He plugged one end of the fuel line in and screwed its cover on. "Okay I have this end," he said. He wrapped the braided fuel line down over a series of clips, and then clicked them in place.
"Okay. I have my end," Jennie replied. "Think she'll fire now?" she asked.
He stepped back looking at the shuttle. "She should," he said and nodded. The ship shuddered again.
"Hmm... bumpy ride," Jennie commented, staggering.
"Turbulence," one of the girls called.
"I think I'm going to hurl," one of the girls replied.
"Admiral to the bridge! Admiral to the bridge!" the overhead voice had a hysterical edge to it. "Not good," the girls looked up alarmed.
"Okay, finish up here; I'll be back in a bit," Irons ordered. He wiped his hands on a rag then raced out. The guards followed, but he managed to make the lift well before them. "Sorry."
He tapped the emergency close and rise. The lead guard swore but waved him on. "Deck one, bridge." The lockout flashed, and then disengaged. The lift screamed upward. Obviously someone on the bridge was in control. His knees buckled as it stopped.
"Bridge," the computer reported. The doors swished open.
"Admiral get in here," the captain growled. He staggered through the door and then stood up. His eyes immediately locked onto Shandra.
She was in a virtual suit, hovering in a cylindrical tank. Wires ran down her hands and neck to her back, then up to the ceiling. "What seems to be the problem?" he asked, stepping around to see the Captain. She nodded to the view screen. He turned to see a tangle of gravity webs. "Hmmm...” the ship shuddered. "Admiral help me!" Shandra pleaded. A tangle hit the port side, the ship bucked. She was obviously a little over her head, or thought she was. So much for the high octaves of Beta and Gamma. So close too, they were near break out into the next system! She needed more seasoning.
He grimaced. "Well, that'll have to be fixed." He shook his head. "Shandra, I can't take over, the delay between us shifting would be fatal. I'll have to walk you through it," he said soothingly. He went over to the tank and jacked in. He recognized some of the problems right away. "Navigation, get with the program, plot us a course up and out of this mess!" he barked.
"Do it," the Captain backed the order. The girl hastily obeyed.
A red line appeared on the plot. "Navigation work with sensors, keep a running plot, and adjust our course heading if needed. Kendra, shift power from the stern shields to the bow and port side,” he called. "All right Shandra, you see the path? Follow it," he said.
She swam for a second. "I'm not sure I can," she gasped out.
"Sure you can. Pitch up twelve degrees roll two point three degrees to port; bow down three point one degrees, fire port OMS pod..."
He walked her through the maneuver. In a few minutes they were above the tangled yarn. "Good. See, you did fine," he said. She reached the indicated hyper limit and slapped her hands together. "Break out!" she said exhausted. The hyper generators shut down and the ship emerged into real space with a brilliant flash.
"Good job," he said to her. He unjacked and looked her over. She was floating limp, gasping for breath. He reached in and pulled her helmet off, then pulled her to the side of the tank.
She grabbed it. "Thanks," she said. He looked over to the Chief. "Can you ask the steward to bring a towel and drink?" he asked. She nodded. "Why were you in that?" he asked turning his attention on the helmswoman.
"Um, that is our usual course," the navigator replied.
"Through that?" he demanded. He shook his head. "Maybe in alpha band, it all comes at you what, over the course of a couple hours?" he asked. Shandra nodded as the wardroom door opened and the steward came out. "But in beta and gamma, you need to plot around it."
The navigator's shoulders hunched. "Sorry," she said. He shook his head. The steward handed Shandra a towel and the drink. She gulped at the drink then wiped her sweaty face.
"It's okay Jessie, we just need to practice and get the kinks out," Shandra said. She shook her head. "I should have caught it too," she said. She struggled to get out. The Admiral reached in and helped her. "What was that anyway?" she asked as he set her feet down on the deck. She removed the gloves and tossed them over her shoulder into the tank.
"Debris field or Oort cloud," he answered. She looked confused.
