Fool's Gold (The Wandering Engineer) (11 page)

The
next morning he watched the family come out and stretch. “Were you here all
night?” Sergio asked. The Admiral grunted.

“Again?
Don't you sleep?” the girl asked yawning. He chuckled.

“I
will in a bit.” He waved to them.

“You
made a few parts with the food replicator; can you tell me how you did that?”
Mickal looked up as Sergio nodded his head to the replicator. The Admiral
nodded as he ate his breakfast. Salad wasn't his usual fair for an early
morning meal. It was different though.

 “It's
a simple thing really; all food is plastic in essence. With the right material
and program a food replicator can make all sorts of things.” He held up his
cup. “Like this cup for instance, or the silverware.” He smiled as they looked
at their forks.

“I
need a new gasket, my EVA suit has a pin hole leak in the elbow I keep patching
it...” Sergio shrugged helplessly. “Do you just want a patch or do you want a
new suit?” Iron's asked taking a bite of his salad.

“Whole
suit?” Sergio asked eyes wide.

The
Admiral nodded. “The cost of replacement parts was a bit lower then we
estimated so Io 11 has run a tab. I'm sure we can get them to do a couple new
suits.” Irons took another bite of salad. The croûtons were seasoned stale
bread, very authentic. Anita nodded. “New suits would be good. For both Sergio
and Jorge.”

“Me
too.” Mickal raised his hand. “Me and Deidra, we could use new suits as well.”
He looked at his wife who reluctantly nodded.

“Okay,
anything else? Parts for the ultrasonics?” Irons asked Anita. She shook her
head.

“Stick
to the suits, we'll worry about that later.” She smiled as she took his empty
plate. He nodded.

“Thanks
for a wonderful dinner. Post flight in five,” he nodded to Sergio who almost
danced in his seat.

The
Admiral ordered another cup of coffee then quietly explained how to make
plastic parts and other materials with the replicator to the adults. Mickal
asked a few leading questions but they all agreed to keep the parts down to a
minimum when he explained that it uses a great deal of power.

“Power
the station doesn't have. At least till my gringo nephew gets us some ice.”
Deidra teased. Sergio nodded.

“I
want him checked by the ship. Before an extended flight.” Anita said softly.
The others looked at her. Her face was set. Reluctantly Sergio got up.

“I'll
go with him to check on Jorge while you work on the ship.” She waved them off.

“Sprite?”
The Admiral sub vocalized as he followed the O'Reilly's into the shuttle bay.

“I
took the liberty of putting the order in Admiral. Io has it and the textile
fabricator is churning out the first suit based on my... I mean your sensor
readings now,” she reported. He smiled.

“As
efficient as ever.” He nodded to the O'Reilly's.

“We
have the afternoon shift; hopefully we can... goddess of space!” Deidra said
softly. The Admiral chuckled.

“Is
it, my goddess, she's like a whole new ship! Even her wedge! She's even been
repainted!”

The
Admiral looked over to Mickal and nodded. “Her gravity emitter drive is not as
powerful as a pinnace, but she should be able to do some pretty good grunt work
around the station. Her nodes will move her at a good clip, but the small fuel
supply will limit her range to within a couple million kilometers of the
station.” 

“Did
you paint her too?” Deidra asked. The Admiral nodded.

“Last
night after you went to bed.” He pointed to the tools. “I need to clean the gun
or it will gunk up. It's a poly resin compound with embedded superconductor
micro fibers. It should add a secondary layer of protection to the craft when
the shields and wedge are down,” he explained. Mickal nodded.

“So,
what's on the agenda?” Deidra asked.

He
smiled. “Fuel and life support. Flight test and if he's up for it, Sergio and I
can take her on an orbital spin around the station,” he nodded to the cab.

“I
was wondering... the injuries to Jorge's knee seem old...” He looked over to
the O'Reilly's who sobered. Deidra nodded to her husband. Her hand snuck into
his. He turned to face the Admiral. “When we smuggled Juanita out of here...
the Port Admiral was furious. Beck and Berneky took a hammer to Jorge's knee,”
Mickal explained. Deidra looked away sickened.

