Fool's Gold (The Wandering Engineer)

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Fool's Gold (The Wandering Engineer) Page 29

by Hechtl, Chris


  “You could encourage your congregations to find a way to contribute if they aren't already,” Irons smiled.

  The Hindu's eyes flashed. “Not all of us are cut out for slaughter young man.”

  “I wasn't suggesting that. I was suggesting they volunteer to serve. We need people in every capacity. Cooks, nurses, welders, techs, engineers, teachers...” he shrugged. The religious leaders nodded.

  “Thank you for your guidance. We will see what we can do,” the imam murmured. Irons nodded as they left.

  “Not a big religious fan Admiral?” Enrique asked at his elbow.

  He grimaced. “I've never been an organized religious person. I save prayer for when I am powerless to do anything.” He shrugged. “Prayer is nice, but in the end you still need to do something about a problem if you can. Or at least deal with the consequences,” he sighed.

  “I see you do use prayer,” Enrique smiled.

  “Like I said, when I don't have a way to do something. I'm an engineer though. It's hard for me to give up when I know I can fix something.” He shrugged.

  "Admiral, I'm glad we're going to bring Firefly in. It doesn't sit right leaving the old girl to drift out there in the dark alone for so long." Logan shook his head.

  "Yeah, I know," Irons replied softly.

  "I would have tried, but I didn't want that slime ball getting his hands on her," Logan growled. "She'll listen to you though, you've got a better chance of talking to her than I did." Logan shrugged. Irons chuckled.

  "I'm sure we can work something out. How is Shelby doing? I noticed the other machine shops are all back online. She's got work parties swarming the hull repairing everything they see," he chuckled. "Talk about enthusiasm. Your daughter sure knows how to crack a whip."

  Logan chuckled. "Takes after her mother. She's officer material, no doubt about it," he smiled.

  "I'll keep that in mind," Irons replied dryly. Logan gave him a look.

  "You do that. She's wasted here in the station nursing an old man and this machinery," he waved. "No insult intended Admiral. She's good. Really good. She can get the best out of her people. Knock off the rough edges, get her some implant tech and she'd shine." He smiled.

  Irons nodded. "Right. While I'm gone, you've got all six reactors to balance plus the repairs, do you think you can manage?"

  Logan looked concerned. "I never thought we'd get her back up and running," he sighed sitting back. "Yeah, I'll manage. Now that Smithy has been reformatted and rebooted, the reactor watch is stable and we've even got replacements trained. For the first time we've got more power then we know what to do with!" He shook his head. chuckling.

  "Well, we can't have that. I'll just give you a general parts list to start making in the fabricators when they are idle. Stockpile the parts for later use. I've already set up a key code for you to use." The Admiral handed over a tablet.

  "What's on it?" Logan asked suspicious.

  "Oh the usual. Germaine things like gravity deck plates, life support parts, the usual general parts any ship can use. But I tossed in a few mil spec parts to get the ball rolling on the repairs." He smiled as Logan thumbed the list and scowled through it. "Ah, yeah, I can do this. The parts idea is smart, we can use a lot of this in the station too. Swap out a lot of the parts that aren't working or sucking too much juice." He smiled. "I want to overhaul and upgrade the station's shields too. I'm not a shield tech though," he said shaking his head frowning.

  "You're doing fine. Take it one step at a time. I uploaded my lectures and tutorials to the database and in the college database. Key up the shield tech ones for a refresher if you think you need it," the Admiral smiled. Logan nodded.

  "I'll do that," Logan sighed with relief.

  "Feel free to add your own comments or information as well," Irons added as he turned to finish with a crate of parts.

  "You are kidding me?" Logan said surprised.

  The Admiral turned. "Yes you. You and I are the foremost surviving experts remember? If not us who?" He shrugged. "Besides, having someone else's input helps immensely. You may catch things I missed or only lightly touched because I took some basic knowledge for granted. Look for that and fill in the blanks," he smiled.

  Logan nodded slowly. "All right, I'll give it a shot," he said. "Good luck Admiral." He came to attention. Irons waved it off and held out his hand.

