Ghost Station (The Wandering Engineer)

by Hechtl, Chris

  The captain looked uncertainly at the two women. “Have any more come forward?” he finally asked.

  His wife nodded but her face was sad. “I've had a few reports. Unfortunately people have shown their bias without thinking which has poisoned the effort,” Cora sighed.

  “We need to educate our own people more,” Numiria said firmly. “So this doesn't happen again. Damn it we're a community. All of us. Elves are a part of that community too and deserve to be... to be heard. To stand up for themselves and to follow their dreams,” her tone was savage with emotion. Cora's eyes widened in surprise at such vehemence from the normally quiet doctor. The only time she had ever heard the doctor like that was when she was standing up for her patients. She had really been touched by the elven situation.

  “I'll look into it,” the captain said gruffly as he looked away.

  “I understand a few elves have talked to O'Mallory about becoming engineers. She's taken them all on and put out the word for anymore to join up. They can't shift big equipment, but they can get into places we can't... and you don't need to be big to program or diagnose something.”

  “What about working the console?” The captain asked, quirking an eyebrow skeptically.

  “See? That's the very ignorance we need to overcome. FYI, they can work a console. And a keyboard. Or a tablet. It's hard for them, but they can. But if we can make equipment interfaces scaled to them it's even easier for them.”

  “Huh,” Cora said, looking thoughtful.

  “I heard one of them wants to become a helmsman,” Numiria said, looking at the captain.

  The captain blinked in surprise. He looked at his wife uncertainly.

  “It doesn't take a big person to fly the ship captain. Just the right skills. I heard another is into ops. That same helmsman kid wanted to be a pilot for a while. I wonder what he could do with a ship?” she asked.

  “Well, we have the time to find out don't we?” Cora said with a firm nod. The captain hid a wince. Something told him his entire world was getting turned upside down again. He wasn't sure how he could blame the admiral for this one, but he... no, they were right. The elves were a part of the community. If they wanted to participate more, they'd find a way to integrate them. Maybe the admiral's suggestion of sims could work here? He thought to himself. He firmly decided to look into it.

  Irons ran into Savo later that afternoon. He didn't mean to, he was checking out the new dojo that O'Mallory had put in while he had been busy fixing the recyclers with Lobo. From the look of things someone with experience had had a hand in its design. It had an Asian feel with the rice paper dividers but had mats on the floor decorated in a ring and the ship's crest. The walls had old posters of martial arts masters. Some were actors though. Movie posters that had been lovingly kept.

  Savo was there in a Gi and not happy about the admiral's intrusion. He dismissed his class and scowled at Irons as he came in wearing his own crisp snow white Gi.

  “What are you doing here?” The chimp demanded.

  “I'm here for a bout. I thought I'd see who the best on the ship is,” the admiral replied looking around. Savo had a black belt on and moved like he was a natural. Interesting.

  “That would be me,” Savo said, eying him with scant favor.

  “You?”

  “I'm the Kiev martial arts master.” Savo replied. He was still not amused by the admiral's intrusion but his eyes gleamed when Irons asked for a practice bout.

  “Okay... think you are up for a bout? I can come back if you're too tired after the class,” Irons said.

  “No, the opportunity to work out our difficulties is too rich to pass up. You're on baldy. I'll make sure a mop's handy to clean you up off the floor,” Savo said, stretching and bouncing on his toes as he rolled his shoulders and neck.

  “Oh you think so huh?” Irons asked, tossing a pair of towels near. He watched the chimp bounce up and down and roll his neck, shaking his fists.

  “I know so,” Savo said. “Bring it.”

  “Just remember, you asked for it,” Irons said, coming onto the mat and bowing.

  Later Savo nursed some nasty bruises, amused and a little put out that the admiral's bruises faded in seconds. They hashed out the misunderstanding after Sprite replayed the entire incident. Savo commented about making himself a drunken ass. “Well, that makes two of us then. Though you were thoroughly drunk at the time. I wasn't so I don't have that excuse,” the admiral replied.

  “I remember you were nursing a beer,” Savo commented.

