Destiny's Choice (The Wandering Engineer)

by Hechtl, Chris

  Destiny's Choice

  The Wandering Engineer 3

  By Chris “Jekyll” Hechtl

  This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional. Any resemblance to people currently living is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book and or portions thereof in any form.

  Copyright 2011 by Chris Hechtl

  Cover art Copyright 2011 by Chris Hechtl and Chris “Mechmaster” Smith

  Some 3d models, poses, and textures by Most-digital-creations.com

  Others are stock Daz assets or were downloaded from the following places:

  Renderocity.com

  Sharecg.com

  Credit goes to the artists who made them of course.

  All others by Chris Hechtl.

  Textures from Inspire 3D, Daz, Renderocity, and the web.

  This book is dedicated to all those science fiction and space fans out there. May your reach never exceed your grasp for long.

  Someday, somehow, we'll touch the stars.

  Special thanks to Chris “Mechmaster” Smith for proof reading. Twice. :)

  Table Of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Appendix

  Author's note

  Sneak peek

  Chapter 1

  “Admiral, I'd like to apologize for keeping you in communication black out but I was under orders,” the captain said as he came into the room. Irons cocked his head as he got up off of the bunk.

  “I thought of that,” he nodded politely. He'd been unsure about the captain. His bio had him as a man of honor and principle, but obviously there was a discrepancy between the file and reality. He'd watched the captain on the security cameras, curious if he was going to come here or not. Maybe there was hint of what the file had said after all.

  Captain Ferguson was supposed to be a good man, an experienced spacer. He had the look, lean and well muscled with just the hint of gray in the captain's short auburn hair near his temples. Irons wasn't sure about the gray, he wasn't sure if it was real or not. The crows feet around the eyes were real though.

  The man had aged a lot in his short fifty one years of life. He'd had a hard life as an officer and then slave on Destiny. Now he was her captain.

  His uniform was well worn, comfortable but not shabby. It wasn't the gray coveralls and overalls of the engineering crew, it was a simple off white with gold hash marks on the jacket sleeves and gold pips on his upturned collar. Definitely a civilian uniform.

  “I owe you my life. We all do,” the captain said, turning and stepping aside to let Ed Chambers, the chief of security into the room.

  Chambers hesitated. He was a good sized man, but a fighter. He had an intellect hidden behind that scowl though. Irons had read the man's file. He had an interest in police work and was a good leader. His people respected him.

  “It's all right captain Ferguson. What's done is done. Besides, I found a way to get the message out,” Irons grimaced. Sprite had not been kidding about dumping the message onto every system and making everyone watch it. She'd even threatened to have people answer quizzes on it before giving them system access. He'd had to over rule her on that. The crew needed to function and they didn't need the animosity.

  “Yes. Can you ah, delete it?” the balding security chief asked. He looked a little imposing in the charcoal jumper he was wearing. Irons of course wasn't bothered. The chromed stunner on the man's hip was a bit flashy, ruining the look of keen understated professionalism Chambers had apparently been shooting for.

  “And why would he do that?” Sprite said coldly from the overhead. “I put it there actually. If you have a problem you can go take a walk out the nearest airlock,” she said with some heat.

  Irons grimaced as the security chief flinched. “I'd also like you to limit your AI to yourself,” the chief rumbled eying the speakers.

  “That will not be necessary,” the captain said shaking his head. “I apologize. But we do need to get things straight. This is my ship,” he gave Ed a warning look. There was just a hint of steel in that last simple statement. Okay so the captain had some spine, Irons thought.

  “Of course it is. You are the captain,” Irons said nodding. He felt like kicking himself though, Destiny was supposed to be a Naval reserve vessel, and her crew were supposed to be reservists. Sprite had informed him an hour ago that the crew had declined reserve status. He'd overlooked that in the mountain of paperwork he'd processed over the past seven or eight months.

  The ship had been leased to the Pyrax government. Talk about divided loyalties. He didn't envy them. Of course he also had his own damn problems to work out.

  Unlike Io 11 and Anvil Destiny had been restored before returning to service. Or at least partially restored, he thought with mixed emotions. The one thing they did get right apparently were the uniforms. They were civilian grade spacer uniforms, an off white outfit with red and gold trim in the case of the officers, but it was a step up from the home spun or worn to the woof hand me downs that they had been wearing before they had entered the system. The captain did look sharp, not quite a military look but not something you would see a passenger liner wear, all gaudy and white. Practical with a hint of seriousness in it.

  Irons was sure he was being studied and weighed as much as they were. It was an interesting dilemma for both sides. A stalemate. He needed them to run the ship. He couldn't afford the stigma of taking over the ship, mutiny wasn't in his nature after all. Still he'd been tempted for a brief moment.

  From the look Chambers was shooting him the security chief was unhappily aware of the possibility himself. He'd tried to institute measures but the best he could do was post a guard force nearby. Of course Sprite was in the computer, controlling his air among other things so he was behaving.

