Ramirez said, “I think we can fix it but it will have to be refurbished later when he has grown up.”
“How can you fix his leg?” said Sarah.
“They’re spacemen,” said the boy. “I just bet they can make me a mechanical one – probably solar powered and extra powerful so I can leap a hundred feet into the air.”
“Let’s not get carried away,” said Ramirez. “If we could do that I’d have a pair myself.”
“How come you don’t wear a space suit?”
“This is a Fleet uniform. It does quite a lot. We don’t need spacesuits in our ship as we have rebreathers and can make oxygen.”
“Can you make anything?”
“Well, anything except magic feet,” said Ramirez.
“Sit down,” said Sarah. “You must be worn out after all that travelling.”
“Nope,” said Stiers. “It has been two weeks of mostly watching repair tapes on the holo screens.”
“You have holo screens?” said the boy. “Do you have a holo deck also?”
“Just the screens, son,” said the Captain. “Just the screens.”
When Hugh arrived he greeted them warmly and already the time disparity was showing. He looked in great health with tanned skin and a healthy smile and Stiers noticed the kitchen table had been changed for one with even more seating around it.
“We’re always prepared for you,” said Hugh, noticing his glance. “However, the children now occupy what were two of the bedrooms and the third is always put aside for Jenny’s welcome visits – which are frequent.”
“We can sleep onboard,” said Stiers.
“We can always rearrange things. It’s the Professor’s house.”
“The Professor isn’t born yet,” said Lillishenger.
“How is everybody doing?” asked the Captain.
“We’re trading in specialist equipment and assembling desert hover vehicles from components we have made. I can put together about three a week. They are proving very popular with the Bureau of Land Management as they don’t tear up the desert or injure the wildlife. Jenny has her own small corporate law practice and is constantly head-hunted by the large firms. She is happy where she is and her father is still alive and well.”
“That reminds me,” said Ramirez. “We are going to have to give all you guys a thorough medical while we’re together to ensure there is nothing dangerous lying round the corner.”
“Are you having any more children?” asked Gowan.
“We’re not planning any,” said Sarah. “I know Jenny wants to get here but it’s a long journey and she visits us frequently and shows us where the money is. I don’t know if she’ll be able to make it this time.”
“We won’t be staying long,” said Stiers. “But we will need to check you out inside the ship and Ramirez and the Professor will see about your boy’s foot. We’ll also leave a pill for Jenny’d Dad.”
“We could have rebuilt Sean’s foot if we had been here when the accident happened,” said Ramirez. “But we can fashion a decent enough one but it will have to be replaced when he grows up.”
So on this visit they didn’t see Jenny although she telephoned and talked to all of them. Hugh and Sarah and Sue were given thorough physical inspections by the medical team although Sarah was the most comfortable disrobing in front of Lillishenger and Ramirez. The children showed no such reluctance, throwing their clothes off with delight at being inside the “flying saucer”. Small adjustments were made to the blood of the adults and all were given a mineral to prevent tooth decay. The boy seemed to believe he was going to get a magic foot so Ramirez explained the procedure. The girl, still as naked as her brother, watched and listened intently.
“I don’t know if 3-D printers have been invented yet,” said Ramirez. “Our’s can manufacture anything from raw materials. In this case, we will scan your good foot and reverse the information. The printer will print the bones, replicating DNA taken from your blood sample. The base of your leg is fine so we will cover the artifice with manufactured skin and muscles and attach the foot to your leg. It will be bandaged so you can’t move it. The foot may or may not grow. If it doesn’t, we’ll repeat the operation next stop and insert nanotechs to keep everything working.”
“How long will it take?” Sean asked.
“Will he be able to kick a ball with it?” asked his sister.
“It’s complex. It will take the best part of an hour to measure, make and affix. You’ll have to stay off it for a day. And yes, Sue, he’ll not only be able to kick a ball, he’ll be able to kick your butt if you’re any trouble.”
“He tries to do that now,” she snorted. “Sometimes he kicks so hard he falls over.”
“Well after tomorrow, try not to annoy him so much,” said Ramirez.
“Will you marry me when I grow up?” the girl asked.
Ramirez thought about their journey of months matching hers of decades; her body growing old and her hair going grey and attending her funeral one day. He gulped sadly. “I doubt your father would allow that,” he said. “And neither would Junette Gowan.”
They performed the operation later that day. Sean was stripped below the waist and rested on the table inside Challenger where he was subjected to a small invasion by various parts of medical apparatus. Once his DNA was authenticated and matched, the printer used a hard plastic and replicated tissue to create a new foot which was built straight onto the boy’s leg, after suitable preparation. The join was then healed and set. Sean was conscious throughout and Ramirez asked at one point, “Would you like a stick to bite on and be a real cowboy?”
Sean grinned but still seemed apprehensive.
The equipment knit a bandage around the wound and finished foot and partway up the leg. They lifted him back into his little-used wheelchair and took him back to the house where he was instructed to remain in bed till morning and pee into a bottle if necessary. Sue was anxious to see the new foot but Gowan told her she would have to wait for a day or two.
