No Thanks Necessary

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The more I see of Beglan, the more I like him. He's got layers, that guy. Thanks, Steve!--Maer.


Beglan ran the diagnostic a third time, it timed-out again, before completing. He cursed under his tongue as he saw the smiling icon of the SmartShip system. He looked at the rats nest of wires leading from the CPU he pulled out of the housing, and weighed putting it all back in, or leaving it out, to continue working on it. He didn't like leaving a mess anywhere, especially the bridge, but the prospect of putting all this away only to pull it out again tomorrow was almost too much. He had holed up in the ship since leaving the hospital. He was among the first released, having avoided most injuries, so he had the most time back. He had made a conscious decision to avoid the captain and the drama regarding her sight, and the betrayal. Things were still new, wounds too fresh, nerves too raw. He knew he needed to be patient, let time resolve what it could, then he could help. The rest of the crew seemed to be in emergency mode, treating their psyches like bleeding injuries or ruptures to the hull. Beglan knew that the soul was both hardier than those and more difficult to fix.

---

Friday, 14 Nov 2521
Johannsen/Earhart Ranch
1600hrs, local time


Rina found Beglan on the bridge and taking in the line of him, she could tell the Smartship was griping the hell out of him.

"Let me guess," she said as she pulled up next him on the deck. "The bastard timed out again?" Rina had the system plan she'd drawn up rolled in her hand and she held it up for emphasis. "Finally got that sucker mapped out. Wanna see it?"

---

Beglan takes a look at the diagram Rina hands him and chuckles. It looks more a mess than what he was looking at. "Your guesses are as good as mine. I think this issue is just one of processing power. I was able to see a spec-sheet on the Cortex, and this little thing is nowhere near what they should have. But I am guessing we don't have the credits to afford what they want in here."

---

"Story of my life." Rina cut an eyeroll. "Welcome to my nightmare. Got any suggestions on a hack-around?"

---

"Those door jams are looking mighty nice about now" he snorts. "I'd say we plug'er back in, and start testing systems one by one. Map them all, then at least, we'll be able to do what we need to. The Pads will take RF signals, so we could buy some cheap Datapads, and write a program to synch the correct commands with the ship's. We could either carry them on our persons, or glue 'em to the wall. One per person'd be cheaper. Good for crew, not so good for passengers. That might be an issue. All this shiny tech, but no way to use it."

---

"Sounds like a plan." It did really. "Thank you. I'd've gone nuts days ago without you here. And I also want to thank you for saving my ass back there. I should have said something long before this and I'm sorry I didn't." She thrust out her hand. "Thank you."

---

Beglan looks a little puzzled. But he shakes her hand nonetheless. "When did I do that?"

---

"I had the apprehension that I'd fallen fighting the stitches and you'd discovered I was still breathing. Even though I'd looked dead. Given how frantic everything was, I'm certain we’d have had to leave my body behind had I actually kicked it. So ...," Rina explained and ducked her head, not entirely comfortable bringing the subject up. "Thank you."

---

"Ah that. Now Rina, I thought ye where a soldier once? Me mates in the service said ya never thank someone for saving yer skin in combat, makes 'em think it’s an option. You're right though it was a mess, things got pretty hairy there, I wish I could've been more help."

---

"True on all counts." She looked up. "But I'd've thank you back then, too. Privately. Like now."

She spread the plan she'd made on the deck and smoothed it down with her hands.

"Have you given any thought to staying on with us when we leave here? I mean, for all You Go knows, we're installing the power stations they gave us. For all I know, Byshek or Potemkin took them and sold them, and we're still under contract to install them."

---

"If the past is any measure You Go has already sent that to insurance, so we can expect collectors after us on that." He looks a little chagrined. "Captain'll have to write a theft report, and that should handle it. Worst case we get dropped from the corporate books as an insurance risk. Sorry about that." He sets his tools down for a bit. "As to stayin on, I gather that is up to the Captain to decide. I'd be proud to fly with you, I think I could be of some good, but depending on how often you get agro, ya might not want me."

---

"I'll check with Joshua on the theft report and as for staying on, I'm going to petition command to keep you aboard. This girl’s a bigger ship than I've flown in years, maybe ever, and I'm going to need an experienced hand to keep on top of things. Kiera's helpful as she knows how but she's not an engineer. Besides, til I get back to fighting strength, I'm not really able to do my job as it is. I need you here. As for the rough and tumble, I don't have a fix for that. Trouble does seem to follow us around. I'm hoping we've given everyone the slip, but there's no telling that one. I wish I had better to say to you, but that's what I've got."

---

"I'm happy to be aboard, those You Go jumpsuits never did feel quite right. I do miss the calling of the black, and one thing is for sure, it has never been boring!" He gives the CPU the tiniest of kicks and brushes dust off his pants, then his hands. "Ya know, if we had a bigger processor, we might be able to get that diagnostic to run, and then it might be easier to get a real schematic by pinging the outnodes with short pulses. This little tyke ain't up to it, but we might be able to find one in the scrap yards. Ain't Boros famous for those?"

---

Rina pitched her voice a note or two higher and clasped her hands together, begging, "Captain? Can we have some money for a road trip? And a new processor? Pleeeeeeeeze?"

---

Beglan laughs and begins to pack away the wires and feeds for the CPU and focusing his attention on the work he keeps speaking to Rina. "When yer blood gets spilt more an once together, it changes things doesn't? You become like a family. You can't really be deal making and oath taken at that stage. It's why ya'll are havin such a time with Kiera. She's bushed you bad, but she's family now, and can't just push her out. She tried to leave on her own, but it doesn't work that way does it. She tried her best to cut those strings, but even she couldn't a done it."

---

"No, I suppose not." Rina sobered. "But even family members can be driven away if angered enough. Which is what I gathered happened with her, only with Kiera it didn't come without payback." Rina sighed and taking her cue from Beglan's tidying up, rolled her plans. "She's ... She and I aren't 'having a time', as you put it, but we are working together. It's more like a serviceman's camaraderie at this point than true friendship. For that, you have to trust each other and despite appearances, I don't have that with her. Not completely. You know the saying: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." She didn't like saying it about a woman who'd saved her life twice--maybe thrice or more--but neither did she want to misrepresent the situation. "Kiera's not quite either but falls somewhere in between. I've been dangerously close to standing in her shoes more than once and there's no way I could leave her to stand alone where she is now. I know the rest of the crew doesn't quite get it, but that's how it is."

---

Beglan does his best to hide a knowing smile. "I dinna say you'd be friends. I've got a boatload of kin back home, but I wouldn't call 'em friends, but for maybe my youngest sis. That's not really my point. When you're linked by blood, it never goes cold. It might go dormant for a bit. But it's not my place to be telling you, what you're feeling. I was just explaing my own. I've bled with y'all, more’n once. And I din't regret it, so where'er you go, I'll go too."

---

Rina gave his arm a squeeze and nodded.

"Thank you. I'd really like that." She expelled a pent breath and wrinkled her nose at him. "And now that we've got the embarrassing stuff out of the way, let's go corner Joshua and see if we can't talk him into getting that processor."

---


Go back to: Timeline Season Four, April 2521 to Dec 2521

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