Work starts on the cold area, and tension arises.
Rush saw Young tense as Telford walked onto the bridge.
"Everett!"
"David." Young's greeting was polite but held no enthusiasm.
Rush toggled the radio to the suits on the console. "Eli, what's that left of you?" He asked, adding a little urgency to his voice. "No, down a little. No, down...not more left. Yes, that crack there..."
Young's attention had snapped to the screen in front of him again and Rush moved sideways a little with a glance at Telford, the invite to stare over his shoulder implicit. Telford wandered straight over. Bloody Telford.
Eli was examining the crack. It was nothing. Rush knew it was nothing, just a surface mark on the casing, but something that would keep them examining it for a minute and attract Young and Telford's attention. These repairs were routine, Closing off coolant conduits, patching or replacing and turning them back on again. Rush could practically have done this in his sleep. If he was honest Brody could have too. Eli on the other hand was far too distractible and Scott simply had no idea what he was doing. At least Barnes and Atienza were focussed which was a small mercy.
Eli rubbed at the mark with his gloved hand and it smudged across the casing.
"It's nothing." Eli reported. "Just a mark. Lucky cause I didn't want to have to replace this one as well!"
Rush turned back to Telford.
"Colonel Telford." He greeted him neutrally.
"Rush."
Unsurprisingly Telford did not accord him the respect of his title in return, but Rush ignored the slight.
"I understand you have brought some scientists with you." He said.
Telford nodded. "Mr Brody was clear about the experience and skills you wanted to support this round of repairs. I allowed him to select his preferred candidates from the available pool."
But Brody got an honorific. And got his pick of the scientists. Interesting. Maybe he'd have to send Brody back to deal with Telford more often. It would save him having to deal with the man and Brody seemed to have more success getting what Rush wanted from Homeworld Command.
On the other hand there was a good chance that Telford was just trying to either irritate him by getting on well with Brody, or trying to suborn Brody's loyalty from Rush and Young. Rush did not really care. He did not think much for Telford's chances in converting Brody to his point of view, Brody, like the rest of the crew, had a vested interest in staying alive. Telford's pursuit of getting the Destiny stargate to form a wormhole back to Earth at the real risk of damaging Destiny and his more recent interest in knowledge about Destiny which he quite evidently put before the health and comfort of the crew were unlikely to win him many friends.
Brody was back on Earth consulting with scientists who had worked on the Antarctic Outpost and Atlantis. Whilst it was effectively a colony, designed to house a few thousand crew, Destiny was above all a research vessel and the area around the cold zone seemed to be largely devoted to this. If they could establish what some of it was, based on what they had seen elsewhere, their knowledge of the general interests of the Ancients and any historical records that could be found of the Destiny programme, it could make repairing the area and bringing it back online much much easier. It could also potentially give them research facilities of their own.
Rush was very interested in the possibility of actual research facilities. He personally was a mathematician. What he really needed for that, he already had on Destiny; space to write on the walls and access to a really large computer at intervals. However, better medical facilities, the ability to conduct true assays of ores and minerals, better sampling of food sources, these and many other opportunities would make their lives a lot easier and make Destiny a truly viable expedition, rather than a refugee camp.
Rush put the thoughts from his mind.
"Fine." He replied to Telford. "Eli's party will be there for another two hours before they have to return. Colonel Young?" Rush at least was going to retain his manners in the face of Telford's disrespect. If nothing else it made Telford's rudeness all the more obvious to the other crew members on the bridge.
"Yes?"
"Could I borrow Sergeant Greer to give Colonel Telford's scientists some training on the workings of the suits?" He turned back to Telford. "They are dissimilar enough they'll benefit from some safety training and practice in them before I assign them anywhere risky."
He saw Telford bridle at his statement that he, not Telford, would be making the assignments.
"Sounds like a good idea." Young said. He picked up his radio. "Are they waiting in the mess hall?" He asked Telford, then at the affirmative nod, called Greer to deliver the promised training.
xxxoooxxx
The second shift were in the cold zone undertaking repairs. Eli's team had returned and after the suits were refreshed Rush, Greer and two of Telford's scientists, an engineer named Olatunde and a scientist of indeterminate discipline called Wilson had taken over. They were removing a section of power conduit and in theory would replace it with a section culled from elsewhere in the ship.
Young was still on the bridge. Calvos and Chloe were manning the two main consoles as Destiny made it's slow way through real space. Young sat in the captain's chair, watching what was going on with the repairs on a kino feed and absolutely not having flashbacks to Rush's last experiences in the cold area. The hatch hissed and Young looked up as Telford walked over to him.
"I thought you were in conference with Camile." Young said.
"We finished." Telford replied shortly.
"She gave you a full crew report?" Young asked.
"Yes. Apparently things are going very well." Telford shifted forward towards Young. "She was very positive about the cross disciplinary training that's happening."
Young nodded. "We need more people able to read Ancient and able to undertake basic repairs. On the other hand I need all of the crew to be able to defend the ship."
