Chapter 1
She was such a small Irken. Small enough to be mistaken for a smeet, easily ignored, kicked around, and underestimated. Being underestimated had its advantages, but it made it hard to be taken seriously. Which is why, instead of being a teknician, teknical advisor, or inventor, she worked behind the scenes. She took pride in the fact that she did almost all of the major technical and electrical repairs behind the walls of the massive. She wouldn't have gotten nearly that far if it wasn't for a few nicer tallers not as concerned with her small height, her hard work, and the fact that no one else was small enough to fit. Even with her tiny, skinny frame, it was a tight squeeze. The walls were made to allow some airflow to the circuits, not for Irkens to fit between. There was a high advantage to making repairs without having to rip out a whole wall.
So here she was, running brand new, top speed cable to the Tallests own private quarters. Despite the fact that the transmitter that sent the data couldn't send it any faster, and the new cable wouldn't improve speed at all. But of course, how could a little tech who looked barely older than a smeet know anything? The cable was claimed as the best. It was also shiny and rainbow colored. Not that anybody but her would see it, as it was hidden behind a wall. She wasn't in any position to complain. It gave her a job, made her important.
The knowledge of how important her job was did nothing to help her claustrophobia. The small, tight tunnel, lit by a few pinpricks of light and a small light from her PAK, was suffocating. She had horrible nightmares about being stuck behind those walls forever.
Swallowing back her fear, she concentrated on attaching the cable securely to the wall, occasionally stopping to check other electrical components, looking for any burned out parts or problems. Luckily, she wasn't expected to drag the new cable with her, it was replaced by attaching the new cable to the end of the old one and reeling the old one out. However, someone still had to unsecure the old cable and attach the new one. She worked quickly, yet made sure that she did it right.
Finally, she saw the bright light that signaled that there was an open panel. She hooked up the cable and used several instruments from her PAK to test the cable. She got the same speed as the old cable. Rolling her eyes, she finished up, put the wall panel back, and re-soldered the panel back into the wall.
Now that that big job was done, Ehvy was free for the other half of the cycle. She was thankful that she didn't have to work 2/3 of every cycle like most smallers and drones, but was still bitter about the fact that almost all tallers and other high teks only worked for a third a cycle. She took advantage of her time off to go visit one of her few friends.
Her best friend, Haz, worked in weapons development. Despite his hyper nature and threats of giant explosions, he was actually very good at his job, and had very few accidents. He wouldn't tell anyone why his bright orange eyes glowed in the dark, however….
She hung out with him for several hours, talking some and playing several video games. Laughing and joking with her hyperactive friend helped her unwind, calm down. After trading wins and losses at the game for awhile, they decided to get something to eat.