Wandering Engineer 6: Pirates Bane

by Chris Hechtl

  “There is more Admiral. They had a film crew with them when they invaded. The crew remained behind to continue recording, but I've got the film footage of the initial invasion.” There was a lingering hint of a question in her voice when she said that.

  The Admiral frowned. He was tempted to watch it, but he didn't have time. He had to oversee the ships repairs and his growing fleet. He needed to check on the wounded again as well. They had just gotten through Mister Allen's brief funeral. The bugle taps echoed through him, pulling at his consciousness as they always did. He had been a good man, hard working...

  “Admiral, I think you should make time. I think everyone should,” Sprite said quietly. “I think it illustrates why we fight,” she said grimly.

  Irons frowned. “Show me,” he finally said, sitting back.

  <----*----*----*---->

  The Admiral watched the video sickened by the sight. Sprite kept it brief, sparing him the worst of some of the imagery. She also showed him a slide show. The video and images were unedited, sometimes with the film crew coaching the soldiers in depravity. Apparently they had been a little put out at the lack of initial resistance, so they executed some people or tortured others. Gang rapes were a favored topic; apparently they served as Horathian porn.

  There was an interview with Colonel Wizenbeck describing the invasion process, pacification, and then cleansing. He narrated a video showing a column of cowering aliens and Neo's led into a gully and then slaughtered like helpless animals.

  Irons stared, wondering how anyone could make genocide of that nature sound both efficient and desired. Then he remembered the Xenos and fought his own internal battle.

  With the Xenos it had been different, the Federation had indeed been defending itself. The Xenos hadn't stopped, and most importantly, the Xenos had hit first and had used terror weapons to destroy everything. But most importantly, they fought back.

  “Commander, enough,” he said after an hour. “Edit that together into something coherent.”

  “For?” Sprite asked. “You really want to show the crew? Admiral...”

  “I know you meant it on one level, but not right now. I think they need to know. Now.”

  “So... a propaganda piece?”

  “Yes. You can skim some of the worst bits, don't go into so much detail, but indicate it is there. Their own imaginations will fill in the rest.”

  “Admiral... this isn't wise. I was wrong,” Sprite said.

  “Show it to them. All of it. But put a warning caption up. And leave the sound off in the worst parts.”

  “Why share the misery?” Sprite asked, now playing devil's advocate. “These people have seen it Admiral. They have been traumatized first hand. To see it on a world wide scale?”

  “So they know why they fight,” he replied simply.

  “Aye aye sir,” she said. “But I'm going to gloss over the worst of it for time sake and to make certain they don't overload environmental with the vomiting,” she said. “Be prepared for another psych round,” she warned him.

  It took Sprite the better part of an hour to pick through the material and splice it together. When she was ready she ran it past the other AI. They didn't have the revulsion or anger that she knew the crew would exhibit, nor the psychological issues, though she was curious to see if Bounty would exhibit any. The AI didn't.

  “We interrupt our regular broadcast to show you this ladies and gentlemen. For those of you with weak stomachs, I urge you not to watch. The Admiral has asked that you see this, he refused to censor it,” Sprite cautioned through the mess and MPR video display.

  Heads looked up to the screen and brows knit in confusion. “We bring you now footage of the invasion of Hidoshi's World,” Sprite said, and then watched through the ship's cameras as people first stopped what they were doing to watch.

  Sick horror quickly etched its way onto many expressions. Some hardened, others looked bleak. A few covered their mouths, eyes tearing, but they didn't look away. She showed a cascade of video and images, enough to get the point across. There was a growl when Wizenbeck came on, explaining the invasion and then expressing how he looked forward to doing it on other worlds.

  Trays clattered to the deck, as the crew grew restless and more and more angry. Some turned away, sickened of the reminder of what they had just escaped from. Many were upset and vocal over being forced to watch it.

  Others were visibly upset and angry that it was happening. It wasn't just a ship, their ship or someone else’s; it was a world with thousands, possibly millions of people. Innocent people, innocent like they had been.

