Coffee Cup Dreams (A Redpoint One Romance) (10 page)

"Do you have it?" Rachel called out. "I'm
ready to disconnect a joint."

"Almost!" Tish shouted back.

Another twist and a sharply pointed shape
appeared. It felt right. She studied the block, finding the shape
on the lower front.

"I hope this is right," she told the bot. In
response it whistled in a short upward flute to her as if
encouraging her.

She pressed the tool flat against the shape on
the block. The surface glowed a soft blue before giving way,
allowing the tool to push down into the block. A quick twist to the
right and she heard the flow of fluid in one of the pipes
cease.

She pulled out the tool and tapped the pipe
she thought she'd heard a change in. "I think I have it. Do you
hear anything in the pipe?"

"It's gone. You have it," Rachel
answered.

The bot next to her lowered to the ground and
she smiled. "We got it. Thanks for your help."

The bot gave a long beep. It followed her as
she returned to help Rachel with a pipe joint. It took both of them
tugging and twisting before they were able to pull the joint
free.

A bot with a bucket waited to catch the fluid
still in the pipe. The ventilation of the area increased to the
point she felt the movement against her skin and clothes.
Considering the odors coming out of the pipe, she was happy for the
additional air.

Rachel described each step as she worked,
showing what each tool on her belt did as well as the tools and
equipment in the cart. Some of it Tish recognized from helping Neil
around the house back on Earth, but Rachel had more variety of size
and shapes of the same plumbing tools.

By the time they had the joint on the other
side of the clog detached, Tish even knew which tools she was going
to need next.

"Has Arthur mentioned what department he has
in mind for you on a permanent basis?" Rachel asked as she snaked a
long tool into the pipe.

"No, not so far." She didn't even know what
all the departments were.

"No worries. Sometimes he has something in
mind, and sometimes he has the person apprentice with several
departments before a good fit is found. Obviously Damien is looking
forward to you training with him." Rachel grunted as she shoved at
the tool. "Wow, this is really jammed."

Tish leaned into the tool while Rachel worked
the end of it, twisting and jiggling the handle. With a sucking
noise more fluid poured out of the pipe. A dark foul-smelling clump
rolled out of the pipe and splattered in the bucket a bot
held.

Tish scrambled backwards to avoid the splash.
And fell over the back of a bot. Three other bots converged on the
mess and started cleaning the floor and walls.

Another bot glided up to her, a small arm
coming out with a rag to mop at her pants. She pushed it away only
to find another bot doing the same thing from the other side. A
third appeared, going after her shoes.

She tried to stand up, only to fall again in a
tangle of arms, legs, and rags. Rachel started laughing when she
fell for a second time.

"You could help," Tish said, glaring up at
her.

Rachel shook her head, still laughing so hard
she could barely speak. "They like you."

"They could like me a little less. Death by
helper bots." At least the bots were only using rags and nothing
else under their shells. She gave a little shudder at the memory of
the movie scene.

A bot queried her with a whistle as it dabbed
a spot on her pants.

Rachel scowled at her. "Oh great, you saw the
movie."

"I didn't say a thing about any movie," Tish
said, trying to at least get to her knees.

"I'm right, though, aren't I?"

Reluctantly Tish nodded. The bots at her feet
continued their work at her clothes, even after she finally found a
way to stand up. The bot with the foul-smelling bucket turned and
raced down the corridor with its burden while another bot took its
place with a new bucket.

"I'm guessing the maintenance crew didn't care
for the movie?" Tish grabbed the joint. The sooner they got it
attached again, the sooner the place wouldn't smell like a
sewer.

"The screenwriter who wrote it stayed here for
a few months. We all know where he got the ideas, and he's wrong.
The station computer is not homicidal." Rachel grabbed another
tool. "Wait, we need to do the other side first."

Well, that explained why so much of the movie
echoed what she'd seen on Redpoint One since arriving.

With the joint re-installed the bots converged
from above, below and to the side of it, small welders setting it
back in place. The ventilation system quickly dispelled the smell
of the clog, allowing Tish and Rachel to breathe in
deep.

"You deal with that kind of smell every day?"
Tish asked with a shake of her head. "I wouldn't want to get out of
bed if I had this to look forward to."

"It's usually not this bad. There are cleaner
bots that work from the inside of the pipes, but this was too close
to a distribution grid-point." Rachel gave her a flash of a grin.
"And this isn't the dirtiest repair work. I have it easy compared
to others."

Tish felt a small tug on her pants. One of the
bots held up the tool she'd used on the valve in a small claw at
the end of a thin arm. She must have dropped it when she
fell.

She took it, saying, "Thank you."

The bot chirped at her. She turned back to
find Rachel shaking her head at her. "They definitely like
you."

Tish shrugged. "Makes me feel better and it
gets the movie out of my head. Do we turn on the valve
now?"

Rachel nodded towards the end of the corridor,
"Go for it."

This time Tish found the right symbol
immediately. Pulled out the right tool the first try, a twist in
the opposite direction and she could hear fluid flowing
again.

Upon returning, Rachel said, "And you found
the right symbol. Excellent. Did you grow up as a
spacer?"

