Ghosts from the Past (The Wandering engineer Book 7)

by Chris Hechtl

  “I'll try, sir.”

  ...*...*...*...*...

  The change of command was brief once they got to Maine once more. The admiral grinned. “And now that the formalities are over with,” he heard Sprite snort. “We can get on with the business of living. Captain, the bridge is yours,” he said. “I have my own to attend to,” he said.

  “Aye aye, sir,” Captain Samuel said, shaking her head slightly as the admiral left the bridge. She settled herself into the chair, running her hands over the arm rests. “I suppose,” her eyes cut to Meia. “That we should get to know each other. I've studied Maine's blueprint and crew manifest but I have a lot to learn,” she said wryly.

  “Aye, ma'am,” Meia replied with a nod.

  “For the time being Commander Sindri will be my acting exec?” the captain asked. Meia nodded again. “And before that who held the slot exactly?”

  “That would be Commander Sprite, ma'am. She's returning to the Admiral's chief of staff to begin building a full staff for him ma'am.”

  “I see,” the captain murmured. She really had a lot of paperwork, homework really, to catch up on before she showed so much ignorance to the crew. “Why don't you run a battle sim to show me some of what this ship can do. Then we can go on a tour,” she said.

  Meia's face split into a rare grin. “It'd be my pleasure, ma'am,” she said, punching up a sim. She fed it to the main view screen and plots. “On your third screen, ma'am,” she said. “I thought we'd start with a replay of the last engagement with some different strategies,” the TACO said. Naomi managed to nod while she watched fascinated as the ship's virtual doppelganger went into combat.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Once Commander Sindri and the fleet's engineering teams had the damage under control Sprite began reorganizing them into a joint fleet. But she had one other sad task, the funeral for the dead. They put on the full formal affair. The ship's companies were assembled in their formal white uniforms, arrayed in neat rows. The dead deserved that much Sprite thought. Dita wasn't the only one who wept softly as the taps blew for the friends and comrades lost.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  “Admiral, do you have a moment?”

  “Um, sure,” the admiral said, looking up to see a tentative Cookie in the pantry doorway. “Problem?” he asked, setting the tablet he'd been reading aside. The woman was twisting her apron in knots. It was clear she had something important on her mind.

  “I'm not sure. I'm still getting used to everything, even now,” she admitted. “Is um, the shower supposed to sing?”

  “Sing?” The admiral asked in amusement. “Not that I know of. Are you playing music?”

  “No, it's coming from the pipes,” she said. “When I turn it on there is a singing sound,” she explained. She grimaced. “I was going to take a shower but it is really annoying.”

  “Water right?” He asked.

  “Is there any other way to take a shower? Wait,” she grimaced shaking her head. “Don't answer that.”

  He chuckled as he got to his feet. “The most common method of taking a shower on a starship is with ultrasonics. It shakes the dirt and grime off. Well, most of it,” he admitted. “It is used in the dishwasher and clothes washer as well. That way you don't have to dry the items afterward.”

  “What about cleanliness?”

  “An ultraviolet light helps to kill bacteria. The ultrasonics can also kill viruses and bacteria. But as I said, it isn't for everything.”

  “So ...”

  “So, it sounds like an O ring is letting go. A sticking valve is letting air in too,” he said. “Let me take a look,” he said, motioning to get past her.

  She stood firm, hands on the frame. “No. I'll figure it out. It is minor,” she insisted.

  “It'll only take a minute,” he said. “Thirty seconds tops,” he said holding up his right hand.

  “And that's time away from what you are doing. I shouldn't have bothered you with it at all,” she said biting her lip.

  “In the amount of time it is taking to argue with me I could have been finished you know,” the admiral said, standing there.

  “Can you just tell me who to call to fix it perhaps? I should have asked someone else but ...” she shrugged.

  “Okay. Fine,” he heaved a sigh. Have it your way,” he said, shrugging and turning away. “I'll have the commander e-mail you a link.”

  “Um, e-mail ...”

