by Chris Hechtl
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“Admiral, I'm concerned about how we're going to well ... pay for all this,” the lieutenant governor said, sounding uncomfortable but at least blunt and to the point.
The admiral nodded wisely. “It is a concern, Mrs. Mitrian. Economics however is a long discussion and I believe we wanted this to a preliminary one,” he said.
“I understand that. But we have an obligation to our constituents to keep their taxes as low as possible.”
“We're not going to work for free,” Sprite said, rolling her virtual eyes. “I don't think you do your job for free either. We put our lives on the line.”
The woman looked at the AI, scanning her. “You are an AI. You don't need to be paid.”
“But I am paid. I am not a slave,” Sprite retorted.
“So, we choose how much you are paid? I mean, we can only afford so much,” the lieutenant governor said doggedly.
“The biggest bang for your buck?”
“Ah, so you are admitting you are mercenaries?” Mrs. Mitrian accused, eyes gleaming.
“Where did that come from? No, we are sworn to protect the Federation,” Sprite retorted.
“So, we don't have to pay you and you'll still do the job?”
“No, we'll put what we can afford to pay for here then,” Sprite said. “This discussion has been ongoing in Pyrax for some time. It is annoying to see it come up here,” she said, turning to the admiral.
“The universe seems to run on fuel and credits, Commander,” Taylor Warner said smoothly.
Hishina Fu nodded. “Unfortunately true. Everyone is out to make a credit but they describe the worst motivations to those in uniform who protect their ability to live and prosper.”
“We can't prosper if we're broke,” the lieutenant Governor retorted.
The governor stretched a hand out to the center of the table to get attention and cut the debate off. “As the admiral said, we can discuss the economics later. I understand some things we pay for, and others we do not need to do so.”
“Most of the credits go to payroll and subcontractors,” Sprite said. “We mine materials in the belt on our own and do our own manufacturing for the most part. Part of the taxes can be set as up as mining rights, I can discuss the details with you later. We do have to pay our people for that work of course, as well as those who tend to the fuel manufacturing. Again, I can work with you and show you how the economics break down,” she said with a nod to the governor and then his subordinate. “In fact, I just sent you the break down complete with charts and a tutorial,” she said, cocking her virtual head impishly.
“Thank you, Commander,” Governor Randall said with a nod to her. He turned to the admiral. “You were saying, Admiral?”
"We can turn the scaffolds you used to repair the Kiev 221 and other ships over to you as a start Admiral. That should give you something to work with to ... rebuild your ships. After of course they are repaired. The pirates were not kind to them. We have made some repairs, but not a lot since we had to focus on the station first," Hishina Fu said before the admiral opened his mouth.
"All right," the Admiral replied, nodding politely. He was cautiously optimistic on how well the initial discussion was going. Her olive branch was a good start, he reminded himself not to look too much into it, but not to let them hold back. "I'll need access to more resources and replicators though."
"I believe your last proposal has been debated and approved of Admiral," the station delegate replied.
"A week?"
"You can have as long as you damn well need, Admiral," the system governor said with considerable heat as he glanced at the station rep and then locked eyes with the Admiral. "We need you to get your people on your feet."
"Okay."
“At the agreed rate,” Averies added as a qualifier, raising a virtual finger. Again the admiral nodded.
Governor Randall studied him for a long moment. "You were right, Irons, I know that. Hell, I knew that before you left, I just let my stupid pride get in the way of telling you that. The pirates coming here ..." he sighed and ran a hand though his eyes. "Let's just say it woke me up. Woke the people up. Idealism has its place but not in today's universe."
"Thank you, Governor," Irons replied simply.
The Governor looked up again. "Don't thank me, I'm just giving you the tools to work yourself into an early grave, Admiral," the governor replied with a snort of laughter. Irons snorted as well. "Hell, I heard about your work ethic. I wish I had people like you on my staff!"
The Admiral smiled. He could see a few of the staffers behind the governor wince. "It's not all me, Governor, I've got some good people."
"I know," the governor replied with a nod to Sprite.
Irons turned to the stationers. "I don't want to disrupt your build schedules ..."
"Hell, you leaving screwed them all to hell. Right up until your ship actually left they thought you'd stick around," Taylor Warner said. His wife nodded.
"Did you ..."
"Not far, Admiral, and of course the damn pirates blew or tore up a lot of what we did," the cyber sighed. "The Yard Dogs are doing their best, but ... well, their hands are tied in some areas. I hate to ask, but, we need you ..."
"I'll jack in when I get the chance." Irons turned to the governor. "Which reminds me, we do need to sort you out, Governor," Irons stated.
"Oh?"
"Well, my departure prevented me from setting you up with system governor implant code keys." Randall's eyes went wide in surprise and gratification at that. "I'm available now so if you can clear part of your schedule and if a cyber implant specialist is available we can take care of that."
"What do these keys allow me to do?" Randall asked cautiously, dampening his enthusiasm.
"A lot more than what you can do now since you don't have any to begin with!" Taylor snorted with a laugh.
"I can give you a list. Most of it is authorizing construction of civilian grade tech that's on the proscribed list. Also taking control of some networks and other things in the case of a system wide emergency."
