“You might be surprised. I fixed a combine harvester when I was there. I bet they could get some grain for export with the right help.” Grain was one of the biggest food imports to Pyrax.
The purser's eyes lit and he smiled a little. “Good to know,” he said and tapped at his tablet to make a note. “I'll see if we can get them some farm machinery in trade.”
“You do that.”
“Why Seti after that? They aren't connected,” the captain said, cocking his head.
“I recommended a nodular approach over the branch one we're currently on.”
“Nodule?”
“Set up pickets on each of the approaches to Pyrax, and trade. Then push the pickets out exponentially. That way we're covering all approaches instead of just focusing on one.”
Bailey wrinkled his nose and then shook his head. “I...”
The captain held up a hand. “Yeah I know, above your head shorty. I get it though, It's kind of stupid to guard one door when the enemy can get through another with a little more work. I see his point.”
“Thank you. Agnosta is a key, but the other systems are a little more developed and have more to offer in trade. They also open up to other areas.”
“Hopefully we can get some of the other ships out there to pick up the slack. We can't do this all on our own,” the purser said shaking his head.
Bailey and the others nodded. Irons stopped nodding and sighed. “We'll see. Don't be surprised if they poach some of your crew,” he glanced at the captain and then chief engineer. “They'll need experienced crew on the other ships to buttress the greenhorns.”
“Good point. We'll be on guard.”
Irons glanced at them then snorted at their amused expressions. “Whatever.”
“Admiral, I'm... I'm sorry about what happened,” the captain said after a brief moment of silence. Bailey shot him a look. The purser stiffened.
“Not your doing captain. Thanks though.”
“I'm, well...”
He held up a stalling hand. “Don't worry about it captain. We all run through rough patches of space and sea, the trick is to not let it get to us and keep moving forward. Eventually the storm will pass and we'll see the other side,” Irons said.
“I'll remember that,” the captain said with a smile and nod.
“Me too,” Bailey said nodding as well. He shook hands with the Admiral then pulled him into his grasp for a tight hug.
“Take care of the old girl you old fart. And your wives too,” Irons said gruffly as they broke the embrace.
The chimp laughed shaking his head. He tugged on one ear. “I was kind of wondering if you were insulting my ladies there for a moment.”
“Never,” the Admiral said with a head shake. “Try to keep your offspring from blowing the ship up.”
“I'll do that,” the chimp said dryly. “Or at least try to.”
“You do that chief, try real hard,” the captain said dryly, shaking his head.
“Aye aye sir.”
Many o the ship were reluctant to see him go, he had repaired their home, saved it from invasion, helped repair this ship, and even stocked it with parts and materials. They were amazed and humbled by his generosity. Those that had thought he had been a pedophile were won over, knowing better now.
The captain turned as the hatches to the boat bay opened. People came in, humans and aliens. They lined up in rows outside of the flight line. Standing there watching. Ferguson nodded to them and extended his hand. Irons took it, shaking it briefly.
“Good luck and goddess speed Admiral. May your touch let hope and rebirth spring eternal. With luck and hard work we'll see the light once more.”
Touched, the engineer turned and came to attention. He saluted crisply, then stepped off into his shuttle and the future.
The End
Appendix:
My blog:
http://cyberforge3d.blogspot.com/
Links for the cover:
www.daz3d.com
http://www.daz3d.com/i/shop/itemdetails/?item=2912
http://www.daz3d.com/i/shop/itemdetails/?item=11250
http://www.daz3d.com/i/shop/itemdetails/?item=11959
http://www.most-digital-creations.com/
Information used in the writing of this book:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extracellular_matrix
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meningitis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regeneration_(biology)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachyon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femme_fatale
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graviton
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutrino
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon
Author's note:
Yup, I did it again, breaking the fourth wall to make a comment about the book. Well, in this case it's a short one, literally. Sorry about that, it's how the book fell together. The next one (Ghost Station) will be about the same length. After that I'm not sure.
I do want to apologize to the readers who were waiting patiently for this book. Sorry, I had it written and off to Mechmaster last year but well, life got in the way of editing it. We've both made a special effort to improve my grammar and writing style. The wait however was excruciating for me as well. That's on me, not him. He's a great guy for taking the time to give me pointers and check this over for me, twice. :)
That wasn't the only reason things slowed down however, a short story I had started on a whim bit me pretty hard and grew and grew, taking on a life of it's own. It has grown into a mighty oak, over seven hundred pages of action. It was quite a break from my normal hard military science fiction. It's your not so typical alien invasion, blending ideas I picked up from various film, television, and game sources. You won't believe where the original idea came from... :) It's called Afraid of the Dark and it's in Mechmaster's clutches right now.