  “Now, what do we do about it? Can we?” a crewman asked, eyes lost. “Can we do anything at all?” he asked, fists clenched in helpless rage.

  “Yes,” Bounty responded.

  “This is what we need to stop,” someone said quietly. Slowly, one by one the crew in the MPR nodded.

  <----*----*----*---->

  “Are they okay?” Irons asked in his quarters. They were getting a handle on the refugees. Fortunately they had experience in that department. What bothered him was the status of the crew. They had finally shaken down into a crew and began to bond when something like this happened.

  Bounty was slow to respond for a moment. “Admiral, I think they let success go to their heads. At least some of them did. Now they've had a brutal reminder that people can get hurt, they can die. I think we all needed the reminder.”

  “Yes,” Irons said, eyes closed. He scrubbed at his face. “I knew it, but I had also let success go to my head. Damn.”

  “It's understandable Admiral. Due to variables out of our control, the situation changed and became fluid. Once the enemy was aware, they were inside our envelope. We had no choice but to fire.”

  Irons waved a hand. “I don't give a damn about the casualties,” he said coldly. “War costs, and I'd rather they died then my own people. What I don't like is the expectation that it will go down perfectly. I think this cured that.” He scowled and looked away. “In the crew and in me,” he murmured softly.

  <----*----*----*---->

  “Well, this is nice,” Ensign Enric, said sounding amused as he set his tray down carefully. The food replicators were nice, but having fresh food brought in on the colliers was a treat. The bland food the replicators were churning out got to a person after a while.

  “Yeah,” Yosef said, picking at the fruit. He wasn't certain what it was, but it tasted tart, sweet, and juicy. He dug in with a spoon. “How's it going on the bridge?”

  “It's... interesting,” Enric drawled, picking up a spoon to stir his creamer into his coffee. Having real cream was nice. “It's different. It's not just putting on a pretty uniform. There is a lot to learn.”

  Yosef snorted softly. “Tell me about it,” he grumbled.

  “Oh, I've got sleep teaching and downloads too. Right now it's all practical, Commander McGuyver and the Admiral settled on practical with some foundation until we have more time.”

  “I know,” Yosef said. “The good thing is if you get bored or if you let the computer know that you know most of it, it runs you through a quiz and then moves on,” Yosef replied.

  Enric smiled, taking a sip of his coffee. “Yeah, I like that too,” he said. He set the cup down.

  “This seat taken?” Doctor Glenn asked.

  The two men looked up and then waved. “By all means Doctor, have at it,” Yosef replied with a shrug.

  Marty smiled and took his seat across from Yosef. Holly joined him on his right. The small circular table was a bit crowded, but they wouldn't be there long. “Breakfast, the most important meal of the day. Time to start your day off right,” Marty said.

  Holly sniffed softly and sipped her coffee, cup in front of her face as she cradled it.

  “So, you were talking about the training?”

  “Yes, it's a lot to absorb,” Yosef said.

  “I know. I was reading about the beginnings of gene engineering and how on Terra they used Myostatin
gene therapy to treat muscular dystrophy and a host of other diseases. And how it led to super soldiers, athletes doing gene doping, and heavy worlders.”

  “So much for just the practical doc,” Enric replied with a chuckle.

  “Eh?” Marty asked, now confused. He stopped buttering his toast with red jelly to look at him quizzically.

  “We were gassing about the focus on the practical,” the Ensign said.

  “Oh,” Marty said. He took a bite of his toast and then rolled his eyes. “So much better,” he murmured. Someone reached over and snagged the small ramekin with the jelly in it. “You're welcome,” Marty said over his shoulder.

  There was a mutter of thanks and then Marty snorted. Holly poked him. He sighed. “I'll be good.”

  “Sure you will be,” she teased.

  “You two seem to be better off,” Yosef said in approval.

  “We... knew it was coming. We've both had some experience dealing with treating trauma. I must say I hated the experience, but now I can understand when people say you don't understand.”

  “True.”

  “Anyway, I was going over the Beta mods for augmentation and I guess I got side tracked by the gene thing,” Marty shrugged. “It's no big deal. It does explain a few things I had wondered about though.”

