by Ward Wagher
Franklin rocked his head back and forth. "Harmon doesn't think there's anyone in Montora village who knows how to do this. He suggested we talk to Justin Voss and see if anyone in Cambridge knows.”
"I would need to check," Boodles said. "We lost our best tech in a house fire last winter."
Franklin stared at Boodles. "But you were here last winter."
Eckert cleared his throat. "I'd forgotten about that, Major." He stopped. "I'm sorry. That came out like I didn’t care or something."
Franklin looked back and forth. "What?"
"The tech along with a couple of my sergeants planted a device in one of the houses in the village to try to identify a man who was passing information to the old Duke. Something went wrong and the house went up in flames. The tech ran in to try to rescue a child. Neither came out."
Franklin gave a silent whistle. "I didn't know."
"Things got kind of rough there for a while," Eckert said.
"I'm sorry, Major," Franklin said. "I understand this intellectually, but being the one on the spot is far different."
"No matter. Let me go check with my people. What are you going to do next?"
"I need to be back up at the ship, but I really want to stay around here until we figure out what we’re going to do about a chief engineer. Start making some calls, I guess.”
“You aren’t going to find anybody,” Harmon Eckert said. “That’s why you chose Louie in the first place.”
“What else can I do?”
“Get back up to the ship, Margrave,” Eckert said. “We’ll either find you another engineer or we’ll get Louie up there.”
Franklin looked unsure and started to protest.
“You’ve got more to do right now than we do,” Boodles interrupted. “Get back up to the ship and let us take care of things from this end.”
Eckert turned to Boodles after Franklin left. “Thanks for not telling him I was the one that placed the device.”
“All he has to do is ask somebody, Harmon.”
“Yeah, but only if it occurs to him to ask.”
“What's he going to do? Anyway, you did it under duress – Smith & Jones told me.”
“Why even bring it up?”
Boodles shrugged. “Okay, Harmon. I won't tell him.”
# # #
"How's Louie?" Daphne Locke demanded. She looked up from the desk again as Franklin walked into the ready room.
"Unhurt, thank goodness. It's hard to imagine anyone walking away from an air car crash, but both Louie and Brigitte came out of it okay, I think."
"That's great news. Louie came up on the shuttle with you?"
"No, the vocoders of both Woogies were smashed in the crash. That's the bad news."
Daphne swore fluently and stood up behind the desk. "Well what are we going to do then? The only reason you were letting Louie come along is that there were no other qualified engineers on the whole planet."
"Harmon and Martin promised me they would have a solution Real Soon Now."
"Oh, that makes me feel just so much better. Just what do they expect to do?"
Franklin smiled. "I think they're going to try to cobble together a vocoder. I'm pretty sure they're not going to find another engineer on Hepplewhite."
Daphne swore some more. "We're all going to die. I just know it. I don't know why I let you talk me into this in the first place."
"Me talk you into this? You nearly clawed my eyes out when I suggested you stay and manage the village. Besides, I've got a lot of confidence in Harmon Eckert."
Daphne dropped back into her chair with a moan and rested her head in her hands. "We're going to die."
"Lieutenant!" Franklin shouted. "I fully expect things to get a lot worse than this when we're in the middle of the mission. If you can't hack this, by God, I will send you back down to the planet! Dad had a saying he used on me more than once. I think he got it from Colonel Putin. Shut up soldier, and soldier!"
"Franklin, I..."
"Do you read me, Lieutenant?"
"I'm sorry, Franklin. I'm just so tired..."
"What is the proper response, lieutenant?" Franklin growled.
She glared at him for a few moments before speaking. "Aye, aye, sir."
"Better. Now give me a report on the load out."
"Sir, we’re perhaps one shuttle load behind schedule. Barring any other difficulties, I think we can break orbit on time. But I need the Chief Engineer to run the final engineering drill and inspection. If we don't have Louie here for that, it'll blow the schedule just as well."
