Eli liked to think of herself as a fairly attentive person, and so when she bumped into the unfamiliar form of a new mechanic, the surprise made her drop her datapad to the ground.

Out of instinct she gave the other girl a hard look, but what actually accompanied it was a genuine: [color=6ecff6]“Apologies..”[/color]

The response from the raven-haired mechanic was hardly so simple as she immediately stepped back before she replied, with a volume that may have seen as a bit too loud.

[color=ac00e6]“Oh my god! I’m so sorry! I should have really seen where I was going, I really have this bad habit of not paying attention and I really should remedy that— oh! You dropped your datapad! Let me get that for you!”[/color] The girl replied as she quickly knelt down to pick up Eli’s datapad before standing back up to hand it back with a wide yet nervous smile, her tone chirpy and speed of words fast like that of an energetic child.

It wasn’t the reaction Eli had expected, to say the least. She took the datapad back from the other girl with a thankful nod, and suddenly she felt as though she might have to tone back the harshness, even if it was unintentional. 

[color=6ecff6]“It’s...uhm, fine,”[/color] she said. [color=6ecff6]“Accidents happen.”[/color] These were not words she was used to using, which might have come across in the almost awkward tone they were conveyed with.

She nodded, [color=ac00e6]“I suppose so… I guess I’m still getting used to everything and everyone, even though I’ve been here for a good while! You [i]definitely[/i] don’t look familiar. Are you a new transfer yourself? or one of the [i]pilots[/i]? That would be pretty cool.”[/color]

The girl spoke quickly, almost too quickly for Eli to keep up with her. It took a moment after she’d stopped speaking to give a proper reply. 

[color=6ecff6]“Elizabeth Jackspar, I pilot the NC ‘Blur’. You said you’ve been here a while?”[/color]

[color=ac00e6]“Katarina Poux, though most call me Kat.”[/color] She paused for a minute before replying to the second part of Eli’s inquiry. [color=ac00e6]“Yeah, give or take a few weeks. I came in and started looking for work and got pointed towards this operation. Guess they liked my repair and development skills enough to accept me in. Which is good because I was [i]starving[/i].”[/color]

[color=6ecff6]“Starving?”[/color] she asked, and the edge came back to her voice. She looked to Kat intently. [color=6ecff6]“Were you from Smith’s Rest?”[/color]

[color=ac00e6]“Nah, I’m from a bit further east, maybe southeast? Last job kind of fell through after some disagreements and the like.”[/color]

[color=6ecff6]“Understandable. Was it mercenary work?”[/color] she asked, and still couldn’t quite leash her standoffish tone. In truth, Eli wasn’t sure what sort of people made up the NA crew, and if admittedly unsettled her to think there might be some previously checkered individuals caring after their weapons. 

[color=ac00e6]“Nah, I was a corporate belle. Fairbanks. For a little while anyway.”[/color]

[color=6ecff6]“Hm,”[/color] Eli mused, and folded her arms. Well, Kat wasn’t a mercenary, but a prior allegiance to Fairbanks didn’t strike her as too much higher above the bar. She thought back to the third contract. [color=6ecff6]“You know, it’s not impossible that we might end up crossing with them.”[/color]

[color=ac00e6]“Wouldn’t concern me, they kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. I spent five years of my life at that company and all they did was ignore me, argue with me, dismiss my concerns, and tell me I should do the bare minimum of what I was required. They didn’t think I was good enough to pitch new weapon designs. You know? I think they were [i]sexist[/i]. Good riddance, if you ask me.”[/color]

[color=6ecff6]“Right…”[/color] Eli mumbled, though she couldn’t help but agree with most of Kat’s concerns. [color=6ecff6]“And what if your life here in New Anchorage becomes unsatisfactory? Being an engineer here affords you a lot of vital information.”[/color]

[color=ac00e6]“If? That’s pretty pessimistic of you, Liz. Can I call you Liz? Right, well if it becomes bad or something I don’t think I’ll be divulging super war secrets or anything; if I’m allowed to my job nothing bad will ever happen.”[/color]

Eli bristled in the same way she did to nicknames like “Liz”. It got her in the same way --though to a stronger degree-- that non-superiors using her full name did. She was “Eli” to everyone but her mother and the captain as far as she was concerned. 

[color=6ecff6]“Eli,”[/color] she replied, a tad sharp, once Kat was finished. [color=6ecff6]“It’s not pessimism, it’s caution. I want what’s best for New Anchorage, and if that’s you, then good, you’ll hear no complaints from me.”[/color]

[color=ac00e6]“Righto.”[/color] Kat nodded.

[color=ac00e6]“Blur’s pretty impressive, at any rate. Pretty dangerous to go in relying on speed alone even with that plasma blade. You must be pretty scary to go into that and come out looking as pretty as you are.”[/color]

It’d been a lie to say that didn’t feed her ego just a bit. She glanced up at Blur, a slight smile spreading behind her scarf, if only for a moment, though that was more due to how Kat’s compliment ended than to any self control she had. For perhaps the first time, Eli’s chalk skin betrayed her, and took on a rosier hue.

[color=6ecff6]“Uhm--sorr--what?”[/color] she asked, fumbling her recovery. [color=6ecff6]“Thank you. Blur’s speed is...uhm…”[/color]

Kat laughed, [color=ac00e6]“It’s fast! Though it could be [i]faster[/i] or at least more agile with enough tweaks to the systems.”[/color]

[color=6ecff6]“Faster?”[/color] that seemed like enough to snap Eli back to reality. Blur’s speed and mobility were already optimal she’d been told, however given the light of their last missions she wasn’t sure she believed it as wholeheartedly as she did before. [color=6ecff6]“And [i]you[/i] could do that?”[/color]

[color=ac00e6]“I could try, but I think so, yeah.”[/color] 

Eli thought for a moment. She didn’t know if she trusted Kat to work on her NC on her word alone, but then again, she didn’t know any of the mechanics leading the work on Blur as it was anyway. [color=6ecff6]“Fine,”[/color] she said at last. [color=6ecff6]“If it won’t take Blur out of operation for the upcoming mission, I...would greatly appreciate any enhancing work you could do on it.”[/color] That was right, wasn’t it? The proper way of requesting help from someone else, without an iron fist anyway. She supposed she could have made it a direct order, but somehow that didn’t feel necessary.

[color=ac00e6]“Puts me a bit on a deadline—”[/color]  A giggle escaped Kat’s lips as she smirked, [color=ac00e6]“—but I like a challenge.”[/color]