Rebeka Mino looked at the tablet in her hand then back at the person in front of her.
"Seriously?" She lifted an eyebrow. His mouth opened, though whether from surprise or as a prelude to protest, she didn't know and didn't care. "No," she said as she held up her free hand, forestalling him. "Go. Just go." She pointed to the corridor leading back to the station. The man at least had the grace to look abashed as he picked up his bag and trundled off, a shiver coursing through him.
"Bleeding Stardust." Turning to the remaining applicants, she frowned. "We may be a jack-of-all, picking up whatever odd jobs come our way, but we still have standards. No active criminals and certainly no Stardust junkies. Anyone else need to leave?" When there was no exodus, she addressed the next person in line.
"Severn Lynch." Surveying his specs on her tablet, she tried to keep the tiredness out of her voice when she asked her first question. "Why should I let you on my ship?" She sighed when she realized she'd failed. There was no answer. She looked up at him to see a lopsided grin on his pretty face, with its perfect teeth, splash of freckles and bright blue eyes. She quelled the urge to punch him.
"You sent all the other computer techs away." He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "I'm the only one left. Assuming you still need one, it's me or waiting for another batch of applications."
Studying him, she noted the slight tension in his jaw and how his blue eyes were a little too sharp. He was hungry for the job, despite his demeanor. The work history displayed on her tablet looked to be a good fit — middling grades on a Core Tech degree from a licensed academy, systems maintenance on commercial haulers, let go from his last ship when customs impounded it. She pursed her lips, then sighed, pulling her shoulders away from her ears. "Fine. Grab your stuff and stand over there." She indicated the other side of the ramp with a jerk of her head.
Rebeka turned to the last two people. The pilots. She pulled up both sets of specs side-by-side, stabbing her tablet so hard her finger stung. The sooner she got this over with, the sooner she could go to her cabin and have more shots of amber whiskey than were good for her. She sighed. After I sort out the next contract.
"Our two pilots. But there can be only one." A smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth but quickly fell, her heart not in it.
"Orion Neill." The small man in front of her gave a sharp nod. He was clearly young, despite the ridiculous mustache, and had the slight frame of a pilot which made him seem even younger. Combined with his baby face, it gave the impression that he'd only flown in sims. "Why should I put my ship in your hands?" she asked, getting to the point without preamble.
When the man spoke, his words were measured and quiet. "I've flown everything from corvettes to cruisers, T-fighters to tankers."
She glanced back at his specs. He didn't lie, unless he'd hacked his record. She fought the frown that tugged at her mouth as she wondered why he was applying for a job on the Lyra.
"Never one quite like this before...a jack-of-all scavenger ship." He shifted and Rebeka's gaze returned to his face. His upper lip quirked, then his eyes widened a fraction when he saw her looking. "I like a challenge."
Her lips thinned, and her words had an edge when she spoke. "Looks like you're younger than my ship. Less experienced." She focused on his face then asked her last question. "Why did you leave your last ship?"
"It was all local, core systems, core planets. I want some adventure."
Rebeka's eyes narrowed on him, and he glanced away, before she finally turned to the last person in line. He was taller than her by a good head, and that was saying something. Combined with his broad shoulders and muscular build, he was unusually large for a pilot. Cockpits were small spaces.
"You don't look like a pilot. What have you flown, Alek Wa?" she asked, her eyes squinting. Despite being uncommon, she'd had encounters with others surnamed Wa. Unpleasant encounters. Though he didn't resemble any Wa she knew.
"Not quite so many ships as this fellow." He glanced down at the man beside him. "And never one of this vintage. But I can get you out of any tight spot you find yourself in. Asteroid hopping, atmo skipping, starshotting...I've done it all."
She let her pursed lips tell him what she thought of that then changed tacks. "Why did you leave your last employer?"
He was silent for a second, his face tensing. "They wanted me to get modded." His expression flipped, a broad smile on his lips, arms going wide. "Can't improve on perfection."
Rebeka sighed. For a moment, she'd almost had some sympathy for him.
Neill piped up. "What's wrong with being modded? Everyone can use an edge sometimes." The man sneered. "Maybe they thought you needed the help."
Rebeka's gaze slid sideways to re-assess the young man, catching a silver gleam in his right eye she hadn't noticed before. "Wait here." She stepped over to the rest of her paltry crew and leaned in. "So Ish, you've seen the specs...what do you think?"
"Neill," Tink said before Ish had even opened his mouth. "This Wa is a loud-mouth, muscle-bound hotshot."
"Ish?" Rebeka said, ignoring Tink. "You're our backup pilot."
Ish took the tablet and flipped through their specs and test results. Shrugging, he handed it back to her. "Both their in-system skills are better than mine. Wa tested higher?"
"Marginally." Tink nudged him with her elbow. "Are you sure you just don't want that over-muscled man on the bridge beside you?"
Fire lit in Ish's eyes, and his mouth dropped open as he pulled himself up and stepped towards Tink. "I would never risk —"
Tink threw her hands up. "I know. It was a joke."
He crossed his arms over his chest. "A bad one."
"It wasn't funny." Rebeka graced her with her best disappointed look.
At that point, Kandi strode forward from where she'd been polishing her long, whorled blade. "Wa."
"What? Not you too?" Tink brought her hands to her hips.
"You can't accuse me of wanting him on the ship because he's beautiful, even though objectively he is. He's not my type." She tucked a loose fuchsia strand behind her ear. "We could use a bit of extra muscle."
"So, two against two," Tink said. "Captain wins."
Rebeka glanced at her. "Captain wins." Shifting around, she spoke so the two men could hear her. "Wa, go stand with Lynch. Sorry, Neill, not today." She ignored Tink's huffs, staring at the man as he peered at her for a second, a spark blazing in his eyes, before he hefted his bag and stalked off down the corridor.
Turning back to the ship, her lips tingled, anticipating the glass of whiskey waiting for her. Kandi and Ish looked at her with hopeful expressions. "Go. But be back by 22:00 Zulu. We're leaving before the rush." Ish moaned but ran after Kandi, who was already striding down the passageway. Even though her blasters were safely on the ship, the two perfectly legal blades strapped to her thighs were hopefully enough to protect them both in the Bowels of Euko Station.
The eyes of the two new recruits followed the pair. "Not you two. You need to get familiar with the Lyra. Tink, if you will. I'll be in my cabin." Rebeka didn't stick around. Instead, she headed back into the ship. A shadow emerged from a dark corner of the cargo bay, and green eyes peered at her. She knelt down to scritch between the cat's ears, which he deigned to tolerate.
"R&R will have to wait, Grim." Her shoulders slumped as she realized she couldn't relax with a book and a glass of whiskey yet. She had a contract to arrange.