Cynthia followed me from area to area, but I was just scanning things and closing tickets. All of the systems seemed to be working just fine. We never did pass by the medical team, although Mack had called to tell me that Steve was in the medical bay with a concussion.


    Cynthia eventually groaned. “These shoes are so not cut out for walking all over the ship. How are you even still standing?!”


    I glanced back at the exhausted agricultural assistant. “All we are doing is walking. We aren’t even doing any actual work. I guess I am just used to being on the move all day.”


    She grumbled incoherently behind me as we entered the waste disposal area. I scanned a few key pieces of equipment, but other than a few part replacement recommendations for the future, everything was fine.


    If nothing else, all of the scans had been a very good way to make a list of everything that needed repairs. It was going to take months to work our way through the inundation of new tickets.


    I checked the work tickets, but that was the last of the big ones. Mack must have also been closing the former emergency tickets since several had closed without me touching them. All that remained was several hundred minor things that we could fix over the coming weeks and months.


    I sighed as I lowered my Analyzer. “I think that is it for today. It is almost time for supper anyway.”


    Cynthia perked up in relief. “Thank goodness! I may make it through this day after all!”


    I hadn’t been this tired in a long time, and I was also glad that I could probably count my shift as over. I tapped my communication device. “Rachel to Mack.”


    Beep. “Hi Mack, all the big tickets are closed. Is there anything I may have missed?”


    “The big stuff is taken care of. See you tomorrow morning.”


    He had never been much for words. Although considering that I had closed most of the tickets, I knew he hadn’t worked that hard since the system status page said everything was working. Had they still been down, yes, he would have actually put in effort, but when they were working, he wasn’t that ambitious.


    I turned to Cynthia. “Let’s go grab some supper. I want a long soak in the hot tub after we eat, and I think it will be an early night.”


    Cynthia nodded in full agreement as we headed down the corridor.


    *   *   *


    It was days like this I was glad my hair was short since it dried pretty fast and didn’t take much effort to wash or brush. I closed the door to my room and laid down on my bed with a faint groan. This day had been far too long...


    The small portable computer hanging on my wall dinged with a chiming noise. I got back up to my feet with a sigh as I hit the connection button on the incoming video call. I sat back down on the bed.


    My brother’s smile dropped as he looked at me in shock. “What happened to you?!”


    I rolled my eyes. “Let’s just say that it has been a long day…”


    “Uh huh. Care to explain that one?”


    I sighed tiredly. My brother wasn’t about to let go of this subject until he was sure that someone in the crew hadn’t beaten me. “We upgraded the ship’s computer, and it shut off most of the life support systems before one of the techs managed to reverse the upgrade. I had a brush with low oxygen as well as having to help check that the systems were truly up once the upgrade was reversed.”


    He looked surprised. “Your ship got that upgrade? But you aren’t supposed to be in port for two weeks.”


    “Yeah. We stopped the engines and thrusters since we had to do some other important upgrades at the same time.”


    His brown eyes were almost the same color as mine, and his eyes became unfocused as he thought, “Many spaceships also got that upgrade with no problems. Although, for some reason, a few ships went rogue - and they aren’t sure why. The crews ended up evacuating before their ships left port. The few ships they are tracking are just meandering through space with no crew on board.”


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    That was news to me. It also told me that I had just had a rather close call and was lucky to be alive. He focused on me as he recollected his thoughts. He asked, “You have a full day of ship-leave this stop in port, correct?”


    I grinned. “Yep. And I am looking quite forward to it.” Just the mention of it got me excited. I felt a dull headache reappear once more, but ignored it.


    My brother smiled at me. “I hope you enjoy it, but you look tired, so I will let you rest. I will give you a call in a few days.”


    “Okay. Take care, and say hi to Mom for me.”


    “Sure thing. Bye.”


    I disconnected the live feed and changed into my sleeping clothes. I hadn’t gone to bed this early in years, but that wasn’t about to stop me. A good night’s sleep should help me face tomorrow’s work with more grace. And I really hope that these dark areas under my eyes disappear or else those medics may come looking for me...


