by Nate Johnson
The silence continued to drag on as he set the engine cover aside and then started on the heads. He’d have to get inside to see how bad the problem was.
“So, have you been in the Navy long?” she asked.
His hand froze over the bolt he was working on. Was he allowed to answer that question? It seemed sort of impossible not to. A pretty girl asks you a question, a guy just naturally has to answer.
“Seven years,” he said as he started on the next bolt.
“And do you like it?” she asked.
He paused for a moment and thought about it. “Yes, I do. I get to do what I like to do, fix stuff. I get to go to new and different places. I like the people I work with. Yes, I guess I do like it. What about you. Do you like what you do?”
Her face turned a quick red, while he held his breath. Sure, he’d just crossed over some stupid line, but she’d started it.
“I ... I think we should probably stick to talking about you,” she said.
He laughed as he removed the last bolt and gave her a quick glance. “Sure, but it doesn’t seem fair.”
She smiled sweetly but remained silent.
He shrugged and said, “What can you tell me? How about your first name? Or is that some deep dark secret also.”
She smiled and said, “Amanda, Amanda Rogers.”
He returned her smile and said, “Nick Barns, nice to meet you.”
She blushed a little but didn’t say anything more. For some reason, he had the feeling like she wanted to talk. But then, who could blame her, just the three people stuck way out here. Obviously, she was interested in anyone new.
But, orders were orders. And one thing he had learned long ago. Do Not Screw with Captain Jarvis. The man would have his guts for garters if he disobeyed a direct order.
Besides, he was almost done.
Reaching down, he grunted as he lifted the heavy head off the engine and set it aside. Everything inside was exposed and confirmed his worse fear.
Reaching down, he gently brushed the inside of the third cylinder and shook his head at the black gunk locking the bearing in place.
“Is it as bad?”
He laughed. “Yes.”
She sighed heavily and said, “We need to inform Doctor Simpson.”
“Okay,” he said as he grabbed a dirty rag off the deck and started wiping his hands. “I’m going to leave everything like it is. No need to put it back together.”
She nodded and started making her way out of the engine room.
A faint whiff of Valerian star fruit, the sweet, pure scent of heaven, teased his senses. Man, not only was she beautiful, but she smelled beautiful. It was enough to make a guy seriously contemplate disobeying orders.
Nick shook his head. Six weeks in space and he meets a pretty woman, and he can’t really talk to her. It had to be some new torture the galaxy had come up with just for him.
“What’d you find?” Commander Jones asked as he met them in the passageway.”
Nick continued wiping his hands and shook his head. “It’s bad Sir, Needs a complete overhaul. The main bearing is burnt to a crisp, the pumps are losing compression, and the fuel lines are toast. In fact, they are lucky the thing didn’t explode on them and punch a hole the size of a Valerian moose through the side of the ship.”
“How long?” the Commander asked as Doctor Simpson came up behind him.
“Well, Sir, a day to tear it apart and find all of the problems. Two days to make the parts. I checked they have a replicator onboard that can do the job. In fact, it’s probably the only thing onboard that is fully functioning.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Doctor Simpson balk at his statement. He thought she might say something but held back and let him finish.
“Once I have the parts finished,” Nick continued. “Two days to put it back together and a day of testing. So six days, Sir.”
The Commander’s shoulders slumped with defeat. Obviously, this was not the answer he wanted.
“And Sir, that is pushing things, it’s a one man job, there isn’t really any way to make it go faster.”
“What about on the Endurance? Do we have the spare parts we could give them? Eliminate the replicator.”
Nick slowly shook his head, “No Sir, different model completely.”
The Commander nodded and said, “Very well. Go ahead and get started,”
Nick felt a small surge of pride flash through him, they knew he was the expert when it came to things like this and had taken his word. They trusted him.
“Oh, Sir,” he added in a quiet voice only the Commander could hear, “just so you know, there are probably a dozen other systems onboard that are close to failure. They need an Engineer.”
The Commander looked at him for a long moment then nodded. “I will let Captain Jarvis know.”
Nick turned and headed back to the engine room. Amanda shot him a quick look of encouragement but chose to remain with the others.
A brief flash of disappointment flowed into him, but who could blame her. Watching someone else work was not exactly a thrill a minute. He quickly put it out of his mind and started going over the steps he would need to take to get the job done.
Things might be weird around here, but an engine was an engine. It didn’t know from weird. It either worked, or it didn’t.
When he stepped into the engine room, he shook his head and started cleaning up the place. If he was going to be stuck in here for the next six days, it was going to be squared away.
Once he had things semi picked up, he laid out a tarp and began laying out the parts as he removed them from the engine.
It was a crime, he thought. They’d let the oil go dry, and the damn thing had burnt itself to a cinder. Simple maintenance and this could have been avoided.
Civilians, he thought, as he shook his head. He would never understand civilians.
The far hatch opening pulled him away from the engine for a moment. Commander Jones stepped through holding a large canvas space bag with the name ‘Barns’ stenciled on the side.
Nick’s stomach fell. This could not be good.
He raised an eyebrow at the Commander and waited.
