Mechanic problems, amirite?

[zombie]

Gunner leaned back against the work bench, folding his arms across his chest and crossing his legs at the ankle. There was a smear of grease across his forehead and grit freckled his cheeks. The work day had only just begun and Gunner was already full of filth and perspiring lightly, the front of his white, grease stained tank top starting to soak up his sweat.

He surveyed the convoy he was currently trying to piece back together again, absently reaching into his pocket and turning over a small silver lighter in his hand. It helped him think, or that’s how he felt anyway, the feeling of the cool metal turning over and over in his hand. He flicked the lid open and close a few times, raising his other hand to tug at his beard lightly.

“What in the damn-…” he muttered to himself, trailing off before he raised his eyebrows and pulled his hand out from his pocket, leaving the lighter behind. Snapping his rectangle glasses together over the bridge of his nose and pulling on his work gloves, Gunner circled the convoy and leaned forward into the engine, squinting slightly as he peered into the depths. “Ah,” he said softly to no one in particular, reaching into the engine and feeling around blindly for a moment before found what he was looking for. “All that work and for what,” he sighed and stepped back, shaking his head lightly.

He slipped off his gloves and tossed them on the work table which was already cluttered with tools and various other debris. He was annoyed which was apparent by his stance, hands on his hips, shaking his head and chewing his lower lip. He always worried at his lower lip when he was annoyed. ‘Helps me bite my tongue,’ he would insist.

Whoever had worked on this convoy last had done it a disservice- near completely pulled the engine apart when the only thing that needed replacing was one small tube. He couldn’t blame the person before him, really, because it took him 30 minutes to figure out what was wrong, but he didn’t go in with guns blazing, ripping everything out. Now he was going to have to spend double the amount of time putting it back together.

With a deep sigh Gunner resigned himself and tapped the earbud in his right ear. It flashed once before it started his music again and he set back to the tedious work of putting all the pieces of the puzzle back together.

[Toko]

Lieutenant Logan Ainsley entered the workshop from her office at the back, glad to be done with this mornings requisitions and data entry. She stretched above her head and then rolled her shoulders after, her work coveralls allowing for a generous range of motion.

Keens eyes swept the bay for her next priority which wasn't difficult to pinpoint; Station C was an absolute mess and currently unattended. Displeasure washed over her previous relief, stopping her exercise dead in it's tracks. Head snapping towards the culprit at the other end of the floor, the Lieutenant shouted in a voice loud enough to echo off the high ceilings. 

"Roger, you tit! Stop lazing about, get over here and clean up your station!" She demanded loudly. It would not be a volume easily ignored.

The man in question threw his hands in the air exasperated, a snack bar in one hand. He was seated next to another Maintenance Officer, Joan, who was drinking from her canister.

"I'm on my break!" Roger called defensively. His break companion failed in stifling her snort at the man in trouble.

"Don't care! Take your break AFTER you've put your shiet away," Logan chided, one hand on her hip while the other pointed between Roger and the offending work station dramatically, "If we hit a solar storm right now, this mess would go flying about and you'd have a plasma saw between your eyes.... not that that wouldn't be an improvement, Bozo!"

The in trouble officer finally has the decency to look guilty, slowly getting up from his seat. Lieutenant Ainsley made a motion with her hand for him to pick up the pace to which he grumbled a 'right away, mam'.

"We. Don't. Leave. Our. Power. Tools. Alone," she clapped between each word as Roger hurried by before continuing in a normal cadence, "This isn't the Engineering Department. We're not toddlers who leave our toys lying about the floor. We FIX problems, we don't make 'em."

She sighed as Roger got to work, decompressed now to a modest state of disbelief as she shook her head. "So help me if the Captain had seen this, I wouldn't have covered for yah and laughed when she threw you in Seg."

That was a blatant lie. The Lieutenant would absolutely cover for every single Officer under her authority, but it didn't mean she enjoyed having to do it.