  Irons raised an eyebrow, not smiling as the silent stand off continued. Ferguson wasn't sure what to make of him, that was plain. He was hesitant, obviously Irons wasn't playing by the script. Chambers pursed his lips. He straightened under the Admiral's regard, trying and remarkably succeeding in looking like a professional.

  It was interesting seeing that, and seeing the changes in the crew. He'd seen it on the video, seen how they blended in with the changed ship. A few were adapting to it, and one looked down right shocked a few times when he had entered an area he had apparently never been in before the clean up and repairs.

  Which brought him back to Pyrax and what he had been trying to do. Much of the same thing really, he had been trying to clean the system up and restore it.

  Pyrax had been a mess. He'd avoided politics as much as he could and this was his penance for that. He'd focused on what he did best and let the politicians bite him firmly in the ass.

  He'd been on his way to fulfilling a Renaissance, bringing back the flower of
civilization to a fallen dark time. Now all that was in flux. He had found out the hard way that the system was a cesspool of corruption and the darkest of political manipulation. He wished now that he had taken a stronger broom to the entire system earlier on. Ah how he regretted that.

  He hadn't had much of a choice of course. It wasn't like some of the other star systems were any better off. Pyrax had been his best hope of restoring the Federation.

  Io 11 had been helpful in that, picking him up from the dark recesses of the Senka system over two years ago and then bringing him to Pyrax. On the journey there he'd made some friends and with their help they had rebuilt the ship.

  When he'd gotten to Pyrax and the Anvil space station which served as the capital of the system he'd faced a different sort of challenge. He'd found a crew mate long thought dead, rebuilt the station, and resurrected the fleet but in the end he'd been stabbed in the back by politics.

  It was one of his worst weaknesses, one he had a hard time trying to get a handle on. Someone shooting at him he could deal with. That meant you duck and cover and then return fire. But this... he couldn't fire back in the manner he'd been trained. Oh he'd been trained to deal with politics, but he still had an internal weakness there. He'd hesitated and made a tactical error, confronting the terrorists behind the plot directly instead of stepping back and calling in the marines. In the end he'd been forced into this exile. One he was pretty sure everyone concerned already regretted. He knew he did at any rate.

  “You are a passenger. Not crew and not in charge,” the chief said crossing his arms. The captain nodded.

  “Also understood,” Irons nodded, keeping a stoic face. The other two men looked a little uncertain at that admission.

  “I'd like to point out that the Admiral invested a great deal of time and effort into rebuilding this ship, as well as training and rehabilitating this crew...” Sprite said with some heat. Irons raised a hand and she cut off her rant.

  “I of all people understand the chain of command captain. You are in charge. She is your ship. But I have no intention of remaining sequestered in my quarters for the remainder of the trip. Did your orders specify that?” he asked. They had better not the implication was clear.

  “No in fact they didn't,” the captain glanced at the security chief. The look was clear to all in the room, keep a lid on things. “I suppose you should get access to the civilian sections and recreation facilities, such as they are on the ship. At the moment however emotions are running high... and we are a bit crowded for space.”

  “In other words, I'd watch your back if I were you Admiral,” Chambers said. The implications of that statement was clear, Chambers had no interest in doing it for him.

  “Or better yet, you'll do your job and watch it for him?” Sprite asked. Irons held up a hand.

  “Understood,” Irons nodded as the men looked from the ceiling to him. Chambers didn't like being rebuked and was looking decidedly nettled about being reminded to do his job. Tough, Irons thought. Sprite had a point. “Were your orders specific on where to drop me off?”

  “No. Just to keep you confined to quarters until we entered hyper. And out of touch with the rest of the star system. Which we obviously failed to do.”

  “Obviously,” Sprite responded acidly. “Which is a good thing. The truth does need to be told.”

  “Yes it does,” the captain sighed. He'd been forced to watch the entire sordid affair before gaining access to his ship again. He hadn't been happy about his part in it and he planned on bringing that up as soon as he could. He'd been tempted on several occasions to turn the ship around, but he had reluctantly decided against it. For whatever reason Irons had gone along with it and they were committed now. “And now that I've seen it for myself I understand your point of view. However you must understand mine.”

  “This is your playground. I get it,” Sprite replied exasperated. If the others could have seen her avatar they would have seen her rolling her eyes. Irons decided it was just as well that he was the only one that could.

  Irons looked up to the speaker then shook his head and returned his attention to the two men. “I'd like something to do besides sitting and reading though.”

  The security chief blinked at him. Irons shrugged. “I like to keep busy. I'm not known for managing my free time very well.” Sprite chuckled from the overhead. He smiled a little at that.

  “Oh, that can be arranged,” the chief said nodding. “I'm sure we can find something for you to do to contribute while staying out of the way of the crew.”

