New Dawn (Wandering Engineer) (61 page)

"You have a point. I think
we can dispense with his services and drop him off at the next colony,"
she said.

He gave her a look as she turned.
"I understand Gaston is a dirty agrarian colony, they just pulled
themselves up to farming a few years ago. I suppose they could use a little
more help in the fields," the admiral said.

Bart caught that part and paled.
"You don't mean it do you? I can finally leave this hell?"

Her grin turned evil. "Not a
problem young man, as long as you behave. Step out of line again, and you'll
only see land from the airlock," she growled.

He cowered back, eyes wide.
"I'll be good!"

She turned locking his gaze to
hers. "See that you do." Then turned back to the Admiral and gave him
a wink. He managed to keep a straight face as she passed.

"Does the planet have any
satellites?" the Admiral asked Sprite as he washed up. They were on their
way to Gaston and he wanted a better brief.

"If by satellites you mean
debris, then lots of them Admiral," Sprite commented dryly. A graphic
appeared on his HUD. The planet was pock marked with craters. Most of the
landmass was gray or light green; only around the equator were there signs of
strong plant growth. "The data I'm observing from my tap on the ship's
sensor network isn't good Admiral. Accessing," she paused.

"Got it. I cross referenced
the data in my files with current specs. There are two missing moons, and the
planet has shifted," she said darkly. A computer outline of the planet and
moons were overlaid on top of the live feed. "The debris fields match two
of the missing moons."

He looked up into the silvered
mirror. "The planet moved?" he asked. He shook out the wash cloth.

"Aye Admiral, the
destruction of the two moons, and orbital bombardment of the debris shifted the
planet's orbit. According to the spectral analyzer there are faint signs of
volcanic activity,” she said. He shook his head at the thought of living on
that hell hole when the moons blew up. "Admiral, based on my calculations
over twenty more pieces of debris will impact the planet in the next one
hundred years."

He grunted. "Well, we'll
have to see if we can do something about that right?" He tossed the
washcloth on the sink and went to work.

"Okay easy there, bring your
end up twenty centimeters Bridget..." the crew boss called as he checked
in. She was on the port engine nacelle, overseeing the replacement of the
shredded thruster. "Down a little Tamera, one centimeter to go."

Sprite suddenly focused his
vision and zoomed into the scene and one of the astronauts. "Freeze!"
he said. The crew froze. "Tamera, where are your fingers?" he
growled.

She looked up at him then down to
her hand. "Uh... I can't get a grip anywhere else," she said.

He sighed. "Kid, keep your
fingers there and you will lose them. Of course the doc can grow you a new set
in a couple weeks..." he said suggestively.

Hastily she jerked her hand out
of the gap. "What was she doing?" the crew boss asked.

"About to crush her hand
between the thruster and the wall of the acceleration chamber," Irons
answered. He couldn't help keep the reproving tone out of that.

"Oh." He watched them
start to drift. "Tamera, use a gripper. Keep it out of the gap." He
watched as the girl got out a gripper and fumbled it. It floated away. She
cursed and tried to lunge for it, hitting her knee on the thruster. The
thruster bucked up, drifting. He grimaced.

"Oh shit!" the crew
boss said. "Great! Thanks a lot! Tamera, you don't think!" she
snarled into the comm. channel.

He sighed. "Chief, I think
you may need to call it for now," he suggested.

She snarled. "With all due
respect Admiral, let me manage my girls."

He cocked an eyebrow up in
surprise. "All right, I'll take my nose elsewhere. Good luck." He
turned and left.

"Well, that was rude,"
Sprite commented.

He shook his head. "Not
really, I was out of line. She's right, it's her job. She just needs to keep a
better eye out for hazards."

Sprite plotted a course on his
HUD. He followed it instinctively. "They're growing up," she said
softly.

"That they are. That they
are."

"You think they don't need
you anymore Admiral?" Sprite asked.

He smiled. "It's almost time
to mosey on."

"You’re proud of them,” she
observed.

He nodded. "They've come a
long way in a short time," he said softly watching a work crew bringing in
another asteroid off his port, while another crew worked on the hull in front
of him.

"Pyrax sounds like a good
new challenge," Sprite commented softly.

