Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

[December, 29th, 2016]

How long again until he was off shift today? 

The digital clock on the wall slowly ticked to the next minute as he watched and heaved a long sigh. His break would be over in a few minutes and he'd be back at his station.

Too soon. Too soon after that last caller.

 He rested his head on the table for a second. What he wouldn't give for a glass of sweet tea about now. Nothing calmed the nerves like a glass of good cold sweet tea. Depressing they don't keep that in stock in the break room. He then looked up as he heard the break room door swing open. "Oh hey, Thick."

The dark-haired man addressed as Thick glanced over at him, nodding with a friendly smile. “Hey Neebs… why the long face?” He raised a brow, heading closer to the coffee maker and starting it up. “Rough day already?”

"Oh yeah, had a real FU on the line before my break, if you know what I mean." He sighed, shaking his head. "A real dim one too."

Neebs then raised a brow of his own, scratching at his scraggly brown goatee. "Coffee at two? Really?"

“You’re not the only one dealing with idiots. Got a feeling I need a little extra caffeine today,” He sighed, getting out a cup, now waiting for it to warm up. 

Thick then glanced over at him. “Still need to get ready for the newbie to show up.”

"Sounds like you could use a sweet tea, too." He chuckled. "Too bad we don’t have that around the break room."

“That’s because last time we had sweet tea available, the ants would beat us all to it,” He snorted, shaking his head.

“Figures, those pesky ants.” He sighed, cracking open a can of coke and taking a sip. "Almost forgot you’re trainin' a newbie today. You think this one will actually stick around or is he gonna cut and run the moment he steps inside, like the last one?"

“No, this one shouldn’t be running away this time. You remember Peter? Newbie is supposedly a cousin of his.”

Neebs furrowed his brows to think. "Oh… Well, we could certainly use more on the phones, so that’s good he'll probably stick around." He stood up and stretched. "Don’t get me wrong, the overtime lately has been pretty nice pay, but jeez. A guy can only enjoy listening to so much complainin'."

As Thick watched the coffee maker pour a fresh batch into the carafe, he nodded along with shared sentiment. “Mm, although some days, I think it’s not just the callers that get on my nerves,” He chuckled lightly. 

“If I hear Angelica go on about her wedding plans one more time, I might start sending her my calls. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for her, but it’s been eight months straight,” He tiredly rubbed his face.

Neebs choked on a laugh. "I shouldn’t be laughing, but yeah. Her weddin still won’t be anytime soon either. Isn’t her beau on the Aurora? That’s not supposed to come back here for a while yet."

“Exactly,” He chuckles, shaking his head a bit. “Meaning I got eight months or more of her babbling on about ideas I’m sure are out of her price range.” He sighs, eyeing the coffee maker and its process. 

“Speaking of expensive things, I heard the Aurora is about to reach its destination.”

"Oooo, I hope they land her good and soft. No idea how much she cost, but I know she's a beauty." He then sighed a little dreamily. "They must be so excited, gettin' to land on another planet, see all the funky xeno animals and plants."

Thick glanced at him with a slight look, before chuckling a little. “Yeah, if any of the animals or plants could be valuable,” He then grabbed the carafe and poured some coffee into his cup.

“It’s just another planet for Alterra to scavenge resources and set up research sites on.”

Neebs scrunched his freckled nose, shaking his head. "Too bad they don't value pretty sights or just getting to know life on another planet."

He then sighed. "Anyway, I should probably be headed back to my station. Good luck with the newbie."

“Thanks. Good luck with those callers. Remember, you could always get them to do a survey if they’re annoying,” He winked at him with a slight, playful smile.

Neebs just side-eyed him from the door. "Now you know that survey is just as annoyin to me as it is to them." He shook his head with a smile and headed out.

At least there were only a few more hours left on his shift. Plus! He should be around to hear when the Aurora landed, especially since it was a pretty historic landing for the company, landing such an expensive grand ship on a new unexplored planet.

Yeah, he could power through this, no problem. Maybe with luck, his next caller will be nice and easy.

As he returns to his office spot, his computer desktop lights up to signal the incoming call of an Alterran passenger.

He pulled back his favorite office chair and sat down, taking a moment to quickly situate himself before he slipped on his headset, adjusted his ponytail, and accepted the call.

