Ghost Station (The Wandering Engineer)

by Hechtl, Chris

  Howi and Shari were a pair of neochimps who had run with the tribes. They were from different tribes, Howi was from the Juliet tribe, and Shari had come from the Romeo tribe.

  Until a few years ago both had been members of the Juliet tribe, last survivors of their species. They were distant cousins; their parents had died of a fever when they were young. The two of them had been brought up as siblings at one point before a teenage Howi had left to join the Romeo tribe.

  They were two of the only neochimps on the station right now, other than that guard guy 'what's his name'. He was a weird one, he'd married a neo gorilla bigger then he was, Howi thought.

  For the past several years Howi had been a hunter, picking off the occasional Dilgarth or prey animal to protect or support his tribe. He'd tried to court Shari but she rebuffed his clumsy advances for a long time.

  Shari didn't like it that she and Howi were an item, it just sort of worked out that way a few months ago. Howi was a good guy, he wasn't a total slob, but she didn't like having to be forced to choose. Social pressure in the tribe had done it, pushing them together. No human male would pick her over a human female after all. She'd thought about approaching the other simian couple but they had some weird things going on. A monogamous relationship it seemed, something unusual in chimp society. She didn't like the idea of butting in and possibly ruining it for both of them. She also didn't know how Howi would react and didn't really want to find out. He could be viscous when he got mad.

  Now they were trying to live in a now uncertain world. They were even getting an apartment together soon. She wasn't sure about that. Howi was barely adequate in bed, but to live with the chump?

  She loved the guy as a brother but barely tolerated him as a lover when they first got together. Hormones, she kept telling herself, that's what caused it. Hormones and a lack of options. That and fire, they both had a love of flame. She seriously didn't want to have a kid with the guy. She definitely didn't want to spend the rest of her life with him. Now she saw the world had options and she chafed under his smothering touch.

  Of course they had some things in common other then species. Howi had always loved fire. Shari had a healthy respect for it. He'd loved playing with it; her fear had been a bit of a turn on. His lack of fear had her mixed up. On the one hand it was brave and macho. On the other it was suicidal and stupid. But damn it looked cool, especially when you were stoned on hooch.

  Howi had gotten into welding and cutting after a witnessing a welder at work while he was clearing debris. That had a lot of the tribesmen bitter, they were stuck on clean up details and shit work. He had talked the welder into showing him how it's done during a lunch break. He hooked up with the weld team, taking in classes as much as possible.

  He had found an old welding rig a long long time ago. As a kid he'd played with the plasma torch until the fuel had run out. It had been a mesmerizing experience, just staring into the flame. Now he dug it out and had it refueled. Shari reluctantly followed along. It wasn't like she had anything better to do, and cleaning crap wasn't something she wanted to spend the rest of her days doing.

  Shari had found out a long time ago that she's more detail oriented then her chimp partner. Howi is stronger of course, he's larger then her and is far more aggressive but he has a short attention span and an even shorter fuse when things went wrong. She used that to her advantage sometimes, flattering him with comments about his strength to butter him up to do the heavy lifting. He of course liked to show off. A few expressions of the cold shoulder when he took his ire out on her had wizened him up a bit. He knew better then to go off the deep end around her.

  Still, she preferred using the carrot over the stick; it's mutually beneficial after all. She is part Bonobo so he knew where his showing off will eventually lead. He had to admit, her approach to sex was a great tranquilizer. He felt rested and less aggressive with her along.

  Of course from Shari's perspective he'd gotten a little better and a little worse in his love making. She'd had a hell of a time training him in bed. Half the time he wanted to sleep the moment he popped, sometimes collapsing on top of her and snoring. That was annoying, the big oaf was heavy!

  When Joe the super in their sector heard of their interest in welding he had both of them transferred to the welding teams. They had worked as apprentices for a week before striking out on their own on small easy jobs. Both had volunteered for the first group to undergo sleep teaching so they picked up the class work easily. It was the hands on that took time, that and dealing with people on a day to day basis and remaining civil.

  Every day is a new challenge, one that both were opening up to. Just having a steady diet of good food was an eye opening experience for some. The real thing, the real awe inspiring thing is the education. The tribes had passed on information through hands on training and oral traditions over the centuries. They weren't stupid, they had just been deprived of things the oldsters took for granted in their time. Things they had overlooked or things they had taken for granted. Now that was changing.

  As education became more important and word of more investment in repairing the schools reached the ship's net teachers, retirees, parents with interests in a different future for their kids, and many former sleepers made the jump to the station in order to help and to start a new life. Some insist it was temporary. Some made the move because their spouses or families had jobs on the station or because they wanted to be a part of the El Dorado.

  Of course their sudden decision had consequences, mainly delaying Kiev's departure again. The first week there was a great deal of teething issues as both students and teachers settled into their new roles. For some it was the same position but with new tools and a new class room. For others it was a completely alien experience that they had no framework to base their actions on.

  The teaching didn't make an immediate impact of course but it did sooth some of the resentment. Integrating the nearly feral tribal children into the Kiev's child population made more than one parent nervous. There were some disciplinary issues with the students but it was handled in house or between the teachers and parents.