  “True.”

  “Let bygones be bygones?” Savo asked holding out a hand. Irons took it. The chimp tried a squeeze play but he was gripping Iron's artificial hand.

  “Deal,” Irons said, not squeezing.

  “Shit man, what are you made out of Iron like your name?” The chimp asked, still trying to squeeze.

  “Oh that hand? Well...” Irons grinned and signaled a demo morph. The chimp yelped and jumped back in surprise as the hand morphed. His brown eyes were wide in fright. He shrieked a curse. The admiral grinned and held up the hand as it returned to normal. “See? All better.”

  “What the hell??”

  “I said I'm from another time remember?” Irons asked. Pulling one over on the chimp had made him feel almost as good as the bout. Hell, maybe better.

  “Damn man, too much,” Savo said, shaking his head.

  “Sorry,” Irons said with another smile.

  The chimp gave him a disgusted look. “No you're not so stop snickering or I'll pound you again.”

  “You can try,” Irons said with a feral smile. “I've been around the mat for longer than you've been alive,” he said.

  “You're still not as strong as...” The chimp's eyes widened as the smile on Irons grew. “Okay... maybe you are. Shit.”

  “Hey, it's who I am,” Irons said with a shrug. “We done here?” He meant the pissing match.

  “Yeah,” Savo said, sounding a little pouty. He looked away.

  Irons slapped his shoulder. “Come on then, I'll buy you a beer. Then I'll beat you again at darts.”

  “You're on. All but the last bit. My hand eye coordination sucks,” the chimp said.

  “Surrre it does,” Irons said with a laugh as they headed out of the dojo. The chimp snagged a pair of white towels that had seen better days and tossed the admiral one. It slapped him in the face. Irons laughed as he caught it before it fell to the deck.

  The chimp mopped at his face and then wrapped the towel over his shoulders. “Come on then. Let's go change and get snookered.”

  “Deal,” Irons said with another smile.

  Over beers Savo told the admiral that he was an MP. “Shore patrol,” Irons agreed with a nod. He'd already known that since he'd seen Savo in the black uniform the other night.

  “Yeah well, wasn't always that way. I was a cargo ape on my last ship. Sorta didn't care for the job, but it was a job. Better than grubbing in the dirt you know?” Savo said with a shrug. He took a swig as Irons nodded.

  The chimp set the stein down and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Ah,” he said. Irons smiled. “Yeah well, I got into a couple of nasty bar fights. I loved pounding grounders. Wiped the floor with them. Got carried away though, I gave our own security a run for its money too. Gave a few beautiful shiners,” he grinned at that. Irons snorted.

  “I can imagine,” he said.

  “Security chief at the time, Mitt told me I fought so well he was recruiting. I thought he was joking. Turned out he wasn't.” The chimp took a swig of beer and then wiped his mouth again.

  Irons chuckled at that. He shook his head. “If you can't beat em, join em.”

  “Yup!” The ape slapped the admiral on the shoulder hard enough to make him wince.

  “So... other ship?”

  “Not from the Kiev,” the chimp said setting his stein down after taking a pull. “Sucks that our ship broke like that. She deserved better.”

  “What happened? I heard a s
hip broke down and the captain pulled the crew off.”

  Savo scowled bleakly. “Them that survived. Reactor shit the bed. Happens a lot now. No one like you around to fix that sorta thing. Say, you gonna go around and do that with all the ships?” he asked. His voice was starting to slur.

  “It's a thought,” Irons said with a small smile. Sprite was on his HUD. She looked horrified. She kept shaking her head and mouthing the word no over and over. Irons feral grin intensified. “Is the ship still in one piece?”

  “No.” The chimp sighed. “Life support failed right before Kiev showed up to bail us out. Sucked losing half the crew like that. My darling Petunia stuck me in a suit with her. Saved my furry behind. Itched for a week though,” he said sounding a little annoyed. Chimps hated being stuck in clothing. Most Neo’s didn't appreciate being in clothing or in a full suit for long. Even the thought of being unable to scratch had a many coming up with a case of the hives.