"Hello! This is 47HQ with Alterra Human Resources. How may I be of service to you on this fine day?"

“Uhhhh, there's this blinky light on the console, can you make it stop?” He’s greeted by a blunt and tetchy voice.

Neebs made a face at that. "… I'm goin to need more to go on. What ship are you on, sir? Is there a label by the blinkin light?"

“Well obviously, I’m on a spaceship. But the label says ‘seatbelt’”

Neebs rubbed a hand over his face. "That means your seatbelt is unfastened. Fasten your seatbelt and it will go away."

There was a small pause from the other side. “… But I don’t want to wear a seatbelt.”

"The seatbelt is for your own protection. If you choose not to buckle the belt, the light will just continue blinkin. It is part of the ship's safety features."

“I’m not wearing any goddamn seatbelts. Is there not some way to manually turn it off? Or are you too brain dead and I have to bust it up myself?”

"Please do not damage any Alterra property,” He rubbed his temples. "No, you cannot manually turn off the light. If you absolutely will not wear the belt and don't want the light blinkin, then just buckle the belt in behind you."

“… Oh,” A distant click sound was then heard.“Why didn’t you just tell me that in the first place?”

"I apologize for mistakenly thinkin you would understand the common sense behind a seatbelt’s use. We appreciate our clients' safety, since you’re now in potential danger of injurin yourself or dyin." Neebs said, just shaking his head.

There’s a scoff on the other end. “Don’t get snide with me. What ‘common sense’ is there to wearing a seatbelt in outer space? Going at a snail’s pace out here. This is just ridiculous!”

"There’s wormholes, asteroid belts, and even occasional other space crafts. Heck, there’s even some aliens floatin around. Ever heard of a Bubuga? Fascinatin critters, just rotatin around their home-planet like moons. Not at all mean, but they’re pretty huge. You just never know, it's a wide open frontier. May have to do sudden evasive maneuvers at any time."

“Jeez, thanks for all that useless information. But I know I can handle any of that without a stupid seatbelt, yokel!”

The caller then hung up without another word.

"Well, good for you, butthole." He muttered under his breath once they had hung up. Some luck. 

He then shook his head, took a sip of his drink— not before his computer lights up again, as he’s greeted by the screen of another incoming call. Neebs simply sighs, and clicks the screen to answer the call. 

"Hello, this is 47HQ with Alterra Human Resources. How may I be of service—?”

Yep, just another day at HQ… another day in this miserable, stressful job.

—————

"Ya know, I always hear people talkin' about the scary parts of space travel, but this ain't all that bad... actually kinda peaceful out here.”

With the loose wires repaired and linked, the lone astronaut pulled out the final metal patch piece from beneath his arm, nearing the end of his unexpected, last-minute space mission, patching up dents and tears to the Aurora.

"Alright, one last piece and that’ll do it." He murmured, shaking his head. "It's a miracle that field of meteoroids didn't do worse damage. Not to say The Aurora ain’t a beaut, but boy if there isn’t always somethin' wrong going on with her."

Placing the metal piece slightly into its new spot, the astronaut takes a moment to think about the position fitting... until he notices a wrench floating in front of him, a few millimeters away. "Hey, wait a minute, I thought I had you put up in storage," He muttered, before reaching out to retrieve the tool. 

"Ah well, must've forgotten to... considerin' I was kinda rushed out here and all" He snorted and placed the wrench back on his tool belt. “Glad I double-checked my rope cord before getting thrown out here. Gettin stuck in space would majorly suck ass…"

But now with his mind off the task at hand, he took a moment to glance around his surroundings again. He couldn't help it, after all, the sight was rather beautiful. 

The distant twinkling stars, the waves of tranquil silence that flow over while grasping the side of a massive vessel, repairing debris damage. There's few places more peaceful than just being out among the stars, alone. Through his helmet, he observed the sight with a wide-eyed, curious look. 

"... Heh, buncha pussies back there, scared of what? Floatin around the emptiness of space? They’re missin' out on the only good perks of this job." Despite his longing to soon return inside, an environment of dazzling colors and swirls of distant galaxies kept his attention for a good while...

Which then, became the problem of this perk. 

