I held my hands up in front of me.“It was an honest question.”
“I need you to wait outside while I reroute the power.”
What the hell did that mean?“Outsideoutside?”
“Relax.I need you in the hallway, outside the cargo hold.I may need you to manually restart the power to this sector and it would be better if we both weren’t in here.”
A new, worse thought occurred to me.“Is this dangerous?”
She looked up from the tools she was pulling out of her bag.“I’m playing with electricity and hundred-pound doors.What do you think?”
“Beyond that.”I didn’t want her to get hurt.I could hire another mechanic...
She stood and approached me, not stopping until she was right in my face.“Do you want this fixed or not?I can back off right now if you don’t want me to work on this.”
Torn between fixing upFortunaor protecting Lacy, I hesitated too long.
“I.Am.A.Fucking.Professional.”She poked me in the chest with each word.“I’m more qualified than you to fix this.You don’t need to protect me.I’ve been working on ships since I was a kid and I know this class of ship inside and out.Now act like a goddamned captain and make a decision.”
I looked down at the finger poking into my chest and then back up to meet her gaze.
She was completely serious.And worse, she was right.I had to do my goddamn job.“Fix it.Please.”
“About time,” she muttered.
“What do you need me to do?”
Lacy walked me through the process, explaining each step quickly but clearly, giving estimates of how long the repair process should take.I appreciated the details.
“Approximately two minutes after I cut the power, the lights in here will go out and the emergency lights will kick on.Okay?”
I nodded.
“Now go out into the hall and close the door.”
“Be safe.”
“Always.”
Turning her back in a way that clearly signaled dismissal, I reluctantly took the stairs out to the corridor.Once I secured the door behind me, I planted myself outside the tiny porthole window in the door.
Just as she’d described, the lights inside the cargo hold went out and the emergency lights kicked on.They weren’t bright enough to allow me to see inside.I could just barely hear the clang of a tool against the door.
My breath fogged up the window.Though I knew it wouldn’t help, I rubbed the glass with my sleeve.What was she doing in there?
It wasn’t that I doubted her experience or her capabilities.It wasn’t even worry for Lacy, specifically.I’d have the same concerns if Finn were in there.
Liar.
I could tell myself it was worry for a teammate, the same worry I had when we were on a mission, but that would be a lie.I trusted my team to do their jobs and there was no room for worry on a mission.I needed to do the same for her.
Stuck out here waiting for Lacy to let me know when things were back up and running, I started to pace.It was that or enter the cargo hold against her orders.
The door to the cargo hold creaked open—finally!—and I whirled around to see Lacy standing in the doorway.
At least, I assumed it was Lacy.Grease liberally streaked her face and her coveralls were more grime than fabric at the moment.
I burst out laughing.