For those of you wondering, book 4 Ghost Station is almost done (As of July 2012) but it will take a while to be cleaned up and edited. I've been sitting on Jethro since January 2012, I'll release that a month or so after I've released this book. Look for it then. Ghost Station might be out by the end of the year but I doubt it.
Books like Afraid of the Dark and others are in the editing stage and will hopefully be out soon. Hopefully.
Book 2 of the side story Jethro, titled First to Fight, is progressing off and on. Book 5 of the Wandering Engineer, titled Plague Planet, has been started but has a long way to go before it's release.
I've also been working on other projects. You can read about some of them on my blog. Link in the Appendix section above.
Quicky FAQ:
“Are you self publishing?”
Yes.
“Your copy editing stinks! Can't you do better?”
I'm trying. Mechmaster has graciously offered to lend his services. He's a great guy. Check out his Dalek comic if you get a chance. All mistakes are mine and mine alone.
“How many books in this series?”
I don't have a definitive number since I keep getting ideas for more each day. Right now I'm at 22 for this universe and climbing. Some are already out, some are in various stages of production, and a few are only treatments. They are broken into 4 time periods to illustrate various major events.
Is First Steps a part of the Wandering Engineer universe?”
Yes. First steps is a prequel book, a part of a series I'm also working on and one of the 22 books in the universe I mentioned above. It will all become clear (I hope) later. It's sequel is in the works.
“What other projects are you working on?”
Well, I'm constantly working on the manual for this book. The manual, or bible as some call it is broken into several files and folders. Ships, people, tech, worlds. I like to sculpt many of the aliens with Sculptris. You can see some on my blog or on the Foundation3D site. I'll be compiling it all and releasing it sometime in the future.
I have also been toying with an MMO/RPG
UDK game based in the Afraid of the Dark universe. I did a bit of work there, slowing things up quite a bit. Unfortunately I've decided to table it for now. It could make a come back if I get back into UDK when engine 4 is released.
Sneak Peek:
Jethro goes to war:
“One of the things I have to get through to you is that a sniper is ninety nine percent observer. We call in the shots,” the Sergeant said standing at attention.
Jethro's nostrils flared as he picked up an unknown scent. He did a little subtle glancing around. He was pretty sure it was coming from the rear, near the corner. He didn't want to look around though, he needed to focus on the course instructor. He had a feeling the class was going to be harder than he'd anticipated. He knew the paper side alone was one of his weaknesses.
“A sniper observes the battlefield, and calls in intelligence or calls for fire. Rarely do you ever engage. Does anyone know why?”
“Because when we do we let the enemy know we are in the area sir.” Shiku the white arctic Neo fox growled.
“Exactly. It sends up a flare. That's a bad thing,” the human Sergeant nodded. “But sometimes you have to,” he grimaced. “If at all possible try to remember to pick off the closest units first, then move back down the range. You'll find that the rounds kill better at range. Close range shots are moving fast and the round doesn't do nearly as much tumbling, and therefore a lot less damage to the intended target.”
He looked around and then sighed. “I know some of you are in love with the T, that is hitting someone in the sweet spot here,” he touched his face from eye to eye down to his mouth. “We call this the T because if you get the shot right on a human the round will penetrate easily and sever the spinal column killing the target in a split second. It is the essence of one shot one kill. However...” he paced for a moment. “However a head shot is a bitch to pull off right at range. Your target is moving, bobbing and weaving, and one wrong variable can mean he's alive, scared, but alive,” he shook his head. “Which is bad. He can take cover and then return fire or call in your position.”
“Another reason to avoid head shots is that some species do not have the same structure as a human. Shoot, oh, say a Tarq in the head and the round would bounce off their slopped skulls. Others do not have the same centralized weakness of a human so beware.” He waited a moment while they digested that.
“Observation, Attention to detail, Stealth, and Science. It all comes together in a first rate sniper,” the instructor intoned.
Suddenly his chest blossomed in red gore. He dropped to the floor like a rag doll. The class looked around, wide eyes. Some were getting out of their chairs, others had hit the deck.
Jethro felt the pulse of information coming from a transceiver near the front quarter behind the desk. He glanced that way but and then turned, focusing on the intruder. He ripped his uniform off and cloaked. The velcro strips went with tearing sounds as he dropped to all fours...
Destiny's Choice (The Wandering Engineer) Page 52
