Making Progress

Month 16 Day 10

23:57 Hours

Smitty

 Smitty glanced at the clock of the engineering office and finally brought the briefing to a close. "Thank you all for your hard work these last few days. It's a relief to see Lt Cmdr Facchini has recovered enough that the doctors are allowing him to attend our briefings at least once a day. I hope he isn't too disappointed in the progress we've made since our arrival."

"Not at all," Stinky stated. "I'm a little amazed at how much you've gotten done."

"Well, good. Happy to hear it. Now, Lt Jamison, if you will relieve Lt Vojeck, and Wilson, please relieve me." Once that formality was done, he went on to suggest, "Lt Jamison, would you please take Mr Facchini to the warp power alcove and let him examine the crystals we've installed? I think that will help set his mind at ease, and in a couple minutes, I'll walk him back to med bay." Once everybody else had left the office, he closed the door and turned to Colleen. "I didn't realize just how difficult a time you had at the Academy. Now I understand why you only gave that idea a ranking of 3."

Green eyes looked up in surprise. "Who have you been talking to? About the Academy?"

"Bugalu," he admitted. "He explained a lot about your background there." He cleared his throat. "And I also explained to MacGregor why sanitation engineer is not a good position for you."

"You've been busy. Wish I had that kind of time to go through all the different jobs you 3 have been sending me."

"I hope you look through mine first."

She hesitated briefly before admitting, "Now that you're emailing them to me, I do." She licked her lips and added, "I haven't seen any mention of the ship-yard station that you once thought highly of."

"I... thought you had rejected that one."

"I was angry at the time, but we could toss it into the pot and see where it lands," she countered.

He smiled and took hold of her hands to pull her forward for a brief kiss. "I wish I could give you a proper embrace."

"It's probably a good thing you can't, else we'd most likely go way beyond the 2 minutes we're allowing ourselves."

"I also wish you'd move in with me."

She canted her head to the side mischievously. "How would that work with our quarters being barracks? And us working opposing shifts?"

"Don't tease me. I meant, once we get back to the Fireball. But I've already ruined you in the eyes of your family, by getting you pregnant before we got married."

Her gaze turned serious, almost morose. She softly stated, "There's an old saying, something about in for a penny, in for a pound."

His heart skipped a beat, and he reflexively squeezed her hands. "Does that mean you will? Move in with me?"

"If all goes well between now and... then." She swallowed, and he was afraid she was already feeling misgivings about the idea.

"Then I'll be on my very best behavior."

"No, don't," she said quickly, and licked her lips. "I want to know the real you, not some made up version of you."

His mouth dry, he offered, "Soon as we get married, there'll be nothing to stop us from living together."

She smiled again, though not as fully as before. "Thank you. For understanding."

He wanted to surge forward, but instead, he shuffled his feet back half an inch. "I'd better go, before I forget where we are."

"Yes, I'm not sure you remembered to lock the door this time."

"No, I'm pretty sure I didn't." I was so eager to turn my attention to her, I'm surprised I remembered to close the door. He gave her another kiss, this one just a brief peck, because he didn't trust himself to stay any longer. "I have to go." And yet, he continued to stand there, her hands in his, as his eyes studied her face intently.

Eventually, she glanced at the clock, cleared her throat, and whispered, "You are relieved, Mr Smythe."

"I hope you have a productive shift, Colleen," he responded just as softly. "Good night, my love."

Her eyes widened, as if he'd just said something she thought she would never hear him say. "Love?"

The doorbell rang.

Startled, Smitty let go of her and turned to open the door, found Stinky standing outside. "Did I give you two enough time?"

Smitty glanced at the clock and winced, started for the exit with his friend. "More than we usually get." He stepped outside, forced himself not to look back.

"I hear Red and Wilson did the work in the warp alcove."

"That's right. Including the choice and examination of the crystals. But not the welding. I did that with the help of one of your ensigns."

"You all did wonderful work. Tell the girls—I mean, tell the lieutenants—that they did great work, especially with the crystals. They look perfect."

"I will," he promised, and they stopped to wait for the lift. Of course the crystals are perfect. They have to be perfect, or they don't get sent out as inventory. But Stinky always was paranoid about the crystals. After this, I'm surprised he isn't finding fault even with crystals that are perfect. "It was good to be able to include you in the briefing tonight."

"I thought maybe we could go to the mess hall and eat together before I return to the med bay."