  “I see.”

  The group ate for a bit before Holly set her cup down and took her own bite of toast. She smiled. “I have to admit this is a nice change. Real bread and jam. Strawberry I think.”

  “Yes. We should thank Mister Takagi. He did wonders getting it over to us.”

  “Yes, yes he did. And you did a wonderful job making sure it didn't get away on that ship,” Holly said, voicing her approval.

  Enric blushed a bit. “Ah shucks ma'am, it was a team effort. Miss... I mean Lieutenant Nobeki did the shooting. I just handled OPS.”

  “As you said, a team effort,” Yosef said with a nod. “I'm going to enjoy the fruits of our labor,” he said, grinning as he worked on the fruit.

  “So... practical knowledge?” Marty prompted.

  “Yes. I'm wondering though about the lack of in depth foundation and theory. Most of it people forget or gloss over.”

  “Use it or lose it,” Marty murmured thoughtfully.

  “Yes!” Enric replied, nodding. “That's it exactly. But there is so much!”

  “Which is why we have to put it into practice. And constant practice,” Holly said. “Muscle memory. You train so it becomes the level of instinct, you don't even have to actively think out the steps involved in a procedure, you just do it. It helps with your self confidence too.”

  “Knowing you can,” Marty said with a nod.

  “Yes,” Holly replied.

  “Have you done any drills lately?”

  “A few minor ones, but nothing major. Most of them are disaster related. My part is damage control.”

  “Which went over well in our last frackus.”

  “For some of us,” Yosef said darkly.

  The others shifted slightly, now uncomfortable. “I know there is another combat sim in two days. Lieutenant Nobeki drills on combat daily. She thought she had it down and started to slack off, but our recent encounter changed that,” Enric muttered.

  “I've got to go report for duty. Be seeing you ma'am, sirs,” Yosef said, getting up and policing his tray.

  “You too... petty officer,” Enric said, trying hard not to stumble over the sudden void between them. He nodded to him as Yosef left.

  “It's... odd,” Holly murmured. She set her spoon down. “I'm not sure about being an officer. About the whole fraternizing thing. I've known some people who are enlisted for years. Some I knew on other ships,” she said, nodding to Enric.

  “Yes, we did cross paths once or twice,” Enric chuckled. “And yeah, it is weird. Just another thing to get used to. I'm not certain about it, another thing that's been skipped, but we'll deal with it.”

  “After what we've already been through, this is a cake walk,” Marty said.

  “Oh, did they make a cake?” Someone asked behind them. That started a buzz of conversation that rippled outward through the mess. The cook caught it and frowned. He looked around. A helpful crewman pointed the Doctor out. The cook scowled blackly at the Doctor. Marty groaned softly. Holly and Enric chuckled.

  <----*----*----*---->

  Irons set the tablet down and stretched. It felt good to stretch, he'd spent a lot of time, too much time in his opinion, reading this report or the other. Even with his implants it wasn't good to remain motionless for so long. Nor attempt to absorb so much data in one sitting.

  He frowned. “McGuyver's setting in on Echo. But we've got Romeo. That's a problem,” he said.

  “True,” Bounty replied. “And we have new personnel to deal with as well Admiral. Forty of the former slaves from Hidoshi's World signed on with us in various capacities. A third as naval personnel. Only one officer. We're a bit light on commissions right now,” the AI said.

  “Yeah,” Sprite commented, entering the conversation.

  “Most of the aforementioned survivors want to return to their homeworld to liberate it.”

  “They can go in Deianira or the collier,” the Admiral replied. “In fact, we have, what, thirteen navy recruits from that world? What if we did a little swapping around with the collier and Deianira's crew?”

  “Give them the slots? Opening the slots up for those thirteen?” Sprite asked.

  “I think it's the least we can do,” the Admiral said, nodding. “If we can do a little pouching from Echo, we can staff Romeo too.”

  “That still leaves the officer slots open Admiral,” Bounty reminded him. “We're below establishment on Bounty as it is.”

  There was a long silence as the three considered that.

