New Dawn
Author: Chris Hechtl
Date: 2010-11-02T18:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Science Fiction
Description: It it always darkest before the dawn. For 713 years the scattered survivors of the Xeno-Federation war have known this. Sol and the core star systems are gone. The scattered survivors on far flung worlds and space colonies must try to survive a universe gone mad. They have spent that time scratching an existence out of whatever they could. Those trapped aboard surviving space colonies waited until the parts failed and life support was snuffed out. But a free trader with an all female crew are about to change things. Fleeing a pirate they will stumble across a relic from their distant past. Whe
Publisher: Jekyll

New Dawn:

Book 1 of the Wandering Engineer Series

By Chris “Jekyll” Hechtl

This is a work of fiction. All the characters  and events portrayed in this book are fictional. The exception is Dr. Bowyer who graciously gave his permission to use his name and his work in my books. Any resemblance to other people is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book and or portions thereof in any form.

Copyright 2009 by Chris Hechtl

B&N ISBN: 2940011946936

Amazon AISN: B009HB1VNS

Revised 7/2012

2nd revision, proofread by Jacob Larson 3/2013

Cover art Copyright 2009 by Chris Hechtl

Dedication:

Since this is one of my first published books I'd like to dedicate it to my family and Mrs. Phillips.

Both in their own ways encouraged me to follow my dreams where ever they may take me.

Author's Note:

I realize there are quite a few editing errors in this. I apologize for them. I will continue to endeavor to correct them time permitting.

Special thanks to Jacob Larson for proofreading this, and to you the readers for giving me a try.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Appendix:

The Wandering Engineer:  New Dawn

Chapter 1

He awoke tired and angry. It never was a good thing to go to sleep angry, and going into cryostasis angry just aggravated the problem. He couldn't help it.

It wasn't that he was helpless in a life pod that had angered him. No, such rare situations were woven into his training. No it was the sheer helpless fury of the last moments of the battle that left him angry. She had been a good ship, but no match for the trio of Xenophobe light cruisers that had ambushed her on the edge of the hyper zone. Still she had managed to take out 2 of her ambushers before the mounting damage had forced the Captain and AI to call to abandon.

He had sprinted through the dim shattered corridors to a pod in less than a minute. The pod's ejection had momentarily disoriented him. Sprite had tapped into the pod's controls to spin it up and away from the remaining xenophobe ship.

Helpless he watched the sensor feed as the ship's pods were picked off one by one. The enemy was merciless, no quarter asked or given. The ship had made one last ditch valiant effort, engines flared to life on overload, emergency thrusters burning with reckless abandon to keep her on course with the enemy ship. Wreckage tangled her bow, her shields were down and the flanks were torn and bleeding parts, as well as bodies. The enemy ship pounded her with her guns, trying to kill her. It tried to open the range but it was too late. The Captain's cry of vengeance for his lost crew echoes the comm channels, and then ended abruptly with sick finality as the ships exploded.

“The enemy has taken the system Admiral; we are headed for deep space to avoid them.” Sprite quietly informed him as she brought up the strategic visual guide. He watched eyes tearing as a task force of enemy ships pounded the planet with antimatter bombs. It cracked, lava fountaining into its atmosphere as they breached the crust. “Damn.” He muttered darkly.

“There is an enemy picket ship on course for the ship; I am trying to adjust our heading away.” Sprite highlighted the ship. “Eta two hours. We will need to be dark before we get into its sensor cone.” Angrily he nodded, hands automatically beginning the stasis prep procedures.

Some people called it the death of sleep, or little death. He didn't care. When he awoke Sprite booted, automatically running post and interfacing with the life pod. The pod's micro AI had detected a nearby fleet ship and had pinged it. It was now approaching. He checked his internal chronometer. “Damn, is that right Sprite?”

“I detect no error Admiral. We have been in stasis for approximately seven hundred and thirteen years Terran standard.”

He sighed, feeling the anger wash away. “Great, just great. Guess the war is over huh?” Sprite didn't answer, that was obviously a rhetorical comment.

The life pod was tiny and cramped, a three meter long coffin. At the bottom was the kick engine, already out of fuel. He checked Sprite's report. The life pod was seriously depleted; he probably had less than a year left in it. “All right, show me what's going on outside.” He closed his eyes as she fed information to his neural and optical implants.

The tiny life pod lidar screen popped to life. “According to my readouts a ship is near, tentatively identified as a transport.” He grunted as he looked over the readings. The lidar was of course limited to light speed time lag, so the sensory data was old. Still, Sprite had updated it with a running estimated plot.

“From their plotted course they should be approaching within twenty thousand kilometers within two hours Admiral.” He grunted.

“Will they detect us?” he asked.

“Most likely they already have. Our lidar sweep should have pinged their sensors.” He grunted an acknowledgment. “Admiral there is something odd about that ship. I recognize it.”

He felt a thrill. “How can that be odd?”

“After seven hundred and thirteen years, I would think ships of our time would have been replaced.” He nodded.

“Friend or foe?” he asked the inevitable question.

“IFF reports Friend. Fleet.” He felt a wash of relief but it dispelled quickly with curiosity.

“Ship is tentatively identified as a fleet repair and supply ship, classified tender. War book has a ninety three percent match with the Cabeiri class.” Sprite brought the ship's design specs up, and a rotating three dimensional view of the ship.

“Second contact, following the first.” He turned his attention to the highlighted plot. “Scatter from the lidar caught motion in their wake Admiral.” A micro camera on the hull of the life pod zoomed into the indicated area. “No match in our database.” The enhanced video was fed directly to his implants. Sprite highlighted the motion, and then overlaid the lidar scan.

“If I was a casino AI I would say that that's a pirate,” she said. He nodded.

“Yeah, blackened hull, and following the Fleet tender. Any indication they know it's there?” He checked the back plot.

“No Admiral. Wait, the tender is changing course. They are now on course for us and picking up speed.”

The unknown tentatively identified as Tango one is matching the course change. “Ping the Tender; let them know we are here, and that they have a shadow,” he ordered, feeling dread. All sorts of scenarios played through his head, none of them very pleasant.

The ship could be pirates, or local patrol. The tender for that matter could be pirated, or in civilian hands. He reached out with his communications implants, but only got a faint handshake echo, but it dropped within a microsecond.

“Admiral, the tender is battered and aged, it's a wonder she can still fly.”  He checked Sprite's updated report, whistling silently at the battered hull. That was odd, and wrong, the built in replicators on the ship could rebuild it with raw materials, or with its own broken parts.

“Something is definitely wrong here,”  she said after a few minutes. He felt a buck. “They have launched a shuttle craft; it has attached itself via magnetic grapple. Exterior sensors are now off line.”

“Damn,” he sighed, watching the blinking plot. That buck meant it had been a high speed capture, anything less and the built in inertial dampers would have filtered it out.

“Why didn't we see them launch?” he asked, feeling a headache coming on.

“They launched from the port bay. The shuttle is a civilian model, human design. It has a classic lifting body design, so most likely it's atmospheric,” Sprite said, flashing the specs on his HUD. He gave a short choppy nod. He sent mental commands to ease the headache, but Sprite had already beaten him to it. He sighed as he felt the analgesic take effect.

“The tractor and shuttle drive are interfering with the life pod systems... Switching to internal life support.” He felt the air in his mask stop, then restart. He had about twelve hours of recyclable air in his skin suit and internal supply.

“Based on their trajectory they should be returning to the ship in about seven minutes. Time to come up with a plan?” she asked pointedly. He smiled.

“Not a whole lot we can do as cargo right now. We need more intel. Is that ship still part of the fleet? Or was it sold as surplus? Is it a pirate?” Sprite took a moment before answering.

“Admiral, the usage of a civilian craft gives it an eighty percent probability of being in civilian hands. Whether those hands are law abiding or not there is insufficient evidence to draw a conclusion one way or another.” He felt the mental query as Defender; his AI security suite came fully on line. Sprite squirted her log to it, and then it reacted.

“What about the second contact?” Defender asked. Defender was built as a dedicated security AI, designed to protect the safety of the Admiral and any information he may have. Unlike Sprite, a full class 4 AI, Defender was a class 1 dumb AI, with all its limitations.

“The unknown has a fifty percent chance of being hostile,” Sprite answered.

“Escape and evade?” Defender asked.

“Not an option at this time. Really. You need to improve your algorithms if you didn't see that...” Sprite began an age old argument.

“Enough.” The Admiral ordered frustrated. “Escape and evasion are not presently possible, we will know if those tactics will need to be employed later. My current plan is to play possum, let them bring us aboard and once we get a clear signal out, try to interface with their computers to get more intel.”

Both AI signaled agreement silently. “I will not be able to bring up a full shield within this enclosure.” Defender commented. “Power reserves are at fifty nine percent and falling. I do not recommend prolonged hand to hand combat under those conditions.”

“Accessing deck plans.” Sprite found the basic plans and then opened it for all three to review. “Based on their launch from the port bay, there is an eighty point three percent probability they will return to it. The ship's boat bays are large, with up to twenty craft in each,” Sprite was highlighting different points on the map.

“We can use them for cover.” Defender added approvingly.

“If they are there.” Sprite returned.

He felt a little relief that his third AI Proteus was not on line. Proteus was a class 1 AI built into his right arm prosthetics and nanites. It shared the memory core with Sprite and Defender. Since it was a dedicated engineering AI, he only booted it when needed.

He let the AIs go back and forth drawing options as he focused on the motion and extrapolated course. If they were any good they should be making the turn to the bay right about...now. He watched the inertial sump readings as it absorbed the turns change in inertia and smoothed out the gravitational pull to compensate. That left the landing.

“Okay, almost show time.” The AI brought up their plans, vague, but something to work off of. For the most part they would have to improvise. “Proteus boot complete.”

"Two minutes to estimated touchdown. Releasing nano scavengers now." Proteus reported. He could feel the muscle aches ease as the nanites scavenged the lactic acids from his muscles. "Shield boot complete, power reserves holding at 57%." He felt a bump as the craft landed.

"They left us attached Admiral. Audio sensors report sounds of the crew leaving the shuttle. So much for a post flight check," the AI sniffed in disdain at that.

"Let’s hear it. Did they leave the top hatch covered?" he asked.

"No, top hatch has a strut thirty centimeters in front and to the port of it, but you should be able to get out. Bringing up audio now."

"So, what do you think is in it? Burmite? Telerite? Human? T'clock? Xenos?" a female voice was asking. He could hear footfalls as they got out and moved to the bay hatch.

"No idea, we'll see. Captain said to keep it on ice till we get out of this jam." Another voice answered.

"Shandra! Get to the bridge!" A rough scratchy voice called out over speakers.

The second voice sighed. "Looks like we have trouble. Get to engineering, see what you can do." The second voice, most likely an officer ordered. The footfalls double timed it to the hatch and out. He waited, listening as the hatch closed.

"Any sign of a watch?" he asked at a whisper, and then smiled grimly. As if they could hear him inside the pod.

"No Admiral, and judging from the state of decay, I would say definitely civilian." Sprite was showing her usual distaste for all things civilian. He chuckled.

"All right Sprite, open sesame." The top hatch opened, light spilled in. He had his eyes closed, but it still was blindingly bright after the confining darkness in the pod. He reached out and grabbed the outside rim of the hatch then pulled. Slowly he pulled his body until his head and shoulders were out of the hatch. The top hatch was for entry; you grabbed an overhead bar and jumped in, sliding into the life pod. Here he reversed it.

He reached out with his artificial hand and grabbed the nearby landing strut, got a good grip then pulled himself out. He winced as his boots hit the deck with a thud. "Boosting sensory abilities to combat norms." Defender, all business.

"Accessing the suit, altering skin to hull coloration." He gave a short acknowledgment.  The life pod hatch closed behind him. With any luck they wouldn't know he was out. He instinctively scanned the bay, crawling under the craft, then out from under it and into a crouch beside its hatch. "There's a computer interface to your port on the schematics."

Quickly and quietly he turned and followed Sprite's arrows to the computer panel. The screen was dark, wiring was hanging out of different panels, and one panel was chard. He felt around with his artificial hand until he found the universal port. "Got it. Interfacing now. Hold still."

He felt the AI lock his arm as the tip of his ring finger converted into an access link. "We have a hot link, viruses detected! Firewall up!" He sighed.

"Do they know we are here?" Defender beat him to asking the obvious.

"No, they're civilian viruses," Sprite answered. He could almost see her wrinkle her virtual nose in distaste.

"Admiral this mainframe is saturated with viruses! It is a wonder they can function! Some idiot turned the antivirus software off, and the firewalls!" She sounded positively gleeful at that lucky break. "I'm in. Do you want the bad news, or very bad news?"

He sighed. "Give it to me, just the high points of this situation."

"The ship was salvaged twelve years ago."

"Salvaged?" he asked.

"Aye Admiral, salvaged. Civilian crew, mostly women. They've been running the ship as a free trader. The AI was destroyed by her Fleet Captain when she was critically damaged and left to drift."

He cocked his head thinking the scenario through. "Plausible. Continue."

She sighed, "Admiral, you’re not going to like this. The Federation... It's gone."

He sighed. He'd deal with that later. "Damn. Save the data, we don't have time now. What about that other ship?"

"Pirate ship. Apparently they were making a stop at an asteroid colony and were ambushed. They took damage to their hyperdrive and were running for time to fix it. Ran through the Charybdis junction edge in hopes of getting to the outer zone for a soft alpha jump but ran into another pirate that had been positioned to catch them."

"Whoever is on the other side is good. I don't like that," he said, and then sighed. "Damage to the drive repairable?"

"I can't tell from this interface, I can't access the bridge or security system, there is a primitive civilian firewall around each, breaching it would alert them."

"Don't," he said. He shook his head.

"How did you know about the drive damage?" he asked.

"Unguarded talk between crew members near open microphones. Apparently the Chief engineer was severely injured when an em discharge fried the jury rigged copper cable."

"Did you say copper?" Stunned disbelief at such a primitive fix.

"Aye Admiral, copper, not very pure, jacketed around and used in place of a superconductor that had maxed impedance."

He shook his head in wonder. "I bet they were having all sorts of issues with it." He looked up in thought. Usage of copper changed the perspective on technology. He'd have to think of the implications on the large view later, right now he needed to focus on the here and now.

"Admiral, we need to get out of this bay. I don't think taking the shuttle to the pirate is a viable escape." Defender hauled him back from the brink of his engineering daydream.

"Your assessment?" he asked.

"Recommended course of action is to ally with present crew, repair the drive and get out of the area to buy time to reassess the situation," Defender said. He nodded; after all, he had come to the same conclusion.

"All right Sprite, recharge me, then kill those viruses and do what software repair you can." "Recharge already done, virus inoculation commencing. Do you think they'll notice?" she asked. He shook his head.

"I doubt it; they're most likely focused on the external threat," he said and then paused in thought. "Can we use a substitute cable? What about from the replicators?"

Sprite brought up the schematic of the replicators. "Unfortunately as you can see the cables are short, and between a support spar and bulkhead. No way to access them without a gravity collar to lift the replicators or plasma torch to cut through the hull."

He grimaced. "Okay, so that's out, any other ideas?" He watched as Sprite brought up a list, and then automatically began to weed and discard items. "Wait hold it, the plasma weapons, why not that?" he asked.

She brought up the indicated one. "To do that would alert the crew to our presence and take away their last weapon."

He winced. He didn't like it but they didn't have a choice. "No choice, I already discarded trying to splice something or scavenge the shuttles."

He turned and looked around the bay as Sprite detached his hand and returned it to normal. Junk littered the sides and corners. Shuttles and cargo littered the deck. Some cargo was hanging from nets. "What about the cargo?" he asked, looking around.

"Scanning. No cargo manifest in the mainframe. Accessing. Found it. It was on an external device. Primitive." He waited. "No, cargo is mostly trade goods, foods, primitive tools, raw metals and material, some seeds, chemicals, and beads."

"Civilization has fallen that far?" he asked as he made his way to the hatch.

"Civilization stopped six hundred and ninety two years ago Admiral," she answered him quietly. He stopped with a jerk, and then sighed. "Damn....Damn." He shook his head.

"Anyone at the hatch?" he asked as they stepped up to it.

"Yes Admiral, one guard." They felt the ship buck and shudder. "That was a hit, shields are down. Most likely the stern," Sprite answered him before the question was asked. He nodded as she highlighted a maintenance tube hatch. He turned to it.

He exited near the weapons, glad there was no guard. "Admiral, have you thought about how you’re going to detach it if they are firing weapons? Or move it to the hyperdrive?"

He sighed. "Good points. Can you access a wireless node?"

"Yes Admiral, I'm in. I left a back door and was monitoring things." Sprite answered.

"All right, order a crew member to get a grav cart and work crew here. Then bypass the fire controls and drop this thing into local fire control only. Lock the bridge control out." He went to work, opening the hatch, checking the chamber within, and then moving quickly to the panel Sprite indicated. Proteus rebooted fast, and began reconfiguring his arm. "Work crew on their way. Are you sure about this?" He felt the ship shudder. "Yeah, too late anyway." Proteus reported the cable was serviceable, but near max impedance.

He pulled the coupler off and removed the cover plate to the thick cable below. "Work crew is at the outer hatch." He turned and exited the hatch. He took the women, dressed in gaudy revealing costumes in one glance. They looked shocked, one had her jaw open and was backing up, a blond in a coverall and tank top was shaking.

“Molly what do we do?” One whispered.

"What are you waiting for an engraved invite? Get in here and help!" he used command voice to compel them. Startled they obeyed.

He snapped out orders to pull the secondary bypass, drain the cable, and then pull it out. "All right, we're going to get this thing down to engineering and replace the broken hyperdrive cable." Sprite highlighted the leader, the blond with the top of her coverall knotted around her waist. "Molly right?" he asked. She nodded, adjusting her glasses. "All right, call down to engineering, have them pull the old cable carefully. We need to get this one installed fast."

She nodded, coming to a decision. "You heard the man, get to work!" She waved to one of the women to maneuver the gravity cart under the cable.

He pulled the shunt leads, and then motioned them to move. The ship shuddered; he reached out and steadied the brunette. "You okay miss?" he asked. She nodded, then looked up and got a wary look. "Molly, get this to engineering, I am going to go ahead and get things moving faster. We're near the hyper threshold. The Captain will need the hyperdrive up ASAP." Molly nodded, not even looking up.

He sprinted down the passage. He ducked hanging wiring, wincing as one wire caught his shoulder and sparked. "Sprite, Proteus, get into the net, see how they're handling damage control and help them where ever possible," he ordered. He felt the AI's shift as data began to flow to his wireless access nodes.

“That plasma conduit is about to burst. Thermal is going through the roof.” Proteus alerted him as he passed a crew member working on it frantically.

“Lock it down, bypass it and drain it fast!” he gave the order, and then turned to view the exposed conduit. The girl didn't even look up. His vision shifted to thermal viewing, he noted the skyrocketing temperatures and went into action. He twisted and pulled the girl down instinctively covering her. She squeaked, and then screamed as the seal ruptured and plasma streamed out. Defender slapped his shields up just in time. His shields took the brunt of the damage. Proteus locked the plasma conduit down through the computer.

He looked up when the high pitched squeal and crackles slowed. Plasma had burned the upper bulkhead, melting into it and tearing wiring and conduit. Drops had pitted and burned the floor around them.

“Thanks. Can I get up now?” The girl asked. He smiled as he got up and helped her to her feet with a hand.

“We better get back to work.” He turned and started off at a jog to main engineering, leaving her gaping behind him.

"Guards at the entrance," Defender alerted him.

"No time for subtlety get that door open for me." He sprinted around the corner, and before the startled guards could react, through the still opening doors and into main engineering. "Help them with the cable!" he called back over his shoulder. Main engineering was chaos, not the controlled chaos of a well run ship, but utter hysteria. He took a look around as one guard stepped up behind him.

The other was trying to call on her comm, but Defender was scrambling it. He reached out and steadied a woman as she stumbled around a piece of debris. "Easy there miss." She didn't even look up as she staggered on.

"Help the work crew get that cable through the hatch," he called over his shoulder again.

"She is about to strike you!" Defender warned. Instinctively he twisted to the side as Defender brought his shields up. The butt of the gun clipped his shoulder. His right arm grabbed the gun and twisted, natural limbs no match for his bionic one. She gasped as he snatched the gun out of her hands.

"BELAY THAT! WE DON"T HAVE TIME FOR THIS CRAP!" he bellowed at full augmented volume. Main engineering sounds abruptly stopped. He turned to glare at the compartment. "As you were, get that cable off the hyperdrive and out of the way NOW!" The women looked at him in shock then bolted, command voice working wonders. A sense of order quickly began to get into the chaos. He turned to the stunned guard.

"I gave you an order miss. Get that cable in here NOW!" He tossed her the rifle, and then moved to the hyperdrive. Molly and her work crew were near the hatch. He approached the work crew and looked the cable over. The copper was obvious; they hadn't even taken the precaution of jacketing it with an insulator. It was severely scorched and the ends molten and burned. Bits of what looked like flesh were on one end.

"Do you have it off yet?" he asked the work party.

"One end, but the other end is stuck.”

"Get clear then." He yanked the detached end, and tossed it to the side. A woman dodged it. He took a look at the other end as Molly approached. "Molly, get one end attached there. He pointed to the free port. "We'll get this end off while you’re working on that." She nodded and motioned her crew to get the cable off and the end up. They grunted as they muscled the heavy cable up. "Sprite, get into the computer, cut power to that shunt so they don't get fried," he ordered quietly. Sprite signaled okay with an audio trill. He nodded.

"All right, that leaves the rest of us to get this end off." He looked it over. Proteus enhanced his vision, pulling up the junction and highlighting it. The copper had melted and fussed to the outside of the coupler jacket. He sighed. "Okay, stand back." He motioned them back as he sent mental commands to reconfigure his arm to a plasma torch. Proteus downgraded his vision.

He heard the gasp behind him, but ignored it as he went to work. Sparks flew, and then the copper melted and flowed. "Get a set of gloves; get ready to pull on the other end when I tell you." He heard scrambling; he hoped they were doing it. After a few moments he had the entire end ready. "All right pull." He stepped back as the cable moved, then slowly moved back. He stepped in to torch a few areas that were still clinging. Copper dripped down and pooled, glowing on the deck. "Mind that spill, don't step in it." He checked the linkage as the cable moved out of the way.

"Burned, great," he sighed. "Nothing is ever easy," he grumbled as he turned. "You." A woman looked up.

"Me?" She squeaked.

"Yes, you. Get me a new coupling jack. Grab a work crew and scavenge it fast." She nodded and rushed off. He cut the old one off, and then checked over the hyperdrive while he waited.

It was in pretty poor condition, but serviceable. There were scorch marks here and there; some looked like from a firefight. He turned to Molly's work crew. They were having a hard time with the jacket connections. He stepped around the cable and lent a hand. A moment of work had the cable end attached. The crew was tentative. "I cut power to this junction." He guessed at their slow actions.

The ship shuddered. He looked up and motioned to three of the women. “Go back to your duties. Let the bridge know we should have the hyperdrive up in ten minutes.” They nodded and left at a jog.

"Molly, Shield status?" She looked up surprised. "Stern shields are intermittent. Bow shields are twenty percent," she said immediately.

He nodded. "Can you take a work crew to check the shields? Be careful of the heat sinks," he ordered. She grimaced and then nodded.

The woman he had sent to get the coupler arrived with another woman, walking backward, carrying the bundle. He grabbed it before it slipped out of their arms and hefted it. The women stepped back, staring at him. He shrugged. "Thank you, you can return to your duties." The woman mutely stared at him. He wasn't paying attention; he had already turned and started splicing in the jack coupling.

He made fast work of the connections with the welder, and then hefted the end of the cable. "Okay, here goes." He plugged it in. "Proteus, give me a boot test of the drive, and cable integrity." A wait prompt appeared in his field of vision, blinked a moment, then the hyperdrive stats came up. Not good, the best they could get was the low alpha bands, but enough to get out of here.” He stepped away from the drive just as a security team arrived. He noticed Molly's sudden wary look.

He nodded to her. "Call the bridge; let them know the hyperdrive is back on line." He had had to raise his voice over the chaos for her to hear him. When he pointed to the drive the compartment went quiet for a split second then broke into cheers. He snorted, they weren't out of the woods just yet. "As you were people, we still have work to do. Navigation and shields, be ready for hyperdrive slipstream on command." He turned to Molly. "What next?" Sprite highlighted the navigational sensors, then the shields.

"We have a water jacket around the shield heat sinks, but they're saturated," she said. He nodded, wincing at the idea of using water as a coolant.

They felt a jerk, then the engines hum slowed and the thrum of the hyperdrive began to quicken in pace. "Guess we're in hyper," she said. He nodded. She smiled a relieved smile.

"I'm going to do a quick overview then settle in to help with the most critical problems. Can you get a work part to police the old cable and debris?" he asked her. She looked confused for a moment.

"Police?" she indicated the guards.

"No, remove the old cable for recycling," he explained quickly.

She nodded. "What about them?" She indicated the confused guards.

"What about them? Think I should put them to work?" he asked as he tapped into the computer. One of the guards started to protest, but he ignored it. Molly muttered a good luck and left.

Navigation was pretty primitive, the sensors were nearly myopic. Much like the lady who had just left, reduced to primitive contrivances. "Damn, where to start?" he asked himself. He pulled off an access panel and climbed part of the way in. Cables dangled around him, some shredded. Sprite and Proteus began highlighting cables to fix. A few minutes of patching and splicing and he had the lines repaired. Nanites were great for splicing, melding broken materials quickly and seamlessly.

He felt someone tap his foot, and then kick it. When he didn't respond he felt hands grab his leg and pull, hard. Defender pulled his shields up just as a boot stomped down, only softening the blow to his chest. "Get off, I have work to do!" He knew it was no use though. He let them cuff him and then heave him to his feet. The compartment was quiet.

Molly started to protest angry, but he waved it off with a quick curt shake of his head. The angry guards turned to look at her, and he knew he was dealing with amateurs. He sighed. "All right ladies, you now have my undivided attention. Care to tell me why?" he asked, growling.

They glared. "Captain wants you."

He stilled. "Okay, lead the way." He motioned with his captive hands, careful not to break the crude restraints. Two led, two followed, escorting him around debris filled and dimly lit corridors to the bridge. He grimaced at the damage, ducking broken wiring, spars, and wincing at open panels and jury rigged repairs. Grime was everywhere, the walls, floor, one guard slipped in something, nearly falling. He stepped around her and followed the others politely.

Sprite indicated they were at the Captain's ready room. "None of them have augmentation,” Defender reported. He cocked his head as one of the women pushed the doorbell. His enhanced hearing could hear the weak scratchy trill through the hatch.

