Drex feverishly rummaged through his parts bin beneath his work bench. “Doggone it,” he muttered to himself after he got to the bottom without finding what he was looking for. He shoved the box back under the bench.
He pulled a small device out of a pocket of his overalls. He tapped the touchscreen furiously. Within seconds, a large mechanical arm seized a metal container on a shelf above. The arm pulled the box out and lowered it to the floor in front of Drex.
After lifting the lid, he searched the numerous small items in the large box. While he was working, another man walked into the room. Drex was so absorbed in his quest that he was oblivious to the visitor until the man spoke up.
“Hey, Drex.”
Drex ceased searching and pulled the specs down from the top of his head, placing them in front of his eyes. In a joyful tone he shouted, “Lomar, it’s good to see you! What brings you to Planet B7H3?”
“The mini fusion reactor on my ship was skipping. Nothing major, will just need to stay over for a little while, no more than a day. While I was in the waiting room, I overheard someone mention your name. I asked, and they said I’d find you here.”
Drex rushed over and shook Lomar’s hand. “And so you have. It’s great to see you, bro. It’s been years since we were at school together. I take it you’re in the shipping business?”
“Yeah, Quadrant Director for the Helsor Corporation.”
“That is awesome, man. Congratulations! Hey listen, you don’t mind if I keep looking for something while we chat?”
“Of course not. You seemed pretty fixated when I walked in.”
“Yeah, I am.” Drex resumed rummaging through the metal crate as he spoke. “I’m looking for an integration coupler for a stabilizer engine. It’s an oddball piece, but I know I’ve got one somewhere.” After a further moment of searching, he yelled, “Here it is!” He pulled out a small box with numerous wires dangling from it. “I knew I had it. Now I can proceed with a lesser sense of desperation.”
Drex put the device on his work bench and sat down on a stool. He pointed to a nearby chair and said, “Please have a seat.”
Lomar sat down. “So, Drex, you seem pretty busy today.”
“I’m busy every day. This place is crazy.”
“But you like it here?”
“No, I don’t. This place stinks and just seems to be getting worse. Don’t get me wrong, some of the people here are totally chill to work with. Unfortunately, folks like that rarely get to be in charge of anything that deals with my job. Most of the folks I work with are more interested in impressing the big bosses and advancing their careers than they are in actually doing their jobs. Some of them are beyond useless. Then there are the ones who specialize in being malicious gossip mongers. They know all, see all, and tell all.” Drex shakes his head.
“Have you looked for something elsewhere?”
“I tried to get transferred to another station a few times. One time I thought for sure that I had a good chance, but for some reason, I didn’t even get an interview. I can’t help but think that someone behind the scenes put the kibosh on it.”
“What about a different planet?”
“All the jobs of this type in the Densor galaxy are locked up in a father-son situation. There are some nice gigs there, but I have no way of getting my foot in the door.”
“Nowhere else?”
“No, not really. At this point I haven’t even been looking much. I’ve got about another ten years to retirement. It’s funny, in that despite the fact that I hate the place, the pay isn’t bad at all. If I tried to start over, I’d have to take a huge cut in the beginning. It’s like this job has become a kind of gilded cage. Who said that money can buy you happiness? Maybe I’ve had my priorities upside down.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Ah, it is what it is.”
“I remember back in school, you had so many dreams. You were always so creative.”
“Oh, well, I guess the cosmos got in the way. Hey listen, I’d like to talk some more, but I’ve got to finish this repair.”
“Yes, of course.”
They both got up. Lomar started to walk away.
As he did, Drex said, “Next time you’re in the neighborhood, we should do lunch.”
“I’d love it. Have a good one.”
“You too.”
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