Sparrows Need Engineers

Tuegrin walked around to the back, "The safety latches were kinda hard to explain, but I told them we had smoke in the hull and the blast protocol took over to blow the door open." She shrugged her shoulders as she walked up the rear ramp, "I couldn't get all new panels inside, but with some heat and massaging from the sites air hammer I was able to get it back into shape and weld the tears closed. Panels on the outside were from a craft that went through a bird strike last year and it's port side got fucked when it hit a tanker truck." She turned to face him, "She could use some paint, but she'll hold-"

Her eyes went wide and her breathing hitched as she felt Jerec embrace her in full body hug, she held her hands out to the side as she tried to process the touch. Then she felt warmth on her cheek as his face pressed to hers, a wet smear as the two stayed quiet for a moment. Then hearing Jerec speak with a crack in his voice as emotions tore through him.

"You could get in a lot of trouble for lying to the company." He said as he tried to hold back his tears.

Tuegrin paused then put her arms around him, holding him for a moment before patting his back. "Hey...I'm new, I'll just tell them you made me do it." She said with a chuckle as she let him take his time.

"...Thank you."

Tuegrin felt her chest tighten as she tried to push her own emotions down, "...Sparrows need engineers."

They paused for a moment, then Jerec pulled away, coughing and snorting as he turned his face away from her. "They said team?"

"Nope, just me."

Jerec looked around and was astounded at the amount of work she completed in a night, wondering how she was able to do it all. "Just one night, you did all of this?"

"Jerec, you've been asleep for two days..."

Jerec stopped as he thought of her words, turning to look at her, "What?..no...what?"

Tuegrin nodded her head, "You've been running yourself ragged, it's ok to take a day off, no ones wanting you to burn out."

Jerec shook his head as he thought about the time they had been down, or rather he had been down and she had been working. "What can I do to help?"

Tuegrin tilted her head, "I want you to go relax, bring me food every now and then, but relax. Take a bath, go get a massage, get a date for the night. But just relax dude."

Jerec rolled his eyes, " Tuegrin, I can-"

She grabbed him by the collar and yanked him to look at her, "I'm telling you what you're going to do...Now are you going to listen?"

Jerec looked her in the eye and felt his insides twist and writhe as his heart seemed to stop, he felt his cheeks burn as her golden gaze froze him in place.

"Go back to the lodge, or get some food, but I don't want to see you in the bar again. After I'm done here, we'll get a drink, but not before I meet back up with you. Ok?"

Jerec pulled away from her, "Y-Ya, fine." He said as he turned to leave, stopping on the ramp. "I'll bring you some lunch in a few hours." He said, then walked down the ramp.

Tuegrin watched him walk down the ramp, crossing her arms and narrowing her gaze as she saw him leave. She had noticed him blush again, and had noticed his breathing hitch in his throat as his eyes locked to hers, 'Firm, but not too harsh.' She thought as she began to understand how to deal with him.

Hours passed and Tuegrin was happy to see he brought her lunch, but had to be stern with him yet again to leave and wait. Happy to hear he would bring her dinner, but also wondering if she would be finished up by then.

She did pressure checks of hydraulic and air lines that were replaced, continuity checks of new wiring and connectors. She even found a certified safety inspector and scheduled a meeting with him tomorrow to get the blast door function re-certified along with having the repairs signed off. She was happy with her progress and was beaming with pride as she looked around at her completed work. She had noticed something odd though as she spent so many days and nights with the ship, she was positive it was just her being tired from the labor.

Earlier on she had sat down in the engineers seat and fallen asleep immediately, a feeling of comfort and warmth enveloping her and lulling her eyes shut. Awaking to find five mixed match bolts just outside the flight pit, she realized they were for internal supports to the panels she repaired. At another time when she was replacing the paneling on the wing she was positive she left her ratchet on the ground. But when she turned to go to the man lift, she found it just behind her, correct socket on it and ready to tighten the apex bolts on the panels.

Instances like this kept occurring throughout the entire process, engine cowlings going on easily as if another person was helping support them while she latched them in place. Bolts and screws she needed winding up at her feet, even tapping noises coming from an area where a leaking hydraulic line was hidden behind a replaced panel.

