Chapter Text
’’Come on, come on!’’
My fingers tapped on the tablet screen as my pulse raced in my ears. The program struggled to keep up with my commands, leaving the numbers to shift almost too quickly for me to read, but I had no time to waste.
‘’She went in here!’’ Shouts erupted from the entryway into the spaceport.
‘’I programmed you better than this!’’ I hissed and tried to make myself smaller by pressing against the side of the modified cargo ship. Despite looking retired, it was the only ship that would be quick enough to get me off and away from this blasted colony.
The Empire soldiers that were hot on my heels only made that idea much more desirable.
I cursed behind gritted teeth as I tried what felt like my hundredth combination of numbers. The sound of heavy boots came closer as the soldiers searched in-between the cargo crates and transport ships. They seemed to be just as motivated to find me as I was to get far away.
Finally, just when I felt like snapping my tablet, it beeped and the door unlocked. Without looking around, I slipped inside, quickly closing it behind me before leaning against it, giving myself a second to get my quick breathing under control. Briefly, I wondered whether it would just be best to hide and just wait them out, but, seeing as I had just broken into someone’s starship, I wasn’t that interested in waiting around for the owner to come back. Stealing it seemed a bit easier.
Without wasting any more time, I moved to the pilot seat, eyes running over the control panel as I sat down.
‘’I’d think twice about that.’’
I flew right back up and whipped around, coming face-to-face with a man. I threw my hands up the second I realized that he was pointing a blaster at me, looking less than amused.
‘’I can explain!’’ I blurted out, but it only made his frown deepen.
‘’Breaking in and attempting to just fly away on my ship? Can’t wait to hear that story,’’ he grumbled as he stared me down.
His body language made it clear that I was one tiny misstep away from finding out how it felt like to be shot, and it didn’t exactly make it easier to think straight. Then, I noticed his jacket.
‘’You’re a union pilot…’’ I mumbled, feeling my mouth go a bit dry from the familiarity of it. ‘’Look, the Empire is currently tearing this spaceport apart to locate me, and I have no clue why. I have to get out of here,’’ I explained, but my honesty didn’t win me any favors.
‘’I don’t give a damn who’s after you or why, just get the hell of my ship.’’ His voice was low and intimidating, giving me the impression that my chance of changing his opinion was very, very low.
Nevertheless, I wasn’t in a position where I could give up.
‘’Please! You’re-‘’ A blast hit the side of the ship, interrupting me off and catching both of us off guard.
‘’What the hell!’’ He yelled just as the door opened and more shots hit the ship.
A woman rushed through the door and inside. She turned around; laying down covering fire as two men quickly followed her. As soon as the last of them had their foot inside, she slammed her hand down on the button and the door closed.
‘’Atlas, get the engine running!’’ A man ordered, but Atlas was already moving.
After I was shoved out of the way, the chaos seemed to make everyone oblivious to my presence.
‘’Nova, Jaxon, pods! Atlas, when can we jump?’’ The man I assumed to be the captain roared out orders as shots kept hitting the side of the ship until the shields kicked in.
‘’It’s too crowded, give me thirty seconds!’’
I rushed to the window as we lifted from the ground, watching as the crew started firing back, easily taking out multiple by just a few shot. Whoever was shooting, they clearly knew what they were doing. The shields absorbed the remaining incoming shots as Atlas got the ship off the ground, easily maneuvering it through and out of the crowded airport. As we got clear enough to jump, I watched the remaining soldiers board their own ships, but we were gone before they even had a chance to take off.
A second later, the ship jumped and my view switched into the darkness of open space.
‘’Holy crap…’’ I breathed, finally feeling a bit of tension leave my shoulders, but it only lasted until I heard voices next to me.
‘’Everyone alright?’’
‘’Just fine, captain,’’ the woman answered.
‘’Why the hell was the Empire even after us? I thought we lost them on Ebon five.’’
‘’I have a pretty good idea why,’’ Atlas muttered, shooting a glance in my direction.
I met his glance before the three other people joined him, finally noticing me.
For a moment, they all looked surprised, but the man in red quickly cocked an eyebrow.
‘’Friend of yours?’’ He asked, showing me a smirk that seemed a little too well practiced.
Atlas didn’t even bother to answer him, simply glaring at him instead.
‘’So who is she?’’ The captain asked, studying me briefly.