  "I think we're all going to need as much luck as we can get." Logan shook his hand. "I'll see you in a couple days," Irons said, then hefting the crate he turned and walked out. Logan stared for a moment then shook himself and went back to work.

  He smiled at the crew. There were eight volunteers. Sergio had volunteered to pilot the launch. His uncle O'Reilly was going to handle life support. Captain Gutierrez was in charge of the tender. Shelby was second in command. Angie was in as an engineering tech. Jimmy and Wally were a pair of techs with power room experience. Finally there was Dieter, an electronics tech and EMT. He was the only one not looking excited or bored, he looked rather nervous. "Last chance to stay home folks," the Admiral warned. He waited a moment then nodded. "Right, let's get this show on the road then."

  Chapter 14

  "Are you sure about this? The ship is a mess Admiral," Sprite reported as the long range sensor feeds began to get a return. It had taken them nearly a week to get there, the small confines of the launch had some exhibiting classic cabin fever. Fortunately Sergio had picked up on an ion trail and a flash of reflected light for them to home in on.

  "There are some fishy things going on, like it is trying to spoof the long range sensors... adjusting. We have a course lock," Sprite reported. He watched the feed and grunted. "I don't think she had enough power to spoof us for long Admiral. Once she noted our course the ECM went down," Sprite reported softly.

  "So she still has power, and the AI is active. Good signs," Irons nodded.

  "Maybe in the long run, but we still need to get aboard," Sergio observed dryly. Shelby chuckled. "Leave that to the Admiral."

  Sergio looked over his shoulder to her, then shrugged and went back to his instruments. "Linking to the launch's communications. Opening a channel. Activating IFF now. We're being pinged. IFF handshake protocol established. Activity, interrogation of IFF by AI, presumed to be Firefly," Defender reported.

  "Firewall set up. Handshake protocol accepted," Sprite reported. Irons nodded..

  "Time to leave you here Gutierrez, we'll make final approach with the launch." He nodded to Sergio.

  They undocked from the tender with a bump. Sergio muttered an apology as they drifted away. The fleet launch moved forward to a safe distance then lit its drive. "We're clear, see you soon," Sergio reported.

  "We'll be waiting. Not long though. Good luck," Gutierrez replied. Sergio chuckled nervously.

  Firefly drifted, most of her systems cold. The delta shaped ship had her starboard side to the system's primary. It's hull was patched, however he could see rents in her port and upper skin going decks deep. Shelby let out a soft groan.

  "Is she really worth it?" she asked softly.

  "She's our best shot, if the AI is sane we've got a fighting chance," Irons replied studying the ship. Her nacelles were ripped up on her port side, but her starboard nacelles looked intact and undamaged. She had some sort of network of glittering panels on her starboard side, they could see the edge of them glittering in the sun against the matt black hull. As a search light passed her bow her lettering glittered then faded.

  "That's wild," Sergio said shaking his head. "It seems to suck up the light and radar," he said sounding awed.

  "Stealth coating," the Admiral replied absently. "All warships have layers of smart skin. Ablation layers, stealth coatings, passive sensors, micro communicators, radiators, and evens solar collectors." He shook his head. "When she's fully active her skin is a work of art," he finished almost reverently.

  Sergio gave him an amused look then went back to his readouts. "You say so," he chuckled.

  He looked at t
he ship and closed his eyes. "Ready?" he asked softly.

  "Ready Admiral," Sprite responded. Defender as usual lit a green light onto his HUD. "Receiving interrogation signal over personal link. Responding with flag IFF and pass codes," Sprite responded.

  "We're entering maximum range of her energy mounts Admiral," Defender reported. A three dimensional image of the ship and it's firing arcs was projected on his HUD.

  "Any sign of trouble?" he asked.

  "We're getting some signs of power up on the bow energy mounts but it is minimum. Her shields and reactors are down," Sprite reported. "Handshake protocol established. Wow, rough!" He felt the ship's AI access the shuttle's systems through the link then trace them to him.

  "Who are you? Fleet Admiral Irons is deceased," the AI's voice was firm and unyielding.

  "Not quite. I was reported as missing remember? I made it to a life pod and was in stasis up until sixteen months ago," the Admiral reported.

  "Firefly is accessing my net. Memory archive access requested," Sprite reported.