This was not an unusual song and dance in the workshop. Logan gave high praise when praise was due, and the harshest criticism when faced with the presence of utter incompetence.

Moments after her declaration, Private Mateo Torres stolled into the Cargo Bay. He often worked later with a few hours of over lap with Logan's shift. His coverall sleeves  were tied around his waist, a common practice in the department, with his long sleeved shirt underneath visible. Only the hint of his tattoos peaked out past his cuffs and collar.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty" she gleaned as her Acting Officer strode across the large bay to report to her.

Private Torres would smile sheepishly with a nod, not from discomfort but from a personality well lined with shyness, reservation and humility, "Morning Lieutenant. Busy day? I could hear you from the hallway."

Maintenance Officers tended to be slack with addressing others by rank and titles in the shop. Mateo, at the very least, always started the day with one use of 'Lieutenant' before abandoning the formality. With the exception being when the Captain was present.

"You know me, I can't resist the fantastic acoustics in here," she waved him off amused, already forgetting her previous bought of anger.

The officers exchanged quick pleasantries before getting straight to work. Logan forwarded the progress logs needing a follow up to Mateos module (tablet) before excusing herself to find a 'lackey' to fufill the requests forms recieved from The  Sanitation and Science Departments.

Private Torres scans the document and then the room for his starting point. He takes four steps towards Roger's station before realizing the man is still scrambling to clean and looks flustered and generally unhappy. An expression of awkwardness and avoidance gracing his face now, Mateo turned on his heels and instead begins walking over to Gunner's Station.

Mateo is a lean, thin man, but the tone of his body is well defined with muscle like that of a swimmer. His face stubbornly holds on to it's 'babyface' features despite the fact his body shares none of that softness. His clothes are currently pristine, unmared yet by the sweat and grease of the day.

[zombie]

Gunner was hunched over the engine, tapping his foot lightly to the beat that invaded his ears. It was a soft, rhythmic beat; an old world treasure- jazz.

Jazz, music in general, wasn’t u to come by but the stuff he listened to was -old-. Relics from long before the earths surface became toxic. They were hard to procure but a collector like him went above and beyond to gather up all their precious prizes. So far his collection was one to admire, full of music that had long been forgotten. Each file cost him a small fortune in credits because they were old technology- hard to reproduce- but it was worth it. Something about earth music had this raw, gritty sound that he couldn’t get enough off.

“Roger, you tit!-“ rang clear and loud over his music and Gunner lifted his head, peeking out from behind the convoy where he was currently stationed. The Lieutenant had a loud bark and he was sure she had the bite to back it up. Thankfully he had only been on the receiving end of her outbursts a handful of times but that was enough. Gunner liked to fly under the radar and ruffling feathers that way wasn’t his game.

Hastily tapping his ear bud the music went quiet in his ears and he pulled them from his ears, peering over his glasses between Roger and the firey woman giving him a solid chewing out.

At the mention of tools being put away properly Gunner glanced at his table sheepishly, looking at all the tools he had pulled out and hadn’t put away properly. He waited a moment as to not draw attention to himself, waiting until the Lieutenant was distracted by something else before he moved over to his workbench and started to clean up his mess.

It didn’t take him all that long to clean up, putting everything back in its proper home before Private Torres had even finished speaking with his superior. By the time the other approached his station he was already wiping his hands off, cleaning his greasy hands on an equally greasy cloth. A familiar smell hung in the air surrounding Gunners station, the usual pungent automobile oil and lubricant but it was mixed with a very human smelling musk that had a subtle lavender and rose flavour to it. 

Pulling his glasses from the bridge of his noses and letting them hang around his neck, Gunner nodded at the approaching office. He cocked his hip to the left and leaned against the workbench. “Mornin’,” he was a man of few words, everyone knew that about him, but he would hold a conversation if someone else initiated it. He was in the habit of addressing his superiors formally when any other officers were in the room, but if it was just the maintenance crew, those formalities were normally dropped. “What’s on the docket for today, Boss?” His voice was deep, gravelly and rumbled in his chest as he spoke.

