The Apprentice Starship Engineer: Book One The Link (7 page)

Bob sighed. “When I met Vivian, she wouldn’t talk to me. I couldn’t sleep. I hurt so bad I went to her and told her how I felt. We became friends. After she knocked me out, we married and the rest is history. You,” he said, “are avoiding that. You’re hiding behind your studies, using them for a haven. Don’t live safe, kid. Live hard. Tell her, and for better or worse, take her answer on the chin. You might be surprised at what she says, but either way, you’ll never be sorry you asked. Damn it! Cowards can never be happy.” He finished his drink, then left the room.

We were quiet for a while. Jack filled my cup. “Bob, he’s passionate. He loves Vivian. I’ve never seen a man so in love, but he’s right. No matter what she says you’ll never regret saying what you have to say to her. You don’t want to make your life into a cheap romance novel. Finish your drink and go tell her before it’s too late.” Jack corked his bottle.

Bob was right, I thought, swirling the yellow liquid around in my cup. Jack’s whiskey had to be made from goat piss.

I liked Kathy. Hell, who wouldn’t like her? At least we could be friends. I stood and staggered. Shit, if I went to see her now she’d think I needed liquid courage to face her. I picked up the cup and drained it in one large gulp. It almost dropped me to the floor. It was true, I need liquid courage to face her. What if she refused to talk to me?

Jack laughed. “Well, liquid courage is still courage. Go talk to her. You can’t lose.”

I left him rocking in his chair, singing. Margret guided me through the ship. I only really saw flashes of hallways and people giving me disgusted looks. After arriving at Kathy’s door, I almost turned around, but Jack’s words came back to me.
You have nothing to lose.
I rang her doorbell. 

Kathy came to the door. She looked better than ever. “So I hear you aced another test,” she said as she looked at me. I stood in her doorway with my heart in my throat. “You’ve been celebrating with Jack’s piss.”

“Yeah. Where the hell does he get that shit?”

“I think he makes it in a dark, dank part of the ship.”

“Bob says it’s made from goat piss.”

“Ah, an even scarier thought is it’s defiantly made from piss, but we have no goats on the ship,” she said with a smirk.

“Yuk. Let’s not go there, okay?”

“Are you going to get sick?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“You’d better come in,” she said as she gently pulled me into the room. “Sit on the couch. I’ll get you something just in case you can’t make it to the bathroom.” She returned with a large plastic bag. “I’m tired of cleaning up, so please hit the bag if you can’t make it.”

The room spun, my stomach clinched, and I found myself on all fours, heaving my guts out into the bag. Kathy patted me on the shoulder. I wanted to die. “Shit, Jack is trying to kill me!”

I woke up to a pounding headache. Kathy was telling someone she’d be late for her shift. That she had an upset stomach. She handed me a glass of fizzy water. “For your head and stomach,” she said.

As I sat up, I thought I might faint. My head pounded so hard. “Why the hell would anyone drink that shit Jack makes?” I muttered.

Kathy chuckled. “When I first met you, I thought what a nice, smart young man, but now I’m starting to wonder. The only time you’ve come to see me is when you’re stumbling drunk.”

Her medicine worked miracles on my hangover. She was half joking, but there was an underlying seriousness in what she’d said. I looked at the floor to avoid her eyes.

“Bob said I was a coward for not talking to you. He said I hid behind my studies to avoid facing my feelings for you. When I’m around you, I’m comfortable and happy.” I looked up into her eyes. “At least could we be friends? I apologize for forcing you to kiss me. That was wrong, and I’m sorry.”

She looked as if I’d slapped her. She took my empty glass and walked into the kitchen. My heart hit the floor.

“Bob is right. You have been a coward. I don’t know if it’s Jack’s piss water that’s talking or your heart. We can talk tomorrow when you’re sober.” She walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

Still unsteady, I pulled myself to my feet, then struggled to fold up the blanket she’d thrown over me. After putting it on the couch, I looked the room over to make sure I wasn’t leaving a mess.

* * * *

Jack stayed in his office. I puttered with a damper motor and repaired a controller. After taking one look at me, Bob had volunteered to handle the repair calls.

Usually Bob had lunch with Vivian, but today he joined me. “I want you to know I don’t involve myself in other people’s business, but after watching you for the last few months, I couldn’t take it anymore,” he said.