"Oort cloud that far out?" she asked as she shook her head. "And a debris field?" He shrugged. "Debris drifts when pushed by their initial impulse and solar wind," he explained. He tapped the controls and pulled up the replay. "The tangles you saw were the gravitational forces between different objects in real space.”You’re lucky it wasn't very dense," he said and then shook his head.
"Somehow I think we could have done better. What should we have done?" the Captain asked. He glanced her way and then shrugged. "Plotted a course around it,” he replied. "Best thing, don't confront something that dangerous unless you have to. You'll lose a few hours, but since you’re in a higher band, you’re still getting to your destination exponentially faster than alpha," he said. The Captain nodded. "Or, you can drop down into a lower note of alpha and take the slow route. It'll take you days to get through though," he added. She nodded.
"Good point," she nodded to Shandra. "Good work. Get some rest."
The Captain eyed the sensor officer. "Um Captain?" She looked at her board. "We're off course by twelve degrees, but we're in the system. No sign of neutrino's or tachyons."
The Captain nodded. "Good to hear. Carry on." She nodded to Shandra. "Get some rest dear." Shandra nodded. "Food first, I'm starving!"
The Admiral chuckled. "She's on the mend," she said. He patted her shoulder.
"Thanks Admiral," she said.
He smiled "I told you you could do it," he replied softly. She nodded playing with the towel behind her neck. He escorted her off the bridge as her shift relief took the helm station.
"So, why the classes. You just agreed to fix the ship," the chief asked as she turned to him wiping her sweat soaked neck down. She was coming along with the martial arts classes, rising through the ranks quickly. Of course he hadn't given her an exam to let her know that just yet.
He shrugged. "I was asked. Besides, to keep this ship running smoothly, it's necessary."
She stretched a bit, wincing at her shoulder. "Well, your teaching is worth it. If we ever run into another brawl or mugger, they'll wish they were never born," she admitted.
One of the other girls gave off a satisfied grunt. "I heard Cookie is getting into ethnic foods, scuttlebutt said something called tacos tonight?" one of the girls asked another.
The other shrugged. "I have no idea." She got up and grabbed a towel. "I'm for the showers, my shift starts in twenty," she said. She sauntered off.
“Me too,” The Admiral saluted the others and then left for the men's locker room.
Another girl winced as she stretched. "I think I pulled a muscle," she sighed as the girl next to her leaned over and massaged it.
"If it keeps up, ask the sickbay for a muscle relaxant or a dip in the bath," another girl commented.
The first looked up. "Muscle relaxant?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.
The second girl smiled. "I got one after our last class. Remember that back flip? I needed it and something more for my derrière afterward," she said with a wince.
The girls chuckled at that. "So why do we have white belts and he has black?" the chief asked and pointed to her white belt.
"Rank. He said once he gets a handle on our proficiency we'll fill in the other ranks. Eventually we'll all be black belts," Mary replied and smiled. "I can't wait to toss Hinata around the bedroom." Another girl snorted.
"What's going on? Why are we here? I mean, I know it's on the way, but this is a dead system right?" Jennie asked as they entered the wardroom. The Captain looked up. The Chief scowled.
"The Captain wanted a quiet place to work. Besides, there's the ghost ship," Molly said. Jennie paled.
"Ghost ship?" the
Admiral asked as he held out a chair for Jennie. Mechanically she sat down, not even looking at anything.
"A derelict. They made landfall on an infected planet six hundred and twenty years after it was wiped out by a virus," the captain said.
The doctor looked over to the Captain. "A virus. I take it you’re talking about my kind?" he asked. She nodded.
"That's all we know. The crew left an automated beacon warning people away," she said. She shook her head.
"Why not a sun scuttle?" the Admiral asked.
She shrugged. "I'm not sure."
"I can answer that Admiral. I'm accessing the Bountiful now. The Captain's last log says..." Sprite replied.
He waited. "I'm going to stay in orbit, programming the idiot box to keep us here with a beacon. We're all dead, but maybe we can keep someone else from going down there and getting killed," The raspy voice startled him.
"That was the last entry. The scenes from the cameras aren't pretty," Sprite finished. He grimaced.