“You
see, the Port Admiral, Jorge, and Anita have a history. He raped Anita when she
was young.” They looked away. “She doesn't talk about it much.” Deidra said
softly. “She married Jorge a few months later. The Valdez family is critical to
the station. We don't flaunt it or live in the luxury quarters.” Deidra looked
up to the ceiling with a scowl. The Admiral nodded.

“Okay,
System check initialized. Let's get this bird ready for flight,” the Admiral
nodded. Deidra seemed relieved at the change of subject.

Sergio
returned nearly an hour later. He was dressed in a silver skin suit and modeled
it for his appreciative relatives. “You like it? It's not as bulky as my old
suit. Much nicer, and it fits like a dream! No more worrying about growing into
it!” He smiled. Deidra’s eyes glowed.

“We're
just going to...” Mickal edged to the door.

The
Admiral waved them on. “Go, say hi to everyone for me.” He chuckled as they
left.

“Like
kids in a candy store.” He shook his head. Sergio was oblivious, staring at the
tug.

“She's
new!” He stared. Irons chuckled. “Not exactly but as close as we can get her.”
He waved the young man to the cockpit.

“All
right now, before you just had the plasma drive, her wedge was down right? Well
not anymore. Now, here's the deal. You can't use the wedge near the station or
another object. Especially INSIDE the station.” He gave a cautionary look to
the young man who looked eager. Irons sighed. “Are you listening?” He tapped
the boy's arm. The young man looked at him.

“Sure
okay, don't use the wedge inside. Got it.” He looked around. Iron's suppressed
a sigh.

“Not
just inside. If you use it too close to another object you will tear it apart,
and the debris will short your shields or tear you apart,” his voice dropped
into the cool authority of command. Suddenly Sergio was paying attention in
earnest.

“The
gravity nodes send out a wedge of force.” He steepled his fingers together,
then pointed the tips of his joined fingers away from himself.  “If it
encounters another object it pushes or pulls against it. It all depends on what
you the pilot are trying to do. But if you are too close, or if the object is
malleable, say like another ship, then it can be torn apart like tissue paper.
If it encounters another wedge... well it gets nasty.” The Admiral looked into
the young man's eyes.

“That's
why there are safeguards built into the software. Listen to them. Don't muck
about with the safety programs, they are there to keep you alive got it?” he
asked. Sergio nodded.

“Look
Sergio, she's a different girl than you've known. Yesterday was baby steps; she
was only at twenty percent power. You've got to respect her or she'll tear you
apart,” he said softly. Sergio nodded sober.

“All
right. Now the inertial sump is set for ninety five percent. That means it will
compensate for ninety five percent of the acceleration curve, leaving five
percent for you to feel so you don't feel divorced from the craft. It keeps you
honest.” The Admiral smiled at the question hovering in Sergio's expression.

“Old
pilot's trick. Actually, a fighter pilot's trick.” He smiled again. “Old pilots
learn these by listening to veterans and passing them on to the next generation
of pilots.” He nodded politely to Sergio. Sergio nodded back. His eagerness was
returning.

“I
realize you don't want to fly a tug all your life,” the Admiral said wryly.
Sergio blushed and looked away. The Admiral sighed. “Trust me; keep honest with
the craft you've got and work to the goal you want to achieve in life. Your
parents will understand.” Sergio nodded.

“All
right, let's get this bird in the air. I've run preflight, but I want you to
run it again while I clear the remaining gear out of the bay,” he nodded as
Sergio climbed into the cab.

It
only took a few minutes to clear the gear and wrestle the collars out into the
corridor. He jogged to his quarters and shucked his grimy coveralls and put on
his suit. Proteus handled the suit connections as he jogged back to the lock.

“Heading
out Admiral?” Sprite asked.

“Yeah,
I think the kid needs a little guidance. File a flight plan will you?” he
asked.