‘’A thief and stowaway,’’ Atlas grumbled before I could answer for myself.
‘’Look, I’m sorry about breaking in, but the Empire would have caught me and done God knows what if I hadn’t hacked the lock,’’ I explained.
‘’And what did you do to have them come chasing you like that?’’
‘’I-I’m not sure, actually,’’ I spoke, my voice shaking a bit as I recalled what had happened only an hour or two ago. ‘’I had left to go to work, but I forgot my keycard so I went back. I saw soldiers kicking my door in and searched my place. When they spotted me, they started chasing me, yelling that they had an order to take me into custody.’’
‘’She’s not lying,’’ the woman commented while her eyes lingered on me.
‘’Of course I’m not lying.’’ I crossed my arms, the stress from earlier making me defensive. ‘’I’ve never broken into anything before and I’ve never done anything for the Empire to come chasing me like that. I’m an engineer, not some bounty hunter or thief,’’ I huffed.
‘’Kid, you’re the last one here who gets to have an attitude,’’ Atlas grumbled before passing me.
My glance fell on his jacket as he moved by. I couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity, but I pushed the thought away. I had to deal with this situation first.
‘’Give her a break, Atlas, or are you grumpy because a civilian managed to bypass your lock?’’ The man in red smirked, earning another glare from Atlas.
‘’Shut up, Jax.’’
‘’The Empire doesn’t just chase civilians, so you must have done something to catch their attention,’’ the captain spoke, crossing his arms over his chest.
I looked down when all of their eyes moved back to me.
‘’She did say she was an engineer,’’ Jax commented.
I hesitated for a moment. I wasn’t sure if I could trust them, but as things were, I wasn’t sure if I could bluff my way out of it, and, given the situation, getting on their good side by not lying was probably the right move.
‘’Well, I did just finish a project I was working on as a hobby, but I’m not sure how they would know about it. I’ve only tested it once,’’ I admitted, meeting the eyes of the captain.
‘’Surveillance. The Empire likes keeping tabs on neutral colonies, like yours.’’ He watched me closely like he was suddenly suspicious of me. ‘’What was the project?’’
‘’A new type of stealth shield,’’ I answered and watched as all of them suddenly looked at me with interest instead of boredom or suspicion. Even Atlas’ interest in me seemed to increase, but it only lasted for a split second.
‘’Captain, why are we even having this conversation? She broke in here to steal my goddamn ship. I don’t care who’s after her, let’s just dump the stowaway on the closest planet.’’ He glanced at me once he was finished speaking, the hardness in his eyes making me want to disappear.
‘’I’m sorry for breaking in, I really am,’’ I spoke as I looked right at him, hoping that he could hear or see how sincere I was,’’ but I didn’t know what else to do.’’
‘’Quick question,’’ Jax moved closer to me, looking me over with a sly smile, ‘’just curious here, but what was your plan once you got inside? Just fly away?’’
His question surprised me a bit, and I couldn’t tell if he was joking or being serious, leaving me a bit hesitant to answer, ‘’…yes?’’
‘’So you’re also a pilot?’’ The captain asked.
‘’N-not officially. My father is, and I know how to fly but I never got the license. Why does it matter?’’ I asked and looked back at Jax, who was looking rather delighted.
‘’Look,’’ he smiled as he stepped closer to me again, ‘’we have a lovely stranger breaking into our ship with the intention of flying away with it while the Empire is on a hot pursuit. We’re just a little curious about who we’re dealing with here.’’ His voice was smooth as he spoke and I relaxed a little bit. ‘’Now, I like you already, mainly because you either proved my point that the lock was crappy or you’re just a good hacker, but Atlas here obviously isn’t a fan of you, and the more we know, the easier it is for the other two to get an impression of you,’’ he explained, making it all sound like it was nothing serious, but it only made me more nervous.
Then I got an idea.
‘’What if we made a deal?’’
‘’No.’’ Atlas’ hard voice cut through the room, dismissing my idea without even hearing what it was about.
‘’Atlas.’’ The captain glanced at him before returning his attention to me. ‘’What are you proposing?’’
‘’If you can drop me off on a colony in the outer rim or something, I could get away from the Empire. I don’t have a lot of credits, but I know my way around Union ships, so maybe I could help fix something or-‘’
‘’Like hell you are. No one else than me touches this ship, and I’m not about to change that because of some kid who thinks she knows what she’s doing,’’ Atlas spoke, glaring angrily at me.
