Full Steam Ahead

Okay, so I've killed a lot of people. Some directly, some indirectly. Still, their blood is on my hands. Like an engine oil that won't come off. Go ahead and judge me all you want. You won't judge me harder than I've judged myself. Really? You think I'm a soulless murderer? Not even close...

Another time shift.

Is that blood on my hands? No, only engine oil. Actual engine oil.

"Hey, stop slacking. We need that boiler up and running in an hour. You're off duty when it's done." came a voice from out of view. Jamie turned around and saw someone, wearing a uniform he didn't recognise. Instinctively he responded to the voice of authority.

"Aye, sir." and turned to face it again. "Well, what have we here." He mused, taking in the view around him. Obviously an engine room - heavy duty. Hot. Before the days of air conditioning, obviously.

A brass plaque on the wall. 'R.M.S. Titanic'.

Save the Titanic, eh? Easy one.

With practiced movements, Jamie reattached pipes, tightened joints and oiled gears. Before long, it was back up and running. Wiping the oil off his hands as best he could, he left, heading for the areas of greatest population, to find everyone else... or at least, someone else.

"I don't envy you night shift." said another engineer as Jamie passed them. "I could never sleep with the sun shining in through the windows."

"At least I don't have to be here with you." Jamie jeered back. It was normal for the engineers to try and one-up each other. They were never considered high-class, so he had to do his best to fit in.

It took a while for him to leave the engine room. The two gigantic steam engines that powered the ship took up a lot of space; and the stacks up top took up even more.

Up on deck, the sun had just risen low into the sky, having been up for a couple of hours by now. If he was in the jungle, he'd know exactly what time it was, and what season. Back on Earth, a good two hundred years before his time, knowing that so precisely was impossible. Early morning? Probably close enough. That would mean breakfast was being served in the main hall, and maybe some entertainment.

"Excuse me." Jamie said, not quite touching the arm of a passing guest. He didn't want to get oil on them.

"Why, can I help you?" asked the elderly gentleman.

"What's the date today?"

"Why, it's the fourteenth, I think." He answered, then Jamie let him go.

"Fourteenth. That means we have something like 14 hours to do something." He said to himself as he reached the main hall.

<there we go. we have a what, where, and when. Now all we need is a How>