“Can’t I have one?” she asked.
“Not till you’re older.”
“Awww.”
They kept Sean bandaged till two days later when the equipment inside the ship removed the bandage for recycling. Apart from the slight mismatch of skin colour, the job was excellent and Ramirez was congratulated. “The skin will darken to match,” said Ramirez. “Meanwhile no kicking anything with it – including your sister – for a few days.”
The boy nodded solemnly and tried a few paces. “It feels funny,” he said.
“In what way?” asked Ramirez.
“It feels like my old foot used to feel. Can I walk on it?”
“The more the better,” said Ramirez. “No jumping on it for a few days although a little gentle trampolining won’t hurt. Try not to run either.”
Two days later, with the boy all fixed up and their financial advice given and heeded, they boarded Challenger for the next stage after deciding on their return date in ten years.
They were all familiar with the procedures, and avoiding the heat build-up of their first trip they travelled quickly through fifty, seventy to ninetyfive per cent and spent two weeks in repeating the same jobs and, from habit now, sharing the preparation of meals. Challenger effectively travelled in its controlled and bounded arc at warp speeds many times faster than the speed of light. Left uncontrolled it would have continued speeding up until everything evaporated into atoms, including the crew. The level of control they used was the maximum the Captain felt comfortable with, and for that matter, Lillishenger also.
Ogden tried to teach himself chess but Ramirez beat him hollow every time time they played.
“Do you think you can teach me anything, old-timer?” Ramirez asked him.
“Better sex,” said Ogden.
Ramirez thought about that. “Really?” he asked.
“I expect so,” Ogden confirmed.
“I’d like to treat Junette the best way I can,” said the junior officer.
“I think you’ll find younger women are very good at self-starting,” said Ogden. “They hardly need us at all in the beginning.”
“Can you really give me any tips about women?”
“Never argue with them,” said Ogden. “They’re always right – especially when they’re wrong. A woman will be unfaithful then tell you it’s your fault for not taking care of her properly.”
“Junette and I got off to the wrong start,” said Ramirez.
“No you didn’t.”
They spent the next two weeks planning various ways of attacking the alien ship, should they ever arrive, with the Captain being very concerned about their timing and not being in two places at the same time and causing some form of universal implosion which would see the end of all life and the wiping out of the 15 billion year history of the Universe.
Lillishenger pointed out that latest theories indicated the Universe never began and would never die, constantly recreating itself by expansion and contraction like a chest rising and falling.
This led to a long discussion involving theology and physics and life and death which saw them all tied up in knots and which was only resolved by Stiers saying, “That’s why I believe in God. It’s easier.”
“It’s an abrogation of responsibility,” muttered the Professor.
The ship halted in the place they planned and which, according to the chronometers, placed them squarely in May 2014, when they were expected.
Out of the chamber they were met by a tall, handsome lad of eighteen and an almost as tall, attractive girl of a year or two younger. Gowan whispered to Ramirez, “If that’s Sean, I quite like the look of him.”
“Me too,” said Ramirez, and grinned broadly.
It was Sean because his foot was too small and they were almost bowled over when he ran over to hug them and shake hands. The bear hug he gave Gowan lifted her right off her feet. Sue was a shade more reserved and greeted them more formally. As they stepped out into the sunshine, Ramirez said, “You’ve painted the house.”
“We’ve remodelled it,” said Sue. “There’s a new kitchen and sunlounge and we’ve built a small factory at the rear of the property.”
“You have been busy,” said Lillishenger.
“We’ve had ten years,” said the girl.
“And we have missed you both growing up,” said Ogden. “That feels very sad.”
“We’ll have to replace your foot,” Ramirez told Sean. “Tomorrow maybe.”
“Jenny is here,” said Sue. “She’s looking forward to seeing you all again.”
“How is she?” asked Gowan.
“Don’t tell her she’s fat,” said Sue.
“Is she?” asked Ramirez.
“I don’t think so,” said Sue, “but we women are sensitive.”
“I must confess I’m looking forward to your health probe this time,” said Ramirez.
“I’m not seven anymore.”
“That’s what I mean.”
Sean rushed off to the factory to fetch his parents and Jenny while Sue took them into the new kitchen and toured the remodelled home. From habit they sat down and counted the chairs. There was a smaller extra one this time and the crew wondered if Sarah and Hugh had been blessed yet again, but the child who ran in was black, like his mother Jenny. He was a handsome boy with bright eyes and complexion like silk.
“I’m Eric,” he said.
“So am I,” said Ramirez.
“I know. My mum named me after you.”
Which was as far as the conversation went on those lines because the remainder of their family – which is how the crew thought of them – arrived and smiles, hugs and kisses with handshakes broke out all over again.
Most of the yard junk, they had noticed, had now gone. In its place the dirt yard was neat and tidy with the small factory at the rear and empty space between part from another storage facility which had been built close to the end building. Hugh and Sarah were faithfully following the plan laid out for them by the crew and their money was making more money.
Jenny was far from fat but Ramirez had to remember she was now in her early forties and was certainly a few pounds heavier. They chatted away from the rest for a few minutes. “Thankyou for naming your boy after me,” said Ramirez. “Is that because he is just a handsome lad?”