"I can run the engineering drill."
"No you can't!"
"I used to stand engineering watches right after I got out of the Naval Academy. Besides, Louie has drilled the engineering department intensively. They’ll know what to do. And it'll keep me out of your hair."
"Yeah, right until you blow up the ship."
"I'm so happy you agree." And he turned and walked out of the ready room.
The engineering staff braced to attention when Franklin walked into the engine room.
"As you were," he said. "Until the chief engineer gets here, we're going to go ahead and run the preflight drill and inspection. First, let me correct that. You're going to run the preflight and I'll watch. When the chief engineer gets here we can let him review the logs and make sure we didn't miss anything. Who's senior?"
A stocky, red-haired ensign stepped forward. "I am, sir," she said.
"And you are?"
"Sorry, sir. Chaplin, Lari D., Ensign."
"Very well, Ms. Chaplin. Proceed with the engineering inspection."
"Aye, aye, sir." She immediately turned and began issuing orders to the assembled engine room staff.
Franklin stepped off to the side to observe. He wondered where the Ensign had come from. He had not seen her around Montora village, so she either came in with the ship or was a resident of one of the other towns. Then he remembered Daphne mentioned an engineering ensign had come with the ship. She worked with crisp efficiency as she directed each of the ratings on their tasks. When the relatively untrained staff ran into difficulty, she was quick to guide them, while all the time keeping an eye on the checklist, which scrolled across several of the Engine Room screens. Franklin saw no need to interrupt the activities – things moved along smoothly.
His comm unit chirped and he flipped it open.
“Skipper, it’s the Exec.”
“Yes, Lieutenant?”
“I’m watching the inspection from the status display up here. I apologize. You seem to have things in hand.”
Franklin smiled as he watched the activities in front of him. Daphne must have remembered she was yelling at the Captain. “I’m just standing off to the side observing, Exec. We have a very capable Ensign down here.”
“Chaplin?”
“Yes.”
“She’s one of the old crew who elected to stay with us. My first impressions proved correct, then.”
“I think she’s one to keep an eye on for further opportunities.”
“I’m sure those will come, Skipper.”
“The rest of the people in Engineering don’t look too bad either.”
“Louie drilled his team pretty hard. I think the crew is beginning to come together overall.”
“Once we break orbit, the drilling will get a lot tougher. We’ll find out for sure what we’ve got.” Franklin said.
“We should get our heads together on that, Sir.”
“Concur. I know you’ve been thinking about it, and I mainly want to see what your plans are.”
“If it’s alright with you, Sir, I will set up a meeting for us tomorrow morning.”
“That’s fine with me, Exec. I fervently hope we’re out of orbit by then.”
Behind him he heard Chaplin’s voice raise slightly. “No, Larkin. Look over here. You’ve got to keep an eye on the containment fields. The number four fusactor is drifting. Don’t assume the automation will catch it. If you let th
e reaction get into the wall of the chamber we’ll lose it, and probably the Engine Room along with it. The Captain would not like that very much.”
“I’d better go,” Franklin said. “This is getting interesting.”
He flipped the comm unit closed and slid it into a pocket. Lari Chaplin had stomped over to a rating in front of one of the consoles and was pointing out various readings on the screen.
“I’m sorry, Ma'am. I just completely missed that.” Larkin looked suitably abashed.
“That’s why we have the drills, Larkin,” Chaplin responded. “If this happened for real, we’d all be dead. This way you just wish you were dead.”
“Sorry, Ma'am. I’ll try to do better.”
“No, Spaceman Larkin, you will do better. Okay folks, let’s halt the inspection right here and take it from the top again. Since the Chief Engineer isn’t here yet, we’ve got time to work on it. Spaceman Amadia, what is the procedure for resetting the starting inspection?”
Franklin watched as she once again began working the people through the process. After things began moving again she walked over to Franklin.
“A question, Captain Nyman?”