"Nope, an Earth girl through and through. This
is the first time I've been off-planet."

Rachel shook her head. "Arthur is right. You
never know who will take to this."

Tish paused in the process of returning the
tool to her belt. "Why do I get the feeling I just passed some sort
of test?"

Rachel grinned unabashed. "Because you
did."

She turned and started walking down the
corridor with her bot close behind. Tish trotted to catch up,
prompting, "And?"

Rachel shrugged without looking back. "People
either understand the station or they don't. It's not something
that can be taught. How do you feel?"

She rubbed her hands on her pants. "Like I
need to wash my hands."

"No, in general."

Tish frowned. What did she mean by that? She
didn't feel anything. "Fine. Getting a bit hungry, despite the
odors a few minutes ago."

"No pressure? Discomfort? Headache? In your
head or in your body anywhere?"

Tish missed a step. "No, nothing like that.
Should I?"

Rachel stopped at a juncture in the corridors
to turn partially towards her. "I was hoping not. We need more
people."

Tish grabbed her arm before she could continue
walking. "Please explain. I've had too few explanations since I
arrived."

Rachel smiled at her. "We don't have many
people working in Maintenance because most don't last."

"Well, Arthur wasn't exactly welcoming," Tish
said. And she'd wanted him to be. She'd felt like he'd warmed up to
her later, but the way they'd parted after the day was over didn't
give her a good feeling.

But Rachel was shaking her head. "No, not the
boss. He's great, even though under a bit of strain. It's the
station itself. It can, uh, affect people sometimes. As if the
station doesn't like them. The boss doesn't run people off. It's
the station."

Tish blinked. Not the sort of thing she'd
wanted to hear. "And you say the movie isn't real?"

"No, of course not. It just gives people a
feeling, a 'sense' if you will, that they are not welcome. And they
leave. It's as simple as that." She looked behind Tish and grinned.
"It appears you have made new friends. Yep, you'll fit
in."

Tish glanced around her to find three bots in
a row, all staring up at her with their eyestalks. Just hovering
and watching. "What are they doing?"

"They like you. It happens that way. A bot or
two will decide they belong to you personally."

The bots continued to stare at her, giving
Tish the oddest sensations. They weren't just curious. They were
staring up at her because… it was her.

"Or is that the other way around?" Tish asked
with a hesitant laugh.

Rachel let out a loud infectious laugh. She
punched Tish in the arm. "Good one!"

An alarm beeped from both of their wrists.
Arthur's voice shouted, "Hull breach near Sector 3122 Maintenance
Shaft 2. Self-repair systems have failed. I need all maintenance
personnel here now."

Tish tensed. "That doesn't sound
good."

Rachel didn't smile at all. "It's not. Follow
me, I know a fast way. I hope you don't get motion
sick."

CHAPTER NINE

TISH DIDN'T HAVE time to ask the other woman what she meant.
With her tool cart in tow, Rachel took off in a run and Tish had a
hard time keeping up. The bots had no trouble at all, gliding as
fast as Rachel ran, their whistles, beeps, and squeals reinforcing
the atmosphere of stress.

The things couldn't even talk, and yet they
got their point across. When she had time, she was going to have to
think about that part.

Rachel disappeared around a corner. When Tish
caught up with her she was folding herself into a smaller
maintenance pod than the one she'd ridden in before. Rachel's bot
settled into a compartment in the back.

Tish slipped into the front facing seat next
to her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the three bots that
had been following her heading for the back of the pod.

Rachel touched the small control panel.
"Sector 3122 Maintenance Shaft 2, and don't spare the speed. Oh,
and put on the seat restraint, Tish."

The door closed next to Tish while she
struggled with the shoulder harnesses. "Do you think the computer
is going to understand that?"

Rachel didn't have a chance to respond. The
moment the door closed the pod shot forward, dropping down into an
opening appearing in the floor. The one headlight at the front of
the pod illuminated a small tube, just the right size for the pod.
They zigzagged back and forth and up and down while the pod picked
up speed every moment.

Tish reached out to brace herself against the
door to keep from getting slammed around so much. She was going to
have bruised shoulders where the harness bit into her.

Rachel's shoulder bumped into hers. "Better
than a carnival!"

"It wasn't like this yesterday," Tish said,
trying to keep her head from hitting the door window.

"No, just in emergencies."

The answer helped a little. Good, she didn't
have to worry about how much she ate before arriving for work on a
typical work-day.

The pod spiraled downwards so fast it left her
stomach near the location of her throat. The descent stopped
abruptly and instead forward motion took its place. A sharp ramp
appeared ahead of them. The next moment they were in another
maintenance corridor and coming to a quick halt.

Tish let out a long breath, allowing herself
to relax against the seat.

"No time for rest. We have a problem to fix."
Rachel unhooked her harness and nudged her out of the
pod.

Tish stepped out and away on shaky legs. The
corridors leading away from the miniature transport platform had
the appearance of the others. All pipes, boxes, odd nodules and
conduits running back and forth, weaving in among each other and
appearing and disappearing into the walls, ceilings and
floors.