“Well, we'll see what I can get. You folks still on schedule to leave?” He looked over to Hera who nodded.
“Five days twelve hours. From the sound of the negotiations, it is not soon enough for the captain,” she said sourly. He chuckled.
“How is Jorge?” He asked as he hefted the last part. Buana smiled.
“Let's just say we're glad you got him to the docs. He's got a lot of damage. The nurse said the internals were bad; they’re going to have to operate and dunk him as well. Juanita is beside herself,” she sighed. The Admiral nodded.
“I can't say I blame her. She feels that she should be here with her family and blames herself for not being able to.” He looked over to Hera who grimly nodded.
“Wish we could do something about that, but we can't,” Buana sighed.
“Still, what you’re doing here should tip the scales a bit more in their favor,” Brie replied. She smiled at him as she brushed a curly of hair out of her eyes. He nodded and gave her a return smile.
“Well, it's a start.” He waved to the women. They filed out. “I don't think they'll give you any trouble since you're empty handed,” the Admiral said softly to Hera and Buana. Both women nodded. “We're going to have a couple extra guards meet us just in case,” Hera reported.
Outside the coast was clear. The Admiral stepped up his implants to maximum and could not get a whisper. “Nothing. Either they cleared out or they are near the lifts.” He nodded to Hera. She stuck her hand out and he shook it.
“Good, Chief is in the lift now.” She smiled.
“How did you get the code?” he asked, curious.
She grimaced. “We had to trade for it of course.” She sighed. “Damn Pyrax pain in the arses, sell their own mothers.” She blanched. “Don't tell Juanita that I said that.” She looked around at the others. They all shook their heads hastily. The Admiral chuckled as they left.
Sprite brought up a map of the floor. Junior was on his way back, but a trio of men were coming just ahead of him. He grimaced. He would have to wait until Junior got here, he didn't dare go back inside and leave the kid hanging in the breeze outside his own home.
“Hey you! Yes you!” He turned to see the lead bull necked guy wave to him. “Come over here we want to talk to you,” he snarled. Irons smiled.
“Sorry, I can't leave my post.” He indicated the door now at his back. The men snarled then came over.
“Who the hell are you?” the leader asked. He was bald, with various tattoos on his head and back of his neck. Another tattoo encircled his right eye. Sprite put up a warning that these were the same guys from earlier. Not that he didn't know already.
“I'm a boarder of the Valdez family. I am an engineer,” the Admiral replied as he studied the men with a practiced eye. They were definitely brawlers, used to using intimidation or raw force to get their way, not science. From the way each of them moved they had been at it for some time and leaned more on the intimidation factor over the use of force.
Junior rounded the corner and stopped. He started to move forward but then stopped. A male turned to glare at him. “There's the punk we're looking for.” He turned and pointed. The others turned. “Don't think you’re going to be here ass wipe, the Valdez clan is on borrowed time,” the leader gloated as he turned to Junior.
Junior had summoned up his courage or sheer stupidity and had passed through the men to the Admiral's side. He turned. “What do you want Berneky?” he asked. His hand was near his hip pocket.
“Easy son,” the Admiral said softly.
“Yeah, listen to the old man; you don't want to get tossed out a lock now do you?” one of the hecklers snarled. “We're here for the rent. Either pay up or piss off.” The leader jerked his thumb up over his shoulder. Junior's face contorted in a rictus of hate. The Admiral placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.
“Gentlemen, The exec ordered the Valdez family to get the tug repaired and in space and for all of your people to help expedite that.” He turned to look at the leader. “We don't take no orders from the exec,” one of his partners laughed. The leader turned, shutting his hyena up with a glare then turned back on Junior and the Admiral. “He's right; we take orders from the Admiral,” he replied, lip curling.
“From...” Junior looked up at the Admiral but he waved it aside.
“Never mind that. We're working on the tug now. If we don't run into problems we should be out in space by tomorrow, and getting the first load of fuel in a day.” He waved to the lights. “Flicker the lights and grav will you?” He sub vocalized to Sprite. After a moment the lights dimmed, then flickered. “The fuel reserves are almost gone.” He looked over to the leader. He looked a little green.
