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  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you remember that first day when we pulled out of St. Cloud?”

  “Yeah, you and Diane were sitting over there on the pad and waiting for navigation detail to be secured,” he said.

  “That’s when I thought I might as well try for the spec three slot. It’s open and you guys are understaffed with me in it. The Lois is authorized for three spec threes.”

  “Good thinking but how’d you end up studying spec one?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head. “Diane and I were going through the materials and when the nav detail was secured you and I had the watch, so I bookmarked the beginning and just went back to where I had left off.”

  “And?”

  “And it looks like I bookmarked spec one and not spec three. I just never looked at it again. I was so sure I was studying three, it just never dawned on me.”

  “Hmm. You think you could have been a bit distracted?” he asked innocently.

  “You mean by changing divisions and all?”

  “Oh, that might be, but I was thinking about Diane.”

  “She wouldn’t have messed with my tablet—” I started to say and then noticed him grinning.

  “Lemme just point out to you that you and the very attractive Ms. Ardele were playing kneesies on the floor over there for the better part of three stans. I’m just suggesting that perhaps you were not actually thinking as clearly as you seem to think you were.”

  I did not know how to respond and just blushed—really red. Then I got mad because I had spent a month studying the wrong material.

  “Well, I’ll start on spec three tomorrow. I’m too tired tonight.” I sighed.

  “Mr. Wang, I relieve you,” Francis said formally. “I’m assuming you’ve nothing to report?”

  “All ops normal, Mr. Gartner. No maintenance scheduled or performed. You have the watch.”

  I started to leave when Francis stopped me. “Ish, I was teasing you.”

  “Yeah, I know, Francis, but…” I shrugged helplessly.

  He nodded then. “I hear ya, brother. I hear ya.”

  When I got off work, I intended to just go to bed, but that last half stan had set me off. So instead, I hit the track. A couple other watch standers were going in as well, and I saw Tabitha just settling into the rowing machine. We were beginning the day off portion of the cycle. Second and third sections would be covering the whole day that had just begun and I would not have to go back until midnight again. It was not the usual time for first section to be in the gym, but I noticed a lot of us were there. I just climbed the ladder to the track and started running. I did not count laps. I just ran.

  Eventually, my legs said, “Okay, we’re done now. We’re going to the showers and then to bed. You coming?”

  So I did.

  I woke up too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. I showered and went to the mess deck anyway, and Cookie gave me a pastry. I took it and my coffee and went to find Brill. Diane had the watch and waved at me when I came in. “Hey, Ish. This is your day off,” she teased me.

  “Yeah. I know. Is Big B here?”

  She nodded her head toward the office. “Anything wrong?” she asked, looking concerned.

  “No, just needed to talk to her about last night.”

  Diane knew I was not telling the whole truth, but she did not press. “Hang in there, Ish. I heard you did good.” The automated system integrity check came up, and while she was distracted, I headed for the office.

  My feelings must have been written across my face because as soon as I stepped through the open door she asked, “Ish? What’s wrong?”

  “I’ve been studying the wrong stuff for a month,” I blurted.

  “Okay, breathe…in…out…good. Now, start slowly and perhaps throw in a clue about what in the world you’re talking about.” She was being lighthearted, but she was obviously concerned. I was not sure what expression I wore, but I had her attention.

  “Sorry. I’m upset. I’ve been studying to get ready to take the spec three test on the next cycle.”

  “Okay, so far,” she prompted gently with a smile.

  “I’ve been working since the day we pulled out of St. Cloud. I started going over the materials with Diane during the nav detail. Once it was over, I bookmarked my place so I could go back to it.”

  “Keep going,” Brill encouraged me. “Don’t forget to breathe.”

  “I was getting discouraged because I could see that I would not be ready for the next test cycle. I’ve been reading for a month and I can’t get to the end of it. There was too much math and science that was taking me forever to wade through.”

  “What?” Her brow furrowed in confusion.

  I nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. Last night, when Francis relieved me I found out I’d bookmarked spec one, not spec three.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and let it out.

  “Holy crap, Ish! You didn’t notice?”

  I opened my eyes. “Seems silly in hindsight but there’s only the one small notation in the top of the screen. I was so sure I’d bookmarked three that it just never occurred to me to check it again. I expected the material to be hard, so when it was, I just figured that was normal.”

  “So you’ve been studying spec one ever since we left St. Cloud?” she asked to confirm what I was telling her.

  “Yes.”

  “How far did you get?”

  I pulled out my tablet and showed her the bookmarked page.

  “You’re almost through with it!”

  “Yeah, but I don’t understand half of what I’ve gone through so far.”

  “That’s not what has you upset, is it,” she said suddenly.

  I shook my head. “That’s just stupidity. I’m used to being stupid.”

  “Ishmael Horatio Wang, you are a long way from stupid, although if you keep talking like that you might convince me. Now what the hell is going on?”

  I lowered my voice and was overly conscious of Diane just outside the office. “Last night, when Francis pointed out my mistake, he started teasing me about Diane. He said I probably was not thinking clearly because I’d been playing kneesies with her.”

  “That shit!”

