The Princess and the Human

"Starting the test for the vertical stabilizers!" Liyzo shouted out of the open cockpit as he increased the slider on his screen.

"All good!" a voice coming from under the shuttle answered a few seconds later. It belonged to his coworker, an older mechanic called Hertin. Right now, the two of them were tasked with a basic check-up of the shuttle that would be given to the ambassador who was scheduled to visit a few days from now. While they would, of course, arrive with their own ship, it was common courtesy to hand them a small shuttle they could use to get around during their stay.

Liyzo nodded, pulled the slider down again, and marked the stabilizers positive on his datapad.

"Alright, all that's left are the wing valves and the e-converter."

"Ah, yes, about that," his coworker said in a hesitant tone as he crawled out from under the shuttle. "You see, uh, I... kind of... have a reservation. Could you do the rest alone?"

Liyzo looked up from his datapad.

"You know we have to finish this today, right?"

"I know, but my partner and I have been on the waiting list for half an eternity."

"Then why didn't you say so earlier? I could've asked someone to fill in."

"I didn't know it myself. They had a cancellation, I just learned about my luck earlier today."

"..."

"Look, how about this: on my way out, I'll see if someone else is still here who could help you. And if anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility, okay?"

Liyzo didn't answer, simply because he didn't know what to say. Was this guy serious? Sure, Hertin had more experience than him, but wasn't he way too easy-going for someone in his position? This shuttle would be given to a foreign noble, a royal guest. If they overlooked a malfunction, they could very well dig their graves.

Unfortunately, his coworker seemed to misunderstand his silence as approval.

"Great, see you tomorrow!"

And with that, he was gone. Still saying nothing, Liyzo just sat in the open cockpit in silence. It took a while for him to pull himself together, but in the end, he managed. The situation now was what it was, and someone had to finish the checkup. He knew that no one would come, the two of them were always the last ones at the workshop during this time of the day. So better get on with it.

He climbed out of the cockpit and opened the front shutter of the Hangar. If he was alone, he might as well get some fresh air. He then picked up the ladder, placed it next to the vessel, climbed up to the left wing, and opened the maintenance panel. A quick test showed that three of the four valves worked as intended. The last one, however, didn't. Liyzo climbed back down to the cockpit, restarted the process, climbed up the wing again, and repeated the test. Again, the pressure readings were off.

Oh, First Ones! Please be just a bubble! he thought as he unscrewed the valve. With a loud hiss, the lid popped open, and a spray of oil hit him in the chest. Well, wasn't that just great. But at the very least, it really had just been a bubble. Messy, but easy to fix.

Would definitely have spelled trouble if I hadn't found it, though.

With a sigh, he pulled a rag from his belt and started to wipe up the mess. At least to some degree, the thing would get thoroughly cleaned afterward anyway, and most importantly, that would be done by someone else.

He climbed back down, but as soon as he got one rung lower, he felt something oily under his foot, causing him to slip. The realization that some of the oil seemed to have dripped onto the ladder was the only thing he managed to accomplish before it was too late. With his hands being oily as well, he lost his grip and fell backward.

However, the impact on the floor didn't come. Before his body was even fully vertical, he could feel something touch his back. That something not only cushioned his fall but actually caught him.

"Are you okay?" an incredibly soft and gentle voice asked. When his vertigo subsided, Liyzo realized that he was lying in the arms of an unfamiliar alien.

After they both looked at each other for a moment, the alien turned him upright and put him back onto his feet. Only now did Liyzo realize how small it was. It was only slightly above half his height and had a frail-looking frame. Yet somehow, it had not only caught but also lifted his full weight, and it had done so with seeming no effort at all.

"You okay?" the alien repeated. Liyzo finally realized that he hadn't said anything yet.

"Oh, uh, yes, thank you. That could've ended badly. I'm Liyzo by the way."

"Nadine," the alien repeated with an implied bow.

So much for the "who". But more importantly, why was she here? Liyzo didn't know what race she belonged to, though that didn't mean much. He had only seen a handful of aliens in his life and never interacted with any of them. He didn't even know half the races in the alliance. But he knew that if aliens came to Hohmiy, they were usually ambassadors or another kind of political guest. But a noble lady wouldn't come down here, even if the workshop was technically part of the Star Palace. Not to mention she had rushed to his help. But then again, she wore really expensive-looking clothes. Although he could never afford it, he knew goan-silk when he saw it. On the other hand, no noble would walk around in a top with an oil stain like that. No wait, that stain was his fault, wasn't it? First Ones, what was he supposed to do now? There was no way he could ever replace such an expensive piece!

"What are you working on?" She asked as if she didn't care about the glaring issue at hand.

"Oh, um, just a basic checkup, nothing fancy," he quickly responded unsure what else to say.

"Mind if I take a look?"

Liyzo cocked his head.

"Um, sure, but why?"

"They just look so different than ours, so I was curious."

"Ah. Well, err, Suit yourself then. Just don't touch anything please."

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry."

The casual way she was addressing him while having no problems with the way he talked to her... she definitely wasn't a noble. She probably was an attendant of a guest. It wasn't unheard of for nobles to give their higher-ranking servants something to wear, after all. Maybe she got down here because of an errand.