The Captain and Chief looked up. "Yes Admiral, something to add?" the Captain asked pointedly. He cleared his throat. "I just accessed the ship's log. She was left in orbit as a warning not to go down," he said and then shook his head.
"Poor buggers."
He looked over the plot. A shuttle was also orbiting the planet. Its course was erratic, dipping into the atmosphere. "I take it the shuttle is one of theirs?" he asked.
"Actually, no, that's from the Hermes," Molly answered. "She tried to board the ghost ship to salvage her and was infected," she said and shuddered.
"When?" the doctor asked.
"According to the word we got, about ninety years ago," Molly said and then shook her head. "That long a wait?" the doctor whistled. "My word." He shook his head and looked at the Captain with haunted eyes. "Captain, this virus is persistent and deadly. Most likely airborne, and nasty, able to remain for centuries, possibly eons," he warned. She nodded.
"So, why are we here?" the purser asked.
The Captain gave her a look. "It's on the way to the next colony," she replied. Vanessa nodded. "It also gives us a quiet place to work." She nodded her chin to the Admiral and engineers.
"Can we do a little scavenging?" The purser asked.
The Captain's eyes flared, and then darkened. "Absolutely not! Weren't you listening? This virus lingers. It could be on any surface! It could even theoretically survive in vacuum!" the doctor was incensed. "Settle down doc," the Chief growled. She turned to the purser. "He's right, we can't take the risk." She nodded to the doctor.
"Still, we can always do a little prospecting," the Admiral commented, looking at the hologram. "I highly doubt they sprayed each and every asteroid in the system," he said.
The purser looked confused. "Asteroid hunting? Again?" she demanded. He shrugged.
The Captain nodded. "We can give it a shot. I want a full test of the rocks before they enter my boat bay though," she ordered. The staff nodded.
"Wise precaution Captain," the Admiral said.
“I'm going to suck what's left of their mainframe dry, perhaps we can learn something. At the very least we might find files for later use,” he said after a moment.
The Captain nodded. “Make it so.”
The purser smiled. “I'd like a copy Admiral, you may be onto something,” she smiled. “Do you think you can access any of the planet's computers?”
“Sprite?” he asked softly, looking at the view port.
“Accessing. Admiral, there's a beacon ten point four kilometers from the capital city... or at least where it used to be. It's an automated beacon. The signal strength is weak...” He felt the AI reach out.
“There's an automated beacon on the surface, but it seems to be just that,” he reported.
He felt Sprite's return. “It's just a traffic beacon for a local airport Admiral,” she said.
He sighed. “Just a traffic beacon,” he said. Their faces fell. He shook his head. “Nice try though.” He nodded to the purser who sighed.
“Well, it was worth a look. Thanks,” she said gruffly. He nodded subdued.
The aerial view hologram projected onto the bridge had everyone speechless. The towers and spires were crumbling; some litter fell from time to time. The meeting had adjourned to the bridge to get a better view.
The odd thing was there was no life, no birds, and no plants. "Just dust. Dust in the wind," he said softly.
"It killed everything? Even the plants?" Shandra asked softly. He nodded mutely.
"I wonder if it's dead yet?" the purser asked, studying the holo.
"Well, since the ghost ship was infected less than ninety years ago, I would say yes," the Captain said dryly.
"Terran water bears and centauri lice were known to survive centuries, or even eons without food, water, or air," the engineer said softly.
"Bears? You mean the cute cuddly things?" Shandra asked confused.
He shook his head. "No, they were bugs; they were just named after bears because of their shape and ability to hibernate," he replied. "It's been a while since I had biology... but if I remember correctly they squeezed as much water out of their bodies as possible and locked themselves down into hibernation. Their skins turned rock hard." He shrugged. "Actually, the only reason I remember it is because it was part of the introduction to stasis in mister Tedra's class," he said and then smiled. Shandra nodded.
“Then again, they could be nanites,” he observed, watching the desolate planet spin.
“Nanites?” the Captain asked warily.