"Come!" A strong voice called.

Within was an older woman seated behind a desk and a glaring heavily armed Amazon. The Amazon was wearing peace officer body armor, cut down to fit her. She had a silver jumpsuit on under the armor, and blue hair. Over the chest armor she wore a peace officer shoulder harness with what looked like a stunner on the right side, and a knife on the left. On her hip was another holster in a western style belt. Defender highlighted it then did a burst scan. A karat appeared over the holster, Defender identified it as a neural disruptor, a nasty weapon. Above her right eye was a civilian grade HUD and vision enhancer. It looked like chrome jewelry.

The woman behind the desk looked old, her wrinkled face full of character. She wore a black robe that covered her body, complete with a loose hood shaped like a shawl. Her sleeves had gold arm bands similar to those of the navy. Her eyes were sparkling blue, live with intelligence and fire. Obviously the Captain.

He snapped too, ignoring the sudden alertness of his guards. She netted her hands together in front of her, elbows on the desk. A light was flickering in the corner nook behind him cables swayed back and forth. Her face twitched and she winced. "Get someone to fix that before my headache gets any worse," she ordered. One of the guards looked to the Amazon, then pulled out a comm and turned away to give a soft command.

"So we have you to thank for our escape, eh?" The Captain gave him a long look. He cocked his head.

The Amazon seemed to protest, and then settled into a smoldering glare. "He cut the plasma gun power coupling. Now we have NO weapons." The Captain cocked an eyebrow.

He shrugged. "Although it is nice to have weapons, the drive was more important." She gave a small nod, eyes gleaming. The Amazon gave a slow hiss. "Now that we're in hyper the crew are free to repair the damage." The Captain nodded again. The hatch chime sounded, she winced and nodded. A guard leaned over and slapped the controls. The doors opened and a teenager came in. She looked startled, but recovered when one of the guards pointed to the light and cables.

"So, what do we do with you mister stow away?" the captain asked, clearly amused. He gave her a long look.

"I was in the life pod." She nodded.

"I checked the pod, it was empty." The Amazon interrupted.

He gave her a look. "Of course, I got out of it." The Captain snorted.

"You fixed the hyperdrive right?" The Captain asked. He nodded.

He had his senses heightened, he noted the guards were relaxed, but the Amazon was tense. The teenage tech was about to get electrocuted. "Excuse me for a moment." He flicked his wrists, snapping the cuffs and turned, moving with blinding speed to the tech and slapping her hands away from the live power line.

"Touch that and you would have gotten killed young lady." The guards were slow to react, but they did after a stunned second, one turned and hit his back with the butt of her gun. Defender's shields absorbed the blow, and he turned. "Sorry Captain, but the young lady was in danger of injury." One of the guards tried to tackle him; he twisted his torso tossing her off. Another tangled around his legs. A loud slap stopped them all. The Captain was standing, one hand flat on the desk. Her anger was obvious. Everyone froze. "Leave him alone," she said commandingly. The Amazon seemed to protest, but the glare of the Captain made her sullenly put away her weapon. Sheepishly the others let go.

He shook off their hands then helped the tech to her feet. "With your permission Captain may I help this young lady for a moment?" He turned to her. She quirked an eyebrow, then gave a slow nod. He turned to the girl. She still had her hand in his. He smiled. "All right young lady, let’s try this again."

With quick words he sketched out the different cables in the trunk, she excitedly found the right line and he repaired it. She watched in awe as his arm morphed, fingers turning into a splicer. He spliced the line for her, and then did a few other broken ones. The light came on dim, and then brightened to normal radiance. He nodded. "Okay, remember what I taught you." He pointed out the power line. "Think you can fix some of the lights in the corridors?" he asked.

She nodded and smiled. “Thanks, my name is Jordan,” she said softly.

He smiled. “Pleased to meet you Jordan, my name is  Admiral Irons.” He had been listening to the argument between the Captain and security Chief and turned to the Captain.

"With your permission Ma'am?" he asked.

The Captain looked up. "What?" she was confused.

He indicated the tech. "With your permission Ma'am Miss Jordan would like to repair the corridor lighting." The Captain stared for a moment then gave a dismissing wave and nod.

The teen piled up her tools as he replaced the cover plate and smiled. "Good luck," she whispered.

He pulled off the cuffs and handed them to a startled guard then went back to standing at attention. The Captain waved the Chief off and looked up at him with a smile. "So, you’re a navy engineer?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes Ma'am," that was a safe reply.

"Twelve years ago I salvaged this ship." She smiled coquettishly He nodded. "I have been using her as a free trader. Any problem with that?" she asked, but her tone said he better not have one.

"No Ma'am, the law of salvage applies," Irons replied.

She nodded. "We were going to trade you and your pod to the Pyrax stationers so they would heal our Chief engineer."

The Captain gave a hard look, and then turned to look out the window. "These are hard times right now son, we have fallen, so far. So far," she said softly.

He nodded. "Captain, in exchange for passage to a port of my choice, I will repair your systems the best I can, and if possible help repair your sickbay." She gave him a long look, and then gave a triumphant glance to the security Chief.

"And why would you do that?" she asked lips quirking in a smile.

"I can't help wanting to fix things Ma'am," he shrugged. "Besides, it beats sitting in a brig."

She chuckled. "So it does, so it does. All right young man, you may get to work."

He nodded as he came to attention. "Thank you Ma'am." He did an about face and left the compartment. The Chief hastily indicated two of the guards to follow. He could hear the Captain say that they could still trade him down the road, but this might be a lucky break. He snorted.

"Where do you think you’re going?" one of the guards, a tall muscular black haired woman asked. He stepped around a piece of debris.

"Replicator 1. I might be able to get it on line," he answered.

She snorted. "Fat chance, we've tried for 12 years."

He nodded. "Well, let’s just see here shall we?" He turned a corner and dodged a crew woman.

"If you don't mind my asking, what's with the outfits?" He indicated the startled woman. He gave the scantily clad woman a polite nod as they passed.

"What do you mean?" He turned to the guard on his left.

"Well, you’re not exactly wearing clothes that fit the job description." He indicated her black leotard V neck dress with open back and short boots.

She blushed. "Captain traded for them years ago. They were in a storage warehouse," the other woman snarled. "They were for a whore house. So what? Clothes are clothes."

He shrugged. "Just making conversation."

He stepped over a knee knocker and ducked under a dangling cable. "Careful, that one's live," he called out as Sprite indicated the right side guard was about to grab it. She snatched her hand back.

"What's with your suit?" she asked.

"This is a skin suit, or battle suit," he answered.

"Why is it gray?" The blond asked.

"Oh, sorry." He sent Defender a command to return the suit to neutral white, but to leave his rank off. "I was in combat conditions prior to my stasis and left it on." He felt the hood mold itself into the neck ring.

"Replicator 1." He paused at a door and hit the open patch. The door groaned and then stopped. He sighed and grabbed with both hands. With an outward "Sah!" He pulled the door apart. He stepped over the knee knocker and into the compartment. It was huge, but the replicator filled most of it. On the other side of the replicator was a large exterior hatch, designed to allow the crew to replicate large components and take them out of the ship and apply them to other vessels.

He turned to the command station, reconfiguring his hand for access. "What are you doing?"

He didn't even look to the woman. "Accessing the replicator’s computer."

"I told you it's useless. You can't..." She stopped eyes wide as she watched his right ring finger morph as he inserted it into the universal port.

"Accessing," he said. Her mouth closed with a clop. "It appears someone locked the replicator into a diagnostic subroutine after it ran out of raw material." He turned to her.

"Raw material?" she asked dumbly. He nodded. "I thought they just made stuff out of thin air?"

He shook his head. "No, replicators just rearrange the materials into whatever they are told to produce one atom at a time. They work better and faster with pure materials on a molecular level though."

He turned to face the machine. "It looks like someone didn't know that, thought something was wrong, ran a diagnostic, and it froze." Proteus rebooted the software. Items began to list across his view. "And then left it on, so it was sucking power for years,"  he said wrinkling his nose. The left woman, a blond gasped. He snorted. "Okay, let’s see, software fixed." He pulled up the holographic interface. The lights in the compartment dimmed and the holo sprang to life in the air in front of him.

"Molly?" he sent a mental command for Sprite to open a channel.

A scratchy voice answered. "Yes?"

"Hello again Molly, this is Admiral Irons, we met earlier. I have permission from the Captain to make repairs. I have replicator 1 online; if you have some raw material stockpiled we can get to work replicating parts." She didn't answer for a moment. "Molly, you still there?" he asked, wondering if the signal was broken.

"Yes, that's wonderful! I'll bring you a list!" she said excitedly and then cut the link. He sighed.

"Since we're waiting, what say we bring in some of that debris and use it as a test bed?" He indicated the hatch. The blond nodded. He went out and grabbed the first piece he found. He gathered up several more, noting that the guards were not helping. He sighed mentally. He brought them to the replicators open hopper, feeding them one at a time into the gel. "The suspension gel is for the nanites," he answered the blond since she had a questioning look. She nodded.

A large chunk was taking it's time so he plugged himself back in. "Lets see here, let’s start with parts for the deflector shields." He scrolled through the menus until he found some simple common parts and then indicated them. He hit enter. The tank began to swirl.

"That's it?" the brunette asked.

"No, it'll take a little while. While we wait..." He went to the door and pulled open the access panel. Crud had gunked up the gears and shorted the electric motor. Hydraulics from the piston had leaked, and then built up. He sighed.

"We need a rag to clean this out, and some air spray." He used the suit's air tank to blow some of the debris out. "Let’s see, broken gear teeth, cracked hydraulics, split O rings, ruptured hose..." He got up and entered the parts into the replicator.

"Wait what about the shields?" the brunette asked.

He smiled politely. "The computer will do those next. The shield parts are common parts I entered to make sure the replicator is working right." He indicated the tank just as a part floated to the hopper. Gel drained away through the holes in the floor of the hopper to be recycled back into the tank. The part had a shiny sheen. "Okay, as soon as Molly is here..." He turned as he heard a noise. "Nice timing," he said. He smiled as Molly hurried in, glancing at the door.

"I have a partial list here." She waved a hand written note on what looked like paper.

"Okay, let’s see what we have. Hold this," he picked up the part from the hopper and handed it to the surprised blond guard. She fumbled it then caught it. The small parts for the door were already coming to the surface. He stepped to the hologram and showed a fascinated Molly what he was doing. "See we find the part here,” he explained as he pointed to the screen. “Is that a mark 5 coupler?"

She looked at her list. "Uh yes."

He nodded. "Okay, mark 5 coupler." He highlighted it and hit enter. The entry flashed. He entered in a number of parts, this time three, then hit enter again. "Okay, I just set it to make the part three times," he explained. He scrolled through the parts menu highlighting parts from her list and adding them to the Que. The menu balked after the fourth entry. "Okay, we need more raw material," he said. He turned to her. She blinked at him. "Raw material? Oh dear."

He smiled patiently. "We can use the broken bits for some of it, and salvage a lot. If you could get work crews bringing broken parts, like that old power cable, I can show someone how to load them." She nodded eagerly and pulled out a communicator. She turned to get some privacy so he turned back to the hopper. He pulled out the parts and walked over to the open panel.

A crew member with a rag hanging from her back pocket handed him the rag when he requested it. Eager they watched as he wiped away the grease and grime, then used his air supply to blow away loose bits. "Okay, next we cut power." He flipped the breaker off. "Now we pull the parts." One by one he pulled the parts, brushed them off, and then set them aside. One of the techs handed him the new parts one by one. He looked up as he finished finding he was surrounded. Molly was bent over, hands on her knees, watching avidly. He chuckled. "And finally, we turn power back on, close the plate, and test it." He did so, and then indicated to the guard to hit the switch. The guard scowled but did.

The door bucked for a moment, then closed. He nodded. She hit the switch and the door opened again, this time smoothly. "That should do for now," he said. He turned to the women, then to two of them. "Think you can do that with some of the other stuck doors?" he asked. They nodded. "Okay, go check things out. But be careful; make sure there isn't vacuum on the other side first." That sobered them as they left.

"Why mechanical systems?" Molly asked hesitantly, pushing her glasses back onto the bridge of her nose.

He smiled. "Nanites take power to work. They're also a hazard, so mechanical is best when simple jobs are in order," he said and then shrugged. "Sometimes the simplest things are best. It's an engineering creed, keep it simple." She nodded. He got up and motioned to one of the women holding the parts. "Here," he said and then pointed to the tank. He had her feed them into the tank, the group ohed and ahed as the parts dissolved before their eyes. The security guards snorted.

"Okay, now you've seen that part." He pointed to the receiving hopper basket, filled with parts. "Oh my!" Molly cried excited, positively hopping with glee. He chuckled. "Okay ladies, let’s get busy," the girl said. Molly eagerly snatched the parts up, looked each over, and then handed them out to different crew members with quick orders.

He took the time to replicate a coverall and duffel for himself. When the security guard noted the package she curtly asked what he was doing. He explained he was going to change out of his skin suit. He pointed behind the replicator, into the tight confine between the stern bulkhead and machinery. She watched him, narrowing her eyes as he set the duffel and coverall down and then began undressing.

Proteus unzipped the nanite seam along his shoulder and the seam down his front. The skin suit vacuoles expanded the suit, making it looser and easier to get off. The suit unlocked the plumbing connections and his nanites sealed the ports. When he was nude he heard a gasp and rustle.

He looked up to the guard, she had turned her back. She took a quick glance his way out of the corner of her eye. He could see her cheeks were flaming. He turned his head and picked up the coverall as he set the skin suit down.

The skin suit automatically began to fold, compressing into a neat package. He shook the coverall out, and then put it on. It was his usual purple work coverall, covered in pockets, and padded at the joints. He fingered the seam in the front, it sealed at his touch. He left the collar open.

He put the skin suit boots back on, they were a little tight with the coverall, but adjusted after a moment. "There, that wasn't so bad now was it?" he asked, not even looking up as he stored the suit in the duffel then slung it over his shoulder. T
he woman gave a jerky nod. "If you’re quite finished?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yup, time to get back to work."

They came around the replicator and into a crowd. Dozens of women were there, all talking at once. Some were holding broken bits, others talking about their gaudy costumes. "What's this?" he asked the guard.

She looked over the crowd, and then tightened her jaw and pursed her lips into a thin line. "You started it. When they heard about the replicator, the ship's grapevine went berserk," she said. He snorted.

There was a fight brewing in front of the controls, women were fighting over outfits. He sighed. Another was brewing in front of the replicators tray, two women were in a tug of war over a dress. "You may want to get some help and break this up," he suggested helpfully. He went over to the replicator and shouldered a girl aside. She squeaked. He ignored the glare as he locked the replicator down and stopped the dresses currently in production. He turned to face the glaring girl.

"NOW HEAR THIS!" he said, Sprite automatically augmenting his voice with sub-sonics and bass. The compartment noise instantly stopped in stunned silence. "Better, much better." He turned to the girl beside him. She backed up. "Now, ladies, this machine is not a toy, and is required to repair the ship. The Captain has instructed me to help you repair the ship." Some of the women with their mouths open closed them. A few looked confused, but others began to nod.

"Now, the replicators require raw material and power to function. So of course our priority is to repairing the ship," he said patiently. He gave one woman a nod. "Once we have the priorities sorted out we can begin work on other items." A few of the women nodded, backing out. He knew they were sensing he was about to put them to work and smiled inside. "Now, since you ladies are not busy with anything, we shall begin to repair the ship. You just volunteered to help." Two had managed to ease out of the compartment.

He snorted. "I see two of you ladies have already gone to help." They backed in; the lithe and lethal body of the security Chief now filled the doorway. He nodded as Molly came in behind the Chief. "Each of you please get your orders from Miss Molly over there...” he pointed, "or your senior officer or noncom if they are here. Now, let’s get to work."

He turned to the controls, flicking the queue back to his priority list. The Chief approached from behind, he felt his back itch. Defender didn't like it either and said so. "What's going on here?" she asked, demanding. The noise began to die down once more.

"Repair team got a little out of sorts, they lost track of what's important," he answered diplomatically. He nodded to the group as Molly handed off a part with instructions to the two women pushing the pallet. "Miss Molly and the guards are working on it," he nodded his chin to Molly. Molly looked up, waved, and then went back to her discussion. The Chief glared.

"Can this thing make weapons?" she asked him, hands on her hips.

He turned from the controls. "Ordinary civilian replicators can't. However, this is a naval one, so yes, it can. However, it takes a fleet officer's authorization to do so."

She cocks her head. "Not good enough let me see," she said as she elbowed him aside. She flicked through the controls, and then pluged in an external device, most likely a flash drive from the look of it. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Adding my security protocols to it." He sighed and shook his head as she triumphantly finished with a flick of the enter button. He shrugged. It wasn't like he needed weapons anyway. Besides, everything she just did could be undone by him.

“Let’s see,” He tapped in commands to replicate a series of ODN coils. The fiber optic lines will be needed to replace the broken ones in engineering. After the chief left he replicated a basic tool set then took his gear off to engineering, guards in tow.

Chapter 2

He pulled the hatch cover off, set it aside and looked within. "What do you think you’re doing?" a female growled. He felt a restraining hand on his arm. He looked up and over to the dark woman. "I'm going in there, I need to fix the control lines and bypass the downstream leak." She looked at the crawlspace. "Look, you can try to follow me in, but it's tight quarters and dangerous," he said, patience wearing thin. She shivered.

"Let him go," the other woman, Tara, said softly. The dark woman looked over to her. "Where's he going to go on a ship? Let him do his job."

The dark woman sighed and removed her hand. "Go, and get on with it." He sighed.

As he crawled down within the tight confines of the crawlspace, he winced when his elbow hit a broken spar. "Going to have to fix that,” he sighed shaking his arm out. Right on the funny bone too. Endorphins flooded the area, the pain ebbed.

"How's it going in there?" He winced at the echoing voice from the hatch.

"Not there yet," he replied, and then continued crawling. The web of optical fibers was just ahead. "Hurry up!" the woman yelled. He sighed.

"This is a perfect time to delegate," Sprite commented.

"You trust one of those wanna-bee's to this?" he asked.

"What?" The echoing reply.

He swore under his breath. "Never mind. I'm at the first problem and looking at it now," he called back.

"No, since they're having trouble finding their backsides with nav beacons..." Sprite answered. He chuckled.

"Well, they aren't all bad, some are half way there," he answered, thinking of Molly. He sighed as Proteus started feeding data on the lines to his HUD. Proteus took charge of his right hand, unplugging patched lines and replacing them with new fibers he had brought in with him.

"Like who?" Sprite asked.

"Jennie and Molly are okay. Still green though." He twisted aside as a fat cable came down when a supporting cable was pulled.

"Hey watch it," he said.

"Sorry Admiral." Proteus responded.

He felt Defender and Sprite also send rejoinders in the data link they shared. “All right you three, that's enough, let’s get back to work."

"Hey, what are you doing down there? We just lost the communications feed!" a different voice yelled.

He sighed. "I know that, I just pulled it." Proteus quickly patched in the new line.

"Oh, never mind, we got it back." He sighed. The echo and yelling was getting on his nerves.

"Mr. Admiral? Molly says not to yank anything important, we're in hyper," a more girlish voice said. He sighed again

"Yes, I know that!" He let the exasperation creep into his voice. He heard the girl turn and say he didn't need to be sarcastic. He sighed. He fed the next ODN cable through the clips then quickly unplugged the old one and plugged the new in. He had to move fast down the crawlspace to patch the other end in. "Hey, we lost the navigational feed!"

He swore. The backup should have kicked in. "Sprite?" He felt the ship shudder.

"No good Admiral, too many circuits are down." He plugged the free end into the jack. "Okay in. I am taking momentary control... Okay, they're balanced again," she reported as the ride smoothed. He sighed in relief.

"That was a little too close Admiral, I agree, let’s stop while we're ahead?" Sprite commented. "Good point," he grunted.

"I better check the backup systems out and work on them first," Proteus said, clearly chastened by the close call. Proteus plotted the back up control run.

"Send in the back up lines!" he called after a moment.

"What?"

"The backup lines, near the port...um left side of the hatch!" He waited.

"Oh, found them!" He heard them scrambling. "Here they are!"

He felt something bump his foot. "Great." He crawled to a cross corridor, then did a three point turn.

He went back and grabbed the cables, then backed them into the crawlspace. When he got to the first run he stopped and plugged the end in. The first line lit, the second didn't. "Got a problem here." He observed.

"It is further upstream Admiral, nothing you can do here."

He looked it over. "Yeah, all right." He crawled backwards to the cross corridor, then repeated his three point turn.

Okay, next one let’s see..." Proteus highlighted the backup line on his HUD.

"Got it," he said. He crawled over to it, and then rolled onto his back. He fed the line through the clips, then removed the old line and jacked the ODN cables in.

"First is green Admiral. Second is dead. Third is... Flickering. Intermittent fault upstream. Looks like a UART about to go belly up."

He sighed as he coiled the old cables. "All right, add it to the list. Next?"

“So what are you doing in there? How can you see?” Molly called up from the entrance to the space. The echoing sounds made him wince.

“I've got good eyes,” he called back, looking at her. He watched with low light vision as she blocked the crawl space entryway. He took a moment to study her, and then he went back to work. “Molly, why don't you go replicate a tool kit, engineer's kit two I think, just make sure it has an LED flash light and work light, that way you can join me,” after a moment she left.

"So, how long until we reach the next port of call?" he asked. He'd just finished the wiring job and was out of the tubes for a moment. He checked the ships stats then blanched. "D note of Alpha band?"

Sprite pulled up the hyperdrive specs. "I don't think it's the hyperdrive as much as the other systems. Most of the navigational systems are patched from civilian ships. Most of the hyperspace sensors are degraded or down." A ship's silhouette was projected, with its sensor cones and blind spots. "There's a seventy percent probability that they are not comfortable with higher transit speeds. The reaction times would have to be high, since the sensors are myopic."

He nodded. "So, replacing the sensors, computer hardware, software, balancing the shields, remaking the hyper collector, rebuilding the navigational suite, and what else?" He opened an office program and began to list things.  Sprite of course took over and did it faster.

"Well, to get into the higher beta and gamma bands the fusion reactor, shield nodes, and hyperdrive will need to be overhauled. The fuel supply will need to be upgraded; they are currently using semi pure hydrogen," she reported.

He winced. "That is going to mean a lot of radiation damage."

Sprite scanned the records. "There's only a partial log, the computer system is...wild. It looks like the previous ship's Captain managed a partial purge before expiring."

The AI projected a hash of code. "What we have here is a failure to communicate. They didn’t just patch in civilian hardware, there is also civilian grade software and... viruses," she said in distaste.

He shook his head. "They used what they had on hand to salvage the ship I guess."

Sprite projected her head onto his HUD. "No, some of this is dated prior to the ship's last action," she reported, clearly annoyed.

He looked over to the bulkhead, trying to suppress his surprise and shock. "You’re telling me they were using civilian grade materials on a fleet tender? For heaven's sake why? This ship can make anything it or an entire fleet needs!"

He shook his head, then got up and paced. "From what I have pieced together the Federation navy was in dire straits before the end of the war," Sprite said.

He shook his head. "That still doesn't explain why they would use that crap," he sighed.

"Actually, since replicator 1 was in diagnostic mode and replicator three was locked out with a bus fault, the assumption could be made that the navy's choice of... organic personnel left a lot to be desired," Sprite commented dryly.

"You mean dregs,” he said, clearly unhappy at the thought.

"So, definitely need a fusion core overhaul and new fuel supply to get into the higher bands," he added that to his file.

"Yes, a consistent power supply that doesn't give an occasional burp is vital. You know of course I can do that," she said souding annoyed. He snorted. Sprite always hated it when he did things it could do for him.

"Just keeping in practice."  He looked over the list.

"Start with the easy things and work our way down?" Sprite highlighted the sensors. "If you can concentrate on this, I can dive into the net and try to rebuild it."

"Ho boy, what a mess," Sprite pulled up a directory and showed it to him.

Proteus highlighted various areas where memory was down or corrupted. "Admiral, there are so many problems, I don't know where to start, the hash of civilian and military hardware and software..."

He sighed. "You have the antivirus and firewall up right?" Sprite lit a green light on his HUD.

"Updated it with ours right? With a firewall? Heuristic virus scanning too?" Again the green light. "Then it seems to me you've made a start. Clone the antivirus bots and sick them on different mainframes but set them to quarantine not kill, we don't want to muck up the code if something has a tendril or two wired." Again the green light.

"Bots released," Sprite said a moment later.

He nodded leaning over to unscrew a panel. "Okay, start disinfecting non essential systems, start with life support. Have Proteus help you since it was designed to repair both hardware and software. Proteus, give her a decision tree, directory tree..."

"Already working on it Admiral, uploading the software directory tree for life support, communications, and a basic OS."

He nodded. "Before you implement anything, scavenge the net for driver files and DLL files, copy them to a root directory, then get to work. Clone them and patch them where needed, alter the clones to fit where needed."

"Okay, I see where you’re going with this. Can I borrow the other AI when needed?” Sprite asked. Defender put up a red light.

"I think what Defender means is that he needs to watch my back. Proteus can help when I am not using him."

Sprite sighed. "This is insane."

He chuckled. "Welcome to the real world. Just make sure you don't recompile something vital, or something someone will notice," he smiled.

"Or do any major code surgery during jump?" Sprite teased back. He shuddered. "Yeah, good point," she said after a moment and then nodded. "I can locate the changes needed and write a patch program, then make the changes when we exit hyper. It will eat into the processor cycles though." He nodded.

"Stamp out the viruses first, and make minor repairs. Keep it simple and with limited to life support and noncritical systems," he ordered.

She nodded. "Aye aye Admiral. With your permission, I will be in the network," she said formally.

He chuckled, "Go on, and get out of here. You always love playing in a net."

The door opened and Jennie peaked in. "Are you talking to me Admiral?"

He shook his head. "No, just working up a to do list and working on the software repairs." He picked up his toolbox by the door. "Shall we?"

The hologram was starting to become normal to the crew, they were not oohing and ahing it he thought wryly as he checked the audience. Two days and they were getting better. "All right ladies, here is a ship's schematic." He sent a signal and a network of lines appeared, all branching out of a single source. "All right, these lines are the plasma conduits. They all start here, at the fusion reactor. There's a secondary set here, for the antimatter reactor, but those have no fuel. I noticed someone has been scavenging them for parts as well." He waved and those faded out.

