"You three should get out of here," she said over her shoulder, not looking away from the ugly crowd.
"Damn traitor!" Several of the women called.
"Traitor?" "Who?" Trisha and Jennie asked confused.
"Never mind them, let’s get out of here," Molly replied, grabbing them by the arms and pulling them back around the bend.
“Admiral, trace amounts of alcohol detected,” Proteus reported.
“Great, boozed up and in a foul mood,” one of the guards commented. She had apparently gotten a good whiff of someone.
“Like being downwind of a brewery,” The Admiral commented.
"Admiral, come on," Molly tugged on his arm.
He shook his head. "Defender."
"Shields are already up and on standby," the AI reported.
He nodded. "Access the net, turn on the security fields."
He looked over to the knee knocker. "I can't Admiral, they're down," Defender reported as the emitters glowed, then faded.
"Okay, guess it's time to play roadblock." He stepped around the guard to the crowd. "Ladies, I believe you were given an order to disperse. To leave. Time you followed it," he growled as he eyed the group.
"We're not leaving till that lying bitch gets hers!" one in the lead pointed to the new recruit.
The Admiral waved her down. "Softly." He looked over his shoulder to see the recruit had stopped struggling.
The purser got up, then punched her in the gut. "You bitch!"
The guards hesitated. "Okay, not good," Sprite commented.
"Why? Because I want to better myself?" the recruit gasped, struggling once more.
The guard turned her, placing herself between the purser and the restrained woman. "Knock it off!" she bellowed.
"I don't want to toss cargo the rest of my life, how is that wrong!" the girl shrieked.
"It's not," the Admiral replied.
"The hell it isn't!" the loud mouth said lip curled.
"Admiral, I detect a great deal of alcohol on her breath," Sprite reported.
"Great." He stepped forward. "All right, let’s all calm down," he said, trying to project control. He waved to the group.
The girl turned, then snarled and took a swing. With automatic reflexes he blocked the blow, slapping it aside into the air. A quick rabbit punch to her diaphragm left her gasping on the deck. He stood in the standard horse stance, and glared at the crowd. "You were asked nicely to leave; now you can do so, or join your friends," he growled.
The women at the back of the crowd looked up as a whistle sounded. In ones and twos the crowd melted away. He straightened and nodded to the approaching guards. "Ladies," he said. He turned to see the purser still trying to get at the recruit. "I think someone needs to restrain her."
He stepped aside to watch two women step in and pin the purser to the deck. "Do you know who you’re dealing with!" the purser shrieked. "I'll have you all spaced for this!" she cried, muffled sobs started as the guard locked her hands behind her back. "Damn you! Damn you!" the purser writhed, trying to kick.
"That is quiet enough!" a hoarse voice snarled. The Admiral looked up to see the Captain float around the corner. Jennie and Molly followed tentatively.
"I told you to knock it off. You never did know when to quit," the captain said, eyes cold. The purser deflated. "I think it's high time you take some time to cool off in the drunk tank," she growled. She nodded to the guards as they picked the purser and loud mouth up. The Captain nodded.
The Chief came in. "What's the problem here?" she demanded. She looked around.
"Late granddaughter," the captain said. She shook her head. The Chief was wet, and hastily dressed.
"Caught you in the pool?" the Captain asked amused. Her granddaughter nodded, never looking away from the restrained pair.
“What happened?" she asked.
"It seems the purser and a group of drunken followers didn't like some of the ladies switching specialties, they decided to hunt a few down and change their minds the hard way," the lead guard shook her head.
"And your part in this?" the Chief turned rounding on the engineer.
"Crowd control,” he answered and shrugged.
She nodded gruffly. "All right, I'll buy that." Her eyes returned to the purser.
Vanessa writhed and spat, a bloody tooth landed on the new recruit's coverall. "Dumb bitch didn't know a good thing when she had it."
The Captain shook her head sadly. "Vanessa Vanessa..." She sighed after a long moment. "We'll talk about this when you’re sober." She nodded to the Chief. "They're all yours," she said floating backwards.
