"What control?"
"Your fusion control that got itself two points low!"
"Oh, that little thing."
Callahan said something through his teeth, then studied O'Rielly sharply. "Hey, you been wetting your whistle on that Venus vino again? Lemme smell your breath! Bah. Loaded yourself full of chlorophyll again probably. All right, stand aside whilst I see your burner."
"Charmed to, Burner Chief Callahan, sir," O'Rielly said while bowing gracefully.
"Higher than a swacked skunk's tail again," Callahan muttered, then snapped back over his shoulder, "Use your shower!"
O'Rielly stood considering his shower door. Somehow he doubted that Burner Chief Terrence Callahan's mood, or Captain Millicent Hatwoody's, would be improved by knowledge of she who was in O'Rielly's shower now. Not that the dear stowaway was less than charming. Quite the contrary. Oh, very quite!
"You rockhead!" Only Callahan back from the burner. "Didn't I tell you to shower the stink off yourself? Old Woman's taking a Venus bigwig on tour the ship. Old Woman catches you like you been rassling skunks she'll peel both our hides off. Not to mention what she'll do anyway about your fusion control!"
"Burner Chief Callahan, sir," O'Rielly responded courteously, "I have been thinking."
"With what? Never mind, just keep on trying whilst I have a shower for myself here." Wherewith Callahan reached hand for O'Rielly's shower door.