Fool's Gold (The Wandering Engineer)

by Hechtl, Chris

  "All right, the pop guns I'm not thrilled about. Two working turrets? The pathetic spinal mount rail gun? She's got no offensive missiles, only unguided rocket pods someone strapped to her flanks," he growled shaking his head.

  "Well, the rocket pods are easy to take care of. I already have my munitions plant working on it. Chief Brower sent me the plans he drew up an hour ago," Firefly reported. Irons nodded. "What about the rail gun?" he asked.

  "We're not sure. The commander has a team working on it now. It's a brute for its size and age, and her superconductors have a lot of magnetic leakage. That may be why they went with only six turrets and the four mini guns. Most of the weapons are on the ventral side, as far from that pop gun as they could get them," Firefly reported.

  Irons nodded. "So her weakest side is her keel?" Irons asked.

  "Yes, she's got a pair of defensive rail gun turrets on her flanks that can articulate down, but they can't quite close the gap." The AI demonstrated on the holo in front of the Admiral. Irons grunted.

  "Electronics wise, they are in better shape. The helm has some issues, but sensors and communications have been cleared. They are focusing on drive issues now of course," Firefly continued. Irons nodded. He looked over to the main plot. They could see small flashes as work crews patched the ship’s hull. Every crew member had a skin suit and knew how to use it. He'd been firm about that. Now he was glad they had taken the time to pick a salvage crew with space experience.

  "Admiral, that ship doesn't have much armor. Six centimeters of sloping composite. That's nearly naked," Sprite reported.

  Irons sighed shaking his head. "I know. But we can't do anything about that. You know the drill, everything is a trade off," he shrugged.

  "Well, we've got her software sorted out. Logan reports the breaches around the airlock have been patched. I think we can dock with her now. It will make repairs go faster," Firefly reported, but didn't sound eager at the thought.

  Irons studied the avatar then nodded. "All right, ask Logan to let me know when he is ready."

  "Already done. He's waiting for this EVA shift to finish and come in. Then he said he will be ready. Um, about thirty minutes he said," Sprite replied. Irons nodded.

  "I'm glad I've got subordinates that have initiative. Make it so," Irons smiled.

  "Um, manual docking?" Firefly asked, sounding nervous.

  Irons shook his head. "No, you handle it. Tell Sun-Yat we'll dock with them, not the other way around." The AI nodded.

  "Very well, setting course now," Firefly fed the course to the helm.

  "Janice, Firefly is going to dock with Sun-Yat in..." Irons looked at the clock. "Twenty nine minutes. Just keep off the controls while he does." Janice looked up then nodded slowly.

  "If you want the AI can feed you the docking maneuver and let you run the sim, give it a try," he suggested. She cocked her head then shrugged.

  "I'm game. It beats sitting here staring at the bulkhead while someone else drives.” Irons chuckled and nodded to the avatar.

  "Docking maneuver complete," Janice reported twenty minutes later. Irons nodded. Firefly had reluctantly allowed Janice to do the maneuver. The young woman had sweated through the entire approach, but had made a flawless docking. Now she sounded both relieved and smug. Irons chuckled.

  "Call your relief then get some food Janice. Good work," he nodded to her.

  She sat back with a soft groan. She wiggled a little and then groaned. "Thanks Firefly. Thank you Admiral. As soon as this massage is over, I'll take you up on it," Janice sighed in content.

  The sensor tech nearby chuckled. "You have to admit, building heaters and massage motors into the couches is a nice touch," he said. Irons nodded.

  "Airlock pressure equalized. We've got good seal Admiral," Firefly reported.

  "Crack the lock and let’s get busy," he instructed.

  "I've got the crates the commander requested already in the docking corridor. Munitions to follow," the AI reported. Irons studied the report.

  "Admiral, thanks for docking, getting parts in sips from Sergio is nice, but we need a concentrated effort here," Logan's voice came from behind him. Irons turned then sat up.

  "Permission to come aboard?" Logan asked with a weary smile.

  "Since you're already here, granted." Irons got up and nodded to the exec's chair.