"Now, here's the main trunk going to the primary ship systems." He traced his finger along the thickest line. It highlighted and blinked. "This line goes to the hyperdrive, engines, as well as the critical ships systems like shields and life support." Each branch glowed a different color. After a moment they faded. "Now, these smaller branches come off the main line to feed secondary systems, and then branch out more and more to feed individual systems on the different decks." He rotated the ship's profile so they could see it from different angles.

"It looks like a tree," one girl said.

"More like a sponge., another replied.

Molly shook her head. "No, it looks like the veins and arteries of a body," she said. The Admiral looked over to her and nodded.

"That's right it does!" One of the girls snapped her fingers and nodded. "I remember now! I saw the doctor staring at a picture of a body with lines like this!" She looked excited and studied the image.

"Good. Now, here are the bleeds and breaches." Areas that were breached or bleeding cut off or started to bleed. "Most of them are locked down, but we still have signs of some loss of pressure, so we know some of the leaks aren't contained. They may be venting in the unpressurized decks." A few looked alarmed. He nodded. "Right, the ship is slowly bleeding to death."

Molly sighed. "And that is why we're here, to come up with a plan to fix this," she said as she waved.

"Oh, not just stop it, but to rebuild it," the Admiral replied.

She looked over to him and smiled. "One thing at a time," she said. He smiled as she blushed and dimpled, realizing she had used one of his phrases.

"Okay, next up are the ODN lines. Think of them as the ship's nervous system." He pulled up the ODN lines. "Unlike the plasma conduits, the ships ODN cables are distributed, with the only critical trunks going to the bridge and engineering. All other lines are in a cluster network formation,"  he explained. The women looked confused. He shrugged.

"Sorry, techno speak," he said. Molly giggled. "Okay, what I mean to say is, each deck and each system has their own computers, so they only have communication lines running between the systems. They have multiple lines for redundancy." He zoomed into the navigational module and highlighted each bus in turn. "If one bus is damaged or is under repair, others will take up the load. The plasma conduits have a similar network, but it is not as advanced," he explained.

Jennie nodded in understanding. "And the ODN cables only carry light so they're tiny and don't need as much space."

He nodded. "That's right. Each computer system has its own redundant network, communications, navigation, engineering, and so on," he said highlighted each.

"But each can also share in the other networks if their own goes down. But there is a loss in bandwidth."  He ran a scenario showing this. Graphs of usage popped up.

Molly looked them over and nodded. "And that's what's happening now?" she asked. He nodded.

"Yes, we have a lot of systems out because of damage to the power conduits or optical network, so some systems have to be rerouted or do not run at all." He highlighted the affected areas. "Now, if we can patch in new conduits and cables, we can repair some of the less damaged systems, and the ship will be able to adapt better."

Jennie nodded. "Okay, I get that, but what about this? And how do we get the materials?" she asked.

He looked over to where she was pointing. "That's a broken conduit to a trio of shield emitters on the port side. Once we fix the line, those shield nodes may come back on line, allowing the shields to balance better, and taking some of the excess load off of the other nodes."

She nodded. "And the material?" she asked. He sighed.

"Well, ODN cable is easy, it is extruded plastic. We can get a lot from recycling," he explained.

Molly nodded. "I saw that you’re making spools of it," she said.

He nodded. "Yes, and we'll have to have some crew do the splicing for the connections."

She sighed. "Is it hard?" she asked.

He shook his head. “No just tedious,” he said. She grimaced.

"Okay, I'll get Misha and Dorah on it," she said coming to a reluctant decision.

He nodded. "Okay, the conduit is a bit trickier. We'll have to shut down the leaking sections, isolate them, then remove the damaged or destroyed conduit and recycle it or rebuild it," he sighed. What he was describing was a lot of work. "It'll take time, plasma is nasty, and can be radioactive." Some of the women shuddered at that.

"Unfortunately, superconductors have an impedance issue; they shut down after they are used for a time under load and need to be replaced," he said patiently.

Molly looked up from her tablet. "Is that why they fail?"

He nodded. "Well, that's one reason," he admitted.

She nods. "So, we'll need to recycle some of it, and rebuild as much as we can."

He pointed to the antimatter lines. “Since these aren't needed, we can recycle them for now,” he said. Molly nodded.

"What about these other lines?" Trisha asks, pointing to them. Sprite highlighted them.

"Oh, those are the other systems. Coolant, water, sewage, air conditioning..." He pointed to them, one by one.

Jennie nods and slaps the table. "When do we start?" Some of the others jump up excitedly. The Admiral handed each of them a tablet.

"Wow! There is so much to do!" Molly looked at the list dismayed.

"That's just page one. There is a lot more," Jennie pointed out, touching the top button to scroll to the next page.

"A hundred pages? How are we ever going to get through all that?" Molly practically screeched. "One thing at a time," the Admiral replied with a chuckle. "That is how we do things; we prioritize, and then work through the list, one at a time."

Jennie nodded as Molly frowned, clearly uncertain. "And we won’t do everything on our own, and the entire crew will help, and learn as we go,” Jennie said. She waved to some of the crew nearby who nodded. Some looked eager, a few wary.

"Still, that's a lot of work!" Molly waved the tablet. "We don’t have parts for all that!" She waved. "And I don't even know what half these things are?" she sighed.

The Admiral snorted. "You'll learn. What we don't have we will make."

She looked up surprised and then smiled. "I forgot about the replicator!"

He nodded. "And we have others to fix too."

She looked stunned. "I forgot about those too!" She turned to the crew. "Come on people! We can do this!" She waved the tablet up in the air. The crew cheered.

"Okay, let’s start small, with some basics so I can assess your skills and set a learning curve...” the Admiral said as the cheers began to fade. "Trisha, you’re into life support, so I want you to handle that starting with the most critical things. Jennie will handle computers." He nodded to her. "Um, Shakira?" You're on lights and electrical with um... Jordan right?" Sprite was rather helpful with names hovering on his HUD over each person.  The AI must have picked up the names from hearing conversation.

The girl nodded. "Right."

"Okay, ladies, let's get started."

"Well well, it looks like you've been promoted. Congratulations FLEET Admiral." Sprite's voice was bubbly, with a hint of suppressed mirth.

"What?" He turned his attention inward. "Show me," he growled. She pulled up the fleet records from the ship's deep files, scrolled through them to his name and highlighted.

"MIA, Fleet Admiral. Nice. It looks like you were promoted when you were MIA for a year." Sprite pulled up his bio. It was a thumbnail brief, enough to identify him on a fleet ship with a brief look at his career.

"Huh," he grunted.

"I bet it was the bureaucrats, giving you a send off for propaganda purposes," Sprite commented, clearing the record.

"Probably," he replied with a snort.

"The... what do you call it...? A roster?" Molly asked, wrinkling her nose.  They were in her office going over things.

He nodded. "The roster looks good. I think we have a lot of the bases covered." She looked confused for a moment. He smiled.

"Where does that saying come from?" Molly asked him suddenly, adjusting her glasses.

He chuckled. "Baseball, an old sport. Pre-spaceflight I believe," he said.

She nodded. "Oh. Well, life support is completely covered, but we're light in some of the other departments like drives and electronics." She shook her head. "Life support is shaping up, but then again, we had that one covered before." He nodded but wisely kept his council on whether it had been handled right.

"The roster has to have three to four shifts. But we need to keep a day and night cycle so the normal biorhythms aren't affected negatively," he explained.

He looked up from the tablet to see Molly and Jennie exchange looks. "Biorhythms? Day night cycle?" Molly wrinkled her nose.

Jennie shrugged. "I think he means we need to keep to a daytime nighttime schedule so it doesn't mess up sleep," she said. Molly nodded then turned to the Admiral.

He snorted. "Pretty much. We learned before space flight that even ships needs a day and night routine, some semblance of order to keep the body’s clock working right. Plants need it as well."

Trisha looked up from reading her tablet and snapped her fingers. "That's why the Gardener shuts the lights off for a shift!"

He nodded. "Right, too much sunlight can kill a plant. They need down time to process things." Molly nodded. "Okay, so two normal shifts, morning and afternoon, and one night?"

He nodded. "A night shift is called a graveyard shift."

Jennie wrinkled her nose. "Graveyard?"

He shrugged. "That was when graves were dug."

Trisha shivered. "Ew, can we call it something else?"

Molly shrugged. "Okay, so I'll take first shift, Jennie, you’re on second, and let’s see... She looked at the tablet then at Trisha.

"Don't look at me! I like my beauty sleep!" Trisha put her hands out to ward her off.

"I was going to suggest Keisha," Molly adjusted her glasses.

"Oh, Keisha? Yeah, she might work." Then Trisha thought for a moment. "Hey, wait, why didn't you want me?" She accused.

Molly sighed. "There's no pleasing everybody," she said rolling her eyes. The Admiral chuckled.

“So, where do you get your parts?” The Admiral asked as he sat back studying the girls.

“Well, we have a machine shop on deck six, but if we needed something fabricated we had to wait until we could reach Pyrax,” Molly said. Molly shook her head, frowning at her tablet. She tapped in a command, and then looked up. “The best they could do was basic stuff, mechanical parts, cables, or electric motors, nothing complex or electronic,” she sighed.

“They charged a bloody fortune, even when we provided the materials,” Jen snarled, shaking her head. “Damn rip off if you ask me, they're no better than the pirates,” she sighed as Molly and the Admiral gave her a long look. “Well, they are.”

"Molly, is there a problem with the heat exchangers on deck one?" Molly and the Admiral looked up as the doctor came in, hands in his pockets. "I'm getting reports of heat exhaustion."  The man had long black hair and was wearing a trademark white medical smock.

Molly went over to a life support console. "What's going on over there?" she asked, suddenly waving her arms. "No, this isn't right; it is dumping excess heat up there!"

The Admiral looked alarmed. "Too much heat and it could fry the electronics." He started for the door.

"Not to mention the crew on the bridge." The doctor observed.

"It's more than that doc, if the electronics on the bridge fry, we're dead," the Admiral said over his shoulder.

The doctor froze. "Okay, not good."

Molly grabbed a kit. "Come on!" They ran through the corridors, guard escort following. "Get out of the way, make a hole will ya!" Molly called ahead. Crew members flattened themselves to the bulkheads. "Move!" Molly elbowed a girl aside.

She snarled something but Molly was already past. "This is an emergency, get out of the way!" They got to the life support compartment for deck one and swore as a pair of women were sitting nearby drinking water. "What are you two doing? Molly demanded.

"Oh, sorry Molly we ran into a problem, it got really hot so we took a break," the girl said. Molly looked inside and then reared back. "Don't go in there, it's sweltering!" One girl was dripping in sweat.

"I can see that!" Molly slapped the door jam. "What did you do?" she demanded as she whirled. "Oh um, ah, we..." the first girl said. The doctor was leaning over the second examining her.

"We don't know." The second croaked.

"I think we need to get them to sickbay," he said quietly. "Dehydration, this young lady has stopped sweating, not good."

He took her pulse with one hand while the other fished out a med scanner. "I can't get in, whatever they did it is hardware, not software, and I can't fix it out here," the Admiral said suddenly.

Molly looked over to him and nodded grimly. "So, what do we do? Brave the furnace?" She waved to the door.

"I have an idea," he said as he turned to the guard.

"Get someone to get me my suit and another for Molly fast. Mine is in Molly's office." The guard, Tara obeyed, calling in on the communicator. "Molly stay clear of the door. Doc, get your patients out of here." He turned to Tara. "Tara, get everyone out who is not important." She nodded and began to make calls. "Molly, get someone in life support to reroute the cool air to this deck, it may help."

She scowled. "That's like putting a band aid on a broken leg!" she said. He nodded.

"Every little bit helps though." He turned to Tara. "I'm going in, when the suits get here have Molly suit up." He rushed past Molly into the room before she could protest. He shut the door behind him. "Okay..." The heat was stifling, over one hundred fifty degrees on his HUD...and climbing a few degrees every second. "Ideas Proteus? Anyone?"

Proteus highlighted the heat exchange. He checked it over. "Well, this is not good. Every single one is in backward!" He sighed and reached for the first.

"Careful hot!" Sprite warned. He paused, then clenched his left fist and brought it to his side. "Thanks." He concentrated and sent a neural command to cut his right hand's pain receptors. "Okay, let’s try this again."

Beads of sweat were on his face, his coverall was soaked. Salt stung his eyes. "Next time head band or suit." He pulled the retaining clips off, and then pulled at the exchange. "No good, they jammed it in." He turned and used his left hand to get the rubber mallet out of a nearby kit. "Damn, hot." There was no use, he had to use it. He tapped the exchanger, then harder and harder until it dislodged. "That's one," he said.

"Admiral, your core temp is one oh three and rising; you’re in risk of overheating," Proteus reported.

He sighed. "Yeah, I know." He removed the retaining clips for the next two exchangers, and then whacked them out. "Whack the heat exchange. Beats whack a mole,” Sprite commented. "We can't use shields; you need to use your hands after all. Temperature is rising fast. "

He slammed the next one. "Don't you think I know that? I can read my own HUD!" He unclipped a stubborn retaining clip then tried again. He noted the shredded coolant lines on the deck. The door opened and Molly came in in a patched suit. "How bad is it?" she asked.

He grunted. "Just about as bad as it could be. They hot wired a few things backwards, burning them out, and put these in all backward," he explained. He pulled at another clip.

"Admiral, let me do that, you go get a drink and get into your suit." She took the hammer from him.

"Okay, but watch it, it's hot." He stepped back and out the hatch.

"Here Admiral," Tara said as she handed him a drink. He realized  the temperature was only twenty degrees cooler out in the corridor.

"Damn." He took a long swig then looked around. "Where's my suit?"

“Right here Admiral.” He looked over to Tara who held it up. “I was going to try to use it, but I think it is damaged.” She fingered the right shoulder hole.

“Give it here.” She tossed it to him. He chugged the water, tossed the cup to Tara then shucked the coverall and tried to make a record getting into the suit. He ignored the gasps and blushing girls.

As he stood he could feel the seam closing around his right shoulder. He pulled the hood up and watched the visor close.

“You’re good Admiral,” Sprite reported. He nodded.

“Good luck,” Tara said as he thumbed the door open. She grimaced and backpedaled. The heat must be blistering.

“Okay, let's see,” he said. He noticed Molly had managed to remove all the heat exchanges and even get one in properly. “Sprite, get me a link to main engineering, tell them to back flush the heat exchange system with fresh coolant in two minutes.”

“Admiral, I got one fixed, but the other is stuck. Stupid bolt hole is stripped,” Molly grunted. “Damn fools. Piece of junk.” He stepped around a heat exchanger.

“Can you work on another while I re-tap it?” he asked. She nodded, moving immediately for the third exchange.

“It's getting hot in here! What are you doing?” They heard over the suit comms.

Molly grimaced. “We're doing the best we can, just bear with us. It isn't a picnic in here you know.” He chuckled. Proteus traced the coolant lines, and then placed a karat around a crimped line. “Crimped coolant line by your feet, watch it.” She looked down, and then carefully stepped over it. She set the exchange down, then reached over and straightened the line. “Best we can do.”

He felt Proteus change his finger to a re-tap bore then take control of his arm. He moved forward, letting the AI reach in and bore the hole out. With his free hand he checked the fittings of the nearby exchange unit, finding one loose he hand tightened it. “Sprite open a channel to fabrication.” “Channel open Admiral,” Sprite reported.

“Fabrication 1, this is the Admiral, I want four new coolant lines, two meters long, um,” he paused, unsure of the specs. Proteus helpfully fed him the part number on his HUD. “Part number is uploading to you now.” He waited a moment.

“Who, what?”

He sighed. “Sprite...”

“Got it Admiral, current part on hold, emergency bypass, they are working on it now,” she reported, not waiting a beat. She'd clearly sprung into action when the humans had hesitated. He nodded.

“Fabrication, make sure someone runs those lines to us FAST,” Molly called.

“You get that?” he asked.

“We got it, Dorah will run it. Gotta do something to keep her out of my hair...” the woman muttered as she closed the circuit.

“Coolant on the move.” Proteus reported a minute later.

“Lock that one down fast Molly, coolant is coming,” he said.

She nodded and tightened her wrench. “Okay this one is done, but the fourth...” she said unsure. She turned to see coolant spilling out of the cables. “Great!”

Proteus retracted his hand. He checked, the hole was ready. “Okay.” He spun and grabbed the exchange unit and carefully put it in place. “Got this one too.” He looked over to her setting hers down on the bolts. She had a problem lining up the holes though.

“Okay, now the fun part.” He picked up a line and felt it trying to snake out of his hands. Fluid gushed out all over him, and the unit. “Crap.” He managed to get the coupler to the male end of the unit then lock it down. “That's one.” He tightened the head until the dripping stopped.

“Finally!” Molly sighed in relief as she got the holes lined up and set her unit down. “Damn what a pain! Always happens when you’re in a hurry!”

He chuckled as he picked up the exhaust line and screwed it on. The line immediately went taught, and then sprang a leak. “I was afraid of that,” he sighed as the pin hole leak sprayed fluid.

“Where are those hoses?” Molly called irritably. The door opened and Tara tossed them in. “Good.” She grabbed one and started attaching it. “How are we going to do this?” she asked, kicking the shredded line gushing fluid at her feet.

“One thing at a time,” he said pointing. He checked the stats. “Temperature has leveled off.”

"Molly when are you going to fix the air conditioning? It's sweltering on the bridge!" Shandra called over the inter ship net.

"I'm on it. We had a bit of a mix up in the wiring; we're getting it sorted out now," Molly replied. "Preferably before we pass out Molly," The Captain growled. "Why me," she muttered as the nurse came in and put an ice pack on her brow.

“Honestly, all those repairs and they can’t get that done?” Shandra grumped as she looked over her control board.

“We're on it!” Molly sing songed.

“Oops, left the channel open,” Sparks said with a blush as she flicked the control.

“Well that was interesting!” Molly sat in the corridor, leaning against a bulkhead. She had her helmet off and was shaking. “I need a stiff drink and some sack time,” she sighed leaning back. “Damn that was scary,” she said, mopping at her brow. The Admiral chuckled.

“What's next?” she asked looking up at him. He stood looking at the crew in suits cleaning up the mess in the room. The temperature had quickly dropped to normal levels.

“Well, I am going to shuck this suit again, and then check things over here, then check the electronics on this deck, look for any damage.” He looked down at her. She was clearly done in, but still trying to rally.

“You get some rest, you look about done in. I won’t need rest for a couple of shifts,” he said.

She smiled.  He hadn't gotten any downtime yet. “Must be nice,” she muttered then yawned. “Okay, you talked me into it,” she said. He chuckled.

He checked in to the replicator during graveyard shift. A sleepy young woman looked up as he and the guards entered. "Can I help you sir?" She was tentative and a little awed.

"I was just checking in, I thought I should upgrade my tool kit."

She nodded. "I heard Molly and Jennie were doing that last shift as well." She was sitting at a stool in front of the controls. "Do you think we'll have the other replicator fixed soon?"

He stepped up beside her and looked over the controls. "Maybe. I haven't taken a look at each of them." There was a part under construction; it was going to be completed in twenty minutes. He looked over to her, then turned and lounged against the console.

"Replicators?  You mean there are more than two?" She squeaked eyes wide.

He shrugged. "There are four large industrial replicators, eight medium general purpose ones, and six specialty replicators. There are also four in the sickbay. Then of course there are food replicators in the galley and quarters," he explained off hand.

She gasped eyes wide. "All those? Where are we going to store all the stuff we make?" She waved her hands. "We don't have the room as it is!"

He shrugged. "Well, this ship class has a lot of cargo space. From what I've heard there's still cargo holds that are unused because they were breached. We'll fix them."

She shook her head, clearly overwhelmed. "Wow! I didn't think it was ever possible to fix that sort of stuff! So we can make parts to do that?"

He nodded and pointed at the tank. "That's what it's doing now. It's making parts. I believe that's an EPS T junction."

She nodded. "Nera said it was for deck three," she said. She looked it over, and then studied the controls. "I wish I knew how to use this, I'm just babysitting the machine," she said plaintively.

He smiled. "It'll come with time. Look, see here?"

He turned to the console. "This is the matrix view. These..." He pointed to another display. "These are your axis view cameras. This...” He pointed to another panel. "This is your material Queue list. Over here are your power controls, your raw material stats, heat, and a link to the parts database."

She nodded. "What's this?" she asked pointing to big red button. He brushed her hand aside before she punched the button. “

That's the emergency stop.” He pointed to another group of controls. “These are your communication controls."

She nodded. "I figured that part out." She glanced over the console again and then looked up. "Thanks." She gave him an impish grin.

"Right now we have a long list and a limited supply of raw material so we have to prioritize what we want." He scrolled up and down the list. "Once we get more material and the other replicators on line we can parse this file to each machine, so we'll be making more things faster."

She nodded, and then paused. "What about power?" she asked as she looked over to him. "We won’t have enough for everything!"

He nodded. She was clearly catching on. "Good point. That's why we'll do things in stages, and rebuilding the fusion reactor core is a priority."

She nodded relieved and then checked the controls. "Almost done here," she said as she checked the status bar. "Do you want the basic tools?"

He jacked in to the port. "Actually, I have most of them here."

Her eyes were wide. She looked at his hand, then back to him. "Wha, how?"

"Implant. I have an artificial arm." He gave her the standard lecture on his implants as the replicator finished his toolkit.

“Mister Admiral, I have some lunch here in the office if you want to take a break?” He looked over to the young woman Brie.

“Yeah, that might be a good idea.” He got up and wiped his hands off on a rag.

"Brei, there's still a pump making a tip-pity tock sound in the garden." They looked over to the small woman standing nearby.

"Jeez Kess, can't I finish my lunch?" Brie asked, tossing down her napkin. The small woman blushed. She had short blond hair that just covered a pair of elven ears. She hid her hands; the Admiral caught a glimpse of long fingers and spots on her arms.

"I'm sorry, I'll come back later." Kess ducked her head and turned to leave.

He grabbed her arm. She froze. "No, sit with us for a moment." He pulled her to a chair. Reluctantly she sat. "Okay, so a pump is making a weird sound. Which one is it?"

She blushed. "I'm not sure, I can never get a handle on the machines, I'm better with plants," she said softly. She looked up to him. He caught her small smile and nodded. She had a slight lipse; most likely because of her gene sculpt ancestry.

He nodded. "Okay, we can go over the parts so it'll be easier." Brie shook her head taking a bite. She chewed and swallowed.

"Don't bother, Kess is a genius with plants, but can't work a can opener to save her life." Kess blushed at that but nodded.

He looked over the wiring closet's door and shook his head. Someone had drilled through the lock on it. "Cute," He grunted. The compartment part of the main computer bus, so it had to be protected. Obviously the key had been lost... Or someone had been in a hurry to fix something. He mentally shrugged and opened the door. A rat’s nest of wiring sprang out. He sighed. "Great."

"Oh it’s not so bad." Proteus answered his sigh. True enough, computer cables were fiber optic, and power lines were electrical. They each had their own gauge. "The problem is that it looks like someone ripped wiring from other things to patch things." He looked at the back of the door, soot and smudges marked it in different spots.

"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 the 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.

"What are you looking for?" She asked. "Ah...”

He brushed aside some debris and then raised his right hand. "This," he said. He sent the mental signal to his hand, the ring finger morphed into a jack.

"What the hell?" The girl asked taken aback.

He slid the jack home into the port. "Okay, I'm in." He accessed the deck controls. "Virus attack, firewalls are up," Defender reported.

"I have it." In a moment he sent a signal to the life support node, it cleared and the floating debris clanged to the deck. "Virus," He reported. "Okay, you can get your box now." She went over and picked it up.

"What did you do?" she asked curious. She stepped around the zero g section carefully then grabbed her box.

"I zapped a couple of viruses in the node and reinitialized its firewall. Then I shut the gravity module down and did a cold reboot," he replied, removing the jack.

"Well, whatever you did, it worked. Think you can do it again?" she asked, hefting the box. "Hope nothing is broken," she muttered.

"As often as it takes, but it would be easier to train people to do it themselves," he said. He shook his head. "Also, to get the viruses cleared out and restore the mainframe." He gave her a look. She nodded. "Well, I am into computers, so we shouldn't have a problem there. I didn't know about viruses though. How can a computer catch the flu?" she asked, wrinkling her nose. From her tone she was obviously serious. He sighed.

Obviously, she didn't know as much as she thought. "A computer virus is a malicious set of code designed to damage a system's software or hardware." He waved to the deck. "Like that did." She nodded. "Some are pranks, some are to steal information, and some are to leave back doors for hackers to attack a system," he explained.

She nodded. "Okay, so how do we get them out?" she asked. He sighed.

"I'm working on it," Sprite said distantly. He nodded.

"Working on it,"  he said out loud.

She nodded. "Okay, this way."

"So I hear you’re shaking things up?" the gravelly voice isn't a surprise to him, but apparently to the crew members near. He hid a smile and turns. The Captain is seated in a chair, welded onto a hover pallet.

"Doing my best Ma'am, We should have things in better shape soon," he said. He knew things were a lot better now then before he had come on board of course.

She gave him a long look, then a small smile that touched her eyes into a twinkle. "You do that. Carry on," she said. He nods as she backs up with her guard and turns around. "Oh," she said. He turns back to her as she looks at him over her shoulder. "Do make sure you get some food and sleep sometime, you’re wearing the guards out,"  she said with a malicious smile.

He smiled wearily. "Aye aye Captain," he said. She nodded and then left.

He looked at the tech helping him. "Does the Captain go everywhere in that?" he asked.

She nodded, looking a little uncomfortable. "The Captain is pretty old now and not as spry as she once was. And that machine can't get her into all the compartments... But she still finds a way to check on them," she said. She has a disgusted look on her face.

He chuckled. "Captains always do. Common trait of command. So, let’s see if we can finish wiring this... hand me that number twenty three coupler will you?"

Chapter 3

After sixty three hours of being up and about, he finally gave in to Sprite's polite insistence and the guards discrete prompting to go to bed. He let the guard lead the way, bemused that they were careful to keep three paces in front and behind him. He was not so bemused when they arrived in the brig. "And what is this supposed to be the Hilton?" he tried to glare, but a yawn escaped.

One of the guards shrugged. "Orders,” she mumbled.

He shrugged. "Well, a bed is a bed I guess." He went into the cell and laid out on the bottom cot. The guards argued about cuffing him, and then one firmly shut the door and grabbed the other by the arm and pulled her away. He shrugged it off and let Morpheus take him.

Defender woke him three hours and fifty five minutes later. A strange male had entered the cell, and was holding his wrist. Before he could stop it, the AI had dumped adrenalin into his system. He woke fast and twitched. "Hold still," a male voice said. He opened his eyes to look at a male in a medical smock. The smock must have been salvaged, it was sooty, had some blood stains, and was a bit worn. The left lapel had a doctor's name and fruit salad.  The shoulders had the classic pauldron symbols of the medical core. He'd seen it before but hadn't really looked at it until now. At least not this close.