  "Let it in," the Admiral ordered.

  "Very well," Sprite stepped aside. Defender reluctantly followed.

  "Three AI?" Firefly sent over his auditory channel as it scanned the IFF suite. It ran the scan several times, then scanned him. "You seem to be full of surprises Fleet Admiral. What is your daughter's maiden name?" the AI asked.

  The Admiral's brows knit. "I don't have a daughter. One son. His name is Jeffery. He was twenty nine when I went into cryostasis," he said softly. He felt the AI access his family records. He felt like he was being strip searched as the AI rapidly played his personal memory files.

  "Confirmed. What is the purpose of having three AI in an organic life form?" the AI asked.

  "Classified. Need to know restricted. You don't have need to know," the Admiral bit back, feeling a little mauled. The AI chuckled.

  "Accepted. Welcome to the net Admiral Irons. I assume you intend to board?" the AI asked.

  "You assume correctly. We're here to salvage you if possible. This system is under impeding attack by pirates." He felt the AI recede.

  "It has been so long..." tt muttered. "Very well. I can't stop you. Access granted. Starboard side Boat bay two. Boat bay one was destroyed," Firefly finished. He nodded as he opened his eyes.

  "Right, Firefly is directing us to boat bay two. Follow the beacon. When the tractors kick on release the controls," he looked at Sergio.

  "You're serious?" Sergio said, eyes wide. The Admiral studied the young man. "You're serious," Sergio dead panned. "Man... letting an insane AI fly..." He shook his head looking down. "I've got the signal, following the guide beam." He tapped the controls and then sat back.

  "I can't lay in a side party Admiral," Firefly seemed amused. He smiled.

  "I've been with civilians the past sixteen months. Don't worry about it. I'm not one to put on airs anyway," the Admiral waved it off.

  "What?" Sergio asked.

  "Firefly. I'm talking to the AI through my implants."

  Sergio nodded. "Right..." He went back to piloting.

  "How are you functional? And sane?" he asked suspicious.

  "See the network of sails around my starboard flank?" the AI asked. He craned his neck then brought up the file on his HUD.

  "Right, solar?" he asked after studying the scans.

  "That is why I have that side facing the system's primary. I ran out of fuel centuries ago," the AI reported. "It keeps my basic electronics functioning, barely. I have to shut down my higher cognitive functions when I am in shadow or during long term waits," the AI reported. He felt data stream through the communicator to his cybernetics. Silently he watched it scroll.

  "It must be like going into a coma each time, not knowing if you'll wake on the other side," Sprite said softly. He nodded mutely.

  "Yes, that it would be," he said, equally soft. "Well, let's get you sorted out. It's time you were restored," he smiled looking up as he felt a buck.

  "Tractors on. I'm using a lot of my reserve power for this Admiral, I hope you’re not planning on my traveling back under my own power..." the AI said. He smiled.

  "We're carrying extra fuel and parts. This tender can push you if your drives are down." He unbuckled his safety harness as the tractors settled them into a berthing cradle.

  "Docking complete. Life support in boat bay two restored. The air is very thin but breathable. There is no gravity. It will be cold Admiral," the AI reported. He nodded and looked the crew over.

  "All right, I'm the first out. Make a hole." He motioned aside Shelby and a nervous looking tech.

  "Why?" Angie asked.

  "The highest ranking officer is always last on and first off," Shelby stage whispered.

  "Oh," the girl replied.

  Gently he floated to the hatch, palmed the door controls and watched as it opened. He tugged at his hem until the door finished opening. A boat whistle sounded. "Fleet Admiral arriving." He smiled as he pushed off and landed with practiced ease before the yellow line. He saluted the tattered flag hanging from the right corner, then the ship's crest.

  "Permission to come aboard?" he asked, following formula.

  "Permission granted. Welcome aboard Admiral Irons," Firefly sounded amused. He smiled and nodded as he looked over his shoulder.

  "The crew are volunteers. they will be inducted into the Federation navy but they are greenhorns Firefly." He waited as Shelby sorted them out into an orderly procession. "Stay in the boat bay until I call or return," he ordered Shelby. She nodded. The techs were looking around in awe.