Too busy with sightseeing to notice his hand pushing the plate more firmly down, with his other hand in the way. That didn't stop the piece from easily cold welding itself into place... even if it meant getting the astronaut's said hand caught in between. The sharp pinch quickly snapped him back to reality, forcing a loud yelp out of him. “AH, FUCK—“

Immediately, he attempted to pull his stuck hand out, his movements becoming frantic and panicked when he noted his efforts weren't working.

“Oh shit shit shit, fuck! Get it off, GET IT OFF, SHIT— !” A few constant spews of cussing emerged from his helmet.

But like the Aurora, the astronaut had his own little stupid luck. Eventually, he’s able to free his hand from the welded pieces. He waved his sore, but still attached hand, allowing him a sigh of disgruntled but much relief.

“Oh fuckin Jesus… that could’ve ended badly,” He huffed in a frustrated tone.

“Alright, enough stargazin… Aurora is fixed up, I’m headin' back inside before anything else tries to snatch me.” With another huff, the astronaut grasped the rope conjoined to his space suit, beginning to reel himself back inside the spacecraft, the raw moment of serenity ruined.

The airlock’s doors were sealed shut behind him when he returned inside. With the presence of surrounding oxygen, his helmet folded itself back, as he took in a deep breath, enjoying the more refreshing air... or well, as refreshing as it'll get.

"Gotta say, this suit has some pretty nifty features, I'll give Alterra that. If only all their tech ‘n gadgets were this consistently good,” 

Running a hand through his charcoal, blue-highlighted hair, he allowed himself a moment to gather his bearings.

"Now, what was I gonna do again...? Oh right, should double-check them generators, make sure they’re not coughin up smoke again. Doubt anyone else has given them a glance over yet... morons.” He huffed, rolling his eyes before rubbing a hand down his face. 

“Probably need to drop by storage first, swap out some tools," He glanced down at the wrench in his belt. "Like this little fucker that tagged along. You’ll definitely be the first to be put back." He chuckled, shaking his head

After figuring out his next task, the lone astronaut started to head out of the airlock, poking his head out to check for any of his coworkers. So far the coast was clear—

"Well, if it isn’t the Pipsqueak. Took you long enough to get back from space galavanting."

Shit.

Before him, a trio of fellow ship engineers greet him, all bearing delighted yet, rancorous grins. Grimacing, the astronaut gave them an unamused look.

The one who called out to him leaned forward. "Just in time too. Ship’s AC decided to break down and all the upper decks are fussing about it. We need someone… about your size, to go change and clean the vents.” He and the other two snickered at his gesture of the astronaut’s size. 

The astronaut simply huffed at that, giving him a look. "I don’t see what’s wrong with your guys’ sizes, so I'll pass on that,” He rolled his eyes attempting to walk past them. 

Midway he’s firmly grabbed by the arm, yanking him back. "Unless you’re too stupid to put two and two together, you’re the only engineer considered as a midget. You can easily fit in those vents,”

"Hey, don't fuckin go grabbin me," He jerked his arm away with an aggravated snarl. 

"I ain't gettin' inside any vents, and I’m especially not gonna get stuck in them. I got other shit to do, that you fuckers can’t be bothered to do,” He crossed his arms at them.

"Ah, so you’re just scared of vents, I see, I see." The first guy nodded, amused by his frustration.

His pal then snickered beside him. "I mean I can’t blame him, man, I’d be scared too with a figure like his." He gestured to the astronaut's fluffier build. 

"Yeah, but it wouldn’t be so bad if he got stuck if he’d have premium membership.” The third then added. "I bet he doesn’t even have it, considering how much of a street rat he is. "

The astronaut's hand clutched up negligibly at the berating remarks, his nerves slowly but surely being ticked off. But to ease himself, he simply scoffed, rolling his eyes as he chose to ignore their degrading comments. He knew better than to let them bother him.

"That's cause premium does shit, you idiots. Don't matter if ya got it or not, you're just payin' more for no good reason," He huffed, gesturing his words with his hands before his arms went back to crossing.

The first engineer snorted at this. "At least with premium, if something happens to us we won't get stranded or something. You know, people actually care about you?” He shrugged. 

“No premium, no rescue. Would’ve thought that know-it-all sister of yours mentioned that tidbit to you before you signed up?" He raised a brow at him.

