New Dawn (Wandering Engineer)

by Hechtl, Chris

  "That's not good either. Ground my arm, I'm going in," he ordered. Proteus grounded the exterior skin of his arm, protecting his body from a short.

  “Need some help?” An eager young lady said next to him. He smiled. He had been at the repair for an hour, but had run out of cleats and plastic zip ties. “Yeah, now that you mention it. I have the wiring sorted out, just need to get things rewired and better organized.”

  She looked into the trunk. “Wow! It looks so neat and organized!”

  He snorted. He had used color coded zip ties where ever possible. “Only way to do it right.” She nodded. “I replicated a bundle of plastic color coded zip ties; they help to keep things organized. You may want to get some for yourself.” She looked confused.

  "So, how did the Captain find this ship?" he asked the tech as she soldered a low voltage power line.

  "We're from New Dublin," she said but didn't go on for a moment. He nodded to encourage her. "From what the Captain pieced together from the logs, this ship got hit with a mine exiting hyper and limped into the system. At the time the system had been hard hit. They lost communications and life support, as well as half their crew. They died before they could fix the damage." She looked up to his face, then back down to her work. "Captain found the ship while prospecting." She cleared her throat. "Do you know about New Dublin?"

  He cocked his head as Sprite brought up his limited data. "New Dublin...Irish colony, settled in 2338, eight planets, single star, two asteroid belts..."

  She shook her head. "six now."

  "What? six what?" he asked, pausing in confusion.

  "Planets," she answered curtly.

  He sighed. "Okay. So some of the people survived in the belt and space colonies?" he asked.

  She nodded. "But they took in refugees, and a virus hit. Cooked a lot of stuff, and rewrote our DNA. The population is now eighty percent female," she said. He cocked an eyebrow at this. "Most of the leaders are still male; they set up a hard line government. They treat women as slaves," she snarled. She looked up at him hard and challenging.

  He shook his head. "Damn. Stupid," he grumbled. That seemed to mollify her.

  "So the Captain was...out and about and found this ship?" She nodded. "And turned it into a place for women to escape?" She nodded again. He nodded. "What about the outfits?"

  She looked down at her low cut outfit and blushed. "Vanessa the Purser found a warehouse filled with this stuff and... Adult toys." She got that out with another blush; even the tips of her ears were red.

  He chuckled. "I'll bet, and that explains the mad rush to get new outfits." She nodded and got back to work.

  "Heavy worlder?" he asked the blond heavyset guard. She was muscular, squat, and heavy boned. "Huh?" the brunette asked, looked over. "What do you mean?"she challenged.

  He shrugged. "From your body design I would say the three of you are heavy worlders, or at least descendants. The genetic changes are dominant." They gave him a wary look. He sighed. "Some planets had a higher or lower gravity quotient and early terraforming couldn't change that. So, our ancestors changed the colonists to better fit the environment," he explained. The blond warily nods.

  “I'm going to work on a couple more things here in this electrical closet, and then we can check in with Miss Molly to see what else we should work on.” He fed a wire into a jack, and then sighed when it sparked.

  “Voltage regulator is fried Admiral, it is spiking at double the acceptable voltage.” Proteus reported.

  “Great. Okay, it's going to be a few minutes.” He started tracing the power supply lines again.

  "So what happened?" he asked Molly quietly. She looked a lot better now that she had a nap.

  "What happened when? Here? We were..."

  He shook his head. "No the war," he asked softly.

  She sighed, shoulders hunched. "The Xeno's hammered us. Planets began to fall fast. You were there for Nexus 3," she said. She gave him a sidelong look. He grunted.

  Nexus 3 had been a nightmare. He had lost a quarter of his ships to destroy the enemy fleet. But one bomb, just one had managed to get through everything his fleet had to detonate in the atmosphere of the colony. Nanite viruses, disassemblers, bio-weapons... all spread like wildfire. It hadn't been like Tau Ceti, with the rock bombs, or the strontium clad bombs at H'akata...this had been worse, far far worse. But weapons like that on a galactic scale? He turned a bleak look to her. "The Feds retaliated with nova bombs," she said. He nodded, a little surprised at first that she knew about them.