[Toko]

Mateo still carried some of the avoidance in his body language as he distanced himself from Roger and moved closer to Private Lee's workbench. At Gunner's acknowledging gesture, Private Torres relaxed and reciprocated with a small nod, soft smile, and a polite 'Good Morning Gunner' in return.

As the word 'Boss' floated between them, he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly with a subdued chuckle escaping past his lips.

"Right..." he trailed, exhaling a sigh of flustered energy before continuing, "Well, your station looks-

He paused to gesture to the recently cleaned surface.

-to be perfectly in order, sooo I guess I'll start with how you're doing today."

Mateo stepped closer to the convoy Private Lee had been attending to, tilting his head curiously towards the open hood.

"How has your morning been, Gunner?" He began pleasantly, nosily leaning to see the engine in progress more clearly, "She giving you any trouble?"

There was no judgement in his tone, just genuine interest.

[zombie]

Gunner arched one eyebrow as the other scanned his work station, folding his arms across his chest. A small, smug smile crept across his lips as Mateo approved of its current state. “Well,” he turned to the convoy he was currently working on and paused a moment. He wasn’t in the business of being a snitch. Even if someone did make more work for him, at least it kept him busy. ‘Idle hands are the devils playground’ was what his mother always said so he liked to keep occupied.

“Yeah, everythin’s goin’ fine. Just finishin’ up on this thing then puttin’ it back together,” now that he was speaking more then two words, which was the most he did for several months when he first arrived, his Martian accent was apparent. From the dialect, he likely grew up in one of those close-knit civilian colonies. He pushed himself away from the counter and circled the convoy once more so he stood next to Mateo, his metal foot interrupting the gait and rhythm of his walk. He walked with a limp, not severe, but it was clear that his mobility was impaired.

Resting his forearm against the hood propped open above them and leaning forward slightly, Gunner spoke at a volume meant only for him and Mateo to hear. “Just needed a valve replaced, lots of junk work for nothin’,” a slight frown tugged at the corner of his lips, replacing the smug smirk. “I’ll be sure to mark that on my report.”

He turned his head to look at his commanding officer, his expression returning to its usual neutral. “How’s your morning goin’?”

[Toko]

"My morning? Well, it just started really..." he admitted a bit guiltily at his habit of waking up only shortly before his shift, "but I get the impression it's, uh, off to a better start than most."

The grimace turned awkward chuckle, and obvious glance back at Logan and Roger, was subtle enough to remain only within Gunner's range of observation. Private Torres returned his attention back to the convoy, more-so looking for a segway and less about being eager to rush through Private Lee's station.

"I wouldn't say the disassembly was for nothing," he offered kindly in contrast to Gunner's subdued dismay, "The problem was found and the engine was-

Mateo paused to consider what he'd enter into his report, thumb resting against his lower lip and chin as he thought. Soft tapping at his module's screen began shortly after the answer came to him, updating the log.

-thoroughly cleaned and inspected for potential obstructions and defects. With a substantial tune-up scheduled to follow."

A modest grin tugged at the corner of his mouth now, "That sounds like progress to me, Gunner. Good work."

[zombie]

“Hm,” he nodded once, more to acknowledge then to agree or disagree with the comment Mateo made about the morning getting ‘off to a better start than most’.

“It’s been noisy if anything,” he nodded towards Roger-the-Tit. He spoke at a volume only meant for them, though that was his normal conversational volume. Gunner wasn’t in the business of keeping unnecessary secrets either, even if he wasn’t a snitch. He’d share his thoughts on Roger with the class if asked, but only if asked.

