She had always hated the waiting, even more so when she was not even certain what she was waiting for.
Hearing the main hatch open, she glanced over, secretly hopeful that it was Rusty arriving with a personal report on the status of their main drive. While the crew member wore the uniform of someone from the Engineering section, it was definitely not the Chief Engineer. The young female engineer looked nervously around the bridge and then moved toward one of the engineering control stations located port and aft from the command deck.
Devereux tried not to let her disappointment show, but still felt the motion of her lips betraying her. She released a small, nearly silent sigh. Shifting her chair into position, she had nearly sat down when she noticed the female engineer puzzling over the inactive console. Devereux watched for a moment and then smiled to herself. It would be something to do while she waited—and it was definitely preferable to hovering near the tactical or helm stations and annoying Hawkes or Pyrafox.
The engineer looked up from the console as she heard Devereux approach. The young woman’s eyes widened and she swallowed hard. Devereux tried to put her at ease with a quick smile.
“Having trouble, Ensign?”
Swallowing again against what Devereux was certain was a nervous lump in her throat, the young woman nodded. “Yes, Captain.”
The ensign’s cheeks were beginning to reveal a rosy tinge. Devereux fought the urge to smile again. Rather than removing the tool from the young engineer’s hands, she reached into the equipment case and took a different one.
“How about if I give you a hand?”
The ensign studied her for a long moment before responding. Devereux was certain that the young engineer feared that a reprimand was coming, or at least some kind of detrimental mark would now be listed in her service record. She patted the surface of the console lightly.
“These old CP3000 stations can be tricky to get into,” she said in a light, almost conspiratorial, tone. “Let me show you a trick a repair tech showed me once when I was an ensign on the Lancer.”
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