Titan Dock

Sammie shifted uncomfortably on the viewing platform, regretting yet again the decision to wear tight jeans. Today had been going well so far - she’d taken both wings out for a sweep around the yards, putting on a bit of a show for both the engineers working to get the fleet of science vessels ready to fly as well as the crew that had already arrived to occupy those ships. Then she’d had a chance to talk with her parents, and had even managed to grab lunch with her kid sister who was currently working on installing… something to do with computers, she didn’t quite understand everything Eve had said but it was apparently very important for the new craft currently being built.

And then there had been dinner with the crew; Yril’k had been there as well, so it was clearly marked as a senior staff meal rather than a meal for Dustin and the assortment of attractive women that he’d gathered. Although, for some reason most of the ladies present had acted as if they’d got something on their minds… Still, a good day. Which had probably been why when she’d left to get changed she’d opted to pull on these particularly cursed jeans. It wasn’t that they didn’t fit well - they did, and made her ass look fantastic - it was just that they fit a little too well. She was used to either loose outfits or the close-fit of her space-suit, and these had the tightness of the latter without any of the ease of movement that her spacefaring outfit offered courtesy of it’s nanite-manufactured polymer makeup.

In short, movement was less easy than she’d have liked it to be. Fortunately, movement wasn’t high on the list of things to do today - all today was about was talking with the captain and Meli’a, to get to know them better. It was definitely going to be that, and nothing more. With a frown, she mentally stamped on the part of her that was pointing out the fun things she could get up to with both of them without the jeans that were currently doing their best to chafe the backs of her knees as she leaned up against the railing. This time, she was going to be mature about things and not dive into a relationship without scoping it out first. For all she’d gotten over it in the year or so since, including dating that cute barista for three months before being in the angels had taken up all her time, losing what she’d had with Sylvie and Jane had really hurt.

“No fucking around without finding out first, you promised yourself that.” She muttered, stretching and cursing her trousers once more, just as two figures rounded the corner of the viewing area and waved to her. “Sorry we’re running late” Dustin said, rubbing a hand on the back of his head awkwardly; “we got stuck doing stuff, I didn’t think it’d take as long as it did.” Sammie waved it away as Meli pulled her into a hug. Blinking, she stepped back while looking at the Velca who was smiling at her. “Apologies if that was forward in our circumstances, but my research indicated that hugging is a common greeting among female humans? Also, in case you are expecting a joke, stuff tragically doesn’t refer to one of our other partners but actually just a call from Axworth.”

Dustin hushed the pair at that point. “Not for general discussion, we’ll fill you in on that tomorrow morning at the general briefing with the rest of the senior staff. So, you’ve got us off the ship and out here on Titan dock, what’s the plan?” Sammie grinned and held up the three cards she’d been clutching ever since leaving her quarters earlier. “Got us tickets to a grav-ball match, then figured we can just walk and talk afterwards. There’s a few little cubbyholes on the station I found when I was a kid that we can curl up in for a chat.” Meli’s ears twitched - confusion, Sammie reckoned, so she hurried to explain. “My folks used to fly ships on the route from Earth to Titan when the docks were under construction. Every time we stopped here, me and Eve - that’s my kid sister - would do our best to get lost places. Well, at first, but I’ll tell you about that later. C’mon, we’ll be late for the match if we don’t get a move on.”

Grav-ball was, Dustin rapidly came to realize, exactly what you’d get if you put a bunch of humans who loved both football and basketball into zero or low-g for long periods of time. The scoring system was more or less lifted from basketball - with varying points for shots from different parts of the court, while the objective was closer to a football goal - a large floating oval at each end of the court. What made it more of a spectacle was the dropped power to the grav-plates, and indeed the fact that the plates were mounted to walls and ceiling of the arena as well, allowing the players to rotate rapidly around the walls. Spectators occupied a band down the middle of the pitch where the interacting grav-plates cause a null zone; once in position the bubble they were sat in would remain hovering in mid-air until the match concluded.

The observation bubble itself had become part of the game, Sammie enthused as the ball ricocheted off the glass a few feet from Dustin’s chest. “Sport’s still developing, y’kno, but the Titan team’s one of the best. It’s still small enough that we can get tickets on short notice to a big match like this against Venus Orbital, but it’s a load of fun to watch.” The pilot’s enthusiasm was infectious, and soon all three of them were cheering each time the Titan squad scored.

When the match concluded, one-ninety-eight to one-seventy, Sammie stretched. “So, what did you both think?” She asked, noting with some delight that more than one set of eyes had been on her as she’d raised her arms behind her head. “It was fun.” Dustin grinned, then glanced at Meli. “What about you, love? I reckon we could probably get Rye to put together a court back on the ship, and we’ve surely got enough crew for a couple of amateur teams?” The Velca woman nodded. “It was an interesting sport. I rather fancy the idea of teams aboard; it might do well for cohesion amongst the junior crew.”

While they talked, the trio discussing the needs and wants of a functioning grav-ball court on the Solar Ascent, Sammie led them down a series of increasingly disused passageways. “Nearly there” she said at last, rounding a corner and pointing to a ladder leading down. “This is it. Just climb down here and we’ve arrived.” Dustin glanced at Meli, then shrugged and followed the departing form of his pilot, Sammie having already started to descend. When he reached the bottom he paused, taking in the view. “Oh wow.”

They’d emerged onto a long gantry; clear glass surrounded them on three sides, while on the fourth there was a narrow bench-like area formed out of fastenings and ducts onto which Sammie had scrambled and was now sitting cross-legged looking at something on the wall. Dustin wanted to go and look at what she was studying so intently, but the view had his full attention as Meli joined them. “Glass was cheaper to fit all the way along rather than just the yard manager’s office apparently” Sammie called over her shoulder, seemingly aware of what they were looking at.

Beneath them, in two neat lines leading out to the edge of the vast drydock hung the science fleet. Sleek, Rabyth hulls now bristling with angular human construction frames as they were fitted with both top of the range scanners and the weaponry that Dustin knew Axworth had insisted on. Looking like a fleet of slender darts, they were close to completion - even now, the external crews were busy with the human touches, like applying a coat of paint to each vessel’s nose with the ship’s name. These were the small vessels of course - barely fifty or sixty to their crew - the larger ones, were like Sola docked elsewhere.

“C’mon you two, come and look at this.” Sammie said, drawing his attention away from the spectacle before him. Scrambling onto the ducting, he suddenly found his face very close to hers; Sammie’s cheeks flushed and she turned her head quickly towards the wall. “We drew this when we were kids, see? That’s me, and Eve, and then those two faces on the terrible drawing of a rocket are supposed to be our parents.” Dustin smiled as he looked at the chalk scrawled on the wall. “Must have been nice. Just travelling with your family all the time.” To his surprise, Sammie frowned as she ran a hand through her braids. “Sometimes it was. Sometimes… Eve could be a real pain, and there’s virtually no space on a cargo hauler. I could tell you some stories, y’kno?” Before he could ask for any more detail, Meli scrambled up alongside them, the three shifting around so that they could all stare out at the dock below. “Family, huh.” Dustin stared at his hands as he said it, before looking up and shaking his head as he changed the subject. “So, how’d you end up getting recruited by Axworth?”