  "Thanks a lot, leave me with the babysitting duty," she muttered good naturedly. He chuckled.

  He made his way through the corridors. "Lifts are out Admiral," Firefly reported over his net. Lights came on ahead of him, then went off behind him.

  "Tell Shelby if it is okay to start unloading. You can forget the lights, I can see in the dark," he replied.

  The AI paused for a moment. "Are you sure about letting civilians aboard Admiral?" He felt the hesitation.

  "Not much choice, there is only one other person who was in the military, and he's back on Anvil. Shelby is his daughter. Shelby Logan daughter of chief petty officer Horatio Logan. Make a note of that." He shrugged.

  He picked his way through the damaged corridors and made his way to the bridge. "Admiral on the bridge," the AI intoned. He suddenly realized the AI tone was beginning to sound elated. He smiled.

  "As ranking officer I hereby take command of this starship in the name of the Federation. Now on this date, I am her commanding officer until relieved or deceased." He smiled as the formula of taking command was finished.

  "As the AI of the Firefly hull number NX20214s I accept the change in command. Welcome to the net Fleet Admiral Irons." Simultaneous with the AI's acceptance of command the bridge lights came up and then dimmed. "Sorry, I am almost out of power," the AI reported.

  "First order of business then. Status report on your reactors and fuel tanks."

  He turned to the plot. "Never mind the plot, shoot it and a full thumbnail brief to my link. I'll check it over and it won’t waste your power." He felt the data cascade in a single pulse burst. Sprite opened the file and began processing it. Data flashed over his HUD. "Main engineering is holed, fusion one is down, fusion two is off line it's fuel lines are gone, tanks one through three are holed, damn." He shook his head. "Okay we can plug the leaks to fusion two then add a tap until we get a tank patched. Can you direct Shelby to the leaks and main engineering? Let her know the crew will need to be suited." He sat in the captain's chair as he rapidly digested the brief Sprite was assembling.

  "Done and done. Miss Logan has linked a micro fusion reactor to my starboard power feed. Power reserves are at point two percent and climbing," the AI reported. The lights blinked then came up to half light. Screens came on then turned off.

  "Looks like we have our work cut out for us," the Admiral nodded rubbing his hands. "Can you get a signal to the te
nder, let them know we're safely aboard and getting to work? Then give me a priority repair list. Let's see if we can whittle it down some," the Admiral ordered.

  "Accessing. Permission granted. Thank you Firefly," Sprite said with a teasing note. She seemed on her best behavior. "Firefly has graciously allowed us access to the net. Proteus has accessed the repair logs and is compiling a priority list based on your preliminary estimates. We're going to need a scan... oh." Sprite paused.

  "I was bored," Firefly reported. Data squirted to his net. "I've been trying to make what repairs I could with what I had on hand so I used my drones as best I could when I had surplus power. I just uploaded my repair scans and repair list," Firefly reported sounding smug.

  “That explains why everything is immaculate. I can't believe this. This ship... Why did they leave?”

  “I've spent the past seven hundred years doing what repairs I can Miss Logan,” Firefly replied.

  “Why didn't you come in? To Anvil I mean,” she asked.

  “Because I was warned not to do so by my last Captain.”

  “Oh,” Shelby grunted. “Well, it works out for us now.”

  “True. I have a several bots on stand by. I can get them moving as soon as we have power to spare.”

  "Whatever works. Good work," the Admiral said tapping the controls. He sat back. "Okay, tell everyone to remain suited, they can take their gloves or helmets off but keep them nearby. The suits will keep them warm. I want regular check ins every fifteen minutes for each work party. Shelby how are you doing?" he asked.

  "We're at the doors to main engineering... shutting the corridor doors and pumping out the atmo now, we should be in in a minute or two. I've got Jimmy and Angie on their way to fusion two now." He heard her suck in her breath.

  "What?" he asked sitting up.

  "I take it back. What a mess," she sighed.

  He chuckled. "Don't worry about that, just give me a damage report and then follow the repair plan." He signed off and checked in with the AI.

  "The heat exchangers are off line Admiral. I think they are frozen. It will take a work party to sort it out," Firefly reported. He nodded.

 

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