  "She's a no frills ship Admiral, but I think I can handle her," Logan nodded. Irons chuckled.

  "All right, transfer approved. Log it Firefly." He looked over to the AI. The AI nodded. "All right, now, how long do you need before we can move on?" Irons asked.

  Logan grimaced then ran his hand through sweat soaked hair. "At least two more shifts. That should get the basics covered. I've got a crew out now patching her fuel tanks. Shelby has a crew out running the parts now," Logan waved.

  "I'd say at least seven hours, maybe eight. We just ignited her fusion reactor. It's purring like a kitten, no problems there. You were right, swapping in the one we built on the way out was a hell of a lot easier than using the death trap they had. Damn magnetic couplers were built around the stone age," he smiled.

  Irons nodded. "Good to hear that. At least something is working out," he nodded.

  "Life support is pretty shot up. We're talking a complete rebuild in some of the compartments. I've got techs and bots working on it now," Logan pointed to the holo. "Most were in the crew quarters. I've got a few people standing down due to fatigue. They're in hammocks in cargo bay one," he pointed.

  "Right, so most of this gear is life support?" Irons asked.

  "That and some new electronics. I checked her modules. They use standard universal ports dating to about twenty years prior to the war. Firefly's workshops adapted electronics to match it."

  Irons nodded to the AI. "It looks like she was refitted before the war and we lucked out there. ETA on parts?" Irons asked.

  "Electronics, about another hour barring any problems. I'd say another two, maybe three to get them all sorted and plugged in," the AI reported. "Another twenty to thirty minutes getting them programmed from their firmware and updates."

  Irons nodded. "All right, anything I can do to lend a hand?" Irons asked, turning back to Logan.

  Logan smiled. "All hands are welcome Admiral." Irons nodded.

  "One condition, you get some rest. At least four hours," Irons held up a finger. Logan stiffened, then sighed wearily.

  "All right, an orders an order. I'll eat then get some sack time." He got up with a groan.

  "Get going commander. I'll check in later to compare notes," Irons waved him off. "Janice, you've got the bridge," Irons smiled as she stepped back onto the bridge holding a power bar. She froze. Irons turned to follow Logan out.

  "Who me?" Janice squeaked. Irons chuckled as he paused in the hatch doorway and caught her surprised expression. It was priceless.

  "You are the only officer left on the watch bill, your it. Enjoy," he waved. "Let Harris know what is going on. I'll try to be back before his shift starts," he ordered.

  "Right," Janice walked warily over to the command chair then sat on the edge.

  "It won’t bite," Firefly teased.

  "Sure it won’t," she muttered. She wiggled her butt for a moment then pursed her lips. “It'd better not,” she said, glaring at the AI. Several techs chuckled.

  "She's a mess Admiral but we can work with her." Irons smiled as Sprite and Proteus gave him their reports.

  "It's a pain not to be able to access through a wireless node, I've sent a tech to set a couple up, at least one on the bridge. Would you believe this crate doesn't have implant access?" Sprite sounded miffed. Irons chuckled. A tech looked over to him.

  "Internal conversation. Get back to work." He made a shooing motion then turned as they nodded amused.

  "Oh it's got an access here and there for civilian grade implants, but nothing military grade," Sprite sniffed. "And no AI, and no AI hardware." She shook her head.

  "I take it that is going to be re
ctified?" he asked dryly. Logan's survey crew had finished their work hours ago. Logan had concentrated on hull and architectural repairs for the first shift then when they had it under control he'd shifted to the power plant and drive. He'd left the electronics for later. Which brought them to where they were now, sorting that out.

  "Not now. I don't think we have the time. I've set up some seed AI to help the crew, but we need to build the hardware core before we could go that route," the AI shrugged.

  "Sensors, communications and power are online. Hull is patched. Replacement struts look good, she's sound structurally at least. There were several EPS leaks, they are locked down now. Weapons are under repair. We're swapping two of the broken laser gun defense turrets for point defense laser clusters Firefly has in storage. That will upgrade the firepower and defense," Firefly reported.

