Test
3
Month 3, Day 30
Smythe
2002 Hours
Smythe
exited the lift and headed for the meeting room. Why can I never seem to get to these on time? I’ve never had this
problem before!
He
turned a corner and stopped short at sight of what awaited him. Bugalu leaned
against the bulkhead, his arms wrapped around the redhead, whose head rested on
his chest. Standing next to them, Abdulla looked bored. Smitty started to say, “Lieutenants,
I’ve told you before-“ Oh, what’s the
use? They’ve flaunted protocol since she arrived.
“Mac,
it’s time,” Bugalu stated, but she didn’t respond. “Mac?”
Abdulla
glanced at the other woman’s face. “She’s asleep.”
Again? Still? She should have
gotten several hours of sleep. Unless- Just why is Bugalu here?
“I
wish she’d tell me what her problem is with sleeping,” Bugalu stated, and shook
her violently. “Mac! Time to wake up!”
She
groaned and shifted her weight. “Not yet!” she begged.
“Mac!”
“I
thought she had time to sleep when I sent her to bed,” Smitty stated. “But if
she’s too tired, we can postpone it until morning.”
Colleen
pushed herself upright, lurched around to face him. “I’m ready,” she stated,
trying to blink sleep out of her eyes.
Smitty
was surprised. “Are you sure? You did
just wake up.”
She
tried to stifle a yawn. “That’s the most sleep I’ve gotten in... a long time.”
“Why
are you having so much trouble sleeping?” Bugalu asked.
Well, if she keeps getting
interrupted-
Colleen
blushed as she glanced toward Smitty. “Fear of failing, I guess.”
Bugalu
frowned. “I doubt if Doc can do help with that.”
“Let’s
wait until morning,” Smitty suggested again. “Let you get some extra sleep, at
least until your shift begins.”
“No,”
she refused. “If I miss the movie tonight, I don’t want it to be because I’m
asleep! Anyway, tonight’ll be busy, lots of magazines arriving, so I’ll be
tired in the morning. I’ll do the test now.”
“As
you wish,” Smitty reluctantly agreed, and entered the meeting room.
“Don’t
be nervous,” Bugalu told her. “When you’re done, we’ll still have time.”
“She’ll
do fine,” Abdulla stated. “She knows this stuff inside out.”
Smitty
sat at the table and watched Bugalu gave the redhead a final hug before she
stepped inside. The door closed, and the two women sat down. Smitty swallowed
the lump in his throat. “I understand a movie with Lt Bugalu can be quite...
exciting. Just answer the questions quickly and fully, and there might still be
time for the... second half of the date.”
The
redhead stared at him in confusion, then sudden comprehension came to her. “Oh,
pineapple. Yes, I definitely need some of that.”
Pineapple? Is that some strange
sex position? I’ve never heard of it. Wonder what it might... look like.
“Mr
Smythe?”
He
turned to Abdulla. “Yes?”
She
shared a confused glance with Colleen, turned uncertainly back to him. “Did you
want me to ask the questions? I assumed-”
Oh, blast. I tell her to take as
short a time as possible, then I get lost in my thoughts and sit here staring
at her for... how long? Doesn’t matter. “Sorry, I
was thinking about sex.” Smitty! “Ah, 6. Um, a 6th level
diagnostic shows a slight wriggle in the crystal S356 readout, and an occasional
blip in the starboard Purvis relays, but lesser diagnostics showed nothing.
What would you do?”
“What?”
Abdulla gasped.
“Let
her answer,” he stated, irritated at the intrusion, and turned his attention to
the redhead. Oh, no, she’s staring at me.
White face, unblinking eyes. She’s scared, confused, even shocked. I thought
she knew her field? “What would you do?” he asked again, softly.
“I’d...
I’d... ask for help?” she offered tentatively.
He
tried not to scowl. “Why would you do that?”
“Because
it’s engineering, Mr Smythe, not communications!” Abdulla exclaimed.
“What?”
He thought about what he had asked, felt his face flush and cleared his throat.
