Drabble based on the winning prompt for the Eighth Drabble Giveaway I held on Twitter (link): Wenrene on a spaceship au

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“So who’s this new mechanic you’ve hired?”

“Wendy Son.”

Irene keeps her silence as Taeyeon takes another sip of her coffee, then sighs heavily once she realizes no other information is coming.

“And… what is she like?” she eventually prompts.

“…Peppy?”

Irene blinks, unimpressed.

“Look, there weren’t that many applicants. It’s a small settlement.”

“Small is an understatement. It’s the middle of nowhere.”

Now Taeyeon is the one that sighs, a hint of irritation tightening the lines on her face.

“It’s where we happened to be when we found ourselves in need of a new mechanic.”

“Impressive how she was so desperate to run away from us that she’d jump ship here of all places. Really couldn’t stand another minute with you, huh?”

Taeyeon’s eyebrows furrow, annoyance growing at the line of questioning. She’s still sensitive about Tiffany, understandably so, but Irene can’t help but be a bit annoyed herself. She’s the captain of the ship, responsible for all of them, and the least she could do is keep her work life and her love life separate.

Or at least break up with the ship’s mechanic a bit less spectacularly. Make sure they could actually get to a charted planet before they had to go around hiring. Now Irene will be stuck with some breathless hick who’s probably never been inside a spaceship before.

A peppy one.

“I’ll be in my cabin,” Taeyeon cuts the conversation short, bringing her half-empty mug with her. Drama queen.

(…)

“Over there is the med bay. Joy can patch up anything short of a missing limb.”

The mechanic gazes at the nondescript steel door decorated with a caduceus, like she’s never seen anything so gripping.

“Wow,” she breathes out, eyes nearly glittering, as she has done with every single location Irene has pointed out so far.

Irene rolls her eyes and carries on wordlessly, noticing in a few steps that Wendy is not following. She turns around, patience quickly dwindling.

She’s the head of security, not the tour guide. If anything, as the resident diplomat, Yeri should be the one doing this. But of course, that girl always manages to evade all the jobs that don’t suit her, either through her own slyness or because Taeyeon will let her get away with anything.

“Sorry, I’m just really- wow! A real med bay!” The glittering in Wendy’s eyes intensifies dangerously. “Do you have a chemical synthesizer? A gamma decontaminator? Or a- a holo-scanner!” she whisper-shouts, clenching her fists and jumping in place.

Irene isn’t sure, to be honest. She tends to tune out whenever Joy starts droning about her ‘children’. But Wendy’s excitement is giving her a headache, so she’d rather cut this short.

“They’re medical equipment, not toys. You’ll see them if you need to.”

“I should hope I don’t! I mean, if I have need for a gamma decontaminator-” she begins with a chuckle, like everybody in the world knows what that thing does.

“Then I suppose you probably won’t see it,” Irene points out drily, and once again walks on. This time, Wendy trails behind her, her untrained steps ringing against the metal harshly.

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. At least I’ll get to see everything in the engine room! I have to tell you, I’ve been dreaming about checking out those propellers since the captain first contacted me. And the warp drive? Wow!” she utters once again, the word almost physically painful to Irene by this point.

Breathless hick doesn’t even come close to describing this girl.

“Can I tell you something?” Wendy asks, suddenly subdued, and Irene slows down reluctantly to face her.

“What.”

“I’ve just… never been on a spaceship before.”

“Really.”

“Yeah, I always wanted to, but I guess the opportunity never arose. But now, oh boy, I am so excited to be here, I mean, I would have done this gig for room and board, I might have even paid for it, if I had any money!”

A shame she didn’t mention this to Taeyeon during the hiring process. Irene knows the shrewd woman would have happily taken her up on it. Although it might have made it harder to convince the captain to replace her later, Irene supposes.

“It’s not just about being a mechanic,” Wendy eventually adds, not seeming to notice Irene’s lack of response. “It’s just… space, you know? It’s amazing. I grew up just looking up at it and wanting so badly to be out there. I read all the books about it, even watched those old tv shows.”

She pauses, crouches down slightly as she mimics holding a large gun.

“Set phasers to stun,” she calls out in a gruff voice.

This is getting ridiculous.

“You’re not getting a phaser.”

“Oh. Uh, it’s not really about the phasers.”

“Good. Because they’re for qualified personnel only.”

“Right. Of course. I’ll stick to my trusty wrench.” She reaches in one of the many pockets of her overalls and pulls out a strange blue object much like the pink one Tiffany always carried around. She grins at Irene, who doesn’t return the gesture.

“Anyway, here’s the engine room. Any questions?”

