Fix

[Pher 0]

The sounds of Shane's footsteps echoed down the central corridor, as he stomped down the circular steps from the Engineering levels. His bionic arm hissed and whirred as it swung by his side, sending off small sprays of steam ever so often. Reaching the bottom of the stairwell, he turned and headed towards the bridge in a slow, casual gait with his face the usual stony and expressionless.

 

Pher smiled as Shane came into her sight line, wondering if he was making an entrance, or if he always was that way. She thought of her own approach to walking into an arena, and decided she'd best not comment.

 

"Shane? You're the engineer, right?" She walked out to the corridor and stood beside the still open door control panel. She couldn't resist giving him a bit of her own show walk. It wasn't about power and intimidation. It was about emphasizing curves and a little more motion than might really be necessary, but one way or another it said she was dangerous.

 

"I've been trying to figure out how Troy got the door open," she said. "Could you take a look, then button it up right?"

 

A slight look of annoyance crossed the cyborg's face as Pher stood between him and the bridge. However, the expression left as quickly as it had come and he continued on into the bridge, though seeming to give the woman a little more room than necessary. "Sorry, Orion," he said as he passed, "but I ain't hired yet. You're gonna have to do you're own dirty work for now."

 

Shane paused by the primary weapons station and picked up his worn, gray duffel bag, sling it over his shoulder with his good hand. Turning back towards the open doorway, he made direct eye contact with Pher, as if in challenge. "However, if you're so curious, why not look it up on the security cams? Surely you could figure that out."

 

Pher shrugged. "I tried that. Security records gave me funny information. Supposedly, the signal to open the door came from the console where you were sitting. Now, that couldn't be right, could it? Anyway, I thought I'd best get a second opinion."

 

"You and I both know that you've already made up your mind," Shane replied as he stepped delibriatly towards Pher, stopping with a meter of her. His bulky frame towered over the smaller woman as he continued speaking, "If you've got an accusation, then spit it out green-skin. I don't take kindly to subtle threats. Just ask the Deltan."

 

"Look, big guy," Pher responded, not backing an inch. "I've had a bad day. The bad guys went down nicely. They split up. Couldn't support each other. Didn't play a team game. They went down. Fell like rain. Easy. Not a problem. You'd think if the bad guys go down that nice, it ought to be a good day?

 

"Tis the crew that's bothering me. One guy tries to gas me. You. Me. Everybody. Think I know why. Might be able to fix it. Another guy points a gun at me. I know why. Might be able to fix it. Lot of work to get there, but it's a fun sort of work. Captain was a no show. Don't know why. That's a problem. Not at all sure if he can be fixed. If he was fixable, he'd have been fixed by now. Then there's the frigging security boss. Half way through this charade she decides she's not working for the QoB, she's working for the Guardians. Full scale mutiny. Big problem. I know why. Not sure it can be fixed. Gotta be, though. If we're going to play at being mercenaries, we've got fight who we're hired to fight rather than fighting each other. Life expectancy gets real short if we don't."

 

She shook her head. "Anyway, Captain called a meeting at the Maze tonight. Wants the whole crew, including the wannabes. Thinks we all need a drink. He might have a point. Might be his best idea since we hit dirt. You might want to have a story to tell. A believable story. See you then."

 

The slightest hint of a grin pulled at Shane's mouth as he looked down at Pher. "I ain't out to fight you, Orion." Then the grin was gone and the cyborgs voice deepened, "Just don't get in my way." Readjusting the bag on his shoulder, he turned and walked out of the bridge.