“So it is,” he admitted. “Sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”
“Is-
Are engineering Purvis relays the same as communications?” Coleen asked.
“Nearly,”
he answered. “The difference is in-“ We’ll
never get the test done if we get side-tracked into engineering. “Well,
that’s not why we’re here.” He shifted in his chair uncomfortably. “Let’s start
with something simple. The hailing frequency of Podidas.” There was animation in her face a moment ago. Where is it now? She’s
still beautiful. Tall Bear wouldn’t have managed to get her to bed alone and
unmolested. Neither would I. When she passes this test, I’ll have to stay
completely away from her. Just sitting here, she’s got my blood boiling. If we
were alone, we could try out this pineapple position, whatever it is. Her mouth
is so... deliciously kissable. Just once, that’s all I ask. Just one coupling,
in whatever position she wanted. No, that wouldn’t be enough. A night. One
night of absolute pleasure. That would have to be it, though. I wouldn’t dare-
It wouldn’t be enough. I’m not sure a whole lifetime-
“Mr
Smythe?”
He
turned his head, focused his gaze on the dusky face of Lt Abdulla. “Yes?”
“Was
that an acceptable answer? Or were you waiting for something more?”
I didn’t hear the answer.
“Ahh... have you graded it?”
“Yes.”
“Good,
then let’s do sex.” An inorganic noise made his head swivel. Scratches on the
table showed where fingernails had tried to dig in as hands had become fists.
“Colleen?”
“Sex?”
she asked, her voice little more than a whisper.
She’s eager to get to Bugalu. If
she thinks about that, we won’t get the test done.
“We’ll get to question six soon enough,” he told her. He noted the next
question on his screen. Kodalis receivers.
“I hope Clines didn’t get you too confused about Kodalis receivers,” he offered
with a smile.
Her
eyes flew widened. “You know about Clines?”
They were in public! Why wouldn’t I know? “Let’s
just get on with the answer.”
She
licked her lips, squirmed. “What was the question?”
Appalled
at her lack of attention, he read it loudly and slowly to her, then smiled and
nodded in encouragement. Her answer made sense, but she faltered in the middle,
and was struggling by the end. “Not too badly scrambled, then,” he said, and
moved to the next question. She stumbled over her words, backtracked, and
forgot a couple items she should have included. “Are you done?” he asked after
a long hesitation.
“Yes,”
she decided in defeat.
“Relax,”
Abdulla told her. “Take a deep breath, calm down, and we’ll go on.”
Smitty
found himself staring at her upper uniform as it expanded. What a sight. Beautiful when she’s got clothes on. If she didn’t have
them on-
“I’m
ready,” she stated.
“Me,
too,” Smitty muttered. Ready to test the
limits- Test! We’re in the middle of her test! What is wrong with me tonight? He moved his gaze to the computer screen
and read the next question.
She’d
said she was ready to continue, but he didn’t see it in her answers. He tried to
keep his eyes off her, since the sight was so distracting tonight, but every
time he did glance her way, her gaze was on him. Like she’s trying to pull answers from my mind. Never known anyone who
could do that. She’s probably just trying to keep her mind off Bugalu. Her
answers are better; at least she’s offering answers. But they’re rambling,
incomplete... distracted, definitely.
By
the time they reached the 6th question, her answers had completely petered out,
and they were both aware of it. Smitty sighed. “That’s enough,” he said.
“You’re doing better, MacDowell. But not good enough. I’ve seen you studying.
Perhaps it’s time to consider tutoring.”
Every
muscle in her body tensed. “You’d tutor me?”
It wouldn’t be communications we
studied. He shoved that feeling deep inside. “My field is engineering.
Communications is just... ah... like a side dish, you might say. You’d be better
off with a tutor in your own field.”
“Like
who?” Abdulla asked with a touch of anger. “I’ve been helping her, when I can, and
I can’t find anything else she needs help with. Clines can’t tutor her, because
he scrambles everything up and gets her confused. Chun puts her to sleep. Which
might not be a bad thing, because I’m not sure she bothers to sleep, otherwise.
But that’s the sum total of her peers in the field on this ship, so just
who did you have in mind?”
