A few of the females chuffed in protest. Irons cleared his throat. “Thank you for the honor but I'm a Federation Officer. I can't do that.”
“She knows,” a female said, eyes narrowed. “You are trying to stop the kits from fighting for the Alpha slot,” she shook her head. “Mother it cannot be done.”
“I can try,” she huffed.
Irons looked at his arm as the nanites healed it.
Those nearest stared at him as the wounds dried up, closed, then faded until they were gone. “What.. how..”
“Cybernetics. Like I said. If you’re in the military or in a civilian job that requires implants you'll get them,” he turned to the group. “Also you'll get anti-aging and full medical care. Think about it.”
“I think mother, that the clans will need to be called. Our pride is going to change. All prides and packs will,” a female said. Irons looked at her. She had scars on the right side of her face and muzzle. It took him a moment to realize they were actually poorly made tattoos. He looked around. Some of the other; fitter females had them as well.
“Why do you need a male to lead you?” Irons asked. “I... never mind. Not my business.” He shook his head as they glared.
“I'll do it!” the liger male said holding up his paw. The females chuffed in laughter. He hunched his shoulders.
Even Irons smiled at that.
“Can I get passage to Gaston?” the cheetah female asked plaintively.
“Passage as a guest or a working passage?” Irons asked. “Destiny is heading to Agnosta, then beyond.”
“Agnosta then.”
“You can apply for a passage if that is your wish. If there is a slot available I'll see if you can get it,” Irons said.
“My ancestors were wardens. Ah... rangers.”
He nodded. “Right. An honorable job. Protecting the environment. I don't know if they have or need them on the other colonies, but they may need hunters. And of course soldiers,” he shrugged as the females chattered a little.
“I am a medic. Or at least I wish to be one,” she glanced at the doctor.
“I can give you some training material to go over,” the doctor said with a nod.
“Perhaps that is what we should all do then. Go to a world. If only my eyes could see the sun...” the matron sighed touching her face and muzzle.
“They will I said. Give me a break,” Thornby said disgusted. “You've got cataracts. It's a simple fix. I've called the front desk. Next shift I or one of the other doctors will operate. Or you can apply for Navy duty and Dr. Standish can do the work.”
“Indeed?” the female asked. “You would do this? Even for one...”
“One what?” Thornby asked. “You obviously have great influence on the others, and still have wisdom to impart to the kits. I'll even see about the teeth if we have time.” The matron's breath was foul.
“I always did love the sweets,” the matron chuffed a laugh. “All right doctor.” She nodded blindly.
“So... now everyone wants to go?” the cheetah asked suddenly looking a little crestfallen.
“Seems that way,” Irons said chuckling. “Get some rest and get that body healed. If any of you have the energy, you can access the station's college computers to learn.” He looked over to the AI standing quietly in the center of the room.
“Access granted Admiral,” he nodded.
“Thanks.” He nodded to the group. “Carry on.” He made his exit quickly.
“What was that whole leader thing about?” Sprite asked.
“Pack leader. Social dynamics. I remember something about it in anthropology studies and a course on interaction with herd and predator pack mentalities. I think the old biddy was either setting me up to get a knife in my back, or trying to get her people to rally around a strong leader who will drag them back into society.”
“One of the others mentioned her trying to head off the kits fighting for the alpha slot. Talk about feral,” Sprite sniffed. “You organics.” She shook her virtual head.
“Ahem. You digitals aren't all that hot either when it comes to feral's and being territorial remember?”
“Point taken Admiral,” Sprite replied.
"We've got ships out picking up delegates from each colony. They will be arriving at Anvil shortly," Enrique said looked amused. Irons grimaced. Now that the pirate crisis was behind them he was moving them along to a Constitutional convention so they could reform the Pyrax central government. They'd been setting it up over the past ten days now that the system was settling down and things were returning to normal. He didn't want the status quo though, he wanted change. Good change. Change for the better. It was time to get others on board with that. Hence the convention.