"Doc, what are you doing?" he asked politely, not moving his arm.

"Attempting to take your pulse. Please be quiet," the man said. He twitched a look up at the engineer, then back down. His lips moved, counting.

"I can't seem to get a pulse," The doc commented, shifting his grip.

The engineer noted the doctor was manacled. He cocked an eyebrow. "Well, that's because that's my artificial arm doc. The real one is over here." He flicked his left hand up and back while cycling his right arm's fingers through quick tool changes. The doctor looked up startled.

"Fascinating," he said as he regained his composure and looked at the engineer. His face was partially hidden by long black hair. He was clean shaven, and had brown skin.

"Why the manacles doc?" the engineer asked sitting up. The doctor sighed.

"I was kidnapped," he said simply. He looked over to the guard standing with her back to the cell, but her head turned to the left, watching them out of the corner of her eye. "It seems there were several injuries and they needed a doctor. I had a small practice in a village near where they landed. They came and told me there was an injury at their ship. When I got to their shuttle I was stunned and woke up here," his deep voice was calm as he flicked his fingers to the brig.

The engineer nodded slowly. "Shanghaied," he said. The doctor looked confused for a moment. "It means kidnapped. Press ganged is the naval version," he sighed as the doctor nodded.

"I was a village healer before, trying to make do with limited training, and limited material. Here I have a little more to work with, but I'm a prisoner. A slave." He gave the engineer a look. "And it seems, now so are you."

The engineer cocked an eye. "We'll see." He got up.

"What are you doing?" the doctor asked.

"I need to get some food and get back to work."

The doctor's visible eye widened. "You were on your feet for nearly three days! You should still be asleep!"

The engineer smiled. "My augmentation allows me to function better than those without it doc. I'm  fine. A little stiff on the organic side..." Proteus released local nanites to remove lactic acid in his joints..."But I'm doing better." He turned to their jailer.

"All right miss, we should be getting back to work," he said. She ignored him. He stepped up to the cell door. "Miss, time to get back to work."

She snorted giving him a sidelong look over her shoulder. "You’re in there till the Chief tells you otherwise." He sighed and turned his efforts inward.

"Sprite, got the brig over ride?" He wasn't in the mood to be trapped. Less than four hours of sleep and no caffeine had him grumpy.

"Are you sure about this Admiral?" He flicked his right wrist to the cell door. He called up his power reserves and slammed it hard. The ancient hinges shrieked as they shredded. The door fell with a clang. The guard whirled, gun drawn. "Gee, I guess I'll have to fix that." He gave her a long commanding look. "Put it away. NOW," command voice and sub harmonics turned his voice almost into a snarl. Her jaw was wide. She closed it, fumbled with the weapon. He turned to the doctor, ignoring her.

"Doctor, it was nice meeting you, I will try to expedite the repairs to sickbay so you can help the injured and so they'll let you go," he promised. The doctor nodded, stunned.

He maneuvered around the corridors; giving a polite nod to women he passed. A pair of guards escorting another male in cuffs nearly ran into him at a corner. The male bumped off of him with a "Hey watch it!" He snorted and stepped back. One of the guards had followed him out of the brig, gaping like a fish at first, and then settling down into a scowl.

"What's this about?" he asked as he looked down. The male was short, about 140 centimeters tall, wearing a green jacket cut at the midriff. He had blond hair, with two pig tails sticking out over each eyebrow.

"None of your business," the guard growled grabbing the male's arm and pulling him back into motion.

The male tried to shake it off, and then wilted. "You gotta help me! They're cruel!" Irons didn't say anything as he turned and watched them leave.

"Okay, what was that about?" he asked the guard behind him. She grunted.

One of the techs nearby shook her head. "He claimed to be a rich guy, offered to pay for passage to another system. Made himself a royal pain in the arse and had us cater to him. Turns out he was a deadbeat. Captain refused to let him go, and is making him work for his passage, room, and board."

He snorted. "Typical con artist?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing artistic about it."

He shrugged off the literal reference. "Carry on," he nodded his head to her work area.

When he entered the mess hall he was almost resigned to the level of chaos and apathy. Sure it was relatively clean, the deck panels were all there, but the ceiling panels had been lost. Bulkheads had stains on them. So did some of the tables. One was a platter of fruit, obviously way past season.  The wall screen was shattered. One of the guards went over and spoke softly to the cook, while the other stood by the door. He was amused at the addition, he had noticed when she had joined his tail, and had subtly prevented her from getting in front of him by alternating his pace.

She was stocky, like all the other guards, and had the typical scowl. He turned to survey the patrons. They in turn were surveying him. Some had food, what looked like gruel or porridge. Others had crackers and pieces of fruit. He shook his head and went to the food replicator. "Coffee black." It didn't light up or respond. In the quiet behind him he heard a snort and snicker.

"It doesn't work. Like a lot of things on this ship," a voice quipped.

He turned to the voice. "We'll see about that." He took off the panel and examined the inner workings.

The food replicators worked by tapping a local food material substrate, then recombined it with nanites to form any food programmed into its memory. The substrate container had been yanked out, a hose had breached and what looked like fungus was growing on the back wall. He plugged his right ring finger into the access port. Data flowed into him, he felt Sprite go into action, slamming a firewall up and slapping down virus attacks. She entered the computer and cleaned house, then gave him a report.

Typical, the database had been corrupted with the viruses. Some of it was unrecoverable. The hard ROM was protected though, so basic things could still be made. He felt her reboot the system, run the diagnostics, then give him a report. He looked over to the waitress wiping her hands with a rag. "Ah, one of the things I need. Do you mind?"

He put his left hand out. She gave him a look, and then slowly handed the rag over. He carefully wiped out the fungus and encrusted goo, then sprayed the area with his nanites. In moments the remainder had broken down and flowed to the bottom edge, then with Proteus controlling them, back into his arm. He picked up the hose, checked it over, and then used nanites and the welder to patch the holes. It wouldn't work for long, but long enough for a day or two.

He looked around. "whatcha need?" the waitress called from the back near a table.

"I need another substrate container, a full one," he answered.

She nodded, clearly amused but interested. "Cookie will set you up." The cook nodded and hefted a half filled jar up and then onto the counter, slamming it down.

That would have to do. He nodded. "Thanks." She nodded. "Okay, let’s see here...” He plugged the hose back in, then carefully inserted the substrate container and plugged it in. It began to burble. "All right... let’s see..." He flicked through the menu, and found what he wanted. "Coffee. Black."

The computer gave a weak beep, and then the hopper lit. In a moment a cup was there, and then a brownish black liquid flowed into it. He nodded. He took the cup up off the hopper and looked around to the sudden silence. "Computer, breakfast protein bar number four with banana and strawberries," he said. The computer beeped again. He looked around; everyone was still quietly staring at him.

"What? Is my coverall on backwards?" he was amused at their stunned silence. "Just needed a little repair job, and some antivirus work to get it running again." He shrugged as he turned to the bar and took a sip. Even the cook was staring. She had patties of gruel grilled on an improvised stove top. He nodded to her.

The waitress came up, washing her hands on her apron. "It works better if you use existing silverware," he told her as an aside as he took his meal out. She pointed to an empty stool. He sat, setting the food down.

"Can I try a bite?" she asked. He smiled and broke a piece off. “It isn't salmon, or anything fancy, I have a simple palate," he shrugged at her. She was tentative, looking down then up at him. "Sure, knock yourself out." She took a spoon and cut off a sample. She brought it to her lips, looked over them to him, and then took a small bite.

Her eyes widened. "Wow! This is sugary!"

The compartment became abuzz for a moment. "Ohhh nice. I like it." She took another bite. He snorted. "Computer repeat last order," he called as he leaned back. Someone in the audience chuckled.

He looked over to the two guards. The one that had caught up was carrying his duffels and tool kit. "Ladies, we have a busy day ahead of ourselves, I strongly urge you to eat while you can." They just stood there, stoic. He shrugged. "I warned you." One of them looked to the other, and then went to the replicator. He pulled out the tray, and then showed her the menu. She found a simple dish, and after entering it, it appeared. She took it out, juggling it.

"What's the matter?" One of the other patrons asked.

"It's hot!" She replied shifting it from one to the other and shaking her free hand.

The room became quite. "Microwave emitter," the admiral told them, he shrugged. "Blow on it. The microwave wave guides might be a little off. No telling when it was last calibrated."

She nodded. "Oh hot!" Managing to juggle it to the bar without spilling it. Cookie handed her a spoon. She took a bite, her eyes widened. "Oh wow! I haven't had this since I was a child!" Awe was in her voice. He nodded, looking down at his plate as he ate.

He felt someone crash into him and turned in alarm. "Oops, sorry," the girl said, blushing. She reached up and clicked the wrap around Walkman off. "Sorry, I guess I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." He tried to get control of his annoyance.

Jennie didn't. "You need to look where you’re going Shell! We're in the middle of a delicate moment and you could have killed us all!" The girl paled. "What are you doing here anyway? This corridor is off limits, didn't you read the sign?" The girl blushed and looked down.

"She can't read," the guard said quietly. He looked over to the guard, then back to the girl. Pity was now replacing anger.

"Is that true?" he asked softly. She mumbled something and nodded. He sighed. "Then it's high time you learned don't you think?" he asked.

She looked up startled. "But no one will teach me!" Her eyes sparkled with tears.

He sighed. "Okay, I can, or some of the others can. You can't live your life in ignorance child; you need to be able to read, especially on a starship."

She looked down at her feet. "Yes sir."

He sighed. "Okay, let us finish this, and then we'll see about getting you on your first lesson."

She looked up her face bright eyes shining and crooked teeth gleaming in a grin. "You mean it?" He nodded.

"I got it Admiral." Jennie said.

He looked over. "Balancing the load is hard enough with implants Jennie, almost impossible without."

She shook her head. "I can help Admiral," Tara said softly. She waved to the girl. "All I need to do is watch the readouts and balance these three bars right? Keep them in the center?" She looked at the controls. "I've watched you often enough."

He nodded. "All right, give it a shot. Go as slow as slow though," he ordered.

She nodded. "You don't have to tell me twice, I don't want to get burned." She gently touched the controls. "They're sensitive." He nodded. "Right."

He grabbed the girl's elbow. "You're Shelly right?" he asked. She nodded as he escorted her down the corridor a ways. "All right Shelly, let’s see. You’re wearing a Walkman right? Is it hooked into the net?" She shook her head.

He checked it over. "Okay, it's on, but it's locked out by the firewall." He focused for a moment.

"Accessing, I'm in, password set up. You’re logged into the net." Sprite reported as the girl grabbed her ears.

"OH! There was a ping!" She looked up and smiled. "There's a song now... Oh it’s over." Her face fell.

He pulled out his tablet. "Okay, we're going to do a quick exercise while I work. Here's a tablet. I have a simple file here." He accessed the net and dumped a short text file to the tablet. "Now, I want you to run your finger under the words."

She looked confused. "Try it," he urged.

She reached out and ran her finger under the text, then gasped. "It's reading really fast!" Her hands went to the earphone.

"Right, go slower."

Her finger repeated the move, this time slower. "Okay, now, I want you to do that for each word, and then say it," he said patiently. She nodded.

"Try it." She practiced with a short sentence and looked up. "Is it really that easy?" she asked, seemingly excited.

He shook his head. "A little bit, but some of it's harder. I can see about writing a reading program for you later. Right now, try that." She nodded. "I'll be back in a bit." He turned and went back to the team. "That was fast,” Tara said not looking up. "We have the first three balanced, but there's a sticky valve on the fourth line. I think it's a coolant line to the super conductors."

He nodded. "Even though they're room temperature devices they still have electricity and have to shed excess heat."

She flicked the controls and grimaced. "You mind, I'm working here," she growled. He chuckled softly.

He hit the switch and watched as the replicator booted. "This is the last one for now," Jennie studied the post report. "It looks good. So this is an electronics replicator? I thought we could do that with the other ones, why a special one?"

He nodded. "Yes, the others can, but they take a lot longer, and it takes the entire fabricator to do one part. This is specially designed to do electronics, and can reproduce parts fast." He scrolled through the menu and selected a tablet. He hit enter and waved to the small 1 meter cube. A ding sounded. "Done." He flipped the tray cover up and pulled out a finished tablet.

"See? The nanites are specialized for electronics. And the material feeds are all purified materials used in electronics." She nodded.

"Cool, can I try?" she asked. He nodded.

"Be my guest," he said stepping aside. She scrolled through the list, and then selected something and hit enter.

He checked the tablet out. "So, what else can it do?" she asked after a moment.

He shook his head. "It can do some superconductors, but it's a specialized unit. No disassemblers, so it relies on the feeds for material unlike the GP units." She nodded. The speaker dinged again. "So what did you make?" he asked as she opened the panel and fished something out.

"Oh that communication amplifier the bridge has been asking for," she said picking it up. She looked over to him and smiled.

"Show off," he chuckled.

He looked over the bridge and sighed. Besides the usual grime, wiring was hanging from the ceiling. Scorched tiles and bulkheads indicated some electrical fires in the past. The main screen was shattered. The glasses where missing, shards of glass still hung from their ceiling supports.

Each bridge station was shaped in a U. The crew member manning the station sat in the center, with displays all around them. The display consoles were one point five meters high, the top of the consoles had glass LCD displays that could fold up. Many were cracked, missing, or broken. The bridge floor was relatively clean, someone had cleaned the debris. Wiring ran from different stations to civilian electronics. A haphazard repair or replacement it seemed.

Two civilian portable computers were tied in to replace the damaged ops. He shook his head in dismay. “Bad huh?” Molly asked as she looked over to him.

The Chief turned and glared. “Get to work,” she growled.

He shook his head. “I don't know where to start,” he sighed as he set his toolbox down.

“Think we can fix it all?” Molly asked concerned. He nodded, pursing his lips in thought.

“Oh we can fix it, it'll just take time.” He looked over to the display. “Yeah, fortunately time is what we have in plenty.” He shook his head, “Let’s get started and get a diagnostic list. I have a partial one, but it's obviously not complete.” He shook his head.

“What are you doing?” He looked up to the girl looking over his shoulder. She had her hands on her knees, bent over.

“I'm pulling this.”

She looked alarmed. “We need that! Don't do that.”

He shook his head. “We patched in the milspec version already,” he said. He indicated the open electronics bay at the bottom of the station. She looked inside.

“Oh my,” she said, unsure. She looked back. “Are you sure it'll work?” she asked. He nodded. “Well, shouldn't we leave this up to be sure?”

He shook his head. “No, there's a virus embedded in it. Also it's causing three conflicts, an IRQ conflict, and it has a bad GPU.”

She looked confused. “Okay,” she said, sounding unsure. He nodded.

“Don't worry, I tested the replacement thoroughly,” he said soothingly.

She nodded. “Okay.” He disconnected the civilian power, and then pulled the data line. “What the?” the ops officer said suddenly. He heard her tap furiously. “I lost my...Oh wait, it's back,” she said. She tapped at the controls.

“Wow! It's fast!” she said, sounding surprised.

He looked up. “Milspec, without the conflicts and viruses.”

She looked confused. “What ever you say as long as it works.” She tapped the controls. “Oh, nice.” She checked it out while he finished unbolting the civilian module and setting it aside. He cut himself on a ragged edge of metal someone had cut into the panel to get the cables in.

“Oh nasty. You should see the doc,” the tech said, looking over the station. He looked up, then at his hand.

“No problem,” he said and stared. He felt Proteus stir the nanites. In a moment the bleeding had stopped. In seconds the scratch was healed. The girl gasped. He looked up. “See? All better.” he chuckled at her expression and then went back to work.

Jennie pulled herself out from under a station and bumped the seat. She looked up and got an eyeful up the crew member skirt. “Enjoying the view?” The girl said sarcastically. She tapped the controls.

Jennie blushed. “S-sorry.” She stuttered.

The tech tapped another control. Jennie finished and got up, then leaned over to the girl. “Just a suggestion, next time wear panties,” Jennie murmured. The tech blushed furiously as Jennie left.

The Admiral caught the tidbit and looked up suddenly, caught the blush then ducked as the Chief glared. He shook his head. “Okay. Madhouse. Asylum. Loony bin,” he murmured. He shut the door to the electronics bay.

“Okay next.” He handed the guard the old part. One offered her hand, but the Chief growled. Hastily she withdrew it. He sighed and helped himself up. “Okay. We can't do much with navigation until we're out of hyper. Ops are back up though.”

He checked over the station controls, the tech nodded. “We have new screens in the replicator queue,” he said. He motioned her aside. She reluctantly moved over and then checked her controls. “What are you doing I thought you said no screens are ready?” she asked.

He smiled as he unscrewed the broken screen. “This one is broken, so I can pull it.” He finished unscrewing it then pulled it out. He unhooked the cable and pushed it back. “Okay, one down.” He set it aside and went to the next.

Molly looked to what he was doing. “Pulling the broken screens?” she asked. He looked up and nodded. “Okay, I'll get the other side,” she said as  she moved to the other station.

“Just don't jog my elbow.” The helms woman said.

Molly nodded. “Definitely not.” She started in with the communication station. Trisha watched her for a few moments, handing her tools, then took a screwdriver and went to work on the engineering station.

"So, you’re using a civilian grade navigational module?" Irons asked as he worked.

Shandra nodded, hands carefully guiding the joystick. "The Captain got it from a wreck. The one built into this ship was dead," she explained.

He nodded. "The purge," he said. He looked over to the module. It had been plugged into the universal ports, and then strips had been tack welded around it to strap it to the deck.

"Purge?" Shandra asked.

"When the ship was damaged beyond immediate repair the Captain and ship's AI purged the net. They wiped the navigational systems, star charts, science sections, and ram to keep it out of enemy hands."

He waved to the damaged system. "When we finish rebuilding the network hardware, I'll clone the civilian module into the new one and compile it with the data I have and what we pick up on sensors from now on," he explained.

She looked confused. "Clone? I thought cloning was a thing you do in medicine?"

He chuckled. "Well, when computer tech was in its infancy, a lot of medical terminology... That means words, came into it because they meant similar things. Like viruses. And cloning."

She nodded in sudden understanding. "A clone is an exact copy. We can leave the old hardware right there as a backup in case the new one fails or is damaged," he said. She nodded again.

"That would probably be good, but the Purser may want to trade it," she cautioned.

He shrugged. "Not my decision."

"So, if most of the ram and AI are gone, how do we have computer software and records?" she asked suddenly.

He looked up. "Well, some of it's hardwired into the systems. Some were copied when people plugged things in. Some of it came from me." She gave him a long look. "I have a moderate storage capacity," he explained as he tapped his right chest area.

"There's a crystal hard drive in there, about a quint of data storage. Most of it's engineering stuff, manuals, stripped down Encyclopedia Galactica, and such. Also my lectures and military matters," he said.

She nodded. "I was wondering where you were getting the images and stuff, you never have time to make it, some people were saying you were a god."

He chuckled. "No, a mere mortal, with a few tools," he replied. She snorted.

“Okay, another one? What are these for?” the tech asked as she stacked the LCD's carelessly.

The other tech grabbed it before it could slide off. “Careful you ninny!” She gave her a look and then pulled the LCD off the pile and onto her cart. The hatch opened and a girl came in pushing a cart dripping with broken parts.

“Okay, so where does all this go?” The blond asked.

“Um, I don't know...” The incoming girl looked them over. “Didn't you read the chart? Scorn dripped from her voice. “The bridge dummy, we're working there today.”

The replicator tech looked up alarmed. “Oh. Wait! Isn't that dangerous?” she asked.

“We're fixing the stuff that isn't working, and pulling the broken stuff.” She looked the two over scornfully.

“Oh. Well, I didn't know,” the tech was affronted.

The blue haired girl took the loaded cart and sniffed. “Make sure you recycle those. We're going to need it.” She pushed the cart out.

The replicator tech turned to the parts girl. “Someone is putting on airs,” she said as she shook her head wryly as she fed pieces into the vat.

The other sniffed. “Snot.”

She shook her head. “She didn't have to be a bitch about it.”

"So you’re the sparks of the ship?” He turned to a grinning crew member.

“Sparks?” the communications tech asked, clearly confused by the term. He nodded. "Communications tech," he explained.

Her face cleared. "Oh yes," she nodded; hand on her communication rig covering her ears. He smiled. “Mickey mouse ears gave you away,” he said.

She looked confused, touching the earpieces again. “Oh. Okay,” she said, sounding distracted. He chuckled.

“Why is there only the one holo display? And why is the hull green?” Jennie looked over to the tech and raised an eyebrow. She blushed.

He waved to Jennie before she could tell her to be quiet. “There are only three holographic displays because it takes a lot of power to project them, and they lack the fine detail that a 2D display can do. That's why we have LCDs, as well as the clear glass LCDs,” he explained. She hadn't seen the micro holographic emitters apparently. He pointed to each on the bridge. “Also, things can be lost or misinterpreted in the depths of 3D,” he explained. He pointed to the plot, and then waved his hands to indicate the walls. “The green is a psych thing, it makes people more relaxed and at home. Personally, I prefer battleship gray.” The girls chuckled with him.

"Shandra is it?" Irons asked. They had been on the bridge for a while now, almost an entire shift. The girls had made him take some time off for a meal. The girl looked up and nodded. "Do you think you can handle a higher note?"

She looked confused, then excited. "You mean hyper?" she asked. He nodded.

"Just bump up a note to G," he suggested.

She nodded and took a bite from her fork. "Why?"

He set his tray down. "Well for one thing, it'll get us to our destination a lot faster."

She looked him over while stirring her salad. She picked out a cucumber slice then took a bite. "There are more reasons?" she asked eyes twinkling.

"Well, right now in the low alpha band we aren't getting much time compression, and therefore we aren't getting a lot of free electrons to the hyper collectors. If we can bump up a note or two, we can double our power input," he explained.

She looked confused. "But won’t that take power?" she asked.

He nodded. "Initially, but the higher note means an exponential increase in electron collection. Once we're there we can use the power to run the drive."

She nodded. "I'll take it to the Captain. Are you sure we're up for it? I thought we had a lot of structural damage?" she asked.

He took a bite of his sandwich. He chewed for a moment then swallowed and nodded. "We can handle another note. I'm not comfortable going into beta band without more work and without more training," he said.

Her eyes lit and she bounced in her chair. "You’re serious aren't you? Beta!"

One of the other girls shook her head. "We'll never get this rust bucket that high!"

The Admiral waved it off. "Oh sure we can, we just need to complete some repairs first. This is a military ship, she can handle it," he said, the galley had gotten quiet as he explained.

"With this ship's replicators we can fully restore her. Once she's back on line, and with the right skills, you can take her all the way up into the A note of Gamma if you can handle it," he said, looking around the compartment.

Shandra's eyes were wide. "Oh my goddess." Someone dropped a fork. Then the murmuring began. The chatter grew and grew. He ignored it to take another bite.

When he swallowed he held up a hand. The chattering quieted. "So you see ladies, with a lot of work, and some learning, you can have the fastest ship in the galaxy," he said with a hint of challenge in his voice. The cheers rang the compartment. The guards looked concerned for a moment, but Tara's face broke into a grin.

"Can we fix the shuttles too?" a girl asked.

He gave the small blond girl a nod. "Sure, I don't see why not. You can make more too," he said. Her eyes danced. She grabbed another girl and hugged her.

He finished the sandwich as the compartment rang with happy chatter. He bussed his tray to the counter and followed Shandra out. "Well, that went well," he murmured.

"Can we really do it?" Shandra asked.

"Think you can handle it?" he asked, another hint of challenge in his voice.

She straightened. "I come from a long line of spacers, I'll do it."

He nodded. "Okay, bring it to the Captain, I'll be in engineering." He waved as Tara escorted him off.

A few minutes later the Captain came on over the overhead. "Admiral, do you really think we can do this?" she asked, getting straight to the point.

He looked around to the watching crew then nodded. "Yes Captain, we're ready when you are," he said, knowing Sprite would open the channel.

There was a pause. "Very well then," the gravel voice replied.

In a moment Molly looked up from her console. "Power is increasing, ten terawatts, ten point one, we have transition! We're in G note! Power is leveling off, and dropping!" she said as she looked up astonished.

He smiled. "We can dial back the reactor now, to say thirty percent," he suggested. She nodded, punching in commands.

"With this speed our adjusted time of arrival is four point five months," Lessa the navigator on duty reported. Some of the crew cheered at that.

"Good work ladies, Admiral," the Captain drawled. "They can fix the drive but can't fix my chair...” she grumbled good naturedly as she cut off the overhead.

Molly grinned. "So, now we work on getting her into the next note?" she demanded.

The Admiral nodded. "But first, let’s check the systems for any instability or damage. Once we're done, we can start working on the next set of priorities," he suggested.

Molly grimaced. "That could take hours!" She stood up and stretched. He gave her a long studying look. "Okay okay, I know when I'm beat," she said. She sat back down. "I'll check the power systems while you focus on navigation, Jennie, check the computers. Trish..."

"Life support, yup already on it," Trish chirped with a smile.

"Show off," Molly muttered.

"I've got no issues with the sub-light drive. Replicators are on line. No issues with deck two," Crew members began to call out their reports.

"People, let’s get organized. Check your station, see that green box?" Irons asked. The girls looked. “Type in your report, it will go to Molly and the bridge," he said. The girls nodded.

A few pecked at the virtual keyboards, a few looked tentative or confused. Their crew mates helped them. "Okay, either some are having trouble, or weren't doing their jobs right," he murmured to Molly.

Molly grimaced. "I had a feeling some couldn't read," she sighed. "Just another thing to work on." She glanced over the reports. "We have a plasma leak on deck five, and sickbay is reporting two casualties," she said, now sounding concerned. He shook his head.

"Damn," Molly grimaced a moment later. "They look to be minor," she said, eyes scanning as more information was added to the report.

He tapped his internal schematic, and then fed it to the screen behind him. He turned and traced his fingers over the plasma conduits. "Okay, the breech is here, so..."

Molly looked over. "Rerouting EPS now," she said. She tapped in the controls. "Ashley, lock down EPS relay... five on deck four and EPS junction valve 2A on deck five," she ordered.

The blue haired girl looked up then nodded. "I got it," she said professionally. She tapped at her controls.

"Breach has been contained. Looks like a pinhole leak," Molly said as she sighed in relief. Crisis averted for now she thought.

"I'll check it out when the area has been vented," the Admiral muttered.