Telford leaned further forwards towards him dropping his voice much lower. "She also mentioned you and Rush seemed to be getting on much better. You'd agreed to a lot of Rush's suggestions for maintenance and repairs."
Young shrugged. "It was work that needed doing. It looks like we're in for the long haul here David. We need a working ship."
"So you've given up on getting home."
Telford's accusation was a little louder than he had intended, judging by the look on his face. Young flicked a glance over at Calvos and Chloe, but if they had heard they were not showing it.
"No," Young contradicted him, "when it's a safe proposition, getting the crew back home is a mission objective."
Telford frowned at him. "When it's a safe proposition? When who says it's a safe proposition?"
"When my science team - who are the experts on this ship - say they are satisfied it's not going to blow us up, I will make the decision."
"So you trust Rush more than me?"
Young huffed out a breath. "It's not just Rush. It's Brody's extensive experience as an engineer, it's Eli and Chloe taking the figures and rerunning the math, it's Volker, it's Park, it's all of them."
Telford leaned in further, face harsh.
"What's going on Everett? What's he got over you?" Telford snapped. "You killed Rush to save me from the Lucian Alliance. What's changed now between you and Rush?"
Young stared at him shocked into silence. He took a few moments to pull himself together and formulate an answer. By the look of it Telford saw his indecision as an indication of falsehood, but he went on anyway.
"David, there's nothing underhand going on. Rush and I have simply agreed on our priorities at the moment. We both know what is important at the moment. We need to fix the cold area."
"Why?"
Everett looked at David. "Why what?"
"Why the cold area?"
"Apart from the fact it just blew out a chunk of the hull and started venting power from a major conduit?" He asked tiredly. "Because the shields are at minimal strength over a whole area of the ship? Because it will allow us access to the second computer core, it will resolve a significant power drain, it will allow us to repressurise and access what seems to be the research hub of the ship. Do I need to go on?"
"Since when do you find research important?"
Young was beginning to get angry with Telford's demands. Since when do you start fucking my ex-wife behind my back? Young reined his anger back in again.
"David, I listen to my science staff. My science staff tell me this is important for several reasons and back it up with evidence. This is not just Rush telling me this. Brody and Eli have made strong cases for this repair schedule also, independently of Rush. The lack of shields, the conduit failure and the hull breach are also posing a significant structural risk to the ship as a whole. Even without that, resolving the power drain and the increased medical facilities alone make it a high priority target for repair."
It looked like Telford was going to interrupt again, but he cut him off.
"This is my command, David, you don't have to like all my decisions, but you are damn well going to have to live with them. I also don't appreciate your insinuations that I am open to coercion or that there is anything that Rush could hold over my head like this. Back off David."
The last words were cold steel bordering on anger.
Telford took a step back. "This discussion is not finished Everett."
xxxoooxxx
Young was sat in the mess hall, spooning soup slowly into his mouth. It had been a long day, it had started too early and he was carrying the tension of it all in a tight band of pain across his shoulders.
Chloe walked into his field of vision.
"Can I talk to you, Colonel?"
He gestured tiredly at the seat opposite him. "Be my guest."
"Uh, it's just that Colonel Telford stopped Rush when he had finished unsuiting and started suggesting…" Chloe paused.
"I can guess." Young said.
He stood, pushing the soup away. "Finish that." He said to her. "No point in wasting it. I'll go see what's happening."
"I left Eli there." She said worriedly.
"It's okay, I'll sort it out."
He left and walked towards where he knew the staging point for the work crews was. Before he was even close he caught up with Telford coming in the opposite direction, his face a mask of fury.
"What do you think you are doing David?" Young snapped out.
"I was having a conversation with Rush."
"Which appears to have gone very well."
"Rush was as obstructive as he always is," Telford ground out, "and flatly refused to give me a report on progress."
"After a five hour stint in one of the suits undertaking manual work?" Young said.
"Mission feedback is standard operating practice."
Young looked around. "Come in here, I am not having this discussion in the corridor."
He opened the door of a vacant room next to them and walked in, Telford walked past him and he toggled the door lock.
"Rush is a civilian," Young turned on David, "he is over fifty, he only had major heart surgery about a year ago and is still recovering from hypothermia and a broken hand. Do you really think he's going to be in any condition to talk to you after five hours of manual labour in a suit? Be real David."
"If he's that much of a liability he shouldn't be undertaking the work."
"I don't care what you think, Rush is the expert on Destiny's systems and the best person to lead the most dangerous tasks like refitting high strength power conduits that I don't want to explode again. Leave my crew alone David. They aren't the crew we expected here, but we're making the best of a bad situation, and the last thing we need is you threatening members of the crew."
"Rush?!" Telford asked in disbelief. "Like he cares."
"In front of Eli and Chloe who do care." Young said. "I didn't hear it from Rush. I heard it from Chloe."
"Rush was being obstructive."
