Travel [Vignette]
"So what about this Rick?" Aishi used the old photo to fan herself, smirking at the captain before sipping from her mug. The air in the D.V. Ephemera grew tense for a moment before the captain snatched the photo away, shoving it into the trash.
"Separate planets aren't far enough." Lyla pushed herself from the galley to the monitoring console around twenty feet before belting herself to the chair in front of it. Aishi snorted into what passed for coffee on the Ephemera. Even the Ephemera itself, whose AI normally was wrapped up in its own archives, let out a tittering string of beeps.
"Seriously? Isn't that a little mu-"
"You didn't meet Ricky, alright? That man is a black hole, just eating away at me." Lyla interrupted. Her mouth pinched into a thin line for a moment, but her eyes kept flying over the flight calculations, fingers stabbing the display as needed. A normally quiet, calm person, Lyla's voice grew higher and higher pitched. "I even decided to visit my auntie in the old country. She lives out on Europa, real pretty out there. 'Oh, you knew my cousin Liz lived in the Sol system, baby. It's okay that you still want me, but you have to say so, starshine,''" she mocked, affecting a raspy voice. "The nerve of that guy! I can't believe I wasted so much time on him."
Aishi slid the lid to the unwashed goods container open and tucked her mug towards the bottom. She pushed over towards her friend and grabbed Lyla's shoulder. A hand the color of rich earth contrasted with the pale jackets they wore almost constantly in transit to stay warm. "I can't either, but really, giving up the cushy gig, buying a DV at auction? Isn't that letting him win?"
Lyla didn't answer, but the frown on her face smoothed a little, and she gestured towards the other strap-equipped chair in the room. Aishi sighed and grasped the strap, a sleek eel swimming through the air of the cabin. Their trajectory illuminated the screen. Aishi checked the ETA: 52.6 hours, with two transport gate hops. Lyla's strange mood became less important. What was a little grumpy captain compared to the glee of sweet, sweet acceleration-induced gravity after weeks of floating around the Ephemera? The ship beeped joyfully, the noise of the activating thrusters rattling the walls muted through the thick paneling of the cabin. The duo gently swayed in their seats as the ship positioned to leave orbit. Soon, they would fire towards the next planet on their list, scavenging for goods and artifacts.
"It's not about that. Winning, that is." With the ship's autopilot in control, Lyla stretched her arms and rolled her shoulders back like a giant blonde cat. "I wish it was, that'd be easy. I mean, yeah, he's awful, hope he ends up dead, but it just needed to change, you know? All of it. Life was just...fine. Only fine. Not enough. We could see it all, but everyone is so happy just to stay where they're planted." Aishi hummed quietly in agreement, but didn't say anything,. Lyla sighed, reaching up to rub at her eyes. "Anyway, have you checked the recordings from our next endpoint? You know I hate that stupid mass spec."
"Do not insult my mass spectrometer! She's working as hard as she can."
"Good grief, are you talking to the instruments again? We can try to get some of those hairless ferrets they sell on Cancri E if you need something that can't talk back." Aishi's laugh filled the cabin as the Ephemera rode through the darkness.