  "Dan checked in, he's overhauling the ECM and defenses. Chaff packs and flares are about it for this thing. He's sent over a couple toys for them to play with though. They'll have to strap them to the hull and use explosive bolts to kick them off the hull to use them though," Sprite reported.

  Irons nodded. "What about the drive?" he asked.

  "Good news and bad news. We've got Firefly's second drive almost finished, Shelby has it in pieces but they are putting it back together now. She says they will have it back together by the end of this shift and ready to work up again. Sun-Yat's drive is actually in better shape than we'd planned on. She took a couple micro meteors up the tail pipe, but we've replaced the broken emitters and split lines," Proteus reported.

  "There was a coolant leak that froze her sensors along the keel, so a crew is working on that now. They should get it done soon," Firefly finished.

  "And life support?" Irons asked.

  "That's a bit problematical. She's a colander Admiral, she's got leaks everywhere. SOP is to keep everyone in skin suits till she's certified fit. The starboard side of deck one is the worst. I think it will be some time before it can be safely occupied," Proteus reported.

  "Fuel, wedge, and shields?" Irons asked.

  "Fuel tank has been patched and is filling from our reserve tanks now. Shields are the most critical system left, they took an awful beating. Most of her starboard flank is bare. I've got a crew working on it. I sent the specs to Anvil, they are going to transship pods and parts to the Oort colony for pick up."

  Irons nodded as Logan entered. He looked a bit grizzled, not having shaved. He did look a bit better though. He smiled as he went over to the food replicator and tapped in a request.

  "I see the food replicator works." Irons nodded. Logan saluted him with his cup.

  "One of the first things we fixed. You know the drill Admiral, the navy lives on its coffee," Logan smiled taking a sip. Irons chuckled.

  "Are you ready to go to the Oort colony?" Irons asked as Logan sat down in the couch next to him. The corvette's bridge was small and cramped, with only the minimum seats. Captain, helm, and tactical. Irons and Proteus had repaired all the stations. Soot still stained things here and there, but all the displays and controls were now fully functional.

  "Yes Admiral, they are set to top off our life support and fuel once we get there." Logan sat back with a grimace. "Funeral at oh eight hundred?" he asked. Irons reluctantly nodded.

  "We leave at oh nine hundred. Shelby should be done by then," he smiled.

  "She'd better be. I taught her," Logan smiled. Irons chuckled.

  "Think you can handle her?" Irons indicated the ship.

  "Oh, we'll be fine. Bit tight but fine." He tapped his foot on the deck. "Thanks for restoring gravity and lighting." Irons chuckled. Logan looked around. “And the bridge,” he smiled.

  "I've had a lot of practice," Irons said as he waved dismissively. “We've got your electronics mostly sorted out, we're waiting on the repairs to your drive and drive sensors. Firefly is running sims to balance your shield load until you can pick up more nodes."

  He looked over to the ships plot.

  "Ah. Probably won’t have much more than particle shielding until we get them fixed," Logan replied. They had hoped for more.

  "That is unfortunately correct commander. I've devised several algorithms to cover your starboard flank. It is the weakest with little protection. I suggest you keep the port side to the primary or any other major source of radiation," Firefly projected the ship's schematic then rotated it and highlighted the starboard flank in red.

  "Right. RCS is okay? Inertials?" Irons asked. The last thing they needed was another hiccup.

  "RCS checks out, despite that hiccup earlier. There was a great deal of heat stress damage on the port side and some frozen valves on the starboard. They have been repaired. Inertials need a bit more work, but we've got minimum coverage on both decks," Logan replied, checking his display. "I wish this had an ops station, or a defense station. Pairing up the duties is a pain," he frowned.

  "Would an AI make things simpler?" Firefly asked syrupy sweet. Logan glared then shrugged sheepishly and laughed.

  "Right. I'll put it on my Christmas wish. Along with the other things." He waved his cup. "Not bad though, you've got to admit. I thought she would need a month or two of work."

  Irons nodded. "In my, I mean, our time, maybe a couple days in a good dry dock. But that's with a complete rebuild. We have to make do with what we got. For now," he shrugged.

