"Okay." He sat back, out of reach of the horns and hooves.
"Right in the nick of time," the Captain observed.
He sighed, rubbing his left arm. "I was in the neighborhood," he said.
She nodded. "I take it, that is was you with the overhead doors?" she asked. He nodded. "It almost worked," he said. He groaned a bit as he got to his feet. He'd tried to use the internal force fields but they took too long to spin up so he had given up on them.
"You okay?" He asked as he turned to the injured the guard. Blood dribbled from her mouth.
"No, lost some teeth and my jaw hurts," she ground out. She sat down on a knee knocker, one hand on her mouth.
“Probably broken," he grunted. "I hope the others are okay," he said turning. He winced, rubbing his shoulder. "Going to feel that for a while," he said a bit theatrically. In truth Proteus was already flooding the torn abused muscles and ligaments with repairing nanites. He'd be fine in minutes but he didn't want them to know that.
"Not one of your better ideas Vanessa," the Captain said as she turned to the purser but she wasn't near. "Where did she go?" she asked as she looked around. The purser peaked her head out of a cabin door down the corridor.
"Is it safe?" she asked with a tremor in her voice.
Several people chuckled. "Yeah. Now that your guest is trussed up," the captain said dryly. The Captain shook her head as the purser approached. "Not one of your better ideas," she said again. She shook her head.
"Yeah..." Vanessa looked away. "I just realized that."
The Admiral leaned against the bulkhead and waved off a medic. "Next time I recommend just the embryos or sperm and ova." The Captain looked up at him.
The purser turned confused. "What do you mean?"
He smiled politely at their confusion. "Well, you can purchase embryos and fetuses, or sperm and ova. Transporting them is easier; you can fit thousands in a one hundred centimeter cube," he said. He waved his hands to approximate the size.
The purser looked startled. "How do you know this?" she asked.
He shook his head. "I dated a vet a long..." his face became pensive. "Long time ago," he finished softly. "That's how we did it back then most of the time anyway. It sure beats getting beaten to death." He waved to the medic attending the injured. The Chief looked up and nodded.
The guard gave a weak thumbs up. "I'm all for that," she mumbled.
"That's a calf?" the captain asked. The Captain studied the animal as the crew lifted it onto a hover pallet with tractors. The animal bawled piteously.
"Believe it or not, but yes it is," the purser nodded. "Captain, maybe we should adjourn...”
The Captain waved the idea of retreat away. "Not just yet." She studied the animal.
"It is about six months old according to the records," the Chief wrangler said over her shoulder.
"How did it get loose if you don't mind my asking?" the Chief asked, with a bite in her tone.
The wrangler sighed. "He got mixed in with the cows, and one's in heat," she replied with a grimace. She shook her head, taking off her hat and then wiping her brow. The crew wrestled the cargo pallet through the hatch.
"We had to set up a separate bull pen for him, and we were transferring him when he got loose." She shook her head. "He was as calm as a newborn coming up!" she said in disgust. She put the hat back on. "The cows shit and peed themselves dry all the way up on the shuttle. He came up like it was nothin." She followed the animals in.
The Captain and purser followed. The crew had managed to get the animal into the pen. They removed him from the cargo pallet, moved it to one side then began the dangerous but necessary procedure of releasing him. The Chief wrangler did the last knot after the others had cleared out, and then leapt back. The bull sat there for a moment twitching.
"See if he wants some water," the wrangler ordered. In a moment a bucket was splashed into the trough. The bull sat up, sniffing. "Come on Beauregard; get your titanic ass up," the wrangler smacked his rump smartly. His hide rippled and he looked over to her. "Don't you want some water big boy?" she cajoled. She petted his side.
He started to rise and she hastily backed away. She made it through the gate before he was up. He shook, and then went to the water trough. "Bet he sulks for a while," she said with a grin and then shook her head.
"How much bigger will he get?" the Captain asked.