"It's nothing special though, just a normal shuttle used for traveling on the planet."

Nadine turned to him.

"Really? With the breaker jets, the ball-thrusters, and the retractable wings, I would've guessed this was meant for space."

"... are you a mechanic as well?" Liyzo asked, now confused for good. Nadine smiled.

"No, but I wanna become an engineer. My Father already taught me some things. Not to mention the colony program required each of us to have at least basic knowledge in one relevant field of expertise."

Colony? What?

Not getting anywhere with his thoughts, he ultimately decided to simply answer her questions.

"Well, you are half correct. The shuttle is theoretically capable of being used in space. It can't connect to a sling though."

"Sling?" Nadine asked with mild confusion.

"Yes, sling. You know, those things for ships that are too small for a jumper."

"Jumper?"

Seriously? How can someone who wants to be an engineer not know... oh!

"Sorry, that's just slang. I'm talking about the FTL-Drive."

"FTL? What does that stand for?"

"Uh... well... faster than light, what else?"

The skin around Nadine's eyes made some weird movements.

"How would FTL lead you to... oh! Okay, and today we learned: the translator can't do acronyms! F-T-L, so..."

She removed the translator from her neck.

"Fasta... thann... light," she slowly said with a funny accent, before putting it back on again.

"Are you learning our language?" Liyzo asked, surprised once more. Mastering a foreign language could take up a good portion of one's life, after all. And someone aspiring to be an engineer hardly had the time for that.

"Just started. All I know is the alphabet, a handful of common phrases, and how to say "my translator is broken"."

"I see. Well, back on topic, the jumper is the thing that gives you access to the hyperlanes."

"The what?"

Oh, come on, seriously?

"How do I explain that... it's... the thing you enter... when you do FTL?"

Wow, is there a more stupid way to explain it, genius?

Well, there was no helping it. He was a mechanic, not a scientist, and explaining common knowledge was not as easy as it sounded. Nadine seemed to have understood him though.

"Oh, I get it! So you use some sort of hyperspace for FTL! Your ships don't use sub-lightspeed acceleration then? Gues you never developed a C-piercer. That explains why you don't have RK- ah, I shouldn't say that."

Liyzo's head perked up.

"Say what?"

"No, no, believe me, you DON'T want to know that."

What was so wrong about him knowing a different form of FTL? But before he could ask that question, his glance fell onto his chronometer.

"Oh, First Ones! I need to finish the check-up!"

Nadine's eyes became big.

"Ah! I'm sorry, can I help you somehow?"

"It's fine, don't... actually, you can. Can you get into the cockpit?"

It was a bit high, so she would probably need a ladder. Or so he thought, until he saw the small alien hold onto the open frame, jump more than her own height, and land in front of the pilot seat. Also, did the shuttle's suspension just get lower? After being dumbfounded for a moment, Nadine's voice pulled him back into reality.

"Is it normal here to get around via shuttle?"

"More or less, although commoners usually use public shuttles. Why, is it different on your world?"

"Yes, we mainly use land-based vehicles and passenger drones. Using something with a combustion engine or jet thrusters isn't really a thing for intraplenetary travel anymore. Anyway, what do you want me to do?"

He leaned into the cockpit and pointed to the console screen.

"When I tell you, push that slider up."

He went to the back of the shuttle, opened another maintenance panel, and wired his datapad to the e-converter.

"Okay, give me half power!"

The converter started. Everything looked good so far.

"Now full!"

The noise from the converter got louder, but the numbers all showed what they were supposed to.

"Perfect, you can turn it off!"

As he got back to the front, Nadine jumped out of the cockpit and landed with a heavy thud! that completely betrayed her small frame.

"Well, thanks for-"

"Lady Nadine?" a female voice interrupted him. Outside of the hangar stood a woman, wearing the sash of the palace maids. "Her Highness is asking for you."

"Guess my stroll went a bit out of hand, huh? I'm coming, uh... Mifa?"

"Mhita."

"Right, sorry."

"Please don't be, Milady. On the contrary, the others and I are honored that you are trying to learn all our names."

Nadine's face got slightly redder in color before she left. After she was gone, the maid turned to him.

"And what exactly do you think you are doing, mechanic?"

"Uh, just the check-up I was told to do, why-" Wait, did she just say the princess wanted to talk to Nadine?!

She stepped closer. The look on her face was professional, but her looming anger was still obvious.

"Lady Nadine is a noble from a foreign planet, a royal guest, and was given clearance level 2! Unless the King and Queen visit personally, she is to be treated second only to Her Highness herself! And you make her perform some menial labor?! Are you out of your mind?!"

Liyzo's heart sank. So she was a noble after all. But why was she so casual then? Nothing about her behavior had fit her apparent status.

Damn you, Hertin! This wouldn't have happened if you had just stayed!

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't know-"

"DIDN'T KNOW?! Even if you are just a mechanic, you are still technically working for the Star Palace, and thus Her Highness herself! It is your duty to know things like this!"

"But she said she wanted-"

"Her being nice to us does not elevate us to her rank! On the contrary, it is all the more reason to remember our place!"

She turned to leave.

"Do NOT step out of line like this again. It's embarrassing that I even have to say this."