The governor nodded, but his eyes narrowed at a certain qualifier. "Civilian grade you said."
The admiral nodded. "That's right. You aren't a military governor or Senator so I can't give you those keys unfortunately. But the civilian grade keys will allow you to unlock civilian replicators, parts for fusion reactors, that sort of thing. You can then set up an industrial board and license them as needed."
"Ah," the governor smiled. He could see a lot of potential there. Not just for politics, he'd have a lot of people jockeying to get keys ... he'd have to be careful of ass kissers there, but also how much it would impact his world.
"I wish you'd had that sooner, sir," a staffer said. The governor turned to look over his shoulder and then back to the admiral.
"Well, he wasn't the governor at the time I left if I recall correctly," Irons replied dryly.
"True."
"The truss extruder ..." Irons turned to the station cybers.
"Was destroyed but it's a simple thing so I've ordered another. I'm ... ah, it's just been bumped up the priority list. Imagine that," Taylor said, giving another stationer an amused look. Averies gave him a jaunty two-finger salute.
"With that out and some materials we'll get started on the basic yard works. I have already replicated a lot of industrial gear, it is stowed in the convoy that came in with me. Captain Logan also shipped some in too, along with a thousand yard workers,” the admiral said with a smile. The governor blinked at him. “I can parse out everything I need from Antigua Prime and we can work on the build schedule. Set it up to allow you to continue to meet any of your commitments," he said, turning to Hishina and the Cybers. She nodded, hands folded in serenity.
"Admiral, we need new reactors the pirates ..." Myers said cautiously.
"I don't know your station status. But if you need reactors we ... I can make myself available. We can work out the barter terms later,”
he said. The cyber grimaced. They were all misers the admiral thought, greedy bastards. They wanted him to work for free yet they charged through the nose for their services? No, not on his watch. Or Sprite's for that matter. “That is if the governor isn't available," the Admiral said nodding politely to the governor. Myers turned to the governor. The governor spread his fingers apart and had an expression of 'we'll talk terms later'. He suddenly wasn't so eager for to do business with the politician.
"So, I'll have these ... for how long? Will they be in when I'm out of office? Will I have to have them removed?" the governor asked.
"You and the lieutenant governor can have them, sir," Sprite replied from the AI interface. They turned to her. "In the case of an accident befalling you the lieutenant governor's will become active,” Her avatar nodded to Mrs. Mitrian. The woman looked thoughtful. “Until then they will be dormant. If you lose office for any reason the codes will deactivate when you leave office. They will be placed in inactive archives in case you resume office ... or if after ten years you do not they will overwrite themselves," she explained.
"It seems a waste," the governor said. “I mean, if we hadn't this bottleneck during the Xeno war ...”
"Unfortunately that's how the system was set up. Certain civilians, those in major corporations, had similar setups."
"The system needs work," a staffer said.
"The system can't be changed now, it takes a two thirds majority of the galactic congress to do that," Sprite explained. “Good luck getting that,” she said, shaking her virtual head.
"A goal I understand you are working towards," the governor said, nodding to Irons.
"Reestablishing the central government is a major goal, yes sir," Irons replied.
"Good."
"Can I designate someone to build stuff? Keep the keys? How do we handle succession?" the governor asked carefully.
"I can send you the unclassified files sir with a FAQ," Sprite said kindly. She was on her best behavior Irons noted in approval. He nodded as did the governor.
"I believe you can appoint a minister of various departments including manufacturing and industry. If memory serves you can only give him or her temporary access keys that will function for a short period of time and a limited number of uses. And they are limited to what they can build as well."
Sprite rolled her virtual eyes. "Oh very well. If you are insistent on pursuing this further ... you can give temporary code keys to a number of appointees. Each has to pass the system congress for approval. Each key is good for a set period of time and number of uses, usually one standard year and the higher key codes can only function with your approval."
"In other words a minister could initialize oh, say a pallet of fusion injectors for your fusion reactor but you would have to approve it before the replicator would turn on and replicate the parts,” the admiral explained. Meyers and Averies both nodded backing him up.
"Oh. So what good is that then?" The lieutenant governor asked.
"Well, you don't have to be in the same room to give approval. You can do so over an encrypted link," Sprite explained.
The governor nodded as that idea sunk in. "Ah. I see."
"Right. So unless you want to be chained to replicators twenty-four/seven or have one in your office ... or put your office here on the station then that might be a good idea."
"You said they have to be approved by the assembly?" The governor's chief of staff asked. Irons nodded.
"Each person has to be vetted by intelligence and law enforcement services, as well as pass Federation testing including ethical testing ... but I'll handle that on my end," the Admiral replied.
"Oh great," the chief of staff muttered.
"It's fine. I've come to realize my own mortality and that it is better that more people have keys ... or at least some keys."
"True," Sprite reluctantly admitted.
"Admiral, the scaffolds have been cleared and I've got two tugs ready to tow them to where you want," Taylor said, breaking off that discussion.
"Leave them there for now. If you could assign the tugs to tow the Maine to one of the scaffolds?"
"The Maine?"