"Oh, about three or four times bigger. Our ancestors made him that way. Genetic engineering I think they called it," the wrangler answered, wrinkling her nose. She watched with her hands on the top railing. "Don't give him too much just yet, let him settle,” she told her helpers. She turned to the Captain.
"Freeport is the center of the slaughtering trade now," she said. She shook her head. "Biggest round up you ever did see!" She took out a handkerchief and wiped at her sweaty neck.
"Well, I'm glad we don't have them as adults," the captain said. The Captain leaned back.
"So do I, they wouldn't fit through the hatch!" The wrangler snorted.
The Chief silently left the meeting and most of the other senior staff followed suit. Molly and Jennie lingered with the Admiral who was studying a tablet. "Admiral, I don't see what she has against you,” Molly muttered. She sat back, sipping her tea.
"I don't either, you've been here what? Nearly a year? It's time for her to get rid of the paranoid streak," Jennie shook her head. The chief had been a royal pain for the entire meeting. Irons was fairly certain she was doing it because of the save he had made yesterday.
She set her tablet down in front of her and leaned back stretching. "God I hate long meetings. Give me a recalibration any day." She shook her head.
Molly smiled. "Careful what you wish for..." Jennie glared. "Seriously though Admiral, she's getting out of hand," she said.
The Admiral looked up. "The Chief is just doing her job," he said and then shook his head. "She has to see things from a security point of view, and to her I'm one heck of a headache," he shrugged at their expressions. "I try not to be, but she still has to see me that way."
Molly frowned. "Why?" He tapped his right arm with his left. "Oh right your implants."
He nodded. "But not just them, I know the ship inside and out, and it's programmed to follow my orders," he said.
Jennie nodded. "Yeah, okay."
He shrugged. "I can understand her point of view, and will put up with it," he said.
Molly smiled again. "You mean, you'll put up with it as long as they don't get in your way or slow you down."
He chuckled with Jennie. "Yeah." They got up and filed out. He waved to the guards.
"Why keep the guards?" Jennie asked. They hadn't understood why he had requested to keep them when the captain ordered them to leave him alone.
"Why not? This way she can keep an eye on me, salving her ego and paranoia, and I get a couple helpers who can pitch in, or can keep annoyances away when we're working on something delicate or demanding."
Jennie gave each of the following guards a look over her shoulder, then shrugged. "You say so." He smiled. "Trust me, if I wanted to... do something bad, nothing short of blowing the ship could stop me," he said. Her eyes widened. "Not that I would," he said hastily.
She shivered. "Glad you’re on our side," she said. He smiled.
"Being a warrior on a ship is a long hard path." He looked over the class kneeling on the tatami mats. The dojo was full, not just with guards, but with several other crew members who desired martial arts training. "You have to have Zen patience to deal with long boring assignments, yet be on the constant edge of battle in case you or your partner spots something, anything that's a threat."
He sighed, shaking his head. "I did one short tour of duty in security, I got out fast. I just do not have the mindset to be that patient, to hone my abilities for quick reaction time, yet keep them in check when a false alarm hits." He shook his head then locked eyes with the Chief. "In combat hesitation gets you or your team dead. Not being able to rec
ognize danger, and listen to your instincts can kill."
Her eyes narrowed. He nodded. "When it all comes down to it, your stunner, the computer, sensors, they're all just tools. The real weapon is here," he said. He tapped his temple. "You have to think." He turned to face the dojo's faded scripture on the wall. "A warrior is one trained for battle, but hoping for peace. Trained in the art of war but for the pursuit of peace is the ancient saying."
He turned back to the class. "That's why many martial arts styles teach defensive moves, or in balancing one self." A few nodded. He nodded back. "So, we're going to start with a centering exercise before we move on."
"Why?" her cool soprano was to be expected. He turned to the Chief and smiled thinly.
"The exercise has several reasons, to balance your mind and body, bringing them into focus, and in sync with one another," he explained.
She nodded. "And the others?" she asked.
He nodded. "To get you to relax and focus on your own body and its abilities. To listen and process things, filter it with your mind. To learn to filter out distractions," he said. She nodded. "Let’s begin shall we?"