  “No, no.” I held up my hand. “He was teasing. He’s a good guy, and I’ve been teased before. He didn’t mean anything by it.”

  “Then what has you so upset, Ish?” she asked gently.

  “What if he’s right?”

  “What are you talking about? You’re not making any sense.”

  I lowered my voice as far as I could while still having it audible over the environmentals, “What if being around Diane distracts me so much that I don’t know what I’m doing? I could put the ship in danger.”

  Brill just gaped at me, and I wanted the deck to open and swallow me. Finally, she said, “You’re kidding, right?”

  “What? No. Why would I kid about that.”

  “Well, Ish, that’s just about the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Do you really believe that?”

  “I didn’t think so. But then again, how would I know? I thought I was studying spec three. What if I had crossed the CO2 with the O2 lines instead? Or something equally stupid and dangerous?”

  “None of us are infallible, Ish. Aren’t you being a little hard on yourself?”

  “We’re talking about the safety of the ship. What if I can’t be trusted?”

  “Ish, let’s be clear about one thing. I trust you with my life. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have you in my section. Not only that, but I trust you with the lives of every person on this ship. I don’t for one instant think your gonads got in the way of your brains. Ever. I’ve seen you work. I don’t buy it. I’m not even gonna rent it for the weekend.”

  “But I studied the wrong damn material for the last six weeks! Is that reasonable?”

  “I’m sorry, Ish,” Diane said from behind me.

  “No, I’m sorry, Diane.” I tu
rned to her. “I—”

  “No, I’m sorry, Ish. It was a prank.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “It was a prank. I didn’t think you’d go this long without catching it.”

  Brill started laughing.

  “What?” I asked again.

  “When we secured from nav detail, you set your tablet down on the station for a second. I changed the bookmark from spec three to spec two. It was just suppose to be a joke. I didn’t realize you were studying it all this time.”

  “What?” I asked a third time.

  “It was a joke, and I’m so sorry.” She looked miserable.

  “Really?”

  She nodded.

  “Oh thank heavens, so I’m not going daft?” I asked.

  “See? Now don’t you feel silly?” Brill asked.

  Diane looked confused. “What?” she asked.

  Just then what she had said sunk in. “Wait, what did you say you did?” I asked suddenly.

  She sighed. “I’m so sorry, Ish—”

  “No, no, it’s fine, but repeat what you just said.”

  “You set your tablet down on the station as we were setting the normal watch. I changed your bookmark from spec three to spec two. And I had no idea you wouldn’t catch it.”

  Brill’s eyes flicked to mine. “You set it to two?” she asked.

  Diane nodded. “Yes, but I didn’t think he’d—”

  Brill held up her hand, cutting Diane off.

  “Just to be clear, you set it to spec two. Answer yes or no.”

  “Yes.”

  Brill looked at me. “Francis!”

  “Had to be,” I agreed.

  “What?” asked Diane.

  “I’ve been studying spec one all this time, Diane,” I told her.

  “No, spec two. I set it to spec two,” she said.

  Brill held up my tablet with the spec one lessons on it.

  “But spec one would be practically impossible without any background,” she protested.

  “And in spite of that our man Ishmael Wang here has almost finished it in a month,” Brill informed her.

  Diane was shaking her head, “But—”

  Brill and I both said, “Francis!”

  “He did spot it as soon as he looked over my shoulder,” I said. “Not that it would be too difficult for somebody who knew what the real spec three looks like.”

  “And he was riding you about Diane,” Brill pointed out. “Hard.”

  “What?” Diane asked.

  I could have died, but Brill said, “Francis was teasing Ish about being so captivated by your feminine charms that he couldn’t see straight, hence his inability to see the difference between spec one and spec three.”

  “What?” Diane said.

  Brill nodded. “To the point where Ish here was ready to resign because he was afraid Francis was right and he didn’t want to endanger the ship.”

  “That’s crazy.” She rounded on me. “I’m a much bigger threat to the ship than you are, you great ninny!”

  Brill and I looked at each other at her outburst. “I don’t think you meant that the way it sounded, Diane,” Brill said dryly.

  “Wait a tick,” Diane turned back to me. “You came down here to resign because you were afraid he was right?”

  “I didn’t know how I could have messed up the bookmark,” I protested. “I didn’t think he was right, but I couldn’t figure out I had made such a big mistake. You’re a hell of a woman and all, but you’re crew. It’s not something I’d do. But if he was right and I can’t really think straight around you…I might not know. I had to allow for the possibility that I’m wrong.”

  Brill sat in her chair with the most incredulous expression on her face. Then she stood up and that got our attention. “Okay, who finds this hysterically funny?” She raised her hand and focused on me. I raised my hand and we both looked at Diane. She raised her hand partway.

  “Not hysterically, but it has its humorous side,” Diane admitted grudgingly.

  “Now, other than poor Ishmael studying for spec one—which he could probably pass—what permanent harm has been done?”

  I looked from Diane to Brill and back again. “Well, as long as we’ve established my idiocy is not related to my lack of emotional control, I’m okay.”

  Brill turned to Diane. “Do you have any problems that we need to address as a group?”

  Diane thought about it for a moment. “Well, since you put it that way. No.”