He was fishing, but I wasn’t ready. “Okay,” I said. We finished lunch in silence.

Toward the end of the shift, Jack called me into his office. “Tomorrow I’ll start showing you around the bending drive. I’m going to give you a few books to read on the theory and physics involved. You don’t need to read them for any test, but I believe having a good background will help you understand the drive mechanism.” He tapped his assistant screen. “So there you go.”

Just what I need. Some more extra reading from Jack. What the hell. I didn’t have anything to do tonight after practice. It will be fun, I thought as I left maintenance to meet Sandra.

After another grueling practice with Sandra correcting everything I did. I stomped my way to my dorm. I paced. I know I’d be fine after I started. It was just that every time I see my favorite chair I want to heave. I gritted my teeth and took my seat.

Everyone knows the theory of a bending drive, I thought as I opened the first book Jack had given me. The basic theory of a bending drive. I prepared myself to be bored. As I finished the book, I heard people starting to get up. Crap, another long day.

Margret used to nag me to go to bed, but she doesn’t do that anymore, not after the fight. I’d been studying air flow and the fluid dynamics involved with it. It was late, and she’d nagged me to go to bed. We’d argued, and I’d told her that she wasn’t pretty enough to be my mother. So she stopped reminding me about any appointments or that I was staying up too late. An apology would have ended the fight, but I wasn’t apologizing to a machine.

I stopped by the cafeteria and grabbed breakfast. While I ate, I continued reading about drive theory.

Jenny coughed. I looked up at her. “God, you look like shit. What happened? Did Kathy keep you up all night?”

“Ah.”

She grabbed Margret. “What are you studying? Porn I bet.” She looked at Margret’s display. She came face-to-face with a schematic drawing of the layout of a bender drive. She shook her head. “You have to be the most boring person I’ve ever met. You expect me to believe you studied all night?”

“Drake, has been reading this book for the last thirteen hours and twenty three minutes. He has had five breaks at seven minutes each. He hasn’t slept in the last twenty-five hours,” Margret said.

I reached out and gently took Margret back. “Thank you, Margret,” I said as I slipped her into my shirt pocket.

“Sorry,” Jenny said. Her face turned red.

“Yeah, well whatever.” Suddenly I wasn’t hungry. I got up and left her sitting at the table.

I wasn’t my usual happy self the whole day. I felt bad about the way I’d treated Jenny. I was tired, and felt as if I stopped I might just fall over. Bob made a comment, and I said I hadn’t slept well.

“Ah, women will do that to you. I’ve lost a lot of sleep over women,” he said.

“Is that all life is to you? Women?” I asked.

“Of course not. I like food and drink also,” he said with a laugh.

I almost hit him, but took out my frustration on everything else by slamming stuff around and working hard. I was tired, and heard voices and saw people out of the corner of my eye that weren’t there. By the time I arrived at Kathy’s apartment, I was having trouble walking.

Kathy smiled, then frowned. “Are you drunk?”

“No, he isn’t drunk,” Margret answered from my pocket. “He stayed up reading. I’m at fault. We had a fight. I haven’t been reminding him of any appointments, waking him or telling him it’s time to go to bed. His present condition is my fault. I’ll see to my duties in the future. You should get him another assistant.”

“Ah, Kathy, you know me. I don’t listen to anyone. Margret isn’t responsible for me.”

Kathy pulled me into her apartment and then closed the door behind me. “You must enjoy sleeping on my couch,” she said.

* * * *

I woke up to a soft chime. Margret said, “Come on, sleepy head, it’s time to wake. Kathy said you owe her a night out. She likes to dance. She enjoyed viewing you while she undressed you. She made naughty comments about your anatomy. Would you like to hear them?”

“Ah, no, thank you,” I said.

“Johnny Rodman called. He said Jenny came by the dorm, looking for you. She said she wanted to make sure you were okay. He told her you were out to chow. She tried to contact you, but I blocked her. She left a message. Do you want to hear it or should I just tell you what she said?”

“Just tell me.”

“She apologized for what happened at breakfast, and hopes you take better care of yourself. Kathy just set an appointment with you for this afternoon. Oh, your clothes are on the chair. You should hurry. You don’t have much time left to start your shift.”