The astronaut just glared at him, before the second man piped up. 

"You mean Sam Ayou? Man, now that’s a chick I’d wanna sign up on,” He chuckled with a grin. “Kinda brainy for my usual taste, but she's got one fine—"

Without a moment of hesitation, a wrench was directly aimed toward the second, successfully striking him precisely in the crotch. In a sharp aching wheeze, the second instantly collapsed, dropping to his knees while the other two stared aghast.

The astronaut narrowed his eyes towards the three, baring his teeth as his fist clenched up.

“Now I could give a shit about whatcha call me, but don't you dare go fucking talking about my sister like that." He barked, reaching for his belt in case he needed another tool to chuck.

"Woah! Hey, I think you need to chill out, Pipsqueak, there isn’t anything to get all riled up about." The first engineer snorted, defensively putting his hands up.

"You got a pretty sister, can’t help she’s got all the looks."

The astronaut growled a little… before letting out a slightly, amused snort. “Alright, yeah, ya got a point there, man. I do have a pretty sister… and if I heard rumors correctly, ya got one yourself,”

He then slowly developed a wide sneer at him. “And I think your ex agreed that she’s got all the looks after dumpin' your ass.”

The first guy instantly charged towards him and snatched him by the front of his suit. "You know, I'm getting real tired of that smart mouth of yours, midget." He growled, tightly holding him up with a glare. The astronaut struggled against his grip, squirming slightly. But seemingly caught in a grasp he couldn't escape, he glared at him with an annoyed smirk. 

"Well it ain't my fault you can't handle someone having the balls to stand up to ya, Bubba." 

His fist clenched up and readied to hurl a punch—

"And what is going on over here?!" A high-ranking officer approached the ship engineers, seemingly frustrated and perplexed by the scene in front of him. "Unless we've accidentally employed a bunch of children, this is no place for roughhousing.”

The first guy whipped to see their boss walking in. Instantly he opened his hand, dropping him from his grasp with a thud. "Nothing’s going on here, Officer Keen. Just… deciding who's doing those vents."

The astronaut picked himself up with a grunt, glaring at his coworker. But before he could get a word out, Aurora's co-captain gave the engineer a stern look. 

"And instead of getting to it, you've decided to go bother Mr. Robinson, who recently finished repairs of the ship’s exterior?” He raised a brow, his arms behind his back.

“When no one else was willing or wanting to go out and get the job done?”

His mouth opened to argue but then just sighed and nodded. "We’ll get to it, sir."

He then motioned to his compatriots for them to follow. The third followed… not before grabbing the second, still in pain on the floor, and dragging him up and away on the first's trail. As the others disappeared from around the hallway corner, Officer Keen then directed his frustration toward the astronaut, who was quick enough to silence his snickering just as it began.

"As for you, Mr. Robinson, while I'm thankful for your bravery and wits, must I remind you to keep that temper of yours in check. The last thing this ship needs is another brawl because a man couldn't keep his thoughts to himself." He rebuked, towering over him with a glare.

"Are we clear, Mr. Robinson?"

 Oh, the desire to talk back and tell this man otherwise, like how this fight wasn’t his fault to begin with. Or how he wished he could show Officer Keen where he should shove it, cuss out a few strong words...

But instead, clenching his fist tightly, he took a deep breath and released his hand. "... Yes, sir. I am... I'm still workin' on that," He nodded solemnly, huffing out an irritated breath. 

"That's what you said last time." Keen simply replied, before turning around towards the direction he came from. 

"I hope you do realize it's not only your reputation that is affected by your actions." He glanced back with a look, before waltzing on, probably to his original intended destination.

Watching the officer walk off, the astronaut grimaced at his comment, sighing before running a hand through his hair again.

With Keen no longer in sight, the first engineer poked his head around the corner, glaring at him. "You got off easy this time, Asspro, but you won't next time. Next time your ass is mine, got it?" However, that question was more rhetorical and a threat, as he retreated again, not waiting for an actual answer.

“... It’s— It’s Appsro, you dumbass,” He grumbled at first, shaking his head with a snort before calling out; 

“And you ain’t my type, I’m not— I’m not into that, Bubba! My ass will be staying with me, thank you!” 