“I don't see why we need all this medical nonsense. This is all junk and a waste of time, material, and power,” The purser growled.
The chief looked around and shrugged. “Well, tell that to Faith, Audrey, Clarissa, and the others,” she drawled. She was standing beside her grandmother, leaning backwards against the door jam.
The Admiral grimaced. "Chief, the only way to resolve this is to show you. Hit me please." He turned to face her.
Her face worked. "Gladly," she said.
He suppressed Defender's attempt to defend him as her round house connected with his eye. He rolled with it a little, and then stood straight. "Thank you Chief," he said. He looked up to her. She was recovering for another blow.
"Enough. Your point?" the Captain asked.
"This." He pointed to his face. The Captain and Chief gasped. A few of the girls did as well. In moments his face had gone from starting to bruise to bruise with swelling, then immediately fade and return to a normal sheen. "My implants allow me to recover quickly," he explained. He nodded to the doctor. "Just another wonder of Federation medicine," he said and nodded to the doctor. The doctor smiled.
The purser's eyes were round. “I knew you were different, but that's insane,” she breathed.
He chuckled. “Not really, I can absorb a lot of damage; most military personnel have to be able too,” he said. He shrugged. “I hope that answers your concerns,” he said to her. The purser nodded still staring.
Jennie looked up and sighed as they heard footfalls approaching. "Don't look now, but another delegation is coming," she muttered. Molly and the Admiral looked up briefly. The purser and a pair of guards were escorting a family. The woman was in a wheel chair, elderly and frail. She wheezed constantly, clutching at her shawl and the hand of a girl, most likely her daughter. They passed the engineering team, listening avidly to the purser ramble on with her tour.
Molly shook her head. "What was that about? I left strict orders to keep this corridor cleared," she said, clearly annoyed. She frowned at the nearby guard.
She held up her hands. "Don't look at me; I think the Captain okayed it," she said.
Molly sighed. "What was that about anyway?" Molly asked. She frowned, hands on her hips.
"The guy, um, Mister Zachery Sanchez is some sort of local merchant. He traded to get his wife medical attention," the guard answered, and then went back to scanning the corridor.
"Oh," Jennie nodded with a thoughtful look. "Come to think of it, I do remember you mentioning that to the purser, something about offering medical knowledge and treatment?" She gave the Admiral a look.
He shrugged. "What ever works."
"Speaking of which!" Molly said. "Let's see if we can get this calibrated. I'm going nutty trying to get that nano spec right." She sighed, running greasy hands through her hair. Jennie opened her mouth to warn her, then sighed and chuckled in resignation.
"Oh well, guess you’re taking a shower tonight right?" Jen asked. She sat back.
"Oh huh?" Molly asked, looking down at her hands. "Ah crap, yeah, guess I am." She shook her head. The Admiral chuckled.
"So, what's this about medical services?" one of the guards asked. Molly looked over to her. She had a battered face; she must have been a bouncer before being recruited.
"Yeah, the doctor's made some major advances since we got a lot of his equipment repaired," Jennie replied. She shook her head and picked up a wrench.
"Think he could do anything for me?" the guard asked thoughtfully.
"Yeah!" Molly nodded. "Medical is free to anyone of the crew you know."
Jennie grunted as she tugged at her wrench. "Yeah, and with a face like yours...” she muttered.
The guard growled. Jennie looked up alarmed. "Sorry, I meant, yeah, you could," she said, suddenly aware she had put her foot in her mouth with the wrong person.
The guard leaned forward, going nose to broken nose to Jennie. Jennie looked into her cold eyes and gulped. "You have a problem with my face?" she asked quietly. Jennie began to sweat.
"Quit playing and get back to work!" Molly interrupted.
The guard just stared. "Uh, no, no problem," Jennie said as she backed up and then tripped, sitting down hard on top of Molly.
"OOF! GET OFF!" The two struggled until the guard reached in and picked Jennie up by her collar. Gently she set her down.
"Uh thanks."