I quickly returned his glare, angry that he would question my abilities that easily. I opened my mouth to defend myself, but loud beeping from the ship’s control panel stopped me.
‘’What now,’’ Atlas huffed before moving to it.
‘’What’s happening?’’ The captain asked.
‘’An Empire vessel is requesting a connection. Looks they’re currently dying to have a conversation with us,’’ Atlas scoffed.
‘’But they’re not shooting? That’s a surprise,’’ Jax commented before sitting down in one of the chairs.
‘’Let them through. Maybe we’ll learn why they’re after her,’’ the caption spoke, steeling himself in front of the screen.
Atlas grunted in disagreement, but he answered the call nonetheless. I stayed at the window as the screen started flickering before establishing a proper connection. A tall and imposing man appeared on it. His grey skin suggested another race than human, but the rest of his features contradicted the possibility of him being anything but a mix. Once I noticed the high-ranking Empire uniform, I edged a little further away from the screen, hoping not to be seen by whoever it was.
‘’Ah, if it isn’t Orion,’’ the man on the screen spoke while showing a charming smile.
‘’What do you want, Tiberius?’’
‘’I don’t really have time for the likes of you, so I’m just going to be blunt here. You have something that belongs to me.’’ Tiberius eyes and tone hardens as he speaks.
‘’No one belongs to you, Tiberius,’’ Orion replied while narrowing his eyes, his own tone just as hard.
Tiberius smiled before he glanced around, causing our eyes to meet. His smile grew, but his glance remained cold.
‘’Ah, there you are, Miss Eiso. I apologize, I do believe that there was a misunderstanding this morning,’’ he spoke, making my skin crawl.
‘’Misunderstanding? Your soldiers trashed my place and then chased me-‘’ I started, raising my voice while stepping closer to the screen, but he interrupted me before I could give him a piece of my mind.
‘’Please, there’s no need to be angry here. My men are thorough. I expect nothing less of them, but, seeing as things got a little out of hand, I would like to give you my offer personally. We can easily arrange for you to be transported to my ship, or would you rather have me come and get you?’’ The threat in his voice was obvious, and I felt my face falter when he said it with such ease.
I had absolutely no desire to hear his offer. The Empire had too much blood on their hands and it would go against everything I believed in, everything my father believed in… I glanced at the rest of the crew. Was I really in any position to put them in more danger? My hesitation caused me to nervously chew on my lip while my glance fell on Atlas.
The pilot already had his focus on me, studying me silently until our eyes met. For once, he didn’t look like he was ready to throw me out of the window, but I couldn’t read much more than that. His face remained indifferent as Tiberius cleared his throat, attempting to gain my attention again, but my eyes stayed locked with Atlas’.
Please…
‘’Miss Eiso, if you don’t answer-‘’ the video feed cut off as Atlas pressed his hand down on a button, promptly ending the conversation.
‘’Don’t tell me I was the only one who was tired of listening to him,’’ Atlas grumbled before looking at Orion, who simply shook his head.
‘’Get us away from here.’’ Orion’s expression softened as he gave Atlas the go-ahead, focusing on me afterward. ‘’I’m guessing you have some questions.’’
‘’Just a few,’’ I mumbled and leaned against the wall, ‘’who was that and why is he interested in me joining the Empire?’’
‘’Tiberius Fox. He’s high-ranking and definitively not someone you would want to have anything to do with. I can’t say exactly why, but he recruits people he thinks have a potential but are submissive to him. I would guess it has something to do with your engineering skills. If you really did create an improved stealth shield, a lot of people would be interested in that technology,’’ Orion explained.
Briefly, I wondered what his connection with Tiberius was, but I didn’t really feel like prodding too much into personal relationships, especially not when we hadn’t reached any sort of agreement on how to proceed.
‘’So he’s bad news,’’ I sighed.
‘’That’s one way to put it,’’ Jax chuckled before addressing the elephant in the room, ‘’so, what’s our next move?’’
‘’Well, I’d be forever grateful if you could drop me off in the outer rim,’’ I mumbled a bit hesitant.
‘’Of all the places, why the outer rim?’’ Orion asked, obviously surprised why I would make such a request.
‘’She’s looking for someone,’’ The woman joined the conversation while her eyes lingered on me.
I was about to ask how she knew, but Orion spoke before I could.
