The diagnostic logs that Benni shared on its terminal were some of the worst I’d seen. I had downloaded them to my tablet, and was going over them in a corner of the employee canteen. The food here was weird. Something about it tasted off, but there was more of it than I used to get in Ulthea, so I didn’t complain. Dr. Skisk told me I needed to get my weight up, anyways.

So many systems offline. Life support, artificial gravity, shields… somehow the weapons batteries didn’t explode in the jump, so when I got those systems back up, I wouldn’t need to buy more munitions. It wasn’t that I wanted the weapons, but it sounded like being able to defend yourself out here would be important. What else was there… Well, that was lucky. Despite how they looked, three of the four main engines only needed minor fixes, and the tail engines still worked. Most of these issues were fried electronics. Could be worse, but rewiring an entire ship took time, especially with one as big as the Benevolence.

A food tray slapped down on the table opposite where I was sitting. Looking up from the tablet, I saw Reggie, in the process of taking a seat across from me. 

“Hi, Casey,” she said with an embarrassed grin. “Mind if I sit here? I feel like we got off on the wrong foot.”

I stared blankly, my brain still half focused on the last diagnostic I read, then returned my attention to the screen. “Go ahead. I’ll be leaving pretty soon.”

“Leaving? Where to?” Reggie asked, taking a bite of her food.

“Uhm…” was my only response for a few seconds. Great, the main generator was totally fried. That would be expensive. Shaking my head, I finally answered, eye focused on the tablet. “Dock 313. My ship is there.”

Reggie made an interested hoot, and pointed at the tablet with her spork. “The Benevolence! Are you looking at diagnostics?”

I looked up for a moment. Genuine interest showed in Reggie’s eyes as she stared at the tablet in my hands. “Yeah,” I said. “The ship is pretty bad off. Not unsalvageable, but it’ll take a lot of work. The cockpit alone needs a full replacement.”

“Mind if I see?” Reggie asked, reaching across the table.

Wordlessly, I passed her the tablet. As she scrolled through the logs, I watched her face go from interested, to concerned, then worried, and finally stop on baffled. “Wow, what does work on this thing?”

”Not much, but the AI core is still intact, thankfully,” I said with a shrug. “It’s just not able to make any outside connections right now. Whatever it used to send the distress signal must have burned out right after.”

Reggie handed the tablet back to me. “It looks like there’s a lot of work on your plate. Do you want help?” she asked. “I’m sure if you asked anyone on the Engineering team, they would jump at the chance to work on a GHU gunship, myself included. Despite what they’re used for, even yours is a feat of design, busted as it is.”

Swiping through the log again, I thought about it. These projects were always easier with a team, and the Benevolence was a large ship, but I couldn’t risk exposing Benni to more people. How quickly would someone catch on to its’ freedom, even if I warned it to be careful? I got lucky with Helga, but I couldn’t be certain it would happen again. 

“No, it’s okay,” I said with a sigh. “At least not right now. When I get to the body work I’ll definitely need extra hands if I still can’t use zero gee.”

“If you shay sho,” Reggie said, then swallowed. “Call it an open offer. If you need any parts, Listher can help you source them, even the hard-to-find ones. Like, for example… an entire GHU gunship cockpit.”

I snorted and gave her a small smile. “Okay, I will. Thanks.” 

Reggie seemed pleased at getting a laugh out of me as she took another bite of her food. We sat in silence for a bit as I continued to pore over the logs, now taking notes on possible fixes. After a few minutes, Reggie spoke up again. “Looking forward to orientation in a couple of days?”

Once again, I didn’t respond while I finished typing up the last couple of possible causes for why the shield generator could have shorted. Then I realized I missed a possibility in the radar systems. I started to type, but Reggie cleared her throat, and I blinked as my concentration broke. “Sorry,” I said, looking up at her. She didn’t seem annoyed, just lightly amused. “Yeah, it should be nice. I don’t really like that I haven’t been working for so long.”

“Really?” Reggie asked. “I know it’s because you’ve been injured, but isn’t it a nice break?”

I tugged on one of my horns as my eye flicked between the tablet and Reggie’s face. The sentence I had been writing taunted me, half finished. “I prefer to keep busy. Honestly, it’s a good thing I have the Benevolence to work on, or I might have gone stir crazy before orientation. I can’t just read news articles forever.”

“I get what you mean,” Reggie said, nodding. “Helga’s always yanking me away from projects so I don’t burn out.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Burnout? You can just push through that.”