"Rush has worked openly and constructively with the science personnel you brought with you this time David. You brought the right crew for the job and they've got further towards collaborative working than any of the scientists you've brought before. Don't mess that up."
"Chloe is barely a member of the science team." Telford countered.
"Chloe is working on the same math as Rush and Eli, and you don't want to discount her political connections. She wasn't just a pretty face back home, she moved in high circles and still has a lot of friends."
"Who don't know where she is."
"Her mother does." Young said flatly.
The door alarm sounded. Young walked over and opened it. Camile waited outside.
"Colonel Young, I'm sorry to disturb you, but Airman Velasquez said he saw you going in this direction and this was the only locked room." Camile looked from one to the other. "If I'm disturbing anything I can come back later?"
"I just finished bringing David up to date on the work plans." Young said. "We're done now. What was it you wanted?"
Young walked out of the room, leaving Telford and shutting the door behind him
"Chloe told me what happened, I thought you might need an interruption." She said quietly.
"Good call Camile."
xxxoooxxx
Young strode into the core room. "We need to talk."
Rush looked up, as did Eli and Volker, who both ducked away nervously. Rush stared back at him and there was a few seconds of tension before Rush stepped back from the console and stalked past Young out of the room. Young led him into the small conference room next door and shut the hatch, turning as Rush collapsed into one of the chairs.
"Why did I have to hear from Chloe that Telford was getting in your face?" He demanded.
"It's just Telford being an arse." Rush made a dismissive wave of his hand.
"This is a relationship." Young said. "We have a relationship, which means you have to talk to me."
"Does it?" Rush's voice was cold.
"Well it was enough of a relationship that when I forced you to think about it you went off and injured yourself rather than face up to it. Enough of a relationship you didn't mind me kissing you."
"And where do you get that from?"
"The fact that you didn't complain." Young said quietly. He leaned forward. "You could have complained immediately, but you didn't it was only when you thought about what it meant you came and shouted at me, and then rather than face up to it you ran off and smashed your hand into a wall."
Rush stood.
"No, you don't get to run away from this." Young stood and took a step sideways, to stand between Rush and the door.
"What, are you going to stop me leaving by force?" Rush demanded.
"No." Young said. "I don't need to."
Rush stepped forward went to brush past Young. Young reached out, caught him by the arm and used Rush's own momentum to swing him round and back into Young's arms. Young's mind threw up a concept from high school science and pilot training.
"Centripetal force." He murmured and kissed Rush, wrapping his arms round Rush's shoulders. Rush went rigid for all of five seconds. They seemed very long, before suddenly he softened and began to kiss back gently, an arm sliding around Young's waist as his lips played gently over Young's. Young pulled back, looking at Rush expecting sarcasm but evidently Rush had made one of his lightning fast changes of mood and was looking at him curiously.
"You actually know some physics." Rush said with an amused expression. "I'm impressed."
"Space pilot." Young said. "They make you learn stuff, Newtonian mechanics, stuff like that."
Young was hyperaware of Rush's hands, one now sliding up to his shoulder blade, the other on his hip, the thumb just slipped under the edge of his shirt on bare skin.
"So you're trying to impress me with your scientific ability." Rush asked.
"Something like that." Young said. He shifted his weight so his arms were more settled round Rush. "Talk to me Rush."
Rush sighed. "What is there to say?"
"If it wasn't the gay kiss that bothered you, why was it that you punched a wall?"
Rush looked away, face creasing with a frown. Young waited watching emotions play across Rush's face.
"Intimacy doesn't come easily to me." Rush said finally. "That stepped over the line from one thing to another." There was silence. "Space pilot. Is that an official job designation at the SGC then?"
Young laughed. "Yeah definitely." He grinned. "They have to teach you different stuff when there's no down." He said.
"What are we doing?" Rush asked him. "You appear to be enjoying dragging me into a situation where there's no way to work out what's up, down or any other direction."
"I don't know." Young admitted. "I really don't know."
"So why do you keep kissing me?" Rush asked.
"I guess…" Young's brain flailed wildly for a way to explain himself. "I guess like you said, it's the intimacy. It kinda just seemed right. Close, you know?"
"We've certainly been getting close for the last few months."
"Yeah."
He kissed Rush again gently. "It's been a long time since I've been this close to anyone," he admitted, "it's kinda…" He searched for the word.
"Intoxicating." Rush said.
He leaned forward a little more and simply pressed his cheek against Rush's, feeling beard, warm skin and cheekbone press against his own cheek. Rush's long bangs tickling his nose.
"Yeah." Young said into Rush's ear. "Damn. This is weird."
"Shut up Young." Rush said. "I don't want to talk about it." He pulled back again, dark eyes bright and his gaze intense and kissed Young. "But it's not unpleasant." He murmured.
They kissed some more, long seconds of the gentle press and movement of his lips over Rush's and the reciprocation thereof, before Young pulled back. "I don't wanna do anything…"
"I know, this is fine."
"'Kay."