Smitty hesitated. "I was going to take my supper to the library and look for positions for Colleen and me."

"Good. Let's do that. We can both look. I still have the contact information for some of the Academy professors we had. Most of them knew people both inside and outside the Fleet."

If any of them are still alive. Have to admit, I never thought of asking any of them in looking for job openings.

Uneasy Truce

Month 16 Day 10

10:53 Hours

Drake MacGregor

Drake led Bugalu from the mess hall to the library, and to the table where Smitty already sat. He set his dinner tray down next to another computer.

"Okay, what are we all doing in the St Elmo's library?" Bugalu asked as he placed his tray on the table.

"I don't know what you two are doing here," Smitty growled, "but I'm here to look for jobs while I eat."

"Same here," Drake stated. "I had a perfectly good pair of jobs located for Mac and me, and she sent it back as a 4, which I understand is barely above 'over my dead body.' I haven't had time to discuss it with her to find out what's wrong with it."

Smitty chewed and swallowed a bite of omelet, then asked, "What type of engineer?"

Drake looked up warily. "Sanitation. Is that dealing with waste water treatment or something?"

"That depends. Who was advertising for such a person?"

"The Fleet has an opening for a Chief Medical Officer at the Queensland Space Station hospital. And they also have an opening for a sanitation engineer."

"In the hospital?"

"That's what it said."

"That's where she heard about it," Smitty muttered. "It's a glorified term for a janitor. Empty waste baskets, mop the floors, and that includes mopping up urine, blood, vomit. It might include some basic machinery maintenance, but it'll be very basic. Not the kind of job I want the mother of my child to have."

"Oh," Drake felt deflated. "Guess I'd better ask for more details about any engineering positions I find."

"Queensland," Bugalu muttered to himself. "Is just the medical facility part of Fleet, or is the whole station?"

"I'm not sure," Drake answered. "Why?"

"Mac's not limiting herself to Fleet jobs. She has me looking in the private sector, too. And she wanted nothing to do with janitorial work or housekeeping when she joined the Academy."

"Well, how do I find out about any private sector jobs that might be on Queensland Station #1?" Drake wondered.

Smitty sighed "I'll contact them and ask. They'll take more notice if an engineer asks. And I'll be able to tell if there's anything suitable."

"Thank you, Smitty. That's very generous," Drake told him.

Smitty frowned. "I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for Colleen!"

"That's why we're all here," Bugalu pointed out. "We all want her to have the best options to chose from."

Smitty took another bite, studied his computer screen for a moment before turning to Bugalu. "What does she have against teaching?"

"I don't know," Bugalu answered. "Teaching what?"

"Engineering. Of course, she wouldn't be able to start with that, but after a year, I could get her into a teaching fellowship. Working right beside me, so to speak."

"You, teach?" Drake asked in surprise. "Where?"

"The Academy," he answered. "She could be my secretarial assistant until the child is born. But I think I could work it so she wouldn't have to, if she didn't want to. Didn't have time to go into all the details while we were talking, and she told me she gives the idea a 3. Which didn't sound bad, but now I'm not sure."

"You have to remember, she didn't have a great time at the Academy," Bugalu told him. "Men constantly pestered her, especially Baker and his cronies. So she doesn't have a lot of good memories about the place. Plus, unless things have changed, she'd be the only woman there who was pregnant. And she's still young enough that men might pester her for dates."

"And if you don't trust her, that could get ugly real fast, with your jealousy," Drake observed quietly.

"It doesn't help with both you trying to steal her away!" Smitty declared.

"I started this in an attempt to wake you up to reality," Drake told him. "As long as you two are not yet married, I am ready to step in and be the best husband and father I can be. For her sake." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "But it would be in name only!"

Smitty, surprised, turned to Bugalu. "And you?"

"The same. If she goes back to Gaelund and she's unmarried and pregnant, her family would throw her out. It's the way things are done on Gaelund, and she knows it. I'm the only family she's got that won't treat her that way. But yeah, I expect it to be a marriage in name only. And if you can't accept that... maybe she'd be better off not marrying you."

"It is my child," Smitty stated, and Drake wasn't sure who he was saying it to.

"While we're on this subject," Bugalu said, "Captain Burke spoke to me this morning about 3 requests for permission to marry having been submitted to HQ, and they all have Mac as the bride."

"We all knew we had put one in," Drake commented, wondering where this conversation was going.