    *    *    *


    My sleep was restless, and I kept waking up even though I was in bed for almost twelve hours. I rubbed my temples lightly as the dull headache faded once more. I got out of bed and checked my mirror. Thankfully, the dark areas under my eyes were much fainter and barely noticeable.


    I wasn’t tired, per se, but I didn’t feel particularly rested. My scattered and fragmented dreams weren’t anything that I could recall; I just recalled waking numerous times to dispel them. It is going to be another long day today...


    The day passed slowly, and I was proven correct in assuming that it would seem far too long. Steve was still in the Medical Bay under observation for a nasty concussion. Mack was somewhat out of sorts and a bit grouchy without his friend playing pool with him.


    I wandered from one end of the ship to the other with my tasks before I headed towards the Cargo Bay near the end of my shift. Mack was leaving his office and scowled at me. “And just where were you, Rookie? I haven’t seen hide nor hair of you all day.”


    I stopped and stared at him, startled by the unwarranted harsh tone, but the emotion turned into irritation – both of which I carefully concealed. I kept my response courteous. “I was doing Maintenance Tickets, sir. Have you heard if Steve has been released from the Medical Bay yet?”


    Distraction, distraction, distraction... Mack could easily find out where I was and what I was doing by checking which work tickets I assigned to myself as I completed them. He had his knickers in a knot because he didn’t have anyone to play pool with, and the frustration of being deprived of his favorite pastime was obviously not sitting well with him.


    “And just how do I know that you are actually doing those tickets and not just marking them complete in order to look good?”


    I inhaled sharply at the unjustified insult as my irritation swiftly shifted into fury. A fury that I dared not let my Overseer see, lest I lose my job. I exhaled slowly as I clamped down on my anger.


    My headache returned, although I ignored it as I carefully chose my response and kept my tone polite. “Sir, I have truly been doing the work before marking the tickets as completed. I don’t believe I did anything incorrectly, but I would welcome feedback from an experienced crew member such as yourself.”


    The faint flattery and lack of a challenge made him lose interest in this discussion. “I will inspect your work tomorrow.”


    He clomped out of the Cargo Bay with his irritation quite apparent. I kept my polite expression on and remained standing at ease until I was sure he wasn’t coming back. I sighed heavily and kept my unimpressed muttering strictly in my head as I cussed him to the twelve moons and back.


    He would never check my work unless he thought he might be able to drag me over the coals – and I took care to do everything by the book and correctly. That was why I re-scanned everything I fixed, to double check my work. Checking my work also entailed effort on his part, which meant it would almost certainly not happen.


    I glanced at the clock; normally I had no problem leaving five minutes early if Mack also took off, but I wasn’t about to chance it today. That would just be asking for trouble when he was clearly looking for something to take his temper out on.


    He really needed something to do, but he considered the small tasks of the cargo hold to be beneath himself. Wait a second... That might actually work... I pulled out my Analyzer and opened up the maintenance schedule for the cargo crane.


    The Cargo Bay crane was Mack’s pride and joy. He refused to let anyone else so much as grease a bearing or clean a window on that thing. He actually enjoyed keeping it in tiptop shape, regardless of what that entailed.


    The pre-programmed reminder calendar showed that the cables were due to be checked in three days. It wasn’t quite what I was after though... I kept scrolling ahead looking for one thing in particular.


    I grinned as I found it. Once a year, all of the steel tracks had to be degreased and have new grease carefully applied. It took one person most of the day and Mack refused any help with that task. This event wasn’t supposed to appear as a work ticket for four weeks yet, but it was a much-needed distraction for the disgruntled Overseer.


    I took a deep breath and was once more grateful for the advanced software on my Analyzer. I also silently thanked my brother for the book he had given me on how to manipulate its software and trick its systems.


    It took me almost five solid minutes, but the work ticket would now appear with tomorrow’s regular service tickets, and it would look like a calendar prompt. There were no clues in the ticket to show that I had touched it.


    I could, technically, get fired for this, but I was simply doing maintenance more often than required, not delaying it. But there was nothing to tie me to it. I had made sure of that little detail. Calendar prompts really didn’t care who set them up, and it was easy to leave Mack’s name as the original ticket creator.


    My precautions done, my work completed, and my shift over, I finally left the Cargo Bay in search of better company.