Author Topic: Job Interviews Are Terrifying (Tally x3) (Read 1647 times)

Nix · « **on:** August 17, 2012, 03:04:16 pm »

He knew he was there early, but he didn't have anything else to do and after worrying about what he should wear for 45 minutes he decided to just sit at the bar and wait for the captain to show up. Nike only ordered water for now and the bartender had practically glared at him for it so he retreated to a table afterwards. He really was starting to hate living on the Cancer. There were too many people and inevitably they would stare at him like they knew he didn't belong, like they knew he wasn't really a person.

It was obvious though from the brand on his face that he was a slave, which was why he managed to hide it today. He got the idea when he saw a man with gauze taped to his chin, obviously the guy had got into a fight or something since there was blood on the gauze, but Nike could still cover up the bull's-eye on his cheek with the stuff. Maybe it wouldn't make the best impression with a possible employer, but everyone expected him to be tough and violent since he was so big, so what did it matter?

He shifted awkwardly and made sure the thick leather arm band covered up the brand on his wrist. His other ones were easily covered by his pants and snug black t-shirt that managed to hug every single muscle. It made him feel very awkward but was also the only clean presentable shirt he had to wear. He really needed a job, and he really needed off the Cancer.

With a small inaudible sigh he sipped his water and waited for 'Nathan' to show up. Hopefully the whole job interview process wouldn't be as scary as he feared it would be. He had seen them happen in bars here and there and mostly consisted of 'what can ya do' and 'I dun like ya', but he also suspected those men were pirates. He wasn't 100% sure what the Blackjack Diva did, just that it was a ship in need of a mechanic. He'd just have to hope for the best.

Tally · « **Reply #1 on:** August 18, 2012, 11:53:36 pm »

As bars went, this one wasn't bad. Didn't smell terrible, and had a generally higher quality of drunks, the kind that started brawls instead of knife fights when you bumped into one. For Nathan, it nearly qualified as a fine establishment.

His eyes landed on one lone guy, big, a bandage on his face. And bright pink hair.

"Nikephoros?" He noticed the man's height, because he always noticed height. He held a hand out. "Nathan."

Nix · « **Reply #2 on:** August 19, 2012, 12:04:37 am »

Nike practically blushed, embarrassed that he hadn't noticed the other approach him. Actually he practically jumped in his seat a bit. He had zoned out while waiting, idly taking small sips of the water and well just letting his mind wander.

When he stopped being an idiot he took Nathan's hand and shook it in an almost timid grip for a man of his size and shape. "Yeah, umm you can call me Nike, Nathan right? Uhhh.. oh! Please sit!" Shit. Already he was making a fool of himself.

Tally · « **Reply #3 on:** August 19, 2012, 12:11:33 am »

Nathan was already in the process of sitting. He propped his chin up on his fist and let Nike talk himself out. He was so obviously killing himself with nerves. Refreshing to meet someone on Cancer who had no swagger.

"Fight?" he said, pointing to the bandage.

Nix · « **Reply #4 on:** August 19, 2012, 12:20:30 am »

Nike took a sip of his water trying to calm his nerves a bit. Even with Nathan pointing at it it took Nike a minute to realize he meant the bandage. He all but spit take-d into his glass and coughed a bit. "Uhh yeah." He answered lightly scratching around the gauze with a finger. "So umm... you need a mechanic?"

Tally · « **Reply #5 on:** August 19, 2012, 12:29:12 am »

Oh he was just precious, stuttering and stating things he already knew. Yes, Nathan needed a mechanic. That was what the ad said, explicitly. The ad Nike read before contacting him.

"Yeah! Sure do. How are you with jump drives?" They were finicky, delicate things. Needed mechanics with experience. More than that, they needed mechanics with an attention to find detail.

Nix · « **Reply #6 on:** August 19, 2012, 12:39:01 am »

"Jump drives are amazing, but you have to be careful with them because if they need calibrating it has to be exact... you could be off by the slightest bit and ya know the whole thing just malfunctions... I've worked on a few when I was... working... at a shop in Tynova. It was really strange that those ones were jumping without a mechanic on board... I mean if something went wrong..." He realized he was rambling and that Nathan would already know this stuff, of course.

The larger man cleared his throat and blushed a bit. "I'm uh, really good with them though."