“None of you has changed,” she said. “I can’t believe it. You look just the same.”
“Twenty years for you – a month or less for us,” he replied.
“I named my boy after you because you saved my life the day we met.”
“That was mostly the equipment.”
“And the man who was medically trained to use it. I’ve tried to repay you all. You set me up in business and saved my Dad. He’s still going you know. Your money is growing well and is invested wisely along the plans you drafted for me. My own business is doing well and I employ eight others now. I’ve moved to San Francisco so coming here is not a problem.”
“It’s good to see you looking so well.”
“I’ve gained weight.”
“I hadn’t noticed. Let me see.” Ramirez looked her up and down in study. “Well, maybe an ounce or two in the right places. That’s all.”
“You haven’t changed. You’re just as charming. I have grey hairs. So does Hugh - and Sarah also.”
“We’ll all have them by the time this is over.”
“No,” said Jenny. “You won’t.”
“The Captain is talking about a twenty year gap before the next touchdown,” said Ramirez. “He wants to pass the great satellite disaster which is in about fifteen years and forms part of your investment portfolio.”
“I’m making plans,” she said. “It has already been twenty years since I saw you. Now another twenty, you say.”
They took care of Sean’s foot the following morning. Ramirez performed the operation with the Professor assisting. At first the teenager was a bit embarrassed about stripping below the waist. Ramirez said, “Don’t worry about the Prof. She’s seen more shlongs than you’ve had hot dinners.”
“Thank you for your confidence,” said Lillishenger. “Even if it isn’t true and somewhat sullies my reputation. The truth is Sean I have seen so few of them that I won’t be able to tell if yours is big, small or normal.”
The lad undressed and lay on the table while Ramirez examinied him and ran the diagnostic equipment over his lower body. “That looks a good size one to me,” he said. “I wouldn’t complain if I had it.”
“But you always complain,” said the Professor.
“I have a college friend,” said Ramirez. “We used to call him Elephant Trunk Angus because he actually had to coil his inside his shorts when we went swimming. I think it would have dangled below the hem otherwise. Anyway, he is in Fleet also, although Earth-based – and we have an arrangement. If anything happens to him I get his penis for transplant.”
“And if you die?” asked Lillishenger.
“He gets my brain.”
“It sounds like that as deals go, you get the better end,” she said.
Sean laughed and his embarrassment was gone. The operation took just under an hour and there was no need for nanotech insertion. Sean said, “I know the procedure. Stay off it for the day then exercise it gently.”
“This one is the correct size for adulthood,” said Ramirez. “Try to take care of it as we won’t be back for a couple of decades.”
“And everyone will need a full medical inspection and body adjustments,” said Lillishenger. “We have to keep you all in good shape and long life.”
They all were subjected to health checks and rectification during the following two days. Young Eric was quite happy, like most children of his age, to shed his clothes just to be inside the ship. Ramirez performed slight rectification on his eardrums which improved his hearing then sent him on his way. Hugh and Sarah were quite happy to be inspected and repaired where necessary; Jenny less so. Ramirez insisted as she had missed the previous che
ck. She was a little embarrassed at her stomach which bore the stretchmarks of childbirth. Ramirez asked, “You want me to take care of those for you?”
“What does it take?” she asked.
“This,” said Ramirez and swung over the skin repair arm which probed the dimpled areas then set about tightening everything until it was smooth. When it was done, Ramirez said, “It can give you a Brazilian also.”
“I like my pubic hair,” she said.
“So do I,” said Ramirez. “I keep trying to persuade Junette to grow hers again but she prefers the modern way – as bare as a baby’s behind.”
Sean, having already has his check, gave way to Sue who despite having a stunning body was reluctant to reveal it to Ramirez.
“I’ve seen it before,” he offered.
“I was seven,” she said.
“Maybe it hasn’t changed that much.”
“Don’t be insulting,” she said but stripped off anyway. Ramirez, who had Junette’s wonderful figure available regularly, could only admire this petite frame with small breasts and a neat pubic patch which looked untrimmed.
“Sticky heart valve,” said Ramirez. “Do you get breathless occasionally?” Sue nodded. “This will only take a moment,” said Ramirez. “I shall place a needle under your left breast. This anaethetises as it goes in and will reconfigure and reshape the valve. You won’t feel a thing.”
“Promise.”
“Is this just an excuse to touch my breast?”
“No,” he said. “Left to its own devices it will become a serious problem for you.” The operation took fifteen minutes and after further readings Ramirez was satisfied. “You can put your clothes on now,” he said.
“Aw. I’d just gotten used to being naked,” said Sue and smirked.
“Put them on for my sake,” said Ramirez. “I am not a full time doctor so I am not immune from everything yet.”
“I thought you’d seen it all.”
“Trust me, kid, as long as you live you never get to see all there is to see.”
Sue dressed and Ramirez politely turned away. Lillishenger smiled at him and after the girl had left they had a short chat.
“The Captain is suffering,” said the Professor.
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