  He had been on the development board overseeing their design, he knew what they were. "The first ones went well, the Xeno colony defenders ignored the missiles and didn't even intercept them when they went to the sun...and the sun consumed the system when it went nova,” she said.

  He nodded. "Quantum black hole. Unstable, powerful, and it rips the sun apart," he explained. She nodded.

  "They tried to negotiate, it didn't work. The Xeno's sent back the team loaded with nano viruses," she shook her head at such stupidity. "They hit colonies with nanite bio-weapons, targeting the planets. We hit back with nova bombs. It was a slaughter. After the first few strikes both sides began to defend in depth, eventually it took suicide units to break through." He gave the bulkhead a bleak look at this admission.

  "Defenses became harder and harder to crack near the core worlds. Eventually the Xeno’s got the bomb too. They took out Centauri, the other home worlds, and Sol with it," she said. He felt the rolling tide of depression and tried to fight it. "They threw everything they had at that, but Admiral Perry junior scrapped together everything that could fly, freighters, warships, everything to strike their home worlds too." He felt nausea ripple. Proteus and Sprite fought it down with nanites and his chemistry implant. "We don't know for sure what happened, no one came back," she said softly. He sighed.

  The Federation was shattered. "We lost a lot, but Admiral Perry gave the survivors a chance to live."

  He nodded. "Vince Perry?" He knew Admiral Perry by reputation only. He had been a hard charger, frontal assault type.

  "No, his son, Perry junior," she said, shaking her head.

  He turned to her confused. "He was what, twenty? How could he have been an Admiral?" he demanded.

  She shook her head. "Attrition," she said quietly. He looked at the bulkhead and shook his head.

  "A few planets survived, but they were devastated. Nanites were seeded in some of the refugees with delayed activation, they hit hard," she explained. He nodded. She looked over to a stained faded photo of a dolphin navigator. "When the Xenos had realized we used cetaceans and others to navigate hyper, they targeted them," she said. He groaned softly. "There aren't any left that I know of. Just a memory now," she finished softly stroking the frame of the photo.

  "Why them?" He looked over to the guard by the door. The fourth pair of guards had gone off shift two hours ago. He sighed. The raven haired hulkress gave him a cool look.

  "The cetaceans and a few alien species were the best at hyper navigation," he explained.

  Molly nodded a little exited. "See they could navigate without a star map," she said.

  He nodded. "No computer could match their flight skills. Explorer ships had them on board, mapping paths between star systems," he said. The ladies nodded.

  "See, when a civilian ship jumps, it downloads the current maps of the path from its destination beforehand. That is why ships jump from one known way point to another. They are called jump points." The guard was scowling. "The path between those two points are heavily mapped and are kept up to date. So a ship doesn't need a cetacean to map them." Her face clears as she understands. "That was why it was so important to guard those points, as well as the perimeter of a system,” He said

  "Also, why a lot of cetaceans and Ssilli were in fleet. The ability to jump in from an unguarded vector was strategically and tactically vital," Molly nods.

  He sat with Molly and pulled up the tablet. She was clearly taking to using t
he tablet now that he had introduced them. “Let’s start with a status report. Okay, for obvious reasons we can't work on the hyperdrive, power plant, and bow sensors. Exterior hull too." She nodded to herself as she spoke.

  "I suggest we focus on the other sensors, as well as any internals we can," he suggested.

  She nodded again, looking over the list, and then whistling. "We can fix all that?" she gulped. "That's a lot of work!" she said looking up in concern.

  He shrugged. "It is a long voyage. With the replicators we can fix almost everything on the ship." She looked dazed at that, then began to blossom in excitement.

  He frowned at the tablet's display. “Okay, life support is at forty one percent, we can do a few things to bump that up.” She nodded. “We can also replace a lot of the broken computer hardware, leaving it unplugged if necessary. We can work on wiring, internal communications, and do a few general tune up issues,” he said. He scanned the tablet as she looked up to him.

  “If the replicators need material where are we going to get it to make things?” Molly asked, suddenly crestfallen.

