There's something about her that's just so shiny. Gets on his nerves something awful, but she's so cute and cheerful all the time that he can't help it.
The first time he met her was when he was stowing his gear in his new bunk. He was sitting at the desk and staring at the bulkhead next to his bed, trying to figure out if he could rig up some kind of gun rack to go there.
The hatch opened and he stiffened a little. He was pretty sure it was the captain, coming to tell him that maybe this was a mistake and they'd let him off at the next moon they passed - no harm, no foul.
The feet that were coming down the ladder sure didn't belong to the captain. Neither did the voice. They matched, he remembered thinking but wasn't sure why.
For a few seconds, all he saw was pink slippers and gray-green coveralls and then the rest of her dropped into view.
Her smile lit up the little bunk and her voice called to mind the stories his Ma used to tell about growing up on Beaumonde.
She was holding a plate of food out to him, saying something about welcome to the ship and she's a good girl - gets us where we need to be and don't mind the captain, he's such a grouch.
He doesn't really remember what they talked about, but he's pretty sure he made a clumsy pass that she turned down with a smile. She just patted his arm and took the empty plate back up the ladder and somehow left the warmth behind.