"Obviously we need to work on the EPS a bit more before we go any higher," Molly said.

He sighed. "Yeah."

"It'll be a couple more days before we can get into note A. We need to make a few adjustments." Molly looked over to Shandra who nodded eagerly. "We're moving at a faster clip, it's a bit harder to keep in control." The deck shivered.

"Amazing that you've made such progress so soon," the Captain nodded to Molly.

"Oh we're just getting started! Once we nail down the shield frequency issue, and that plasma leak we should be in A note... If all goes well we could shave another couple of weeks off our journey time!" Shandra grinned. "Won’t they be surprised to see us!" she said excitedly as she sat back, sipping her tea.

"Yes, won't they. How soon are we going to arrive?" the purser asked suddenly.

The raven haired navigator Lessa looked at her notes. "At current speed, um, in four months." She looked up.

"And what season will it be there?" Vanessa asked.

"Um...” The woman tapped at the tablet. "Um..."

"Here let me," Shandra leaned over and tapped in the query. They both looked up after a moment. "Mid fall."

The Captain netted her fingers together. "Just in time for harvest eh?" she smiled. "That worked out well," she said. She gave the purser a knowing smile. "If we can get into the next note we can shave another two to two and a half weeks off our time," Molly replied as she adjusted her glasses.

She rubbed at her bicep. "Sore?" The doctor asked.

"Oh, I strained it. It'll be fine in a couple of days," she shrugged. The ship shuddered. "I'd like to get us to the A note, according to the Admiral it's the sweet spot of each band," she said. She stood up. "I need to get going, I have to check on the EPS conduits to deck five. Something there is hinky."

The Captain nodded. "Get on it," she ordered. Her usual gravelly voice had a fond tone. "They really are working miracles down there aren't they?" she smiled softly as the door closed behind Molly. She was blushing.

"Blast!" Molly heard the thunk and looked over. "Oh damn." She came over to see Jennie clutching at her forehead. Blood gushed. "Darn it," Jennie sucked in a shuddering breath.

"Just lean back and hold it." Molly replied. She looked around and spotted one of Trish's life support girls. "Can you get some help here? Pass me that first aid kit on the wall." She pointed to it. The girl nodded and rushed over. She came back with the box.

"Oh my god is she going to die?" She clutched at the first aid kit.

"No silly she isn't going to die!" Molly grabbed the kit.

"But all that blood!" The girl trembled and looked away.  She gulped.

"Head wounds bleed a lot. Go call sickbay and let them know Miss klutzy is going to need stitches again," Molly ordered.

Jennie glared as the girl rushed off. "Miss klutzy? Oh you’re asking for it." She leaned forward.

"I said lay back silly," Molly pulled Jennie's hand away.

She sprayed the wound it foamed up nicely and the bleeding stopped. "There," she said. She tossed the sprayer into the kit then helped Jennie to her feet. "All better, let’s just get the doc to fix you up for good." Jennie shook her head then stumbled. "Just a scratch,” she said. Molly deftly caught her.

"No, I think we need to check you out a bit," Molly said. Jennie grinned.

Mindy came in at a run. "Where?" The girls near the door pointed. Mindy ran over and looked concerned. "Oh my! All this blood! What did you do?" She peered into Jennie's eyes.

"Molly bopped me," Jennie said with a straight face.

Mindy gasped and turned on Molly. "You didn't!"

Molly shook her head. "That's right, I didn't. She hit her head on the console." She helped Jennie over to the chair.

"I like it better my way," Jennie sighed as she let herself be guided. "Okay, I guess we better get a chair..." Mindy rushed off.

Molly groaned. "Thanks, your version will be all over the ship in an hour." She sat down next to Jennie. Jennie smiled.

“I'm glad the Admiral insisted we install those first aid kits,” Molly muttered.

“Yeah, Trish and I took the time to go over it with him earlier,” Jen nodded.

“So, other than the bump, how are things going?” Mindy asked...

“Good, we've gotten up into A note of hyper, balanced the shield nodes and frequency adjustments, we're looking better and better every day,” Jen smiled at the pixie. She grinned.  Things were looking up, they had shaved another two weeks off their ETA and were about fifteen weeks out.

“What's A note?” Her eyebrows knit and she frowned after a moment. “Oh, it's a … well; it's a layer in the band of hyper that's really good. Something we've wanted to get into for years,” Jen explained.

Mindy looked excited. “Really!” She bounced. “I can't wait to tell Dorah, oh this is so neat!” Molly rolled her eyes. She helped Jen into the hover chair.

“I'll just get back to work now...” Molly replied, making her fast exit.

Jen sighed, now in the not so tender clutches of the demented nurse. “So, we're going faster?” Mindy leaned over the chair and gushed.

Jen sighed. “Yes, now drive,” She leaned back hoping she didn't barf from the girl's driving.

"Is this the same bridge? the Captain asked as her chair exited her private lift. The normal grime had been cleaned since she had been off shift. "How did you do it this fast?" She turned to the grinning girls. One of them, Shandra, pointed behind the Captain. Curious she turned to see a hovering robot. It emitted a blue beam and sizzling sound.

As it scanned a bulkhead small dots of dirt glowed, then began to disintegrate into dust. "Amazing,” she murmured as she shook her head. “And the wiring?" she asked.

The girl turned to the port and pointed. "It took a couple hours, but it's all repaired and tucked up where they belong," Shandra grinned.

The squeaking made the Captain wince. “Can we get someone from engineering to oil this chair?” she said testily.

Kendra looked up. “Okay.”

“That is if you can catch someone,” the Captain observed wryly.

“What the? Admiral!” He ducked as two naked women shrieked and tried to cover themselves. “Uh, sorry ladies, I need to run a cable through that bulkhead,” he turned his back, blushing. The girls were built nicely, despite some odd scars on the pale red haired girl.

“Well, next time knock,” one of them said testily.

The guards choked back a laugh. ”So what are you doing in here anyway?” one guard asked.

“Sun bathing.” one of the girls said tartly as she shouldered on her blouse. The other pulled on her skirt.

“Sunbathing?” he asked.

“Yeah. See?” One of the girls pointed to the holographic sun.

“Um, you know that's a display right? There isn't a sun. We're in hyper after all. No UV to sunbathe,” he tried to hide his amusement.

The girls paused in dressing. “Um. Ah, we didn't know that.” They returned to dressing. “We usually do it in the greenhouse, but it's occluded...and a bit busy,” the blond said. She shifted her dress. “You can look now.” He looked and shook his head.

“This will only take a moment or two,” he said. He entered the room and pulled at the cable sticking out of a pipe. He pulled the line until the slack ended. “Okay.” He ran it along the bulkhead and then fed it into another hole. He went back and clipped the cable into holders along the bulkhead. “Okay. Here we go,” he said. He finished the last, and then checked over the room. “Okay, I think I'm done.”

He went to the exit then paused. “If you want to sunbathe, you can ask for some UV lights. Or a sunbathing machine. There were two on the rec deck, ask if they've been repaired. If not, put in for it,” he suggested.

The blond nodded. “Thanks.” He smiled. “Now get out,” she growled. She began to pull off her clothes. Hastily he exited. The guards chuckled.

"And you are?" he asks politely as he turned. He freezes, amused and exasperated at the pixie before him. She was rail thin, young, terribly young, and dressed in a scandalous outfit. It looked like an adult entrainment version of a nurse's outfit, complete with black opera gloves and miniskirt. The top was brief and low cut. A little much for the girl in it. She had a nurse's cap on top of her raven haired head, hair done up in two pigtails. She carried a clipboard and stylus.

"I'm Mindy the nurse silly! Who are you?" He winced at her high pitched voice.

"I'm the engineer. Um...that is a different um, outfit," he cleared his throat.

"What this?" She looked down at her outfit then gave a shrug. "It goes with the job. You’re late for your physical," she burbled. She gave him an impish smile then dashed off. He shook his head, bemused. It was like he was in an asylum, run by the inmates.

"Knock knock," he said, entering the sickbay. The lights had been repaired, but wiring was still hanging from ceiling, and panels were missing from some walls. He stumbled around a missing floor plate. "Oh! Watch that!" the nurse girl called, looking up from where she was laying on a biobed. She was face down, legs kicking back and forth while she flicked through a tablet.

He stared, then coughed and looked around. "Doc?" Defender pulled up a motion track to his left. He turned in the indicated direction, and caught sight of doc as he stretched, coming out of an office.

"Yes? Oh! It's you," the doctor said. He nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets.

The girl got up, suddenly bubbly and bouncing around. "Is it our turn now?" She was excited, bouncing around the room with frantic teenage energy. He snorted. "You said you had patients doctor?" He gave the cool doctor a polite nod.

"This way," the doctor waved in the indicated direction.

"Yes, it's so sad that mommy and our friends are in there, in between life and death," the girl said. The girl twirled around them.

The guard sighed. Doc turned, gave her a look, and she rolled her eyes. "Mindy, why don't you check the inventory list so we can let the engineer know what we need," the doctor called.

The nurse froze, and then guiltily looked to them. "Awe doc!" He sighed.

"NOW Mindy," he ordered.

She groaned theatrically. "I never get any fun," she pouted.  She huffed and stomped off. The engineer shook his head.

"You have your hands full I see," he said dryly. The doctor sighed.

"We have nine patients in cryostasis. All with life threatening or critical health problems," he said, pointing  to tubes. "These two were injured when a plasma conduit burst. They are burned on ninety percent of their bodies. The Captain insisted they get them into stasis, apparently they saved her life," he said. The admiral nodded.

"This one is Faith, the Chief engineer, or at least the last one to hold the title," he said. He gave the engineer a sidelong look. "She was hurt just prior to you coming aboard from an EM discharge... I think they said it came from that copper cable powering the hyperdrive,” he said. The Admiral nodded. “Moving on....This young lady was injured when a piece of machinery got loose and crushed her against the bulkhead." He sighed. “This is Clarissa, the former doctor and Mindy’s mother.” He patted the tube. “Another unfortunate victim of a plasma conduit burst, although the damage was more from steam then the plasma.”

"These other four," he waved to them. "Well, three are accident victims, and one actually paid the Captain for the privilege," he said.

The Admiral looked at the doctor. "Paid?" he asked on cue.

The doctor nodded. "Yes, it seems he has a life threatening disease and paid her to keep him in stasis until someone can cure him," the doctor said and then shrugged.

"I was taken aboard when the doctor was injured," his calm voice suddenly rang with suppressed emotion. The guards couldn't hear it, it was almost subsonic. Defender pointed it out silently to him.

He nodded. "Well, let’s see if we can get things sorted out on the ship so you can go home," Irons said quietly. The doctor gave him a long look then slowly nodded.

He looked over to the cryopods. "Clarissa, excuse me, Doctor Clarissa was injured in an accident." Mindy came over and looked down. "Mom was hit in the face with steam when a plasma conduit blew up," she said, one hand on the tube. She looked up. "But we're going to fix her up soon right doc?"

She twirled around. "Then I can show her all the new stuff we have!" Doc and the Admiral watched her play for a moment. "She got a face full of steam, the Captain and Chief got her into the stasis pod, but I'm not sure if I can save her," the doctor said. He looked bleak.

"Her face, with most of the soft tissue is gone. Eyes, lips, nose, ears..." He shivered. "Lungs, tongue, mouth, and esophagus all were seared. Some of her internal organs cooked too." He shook his head. "It may have been kinder to let her go," he murmured. The Admiral shook his head.

"I have had worse and survived doc. So can she. If she's strong, she'll pull through," he said. The doctor looked him over for a moment. "Maybe, but you had a fully trained team of doctors and a hospital, not this." He waved to the sickbay.

The Admiral nodded. "Maybe so, but we have to work with the tools we're given," he said firmly. Then he smiled. "Or make new ones."

The doctor chuckled at that. "All right, let’s get to work then.”

"What are you doing?" He looked down to see a small blue haired girl looking up at the box. She had squeezed in between him and the bulkhead.

"I am running diagnostics on this computer," he said keeping a firm lid on his temper.

She looked it over. "What's a computer?" She wrinkled her nose in confusion as if it was distasteful.

He cleared his throat in surprise. "A computer is an electronic device. It's the brain of the ship," he explained, taking her question as a literal expression of ignorance. She looked at it again.

"Oh. What's that?" She suddenly reached to grab something. He intercepted her hand with the back of his.

"That's optical ram. It... Here." He pulled the bad stick and handed it to her. She grinned in delight. "See the edge with the glass like lines?" She fumbled it, and then twisted it around and around. "No, here." He touched the correct edge. "These are the connections to the rest of the computer." She ran her finger along the edge. "You have to be careful; touching the wrong part can kill it," he warned her.

She froze, and then looked up guiltily. "I didn't break it did I?"

He shook his head. "No, that was already broke." A guard leaned over. He looked at her. "See, this is ram. This,” he opened the panel door as wide as it could then pointed. “This is the motherboard. This is the CPU; it has a fan and heat sink on it to keep it cool. This is the ROM, and these are the data lines to the rest of the network."

The girl looked intrigued. "Do you think I could learn how to fix things like that?" she asked.

He nodded. "Of course! You just have to learn." He waved to the box.

"How did you learn?" she asked. She looked at him with bright innocent eyes.

"I went to school and learned."

He hid a smile as she grimaced as she looked beyond him. "I gotta go. Thanks for showing me." She handed him the part and ducked around him and skipped off. He snorted.

"Is that all there is to it?" the guard asked quietly. He looked up as he swapped the bad ram for a good stick from his kit. The guard was nearby, looking in the box.

"No, there's a bit more too it, but for an introduction, it makes it a little easier to understand," he said. She nodded.

"This,” He ran a finger along a cable out of the box, then pointed to the pipe it was in. "This runs to the network. This one goes to the wireless network router modems." He pointed to the box in the ceiling. "This goes to some of the systems on this deck." She came closer and looked.

"What about these?" she asked. She pointed to the red, yellow, black, and blue cables. "They look different, not like the clear ones," she observed. He nodded.

"Those are the power cables." She snatched her hand away and gave him a hurt look. "Oh don't worry; they have plastic shrouds protecting them, and you from damage." She nodded and stepped back to her post.

"I will upload an introductory computer class on the network tonight," he called over his shoulder as he jacked into the computer and ran post.

Jennie watched as the engineer grasped the handles on either side of electronic module. “Now, you pull it out slowly,” he said as he pulled. The tray came out exposing cables behind it. “Okay, once the tray is extended you can work on the cables, or within the module,” he said. She nodded. Trisha watched.

“So this is what it looks like,” she said as she reached out. Jennie slapped her hands away. She turned hurt. “What was that for?”

The Admiral cleared his throat. “Unless you know the module is not powered, check first,” he said. He placed his right index finger over the panel, and then brought it closer to it. When he got two centimeters away a fat blue spark leapt between his finger and the panel the girls gasped and stepped back.

“See? The front handles are insulated, but there is a short inside that goes to the exterior case.” He pulled his hand back then reached around and yanked the power cable. The front leds went dark. “There, all dark.” He reached again with the finger. “No spark, see?”

Trisha nodded. Jennie looked over the panel. “Did it hurt?” Trisha asked as his finger morphed into a screwdriver and he began removing screws.

“No,” he shook his head. “No, I'm grounded, so no pain.” He removed the panel and looked inside. The interior electronics were smoldered and broken on one side. A wire had welded itself to the right side.

“Darn. Okay, it looks like we need to pull it.” He looked over to Jennie who nodded and made a note on the tablet she had. He stepped back and let Trisha pull the jacks for the data lines.

“How are we going to make sense of all this?” she asked.

He chuckled. “Look at the jacks. See their shapes?” he asked. She paused and looked one over.

“What you mean the cables?” She ran her fingers over the black cables.

“No, not the ODN cables, the jacks. See the plastic sheaths they come together in.” She looked the blocks of plastic over. There are tabs on each, and markings. She looked them over.

“The tabs and markings are to help you identify what it is and how to plug it in. The color of the jack also helps,” Jen explained. Trish nodded.

“Try it,” Irons suggested. He indicated the back of the broken panel.

“What?” She shook her head.

“Try it. Try plugging the jack into each port.” He indicated the ports.

“These are female ends; the jack on the end of the cable is a male end,” he explained. She looked at it.

“Rather blatant isn't it?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.

He shrugged. “It works, and it's self explanatory.”

She tried the jacks. “Okay, so this shape means it plugs in here,” she tried it. “No. Oh okay match the color.” She found the matching color to the right port. “Hey, how come it won’t go in?” she demanded. She tried to force it but he grabbed her hand.

“Never try to force it,” he said and looked. “You have it upside down. Flip it.”

She did so, flipping the connector. “Do you see the tabs and the corresponding notch in the other female end?” he asked as she plugged it in.

Jennie sighed. “Okay if you’re finished?” He looked up to see her hefting the replacement module. “We have a lot more to do this shift,” she said as she smiled. They nodded. “Okay.”

"Actually, my implants are middle road level; I've seen some that are more extreme than mine," Irons explained as they worked in the main engineering compartment. Jennie looked up intrigued.

One of the girls looked horrified. "Why would anyone do that to their bodies?"

He shrugged. "Some like me have no choice. I received mine after major injury."

Jennie looked thoughtful. "So what's the basic implant?" she asked.

He smiled and went back to rewiring the buss. He was glad they were only working on secondary systems. "A basic entry implant starts with an IFF, weather you are civilian or military. A civilian IFF is a simple identification implant. That lets you access your electronic devices and money, and identifies you to authorities."

One of the girls elbowed another, and pointedly tapped her work station. The offender blushed and got back to work. "Implants were a fad a time or two in the past, now...” He paused then sighed as a wave of regret hit him. "Excuse me, in my time it was sometimes necessary to get additional implants for your job." Jennie nodded. "Like the ability to jack in?" she asked.

He smiled. "Right. A lot of equipment requires someone jacked in to get the best out of them. Ships, fighters, mecha, shuttles..." he said and then shrugged.

"Did it hurt?" the girl down the corridor asked. Another shushed her. He waved. "No, the basic IFF implants were just a pill. Inside was a bunch of nanites that built the IFF in your body, and another in your palm." He pulled the scorched electronic box out and set it down on the cart beside him. "The other implant procedures are a lot more involved. A few require surgery. Medications keep it from hurting too bad, but the recovery time can be long, he said and then  shrugged once more.

"And of course, repairs due to injuries, or more advanced cybernetics are a nightmare of rehab time," he said. He shivered a little.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad." Sprite commented. He clicked his teeth.

"Speak for yourself," he sub vocalized.

"I thought I just did?" she teased.

"Why does this have to be hardwired?" one of the girls slapped a bulkhead exasperated. Jennie and the engineer looked up. The woman was running ODN cable. She looked over to the engineer. "Why can't everything be radio like what you have?"

He cocked his head. "Do you want the long answer or short?" She sighed.

Jennie snorted. "Okay, give it to me straight," she finally said.

He nodded and turned to examine her snarled lines. "Well, radio is nice, but it can drop a signal."

The communications tech down the corridor stopped looked up from her tablet, and then nodded. "Yes it can."

He looked up and gave her a nod. "Also, wireless networks can drop packets, and aren't as fast as a hard wired network." He tapped the fiber optic line. "This runs at light speed. A radio LAN runs at radio speed. Because of all the metal in the ship, a signal has to bounce from one repeater box..." He pointed to the cube in the ceiling. "To another on a deck." She looked up and scowled.

"During an emergency, or when we're maneuvering, do you want signals to be corrupted or lost?" he asked. She shook her head. "That's why we use hard wired lines," he said in finishing.

She looked over the mess and sighed. "So why do you have the wireless network?"

The communication's tech looked over to him interested. "You have a radio?"

He nodded warily. "Among other things," he said and then shrugged.

"I'm not doing critical things when I use it. I can access the net, and transfer data, but in an emergency, or when I'm doing something with a high bandwidth demand, I jack in." He waved his right hand," he explained.

Jennie nodded. "Were wireless implants common in your time?" she asked. He nodded.

"They're great for communications, data transfer, and the like. But," he said indicating the ship. He waved to the corridor. "Too much of a good thing causes problems." He turned and pulled a cable. The snarled mess loosened, and then disappeared.

"What do you mean?" the communications tech asked, and then ducked as a guard came around, whistling and tapping her truncheon against her thigh. She gave them a curious look, and then slowly wandered on.

"Well, for one, if there are a lot of people, the traffic can cause the network to slow or crash." He carefully fed the woman running the lines slack, keeping the lines taut though. "Also, it's a haven for hackers and freebooters..." They finished running the line. She looked up and nodded.

"Thanks."

He turned back to his work. "Also, they can be jammed or intercepted," he said.

Jennie looked over, nodded. "You said there were more advanced implants?" She looked over to him. He nodded.

She glanced down. "Pass me the screwdriver will you?" she nodded to the cart. He handed it to her. "Thanks."

He shrugged. "There were some pretty extreme and sometimes grotesque cases I know about."

The ODN tech shivered. "I heard about a few, people stuck in a can and wired up for the rest of their lives..."

The communication's tech shivered. "Burr! Did they really do that?" She looked over to him.

"Yes, quite a few people," he sighed.

"Some were because the person was born wrong, or suffered a grievous accident. But a few wanted that," he explained.

Jennie tightened the bolt. "I just can't see why anyone would want that, living your life as a computer," she said. He nodded.

"It isn't for everyone. But there were virtual worlds in the computer networks, so they could be in there and live entire lives." He waved to the computer box.

"In that?" she demanded. He nodded.

"It's all programming," he said shaking his head. "There were people who required it for their jobs, but a few got carried away, or thought of it as fashion."

Jennie's eyebrows rose. "Fashion?" she asked. He shrugged.

"To some, the more away from normal, the more they disgusted or scared people, the more they liked it. Multiple eyes, arms, legs, no legs, robotic parts..."

The communications girl shivered. "Too much for me! Later!" She walked off.

Jennie chuckled. "What makes you want to bet she'll gossip to everyone she meets?" she asked. The other girls giggled.

"Can't be helped," he said.

"So what about you? Why aren't yours more...robotic?" the girl down the corridor asked. He finished the last connection and closed the door. "Because, for the mainstream, we prefer to hide our cybernetics and look as normal as possible," he shrugged. "I'm not prejudiced against those that were different, one of the reasons our race accepted other races so easily is because of the oddballs constantly testing the envelope with weird things like body sculpts and the like."

The girl nodded and ran her fingers through her hair, exposing her ears. They were long thin and pointed. Her eyes were cat like. "I resemble that remark," she said.

He smiled. "Descendant of a body sculpt I take it?" he asked. She nodded.

"My ancestor was into cats I guess."

He cocked his head. "Or elves, there was a fad for those in the 20th and 21st century,” he replied. She grimaced. "Yeah, but at least she didn't change my teeth," she smiled. Only her canines were elongated slightly. He nodded.

"Some people did that, they modified themselves through surgery or genetic tinkering, they didn't think of the consequences to themselves or their progeny." She nodded and turned back to her work.

Molly tapped in her entry and then looked up. "What about this?"

Jennie looked. "Might work. So, let me get this straight, you, me and Marsha are assistant chief engineers? Why not call you the chief?" she crossed her arms and looked at Molly expectantly.

Molly didn't look up from her tablet. "That's Faith's job." Jennie cocked her head. "Yeah but..."

"It's her job, I'm just filling in," Molly waved her tablet and looked up. "Okay, so you have morning shift, Martha wants grave, I take it I get evening?" Jen finally asked. Molly nodded. "Can I have Trish?" Jen asked.

Molly nodded. "Okay, but I want Keisha, Clarice, Deidra and Sunny."

Jennie looked at her tablet. "So, that leaves me, wait, why do you want Sunny?"

She looked up at Molly. "Sunny is your understudy right? I need a computer tech on morning shift," Molly replied. "Oh, and Keisha will handle the power chores, who are we, oh I see, I can have Sondra? Wait, isn't she dating Lessa?"

Molly looked up. "So?"

"So unless you want me to come to you because she is whining about being opposite shifts with Lessa, we better move her to another shift," Jen said knowingly.

Molly sighed she realized Jen was right. "That will leave a hole in your shift."

Jennie shrugged. "Can't be helped."

Trisha came over to see what was going on. "I finished that fan job, and the leak was a condenser coil, easy fix," she said. Now that they had a source for parts repairs were easy. She waved diffident hand. "Someone had a still going on deck three; we had to tear it apart," she sighed. "When will people learn not to butcher perfectly good equipment to get their jollies?" She sat on the edge of the desk. "So, what's up?" Molly nodded her chin to Jen. "We're just going over the shifts, since you don't want an assistant slot, Jennie asked for you in evening shift."

Trisha gave her a look. "Okay," she shrugged. "Works for me. Now that we have training on going, and are settling into regular shifts it's easier to deal with." She craned her neck to read over Molly's shoulder. "Wait, it lists you as an assistant? Is the Admiral taking the chief slot?" She looked around.

"No, he isn't. The Admiral's insistent, he's a passenger," Molly sighed, adjusting her glasses. She took them off after a moment and set them down.

"So who's the chief?" Trisha asked confused.

"Faith." Molly answered.

"Faith? She's in cryo!" Trisha waved exasperated. "Who the hell said that? She doesn't know any of the systems, all the changes! It may be a year before she's out!" She shook her head.

Jen frowned. "Don't get her started; I just tried to talk sense into her. Molly insists it's Faith." Jennie shrugged. "If she wants to hold the chair for her, more power to her... unless you want it?" Trisha made fending off motions with both hands. She shook her head. "No no no.. Hey, that's mean! You knew I would say that!" The girls chuckled.

"Worked didn't it?" Jen asked.

"So all the departments are doing this?" Trisha asked.

"No, just us so far. Well, the bridge crew had shifts, but they were irregular. I think they're ironing it out now. The navigators and helm women are on four hour shifts." Molly waved.

"Why four?" Jen asked confused.

"Cause they need to rest!" Shandra goosed her suddenly.

Jen eeped and spun. "OH!" She rubbed her rear. "Very funny." Molly giggled.

"So, what are you going to do with all your free time?" she asked Shandra.

Shandra handed Molly a tablet. "Oh, I'll let you know..." She turned coy, smiled and tossed her hair. She strutted out. Jen watched her go.

Trisha giggled until Molly leaned over and swatted her. "Stop that! Worse than kids I swear!" she sighed in exasperation. "Okay, let’s get back to work. Trish, I believe you're heading to lunch? Then the deck twelve repairs? Once you do that your off shift till...  crap, its 1200 now, your new shift starts at 1700."

“What if we need to compare notes?” Jen asked.

“Oh, we can pop in off shift if we're bored, or want to get an early start on something. I also expect you at the senior staff meetings still. Don't worry about that.” Molly answered. “Just don't tire yourself out trying to keep up with the Admiral,” she said. The admiral was a force unto himself. She shook her head.