"Who did they pick?" he asked. Enrique looked at the list he had.
"A few people who knew law, one judge, an arbitrator, a councilor, and a couple of union and colony executive leaders. Most are second rankers, not the true leaders." The exec shrugged.
"Right, well, you’re the station commander, so you get to choose our delegates. Other than me," Irons said as he smiled.
"Station commander?" Enrique squeaked turning in surprise.
"I'm the system governor remember? And ranking naval officer. At least until we get a duly elected local government re-established. When elections are held I will step aside for the winner," he smiled. “I've got enough hats to wear without this one.” He waved to indicate the station. Besides, you and I both know who's really running the show here. Time to make it formal.”
The Exec's eyes widened then he took on a thoughtful look. "Right. Okay, I'll see if I can get Judge Farley, he's a big Constitutional nut." Enrique waved as he rushed out. Irons chuckled.
"Giving up the reins of power so soon?" Sprite asked. Irons shrugged.
"Best thing to do, get them sorted out and standing on their own. I have more important things to focus on than playing politics," he grimaced. “It's called delegation. They have to grow up sometime you know.” He looked over to the crew handling Ops. “They'll do fine. I want to focus on the navy now. Get it up and running. That's my baby and where my real talent lies anyway.”
"Sure you do," Sprite said eying him. “But don't expect to be left out of politics just because you want to be. It doesn't work that way Admiral, you and I both know that.”
“Sprite...” he said with heated exasperation.
“Shutting up now sir.”
"How is the prep for the Constitutional convention going?" Shelby asked as he entered the bridge. He paused with a grimace then shrugged. Of course everyone knew about it.
"Not bad, like herding cats. About what I expected," he answered. She mirrored his grimace.
"That bad huh?" she covered a smile with her mug. "Better you than me," she said. He shook a mock fist at her.
"How goes repairs?" he asked studying the plot.
"Better than expected. We've made good on the damages from the battle right off as you know. We're at eighty five percent and climbing. Firefly should be almost as good as new... or at least as good as we can get her outside a dry dock in a month." Shelby shrugged.
"Miss engineering?" Irons asked. Shelby chuckled.
"A little. Okay, a lot. But then again I'm starting to like the hot seat. I do miss getting my hands dirty though." She patted her arm rest then set her cup down in a cup holder. Irons chuckled as he sat on the edge of his couch.
"We've got a naval conference set up for tomorrow, since you’re the ranking officer available, you get to attend." He watched annoyance flitter across her face before she blew out her cheeks in a disgusted grimace.
"Great, more conferences," she shook her head. "Meetings are going to bore me to death."
Irons laughed. "Yeah, I know, I hate them too, they are almost as bad as parties... and don't get me started on paperwork." He shrugged.
She grimaced. "God, don't unleash that on us!" she shivered. Several techs nearby laughed. Shelby looked around with a mock glower and then turned it
on the Admiral.
"So what, pray tell is the subject of this conference?" she asked, eyebrow raised.
He smiled and took a cup from a nearby steward. "More hulls." He took a sip.
"More hulls?" she asked looking anything but surprised. They had four working ships, with three more in various stages of salvage not including the pirate ships. Now that the crisis had passed they were diving into complete rebuilds of the new fleet. Every ship in the system was also being overhauled it seemed. Irons nodded.
"The battleship for one, a pair of wrecks out on the fringe as well. I'd like to get out there with a team and tow some back. Also Angie has just about finished repairs to the factory ship, she's setting up to repair the freighters we caught." He waved. One of the Clydesdale's was a complete write off. Her stern had been torn in half. They were salvaging her to use as a source of parts and materials for the other surviving Clydesdales.
Hephaestus had taken a great deal of work to set right. In fact she was still a work in progress. Her crew were shaking down just as her AI was. Sprite had spent days rebuilding her AI core once her hardware had been restored. There had been so many Mickey Mouse hacks to it they had been forced to do a shut down and reboot from scratch.
