Ghost Station (The Wandering Engineer) (16 page)

“Okay,”
the tech said, confused. He shrugged it off.

The
infirmary isn't far; it's near the center line of the ship. Apparently there
were two infirmaries, one was the original sickbay, and the second was an
improvised space in the starboard cargo hold close to the centerline.
Fortunately his appointment was in the old infirmary so he didn't have to cross
the ship to get to the starboard hold at this time.

He
liked what he saw as he walked. People were busy, they looked happy and things
were finally looking up. He heard a noise and looked up at a duct. A pair of
wide Elf eyes stared back at him. He nodded and moved on.

Smart.
Elves were small, they could easily fit into the ducts and nooks and cranny
spaces that a larger sentient or a bot couldn't. Still, it didn't use their
full potential, and cleaning a duct was tedious mind numbing work. He didn't
envy them.

Irons
checked in with the doctor when he arrived in the sickbay a few minutes later.
The doctor was a female neo Jackal named Numiria. Visiting the clinic served to
relieve tensions over whether he harbors disease putting the crew at ease, and
it allowed Sprite access to the medical database in order to repair it and
check on the sleepers.  He was very curious to know what he could do for them,
if anything.

“So
did you injure yourself too or is this for my peace of mind?” Numiria asked,
looking down at a tablet in her hands. She was tall and thin, rakishly thin.
Her ears were long and pointed straight up. She had a medical smock on that had
seen better days even though it had been freshly laundered from the smell. She
was about a hundred and fifty centimeters tall, well, maybe a hundred and
seventy if you included her ears.

She
had short brown fur, lightly tan on her neck indicating she had counter shading
going on. Her hands were fine and delicate, with long fingers. She apparently
had some mods in her ancestry; most canines had shorter almost stubby fingers.

“I'm
fine doc. All readings are nominal,” he said taking a seat on the gurney. They
were using gurneys in place of fixed beds and exam tables. Either it was out of
practicality or it was because the old equipment had been replaced. He brushed
the errant question aside and focused on the doctor.

“I'll
be the judge of that,” she said with an ear flick and sardonic canine grin. Her
thin tail wagged a little and then drooped. “You've been extensively
implanted.”

“Cyborg
is the polite term doc. Yes. I've got military grade cybernetics,” he replied.
He raised his right arm and ran it through a quick demo. The doctor caught the
demo out of the corner of her eye and stopped to stare fascinated.

“I've
heard, I've seen some... but never this... May I?” she asked reaching for his
arm.

“Sure
doc,” he said, resting his arm against his side and hid a sigh. Strong fingers
reached out and touched his arm. She traced her finger claws up the arm to the
shoulder.

“I'll
need a blood sample.”

The
admiral immediately frowned. “I'm not keen about that doctor. Security reasons.
I can dump my non-secure medical information to your database. My AI is
actually itching to get in and repair some of the software damage.”

“It
is?”

“She
actually. Sprite.”

“All
right. I'll still need the blood sample though,” she said firmly.

“Fine
doc,” he said holding out his left arm. She nodded to an orderly on his other
side. The orderly smiled politely and set up to take the sample.

The
admiral knew that the nanites in his blood would destroy his genetic trace and
then themselves right after extraction. He could feel Proteus already at work
doing that. Before the needle was removed the job of covering his back was
finished.

“There.
I'll just get a...”

“No
need,” Irons said. He brushed the swab away and flexed his arm. “Healed
already.”

“It
is?” Numiria asked staring at the needle site.

“See?”
he said exposing the arm. The needle mark was gone. “Accelerated healing. One
of the perks of being in the military.”

“Oh.”
She shook her head as her hand touched the joint. “Must be nice,” she muttered.

“It
has its ups and downs doc. I like it,” he replied with a tight lipped smile.

She
looked at the tablet in her hands. “I can see that. I'm not sure I would
volunteer to have so much hardware implanted in my body. You're almost fifty
percent machine.”

“Pretty
close doc. Probably a little more actually. I've got a lot of implants,” the
admiral replied.

“Why?”

“Injuries.
I was torn up a few times. Instead of getting cloned replacements I volunteered
for implants.”

“Oh,”
she replied, clutching the tablet in front of her.

“It's
nice that I've got all the tools I need at my fingertips,” he said flexing his
right hand again and then wiggling the fingers. She glanced at the hand and
then snorted softly.

“I
guess it does indeed.”

“Nice
place you have here,” he said looking around. The infirmary was clean and neat.
It was a bit crowded, but he had sort of expected that. It was also an open bay
arrangement, something he'd also expected. There were privacy curtains but none
were in use.

He
spotted a few people nursing minor injuries. Medics cautioned them to be more
careful as they patched them up. The doctor's ears cock toward the door. “Uh
oh, sounds like trouble. I'm going to have to leave you for the moment,” she
said. Just then a kid came in with dislocated shoulder crying. An adult was
supporting him.

“Triage
doc,” he said with a dismissive nod. He looked around until he found a nearby
jack. She doesn't blink as he sat down in a chair next to the jack and jacked
in. He remained quiet, sitting back and closing his eyes.

“I
wish all my patients were as quiet and as patient as you are,” Numiria said
with an amused look his way. He cracked one eyelid open to look at her then
smiled a little and shrugged.

“Part
of the problem here is that we are overloaded. I'm only one person. I have one
other doctor here, but he's very old and a bit senile. Sure the others here are
willing, but the only training we have is on the job.”

“Sometimes
that's the best training doc,” he replied.

“True.
But it's hard to pass on the skills people need.”