Trisha and Jen looked at the clock. "Jen, you were working on the computer network? Is it critical?" Jen shook her head. "Okay, table it for your shift tonight. Go get some lunch with Trish then get some rest." Jen nodded.

"Slave driver," Trisha commented as they walked out.

"He's so strong, but stern all the time!" One of the girls gossiped as she folded laundry with neat practiced perfection.

"I heard he has a lot of scars." One of the girls called, balancing a stuffed laundry basket on her hip.

"So when do we get a chance to see him?" another asked, ironing an outfit. The door opened. "How about now?" The girl by the door squeaked in surprise then ducked out past someone.

The engineer came in carrying a duffel and toolbox and took a look around. "Ladies," he nodded politely to them. "This machine free?" he asked. He pointed to the nearest to the door. A guard followed him in and scowled around.

"No, it doesn't work," the girl nearest him said. He gave the blond a look. The girl with the iron was staring. He cleared his throat, caught her eyes and glanced meaningfully at the steaming outfit in front of her.

"What oh!" She squealed in dismay.

"Well, let me see if I can do something about this." He set his toolkit down and pulled the front panel off. His finger morphed into a multi tester and he checked the connections. "Nope, nope." He stopped and stepped around the machine.

"What, what's wrong with it? Heater coil?" the girl asked.

He grabbed the power plug and plugged it in. "Nope, it wasn't plugged in," he said. He tried the machine. It turned on, and started to fill. "Okay, let’s give it a shot." He leaned over and pulled a couple grimy pairs of coveralls out of the other duffel. He loaded it, added some soap from the plastic container near the counter and then turned the machine on.

"Okay, while I wait, what else is broken here?" he asked. The girls stared.

"That was it?" He turned and put the panel back on the machine.

"Um, no, Mister engineer most of the machines are broken," one said. The girls pointed to a bank of industrial laundry machines. "Okay, I'll take a look." He went from machine to machine, pulling open panels and checking things. He did a little rewiring on a few to allow part of their abilities to be used. It took an hour, just long enough for his laundry to be cleaned and dried. "Okay, we have three that need heater coils, two that have broken gaskets, one with a frozen motor, three with broken belts, two with torn gears, and two with control logic problems."

He looked up. The girls had stopped doing the laundry to watch him. "I can put an order in for parts, but it will be a while before they come in," he said.

One of the girls nodded. "Yes, but you fixed those other 4 machines, so we should be better off," she replied with a grin.

He nodded. "As each machine broke the loads were shifted to the working ones... So they wore out faster." The girls nodded and made themselves busy as the guard cleared her throat. He gave her a look and nodded. He pulled out a tablet and entered the notes. "Okay done.” His machine dinged. "And done I see. Nice timing."

He opened the door and pulled out the load. He put it on the table and began to sort and fold. It had been a while since he had had to do his own laundry, after all that was what robots and stewards were for, but the skills returned after a few seconds.

Coveralls, underwear, towels, socks, and rags were neatly folded into a stack, and then stuffed into the duffel. He shouldered it and the kit. "Have a good day ladies." He nodded and left. The guard followed. "Wow, he's cuter then I thought!" He caught the thread before the hatch closed and snorted.

Chapter 4

"Well, it's nice to see something in good order." He nodded his chin to the ship's plaque.

Jennie smiled. "Isn't it fate that the Captain found a ship named for a woman?" She smiled at the bronze embossed Greek figure. Around it were the founder names and the launch date. The bronze plaque was dark, but obviously polished, even if only with a rag.

He cleared his throat. "Well, this ship is a Cabeiri class ship." Jennie and two of the other techs looked up confused. The guard frowned. "Actually, she's an epsilon generation of that class," he said and then shrugged at their blank looks.

“Cabeiri were the descendants of the blacksmith god Hephaestus in Greek mythology," he explained. He cocked his head at their confused looks.

"Greek?"

"What is Cabeiri?"

"You lost us." Jennie said as she looked to the others and then shrugged.

He chuckled and continued splicing cables. "Ships have been named for various things for thousands of years. Famous people, or places, or myths." He looked up to the girls. They were all staring at him.

"The Federation went with that mix as well, but eventually named the shipyards and programs after engineers and blacksmith mythology." He finished the splice and tucked the cable back into the wall panel, then pulled out another shredded one. He took a moment to let Proteus trace the lines then followed the directions on his HUD.

"There were four class versions of this ship since it was first conceived." He twitched a hot wire aside and then stripped a ground wire. "Technically Io didn't have anything to do with blacksmithing. From the histories I accessed someone got a hold of some ancient comic books and got their wires crossed."

He looked up and smiled. "Speaking of which... Kara, be careful with that ribbon cable, it's the fiber optic data bus for the port sensor feeds..." She started, and then settled down as she looked down.

A young girl came up holding the parts he had requested. He checked them over, and then nodded to Jennie.

Jennie grinned and took the top package. "The new...What did you call it? Processor?" He nodded. The girl fumbled the packages. He reached up and steadied her. "I got it; they aren't heavy, just awkward," she said sounding put out. He chuckled.

"That they are. Here, let me help you with that. He took the bottom package, an LCD display and passed it to Shandra to replace the burnt one at the console in front of her. Kara reached up and caught the MPU module the girl tossed to her.

"Easy there, they can be delicate," he cautioned as he gave the girl a reproving look. She blushed and handed over the electronic modules. He nodded. "I checked the computer; the next project is the life support on deck three," he said. The girl nodded. "You'll probably need a mech and a gravity dolly to help get it all. She gulped. "No worries, we can all lend a hand when we get this done," he said as he indicated the wiring hanging from various places. She nodded.

Kara plugged the module in and grinned. "There!" She started to button up the panel but he cleared his throat. She looked up as the girl left.

"Don't forget to run diagnostics," he suggested. She grimaced and picked up a probe, then sighing dug into the feeds to test them. He gave the navigator a look; she ducked, then looked back and nodded with a smile. He nodded.

The module was working, but it wouldn't hurt to have her double check. "How do you know about the ship and stuff?" He looked over to Shandra who was had plugged the screen in, tested it, and was now securing it to the console with the old screws.

"Some of it I learned as a child in school. Some they taught us at the academy." He looked over to the plaque. "But I took a shine to it when the COB on my first cruise explained it," he had a soft wistful look of remembrance.

He looked over to the girls. "I was a wet behind the ears midshipman. So new I squeaked," he snorted as they giggled. "They taught us early to pay attention to the Chief of the boat, the COB."

Shandra clipped the cover plate on, then took a rag and gave it a quick satisfied wipe. "What's a COB?" she asked, looking over to him. He chuckled as he finished the splicing and Proteus reported it was clear to close up.

"A COB is the Chief of the boat. The senior member and leader of the enlisted on a ship."

She looked confused. "I thought that officers lead enlisted," she said, sounding like she didn't believe him. He snorted.

"Of course. But there is a rank structure in a ship."

Jennie looked up. "Why?" He nodded to her work as he picked up the plate and set it in to cover the opening.

"Well, for one thing rank is a way to show who is in charge. Also it gives people a goal, to show themselves and others their achievements and career progress," he explained. He flipped the catches closed. The lower port one stuck, he fiddled with it for a moment until it caught and locked down. "The rank structure is called the chain of command. On this ship we have the Captain, then the department heads, and then each department has its own command structure." He looked over to the girl at navigation and cleared his throat. After the second throat clearing she looked up and then gave a smile and thumbs up. He nodded as he cocked his head.

"Okay, port sensors are up and running again." He checked Shandra's display. She ran a possessive finger over the edge. He smiled. "Nothing quite like a job well done." He nodded to the screen. "Especially when it is putting something back together." He looked up into her amber eyes. She stilled for a moment, and then nodded.

"It's like the ship is coming back to life. It feels I don't know...right I guess you could say," she said softly. He nodded.

"Well ladies, I have an appointment to fix the life support on deck three, so enjoy." He nodded to each, and then walked out. He caught them murmuring about rank structure with his enhanced hearing as he left. The guard and Jennie followed.

On Deck three he diverted around a pair of ladies manhandling scorched sections of duct work out of the ceiling.

Jennie swore softly as she dodged a falling tool. "Careful!" she called up, glaring.

"Sorry." Was the muttered reply. The guard nodded to the woman lounging nearby, holding up a bulkhead and sipping a drink.

"Waiting for something?" she asked with a lingering look. The woman turned and went back to making herself look busy. Jennie snorted. She was holding the broken bits from the bridge, she handed them to a girl as they crossed a passage. The girl looked confused, and then sighed theatrically.

They ducked around another work party, and then paused since the path was momentarily blocked by a pair of ladders and duct work being manhandled by a pair of women. "So what do you think your rank should be?" one of the girls asked as she stepped up the ladder.

The other snorted. "I should be a Chief of course. What do you think Wicki should have?" She shoved her end up into the hole. Her partner's reply was muffled as they ducked under the duct and got back underway. He had to smile. The ship's grapevine was like any other, faster than the speed of light.

"I want to talk to you!" the security Chief snarled as he stepped around cables.

He paused, giving her a long look. "Yes?"

She stopped, hands on her hips and glared. "What's this about you setting up rank on the ship and undermining my authority?" she stepped close, trying to intimidate him.

He snorted. "Hardly, I was working on the bridge and we were discussing various subjects. How rank works on a ship was one of the ones brought up," he explained with a shrug.

She glared. "So you admit you're undermining my authority!" She had her hand on the butt of her pistol. He tried to throttle his temper.

"No Ma'am, I did not," he said cooly. The Chief's lip quivered in a snarl.

"It's true Ma'am," a voice behind him said. He looked over to the guard. She looked down. "He discussed the history of the ship, and how the Federation military was set up. That's all." Jennie, who was looking away, caught the Chief's eyes and nodded confirmation. He cocked an eye at her.

"If you'll excuse us, we have work to complete," Irons said. She didn't get out of the way, so he turned to the side and stepped around her. He could feel the heat of her breath as he passed.

"Admiral are you almost finished?" He heard the exasperated voice but ignored it as he finished his weld. Unlike old traditional welders his built in welder used nanites and a plasma toroid to heat and meld the material together.

"Proteus, you have it?"

"Of course Admiral." He felt Proteus take over control of his arm.

He looked over his left shoulder. "I will be done in a few minutes. Why?" He felt the fatigue, he knew he needed rest.

Hopefully there wasn't another problem. "I was wondering when you would get some rest," the girl said, clearly irritated.

He sighed. "After this is finished I promise," he said. The woman nodded. Proteus finished the weld and pulled his arm back. "It looks good." He checked the thermal and ultrasonic read. Proteus blinked a green light on his HUD. "Yup, we're good to go here." He turned to the women.

One of them was holding his duffel. "After you ladies."

One gave him a dirty look but the other, Tara nodded. "Lead the way Delphi." The girl gave her a look, and then complied. They went down the corridors to the lift. "Don't tell me the brig again, there are guest quarters you know," he sighed.

"No, you broke the door remember? The Chief has somewhere more...secure in mind."

He turned and gave Delphi a look. She returned it with a challenging gaze. He sighed. "Okay." The lift ended with a jerk. "Gotta fix that," he sighed.

"Later Admiral," Tara said as she patted his arm. Delphi's nostril's flared as she passed him with an elbow in the ribs.

"This way," the other woman said coldly. They followed. Delphi led them to an airlock. "In here." He looked. On the floor was his bedroll and blanket.

"I don't think so," he said. He reached in and grabbed the roll and blanket and tossed it out. "No, I draw the line at airlocks." He gave Delphi a look.

"She said here," she said stubbornly.

He shrugged. "Fine." He kicked the roll against the bulkhead, and then wearily knelt.

"What are you doing?" Tara asked.

"She did say here," he replied. He rolled the bed roll out, duffel to the bulkhead then laid down. He flipped the blanket over his side. "Night ladies."

They moved off whispering to one another. "We can't let him sleep there, what was she thinking?" Delphi asked.

"Do you honestly expect him to sleep in the airlock?" Tara responded.

"Hey, I don't want to get in trouble if she finds out he didn't sleep in there." Delphi responded. "Well, we'll just have to live with it." Tara sighed. "I for one am leaving him alone, he deserves it. I'd offer him my bunk, but it's on deck six," she sighed and looked over to him. "Let him sleep."

The Admiral had his eyes closed. "The lights are almost out in this section anyway. You take that end, I'll take this one," Tara urged. She nodded her chin to the other end.

Delphi snarled then turned. "Fine." She managed to kick the Admiral as she stepped over him. "Oh, sorry," she said snidely. He sighed.

"Quite all right, you apparently can't walk," he said. She turned but Tara snapped her fingers and pointed. The woman punched a wall plate then went to the bend in the corridor.

"The ship is looking so much better already!" the girl sent to wake him practically bounced as he looked over to her. He sighed. Too damn early in the morning to put up with chipper crap. Especially without caffeine. He eyed the girl then stretched. Despite the nanites he was a little sore, he must have slept wrong. He rubbed his shoulder and felt Proteus release endorphins and a muscle relaxant.

"And you are?" he asked. He gave the girl a long look wishing she would go away.

"I'm Leesa; I wanted to thank you for doing such a good job. But why are you sleeping on the corridor floor?" she asked. She waved to his bedroll.

He sighed, and then got an idea. "Well, the Chief said there are no available rooms, so I have to sleep where I can," he said as if explaining. He shrugged. One of the guards blushed. The two had been changed out in the night.

Lessa frowned. "Oh! That's not right; we have a lot of empty quarters! You’re doing so much for us, the least we could do is give you a bed to sleep on!" The girl's eyebrows knit together in thought.

He sighed a little theatrically. "Tell that to the Captain."

The girl's expression cleared then she smiled. "I will!" she said firmly. He looked up a little alarmed. "I'll just go do that right now!" She rushed off. He reached up, sighed, and then put his hand down shaking his head. He gathered that would be an interesting interview. He gathered up his gear.

"Admiral, you should know the airlock you were supposed to sleep in cycled in the night." He froze at Sprite's report then finished folding the bedding.

"Okay. Not good," he said. He finished with the blanket and rolled the bedroll up.

"Why don’t I do some snooping, I think from now on I need to keep a better eye on things," Defender cut in.

He nodded. "Good idea. Get on it," he sub vocalized. "Sprite, why don't you see if the Chief can have a few accidents?"

He tossed the blanket on top of the roll then picked the bundle up. "Permanent ones I should think?" she asked a little to hopefully.

He sighed. "No, just nasty ones. Nothing with permanent injuries," he said suggestively. He nodded to the lead guard. "Ladies. Time to get cleaned up.” He shouldered the duffel and pointed to the nearby head. The guard nodded. He stepped into the head and turned on the light.

His eyes watered at the smell. "Gah!" He looked over to the overflowing toilet. Not good. "Okay, I can hold it." He ran the water in the sink, wrinkling his nose at the smell.

"Admiral, she is about to take a shower, should I play with the controls?" Sprite asked.

He smiled wickedly. "Yes, but not until she is in. Scald her medium rare." Sprite's icon blinked in acknowledgment. "I think her gravity plates should malfunction as well," the AI reported.

"Don't get carried away."

He sighed as he washed his hands and splashed water on his face. "Don't drink it," Proteus reported.

"I wasn't even dreaming of it. Gray water...Hell nasty water." He shut the tap off and pulled a towel out. "Is there another head working? I'll have to get cleaned up before hitting the galley." He knew his implants would handle his waste, recycling it quite a few times, but eventually he would have to purge to make room for new.

“The head near the galley, bow side is working according to sensors," Sprite reported. "Ah good, scalded and floating naked and wet," She sounded satisfied. "Now for a stuck door," He sighed. He should have known better then to have turned Sprite's malicious side loose. "And let’s turn out the lights..." she said as she snickered.

He shook his head. "Never let an AI do revenge." He tossed the towel into the bag.

"Oops, she has claustrophobia...Oh boy, she's a screamer," Sprite reported a moment later. He grunted "Someone's at the hatch, yup, manual bypass initiated, she's in." Her head came up on the HUD. "Wanna see?" she asked. He shook his head.

After a visit to the other head and galley he went to work. The girl Jennie, and other be-speckled girl, Molly, the acting Chief engineer followed him around for a bit. "The security Chief is on her way...and boy is she in a snit," Sprite reported fifteen minutes into their shift.

"Defenses on line," Defender reported. He could feel the tingle and slight vibration as the shield emitters spun up to strength.

"What the hell happened today?" she said as the hatch opened.

"What do you mean?" Molly asked nervously, adjusting her glasses. The Admiral finished his check of the logs and then busied himself with the nearby patched control run. "What do I mean? I mean my quarters! The water, the gravity, the hatch, the lights?" she snarled slamming her hand on the console. Molly shivered.

"Accidents happen," the Admiral murmured.

"What? What did you say?" the Chief snarled. He looked up. Her face was blotchy with red marks that extended down her neck. Her hair was a mess.

"I said, accidents happen, like oh, let’s say airlocks cycling," he said firmly. He locked his gaze to hers.

"Don't try me," she snarled.

"Personally, I don't like accidents and malfunctions. That is why we are working on fixing things," he said simply. He kept his gaze locked to hers. "Of course, some accidents are a bit...more dangerous than others," he said locking eyes with the chief. Molly and Jennie were gaping at the two of them.

"Yes Miss Chief, we need to get back to work. We need to get as many repairs done as possible," Molly managed to recover and insert herself between them. He broke off.

"Yes, good point." He looked over the log.

The Chief snarled. "This isn't over."

As she turned and left. "Did she really try to kill you?" Jennie asked shaken.

"Yes," He replied.

"Did you do that? All that stuff?" Jennie leaned over to him and asked more softly.

He chuckled. "Oh, I wouldn't do a thing like that would I?" he smiled evilly. She shook her head and giggled.

"Admiral Can you show me how to fix the brig?" Tara asked him. He turned.

"Sure. Get a parts list of what needs replacing, and we can replicate the parts then swap them out. I would start with the hinges, bars, and force field emitters,” he suggested as he smiled. She grimaced. He shook his head at her expression.

"Okay, let’s start with the obvious." He keyed in the hinges and emitters. "Okay, they're on the list. Um...down a ways though I am afraid, they aren't priorities," he said.

She sighed. "The Chief wants it right away."

He shook his head. "I can get the hinges, but the emitters are a bit of a stretch, too many competing priorities." He went through the menu and bumped it up. “Okay, the hinges and lock will be ready in an hour."

She nodded. "I asked Jen to get someone to cut out the old and patch in the new." He looked up then keyed in the video feed for the brig on the console. "How did you do that?" she asked as he smiled. "Military secret." They watched as a pair of girls used a plasma torch to cut off the old torn hinges.

"Okay, looks like they're doing fine," he said and then grunted as a girl squealed. "Oops, spoke to soon." The girl slapped at her arm where a spark had landed. Her outfit smoldered. She was crying. He tapped the communications channel and typed in sickbay.

"Sickbay, is someone sick?" the nurse Mindy asked.

"There's a burn victim coming your way, girl who was hit with a spark."

There was a pause. "Who is this?"

Tara leaned over his shoulder. "Never mind that Mindy, get the first aid kit out and get ready." She looked at the video feed as the two girls left the brig. "It doesn't take two of them to get to sickbay," she muttered, shaking her head.

He came in to the galley for an evening meal and stopped in the hatch as the sound of music washed over him. It was coming from a darkened corner. His enhanced sight easily made out the girl sitting on a stool strumming an ancient plastic guitar. The instrument was battered, cracked, but still in tune. He nodded to her and went to the replicator.

The girl finished the set and then took a sip of water. She wrung her hands out and looked over the audience as they clapped. Hastily he set his fork down and clapped as well. "More Miley more!" She smiled softly.

"She's good huh?" His table mate leaned over to him. He nodded.

"I'm glad some things survived," he said simply. He nodded to the girl and smiled. She blushed. Jennie came into the galley dressed in a red kimono. "Tea." She waited as the machine finished the cup and went dark. Carefully she took the cup out and took a sip. She looked over to Miley and nodded.

Her eyes roved over the audience and then locked onto the Admiral. She smiled and came over. "Moonlighting Admiral?" she asked. He chuckled.

"Just taking a break."

Her smile widened. "And here I thought the rumors of you being all robot were true," her smile took the sting out of that. He was sensitive to cracks about his implants sometimes.

"Nope, some of me feels like rubber. Doing the fine motor control work really takes it out of you." She nodded as she sat down next to him.

"Let me guess, I get to sleep in the cargo bay? Aren't you scared I'll steal everything?" he demanded. He looked exasperated.

The chief smiled. "Try."

He shook his head. "No, my family has never turned jack. I'm not about to start." He waved. "Lead on Brunhilda."

She gave him a cool look. They marched down the corridors to a cargo hatch. "In here." The hatch door opened and he looked in. his night vision kicked in since the lights were off.

"Great." He saw something scuttling around. "Was that a rat?" he asked.

She looked inside then snarled, "get the cats."

He looked at her. She was blushing. The tall heavy shouldered red head softly called for cats. "I see they serve a dual purpose," he observed. The chief went into the cargo bay, gun drawn. She tapped the lights and they came up. She blinked and fired at a shadow.

A can jumped. "Damn." She looked around.

"Dorah is on her way," the red head called.

"Well, find these damn things before they eat all the grain!" the chief snarled.

"Okay okay," the red head sighed, stepping around the Admiral. "Excuse me," she said. She picked up a crowbar lying on a wooden crate then hefted it. "Here mister rat..." she said softly. He snorted

"So does this mean I get different quarters?" he asked.

The chief pointed to a corner. "There." he grimaced.

"Okay..." He tossed the bedroll down, and then sat on it. “Defender...”

“Keep an eye out for trouble, no problem admiral,” Defender responded. “I'm on watch; Sprite is busy rebuilding the net. Shields are up and nominal.”

He watched as they tried to hunt the rodents, not succeeding. After a few minutes a sleepy Dorah arrived carrying Mister Whiskers and a blue cat. "Get those useless hairballs in here," the chief snarled. The Admiral closed his eyes and listened. One by one he filtered anything not animal out.

"Okay, there is...”

"SHHH" The guard said kicking his bedroll. He opened his eyes. The guard was watching as the cats stalked something. A rat sprang out, bounced off a bulkhead, and then hopped away.

"Denubian kangaroo rat. Great," he grunted.

The little varmint jumped about crazily, dodging the cats, crowbar, and wild shots from the chief. He watched as they chased it out the hatch. "Don't let it get away!" The chief called angrily. They sprang into pursuit. He watched them leave.

"Alone at last," he sighed, and tapped the light control. As the lights dimmed he heard rustling in the sacks of grain. "Spoke to soon," he groaned.

"Captain, I'm putting a work crew together to repair the hover pallets, there were quite a few that were acting up. We need to put more in service so we can load faster," the purser said.

The Captain nodded sagely. "All right Vanessa, if that's okay with Molly." She looked to Molly. Molly squirmed in her seat.

Jennie leaned over and whispered. "Say something you dunce! We need those people on more important projects!"

Molly adjusted her glasses and took a sip of water. "Um Captain, I mean, that is, we need most of our people on the repair and maintenance projects we started." She squirmed a little under the glare of the Purser.

"There's no reason your people can't do their own maintenance Vanessa, they broke it, they fix it," Jennie said, meeting glare for glare. "We have enough to worry about trying to keep the ship running." She shook her head.

The Captain sat back, sipping her tea. "True, and you were complaining that constant inventories weren't keeping your people busy Vanessa."

The purser frowned. "We handle cargo, fixing things is their job," she said. She waved to the engineer contingent. "

Yes, but we have other priorities! We'll be in hyper for another three months, there's no need to fix those pallets, they're not needed now!" The purser glowered.

"She's got you there," the chief added.

"We have a full plate of things to repair and build, like oh say, the number two cargo hold." The purser's eyes widened at that. She had been after that hold ever since she saw the specs in the computer. It was a twin to the number one hold, the largest hold in the ship. Massive hull breeches had left it an airless ruin.

"Can you really do that?" she asked breathless, eyes suddenly gleaming.

"Of course we can! With the Admiral we can fix anything on this ship!" Molly waved her hands. "And just what do you want to fix? How much power is it going to take from my power budget? We don't have a lot you know," the ops officer weighed in.

"Well, we're working on that too. The Admiral is working on the hyper collector right now. He said we may get another twenty percent out of it if we're lucky," Molly replied smugly.

The ops officer's eyes widened. "Well, that'll cover the replicator’s power budget, that thing sucks energy! It's almost as bad as the drives!" She sat back.

"That bad eh?" the Captain asked softly.

"We may have to dial back on the repairs until we can get more power," the ops officer replied. "Oh, like I said, we're working on it,” Molly said.

“We have a priority list. Some things like the shields, hull, hyperdrive, and fusion reactor we can't work on for obvious reasons," Jennie waved to the window. The Captain nodded.

"But we can swap out broken parts here and there, like the port sensors modules, computers, life support, and interior repairs," Molly spoke up. "We're also working on patching the EPS conduits."

The ops officer froze with her cup at her lips. "EPS?" She took a cautious sip. "Will it affect systems?"

Jennie shook her head. "We're going after bleeds first; we've spent the past four shifts patching them," she said. The ops officer nodded. "I noticed there was a spike in throughput. Will this cause a blow out somewhere else?" she asked sounding concerned.

Molly looked concerned. "I don't know for sure. But with the replicators working, the plasma will be siphoned off."

The chief frowned. "Just when am I getting my power buss back? I need that for the weapons," she said. She spread her hands apart. "If we don't have weapons, we're defenseless," the chief finished her appeal to the Captain.

"I'm sure it's on a list. You do have a list right?" Molly nodded enthusiastically. She was tired, having tried to keep up with the Admiral on each of his marathon runs. "Here it is." She fumbled the tablet, and then passed it over to the Captain.

The chief intercepted it. "Where is it...?” She scrolled through the list. "Wow, that's a lot... Wait, I don't see it." Jennie brought out another tablet and began to scroll. She frowned and hit the search and typed in the name. "Okay there it is, it's on the gamma list, item three four one."

The chief looked up alarmed. "Gamma list?" The Captain reached out an imperious hand. Sheepishly the chief handed her the tablet.

"There are five lists, Alpha is the priority list, Beta is secondary things, then Gamma and so on," Jennie explained.

"I can't wait for you to get through all that before you get around to weapons, we need that gun!" the chief snarled. "There must be thousands of things on that list!"

Jennie winced. "Over ten thousand actually, on all the lists," she sighed. Those were the major systems, not individual items.