The Head Engineer visibly recoiled. “Not on Brock Station. Taking breaks is necessary, Casey.”

“If you say so,” I said, doubtful. How many times had I heard that before? Either way, I didn’t want to get bogged down in another argument with her. Agreeing was easier. That, and excusing myself. 

“I think I’ve got everything,” I said. “Gonna feed these solutions to my ship AI and work out a plan.”

Reggie seemed like she was having her own doubts about me again. “Just be sure to take some time to relax again in a couple of hours,” she said reproachfully. “We hired you because we need the hands. If you burn out, you’ll struggle to get anything done.”

I nodded as I collected my things and stood. That was more like it. “Yes, Ma’am.” Before I left her to finish eating, I flashed a smile in an attempt to lighten the mood. “I’ll keep you updated on how things are going.”

“Alright, well, good!” Reggie said, seeming to relax a little. “Make sure you do.”

We shared a wave, and I left the canteen. As I made the trek back to Benni, I couldn’t help but feel as though Reggie and I would continue to struggle to find the ‘right foot’. It was clear that we had different philosophies around work. Sure, burnout wasn’t fun, but once you were done, you were done. 

I reentered the hangar and stepped back into the ship. “I’m back, Benni.”

“Hello, Captain. Did You Discover Anything Interesting?”

“Nothing more than we already knew, to be honest,” I said, walking back into the AI core. “I want to set up a plan and see how much we can do without GHU resources.”

“I Would Be Happy To Assist.”

The room itself was about twice the size of a closet, and lit only by the light of Benni’s ‘brain’, which was a two foot wide, jet black hexagonal pillar that spanned floor to ceiling. Thin red lights ran up each corner of the pillar, a familiar aesthetic that came with anything manufactured by CorrCo. Tugging a cable from the tablet, I plugged the tablet into the terminal. Benni immediately started downloading the information I added to the diagnostics logs, and began an itemized list.

“For now, can you show me what the rebuild would look like with all of our usual resources?” I asked. “We might be able to source more GHU material than I thought.”

“Of Course.”

Benni’s terminal began a readout of parts lists and scheduling. If this was my sole project, and I was still working on my old station, this refit would take about a month of work, only taking time to sleep and eat. This wasn’t my old station, though. I would have a lot more on my plate when I started my new job. With the Benevolence as a side project, that estimate could easily stretch close to a year. 

The biggest factors now would be how much free time I would have, how quickly I could get parts, and how soon I could afford those parts. Tools I assumed would be given to me, which was more charity I would no doubt feel awful about, but I didn’t have a choice. If I didn’t have tools, I couldn’t work, and therefore couldn’t make money.

I sighed as I scrolled through the new list. This was at least a three person job, but I couldn’t trust anyone on the engineering team yet. Maybe in a month or so, once I’ve gotten to know a few of them, I could invite them aboard the Benevolence and introduce them to Benni. Having Helga’s backing definitely helped. 

“May I Make A Request, Captain?”

This time I only jumped a little. I was getting more used to Benni’s way of speaking out of nowhere. “Sure, what is it?” I asked.

“If Possible, I Would Like My Surveillance Systems Restored First. Bio Monitoring Only Allows Me To Keep Track Of Living Creatures, And Even Then, Only Their Positions. I Would Like To Be Able To Understand What Is Going On Around Me.”

I blinked. Of course it would, anything would. Benni had been trapped in a big metal box for over a month, and despite its’ ability to just go to sleep, any amount of time spent completely blind except for vague impressions of lifeforms would be pretty stressful. Quickly, I scrolled to the action items for the surveillance systems. 

“That would probably be one of the easier fixes, so I can definitely focus on that,” I said. “Do you mind if I fix lighting first, so I can see what I’m doing?”

“That Would Be Satisfactory.”

A wry smile tugged at my lips, and I turned it towards Benni. Rather, I turned it towards the glowing obsidian pillar containing Benni’s consciousness. Satisfaction was a new one! Deciding against bringing attention to it, I said, “Great! Looks like we’ve got a plan. I think I can get started in less than a week, and these first two shouldn’t take long at all. We’ll get you up and running in no time, Benni.”

“Thank You, Captain.”

I made one last check of the ship, pointedly avoiding the front half, then returned to my dorm. This had been the most productive day I’d had since my escape. It felt good. With luck, there would be many more just like it.