Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again. - Chapter 382

Chapter 382: I dare.
Sunshine wiped greased from her face and hands. She was convinced that there was a conspiracy behind her assignment to fix the air recycling units on the ship. It was in sector 51 which was almost the furthest place in the spaceship. It was cramped and hot, she had to fold herself like a leftover pizza stuffed into Tupperware to fit in some places.

But she was finally finished.

“Thank goodness for music.” She muttered. If she had not been accompanied by the delightful sounds of pop tunes, she would have been a lot more miserable.

Her stomach rumbled, a reminder that she had not eaten since she went to the Levias sea–since morning actually. Her breakfast had been thin and unsatisfactory as a result of over stuffing herself during dinner the night before.

She wondered why she had not eaten when Lisha and Tracy were battling for Bob three hours ago.

She put away her wrench and took a sip of water. Then, she strutted off in search of the garden where she had planned to eat, take a ten-minute nap and take another tour of the ship. It would be a solo sightseeing activity as none of the other repairmen had made conversation with her.

But they were not talking to the others either. Most were scattered across the ship, working on their assignments. Today, she had noticed some new faces around.

Humming to herself as she searched for the right path to the gardens, she thought of the transparent alien she had seen. How she longed to touch him and see if his body was solid or air, like a ghost.

As usual, she had headphones over her ears. A new song started, and she was distracted from her thoughts. Her walking movements turned into little dance steps.

Unknown to her, on the roof of the very corridor she was navigating was Nine, the insectoid alien. If she did not have headphones on, she would have heard that angry clicking of his mandibles which happened a lot more often whenever she was within talking distance of him.

The headphones were snatched from her head.

Sunshine spun around, eyes wide and inquisitive, meeting the round wide four eyes of her greatest hater.

“You are in violation of a law,” he buzzed, his voice like a swarm of angry wasps.

Sunshine sneered. She had read the rules governing repairmen and she was quite sure that she was not in violation of any laws. “Violation of what? Finishing my tasks in record time? Working with a smile on my face? Being happy and loving my job?

“Violation of auditory peace. You hummed. Your feet were doing dancing movements during work hours.” His wings flapped with excitement like a police officer that had just arrested a wanted criminal and would be getting a promotion as a result. “I am filing a lawsuit with the council.”

Sunshine blinked. “You’re suing me…..for humming and dancing?”

“Yes. Offensive dancing. Off key humming. Your auditory emissions are a nuisance. They are harmful, a danger to my existence.”

Sunshine wanted to laugh but Nine looked deadly serious. As the system had told her to avoid clashing with others, she nodded. “Well, good luck with that. There is no law in any universe that says I cannot hum, sing or dance after finishing my work or even during my working hours. So…..see you around.” She snatched her headphones from his spindly hands and placed them right back on her head.

Nine’s mandibles clicked again. “We shall see.” He flew away even angrier than he had been.

Sunshine huffed. “Sued by a bug! And I thought being sued by a parrot was ridiculous.”

After walking for fifteen minutes and discovering that she was lost, Sunshine came to a stop. In her mind, she blamed Nine for distracting her and making her take the wrong path.

“Hey wall, how do I make my way to the garden?” she asked.

The wall shifted and a door slid open.

Sunshine walked in, thinking it led to another path. Then she froze. It was not a path.

It was a snack bar.

Not just any snack bar but a high end extravagant one with shelves which were stacked with snacks from different worlds. She made this guess because it had chocolate bars she recognized–products from earth! It had rotating dispensers that offered drinks in fictional colors. She had never seen them, which was why she was thinking of them as fictional. There were cushioned booths, a polished counter which moved like a conveyor belt with different treaties. Most surprising was the jukebox which was playing interstellar music.

Repairmen on break were snacking, watching movies, reading box, tinkering with small gadgets. One was even sleeping.

Sunshine’s jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

She stepped further inside, seduced by the faint smell of something delicious. She walked by the shelves, reading labels on the snacks she didn’t recognize. Sunshine giggled when she a tray of cloud cakes released tiny clouds which settled on top like frosting. She stopped and frowned at something called multi taste chips which apparently existed in multiple flavors at once.

“Now Earl will love these.” She muttered. He loved a food mystery.

She grabbed a packet and ripped it open with curiosity and greed, tasting one, it was simultaneously sweet, spicy, minty, sour and oddly cool like an ice chip. “Oh my God. How do they even get this flavor?”

Vortan strolled in with two supervisors and three repairmen. Nine happened to be one. Sunshine stormed over to them and started with a greeting. Then she waved the packet of multi taste chips like evidence.

“Vortan, there is a snack bar on this ship! I was so hungry yesterday that I ate unknown fruit when we have a snack bar! Why didn’t anybody tell me?”

Nine flew away, uninterested in whatever Sunshine had to say.

Vortan smiled. “I thought everyone was aware of the existence of the sustenance chamber. There is always one on every ship. Did you think we would starve you?” He asked flatly.

Sunshine blinked. She wondered how he thought she was supposed to know about the snack bar. It wasn’t as if she was a frequent flier on alien ships.

“I think I told Nine to tell everyone that they could rest in here, especially those working the noon to night shifts.” the reptilian standing at Vortan’s side said.

“I forgot.” Nine screamed, mandibles clicking furiously. “And she never asked.”

Sunshine threw her hands up. “You damn bug, you did it deliberately. How could I have asked when I did not know it existed. Who hides a snack bar from their colleagues.”

Nine was being held back by the transparent alien.

“Let me go.” He screamed, “It called me a bug. I am going to sue it.”

Sunshine turned around, returning to the bar. Vortan started working on damage control while some repairmen laughed. Whether they were laughing at Sunshine or Nine was impossible to tell.

Sunshine filled her stomach on different snacks and drinks, indulging in the deliciousness and unique taste.

Her bliss was interrupted when Vortan slid into the booth opposite her. And swiftly, Nine followed.

“It is dropping crumbs everywhere.” He reported to Vortan. “It is a contamination violation.”

Vortan groaned, regretting his choice of seat and company.

“Sue me.” Sunshine replied. She popped another multi taste chip into her mouth. “And if I am going down, I might as well make it worth it.” She stood up and raced to the jukebox.

With a devious grin, she blared a tune–something dance worthy from an unknown world.

“Don’t you dare.” Nine screamed.

Sunshine flipped her ponytail back. “Oh, I dare.”

She moved her hands, dancing and humming with vigor.

Nine twitched, mandibles clicking violently.