Tally · « **Reply #7 on:** August 19, 2012, 12:47:16 am »

"You're knowledgeable," Nathan said. "But how are you out in the black? Ever manned on a starjumper before? We can spend months at a time out on the edge. Some people just can't handle that, y'know? Best to try and be sure you can before you get yourself stuck out there."

It took the right personality to man a starjumper vessel. You had to not just tolerate the void, but like it sometimes. You had to be down for those long stretches when all you had was the same small crew for company, and a dull march of uncharted planets as you searched for that one in dozens that had something of value on it.

Nix · « **Reply #8 on:** August 19, 2012, 01:03:20 am »

"I've was on a starjumper once before when I was a kid. I wasn't really working back then but I can handle the edge." The black was nothing compared to being a slave, but he didn't want to tell Nathan that. He would have no problem with deep space. He actually kind of liked it. "It's not being stuck... I mean in a jumper you can go anywhere... it's all sorts of possibilities."

He wished there was more water in his glass cause it was empty now. He was so nervous despite being basically honest with Nathan.

Tally · « **Reply #9 on:** August 28, 2012, 12:31:37 am »

This guy was so cute! He was so nervous, and Nathan was hardly the scary type.

"That would be the way to look at it." It was how Nathan saw it, anyway. He couldn't imagine himself on any other kind of ship. With a starjumper he could be just outside Cancer one minute, and halfway across the galaxy in the next. It overwhelmed him sometimes, and he did it on a near daily basis.

"You don't have anything tying you to Cancer? Nothing you'd be missing somethin' fierce when you're out in the void for months on end?"

Nix · « **Reply #10 on:** August 28, 2012, 12:45:39 am »

Nike blinked for a moment trying to process that question. "...I don't have anything anywhere that I could miss." It was true too, but he had never even thought about it. Jobs were very different from being a slave. People asked you stuff, they also paid you.

He didn't know what else to say really. "...If I was the mechanic on your ship I would be working. I don't really know how to do anything else sir." He said looking down at his hands.

Tally · « **Reply #11 on:** August 30, 2012, 11:10:56 pm »

Nathan rubbed the back of his neck and let them lapse into silence. Nike was answering his questions, but he didn't feel like he was getting any real knowledge on the guy. Like he was just getting surface-level answers, and Nike didn't look ready to expound on any of this.

"Hey! I have an idea." Nathan pushed his chair back and sprang to his feet. "I've got a few parts to pick up, a replacement for one of the drive core supports. Why don't you come with me and let me see how you get on with the hardware?"

He couldn't let Nike on the ship, couldn't allow that kind of security risk, but the parts weren't any kind of secret, just standard jump drive gear, and it would give him a chance to see Nike in action.

Nix · « **Reply #12 on:** August 30, 2012, 11:28:34 pm »

Nike had been thinking of a way to break the awkward silence that fell between them when Nathan sprang to his feet and explained his idea. Nike's face lit up for the first time during their conversation. He got to his feet too, actually noticing how much shorter Nathan actually was for the first time. It didn't matter, Nike's last few masters had been shorter than him and it didn't make them any less in charge.

"I-I'd love to come sir!" He said blushing a bit and feeling like maybe he had been a bit too enthusiastic about that. Still he'd get to go pick up parts and possibly prove his worth.

Tally · « **Reply #13 on:** September 03, 2012, 12:13:09 am »

This could work! It took more than a few questions to evaluate a mechanic anyway, and Nike sure seemed to take a liking to the idea. Nathan would get to see his real skills, and just maybe Nike would warm up to him enough to be comfortable around him. They'd have to be easy in each other's presence if Nike was gonna work for him. Couldn't be spending month stuck in a metal box with someone that made you so uncomfortable.

"Awesome! The support structures will still need to be put together before we can install them. I was gonna take 'em to a contractor, but you can take a crack at 'em first, show me what you can do." Nathan lead the way out and along the winding path that would take them to the shop where he was due to pick up his parts.

Nix · « **Reply #14 on:** September 04, 2012, 07:34:38 pm »

Nike trotted after Nathan like a baby chick, well if a baby chick had pink hair and a hulking muscular frame. He was still blushing a bit but he was almost always blushing for one reason or another, right now it was because he was excited to prove his skills and still a bit shy and nervous.

"Are you getting the RK90-7 supports or the WK180-Gs for the drive? ...I can assemble either, but depending on the drive and budget I would say that the RK90-7s are going to last you longer, they also provide better support while allowing more give in case of trauma to the drive."

