Chapter 2

I woke up the next morning with a headache. Not one of blinding pain that couldn't allow me to move, but a throbbing one in the back of my head that was ever present. I attributed it to my sleepless night, but reluctantly I made an appointment with sick bay and went to breakfast.

The din almost prove to be my maker. I sat down at the far end of the chow hall, nursing a cup of water and small bowl of oatmeal. The muttering and talking and yelling rang in my ears, making me wish for a pair of sound canceling headphones. I longed for the smooth jazz of home with Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong gently crooning in my ear.

I finished my cup of water and glanced at my watch- another outdated piece machinery that I was very fond of. It had a black leather wristband with a smallish face. It was worn, and I had replaced the batteries in it many times, but I had grown attached to it. Right now it told me I was going to be late for my shift.

I placed my tray with uneaten oatmeal in the disposal bin. Hopefully no one had noticed the waste of food. I could hear my mother whispering in my ear "breakfast is the most important meal of the day." It was an old adage that she had picked up. Shaking my mother's voice from my head, I quickly made my way down to the engine room, my headache an annoying companion.

I arrived at the engine room, and I adjusted my red shirt over my slacks. Being one of the only woman who worked in engineering had its perks. I didn't need to wear a dress like most of the female crew. I opened the door and was immediately called out by the Chief Engineer.

"Ensign? What are you doing? I gave you today off." Mr. Scott walked up to me, still in the doorway. I froze for a second and slowly said,

"What do you mean you gave me the day off? I was scheduled to work today. I was on call." Mr. Scott shook his head, looking slightly exasperated.

"Ensign Cowell, you're going to tire yourself out! You must rest! Lass, you're a good engineer, but when you're tired, you get sloppy." The words slightly stung, but I shook off the hurt and smiled.

"Mr. Scott, I appreciate the concern. I really do. Right now, I'm all right. Can I just work half day and call it good?" Mr. Scott rolled his eyes but laughed slightly, his hand running through his hair.

"All right, but no more than that!" He shook his finger at me and laughed again. "Never thought I would be fighting a crewman to not work." I laughed with him and walked in when he moved to let me into the engine room. I saluted to him and then walked to my station. I clapped the man there on his back. He turned,

"Ensign Cowell, what are you doing? I'm here for the day." I smiled and laughed,

"I've convinced Mr. Scott to let me work a half day. I am relieving you of your post. Come back after lunch." Ensign Howard smiled; his white teeth flashed, making my heart beat slightly faster.

"Thanks, Ensign Cowell! I won't forget this. My fiancé will appreciate it too!" He stood and patted my back, grabbing his stuff and running out with his communicator already in use. I sat down in the still-warm chair, sighing. I berated my heart for beating so fast when Ensign Howard smiled. I stared at the switchboard for a few seconds, and then began to get to work.

I mostly made sure that the engines were running along, chugging through outerspace happily. Right now all seemed well, until I noticed a little blip in the control room upstairs, meaning that one of the individuals upstairs needed help. I glanced around the fairly empty engine room. I flipped open my communicator,

"Mr. Scott, they need help up in the control room. Should I go?" I waited a moment, before a busy Mr. Scott came in over the my communicator.

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead." I nodded and responded, confirming I heard him, and hit a button, marking my post as busy.

When I arrived to the bridge, and the door opened to show who was in the engine section, I almost groaned out loud and shut the elevator doors. There's sat Officer Jamie – a man who thought it was his duty to try and "bring me out of my shell." Whatever that meant. He glanced over and grinned. His white smile against his olive complexion shined, and his brown eyes glistened mischievously. I sighed and walked over.

I crossed my arms and glared at him.

"I saw someone needed assistance up here." Officer Jamie nodded, smirking and crossing his arms over his red shirt. "Yeah, I heard you would be in the engine room, and I knew you were the expert at fixing fixing blinking lights, so I called you up here." He showed me where the problem was. It was a simple wiring problem that really was something officer Jamie should be able to do, but I didn't fight with him since that's what he would want. I climbed under the controls and open the panel. Dutifully, I got to work. I ignored officer Jamie's attempts for discussion, trying not to smile at his stupid jokes. I methodically worked, twisting and untwisting wires. As I worked I let my mind wander on why I disliked officer Jamie so much. I mean he was good-looking and obviously was interested in me. Perhaps I didn't like the look in his eye when I caught him looking at me. I definitely didn't like his pushiness. He was yet another extrovert who thought it was his duty to try and make me just like him. Well, no sir, that was not Riley Cowell, and she changed for no man.

As I worked on the switchboard, my headache receded into the back of my head, not gone just forgotten. It wasn't until officer Jamie had told me the problem was fixed that I stood up and stumbled that my headache was remembered. The blood rushed to my head, and my vision started to darken. I heard officer Jamie say,

"Ensign, are you okay?" I reached for the panel, to support myself.

"Yeah, yeah. Fine. I just stood up too fast. Anyway, that should do it. The panel is properly fixed." I stood, holding the panel a moment more before I let go and walked by Officer Jamie, who swaggered next to me, stopping me before I could get to the elevator.

"Riley, would you like to get dinner later? Maybe catch a movie in the rec room?" He smiled at me again; his brown eyes crinkling at the corners. I sighed annoyed. However, before I could tell him no, the elevator opened, and someone stepped in.

"Are you going down?" First officer Spock asked. I blanched. I turned to face him. As soon as he saw my face, his eyebrow quirked, no doubt recognizing me from the night before. It took me a quick second before I realized what he said.

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry." I stepped into the elevator before quickly replying to the officers offer. "No, thanks, some other time." The elevator door shut on officer Jamie's disappointed face, leaving myself in a small elevator with Mr. Spock.