Ghost Station (The Wandering Engineer) (99 page)

“This
is all ours? We don't have to share?” He was shocked, this was too much!

“All
ours,” Ezri said with a grin. She led him by the hand down the stairs.

They
were both amazed by the space. It was green, a nice green with flowers painted
onto the walls. The ceiling was a vibrant blue. The floors were some form of
plant matter, possibly bamboo. It was set in a diagonal pattern. Some of the
lighting was florescent but some was soft accent leds. There was some dust and
cobwebs here and there but it was still amazing.

He
could deal with the mess. He had borrowed a cleaner bot, or was about to
borrow. He smiled at the thought as he looked at the desiccated plants in the
corners of the room. Joe said he'd run the cleaner through for an hour for each
of them. The girl's didn't know that. Not that he didn't mind his gal getting a
little mussed but if she didn't get all tired out maybe he'd get lucky later...

Ezri
was flabbergasted by the kitchen, poking into the various cabinets. There was a
food replicator and a beverage dispenser on the wall. A small walk in pantry
complete with an even smaller wine cabinet! It was amazing! Her hand went over
her mouth, tears shined in her eyes. This was too much. It was incredible and
it was theirs. She knew better then to open the fridge though.

“This...”
she turned, tucking herself into his arms as she broke down into tears. He
wrapped his arms around her as she cried happy tears. “This is too much! Too much!”
she said, hand over her mouth.

He
chuckled softly, resting his head on her hair. “I think for you dear it's just
right. And to think, we haven't even seen the rest of the place,” he murmured.
She gave a watery chuckle at that dig.

She
looked at the island as he rocked her in his arms. There was a cook top and a
sink. “I don't even know how to cook!” she said with a wail. His chest rumbled
in a chuckle when he heard that.

Discipline
problems cropped up over time. Most of the problems were in between the tribes,
old scores being settled or between the tribe members and the Kiev personnel.
Some were verbal altercations; some quickly escalated to a physical
confrontation. The tribal members fought dirty, fighting at the drop of a hat
sometimes and going all out with teeth and claws or nails.

After
one rather nasty confrontation sent three people to the medic’s, people
petitioned the council and the admiral that something had to be done.

Savo
pulled Irons aside just before the meeting to bend his ear on the subject.
Irons nodded in agreement as the chimp laid out a case for a structured
judicial system and punishment as both punishment and a deterrent.
Unfortunately Savo was laying it out to the wrong person, Irons was fairly
certain anything he suggested would be turned down flat.

 The
council is unhappy about the idea but finally agreed to set up a judicial
system and jury system. The admiral's ready agreement was a surprise for some.
During the same meeting they also set up a voting system. He had hoped they
would have a referendum on the council but of course that had been too much to
hope for. Instead votes were to be held on which sections of the station is
more important to repair and therefore should get the majority of the
resources. Irons clashed with this, he has his own take and priorities. Of
course he's overruled and ignored.

Tugs
and shuttles danced around the station every few hours now, clearing the
surrounding space of debris, ice, and small asteroids. Everything is fed into
the voracious appetite of the factory station.

On
the way in with the derelict yacht the tug stumbled across a pair of derelict
tugs but didn't report them until it sent it's log back when it neared the
station. Sprite showed the admiral. He whistled in admiration when he saw the
scans. They were huge, not quite the monsters the military used to use, but
still impressive. easily thirty times larger than the little one hundred ton
automated tug, and exponentially more powerful since a tug was mostly engines
power plant and tractors. Irons passed the news on to the council. They were
interested in salvaging the tugs but did not apologize for censuring Irons for
his actions despite the good fortune.

Taylor
Warner has some medical issues and had to be checked out by the medics. He knew
what was coming and was anxious which didn't help his blood pressure or heart
rate any. He's held overnight when his breathing became ragged. His wife didn't
leave his side. She admonished him to pace himself better. He rubbed her hand
and told her he was having a hard time, the excitement of it all was getting to
him. She smiled tenderly down at him. “But I'll try,” he promised her.

She
smiled again. “You'd better,” she growled.

Sprite
was torn about the situation when she heard about it. She went to Irons with a
proposal, that Warner senior be augmented and inserted into the station net as
a cyber. The admiral wasn’t even sure it was possible and didn't want to make
the suggestion unless it was.

Sprite
contacted doctor Trask who was divided on the idea. She brought in a few of the
other experts including doctor Kraft for a quick consult. Eventually word
spread through the other cybers and AI. Some were not happy about the idea,
others from the Kiev community were ecstatic about having someone else they
trusted and respected on the council.

After
some research Doctor Trask was certain it was possible given time. They layed
out the entire plan, going over it several times and even running several
simulations before they approached Warner.

He
was intrigued by the idea. His wife is uncertain. He looked to her and asked
her opinion. She agreed to it as long as they do the same to her. He's shocked
and dismayed. “Whither thou go-est my love,” she murmured, leaning over to kiss
his lips. His eyes misted as her fingers stroked his hand. Finally he nodded.

Doctor
Trask and the other medics were taken aback by the idea. Doctor Kraft informed
them it would take some time to refine the project. “Go ahead doc, I'm not
going anywhere,” Warner said shrugging.

When
they get sufficient fuel to keep the station running comfortably the admiral
started working on his plan for the move. It took him a week to sort out the
details and lay the additional groundwork required. Getting the shield nodes
overhauled for defense had helped. He was unhappy about the insistence that it
get done right away though, he would have really liked to of had more time on
it. He would prefer to do a thorough structural integrity check of the station
to make sure it could handle the load before proceeding.