The Chief indicated the recruit as the purser struggled. "What about her?" she asked.
The Captain stopped. "What about her? She was involved, take her statement, and then we'll put her before the Captain's mast tomorrow with the rest. She was a victim, but we still have to have an investigation," she said. She nodded to the recruit. She nodded back.
“Put her in her quarters though, with a guard," the captain said.
The Chief nodded. "Good idea." She looked the drunks over.
A pair of guards came up hustling another pair of drunks. "Caught these two running," one said. The Chief nodded. "Put them in with the rest, we'll sort them out later," she growled and then nodded to the others.
"Was it too much for her to thank you?" Molly muttered stepping up beside him as the guards left. "Apparently so." Jennie answered. "Well, that was exciting! Let’s get back to work, shall we?"
They filed in to the wardroom later the next morning and sat down heavily. The purser was hand dog, quiet and sullen. Her face was bruised. Obviously the recruit, Anita Vandrsosovich got in some punches of her own. "This sucks,"she snarled. She sat down and impatiently held out her hand to the steward.
"Well, hurry up!" The steward rushed forward, nearly slopping her drink. She handed the woman the cup then another to the Chief.
The door opened and the Captain hovered into the room. "Good morning all," she said politely and nodded. "I see we're getting a start on our caffeine, some of us old folks need it." She nodded politely as she pulled up to the table and the steward set a cup of tea down in front of her.
Another maid set coffee cups down in front of the other officers and an urn of coffee. The Captain took a delicate sip, and then set the cup down. "So, we've had an interesting day!" She looked over to the purser who muttered.
"Something to say Vanessa?" she asked, syrupy sweet, but with an underlying hint of steel.
"I am, I mean, Captain, it isn't right for them to poach my best people!" she said, finally deciding to just go for it. She slapped the table and glared at the engineering contingent.
"Is that so?" the Captain asked and then took another sip. "It seems to me they're all MY people." She sat back, setting the cup down and stirring it gently.
"Captain, what's next, recruit the maids?" Vanessa waved to the women in maids uniforms huddled behind the Captain.
"And why not?" the voice of the Admiral cut through her rant. "They can learn like anyone else, and may be tired of their daily routine."
She turned on him. “This is all your fault!" she lashed out at the new target in front of her.
He eyed her for a moment. "Guilty."
She sat back eyes wide. "Guilty of wanting people to learn, to give them the opportunity to better themselves," he said. He waved to them. "The stewards for example may have untapped potential. Behind that daily drudgery may lurk a Beethoven, or a navigator like Perez, or a gifted negotiator." He waved to the startled stewards who blushed. "Give them a chance, they may surprise you," he added, and then sat back.
"What them?" the moral officer looked them over with contempt. "All their good for is drudgery." She shook her head. One of the girls was about to protest but the Captain's steward restrained her with a hand on her arm.
"You were about to say something Kasey?" the Captain asked. She turned to the girl.
"Yes Captain. I came aboard hop
ing for a better life. I spent my life on a farm, cooking, cleaning, and making beds. I wanted something more that's why I'm here, why we're all here," she said, unsure of how to say it. She waved to indicate the compartment. "I want to see the galaxy, and do more than just make beds and serve food," she sighed.
The Captain nodded. "Perhaps it's time we did let you grow a little," she said gently. She looked at Vanessa, then the moral officer. "Perhaps it is time you were given a chance to spread your wings," she said, voice firming. She nodded to the Admiral. "
Thank you Captain," the girl said, sighing softly and trying to hide her tears.
The Captain turned. "There's no shame in tears child, and no shame in doing what you've been doing, or wanting to do more," she nodded to the Admiral. "I forgot that. It seems we all did." She looked Vanessa and the hunching moral officer over. "If we had decided that all we could do was what we were told to, we would never had gotten on this ship and started this journey," she said with a small smile.
Vanessa looked thoughtful. "But what can you do?" She turned to the girl.
