Caelian pasted on a polite smile as a pair of officers wandered past conversing over a PaDD between them. One shot him a confused look, but didn’t stop to voice the concern. The ensign wouldn’t have expected anyone to be alarmed by an engineer leaning against a wall. After all, someone had to hold it up, didn’t they? It was part of his job description to ensure the safety and integrity of all systems and structures aboard the Ogawa, and that included the very bulkhead upon which his shoulder rested. It could certainly use a bit more padding for comfort, perhaps a replicator close at-hand for a bite should one desire it in such circumstances, but all in all it was a very sound bulkhead indeed. In point of fact, it was so well-constructed that there was absolutely no need for him to linger further for—

“Cael?” a bewildered voice called, nearly sending him out of his skin. “Is that you?”

Turning, he spied a familiar-looking woman blinking at him from an open turbolift door. Sophia Jackson was the last person he thought he’d meet aboard the Ogawa, considering her disappearance after the Ark Angel returned home from another galaxy. Before he could form a coherent thought, her diminutive weight plowed into him at warp speed; thankfully, his earlier assessment of the bulkhead proved accurate, and Caelian maintained his footing. He grunted a chuckle through her crushing embrace and tugged on her ponytail.

“Soph,” he wheezed, “Lungs. Air.”

The woman pushed away from him with a thin scowl, folding her arms beneath her breasts and glaring. “Happy to see you, too, boss.”

“That’s not what I said at all, monella,” he chided playfully, and her stern demeanor cracked. “It’s hard for someone to express joy when they’re deprived of oxygen. What are you doing here?”

She shrugged, puffed at an errant strand of hair dangling in front of her vision. “I’m part of your engineering team. I guess the brass felt you could use someone to babysit you after…”

“After I almost got blown out into space by homicidal aliens trying to take over the Viking?” Caelian barked a laugh and knuckled the stubble on his chin. “You can say it, Soph. I’m still alive, and I’ve come to grips with what happened. No need to ‘babysit’ me.”

Making a rude noise in the back of her throat with a disbelieving expression on her face, Sophia planted her fists on her hips. “Re-e-eally. Then why are you loitering outside the counseling suite like a valakian life-statue?”

“Maintenance,” he lied, unable to meet her gaze. Finally he withered underneath her mocking sneer. “Okay, yes, I’m loitering. You should know how much I hate these things, having to reopen old wounds and muddle through all the stuff I’ve had to deal with since the Academy. I’ve got a handle on it!”

She flicked the tip of his nose and shook her head, blonde ponytail hushing against her uniform. “Boss, we were flung halfway across the universe and nearly died getting home. L’Nel almost died because of that contraption you cobbled together—”

“That’s low, Soph,” he grunted. But she wasn’t wrong.

“—and you almost get blown up again on your last assignment. That doesn’t just heal up like a mangled limb, and you know it. You need to get your backside in there and have a professional clear you for duty, just like every other Starfleet posting. If not, I will personally march up to the bridge and notify the captain that you’re ignoring your duty, get you sent home. And since I technically outrank you now, I can do that.” She tapped the pips on her collar for emphasis.

He flashed an empty smile. “Lieutenant junior grade, eh? Brava. You deserve it.*

“So do you,” she murmured sympathetically. “But not if you’re not willing to follow basic protocol.”

Putting a hand on his shoulder, Sophia gave him an imploring look for a long moment. Caelian felt his excuses melting beneath the weight of those liquid brown eyes. Had they always been brown? Finally he took a slow breath and sighed, “Fine.”

“Great!” Her self-satisfied expression as she nearly danced away made him want to throttle her. “I’ll check in on your later, boss! And don’t think you can hide from me; my quarters are right across from yours. Good luck!”

Scowling at her back as she disappeared from sight, Caelian pushed away from the wall with a dejected grunt and stepped into the counseling suite. Just a quick in and out check-in for duty clearance, he thought bitterly. Easy, right?

That was the hope, anyway.
—Caelian Weir, Engineer—