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Who: Leonard McCoy
Broadcast: Yes! Fleetwide
Action: Caprine/Solace
When: Friday

[There are days when McCoy would gladly turn in his lab augment for an engineering one. After practically picking apart the Caprine and then putting her back together bolt by bolt (with a lot of help from actual engineers out there, thanks) he's about ready to airlock himself.

He's a doctor, not a goddamn mechanic. It's like learning anatomy all over again, except this time he doesn't understand a single thing. Glory be, at least, they've finally graduated to trying fix the many issues in non-essential systems.

Like the kitchen, where McCoy is now making sure it all works again, after having spent hours trying to put it all back together. Spoiler: it doesn't go well. That's why he's waving away wisps of smoke and coughing a bit when he addresses the Fleet.]

I need an engineer. Again. [Sigh.] I'll pay you the going rate. Come on over to the Caprine. It's the ship in the most pieces over here. [There goes more credits. Everything exploded again. Someone just... put him out of his misery.]

[private comm to Beverly Crusher]
[So he's starting to regret thinking that someone should put him out of his misery. Really coming to regret that.] Hey. We need to talk. Let's meet somewhere.

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[When McCoy comes in, he does so with purpose - and actually looks over his shoulder as he enters, as if someone would follow him onto the Iskaulit. No doubt about it: he looks troubled, a frown etched into his features and the lines around his eyes a little more pronounced. He hasn't been sleeping well the last couple of weeks, but Beverly likely already knows that; it's common knowledge he sometimes has to be forcibly pulled away from either the surgical center or the Caprine to get much-needed sleep or food. (Sometimes both.)

So the fact that he looks a little worse is likely a big red flag.]

Well... [And words completely fail him, because what the hell is he supposed to say? I ended up on someone's actual hit list because I needed money? Yeah, that's not gonna fly. Instead, he gestures helplessly, huffs a sigh, and reaches over to close the door.

Yeah, he's that paranoid.]

Leonard...

[Eyes widening, her worry is quickly turning to alarm as he shuts the door.]

Tell me, what's happened?

[Well. He came here to talk, right? It was dumb, the moment he kind of fell into this, but the words had been out of his mouth before he really thought about it and, hell, he'd been a touch desperate to get the credits he needed to get repairs done on the Caprine.]

I needed credits to fix the Caprine. [He just... blurts it out. Say it and get it over with.] I think I ended up on the wrong side of very-- [he shakes his head] --not good people.

[Her stomach is twisting into awful knots, but she forces the fear down and falls into calm physician mode, resting what she hopes is a comforting hand on his shoulder.]

Why don't you sit and tell me exactly what happened?

[Ah, he recognizes that move: put the patient at ease, sit them down and calm them down, and then address the problem. It's that bedside manner thing he never really gave much thought to. (He can be nice. Not everybody deserves his being nice.)

He doesn't argue it, though. There's a knot of awful anxiety in his chest and, while he doesn't think Beverly will have any grand ideas for him, he's hoping that maybe... well. Hell. He's not sure what he's hoping for, other than someone knowing why he inevitably goes tumbling off the edge of Solace.

In pieces.]

The Caprine's pretty badly damaged, you know that. [He sits down and sighs.] I made a few inquiries and-- [did something really stupid] --implied that I had some information and resources that'd make financing the repairs worthwhile to a certain... person. [A mob boss, Beverly. He's talking about a mob boss.]

I was really hoping that we'd be gone before they decided that payment was due. Don't tell Jim yet. I'll deal with him later.

[Jim's gonna break his nose for this one.]

[Yes, Bones, that was incredibly stupid, and it shows on her face, in the way her jaw clenches and in the way her brow furrows. But anger won't help anything, she reminds herself. First and foremost, she has to make sure he's safe.

Though she has to wonder about that last part... Why doesn't he want Jim to know?]

And now they're after you.

[She lets out a sigh of her own before she pulls up a chair to face him.]

Do you know their name?

[Because Jim is going to break him for doing something stupid, no matter what reasons he had for it and his reasons are pretty... stupid. He pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head.]

I know a couple of 'em on sight. [He should be able to; they've been following him around for two days.] I know they're affiliated with the depot near the Caprine. One of the owners there has a pretty boomin' side business.

[A pause, then:] I know this was damned stupid. [There's a million reasons why he did it. There's no point into getting into any of them.]

It was. [At least he realizes it.] You should have come to us for help.

[Even if the Blue Fish is in as bad of a state as the Caprine, Beverly still has a sizeable bank account after two years in the fleet and help from Allen. And beyond that, the fleet in general is good at coming together in times like this to help each other out.]

I get it. [Hard not to when he's honestly a little afraid of pain coming his way. He lets his hand drop to his lap.] She's my ship, Beverly.

And we're your fleet. I know it's not home, but these are good people here - we wouldn't have let the Caprine fall apart.

Noted. [He's pretty sure that he can chalk a lot this stupidity up to sleep deprivation and stress, but doesn't do a single thing to excuse it. He rubs a hand over his face and sighs.] Well, either way, the Caprine's functional again and we'll be setting off, hopefully sooner rather than later. I'll keep as low a profile as I can manage between now and then.

Good. And please, let me know if you need to go out. You shouldn't be alone.

[He'd like to say that he doesn't think it'll get that bad, but there have been some threats already.]

I'm hoping we leave this place soon.

I hope so too. [For his sake, more than anything.]

But until then, please be careful.

[He takes a breath -- almost a deep sigh, but not quite there.]

Never planned on anything different.

I know you didn't.

[She smiles softly.]

You're not the first captain to make a mistake and I assure you, you won't be the last. But I'm here for you.

Yeah, I'm just the one who's never gonna hear the end of it. [Remember that 'don't tell Jim' thing? That's part of it.

The rest is a little more complicated. It's a weird desire not to let him down; hell if can actually put it into words.] The Caprine's space-worthy again. That's what matters.

[She huffs.]

I'm sure Jim has gotten into more than a few scrapes himself. Try not to let him get to you - because he does deserve to know.

You kidding me? I've pulled him out of a few those scrapes. [He has stories he could tell...

But he sighs then and spreads his hands helplessly.] I know. I'll talk to him when we both have a minute. [He scoffs then.] Everything about this is ridiculous - but, hey, I guess it's great for ratings.

[aka fuck you Atroma and the raiders you rode in on.]

[She rolls her eyes.] Don't remind me. You're lucky - you haven't had to hear much from Diamond and Beau about it.

I'm sure I'll get my chance. Lookin' forward to it.

[She hums disapproval.] Don't be. They're insufferable.

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