‘’We can’t take you there. It’s too far off our original course, and we’ve already lost time from this detour.’’
I felt my face falter a bit, but it wasn’t exactly a surprise. ‘’How close can you get me while staying on your original course? As I said, I’m willing to work to pay for it.’’
‘’Paradise-5 is the closest colony that’s not under Empire control, but it really doesn’t live up to its name,’’ Jax spoke while looking up from his tablet.
‘’I’m not letting her touch my ship,’’ Atlas reminded us with a grumble.
‘’An improved stealth shield could be very useful,’’ the woman spoke as she moved closer.
‘’An installation of a shield wouldn’t be so bad, would it, Atlas?’’ Jax smirked as he looked at the pilot, only getting an annoyed grunt as a reply.
Orion’s glance lingered on me as he thought about it, and I only felt myself get more nervous as I waited for his decision.
‘’We could use an engineer around to fix a few problems, but I’m not saying yes to any prototype before I’ve seen what you can do.’’ Orion decided, crossing his arms. ‘’Atlas, I know there are some minor fixes she can do, but I’m going to let you decide which,’’ he spoke as he turned around, fixing his eyes on Atlas, waiting for his reaction.
‘’You know I’m not in agreement with you here, but if that’s what you want…’’ He grumbled, obviously not satisfied with the situation, but he followed orders. ‘’Fine, I’ll see what she can do tomorrow. I need some shut-eye,’’ he sighed, suddenly looking exhausted as he ran a hand through his hair.
‘’Some rest doesn’t sound like a bad idea,’’ Jax admitted as he stretched in his chair before standing up. ‘’I’m Jaxon by the way,’’ he smiled at me, ‘’Orion’s the captain, that’s Nova,’’ he gestured toward the woman, ‘’and, of course, you’ve met our charming pilot, Atlas,’’ he continued, making Atlas grunt as he moved back to the control panel.
Orion and Nova both left the room after giving me a curt nod, and Jaxon followed him, waving at me before rounding a corner. The silence that followed was suddenly strange. It hadn’t been quiet since I had plugged my earbuds in that morning, but now it almost felt like it had snuck up on me, and I wasn’t okay with it. I wasn’t ready for the anxiety that I felt bubbling up inside me. Instead, I took a deep breath as an attempt to calm my breathing down a bit while I focused on Atlas, stepping closer to him before I spoke up.
‘’Tess.’’
‘’… What?’’ He asked without turning around, focusing on plotting in the course and setting up the autopilot.
‘’Tess… that’s my name,’’ I spoke, my voice shaking despite my effort to sound calm.
His fingers stilled for a moment, hovering over the buttons before turning around. Our eyes met, and the scowl that looked like it was his permanent expression softened just slightly, easing the sinking feeling in my chest.
‘’Alright, Tess,’’ he sighed as he stood up from his seat, the height difference showing once we stood this close and I had to tilt my head back to look him in the eyes. ‘’Are you freaking out?’’ He asked with a strange calmness. His eyes were still hard, but, as they were completely focused on mine, it didn’t seem like it was intentional. Nevertheless, just thinking that it wasn’t helped a bit, even if it was just my imagination.
‘’This… this is really happening, isn’t it? I have some high-ranking Empire guy after me and-and they trashed all my stuff, all my projects, and my whole apartment, I-‘’
‘’Breathe, kid, you’re rambling,’’ he cut me off, making my mouth snap shut once I realized what was happening.
I stayed silent as heat crept into my cheeks when embarrassment replaced every other feeling in my body. Atlas was so far the only crew member who I felt like I needed to prove myself to, so of course, it would be in front of him that I had a minor meltdown. Splendid.
‘’You done?’’ He asked, his glance searching my face for any signs that I wasn’t.
‘’Yeah, sorry,’’ I breathed and watched as he sat back down, finishing the autopilot’s setup. ‘’It’s been a long day… I guess I lost it a little bit. Thanks,’’ I sighed, finally feeling the exhaustion from all the stress and running.
‘’Mmm…’’ His reply was a low hum, but I was thankful that he didn’t have any snappy remarks.
Not knowing what else to do, I watched as he finished, his fingers deftly flying over the control panel to check on the ship and fuel levels before getting up. I followed him, my eyes busy with recognizing the patches on his leather jacket and looking around, taking in my surroundings. The ship seemed big for such a small crew, but it was well-kept, which must have been because of Atlas. Given how he reacted when Orion suggested having me help with the upkeep, I couldn’t imagine Atlas having anyone but himself fix things.
