1. Wee Bit (Montgomery Scott)

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(Published August 3, 2023)

   "Eleanor," Scotty called from across the engine room.  "Could you help me for a wee bit?"
   I stood from the project of rewiring lights that he had given me and gave him a thumbs up.  Setting my tools to the side out of the way, I started off in his direction.  When I arrived, he was leaning against some pipes, peering back into a dark corner. 
   "Yes, sir?" I greeted. 
   "Ey, lass, can you crawl in there?  There ain't no way I'll fit and Keenser here is too short, the bugger." He gave Keenser a pat on the shoulder to show he was just picking on him. 
   I gazed at the gap between the pipes, thinking it over a moment.  "I should be able to, but what all do I need to do in there?"
   "Well, some bloody fool decided to put the control panel to the escape pods back in that wee space, so I got no way to update it.  You'll have to open the panel, plug in the cords, and use my PADD to update the main drives.  Should only take a bit." 
   I nodded, brushing my dirty hands against the pant legs of my coveralls before taking his PADD.  "Be back shortly." 
   "Careful in there, lass." 
   Stepping onto a somewhat sturdy pipe, I crouched in front of the opening.  It really was a terrible design.  As I examined the situation, I realized it'd be smarter to go in feet first and distribute my weight on two different pipes down below to avoid breaking any parts on the ship.  The trick would be actually landing on the two pipes and not breaking any body parts.  I tucked the PADD in the pocket on the front of my coveralls and stuffed my feet into the small gap between the pipes.  Then, using my arms to steady me, I lowered myself down to the two pipes I would stand on and easily found my footing.  I breathed a small sigh of relief at that.  
   Once I was steady on my feet, I released the pipe I had been holding on to.  Instead, I grabbed the one in front of me and used one arm to put some of my weight on that one, too.  With my free hand, I pulled out the PADD and set it on my arm that was on the pipe to act as kind of a stand.  Yanking the cord free from my pocket, I plugged it into the device and then turned my attention to the panel.  A plastic covering stood between me and the outlet.  I knew I'd bust my almost nonexistent fingernails if I tried opening it by hand, so I reached into my pocket yet again and pulled out a flat head screwdriver.  
   "Bloody hell, I'm glad she's willin' to do this," I heard Scotty mutter from back where he was standing with Keenser.  "I'd be cursin' and shakin' like a leaf if I were pullin' a stunt like that." 
   I couldn't help but snicker a little at that.  If anything went wrong, I would end up cursing, too.  Still, knowing he was glad I could help with this made me happy.  I liked working with Scotty, so helping him out was something I would often volunteer to do.  
   Trying to pry off the plastic panel with one hand was an interesting feat.  After a long minute, it finally popped open, swinging stiffly on it's flimsy hinges.  I quickly stuffed the screwdriver back in my pocket and fumbled a moment as I tried to find the unplugged end of the cord.  Finding it, I plugged it into the open outlet.  The PADD beeped as it connected and began parsing as it tried to open the screen that would let me update it.  Before it would load, it popped up with a small red window.  
   "Scotty, it's wants a security code," I called to him.  
   "Does it say who's code?" 
   "Nope." 
   "Well, try mine, then, lass."  
   He rattled off his code (which I won't write down for security purposes ;) ), and I tapped it onto the onscreen keyboard.  The window took far too long to load, but did accept his code.  Calling out a quick 'thank you', I clicked the blue button that said 'update'.  After more parsing, a new window popped up with a progress bar.  As a sliver of blue crawled onto the grey bar at a snail's pace, I realized I was going to be here for a while.  
   "How's it comin'?" Scotty called after a few minutes.  
   "Fifteen percent," I informed him.  "It's not speedy." 
   "Of course it's not, why would technology be nice, eh?" 
   I laughed quietly to myself.  Technology wasn't typically my friend, either.  That's why I did a lot of the exterior repairs with my hands and physical tools.  
   After what felt like a good ten minutes, the blue line finally swallowed the grey and the percentage read 100.  I closed the window on the PADD before unplugging it.  The PADD got tucked back in my front pocket and I wound the cord up before stuffing it in my smaller side pocket.  I had to give the plastic cover a good smack to snap it back into place, which took two tries.  Once everything was put away and back together, I carefully turned around on the pipes to see if I couldn't figure a way out of my current spot.  
   The pipe in that was now front of me was at stomach level and the ones behind it were just a few inches above it.  The only way I could get back to the platform where Scotty waited was to clamber over these metal structures.  Shaking my head slightly, I placed my hands on the nearest pipe and jumped very lightly.  It was just enough to get my hips against the pipe, which was what I needed to be able to swing my leg over it.  The pipe creaked alarmingly at my weight, so I didn't waste any time.  Swinging my legs over it, I quickly moved to the next pipe and the one after that before making it to the platform.  Getting to my feet, I let out a breath of relief and ran my hands over my pulled back hair.  
   "You a'right there, lass?" Scotty scrambled to his feet from where he had been sitting with Keenser on the platform.  "How'd it go?" 
   "Good," I assured him.  "The pipes just didn't like all my weight, that's all." 
   He chuckled.  "Cheaply made rubbish." 
   "Something like that." I laughed with him as I handed back his PADD.  "Should be all updated, though."  
   "Thank you, Eleanor.  I appreciate you bein' willin' to help with that," He told me, holding out his hand.  
   I took it, giving him a candid grin.  "Anytime.  I don't mind the break from my routine jobs one bit." 
   To my surprise, he clasped my hand a little tighter.  I watched in surprise as he brought it to his lips and pressed a small kiss to the back of it.  Then, he released my hand and gave me a single nod.  His cheeks tinged slightly pink and I knew mine probably looked very similar.  
   "Anyway, uh, thanks again," He stated, turning his attention to his PADD.  
   "See you later," I replied.  
   With a soft grin on my face, I turned and headed back to the lights I had been working on before he had called for me.  I didn't know why he had kissed my hand or what it meant, but it sure made my day!  No guy had ever done that to me before.  And the fact that it was Scotty, a man I respected and enjoyed being around, made it even more exciting.  Well, and a wee bit nerve wracking.  What did it mean?  

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