"I can learn," she said. She stood shoulders straight with quiet pride. "I've been learning to read, and I'm learning math. I took the basic first aid course, and I want to learn more," she said in quiet pride. Vanessa stared at her mouth open. "I want to learn how to be a pilot," she finally said, eyes shining with hope.
She looked the engineer in the eye who nodded. "The Admiral let me use a piloting simulator, I'm still not very good, but I'm getting better," she admitted.
The pilot looked up. "Which one? Shuttle sim thirteen or alpha flight?"
The girl squirmed. "Shuttle flight, but I also tried the ship simulator too," she admitted. She looked at the Admiral helplessly.
He smiled and nodded in approval. "Good." She looked relieved.
The Captain nodded. "All right, you’re relieved." The girl started to object.
The Captain held up her wrinkled hand palm out. "No Kasey, you’re going to be in the pilot's program with Hibiki and the others," she said firmly. She nodded to her long faced steward. "I want you to make us proud." The girl rushed to the Captain and hugged her, sobbing. "There there child," the Captain said softly, patting her head.
"I will! I WILL! I'll make you proud!" the girl said, over and over.
The Chief nodded. "See that you do." She nodded to her grandmother.
"I want you to run a simulation now. Save the game so we can review it," the pilot ordered.
The girl looked up, dashed her tears with her hand then nodded. "Yes ma'am." She rushed from the compartment without a backwards glance.
"Well, that was interesting, nothing like drama on this ship," the Captain shook her head, taking a sip of her tea. "Blast it's cold," she muttered. The steward was already at her side, and took the cup. She handed her another. "Thank you Charlie," she said, smiling to the middle aged woman. She nodded politely to the officers. The Chief sat back with an amused look. "So, since that's settled, let’s move on, how's engineering?" she asked turning to Molly. They made the usual round of reports, and then broke to return to their duties.
Molly entered the engineering compartment and looked around in tired satisfaction. The engineers had been working all out, some working double shifts. Their time in port had been a magnificent time; so many changes had been rout! Now that they were in the A note of Beta, she both relished and dreaded the next challenge. She waved to Jennie and the Admiral as she approached. Jennie smiled and turned, then turned back to hand her a steaming cup.
"Coffee?" Jennie offered.
Molly's eyes lit in appreciation. She took a sip. "Coffee!" She smiled her thanks.
"So, what's on the agenda today? Overhaul the reactor? What about the antimatter reactor, don't we need fuel for it?" Molly asked cradling the cup.
The Admiral studied Molly and shook his head. She had probably six hours of sleep; the girls were killing themselves trying to keep up with him. He took a breath. "No, we don't have antimatter, so there's no point working on that system." He shrugged it off.
"Why not? Can't we make some?" Jennie asked.
He shook his head. "There were four ways to make antimatter. Each of them were basically the same, with just the means of energy to power the particle accelerators that differed. Giant solar arrays around a star, plasma tap of a star, fusion generators, or a hyperspace station called a quantum tap."
He sat back and picked up his coffee. "Obviously, all those methods are out," he said.
Jennie grimaced. "Okay." She looked down at her tablet. "What about our reactor then? Or the structural repairs on the bow? You said we need more internal bracing around that breach," she said.
He nodded. "Yes, but I've done what I can with the reactor, the rest will have to wait until we can shut it down in real space again."
He studied Jennie. Her eyes were bloodshot. She held onto the cup like her life depended on it. He came to a decision. "No, we need to do a bit of fine tuning with the current systems, work out the bugs and catch up on the routine maintenance we've let slide during our last all out effort," he said. He tapped his tablet and uploaded a list.
Trisha looked at hers. "Okay, I see here, yeah, fans, that leak on deck four, filters, broken heater coil, this is all minor stuff!" she said in disgust.
He nodded. "Minor stuff has a way of causing problems, or hiding major problems. Deferred maintenance is a problem and a bad habit."