"She's worried that HQ will see it as Mac having bamboozled each of us into marrying her. Trying to get the best deal she can, if you know what I mean."

"The best deal would be me," Smitty decided. "I'm in her field, I know her abilities, and I know people. I certainly won't send her off to be a sanitation engineer!"

"Is that what you think, Smitty?" Drake asked. "That she convinced Bugalu and I to volunteer to marry her, so she could get the best deal?"

Smitty didn't answer for a long, guilty moment.

"Blast it, Smitty, I thought you had given up the belief that Mac is a conniving, cheating liar!"

"I don't want to believe it!"

"Well, get that thought out of your mind, and do it fast, or I will do everything in my power to convince her I've fallen madly in love with her!"

Bugalu was also upset. "How can you have a happy marriage if you can't trust her?" He picked up the last bite of his turkey sandwich and munched it down, then got up. "Now, I leave you two to your job hunting. I do mine when I get off for the day; I've got my personal computer back on the Fireball picking out jobs that look interesting. So far, most of what I've suggested she's graded as 2s." He turned and left the library, to take his tray back to the mess hall and then probably to head back for the shuttle, since Mac wasn't off duty yet.

Drake considered Smitty for another moment as the engineer studied his computer screen. "How can we help you get this awful uncertainty out of your system?" 

Interrogation

Month 16 Day 10

08:01 Hours

Bugalu

Bugalu had just accepted the helm from A shift, and was about to ask the captain about piloting the shuttle between the 2 ships for the day when she beat him to it. "Lt Bugalu, before you go pilot the shuttle, I want to see you in my office."

"Yes, sir," he agreed, and followed her to her ready room.

Blossom got up and left as they entered. Captain Burke took a seat at her desk, and indicated he should also sit. "What in blazes is going on with MacDowell these days?"

What kind of information is she looking for? Does she know Mac is pregnant? I'm sure MacGregor told her, now that he officially knows. "Well, she's recuperating about as well as one can expect, considering they can't use a healing ray on her burns. She's working 12-hour shifts, but a kind of light duty..."

"I get that much from the daily reports I get from Dr MacGregor," she growled at him, Then she opened a drawer of her desk and took out 3 sheets of paper, spread them out in front of her. "3 Requests to get married," she identified them. "Each of them naming MacDowell as the intended bride. Whose bright idea was that?"

"Three?" I wonder if Smythe thought to renew his request? And was the idea MacGregor's, or did we each think of it on our own?

Burke must have thought he was asking, for she pointed to the papers one at a time. "Smythe. MacGregor. And you." She folded her hands together. "Marriage doesn't seem like a logical step for someone who claims to be her adopted brother."

"Well, she's between a rock and a hard place. I just want to make sure she's got plenty of options to choose from."

"And MacGregor? Is that what he's doing? Making sure she's got options?"

"You'd have to ask him. I don't know his reasons."

She gave a weary sigh and sat back in her chair. "Things would have been much simpler if she'd just married Smythe when they were engaged."

"It became obvious that he believed she was a liar and cheater. She didn't think that made a good basis for a marriage."

"She's right. And as it turned out, he didn't get a response from HQ about his request to marry her, which is why he's asked me to nudge that response along. Has he changed his opinion of her? Or is she willing to marry him anyway?"

Bugalu shook his head. "I don't know. She told me he 'reacted poorly' when he found out she was 'only' 6 weeks pregnant. So poorly that if he did propose to her again, she wasn't sure she'd accept. Then, the next thing I heard, he had done a complete turn-around, acted as if there was no doubt they would marry."

"Let me guess. She still has doubts."

"I think she wants to believe he's completely turned his thinking around, but with her background... her previous experiences... she doesn't know what to do."

"I can't blame her, if he's sent mixed signals." She sighed again. "You can't all marry her."

"Of course not. But on Gaelund, an unmarried mother is ostracized, tossed out of the family. Most turn to prostitution. The rest rely on whatever odd jobs they can find, making pennies to scrape by with. And maybe some help of family members who don't totally blame them for their situation."

"She doesn't have to return to Gaelund. For that matter, she could stay in the Fleet, although her choice of transfers would be curtailed."

"It's all part of her up-bringing, captain. It's hard to change that in a matter of days. And other than me, she doesn't have any family except on Gaelund. Nor friends, either."

