A Brief Respite

Month 16 Day 4

1959 Hours

Drake McGregor

Drake looked up when 2 more trays were added to his table, and smiled at the newcomers. "How are things going in engineering, or is it too soon to tell?"

"Too soon," Smitty answered as he sat down and rearranged his items on his tray. "Did have a bit of good luck, though. Baker was so slow to do anything with the nachelles, Colleen found them full of crystal shards. She just finished vaccuming them up and got them to the science labs."

"Good work, Mac," Drake told her, and noticed dark circles beneath her eyes. Well, she has worked 12 hours today, and she isn't used to that. Smitty's got the beginnings of dark smudges, too, but it won't do any good to point that out to him. "Turns out we removed 2 or 3 shards from the injured today, and those were sent to the labs, too. It's standard practice here, because if the crystals have been chemically compromised, they want to know what chemicals may have contaminated the people."

Smitty looked up in surprise, a bit of potatoes on his fork. "I hadn't thought of that."

"I can only hope that if we ever had a crystal emergency and had to dig shards out of somebody, that I would have thought of it. And while I'm hoping, I'll hope that you don't ever let things get that bad on the Fireball."

Smitty nodded as he ate, and added, "And the captain wonders if I should tell her about every little blip, most of which amount to nothing."

"Don't get me started down that road of worry; I have enough to deal with in sick bay."

"It's a deal. You worry about your patients, and I'll worry about engineering. I think I know when it's time to inform the captain and the rest of the crew."

Drake turned his attention to Mac, who was eating, but without much energy. "I expect this Baker character you anticipated isn't the Baker you thought it might be."

"Oh, it's him, alright," she answered, and glanced across the nearly empty mess hall to where an engineering lieutenant sat scowling at his dinner. She smiled at Drake and whispered, "But for the moment, I out-rank him!" Her eyes twinkled mischieviously.

"Yes," Smitty agreed in a low voice. "And I saw what you did to make it appear like he was slow to respond to a summons. I'll have to find half a minute to fix the doorbell."

"Yes, sir," she answered contritely. "But in the end, it wasn't necessary, because he certainly took his time reporting to the office!"

"It always seems like they do, especially if you're peeved at them," Smitty revealed. "Now, what's this about, a relationship gone sour at the Academy?"

No, Drake thought. But I'm not surprised that's what he assumes happened.

Mac looked up in surprise, and then went pink. "He wouldn't leave me alone! Matt and Bugalu both tried to get him to back off, but he wouldn't. And I reported him numerous times during 3rd year, but he wouldn't give up."

"Perhaps he thought you'd done something that indicated you were interested."

I thought Smitty was too much a gentleman to assume the woman was at fault.

"All I did was agree to meet him at the Horseless Carriage for a drink! Only he brought a dozen friends with him, and it turned into a drinking game, but they didn't all drink every round! And then they got impatient."

"I think it used to be called hazing," Drake stated. "Getting a freshman drunk until they passed out. People felt it got out of hand at the colleges in the 21st century, and it was outlawed after a few of those freshmen died of alcohol poisoning."

"If you weren't interested in him, you shouldn't have agreed to meet for a drink," Smitty opined, his mouth pinched.

True, but she was just a kid, and kids don't always think things through.

She shrugged one shoulder, as if the other still wouldn't work well. "I wanted a drink."

"If you were of legal drinking age, you could have bought your own," Smitty stated.

"I hadn't figured that out yet," she stated defensively. "I'd only been away from home a couple weeks, and I wasn't allowed to buy my own drinks there." She gave a sly half-smile. "Of course, I wasn't of legal drinking age on Gaelund."

"What?" Smitty asked sharply.

"Gaelund years are longer than standard Fleet years," Drake pointed out blandly. "Now, what are your plans? After I finish eating, I'm going to nap until midnight, when I'll report back to sick bay. Davis is covering for me until then, and Fong will take the B shift."

Smitty finished his meatloaf and pulled his piece of pie toward him. "I'm working until midnight. We're doing 12-hour shifts. That's why Colleen will be headed for bed as soon as she's done here."

"What!" Mac's fork clattered to her plate. "No! I'm your protégé! I can't—

"That's exactly why," Smitty interrupted. "I need you to nap until midnight, like MacGregor, and then relieve me. Wilson will be doing the same; you'll be working alongside her. But I need you to see my vision for how repairs should go, and see that people are doing what needs to be done. To be my voice when I'm not there. You're the only one that can do that."

Still unhappy, she retrieved her fork. "I hope I can hold my temper around Baker."

"Don't worry about him," Smitty told her. "He'll be working the same 12-hour shifts that I will—midday until midnight."

She grimaced. "And if he shows up in engineering on some made-up excuse between midnight and midday?"

"Tell him to go away. And if he doesn't, have security remove him for interference in the completion of repairs."

She gave him an uncertain look. "Is that a regulation?"

He took another bite of his pie before he answered. "No, I can't think of one that has that wording. But he will definitely be there against my orders."

She swallowed and looked at the food remaining on her plate. "Thank you, Smit."

"And I remember you wanted to talk, earlier, but we couldn't. If it won't take long, perhaps we could tomorrow, when I relieve you."

She bit her lower lip for a moment, then sadly shook her head. "I don't think it's something that can be rushed. Or if it can, it ought not be."

She was still staring at the rest of her meal. And looking more and more tired with every passing minute, Drake decided. "Come on, Mac. Let's get you to the barracks so you can sleep."

"Barracks? A barracks bed? Oh, that will be fun."

"It's only intended for you to sleep there," Smitty told her. "I told Wilson to get a portable gravity generator and set up a bed for you."

"Oh. Gravity. Yes, that's good." She suddenly pushed her tray away a couple inches. "I wonder if the kitchen has any ginger so I can have some tea."

The two men watched her approach the counter and talk to one of the cooks. "She's very tired," Drake mentioned.

"Yes. I noticed."