Destiny's Choice (The Wandering Engineer)

by Hechtl, Chris

  “We will. Admiral, our eternal gratitude. Our species may become whole once more.”

  “Keep reaching to the light,” Irons said bowing a little then raising both hands in a Vesuvian salute. They raised their arm tentacles in response.

  “Good day,” he returned with the guide.

  “I can't...” The lad danced around him, excited and awed by all that had transpired in just a couple of hours. “Are they...”

  The Admiral looked at him closely. “They are a plant alien. Yes they are sentient. You can read about them if you want.”

  “I...we lost a lot. I can't wait to tell all my friends! Mara's going to flip!”

  “Don't treat them as a tourist trap son, they are sentient after all and may want some privacy. But if you are eager to help them you could ask.”

  “How?” The boy asked.

  “I'll find you a vocoder you can use,” Irons replied amused.

  He heard later that the Vesuvians had chosen to remain on the colony to help rebuild. The Admiral managed to convince the captain to give them a few more days so he could help them.

  He gave them a hydrogen generator. It generated energy by splitting water from the stream to store in fuel cells... He had to set up a filtration system to keep the system from getting clogged, but they should be able to keep that running with routine maintenance.

  It was good that it needed regular maintenance. That would force them to remain in the here and now, to remain functional and sentient. To also cooperate with the other sentient people in the community around them.

  He created orchard heaters for them for the long winter. He also gave them solar panels and UV lights for the winter. The boy had eagerly helped load the truck and run the supplies back and forth for him. He had to admire the lad, so flexible and alive. Youth had it's advantages.

  Finally he arranged a trade with the human survivors in the cave system nearby. In exchange for the rare metals the giant Vesuvian had drawn from the ground and stockpiled, they would maintain the equipment and provide them with food rations during the winter.

  Some refugees also chose to stay on the planet. Most of them were originally from the colony but a few were from other planets not on their itinerary. With the planet scorched, the new matriarch of Leo's pride passed on remaining behind.

  The rest of the refugees decided to remain on board and if the other planets didn't work out they hoped to be dropped off on the return flight. The planet's current settlements wouldn't be able to support them and it was perilously close to the planet's winter. The winter would last five long cold months. More than one person was shivering at the idea of being buried alive in snow and ice.

  Chapter 14

  “So they're staying on board?” Cheetahra asked, packing her bags. Long limbs allowed her to grab things easily. She wasn't very strong, but nimble fingers packed her meager belongings quickly. She had a lot to pack, and not a lot of time. She'd left it until the last minute, unsure if the other Neo's were going to stay or not. The last time she'd listened to the ship's grapevine they had decided to go.

  That had been a bummer. She'd picked out a couple of nice spots she could set up shop. The blue marble looked absolutely gorgeous from space. The greens... she smiled wistfully. In a few more hours she'd be down there for the first time. The first of her people. A trend setter, she thought with a hint of amusement at her self.

  “Yes but honestly, I don't think you should stay. It's hell there in winter. You're really not built for it,” Bryan said, shaking his head. He was deeply troubled, divided on this. She was a cheetah, they were long limber sentients more suited for African plains than frigid post ice age forest worlds.

  It wasn't because he was losing a fine medic. He got that. He understood, people moved on with their lives, breaking off ties and establishing new ones over time. Cheetahra was looking to set down roots though, and she was determined to do it in as safe a place as she could find. A planet actually, some place with plenty of room to grow without having to worry about food or air.

  Well, air anyway, food and heat would still be a problem for her, Bryan mused. She didn't realize how difficult it woul dbe for her lean Neo frame to adapt to such a cool climate. She had only a couple ounces of fat on her entire body, most of them were in her breasts. When that cold wind hit her... he shivered looking away.

  Nimble fingers zipped up a bag and then tied it shut. She cinched the bindings and then flitted her ears and tail. She looked around the spartan cabin. She would be glad to be rid of this place, glad to see open spaces and feel the wind in her fur. Oh how she had longed for that!