Tuegrin sat on the man lift and looked at the Sparrow, wondering how she was so lucky in finding these problems or easily getting the hardware and tools she needed. Even now looking at the ship she felt the same warmth she did when she first laid eyes on the vessel. Like an endearing mother welcoming her child home and into the comfort of a warm hug. She smiled at the thought, wondering if Jerec felt the same when he looked at the ship or if she was just acting crazy.

As the work was finished Tuegrin stretched and decided to head back to the lodge, wanting a shower and some fresh clothes for the night. She wondered if she could convince Jerec to buy her dinner after the hours she had put in, smiling at the thought of some form of smoked meat with a nice vinegar slaw.

Back at the lodge Jerec stepped onto the street, aiming to make it to the dock where the Sparrow was and see the progress Tuegrin made. He felt a hop in his step as he wondered when the last time he felt so relaxed and refreshed was, taking a deep breath and relishing in the cooling evening air. He looked across the street and noticed someone looking at him, pausing to grasp who it was he felt sweat prickle on his forehead.

Tuegrin made her way down the street and wondered if Jerec was still in the room, she saw the lodge in front of her and then looked around at the nearby diners. She then noticed the red jumpsuit on the other side of the street, the sleeves tied around the waste and the black hair pulled to the back.

'Jerec?' Tuegrin thought as she looked at him, then looking both ways she stepped to cross the street, wondering what he was doing on the other side. She approached and saw a shocked look on his face, his mouth agape as if he was befuddled by what he was looking at. Then Tuegrin noticed an older woman in front of him, returning his gaze with a stern and disappointed look. Tuegrin opened her mouth, about to speak when she heard him speak with pain in his voice.

"I'm your son, you couldn't tell me you were here?"

"Jerecole, we weren't sure if we were ready to see you."

Jerec blinked and shook his head, then looked at a man stepping out of the door of the diner that they were in front of. "Dad..."

The man shook his head and looked at the woman, "C'mon, lets go."

"Dad it's me, it's your son." He pleaded.

"I don't have a son, Bardell, get your things we're leaving."

"Dad, I've been working, paying off the debt, it's almost done."

The woman shook her head, "That money doesn't mean anything, that rehabilitation school was for your own benefit, and you are the one who threw it away."

"Mom, it wasn't rehabilitation, it was torture! They put probes to my head and electrocuted me, mom they hurt your son, they hurt your baby!"

"We don't have a son, not when he chose to be a fagget!" the man said with anger.

Jerec rocked back, "Dad...I didn't get to choose, I'm not... I'm bisexual, I could still be with a wo-"

"There is no such thing, Jerecole!" She retorted in disgust.

"There are men who choose to live good honest lives, then there's men who choose to cast away their humanity and live in filth. You are filth, you chose that life." The angered father said as he tried to put a shielding arm around his wife.

Jerecs voice caught in his throat, pain in his being from the words that they spat at him, "Ya...and you chose to give your son to those fucking religious nuts, you chose to let them torture me, you chose that!" he yelled. He yanked up his shirt, exposing his midsection and pointing at a scar, "You chose to let them operate on me! You chose to let them fuck up years of my life! You chose to have me waking at night, screaming because of the fucking nightmares!"

The two turned and stormed away, trying to ignore the man yelling at them.

Jerec ran to them, grabbing his mothers shoulder and pulling her to face him, "At least tell me you didn't know about the deaths?"

The older man pushed him away, "Don't you dare lay a hand on my wife!"

"Mom, you didn't know that kids died there right, mom you didn't know right?!"

They turned and walked away in a hurry, pushing their way through the small crowd that had formed and trying to hide their faces.

"Jerec..." Tuegrin said with concern.

He spun around, looking hurt that she would call out to him, he looked at her as tears formed in his eyes. Then at the people around them, hearing murmurs and whispers he put his head down and stormed past her, heading in the opposite direction of the older couple.

"Jerec, I-"

He pushed her away as he began to run, wiping the tears away from his face as he did so and trying not to collapse and bawl like a lost child.

Tuegrin watched in pained shock, her feet feeling like they were glued to the bricks she stood on, she had to remind herself that she wasn't human. She looked like them, talked like them, for the most part was identical to the point where they thought she was with them. But her people didn't act like this, they didn't cast their children away, they didn't close their hearts and spit in a weeping sons face as he begged for love. She blinked and swallowed air, trying to rein herself in as the people around her began to move on about their own lives.

