Chronicles of Athena Lee

by T S Paul

  “Sam, I need a micro power supply no bigger than 3 inches squared. Do you have something like that in here?”

  “Sam, I need a micro power supply no bigger than 3 inches squared. Do you have something like that in here?”

  “There should be a couple of late model Earth fighters with micro power supplies that might work for you. The early StarFury model, the one they sent with the colony ships, used a small independent power source on its weapon systems. The designers hoped that if the craft was damaged that it could still defend itself. Did you bring your tool kit? I believe that the power coupling is located inside the cockpit under the pilot seats. You will have to remove quite a bit to get to it. I can loan you the tools, at a small fee, if you need them.”

  “Thanks Sam, that's a big help. I brought my small kit, if I need something I will borrow yours. How did you get a StarFury? I thought they were all scrapped years ago.”

  Chuckling, the old man said “ Lieutenant, you know I have my ways. Maybe I found a ghost ship?”

  “Ghost ship? Do you mean one of the lost colony ships? I thought they were just scary stories that spacers told each other.” Looking at him he seemed different, more formal.

  Straightening, almost at attention, the old man looked me in the eye. “No, they exist or at least they did. Quite a few of the members of my old unit, the 186th Pilot Corp, faded into the void. Mechanical trouble, sabotage, or even mutiny caused some of the losses. Some ships just 'took a wrong turn' and ended up in bad regions of space. Those were both wonderful and frightening days Lieutenant.” At my look of surprise, he continued. “So you thought it was all a big story, my being a pilot did you? You and many others. Yes, I really did pilot a colony ship. One of the last ones.” Pulling over a chair he sat down. “We didn't have cryo that worked worth a damn in those days. 'Generational' was the buzzword that they used. Put young people on-board and they might live to see the new world. At least their kids would. As you might know, Earth today is a restricted world. The government there allows no landings. I really would love to see it one more time.”

  “That would make you over 100 years old? How is that possible?” I also dragged a chair over and had sat down next to him.

  “Some of it was time dilation. You really don't see that with your newer ships. The rest was both the drugs they gave us and genetic engineering.” Sam looked a little sad to me.

  “I thought genetic engineering was illegal on Earth?” I asked

  Sam chuckled, “It wasn't for Earth Gov. The laws of the people weren't for those that made them. Kind of like the government now.” At my grimace he laughed. “I am aware of the difficulties that you ran into last year. I know who you are Athena. No secrets from an old man like me. So, yes I am a genie to use the term at the time. Designed for lower gravity and higher stresses. Age extension was possible but they weren't sure at the time. I began my training at age 5. Finished pilot training at 10 years of age. When I was 12, I shipped out as the co-pilot for the colony ship Precious Jewel. We were one of the last ships to be sent. Notice I said sent. We had 12,000 souls on board. Only 10% were voluntary. The rest were criminals or undesirables that the government got rid of. The first 6 months of the voyage we spaced over 1,000 people.”

  Horrified I gasped! “A thousand people! You killed that many?” The number just staggered me.

  His voice subdued Sam replied “No Athena, I said that first 6 months we spaced a thousand. By the end of the voyage we had spaced over half. Not all had died by our hands. Many were in elderly or in poor health to begin with. Earth Gov didn't care as long as they died somewhere else! Colonization was for the young if we were to survive the trip. Of the remaining 12 thousand, only their families finished the trip. The parents were either too old or too worn out to survive the landing and colony construction. Elderly citizens were left in orbit to die. It's one of the dirty-little-secrets of the colonization years.” He bowed his head in shame.

  Wow, that was never in any book I had ever seen. I wonder if Wilson had seen that. Like magic I heard him mutter in my head.

  “Athena, what he is saying is true. Current government data banks have that information listed under Senate seal.”

  Sam glanced at me and finished his story. “When the Precious Jewel was broken up for scrap and materials, I helped to build the colony dirt-side. It was the Botany Bay colony in sector 7, in case you wondered. The colonists really were not happy with me there since I represented Earth Gov. I shipped out on the first visiting freighter to our world. Earning a living as a pilot/mechanic I did OK. Along the way I happened upon a few colony worlds that had scrap or ships they couldn't use. I made my contacts, brokered a few deals, and opened my business. To finally answer your question. Those fighters came from sector 11, a small colony that had failed. The colony ship Stan Lee had crashed and the survivors never scrapped the ship. I bought it for cheap from the sector government years ago. History lesson over, kid. You have work to do. Follow the red path all the way to the back, then take the first right. Those ships should be in the middle of the open space. You know the drill, take a locator beacon, call me if there is trouble.” Sam hopped up and went into his office.

  I was just stunned at the horror of colonization. Had my own grandparents gone through an experience like that? Yes, we had learned about it in school, but not that horror! Shaking my head I gathered my tools and walked into the warehouse, grabbing a beacon from a bin by the door.