“I played with the plate he is on. Bet he feels a bit sick,” Sprite reported smugly.
“As you can see, we have a crisis to avert.” He waved Sergio inside.
“Not so fast smart ass...” The leader grabbed him.
“Leave him alone Berneky he's a ...” Junior warned.
“Shut up pissant, if I wanted to hear you whine I'd beat you like I did your dad.” He stared at the young man. Junior had gone white and fallen into a fighting crouch he was shaking with rage.
“Your bitch of a mother is going to get hers, going to get laid good and proper before we stuff her out a lock,” one of the men jeered. The Admiral tried to head off the obvious confrontation but he knew it was going south fast.
“Try it and you’re out the nearest airlock,” the leader said softly. Too softly, Junior was past hearing. The goons were laughing. Junior lunged at the nearest. He nonchalantly pulled out a black jack he had palmed and smacked the kid in the solar plexus. He went down. Berneky tried to muscle the Admiral into the door but he had had enough.
“Not on,” he snarled as he reacted. Berneky went flying back as he shrugged him off. He stepped into the first goon's reach and took him down with three quick blows. The second goon had been kicking the fallen boy. He turned on the engineer trying to pull a needler. The engineer's cybernetics went into overdrive. He rushed the man, grabbing the gun and snapping it to the side, snapping the man's arm.
He howled as he fell to the ground. Casually the Admiral tore the weapon apart. Junior crawled away from the man and then gasped and sobbed his way to his feet.
Berneky had picked himself off of the bulkhead and was staring as the Admiral casually pulled his goon's cut down plasma carbine out and tore it apart.
Cowed, the two goons scrambled back on their asses. Junior tried to stand but was hunched over. The Admiral grimaced then caught Berneky's eye. “Don't come back here again.” He said softly. He keyed his right arm to morph it into a plasma gun, then back. He held the gaze until he saw the man's eyes widen and his Adam’s apple go up and down in a gulp. He gave a choppy nod and took off.
“Go on, get out of here,” Junior gasped out. Trying to kick one of the guys but failing as the Admiral caught him.
“Let's get you inside,” he said softly.
Inside he locked the door then supported the boy to the living quarters. He scanned him as he sat the boy down. He had a spectacular set of bruises beginning to form under his skin, but no permanent damage the Admiral could detect. The kid had managed to regain his breath and was trying to sit up.
“Open a channel to the ship,” he sub vocalized. After a moment he heard Io's mellow voice answer.
“Hello Admiral, miss me?” Io sounded impish like her AI mother.
He smiled. “A bit Io, Just a bit. I bet the trio misses you more. I'm with Sergio Valdez, he's been assaulted. I'm reading contusions but I am not sure if he has internal damage. Is a doctor available?” he asked all business.
“Let me check. No, both are in surgery with Mr. Valdez senior. I believe they are repairing his internal organs. Is this a normal thing for this family?” she asked, humorous. He shook his head. “The way this station is run, I'm not sure. Sprite will upload my scans so you can get someone to take a look later.” He nodded as Sprite
fed the data through the linkage. He looked over to Junior.
The boy was staring at him. “I'm using my implants to talk to the ship,” he explained. Slowly the boy nodded.
“Nurse Ratchet recommends ice and some pain medication until they can get a look at him,” Io responded after a pause.
He nodded. “Will do, thanks Io.” He felt Sprite sever the link.
“The medics have their hands full with your dad, but they suggested an ice pack and analgesic until they can get to you. Hopefully the blood thinning properties of the analgesic won’t be a problem.” He sighed as he went over to his room. He paused the current build and jacked in. He watched as a pair of pills coalesced in the matrix. He plucked them out and then left the machine to work on the latest part.
“Here.” He handed the boy the pills and went to the cupboard. He pulled out a cup and then the water from the cooler. He turned to see the boy staring at him. “What?” he asked as he poured the drink, looking away. Junior shook his head.
“Nothing I guess,” Sergio croaked. He was staring though. The Admiral smiled.