"Don't worry; we're working on what we can from all the lists." Molly forestalled another outburst from the chief. "As we said before, since we can't work on some systems, we will automatically fall back to others we can. If a system isn't needed we'll shut it down until power is available," she said and then shrugged.

"And just where is the Admiral now?" the chief asked.

"I believe he's sleeping in cargo bay 5," Molly shook her head.

The purser looked up alarmed. "Why is he there? We have plenty of empty crew quarters...” The chief glared.

"My sentiments exactly. But for some reason, he keeps being placed in odd places to sleep," Molly glared, now incensed.

"First the brig, then a malfunctioning airlock, then a corridor, now a cargo bay! What's next the sewage plant?" She came to her feet, glaring at the chief. "You need to get off whatever stick you’re riding and leave the man alone so he can do his job."

Jennie put a restraining hand on her arm. "That's enough Molly," the Captain's rumble cut through her anger. Reluctantly Molly sat. "I think it's about time we assigned some quarters to the Admiral. See to it Vanessa." She waved to the purser who nodded. "I want to see if he can get us into beta. I am looking forward to seeing if you can do it."

Jennie smiled suddenly. "Oh, we'll do it all right, and much more. With his help we can probably make Gamma!"

Shandra looked up alarmed. "Gamma?" Sudden excitement made several of the crew protest. "But we don't have the power, the hull won’t take it!" Molly waved dismissively.

"People people!" The Captain waved an arm. "Settle down," her gravelly voice made them instantly obey. "I believe that's why they have these lists correct?"

Molly and Jennie nodded. "Yes, with an all out effort we can get into Beta when we leave the next colony," Molly said as she sat back.

"Are you sure?" Shandra asked, leaning forward eagerly.

"Can you handle it?" the chief asked the helms woman dryly. Shandra blushed.

"Oh, I think I can," she said. She looked thoughtful. "I've been waiting my whole life to try." She grinned.

"Well in a couple months; you'll get your chance," Molly nodded firmly.

"Excellent. Keep me informed," the Captain replied, then hovered backwards and turned. "Vanessa, see me later." The stewardess near the door keyed it open. The Captain hovered through.

"Well, that was an interesting meeting, least you didn't sleep through it," Molly teased Jennie as they packed up. The ops officer snorted.

Shandra bounced up eager. "Do you really think we can do it?" she asked breathily.

Jennie nodded. "Sure, once we get things sorted out more. We may even get you into the B note of Alpha in a couple more days," she said. Shandra looked excited.

"What will the power demands be?" the ops officer asked sitting on the table edge, arms folded. "I wasn't kidding about the balancing, we are way into reserves."

Molly shook her head. "We can use the hyper collector's to power the transition. Once we're up there, the higher note will provide more power to handle the load and to help rebuild our reserves," she explained.

The ops officer pursed her lips in thought. "Could work," she said finally.

Jennie looked over to her. "You mean it will work."

The ops officer nodded. The chief, moral officer, and purser exited ignoring their tight knot. The navigational officer and communication officer hovered around them. "When do we see some action?" the comm officer asked.

"Oh soon enough. But exterior communications aren't exactly a priority. That's why they're down the Gamma list." Jennie handed over a tablet to each of them. They scrolled through it. “If you want to bump things up, lend us a hand with your people and we can give it a shot."

Both women nodded as stepped back, then headed for the door. "Well, that will keep them busy," Molly sighed.

"Yeah, gossip mill will be running overtime," Jennie chuckled.

"See you off shift?" Shandra asked.

Jennie dimpled and colored. "I don't know when I'm getting off,” she squirmed a bit. Molly cleared her throat and gathered her things, trying to make herself small.

Shandra caught Jennie's hand. "Any time," Shandra said.

Jennie smiled softly. "Okay."

Molly made it to the door. "Meet you in engineering." She left the two alone.

"Port side, Admiral, get into the life pod..." He felt the ship jar, then the screech of metal. "Breach! Hull breaches forward your cut off, use a different pod!"

Sprite quickly directed him to the ship's exterior. "Here Admiral." He helped an injured crew woman into a pod. "Damn, core overload, get us out of here!"

He felt Defender come to the fore and rush him to the pod. "No, we can save some!"

"No time Admiral! Get in!" an enlisted man said, shoving him into the pod. The hatch hissed shut. He felt the jar again, then a loud bang and acceleration.

He woke sweating, and tried to fight off the vestige. Remnant dream he thought. "Hmm from your neural activity, you just had a nasty dream. Care to talk about it?" Sprite asked.

"No." He grunted and checked his chronometer on the HUD. Two more hours.

"You're only delaying the inevitable, you know you need to talk about this Admiral." Sprite was nothing if not persistent.

"What's there to talk about? They died, we lived," he sighed.

"Admiral, the four of us have been through it all together over the past four years. We need to talk, you're showing signs of depression. This workload is stressful enough," she said. Sprite brought up his stats. He waved them away. "Really it will help," she insisted.

"Wanna bet? Now if you’re quite through with the psycho babble, I need to get some rest, we have a shift in two point four hours.”

"Very well," she sighed. "I need to finish rebuilding this driver suite anyway..." He rolled over and went back to sleep.

The next morning he opened the hatch to find Frie and Tara waiting on either side. "Good morning ladies," he yawned.

"Heard about your dust up with the rats," Tara said, toeing the deck. Tara looked into the darkened bay. Glowing eyes made her shiver. "Damn, are there any more? And you slept in there?" She gave him a disbelieving look.

"It wasn't easy; I think one of them tried to take a nibble out of my boot." He wiggled his toes.

She looked down. "Ew!" She shivered.

"Going to have to do something about that," she said firmly.

He waved. "Not a problem,” he said, he already had a plan. The cats weren't around. He tapped the controls.

"What are you....?” Air began to suck in as the doors closed. The red light blinked. "Okay..." He studied the controls.

"What are you doing?" Tara asked. He smiled.

"Venting." He waited a moment. "Okay, they should be dead now." He tapped the controls. "I am putting it on a ten minute delay, and then it will restore the air," he said. He tapped out the command then hefted the duffels. "Time for the head," he said. He nodded to the girls.

"Don't like rats I take it?" Frie asked amused. He smiled and looked at her over his shoulder.

"I don't know of anyone who does. It was the insects that bugged me the most though."

Frie looked alarmed. "Insects?" She stopped and turned to look back at the hatch, then down. Something skittered past her. She jumped and stomped.

Tara stomped as well. "Got it," she growled. She shook her blond mane. "Damn bugs. We get them every time," she sighed. He tapped at the door.

"I'm in here!" a girl called from the other side.

"Okay," he replied. He looked around.

"Wanna try a different one?" Tara suggested. He shook his head.

"There are five on this deck in good order... or should I say, good odor," he said.

Tara smiled. "Yeah, but you're fixing that right?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes, but it's slow going, I need to get a class going to teach the life support staff." A girl came out of the head. She gaped at the Admiral. "Thanks. Only be a moment." He stepped in.

The clatter of metal hitting the deck made him look up in alarm. Jennie whirled then growled. "You startled me! Don't be so clumsy!"

Molly was bending over to pick up the hull plate. "Well, don't leave stuff where people walk! Why is this here anyway! You know we like things neat!" Jennie started to retort and the Admiral waved.

"For you're info, I put it there," he interjected. Both women looked at him. "It's a cross section of the hull; I want to show the class."

Molly looked it over with interest. "What's all this pitting?" She fingered the pits and engraved sections.

"Micro meteor impacts when the ship was a derelict," the admiral replied absently.

She brought the panel up to look through a hole. "That isn't good," she observed. He nodded.

"The inner layers caught the rest when the first was breached," he explained. She set the plate down and looked at the sandwich of stacked materials.

"This is a cross section of our hull?" she asked, examining it closely.

"Yes it is," he said.

She nodded. "Thought so." She hummed for a moment.

"Why does it have gaps?" she asked after a moment. He nodded.

"Those are to dissipate kinetic energy. A projectile hits the first layer of armor..." He pointed to the plate, “And if it breaches the composite layer it then goes into that void. The void allows the object to spread out, absorbing some of the impact over a greater area," he explained. She nodded.

"What about these layers..." she started to ask. He nodded as her voice trailed off. "Well, the layer with the fine mesh is the inner super conductive layer. That's what protects the ship and crew from radiation when the shields are down." She looked up and blinked owlishly at him.

"So that's why we don't get fried?" she asked. He nodded.

"The layer of fine pipes is a coolant layer. It balances the temperature on the hull and also keeps it from flexing." She nodded. "Some of the layers are carbon composite, some are old school Kevlar. There are also some ceramic layers. The outermost is metal of course," he explained. She rapped her knuckles on the metal plate. "Of course," he smiled. "Armor plate is a bit different," he said.

She nodded. "Why paint?" she asked looking him in the eye.

"Why not?" he asked. She looked confused as he threw the question back at her.

"On a planet paint is used to protect against the elements." Trisha said, looking things over as she wiped her hands on a rag.

He nodded. "Same deal here. It adds a layer of radiation protection, thermal protection, and other things."

She nodded. "Oh, on warships it does other things, like dissipate sensor energy and other things," she said absently. She waved a dismissive hand.

"Someone's been doing their homework," Trisha teased. Molly blushed. "Good for you!" Trisha patted her arm. "Wish I had the knack, all I can stand is life support." She waved and left the room.

Jennie palmed the door control then reeled back at the blast of sound. "Only yooouuuuu tell me..." She wrinkled her nose and covered her ears.

"Shut that noise off!"

The nurse looked up annoyed. "It's not noise! That's classical music!" Jennie reached over and flipped the volume down to off.

"It's noise!" Jennie retorted. “And if you want the equipment fixed, it stays off.”

The nurse sniffed. "Some people have no taste in the fine arts!" she turned with a huff and left. Jennie watched her leave. "I was thinkin the same thing," she observed dryly. The Admiral chuckled.

The Captain came into her quarters and noticed the group of women all gathered around the door to her head. "Now what's going on here? What are you doing in my quarters?" She was annoyed, expecting some quiet time. The girls looked back guiltily, making a hole where she could just see the engineer kneeling near the toilet.

"Oh, sorry Captain, we were just showing the class some plumbing." He fiddled with a pipe and murmured to someone the Captain couldn't quite see.

"Eh?" she grunted. The girls smiled tentatively.

"Well, I am glad their busy, since they are always getting into mischief," she huffed. She gave the girls a jaundice eye. Some of them giggled.

"We should be finished here in a few minutes Captain." He bent down behind the toilet.

"All right, I will be in my wardroom," she sniffed and pushed the controls to turn her chair. The girls were excited about these classes. Her granddaughter had mentioned them, but at the time she hadn't known they were so popular. Of course it may have been because he was a mythical hero, or just because he was a male. Hopefully he was discreet; she didn't need the headache of jealous girls.

She turned to give him a look. Trisha handed him a rag as he sat up. "All right ladies, that should be about it. I turned the water back on while I was under there, so the tank will fill. Trisha if you will do the honors?" The girl blushed but leaned over and pushed the flush. The water gushed loudly. "Now we check for a leak around the bottom." He pointed. The girls looked.

"Nope, none, I don't see any," the nearest girls said in unison. Some of the others leaned in to take a peek.

"Now, we log the repair..." He pulled out a tablet and went through the motions. "And now we move on to the next job." He got up and motioned the girls out. He nodded to the Captain who had paused in the doorway to the wardroom.

She turned and gave him a small smile. After they left she floated over and took a look. She flushed the toilet, and then turned as it swooshed and looked into the shower. It was clean, with brand new fixtures. "Nice," she murmured. She tried the controls and then turned the water spray off.

He noticed a trio of giggling girls carrying sets of goggles. "What are you doing with those?" he pointed.

The trio stopped and looked at the goggles. "Oh, Jedzia found them in the computer, they're virtual reality goggles," one of the girls answered.

"Now we can see stuff in 3D!" another said, and then giggled.

He nodded. "Okay."

One of the girls waved the goggles. "We can even access the ship's net, so we can check out your lectures in 3D," she said. She wrinkled her nose. "It is a lot easier then reading it on a tablet." He nodded. "Good point. Just be careful, they can give you a headache if you use them too long, and make you sick if you come out of virtual too fast," he cautioned. They looked at the goggles with apprehension. He hid a small smile. "Just use good judgment."

One of the girls looked over to the others. "We will, or at least I will, I'm not sure about them..." The other two looked offended for a moment, and then the trio fell into bickering as they left. He grimaced wryly, shaking his head.

He was lying on his stomach, carefully placing the last emitter. "Okay, that should about do it." He tapped the controls.

Jennie watched. "That never gets old," she said. She grinned at the blue light.

Molly nodded. "Yeah, seeing things working again..." she sighed. "Okay, my part is done here too." She sat up and pulled her communicator out of her pocket. "This is Molly, we're ready here," she said. She looked at the wiring job.

"Rerouting power now," Trisha in engineering said. The module came to life. In a moment the emitter began to glow softly, and then they felt vertigo before it stabilized. "Emitter is initialized; we have a good balance... Yes. Nice power curve, leveling off now," Trisha reported from engineering.

Faintly the Admiral could hear something sparking. "What's that?" he asked, suddenly concerned. He turned Sprite was in the net, Defender couldn't pinpoint the source. "It's not from here...” he said.

"What? What isn't here?" Molly looked up. "Sounds..."

"Admiral! Fire detected in electrical compartment 2c behind you, get out of there!" Sprite came in to his consciousness.

"Great. Electrical fire," he said, looking around. He turned to the source.

"Get out of there," Sprite urged.

Molly scrambled just as the panel edges smoked. In seconds smoke billowed out the top edge. The flicker of flames could be seen through the vents. "Crap. Not good," Irons muttered. "Where's the nearest extinguisher?" he asked looking around.

"There isn't one on this deck, get out of there!" Sprite replied.

He pulled Molly away from approaching the panel. "No don’t, get back." The panel popped open as an alarm began to eep. The guards were coughing. Cindy staggered down the corridor. "Get everyone back, alert the bridge." He waved to the guards. They stumbled. One tried to pull her com out. "Not here!" Smoke billowed out into the corridor, in moments it was too hard to see.

He waved to a side door. The emergency door down where Cindy had stumbled slammed shut. "No, this way," he said as he waved to Jennie. She stumbled and fell. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into a fireman's carry.

Molly coughed. "We can't see!" She grabbed his arm.

"Hang onto each other, form a chain!" His thermal vision came up. Sprite laid out the deck plan as well. “Okay, we have four meters to safety, just keep it together," he urged. He carried them into the compartment. He set Jennie down as Molly and the guards stumbled in. One of the guards had a breather. She buddy breathed with the other.

"What happened?" Molly coughed. Jennie shook her head; she was coughing too much to respond. "In here," Irons said. The Admiral grabbed each of them and moved them into a side room. He turned the air up. "It seems we had an accident. An electrical fire broke out in a compartment." Molly coughed.

Mindy arrived, wearing a gas mask and carrying another. "Gee this tank is heavy!" she moaned. The Admiral took the extra mask and put it on Molly.

"Take a few breaths," he urged. She did. After the third one he placed the mask up to Jennie. She tried to fend it off but he was insistent. "Breath. Again. Now again." After her third breath he switched back to Molly. "Keep going back and forth with the masks Mindy." He exited the compartment.

"Wait don't you need one?" She asked as the door shut.

"With Proteus?" he muttered. "Got it covered Admiral; scavengers are removing the carbon monoxide and dioxide at fifty three percent efficiency. I recommend staying away from higher concentrations however," Proteus reported.

He nodded. "Good to know." His eyes cycled into thermal vision once more. Sprite placed a karat onto a fallen crew member. Gently he grabbed an arm and dragged her to the side compartment.

"Here's another," a girl said. Someone tapped at his elbow.

A guard held out a mask. He waved it off, then down to the girls. "Help them, they need it." The guard coughed eyes puffy and watering. "Make sure the doc checks you both out." He nodded to Frie, who was lying against the bulkhead, cradling the gas mask against her face. He turned and exited. "Okay. Sitrep?"

Sprite karated the burning electrical compartment. "Some flammables in the compartment and frayed or shorted wires. The life support system to this deck has been contained but is overloaded. We need to get that fire out," she said. He grunted.

"Yeah, we need foam." He looked over the area.

"Admiral, there isn't any," Sprite replied after a moment. He grunted again, this time in annoyance at himself.

"Oops."

Sprite's head came up. "Oops is right."

His lip curled. "It's not like you thought of it either,” he growled.

She blinked. "Rebuke accepted. Sorry Admiral." He went over to the fire. One of the crew was trying to drag a hose. "No, not water!" He yelled. He waved it away.

"Pull everyone out of the section," he ordered. She looked at him. "Go!" He grabbed her arm and yanked her. "Sprite...”

"Already working on it Admiral, clearing the deck now. I suggest you leave,” she said.

He nodded and coughed. "Yeah, good idea," he coughed. He pulled back to the room.

"Corridor is cleared, door sealed,” Sprite said.

He checked the readouts. "Do it." He watched the life support readings on the other side suddenly begin to fall.

"What are you doing?" Molly coughed.

"The only thing we can, cutting off the air supply of the fire," he said. He waited until the O2 levels were near zero. "Sprite?" he asked softly.

"Still reading thermal hot spots... Give it a minute or two longer," she said. He nodded and turned to the others.

"Head count?" he asked.

Molly shook her head. "I think...” She looked around uncertain. "Yeah, we're missing Cindy, but everyone else is here. She went the other way," she said. He nodded.

"Sprite?" he asked softly. He watched as Molly took a breath.

"She's okay, on the other side of the fire doors down the corridor," Sprite reported. He sighed in relief.

"She's safe," he said out loud. He nodded to the guards. "Good work." They shrugged. He turned to the controls.

"How much longer?" Molly asked.

"Are we trapped? We're trapped aren't we?" Mindy's voice had a hysterical edge. He gave her a cool look.

Molly patted her hand reassuringly. "We're fine."

Jennie didn't look reassured, but gulped as the Admiral nodded to her. He returned his attention to the controls. "Okay... No more thermal spots detected. I rerouted power and data around that compartment as well," Sprite reported.

"Good. Okay." He tapped the controls. The O2 levels began to rise.

"Looks like we'll need to replace the CO2 scrubbers on this deck sooner than expected," he said as he shook his head.

Jennie grinned. "That'll set Trisha off."

He chuckled, "yeah. That and the soot stains."

"Admiral, the doctor and a team are on the other side of the emergency doors," Sprite reported. He nodded.

"Okay," he said. He tapped the controls. It was more for show, Sprite did the real work. "Doors released. Emergency crew is here." The door opened and the doc came in. The relief crew had masks and towed a fire fighting kit.

"Who's bad?" the doctor asked through the mask. The doc stopped to look at the soot stained Admiral. "Admiral you’re not even wearing a mask!"

The Admiral waved a hand. "No problem, see to the others."

The doc looked confused, but obeyed after a moment. "Okay." He kept sneaking glances at the Admiral who turned his back.

"Report," the chief said coming in. She had a full mask on. "What happened?"

Frie took a deep breath then waved. "Over here chief." In a few moments she outlined what had happened.

The chief nodded. "Good work." She left without a look at the Admiral. He shrugged at the outraged look on many faces.

"Don't worry about it. I need a shower more than thanks anyway," he said as he left.

“Admiral, as much as I want the ship completely repaired, I'm going to have to scale you back some,” The Captain's announcement had been expected. He sighed and nodded.

“Okay, we're about done with what we can do with the stock pile or raw material on hand. I take it you want us to slow down and work on routine repairs and only one to one rebuild replacements?”

The Captain's brows knit. “one to one?” she asked. He nodded.

“Cut the damaged part out of the loop, remove it, rebuild it, and then put it back in,” he explained. She nodded. “Yes, that may work for non essential systems,” she replied. The ops officer cleared her throat. “As long as we have the power available.”

He nodded. “We still have the hover pallets to fix,” Vanessa, the purser grumped. “I don't see why now, you've taken half of our feedstock. Just what are you planning to do to replace it all? Refined metal doesn't just float around you know!” she harped.

He chuckled. “Actually it does,” he smiled, getting an idea.

“We'll talk about it later; I have an appointment with Dorah and the kids,” the captain growled. The Captain waved them out. “Go on, shoo, stay out of trouble.” The Admiral wasn't the only one to chuckle as they exited.

Gia watched the engineer as he calibrated the hover pallet. The engineering crew had been forced to scale back some of their repair efforts until new material could be acquired. Frie looked over to her and shrugged. Gia cleared her throat. "So what did you mean about that Heavy worlder comment the other day?"

He looked up and frowned. "From your build, and that of Frie over there, you look like you're descendant of heavy worlders."

Gia's brows knit. "Because we're short?"

He shook his head. "No, well, yes, that's part of it, but also because of your build. You’re stocky, with massive muscles," he explained.

Frie frowned dangerously. "So what?"

He looked over to her. "So, I thought you were a descendant of heavy worlders, either through genetic engineering or natural selection."

She cocked her head. "What do you mean?" she asked, confused. He grunted.

"Well, when humanity first began to colonize the stars, we found many worlds that were in the Goldilocks zone, but had too much, or too little gravity." He locked down the cover plate. "Okay, this one is done." He got up and cleaned his hands.

"My ancestress was a gene sculpted," Gia replied quietly.

Frie looked over to her. "You sure?"

Gia nodded. "Great gram was a scientist during the Xeno war. She was in a G shielded base when they hit the Himalaya colony," she said quietly. He accessed the Galactica database and did a search. Quickly he absorbed the short entry paragraph.

"The planet is a high G one, one of the highest. With the colonists living on the mountains right?" he asked.

She nodded. "I guess so. But there was some sort of moss or lichen that grew on the lower slopes. Down below the colonies. It had some medicinal uses so they set up a base with artificial gravity," she said. He nodded.

"I don't get it," Frie replied confused.

"They used artificial gravity to cancel out the higher gravity of the planet. Or at least cut it down to bearable strength," Irons explained.

Gia nodded. "The base was in a sheltered valley, under an overhang cell of rock. When the Xeno’s came, they wiped out the towns, colonies, everything," she said, her eyes were filled with hatred.

"Grandam turned the power plant off and cut the gravity down to just bearable levels to hide. Several couldn't stand it and died," she shook her head at the loss. "When they were sure the Xeno’s had left, or when they couldn't stand it anymore, they used the escape vehicles and some makeshift equipment to hike back up the mountain."

He patted her arm. "forty eight people were there. They went back several times to scavenge what they could. Eventually a wandering independent freighter came by hoping for salvage," she said as she  smiled. "What they found was grandam. She traded what moss and gear they had for transport off that rock. Thirty five of them made it off," she said but then her face cleared. "And here I am!"

The Admiral nodded. "I'm glad you kept your roots and know some of your history," he said quietly. She nodded. "Okay, why don't we go catch some lunch and I'll see what I have in my files about heavy worlders," he said.

He gathered up his tools and then stood. "You wouldn't happen to know your ancestors’ name would you?" Gia asked as she smiled. "Doctor Gia Brown."

He entered that into the search engine. Her name and a brief bio came up. "Hmm, she was a prominent scientist. I can see you in her," he said, comparing the thumbnail image to Gia.

Gia and Frie stopped and turned. "You knew her?" Gia asked suddenly intent.

He shook his head. "No, but I have her bio, and holo image," he said.

Gia looked excited. "I want to see!"

He waved. "Well, there's a screen in the galley now that we fixed it," he said.

She smiled. "Well, don't just stand there, come on!" He chuckled as he followed.

"All right doctor, I've found five medical texts in the files, including a high school health course, biochem course, and an introductory to xenobiology," The Admiral said, sitting down.

The doctor sighed. "I have found dozens of crystals with medical information, but it's all gibberish to me," he said as he shook his head.

"Well, I have a medical dictionary program, some files from the Encyclopedia Galactica, as well as a basic first aid program in my implants I can upload. With that, the other programs in the main frame, and what files we can recover from those..." Irons shrugged. He indicated the crystals on the doctor's desk. "We should have a basic course lined up for you. We can tailor it for the nurses and sick berth attendants too."

The doctor nodded. "Good good...wait, sick berth attendants?" he asked.  He looked up confused. Irons smiled. "They're like paramedics. They reach the injured first. They also act as orderlies and nurses in sickbay," he explained.

The doctor sat back. “Mindy won’t like it, competition."

He waved to indicate the dancing girl on the other side of the glass. "Too bad," the Admiral replied, smiling.

"Oh, I didn't mean I was against it," the doctor chuckled. "She gets rather full of herself from time to time. I think dropping her a peg or two may be worth it."

He shrugged. "Okay, so we have the basic first aid course sorted out and we can look this over to see what to add." He tapped the tablet the Admiral had set in front of him. "Where should we start?" the doctor asked. The doctor looked up stretching and placing his hands behind his head.

"Oh, you could start with the guards, they could use the training," the Admiral indicated the guards.

"You'll have to clear it with the Chief first. Then move on to engineering. I'll try to get some volunteers to you for your first class as well," Irons said as the doctor looked thoughtfully at the gaurds.

He nodded. "I had a few ladies asking if they could learn..." The doctor rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe they could join as well."

The Admiral nodded. "The basic course is just that, the basics of first aide to stabilize the injured so someone with more training..." He indicated the doctor. "Can arrive and assess the situation. Those that show an aptitude could be encouraged for further study," he said.

The doctor nodded. "Yes, that should work. Not everyone has a strong stomach for medicine," he sighed. "My father was a doctor, I learned my bed side patient manner from him, but he was a terror when blood flowed," he shook his head in memory.

"A general practitioner, but not a trauma medic?" Irons asked and then nodded.

"Well, he did okay in the barnyard, but I think his empathy shorted him out when it came to humans," the doctor replied.

The Admiral sat back. "Barnyard?" he asked softly.

The doctor chuckled. "Doctors are rare." He shrugged. "We had to do what we could for all our patients, sentient or otherwise."

The Admiral nodded in sudden understanding. "What ever works. Okay." He got up. "I've got to get back to work, let me know when you've finished reviewing that," he said as he nodded to the tablet. "Thanks for this again." The doctor waved the tablet. He set it down and started to scroll through it. "Basic first aid?” he asked softly as he shook his head. “This is more than the health course!" he looked up awed.

The Admiral shrugged. "I don't like the terminology of doctors, so I took the liberty of adding a dictionary, the rest was built in." He waved as he left.

“We have a week to go until break out. I can't believe we're moving this fast!” Shandra looked bemused. “I've got most of my girls used to the speed; getting them up to handling beta shouldn't be too hard, the Admiral is working on expanding the simulator program.”

The Captain nodded. “And this tank?” she asked indicating the cylinder. She set the tablet down. Shandra grinned. “Oh, that's to make it easier to fly the ship in the higher bands since we don't have implants. It will take a suit to go with it though.” She frowned.