As I walked the main center hallway, I thought about the bender drive opening a hole through space time.  It was amazing stuff. Everything was exciting to me. I couldn’t wait to learn more.

Jenny grabbed my arm. “Hey, space case, there you are. I’ve been looking for you.”

Pulled from my thoughts, I smiled. “Hi, Jenny. What’s up?”

“I was worried. Where were you?”

I paused. “Well, I went to see Kathy and slept on her couch.”

Jenny took a deep breath and frowned. “Oh, I see. You slept on her couch.”

“Yeah. She says I now owe her a night out dancing.”

Margret interrupted. “You’re now late for the start of your shift.”

“Thanks, Jenny, for trying to help. I owe you. Give me a call. Got to run,” I said, taking off in a light jog.

I heard her call, “See you, Drake.”

Chapter 5: No one knows a bender drive like you do

Jack waited by the door, looking at his assistant. “Yeah, you’re smart and passed your second-year exams, but you have a long way to go. When you show up late, you screw everyone you work with, and no one can trust you. Don’t be late again.” He turned on his heel and headed toward his office. “Come on. We have work to do.”

Bob lounged in Jack’s chair. Jack went to the wall screen and drew on it. “Navigation has been noticing a slight problem with our bender drive. The emitters are out of alignment on the starboard side, causing navigation to compensate. This operation will take all of us. Today we’re going to do a dress rehearsal. First, Bob get Drake checked out on an EVA suit and personal propulsion unit. While I get together the alignment tools and check their calibration,” Jack said. Bob nodded. Jack continued. “So, just to give you an overview of what we’ll be doing, Drake, we‘ll go out to the bender ring.” He brought up a picture of an emitter. “To adjust an emitter you first loosen this lock, then turn the adjustment. It’s simple. We’ll go over the procedure on a spare emitter with you this afternoon.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Jack. I agree we need to do this, but it’s not normal. Why are the emitters off and only on one side? We need to find out what’s going on. We also need to slow to fractional light speed and call Earth,” Bob said.

Jack shook his head. “We can’t slow. The emitters are so out of alignment we won’t be able to get back into warp. We don’t have the equipment to align the emitters out of it. The alignments must be done while we’re in it. This is the only way, Bob. We have no choice.”

Bob walked up to Jack and stood inches from him. “No one knows a bender drive as well as you do. What could cause this, and where can we check to see if the drive is in good shape?”

Jack scratched his chin. “Go get Drake checked out. I need to think about this.”

Bob led me to the maintenance airlock. I was excited to get a chance to do an EVA. “Well, you read the manuals and rules, but I’m going to tell you everything again as that’s what Jack would do. So sit back and be prepared to be bored,” he said, handing me a package. “The skin suit it makes your own skin into a pressure suit. Take off all your clothes. Jewelry. Everything.”

It made me think of a giant sock. The only fasteners were at the shoulders. The suit was one piece that you had to pull on, starting at your toes and ending with your shoulders. I’ve seen dancers with tights on, but nothing compared with what I wore. The suit was transparent with little lines that crisscrossed it.

Bob stood. His suit did little to hide his pot belly. He reached over to my shoulder. “Make sure the next layer gets plugged into this.” He held up a small connector attached to my skin suit. He turned around and opened a locker and then pulled out a large pair of coveralls with hoses hanging off it. “This is the outer layer. It has a cooling jacket and protective layers.” He handed me the coveralls. They were surprisingly heavy. On the back was a small pack that contained the cooling and air filters. “These suits will allow you to work in space for twenty-four hours.” He put on his suit.

I fumbled with the plug. Bob gave me a hand. The gloves at the end of the coveralls were bulky but useable. I picked up Margret and plugged her into the suit.

Bob nodded in approval. “Kid, never go out alone. If your suit alarm goes off for any reason, return to ship pronto. If your buddy’s suit fails or he has to return for any reason, you’ll return with him. We’ll be in constant communication on this outing. Today you’ll stay close to me. We also are going to use the propulsion units. Stay inside the bubble. Cross it and you’ll be shredded by the warp fields. Don’t go in front of the bending ring either or the same thing will happen. Set your safety limits at seven hundred meters from the ship and the bender ring.” He handed me a helmet. “Your suit is number five. It has green strips on your arms and legs and on the helmet. Green is five. Don’t use my helmet. It’s yellow number four. By the way, Jack is brown number one. You can use his helmet as far as I’m concerned, but you might not like it. Remember the colors so you can tell who is who.” He headed toward the airlock as he put on his helmet.