“Years of practice and training.” He answered the unasked question. The young man looked up at him. “And no, I won’t teach anyone who can't keep a cool head. Your too liable to use it to do something we would both regret.” He finished pouring the water then handed it to the boy.
The boy popped the pills in his mouth then chased them down with the water. “Are you reading my mind?” he asked after he swallowed. Irons chuckled.
“No, years of experience again. This time for reading people.” He put the pitcher back into the cooler then went over to the replicator.
“It's broke. Best we can get out of it is gray water and paste,” Junior said, watching him. He sat back, one arm cradling his side.
“Well, let's just have a look,” the Admiral replied as he pulled the panel off. He hummed as he jacked into the universal port.
“You’re not bothered you needed a rescue are you?” Irons asked. Junior groaned. “A little,” the young man replied. At least he was honest.
Irons chuckled. “Don't be. You’re lucky to be alive. Three against one when they are armed and trained?” He shook his head. “Count your blessings and try to learn from the experience.” He looked at the panel.
“Looks like the EPS tap is good, there is a kink in the paste feeds, software is corrupted, but I got that fixed. Okay, hmm, matrix needs reinitializing... oh, electronic power cable is shredded to it.... leaky gaskets too. Nasty. No wonder you only get flavored paste. The leaks have stuff growing in here.” He wrinkled his nose then sighed.
“See, it's not worth it,” the boy replied.
Irons gave him a look. “If everyone did that, sentient life would have bought it a long time ago. I don't give up easy. You shouldn't either. Buckle down and take the long road. That's what your parents do,” he nodded to their room. Junior flushed.
“First thing to learn about space is to have patience. Second is to have patience,” Irons quoted. Junior snorted a laugh as Iron's let Proteus go to work. The AI rapidly made repairs, absorbing and breaking down the fungus and leakage, and repairing the gaskets with his nanites. In minutes the matrix was cleared.
“Need a hand?” Junior asked behind him. He turned to see the boy standing, looking over his shoulder.
He smiled. “Sure, I need a couple things, a new cable, two food feeder lines and my tool kit in the other room.” He glanced at the boy who was staring at his arm and the replicator. Small manipulator arms had extended out of his bicep and forearm. They tore into the system as if they had a will of their own.
“Don't worry about it.” The Admiral smiled.
“How, I mean, did they really cut off your arm to put that on?” Junior asked as he turned.
“No, not on purpose. I lost it in battle with my legs and eye.” The Admiral smiled as the young man retreated.
A few minutes later the boy returned with the requested gear. He carefully explained what he was doing as he made the repairs. He finished and put the cover panel back on.
“Okay test object. Ice pack. Perfect.” He tapped in the request and waited. The tray lit and the matrix began to bubble.
“It can do that?” the young man asked fascinated.
“That and more,” the Admiral replied. In a moment an ice pack was finished. “Here.” He handed it to the boy. He grimaced and put the pack on his abdomen.
“Wow, it's really cold,” Sergio said then shivered.
“That's the whole point. I'll replicate a couple more then I'll see about a snack.” The Admiral waved him to go sit. Weakly Junior hobbled over to the chair and sat. The right side of his face was starting to bruise. Right on cue the young man's mother and Aunt came in.
They stopped dead in the doorway then rushed to the boy's side. The kids followed in behind, babbling. The babbling faded as they noticed something was wrong.
Anita was at Junior's side, checking him over. “He's okay as far as my scan can see; he's got some spectacular bruises coming. I'm not sure about internals though, I'm not a doctor,” the Admiral tried to caution them. Anita ran her hands through Sergio's hair.
“What happened?” His aunt asked looking at him.
“We ran into Berneky and his goons,” Junior snarled with a groan. The Admiral nodded confirmation.
“Berneky!” His mother paled. “I told you to stay away from him!” She glared at her son.
“Wasn't my fault he was at our door,” the young man waved. The Admiral nodded once more.
“I had just accepted the last load and spotted Junior excuse me; Sergio, coming from one direction, and the goon squad coming from the other. No way could I head it off had I known,” he explained.
“What happened?” the pig tailed girl asked.