He chuckled a bit to himself… before awkwardly standing there. "... Could've, worked on that comeback a bit more... yeah," He nodded a little to himself, then shook his head, rubbing a hand down his face.

“… Well, that generator ain’t gonna check itself,” Appsro then tiredly huffed, picking up the wrench and placing it back onto his belt, before proceeding to head in the direction of the storage room.

Yep, just another day on The Aurora voyage… another day on this piece of crap ship.

Chapter Text

4:30. He had roughly 30 minutes and he could finally head home for the day. Won’t even be back in the office till next year.

Neebs checked over his notes from his most recent call. Rubbing a hand over his face, he heaved a sigh. Some people just were… such idiots, and he had the delight to help them all.

Maybe he’d be lucky and not have any more callers today. Maybe he could pack up early, go get something to eat— 

“Hey Neebs, you’re not off the clock yet right?” A friendly voice called from over at Thick’s office.

Glancing over, he shook his head. “Not yet, Sydney.”

“Great, can you get the call on line three? I’m not where I can answer yet, and you know how antsy the receptionist desk gets.”

“Yeah… Of course.” He heaved a drained sigh, taking off his headset and setting aside his PDA. 

With a forced customer service smile plastered on his face, he grabbed the phone’s handset and pressed the answering button. Line 3.

"Hello! This is 47HQ—"

"Uhhh yeah, hey, I just need to know how or where to find Thick??"

"… Pardon?"

“Yeah uh, the manager guy? He goes by Thick? Uh, I was supposed to have some sorta interview today… I think I’m late— not that, that was my fault. I got lost on my way here… but I might need some… help.”

“Ohhhh so you must be that new guy he mentioned. Okay so where are you right now? What do you see around you?” He adjusted his position in his favorite chair.

There was a slight pause, some audible mumbling echoing from his headset. “Uhhhh… A desk?… some windows?… Decorative potted plants?”

Neebs deadpanned. “...Anythin perhaps more distinctive? That could be any floor.”

“Well, I’m calling from the front desk? Would be kinda stupid to go walking around, getting more lost?”

Neebs paused for a moment, reflecting on his response. “You know, point made. Alright I’ll come down there and escort ya to his office.”

“Oh, I was going to ask for instructions but, okay, sure.”

“I’ll be honest, my directions aren’t really the easiest to follow sometimes, but I was about to be gettin off the clock anyway so I don’t mind. Think you can meet me at the elevator?”

There’s another pause. “Uhh… Which one? There’s like, three of them.”

“Um…” He thought for a moment, picturing the elevators and his own current location before sighing and rubbing his temple. “You know, just wait right there at the desk, I’ll come to you there.”

“Alright, I’ll just… hang around here…”

Nodding to himself, Neebs ended the call and made his way out of the call room. He walked down the hall to the elevators, shaking his head to himself as he got into the first one that opened. 

“I really don’t think it would have mattered which elevator he got in, but the last thing we need is the new guy getting lost,” He murmured to himself.

He crossed his arms as he listened to the bland, corporate elevator jazz. Casual bongos.

He had been so close to being able to get off on time for once, so close… But hey, having a new guy might mean he won’t have to work over as much. Assuming he stuck around, that is.

As the elevator opened, he stepped out, glancing around for this new guy—

“This is the right building, right? Pretty sure I’m at the right location… though my phone’s GPS made me do a lot of weird u-turns… and then I ran outta gas, so I had to go to the nearest gas station… which I already put some gas in last week but—“ 

A man by the desk nervously rambled to the front desk receptionist, who clearly was not listening or engaging at all with him. 

The newbie stood out to Neebs in a lot of ways… not exactly positive ones.

If not for his baggy, unprofessional, stained sweater, or how slouched his posture was, then his wild, unruly pink-dyed afro gave away just how… unprepared this newbie was. 

Or how unprepared this HQ was for him.

Neebs straightened his own shirt as he approached and cleared his voice. Wait. What was his name again? Had he said? “Uh… Hello. You’re the new guy, right?”

The man stopped to look up at him, slightly wavering away from the desk, and semi-correcting his posture. 

“Yeah, I’m the guy who called… you’re the guy who answered?” He tilted his head a bit, pointing up at him. 