  “Admiral, we're getting a signal from Warthog.” the com tech said with a smile. So far things were going well. They were on their way to the jump point now. About six hours out he thought as he checked the display.

  Irons felt a brief glow of pride as he glanced around and then turned his attention to the tech. He knew his people were working miracles and growing up quickly. But sometimes that's what it takes to survive a crisis.

  They were on course for the the derelict, without any hiccups in the drive so far. In fact The rebuild of engine two had sped them up by something like nineteen percent. Which had put them just in range of this rendezvous.

  Shelby looked up in surprise. “Warthog?” she shook her head. “You mean they got that old rust bucket flying again?”

  “Warthog, militia gunship. Sub light craft closer to a frigate than a gunship Admiral. The Vesta colony pulled her weapons and used her as an inner system freighter until her reactor maintenance became too difficult, then shut her down in orbit of the colony,” Sprite said into his ear.

  “That was what the parts were for I bet!” Shelby grinned. “They must have gotten her flying again with the parts dad shipped to them a couple of weeks ago.”

  “And the weapons?” Firefly asked.

  “Hopefully on board,” Shelby nodded to the comm. tech.

  “Warthog is asking permission to dock. She needs supplies Admiral.” She looked over her shoulder to the Admiral. “She's got a crew but they’re not augmented and they don't have any munitions at all,” she grimaced.

  “Permission granted. Shelby...”

  “Call the Bosun and get him moving munitions and supplies and get an engineering team together to go over that ship with a fine tooth comb. Alert the doctor. Tell Warthog to have their first four augment volunteers inside her lock and ready to go,” he said nodding. “Preferably bridge and engineering personnel if at all possible.”

  “On it.” She was looking up, focusing on her implants. “Done. And done,” she nodded after a moment.

  “Call doctor Standish. I want a full medical eval of each crew member and any other volunteers for the Navy,” he nodded again.

  “Captain Waters is asking to speak to you Admiral,” the com tech said looking up. Irons nodded.

  “Right.” He opened a channel. “Captain Waters this is Admiral Irons. I am glad you could make it.”

  There was a series of static and pops then a gravelly voice answered. “Glad we could too. Our systems need a lot of work Admiral,” he said sounding eager but nervous.

  “We're on it Captain, the exec has engineering teams and supplies standing by. If you
could ask your engineer to shoot us a list of what you need we will get the replicators working right away.”

  “Thank the spirits of space,” the Captain said after a moment. “Warthog will dock in twenty minutes. Warthog out.”

  “All right people, you heard the man, twenty minutes. Let's move it!” Shelby clapped her hands together. “I finally feel like we're not just going to win, we're going to kick butt doing it,” she grinned as she got to her feet.

  Janice chuckled. “Well, it will be good to get some of our own back. I didn't like what they did to Carib or to the colony,” she nodded. “I can help.” She turned to Irons. “With your permission of course.”

  He nodded. “Make it so.”

  “Admiral, we've received word, Maya has arrived at the colony and is docked with Sun-Yat,” Patty, the tech said looking up from her board. Sun-Yat had arrived at the Horsehead colony a dozen hours ago and was ready to go.

  Petty officer Jesse looked up from her station and nodded. “Corvette?” she asked. She had just gotten out of rehab and was still getting used to her implants. She must have missed the news about the ship.

  “Don't set your hopes up so high Petty Officer. Try a wannabe militia gunship. Old sub light tender converted during the last days of the war,” Sprite reported. “They need a lot of repairs though, Logan sent a log of things they are working on and requested that we upgrade our ETA.”

  “Think he's getting nervous minding the store all on his own?” Firefly asked. “We are about six and a half hours out from the jump point.”

  “I doubt it. Though that could be a part of it. We're moving at our best speed with Warthog attached though right?” Irons asked.

  In the past three shifts they had made great strides in ironing out the little ships laundry list of problems. But for every repair it seemed there were ten more to take their place on the list. His crew were getting tired and cranky. Mistakes were beginning to crop up.

  “Admiral, I've got word from Doctor Standish, He's said to tell you the volunteers have all been augmented and are recovering. He's not sure they will be fit for duty before we undock however,” Firefly cautioned.