Ghost Station (The Wandering Engineer) (15 page)

“The
captain had imposed a strict no pregnancy policy as well,” Warner continued. He
didn't look at all happy about that. His marriage had broken up after his wife
had been forced to abort last year. She'd left the ship. He felt the anger and
hurt and gently put it aside.

“Most
of the crew are native spacers, being born in space they are too set in their
ways and none want to become a dirt grub farmer on a battered colony.”

Irons
nodded in appreciation at that. “I'm a spacer brat myself.  Born and bred on a
ship like this,” he said indicating the Kiev. The girl looked at him with
questioning eyes. He shrugged the look off.

“Oh
it's not all enclosed. I mean it is, we're in hyper for long stretches of time
but well...” Warner shrugged. “Sometimes some of the crew have left to join
other ships or space colonies, but the previous captain had rescued a stranded
crew a few years ago, doubling the population.”

That
admission interested Irons. That and the fact that captain Chambers was new to
the job. He wondered what had happened to the old captain. Had he died or had
he been removed? That might be why Chambers was on edge about him.

Jen
bit her lip and looked at Warner. His voice had gotten a touch rough when he
had mentioned that some of the crew had left. He was still stinging from his
wife's departure.

“What's
the hyper speed?” the admiral asked, sensing the pall hanging over the first
mate and wanting to change the subject before he became too maudlin to
continue.

“Oh
god. Alpha band. Low notes. Bottom notes. It's a bumpy ride all the way,”
Warner said with a sour look.

“Shit.”

“It's
about six months to transit usually. Sometimes longer. The longest transit time
is the Centennial jumps. Those can last upwards of seven or eight months.”

“Ouch.
Well, we'll see if we can do something about that,” Irons said. He wasn't
thrilled to be stuck in hyper bumbling around for six months at a stretch.

“Good,”
Warner said with a nod. His eyes searched Irons. “So you'll stay?” he asked.

“Well,
let's just say I'm not about to go play in the dirt just yet,” the admiral
replied with a tight lipped smile.

“Good,”
Jen said without thinking. The men looked up to the girl in amusement. She
blushed. “Sorry. Can't help but overhear.”

“That's
fine,” Irons said before Warner could object.

“Can
you really get us up into a better octave?” she asked taking a tray of parts
out and setting them onto a counter. She popped a block of plastic and a chunk
of copper into the replicator and turned away as it dissolved. That part always
freaked her out a bit.

“Yes.
Octave? Definitely. Band? I'd prefer beta at the very least but we'll see. It's
a bit more complicated than just retuning and rebuilding the hyperdrive.”

“Oh?”
Jen asked. She bit her lip as she looked down at her tablet to see what was
next to replicate.

He
smiled at her as she tapped in the order for the next part. “Of course. A ship
works as an integrated being. Sensors, hull, shields, power, fuel, drives...
it's all intermingled. For instance if your sensors suck then if you go too
fast you tend to run into things.”

Warner
winced at that. “And if you don't have proper shields, things you run into tend
to make a mess.”

“True.
So we've got to bring all the ship's systems up.”

“Oh,”
Jen said. She sighed. “Sounds like a lot of work,” she said.

Warner
chuckled. Irons snorted. “I'm up for it. I've done it before. Before the Xeno
war I was more into building then I was into repairing. Now I've spent most of
the time I've been awake fixing ships and stations.”

“Oh?”

“Io
11 picked me up. I spent nearly a year rebuilding her from the keel up with the
crew. She's almost factory new now.”

“Wow!”
Jen's eyes were wide. She looked down at Warner who pursed his lips.

“Now
don't go off spreading rumors just yet,” Warner cautioned. “Jen we can't have
people getting too excited.”

“Why
not?” she demanded. “I'd think getting people excited would be great for
morale!”

“True,”
Warner said cocking his head. “But we don't want to get their hopes up. After
all Admiral Irons isn't sure he'll be staying long,” he cautioned.

Jen
looked at Irons who shrugged. She bit her lip again.

“Injectors
for the maintenance boat will be ready in a few minutes. Just as soon as we
pull this section of plasma conduit out and wrestle it out of the ship,” Irons
said as the lid of the replicator opened.

“Okay,”
Warner said getting up. “I'll give you a hand.” He moved forward and looked
inside. The part was massive. “Um, on second thought I'll just go get a hover
dolly.”

“Smart
man,” Irons said as the exec retreated. He reached in and pulled the conduit up
and out. It was heavy, massing five hundred and fifty kilos but he could manage
it.

“Oh
my!” Jen said backing away. “You...”

“It's
more bulky then it is heavy. I'll set it here for him.” He set the piece down
and then started feeding bits of material that had been stacked nearby. Some
were broken parts, some were raw material. A few were rocks. He snorted at
that, looking at one and then shrugging as he set it inside. Whatever worked.
It was all grist for the mill, or in this case the replicator, anyway.

Barry
came to pick up the injectors personally a half hour later. He talked a little
small talk with Warner and Irons. “The Scarab is almost ready to go. Once we
get these in we'll be able to finish the preflight. If everything is yellow
then we'll take her out.”

Irons
thought about the yellow comment but didn't say anything. Apparently they were
taking chances on a lot of hardware. Not that he could blame them.

“That
will make the chief happy,” Warner said with a nod.

“You
mean it will get her off my ass until she thinks of something else to bitch
about,” Barry said sarcastically. Warner snorted and nodded.

“Mr.
Warner you're needed on the bridge. Your shift starts in five,” a tech said,
leaning into the boat to pass a broken bit to Jen.

“All
right,” Warner said sighing and getting up. The replicator chimed. “Nice
timing,” he said pausing.

“I'll
set up the next series and then I'll take a break. Unless you don't mind
another set of hands with the injectors,” he said looking at Barry.