He smiled. "Yup."

 "Heads up, on your six
Admiral," she warned him a moment later. He maneuvered the OMS pack and
dodged to the side as the crew came up behind him with the spar. It was a mark
of how far that they'd come that they were handling a repair job of this
magnitude, replacing one of the fractured spars on their own.

The one the team had pulled out
last shift had been riddled with stress and fatigue cracks. Proteus had
estimated a few months more and it would have failed. Ironically his repairs
had hastened its end, the repairs to the engines had stressed it even more than
the norm. Luckily Proteus and Sprite had caught the signs and reported them to
him. "That spar should be the last of the major repairs Admiral,"
Sprite reported. He nodded.

"Vanessa, I was wondering
how the crew pays for things when they're downside on leave," the  Admiral
asked as he leaned back in his chair and studied her.

"What do you mean?" the
purser asked warily.

He shrugged. "Well, lodging,
food, drinks," he said, listing the obvious debts. He hefted his coffee
cup. "Do the colonies charge for them?" he asked.

She nodded, face clearing then
smiled. "Oh they do, but we have a tab system set up. They charge the
ship's tab, and we pay in materials. A few are so happy to see us they pay for
the tab themselves," she smiled.

"A few like Pyrax charge
through the nose though," Jen grimaced. "I spent all of two hours on
that station, it was ridiculous! I came back here," she said and then
shook her head.

"Aye lassie, tis a terrible
thing they do, charging us poor traders." Leri drawled stirring her cup.

She smiled. "Captain, I
think I'll take a walk around on Gaston this time, to see the sights,"
Irons said. The Admiral gave her a long look. She nodded.

"I think you've more than
earned it laddie," Leri grinned. "You can look into the water
situation when yer down the well; they charge a bloody fortune for it!"
Vanessa grimaced and nodded. "Tissant anything but plain auld water, but
they charge a bloomin mint!" Leri's lips writhed and she slapped the
table. He nodded.

"Is the space port near a
body of water?" he asked.

She froze for a moment then
looked up in thought. "Now that ye mention it, nay, I think it's a bit and
a gone aways down the road,” she said. He nodded.

"That may be it then, they
probably have to bottle and cart it in, so the carter adds to the fees,"
Irons said.

Vanessa's eyes lit. "Oh ho!
So that's how it is!"

Leri smiled and turned to the
Purser. "Well, canna blame someone for making a livin," she said and
then shrugged. Vanessa reluctantly nodded.

"Still, if the technology of
the colony improves, you might be able to suggest a pipeline to a water
body..." Irons suggested. Vanessa nodded.

"Nay lad, that would put the
carter and his family out of business,” Leri said and then sighed.

"Well, not necessarily, not
if we upgraded his gear and he turned into a ground transporter... he could
sell his goods faster, and further abroad..." Irons suggested.

Jen's eyes lit in appreciation.
"Getting more things to more places, and back to the port faster and
cheaper..."

Vanessa held up a restraining
hand. "And just how do you propose they pay for all this?" she asked.

Jen visibly deflated.
"You're right," she sighed.

"Well, on to other subjects,
I was wondering about the new interface, are you sure the transition time when
one pilot..." Shandra cut in and the meeting rolled on. The Admiral sat
back with a sigh.

"Well, you tried,"
Sprite commented softly.

"That you did, and it was a
worthy effort Admiral, I'll try as well," Io added. The AI had finally
evolved enough to articulate. She was a welcome presence to him and Sprite and
the other AI. So far he had yet to inform the crew of her presence though.

"Not now ladies, give it
time to build," he sub vocalized, trying to focus on the meeting.

"So, with the shield
emitters repaired, and the engines repaired, we're now concentrating on the
structural repairs," Jennie looked up from her tablet and to the Captain.
The Captain gave a small encouraging nod as did Leri.

 "Lass has come a long
way," she murmured.

The Admiral nodded. "That
she has."

 She looked over to him and then
patted his arm under the table. "Thanks." He shrugged.

"We have a dozen more space
walks to complete before we can be underway again, barring any unforeseen
difficulties," Jen reported.

She blushed as the Captain
nodded. "Yes, let’s not have any shall we?" the captain said dryly.
The Admiral smiled. The byplay was at the right level, just enough to take the
edge off, while not getting too silly.