The Commander had the decency to look chagrined.
“We can’t stay,” the Commander said, as if that explained everything. “The Skipper has assigned you to this ship. You’re to be their Engineer until we can get a replacement out here for you.”
“What?” Nick spurted out. This was now beyond strange.
The Commander sighed heavily. “Listen Barns. We can’t stay. And they can’t leave. Not yet. So ... We will get the Navy to send someone out on the next supply run.”
“How long?” Nick asked. A sense of abandonment washed through him. What about the thrusters on the Endeavor? Who would be taking care of his engines?
“Four weeks,” the Commander replied.
“Four weeks!” Nick exclaimed with disbelief.
The Commander nodded slowly. “You can ride the supply drone back to Taurus and then catch a transport to Montlake and meet us there. We’ll make sure everything is set up for you.”
“Four weeks,” Nick mumbled under his breath.
“Yes, and figure another month home. I had them pack your space bag for you,” the Commander said as he lowered the bag to the deck. “Doctor Simpson has approved the transfer and said that you can have the third cabin on the port side.”
“But Sir ...” Nick said with a heavy question in his voice.
The Commander could only shake his head. “I know this isn’t exactly protocol, but we don’t have a choice in the matter. You are one of our best Engineers, you can fix just about anything. If I left one of the officers, it’d take them three years and a dozen tries. You’re the best we’ve got, and you know it.”
Nick was stunned. He had so not been expecting this.
“Sir,” he asked, “What exactly is my mission here?”
The Commander smiled, “Just keep them alive. At
least until you get relieved, then it’s someone else’s problem.”
Nick could only shake his head. From what he had seen so far, it wasn’t going to be easy.
“And Barns,” the Commander said with a serious frown. “When you get back to Taurus. I would strongly recommend you not tell anyone what you learned out here. Just keep your mouth shut and play it dumb.”
Nick could only nod hesitantly and frown as he tried to work out exactly what was going on.
“Well, I’ve got to go, the Skipper is in a rush. You’ll be fine, and we’ll see you in Montlake in a couple of months.”
The Commander held out his hand and looked at him as if he wanted to apologize but didn’t know how. Nick took the hand and shook it, more out of habit than any sense of goodbye.
He was still having a hard time understanding what was going on. One day he’s working on an Imperial Cruiser with people he knew and trusted. The next, he was abandoned on this research vessel in the middle of nowhere. None of it made sense.
But then, he’d learned long ago, the Imperial Navy never went out of its way to make sense.
Chapter Three
Amanda Rogers stood next to Doctor Simpson and watched the Endeavor pull away. Sadness washed through her. Once again they were alone out here.
She glanced over at the Doctor, but as usual, the woman was unreadable. Was she glad to have her universe back to normal? Was she worried about what the Endeavor would report? It was impossible to tell with the good Doctor.
Shaking her head, Amanda once again watched the Endeavor slowly disappear into the darkness and thought of the man back aft working on their engines.
She wondered how he was taking it. This new assignment. Surely he couldn’t be pleased. What did he think of them? What did he know and what had he guessed?
“We need to tell him,” she said to the Doctor.
“Who?”
“Petty Officer Barns,” she said with a sigh. Sometimes the Doctor could be rather obtuse. “He’s not dumb. He’s going to figure it out.”
Doctor Simpson thought for a moment, then shook her head.
“No. Don’t tell him. I don’t want them having any excuse to shut us down. But if he learns on his own. Then we can’t be held accountable. I mean they can’t expect us to stop working for four weeks while he is onboard. Can they?”
Amanda slowly nodded. Okay, she couldn’t tell him directly. But she swore to herself, she wouldn’t mislead him either. If he figured out what they were up to, then more power to him.
Later that afternoon, she stood outside the engine room and took a deep breath as she tried to calm her racing heart. What was it about this man that made her nervous? He was just a man after all.
It’s been nine long months, she thought to herself, and he wasn’t exactly like most of the men she knew. Academics, with narrow shoulders and wide hips. The kind of men who talked a lot. Usually about themselves and their work.
Nick was different somehow. Besides being bigger, stronger, with shoulders wider than a mountain range. There was a sureness about him. A steadiness that she found attractive. Of course, the black hair and blue eye combination didn’t hurt.
Smiling to herself, she pulled the lever and stepped into the engine room. A wave of hot air hit her like a brick wall.
She hesitated for a moment as she tried to orient herself. Then she noticed him, stripped down to his T-shirt and shorts, he was under the thruster engine pulling on something.
Clearing her throat, she said, “Excuse me, but um ... dinner is ready.”
Why did she sound nervous? she wondered.
He pulled himself out from under the engine and smiled up at her. He had a long smear of grease on his forehead and looked like a poster for what a man should look like.
Swallowing hard, she looked away unless he see her staring. But not before she registered the broad chest and large arms.
“Doctor Simpson likes for us to eat the evening meal together.”
He nodded and started wiping his hands, then bent down to check a cut on his leg. She gulped and tried to not focus on the wound. Blood made her nauseous and was something she tried to avoid.
