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.