  He looked up. “Oh, we can feed it broken and damaged materials for now. We will need a lot more material for large scale repairs like the broken struts on deck three or the hull panel’s starboard aft,” he said with a diffident shrug. She nodded.

  “But where can we get the materials?” she asked.

  He smiled. “Not our problem right now, let’s just get what we can done. Start small, learn how things work and then go from there,” he said, trying to keep his tone encouraging. She nodded.

  "So why such a big crew?" He turned to Molly. "I mean, if only a handful of you know the basics..." He waved around to the room full of techs.

  "Well, some do, but most were fetching and carrying and trying to learn when they could," she sighed.

  "Apprentice level," he muttered.

  "Huh?"

  "An ancient method of teaching. Someone would latch onto a master, someone who knew a craft, they would have them do scut work, basic chores and such while they tried to pick up the skills."

  She cocked her head thinking the analogy over before nodding. "Yeah, that sounds similar. A few like Rodriguez over there came from a space colony so they know more and started out better."

  He glanced her way, then back to the drive controls. "Most of the hands are for when we are loading and off loading." Molly said, and then swore as she burned her finger. "Darn!" She waved it around then popped it in her mouth.

  "All hands on deck," He muttered.

  She nodded. "UM Hmm," she mumbled. He chuckled.

  "Okay, the drives are balanced for now; we can't do much until we are out of hyper and can tear them down," he said returning to the list. She nodded. "Want me to get started on the clogged fuel injector for the port ERCS?" He hefted the tool box.

  She nodded. "Yeah, if you would. I don't understand why they get clogged!" She shook her head. "Water," he said. She looked up. "The fusion reactor, plasma drives, and ERCS all use the water from the tanks. A current is run through the water to separate it into hydrogen. The hydrogen is used as fuel, while the excess O2 is used for the air," he explained patiently. He flicked his free hand to the air.

  She nodded. "Oh."

  "The water has trace minerals and stuff in it that builds up over time."

  She looked confused for a moment then gets excited. "And the build ups cause a clog! Oh! I get it now! So we need water that is cleaner!"

  He nodded. "Or better fuel like helium 3." She wrinkled her nose.

  "Okay, I ran into that in the manual, but I don't know what it is," she admitted. He smiled.

  "Later. I will tell you over lunch."

  Her smile brightened. "It’s a date then!" she called as he left. Work stopped for a moment, and then chattering began to ring around the compartment.

  "Did you hear that? Molly dating the Admiral? Ew! That's like dating my grandpa!" He chuckled and shook his head as he left.

  "Admiral, from my database files, people who have experienced stasis are prone to insomnia and time shock, but you're carrying it to the extreme." He sighed as Sprite started in. "Even you need rest, and frankly, so do some of your helpers. You've gone through twelve and a half shifts." He continued the weld, then when it finished leaned back as it cooled.

  "Is it done?" A girl leaned over the bar to see the weld.

  "Yes," he said curtly. He looked up and didn't recognize her. She was studying the weld. "Okay, I am going to the head, and then we can work on the next project."

  The girl nodded. "Wait, head?" He pointed. Her expression cleared. "Oh! Bathroom. Right!" She waved and reached down. When her finger tips came within a few centimeter’s of the weld she yanked them back. "OH! HOT!" she yelped, shaking her fingers and blowing on them. He stopped, shook his head, and then continued.

  "Are they totally clueless?" he asked under his breath as he entered the head. The two guards set themselves on either side of the door.

  "Oh, some like Miss Molly and Jennie aren't all bad." Sprite replied. "Give them time Admiral." He nodded. He relieved himself then checked the water.

  "Grey water is bad Admiral, even for you. Try the other one." He turned the control. Blackish water came out of the spigot.

  "Okay, not good," he sighed as he turned the water off. He looked for a towel, didn't find one and so rubbed his hands on his coveralls.

  "Admiral, power reserves are getting low, you need to..." He cut Proteus off with a wave as he stepped out.

  "I need a drink of water," he said. He turned to the guard. She nodded. He passed the woman studying the weld. "I'm going for a drink," he waved. She nodded.