Margret called, “Bob is calling. Should I connect him?”

“Ah, yeah, of course.”

“Drake, did you set the limits?” Bob asked.

“Right. Margret, set the limits at seven hundred meters and the bender ring,” I said.

“Set,” Margret replied.

“Keep our connection open, Drake.”

“Margret, keep this connection open,” I said.

“Open,” she said.

“Drake, here is the airlock inner control panel. As you can see, these lights show the status of the airlock. This green light indicates it’s pressurized and we can enter,” he said. Bob hit the door button. I followed him. “This button closes the door, and this one starts the depressurization. Both of our AIs are talking to the lock controls, checking our suits and giving the lock control go or no-go signals.”

I clinched my hands. The gloves felt good. On Mars, Dad and I worked outside in pressure suits, but not as good as these. This will be cake, I thought.

“Okay, kid, we’re officially in space. Let’s go outside and take a walk.” Bob opened the outer door.

It’s one of those things many people talk about like a sunset. I could never grow tired of looking at a working bender ring, and mere words wouldn’t give it justice. A bright spot in front of the ship emitted a continual shifting pattern of lightening with green, purple and red bands of light swirling around it. I stood in the doorway, transfixed by the display.

“The ship’s viewers just don’t get it right, do they?” Bob asked.

“Wow,” I said.

“Yeah, wow says it.”

We both just looked at the display for a few moments, enjoying the show.

“Okay, show’s over. Jack will have my hide if I don’t get you checked out on the maneuvering unit. Drake, open your icons.” I hit a button on my left arm pad and icons appeared on the bottom of my face shield. “Hit the maneuvering unit icon. It’s the one with the man and a circle around him.”

I tapped the icon with my glove. A display appeared at the bottom of my face shield with information concerning the maneuvering unit. A bar filled, marking the progress of the unit’s operational check. I touched my face shield and pulled the display to the far left of my screen.

“Drake, you’re going to love this part. Press the icon for your boosters,” Bob said. The icon changed color to amber.

“Your maneuvering unit now is active,” Margret said.

“Now just listen to me before you do anything, okay?” Bob asked. “To use your maneuvering unit hold your thumbs to your index fingers on both hands. Now watch this. If I twist my left hand to the left, I roll to the left. To the right and I roll to the right. If I lift up with my left hand, I pitch up, and down is, of course, pitch down. Moving to the left yaws me to the left and right. See how that works?” I nodded. Of course I’d read this so it wasn’t anything new. “The right hand controls your direction of movement. This is a very forgiving unit, and if you move your hands to center, it’ll stop your movement. Okay, Drake, do what I do.” He rolled left. I followed. Then right, up, down, side to side. “Not bad. Now follow me.”

He turned and flew away across the ship’s side. I followed, but as I caught up, he went faster and soon we zipped around the ship. Bob got crazier, weaving around supports for the main antenna array. Still I gained on him, getting closer as he spun around.

“Drake, what are you doing? Stop it now,” Margret said.

“No, I can get him.”

“You’re going to get him killed. Stop now.”

Bob’s leg hit a beam right in front of me. I pulled up, flying away from the ship. It hurt to say it, but I did. “You’re the man, Bob. I can’t catch you. I’m done.”

“You’re done? That’s all you got? No one can catch the snake,” he said as he flew a victory roll. Margret was right. I would have killed him if I’d continued.

“Thanks, Margret, for stopping me,” I said.

“I know it was hard for you to stop. You’re a good kid.”

“Oh, Drake, one more thing,” Bob said. “Hit the emergency home icon. It’s the house with a lightning bolt going through it.”

I hit the icon and my vision bleared as I streaked toward the airlock.

“Don’t worry, Drake. I have you. This will be rough but safe,” Margret said. The airlock approached very fast. The maneuvering unit fired, bringing me in. The outer door slammed shut, and the lock cycled. “That was nasty of him. I’m programed to take you to the nearest airlock as fast as possible. The suit weights eighty pounds, and you have no other clothes to wear. Plus, we’re out of fuel.”

