orbited her fingers along the rusting hole. Small clouds of dust fell from the hull where she touched. "It's very brittle. What's the extent of this to the whole ship?"
"I am still running diagnostics on that. However, I have noticed additional corrosion on more exposed areas of the ship.", Elena pointed to the rear of the ship and a rusting brown tint. "As soon as I come up with a solution, I shall let you know."
Seren rubbed her face. "This is the last thing we need right now. On top of everything else, we really don't need this!". She sat down on the platform and dangled her feet over the side, looking out towards a desert obscured by the wreckage of the ARPharma complex
"Could that be responsible?", she said as she pointed to the ruined structure.
Elena's head tilted from side to side, a giveaway trait of her training . Seren had always taken it as a sign Elena was thinking particularly hard about something.
"So the 'Seph could have been damaged in the battle or by something leaking out of the facility?"
"I shall look into it." said Elena, somewhat preoccupied as she tapped away at a datapad, "There is an increased amount of toxicity in the air. I will need to run further analysis and liaise with the authorities and others nearby".
She would have continued with her findings but noticed that it was the Captain's turn to be preoccupied. For a moment Elena seemed unsure of whether to speak as she attempted to judge her friend's mood. "It is unfortunate we find ourselves in this predicament."
"This isn't your fault, Elena. Not the damage to the hull or....", the Captain paused momentarily, her lips pursed together, "Look, you weren't to know Salome was buying those engines from Gulgus, let's move on as best we can."
Elena nodded but ventured, perhaps unwisely, to comment further. "It was most unfortunate to hear of Ms Moonkill's premature demise. For all her flaws, she did seem to point towards a future a little less dark. It seems to have affected you more than you have let on?"
Seren nodded and reached for her flask. She put it to her lips and drank a full quart. "Didn't know her Elena, never got the chance. Maybe she could have made a difference. Maybe not. We'll never know". She paused for a few moments before she turned to her companion, "Besides, you think anyone here cares about her or us, for that matter? We're just a grain in the sand along with the rest of the people on this overblown sandpit. Ready to be sifted by the powers that be or end up being dusted off someone's carpet."
The Captain glared into the setting suns with an air of frustration. "Do you remember the days when this was sorta fun? The days when we stayed in sleazy hotels and drank too much in the bar? How'd we end up here?". The question was rhetorical, the captain had already began to clamber down the scaffolding. Elena had no reason to ask where the captain was going. It was the same place she'd come from. The nearest bar.
No comments:
Post a Comment