Summed it up nicely, hasn’t she?
Not one to waste words. Obviously, she’s been keeping tabs on Colleen’s
progress. Taking care of her responsibilities. Very good. She’ll be ready for
promotion soon. Hate to see her go, though. Clines isn’t ready to take head
position, Chun never will be, and Colleen-
“Mr
Smythe?”
“There’s
plenty of others who could help,” he suggested. “The senior communications
technicians-” Ouch, that’s a stone cold
glare, for sure. I suppose that idea does seem insulting. But if the techs help
Colleen study, they’d be preparing themselves for their next promotional exam
at the same time. Maybe I can explain that another time. Doubt if she’d listen
right now. “Or she could ask some of the engineering lieutenants. I expect
them to know all the various... ah... side dishes, so tutoring could be a
refresher for them.”
“Ivy
has been helping,” Colleen offered.
“Ivy?”
He blinked. “Oh, Wilson. Yes, she’s a good choice, but not the only choice. You
could work with Adams, he’s on your shift.”
“Not Adams!” Colleen exclaimed.
“Stuff yourself,” Colleen told
Adams and left the deck 11 recroom. Can’t believe I forgot that incident. “Well, there’s still plenty
of others. I’ll, uh... I’ll make a list. Abdulla can help you choose who to
ask. Dismissed.” She was out of her seat in a flash, and out the door, where
Bugalu wrapped his arms around her again. Smitty pulled his eyes away from the
sight. “She started out fairly well, this time,” he stated.
“I
don’t believe it!” Abdulla exclaimed. “She answered all of those questions
perfectly this morning, and another 2 dozen besides! Yet around you, she remembers virtually nothing!”
“She
was half asleep. I should have postponed it.”
“Like
that would have helped!”
“Abdulla,
I’m giving her every chance I can.”
“Tell
me another!’ she exclaimed, her anger over-riding her usual demeanor. “Such intense disapproval of her taking a nap
while we wait for you. You tell her to be quick and succinct, but you sit and
stare at her in utter silence! Then you ask an engineering question, as if you expect her to answer! That was as bad as that first question, when she
first got here! And I thought you were a reasonable man!”
“I
just-”
Abdulla
jumped to her feet. “I’m not done yet!”
Better let her finish, or all
this will fester.
The
woman put her hands on the table and leaned forward. “Just as she starts to get
herself pulled together, you mention sex - totally out of line - and you leer at her - which is so unlike you, but she doesn’t know that - which throws all her concentration right
out of her head! You remind her that Clines confused her, making her uncertain
she understands what he scrambled, and you act like she must be an idiot when
she points out you never actually asked the question. Then you give her that
inane smile and unceasing nods, like you’re only humoring her, undermining her
confidence even more. And when she finally fails, you state she hasn’t done
well enough! As if she doesn’t know
that! Really! ‘Perhaps it’s time to consider tutoring.’ She has been tutored!
Ask Ivy! She’ll tell you Mac knows
this stuff!”
“Unfortunately,
I haven’t-“
“And
when she asks if you could tutor her - which took a lot of guts, I can tell you, because she is petrified of you! When she asks if you would tutor her, you refuse!
Can’t be bothered! You make a lot of silly suggestions that are absolutely no
help, like the 2 of us are so incompetent, we
never thought of-!” She suddenly stopped to take a deep breath, still irate. “Oh,
what’s the use! You obviously are doing everything you can to see that she doesn’t pass probation! I don’t know
why we bother with this farce, month after month! Good night, Mr Smythe!”
He
watched her storm out, his mind busy with all she had said. Is that what I’m doing? Am I really trying
to keep Colleen from passing? It would make my life simpler. But it wouldn’t be
fair to her. And it isn’t like me. Even if I don’t like a new assignee, I still
try to get them up to snuff, like Chun. I even tutored him myself, a time or
two. But I can’t tutor Colleen. I’d
do a worse job than Clines. He sighed and got up, headed back for his quarters. Well, I wonder what tonight’s
dream will be. Bound to be a doozy.
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