If at First... & Try...

If at First… 

Month 15 Day 3

1947 Hours

Capac

Capac looked up from his display of cards on the rec room table and frowned at the redhead who now sat opposite him. “I don’t need you telling me how to play solitaire.”

“I won’t,” Mac stated, and placed another deck of cards on the table, shoved it towards him. “If you’ll shuffle my deck for me.” Her green eyes regarded him hopefully.

He put down the cards he held and picked up hers. After shuffling the deck 3 times, he handed it back to her. She smiled her thanks and started setting out her own game, using just her left hand, since her right was in a sling.

“How long are you going to be in that sling?” he asked.

She grimaced in frustration. “I don’t know. Maybe another week, but I swear that’s what they said a week ago.”

“Maybe you should ask for some healing ray for the shoulder.”

“I have. I’m scheduled for a 3-hour session tomorrow evening. But I shouldn’t expect miracles.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Apparently, ligaments are harder to heal than bruises. Even for healing rays.”

“What rotten luck for you.”

“I’m going to be a leftie by the time I get out of this sling.”

He watched her manipulate her cards rather haphazardly. “You don’t seem very good with your left hand.”

She gave him a half-angry glare. “It’s been typing all day; it’s tired.”

“Typing?”

“Light duty,” she responded, and stopped playing to brush a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. “I can’t even play pool.”

“Why not see a movie? You and Bugs used to do that regularly.”

"Used to," she agreed, and let the suggestion drop.

Somebody further down the table cleared his throat. "Do you want to go to the movie, Mac? I'd be happy to go with you and keep the riff-raff away."

She turned her head to consider the man for a moment. When she spoke, it was without any heat, but with a touch of hardness. "I'm still capable of taking care of myself. I don't need that. I just—" She sighed and returned to her game. "I just need someone to shuffle my cards between games."

"I could do that," said another voice, and Mac looked over her shoulder to Mr Smythe.

"Capac has already agreed," she stated.

Smythe gave the navigator a calculating look. "Perhaps he'd rather organize a game of poker."

"No," Capac returned shortly. The last 3 times I did that, I wasn't even allowed to play, so where's the fun in that?

Mac stopped playing to turn around in her chair. "Am I to stop speaking to Capac?"

Smythe's eyes widened in surprise. "I never said that."

"Not in so many words," she answered coldly.

The engineer sighed and backed up a step. "I'll let you play your game in peace." He turned away and headed for the drink dispenser.

Mac turned back to the table and gave a quiet sigh of relief. "Thank you, Capac."

"Sure," he said automatically, while inside he wondered, What did I do? He glanced at her game and then took another, closer look. "Mac, you can't..."

She held up a finger to stop him. "We agreed not to comment on each other's playing."

"But it's an obvious mistake!"

She gave him a withering look. "It depends on what rules you play with."

Capac scoffed. "It's not solitaire if the rules let you put a black 5 on a black 6!"

"What?" She studied her cards and grimaced, began taking the game apart. "That's what I get for playing cards while I'm thinking about engineering."

"You're on light duty. Besides, I didn't think anything about engineering was over your head."

"I wouldn't say that," she returned. She smiled and said, "It would sound like bragging." She handed her deck of cards over for him to shuffle. "Anyway, it's not human engineering I'm thinking about; it's Yukoskian. And nobody aboard this ship understands that any better than I do. Which is to say, nobody really understands it."

"Well, that didn't sound conceited at all," he smirked and handed her shuffled cards back to her. "Didn't you learn all sorts of Yukoskian stuff while you two were in one body?"

"Not as much as you'd expect," she answered. "What I did learn didn't stick around long after we separated."

"So you really are as much in the dark as everybody else."

She shrugged her good shoulder. "Well, I know the language, and Kolla's always willing to give instructions. I just have to make sense of..." She stopped to consider a card she had just set atop another in setting up her game. "Capac, how much distance would you say is between these 2 cards?" Would you say half a hair's width?"

"No, I would say one is sitting on top the other."

"You might be right," she agreed and flashed him a big smile. "I wonder if I've just solved our problem."

"By playing cards?"

"Could be," she answered, but shook her head, as if to shake the thought away. "Well, I'll research that later. Right now, I promised myself an hour of solitaire."

Capac looked at her in disbelief. "Solitaire is a treat for you?"

Again, she shrugged her good shoulder. "It's a way to relax. Isn't that why you play?"

He left the question unanswered. I play it out of boredom. Pure boredom.

 

 

Try…

Month 15 Day 4

1559 Hours

Smitty

Smitty walked into his office just as Colleen was logging off the computer. "Lt, could you stay for just a moment?"

She didn't look surprised by the request, but she did glance at the clock. "Of course, sir."

Smitty glanced at it, too. It was still seconds before she was officially off duty. "Have you made any progress in automating the daily schedule?" Best to keep this work related until she's— There, now I can ask what I really want to ask.

"The program is ready for Oakhurst to look over," she answered. "I was going to ask if I should send it to him in the morning."

"By all means, do that," he answered quickly. "Would you join me in the privacy dining hall for dinner? Afterwards, I thought we could see the movie. You must be bored, with your forms of entertainment being so curtailed while you heal."

"I can't," she answered at once. "I'm due at Sick Bay for physical therapy."

"We can do it after physical therapy," he suggested doggedly.

"I'm scheduled for 3 hours of healing ray for my shoulder," she revealed. "I've been promised a drink afterward that will satisfy my hunger. Or so I'm told. So all I'll have to worry about is getting some sleep."

"I'll come meet you after the healing ray is done, see that you get home okay," he stated.

She made a slight grimace with her mouth, which quickly faded away. "I've already made arrangements for that." She made a point of looking at the clock. "May I go, sir? I don't want to be late."

At least she made excuses, and didn't just say no. I don't know if that means she's warming up to me again or not. "Yes, your health is important. Go ahead and go."

"Thank you, sir," she said, and left his office.

Yesterday, she preferred Capac's company. Tonight, I suppose Bugalu is seeing her home after the healing ray. If she had any feelings for me, you'd think she'd make some time for me in her schedule. Other than work. Unless... unless she doesn't dare, seeing how easy it was for us to slip into 'talk'. I can hope that's the problem, but if it is... how do I overcome it? If she finds herself alone with me, she retreats into anger.