Earth's Last Angel (15 page)

‘No, you twit,' says Mondok, ‘what do you reckon? It's got to be the wiring.'

‘I'm not really going to know until I get under there, am I?' says Ven, pointing at the main console.

‘What are you waiting for, then? The sooner this problem is sorted, the sooner we can get out of this stink,' he screws up his nose.

Ven begins sliding himself into the small space under the console.

‘What about the exhaust system?' asks Grasshopper ‘Wouldn't it suck out the smell?'

‘That's burnt out too mate,' says Ven from under the console. ‘This is totally fried. What did you do to it, Mondok?'

‘It wasn't me. I just plugged in the external power cord to run the power system.'

‘Hmmm, you're right. That shouldn't have worried the computer.'

‘So…you're the computer geek, what next?'

‘It's more complicated than you think, this controls everything and it has sensors like Nolack-1, simulating our senses of smell, hearing, and touch.'

He backs out from the console and sees the blank expression on Mondok's face

‘Look, the wires are in fact a membrane type of material, not unlike our own nerve tissue. These have sensors fixed in place where they are needed, keeping the main computer in touch with the vessel. I think a major power surge has severely damaged the wires and the translation pod which converts the senses to data in the computer main frame.'

‘So what can be done about it?' he asks.

‘We'll have to do a flush and regen,' Ven replies.

‘How long will that take?'

‘Its major, boss, we have to replace the wires and translation pod.'

‘So…how long?' Mondok repeats.

‘Ten days at least.'

‘Bloody hell! I told you something like this would happen,' Mondok said to Denise.

‘You probably jinxed it,' she says with a cheeky grin.

Mondok ignores her. ‘How are you going to do this?' he asks Ven.

‘With great difficulty.'

‘What, to fix a few burnt out wires?' asks Mondok feeling the time constraint closing in on him.

‘It's not just a few wires. I'll have to remove the sensors and the translation pod. Then I'll have to inject a high potency alkaline solution through the conduit to dissolve the remaining wire membrane. After that, I'll be flushing the solution out with pH neutral water. When it's clean, I'll have to refill the conduit with fresh wire spoors and wait for the membrane to re-grow,' Ven says.

‘Meanwhile, the sensors and translation pod will have to be replaced and prepped to accept the new wire, and I've got to find out exactly what caused the problem in the first place.' He sighs loudly. ‘So yeah, it's going to be tricky.'

‘Hmmm, for you…piece of cake,' mumbles Mondok.

‘I'll give you a hand, mate,' offers Denise.

‘No, Grasshopper's here,' Mondok says, ‘so he might as well help Ven and you can help me with PV 012.'

‘But this is my vessel, Mondok.'

‘And I am the boss, Denise.'

‘It's OK, Denise,' says Ven, ‘Grasshopper probably knows as much about bio-computers as you do.'

‘I don't know anything about them,' says Grasshopper, puzzled.

‘My point exactly,' says Ven, grinning, ‘I don't know anything about drill rigs, Grasshopper, so I can be your lackey when we fix your rig.'

‘There you go, Denise,' says Mondok. ‘She's in good hands.'

‘I just don't see why, when it's my vessel,' says Denise, as they exit her vessel.

‘You said you wanted to keep me in line,' says Mondok, trying to make a joke of it.

‘I did not. I said that someone needed to keep you in line.'

‘Yes, and you were giving up your break to help out.'

Denise stops at the door of the isolation room. ‘Then you might do well to remember that, Mondok.'

A twinge of guilt strikes him, but he couldn't give in just yet. ‘If I didn't separate you two,' he says quickly, ‘you'd be making him tea and scones before long.'

She looked at him for a long moment, too long for Mondok. He turns away, slipping into his protective overalls and headgear.

‘Well, come on,' he says, pointing to her gear. She puts it on in silence and follows him into the isolation room for PV 012.

The room is lined with lead to prevent radiation from the affected reactor of PV 012 leaking into the rest of the ship. Denise hasn't said a word, even as she passes him the extraction tool. Mondok is finding the tension unbearable, but he didn't know how to change it. Should have left her back on her vessel,' he thinks.