“If
I remember right doctors are trained with a balanced approach. Half school work
and labs and half actual field experience. They work their ways through the
various specialties until they graduate.”

“Huh,”
she said, as she gave the child a local. “Ready?” she asked looking into his
eyes. He nodded. She firmly moved the arm up and back, getting the joint back
in place. The boy cried, tears running down his cheeks.

“I
told you to be more careful Marvin,” His mother said with a sigh.

“He's
young. Children bounce back quickly. Since this isn't his first time you know
the drill. I'm going to give you the usual analgesic and anti-inflammatory.
You'll need to ice the area and keep it immobile for a while.”

“I
remember the routine doc. It's not his first,” the mother said dryly.

“And
no doubt not his last,” the doctor agreed. “Though for his sake I hope it is.
Damage like this can become permanent young man.” She held up a finger in front
of the lad's face. The boy nodded and sniffled. She handed him a cloth tissue
as a nurse rigged a sling for the arm.

“That
was quick,” Irons said as the mother escorted the boy out.

Numiria
watched them go before she picked up her tablet and made a note to the boy's
chart. “He's a regular. You'd think he'd watch where he was going in these
soccer games the kids play.”

“Hit
a hatch?” Irons asked wincing. He'd done that as a lad a few times. He knew how
that could hurt, especially if it was unpadded.

“Yes,”
Numiria said not looking up. He noted a wedding band on her right ring finger.
Interesting.

“Happens.
I know how he's feeling.”

“Oh?”

“Spacer
born and bred doc,” he said with a smile. “You were saying?” he asked.

“No
I was complaining. Ranting really,” she said going back to scanning him with a
hand probe. He started to get up but she waved him back down into the chair.
“You are fine where you are right now. I'm almost finished.”

“I
wish we had more Betodyne,” a Terran nurse nearby complained.

“Well
we don't. Do without,” the doctor said not looking up.

“Rubbing
alcohol?” the nurse asked with a sigh.

“Peroxide.
Vodka if you have to,” she said. The nurse wrinkled her nose and went to a
storage cabinet. The glass doors were cracked. One had a star impact from
something sharp.

“You
can replicate what you need or trade for it,” Irons replied.

“Replicator's
on the fritz. It’s been that way for years. Before I got here at any rate,”
Numiria answered wrinkling her muzzle and tapping at the tablet.

“I
can take a look at it if you want me to,” the admiral offered.

“No
there are more important things to fix right now.”

“No,
crew comfort is important,” Irons replied. “Sprite?” he asked looking down at
his arm.

“I'm
a little busy here. Proteus is checking. There is a general fault in the
electronics and the nanites are just about gone admiral,” she reported. “At
least that's what Proteus is telling me.”

“Okay,”
Irons said opening his eyes. He looked at the neojackal. “You're medical
replicator has an IT hardware fault and it is just about out of nanites. I
can't do anything about the nanites but I can fix the electronics.”

“You
can?”

“Electronics
are easy. Medical nanites are beyond my level doc.”

“Oh.
Well, it goes to show there are some limits to you,” she said with an ear
flick.

“I
could do it doc but well... it's complicated.”

“Okay...”

“A
medical officer is required to authorize medical nanites in most situations.
They have the keys in their implants.”

“Oh...
And you're not a medic, pity.”

“No
I'm an engineer. Also an admiral. What I suggest is the next time you are in
Pyrax you ask the doctor there to make you some. Doctor Thornby.”

“Oh.”
Numiria sighed. “So much for that. Thanks for getting my hopes up for nothing.”

“Easy
doc. It's not all doom and gloom.” He felt Sprite retract back into him. He
disengaged the jacks and got up, straightening his uniform as he stood. “Let's
have a look.”

He
took the panel off and took a quick look. When he was sure no one was going to
freak he let Proteus take over his arm. The AI went to work, morphing it and
extending tools to repair the electronics.

“That's
wild,” an orderly breathed. Irons looked over his shoulder. The short Terran
was wide eyed in awe but not fear or revulsion.

“You
could say that,” the doctor said. Irons shrugged. What they didn't know was
that the tools were mostly for show. Oh they did minor fixes, but the real work
was going on with his nanites. After a minute Proteus signaled it was finished.

“Done,”
he said retracting his arm and letting it hang. The arm returned to normal as
he looked at the interior one last time. He flexed his fingers. “It looks like
you need to refill the material bins doc. And there is a crimp in the water
line. I suggest you ask engineering to send a tech out to fix that.”

“Okay,”
she said with a nod. She looked down and made a note then clutched the tablet
to her chest. He picked up the cover plate and put it back in place. He tapped
the controls and then stepped back. After a moment the replicator's delivery
box lit and a plastic container formed.

“What
are you making?” she asked.

“First
test. POST. Power On Self Test. With a medical replicator you usually make
something simple like a saline solution. In this case...” he watched as the red
light changed to blue then green and then winked out. He reached in and took
out the plastic container and passed it to her.

She
turned it over in her hand and then stared at the label. “Betodyne,” she said
looking up at him in surprise.

“I
suggest you keep things simple doc. It's easier for this old girl to handle and
they will be quicker than say something as complex as a synthetic organ.”

She
blinked at him. Her ears went flat as she suddenly caught on. “You...”

“This
replicator's really made to make medical materials, not complicated things like
that. To do it in quantity properly you need a tissue replicator and a
bioreactor.”

“Oh.”
She stared at him with the rest of the people in the infirmary. He shrugged off
the gaze. “My you are full of surprises,” she finally murmured.

“I'll
have Sprite send you a list of things to replicate. Make sure to give it plenty
of material to use.”