Gunner pushed away from the convoy and started to pick up parts of the engine he had temporarily placed on a bench next to the convoy and reinstall them in their designated spaces while the other spoke. He only paused for a moment to turn and smile softly at Mateo when he said Gunner had done a good job. “Ya see, that’s why I call you Boss,” he winked at his superior and let out a small huff of laughter.

He righted himself with the intention of getting another tool but those plans were promptly put on pause when he felt his metal leg lock up as he was about to take a step. He stumbled very slightly before he caught himself, “This damn-” he grumbled and trailed off to mutter some profanity under his breath, banging the side of his fist against the side of his metal knee.

Whatever he had done seemed to do the trick perfectly and after a few not-so-gentle knocks on the knee, Gunner continued on his way to the tool bench. “Due for a check up,” he said simply as he grabbed his socket wrench and returned to the engine with a bit more of a limp in his step.

[Toko]

At Gunner's wink, the lean man's eyebrows rose in disbelief as his face flushed with modest embarrassment. The breath of amusement that escaped from Mateo was sudden, leaving him no time to surpress his look of surprise from it.

"That all it takes?" He diffused, chuckling away his socially awkward nature, "Ha ha... I think you're setting the bar kinda low for a boss, don't you think--"

Stopping mid-sentence, Private Torres extended his hand out in reflex at the other's stumble. Realizing quickly his commentary was likely unnecessary and unwanted, he swallowed back any potential remarks. Closing his hand and returning it to his side, he leaned back against the convoy's front grill. He cleared his throat after Gunner's 'tune-up' display.

"Seems so. If only all our Maintenance problems could be handled with a few knocks..." He nodded, indicating he was thinking further on it as a small smirk started to grow, "Did Engineering show you this... masterful technique? Or is it a tried and true method from experience?"

[zombie]

It wasn’t uncommon for Gunner’s leg to embarrass or inconvenience him, especially around maintenance time, but he hated when it happened every time.

His leg wasn’t something he was ashamed of, he proved that he was capable and didn’t feel like he had to justify himself to anyone, but when it locked up like that in front of one of his superiors he felt a wash of shame rush over him. Usually he was able to play it off, other times it was a bit more obvious.

Like today.

Though Mateo seemed to recover a little more quickly then he did. The quick automatic gesture to support Gunner when he stumbled didn’t go unnoticed but he appreciated that Mateo thought better of it and made light of the situation instead.

Gunner let out a small breath of laughter and continued to tighten the loose bolt he was working on. “Some things you only get better at with practice. I’ve been working with this thing for a few years, so we figured out how to work together. More or less.” He shrugged lightly, sounding unbothered.

Without warning there was a loud bang followed by the clatter of many metal objects falling from a high place, somewhere in the general area of Rogers work space. With a bit of a start, Gunner lifted his head, glancing in the direction of the noise and hearing a faint, sheepish ‘I’m fine!’ in a familiar voice.

“No rest for the weary, huh?” He turned to Mateo with a subtle smirk, quirking one eyebrow up.

[Toko]

It wouldn't be clear if Private Torres noticed the other's embarrassment. Though if he had, he'd be too polite to mention it. If anything, only curiosity could be read on Mateo's face as Gunner tightened the outer most bolt.

The opportunity to inquire was lost as a loud clatter echoed off the high ceilings. Diligently Mateo took a few sure steps to the side so as to see the source clearly, eyebrows knit with concern. Once it was deemed a non-urgent, non-emergency, his shoulders slumped ever so slightly as a frown worked it's way onto his face.

"Yeeeah," he sighed, shaking off his disappointment quickly and replacing it with a lop-sided grin, "You are correct, but you could at least not look so happy about it, ha ha."

He chuckled softly, putting away his module.

"Why don't you close your station and sign out early, Gunner?" Mateo offered with a nod, already walking backwards a few steps towards the commotion near Roger. He waved a quick goodbye.

"The convoy's not going anywhere. I'm sure Lieutenant Yamamoto would be more than eager to see you today. See ya!"