With Denise silently looking on, he gently removes the damaged bio-reactor. Denise places it in a lead lined box to seal in the radiation.

‘Say something, Denise,' says Mondok.

‘Would you please pass me that new reactor, boss?'

Mondok can feel the veins in his head throbbing, but he passes the reactor without a word.

‘Team members in isolation room, prospecting vessel number 12, please report to control.'

Nolack-1's announcement, which seems to come from right beside them, jolts them both, and Mondok almost drops the new reactor. ‘Shit!' he says. ‘They're pulling us off the job!'

Tom waits for Sofia to arrive at the lakeshore, and indicates the pair of water-bikes chosen for them, parked side by side.

‘You choose,' he offers.

‘You were here first,' she objects.

‘I will still beat you, whatever bike I have,' answers a half smart Tom.

‘Alright smarty, I'll take this one.' She straddles the water-bike with the green stripes and Tom glances at her long, tanned legs. Easy boy, he thinks to himself as he claims the remaining water-bike.

They sit, staring across the lake for a moment. ‘See that red marker right over there?' he asks.

She shaded her eyes from the artificial sun glinting on the water. ‘Oh yeah.'

‘Well, we'll race around that and back.'

‘That's a long way,' she says doubtfully.

‘Oh, if you don't think you can manage it…'

‘No, I didn't say that.' She switches on the computer and the electro jet roars into life. ‘See you!' she yells back as she takes off in a blast of spray.

Tom curses as his computer screen displays, Error loading. Please refresh.

Sofia has covered half the distance before he manages to start the bike, but he takes off after her anyway, finally returning to admit defeat.

She climbs off the water-bike and smiles at him. ‘I see you can beat me on anything.'

He is silent. It would just seem like bad sportsmanship to blame the water-bike.

At the counter, as they return their keys, she scribbles on a piece of paper and passes it to him. He stuffs it in his pocket. ‘It's my number,' she says, ‘in case you want to race again.'

He nods. ‘I might call you later. Just to see what you're up to.'

She smiled. ‘You do that.'

Macca is very apologetic after she left, but amused at the same time.

‘So the pretty lady beat you. I am so sorry. Ha, ha!'

‘Would you mind not rubbing it in please, Macca? Besides I would have beaten her, if your bike had been working.'

Macca winks. ‘You will have to challenge her to another race to know for sure.'

‘I'm not challenging anyone to another race.' He begins walking to the pod.

‘Pah! Spoil sport,' Macca laughed.

Val is getting just a little bored. With Nolack-1 and the small flight crew flying the ship, he is beginning to wonder if his role as captain will someday become obsolete, even though Nolack-1 does lack insight into the intricacies of Mazuban nature that would permit her to make sound judgment calls.

He considers taking a stroll through the ship. After all, with the new implant, he will still be in contact with Nolack-1. He might wander down and see what Tom was up to. He didn't want to cramp his style, though he would soon need to begin learning the skills to take over as captain when it was his time.

‘Captain, we will be approaching Earth's moon in 30 minutes,' announces Nolack-1 through his insert.

‘Intercept the moon on our onside.' (The term was used by miners years ago to mean their left side, and was adopted for space faring vessels involved in mining operations.) ‘500 km off the moon should give us a good view.”

All thought of the stroll vanishes from Val's mind. ‘Terrific Nolack-1, please make the announcement over the main ship wide communications network and invite whoever wishes to see it, to the observation deck. No, cancel that, Nolack-1, make it an order.'

He knows this will disrupt the work on the vessels, and some team leaders and crew are already stressing. Nolack-1 had just pulled two off their work project and he wasn't surprised to discover one of them was Mondok. They had been sent to the mediation counselor.

In the Bio Tech Laboratory, Ven is beginning to wish he had insisted on Denise helping him. Grasshopper is eager to help but it is difficult getting him to understand the instructions. He didn't think it was possible for someone to be more clueless about bio-computers than Denise.