  Admiral Irons took a hand in teaching some of the adult classes right from the beginning. He tried to limit his involvement to one or two classes a day, tapping Savo to teach self defense classes while he focused on the advanced engineering courses. He had a lot on his plate however so he sometimes had to switch with other volunteers if there was a scheduling conflict.

  That wasn't all bad, sometimes he would get Proteus to stand in if he was jacked in, or O'Mallory or one of the other engineers would make a guest appearance. The shifting focus of teachers brought a unique but sometimes confusing and conflicting perspective of the subject matter to the students.

  Doctor Kraft helped with the set up of the medical institute before he joined the others in setting up implant procedures and advanced medicine. They planned to reopen one of the full hospitals as soon as possible. Apparently Doctor Kraft had decided to remain on the station much to Doctor Numiria's chagrin.

  Doctor Tyler made a lot of noise over the college. He was interested in starting the college and becoming the dean and made no secret of it with his campaigning for the position. That amused quite a few people. It also opened their eyes to the possibilities of advancement.

  Ralphie and Alice were the first of the second wave to jump ship and set up a store on the station a few days after the schools were announced. Ralphie opened a pub near the center of the station right away and appropriately named it Ralphie's bar and grill. Alice is amused by the pretentious name but went along with it. The bar was quite large, multitiered with brass all over the place and a small bowling alley that she was keenly interested in trying but never seemed to get the time.

  She did however keep him on his toes, making them shop for an apartment close to the bar. She also had a firm hand in decorating the place, not that they could do much right now. Resources were strictly limited. It was all they could do to get their
beloved ancient still over from Kiev.

  Their adult son was now managing the bar on Kiev, and having fun renovating the place. Ralphie had spent several days muttering darkly over all the changes before his daughter-in-law to be Breia had smiled at him and sweetly told him that he wasn't going to be around to see them anyway. Their wedding was set for just before the Kiev was scheduled to leave dock, allowing the parents to attend. Ronald slipped them some stuff every once and a while to keep them happy.

  Alice quietly but firmly had to sit Ralphie down and explain to him that he's going to be a dad just as soon as he can get a certain something “unfixed”. This had him puffed up for several days, strutting about and hitching his belt up. Alice smirked and rolled her eyes at his chest beating.

  Captain Chambers and chief O'Mallory were excited by everything going on. Chambers wasn't sure what to do with his ship, he wasn't ready to leave just yet and they hadn't come through on rebuilding the systems on the ship. Blur negotiated to run people from the planet to the station. Of course the station or the planet would supply the fuel. Chambers was amused by this but went along with it. He could always back out later he knew.

  O'Mallory was excited about repairing the station almost as much as she was rebuilding her ship. With the additional time they were spending in Antigua space she and her crews were taking the most advantage of it as they could, replacing and rebuilding everything they could get their hands on. With any luck half the hull will be shiny new plate by the time they hyper out. And most of the primary systems would have had a major overhaul, something she'd wanted done for a while.

  Part of their new contract was that the admiral would make himself available to answer questions and to replicate any parts that were needed. The admiral didn't seem to mind, he gladly conferenced with them or flew over to the ship to do the occasional hands-on, when explaining over the net didn't work.

  Irons sat with the others at the council room. The council room had been cleaned, but it was still in need of a few minor repairs. Still it was much better than the rat infested cobweb covered room it was a few weeks ago. They had even managed to get the mold stains off the ceiling and wall.

  “Admiral, why do you need all this metal?” Sid asked. Irons toyed with his stylus. The meeting had become dull and routine, really just rehashing the same matters from yesterday and the day before.

  Sprite flashed a light on his HUD. He grunted. “Sorry woolgathering,” he looked up and then down to his empty coffee cup. “Metals?” he asked.

  “Yes, you want quite a bit,” Sid said.

  “Not that we don't need them to repair things,” Myers muttered. Sid turned on his cohort but Myers just smiled.

  “Hmmm, well, we of course need them for the basic repairs, structural, but also to complete the dome,” Irons said before Sid and Myers could go at it. They tended to needle each other when things ran long and he didn't need to listen to it.

  “The dome?” Fu asked, stroking his beard.

  “Yes. You've done admirably to set up the dome over what, forty percent of the necessary surface before the station went dark?” he asked looking at Myers and Averies. The avatars nodded.

  “Thirty nine percent,” Averies replied. “But a lot of it leaks. It was a patch job,” he said.

  “Hastily done and ill thought out,” Fu murmured.

  Sid gave him a dirty look. “You pointed it out before.”

  “And I was right,” Fu murmured again, still stroking his beard. “It is a waste of time.”

  “I don't think so,” Irons replied. Fu's hand stilled. “With power at a premium setting up the dome is a necessity. It can of course be built out of clear materials or metal. Metal is of course easier and much more abundant. Or we could mix and match the two. Either way having the added protection is good for the station.”

