Neil knew that was horseshit. Nobody was perfect, but he knew his Captain better than that. She had never let anything halt her progress from work before. If he had been a new addition to the crew he wouldn't have noticed anything, but by this point they had gone through hell and highwater. He wouldn't press any issue though. Now was not the time, and they didn't get this right then they would likely feel an eternity of torture within a singularity in the depths of space.

Not a fun time. 

The pilot grabbed another byronian steel ring and lowered it carefully into the pod. The jury rigged metal appendage he had on his arm hissed softly as it curled. Neil wasn't a weak guy, but this was far too important for vanity to take over judgement, and he probably needed it regardless. Junebug certainly didn't. Her arms and back muscles were as hard and defined as the metal crates and metal rings they were needing to move. 

"The hardest part will be getting the quantum wave to act accordingly. This won't take much longer," he said, referring to actually creating the system itself. For emphasis he stacked another ring into its proper place, closing it up with a smaller lever that opened the port for the next one. "and after that it'll take me...woo thirty minutes maybe? If we got the right lenses. Did we manage to get a few yet?" 

"I sent Taya to get some. She should be back soon." Sayeeda replied.

Neil gave her a look. Junebug caught it when she handed him the next ring. "What? She might be young but she has her uses." It said something that even while arguing, they worked as if they weren't speaking at all. They'd been a team now for almost longer than Neil had been off-world. Neil caught the ring and spoke. "I'm not saying she doesn't! I just don't like the most defenseless one of us out there, talking to backwater traders!" 

"Calm down," she barked. "I told her not to take her cowl off." 
[hr] 

So far, so good, Taya thought to herself. Her vision poking out of the heavily wrapped scarf that shrouded her face, the cowl hanging loosely over her head. She shuffled along, having been given directions by an elderly chap she would assume was probably one of the least backstabbing people in the small town, and made her way to Zephyr Street where the specialized traders dwelled and sold their wares. 

Three gentlemen she could only describe as 'thugs' stood on the far side of the other street as she rounded the corner, with a plethora of other rundown folk who looked they could use a bath sooner than a crafted item. She couldn't imagine living in such squalor. Even when food ran short on the Highlander, she still got to sleep in her own bed. She suspected that was because she had come from old money. Not for the first time did she wonder on the fate of her father and her world. It ate at her sometimes, though apart of her had already accepted they would likely be dead by now. 

She had felt uneasy approaching the junkers, and she realized it wasn't because of their rough nature or the intimidating men milling about. She was uneasy because they reminded her of Sven. Men wearing naught but rags yet still likely enough rigged firepower to detonate the street if need be, with gravely voices and various parts of their anatomy likely artificial. Still, she needed to do her part and stepped past a man looking at an out-of-date power converter. 

"Excuse me," Taya said to a bearded, gap toothed fellow with mechanical spider legs strapped (or perhaps infused in) to his back. He leaned over a table that looked far too flimsy to be holding the amount of metallic junk and gadgets it was. Taya made sure her shoulders were squared. "Do you have a C-34 3X5 Lens for sale? I need four of them, if you have that in your stock." There was a small pause, and she realized she might sound very foreign, so she added. "And make it snappy, you fuck." 

If Neil or Sayeeda were around, she didn't know if they would be proud or if they would laugh their butts off. But she had to add something! The man leaned in, one of his spider legs piercing the table to stabilize him as he leaned over. "You don't sound like any dervish I know. What do you need these for, little one? They're hard to come by." 

"I said hurry up! You don't want to make me late, for my master is an unforgiving one. He will kill me and then you, and use you for parts in his war machine. Here are the credits if you wish for them." she said, her petite hand sliding out of her robes to showcase her datapad with a few thousand credits, slightly more than they likely needed but she did not want to be found wanting in the money department. 

The man wasn't cowed, but after a moment, he did realize that whatever her business was, it was best not to get involved, and he called for one of his Xenos to fetch the right lenses. Taya's smile was so bright one could almost see a light behind her scarf as she made her way back to the Highlander, lenses procured. 
[@Penny]