The weight of the suit settled onto my shoulders. After taking a seat on a bench, I peeled off the heavy suit. I laughed halfway through my shower and continued as I toweled off and then pulled a disposable coverall out of a locker. I looked in the mirror and laughed again. Well, I won’t find a girl dressed in that.

With the heavy suit on an anti-gravity cart, I headed out of the changing area. As I turned a corner, I ran into Jenny, who giggled. “I’d walk with you, but you’re embarrassing,” she said.

“That bad,” I said, looking at myself. The coveralls were wide enough for two of me. The sleeves just covered my elbows, and the legs didn’t reach my ankles.

She laughed. “I need to meet your tailor.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to embarrass you.” I smiled. Believing I couldn’t be embarrassed any more, we ran in to Kathy. She stopped, looked me up and down, then at Jenny.

“Masquerade party?” she asked as she craned her neck, viewing my legs and bare feet.

“Hey, Kathy, I always can explain my strange and bazaar behavior. Why don’t we walk and talk. My dorm is just down the hall. I can change, and we can discuss the whole sorted affair,” I said.

“No. I’m busy right now. Come see me tonight after your shift at my quarters.”

“Sure, but I might need to work late.”

“When you’re done with your shift come see me. Understand?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You’re Jenny, right?” Kathy asked.

“Yes, and you’re Kathy Shelling,” Jenny said.

The two women stared at each other for a moment. “Oh, you’re the girl who set up Drake’s assistant. Very funny stuff. Thank you for doing that. It’s kept him out of trouble,” Kathy said. Jenny nodded. Kathy turned and walked away. “Don’t forget, Drake. After your shift,” she said over her shoulder.

“Margret, you got that?” I asked.

“Yes, Drake. After your shift. Oh, and you need to lose those coveralls,” she said.

Jenny glared at me. “What?” I asked.

“Are you having sex with Kathy?”

“Ha, I wish. No, she’s what she says she is—a very busy woman. I’ll be meeting with her to explain why an apprentice is walking around barefoot.”

Jenny smiled. “Margret is right. You look like shit in those coveralls. See you later.” She turned down another hallway.

No one was home at my dorm. I grabbed a pair of overalls and boots and then headed to maintenance.

I overheard Bob as I entered the room. “Jack, I never heard of it before. No one has ever had to realign a bender ring during flight.”

“Bob, we’ve been over this at least five times. It’s a safe procedure, and can be done with the three of us,” Jack said.

“Yeah, I know, but we shouldn’t have to. The ring must have warped or something.”

Jack sighed. “I can’t find it, Bob, and I checked everything. The structure hasn’t changed. The ship is still straight. I used magnetic imaging to check for cracks and structural flaws. Everything is fine.”

“No, we need to align the bender ring so something happened. We have to stop and figure it out.”

“It’s not our call. The officers say we continue.”

Bob looked up at me. “I didn’t want you to push the home icon.” He laughed. “You sure did move. That was fast. Let me take that.” He got up and grabbed my cart. “I have to go to the airlock, anyway.” He set three large cases on top my spacesuit and then left the shop.

Jack sighed. “Bob, he’s a good guy, a great friend, but sometimes he can be an ass. He set you up. He did that on purpose. You can bet on it.”

“Hmm, well, it’s a good thing I found disposable coveralls in the airlock change room,” I said.

Jack smiled. “Yeah, I try to keep stuff at the airlocks just in case. Let’s get started. We have a lot to do this afternoon.” He walked over to his favorite display. After tapping the screen, a drawing of the bender ring was displayed. He circled part of it, and the screen zoomed in, showing only the section he’d marked. “This is the area we’ll be working on tomorrow. Navigation has determined that these thirteen emitters are in need of alignment.”

Jack stood back, looking at the display, then circled one of the emitters. It filled the screen. He took a deep breath, then continued nonstop, taking me step-by-step through the procedure. He went over it several times, each time he made me point out the hazards.

“Don’t get in front of the emitter unless you want to die young. Understand? Stay behind this point,” he said, pointing at the display. “Don’t cross it, and while we’re adjusting it, stay tethered to the support.”