Plague Planet (The Wandering Engineer) (63 page)

“Oh.”

“I've bet you've heard stories by now of the admiral and I and our
travels,” Sprite asked. The two humans nodded. “Well, some of them are true.
And yes, it's a bit frustrating from an outside perspective to see his actions.
And from mine in a way.”

“He's been on a lot of ships. Why not take charge?”

“Mutiny?” Sprite asked with a smile. “That's the term you're
looking for. When a passenger is on a ship they're a guest of the ship's
company. If he'd tried to take control, one they would have laughed at him,
after all he was a stranger not in their chain of command. Two, he would have
been violating thousands of years of tradition in supplanting a ship's already
established chain of command. Three he would have been in violation of Federation
law... unless he pointed out the emergency clauses. Which he didn't.”

“Oh.”

“And fourth, the admiral has learned by now that you never give an
order that you know won't be obeyed. It undermines your own authority.”

“Oh.”

“So, that is why he didn't take command of Io 11, Destiny, or Kiev
221. Or Antigua for that matter. He had some legal justification to do so, but
if the people around you won't support it, you're screwed.”

“I still don't think it's right, I mean what happened in Pyrax...”

“He turned over command of the population to an elected civilian
authority. He couldn't very well go back and tear it all apart, not without
causing more of a problem. Which brings me to a few other points. You are aware
of the various branches of the military right?”

“Yes...” Doctor Richards nodded.

“And each branch has its own branches. Medical in your instance,”
Sprite said, indicating the doctors. Both nodded. “The admiral is an engineer.
He came up through the ranks, a mustang. He never had command track until later,
usually command was thrust on to his shoulders during a crisis. He's much more
at home digging into something.”

“Okay.”

“He's never been a natural at command of civilians, which is where
we are now. He's an honest person, he can project command authority when he
wishes, but he's not...comfortable with it with civilians. He's very much aware
that he's out of his element.”

“And you did say he mustanged.”

“That's true.”

“Mustanged?”

“He rose from the ranks of enlisted to become an officer. Less
than a third of the officers follow that path, most either become an officer
after attending an academy or by going through training in college.”

“Oh.”

“I think he would have been selected as an officer if he had been
given the chance. His history of being, well, forced into the military didn't
go over well in some ways. And he does have some mental scars when it comes to
ship's captain and the boundaries of their authority.”

“Oh.”

“You have to understand, a ship's captain is the law. He has to
be, when the ship is underway that's it, the captain is the sole source of
civilization. The lives of the crew depend on a central authority, in following
the directives that authority lays down. Tinkering with it isn't something you
do lightly, there's a reason they call it mutiny. Since the admiral is a born
spacer, it's probably doubly bred into him not to do so unless the situation
truly is dire.”

“Did he consider it?”

“I think... no. Destiny yes, I know he did consider it briefly,
Destiny is a navy reserve vessel.” Their eyes widened slightly.

“Destiny is a Zanzibar class freighter, she was one of the
captured freighters we liberated in Pyrax. All of them were taken on as reserve
naval vessels. Unfortunately many of their crews didn't sign off on that. That
was a mistake on the admiral's part, he delegated it but didn't follow up on
it. Nor did I,” Sprite said wryly.

“Oh.”

“Had the crew been navy, things would have been different. But
they weren't and it's over and done with now.”

“You said there was another ship? Kiev something or other?”

“Kiev 221. A bulk freighter converted into a flying habitat.
Thousands of people on-board. The admiral was a newcomer to the environment. A
complete unknown. True he saved the day, but the captain and crew were ready to
space him anyway. Fortunately the admiral and some of the crew like the
executive officer worked out a diplomatic compromise.”

“Oh.”

“I wasn't with him before when he worked on the Dyson spheres or
Stargate project,” Sprite mused. Both human's eyes widened in surprise. “I don't
have the records of that time, but I'm fairly certain he delegated as much as
possible. That's how he works. He gives you the tools, makes sure you know how
to use them, points you in the right direction and then gets out of the way and
expects you to  handle it at your own pace and with your own initiative. Your
own self-interest will help drive the project.”

“Okay, I get that, to some degree.”

“Which is what he's doing now somewhat, but also what he's doing
with Pyrax. We may not be there, but the admiral is still sending orders to the
system. He's not getting much in the way of feedback, but he left a detailed
plan behind and he knows Commander Logan will do his best to carry it out.”

“Oh.”

“There's another reason the admiral has acted the way he has, and
I hesitate to bring it up.”

“Oh?”

“The admiral is... well, taking the long view. Politics in some
way of explanation. He's building a reputation and a legend around himself and
others in order to get people to help. To help each other, to show interest in
more than themselves. In some ways it's shaming them into becoming what they
could have been all along.”

“Leading by example?”

“In some ways. He's very much aware of the image of what he is and
what he is doing, though I was unaware of how serious he was taking that until
a short time ago. Now I better understand why he's been so... maddeningly vague
or inconsistent. I do wish he'd brought it up earlier with me.”

“Sounds like you're a little petulant.”

“Annoyed? With him or me? Never mind. I do see his point, how can
he show himself as a benefit if he goes around taking over? The iron fist of
authority?”

“Oh,” Richards replied, glancing at Zane. Slowly Zane nodded.
“Yeah, it would seem a bit inconsistent.”

“Just a tad,” Sprite replied. “He's, well, you may not've heard of
the story of Johnny Appleseed, or his namesake. I'll upload both stories to
your implants... done.”

“Okay.”