“What’s on your mind, Ensign?”
“The CHENG was supposed to be aboard already. I’m a little out of my depth here.”
“You look like you are doing just fine, Ensign. However, in answer to your question, Louie is going to be a bit late. He was in an aircar accident.”
Her face turned pale as she digested the news. “He lived through it?”
“Yes, and unbelievably, he was not badly injured.”
“What happened, Sir?”
“It was a mid-air. Nobody from the other car survived. His voice generator device was smashed though.”
She shook her head. “If the CHENG got killed, we would be well and truly screwed, begging your pardon, Sir. We are very fortunate he survived.”
“I agree. However, you seem to have things in hand.”
“Sir, this is my first tour. I just graduated from the MLN Academy six weeks ago. I can just barely find my way around the Engine Room.”
“Relax, Ensign. Louie will be up here presently. As far as not knowing what you’re doing, you could’ve fooled me. Just keep up what you’re doing. None of the ratings seemed to be concerned.”
“Sir, they don’t know what they don’t know. I want’em concerned.”
“Ensign Chaplin. I feel very sure you won’t let me down. Now, carry on.”
“Aye, aye, Sir.”
Franklin left the Engine Room and decided to walk to the bridge rather than take the elevator. He passed open storage compartment doors where crew members stacked boxes of stores in stasis machines. He stepped out of the way to allow pallets of equipment and supplies to be hauled past him on their anti-grav carriers.
He glanced into the armory where ship’s marines inspected and inventoried small arms. The small marine contingent of six men and women had been seconded from Martin Boodles’ Baltic Regiment Reserve. Most were in their fifties and sixties, but seemed confident and competent all the same.
He stopped in the Officers’ Wardroom and built himself a sandwich from the mid-watch buffet. He was happy to retain that tradition from the Merchants’ League Navy. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast and didn’t know when another opportunity would present itself. Father Riggs was wearing a lieutenant's uniform and supervising the food service.
He slipped into CIC and quietly observed the staff working through combat simulations. A blonde-headed and very tall Lieutenant Gabriel Simmons, the Tactical Officer, held a tight rein on the group. Simmons was another carry-over from the MLN. He had been the Assistant Tactical Officer when Canopus arrived over Hepplewhite. He was more qualified than anyone on the planet, so Franklin and Daphne quickly promoted him to TacO. So far they had no reason to regret the decision.
Simmons glanced over at Franklin and murmured, “Skipper.”
Franklin nodded and gestured for him to carry on. The Tac Officer winced when the simulation came apart on the group and the Canopus was “destroyed.”
He looked over at Franklin. “Pretty rough as yet, Skipper.”
Franklin pursed his lips. “I don’t know, Lieutenant. Group discipline is looking good. There’s nothing here some practice won’t cure… a lot of practice.”
There was a low rumble of laughter in the room at his remark. “Carry on.”
“Aye, aye, Sir.”
With a wave, Franklin walked back into the passageway. As he continued on his way he looked into the Enviro Department. Every surface in the compartment was a brilliant white. The enviro crew was dressed in white work fatigues, tee shirts and white slippers. In addition to monitoring the complex equipment which maintained a safe, breathable atmosphere aboard ship, the cleanliness of the room allowed them to visually inspect the equipment. Any malfunctions involving a leak would be immediately spotted.
The enviro plant was the second largest consumer of power aboard Canopus. The catalytic crackers and converters took the waste products thrown off by the humans aboard ship and recycled them repeatedly. Over the past eight hundred years mankind had been in space, the technology had continually improved. Since the equipment was about ninety percent efficient, Canopus had to carry additional mass to make up the remaining ten percent over the course of a voyage. Between that and reactor mass, the effective working endurance of the ship was about six months.
Moving farther “north” Franklin came to the bridge.
“Captain on the bridge.” Chief Petty Officer Thomas Sabbath said.
“As you were,” he quickly said. He walked to the Captain’s Chair. “I have the conn.”