  “We no longer have a power crisis,” Kennet said with a slight upturned lip. “We also do not need to divert the resources to such a mundane task. Those sections will not be occupied for years.”

  Irons glanced at the attorney. “It will be years before this station is fully fueled and manned. But putting the ground work in now is important.”

  “I predict we will have quite the run on the station for some time,” Sid said. “Our population will most likely double or even triple monthly for the next several years,” he said with a satisfied smile. “At least until the novelty wears off,” he admitted.

  “As long as the jobs, education, and medical services are here yes,” Emily agreed with a nod to her husband.

  “We shall hold a vote on this project,” Fu finally said.

  “Wait,” Sid said. “Shouldn't we call the Stewards in on this?” He sent an IM to them but it bounced back do not disturb.

  Fu's eyes gleamed. “I do not see why, I hold their proxy's in their absence.”

  “Yes but they have been behind the dome from the start!” Emily said. “Damn it Fu you know they want this!” she said.

  “You could table the vote until they are available,” Irons suggested. He was fairly certain now where this was going to lead.

  Fu's eyes gleamed. “I see no need. It is as you said important to deal with the issue now, not let it linger,” Fu said. “As chairman I call a vote,” he said sitting up straight. “Seconded?” he asked formally, looking at his wife. She nodded. So did Kennet.

  “Secret ballot,” Sid said desperately. Fu shook his head. Sid's lips pursed in an angry line. He shot Irons an apologetic look. Irons shrugged.

  “All in favor?” Fu asked. A few hands were raised, including Irons. From his perspective it was about even for the cybers. There were only fifteen people in the room including him.

  “Admiral you are not part of this council so you do not have a vote,” Fu reminded him.

  “News to me,” Irons grunted, sitting back and putting his hand down.

  “All those opposed?” Fu asked. The vote was even. “And it is decided. The vote is against, fifteen to seven.”

  “Wait; there are fourteen in the room...” Sprite interjected, appearing behind the admiral. She scowled at Fu.

  “The proxy's,” Sid said with a scowl of his own. “He can vote them however he wants.”

  “Of course when the Stewards find out they will not be happy,” Emily said. Fu gave her a cold look and then settled back onto his cushion as if the matter didn't concern him.

  “New business,” he murmured, waving to his wife who was acting as the council secretary. She bowed slightly.

  “Moving on,” she murmured. “We have to decide on which power plant to focus our efforts on next...”

  “Can you believe that guy?” Sprite growled between gritted teeth as Irons walked back to his room. He wasn't happy about the vote; it said ominous things about the future if the trend continued. Did they even think of what that sort of vote would mean to the man on the street? The people actually repairing the station? It was a backhanded slap at them as well, telling them their safety and comfort didn't matter!

  “I think Fu did it to put me in my place more than over the subject,” Irons replied as Sprite seethed.

  “Oh?” she asked.

  “Yes. That little crack about how my vote doesn't matter.”

  “Really. You are the senior officer in the room. The senior Federation representative!”

  Irons shook his head. “And none of that apparently matters. I don't know what Fu's agenda is but I'm being marginalized.” He didn't like it that Fu directed him on his efforts and then had counseled him on getting the station underway and moving towards it's Lagrange point soon.

  “Is this going to be a problem?” Sprite asked.

  “If I can get the station online and then dive into the naval projects no.”

  “I've been a bit tied up in the software repairs. Have you had any interest in joining the navy?” Sprite asked hopefully. She checked the log and then her hopes quickly faded.

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “What about the Warners?” S
prite asked after digesting that simple negative. Both Warners were on the station and assets to the Kiev community. Both had some engineering experience and since they could now jack in they were invaluable. However they had limited energy and frequently needed to take a break.

  “No. They haven't volunteered to return to duty and I haven't pressed them on it.”

  “Should you?” Sprite asked as he rounded a corner and nearly bumped into a pair of workers. He sidestepped them without a word and then nodded politely as he continued on his way.

  “No. Both are elderly and infirm with major medical issues. The Ensign has brain damage and may not be able to function. I believe they have volunteered here on the station but they can barely keep up with the load. Asking them to put on their uniforms once more...”

  “Do you think they would like the opportunity?” Sprite asked softly.

  “I don't know. Since neither have picked up on any of the light hints I've dropped in their company I doubt it. You know the rules about fraternizing as well.”

  “In the same chain of command? That hardly... oh...”

  He nodded. “Yes. Oh. If they did return to active duty they would have to be split up. I don't think they want that. After being married for so long...” he shrugged helplessly.

  “You'd think they'd want a break from each other,” Sprite joked.

  “Maybe. Some draw comfort from being together. Their relationship is quite tight knit. I'm afraid if I pressed them they would resign,” he responded.

  “Reserve status?” Sprite suggested.

  The admiral cocked his head, clearly considering the option. “Possibly. Right now that is how I am looking at them as. At least until things settle down. In time we can address the situation. What I'd like to do is draw them into doing things a bit more, if only to help transition them into more powerful positions.”

  Sprite nodded. “All right, I'll put it on your to do list.”

  “Cute,” Irons replied. “How goes the net repairs?”