I smiled to myself. Seeing someone being that protective of their ship was a little cute, even if they were being a jerk about it.
We walked into a lounge area, and I immediately felt drawn to the biggest couch in the room.
‘’We don’t have any spare beds, so it’s this or the floor,’’ Atlas spoke before continuing down the hallway.
‘’I’ve slept worse places,’’ I mumbled to myself reassuringly, watching his back until he went disappeared into a room.
I slumped down on the couch, sighing as I moved my arm beneath my head as a makeshift pillow. Despite still feeling uneasy about the whole thing, the exhaustion took over as soon as I closed my eyes. I was out like a light, but it was restless, leaving me groggy and confused once I woke up because something was sniffing my face.
Groaning, my hand went up to push whatever it was away, but it stopped once it settled on something fluffy. I opened my eyes and met a pair of big blue ones, surrounded by green fur. My hand moved from the top of its head and slid down its back, but it was too busy sniffing my hand for me to repeat the movement.
‘’You’re a cute little one, aren’t you?’’ I whispered, smiling as it continued to focus on my hand.
‘’I see you’ve met Comet,’’ Atlas spoke behind me; effectively making me yelp as he startled me. ‘’Come on, there’s not going to be any breakfast left if you wait much longer.’’ I could hear the slight amusement in his tone, but he had already turned around once I looked over my shoulder.
I glanced back at Comet, but it was busy scuttling off me and down on the ground, leaving me to get up instead. After having a quick stretch, I redid my messy bun while silently yearning for a shower. Still, messy hair or not, I wasn’t about to miss out on the most important meal of the day, so I quickly followed Atlas into the mess area.
Once again, I was a little surprised by how big the ship seemed when the crew was so small, but the nonchalant chatter and messy dining table made up for the slightly strange atmosphere. Jaxon was the one providing the chatter, and he quickly smiled at me as I walked in. I sat down in the empty seat between Nova and Atlas, my eyes wandering the table while Jaxon kept telling his story.
Staring at the food, I wasn’t sure what I was allowed to take. Atlas must have noticed my hesitation since he leaned closer to me, keeping his voice low as he spoke, ‘’just take what you want. We don’t expect you to work on an empty stomach.’’
I glanced up at him, my pulse quickening a bit once I noticed how close we were, ‘’you sure?’’
His facial expression told me to just start eating, so I did, although a bit tentatively. I felt Jaxon watching as I helped myself to some food, making sure not to take the last of anything in case someone else wanted it.
‘’I don’t think anyone is going to object if you take the rest of the eggs,’’ he chuckled and pushed the plate in my direction.
‘’Thank you,’’ I smiled and happily emptied the plate, doing my best not to wolf down the food.
‘’By the way, I don’t think you’ve told us your first name yet,’’ Jaxon spoke while leaning back in his chair.
I glanced up at Atlas, a bit surprised that he hadn’t said anything, but he merely shrugged at me before continuing to eat.
‘’Oh, sorry, I’m Tess Eiso,’’ I spoke as I looked back at him, briefly catching a glimpse of Atlas pausing, but it was only for a second. ‘’And thanks for giving me a chance. I know the terms aren’t exactly perfect-’’ Atlas snorted loudly but I ignored him, ‘’but I don’t really know what else to do, so I’m really grateful,’’ I smiled, glancing at the three people without a frown on their face.
‘’If you don’t mind me asking, why are you heading to the outer rim? You could easily disappear on a neutral colony,’’ Orion asked.
‘’Oh, um,’’ I mumbled and paused to finish chewing my food, ‘’my father is out there somewhere, so I might as well go there now that the Empire is after me,’’ I explained.
Once again, I noticed Atlas pausing and I snuck a glance at him. His expression didn’t make me any wiser and he was back to eating within a second, making me wonder whether or not it had actually happened. The rest seemed content enough with my answer and the rest of the meal was spent with casual chatting. Once I had finished eating, the table was cleared and the crew went their separate ways on the ship. As people left the room, I wasn’t sure what to do and stayed at the table, feeling a bit like a lost puppy.
‘’Get in gear, kid. I’m not waiting around for you,’’ Atlas spoke from the doorway, looking at me like he was already annoyed at having me around.