"That's a sad story, but not true. She's made a lot of friends on this ship, and she can make friends at whatever position she transfers to." Bugalu frowned, and she asked, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Captain, she has friends here, yes. But how many shipboard friends from when you were a lieutenant do you still communicate with regularly?"

"Alright, you've made your point. But my point remains that she'll need to make friends wherever she transfers to." She looked at the papers, gathered them up and shook them in the air. "And I'm afraid this stunt may backfire. Especially if HQ notices there are 3 requests for permission to marry the same bride!"

That doesn't sound good. "I thought the request was a formality."

"Usually, it is. But MacDowell's record won't show her in a good light. Look how hard we had to dig into her records to understand what had happened on those tugs. And, except for her grades, her record at the Academy isn't much better. Which reminds me, is this Lt Baker on the St Elmo the same Baker who gave her so much grief at the Academy?"

"The same," he confirmed. "Plus, he's to blame for the accident that landed her in their med bay with a burnt back."

"I would have thought Smitty would exert more control over him, if he's such a trouble-maker."

"He laid down rules and gave specific orders, but Baker ignored them. He's in the brig over there, probably saying that he was following Mr Facchini's orders. It worked for him at the Academy."

"Well, we've gotten off the subject," Burke said and laid the papers back on her desk. "I don't want to lose any of you, but if she decides to marry one of you, then I'll happily perform the ceremony. However, since I think multiple requests to marry may only complicate the process, can I at least count on you to rescind your request?"

Bugalu looked at his captain in shock. How can she ask such a thing? No, Mac and I aren't in love, but we have a kind of love, and I won't abandon her in her hour of need. "No, captain, I can't do it. I said I'd marry her, if she needs me to, and I can't renege on that."

"I had a feeling you were going to say that."

"If push comes to shove, can't you simply explain to HQ that we're trying to give Mac as many options as we can?"

Burke shook her head slightly. "I'm afraid they'd be more likely to assume that a beautiful young woman, caught in a bad situation, has convinced 3 officers to give her more options than she's entitled to. And 2 of them old enough to know better than to fall for any such conniving!"

"But that isn't the situation at all!"

"Maybe not. But I'm afraid that's what it will look like to HQ." She tossed the papers back into her desk drawer. "Well, go ahead. Go pilot the shuttle for the day. Don't forget to look in on MacDowell and give her my best wishes for a speedy recovery."

"Thank you, captain. I'm sure she'll appreciate the thought."

Checking In & Progress Report

Checking In

Month 16 Day 9

23:09 Hours

Benedicto Facchini

The curtain around the other bed was drawn back, and Stinky looked up to watch the redhead approach his area. He put down his cup of coffee and waited for her. "You look very chipper, Red."

"I'm feeling good," she answered. "My back feels better; I don't think they've bandaged me up as much as in the past. But look at you. Most of your bandages are gone, and you're sitting up eating real food."

He frowned at his tray. "I asked for real food, but they sent me porridge!" He picked up a spoonful and let it fall back into the bowl. "Toast, butter, and jam; that was what I wanted!"

"Oh, that sounds good, Ben, but I like oatmeal. Which is good, because I've just about been living on it the past 2 weeks."

"Eh, the bambino is playing havoc with your stomach. I have heard about this from my sisters."

"I'm adjusting," she answered. "At least, I think I am. But I'm never sure what will upset my stomach, so I live on oatmeal."

"Have you made up your mind yet? To marry Smythe? He is a very good man. I will vouch for him whole-heartedly."

"Ahh. He hasn't actually asked me to marry him. Again. He keeps talking about it as if it's a given."

"That means he wants it very much."

"He says that, too. Problem is, I've known men in the past who... Well, it wasn't good. Consequently, I'm not sure I can trust him. To not change his mind again. I want to trust him, but..." She shook her head a little. "I'm trying to figure out what to do."

"Do you want him?"

"At one time, I wanted him any way I could get him. But I'm not the only one involved, anymore."

"A bambino needs his father."

"That's not a widely-held belief on Gaelund," she answered, and took a deep breath. "But I'm not on Gaelund anymore. I've got to do the best I can. Maybe that includes Smit. Maybe it doesn't." She reached out and tapped him on the knee. "We're making progress on your repairs, Ben. The north nacelle is rebuilt, and the starboard one should be nearly finished by now. Ivy and I personally rebuilt the warp power alcove, so that's done."

