[i]Capsized in Calm Waters...[/i]

Sgt. Manash Ranjavi was, as usual, hard at work keeping the schedules and equipment lists for the engineering department up to date, organized, and running smoothly. Also as per usual his uniform was crisp, neat, and perfectly within regulations. He knew everything there was to know about how to keep his department and himself running within the guidelines of the ship's regulations and he did his job very well, even if he did say so himself. Manash scoffed at those who said that being a glorified supply clerk and desk jockey was less honorable or important for a military man than being a fighter pilot, or security agent, or any of the other positions that involved fighting and killing. None of those positions would be possible without someone smart, efficient, and organized making sure that they had all of their equipment and that said equipment was in the best possible condition. And Manash was all of those things, to a tee. 

What he was not very good at, on the other hand, was dealing with Echo Olveira. 

"Yo Manny!" Echo grinned as she saw the the dark skinned engineering clerk stiffen and wince at the sound of her voice. There was a faint click from the data slate in her hand as she snapped a picture at the same moment, capturing the uncomfortable reaction of the poor bastard for posterity. Hell that might be good enough to make it up onto the wall with the dozens of other pictures arrayed around her room. 

"Miss Olveira..." Manny turned away from the computerized inventory he'd been going over to face her, his face one of strained politeness as the blue-haired engineer jumped up to perch on the edge of his desk. "What can I help you with?" 

"Heya Manny. I need to check out a diag pad for a Destrier and a set of 87-X spanners, puh-lease." Echo threw the man a big smile as she slid her data slate back into one thigh pocket. Immediately the man's brows furrowed and a contentious look came over his face. It was amazing how often Manny wore that expression when Echo started asking for things. 

"I'm sorry, why would you need equipment for working on a Destrier? I clearly have you scheduled for the next three rotations to continue working on the launch catapult in sector 67-Alpha."

"Already finished it." 

"What? You've only been working on it for two rotations, there's no way you could be done already."

"One and a half rotations. Check the log, Manny-my-man. I replaced a hydraulic feed and recalibrated the second, third, and fourth relay couplings to get rid of that hiccup, and then did the same with the fifth, sixth, and eighth couplings to boost its efficiency and reduce wear while I was at it." Echo smiled at him again and waved her hand casually as if to say the work had been nothing more than child's play. 

"You did all that in two rotations? I don-"

"One and a half." 

"...what?"

"I did it in one and a half rotations. Spent the last half of the second one explaining launch stress factors to one of the security guys."

Without another word Manny turned and pulled up a set of records on his terminal, fingers snapping over the keypad. Echo could see his watery brown eyes flicking back and forth as he took in the information displayed, his expression growing just a tiniest bit sicker with each passing second. It wasn't, really, that he disliked Echo, or that he didn't appreciate her skills. On the contrary he found himself constantly impressed and little bit in awe of the Amani girl. It was just that she was constantly disrupting his schedules and planned allocation of resources. He'd never once had to deal with someone quite so disruptive back on Earth. 

Recovering, he turned back to Echo. "Well, nicely done then. If that's the case I do have a condenser terminal that-" 

"No." 

"...what?"

Echo sighed, frowning in mock disapproval. "C'mon Manny, you know the agreement. If I finish up early on whatever you ask me to do I get the rest of the scheduled time for other projects that don't involve fixing what other people break. Just give me the diag pad and the spanners, and I'll be out of your hair. What's left of it." 

Ignoring the girl's crack about his thinning hair, Manny turned away and stepped into the supply room behind him to grab the gear Echo wanted. He knew when he was beat. He also knew that it happened every time he had to deal with her. Echo only smiled and bounced off with the equipment and a quick faux-salute as she left the exasperated desk jockey behind. 

An hour later Echo was wedged inside a maintenance hatch on one of the Vitae's Destrier gunships, only her legs from the knees down visible as she examined a series of power couplings that fed to one of the craft's main engines. She thought she'd identified a series of power leaks that she could eliminate as well as a way to improve the overall efficiency of the power being delivered to the engines, thereby increasing both the thrust and the responsiveness. Somewhere in the midst of plucking at her guitar she'd calculated roughly a point five percent improvement. Nothing world shattering but it could be enough to spell the difference between life and death for those on board. 

