Eww, Maxie got engine grease all over the terminal in the engine room. I usually use the one in my quarters. I don't mind getting my fur messy. I sometimes help Maxie with his projects, and I like painting, and I grew up growing vegetables on a farm. But it was a less than pleasant surprise on the keyboard. I'm using gloves now.
He's been having a ball down here, playing with all his tools. I don't think Maxie has had this much fun in ages. Sometimes he whistles or hums or sings while he's working. I don't remember him doing that since before he went to Io. I can still picture it. Mom and Pop in the farmhouse kitchen, Maxie out in the barn, twisting his wrench on some old bike or something. The smell of Mom's bread coming through the window, while I sat on the porch rocking chair, listening to Maxie, tinkering away and singing old songs. It fills me with joy to see him getting back to himself. Of course, he was a fennec back then.
I think this little ship is making us both happier than we were. When Franz comes back from wherever it is they send him to, he's always a mess. It usually takes awhile for him to warm back up into his excitable, chatty self again. But maybe this time will be different. Maybe when Franz sees all we've done with the ship, he'll be as happy as I feel now. We may never be free from Plutonia, but we do have this ship to call ours.
I'm gonna warm something up in the galley. I got a whole pallet of dehydrated food at the military surplus store. It isn't the healthiest, but it doesn't go bad, and we definitely have the room onboard. I wish we could grow some fresh vegetables too.