“Maybe I should have Doctor Simpson look at this?” he said with a questioning stare.
Amanda laughed, “She’s not that kind of Doctor.”
“Oh? What kind is she then?” he asked.
“A Xenobiologist. A galaxy famous one at that,” she said before she could stop herself.
Nick simply nodded, “What about Doctor Robertson?”
“Nope, sorry you’re out of luck there, too. No medical training at all.”
He smiled as he pulled himself up out of the engine well and grabbed his coveralls from where they were draped over a safety rail.
She turned away while he got dressed.
“Okay,” he said, “not real Doctors then. How about yourself, any medical training?”
She glanced over her shoulder in time to see him finish dressing. “Sorry, no. I can look at it if you want. But I’m not real good when it comes to cuts and bruises. Not my field.”
He nodded and rolled up his pant leg to keep it out of the blood.
“Don’t worry about it. If you’ve got a first aid kit, I’ll bandage it up after I take a quick shower. I assume I’ve got time.”
“Yes, if you hurry. Doctor Simpson doesn’t like to be kept waiting. And there should be a first aid kit in your cabin.”
He nodded and placed a hand on the small of her back to get her moving back out of the engine room. A short quick electrical charge traveled up her spine from where he touched her.
Shaking her head, she brought herself back to the present and started for the hatch.
“Why is it so hot in here?” she asked, hoping desperately that her voice didn’t shake.
He smiled, “I had to turn off the coolant system for the room while I purged the coolant from the engine. They are tied together. Don’t ask me why. I didn’t design it. Some idiot who’s never had to work in an engine room thought it was efficient. I’ll have it hooked back up later tonight.”
She could only nod as she realized how much she didn’t know about this ship, her home. It was embarrassing. The man had been here for only a few hours, and he already knew more about where she lived than she did.
“How is it going?” she asked as they made their way forward. “Are you settled in okay?”
He laughed. “Yeah, the cabin is nice. Sure beats a twelve man berthing space. Although, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get any sleep without Chisolm snoring enough to wake a hibernating bear.”
She smiled. He seemed to be accepting his assignment well. No whining or complaining. To him, they were just another job.
When they reached his cabin, he stopped for a moment then smiled his thanks and stepped in. Amanda felt a brief sense of loss.
She continued to feel that loss until he joined them in the dining room. His hair was wet, and she noticed a bulge on his lower leg indicating that he’d bandaged himself like he’d promised.
Doctor Simpson acknowledged him, then immediately started dishing herself before passing the bowl of mashed potatoes to Professor Robinson.
Nick examined the group for a moment. She could tell the gears were turning in that mind of his. Evaluating, analyzing.
“So tell me, Professor Robinson, where did you teach?” Nick asked as he took a roll and passed the platter.
“Taurus University,” the older man replied with obvious pride. “I got my Doctorate there and was immediately hired.”
Nick nodded. “Wow, that sounds impressive,” he said. “I know a couple of our officers graduated from there. I wonder if they were in any of your classes.”
Amanda had to fight to keep a smile from breaking out. It was so obvious what he was doing, and Professor Robinson was oblivious.
“I don’t know, I doubt it, most of my students were Doctoral candidates. Unless they were working on a Doctors in Linguistics, I doubt they
were in my classes.”
Amanda looked down at her food and smiled. The man wasn’t dumb.
“And you? Miss Rogers,” Nick said to her. “Are you from Taurus University also?”
“She studied with me at Chung Hu University,” Doctor Simpson said as if that explained everything he needed to know.
But Nick wouldn’t let it rest, Amanda realized, as she waited for his next question. To him, it was like a broken engine, he needed to understand exactly what was going on.
“Oh, are you a Xenobiologist also?” he asked her.
She smiled and shook her head. “Not exactly, more a Xeno-anthropologist.”
Nick nodded and continued to eat, then suddenly, his fork froze in mid-air, halfway between his plate and his mouth. He studied each of them, a serious frown on his face as he tried to work it out.
He glanced out the door towards the bridge and then back to the group around him. Amanda waited, while his mind processed all the new information. Slowly the color drained from his face as his fork fell to his plate.
“You’ve found them?” he said. “My God, you’ve found intelligent life. There on the planet.”
Doctor Simpson nodded, “Very good,” she said to him. “You were right,” she said to Amanda, “he isn’t dumb.”
Amanda tried not to blush as she watched Nick come to grips with this new knowledge. How would he react?
“So why all the secrecy?” he asked. “The Endeavor scurrying away. Not being able to ask questions. Everyone terrified I would figure it out.”
“Because,” Doctor Simpson said, “Our government is comprised of idiots.”
“Rebecca,” Professor Robinson admonished. “They have their reasons. The biggest is that they don’t want the word getting out. The last thing we need is a bunch of tourists showing up. Like I said, they have their reasons.”
“They aren’t good ones,” Doctor Simpson said as she stabbed a piece of meat.
“The government hasn’t decided whether to approach them or not,” Amanda told Nick.
“Idiots,” Doctor Simpson said. “Of course we should. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. And they dither arguing this and that. None of which outweighs the importance of making contact.