He started walking as soon as he saw me moving, his long strides leaving me to practically jog to catch up with him. From the second he walked into the bridge, his mood seemed to improve by a small fraction, and it made the slight frown on his face ease into something milder. Still, it was obvious that he would have been more content without my presence, but he would have to get over his stubbornness. As he sat down in the pilot chair, I made a silent pact with myself. I wanted to impress him, or at least have him seem less annoyed by me. Either was good enough, but even the latter of them felt a bit hard to archive. Yet, I wasn’t a quitter.
Letting out a small sigh, I joined him at the control panel, once again watching as his fingers danced across the buttons.
‘’I bet you can do that in your sleep,’’ I thought out loud, immediately realizing that I had just let that thought slip and my face exploded with heat, but he answered before I could make an effort to save face.
‘’Of course I can,’’ he grunted as a reply while he pressed a button.
A projection of the ship and its status appeared in front of me, drawing me like a moth to a flame. I made a small noise of admiration as I looked it over, scanning all the information. I had expected someone like Atlas to take good care of their ship, but I hadn’t expected it to be so well equipped, especially not with so much off-the-market tech.
‘’Is that… is that really an SD-2870 Hyper Liminal Drive?’’ I asked, my voice giving away my excitement.
‘’A custom model,’’ he spoke proudly before looking up at me, ‘’ever worked on one?’’
‘’Are you kidding? I’d never been able to get my hands on tech like this. I’ve been dying to see one though, especially because it hasn’t been properly tested yet,’’ I smiled and met his eyes.
A small smile tucked the corners of his mouth, making my pulse quicken a bit as our eyes lingered on each other. Despite his attitude, I couldn’t deny that he was attractive, and being that close to him while he was nearly smiling only made it more obvious to me. His eyes had a shade of deep green that I’d never seen before, beautifully contrasting his dark, silver-streaked hair.
I took a quick breath before tearing my eyes away from him and back to the projection. Heat bubbled in my cheeks and I couldn’t keep a small, bashful smile at bay as I refocused on the ship.
‘’Is it quicker then? I’ve read a lot about the tachyon effect on the drive. It’s impressive how they’ve managed to manipulate it,’’ I asked, going back into excited-by-an-engine mode.
‘’Oh yeah,’’ he hummed, pressing another button that zoomed in on the engine.
Detailed numbers appeared, ranging from current power usage, model number, temperature, and stability. My smile grew as I ate them all up, storing the important numbers in the back of my head for future use. I was already mulling over which upgrades I would love to implement when my glance found the shield generator. Like the rest, it was sort of a mix of old and new tech, overall giving me the impression that parts were most likely only changed because they were broken, not because something new and shiny had gone on the market. I knew that specific generator like the back of my hand and it was my chance to prove myself.
‘’Atlas-‘’
‘’You’re not changing anything in this area of the ship,’’ he shut me down immediately, making the excited grin on my face turn into a frown. Watching my expression flip to the opposite must have been amusing to him, seeing how a nearly nonexistent smirk formed on his lips. ‘’Here,’’ he pointed to a specific place on the projection, ‘’this is what you’re fixing today.’’
I stared at it, nearly squinting when the shape didn’t make all that much sense to me. It wasn’t a part of the engine, but it was still located here on the bridge. When I finally realized what it was, I couldn’t help but hide my disappointment.
‘’You’re seriously having me fix the ship’s internal climate system?’’
‘’Got a problem with it?’’ The snark was back in his voice and I wanted to roll my eyes at him.
‘’If that is what you want to be fixed, then I’ll fix it,’’ I spoke softly and shook my head, already moving to find the unit. ‘’ Where're your tools?’’
‘’In the box next to it,’’ he spoke, already busy with something else behind me.
Hidden away in a corner, I spotted the sad old thing. It looked like it was the original that had come with the ship, and I wondered if he had picked it just because of its age. Sure, I usually worked with newer tech, but it wasn’t like the older stuff was foreign to me. Pressing my lips together in annoyance, I grabbed my tablet from the table and moved to the unit. I removed the front panel and plugged the tablet in; using a program I had made myself to run a diagnostics on it. The tech was too old to give me much to go on, but it only made the challenge more interesting, giving me a bit of renewed energy.
Muttering a few reassuring but determined words to myself while I took my jacket off, I got to work.