Bones plunged the hypo into Montgomery Scott's lower back. "You've got to stop crawling around the Jefferies tubes, Scotty," the doctor scolded. "Or at least do the stretches that I told you to do."
Scotty smiled sheepishly. "I always forget to do those, Doctor. I'd make the ensigns do the heavy liftin' but if the ship's about to blow up I'd prefer to fix it myself."
Bones shrugged. "That's fair. You should be all set now. Oh, by the way," he added, "how'd it go with Lieutenant Palamas?"
Scotty shook his head. "She left last week. She accepted a position with a university on Earth. Wants to write a book about Apollo." He sighed. "I felt so bad about what he did to her. A woman shouldna be treated that way!"
The doctor put a hand on Scotty's shoulder. "I have to agree with you there. It's probably good for us that all the gods are gone."
"At the very least, good for her!" Scotty got up and made to leave. "You know, I think independence was what she wanted all along. So I'm a little sad but I'm sure she'll do great things."
"You got that right for sure."