“Check them over later. Consider it homework. But the short story
is, the admiral is creating a myth, and the people who are involved with it are
spreading the myth. Also the tech he's dropping here and there are also seeds.
Together, hopefully someday, we'll see those seeds bear fruit.”

“Like Pyrax?”

“Well, leadership there... sucks,” Sprite replied darkly. “But the
story of how he was hounded out of the system while undermining him, also makes
people think. Is he doing this to make up for past mistakes? Did he really do
it?”

“Which he didn't, we've seen the vids,” Zane said.

“You know that, I know that. Even people who have seen the vids
know it, but in their organic hind brain there is that little nagging kernel of
doubt. It sits there nibbling at people. They wonder why he's doing what he's
doing.”

“He could set himself up as a dictator somewhere,” Richards mused.
She thought of her own home world and winced.

Sprite however shook her head. “Not going to happen. The admiral
is a firm believer in the constitution, and therefore in democracy. That's why
he's deferring in some ways to governor Oman's office. He has to, that's what
he's been trained to do, and if he didn't he'd undermine everything he's trying
to achieve.”

“That's why he didn't take over in Antigua? The military
governorship?”

“Well, there wasn't a crisis there. If the pirates had attacked,
things would have gone differently. We were hounded out of the system. People
saw that, and I bet Governor Randall's got his hands full now. Not to mention
the cybers on Prime,” Sprite replied with a bit of a snark in her voice.

“Leadership?” Richards asked, trying to get them back on track.
“You mentioned leadership? Lead by example? In what way politically?”

“In helping others. A lot like what a doctor does. He's trying
social change through example. Pay it forward is the psychological and
sociological example. I'll bookmark them for you.”

Doctor Richards preened a little. “True.”

“Don't let it go to your head doctor. You have reminded me that I
need to help you with training. You have to be brought up to standards once
this crisis has passed.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“It is and it isn't. Let's just say the next time something like
this comes your way, and it might, you may have further outbreaks down the
road, you'll not only be ready with training, but also mentally as well.”

“All right.”

“What does he get out of it?” Zane finally asked, rubbing his
chin.

“A renewed Federation, stopping the pirates, stopping people dying
senselessly...” Sprite shrugged. “Take your pick. He's not into money or power.
He's an engineer. Fixing things is what they're good at.”

“Oh,” Zane murmured. Slowly he smiled, dropping his hand. “You
know, I kind of like that.”

“It's a worthy dream,” Doctor Richards murmured softly.

“And now you're a part of it,” Sprite said. Both humans stared at
her. She nodded, sober. “As am I. Dismissed lieutenants, you have some work to
do and I need to check on the rest of the class,” she said with a smile. They
nodded as she disengaged the connection.

“Food for thought indeed,” Richards said, as nurse Marlone waved
to her. She sighed and got up, nodding to the nurse.

“Digest later,” Zane replied with a snort. “Though I think some of
what you said a few people should be brought in on. He doesn't have to do it
alone commander,” Zane said.

“Talk later. Work now,” Helen said, giving him a push. “Go check
on the grounds. I'll look at the bigger picture.”

“Aye aye ma'am,” Zane said with a grin. Helen just rolled her eyes
and ignored him as he walked off.

...*...*...*...*...

Instead of going one by one, Sprite set it up so they could do
group testing. The admiral jacked into two subjects at the same time and they
went through the testing. It took about twelve hours to complete each doctor
pairing, and when they were finished both doctors were exhausted and went to
sleep.

The admiral unfortunately was tethered to the beds during the
testing. He could and did communicate with the grid in order to keep an eye on
the manufacturing, but couldn't leave the room to key in additional equipment
so that plan lagged behind.

After the second pairing in twenty four hours he insisted on a
break to check on things and key the replicators. Doctor Ivanov reported small
success in Hazard, but they were still being ground away. Hank reported that
the sheriff and Hodges were barely hanging on, law and order were almost out
the window despite all his efforts. The blue Neolion seemed exhausted.

Nohar was backstopping the sheriff, working with deputy Rogers to
try to keep some semblance of peace. Rogers reported his friend Bullet had
taken over as acting sheriff in Crater City after that city's sheriff had
succumbed to the pathogen. Bullet had been upwind, and fortunately for his sake
was now in a hazmat suit.

Complaints of being itchy, tired, hungry, thirsty, the list went
on and on. But the hazmats were life savers, everyone admitted that. Just being
in one caused some resentment, however. One security guard had had his forcibly
ripped off by an angry mob in New Seattle.

When Doctor La Plaz and Doctor Milinkov were cleared the duo took
to the warehouse to work on medical replicators. They went through the line of
medical replicators the admiral had created, initializing each with their keys
one by one. It was a tedious process, but since both men were used to working
in the micro, and had loads of patience, they got the job done.

...*...*...*...*...

Once they had sufficient working medical replicators they turned
their attention to the virology lab. The two settled there and when Doctor
Richards heard about their pre-occupation she sent Nurse Joy to roust them out.
Instead the nurse ended up getting drafted as an assistant. Annoyed Helen sent
Nurse Marlone... who reported back in a rather awed voice that they were making
incredible progress.

“Great strides! Great strides! We're getting somewhere finally!”
The nurse said, smiling. “They have a vaccine!” she said. A nurse nearby
overheard and turned, hugging another. That news ricocheted through the weary
medical staff.

“If only it was that easy,” Helen sighed softly.

“Don't kill it, the news is good for morale,” the admiral said to
her. He was lining up to do more of the nurses now. Each had less testing since
they didn't have the keys the doctors did, so each would only take up to four
hours. Hopefully he would be able to go through the entire batch in a single
evening.