Her brother grimaced. “I got my ass kicked, what does it look like?” he muttered looking away. His mother frowned.
“Language Sergio,” his aunt warned. He flushed darker.
“And you did nothing?” the boy asked the Admiral accusingly.
“No, he took them apart,” Junior said in the Admiral's defense, trying to sit up. “He did what?” his mother asked as the kids shot wondering looks at the Admiral. The aunt seemed wary. Her face contorted in amusement and fear. He tried not to take it personally.
“It was nothing.” He shrugged it off. “No permanent damage. Couple broken bones, no deaths.” He waved. “I have to get back to work now.” He hastily exited. He hated getting involved when people were all weepy or loading him down with thanks.
“He's not hurt?” the aunt asked. He tried to tune out the answer. He entered the bay and dived into the work.
Sometime later he looked up to see Anita in the lock. “Thanks for saving my son. And my husband.” She looked aside. Her face was red. Her eyes were a little puffy.
He nodded. “My pleasure ma'am. They just needed a boost. Both will recover in time.” He finished tightening a bolt and let Proteus take over his right arm to make the final connections.
“That damn latin male pride will be the death of them both,” she muttered.
“How is it going?” Junior asked from behind his mother. She turned with a ferocious frown but he waved it off. “I'm okay Mama, sore, but okay. Honest.” He looked into the room and whistled. “You've rebuilt the engine? And power plant?” His practiced eyes took in the sight of the gleaming array of parts. “She's like new,” he whispered reverently. The Admiral chuckled.
“Not quite, I still need to rebuild the cab and fuel injectors. You’re not going to run any races with her, you hear me?” He looked at the boy.
His mother looked at him as well. Junior sighed. “I want your word you will never tap that afterburner short of an emergency or you will never go out that lock again,” she said with doom in her voice. He flushed.
“The impeller is up, her antigrav is a bit shaky, and I am leaving it off until I get the electronics bay finished,” the Admiral said into the awkward silence.
“Yes ma'am,” he heard Junior reply meekly. He nodded.
“I'll give you a hand...” Junior offered. His mother shook her head.
“No, what the two of you are going to do is go get cleaned up and eat. Dinner is on.” She turned her son and pushed him back down the corridor. The Admiral hid a laugh. She turned on him, hands on her hips.
He sighed knowing the look. “I bet Juanita sicked you on me.” He shook his head, wiping grease off his hands. She dimpled.
“Something like that. Since you’re making a habit of saving my family, the least I can do is make sure you’re fed properly.” She pointed down the corridor. “Now march Admiral!” He laughed as he obeyed.
After cleaning up he hastily sat. The kids were already eating. He smiled to the aunt as he sat down. They heard the door and Junior tensed. “Am I fashionably late?” O'Reilly's voice echoed. Junior relaxed.
“Go get cleaned up,” Anita ordered with an imperious hand. He took a look at Sergio, shook his head and went into the refresher.
“So what happened? You trip in the dark Sergio?” he called with the door open. Junior sighed rolling his eyes. His aunt smiled at him and patted his arm.
“I'm sorry about your losing your shift mate, I didn't have a choice. Orders on high said to cut power.” He toweled his hands and shook his head.
Anita stared at her son. “You were fired?” she asked stunned.
“No laid off,” O'Reilly answered. “His whole shift was.” He sighed as he tossed the towel back into the refresher then took his seat. He pulled his wife over and gave her a kiss. She smiled at him.
“So, what did I miss?” O'Reilly asked. Junior started to talk with his mouthful eliciting a laugh from his aunt and giggle from the kids.
“We've got all the parts, and last I heard Jorge was in surgery,” the Admiral replied then dug in. The spaghetti was good, meatless, but it made up for that with peppers. The bread was a bit pasty, but not bad.
“So you've got all the parts? How soon can you get the old girl back together?” O'Reilly asked. “Enrique can't hold off the Port Admiral forever you know. I heard about the bully boys.” He nodded to Junior. “I tried to call and warn you, but no one was home,” he sighed shaking his head.
Fool's Gold (The Wandering Engineer) Page 6