It was a goal that had become ever so much starker after the disaster that had been the crew's first planetfall. 

"Marco!" 

"Polo!" Echo winced as soon as she'd instinctively called out the response. She knew the rough, smoky voice that had called out instantly, and it wasn't exactly someone she was eager to see at the moment. 

"There you are, girl. Butt deep in the mysterious inner workings of one machine or another, as usual. What are you doing in there, anyhow?" Echo sighed quietly to herself and wiggled out of the Destrier's maintenance hatch, spanner gripped in one hand. The woman leaning against the side of the ship watching her was tall and stunning, as usual. Ebony skin, sparkling eyes so dark they were almost black, shiny hair pulled back and twisted behind her head. Her generous curves were wrapped in a half open flight suit with the name Manchester stitched on the chest. She wore a white t-shirt underneath and a welcoming smile that always seemed to say that all was right with the world. 

It wasn't, but that smile always seemed to think so.

"Tana! What's up?" Echo forced a smile of her own, but was pretty certain that it looked at least a little strained. 

"Not a whole lot, my girl. Heard you were somewhere here in the hangar and figured I'd hunt you down. Figured I'd find you crawling inside some hard to reach place filled with moving parts and grease. And lo and behold." Tana gestured towards the open maintenance hatch. "What are you doing anyways? I get nervous when people start playing with my ride." Tana was a pilot, typically for the Destrier gunships. She could fly most of the Vitae's compliment without a problem, of course, but the Destrier was her favorite and the one she was best with. 

"Had an idea to make it a bit quicker. Maybe handle a little better. Figured even a small increase could help keep you guys from running into something the next time you get in a hurry." 

"Serious? That's awesome, Echo! God knows I love these things but I'll be the first to admit that nimble is not the word to use for them." 

There was a small shared laugh between the two that quickly devolved into an uncomfortable silence. Smiles slowly melted away into the half expressions of people who didn't quite know what to say to each other, and Echo could feel a distinct twisting in her gut. For a moment she thought she might actually get sick. That would be just so fucking lovely. 

"Look, Echo. About the other night. I just wanted to apologize to you-" 

Echo shook her head emphatically, automatically reaching out and touching Tana's arm before drawing back her hand quickly. "Woah, woah, space ranger. You don't have anything to apologize for. I never should have tried to kiss you, it was way over the line." And there it was, out in the open like a proverbial pack of dogs, bursting through an opened gate. No direction, no control, just a stream of noise. "I was... I was lonely, and you were there, and I was just... feeling sorry for myself-" 

"And drunk. Don't forget drunk." 

"And [i]very[/i] drunk. Yeah. Definitely that." 

"Look, Echo," Tana straightened, putting one hand on her hip. "You're by far one of my best friends out here and I don't want anything to get in the way of that. You know I love you, just not... like that." 

Echo leaned back against the Destrier with a thud and sigh. "I know, trust me. Booze and loneliness are apparently not a good combination for me. Especially with you being all sexy and shit. You should try being ugly or something." 

Tana laughed and smiled a very real and very big smile. "I'll keep that in mind. Sexiness levels turned down with Echo gets drunk." 

"Maybe I'll just take pictures next time." Echo grinned. "You know, for later." 

"You're terrible." Tana swept Echo up in a powerful embrace, proving that there was definitely some muscle under that flight suit. "Still love you Riot Chick." 

Echo hugged her back, starting to feel like they'd be able to put the embarrassment of before behind them. "Love you too Fly Girl." 

Tana stepped back and released Echo. "Factory after shift? You, me, and Holden?" 

"Absolutely. I'll meet you guys there, ok?"

Tana gave her a thumbs up and headed back out into the hangar, while Echo watched her go with a sigh. "Sometimes, Echo my girl, you're an idiot."