  Chapter 4

  Did I mention that this was a huge warehouse? When Sam says the back, he means it. The path ended in a very small circular area. In the middle covered with structural braces and what looked like a Stuka II tail fin, were two Earth fighters. Wow, original Earth tech. They were the original models not the upgraded colony ones. My fingers just itched with anticipation. Shifting the junk off the fighters took a little muscle, leverage, and time. Thirty minutes later I could access the ships. Except for the wear of time they both looked pristine. I got the cockpit open on the first one. Removing the seat was pretty easy, it was designed for easy repair. Once I got the power supply access port open I found a small power unit. It was about the perfect size for my project. Two hours later I had the two units I wanted along with all the dials and gauges from the cockpit. They might come in handy someday. Checking out the weapons systems on the fighters I thought about taking them too, but where would I put them? I did, however, download the flight logs. Original performance data might be important. Using my signal beacon I called Sam for parts pick up. While I waited for the transport drone I looked around . So much history all in one place. Sam was taking his time picking me up. He knows me. I found some servo motors I could use and a small collection of wire runs in the piles.

  After leaving Sam's, with a promise to return soon, I had just enough time to get back to the ship. I had to ready for my date, “giggle”. The OOD gave me a little trouble for the large box of parts that had been delivered. It had been personal, not ships stores so he was confused. The OOD, Ensign Magee pointed at my box, which was blocking the main door, floating on counter-grav units. My little machine shop was not well known yet. I got quite a few looks walking back to my cabin with a large box floating behind me. Ever get a box stuck in a door? Once I got free I stowed what I could leaving the rest sitting on the bed. Inside was a hard copy note from Sam.

  Athena, keep the counter-grav units you never know when those might come in handy. It was nice telling you that story. Very few have listened to the whole thing. Keep your eye out for scrap I might like, see you next time.

  He had signed it Sam0256. I guess he really was a genie. I made a mental note to have Wilson research his story some for me.

  I was so excited. I had not been on a date in over 16 years! I showered and beautified. Long time for that too. Putting on makeup was almost a lost art form for me. My hair was not 'perfect' but it would do. I slipped into my little black dress and found my small clutch. As I exited my quarters those traveling the hall froze. I just loo
ked that good! I actually had to show my I.D. Card to several ship officers to prove that I belonged here. They didn't know me and had never noticed me before. Go figure! I was still laughing when I got to the boarding tube. The OOD was the same ensign as before. He just stood there with his mouth hanging open as I showed my I.D. I enjoyed strutting off the ship and onto the station.

  My date was waiting for me at the station boarding bay. Wearing dress blues and holding a small bouquet of flowers, Lieutenant Dar looked happy to see me.

  “I was hoping you would still show up. Nice dress. I got these for you.” She gave me the flowers.

  “Miss out on the first date in over 15 years, are you crazy? I love the flowers. Thank you. I like your uniform also. You will have to explain the fruit salad to me. I'm still unfamiliar with our navy’s decorations, especially the ones for marines.” Taking the flowers I lightly kissed her cheek.

  Uniform regs prohibited any other public displays of affection. Dar escorted me through the main doors and into the station.

  “I thought we might go to The Roadhouse steakhouse up on level two. They have really good food.” She was smiling and nodding to the station staff as we walked. We made quite a pair and many stopped to stare.

  “Wow, the Roadhouse? Classy. Don't they rotate the restaurant with the station so that viewers get a panoramic view?” I was laughing inside at her antics.

  Glancing at me she nearly collided with a station porter who had stopped in the middle of the aisle. “Yes........It rotates..I think, ooof.” She stumbled and nearly fell missing the porter and hitting the wall.

  “I hope that you can walk better than that on a mission.”

  She laughed and gave me a little push.“New feet, just breaking them in. The shoes are new too.”

  “They are nice shoes too, government issue?” She gave me a funny look and a nod. “Niiiice. They make the best, very fashionable.” At that, we both broke into laughter.

  This was fun! It has been way too long since I had any girl time.

  We arrived at the restaurant and had to wait, even though we had a reservation. It was a small establishment and we were just a bit early. The lobby was very comfortable. Dar had just started to say something when a loud murmuring broke out on the other side of the room. Vid screens were set up running the interstellar news. Several other patrons were clustered around the screens. I pulled up the news on my link, protests had broken out on several worlds. Students had begun to demonstrate against corruption and unfair laws. At the capital, the protesters had occupied a few government buildings and had demanded reforms. The protest had been put down, hard. Special operation units of the ESS had stormed the buildings using stunners and knock out gas. Resisters were beaten rather badly. All were arrested and tried with capital crimes. The pictures the newsies were showing were all rather graphic. I switched them off my link, no reason to ruin our dinner. I noticed the maître d' waving at us, our table was ready.

  The inside of the Roadhouse was simply breathtaking. The room was circular with tables spiraling out to the center of the room. A bar area occupied the middle of the room. The kitchen must have been below with wait staff bringing the food on lifts. Our table, while not the closest to the window, was right in front of it. Everything was perfect. The view from the top of the station was just awesome. I was watching the lifts when I felt a soft tap on my arm. Turning I noticed my date smirking at me.