“Already
taken care of. Take her out to one click then spiral the station, then back.
Standard flight test,” the AI reported.

“Add
a powered flight run after the spiral. Give the kid a carrot to go along with
the stick.” He nodded to Sergio as he closed the bay door from the inside.

Sergio
stared at him. “You've got a suit?” he asked.

Irons
chuckled. “I wouldn't be much of a navy Admiral without one.” He climbed up
into the cab. He sat beside the pilot and closed the airlock door making sure
the seals were working properly.

“You’re
going out with me?” Sergio asked. Then shook his head. “Who will open the
doors?” he asked. The bay alarm sounded, then the vents popped on and the air
began to evacuate.

“Got
it covered.” The Admiral pointed. “These are wireless controls to the airlock
bay.” He pulled up a menu on the LCD.

“Vents,
purge, door controls... Right it's all here.” Sergio nodded in sudden
understanding. He was finally getting back into the game Irons thought.

“Right,
flight plan is to back out, spiral orbit around the station, then if she's
sound a quick throttle check.” He smiled to Sergio whose eyes flashed in
anticipation. “All right, let's do it. Control this is 552Q, doors opening.
Ready for departure.” He smiled as he clicked the mike off.

A
voice cleared. “Roger that 552, good luck.” He nodded as the door opened.

“Okay
let’s see...” Gently he pulled back on the throttle. She drifted off her legs,
then out the bay. He tapped the controls and the antigrav shut off. “Minimum
safe distance is what? A click for the wedge?” Sergio asked not looking away
from his controls.

The
Admiral nodded. “Right. But point her away from the station first.” He knew the
wedge coming up would be an experience.

They
drifted out a kilometer from the station then came about. “Power up the wedge.
I put in a governor into the control software, you can only have five percent
power at this range, and eight percent total while within the station's range
since it doesn't have shields. You see, the wedge uses the station's shields as
much as its own emitters. It has to have something to push or pull against.” He
explained how a wedge worked as the force emitters spun up.

“Now,
shape a course twenty degrees to port by ten degrees and we'll spiral the
station. If the station's shields were up we could whip around her at five
hundred gees... Someone put it like a drunk swinging off a light pole.” Irons
smiled tightly as Sergio entered the course. He touched the throttle and they
both felt the gee force as she accelerated. “Nice. Good, she's got a good
handle. Tight. You don't want it too loose in space. Loose means you miss the
mark and end up dead.” He paused as an object drifted by.

“Is
that what I think it is?” Iron's asked softly as a body drifted by.

“Yeah.
You get used to it,” Sergio replied not looking.

“That's
a child!” the Admiral snarled in shock.

“Was,
definitely was,” Sergio said softly.

“Right.
Are there a lot?” the Admiral asked.

“One
isn't enough?” Sergio asked. He pointed to a line. The Admiral stepped up his
implants and could make out a trail of bodies frozen in various poses. They
formed a particularly gruesome halo ring around the station, orbiting it since
it was the body with the strongest gravitational force in the area... He felt a
deep upwelling of fury and anger then suppressed it.

“Right.
I guess we better avoid them,” he said softly.

Sergio
grunted then tapped the controls. The Admiral fought down his anger and began
to focus on the job. “Okay, I'm bringing up the sensors. Running a scan on the
station to make sure they are aligned... good. Okay now let’s see here.” He
pulled up his partial map of the area. “I wonder if there is a carbonaceous
chondrite rock around.” He looked around. Sprite blinked his HUD, and then
placed a caret on the map. “Right, new course two twenty degrees starboard
pitch down eleven.”

Sergio
tapped it in. “What are we doing?” he asked when he was done.

“Going
hunting,” Irons answered.

“For
a rock? We need water,” Sergio reminded him.

“All
rock is not relative. Carbonaceous chondrite are rocks with a high
concentration of water locked in their chemical matrix. Up to twenty two
percent or more. If we can get them back to the station, then they can extract
water from it.” He watched as the tug shaped a course and then accelerated on
the new vector.