  “Admit it, you just don't want to have to fill the hole in graveyard I'll leave behind,” she said, looking up and smiling at him. Her tail flirted with his leg. He blushed.

  “Yes, no I mean, yeah that will be a headache, but I don't want anything to happen to you. That would suck.”

  “You are sweet. If you had fur and spots you'd be cute,” she purred, folding a towel. She added it to the next bag.

  “Taking the towels too?” Bryan asked amused. She flicked her ears in amusement, not folding them flat in annoyance. Finally she shot him an amused but tight lipped smile. Predators rarely showed their teeth unless it was for a threat or fear display.

  “And the washcloths. You can make more. Where I am going everything is needed,” she shrugged. She'd leased as much time as the Purser would allow to make as many things as she could think of with the replicators. He'd made her do it at night, in between drops or at odd times. It had been a pain, but worth it. Hopefully it would be enough. She had a tent and some basic hand tools, as well as a medical kit and plenty of e-books. She'd snagged every e-book she thought would help her, all her favorites, and anything related to colonies and the planet below. After seeing what the Admiral did with equipment she'd tossed in every manual she could as well.

  She'd even thrown in some trade goods. She had quite a lot of food, most of it protein e-rats she'd made off and on with the food replicators over the past couple of weeks. It was all she had.

  “Well, if you're going, you're going,” He shook his head. “Let me go get what I can spare from sickbay to help set up your practice.”

  “You don't have to do that,” she said, eying him. He smiled.

  “What are friends for?” he asked softly. He touched her cheek, stroked his thumb against it for a moment. She rubbed back for a moment, eyes closed. He smiled softly as she opened her eyes slowly. They stared into one another eyes for an eternity of a moment. He nodded and then turned and left without another word.

  She sniffed then snuffled. She turned and blew her nose and shook off her sudden sadness. She smelled someone coming and looked up. “Come.”

  Irons hand paused as he was about to knock. He shrugged then opened the cabin door. “Not you too,” she sighed.

  “Me too what?” he asked putting a couple of duffels down. There was a parka sticking out of one of them.

  “Trying to talk me out of going. Unless you're coming as well?” she asked, looking at the bags.

  The Admiral shook his head. “No. It's too close to Pyrax and it doesn't have what I need to continue to rebuild the Federation. But you can do some of that,” he said amused. He patted the bags. “Which is why I'm giving you these.”

  He pulled out a tablet from the duffel pouch of the top one and handed it to her.

  “What am I looking at?” she asked amused, taking the proffered device.

  “The equatorial region of the planet. It's got some spectacular storms, especially on the coasts, but there are plains there like the ones Africa had on Earth. They are colder than Africa though, more along the temperature ranges of the plains in North America. Some snow on the high ground so watch out. There are also a couple of small villages in that area that the pirates missed. Only a handful of people in each, but I bet they'd be happy to have a medic.”

  “Thank you,” she said with an ear flick and smile, pressing the tablet to her chest.


  “I've got more clothes for you, since you've got ship and station issue. Winter clothes. Your fur will most likely grow out in winter, but cheetah were never built to handle hard winters like Agnosta has,” he told her a bit gruffly.

  She nodded mute. He pulled the second bag up. “This has some medical supplies. It's a full paramedic trauma kit. I've also got a copy of medical texts in a dozen flash chips and a copy of the Encyclopedia Galactica as well as a few other things I thought you'd find handy. Sprite bookmarked the sections on Neo-feline physiology and the most common problems that afflict frontier colonies.”

  “Thank you Admiral,” she smiled.

  “You'll get the rest of the gear on planet,” he smiled. She wrapped her tail around him as he turned to go. He turned back. She enveloped him in a hug, purring.

  “Thank you,” she murmured, rubbing his cheek with her own.

  “My pleasure young lady,” he replied huskily as she released him. “You better get a move on, the last shuttle leaves in thirty minutes.” A time blinked on his HUD.