“Yep, I’m Neebs, nice to meetcha.” He offered his hand to him. “I reckon we’re goin to be workin in the same area.”

He eyed his hand for a good moment, giving a hesitant look. “Well if you work here I would think that?” He raised a brow. 

“Well, we do have other departments, but Thick is also my manager too— BUT that’s beside the point. Come on— Uh, what’s your name again? Not sure you ever said it actually.”

“Oh, name’s Simon. I guess whatever Peter’s gig was, yeah, I’ll be working with you too,” He then shrugged, and finally accepted Neebs’ handshake, giving the taller man the pleasant feeling of warm, sweaty hands.

He didn’t know what was worse, the newbie smelling faintly of weed, or him not even knowing what job he was applying for. 

After a good handshake, Neebs rubbed his hand off on his pants discreetly. “Alright then, Simon, follow me, I’ll take ya up to Thick’s office. He should still be here.” He motioned for him to follow.

Simon nodded and sluggishly trailed behind him, as the two headed towards the elevators.

As the elevator ascended the floors, the two stood in awkward silence with only bland corporate jazz to keep themselves occupied.

Neebs’ attention though couldn't pull itself away from the newbie’s distinctive hair, as he finally attempted to start a conversation. “Cotton candy styled?”

Simon flicked his attention back up to him, a puzzled look on his face— before it quickly flashed to one of irritation. 

“Yeah no— My cousins pranked me the other day, dyed my hair bright pink when I was asleep. Thought it would be so fucking hilarious— until we found out the dye they used isn’t exactly easy to wash out,” He groaned, stuffing his hands into his sweater pocket. 

“So now my hair might be permanently stained pink for good… which sucks cause I really liked my afro,” He huffed, frowning.

“Ahhhh cousins… That makes sense.” He nodded. “Well, it could be worse I guess? Cotton candy is kinda fun at least. But yeah… Workin hard to have your hair one way and it gets ruined… You have my sympathies.”

Simon looked nonplussed at this, a little weirded out before slightly shrugging. “Uh, thanks… I guess?”

He then added. “Though, I might just shave it all off… always wondered how bald would look on me.”

Listening to him, Neebs subconsciously started fiddling with his own ponytail, perhaps due to envisioning getting it shaved. “I guess if you didn’t like it, it would probably grow back? Or you could dye it another color you like more?”

“Well yeah, I have looked for other dyes that could be similar to my usual hair color— but I haven’t found much,” He shakes his head, his hands un-pocketed as he starts talking with gestures.

“And then like, I don’t wanna fuck up my hair more than it already is— so I probably just gotta, let it grow out… but man I’m gonna be stuck with pink hair for a long stupid time,” He grumbled that last part, not at all happy of his situation.

“At least it wasn’t green? Like, don’t get me wrong, I like green, but admittedly, then your hair would look like a bush, so cotton candy isn’t as bad as it could be?”

“Yeah… but I rather had it not dyed at all,” He deadpanned. “And now, I might have to go bald.”

Neebs side-glanced down at him and took a slow deep breath. He tried. He tried to help, but this new guy seems to be an Eeyore.

The elevator opened, greeting the two onto the main call center floor. Neebs took notice of other 9 to 5-ers sneakingly heading out early, taking the available elevators to go home until the New Year.

That should be him. But it wasn’t.

“Alright, Simon, Thick’s office is this way.” He motioned with all the forced enthusiasm of a tired tour guide and set off.

As Neebs led the way with a pep-to-his-step, Simon followed behind, although he eyed around the building a bit. “Huh… this place is kinda huge. I thought it’d be more cramped.” He mused out loud, glancing forward to make sure he didn’t look track of the fellow operator.

“Yeah, it’s pretty big with the different departments. But you probably will get used to the usual areas pretty quick. Our department related offices and such are around here and tech support is a floor below us. Not sure you’d have much reason to go to the other departments unless Thick sent you on an errand, but I’m sure he’ll go through that kinda stuff with you himself.”

“… Right,” Simon simply said as his hands went back into his pockets, his mind may not have caught all that.

Neebs glanced back at him and nodded to himself. Yeah, he’s being too chatty again. As they both reached Thick’s office door, he turned around to Simon. “Alrighty, here you are; Thick’s office. Have uh… Any questions before I introduce ya to Thick?”

