Red was pissed. How could he not be? Ayjax, that blasted man, said that it would be about a day's travel to the island. What he neglected to say…was that a day's travel for his ship equaled 2 or 3 for most others. He would have been perfectly content spending those days in the weapons room with Vizim. Except, Ayjax told Derrin that he was supposed to continue training.
But that wasn't what truly made him upset. What truly got him pissed was that they were stuck sleeping in the tiny crackerbox for more than one night. The only thing he had going for him was that Derrin was just as frustrated as he was…even if it was for a different reason.
One of the problems with working on older designs like Cairen's ship was that it was messy work. It only took Red a few minutes to realize why Vizim looked the way he did. At a certain point, you just had to give up trying to keep a semblance of cleanliness. After only one day, he was covered in oil and grease.
He had been smart enough to take his coat off, but the rest of his clothes were ruined. It seemed that Derrin did not have a fondness for oil and grease. Especially not when they were crammed into a tiny room together. At least it was fun listening to the normally stoic man complain for once. He deserved it after failing to get them a bigger room.
The two of them had made remarkable progress despite the short time together. Red's original assessment had been spot on. When it came to cooling systems, Vizim knew everything. However, someone had to constantly keep the maintenance on the ship's interior systems. Despite this, they were still able to work together on his design. Red was pretty sure that he had now gotten enough from Vizim to finish it himself. But he would still take advantage of his talents.
"This entire system is just incredible. I still don't understand how you were able to come up with all of this by yourself," Vizim marveled.
"Most of it's just stolen ideas from other devices."
"You say that, but it still is hard to believe."
"You really need to stop complimenting me and look at yourself. You are a genius engineer if I've ever seen one," Red remarked, "You could be famous if you didn't spend so much time cooped up in here."
"I guess. But I just don't have the time…"
"Are you sure that's the only reason? I still don't understand why you would need to work for someone like Cairen. Your skills are definitely enough to get you into the academy."
Vizim fell silent, "That's a bit more complicated. I don't really want to get into it right now."
Red patted him on the back, "Whatever your reasons, I'm sure it's valid. I just want you to realize that you're good at what you do."
"Thank you."
During their short time together, Red had learned quite a bit about Vizim, including that he was actually a few years younger than he was. Despite this, he was a genius. Red hoped that Vizim would recognize this by the time he left. He may have been young, but that didn't mean he lacked potential. It wasn't his business, but he did wonder how Vizim ended up here. Vizim didn't want to talk about it, so he didn't push. Red was more interested in finishing his design anyway.
It was on the third day of their trip that Vizim finally asked the most pressing question, "So, what are you going to call it?"
"That's a damn good question," Red called as he carefully finished greasing a pair of motors, "I was thinking of giving it some cool name like Red's Bubble Blip."
Vizim burst out laughing, "There is no way in hell you are actually considering that."
Red paused, "What's wrong with that? I think it's got a nice ring to it."
"Nice ring to it! What are you four? That sounds like the type of thing that you'd find in a children's store. You do realize that this could potentially revolutionize an entire industry, and you want everyone to call it Red's Bubble Blip. I will be removing all of my contributions if you decide on that name."
Red grumbled, "Fine. I guess I'll come up with something later."
Vizim snorted, "I still can't believe that you chose Red's Bubble Blip. Who taught you how to name stuff?"
"Oh, just shut the hell up already," Red complained.
He walked over to the blueprint that Vizim was standing in front of. Vizim had attached another piece of paper to the side, with his cooling design on it. His blueprint looked completely different than Red's own. It was the first time he had seen the entire finished design in one place. He was excited. Excited might have been an understatement. He wanted to build the thing right now. Unfortunately, it would have to wait until they arrived on the island.
Vizim hesitated, then said quietly, "Nowadays, people usually just build for the power behind them. When you make this, make it something real. Something alive."
Red blinked, surprised by Vizim's sudden shift, "I always do."
He smiled, "Yeah, I think you do."
The door to the weapon's room swung open, cutting off the short moment, "I thought I'd find you here."
Red turned to see Derrin standing in the doorway. "We can see the island, so I suggest you get yourself ready."
He nodded, "Vizim, you mind if I hold on to this. I might be able to build a prototype while we're here."
"Sure, man. It's your design after all."
"Maybe, but I never would have completed it without your assistance."
Vizim shrugged.
"I'll see you around," Red shook his hand and then jogged after Derrin.
The room outside the weapon's chamber was empty, just like he remembered it.
Derrin paused and asked, sounding genuinely curious, "Did you finish your project?"
"We'll see, I guess," Red's nose twitched uncomfortably, "Can't know till I try building it."
Even though Red had hated every second of being stuck in their tiny room, he was going to miss the memory. The time he had been able to spend with Vizim on his project. He briefly wondered what things would be like if he stayed a bit longer. But he had to finish his project. At this point, it was no longer just about finishing it for himself but also for Vizim. After all, that blasted man wouldn't do anything for himself.
He hoped he'd be seeing him again. Hopefully, once he has a finished design. Red scratched his nose. There was a strange tingling sensation that he recognized. It seemed to be growing stronger by the moment. He groaned and tried to massage the strange itching away.
"Are you okay?" Derrin's voice was filled with concern.
"Yeah. My nose just feels weird. It's almost like when…" Red trailed off as he realized what the sensation reminded him of.
It reminded him of what happened right before a core exploded. He had smelled the electrical energy plenty of times during his engineering sessions. More recently, though, he remembered the same exact smell…right before Ayjax attacked the Gearborn ship.
"Derrin, I think…" They were both thrown off their feet as a tremendous explosion ripped through the ship.