Ven finishs culturing some fresh wire spoor and is about to check out the reserve sensors and translation pods when they hear the announcement.

‘Thirty minutes,' he says thoughtfully. ‘That will give us just enough time to pump the incubation solution into the generation tank.'

‘What's incubation solution?' Grasshopper asks.

Ven searches for an easy explanation. ‘It's a protein rich base for the wire to replicate in.'

He can tell from Grasshopper's expression that he hasn't understood a word of it. ‘Never mind, mate. When this is done, we have to wait four days so you can get back to your drill-rig.'

‘Sorry, I'm not much help, am I?'

‘You're a rig fitter, mate. I bet you could teach me a thing or two about drill rigs.' Ven points to a counter opposite them. ‘Could you please just hand me that tub from over there? Yes, the small, white one. Carefully,' he adds, when Grasshopper reaches suddenly over to the counter. ‘You don't want to drop that, it's sticky and stinky.'

Grasshopper steps back when Ven adds the wire spoor to the tank. ‘Mate…that is gross. He watches, pale-faced, as the fish egg texture slips into the tank.'

Ven thinks the mechanic might be sick. ‘Are you ok? Do you want to go outside?'

Grasshopper shakes his head. ‘No, I'm OK,' he says, his voice muffled by his sleeve over his nose and mouth, despite having a hooded face shield on.

Ven tries not to smile. He is used to it, but he's known the sickly smelling slime to cause apprentices to almost pass out. He drains the last of it into the tank and puts it back on the counter himself.

With relief, he sees the time on the clock. ‘Well, Grasshopper, that's it.'

‘It's all done?'

‘For now, but it's time for the moon pass so you're free to go.'

Grasshopper looks relieved and he hurries to remove his suit outside the lab and wash up.

‘Hey, boot covers,' Ven calls, as Grasshopper nearly leaves the sterile area still wearing them.

‘Oh, sorry,' he says, hurrying back to take them off.

‘It would be worse if you went in without them, but you have to remember not to rush around here or costly mistakes can be made.'

‘OK, I'll remember. I promise,' says Grasshopper.

Ven had hoped someone else will be sent to help but he softened with the promise. After all, Grasshopper is totally new to the Bio lab.

‘Thanks for your help,' says Ven as they stepped into the elevator, ‘I'm really impressed that you didn't faint with that stink.'

Grasshopper grins. ‘I thought I was going to.'

The observation deck is packed when they arrived, and the glow of the moon has just become visible. Ven notices Denise but he can't see Mondok anywhere. He wanders over and stands next to her without saying a word. She didn't notice, so entranced with the moon. He, too, watches with fascination as the ship cruises past. People all around them were are fixated on the vision before them, in awe of the magical moment.

A child tugs at his mother's shirt. ‘Mummy, where's the man in the moon?'

She smiles and points.

‘No, that's not him, he's there,' says the child, pointing to another imaginary face.

Those around them laugh, then turned back to watch, point and exclaim over its beauty.

‘Funny how it's a different color when we see it from Thera,' says Ven.

Denise shoots a glance at him. ‘Ven, how long have you been there?'

‘Not long. What happened with Mondok?' he asks.

‘You looked ready to slaughter him.'

Denise laughs. ‘I didn't get the chance. We were told we wouldn't be working together in high risk areas and ordered to attend mediation sessions. We didn't even argue.'

‘Whoa, that would have really steamed him up. Where is he, anyway?'

‘He was still blowing and snorting when I last saw him, I reckon if we switched off all the lights he would glow in the dark!' Denise remarks with a roar of laughter from them both.

‘I think he went back to his quarters. In defiance of this Moon pass order, I think.' She points to the glowing orb of blue and gray, so close she can almost touch it. ‘I don't know how he could think of missing this.'

‘Maybe he's feeling sick.' Ven says tongue in cheek, looking back at the Moon.

‘Nah, he's just pissed off, but hey…why are you here with me anyway, mate?' Denise asks. ‘You should be checking out the young ladies, especially with the moon this close hanging in space with romance in the air.'

‘I'll have plenty of time for that when the PVs are repaired.'