Mech Pilot born under the zodiac sign of the Hydraulic Piston.
"Kinda? I guess? Like, what they write about in the news holos is vague enough to apply to anyone, but it feels... nice to think there's a guiding hand in the stars, you know? Less pressure on me."
The pilot shifted on their back, and pointed a finger at the heavens, tracing out the constellation the mechanic had shown them, "makes sense, I suppose. Is that why you became a mechanic?"
"Yup! Star sign got me started down the path, and found true passion for it along the way! Also what drew me to this heap of yours," she slapped a hand down against the hard, steel roof of the mech the pair were laying on, "don't see old style actuators like this anymore!"
The pilot laughed lightly, "and here I thought you were attracted to my charming personality! Turns out you just wanted to get into my mech!"
The mechanic chuckled back, and reached over to gently punch the pilot's shoulder, "Okay, maybe at first! I'll admit! But you were charming! I know how you pilots can get when strangers start poking around their mechs! I mean, offering to take me out for a ride? This is nice. Getting to see the stars is just the cherry on top!"
The pair lay in silence for a time, both watching the stars turn.
"So I'm born under the Hydraulic Piston constellation, what's your sign?"
The pilot rolled onto her side, propping her head in her hand, and watching the mechanic watch the stars, "are you going to see if we're compatible?"
"Nothing like that! Already decided I like you. Not gonna let a star or six get in the way of that. Just curious is all."
"Ah, well, I don't actually know. Never bothered to look it up, you know?"
The mechanic rolled to match the pilot's position, the pair facing each other. "When's your birthday?"
"Uhh..."
"Need to think about it?"
"Yeah. Never really celebrated. Just another day for me, but uh, fifth month. Twelfth day."
The mechanic nodded, "Pitman Arm."
"Pitman arm?" The pilot asked, mentally breaking down their mech, trying to visualize where and what the part was.
"Mhmm." The mechanic scooted closer, and took the pilot's wrist in her hand, pointing it upwards, "see? It's... there!"
The pilot looked down their arm at the collection of stars where the mechanic had pointed her arm, "I think I see it. The six stars in an offset line?"
"That's the one!"
"What does it mean?"
"Well, a Pitman arm in a mech translates rotary motion into linear motion, so apply the same principle to life. When everyone is spinning in circles, going nowhere, you're the one who moves ahead. Leads the charge."
"Huh. I guess that sounds like me."
The mechanic nodded in the dark, and shifted her grip from holding the pilot's wrist, to holding her hand, as she lowered it to the narrow space between them. "Sometimes the constellations describe us pretty well."
Julia Descartes - 212th Engineering Corps
Hazel "Maze" Grimm - Bloody Icarus Drop Battalion