Still
he used the station's shields to move the station, surprising Fu and the
others. He explained the shields could act as a wedge, moving it under a low
acceleration a lot easier than using tugs. It would take months to move the
ponderous station to its former location, but it would get done.

Nettled
at being so easily outmaneuvered Fu retreated on the subject. The admiral was
congratulated on his efforts though he was also reprimanded for not informing
the council of his plan ahead of time. Irons tried to take it in stride, the
good and the bad.

Kiev
kept pace with the station, going ahead of it to keep an eye out for possible
obstructions. They synch up the sensors to give them an in depth three
dimensional image of the course. When they are certain the station is safe on
the course Kiev resumes running people to and from the station.

In
the inner system, they released additional repaired and rebuilt asteroid tugs
to mine asteroids. Additional volunteers arrived from the planet, expanding the
work force to over twenty thousand and ballooning the training classes.  There
are some complaints about class size so a few additional teachers are hired.

A
month before the station arrived to the it's assigned Lagrange point the
station is at a quarter of its planned capacity when another freighter entered
the system from the Senka jump point.

Doctor
Myers brought word of the arrival immediately, preening that the newly restored
sensors had picked up the jump activity at the jump point. However his pride is
soon replaced by concern from other quarters when they consider if the ship is
friendly or not.

It
took four days to get word to and from the unknown ship. Four tense days for
everyone to reconsider the admiral's defensive plan. Irons kicked himself for
not setting up a satellite near the jump point before hand.

When
they finally received word they were pleased and relieved though. She is the
Lieandra, a familiar ship that passed through the area on a circuit.  Veraxin
Captain Yen’ Kelly is in command. He was an old bug, but a familiar one to the
people on the ground.

The
Lieandra was shocked and excited by what was going on when they get word. They
were surprised by the buzzing activity, and bartered for repairs for their ship
as they transited across the system. Lieandra was a medium sized freighter, a
Clydesdale class with a massive amount of passengers much like the Kiev had.
The majority of her holds were now habitats, much like the Kiev had had.

Upon
arrival over seventy five percent of the ship's passengers and crew decided to
join the spacers on the station as well, freeing up the ship. Transporting
people and goods to and from the station was of course a part of their
contract.

The
Kiev, in the form of Blur, agitated for its additional repairs after the
Lieandra picked up its first load of parts for itself after its first run to
the planet. Captain Chambers was a little annoyed, Captain Yen ‘Kelly had been
smart, he'd gone to the planet first, unloaded his cargo, picked up a few hitch
hikers and then headed to the station. By the time he'd arrived they had a
couple of tons of generic parts he had requested on hand.

To
mollify Captain Chambers and to keep with their deal Irons spun off a truss bot
to build the dry dock. They were planning on rebuilding as many systems as
possible and using the dock to repair and dial in their sensor network. He sold
the idea to the station council by explaining that it is payment for services
and Kiev will be a floating advertisement of their abilities and services in
the future. Since they were over a figurative barrel and needed to remain on
good terms with the Kiev in case of further need, they went along with his
plan.

There
is another cyber war while the admiral was off on the Kiev. Irons became aware
of it as it wrapped up. The next morning Sprite briefed him on it. It was a
short brief; none of the cybers involved were talking. She did know that Fu had
contained the problem but there had been extensive damage to the station net
again. The organic crew wasn't happy about that.

Memory
and processors have been burnt out. Software corrupted, and some sections of
the station net were damaged. The AI and software techs were trying to get a
handle on the situation. There was some concern that the three AI who had been
insane but had hidden in the net were responsible. Unfortunately that's not
provable and the cybers aren't talking.

When
Irons and Sprite pressed for details they were silently rebuffed by Fu and the
others. Even the Berkhearts were noncommittal; they sadly ignore the requests
for information and leave the communications area.

Sprite
picked through the damage with the muse AI when the admiral returned to the
station. Clio and Mnemosyne aren't happy about the damage either. They tell her
bits and pieces of the story as they right the damage. Apparently some of the
attorneys had thrown a tantrum over the activities on the station and the
contracts that the admiral had agreed to without consulting the council. The
council had finally come to an agreement over it but they were short on details
on that. Apparently there was an nondisclosure agreement in place covering the
meeting and all parties were adhering to it. It served as a sort of peace
treaty for all parties.

She
reported it all to the admiral who silently listened as he tapped his lips with
a finger. He rocked in his chair, uncertain and surprised by his involvement in
the mess. Why hadn't they told him? Why hadn't they talked with him about the
problem?

When
they arrived at the Lagrange point the council declared a holiday to celebrate
the achievement. The mayors of Antigua agreed and in an act of brotherhood also
declared a planetary holiday. It is the first such holiday in living memory.

The
media went wild covering the prep for the holiday. Toni Chambers took on a
freelancing reporter job, filming the occasion and the prep work for all
parties.  The coverage of the prep work builds up interest and excitement over
the holiday.

Getting
into the spirit the mayors try to outdo each other with various displays of
banners and planned events in their towns and cities. Each mayor is posturing
and ribbing the others. It's all in good fun but there is a serious
undercurrent of something more there.

Essential
services still needed to be run of course. Many could be overseen with a
skeleton crew. Riff and Gwen took watch in engineering with Irons. Much to
Sprite's ire Irons avoided the celebrations ongoing through the station and
both ships. She made certain to be there on the podium for the speeches, a
subtle reminder of who really made this achievement possible.