“Captain has the conn,” Sabbath repeated.
Franklin settled into the Captain’s Chair and Sabbath moved over to sit at the Helm controls.
“Status check?” Franklin said.
“Systems nominal, Sir.”
“Very good.”
Franklin took the time to look at his status screens. He grinned as his Engineering Status Display showed the Inspection Run starting yet again. He looked up as Daphne Locke slipped into her seat next to his.
“I thought you were still running the inspection set in Engineering,” she nodded at the display.
“Ensign Chaplin clearly wanted me to hold her hand through the process. She needs to learn to do it on her own. If Louie suffers another accident, she may end up running Engineering.”
“I certainly hope not. She’s fresh out of the Academy.”
“So she told me. No, it’s better to keep a distant eye upon her. Once Louie gets up here, he’ll keep things under control.”
“If he gets here,” Daphne said.
Franklin smiled. “Oh, I think he’ll be here. He really wants to do this.”
“And the vocoder?”
“One step at a time, Exec.”
She leaned over to speak quietly. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Skipper.”
He raised an eyebrow. “So do I, Lieutenant. So do I.”
chapter fourteen
Proving that accumulated fatigue can catch up with anyone, Franklin felt a hand on his shoulder shaking him awake. Seeing Daphne had the loading process more or less under control he had slipped away to his cabin to look at the accumulated paperwork which piles up under any starship command. He had no memory of drifting off to sleep, but his head was on the desk cradled in his arms.
Franklin looked up at his cabin steward, Spaceman 2nd Murray Hopper, through bleary eyes. "How long have I been out?"
"About two hours, sir. I checked with the Exec, and she said you weren’t needed for anything for a while and to let you sleep."
"I presume someone told you to disturb me?"
"Yes, Skipper. The Exec called and asked that I let you know the Chief Engineer is aboard."
He managed to push himself to his feet
“Are you alright, Sir?”
“One of the first things you learn as an of
ficer, Spaceman Hopper, is how to pace yourself. Moving into high risk situations requires a CO to be relatively rested and in control of his wits.”
Hopper looked at him carefully.
“I realize I had forgotten that bit of wisdom,” Franklin said, “and two hours of sleep was a drop in the bucket to recover that deficit. In fact I am worse off than if I had simply stayed awake.”
“Yes, Sir,” Hopper said noncommittally.
"Do you, pray tell, Spaceman Hopper, have in your galley a beverage which is both hot and loaded with caffeine?"
"Of course, Skipper." With a smile he slid a steaming mug of coffee in front of him.
Franklin collapsed back into my chair and picked up the mug with both hands. The coffee was very hot and very strong.
"My son," he intoned, "you have earned yourself a ticket to the highest levels of Valhalla, which, of course," he continued, "we can fervently hope you don't have to use any time soon. This is really good!"
The steward looked pleased. "The exec said the CHENG was in the engine room."
Franklin heaved himself out of his chair and carried his mug with him into the fresher. “I need to straighten up. I can’t go around frightening the crew.”
“I have a fresh uniform laid out on your bed, Sir.”
Franklin stuck his head through the doorway to the fresher. “That’s twice in one day, Hopper. Are you angling for a promotion or something?”
"No, Sir. I'm just doing my job."
"Well, keep it up. It should be clear to you I need all the help I can get." Franklin disappeared back into the fresher.
Spaceman Hopper moved back over to the desk and began straightening it. When the subject of a steward came up, Franklin insisted it was not necessary and assumed the subject was closed. Daphne had gotten with Louie and selected one of his hotel employees to fill the role. At the time, Franklin was too tired for another fight with Daphne and let the appointment pass without comment.
"You're not messing with my desk, are you?" Franklin yelled from the fresher.
"I will take care of your desk, Sir."
"If I come out of the shower and discover you have messed up the carefully thought out ordering of the desk I will have to take back all those nice things I just said about you."
