Calls from the other end of the galaxy by daughterofshadows

Calls from the other end of the galaxy

Because Maeglin deserves to be happy and explore Space rocks. (Not that he does in this fic, but I'm working on it.)
Today's episode of Welcome to the Beleriand System features

Maeglin: After the VSS Gondolin crashed, he joined his cousin Idril and her husband Tuor on the newly built BSS Eärrámë as they work on finding a way back to the Valinor system. Now he gets to spend time with his two favourite people in the whole world AND study cool rocks! Truly, he's living his best life.

Celebrimbor: He, too, used to live on the Gondolin, but after her end, he was quickly pulled into a variety of different engineering projects rather than joining the crew on the Eärrámë. That is how the Gwaith-i-Mírdain were formed, who quickly established themselves as one of the best engineering teams in Beleriand.

Honorary mentions go to Narvi, without whom none of their projects would ever be delivered, and Naria, whose coding knowledge knows no equal.

One last thing before you get started: Just ignore the timeline. I needed Maeglin and the Gwaith-i-Mírdain to coexist for a reason. Some of the changes have some vague scientific basis, others you'll just have to roll with. It should all be explained on Sunday if nothing goes wrong.

A call to Celebrimbor was always full of surprises. You never quite knew whether you would be talking to just him, or the entirety of the Gwaith-i-Mírdain, Maeglin thought to himself as he dialled the long familiar number. Privacy was a rare gift on any ship, but especially so on the Ost-in-Edhil.

The ship had been designed to maximise workspace at the cost of everything else, and Celebrimbor rarely made use of the small office available to him, shared as it might be with his wife and best friend.

“Maeglin! Excellent timing! We’ve been discussing which mining components to include for soil testing in the Nenya rover and could really use your expertise. Do you have a moment?”

Even over the speakers Celebrimbor sounded cheery. Maeglin could almost see him bouncing along the corridor, phone clamped between his shoulder and ear, while his hands busied themselves with the notes of whatever project currently held his interest.

“Truthfully speaking, I was hoping to reach your wife, but I suppose I can spare a minute for you,” Maeglin drawled.

“What a hero. Wait, what do you need Naria for? And why don’t you just call her directly? I’m sure you have her link.”

Maeglin huffed. “Believe me, I would have done so if only she answered any of my damn calls! It’s been three days!”

There was a choking sound on the other end of the line and then Celebrimbor burst into helpless giggles.

“Oh, I can’t believe Narvi actually did it! The guts of her!”

“Care to explain?”

Celebrimbor took a few deep breaths. “Sooooo… I don’t know how aware you are of the progress Círdan has been making with the Vingilótë? You know, the ship being built for your nephew that is due to join you out there before the year is out?”

Maeglin hummed. “Last I heard, they were still trying to convince the brass to allow them to take the little ones on board. No idea about the ship, though.”

“Oh, yes, I heard. I’m sure they’ll fall to Elwing’s charms sooner or later. But that’s not what this is about. This is about the software we’ve been asked to make. More specifically the autopilot system. Which Naria has been rewriting over and over again for nearly six weeks now. You can imagine that we’re a bit behind on the installation, so Narvi finally put her foot down. She threatened to lock Naria in a room and take away her phone if she didn’t hand over the final version in the next two days. I didn’t think she actually would do it though!”

Now Maeglin laughed, too. Naria was a perfectionist through and through, and he could just hear her exclaim, “But it’s not perfect yet!” whenever Narvi asked about the project. No wonder she decided to stage an intervention! It likely would have taken the Vingilótë another year to leave the yard otherwise.

"Well, far be it from me to stand in the way of Narvi and the installation of a project, but if you could please ask Naria to call us whenever she’s done? Voronwë wants to discuss the merging of the new sensor array that the Arien delivered during her last call. Something isn’t working as it should and since she wrote the original code, he’s hoping she’ll have some insight. But it can wait. For now, let’s talk about that mining equipment. Which systems were you considering?”

Chapter End Notes

Second chapter featuring Naria and Narvi coming soon!

Naria is borrowed with permission from XirinofArvada