Overdue Talk

Month 16 Day 3

2104 Hours

Bugalu

Bugalu was determined to find his adopted sister even if he had to wake her up in the middle of the night. But before he did anything that drastic, he entered the library—about the 12th place he'd looked so far tonight—and stopped to look around. As he tried to look into all the nooks and crannies, past all the bookcases and reading equipment, he thought he saw a patch of bright red beyond a shelf of regulatory manuals. That looks like her. I hope it is.

He eagerly walked back to the study area, where Mac stared intently at a reading screen. "I found you," he greeted, and she jumped in her seat. "What are you doing?"

She turned to face him. "Bugs. I would have thought it obvious; I'm reading."

"It must be fascinating, as hard as you were concentrating."

She shrugged one shoulder. "I wouldn't have thought so, but the implications have definitely caught my attention. I'm memorizing some rules and regulations."

His breath caught in his throat. Now what has she done? "You? Regulations? Do I need to get you a lawyer?"

She gave him a brief frown. "No, of course not. For your information, I was told to read up on these. All about assisting another ship and the relationship between mentor and protégé."

"Reading is one thing. You said you were memorizing them."

"Well, I have to be ready, in case I need them," she answered, and turned back to her screen.

This can't be good. Reading up on the relationship between mentor and protégé, memorizing the rules, in case she needs them. What has Smythe been doing? He crossed the alcove to sit down next to her, put his hand over one of hers. "Tell me what's going on, Mac. If things are that bad, we'll go to the captain, if we need to."

She gave him a confused look and pulled her hand away. "Why would we go to the captain? No, really, the rules are spelled out quite plainly. I don't think I'll even need to consult Smit. I can handle this by myself."

Doesn't need to consult Smythe? She has to at least talk to him to get him to stop doing... whatever he's doing that has her memorizing regulations. "I think you should at least enlist the aid of another officer. Preferably somebody close to his rank, if not higher. So that he can't say it's just a matter of 'he said, she said'."

"No, I don't need to involve anybody else; he's not going to be able to say that. That's why I'm memorizing. If I have to, I'll quote the regs to him, section and paragraph, and there won't be any arguing with that!"

She's not making any sense. He turned her chair to face him. "Mac, I know you've been upset this past month or so. I hate to see you like that, so I need you to tell me now; what has Smythe been doing to you that's driven you so crazy?"

"Smit?" She waved a hand in dismissal. "He has nothing to do with this." She paused to think for a moment. "Well, actually, he does. He told me this morning to read these rules and regulations, which I did, and after what I found out, I think it's best to memorize them."

Smythe told her to read this stuff? Why would he do that if he's the one not following the rules? No, that definitely doesn't make any sense. Okay, now it seems we're talking at cross purposes. Ask for one detail at a time, try to pick the knot of misunderstanding apart. "Okay, what did you learn?"

She rolled her eyes and cleared her throat. "Well, it came as a bit of a shock, but... No, let me start at the beginning. It seems the chief engineer is laid up in sick bay on the St Elmo, and his protégé has taken over the engineering department during his absence. A Lt Baker."

"Baker?" Bugalu repeated. It can't be. It absolutely can't be. But she did say it was a shock.

"Yes, I know it's a common name, like MacG said. But it left me uncomfortable. So I made a quiet inquiry of the St Elmo, and it turns out it is Greg Baker!"

A hole opened up in Bugalu's stomach, leaving his skin crawling with fearful anticipation. His head moved side to side in negation as he declared, "You can't go!"

Surprised by his declaration, she gave him a determined look. "I have to go! I'm Smit's protégé, and green as I am, he expects me to go, to do my best, and to act on his behalf!" She tapped the screen as she said the last few words.

It took Bugs a few moments to get his mind wrapped around that. She seemed to understand, for she waited patiently. "You can't fight Baker," he stated numbly, his memory of the Horseless Carriage rearing up in full glory. Or maybe it was rearing up in full gore. "Nobody out here will know what he did to you at the Academy, and no matter how much he goads you—"

"No, of course I can't," she stated simply. "Things are different now. As for goading me, he can try, but these regulations make it clear that—for a short time, at least—I will out-rank him!"

"What?" He turned the screen towards him, read the section she'd been memorizing. "This says in certain instances, the protégé is assumed to speak with the full authority of the mentor."

"And one of those instances is when the mentor and protégé are part of the assisting crew responding to an SOS."

"You really will out-rank him!"

"I'm glad you agree. I was hoping I didn't read it wrong. A little wishful reading, you know? So, want to help me memorize?"

"Absolutely. Get on the other side of the table, and I'll quiz you."

She stood up to do as she was told. "By the way, how does MacG know about Baker?"

He told her hurriedly, hoping she wouldn't have time to get upset about it. "I told him about the Horseless Carriage. A long time ago. You'd barely gotten aboard. Do you want to start with the assisting regs, or the mentor/protégé rules?"

"Surprise me. I need to know them both."