Simon slightly eyed the office door, wavering a bit where he stood. “… He’s not at all like… a hard-ass, right? Ya know… kinda chill? I heard from Peter he can be kinda scary when you’re in trouble.”

“Well, who isn’t a little scary when you’re in trouble?” He paused before shaking his head. “He has his moments, but Thick’s good. He’s been like an uncle to me here for years.”

From behind the two, there was a slight chuckle. “Aw, I’m flattered to hear that, Neebs.”

Neebs jumped before whipping around. “Oh! Sneakin up on people now eh, Thick?” He chuckled.

Thick chuckled more back, crossing his arms. “I felt challenged. I can be more than just ‘kinda scary’.” He snorted, shaking his head…

Before noticing Simon from behind, resulting in an instant taken aback expression

“… Neebs, who’s this?” Thick asked, raising a brow. “I come back from a smoke break, and you give me a depressing clown.”

“Thick, this is your interviewee, Simon.” He held back a laugh, trying to keep a friendly though serious composure.

“… Oh,” He cringed, clearing his throat as his demeanor shifted to a more professional manner. “Hey Buddy… so you’re the newbie? Peter’s cousin?”

Simon stared at the manager, visibly annoyed by this exchange so far. Upon being addressed, he nodded. 

“Yeah. Yeah I’m the newbie— and I’m assuming you’re the manager, Thick?”

“Yep. Good observation skills there,” Thick stated, eyeing him with both confusion yet amusement.

“… Well, not really, he already addressed you by your name—“ Simon gestured to Neebs, before adding; 

“Uh, I know I’m a bit late but, we’re still good to interview, right?”

“I mean… since you're here now, don’t see why not.” Thick shrugged.

Simon nodded, before quickly adding. “And for the record man, having a pink afro doesn't make me a clown.” His tone was slightly defensive.

Thick couldn’t help but now fully eye him up and down. “… Buddy, it’s not just the hair that makes you look like a clown.”

“… You didn’t mention he was an asshole, man.” Simon bluntly muttered towards Neebs, not at all pleased to be reminded of his hair predicament.

But his comment was loud enough to be heard by the HQ manager, arising an charmed snort. He grinned at the newbie. “I like you already. Way more honest than Peter.”

“Yeah, I second that.” Neebs just chuckled and shook his head, before his attention shifted at the office’s clock.

“Now, if we’re all set here, I think it’s time I head home from my shift finally? Unless you need help with anythin else before I go?” Although he offered, Neebs glanced again at the clock.

“Heading off already? It’s not exactly five yet.” Thick crosses his arms, giving a stern look.

“I came in early today, remember? I had to fill in for uhhh—”

“Neebs, I’m just pulling your leg,” The HQ manager’s expression softened as he rolled his eyes. “Sal de aquí, ve a disfrutar tu nuevo año.”

“Ah! Gracias, señor.” He grinned  before nodding to Simon. “Good luck with your interview. Hasta luego, both of ya.” He then turned to head back to his desk to grab his things.

“Bye— Uh… What’s his name, again?” Simon then muttered to Thick, as the two headed inside his office to start the interview.

“Oh, that was Neebs. One of our best operators here.” 

“… His name was actually Neebs? Oh… Man I really thought I was just hearing it wrong.”

“… What do you think his name was?” 

“I don’t know… not Neebs?”

Neebs grinned as he hurried across the office floor. Finally, at long last, he could go home, get some dinner, maybe even catch up on an episode or two of Black List before he had to pack up to go visit his folks for the New Years.

 It had been a pretty long day, but nothing too bad, it would just be nice getting his time off started already.

Neebs slipped today’s notes into his binder and collected his pens and PDA into his bag before grabbing his cup and keys. Home, here he comes—

In his dash for the elevator, he found himself colliding and tripping over Sydney. However, he managed to keep his balance enough to grab hold of her before she could fall back. “Sorry, Sydney, completely missed seeing ya there.”

“No worries. I’m sure it is easy with ya head up in the clouds, mmm?” She lightly teased as she knelt down to pick up one of the papers that fell in the collision.