  “Let me guess, above your ability?” Sprite asked in amusement. Her image appeared on the admiral's right shoulder. She was sitting like some sort of avatar of his conscience. Her feet swung together a bit as he moved. The admiral turned his head to look at her.

  “It seems you've been neglecting the in-brief, Commander,” he said mildly.

  “Apparently so, Admiral. I'll get her sorted out,” the AI replied, getting to her feet. She pretended to brush off her front then nodded to the woman. A moment later she was standing beside the admiral in full scale.

  “How ...” Cookie's eyes were the size of saucers. The admiral snorted.

  “Holograms. She's using my implants,” the admiral said, pointing to his right arm. “That's why she's on my right side,” he said.

  “Just call me your right armed girl, sir,” Sprite quipped with a smirk. He snorted in reply. “Now, if you could fetch a portable holographic emitter ...” Sprite said pointing to the one on the desk by his chair. He nodded and picked it up, then handed it to the steward.

  “Then I can pop into that and we gals can have a chat,” Sprite said, disappearing with a poof and sparkle effect. She reappeared a half second later in miniature once more, this time above the portable holo emitter.

  “Thank you. Now shoo,” the steward said, pushing him back before shutting the pocket door. He snorted in amusement and then went back to what he was reading. He could have really have used the distraction right about now he mused, it would have helped get the tedium of reading under control ...

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Lieutenant Commander Vestri Sindri was in his glory. He'd never worked so hard in his life, but for a damn good cause. He wasn't certain about Captain Samuel. She was a good ship driver, and she'd done good protecting the freighters of Convoy 3, but he just didn't know her. He wasn't going to get the time anytime soon; the admiral had him scrambling all over the place.

  Not only was he the chief engineer of the battlecruiser, he was also her acting XO. Fortunately Maine hadn't taken much damage, most of it on the shields. They had gotten the damage sorted out in hours. But the admiral had also saddled the repairs of the other ships on his broad shoulders.

  He'd come to love building things, and he'd rubbed his hands with glee once Lieutenant Defender and Lieutenant Nobeki's Intel teams finished with the derelicts. Tugs had been dispatched to bring them closer to the fleet, now Carnegie and the warships went to work. Maine's massive broadside cut each of the wrecks up into small chunks and then fed them to the factory ship's enormous appetite. The admiral was on board the factory ship, overseeing her replicators as she churned out replacement drones and other things. He was also working on other projects which he passed on to the convoy to store.

  “Where the hell are we going to put it all?” Vestri demanded, shaking his head.

  “Are you talking to me, Chief?” a cat yowled. He turned and then shook his head.

  “As you were,” he said dismissively. She blinked then flicked her ears and continued on her way.

  He stared at the tablet. Collier's 2 through 8 were stuffed to the deck heads. So was Deianira. Colliers 10, 11, 12 were full, though 13 might have some room for a couple tons of small goods since she was an Astra class. Even the tankers were full. Collier 9 had enough room for the next batch of factory equipment the admiral insisted on making, but that was it. They still had to find a place ... he frowned thoughtfully, plucking at his lower lip. He felt like he was playing that ancient puzzle game, the Russian one. Tet something. Tetris, he remembered with a nod.

>   Distracting himself wasn't going to save him from the problem he reminded himself after a long moment. He glanced at the tablet then sighed again. The admiral had another two hundred tons of equipment coming out of Carnegie within the next forty-eight hours. Where ... his eyes widened slightly as he saw the ship's blinking their running lights to show they were anchored. Two ships caught his eye, beyond the Cygnus freighter and the slightly below the Antares. Le More had some room he was sure, though Hoshi would be a pain in the ass about carrying it for them. He could also check in with Captain Yan'kelly. The bug might have some room on his ship as well.

  If that didn't work they'd have to start stuffing whatever they could wherever they could in the ships. Passage ways, the galley, gym, and any usable space. It'd suck, but the admiral was adamant that they were going to take it all.

