Destiny's Choice (The Wandering Engineer)

by Hechtl, Chris

  “He's the only one in the galaxy that does,” Bailey said shaking his head. “The only one. He was the one who built our replicators the first time. And the second. And the Pyrax governor and council sent him off with his tail between his legs.”

  “Thanks,” Irons said giving the chimp a dirty look.

  “Hey, no problem. What are friends for after all?” Bailey said, smiling a wide simian smile at him. Irons snorted. If you can't take a joke... he thought.

  “You, can… I understand you used your replicator to replace ours. I thought...” The purser looked confused.

  “Only a flag rank officer has the codes to do a great deal of things. Make replicators for one is a specialty of engineering admirals like Admiral Irons,” Sprite said from the overhead sounding decidedly smug.

  “I thought that was you ma'am,” Clarke said looking at the overhead with the others.

  “Nope. It was all the Admiral. He has the codes. I just watch.” Not completely true Irons thought, but close enough for civilians. They didn't have the need to know on how it really worked.

  “Ah,” the purser turned to the Admiral with new eyes. He shrugged it off.

  “I thought system governors were also supposed to get this information?” Willis asked after a moment of silence.

  Irons and the others turned to her in surprise. Willis was obviously more than just a pretty face, Irons thought. She had done some research. Interesting, Irons thought. Irons nodded as she looked up and at him. “You're correct. And usually that is so. You have to access the system directly and upload the codes. Unfortunately the ruling council and the newly elected governor Paul Watson never got the time to get implants,” he explained and then shrugged.

  “So he doesn't have access?” the purser asked surprised.

  “Oh, he asked for it. But we had a lot of scheduling conflicts. His and mine. Also issues with his health apparently. And I can't just hand them to him, he has to have implants as I just said. He didn't get the implants before I...” he smiled, “left.”

  “Oh.”

  “I bet that went over well,” Bailey muttered. He shook his head. “Didn't he well, ask you to write them down or something?”

  “Yes, but that is illegal so I didn't,” Irons said smiling. “After all a hard copy can be accessed by anyone. That defeats the entire purpose of the security measures. Besides, the codes rotate in a random pattern so it isn't a simple thing. I can't go into details, that's also illegal.”

  Bailey grinned. “Wanna bet they're kicking themselves for running you out of town right about now?” he asked laughing. “Imagine the looks on their faces when they realized that!”

  “Um... Wouldn't that be a good thing?” Clarke asked in surprise. The medic glanced at the navigator and then grimaced as he nodded in agreement.

  “No,” Bailey said still chuckling. “I for one am not too keen about giving anyone access to nanite control codes,” he shook his head. “Especially the snakes currently running the show in Pyrax,” he finished, suddenly serious.

  “Nanites??” the purser and security chief said in startled unison. “You're kidding!” the chief said, giving the purser and captain a look.

  “Nope. Replicators are basically giant containers of nanites. Thought you knew that,” Bailey said with a shrug and rolled eyes at the Admiral.

  “Not his field chief,” Irons said, trying to hide a smile. “We all have our blind spots.”

  “But, but... I...” the purser gulped as he stood. Irons gave him a look as he slowly sank back into his seat. “I see what you mean, they aren't for just anyone to access when ever they want,” he said, giving Admiral Irons a look of horror and respect.

  “Someone has to be the guardian,” Irons nodded seriously.

  “And just who guards the guardian?” the security chief asked.

  “Commander Sprite is my guardian,” he nodded, eyes up to the speaker. “She makes sure I stay on the straight and narrow.”

  “One of them anyway,” Sprite replied. “That is why I am with the Admiral. One of the reasons anyway. And also why the Admiral could never do anything to a child. He was carefully selected and trained.”

  “Way to rub it in Sprite,” Irons growled under his breath as the officers looked at one another.

  “So, you ah, can make nanites?” the medic asked.

  “Yes. Replicators are nanites in jars. We just went over this Bryan. Pay attention,” Bailey growled testily. “Or next time get notes from a classmate. Honestly,” he mock growled.

  “I think I see why you miss these dinners now chief,” the captain said dryly. He chuckled. “Although you do have a tendency of making things lively. Well it was an informative night. Good evening.” He got up. The rest of the compartment shot to their feet at varying speeds as he left.

  “Gave the old man quite a lot to chew on,” Sprite said over his HUD as Irons and Bailey left.

  “Oh shut up,” Irons sighed.

  Chapter 5

  “Any ideas as to why you're so popular all of a sudden Admiral?” Bailey asked as he toyed with a stylus.

  Irons paused as he came into the office. “Come again?” he asked, taken aback. The morning meeting was becoming something of a habit with the two of them. Something he probably should break but didn't have the heart to do. He was human after all. He needed social contact with others as much as they did.

  They were little more than a week out from Pyrax. At their current speed it would take another three solid months before they got to Agnosta. He was torn on what to do about that. They had the ability to get into Beta band easily enough. He'd checked the hyperdrive over personally, it was a little rough but it could handle the higher octaves of Beta with a little coaxing.