  “Promotions out of the zone?” Sprite suggested.

  “Possible,” the Admiral mused. “I'm not thrilled about it.”

  “Sindri can't take the helm, he's a great wrench turner, he can handle a crisis, but he's hopeless when it comes to maneuvering the ship or fighting it. He's got the brass, but those skills take time and practice to develop.”

  “True.”

  “Lieutenant Herschel is settling in as T12783's Captain. He's an old space hand who retired to Hidoshi's World with his wife to be with her family. He was an executive officer twenty five years ago.”

  “I know,” the Admiral replied. “We had the discussion on him when we were looking for the command team of the collier,” he said.

  “Yes I know. I was eliminating him from the Romeo staff.”

  “Lieutenant Apple is a possibility,” Sprite said, putting her image up. “As is Lieutenant Ulster.”

  “I've watched Trey's progress in engineering. He's good sir, but I'm loath to open another hole there,” Bounty said cautiously.

  “All right, other candidates?”

  “Lieutenant Brown and Gray. Gray is young, but he's enthusiastic. I've been working with him closely on the computer repairs on all the ships. I think he can handle engineering Admiral, at least the electronics side.”

  “Okay,” the Admiral said.

  “Yosef Behr,” Bounty said.

  “Spacer Yosef?” Sprite asked. She put his MOS and thumbnail bio up along with an image of him.

  “He's good. But he keeps his head down. He is quiet, but has a spine. He stood up to Caid when he enlisted. He has a lot of untapped potential,” Bounty said, putting the sailor's file up.

  The Admiral frowned as he scanned it. From the sound of it Yosef was indeed good, a coaster though. He did good work, getting it done in minimal time and done right the first time. He didn't need to have anyone watching over his shoulder. He immediately did as he was told without griping, had some initiative, he anticipated some issues, and didn't just sit on his ass. He was a coaster though in that he rarely ever volunteered, never tried to be more than just a space engineer.

  “You think it will shake him up? See his own potential?” Sprite asked
.

  “I think it's been done before. And at the very least he'll fill the assistant's slot.”

  “Okay, but that still leaves the hot seat and bridge staff. And we need someone good in the helmsman's chair,” Bounty said.

  “Apple?”

  “She's got a backbone. She has also been studying the various roles. She's passed some of the test exams. Granted in the B range, but she's got the potential Admiral. I have seen her in leadership roles. She did well once she settled down.”

  “Do you think she can handle being in a small ship with a mostly male crew?”

  “We have... no, she's not ready,” Sprite frowned. “I was going to suggest Charlene, the bonobo. She's a friend and former crewmate of Apple. But doc hasn't passed her psych exam.”

  “Okay, so who else?”

  “Well, Spacer Yuri Malkovich to back up Yosef. Ensign Ahearn would be a good choice for Romeo.”

  “It will put a hole in my navigational department. Graveyard is light enough as it is,” Bounty said.

  “We can fill it. Either we find someone else or I'll double up,” the Admiral said. “I only need four hours of sleep a night anyway,” he said. “Ahearn,” he said, remembering Marcus from his time on the Admiral's team. He had been a big guy, broad shoulders, grim no nonsense attitude. He'd worked well with Mary securing their rear.

  “Fine, that works. They'll have to figure it out. Draw up the necessary paperwork and prep them for movement ASAP. I want this handled quickly so they can have time to settle in,” he said. “Status on the ship?”

  “Repairs and upgrades are on schedule Admiral,” Proteus reported. “With an on board crew the internals will be tricky however,” he said.

  “They'll have to do the best they can. See if we can get at least one person from Echo over, someone who already knows an Apollo's systems and layout. A veteran to show the others the ropes. A rating of course. More than one if you can swing it with Commander McGuyver,” the Admiral ordered.

  “Can do Admiral. Spacer Paul Edding put in for a transfer to that ship when we were first staffing her. He renewed the transfer request after spacer Allen's unfortunate death.”

  “Ghosts,” Bounty said sadly. “Some crew can't handle it. It bothers them being in a place where their friends were, or having to go into a compartment where they died.”