“Heck of an engineering space you’ve got here,” Ra-tesh’mi Velan declared loudly as he stepped across the open threshold between the rest of the starship Canopus and Main Engineering. Large doors were left open during normal operations, letting people come and go as need be without hindrance, but it meant those same doors weren’t there to serve as the final barrier separating the fiefdom of Engineering from the rest of the ship.

“Quite,” the man next to Ra said. Where Velan was all smiles and seemingly full of energy, Evan Malcolm brought a dour mood with him. Dark eyes were half-hidden under a glowering brow. Evan shook his head briefly, then focused on their host, who was walking towards the two men, summoned by Velan’s loud introduction. “Commander Black, you requested both of us?”

“I believe, Lieutenant Commander, that I summoned you.” And to make sure Evan didn’t feel too much like he was being picked on, she turned on Velan. “Both of you.”

And Velan, for his part, nodded deeply, not quite going so far as a bow. “In that case, we are yours to command, Commander Black,” he said with an easy charm.

“Speak for yourself,” Evan grumbled. “Though I was informed that Republic’s engineers are at your disposal,” he admitted to Ana Black begrudgingly. “What does Canopus need?”

“Anyone ever tell you that you get more flies with honey than vinegar?” Ana directed at Evan as she led both men back towards the flat display table that dominated the central working space of Engineering.

“Plenty of times,” Evan complained.

Ana said nothing in response as she double-tapped the glossy black tabletop surface, causing it to spring to life with a schematic outline of Canopus from a dorsal perspective. She positioned herself on one side of the table, her two juniors opposite her. Hands settled on the table, towards the aft of the Odyssey-class starship, pulling apart and zooming in on the far end of the stardrive section.

“This will be good,” Velan half-whispered. “I haven’t read any mention of damage to Canopus in any of your escapades of late.”

“And you wouldn’t have,” Ana answered. “Because my people know their job.” She tapped at a portion of the schematic, which highlighted an entire section of the hull, blinking twice as it changed colour to draw attention to it. “This is the plug that was installed when Canopus was initially built, since she wasn’t assigned an Aquarius-class vessel to start with.”

“And you want to remove it,” Evan concluded. It was the only reason to bring it up. “The Providence Fleet Yards are not far from here. I can reach out to a few contacts and get Canopus put on a priority list for such a routine procedure.”

“I have access to three starship engineering departments, a docking slip at Thames Station that actually can accommodate Canopus and a Commodore who wants this done yesterday.” Ana looked up at Velan. “The Commodore told me to tell you specifically she means that figuratively, not literally.”

“Hey, I’m just as much a victim of temporal shenanigans as she is,” Velan protested weakly. “And from what I’ve learned speaking with other engineers, DTI hate when engineers even think about fiddling with time to speed up their work.”

“I have to protest this ad hoc work,” Evan said, ignoring Velan’s statement. “The Providence Fleet Yards are better equipped for this-”

“We’re doing this here,” Ana interrupted. “Your protest is noted, Lieutenant Commander.”

“This slip you’ve secured, short-sleeve work, or EV suits?” Velan asked. He had waited a moment, gave Evan a chance to continue the exchange, then continued on, diving into the meat of the matter. “And do they have a gantry tractor, or we using workbees for the final removal step?”

“Enthusiasm. I like it.” Ana took a moment to think, recalling details from prior conversations. “EV suits. But they do have a gantry tractor.”

“Small miracles,” Evan grumbled. “If we’re removing the plug, we’re obviously reactivating the umbilical connectors for an Aquarius, yes?”

“Eagle-class escort, actually. USS Theonoe. She’ll be arriving in a few days.”

“I’ll take the lead on that effort, if you don’t mind.” Evan’s tone left little room for question, coming across as more of a statement than a request. “A number of Republic’s engineers are former shipyard workers, and we’re familiar with the Odyssey-class systems. We can have the connectors refurbished and online within three days.”

“Guess that means my people are helping yours with the grunt work outside?” Velan asked.

“You’re taking the lead on the exterior work. I have a team ready for the work, but the team lead isn’t as experienced with external work as I’d like. I was hoping you’d be up for a touch of mentoring.” Velan nodded in acceptance of Ana’s request. “I’ll be taking the lead on internal works; you’ll be assisting me, Mr Malcolm.”

It was a good sign when Evan didn’t protest further, merely nodded. “If your team,” he addressed Velan while pointing at the schematic of Canopus on the table, “could start work here, that’ll free up the primary power umbilicals and allow us to start recommissioning those as quickly as possible.”

“Actually, if we start here…” Ana spoke up, outlining her plan.

The entire planning session had gone on for nearly an hour, roping in a few of Black’s assistant engineers for input on more than a few occasions. Not an assistant engineer, but assistant engineers. The ship was truly a monstrous undertaking, mechanically and logistically, to keep running. But eventually a plan was agreed upon, drafted, and everyone had their start points for when Canopus finally put in at Thames Station.

Which was when Evan Malcolm had departed, citing a need to return to Republic. Ana had waited for him to be out of earshot before telling Velan to follow her, refusing to elaborate as they stepped into a turbolift, bound for the ‘Arcade’.

Their destination, as it turned out, was a pizzeria right at the heart of Canopus, likely more centrally located than the primary sickbay two decks down was. It was a busy locale, packed with crew and families, staff bustling about and the heavy scents of freshly cooked pizzas, pasta meals and a generous amount of garlic.

“So, this is the pizzeria I’ve heard so much about,” Velan stated. “It’s…very retro.”

“Yup.” Ana’s terse response came as they managed to actually get inside. “And busy,” she complained. “But we’re going to get a table, get a couple of pizzas, and then you’re going to tell me all about the time you turned Atlantis into a submersible, yeah?”

“Which time?” Ra teased. “The gas giant, the ice giant, or the blob of water? Because I’m never talking about the slimeball ever again.”

“The slimeball?” Ana asked, then waved it off, having no idea what he was talking about in this instance and also uninterested. “The time you let some crazy captain, now commodore, talk you into taking a starship to rescue a Cardassian science ship and fight Breen in a gas giant.”

“Oh, that time.” Ra stroked his beard as they managed to take a step closer to the waitress trying to find tables for guests. “This story is the price for pizza?”

“Yup.”

“And because I didn’t immediately run away as well?”

“Yup,” Ana repeated. “I told him he’d make more friends with honey.”

“I get the feeling Evan is happy with his limited friend circle.” Ra nodded, gently as he thought about how to start his story. “Well, before I did start, what are we ordering?”

“Pepperoni, extra cheese, side of garlic knots,” Ana answered immediately. “Trust me on this one.”

“Oh, I will,” Ra said. “It’s your ship after all. Now, it all started with…”