  He wasn't sure what to do. He didn't want to interfere with the crew and make himself a pest. But on the other hand he didn't want to spend the next twelve long laborious boring weeks bumbling along in the lower alpha band octaves either.

  “Maybe saving the day again and replicating all the stores had something to do with it,” Harry suggested. Every day he worked with the Admiral he gained a little more respect for him. Irons wasn't sure if it was something from him rubbing off on him or his boss's ready acceptance of Irons that was doing it. He didn't know and didn't care. Whatever worked.

  He would have been surprised to find that it was really his wealth of knowledge and his willingness to use it to help the ship and the crew that had impressed Harry. His willingness to roll up his sleeves and get dirty had cemented his opinion to the assistant chief and a few of the others. Those that thought he was kissing up or brown nosing were grumbling only a little. Anyone who did it within Bailey's hearing ended up doing shit jobs that they reeaaaally didn't want to do.

  “Not likely. Charlie is still a prick.”

  “All accountants are, I heard,” Harry said. He glanced at the Admiral for confirmation. Irons nodded mock serious.

  “Which is why I've been a little too busy to help him,” the Admiral replied with a half smile. After all, why should he help a guy who was an ass? Who had no respect for you or the title you held? Who wanted services from you without anything in return? No amount of help was going to change the guy's attitude so why bother?

  “And why I'm cutting back on replicator use. Wear and tear, fuel consumption, etc.” Bailey said with a smirk. He had gotten into the game since that fun dinner three nights ago. He'd picked up on the Admiral's excuses right off and had backed him up to the hilt.

  “Your prerogative chief,” Harry said shaking his head. He was pretty sure a fight was looming and didn't want to get caught in the cross fire. Best leave it to those who were willing to duke it out while he kept things running as smoothly as he could.

  “You better believe it,” the chief said sitting back and using his tingle toes to swing his chair back and forth. “But any ideas about this?”

  “About what? My sudden popularity? I didn't know I was suddenly popular again,” Irons said bemused. He took a cup o
f coffee from the desk when Bailey pointed to it with the stylus and then saluted the chimp with it.

  “He's talking about the invite to supper with the other officers,” Harry deadpanned.

  “Really?” he asked amused. “Didn't we just do that?”

  “They specifically asked for you believe it or not. Charlie did I mean.”

  “Trying to butter me up?” Irons asked amused. He hadn't heard anything from Sprite...

  “Maybe,” Harry snorted. “I wonder if he figures if he kisses your ass, or at least makes a show of it to the others, that you'll suddenly be helpful again?” He grinned slyly and made puckering sounds.

  “Fat chance of that. Charlie couldn't charm a used parts dealer,” Bailey said wrinkling his nose and chuckling. “The captain put his request in too, so we can't get out of it. We've got eight hours to get some work done. Let's see what we can do before we need to knock off.”

  “Going to go there covered in grease and grime and smelling all sweaty and like you rolled in crap again boss?” Harry asked, shaking his bald head.

  “It's a thought,” Bailey said, grinning at Irons. The Admiral rolled his eyes and sighed.

  “So, this implant thing, does it hurt?” the purser asked as they ate. Irons was surprised that the purser was making an extra effort to not only be civil but genuinely curious.

  Irons was glad he'd taken the time to shower and prep. They'd finished early. Bailey had grumbled but someone else had apparently intervened and he'd shown up just behind the Admiral looking fresh but slightly damp. He had also been grinning though.

  “No, you're under for it. Or it's a nanite pill,” Bryan said amused. He'd finally taken the time to look the various procedures up. It had been fascinating research.

  “It depends on the implant actually,” Irons said before the purser could say something else. His wide eyes were amusing but he knew that their was a shocked element there so he deflected it. “There are several grades of civilian and military implants.” Bryan nodded at that. He wasn't sure about it all, but it did look interesting.

  “Oh.”

  “Right now the only other people on this ship to have implants are your hyper navigators,” Bryan said, indicating Clark. The navigator nodded. “I mean our. Our. I meant our.”

  “Really?” Ed leaned forward as he glanced down the row of people to the kid. The young man flushed. “I didn't know.”

  “Well, you were all supposed to get military grade implants at one point,” Irons said. “Bridge officers and chief noncoms.” The others were silent as they digested that tidbit. From the looks on their faces some were feeling anxious, a few curious. One or two relieved. He wasn't sure if it was because they'd dodged a bullet or missed an opportunity.

  “Really?” Bailey asked amused. He set his fork down. “What changed that?”

  “Well, they come with a naval reserve posting. Either commissioned or non-commissioned,” the Admiral explained.

  “You don't say,” Ed said sitting back. He glanced at the captain who pursed his lips.

  “So what if we don't want a reserve slot?” the purser asked.

  “Well, Destiny is a naval reserve vessel actually, it was supposed to be mandatory for her crew,” Irons replied.

  The captain's eyes narrowed. “I seem to remember something about that. A memo or something. I don't recall anything beyond it.” Apparently he had thought that it had been quietly dropped. No it hadn't, the Admiral thought with a small smile.

  “But induction into the military is voluntary,” the Admiral said in explanation. “Since your crew was formed around the old one a large percentage of the crew were not interested in joining up,” he explained. “It put us in a bit of a quandary that never got sorted out before departure.