The Yacht had been mothballed. They didn't have the crew to rebuild the ship with such limited utility. At least for now. He had ideas to use her as a courier down the road.
"How many recruits did we catch from the slave pens?" she asked. He looked at her. "Just curious," she shrugged.
"Not many. Most went to the merchant wing or requested return to their home worlds." He nodded to a nearby tech. She was focused on learning the sensors with Firefly. “We've got enough to crew Destiny, the Zanzibar, and Hephaestus though. The Demeter...” He shrugged. The ship had been taken apart and its greenhouse modules sent to various colonies. The remaining frame was in the growing mothball yard.
Shelby followed his gaze then returned it to the Admiral. "Right, so we're sending a freighter out to ship them home?" she asked. He nodded.
"Eventually. Destiny most likely. She's one of the largest and one of the few in reasonably good shape. We're going to make sure she's up to it first. Make as many repairs as we can while looking for sabotage. Full overhaul if we can swing it." He grimaced. She cocked her head at him then shrugged.
"Harris wants a command," she said after a moment of silence. He grimaced.
"He's not ready, lacks command experience," he murmured. He thumbed the privacy controls. Firefly looked up then went back to teaching the new recruit.
"He wants one of the corvettes. Or Firefly," she shrugged. "Mayweather wants an upgrade too." She grimaced. "You've got to hand it to her, she did a good job on Maya."
Irons nodded. "That she did. She doesn't have seniority for Firefly, that's your dad." He shook his head. "Your dad or you. The two of you out rank the rest."
She grimaced. "How so?" she asked. "Just curious," she said when she read his impatient look of disapproval.
"I told you before, no wait, I think it was Harris. Time in grade. And besides, you were promoted to lieutenant commander remember? She's still a first lieutenant." She grimaced then nodded feeling the new pips.
Irons sat back. "Don't worry, you'll get used to them in time."
She frowned. "What I can't get over is the sleep teaching. Feels like a long lecture. I wake up more tired than when I went to bed!" she groaned rubbing her temples.
Irons laughed. "It's the antigenic and meteffector nanites too, the nanites are rebuilding your system to make it more efficient. Cleaning out the plaque from your arteries, retuning and repairing your systems for a much longer, more efficient life.” He smiled as she gave him a dirty look. Now that things were under control the medics were going back over the crew and upgrading them as much as possible.
“But yes, you've got a lot of catching up to do. At least for now. Once the basics get drummed in, the rest can be picked up by osmosis if nothing else," he smiled.
"Right, so long as I don't have to dress up for a party." He laughed at her dust dry growl.
"Gee that sounds familiar, where have I heard that one before?" Sprite laughed as well.
Shelby smiled as he rounded a corner on his way to exit Firefly later that day. "Going to check in with the Valdez clan?" she asked looking up as she signed off on a delivery tablet. He chuckled.
"Eventually. I have to pretend to work first though," he shrugged.
"Ha! You're just afraid Mama Valdez will rap your knuckles for missing to many meals!" she teased.
He rolled his eyes. "Something like that," he smiled.
He exited the dock and turned in place. The docks had been cleaned and restored. Machines, humans, and aliens were moving about, some with purpose, some just here to see the ships through the view ports. Kiosks and stores were open for business. He smiled at a few people he knew, who waved.
He was starting to get quite a following, teenagers, young adults, those not completely crushed by the centuries of living hand to mouth. Even some of the adults were adding new life to their steps. He nodded to a pair of kids he passed then moved off purposefully to the lifts.
"How goes the talks?" Irons asked in the lift. The woman he was sharing it with sniffed.
"They are still talking about starting over," she shook her head. "Like we're not doing that already!" She waved to the station.
Irons nodded politely. "Starting over?" he asked.
"Yeah, a whole new Constitution, dissolve the old Federation..." she shook her head. "It's not like we're more than one system." Her laugh was brittle. "Hell, up until you came along we were just a rundown station." She gave him a look.