  “In that case, go clear the ASIC!” she said with a grin.

  Diane scrambled out to the watch station and acknowledged the beeping system integrity message.

  Brill turned back to me. “Ish, you are, without a doubt, one of the most serious, well-meaning, intelligent and sensitive people I’ve ever met, but if you ever let something this stupid get this far again, I will personally strap you into a precipitation tank and let it fill up.”

  “Would you consider doing that anyway?”

  She chuckled. “Don’t tempt me. Now, let’s see how far away from spec one you really are.”

  “What?”

  She held up my tablet. “If you have even half this material after a month, we can have you at spec one by the time testing rolls around. Can you think of a more fitting comeuppance for our devious Mr. Gartner?”

  “But—” I started to say.

  “Sit down, Wang. That’s an order!” she said, but her expression betrayed her amusement.

  Chapter 14

  DUNSANY ROADS SYSTEM

  2352-APRIL-03

  We had about two stans before Francis came back for the afternoon watch, so we had to work fast to come up with a strategy. Brill and I thrashed through the materials for about twenty ticks while Diane stewed at her station.

  “You’ve done remarkably well, Ish,” Brill told me. “But you really don’t have the math skills for this yet, do you?”

  “No, I don’t. I recognize it when I see it, but I’d be lying if I said I understood it.”

  “Okay, let’s go for Plan B. Would you be happy with spec two?”

  “I’d be happy with spec three. The Lois rates three spec threes and she deserves to be fully staffed.”

  “Ish, do you know you talk about the ship like she’s a person?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay, just as long as you’re aware of it.” She glanced at the chrono. “We need to either get a plan or wait until he has the watch and go form a plan.” She headed out into the section and nodded for me to follow.

  “Diane?” Brill said.

  Diane stuck her head out from behind the number two scrubber. “I’m here. Just checking the matrix we put in last week.”

  “We need a plan or at least a plan for a plan.”

  Diane slammed the scrubber’s case closed and came over to us. “I’m in.”

  “Simple is better,” Brill said. “First question, can we all pretend that we don’t know he did it?”

  “I probably can,” I said.

  “I don’t know if I’m up to that,” Diane said. “Under the circumstances, I can’t really fault him for resetting the bookmark. But I don’t like that he was riding Ish. That ain’t right.”

  “Well,” Brill said, “if we take the short approach, Diane will only need to keep it together long enough for a quick gotcha. We’ll be done with him by noon. Is that doable?”

  Diane started to smile. “Depends on whatcha have in mind, but yeah, I think I can.”

  “Okay, here’s what we are going to do.”

  ***

  Francis was prompt. When he walked through the hatch to environmental he was met with a well scripted tableau.

  “Very well, Mr. Wang, since you cannot be trusted, I accept your resignation effective immediately,” Brill said authoritatively. “We’ll find a replacement at Dunsany Roads, and since there are no other openings on the Lois, you’ll be placed ashore there. Do you understand?

  “Yes, Chief. Thank you, Chief,” I said. “I
can’t allow my feelings for Ms. Ardele to endanger the ship any longer.”

  Diane’s face crumpled up and she had to turn away so we could not see her tears. Frankly, I suspected it was laughter she was hiding.

  “Hi?” Francis said uncertainly. “What’s going on?”

  “Ah, Francis, good you’re here.” Brill turned to him. “I understand we owe you some thanks for uncovering Mr. Wang’s weakness for Diane.”

  “Wha—?” he said.

  “Last night, Francis,” I said to him. “You were right. I was so distracted by Diane I didn’t even know what chapter I’d bookmarked in my tablet. It’s true. Whenever I’m around her, I just can’t think of anything else.” I hung my head in shame, and also so he wouldn’t see the corner of my lips twitching as a fought a grin.

  “But—” he began.

  “Ishmael has explained the situation, Francis. Thank you for being so diligent and spotting the problem. The safety of the ship is, of course, our first concern. We’ll be putting him ashore at Dunsany, and in the meantime, he’s going back to help out in the galley where he can’t do any serious damage.”

  “But—” he tried again.

  “That leaves us short-handed. I’ve spoken to Mr. Kelley and he’s doesn’t have anyone to spare, so you’re going to have to cover his watches until then.” Brill was a bulldozer. She just kept pushing and pushing.

  “But—” he tried a third time.

  “I’m sorry, Diane,” I broke in. “I never meant to hurt you.” I had no idea what I was saying. I was just trying to keep the play going.

  “Mr. Wang, I think we’ve had just about enough from you,” Brill said coldly. “You’re dismissed.”

  I headed for the hatch and I could see Francis’s face out of the corner of my eye. He was just about primed.

  “Wait!” he shouted.

  Thar she blows! I thought.

  “Yes, Francis? You have something to add to this conversation?” Brill asked.

  “Is this about the bookmark on his tablet?” he asked.

  “Why, yes,” she said. “It is.”

  “And you think he’s incompetent because he was so distracted by Diane that he doesn’t know what he’s doing?”

  “I believe that’s a fair assessment,” Brill agreed. “You yourself brought it to his attention last night, I believe. At least he had sufficient integrity to bring it to attention this morning.”