Neebs watched and his brows rose as he caught the title of the report. “The Aurora?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, she’s gonna be landing today really soon. I was just on my way to tell Thick to get it up on the big Telly.”

Oh. OH. That was going on today? Well… He had to pause and consider this opportunity. His folks and time off could wait, this was an event he couldn’t skip out on. No no no.

“Hey, why don’t I go back with ya to tell Thick? I suppose I have time to hang around and watch too.” 

Sydney shrugged as she stood up and fixed her stack of paperwork. “I reckon if you’re not having ta shoot through to the bush already, then I’d say ya should stay and see it.”

“Yeah, seeing my folks can wait. This is like watchin the Titanic, you know?” He paused. “— Well, hopefully not like the Titanic.”

“With as much hard yakka that went into her, let’s hope not. Come on then.” She shook her head and led the way back towards Thick’s office.

“So, what I’m hearing is… you haven’t had a job in a long while… and you especially don’t have a lot of experience in customer service.” Thick commented as he read the resume on his computer.

“Well, yeah, but, my first job involved delivering newspapers to a bunch of neighborhoods. Used to ride my bicycle around Cobble Hill.” Simon interjected, laying back in the guest chair as he nervously rubbed his neck.

“Course, I guess it didn’t require a lot of interaction with customers… unless I accidentally tossed their papers at their windows… or I’ll get them in the face… I did get pretty good at my aiming,”

“… Right ,” Thick simply said with a look on his face, before sighing. “Simon, you sure strike a hard bargain here. I’ll level with you, I don’t think you’ll be a good caller.” 

“That’s fair.” Simon shrugged. 

“But— I’m starting to like you… and I think with a little bit of work, you could be… better .” After a moment of thinking, the manager then nodded. 

“So, I think if not for the sake of us needing more men on staff, this could be a good learning opportunity for you.” 

“… So, I got the job?” His tone seemed bewildered. 

“Unfortunately. But don’t worry, kid, I think you’ll fit right in. Just heads up, next year there’s gonna be some drug and alcohol testing so— try not to look like a sad stoner when we start training you,” Thick suggested before looking over his computer one more time, and accepting the application.

Simon opened his mouth, but the office door flung open, revealing two, overly excited coworkers. One of which should have already left the building by now.

Thick turned and raised a brow. “Ms. Aztecia?… I gave Neebs the okay to leave early, you didn’t have to bring him in.”

“No no, he’s here on his own choice.” She then passed him over the paperwork.

“Yeah! The Aurora’s gonna be landing in a bit, I couldn’t go home and miss out on all that. You know I’ve been reading up on that ship for ages.” Neebs nodded enthusiastically beside her.

“I was thinking we ought to get it up on the big Telly out there, ya know, so everyone can sorta watch from their stations, sir?”

“The Aurora? What? No—“ He grabbed the reports from his faithful assistant and looked over it quickly. “We aren’t expecting the Aurora’s landing until January— there’s no way they’re—“ 

But upon reading the report again… and again, the manager’s eyes widened a bit. “… Son of a bitch, they’re ahead of schedule.” He slammed the reports down on his desk, quickly getting out of his chair.

“Ms. Aztecia, start up the big screen and round up our current callers. We’ll do a Code-12 procedure,” He nodded at her with a direct tone.

“Yes, sir.” She nodded and dashed out on her instructions.

Thick nodded before turning to Neebs. “You’re sure about sticking around? You should head out home and enjoy the holidays.”

“And miss the Aurora landing, sir? I’ve been waiting for this for months. This is too excitin to pass up on watchin.” He shook his head. “Nah, I’ll just go to my folks a little later, it’s fine.”

“Well, I’m not gonna stop you,” He slightly chuckled with a shrug, then gestured to the door. “Let’s just hope this won’t become a shitshow,” 

Neebs nodded along. “Man, I hope not. Such a fancy ship and all… Plus, missin dinner would suck.” He frowned.

“Nah. If everything goes smoothly, should be done before 8. Won’t even notice the time going by.”

As the two head out to prepare for this historical event… Simon sat in the chair, waiting and slightly confused on what to do now.  “… Is the interview over?… Can I leave now?” He muttered these questions to himself, before sighing. 

He shifted in his seat. "... I skipped lunch for this. Man."