She started to walk, then went into a run trying to catch him, trying to find him and let him know he wasn't alone, and she would be with him. But no matter how hard she pushed or where she looked, she couldn't catch a glimpse of him in the streets around her. She couldn't find where he had slunk off to, probably hiding in a hole in the wall and being torn apart by the sharp words of the ones who used to be called his parents.

Should she wait, give him time to collect himself, but how much would that hurt, what would he go through in that time? Could he do it on his own, what happened to him, where did they send him, what was the debt, what is bisexual or fagget? Tuegrins head spun as she stumbled and eventually stopped, gasping as sweat ran down her face and she was unable to find him.

Night fell and Jerec stumbled through the doors of dock four, seeing the moonlight slip through the partially open bay door and bathe the red hull in its gentle light. That same warm feeling he had always felt now reaching out to him, wrapping him and ushering him into it. He stumbled to it, his eyes bloodshot and cheeks puffy, the empty liquor bottle in his hand making an audible tap as he collapsed on the rear ramp. He hunched on his knees and wrapped his arms around himself, a chill in the air as the breeze crept in the hanger.

He heard footsteps, a few at first then pausing a while before they slowly started again, approaching him. His body tensed, frightful of what he might see, he kept his head down as he heard the footsteps stop just in front of him. He forced himself to move, painstakingly raising his head to look up to the figure in front of him. The shimmering reflection of white hair and a motherly smile looking down at him as if to welcome him home. Then a curtain of black sailed over him and his vision was blocked for a moment, he felt warmth cover him, a blanket being draped over his back and cinched around his shoulders.

Tuegrin knelt down in front of Jerec, pulling the blanket she had been using for warmth around his shoulders and close to his neck. She saw his eyes staring at her for a moment with a question on his lips, then looking behind her and around the hull. "Jerec?"

Jerec looked at her dark brunette hair and golden eyes, positive his drunken mind was playing tricks on him as the stress of the evening wrecked him. He bowed his head and swallowed, tasting the fumes of the cheap whiskey in his throat as he couldn't find the words to speak. He felt Tuegrins arms around him, pulling him into her and coddling him.

"...I didn't choose to be like this." He said into her chest as her hands held him there.

"You did nothing wrong, Jerec."

He felt the familiar feeling of his eyes swelling with tears, "I...just want to be normal..."

Tuegrins heart broke as she felt him begin to bawl into her jumpsuit, his hands gripping the fabric of her suits legs and pulling.

"I just wanted to make them proud, I tried Tuegrin, I tried."

"Shhh Shhh Shhh, you didn't do anything wrong Jerec."

"Why don't they love me, I can be normal, I can be their son."

Tuegrins felt her own tears forming as she squeezed him tighter, "No... you can't."

She felt him wrack with torment as the wails of pain echoed off the walls of the hull, her grip holding him close as she let her own cheeks shine with tears. "They don't deserve you...They don't deserve to have someone as hard working and strong as you."

Jerec buried his face into her as he let the feeling pour out, bottled away before but now flooding the shuttle as the truth was laid bare.

"You're too strong to be their son, you're an amazing pilot, rough on the edges," she said with a teary chuckle, "But nonetheless, amazing...I'm proud of you Jerec."

He stopped his wails as he heard the words, seeping into his ears and cutting through the fog.

"I'm proud of you...I'm proud to be your friend...and your engineer."

He wrapped his arms around her waist as he sunk to lay his head in her lap, crumbling to the words as they rocked his core. Feeling the warmth of someone honestly speaking to him of the pride they had for him, as a person and his ability as a pilot.

As the sun rose on the new day Jerec and Tuegrin gave each other bashful smiles as they wondered how to proceed in the future.

Tuegrin found the safety inspector and accompanied him through his walk around as Jerec went to the lodge to check out and grab them breakfast.

As Jerec returned he found Tuegrin beaming with a smile and holding the new safe to fly certificate they had been given after the repairs. Her joy contagious as Jerec celebrated and gave her breakfast, the two scrambled up the ramp and into their seats. Jerec flipping switches with excited fingers as he heard the old bird come to life. He felt his chest pound as the lift jets carried the weight of the craft and the forward engines ignited, pushing them out of the dock and onto the ramp.