  “So no implants?” Bailey asked. “Doesn't seem fair,” he scowled. “I don't remember hearing about that. I would have liked to have at least been asked.”

  “That's because you had your head buried in repairs or classes chief,” Clarke said softly.

  Bailey scowled but he was too honest to not admit that what the gangly navigator had said was true. “True.”

  “Well, you as individuals can still sign up when you get back to Pyrax,” Irons said.

  “So we'd get implants? And rejuv?” the medic asked, perking up at that. He'd been curious about that.

  “Anti aging, treatments for diseases, corrections for medical flaws, implants, and a basic education are standard. And rank and an extra pay check. You will have to make yourself available for duty a minimum of twice a year. Usually that duty consists of training exercises. You would also be subject to recall if there was a combat or other emergency situation.”

  “Oh, so the only way to get implants is for you to join the military? Seems kind of biased don't you think?” the purser asked snidely.

  “Every job has it's perks,” Bailey said. Ed looked thoughtful.

  “I seem to recall that the governor was getting implants?” the captain asked, wiping his lips with a linen napkin. “You mentioned that at the last supper a few days ago actually.”

  Irons nodded. “Yes, individuals in government can get civilian grade implants of varying grades. Also medical personnel,” Irons said, nodding to Bryan. “I believe doctor Thornby was enacting that now. Anvil also upgraded it's engineers and core officers to implants as well. But if you're a civilian and the outfit you work for won't spring for it... well, you can of course save your money and purchase a basic ident link. And a rejuv package,” he shrugged. He didn't mention that he could make the ident kit here if he wanted to do so.

  “Really?”

  “I believe it was being put into action before we left. In it's initial stages of course. The pilot program was in the Anvil college.”

  “Getting your licks in early?” the purser asked. It wasn't quite snide but close. Either he was trying to tone it down and not succeeding fully or he had a perpetual chip on his shoulder. Or a stick up another part of his anatomy Irons mused.

  “More like putting it in the hands of those that can use it the most and for the best of the system,” the captain said with a nod. “The young who can adapt quickly to the change and those willing to better their education. Wise,” he nodded and took a sip of wine.

  “Exactly,” Bailey said with a nod. Come to think of it he had heard something about it. A kid in a class had something. He couldn't remember all of it though. He'd been busy learning about drive mechanics at the time.

  “So, how can we...”

  “You should be able to get a package when you get home to Pyrax. Your pay is in escrow now. Or should be,” Irons said. He shrugged. It would be interesting if and when they got back to find that someone had stolen the money. Or that it had never been escrowed in the first place because someone thought they were dead.

  “Oh,” Bryan said, suddenly thoughtful.

  “I'll have to think about that,” Bailey said, rubbing his chin and tugging his ear. “I'd kinda like them I think,” he glanced at Irons who nodded.

  “They definitely come in handy chief.”

  “Ah,” Ed nodded. “I may as well.” The purser stared at him in shock. He smiled. “I believe they would come in handy in my line of work.”

  Irons looked at the chief of security. “For you definitely Chief. There are different upgrade packs for security personnel. There is a file on the information server somewhere. That is if that virus didn't over write it.”

  “If it has I am sure I can... um, yeah, it was trashed,” Sprite said. “I've uploaded a new copy for you and sent each of you a link to it.”

  “Thank you ma'am,” Ed said with a nod and look to the ceiling.

  “Don't mention it.”

  “Hmmm...” Ed reached for his tablet but the captain gave him a short shake of his head. “Sorry, forgot, no computers at the table,” he mumbled. He tucked it back under the table. Irons had to snort at that. It sounded exactly like what he had said to his mother more than once growing up.


  “Bryan you can check the inventory, you may find the Destiny ident chip packages in your stores. If they even made it aboard,” Sprite said from the overhead. They looked up. Irons was surprised as well.

  “Ident package?” Ed asked, clearly interested.

  “Simple implant chips the size of a grain of rice. They identify crew to the ships computer. Their location, and they can give them access to restricted areas. Or restrict access from areas they shouldn't be in. You were supposed to have them before you left but it was another thing put off.”

  “Oh,” the security chief said, eyes alight. “That sounds very promising,” he said, giving the chief engineer, and then the captain a look. Bailey looked a little nonplussed and then shrugged. His people had to be everywhere if they wanted the ship to continue to fly. He tapped his chin, they had been forced to chase a few bored civilians out of areas they shouldn't have gotten into. Most had been exploring, a couple had been looking for a love nest. One had been taking apart a recycling plant to make a still. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all. The last thing he needed was someone getting into something they shouldn't.

  “We can talk about it,” the purser said grimacing. He didn't sound happy about the idea of getting a chip in him. Which was odd, since he was the one who had brought up the subject in the first place.

  “What's to talk about?” Ed demanded. “Let's do it!” he said, hands on the table and partially standing up. He shot a look around the room. Bailey nodded in agreement.

  “Um...” the captain looked down, not saying anything as the others pitched in on one side or the other.

  “Gentlemen, I believe you're missing a crucial point...” Irons interjected.