(Ah, changing the subject to engineering. I would guess she really is confused.) "You didn't use new power relays, did you?"

She paused, to figure out how to answer. "If you mean the new design made of a couple dozen different metals, no, we didn't. Fabrication made some new relays of the old design, and that's what we've installed. That's what we're installing everywhere that needs a warp power relay."

"Good. Smitty told me it looked like the new relays were the cause of the crystal contamination, and thus the cause of the explosions."

"They are our prime suspect," she confirmed. "He hasn't been able to find anything else that might have done it. Now, I must go and get my oatmeal and check my email."

"Your young man is being helpful?" Are they young and in love? Bad luck for Smitty if they are. Why would she name Smitty as the father if he's not?

"He is," she confirmed, half turned for the doorway. "But that's what brothers do, isn't it? Give help when you need it?" She smiled and walked out.

But he is obviously not her brother. Why does she keep calling him that?

Progress Report

Month 16 Day 10

00:49 Hours

Smitty

Stinky was propped up in bed, scowling at his breakfast tray. Then Smitty saw what was in the bowl. "Oh, porridge."

Stinky grunted. "They brought coffee, but it's not sitting well without anything else in there with it."

Smitty went out to the ACU console. "Mr Facchini wants toast and jam. He can't abide oatmeal."

The attending nurse reached for a communication headset. "I'll see what I can do."

Smitty went back inside to sit in a chair. He sighed and let himself sink into the chair.

"Your long days are getting to you," Stinky observed.

"I'm not as young as I used to be."

"None of us are. Except those who aren't as old as we are."

"You look better."

"The dermal healing sessions are shorter. I still sleep all afternoon. I only see your lovely bride for about 5 minutes before she goes for breakfast and to report to you."

"Then I'm jealous, because that's more time than I get with her in a whole day. Privately, that is."

"No wonder you haven't managed to convince her to marry you. But you still have time. She told me repairs are coming along, and then you will be back to regular shifts on the Fireball."

"It'll be a few days yet," Smitty stated. "How much longer do you have in here?"

"I'm ready to leave now," he declared. "But the doctors don't agree."

"Yeah, doctors can be a pain in the... neck."

Stinky sat quietly for a moment. "You are aware that one of your doctors is trying to convince your bride to marry him?"

"I'm aware." He grimaced. "Unfortunately, if he's looking for openings for them as a married team, he might have better luck finding a physician/engineer pairing than I've had finding 2 engineer positions."

"You haven't found any?"

"Not as many as I thought I would," Smitty answered. "I did find something at the Academy. I'd teach, and she could be my assistant until the child's a year old. Then I could move her into being a teaching assistant."

"What kind of assistant would she be before that?"

"Secretarial."

Stinky winced. "What a waste of training and talent."

"She can do paperwork. I don't have any doubt about that. But she finds it... unimaginative."

"It's boring, is what it is," Stinky declared.

"It is."

"How did she react to that idea?"

"Oh, I just found it while I was eating. I sent it to her email. Hopefully we can talk about it next shift change. In our 2 minutes together."

Stinky asked, "Do you want to teach? Yes, generally, Academy students want to learn, but teaching a classroom isn't the same as teaching on a ship. You wouldn't have the... variety of crew members at different levels of knowledge. Or the odd little glitch that crops up that you've never seen before."

Smitty smiled. "Those can be fun, tracking those down and solving them."

"Or a royal pain," Stinky added, and laughed. Smitty joined in.

The nurse came in with a fresh tray of food. "It's good to hear you laughing, Mr Facchini."

"I'm glad to be able to laugh," he answered. "Now, when do I get to go on part-time light duty, like Red? I want to get back to work."

"You'll have to ask the doctor."

"Send that good-looking Dr Davis in; maybe I can sweet-talk her into letting me out of here for a couple hours."

The nurse smiled. "Sorry, but Dr Davis is off-shift."

"Oh, just my luck!"

That's right, it's A shift. Drake's working. It could be him that checks in on Stinky. And right now, I don't care to see Drake. Smitty forced himself out of the chair. "Well, Stinky, I'm tired, need to head for the barracks. Enjoy your breakfast, and I'll drop in again."

"Sleep well, Smitty. Maybe I'll be able to drop in on you while you're working. If I do, I'll try not to get in the way."

Smitty nodded and left the ACU, saw Drake talking to a nurse, and slipped out of med bay before the doctor saw him.