Montgomery Scott

[[Following this conversation]]

Two hours wasn't really a very long time to wait, though the paperwork Scotty had to do in the meantime made it feel like much longer. In all honesty he probably could have gotten away with putting it off, but this way at least he knew it would be done. And for once, he didn't try to stay a little late when those two hours were up - he'd been told to keep taking it easy, for one thing, and for another, he had a visit from Jack to look forward to.

The minute those two hours were up, he sent a message to the other man, asking if he was ready to be beamed aboard the Enterprise.

Scotty wasn't exactly sure what had happened. He was still somewhat in a state of shock, and he knew that he should head up to Medical and get his arm taken care of, but first things first - he had to make sure his crew was alright. It probably should have worried him that he couldn't quite feel his arm, but there were more important things to worry about. Roping off the area of the blast, for one, and organizing a clean-up crew. Making sure that no one else was seriously injured. Luckily, it looked like he was the only who'd got hit with any shrapnel; everyone else who'd been standing in range seemed to have suffered only minor abrasions.

A few days into shore leave, and Scotty had been to a sheep-shearing festival on another world, had drunkenly visited Jack in Cardiff, and now... Well, now it was time to visit the planet they'd actually stopped off at. And hell, he thought, why not invite Jack along? So he'd called back to the ship to get them beamed aboard, and had gone back to his quarters with Jack in tow to get a few things together so they could head down to the planet.

There was just one minor problem. Uhura had thoughtfully included a swimsuit in the clothes she'd found for him to wear, and... Okay, so it didn't look bad, but... He stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror for a moment, then sighed and pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, and headed back out into the main part of his quarters to finish packing up. He just hoped Jack didn't notice the rather pinkish tinge on his cheeks.

Aileas was gone when I woke up this morning. We both knew it was going to happen, but I'd hoped to spend a bit more time with her. Still, it's probably for the best. A starship's no place for a daemon.

[There's a lot more he'd like to say here. Things like how even if he can't see Aileas or talk to her it doesn't mean she's not there. Things like how much he misses her, even if she's not really gone. Things like his thoughts on the conversation they had before she disappeared.

He's feeling pretty lonely.]

Just as a head's up, the transporters are capable of transdimensional beaming.

[Have been for a bit, actually. He just sort of forgot to say anything about it.]

Scotty had told Jack he'd be done with the turbine rotor in an hour, and he was running late. Not that there was much he could do about it; he'd rather be a bit late than do a shoddy job and end up with a busted turbine. Even so, he couldn't deny that it was a relief when that final blade was properly locked into place. His legs were beginning to cramp from the way he'd had to fold himself around the rotor to even get at the thing in the first place, but overall the satisfaction of a job well done far outweighed the discomfort. Still, it was a relief to be able to stand upright again, when he climbed out of the containment shaft. He tossed the old blades down onto the floor below before making his way down himself, and once on the floor he paused to shrug out of the top half of his jumpsuit; he had on a black undershirt, but apart from that he'd opted to go without his customary uniform today. No need to go getting a good uniform all covered in grease.

After shouting for someone to come gather up the old blades and get rid of them, he made his way out of engineering, not bothering to stop by his office on the way out. Anything short of an emergency could wait until tomorrow. It wasn't until he'd made it about halfway to his quarters that he realized he'd forgotten to ditch his toolbelt, and even when he did notice, it was in an off-hand sort of way; he had other things on his mind. Things like Jack, for instance, and the fact that he hadn't really spoken to him since the virus. And, if he was going to be completely honest with himself, he was a bit nervous. Still, he wasn't about to back out now. A few more decks up and he was nearly at his quarters; a few corridors over and he was there, and there was Jack, waiting for him.

Just a few more adjustments to the transporters and I believe they'll be fully functional in regards to transdimensional beaming. I apologize if I've seemed a bit absent as of late - between catching up on the paperwork left over from the virus and working on this project I've been a bit busy. If I've missed anything, would anyone care to fill me in?

Whether or not he really had been hit with a virus, it hardly mattered to Scotty. The important thing was that even if he hadn't been - even if that physics project was due next week - he had plans for the weekend that didn't involve sitting around being sober. He'd invited Jack over to his world for a night out at the pub, or at least, the closest thing to a pub that he could find in America. Any excuse to wear something other than his cadet uniform, really. He'd ditched his dorm and his roommate as soon as he had a minute, and wandered down to the quad to wait for Jack to arrive.

[Private / Locked]
With all this talk of Christmas going around the community it's a bit difficult not to feel a bit homesick. Funny, that. Go for years without thinking about it and then it's the little things that get you. Still, nothing cures homesickness like a bottle of good whisky.

Well. A bottle of good whisky and a project to work on.
[End Private Entry]

[Locked to Sulu]
Do you have time to sit and talk a bit? Nothing official. Just want to clear the air, so to speak.
[/Locked]