He stepped out of the shuttle
hatch and took a deep breath the next morning. The wind whipped at his
coverall, he looked around as he stepped aside. One of the guards was also in
his shore party; he noted she was watching him. He chuckled quietly.

There was a buggy near the edge
of the space port with a horse attached. He studied it, and noticed one of the
two wheels was off. The horse was cropping grass, and nickered occasionally to
the woman trying to wrestle with the stuck cart. "Need a hand
miss?"he called.

 She looked up and wiped dirt on
her cheek. "Why sure," she smiled. He noted the broken teeth, and
nodded.

"Well miss, let’s see
here," he said studying the situation. He went around the cart and took a
look. The pin had snapped, the wheel was not completely off the hub, but it had
tucked up under the cart. The cart was a shoddy affair, wooden with joints that
were separating. It looked like it was made with pegs. Gently he touched the
back end. "All right miss; I'll lift it so you can untuck that wheel,” he
said.

She looked up at him confused.
"Are you sure you can do that? It's mighty heavy!" she said
dubiously. He smiled.

"On three. One... two...
three!" He grunted as he hefted the cart up with both arms. The brunt of
the work was done by his artificial legs of course, but he still felt the
weight bearing down on his left arm. "Okay, I have it," he said. She
stared at him for a moment. He grunted.

She unfroze and quickly pulled at
the wheel. "Okay it's free," she said. Gently he set the cart down.

"Cotter pin broke?" he
asked. She nodded. He took a look at the pin. She was already breaking a branch
in half. She stuck one half into the pin hole, then took it out and shaved it a
little. "That's the great thing about working with wood, it can be
replaced easily," he observed.

She looked up and nodded then
returned to the job. "Can I interest you in a ride to town?" she
asked.

He nodded. "I wouldn't mind
it; I wasn't looking forward to the walk," he said wryly.

She smiled. "It's a bit
dusty out," she said. She hummed as she worked. After a little whittling
she stuck the branch in then rammed it home with a rock. "There, all
done."

She held out her hands and he helped
her to her feet. "Looks good," he said.

She nodded. "It'll do until
I can get Mister Smyth to fix it," she said as they climbed in. He nodded.

The buggy trundled down the dirt
road and stopped on the edge of the town square. "This looks like something
out of a holo documentary of the old west," Sprite commented. He chuckled.

"I'm glad things are looking
better." He took in the rustic wooden buildings and handful of people
lounging around. It diverted from the western theme with alien animals and people
however, he could see a bipedal Garnak saddled and tied to a hitching post next
to a pair of horses.

A pair of Naga slithered by the
horses, they started and bucked. Both Naga moved out of kicking range. They
circled around the horses, making soft clucking sounds then entered the
building nearby. "Is that a tavern?" he asked. He nodded his head to
the building and turned to the girl.

"Why yes, how'd you
know?" the woman asked. He shrugged.

"In small towns the local
tavern is one of the most popular buildings in the town," he explained.

She looked confused, then nodded.
"It is, people come in from the farms to get a drink. Shorty has a
bulletin board for messages too," she said.

He nodded. His enhanced hearing
could just make out music. "And it's one of the few places for live
entertainment," he observed.

She smiled. "Would you like
to see?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Maybe
later miss, I'm more interested in the sites right now," he replied. She
blushed and snapped the reins.

"Sir?" she asked after
a minute. He nodded to the Gaston colonist. She was dressed in a homespun blue
sweater and cotton dress.

"Yes?" he asked amused.

She waved. "Welcome to
Gaston, can I show you around?" she asked with a smile. He smiled back.

"Sure." He stepped up
to her and waved. "After you madam," he said bowing slightly. She
smiled.

"That's Jerry Smyth the
blacksmith with the T'clock click clan," she said. She pointed to an open
face structure. A burly black man was pounding metal with a hammer. Two insect
aliens were helping. "They're thermavores, they love the heat. They had a
colony on the southern continent but it was hammered by the weather from the
last asteroid impact thirty years ago," she said. She looked down.
"There aren't many of them left now. They need a lot of warmth and
humidity to stay comfortable," she said quietly.