The next day, Robin felt elated.

The breakfast tasted better than ever and after reaching Jim's workshop the evil door opened on its own accord. This promised to be a great day.

“Hey Mate, I’ve got a message from the Privateers. They heard from their client, Mr. Ragweed, that he had a nice day at the museum with a technocrafter from our workshop. That’ll get us in their good books, thanks a lot!” Jim welcomed him heartily.

“Yeah, lots of dead plants as expected. But the dude was quite okay and I got a little extra assignment from the museum. Wasn’t a total waste of time.” Robin shrugged.

“Good to hear, but I still owe you one.”

“Yeah, I’ll add it to all the other favors in the books”, not caring too much, Robin brushed over the empty promise.

“Ahm, well, anyway - I’ve seen, the workshop has requested registration of a custom ship? Is the little girl finally ready?” Jim happily changed the topic.

“I’ve finished all the calibrations and double checked her systems. Looks good. I hope to get the papers in the next few days, maybe even today - I have a good feeling!”

“Didn’t you have a really good feeling last time, too?” Jim asked cautiously.

“Hmhmm, fuck you!” Not entertaining his quips any longer, Robin turned to leave for the office, to check in and get his jobs for the day.

Coming face to face with Patience, who stood directly behind him, he nearly stumbled.

“Hey Patience, how was the…w-w-Wow!” He took a step back to get out of her private space and take a better look. She had black and blue bruises all over again and looked like someone beat the shit out of her… twice, at least!

“Weekend was great!” She beamed him a smile.

“Okay…so I should go and see the other one?” Robin carefully asked with a forced smile, while he heard Jim shuffling off, leaving him on his own.

‘Traitor!’

“Definitely! I’ve reached the third round, kicking four blokes out and finally got the attention of some good studios. Hopefully I’ll get some proper training from now on!” Patience explained.

“Oh ok. That’s… actually pretty cool! Congratulations, I’m happy for you.” Robin knew that she was looking for such an opportunity for a long time.

After her strength got enhanced on her 18th birthday, she began to take her casual back-alley brawling more seriously and started to train in a run-down studio in Rust Hollow Quarters. While it was the poorest district, it still had some governmental funded institutions for those that were looking for an opportunity to change their lives. Seems like Patience now got her chance and was scouted by one of the private studios looking for talents.

“Thanks, Rob. So, what were you guys talking about? You think that you’ve tinkered enough with the scraps over there to get them flying?”

“Yeah, registration is pending. Hopefully I can take her out for a ride later in the week.” Robin proudly confirmed.

“Nice, can I come?” She asked, surprising him.

“Well, I actually wanted to check out Sekas outskirts and maybe visit some old relic sites, if there are any left. So, I wouldn’t be on the road for just an afternoon but will have to try out some of the private inns.”

“So… I’m not welcome?” She lifted her brow, looking sharply at him.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“No, not at all. I mean, yeah sure! If you wanna get out of here for a few days, I would be happy to bring company!”

Robin and Patience weren’t exactly friends, but they got along well and often had a great time in the workshop bickering. Also, it wasn’t like Robin had lots of friends in the first place, if any at all. Beth, the girl from the local grocery store probably didn’t count and while he often hung out with Timothy, it was only online when they met for gaming or flying in the simulator. He wasn’t even living on Rucasur, but was part of some science team stationed on Ruca I.

Robin loved his little technical projects and tinkered with every interesting machine he found, but social interactions weren’t his forte. Working or talking with people was always a hassle: you had to be careful not to touch on sensitive topics - and before that, you should be able to guess those sensible topics. Ultimately, everyone had his own agenda.

Not that Robin was different in this aspect. He, too, had his own goals to follow and used others to get what he needed. It’s just that technical things were so much easier to understand. There was only right or wrong and if something didn't work as expected, you could put your mind into it and figure it out, repair it and get it back in top shape. No complicated feelings, no hidden agendas, just plain and simple numbers and facts.

Pulling away from these thoughts, he concentrated back on the topic at hand, just to hear Patience chatter on.

“I’ll be free for the weekend as the talks with the new studio will need some time, so count me in. But don’t get your hopes up, buddy, I’ll get my own room!”

Leaving, he threw her the finger, not even giving an answer. But Patience was sure she saw him smiling and grinned happily as she started to work on today's job list.

***

The week flew by and before long, Robin got the papers concluding the official registration of the Melody II. Haggling with Jim for a bit, Robin and Patience could cut a day off out of him and began to prepare for the trip.

When the fifth day arrived, Robin had studied the map excessively and made a plan for the tour based on the aerial photos he found.

Arriving at the workshop, he saw Patience already waiting near the ship. She wore a practical outfit, with blue jeans and a green shirt. Her belt had a few little pouches attached and to her side stood a black backpack. She was obviously traveling light.

“Huh, is the rest of your baggage coming later or is that all?” He asked her, grinning.

“What? Did you expect me to bring some extra shoes and my whole wardrobe?” she challenged him.

Putting down his own, bulging backpack, he just shrugged and walked over to the ship. Opening the canopy from the cockpit, he hopped in and turned the systems on. A few moments later, a hatch opened behind him in the chassis, revealing the cargo area.

“Would you please pack up our stuff? I’ll just get some tools and we are good to go.” Robin asked her and got back out. From the many drawers and boxes, he began to collect different tools. As this was his first time exploring ancient structures, he had no idea what he would need.

Soon he held a big box filled to the brim with stuff like a blowtorch, different screwdrivers and even goggles with thermal vision.

Seeing that Patience waited by the open hatch, he handed her the box and got back in the pilot seat. After his new co-pilot took her seat, he closed the canopy and began with the pre-flight checks.

“Reactor…looks stable, check.”

“Repulsor…100% reaction, check.”

“Valves…flow is constant, check.”

“Fuel…at 95%, that's enough, check.”

“Steering feedback…yup, check.”

…

Slowly working through his personally created checklist, he made sure to be extra thorough on this first flight. Patience didn’t interrupt him, but he felt how she was about to fail her namesake once again.

“Ok, I think we are good to go!” Robin finished the preparations before her short fuse was lit, “Better to be diligent on the maiden flight! We don’t want to get some nasty surprises coming up just after taking off, right?”

“Aha, just get us out of here or the weekend is over before we go anywhere.” Patience conceded, while Robin began to rotate the ship and hover it slowly out of the workshop.

As they were gliding through a big gate in the back of the building, she remembered something.

“Rob, I was just wondering, why is this ship called Melody II? Is there a Melody I out somewhere?”

“There was, yes. Her first flight had some of these nasty surprises I was talking about.” Seeing her face going pale, he laughed “No worries, this time I really do have a good feeling!”

Not giving her time for second guesses, Robin pushed the left stick forward and the ship shot out, its thrusters roaring loudly.