  “I can imagine,” Irons said nodding as the chimp took another swig.

  “Anyway,” he said setting the stein down a little hard on the coaster. “When we were pulled off O'Mallory and her boys and girls tore into the ship. Took whatever wasn't nailed down or welded down. Everything and anything. Fire sale! Everything had to go. I didn't give a doodly, saved our asses so they could have the shirt off my back if they wanted it,” he slurred. Irons pushed him upright as he swayed.

  “Didn't do much though. Luckily you came along to bail us out,” the chimp said grinning again. “I ever thank you for that?” he asked.

  “I think you just did,” the admiral replied with a small smile.

  “Right. So, I... um...” he blinked blurrily and reached for the stein handle. It took a few times before he got it. He tried to get a drink but his coordination was off and he ended up wearing more than he drank. He wiped at his face and then snorted. The snort shook his whole body.

  “What happened to the ship?” Irons asked, righting the chimp again. No wonder he was better as shore patrol over a drunk. The chimp couldn't hold his liquor worth a credit.

  “Ship? We're on it right?” The chimp looked around confused. He saluted someone. The other guy gave him the finger. The chimp's fur bristled and he started to get up. “Hang on; I've got to teach someone some mann... man... less... um...”

  “Manners. You can later,” Irons said, pushing him back onto the stool. “The ship? The one you were on before this one?” he prompted.

  “Oh, yeah right, the Bakersfield niner something or other. Forget. Forgot. Doesn't matter. Scrap now. Couldn't stabl... sabi.. stabi...” His brows knit in confused concentration.

  “Stabilize?” Irons suggested helpfully.

  The chimp tried to snap his fingers but failed. He rocked a little teetering. “Yeah. That. No, not good. Ship went down. Go boom. Big boom.”

  “Ouch,” Irons said wincing. So much for that. Well, it had been a long shot anyway.

  “Yeah. Sucked. Big explosion. Pretty though,” the chimp said and started to slip like a rag doll off the stool. Irons caught him as he slumped. He tucked his arm over his shoulder and turned his head away from the foul breath.

  “Come on Savo; let’s go put you to bed.”

  “Bed? Wife... ah shit. I'm drunk ain't I? She's going to kick my fuzzy ass up between my ears again... Petunia! My big beautiful flower of love... be gentle!” he said raising a hand to the sky and then letting it fall.

  Irons sighed as he hauled the chimp out the door. He winced as the chimp began to sing off key in his ear. He checked the map Sprite helpfully put up on his HUD. It was going to be a long damn trek to the ape's quarters.

  When he got to the quarters he paused, not sure what to do if the gorilla was inside. From the heat signature his implants was showing him she was. Great. He pressed the admit key.

  “Coming,” her voice called. The hatch opened. He watched her grunt in annoyance. “What again?”

  “Not much for him to do right now,” the admiral replied propping Savo up.

  “He needs another hobby,” she said as Irons hauled the chimp in over the hatch comer.

  “He's consistent I guess,” Irons said as the chimp snored. Irons hefted him over to the couch the gorilla indicated. He set the chimp down and propped his arm up onto his chest. The chimp grumbled a little and scratched absently.

  Irons straightened; glad his implants took care of any muscle aches and pains. “He can sleep there,” Petunia said with a growl glaring at her partner. “Serves him right,” she said in disgust, towing him with one bare foot.

  “Thanks admiral,” she said turning to him. Irons caught the chimp peaking with one eye opening. The faker. He just didn't want a fight he realized. He hid a snort.

  “No problem. It wasn't much trouble.”

  “Did he take a swing at you?” she asked, suddenly concerned.

  “No, I mean yes but well...” he shrugged.

  She looked at him in confusion. “Should I be jealous?” she asked amused.

  He held up a hand. “No, not like that,” Irons laughed. “He and I had a bout in the dojo. Sort of worked out our differences. He's a good guy. Good fighter,” he said, rubbing his jaw.

  “Should I be jealous or concerned?” the gorilla chuffed.

