The new converter gleamed, out of place amongst the old generator that surrounded it. A transient desire to take a grinder to it and scuff it up flitted through Tink's mind, but the thought caused a stab of pain to her heart. Instead, she got comfortable. Squatting in front of the generator, she examined the numbers on the sensor display as she tweaked each setting. The aeration and mineral ratios were still off, even though the algae seemed happy. Another engineer would probably be fine with it. But she wasn't just any engineer. When she canted her head, she swore she heard a hiccough in the system.
With a scowl imprinted on her face, she glanced up at the connector that had blown on the old converter. She couldn't understand how it had failed. The previous piping had been in good condition, as good as the new stuff that invasive tech crew had used. She checked the lines religiously — this ship was her soul. There was a reason her uncle had nicknamed her Tink - she loved the Tinker ethos as a child. A life spent surrounded by machines as much as people, tending, tweaking, inventing until they died. It was an idea based on a big kernel of truth. Whether by nature or nurture, even planet-dwelling Tinkers tended to tinker, not that there were a lot of them. Tink looked up at the lights overhead and blinked back tears. Not that there were a lot of her people left at all.
Wiping her nose on a rag, she turned back to testing Mean Green, with its new converter. She glanced sidelong at the faulty connection point that had caused it all, fuzzy in the corner of her vision. In the blurriness, there was something strange where the converter met the generator. A slight difference in the luminosity of the metal. She leaned closer, still not looking at it straight on. There was definitely something there. She turned her head to peer at the joint, then flipped her goggles down to examine it in different spectrums.
"Bleeding Hades." Her skin flushed, starting at her neck before creeping into her cheeks. She flipped the goggles back up and looked again. There was a hairline scratch that hadn't been there the last time she'd done a stress check.
"Whatcha looking at?"
Tink fell back onto her butt, one hand coming to her torso to keep her heart from beating out her chest. "Don't sneak up on a person like that." She twisted to glare at Severn.
"Sorry." He smiled in return, reaching out with one of the mugs of coffee he held, offering it to her. "But I didn't sneak. You were just so focused." His smile grew, and a dimple formed on the left cheek, then he took a sip of his own coffee. Tink's frown softened, and she drank from her mug to cover it as Severn continued. "Better I tap you on the shoulder, and have you flail your arms, knocking the coffee I brought you all over your machinery?" He held out a hand to help her up. "I don't think you'd appreciate that."
She stared at his hand then took it, giving him a half smile. "Maybe try singing."
He laughed, and she joined him. "I'm trying not to scare you, remember? I can only warble Manchean ballads. Maybe I can whistle though." Stepping up beside her, he nodded at the generator. "Something definitely had you captivated. If only you'd look at other things that way." His voice dropped lower.
She almost asked what other things. But seeing the quirk of his eyebrow, she knew exactly what he meant. She shifted, giving him room to get closer in the small space. As she stared at the generator, she breathed in his scent: spice and citrus and something floral. "I think..." She shivered at the thought she hadn't spoken aloud yet. "I think someone tampered with the converter." Tink sighed at the relief of sharing the idea, then a worm of worry gnawed at her gut: Severn could be the saboteur.
"What? No!" He brought an arm around her shoulder, and her muscles tensed for a second, then she breathed in, letting the weight and warmth comfort her.
"That's what caused it to blow." She turned to look at him, heat in her cheeks again. His face was a mask of disbelief, and concern filled his pale blue eyes. "I know my machines. It's the only explanation that makes sense. I just didn't want to believe it."
"Because it had to be one of the crew." His hand ran down her arm, coming to rest at her elbow. "Any idea who?"
She shook her head, bringing her mug up between them. "No. It can't be Ish. We've been friends forever. The captain...no, she wouldn't do anything to harm the ship or the crew." Her shoulders sagged. "I can't believe any of them would."
"I hate to say it, but you have two new crew on board." He grimaced, taking another sip of his coffee. "Not saying it was me, but you don't know me or Alek all that well. Though, really, do we know what anyone would do if the right pressure were applied?" He looked at the generator, but his gaze wasn't focused.
Tink raised an eyebrow. "Do you know enough about an algal converter to sabotage it in such a way that it keeps the crew alive and the ship limping but in dire need of repairs?"
He shrugged. "There is the Connect. You can find anything there."
"In a way that's not immediately obvious to the engineer that works on it every day?"
Looking into his mug, Severn opened his mouth then closed it, his teeth clinking together. Tink watched his lips move back and forth. She was about to tell him to spill when he said, "I did see Alek down here the other day." He glanced back at her, the skin around his eyes tight. "It was after it blew, but there was no reason for him to be here."
"How dare someone mess with my ship!" She almost threw her wrench down. Instead, she slipped it into her belt. "That's it. He has to explain himself." She spun on her heels, intending to stalk down the corridor, but Severn's hand grasped her wrist, stalling her. She scowled at him but let herself be stopped. His fingers loosened around her wrist but didn't let go.
"What?" The word came out short and sharp. A lock of hair had escaped from her scarf and fell in front of her eyes, coming to tickle her nose.
"It's my word against his." He glanced down the corridor before looking back at her, his blue eyes locking onto hers. He reached out, hesitant at first, and tucked the wayward strand of hair behind her ear. Tink felt herself flush again, but not from anger this time.
"So?" She looked down into her own mug, which she held between them.
"If you haven't noticed, he's ingratiated himself pretty firmly with the rest of the crew."
"Hmmph." Tink gulped down the dregs of her coffee. "Even the captain's defending him."
Severn bobbed his head. "Maybe we should watch him. Gather evidence. Then take it to the captain."
Tink sighed. She could see the wisdom of watching and waiting, and not confronting Alek on her own. "I'm no sleuth. In case you haven't noticed, I have no subtlety." She flicked her gaze up to his. "But you could watch him for me."
His blue eyes lit up with sparks of electricity. "I'll be a spy. For you." His voice was low and rough, and his fingers traced her jaw to her chin. The breath caught in Tink's throat, and her pulse beat double-time in her neck. Sucking in a lungful of warm air, she rose on her tiptoes to plant her lips on his. She decided she could get used to this as she felt him smile against her mouth, apparently not noticing he'd sloshed coffee all over the floor.
Pulling away, she glanced down before looking back at him. "You're making a mess of my engine."
"I promise I'll clean it up." He peered down at the spilt coffee before returning his gaze to her. "After I kiss you again."
Tink arched an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure I kissed you."
Severn didn't reply. Instead, he leaned forward, reaching his free hand to the side of her face, and pressed his lips to hers.