14 k of g in a f p d

Chapter 1 – Evening

Denis Jacquard entered the last numbers into his datapad and hit “Submit”. Lights flashed as the computer began configuring the simulation and, while he waited, Denis turned to look out the steelglass window that formed the outer wall of the lab. The station was currently over the dark side of the moon it orbited but the lights of its cities could be seen scattered across its surface far below. Denis wondered if anyone there was looking upwards at the glowing beacon of the massive Galactic Mining and Manufacturing station as it passed silently overhead, watching the play of lights as ships warped into and out of its approach zone the way he himself had watched so many years before. Very few, he thought.

His thoughts were interrupted by a chime from the computer indicating that the calculations were complete and he turned back to the holotable as the simulation began. A projection of a mining frigate appeared, orbiting a small asteroid and simulated mining lasers played across its surface. Denis ignored the display and instead looked at the numbers now streaming across his datapad. He smiled. The lasers were now accurately tracking along the mineral vein as they bored into the asteroid, reducing the amount of waste and increasing the yield from each core. The improvement was subtle, but for a corporation the size of GM&M the overall result would be quite profitable.

“Got something?” Denis turned to see Val Renard, his research partner, enter the lab. Denis smiled and instead of answering simply handed him the datapad. Val scanned it quickly.

“You got it!” he said excitedly. Denis nodded. “Is that why you’re here so early?”

“Early?” Denis looked sharply towards the clock. “Merde!” He turned back towards Val, suddenly embarrassed. “Um… Listen, I don’t suppose you could…”
Val laughed. “Another all-nighter, huh?” He laughed again. “It’s all right. You go home and get some sleep; I’ll write up the report on this.” He picked up the datapad and started towards his workstation. “Just try to get back before this afternoon, OK?”

“Thanks.” Denis started towards the door then turned back. “The main changes were in the spectrograpic analysis…” he began.
“I got it.” said Val. “Just get out of here.” He chuckled as he waved an arm of dismissal towards the door. Denis, with a slight smile of his own, waved a goodbye and left the lab.

Since most of the traffic was going the other way Denis found the transit tube heading towards the residential levels almost empty. It had become a too common sight of late. Since starting with GM&M several months previously he had been working extended shifts in an attempt to show them his worth. It was rare these days for one of the space-based megacorps to hire someone from planetside, especially a university researcher from a backwater planet, and he had been working hard to prove himself, with mixed results. Some, like Val, appeared to welcome him while others still looked on him with varying degrees of mistrust and condencendtion. He sighed. Hopefully with the success of the mining laser upgrades he would finally gain the acceptance of the others in the lab. He looked up as the transit capsule pulled into the station and sighed again. He just hoped the cost had been worth it.

The apartment was silent as he entered but he could see a faint light from the back room where Janelle kept her studio. Denis quietly made his way down the hall and stepped inside.

Janelle’s latest touch sculpture stood on her worktable, work lights reflecting from its polished surface. Denis reached out and ran his fingers gently along its surface, watching it deform slightly under his hand and feeling the rush of sensations up his arm. He stood for a moment with his eyes half-closed, letting the feelings wash over him, before finally pulling his hand away and looking around.

Janelle was lying on the couch at the far end of the studio. Denis went and knelt beside her, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. Her eyes opened and she looked at him sleepily for a moment.

“Hey.” she said finally. “Guess you were working late again, huh?”
“More like early.” he said, somewhat guiltily. “Sorry.” He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers, then turned his head slightly and started to gently nuzzle her cheek. She made no response for several seconds then abruptly sat up, pushing him away.

“My gallery opening is tonight and I need to start getting ready for it.” she said. She stood and took several steps towards the door then stopped and looked back. “You did remember that, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, sure.” Denis said, getting to his own feet. “You know I wouldn’t forget something like that.”
Janelle looked at him for a long moment. “Of course not.” she said finally. “Then you also remember that the reception is at 1900 and that you said you would be there. Your suit is in your closet.” She stared at him a moment longer before turning back towards the door.
“Your dinner is in the refrigerator.” she called over her shoulder as she left the studio. “You should be able to heat it up.” Denis looked after her for a moment and sighed before following her out.

Chapter 2 – Twilight

There was a distinct buzzing behind Denis’ eyes, probably from the amount of Quaffe he had consumed since getting back to the office, and he was fighting the urge to shift uncomfortably in his seat. He and Val were in Rochelle dePeille’s office and had been sitting in silence for some minutes as she read through the report Val had prepared. Denis had started to explain the modifications to her but she had silenced him with a gesture and the two had been simply sitting and waiting since.

Finally, she looked up at Val. “You’re confident in your results?”
Val looked at Denis. “Absolutely.” he said. “All the numbers work out and the simulations confirm them. They’re clean.”
DePeille looked sharply at Denis then back to Val, who nodded in agreement.
“All right then, how long before you can get a prototype ready?”
Val glanced at Denis again. “Well, the modifications aren’t really that big, and…”
“Most of the changes are to the software”, Denis interrupted, “and we had to complete those for the simulation. We should be able to get one out of the factory by tomorrow.”

DePeille looked from him back to Val, who nodded again. “Well then, let me know tomorrow when the prototype is ready.” She reactivated her datapad and started paging through it. “That is all for now.”

“I don’t think our boss thinks much of me.” said Denis when they were safely outside.
Val shook his head. “Nah, it’s just that Caldari business school training; never show any empathy towards your employees or else they may try to take advantage of it.” He glanced at Denis. “You really think we can have the prototype by tomorrow?”
Denis nodded. “It’s just like I said; modify those sensors to the new design and load the new software.”
“Easy for you to say. So, you want the software or the blueprint mods? Either one will keep us here half the night again.”

Denis stopped suddenly, remembering Janelle’s opening. Val stopped a few paces further along. “Problem?” he asked.
“No, no problem.” Denis said, starting towards the lab again. “Just hope the Quafe holds out.” “I’ll just have to explain why I was late to Janelle.” he thought. “She’ll understand. I hope.”