"The Maine," Irons replied with a curt nod. "She needs some light hull work and if we can keep her fusion reactor online while she is anchored then we can tap her replicators. In a slip or near it she will be in easy shuttle or tug range to transport materials to and from her. We have made good on some of her repairs but not all. What the replicators on board can't handle, yours can … and hers can build parts for the new yard and the other ships. Along with the replicators on Remora and Carnegie that is."
The governor nodded. "All right." He decided now was not the right time to bring up one of his supporter's bids to purchase Remora. If his civilian keys worked out perhaps they could build another factory ship? But why not just use Antigua Prime? He'd have to ask about that later. He jotted a note down on the tablet in front of him.
"As soon as I can get her sorted out I want her back on station. We'll cycle through one of the other ships and shift some of the forces to guard the Triang warp point. Once we do that I'll feel a little more secure," the admiral explained as Sprite put up a hologram in front of him.
"Interesting," the governor said. "But it is your department," he said surprising the cybers and his staff. The admiral could see a few murmur or blink in surprise. "Just as long as we do not have a repeat of that attack here," he said, stabbing his right index finger into the table top pointedly.
The admiral shook his head. "I can't guarantee that now sir, but give me the resources and people I need and in time I will be able to do so," Irons replied.
Their eyes met. Something traveled between them and an understanding was reached. "They will be yours, Admiral. It's time we ended these scum once and for all," the governor growled. Irons nodded.
"Captain Mayweather said you build ships in Pyrax?" The governor asked after a long moment. Irons nodded confirmation. The governor smiled, clearly happy about that confirmation. "How soon do you think you can do that here?"
The Admiral sat back a bit in the chair, rested his elbows on the armrests and tapped his fingertips together. "Once we get the basic repairs on the ships sorted out we will focus on building the infrastructure and munition factory satellite platforms. Once we've got them going I'd say less than six standard weeks we'll start laying our first hulls."
"That soon?" a Neochimp staffer exclaimed in surprise.
The admiral's eyes cut to her and then back to the Governor. "Well, one the first ships will be small gunships and escorts, sublight ships designed to swarm an enemy at the warp point. They are easier to build than say a larger ship like a cruiser," Sprite replied with a slight hint of frost in her voice. "That is if we get enough support and no shenanigans," she said dryly, eying the Cybers.
Fu spread his virtual hands. "You'll get no argument from me, Commander. I'm all for it."
That sudden change made both Sprite and the Admiral blink. Irons glanced at Fu's wife. She merely smiled demurringly.
"I know. But not all of your fellows share your pragmatism shall we say," Irons said, keeping his own enthusiasm in check. This was going too well his instincts said. There had to be a catch somewhere!
"Some of our fellows have ... retired. A few died when the pirates attacked. I guess you can say things have changed. We will do everything we can to make certain that attack doesn't happen again," Fu replied, looking aged. His shoulders sagged ever so slightly.
"See that you do," Sprite growled.
Governor Randall checked his watch and then got up. Everyone followed hastily. "Gentlemen, ladies, I thank you. This is an excellent start. Please let me know what you need from me and my office. Admiral, I'll push any bill you need through the assembly, just let me know. And please let me and Lt Governor Mitrian know when to schedule the implant procedures."
"I will, sir," Irons replied with a nod, shaking the man's outstretched hand without hesitation.
> "See that you do." The governor nodded and left. The admiral shook the lieutenant Governor's hand and murmured politely as she followed the governor out. The staff hastily followed in their wake.
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“That was abrupt,” Sprite said as orders began to flow. The admiral had kicked things into high gear by taking Sindri off the leash. Already the convoy ships were opening up and shuttles were flying fast and furious around the area. Someone had better be on top of traffic control she thought. She decided to check in with CIC in a moment.
“Yes. I believe he was on a tight schedule or he had a lunch date,” the admiral said mildly.
“A possible lunch date with his wife,” Sprite stated. She watched with trepidation as the admiral pulled up Miss O'Neill's note and read it again.
“Um, I'm going to go check in with CIC to make sure they have traffic control set up,” she said.
“Hang on a minute, Commander,” the admiral said, voice dropping into arctic tones. “Don't think I haven't forgotten about your little mischief this afternoon,” he said. He pointed imperiously to the holo emitter across from him.
“Eyeah, that, about that, Admiral,” Sprite started to explain as her image appeared before him.
“Can it. You fracking know better than to do something like that. We've had an agreement that you stay the hell out of my personal life. When I want to talk to someone, I'll do it. Don't interfere.”
“Admiral, if you'll let me explain ...”
“As you were, Commander,” Irons barked, eyes snapping. Sprite immediately went to attention. “Now, I don't know if you meant well, if you wanted it to be a surprise or what. At this point I don't care about your reasoning. I only care about results. So, now hear this. No more. No more fracking with my love life. Stay out of it. Understood?”
“Yes sir,” Sprite said, nodding, eyes on the bulkhead ten centimeters above his head.
“Dismissed,” he growled. She instantly blinked out without any flourishes. She even removed her image from his HUD. He thought she was sulking and shook his head. She knew she was in the dog house. Fine. Let her sulk a bit. She had been entirely too uppity with his person lately.