  “Not for me. I've already recovered. He's going to have a bit of strain here and there and some tender spots for a while,” the admiral replied with a small smile.

  She chuffed in amusement as she turned to her partner. “That's nothing then. Our last bedroom session did more damage than that,” she said smiling a tight lipped smile. Irons hid a laugh with a cough.

  “Um... okay then. I'll ah, just be going. Have a good evening ma'am,” he said walking backwards to the door.

  “Thanks again admiral,” she said, looking his way and then back to her supposedly sleeping mate.

  “Yeah... what an interesting romance that must have been,” Sprite drawled as he made his hasty retreat. Irons chuckled.

  ñChapter 13

  Numiria started a general health and welfare checkup of the entire crew twenty eight days before they were to exit hyper. She used it as a cover to get into the elf compartment with Light Touch to check on things... and to look for any more hidden aliens or people on the ship. “It's a big ship doc. A lot of places to hide,” Ezri cautioned.

  “Then we'll take our time searching it. And we'll get with ops to help if we must. I don't know why they are hiding anyway. It's for their own good,” Numiria said firmly.

  “Yeah well, I'm not too keen about meeting a dentist. No offense,” an orderly said. The doctor had become keen on oral hygiene after reading about implanted replacement teeth and trying it out on a few unsuspecting patients and some of the staff. It had worked out but it had been a painful experience for the patients.

  Working their way through the crew over the next several days allowed Numiria a final practice run before they started on the sleepers. She addressed a lot of medical ailments. Most were minor; a few were major issues that the physical had caught in early or mid level stages of development.

  She worked out general treatment methods and trained her staff. She was encouraged by Light Touch and a Veraxin she had taken on as another advanced student. Light Touch did well as a general practitioner but she was exceptional as a surgeon. The Veraxin Chilly was also good in surgery but even better as an anesthesiologist. He seemed to be able to sense a patient's level of unconsciousness instinctively. With a proper foundation of learning he was shaping into a fine doctor.

  She was starting to realize having more than one doctor on hand was a good thing. Especially since they each brought different views and skills to the team.

  Martha nodded to the admiral as he climbed out of his launch. “Just in time ladies,” he said, smiling and nodding politely to each of them.

  Martha turned back to see Jen coming in behind her at a trot with Fara and their Veraxin compatriot Regua. The elf Tinker Bell was riding Regua's centaur back. She hopped down and gave th
e Veraxin a nod of thanks.

  “What's this about?” Jen asked. They were the newly created fabrication department, something the council had finally approved of only last week. They still needed three or four more people to round out their approved rank structure. Jen had been going over the interviews. A lot of people had applied for the postings, more than a hundred. It had been both gratifying and scary to have that many people interested in their work.

  “Well, I've got a surprise for you,” Irons said, motioning for them to follow him around his shuttle. Martha looked at the others. Jen shrugged.

  “Don't look at me. I don't have a clue,” she said.

  “Come on ladies let's get a move on,” Irons said from behind the shuttle. The larger sentients walked around the shuttle. Tinker Bell took the direct approach under it since she was so short. Elves did have that advantage over the larger sentients.

  They heard her gasp. “Is that what I think it is?” The elf asked.

  “What you think what is?” Martha asked, stopping as she rounded the rear of the craft. She stared at the meter tall object. Jen and the others bumped into her from behind. “Hey watch it!” she said looking over her shoulder reprovingly at them.

  “Then don't stop quick like that dummy,” Jen growled. She looked over Martha's shoulder and was arrested by the sight. “Is that what I think it is?” she asked excitedly.

  “Yup,” Irons said smiling.

  “How did... where did you get the materials?” she asked.

  “Here and there. And well, apparently Blur's audit turned up some bits and pieces of equipment that weren't worth salvaging. I talked him into letting me make this,” Irons said waving.

  “Class one right?” Martha asked as they spread out around the replicator. It was a meter high and about two meters in diameter. Basically an octagon on its eight sided face. The top had a hinged lid. An LCD monitor and keyboard were sticking up on armatures from one of the eight faces. A robotic arm was tucked into one face.