Trisha nodded. Her face was gaunt, and slightly pale. "Let’s get some of the bugs out. I need to work in the mainframe and zap a few bugs that are cropping up, and rewrite a few modules so we can use the equipment more efficiently. Shandra wants me to help clean up that simulator program too," he said. Molly nodded. She sighed softly. "Okay then, let’s get to work ladies." She turned and blushed. "And gentleman," she said pursing her lips in a smile. He bowed over his cup.
The others dispersed. "Taking it easy on us?" she murmured as he lingered.
"A little. All those double shifts can cause brown outs or burn outs. I think we need to take it easy for a couple days and get the bugs out, let people relax and let their bodies unwind. Throw too much at them and they could break, or overlook something and have an accident," he replied matter of factly.
She shuddered. "Yeah, we've had a few in the past couple days, all minor."
He nodded. "We should get some time off for some of the crew too, maybe have a party or something to let them unwind," he suggested.
She nodded. "I'll talk to the morale officer, see what she can do," she said.
He saluted her with his cup. "You do that, I can't stand politics," he grimaced.
She grimaced as well. "Me neither." He chuckled as she left.
"Awe, not more of this crap again! Ever since we left New Texas it's been the same crap," Jennie sighed, looking over her tablet. The Admiral sat back looking over his. He took a sip of his coffee and listened with half an ear. The griping had begun the second day and was getting worse every shift.
"So, if you don't like it, switch with someone,” he finally suggested.
Her face took on a thoughtful, then mischievous look. "Sure!" She snatched his tablet from his fingers, and then dumped hers in his lap.
"Thanks!" She got up and grinned. She waved as she picked up her toolbox and walked out.
He was frozen with the cup at his lips. He took a sip then sat back. "What ever works I guess,” he said amused. Trisha looked apprehensive. He waved her concern off."Oh don't worry about it. I don't mind. She might when she gets to the sewage cleaning part," he said with a tight lipped grin.
Trisha's eyes went wide, and then she began to giggle. "Yeah she just might."
He looked over the tablet. "Okay, next on the agenda... window repair?" He looked up in disbelief. "You’re kidding right?"
The guard deadpanned then shrugged. "I'm just the escort."
He sighed. "Okay, let’s get this over with." They came up to the indicated quarters and clicked the door bell.
"I don't know what you’re talking about?" He stepped into the quarters. One of the guards followed.
The woman spun. "Oh Admiral!"
She waved. "I didn't know they'd assign this to you!" He waved it off.
"I traded work assignments with Jennie for the day," he replied. He stepped over to the curtains and pulled them back. A window out into space was there. "Nice." He could see an image of a virtual planet revolving below. "It's working fine. What seems to be the problem?"
The girl looked confused. "I can't sleep; can you board it up or cover it over with something else?" she asked.
He studied the controls. "Why don't you just shut it off?" he finally asked.
She looked confused. "You can't shut a window off can..." He tapped a button as she said this and the window blanked. "You...okay, maybe you can. How'd you do that?" she demanded. She came over and studied the window.
"It's not a real window, it's a LCD screen," he explained. He pointed to the controls. "Think of it as a big screen. You can get a look out, or other things."
She looked over to him. "Like what?"she asked, folding her arms in front of her.
He tapped the controls. "Well, let’s see here, someone loaded a beach on Cancun..." He tapped the control and a beach scene came to life in the wall.
Her eyes widened in appreciation. "Oh wow! You can even see the tree branches swaying."
He smiled. "Palm trees. There are also speakers for sound and music," he replied. He tapped the controls again. An airless moon came up.
"Oh, I don't like that...” Then the virtual sun crested the lunar horizon, blinding them with light. She reared back shielding her eyes. "Well, that'll wake you up in the morning," she said. He chuckled tapping the controls.
"Okay, it looks like there are some twenty different scenes in the memory card," he said.
She looked it over. "Show me," she ordered. He patiently explained how the controls worked. She tried it a few times.
New Dawn (Wandering Engineer) Page 32