He shrugged. "Just trying to help," he smiled.
She grimaced. "There are some that like it, some that don't." She tugged at her hem. "I'm not saying nothin' you don't already know though," she waved. "My stop." He bowed politely as the doors opened and she exited.
"What was that about?" Irons asked.
"There is a motion on the floor to repeal the Federation government. Establish a new government. There is even talk of an empire," Sprite informed him. He frowned.
"Damn. I'm going to have to nip that one in the bud. Change in plans. I'm going to check in then go direct to the conference," he grimaced looking up.
"Schedule change has been made. Admiral do you want me to inform the Valdez family?" Sprite asked.
"Please do. Tell them I apologize," he sighed. "Can't be helped, this needs to be attended to."
"Not that Mama Valdez will agree. Nothing, not even a hull breach interrupts her five o'clock dinner," Sprite joked. Irons chuckled.
"So we're agreed, we're going to set up our own Constitution?" the elected chairwoman looked around. She was a platinum blond beauty in her high forties. She'd made her fortune working as a power broker for the ruling families. Now was her time to shine though.
Irons stood. "Point of order if I may." He walked past the bailiffs and stood before the council.
"Admiral?" Judge Farley looked tired but nodded to him.
"Don't you mean system governor? At least for now," the chairwoman said bitingly.
Irons shrugged. "For now, at least until you hold system elections. But my point is this. Setting up a local government is part and parcel with Federation law." He looked around. Several delegates nodded, others scowled.
"But we're not using Federation law. Or the previous Pyrax Constitution as our founding documents," the chairwoman said sounding patient. Irons nodded.
"And there in is a problem. You see, if you do that, then I, Firefly, and any other Federation naval vessel and personnel will have to withdraw." He looked around as the room fell deathly silent.
"Is that a threat Admiral?" the chairwoman snarled suddenly standing.
Irons shook his head sadly. "I am a citizen of the Federation chairwoman, As such I and the ships are hardwired against any sort of attempt at a breakaway republic or monarchy. I would be forced to withdraw." Several
of the delegates looked thoughtful.
"Withdraw?" one asked. Irons nodded.
"It's part of the Federation charter. We can't be involved with non Federation worlds unless tasked to do so by the Federation assembly," he shrugged.
"But that would mean you'd have to leave right?" another asked.
"Sadly yes, Firefly and I would have to leave. Also any other Federation ship. And unfortunately, many of your systems would stop functioning."
A babble of voices started in the gallery. The chairwoman rapped her gavel smartly a few times until quiet returned to the room.
"That is better. And why would they stop working Irons?" she asked. “Are you threatening us?”
"Because they are hardwired, as I am, to follow Federation law. Any attempt to change that would force them to destroy themselves." He shrugged. Several people looked around starting to look concerned. A few of the industrial leaders nodded.
"You wouldn't really leave would you?"
"We'd be defenseless!" several cried, getting to their feet.
Irons sighed. “Like it or not ladies and gentlemen, a republic such as the Federation is the best form of government ever created. It guarantees the rights of all it's free citizens while protecting them and allowing individual systems as much autonomy as possible.” He looked around for a moment as the talk died down.
“Yes, as a safety measure all hardware, all replicators, and especially all military equipment or vessels are hard wired to follow the strictures of the Federation Constitution and law. Any attempt,” he paused turning a stern eye on them all. “Any attempt to undermine this will be disastrous for any who attempt it. So don't.”
He watched as the men and women representatives talked, heads turning back and forth.
"That's enough people," the chairwoman rapped her gavel. The bailiffs motioned people to their seats. Another motioned for Irons to move away from the center of the room. He went over to a door and stood, arms crossed. "I think you've made your point Admiral," she cocked her head to him. He could see from her thermals that she was seething. Irons nodded politely.
Fool's Gold (The Wandering Engineer) Page 48