  “Oops, make that twenty eight and counting down,” he corrected. He nodded backing away as she hurriedly packed. With all this gear she was going to have to make multiple trips just to get to the boat bay.

  Bryan met her at the shuttle on the second trip. He had a couple of dozen packages at his feet. “I've got spares and I can make more so don't worry,” he said as she frowned and her ears went flat. “And the Admiral is already replicating replacement tools for me as well,” he hugged her. “Goddess speed.”

  “You as well,” she said returning the hug, but her eyes were on the shuttle.

  “Hurry up we don't have all day! Window's closing!” the pilot called.

  “I'm coming!” she called. Bryan helped her bring the gear to the cargo lock. A cargo handler packed it in. She caught sight of an air car inside.

  “Who...”

  “You,” Bryan said, taking her by the elbow and steering her to the lock. “The Admiral of course. There is also a micro replicator, fuel, a micro reactor, solar blankets, wind turbine, emergency shelters, a ton of other stuff, and enough emergency rations to live out the winter. Good luck,” he said gruffly. She turned and gave him one more fierce hug then bounded up the stairs, dashing tears.

  “Last call. Clear the deck,” the boat bay officer said. Bryan waved then turned walking out as the shuttle lock closed.

  “She'll land on her feet,” Irons said from the boat bay hatch as Bryan exited the boat bay. He stepped aside to let the medic through then the hatch closed.

  “She's a cat. They always do,” the medic said passing him. He patted the Admiral's arm. “That was a generous thing you did. All that gear.”

  “She needed it,” Irons replied with a shrug. “I know she'll put it to good use.” That was one of the reasons he'd done it. She was a medic. Anything she did to better herself would in some way help those in the community around her. Which in turn paid it forward to the next generation.

  “Yeah,” Bryan nodded. “Yeah, that she will,” he sighed.

  “Why are we doing this?” a tech asked, suiting up, the last shuttle had just docked and they were now leaving the system.

  “You're asking me?” his blue haired partner asked, testing his oxy bottle. Green, he had plenty of air, and just enough nitrogen. Good. “I have no clue. Not one fracking clue. Just told to do the job and don't ask stupid questions.”

  “What's this thing for anyway?” the tech asked nudging the ball with a foot. It wasn't like he had anything better to do, he just hated the idea of doing a space walk while the ship was underway. What if they had... he controlled his fearful shiver. It was best not to think of a dutch... he winced as he realized he was thinking of it. Firmly he turned his attention on his gear.

  Fortunately most of his gear was in good shape. They had replaced all the suits in Pyrax, and he'd had enough space walks since they had left to break everything in properly. The last thing that had needed fixing was the fan. It's bearings had been giving off an incredibly annoying buzzing sound until he'd finally gotten a replacement.

  “Speaking of which...” the blue haired tech sighed looking away and shaking his head in amused disgust.

  “Careful!” Everette said coming into the airlock and holding up a restraining hand. “It's a neutrino detector. The only one we've got. It's a bitch to make and calibrate. It took a couple of weeks to get it right.”

  “Okay,” the EVA tech looked puzzled. “And we need this why?”

  “It... look okay it's in the bow. Right... um...” Everette pulled a tablet out and pulled up a shot of the ship. “Here,” he said. He pointed to a spot on the bow. “See that dip? It's for this. We hook it up right there. It will help the bridge crew.”

  “Why?”

  “It detects neutrinos,” the young man explained. Everette shrugged. “It's a sensor. I don't have a clue.”

  “I do,” a voice rumbled behind them. He turned to see Admiral Irons come into the lock. The Admiral was dressed in a skin suit but one sleeve was missing. “About ready?” he asked, nodding politely to the others.

  “What? You're going too?”

  “Yup. Chief Bailey wants me to teach you how to do this and set up the other sensors,” Irons hefted a crate. “We've got a couple of hours to replace the bow sensors. I've got the mass spectrometer here. The basic spectrometer is in the corridor. We've got a mess of cameras to replace and the graviton detector will have to wait till next run.”