  Oops. I smiled and said “ sorry about that I had an engineer moment. The lift system looked kind of cool and I got mesmerized watching it.”

  “I guess I should expect it, I asked out a techie.” She laughed at that. “My platoon will give me so much trouble for dating an engineer. At least when I break things you can fix them.”

  It was my turn to laugh at that. “As clumsy as you seem to be, you are going to keep me real busy. I see it now.”

  Our waiter brought us a pair of leather bound menus. This place was known for it’s steaks, but they did a nice grilled vegetable entrée with tofu steaks. I placed my order surprising the marine.

  “You don’t have to eat light for your girlish figure, I like you just the way you are.” She ordered a sirloin steak with pomme frites. “You can order a steak too, if you like.”

  Laughing I shook my head. “I’m a vegetarian, sorry. I spent so long on Firefly station that I got used to eating only vegetables.”

  Her smile dropped, she looked sorry. “You could have said something, is my ordering a steak OK?”

  “No, you are fine. I’m not a vegan or any kind of an animal activist. I just only eat a plant based diet. It’s not a big deal really.” I lightly patted her arm. “Enjoy your steak, you deserve a treat too. I actually enjoy tofu. Having it grilled is good, not something that we can do on board ship easily.”

  Her frown turned upside down and I had a fun little shiver down my back. Our waiter was gone and we made small talk. She told me all about what she does in the marines. I had no idea the amount of sheer work that those men and women do on our ship. Everything from guarding the captain to boarding enemy ships. As engineers, we pretty much don't leave engineering unless we have to fix something. The conversation had turned to me and I was starting to tell about my building the station when my clutch started beeping at me.

  “Oh, crap” said my date. She reached into her pocket pulling out her locator beacon. Mine was in my bag and the source of the noise.

  “Why is this thing,” that was all I got out. At that point Wilson was echoing in my head. “Two ships just entered the system, they are all shot up, and screaming for help. It's an emergency recall of all personnel.”

  Cocking my head I relayed what Wilson had told me.” Dar gave me a funny look.

  “Athena? How is it that you know what is happening?”

  Looking at the floor I muttered at her. “I'll tell you. Just not here.”

  We grabbed our waiter and told him of the recall. We told him to give the food to someone hungry, as we hurried past him.” Dar pulled out a communicator and gave our location and ETA to the ship.

  Ship’s crew were running in from all across the station. Station personnel tried to get out of our way as Dar and I hustled to the ship. Not everyday that you see two women, dressed to the nines, jogging down the hallways. We made it to the ship just seconds before they closed the doors. The captain of the ship was in a hurry. We quickly said our goodbyes and went to our separate quarters to change into uniform.

  “Damn it Wilson, I didn't even get a chance to kiss the girl!” For once he was silent.

  Chapter 5

  Due to the emergency, I rushed to engineering as fast as I could. Would you believe that the assholes were sitting around eating pastries and laughing? I had a shocked look on my face as I entered the room.

  “Lieutenant Lee, have a seat. Doughnut?” Commander Arthur tried to hand me a pastry. “We are organizing repair crews to help with the upcoming boarding. You have been selected to lead team one. Ensign Porter and the rest of your crew are in crew bay one getting loaded up. Have fun!”

  Porter? Porter was the worst engineer ever. What are they trying to do, get me killed? The officers (all men) had continued with their conversation and were all chuckling about something. I was beginning to see how it was.Time to prove them wrong. I turned away and left engineering. Crew bay one was filled with small groups of officers and crew from most departments. Seeing the XO, I reported to him.

  “Lieutenant, assume command of your engineer group. You will be group one. I'm sending you in with the initial rescue team. Saving lives is the order of the day. Do what you have to do. Understand?” At that he turned back to another group.

  I found Ensign Porter and six crewmen sitting on pallets at the back of the room. No equipment or personal protection gear in sight. Seeing me coming, one of the crewman called for attention.

  “Ensign Porter is your team ready to go?” I inquired. He just stared at me. “I don't see any equipment, did you think that this was a drill of som
e kind? No? THEN GET OFF YOUR ASS! FIND OUR EQUIPMENT AND GEAR AND GET BACK HERE!” The little idiot jumped to his feet, nearly falling, and ran off. I sent half the crewmen after him as help. All around us heads turned in our direction.

  Lowering my voice, I asked the remaining crew “does anyone here have experience with something like this?” The three crewman just shook their head no. “All righty then. Here's the plan. When Ensign Porter and the rest of the crew get back, suit up. According to the XO, we go in with the first group. He wants us to focus on saving lives first. We will concentrate on life support and power. Use common sense, unless you hear different from me. “

  Ensign Porter returned carrying his personal gear. The crewman were loaded down like pack mules trying to drag a repair cart.