The Admiral shook his head. "To answer your previous question, yes, there's a problem with your face, your broken nose if repaired could make you feel better, and breathe easier. He might even be able to replace the missing teeth," he said. He shrugged as her face worked.
The guard stared then grinned a broken grin. "You really think so?" she asked hope in her voice. Jennie caught the note of barely suppressed longing and excitement.
"I know so. I've been in some real brawls in my time, and trust me; I wouldn't have any teeth or a nose if not for doctors," the admiral said in amusement. The Admiral shook his head, touching his nose. "This poor thing was flattened three times in a month!"
The guard chuckled. "Admiral, when we get to Gaston, remind me to take you to a bar called Sweet meat on Filth Avenue."
He chuckled. "I may just take you up on that...If we get this done."
"Admiral, the Chief is coming," Sprite alerted him.
"Trouble coming folks, look busy," he said fast. He quickly ducked down into the crawlspace. The guards chuckled, but immediately cut it off as the sharp echoing footsteps of the Chief could be heard. They paused next to the open crawlspace.
"Any problems?" The Chief asked the now sober guards.
Mutely they shook their heads. "Um, Chief, I was wondering about the medical situation," the battered guard started in.
"What about it?" the Chief asked, giving her a long look.
"Well, I well, I mean we...She looked over to her partner who looked up.
”We were wondering if we could get a check up, maybe get some repairs," she said, bailing her partner out.
The Chief hummed for a moment. "Maybe."
"I'd like to get these teeth fixed," the woman said.
"Yeah, that might be a good idea. Okay, I'll see what I can do." They heard her turn and leave. "Oh, and next time, make sure the purser knows she isn't supposed to come by here when we're working?" the guard called.
"Purser?" The Chief asked, immediately stopping.
Her footfalls returned. "She was here?" she demanded.
The women grunted. "With a tour group."
"We have some safety issues ma'am, last thing we need is some downer getting scorched if there's a blow out," the guard replied.
"Yeah," the other guard said.
"Hmm." The group in the tunnel could hear her tapping something.
"All right, I'll have a word with her," she said and then paused. "But if that fancy pants Admiral is so
good, there wouldn't be a safety problem," she muttered.
"Well, he's doing his best ma'am, but he's only human," the guard said.
The Chief snorted. "Try telling that to the Captain and rest of the crew, they all think he's a miracle worker," her tone was cutting; Jennie picked up with it and started to exit. The Admiral put a restraining hand on her arm.
"Well ma'am, I think the repairs that we have now are a miracle, so in a way..." the guard left the thought hanging.
The Chief grunted. "Shows you've been around him too long, I'll have to change the roster again," she sighed and left.
As her footfalls receded Molly tweaked her bolt. "Okay, I think that did it. These torque wrenches are a pain!"
Jennie's slipped and fell with a clatter. "Damn!" she muttered and bent over to get it.
"Coast is clear," the guard said softly. Carefully Jennie picked the wrench up, checked the readout, and then crawled out of the space with a long suffering sigh.
"I told you, these things are delicate," the Admiral called after her.
"Second one this shift!" Jennie muttered.
Molly sighed. "Miss klutzy live up to her reputation?" she asked.
He chuckled. "Happens to everyone, we all get the drops from time to time," he said soothingly. Molly gave off another long suffering sigh.
"Oh ha ha," Jennie called into the chute.
As they walked down the corridor a few hours later they could hear sounds of an altercation up ahead and around the bend. Jennie looked over to the security personnel. “I think we have a problem," she said. The two guards shouldered their way past the engineers to the fore. They stepped into a trot, then when sounds of punches could be heard a run. They rounded the corner a few seconds before the engineers.
When the Admiral, Jennie, Trisha, and Molly came around the bend it was over. "What the hell do you think you’re doing?" one of the girls asked, gaping at the purser on the ground crying. One of the new recruits stood over her, restrained from behind by a guard. The other guard had her weapon out, pointed down but faced the crowd.
New Dawn (Wandering Engineer) Page 31