  "You've been on a roll Admiral." The lead guard said over her shoulder. "Plumbing, welding, electrical, plasma conduits... What can't you do?" she asked, clearly awed.

  He smiled. "I'm an engineer. About the only thing I can't do right now is sleep."

  She waved to a girl dressed in a maid's outfit. "Can you get the Admiral a drink?"

  The girl looked up and nodded. "Sure!"

  He smiled as she bounced off. "Water is fine!" he called.

  "So, what's next?" he asked.

  The guard shook her head. "Damned if I'd know, you’ve run us all ragged. Ops pulled the plug on your replicator though; it was sucking too much power," she reported. He sighed.

  “Okay, so working on the hyper collectors just got bumped up the priority list," he said. The girl came back and tentatively handed him a cup. He took a sip. She smiled. Her teeth were a little green and she had a bad smile but it looked like she still had all of them.

  "Good thanks," he said with a polite nod her way. He downed the drink and then handed her the empty cup. "Thank you," he said.

  She smiled. "You're welcome!" She bounced off.

  "Why the uniforms?" he asked.

  The rear guard growled. "Why not?" He shrugged.

  "What ever," he said and then pointed. "This way ladies, we have some more work ahead of us." The rear guard carried his duffel. He passed the girl still staring at the weld. "It should be cool in another minute. I'm heading out to work on the hyper collector." He gathered the tools he had appropriated or replicated.

  "Oh?" The girl looked confused. "What's a hyper collector?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.

  He sighed. "I'll be on deck nine." He waved.

  She nodded. "Oh, okay," she replied in a small voice. They entered the lift and went up.

  "So, what is a hyper collector?" the blond guard asked.

  He sighed. "It's a bussard ram scoop collector. It uses decoupled force fields and the ship's exterior shields to scoop free electrons from hyperspace. The higher the band, the higher the temporal compression and the more power the ship receives." They felt the lift jerk.

  "Oh." The guard looked over to the other.

  "Did you understand any of that?" she asked softly.

  "Not a thing."

  He sighed again and closed his eyes for a moment. "Okay, look
. It's a way to increase the ship's power supply." He turned to them. The lift door opened. A girl gasped. He turned back.

  "Um, sorry, um, I'll take the next." He waved. The girl was dressed in another maid outfit.

  "Lot of maids," he said.

  “You have no idea,” a guard said. He shook his head as the car continued.

  "Bloody pirates," the girl, Jennie muttered as she picked up a tool box. "As if we don't have enough to fix." She waved to some of the other girls.

  "Pirates are a problem." He nodded. "Are there many?" he asked.

  She looked him over. "More and more every year," she growled as she shook her head. "Wish I knew where they were coming from," she sighed and shouldered past the guard.

  "Okay, this way," she said. He nodded and followed.

  "An interesting datum." Sprite commented. "I've got my virtual hands full Admiral, so I am going to leave Defender in the driver's seat while I try to fix the net." The AI commented.

  "Carry on," he muttered as he passed a pair of crew members. They looked up then stared at him.

  He turned the corner and had to dodge around another girl. "So, what are you working on?" he asked. He'd done what he could for the hyperspace collectors. It wouldn't do much good until they bumped up an octave or two though.

  "Navigational sensors," she replied over her shoulder. Suddenly she pitched forward and swam in mid air. "Shit not again!" she wind milled, dropping the case. It floated. "Damn!" He reached her and grabbed a thrashing ankle.

  "Get this a lot?" he asked as he reeled her in. He steadied her as her feet hit the ground.

  "Yeah. Too often," she said breathing hard. One of the guards looked amused. Jennie growled. "What are you looking at?" She reached for the tool box and failed. It moved further into the field. "Damn." Suddenly it slammed to the deck hard. "Awe crap." Jennie shook her head. The deck now had a toolbox sized dent. "Great," she sighed. "Why me?"

  He grabbed her hand before she could grab the handle. "Wait." He tapped his implants. "Lets see." He couldn't get into the net; Sprite was hogging all the bandwidth. "Okay." He turned and studied a panel. "Nope." He looked over the next.