“Yes! Do you have a beam teleporter?”

“A what?”

“You know, the uh...” Wendy poses dramatically and Irene knows right before it happens that she is going to do some ridiculous impression again. “Beam me up, Scotty!”

Irene sighs.

“Any questions about your lodging, food or job?” she clarifies.

“Oh. None, then.”

This is going to be a long ride.

(…)

“How many more days of cruising?

“You realize you’ve asked me that every day since we’ve left port. And the answer has always been the same.”

Yes, Irene is sadly aware of their situation. They’re cruising until they either spot a jump gate or a promising star system, both rare this far from the galactic center.

“What can I say? I’m an optimist.”

Seulgi snorts at the comment, eyes leaving the array of screens that surround her seat.

“You’re impatient, more like.”

Irene pointedly avoids eye contact, waiting for the pilot to return her attention to her work.

“Is Wendy really that bad? Joy says she’s fun.”

Of course they all like Wendy. Seulgi just sees her at mealtimes, since only authorized staff is allowed in the cockpit where she spends all day, and Joy approves of anyone who enables her techno-babble.

And Yeri likes her because the gullible mechanic believes everything that leaves the girl’s mouth, making her the perfect victim for all her pranks.

And Taeyeon likes her because she isn’t her angry ex-girlfriend.

But Irene is the one who has to sit at the guard’s station, with no work to do and therefore no excuse to get rid of Wendy, who comes around every day to chat, because “I’m not used to being all alone with my thoughts” and “I started counting all the stars and I realized that they’re really all around us, huh? Out of every window, just stars. And back home, the stars were under my feet too, but there were more layers, more distance, and so it wasn’t really real, but now, up here, it just hit me.”

These days, Irene has almost been hoping for some engine failure, just to keep Wendy busy.

And it’s not like she can just slam the door in her face, not after all that. Adapting to life in space is hard; she remembers having all those same thoughts, long ago, so maybe it’s just nostalgia that keeps the polite smile on her face and the office door ajar.

She just wishes the mechanic wasn’t so prone to rambling. She isn’t sure she has any more space in her brain for useless old tv show trivia.

(…)

She's sitting in her office, trying in vain to tune out the endless babbling, when she feels it. Wendy is surprised when she gets to her feet, too inexperienced to tell that these aren’t the usual bumps and stutters of space flight.

“Back to your room.”

Wendy just stands there, her usual cheery smile fading in her confusion. Irene nearly runs into her as she maneuvers in the small room, and finds herself forced to repeat the command.

“Go back to your room. Do not leave it until I come for you or you get the order on the intercom.”

"W-What's going on?”

“Hopefully nothing. Now go.”

Irene is by Seulgi’s side in seconds, followed closely by Taeyeon. The pilot stares tensely at her controls and begins speaking as soon as the two are in the room.

“A ship is trailing us. No official insignia and they won't answer my communications.”

“Raiders?”

“Most likely.”

With a few taps of her keys, Seulgi shifts the images on her screen to display a small spacecraft. Taeyeon leans closer to study the model.

“That's a repurposed transporter ship. No long-distance weaponry to speak of and most of that space is cargo.”

The ship stutters as the craft on the screen turns to face it and emits a bright beam. Seulgi frowns at the sight, attention immediately returning to her controls. Taeyeon rests a hand on her shoulder.

“Don't bother. If we try evading now, we risk permanent damage to the hull. We can't afford that out here.”

“How many people are we looking at?”

"Three if we're lucky, anywhere up to six if we aren't.”

“Let's hope we're lucky, then.” Irene reaches for the gun in her belt, feels its reassuring presence. By her side, Taeyeon repeats the motion. “I'll warn the crew to stay in their quarters. Seulgi-”

“I know the drill. Lock myself in here until I hear back from you." She looks up at them with a reassuring smile. "Just another day in space, huh?”

“Yeah. Just another day.”

(...)

They're lucky. As the raiders dock and force the hull doors open, Irene hears the thumping of four sets of boots.

Watching from behind cover, they study the group. They’re clumsy, clearly used to life aboard a spaceship but not to one of crime. Probably former crewmen from commercial traders, they have no strategy beyond stomping around with their phasers in plain sight and looking for signs of life.

With silent gestures, the two women divide the attackers between them. Taeyeon follows the two that branch off towards storage, Irene the two that head to the living area.

She tracks their movement through the ship, across the deck and into the mess of corridors that houses the cooking, sleeping and recreation areas. It doesn’t take long for them to relax, fooled by the lack of opposition, and on the next long corridor, Irene springs at their back and easily stuns both with well-aimed blasts of her weapon before they can even react.