  “You think this is wise sir?” Ed asked as they walked down the corridor back to the bridge. He nodded to the occasional steward or junior officer in passing but kept pace with his captain. He had a lot more on his mind than letting the crew bow, salute, or otherwise stroke his ego.

  “Ed do you honestly think you can keep them contained? If he puts his mind to it he could tear this ship apart and there isn't a damn thing we can do to stop it.” The captain's lips formed a grimace. He knew it, didn't like it, and knew why he had mixed emotions about the subject.

  It really did suck, not just for the Admiral, but for him as well. He really didn't want to be the hard ass, but he had his orders and intended to obey them. He nodded to one of the new crew. He couldn't place the name damn it. That bothered him, not knowing, not being able to put a name to a face. He needed to get to know his juniors better.

  At least things were looking up. Destiny was clean and running smoothly. Well, almost smoothly, they still had a lot of issues with equipment breaking in. Still seeing the green walls clean and unstained was amazing in it's way. He had never thought that the stains would come out without being painted over. He smiled and nodded in approval of a work party servicing a cleaning bot at a robotics station.

  The old girl looked good. He owed Irons for that. For his survival and for his freedom as well. He wasn't sure where this was going to lead now. Obviously he was going to have to take it one day at a time and try to mediate any problems. Ed was going to have his hands full keeping a lid on an already dangerous situation.

  The security chief's jaw tightened. “But ah...”

  The captain turned to the security officer. “He's a man of honor Ed, he'll behave if we do. If we don't give him a reason he won't cause a problem. Let's not give him a reason.” His eyes flicked to the ceiling.

  “You mean he needs us as much as we need him. The crew I mean,” Ed said, glancing back the way they had come. He got the message, don't say anything they would regret when the damn AI was listening.

  The captain shook his head. Ed of all people should appreciate in just how dangerous a situation they were in. Diplomacy was the order of the day here. Getting along with the Admiral and his AI was vital. “Don't bet your life on it. I'm sure he and his AI could run this ship in a pinch if he was the only one on board. No this is a prison for him, but only because he's allowing it. Treat him with respect and kid gloves Ed, that's an order.”

  “Yes sir.” Ed clearly didn't like it, but he was a good man, he'd follow the order.

  “Did you see the vid?”

  “Who hasn't?” the security chief asked with a mixture of annoyance and disparity. “I'm still having issues getting it cleaned out. People who refuse to watch it are getting dogged until they do.” He didn't like that, didn't like that they were locked out. And the AI having such control of their systems? It had cut through his firewalls like they weren't even there! He had people on that but they were scratching their heads. Obviously they had a lot left to learn about AI.

  “Tough for them. I'm going to make an announcement...”

  “Ah, sir, about that, I'd hold off. Keep neutral if possible,” Ed said tugging his collar a bit and looking around to make sure they weren't in ear shot of anyone else.

  “Ed...” the captain sighed and shook his head. “Fine give me a reason.”

  “I'm not happy about it, but Notuma is right.” Charlie Notuma was the purser, cargo master, and pas
senger director on the ship. “Well, it's like this. We need to get along, I get that. But if we bend over backwards to kiss his ass we'll piss off the people who got rid of him in the first place. And they are the one's signing our pay checks.”

  “Damn.” There was a moment of silence as the captain digested that.

  “Diplomacy then. I'll keep out of it unless there is a problem. I'm counting on you to make sure there isn't one.”

  “Yes sir,” Ed said as they parted company.

  “So there you are! This is where you've been hiding Admiral?” a deep gravelly voice said. He turned, setting the tuber aside and picked up another.

  “I'm not hiding from anyone,” he said carefully to the balding Neo chimp. “Chief Bailey is it?” he asked as he peeled the new tuber. The chief was a big bruiser, with silvering fur on his shoulders and back. His skull was a little long in the back. There were definite traces of Gorilla in his body. He looked a bit goofy with his ears sticking out and down like they were. Irons had seen his thumbnail jacket. The chimp was the chief engineer of the ship and from the look of some of the courses he'd taken, quite good at his job.

  “Yeah, for my sins,” the chimp shook his head and blew a long deep breath out. “I thought you were confined to quarters?” he asked after a moment. He looked around the store room.

  “Why?” Irons asked shaking his head. “We're out of the system, and as I pointed out, sitting in a cabin for the trip is a tad boring.”

  “So this is the best they could find for you?” the chimp said, crossing his long arms and tapping his fingers against his biceps. He wrinkled his broad nose at the pile of tubers. He looked around. Irons and a pair of Neo cats were packed in a rather full supply closet. That was good of course, even though they had food replicators they hadn't installed all that many yet. Also it was nice to have fresh food over something reconstituted from his own shit. It was stocked right to the ceiling with boxes of gear. More boxes were in the back of the aisle space, all organized apparently. There was a sink by the door. He glanced at it. It was clean, but the area around it was dirty. He shook his simian head.