Tally · « **Reply #15 on:** September 16, 2012, 02:47:49 pm »

"The WK's, and you'll see why in a minute. Diva's rig is unconventional—most of her parts are custom, means we gotta work around the usual expectations."

The shop was a literal hole in the ground. Its entrance was an old cellar door with steps leading down into the shop, and so low that even Nathan had to duck to get in there.

"What's up, Julian?"

What followed was an expected back and forth on price, with Nathan giving in sooner than he might usually on account of liking this place and liking Julian—a bald, scrawny guy covered in tattoos. Once he had his parts, he got the okay to use Julian's extra work table for Nike to put the thing together.

"Okay! Check this out." It was the WK model, but the jump field sensors he'd gotten to install in it were obsolete nearly ten years ago. "Know why we use these?"

Time to see how well Nike could read the hardware.

Nix · « **Reply #16 on:** September 17, 2012, 05:36:42 pm »

Nathan had to duck to get into the shop and Nike had to hunch over all together. He felt so big and awkward in the cellar style store, even though once inside it wasn't quite as cramped and tiny as the entrance way. It was a well hidden shop, that and its awkwardness to get into were two reasons that Nike hadn't been in the shop before.

He remained quiet while the shop keeper, Julian, and Nathan haggled though even Nike could tell that Nathan seemed to give in quickly. Probably could have gotten the parts for a bit less but sometimes it wasn't worth the insult to the shop keeper.

Nike followed Nathan over to the extra work table, still having to duck a bit and squish himself onto the small work bench. He looked over the pieces in front of him. The WKs were fairly recent and standard but those field sensors were ancient as far as mechanics went... he picked them up, looked them over and the wheels in his mind started turning rapidly. Automatically he started to assemble the pieces as he contemplated why Nathan would purchase these particular sensors, there had to be a reason...

Well these ones had a great amount of slip differential and they were built to withstand increased heat and friction and... "Your ship has a S-class thrust doesn't it? Probably an SXH-90 siv. You use these to..." Nike lowered his voice partially out of confidentiality but mostly out of sheer awe. "The Diva can make distance jumps in half the time, can't she? ...which means she probably uses a F-class engine rig to cut down on the warm up time between jumps and a hull that can withstand the pressure... if that's the case sir, the Diva isn't custom, she's a master piece!"

Tally · « **Reply #17 on:** September 30, 2012, 08:10:46 pm »

Watching Nike turn it all over in his head was fascinating. All that Nathan knew about the hardware of his own ship was what he'd picked up from various mechanics over the years. He could never have done what Nike just did. You gave the guy a couple of parts, and he had the whole ship figured out!

"Not bad." That was an understatement. "You could tell all that? Actually...she's jumping at a little less than half the standard time for a vessel of her size. We found a way surge the stealth layers into the jump drive for an extra boost. We're pretty mobile—have to be able to get out of tight spots in a hurry."

Nathan nodded at the new parts. "If you can put that together for me and install it, we'll take a test run together. I've got a few short trips between a few stations to make."

Nix · « **Reply #18 on:** October 03, 2012, 11:36:25 pm »

Nikephoros was already busy assembling the parts eagerly. He couldn't help but smile a bit as he worked happily on the parts, excited to see the actual ship and install them. He beamed up at the captain from his squished spot on the work bench. "That would be great sir!"

To see the work of art mechanics that had to go into a ship that could jump in under half the time? It sounded absolutely beautiful! The pink haired man was happily blushing as he mapped out what he guessed the Diva looked like in his head and finished putting the parts together. He had never been interested in mechanics, not until he met his last master at least. Then again he had never been exposed to it before then. He just soaked up everything the old man had to teach, fascinated by how all the parts worked together to create amazing things.

After a few more minutes the parts where put together and Nike offered one to Nathan. "How does it look?" The large muscular man had the look of a puppy that wanted to be praised for doing a good job.

Tally · « **Reply #19 on:** June 24, 2013, 08:42:42 pm »

Nathan took a seat and watched Nike work, not really following everything he did but it didn't matter if he understood everything himself, did it? Nike would be on the ship himself when she took off—if he didn't put it all together right, it'd be his ass on the line out there in the void just as much as Nathan's.

The mechanic seemed to drift off into a whole other world while he worked. Reminded Nathan of a musician in the zone.

He took one of the finished components in hand, turned it about to get a good look at it. "It looks...exactly like it should! It's good work. And you can install it, too?"