In no time, the men are restrained and gagged, and Irene locks them in a supply closet for later transport to the holding cell.

She reaches for her communicator, but doesn’t have the time to report her success before Taeyeon’s voice is sounding on the other side.

“Be on the lookout! I got one but I lost the other in the cargo and he managed to get out and lock me in here. He might be circling around to your two, so be careful.”

“Got it. Mine are taken care of. I’ll look for the last one.”

“Looks like you found him,” a gruff voice calls from behind her. She spins around, but she knows it’s too late. The last raider stands in front of her, phaser aimed steadily at her, a vicious grin on his face.

“You find your way around quickly, huh?” she asks casually, keeping him busy while she furiously tries to work out some sort of plan. Distract him somehow? Step closer then quickly disarm him? Catch him by surprise when they turn some corner?

“Worked on a ship just like this one for about ten years. I know the plans like the back of my hand.” His grin turns ugly as he steps much closer than she’d like, a hand landing on her waist before pulling away with her weapon. “Now you’re going to lead me to my… friends. And then we’re going to say hi to the pilot.”

He waves his gun and she obeys, walking slowly. She can lead him past the supply closet and buy herself some time, but he’ll be able to tell if they’re going in circles.

“I gotta say, this is some shoddy security. Just the two of you, this far from civilization? You really were asking for trouble.”

“We live life on the edge,” she spits out, rapidly cycling through her options. They’re walking past the living quarters now and she does her best not to react as they pass the rooms she knows are occupied.

“Maybe this will teach you to-”

The rest of his sentence is only a grunt, then a furious shout. Irene turns to find a small woman in overalls latching onto his shoulders, whipping from side to side as the large man twists and lunges like a mechanical bull.

With a final, awful , he throws the small mechanic off him and against the nearest wall, and Irene jumps out of the way right as a phaser shot rings out.

Everything goes quiet.

Wendy is still slumped against the wall. On her hand is Irene’s gun, shaking in her grip.

Across from her is the raider, flat on his back, eyes shut and looking almost comical in his stupor.

Wendy catches Irene’s eye and smiles widely. “I set it to stun,” she remarks with nervous excitement, waving the phaser for explanation. Then she pauses and winces, looking down towards her left side, which slouches awkwardly. “Ow.”

Irene rushes to her before she even processes her actions, aware as soon as she arrives that she should secure the prisoner first. But instead, she gingerly studies the woman and almost sighs in relief at the conclusion.

No phaser blast, no scarring. Probably just an injured arm, maybe a few broken ribs from the impact as she fell.

“Idiot,” she mutters under her breath. “You’re fine. Nothing Joy can’t heal.”

She gets up before Wendy can respond, chest tightening uncomfortably as she reaches for her communicator to report the news.

That stupid girl. Stupid, reckless, impossibly brave girl.

Stupid.

(...)

Standing just outside the med bay, Irene can hear Wendy and Joy’s banter as they fix up her injuries.

“Be honest, doctor,” Wendy says in a melodramatic tone, “will I ever be able to play the piano now?”

“Well, could you play before?”

“Not really,” she admits with a snort.

“Then I wouldn’t get my hopes up.”

Both women giggle and Irene frowns, displeased at how little Wendy seems to have learned from the experience. She could have hurt herself, really hurt herself, and then what would Irene have done?

As chief of security, she means. She’s responsible for the crew. Anybody getting hurt would be a failure on her part.

Maybe she should go in there and lecture them, try to explain how serious the situation could have been.

“You know, now that we have these raiders to get rid of, we’ll have to land at the next inhabited planet we find.” Taeyeon has appeared out of nowhere, mug in hand as she studies her, nearly giving Irene a heart attack.

“I guess we will.”

Taeyeon takes a sip, savouring the silence.

“While we’re there, we’ll have the chance to look for a new mechanic. That is, if you’re still set against this one. Personally, I find her very useful. Never had a mechanic that could disarm a man twice her size.”

“Beginner’s luck,” Irene retorts with a scowl.

“Does that mean you haven’t changed your mind?” Taeyeon’s smile is enigmatic, as if the captain is aware of some information that has escaped the rest of the world.

Another round of giggles sounds from within the med bay. Irene turns to the door, watches through the glass as the woman in greasy overalls smiles brightly, eyes shining in awe at the machine slowly making its way around her arm and mending the bone. Her cheeks are tinged with a slight blush from all the excitement and Joy watches her with the affection of an older sister.

“Maybe she can stay a little longer,” Irene hears herself say.

“Alright then,” Taeyeon replies, her smile looking almost sly now. “A little longer.”