  He frowned thoughtfully. It would make more sense to leave a great big ball of scrap or even processed metals in orbit. He shook his head. No, the admiral wasn't even bothering to strip the ships and most likely didn't want anyone passing through to get the chance either. He heaved a sigh. There had to be an answer. Hell, he'd strap it to the hull if he had to!

  “Problems, Chief?” a familiar voice asked. He turned to see the new skipper standing behind him.

  “The usual. Trying to fit ten pounds of shit in a five-pound bucket, ma'am,” the chief said.

  The woman's lips twitched on their own accord. “That's what I like about you, Chief, your earthy sense of humor,” she said shaking her head. “I'm guessing from your statement that we're running out of room?”

  “Aye ma'am. We're stuffed to the gills already. Everywhere. Even the doctor is starting to complain about being able to move around in her sickbay. Is there ever such a thing as too much of a good thing?”

  “Apparently so if it inhibits the crew's ability to run the ship,” the captain murmured. “I'll talk to the, Admiral. Perhaps we can unload some of the goods on the planet? Help them bootstrap up a bit more? They are neighbors with Antigua after all. I understand they have picked up quite a bit of trade since Antigua Prime came on line. And the Convoys have helped a bit too,” she said.

  “True, ma'am.”

  “Maybe we can send down gear for schools and such,” she mused. “Didn't he have a turnkey package?” She asked.

  The engineer nodded. “Aye ma'am he did. I'm not sure why he's not offering it here,” he said.

  “I'll look into it. I'm having dinner with him this evening. Are you going to be able to make it?”

  The chief grimaced and scratched the back of his head. Truth be told he hated the damn formal dinners that the skipper insisted on. He hated playing dress up. “I'm supposed to be in four places at once ma'am,” he said. “I'm lucky I've been able to hold still this long,” he said.

  The captain nodded wisely. “All right, Chief, I'd still like to see you there,” she warned, holding a finger up.

  “I'll do my best, ma'am,” he said, fighting the urge to squirm under that level gaze. Damn she was good! The captain nodded and then left him. He turned, looked at the tablet in his hand and then shook his head. Maybe, just maybe if he got into some sort of tear down he could “forget” about dinner? It'd worked once before ...

  ...*...*...*...*...

  They paused in orbit of Triang for a week. While they were there Sprite hit the convoy's passenger lists up for personnel there to fill in the last of the holes in the fleet's manning tables. Fortunately Horatio had sent them with the admiral's fleet in mind. Sprite sprinkled the new personnel throughout the fleet to fill in additional holes in ship's companies.

  The crew received a much needed rest and downtime for liberty while the ships took on fuel and supplies. They traded goods manufactured by Carnegie and the other ships with the planet, as well as giving out the turnkey kit the admiral created. Once the initial damage was repaired Commander Sindri organized additional survey teams drawn from mechs and work crews to check each ship over carefully for damage. While they worked on the repairs, it went a long way to integrate the crew’s new personnel. Some of the captains protest getting their personnel shuffled about. That got bucked up to the admiral.

  “I can't blame them sir, they have built a good team. Tearing it apart isn't something any captain wants to do,” Captain Samuel said. She'd resisted the urge to poach Xavier for some of her favorite people.

  The admiral knitted his fingers together as he looked at her. “I understand that. But change is inevitable in a command team and crew. They need to understand that. They will have some time to adjust, time to get to know each other. But we need experienced people in the right slots badly. As far as being undermanned ...” He shrugged. “Welcome to the club.”

  “Aye aye, sir. Undermanned isn't true, at least not any longer. Under trained is still a problem, but we're getting a handle on that,” the captain replied.

  “Good.”

  ...*...*...*...*...

  “I understand Chief Sindri is having issues with the workload you have been dumping on him,” Captain Samuel said, dabbing at her lips with a napkin.

  “It's unfair that we've dumped G-3 and G-8 on him,” Sprite observed with a twinkle.

  “Along with his duties as my chief engineer and XO?” The captain asked mildly. “Do you have the warm bodies to handle the staff positions now?” She asked mildly.