"Tower this is Sparrow 214." Tuegrin said with a smile as she looked at the instrument readings.

"Sparrow 214, this is tower, go ahead."

"Tower, Sparrow 214 requesting permission to launch."

"Sparrow 214, tower, permission granted, clear skies and safe flights."

"Tower, Sparrow 214, Permission acknowledged and thanks for the hospitality!"

Jerec cranked the stick and hit the thrusters, the engines singing their chorus of power as the shuttle moved forward and arched upwards and to the starboard side.

Tuegrin looked over and saw a wide smile on Jerecs face as they entered the sky and began the trip back to the Cargo hanger. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she felt an icy squeezy on her shoulder, she whipped her head around. Tuegrins eyes darted around looking for a busted oxygen line or some kind of nitrogen leak but found none, the space behind her empty as the craft gained altitude and soared forward. She turned and looked forward again, shaking her head and looking out the front window. Seeing the blue skies come into full view as they broke through a cloud bank with the sun shining on their faces.

"Thank you." Jerec said quietly.

Tuegrin looked at him, seeing him glance to her for a moment before looking forward again and flipping switches on the consol. They sailed through the sky and found the craft ran smoothly and gave off a happy and warm vibe, after a few hours they watched the Cargo Crafts hanger come into view. Jerec called in clearance and then brought the craft in and to their bay, turning it in air and then easily dropping it down to the deck in the 214 space.

The rear ramp lowered and Jerec smiled as the familiar bay became visible, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Taking a drag and watching Tuegrin come down the ramp after him, "So, wanna go get another run?"

Tuegrin looked at him with a 'what the fuck' wide eyed expression, "...No fucker...I worked night and day to get this thing in the air and back here!" she said as she pointed her thumb over her shoulder in a gesture towards the Sparrow. "We're taking at least two days off, then we'll talk about doing runs, after I do another full inspection of the ship!"

"Two days?" Jerec said as he tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, "C'mon, one day." He said while raising his cigarette to his lips.

Tuegrin caught his wrist, getting close to him and staring in his eyes, "I said two, push me again and I'll double it..." her eyebrows bouncing slightly on the last part of her statement. She watched as Jerecs cheeks blushed again and he shifted on his feet, his chin tipping down as his eyes watched her. "...We're going for drinks tonight, something tells me you don't know what to do when you're not at work."

"Uh, but-" he tried to reply but was cut off.

She let his wrist go and turned to walk away, "Besides, I told you not to drink without me yesterday." She said, then walked towards the bunk rooms with her bag over her shoulder.

Jerec watched her leave, but wasn't sure if he was imagining her swaying her hips more than usual or if that was how she always walked. He hesitated before feeling an icy push on his back and stumbling forward, he spun around to see who it was. But after finding no one behind him he felt confused and slightly frightened.

"And Jerec!" Tuegrin yelled.

He turned to look at her.

"Don't wear those fucking coveralls either!"

Jerec tipped his drink back and finished it off, signaling the bartender that he was wanting another and happy to receive a head nod of acknowledgement. He looked around the space that Tuegrin had picked and wondered how she knew about it since she was unfamiliar with the planet.

"How'd you pick this place?"

Tuegrin shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, walkin down the street this one didn't have loud music and the atmosphere seemed more relaxed than the others out there."

Jerec nodded and saw his drink coming to him, happy when the lady put it in front of him, but then frowning as he saw Tuegrin take it away. "Hey!"

"You owe me, never brought me dinner last night." She said as she took a swig of it.

"Sometimes you're the worst." He said as he shook his head and signaled the bartender again, hoping he'd get another drink just as quickly as the one she had stolen.

"Oh Jerec, don't be all pouty cause you can't be behind the flight sticks tonight." She said with an elbow jab into his arm.

Jerec smiled and shook his head at her joke, wondering how to get the words in his head out and to her. "...I'm sorry for making your first couple weeks hell." He said while looking at her. He watched her take a long drink of the clear drink, her throat gulping it down as her lips pressed to the rim. Her strong but slender hands putting the glass down on the bar and then drumming the bar top. Looking up to her face again he inspected the dark brunette hair, loose on the sides, the top pulled back and tied into a sloppy bun with the hair at the back of her head. He winced as the golden eyes looked at him again, her lips tilting to one side as she gave him a somewhat condescending look.