And you call yourself an engineer?
The boy nodded at the man. A smile came across his lips. Finally, he was going to get a job, a real job. Something that he could use to fix up his ship, get parts, and free money, essentially. He could hardly contain his excitement, and his voice seemed to shout it to the world. "I'll be there, mister."
Turning back to his ship, he walked up the ramp. No, not walked, it was more like a half skip. Giddy with excitement, the boy walked around the entrance room of his ship, the right side strewn with parts and wires from his attempted repairs. Setting his hydrospanner down on a stack of casings, the boy went deeper into the ship. The next room held an assortment of necessities. To the far right side, a small room that held a bunk, dresser and footlocker for storing items. To the near right was a small kitchen area, mostly consisting of an food replicator. The near left housed a table to eat at and to the far left was a small bathroom complete with a shower.
The boy headed left. Past the table, he headed into the bathroom. If he was going to leave his ship, he at least wanted to be somewhat clean. Besides, a shower would take, what--three minutes? Five at the most. He'd be out of there and to the docking bay the man had mentioned in a flash. Although hormones had begun reminding him that his appearance was important, he wasn't as much of a slave to it as the female gender.
Starting the shower, he let it run for a few minutes while he stripped off his clothes. Stepping into the warm water felt refreshing, and he stood basking in the heat for a moment. His mind snapped to and reminded him what he was doing. Quickly, he washed his body and hair and stepped out of the shower a few minutes later. Drying himself off and running a comb through his hair, the boy ran across the corridor to his room to get on his clothes.
After selecting a tan polo shirt and some pants, he took out his leather jacket, taking a moment to feel the smooth, broken in material it was made of. Shaking his head, he flung it on, urgency again on his mind. He gathered some of his clothes and personal belongings, thinking that he wouldn't be coming back to his ship, and put them in a duffel bag. Rushing to the entrance room, he gathered his tools and put them in the bag as well. Slinging the strap over his shoulder, he carried the bag out of his ship. Turning around, he entered the passkey to lock his ship's entrance ramp, and seeing it retract into the ship and give a resounding clink as it locked, the boy turned and took off for the B-D6 hanger.
Entering the hanger, he saw a huge freighter right in the middle of the bay. No other ships were docked there, so the boy assumed the freighter was the one he was supposed to board. Near the entrance ramp, he spotted the man he had seen earlier, looking around casually. He made his way over to the man, and was about to speak to him when another voice was heard.
The voice's owner was a woman. She was dressed in a suit that seemed to blend into the background, making the boy squint to see her against the blandly colored walls of the hanger. Only the absence of a head covering, and the slight shift in its camouflage as she walked, made her visible. She carried a ring in one hand and seemed more interested in it than in speaking to the man, whom she had addressed as 'Captain Celtrian.'
Turning towards the sound of the voice as the woman spoke, the boy was startled, having been unaware of her approach. Looking over the suit, he understood why in an instant, but was unfamiliar with her himself. Not the most social of people was he, but if he was going to join this crew, a little outreach couldn't help, at least at the start. Then again, taking another look, maybe he'd best remain quiet.
His lips seemed to have gotten the better of his mind as before he knew it, they had opened and uttered the terrible, monosyllable word that started every conversation. "Hi."