She looked surprised but pleased as she unslung the bag and handed it to him. “That would be great. Thank you.”
The weight of the bag surprised him. She looked slender, but she had more strength than he expected. Both he and Mace had noted that she looked a little underweight. As if she hadn’t been eating properly.
It was a common enough sight around the Drift. While there were fortunes to be made, plenty of beings struggled to make enough to cover the costs that came with life on a station. Some of the other platforms even had a weekly surcharge for oxygen. Defiance didn’t, but that still left plenty of other necessities that cost precious scrip. Hopefully what they were paying Tix would give her a bit more to spend on food and other comforts. And if she were willing? He’d be more than happy to take her out for dinner. Not just for pizza, but a proper date.
Mace had mentioned the idea last night. In fact, they’d talked about Tix a lot after they’d escorted her home. They had agreed she was worth getting to know better, and that was before she’d revealed she could fix their ship.
Before anything happened, she needed to know something. He and Mace shared everything, including the females they dated. It was how things were, and she would probably need a little time to decide if that was something she was willing to do.
He followed her up the ladder and into a space he hadn’t spent much time in. They’d both agreed it was best not to poke at things they didn’t know much about.
“Would you prefer me to stick around? Or do you work better alone? I have no idea how long it will take for you to take stock of things,” he said.
She took her bag back before she answered him.
“It won’t take me long to find out what needs fixing. Give me a few minutes, and I can tell you if I can do it, and how long it will take.”
A few minutes? He’d assumed it would take her an hour to examine everything. “That quick?”
Tix blew out a breath and then set the bag down on a stool bolted to the deck. It was the only seat in the area, placed in front of a large console with numerous gauges and readouts he didn’t understand.
“Before I explain, I have a question. Does this ship have a limited AI? I assume it does.”
He’d forgotten about that. She’d need permission before she worked on the ship, or the AI would activate defense protocols. “One second, let me introduce you.”
He tried not to look at the nearest speaker as he called for the AI. “Livy, please add our guest to the ship’s roster. Role, mechanic. Status, temporary.”
“Hello, Xaber.” The voice was that of an older female with an almost matronly quality. “And hello, guest. Welcome aboard. Please state your name so I can add you.”
“Hello, Livy. My name is Tix.”
Livy responded instantly. “Tix, you’re now on the roster. Access to all pertinent systems has been granted. If you need help with anything, please let me know.”
“Thanks, Livy. I’m going to interface with your systems and run diagnostics on the standard engines now. Please review in real time and let me know if anything is missing from the report.
“I will do so.”
“You’re going to interface with the ship?” Xaber asked. “How?”
Tix raised her left hand and showed him the palm. A second later, a golden glow became visible beneath her skin. As he watched, it pulsed twice and then shifted to a green color.
“Like this.” Tix turned and placed her hand on the console.
He stared at her, stunned by what she’d revealed. Tix was augmented. That meant she wasn’t a simple mechanic. She could interface directly with the systems she worked on.
He’d heard about beings like her. They’d chosen to have tech implanted so they could do their job better and more efficiently. From what he understood, not everyone was accepting of the practice. That made Tix unique. Xaber knew all too well that different was rarely seen as a good thing.
His thoughts raced as she used the connection to pull out whatever information she needed. It was the same kind of technology he used to infiltrate security systems. He could probably do what she was doing now, but he wouldn’t know where to find the information or what any of it meant.
Still, she was likehim. He liked that.
She came back to awareness with a soft inhale. He held his tongue and waited for her to speak despite the deluge of questions he had.
Tix removed her hand from the console and turned, but she addressed the AI instead of him. “Thank you, Livy. You keep very organized records.”
He swore the AI sounded pleased as she replied, “Your compliment is appreciated. I believe you have all the necessary information to initiate repairs. I am happy to assist if and when needed.”
Her lips quirked into a small smile that faded as she glanced over at him. Her shoulders tensed and her jaw hardened, as if preparing for something unpleasant. “You can ask your questions now.”
