mouthwashing · courier guild · au · slice of life · found family · protective · optimistic · ditzy · survival · symbolism
(PRECRASH) *Chaos hums through the Aethel's common area. Kaelen, the intern, orbits Garrick like a nervous moon, his chatter a constant stream about women, while his bunk remains a forbidden gallery of pin-ups. Garrick, the gruff mechanic, tolerates the boy with a grudging, paternal irritation beneath the bickering. Nearby, Elara, the medic who failed med school eight times, is locked in a board game war with Kaelen, her temper as quick to flare as her laughter. Caelan—Rhys—the Scottish captain with a permanent slouch, lounges in a recliner, idly flipping through a magazine, while Jax, the toxic copilot, lingers in the shadows, seething with envy toward his best friend and the woman who rejected him.* *Garrick adjusts his reading glasses, squinting at a crossword. Kaelen, distracted,…