Ghost Station (The Wandering Engineer) (37 page)

“But
that idea of another ship or station has merit as well. If some people want to
go, it will make it easier on all of us. I wonder who would?” Cora asked
thoughtfully. She was fairly certain some of the middle aged people would want
a fresh start. That and some of the seniors. They would want to get out of the
way for the younger generation.

Every
year they had a few suicides. It was hard on the crew so it was fortunate it
was rare. But every year a senior or sometimes two would overdose on something
or go to the airlock and take a long walk without a suit. Normally it happened
when one or another was sick or had recently lost a loved one and had none left
around them. Or when they thought that they were a burden to the community.

It
was a terrible loss, one she felt deeply. In the past it had been both a
blessing and a curse, a blessing in that they were no longer taking up valuable
space when they could no longer contribute... but a curse in that their
lifetime of wisdom and knowledge was lost... and the effect it had on the
morale of those that knew them best.

Hopefully
that practice would end for good with all the changes. Hopefully anyway.

“Would
they go?” he asked looking up at her. “I mean, if they had to? Or because they
wanted to?”

“A
fresh start? They would be excited at the chance. The young ones definitely,”
Cora said. The younger set chafed under the rules and wanted to prove
themselves. Many wanted to strike out on their own on another ship. A ship with
room to have a family of their own. “Some of the older ones would leave to make
room for the younger set to grow.”

A
thought struck him. “What about our daughter?”

She
froze, thinking that over carefully before she responded. “Toni? Oh you think
she'd go? I'm not sure,” she said carefully. Her troubled eyes turned to him,
searching his for an answer. “But do we have the right to stand in her way if
she wants to do so?” she asked softly. He patted her hand and she kissed him.
She stroked his right cheek, going forehead to forehead for a moment before he
smiled and kissed her on the tip of her nose. She smiled and cocked her head
and caught his head for a full kiss.

The
kiss ended up a bit frisky as his free hand began to wander. She broke the kiss
with a giggle. “Someone's being naughty,” she said reprovingly, grinning. He
grinned back, climbing to his feet with her in his arms. He tossed the tablet
aside to kiss her properly. She giggled as he carried her off to bed in his
arms.

Irons
climbed out of his shuttle and nodded to the kids milling about. He'd shown the
adults how to make plastic toys for some of the kids a few weeks ago. Some of the
parents were into it; others were of a more tough minded class. Personally he
thought the kids deserved something of a childhood. It definitely took some
pressure off the old hand me downs. A few of the older toys sported newly
repaired or replaced parts. That was a good sign. There was no telling how much
more they could achieve in the forty days they had until break out.

“Are
you going to work on the replicators again admiral?” A Telerite child said,
sounding hopeful. He had a small pair of sunglasses on and a puzzle ball in his
hands. His vocoder was shiny and new.

He
shook his head. “'Fraid not kids, I'm getting some down time in and then I'm
going to work with Lobo the chief of recycling this afternoon again.”

The
kid’s faces fell. One toed the deck. “Awe!” They all said. Irons snorted.

“I
heard you had a good time on your field trip. Was it fun?” he asked, leaning up
against the landing leg and trying to relax.

“Sure,”
a pig tailed girl said. “It was a blast,” she said grinning. She obviously had
a good time. She and a Terran boy constantly peppered him with engineering
questions.

“Maybe
for you. You want to become an engineer,” a Veraxin chittered.

“You
could always ask for a tour of something you are interested in,” Irons
suggested.

That
brought the Veraxin up short. “Um...”

“Think
about it,” Irons suggested. They looked at each other uncertainly. “Did any of
you think to thank the chief for the tour?”

“We
did,” the little girl said, nodding earnestly.

“No,
I mean with a thank you note. Or a drawing,” he suggested.

“A
drawing?” she asked, wrinkling her nose. He smiled.

“Does
anyone have a tablet or phone?” he asked looking at them. They looked around.
Finally one of the kids held one up hesitantly.

“Okay,”
he went over to the steps to the launch hatch and sat down on them and held out
his hand for the tablet. The Telerite took it from the shy boy and then handed
it to him. He took the stylus off the side and then tapped at the controls.
Tablets had really hit it off with the crew after he had shown Fara how to
replicate and use them. Now just about everyone had one.

“You
really don't have paper here. There isn't much room for that on a starship.
So...” he opened a simple paint program and showed them the file. “Have any of
you tried this?” he asked, showing them. The kids shook their heads, craning
their necks to see what he was doing. He frowned. “No? Really?” They kept
shaking their heads. A few had their hands in pockets or behind their backs.
“Wow. Well, see, you draw here,” he took the stylus and drew a face. Then he
saved it, copied it and modified the face so one eye was closed. Then he saved
that file and edited the two so they switched back and forth. “See?” he said
showing them.

The
simple animated image had the kids oohing and awing. The Telerite took the
tablet back and stared at it as the others crowded around behind it. “Can it do
other things?” it asked.

The
admiral smiled. He knew he had them hooked now. “Oh you bet. You've seen the
movies on there right?” The kids nodded. “What about the animation movies and
shows?” They nodded again. “Well, that's how they do it. A simple showing mind
you. I'm not an artist. But you can draw all sorts of things on the computer.
And animate them. So... if you want to say draw the chief a picture you can do
that. Or one of your parents or of a shuttle or anything.”

“Wow.
I knew you could take pictures...” the girl said.

The
admiral nodded. “It can do that too. At least the tablets with cameras that
work. But you can modify the pictures too.” He took the tablet back and took a
picture of the kids. Then he went back to the paint program and modified the
image. He held it up to show them. The kids started giggling. He had changed
hair colors or chitin color and had given a few of them goofy expressions.