“There are several types actually, and two different central forms, purely mechanical, or a modified organic,” the admiral explained.
Shandra shivered. “One isn't enough?”
“You've got two weeks, I want to be out of here in fourteen days. Make the most of that time.” the Captain informed them. Jen nodded but looked troubled. “And I insist you all take time off on Centennial,” the captain added.
Molly nodded. “I promised Tia,” she sighed. “Structural repairs?” she asked as she turned to the admiral.
He nodded. “We should get the first load of asteroids in later this morning if Deidra is her usual punctual self,” he replied.
Shandra smiled. “Not if Hibiki is with them, I bet they'll do a little show boating in the asteroid field first,” she said. Several of the women chuckled.
“That's a pilot's stock in trade,” the admiral chuckled.
“Go on, get a move on,” the Captain waved. “Remember! 2 weeks! Not a day more! I want to be in Centennial for the harvest!” Jen waved as the rest of the staff filed out, leaving Vanessa and the Captain.
"So, why did we come here?" the purser asked the Captain softly.
"I wanted him to see it for himself," she said. She nodded to the retreating engineer.
"I think he's seen a lot Captain, he was the defending Admiral at the Nexus 3 colony and Juarez sector," Vanessa said quietly.
The Captain looked startled. "How did you know that?" she demanded. She turned to the purser.
The purser shrugged. "I checked him out in the ship's database," she replied with a shrug. "Making him see all this, are you trying to prove that there's no hope for civilization?" She waved to the ship. "I think there is. So does he, and now, so do the crew."
The Captain looked around. "Maybe, maybe you're right."
“So I hear you're talking fuel,” a voice in the doorway drawled. The class looked over to the open door. Taki the load master was standing there, leaning against the door jam. Her arms and feet were crossed. She had a strip of grass in her mouth. She was looking down at her shoes. It always amused him how each of the ladies had their own distinct style. For instance Taki sported a tribal head band and leather vest. Unlike many of the women she had on pants, also made of leather.
He smiled. “Yeah, we're discussing fuel. We...” He indicated Molly and Jennie. “Were going to call you about changing the fuel situation.”
She looked up and smiled a tig
ht lipped smile. “That so?” She looked at Molly and Jennie.
Molly eagerly nodded. “Yes Miss Taki, we can make better fuel now, so we can have more power!” She bounced in her seat.
Jennie was a bit more subdued. “There'll be some new protocols in handling, and procedures to work out and practice,” Jennie said. She nodded to Taki.
Taki nodded back. “Good to hear. All right, when you get the hardware sorted out, let me know,” she said. She nodded to the class, then the engineer and left.
Chapter 13
He checked the port injector feed. "Is it still sticking Admiral?" Jennie asked from her console.
He nodded. "By .01milimeters it seems, usually it stutters. Might be a frozen servo..." he hummed as he looked over the schematic. "No, from the looks of this, it might be a torn gear, or ice," he said and then nodded. "Going to take a full rebuild I bet."
She nodded. "I see we have some new robots...”
He nodded. "They're designed to work in the core to make repairs from the inside."
Her eyes widened at that. "Rodriquez said something about that at anvil in Pyrax, can we control them?" she asked. He nodded and held up a pair of virtual goggles.
"They're not as effective as an implant feed, but they should work," he explained. She looked them over. "The glasses read your neural impulses with this lace of wires along the rim and around the ears and translate it into movement commands. It takes practice to use."
She nodded. "So, is there some sort of simulator?"
He shook his head. "Unfortunately, no, not yet, I need to make one."
Sprite made a rude noise. "You mean me right?"
He shrugged. "It's going to take time," he said. He ignored Sprite.
"All right, what about the fuel line to the starboard injector? We've had to splice it twice..."
He looked it over. "Yeah, I see it, and there's a leak too."
She looked it over. "There is?"
He pointed. "Right there, pinhole leak. See the gouge in the deck? The hydrogen is spraying under pressure, cutting into it."
She looked. "I can't, oh wait. Damn. Okay, I see it. Another patch job?"
New Dawn (Wandering Engineer) Page 40