  Sprite's avatar grimaced. “It's not so much a matter of bodies and training now as seniority. If I 'borrowed' or even outright poached,” she paused to grin at the captain's mock scowl. “Personnel from the fleet that would open up holes in the chain of command we just managed to fill. They are just now settling down again,” she said.

  “And elevating someone, even if they are good at managing logistics but has no previous training isn't going to happen,” the admiral said putting his spoon down. The cream of broccoli soup had been good, quite good. “But we're wandering off track from the original question,” he said. “Sending some of the gear down to the planet to help them out has cut down on some of the stores. Also replicating a network of satellites for the population's use has made a dent. But only a small one,” he said with a grimace.

  “But the satellites have had a profound impact or will,” Sprite insisted. He nodded. The satellites were a combination weather and communication satellite. They didn't have enough ground stations or satellite phones yet, but that would change once the admiral's gifts were distributed. The satellites would allow them to predict weather, which was very important not only for the communities that were constantly hammered by storms, but it was vitally important to the farming communities.

  The satellites would also allow them to communicate worldwide. That would go a long way to knitting the far flung communities together, helping the reestablished planetary government get a foothold everywhere. Information and news would cross the world in minutes which also help their economy grow.

  Each of the satellites were solar powered so they would be self-sufficient. They would need to be serviced eventually, but their small ion drive's fuel tank had enough fuel to keep them in their orbits for decades unless something jostled them.

  “His idea to tap Le More and Lieandra was good. We're getting cut rate shipping rates from both ships. Better with Lieandra of course,” Sprite said.

  “If we had the time I'd build another damn ship,” the admiral muttered. Naomi turned a raised eyebrow his way. He shrugged. “But we don't. So, we'll do the best with what we've got. Have you gotten the crew onto redistributing what they can?”

  “I can,” the captain said cautiously.

  “Good. I'll take the G-8 job off the chief since you are so concerned he's overworked and under-appreciated,” the admiral said with a slight smile. “And since I need someone to handle it, and since you expressed an interest, you get the job.”

  “Lucky me,” Naomi said in amusement.

  “Yes. So, now you can work with Commander Sprite and the chief to stick everything somewhere. We're not leaving a scrap behind.
Not unless we can help it.”

  “What about Echo, sir?” Sprite asked.

  “Echo?”

  “Cute,” Meia said, shaking her head as she finally got into the conversation. She eyed the senior officers. “I think she means Echo is supposed to stay in this system? No wait, Charlie was slated for this picket correct?” She frowned thoughtfully. “Then what about Echo, Commander?” she asked, turning to the AI's avatar.

  “The admiral was considering leaving a ship behind if Charlie wasn't here. Echo was one of the candidates. We could off load some drones to supplement her armament,” Sprite said suggestively.

  The commander nodded but frowned thoughtfully. She hated giving the drones up. But the admiral had shown her that he could easily make more.

  “Thus freeing up space in the colliers for more of whatever you are making, Admiral?” Naomi asked, catching on. Meia did as well and suddenly nodded.

  “I'll think about it,” the admiral said, not quite committed to the idea just yet.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Word of their arrival and adventures spread on the planet like wildfire, and soon their communications were denuded with calls for clarification on the news the crews on leave were spreading.

  The news of their most recent adventures had already reached the planet from a recently passed convoy. Fortunately it wasn't too garbled. The convoy had sent downloads of the events and even the news stories the navy under Captain Logan had released for dissemination in Pyrax. She only had to straighten out a few minor errors.

  While Sprite worked on maintaining his public image, Admiral Irons stripped the beacon the convoy had left for them in orbit. He scanned the update. He was nonplussed that Governor Walker had won the recent reelection and that Enrique Salvador had been killed. When Sprite realized what he was reading she chuckled. “What? What's so funny?” He demanded.

  “Admiral, you do realize that information is nearly a year old right? We've already gotten an updated version from Convoy 3,” Sprite pointed out. “And even the data from Xavier is months out of date by now,” she warned.