“You
look good in spots,” a Terran boy teased the Veraxin.

“I
thank you,” the Veraxin said. He paused and cocked his head. “I think.”

Irons
noticed Barry and a work party coming in. Barry looked at the admiral with the
kids and scowled ferociously. He cocked his head and then returned his
attention to the kids. “Now, you save it here,” he showed them the steps in how
to save the files and how to send them to each other and then finished when
Barry came over. He loomed behind the last row of kids. The kids looked up and
blinked at him uncertainly.

“Something
we can help you with?” Irons asked politely getting up.

“You
and I need to talk,” Barry said. Irons looked into his eyes and then nodded.
There was something there, something he didn't like. He looked down at the
kids.

“Why
don't you go try out your new art skills. See who can do what. Maybe even talk
to your parents and teachers. Maybe some of them have skills and can teach you
more.”

The
kids waved and said goodbye, rushing out. Irons straightened and looked at Barry.
“Something on your mind?” the admiral asked warily. Barry pulled him aside out
of the view of the main bay.

Clearly
something was bothering the big man. He'd been avoiding Irons for a while now,
only talking to him when he had to. Irons thought they had been getting along
fine but obviously after Barry's trip ground side something had happened. He'd
been too busy with the rush out to ask. Then he'd been distracted with the
repairs and classes. He'd totally forgotten it. Until now that is. It looked like
Barry was ready to get whatever he had off his chest.

“You
like kids,” Barry ground out.

“The
kids here are good,” Irons said with a nod looking towards the hatch.
“Sometimes they remind me of my kids when they were growing up.”

“You
were a parent?” Barry asked, sounding surprised.

Irons
turned to him with a frown. There was something there, something in the tone.
Something his instincts didn't like. “Yes. I had a life before... before the
Xeno war. I had a family. I've been married. Married several times actually.
Unfortunately the marriages didn't last, but there were fruits from some of
them. Memories I will treasure,” he said wistfully.

“I
mean you
like
like kids,” Barry said grimly.

“Not
following Barry,” Irons said, tone clipped and formal. “Why don't you get what
you've got on your chest off,” Irons said, eyes narrowed.

“I
went to a bar. On Triang,” Barry said, looking away. “When the shuttle was
fixed. I... I heard some stories. About... well... you.”

“Not
all of them good I take it?” Irons asked, tone icy. His jaw set. He tried hard
not to grind his teeth together. Barry shot him a look.

 The
single look he shot Irons made the admiral scowl. He was pretty sure he kn
ew
what it was about now. The admiral's good mood evaporated.

“That
bitch,” Sprite hissed in his ear.
Sprite is pissed Irons mused, even more than he is. He felt the annoyance, felt
it swirl around, threatening to consume him. Realized he'd hoped he'd outrun
it. Apparently that was too much to ask for. Now he was going to have to face
it head on. No more running.

“Barry...
I did mention I left Pyrax because of politics right?” Barry nodded.

“That
never made sense to me. Why you left I mean.”

The
admiral closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them he was grimly ready
to explain. “It's... complicated. Dirty tricks were employed. I...” Irons
exhaled slowly, trying to remain coherent and in charge of his rising temper.
Losing his temper wouldn't help in this situation.

“What
he said was true,” Sprite said forming a speaker in the admiral's arm. “But we
left a part out. A part that's a problem.”

“It's
a long story but I think you need the unedited version,” the admiral said. He
explained what happened with Sprite adding the holo recording to back him up.
Barry didn't say a word. After it finished Barry nodded. His manner was
different though, he was still cool but not grim or angry.

“All
right. I'm not sure who else knows about this but I'll keep a lid on it.”

“Thanks
Barry. I'm glad you kept an open mind,” Irons said. Barry winced and then
nodded. He had tried to give the admiral the benefit of the doubt and ignore
it. Not say anything. Now... now he wasn't sure who else knew. And he had no
way of finding out. Asking around was out, if he did the grapevine would pick
it up and it would make matters worse.

Irons
watched the big man leave, fists still clenched. He tried to sort out who else
was avoiding him or giving him the evil eye. No one came to mind off hand.

“This
isn't good,” Sprite said, tone radiating concern.

“You're
telling me?” he said and sighed.

Sprite
is obviously concerned about the poisoning effect of the rumors. She doesn't
hesitate to voice those concerns. “Just when I thought we'd gotten out of range
of that crap,” Sprite muttered.

“We'll
deal with it,” Irons replied, busying himself with the repairs. “Having the
truth and a video recording on our side doesn't hurt,” he replied. He tried to
put the situation behind him.

“You
know that rumor... especially something as nasty and provocative as this has
its own life no matter how you prove it isn't true. There were always the
skeptics out there, always the people who think the worst of someone. And even
with the good ones the memory will haunt them.”

“I
know Sprite,” he sighed. “But I can't help that.”

“I'll
keep an ear out for rumors.”

“Do
your best. But don't get to jumpy about it Sprite. That will seem like we've
got something to hide. Even the truth isn't enough to stifle something like
this.”

“Birthers
and tower nuts,” she said disgusted.

“Come
again?” Irons asked looking up. He hadn't expected the sudden shift in
conversation. That was unlike Sprite. Maybe she was picking up some of his bad
habits? She was overdue for some downtime and a recompile after all.

“Conspiracy
nuts. Quacks from the twentieth and twenty first century. People who were
inherently skeptical of anything someone in authority said or didn't say. They
could make up conspiracy theories and draw the most evil of intentions from
anything or anyone,” Sprite replied.