Bennu Station, 407:6
The irony of the compliance division being audited for compliance was met with earnest explanation by the officers conducting the audit.
"It's actually the most important form of compliance," was heard repeatedly as we walked around docking bays and spent far too much time in Shah's office answering questions that weren't even applicable to us. For something that is apparently so important you would think they would at least have bothered to update the questionnaire.
"How many class D engines do you operate? Are they properly ventilated?" I would have tried to come up with synonyms to keep things interesting, or at least use the accepted abbreviation, "NA", but Shah took it more seriously than I expected, and answered in full---"Not applicable"---to more than half of the mandatory questions.
At least it's over for this cycle. Shah was saying that he wants to train me to handle it in the future. He seems to think that I care deeply about the same things he does simply because I made my way to Bennu. Or maybe I remind him of someone. In any case he gives me opportunities the others don't get, and that I never asked for. I know for certain that Fana was at least interested in being interviewed by the officers this cycle, but Shah dismissed her with a not very convincing, "Maybe next time."
In cleaning up my office before the inspection, I found a bag of Rexy Treats in the bottom of the pack I brought with me on vacation. There were a handful left, and I ate them more slowly than they deserved. They are objectively not that good and mass produced, and I would never buy them if they were regularly available on the station. But I was left with a deep emptiness after they were gone. Already, the memories of my trip are being overwritten with the mundanity of the day to day, and only the highlights of what I captured remain.