Free Coffee Cup Dreams (A Redpoint One Romance) by J.A. Marlow Page A

their shells. She gave a little shudder at the memory of
the movie scene.
    A bot queried her with a whistle as it dabbed
a spot on her pants.
    Rachel scowled at her. "Oh great, you saw the
movie."
    "I didn't say a thing about any movie," Tish
said, trying to at least get to her knees.
    "I'm right, though, aren't I?"
    Reluctantly Tish nodded. The bots at her feet
continued their work at her clothes, even after she finally found a
way to stand up. The bot with the foul-smelling bucket turned and
raced down the corridor with its burden while another bot took its
place with a new bucket.
    "I'm guessing the maintenance crew didn't care
for the movie?" Tish grabbed the joint. The sooner they got it
attached again, the sooner the place wouldn't smell like a
sewer.
    "The screenwriter who wrote it stayed here for
a few months. We all know where he got the ideas, and he's wrong.
The station computer is not homicidal." Rachel grabbed another
tool. "Wait, we need to do the other side first."
    Well, that explained why so much of the movie
echoed what she'd seen on Redpoint One since arriving.
    With the joint re-installed the bots converged
from above, below and to the side of it, small welders setting it
back in place. The ventilation system quickly dispelled the smell
of the clog, allowing Tish and Rachel to breathe in
deep.
    "You deal with that kind of smell every day?"
Tish asked with a shake of her head. "I wouldn't want to get out of
bed if I had this to look forward to."
    "It's usually not this bad. There are cleaner
bots that work from the inside of the pipes, but this was too close
to a distribution grid-point." Rachel gave her a flash of a grin.
"And this isn't the dirtiest repair work. I have it easy compared
to others."
    Tish felt a small tug on her pants. One of the
bots held up the tool she'd used on the valve in a small claw at
the end of a thin arm. She must have dropped it when she
fell.
    She took it, saying, "Thank you."
    The bot chirped at her. She turned back to
find Rachel shaking her head at her. "They definitely like
you."
    Tish shrugged. "Makes me feel better and it
gets the movie out of my head. Do we turn on the valve
now?"
    Rachel nodded towards the end of the corridor,
"Go for it."
    This time Tish found the right symbol
immediately. Pulled out the right tool the first try, a twist in
the opposite direction and she could hear fluid flowing
again.
    Upon returning, Rachel said, "And you found
the right symbol. Excellent. Did you grow up as a
spacer?"
    "Nope, an Earth girl through and through. This
is the first time I've been off-planet."
    Rachel shook her head. "Arthur is right. You
never know who will take to this."
    Tish paused in the process of returning the
tool to her belt. "Why do I get the feeling I just passed some sort
of test?"
    Rachel grinned unabashed. "Because you
did."
    She turned and started walking down the
corridor with her bot close behind. Tish trotted to catch up,
prompting, "And?"
    Rachel shrugged without looking back. "People
either understand the station or they don't. It's not something
that can be taught. How do you feel?"
    She rubbed her hands on her pants. "Like I
need to wash my hands."
    "No, in general."
    Tish frowned. What did she mean by that? She
didn't feel anything. "Fine. Getting a bit hungry, despite the
odors a few minutes ago."
    "No pressure? Discomfort? Headache? In your
head or in your body anywhere?"
    Tish missed a step. "No, nothing like that.
Should I?"
    Rachel stopped at a juncture in the corridors
to turn partially towards her. "I was hoping not. We need more
people."
    Tish grabbed her arm before she could continue
walking. "Please explain. I've had too few explanations since I
arrived."
    Rachel smiled at her. "We don't have many
people working in Maintenance because most don't last."
    "Well, Arthur wasn't exactly welcoming," Tish
said. And she'd wanted him to be. She'd felt like he'd warmed up to
her later, but the way they'd parted after the day was over didn't
give her