“Can
you... of course you can. You...” Barry smiled. “I think you can cut down the
prewarm and prep time right?”

“Of
course,” Irons replied with a nod.

“I'd
love it then,” Barry said as they loaded the parts.

Irons
took the time to set up the replicator for the next series of parts and then
headed over to the Scarab to give Barry a hand installing the injectors. Each
had to be cleaned and inspected before installation.

On
the way they passed people in the companionways. Kids playing games, adults
doing things or talking. Most of them look like they were doing make work.

“Why
didn't I see all the people before? I mean...” He indicated the people around them.
“If you're so pressed for space why are the quarters in the corridor I'm housed
in empty?” Irons asked. Barry shrugged looking uncomfortable.

“That...
We don't normally take on guests,” he said. Irons nodded. “We usually avoid
them for medical reasons. Which reminds me, you'll need to be checked out by
the doctor soon.”

Irons
grimaced. He hated being poked and prodded. Especially by people who didn't
have a clue about his implants. The staff on Anvil had been a hilarious
diversion but it had still been annoying at the time. “The area you are in is
far enough away from the boat bay and well... not occupied because it's messed
up. I think the captain had put you there to keep you isolated from the ship's
population as a safety precaution. And to make it easier to keep tabs on you no
doubt. Prison,” Warner explained reluctantly.

“Smell,”
Barry said with a grimace. “And the life support in that area is bad. We lost a
bunch of people a while back. Half sick, half dead. It's happened a few times
over the centuries so no one wants to be anywhere near the area,” he said. He
shook his head.

“Oh
lovely,” Sprite sighed to him alone. “I'll add that to the list then. Life
support overhaul. Maybe you should have taken the captain's wife up on the
transfer of quarters?” she asked. He shook his head silently. “Oh well. I
imagine if you do you'd have to start over cleaning and repairing it.”

“This
is my stop,” Warner said indicating the turn where they parted ways. “I'll be
on the bridge if you need anything,” he said with a wave. Irons waved as they
turned and kept going.

“Thanks
man, you're a real life savor,” Barry said. Irons shrugged it off.

“Part
of being an engineer. It's also part of being a navy man.”

“Oh.”

Fara
tried to use another replicator closer to the boat bay but it was shut down.
She called Martha who then put a call in to Irons. Irons frowned; he had one
injector in and had both arms deep in the bowls of the boat delicately putting
the other in place. He really didn't need the interruption. Irons listened as
they described the error code and blanched. “Don't touch it. Power it down and
make sure it's dead,” he ordered.

“Why?”
Fara asked in confusion. She really wanted to do this herself.

“The
nanites inside are screwed up. The computer noted cancerous growths when it
replicated things and shut it down.”

“Nanites????”
The girl practically shrieked that last. Irons suppressed a sigh. He was used
to that reaction by now. He closed his eyes anyway when he heard her breathing
pick up over the intercom. He didn't have the patience to hold her hand through
this.

“Replicators
are nanofactories. Get over it and move on. Look I'm a little busy here. Just
shut that one down, tag it with a warning label then go find another
replicator,” he ordered. He'd deal with it when he had the time, just not right
now.

“Roger.”
He heard her turn away and grumble. “No one told
me
about nanites. I
don't want to be near the damn bugs. No sirre! Damn it...” she muttered. He
grimaced as the channel was cut.

It
took about a half hour to get the injectors in and finish the preflight. The
pilot was there, dressed in a heavily patched orange EVA suit and clearly ready
to go. She climbed the boat's left front leg and then somehow made the maneuver
to get her rear into the seat. He didn't know how she could manage in a suit
with the chair facing down like that. He hated Scarabs. They might be a fun
ship to fly and use but they were a bitch to land, get out of, and maintain.

The
pilot flipped through the controls and then gave a thumbs up as the cockpit
closed around her. The bay was cleared so the maintenance boat could go out.
The little boat lifted and it's arms folded as the doors opened. It reoriented
so it was now with it's tail down and then turned to face the lock as it
finished cycling open.

Barry
watched warily as it turned away from the boat bay lock and moved off out of
sight. “Well, that's done. Now what,” he asked, breathing a sigh of relief.

“I'm
getting some sleep,” a tech said. He snorted.

“Did
you unhook the other shuttle and get it cleared?” Barry asked. The tech sighed
and shook his head.

“Okay
guess what...”

“Down
time after that. Right boss,” the tech said with a suffering air. Barry clapped
him on the shoulder with a smile and nod. “On it,” the tech said shrugging the
hand off as the lock closed.

“Admiral
you have an appointment with the doctor. Long overdue,” a human tech said
leaning into the launch to see him. He'd been at it an hour or so after Barry
had dismissed him with a wave. He hadn't heard anything about the scarab so
apparently all was well. No news was good news.

“Okay,”
he said with a nod. “Best to get it over with then.”

“Do
you ever sleep? I think that's why they want to see you. To find out,” the tech
joked. From the sound of his voice the tech wasn't all that sure himself.

“I
sleep. I'm kind of busy right now though,” Irons said with a shrug. The tech
nodded and rolled his eyes.

“Lead
the way,” he said with a wave of his hand.

The
tech shrugged and spread his hands. “I'm just passing it on,” he replied. “I've
got to go get going on the bay here in ten minutes.”

“Oh,
I'll get directions then,” he said. On his HUD a map was displayed. The tech
opened his mouth but Irons held up a hand. “I've got them. Thanks anyway.”

“How?
I...”

“My
AI dumped a map on my HUD. Thanks,” Irons said moving out. He turned. “Those
parts should be ready in um...” a countdown clock appeared. “Ten minutes or so.
Just pull them, fill the replicator chamber with material and then close the
lid. Jen or Martha or whoever knows what to do next.”