  “Um...”

  “They are sensors to guide the ship. To keep it from bumping into nasty things,” he explained patiently.

  “Okay, I get that.”

  “Besides it's an order,” the Admiral said with an amused look. “And I'm not about to argue with the chief on it. Are you?” He turned to the others, dogging his helmet.

  “Uh.. No, when you put it that way.” Everette dogged his own helmet then checked his readings. “Aren't you missing a sleeve?”

  “Artificial arm,” Irons replied. He ran his index finger over the near invisible seam around the arm. “It's sealed, don't worry.” They didn't know that it was a nanite seal, better than anything they had. He had no intention of telling them either. He wasn't in the mood for hysterics.

  “Oh.”

  “I've used this suit for three, no four years.”

  “Oh,” Everette said again and then got busy double and triple checking his seals. Irons checked him as well and gave him a thumbs up.

  Sprite bounced into each of the other suits electronics, confirmed they were ready, then out. She lit a green light on the Admiral's HUD.

  “Green,” Irons said nodding to the tech at the door. The air in the chamber evacuated and their suit lights turned on. “I would have preferred doing this in orbit, but we got side tracked by other things,” Irons grimaced.

  “So, neutrino...”

  “It detects particles that nuclear things emit. Think of it that way. Stars, ships, space stations, power plants basically. Anything that uses a nuclear reaction.”

  “Oh,” the tech grunted.

  “I'd say anything that lets us know about another ship is a good thing,” Everette said softly. “I for one don't want to be scooped up by a pirate.”

  “Bingo,” Sprite said smugly to the Admiral. She had a running bet with him that the geeky computer tech would be the first to figure that out. Obviously she'd won that bet.

  “Ah. Okay, yeah, good point,” the EVA tech nodded in sudden understanding. “So how does this thing work?”

  “It's a giant ball of cameras and sensors. Around it is a ball of heavy water kept in by a shielded shell. When a neutrino comes in it reacts with the heavy water. That is picked up by the cameras, which tells the computer where the neutrino's were coming from. It's nearly faster than light since neutrino's have almost negligible mass,” Irons explained.

  “Oh. Sorry I asked,” the tech muttered.

  “And the others?” Everette asked, not sorry at all. One of
the EVA techs grimaced.

  “Spectrometers bounce incoming light around mirrors and special grates that break it up into the electromagnetic spectrum for sensors to pick up. These sensors can detect changes in the wavelengths. This tells us about an object. It's composition, stuff like that.”

  “Okay.”

  “It isn't as useful for some things like a freighter. Though it does have it's uses in Hyperspace. We have three different versions, a passive spectrograph, a laser one, which bounces a light out to get a reflection back, and a mass spectrometer.”

  “So why do we need them?”

  “Every little bit of data helps,” Irons shrugged. “In this case it can help the bridge see things, what they are made of, and the computer can then compute their mass and gravitational index. If lets say, it's a star, it can then alter the shields to be the most energy efficient for that star.”

  “Oh,” the tech grimaced as they got to the bow. The sensors had already been pulled in dry dock. Irons was a little surprised they had gone out without new ones. They had flown to Agnosta on the bare minimum. Something he wasn't happy about. Even on Io 11 he'd had the willies about running that sort of risk. Then again, after they had discovered the sabotage, perhaps it wasn't so surprising.

  “Lets get to work,” Everette said nodding. Each of them clipped their safety lines in then went to work opening packages.

  “All connections are shape and color coded. Red to red, black to black. If you can't see well, switch to IR. Some of the wiring harness have IR tags your scanners should be able to see. When in doubt, call me. I'll be focusing on the graviton detector.”

  “Yes sir,” Everette gave a thumbs up. “I've got the tablet here. I think we'll be okay.”

  “Well, that was fun,” Everette said, undoing and then racking his helmet hours later. He was proud that his hands weren't shaking. He went to use his forearm to wipe sweat from his face but the tech grabbed his arm then tossed him a towel.