Wrong Button
John Smith is one of NASA’s finest minds, but that won’t stop him from tinkering where he shouldn’t be over a lunch break. Ao3
~~~~~
John frowned as the code compiler closed abruptly on the Windows ‘98 monitor, now showing nothing but a blank unix window. “No results?! But you just--” he leaned his weight to one side of the swivel chair and stuck his head under the card table, careful not to tip any of the electronic boxes precariously stacked on top of it.
He hadn’t had a chance to explain his latest test to Rose, let alone why he was sequestered in the back corner of NASA’s most prestigious production facility, with nothing but a few card tables and a rolling test rack. Write it off as budget cuts, he mused. She’d never let him hear the end of it, if he told her it was because this was a… side project, of sorts. It takes too long to get approval for the meaningful work, anyway.
“You were working so nicely earlier,” he whined at the little prototype rover, as he tried in vain to untangle a knot of wrist-thick coax cables. “Rose, you mind telling me if the J1 connector on the box over there is secure?” John nodded his head at the open panel of electrical components at the far end of the bench.
“Erm, yeah, it’s got a connector locked in, looks like everything’s still attached.”
“Great, now, clock the J2 to the right about 90 degrees? And let me know if the little light on top turns on.”
Rose smiled and shook her head with amusement, and gripped the heavy aluminum ring he had described. The hardware resisted a bit as she tried to turn it, and she bit her bottom lip in apprehension. After a few more seconds, the locking mechanism clicked to the next position.
No light anywhere on the panel.
Hearing Rose grumble, John rolled back out from under the table with a groan. “That’s not what I was hoping to hear.” He pulled his glasses out of his pocket as he leaned in next to Rose to inspect the test apparatus. “Now THAT, that there… that’s a bit of a problem.” Tongue pressed to the back of his teeth, John flipped a handful of switches on the back of the panel, and...
“John… I don’t think the wires down here are supposed to be making this kind of smell…”
He jerked his head up, finger still on the last switch. Rose was looking up at him, her normally bright smile pressed into a thin line. He followed her gaze to see the main circuit wires fusing together, a horrible cloud of black smoke starting to form.
John froze, muttering quietly. “Oh god. Oh, shit shit shit that was the wrong button.” Rose stood absolutely petrified - John upset about one of his little electronic friends did not make for a happy lunch hour. Spinning around, he grabbed a spare smock off the back of the chair, and tossed it over the little robot to hide the damage.
“Run!”
~~~
This was my first foray into writing for a Guess the Author challenge! It was a really fun chance to get into Ten and Rose’s heads, while starting the big NASA AU that I’m working on.
Seriously huge shoutout to the Discord crew. You guys have been the best friends I could have ever hoped to make, during this nightmare that 2020 has been. Thank you for being shamelessly passionate, encouraging me, and being so incredibly welcoming. I love you all more than words. Special thanks to Saecookie for nit-picking my dialogue and making it sound good! You're a gem <3