“Virtual reality?” the morale officer asked. “Are you going to need the goggles? I only have so many,” she asked warily.

“Were going to replicate everything from scratch so don't worry about it,” Shandra waved it off. “Here,” she said. She punched in the display in front of her seat. A virtual keyboard appeared.

“When did that happen?” Jen asked intrigued.

“The other day, I saw the Admiral working on it and came to watch before my shift started,” Shandra said. She tapped the controls and an image appeared on the face of the table. “This stop is going to be short according to the flight plan, no more than a week.”

The Captain nodded. “I don't want to stick around for long in case those pirates come looking for us,” she said and then shivered.

“Yeah, good idea,” Kendra drawled. She flushed when the Captain gave her a quelling look.

“I understand the Admiral has been sleeping in the guard’s quarters?” the Captain gave the Chief a long look.

“We're working things out,” the chief looked away.

“Surely we can do better than this Vanessa,” the Captain drawled.

Jen gave the purser a look. “Agreed. It is after all, the least we can do.” She glared.

Tsunade looked up. “Yes, it falls in my purview too, mistreating the Admiral is starting to effect morale,” she said. She caught the chief's glare and flushed.

"Hey look at what I found!" Mindy came in, dancing with a jacket covered in straps around her. She had straps dangling from the ends of the sleeves and around the waist. "Isn't it neat? All the shiny buckles!" She admired them for a moment. "But I can't get my hands through the sleeves!" she said putting words to action.

The Admiral looked up and snorted at the sight of the girl. "That's a straight jacket." He turned and reached behind the machine he was repairing. "Okay doc, try it now," he said.

The doctor looked at Mindy for a moment and then clicked the on button. "Okay, green light. Booting." He looked back at Mindy. She was fumbling with the jacket, buckling the front.

"So what's it for?" he asked casually.

The Admiral snorted. "Confinement. It's a restraint device for people who are a risk of injury to themselves." He got up and checked the status. The ultrasonic machine was up and running normally. "All clear," he said and nodded.

The doctor had a wicked gleam in his eye. "So how does it work?" They both watched as Mindy danced around, trying to buckle the straps.

"You wouldn't would you doc?" the Admiral asked, chuckling softly.

"Oh, just watch me," the doc answered.

"Well, she has it on backwards. The zipper goes in the back. And the arms fold over the chest, the buckles lock together behind her back. The other straps go around the arms, and...” He cleared his throat, "Between her legs to lock the jacket on."

The doctor smiled grimly. "Thanks. Are you going to work on biobed four?"

The engineer shook his head. "Still waiting on parts. I should be going." He walked out, looking over his shoulder as the doctor got up and walked over to Mindy. The guard by the door snorted. "Oh Mindy, let me show you how to put that on," the doctor said with a mischievous tone. He put his hand on her shoulder and turned her about.

She grinned innocently. "Okay doc! Bye mister Admiral! See you later!" She fairly jumped up and down. The Admiral chuckled as the guard led him out.

"Another virus has been uploaded into the net," Sprite reported as he checked the stats. He grunted. Sprite had turned the ship's AI's firewall and antivirus software back on, but someone kept bypassing them to upload crap.

"Great. How bad?" he asked.

Sprite sent him the log. "Not bad, just a phishing Trojan. Easily handled. I took the liberty of inoculating the mainframe and isolating the source for later."

He nodded. He looked up to the guard. "There was another virus infection in the mainframe. I got it,” he explained. He felt Sprite's version of disapproval but ignored it. "We will need to check all external memory devices and isolate viruses," he said. She looked confused.

"A virus is bad, it can do damage to the ship if you don't have your defenses up," he explained. Her face cleared as she nodded. "I turned the antivirus software back on, but someone keeps bypassing it to load...” Sprite fed him the name on his HUD, "Macho men from Ares colony." He shrugged. She blushed. "I'm guessing an off duty person's book or entertainment cube," he said dryly. Her cheeks colored a bit more.

"So, what is antivirus and a fire....wall?" Jennie asked as he flicked through the subroutines. The admiral nodded. "Computers use a lot of terminology...that means words from different things. In this case antivirus software is a computer's version of an immune system. It protects the computer and its data from computer viruses," he explained. She looked even more confused so he smiled.

"A computer virus is a nasty program, designed to breach security and do malicious harm to the computer network or the user," he said. Her face cleared.

The guard looked up, then pulled out a tablet and began typing fast. He glanced at her and shrugged. "How do you spell computer?" she asked him. He gave Jennie an amused look. "C.O.M.P.U.T.E.R," he said, spelling it out for her.

She nodded; typing it in then looked up. "What about Network?" she asked.

He grimaced and obliged. "Anyway, a firewall is a piece of software designed to prevent unauthorized access to a computer network." Jennie and the guard looked confused. "Like that," he said pointing. He pointed to the hatch. Jennie nodded.

"Can you spell Un um...That word?" The guard asked confused.

Jennie snorted. He sighed exasperated. "Let me see that." Reluctantly she handed over the tablet. He typed in the word, and then flicked through the menu.

"What are you doing?" She asked suddenly alarmed.

"There," he said finishing. He handed it back to her.

She glanced at it and saw "What are you doing?" on the screen. "What?" She looked up confused. Then back down to see the word on the screen.

"I turned on the speech to text recorder. It'll convert speech into a text file for later editing," the admiral explained.

Jennie's eyebrows arched upward in surprise. "Neat. I thought they were just for stories and games," Jen said. He shook his head and grunted.

"Electronic tablets are much much more then toys,” he said. He nodded to the display. "Shall we?"

He flicked through the menu, pointing out and explaining each icon, its purpose, and sub menu. "You see, a computer is in many ways the electronic version of a living thing." He typed a bit more. "We have the immune system, antivirus and firewall programs like I explained before... right here." He pointed. "This displays their status."

“Then we have the network, and its maintenance," he said. He pointed that out, bringing up the stats. Jennie nodded excited.

A tiny hand darted in and touched a control. "What does this do?" a small girl asked. He looked at the hand, and then followed it to the young woman.

"That is the life support controls for this section," he said. He clicked the icon, and a status screen came up. "You see here are the temperature data, fan speeds, and atmospheric levels." He frowned. "It seems we still have work to do, some of the fans and sensors are off line." He looked over to the girl who blushed. "You see, sometimes the life support systems can sniff out a problem before the diagnostics in engineering can."

She looked confused. "How?"

He pointed to the screen. "Well you see if there was a temperature variance we could track it to localize it, to find its cause. It might be a short, or a breach," he explained.

She shivered. "We lost Tasha to a breech," she said shivering.

He nodded. "Alarms sound if that is imminent, but only if the sensors are working," he said. She nodded.

“I heard that the replicator can make plants?” Kess asked, eating a leaf of lettuce.

“Where did you hear that?” Molly asked.

“Oh here and there. So is it true?”

Molly shook her head. “No, according to the Admiral, and the records he found for us, no, they only change things around, they don't make it.”

Kess looked confused. “Come again?” Molly sighed.

“Okay, what the replicator does is take matter, like metal, and re-arrange it into the shape you want, say this fork.” She held the fork up. “Now it can't make the individual atoms, it can only take what we supply and move them around to get the right shape,” she explained.

Kess nodded. “But what about the food replicators? And the sickbay ones?” She sat back triumphant. Molly smiled.

“Well, the food replicators take a substrate, the stuff in that tank and use it to make the food and plastic items.” She pointed to the sandwich spread. “It takes let’s say, algae, and re-arranges them into the thing you want. It resembles the original. Taste, texture... But it isn't perfect.” She took a bite. “But it is nutritious.”

Kess smiled. “So I guess I won’t be out of a job huh?” she asked.

Molly looked up alarmed. “What ever gave you that idea?” she demanded. She shook her head vehemently. “No! We need fresh food! We need the raw materials to feed into the replicators, and also to feed the animals. I couldn't live without your fruit salad!”

Kess smiled. “So it doesn't make life?” she asked. Molly shook her head.

“Nope, it just takes cells and re-arranges things,” Jennie butted in, setting her tray down. “This seat taken?” she asked. She turned the chair, and then straddled it. “The Admiral said that when something organic needs to be made, we take a cutting, like you do in the greenhouse, then clone it and grow it into the shape the doc wants.”

Kess cocked her head. Her eyes had a distant look in them. “I think I understand. Thanks ladies.” She nodded politely and left.

“Something I said?” Jen asked, spearing an olive.

"I hesitate to ask..." Irons said. He turned to Molly.

"Ask away," she said flippantly.

He shrugged deciding to dive in. "Okay, I was wondering how you deal with um...feminine needs. And contraceptives."

She blushed furiously. "Um, that is kind of a personal subject," she said clearly uncomfortable. She squirmed a bit.

"Admiral, from her reaction there has been a social regression of body taboos." Sprite observed, sounding amused.

"Okay, I'm guessing you use old school methods," he said. She squirmed looking away. "So, how about those Nicks?" She looked over to him suddenly confused. "Sorry," he said. He felt a small wash of regret. "Old joke. Anyway, let’s get this emitter aligned."

"What's this about a website?" the morale officer asked. The Admiral nodded to Tsunade the moral officer as she came over and leaned against a bulkhead. A work crew was wrestling with a plasma conduit nearby. He was letting them do it so they would gain confidence in performing the task themselves.

"I set up a place in the computer network with my lectures on repairs and notes on other things for the crew to look at," he explained.

She looked confused. "Okay, I didn't know you could do that," she said slowly. He nodded. "Why are you sharing this?" she asked.

He grimaced. "It will make repairs go faster."

He waved to the girls working on the electrical lighting down the corridor. "Already they've figured out the basics of lighting, and some of the basics of computer tech."

"Yeah the very basics," Sprite commented dryly.

He grunted. "With more time to learn and explore, they should pick things up faster, and move on to more and more complex jobs," he said, sounding hopeful.

The moral officer nodded. "So can you show me how to make one of these, what did you call it? Web signs?"

He chuckled. "Websites. There's a tutorial on the web; I can show you how to access that. It'll walk you through the steps on how to make the site. I'm going to set up an e-mail system, but not right now," he said. He waved to the girls wrestling a plasma conduit section. One of the gravity collars slipped. "I gotta go, bye," he said hastily.

He rushed over and caught the weight before it slipped. "Okay, um, I'll just get back to you when you’re not so busy..." the moral officer said. He grunted as she walked away.

Chapter 5

"Okay, we have here a fan; do you know why we need it?" Irons asked. He turned to Molly who shook her head.

"Cooling?" she asked. He nodded. "But I thought it had heat pumps?" she asked. He nodded again.

"Every electronic device has heat pumps, and heat sinks, but they are only sixty percent efficient. We still need ways to dissipate excess heat in a controlled method."

He tapped the fan. It was stuck. "Most likely this one burned out. Since it was out it couldn't dissipate heat. Heat shortens the life of a component or can cause it to fail," he explained.

Jennie nodded in agreement. "So is that what happened here to that CPU?" she asked as she  tapped on the heat sink with her index finger.

"Yes. The net threw a lot of stuff onto this machine, when its fan died it couldn't handle the stress over time and failed." He pulled the CPU and heat sink module, and handed it to Molly. "It's junk now, but you can salvage the heat sink. The fan and CPU can be used as teaching aides or salvage." He plugged in a new CPU, and then spread caulk on the top.

"What's that?" Jennie asked wrinkling her nose.

"Thermal grease, it dissipates the heat, transmitting it to the heat sink and up to the fan," he explained as he smeared it. She nodded. He strapped on the new heat sink fan unit. "Okay, let’s see... Memory is seated; heat sinks are okay, thermal exchange..." He checked. "Okay, looks good," he said with a nod to her. He checked the wires. "Each of these ODN cables can become unseated, or melt if they're exposed to too much heat." He checked each one. "All look okay. Power supply is on...” He flipped a switch. "Booting," he said. “So far so good,” he said. They smiled. A small LCD attached to the board ran through the post.

"Okay, we have a life again.” He waited until it booted to the second stage, then stopped. "Okay, hardware is ready," he said. He inserted his link into the network and then uploaded the software overlay to the blank server. "Okay, loading... all right, drivers are installing now." Fascinated the two girls crowded each other to see the LCD.

"Okay, server is up and running. The net is now a little bigger, and one step closer to being repaired," he said. He let them have a look then pushed the tray back into the server tower.

"Neat. That’s all there is to it?" a girl asked.

He shook his head. "No, that's if everything goes right. If the cards were bad or not inserted right, or a cable was bad or loose, then we would have had to diagnose things." He shrugged.

"Oh! There's some code on this drive! Sprite sounded enthused. "I can use this! Nice! It must have been knocked out when the ship went down but before the purge...hmmm... Yes, operating code okay...”

He ignored her monologue and turned to the students. “Okay, the next tray... this time, Molly you try diagnosing it."

She gulped. "Okay..."

Molly looked up as the speaker crackled, and then a klaxon blared. "Attention, everyone, we have a lot of turbulence ahead, brace." Molly set the toolbox down by her feet and grabbed the strut. The engineer grabbed a nearby strut with his free hand. The ship shuddered for a moment, and then bucked. "Wow! Must be some strong grav sheer!" Jennie called from behind them.

Two techs lost their grips and fell to the deck. "Okay folks, all clear," the communications tech said from the overhead.

Molly nodded. "You okay ladies?" She turned to the two techs picking themselves off the deck. One of them nodded. “We're good!”

"Must have passed through the rift, or too near a lost object," Jennie said, peering into the open panel at the circuitry inside. "I still think we should work on the hyperdrive instead of the sensors."

The engineer shook his head at the thought of playing with a drive while it was in use. "You dummy, you can't work on a hyperdrive in hyperspace!" Molly called, hefting her toolbox.

"That's true. Besides, the compression ratio is exponential in the higher bands, so we have to have fully functional sensors and navigational deflectors before hand, or we'll end up as plasma," the engineer interjected before Jennie could snarl a reply.

Molly nodded. "You mean we'll be going faster right?" one of the techs asked.

"Yashi, the other screwdriver, the one with the star head," a girl said. She turned back to the engineer who nodded as he too turned his attention to the panel in front of him.

"Yes, once we get to the star system we will take the hyperdrive off line and give it an overhaul." Molly giggled. "Yeah, we'll be at the next port three times as fast! Won’t they be surprised!" Jennie grinned.

"How bad is the damage?" he asked as the door opened and he stepped through the opening. "OH!" A woman squeaked, trying to cover up. Her blouse was torn, her right shoulder exposed. Molly was holding a blood soaked rag to it.

"What happened?" his voice tightened instinctively.

She looked up. "We had a small accident," she said and winced. She waved her free hand dismissively. He grunted. That was obvious.

"Burn or cut?" he asked. The girl shifted, trying to pull her blouse up.

"Hold still will you!" Molly ordered. She looked back up. "Burn, plasma vent," she said quickly. The woman grimaced and gasped a little, rocking back and forth. "I said, hold still!" She looked over to him. "We were bleeding a plasma line when a seal popped. She was nearby and caught the edge of it." He walked around the girl, taking a look. The thermal image showed the blood flow, Most of it had stopped. "Corona discharge?" He shook his head. "Sorry about that miss." She looked up.

She was pale, eyes puffy from crying. "It's okay." She got out, grinding her teeth.

The nurse bounced up and gave her an injection. "There! That should help!" She pulled the injector away and skipped back to the doctor.

"Ahhh..." the girl said and slumped.

Her eyes became glassy. "What did she give her?" Molly looked up concerned. "Not that I'm complaining if it took the pain away and keeps her from fidgeting." She looked over to the nurse who was bent over at the waist, looking over the docs shoulders. Her tiny hands were on the back of his chair. She kept bouncing, making his chair jerk.

His jaw tightened. “Local anesthetic most likely. Doc is checking her medical history before he starts cloning tissue." She looked over to the box near the doctor.

"Oh, that's the micro dermal grafter you fixed the other day? Nice timing!" the doctor responded as he chuckled.

"Yeah, and I need to get the cloning tank set up. Doc had the nurse disinfect the chamber; if it's good to go we should have it back on line in an hour," Irons said. He nodded to the ladies and got to work.

“Almost done there?” He looked up to see Molly looking over his shoulder, hands on her knees. He sat up straight, and then turned to face her better. “Just about. We can't do much more without more molybdenum, we've gone through the stockpile, and scavenging isn't getting us enough.”

Molly pushed her glasses up. “Yes, I heard that the replicator has cleaned out a lot of the supplies. We're getting complaints from the purser.”

He grunted in irritation. “I don't think we can do much more until we get more material,” he said as he nodded.

“Well, we'll have to do something about that in our next port,” she replied with a smile and nod.

With the guards outside the compartment he took a moment to check in with Sprite. He looked around as he sat down, nursing a drink. "Sprite, got a moment?" He knew she did, she was designed to serve him as his adjunct, but she had been using an inordinate amount of processing time repairing the ship's software over the past several months.

"One moment Admiral. There. Okay," she replied. Her image came up on the HUD. "No listening devices detected," she reported.

He nodded. "Good to know. Keep checking." He sat back. "So, what do we know about the remnant?"

She processed the data for a moment, and then the holographic projector lit. The lights dimmed and a 3D view of the galaxy spiraled out. "This is Federation space as we knew it," she said. She highlighted the sections of the spiral arm going inward to the core.

"That was up to date when we went into stasis. Now, from the Intel I've gathered, these sections are dead," she said. He watched as stars blinked red, and then faded to out.

"How are you getting this?" he asked.

"Based on cross referencing multiple sources, including a few news feeds buried in the network," she replied. He nodded in understanding. "Do you want to see them?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No," he answered softly. He knew it would be painful. "Continue."

"All right, these are known surviving worlds in this sector, the green are worlds this ship visits in its circuit." She highlighted twelve colonies. “The nine orange ones are systems this ship has visited, but are confirmed as dead.” They faded after a moment. "The two blue ones are of particular interest, both are cross road systems, but one is one of the few remaining industrial centers," she said. He nodded thoughtfully.

"I'm glad some industry survived. It gives hope for the future,” he rumbled. Her image came on; she was wearing an electric purple gown with shimmering lights and chrome jewels.

"My aren't we fancy? What's the occasion?" he asked amused.

She curtsied. "Just thought it was time to change my outfit, a girl does need a wardrobe."

He smiled at her whimsy. "All right, now what are these yellow stars?"

She turned back the chart. "Oh very well. The yellow are stars with conflicting reports. The orange are also conflicting, but at least two sources report the system is destroyed or abandoned," she reported. He nodded.

"And the yellow?"

She highlighted them and the rest faded. Data scrolled near each. "Well, some have some mention in the personal archives of the purser as potential sites to investigate. A few are possible cross roads that the crew has heard about from gossip," she said. She shrugged. "Not much to go on," she said, sounding annoyed.

He waved a dismissive hand. "Not a bad start. What about the white one?" He pointed to it.

"That's a major system, apparently it survived the war and its population rebuilt. They are rabidly isolationist, so we've little to go on except a two paragraph notation," Sprite replied. She scrolled it. Most of it was a warning not to go near the system.

"Hmmm," he rumbled in thought. He placed his chin on his closed fist, studying the star chart.

"Okay, what about the purple ones?" he asked. He indicated the few purple ones. Each highlighted, with a series of red circles spinning around them.

"Those are possible surviving Xeno colonies," Sprite replied darkly.

He looked up alarmed. "You’re kidding right?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I'm afraid not Admiral, there's no mention of them in the archives. None at all. So until more Intel data can be obtained..." she said suggestively.

He sighed. "Yeah, the war may not be over," he said with tight lips and a grim look to the future. He shook his head. "Great."

She cupped one florescent hand around the stars, and then used her free hand to flick each away. "Admiral, it's not all doom and gloom after all, since they haven't had any activity in the past six hundred and ninety odd years, it may be inferred that they are dead."

He shook his head. "Remember what they said about assumptions and wild ass guesses," he warned darkly. He reached out and spun the image. "Okay, so, drop the planets that are not on the route." He watched as only the twelve were left. "Now, highlight the agrarian worlds in green, and fade them," he ordered. She did so.

Now, let’s see, that leaves the two you mentioned before and two others... what about these two?" he asked. He pointed to each. Data began to scroll under each.

"According to the purser's log, Proxima is a semi industrialized world. Actually, they are at an early industrial age if you follow the Terran pattern," Sprite reported. He nodded.

"But, I didn't mention them because they're not a cross roads, only this ship goes to it,” she said. He nodded. "Okay, good to know. Pass. What about this one?" he asked.

She highlighted the next. "Gaston. Again, it's above Iron Age, they have a North American early 17th and 18th century culture, a little less than the last, but they have immense potential."

His eyebrows lifted in surprise. "How did you come about that?" he asked.

"From this," Sprite replied, playing a log section. He scrolled through it fast.

"Hmmm. Okay, so she spotted a field of shuttle craft..." His finger followed the line of text... and ah, okay, she noted the agrarian combines in the fields as possible salvage." He sat back. "Gaston. Okay. Gaston, what were the other three?"

Sprite pulled up the planets. "Proxima, Seti alpha 4, and Pyrax," she said listing them. He nodded. "Curious, the Captain mentioned she is from New Dublin, but they don't go there?"

Sprite shook her head. "There's no reason why mentioned in the Intel I have gathered. It's a space based colony, fractured into a dozen asteroid clans. All patriarch leadership from the comments observed," she said dryly. He nodded.

"Bad blood?" he asked.

"I have no data to confirm or deny, but the possibility exists," Sprite replied. He nodded again.

“I seem to recall some of the crew mentioning that they were treated as slaves,” he mumbled. Sprite's eyes shifted back and forth. “Accessing audio logs. Word search... I have it,” Sprite paused to digest the new tidbit.

"Based on the overall gender demographic of the crew, that may be likely," she finally said.

He nodded. "Okay. Highlight the planets that the crew has come from, one dot per person." Most of the dots centered on New Dublin.

“Okay, the doctor is from Seti Alpha 4 right?" he asked. He pointed to the system.

"Yes Admiral."

“And these are...” He pointed to another group around Gaston.

"One life support tech currently in stasis, a Miss Audrey Hemphill, and five crew assigned to cargo," Sprite informed him.

He shrugged. “Okay, what about this one in Pyrax?"

"A Miss Rodriguez. She grew up on a space station according to the files, and has extensive engineering experience. Most of it small craft related," Sprite replied.

He nodded. "Good to know,” he said with another nod.

"Admiral, are you in there?" He looked over to the door.

"Yes!" He waved the hologram away as the door opened.

"Sorry to bother you, I was just going over the roster and we need to work out the grave yard shift again, Candy is throwing a fit because it would mess up her relationship with Cherise.” Molly shrugged. "Can you help?" she asked hopefully.

He nodded and held out his hand to the tablet. "Sure."

She smiled. "Thanks."

"Captain says to get to the greenhouse and see what's going on there," a young woman reported to him over the communications channel.

He nodded. "Aye Aye." He closed the channel and looked up to Jennie and the guard. Both were not looking happy.

"Greenhouse, I think I should check in with Molly..." Jennie said, backing up then taking the corner at a trot. He snorted.

The guard glared as Jennie retreated. "Great. I hate that place," she muttered darkly, nose elevated.

He wrinkled his nose in distaste as the hatch opened. A cloud of foul smelling air escaped. "Close the damn hatch!" Someone called from behind him.

The guard gagged, waving her hand over her face. "I'll just wait out here," she choked out, eyes watering. One hand was over her mouth, head turned away.

He shook his head. "Okay," he replied, not happy about having to go in either. He stepped over the knee knocker and toggled the hatch shut. It closed with a groan.

The lights were bright, almost too bright. They bathed racks of plants that covered almost every centimeter of the compartment. "Are you going to fix it?" a grouchy voice demanded. He turned to see a short older looking fat woman coming over, wiping her hands on a towel. Her arms are filthy, covered in dirt up beyond her elbows.

"Fix what the smell? Smells like a clogged septic system," he said as he wrinkled his nose.

"Huh what?" She cocked her head. "Oh that?" she asked as she flapped her arms dismissively. "You'll get used to it sonny."

She waved to the side. "Nah, I meant the computer. An alarm keeps going off. I had to yank the speaker wires to get it to shut up!" He stepped around a potted plant. "Careful! Careful! Those are my prized strawberries! Worth their weight in gold they are!" He nodded.

He checked out the display, and then turned to the woman. "The alarm is because the atmosphere is contaminated."

She looked confused. "It is?" She flicked a clod of dirt off one arm. "Even the computer is complainin now?" she demanded. He realized suddenly that she couldn't read.

"Yes ma'am, that smell, is ammonia. Too much of it poses a hazard," he explained patiently. She looked confused. He pointed to what looked like a pile of manure. "I am assuming it's that."

She looked over to the pile. "That's for the plants. We need to fertilize things. No dirt in a ship," she said. She gave him a challenging look.

He nodded wisely. "Yes Ma'am. But on a ship chemicals can cause all sorts of problems. That headache you’re getting is one of them," he said.

She glared. "Just how did you know...?"

He smiled. "Ammonia," he said.

She nodded, eyes narrowed. "Well, it wouldn't be such a problem if I could get some help," she growled. She gave a dark look to the hatch. "Young twerps don't know what they're missing. Too lazy. Don't want to work. They don't realize this is needed!" She cradled a blossom.

He nodded. "Yes Ma'am." She cradled the blossoms from another plant. "The Captain loves these azaleas," she murmured.

He nodded in understanding. "Plants supplement the galley supplies, uplifting moral with their bounty and with their beauty."

She gave him a long searching look. "You buttering me up son?" she demanded.

He smiled. "No Ma'am. Just quoting the academy manual," he said truthfully. She glanced away, then back to him.

"So, how do we fix the alarms?" she asked, tone softening only a little.

He nodded to the pile. "Well, first we need to contain that." She looked confused. "We can get some barrels extruded, and put them in it. There are also tanks there." He pointed to the sanitation tanks. "That probably could be cleaned and purged," he said, knowing he was going to be stuck doing it himself. So much for his clean uniform.

She nodded. "I run the sludge through the algae tanks and the farm. Cleans the water and feeds the plants."

He smiled at her with a knowing nod. "It's a dirty job though, you up for that?" she demanded. She gave him a long measuring look, noting the smudged coverall. "Guess maybe you aren't worried about getting yourself dirty," she finally said with a note of approval in her voice. He chuckled and waved her to the sanitation tanks. Sludge was dripping down the sides of some; mold was growing around the seams.  Yup, this was going to get messy he thought.

"Hey! Robot man! COME OVER HERE!" He looked up to see a brown haired tall woman battering a computer console. Jennie winced when she took a hard swipe at it. "Piece of crap won’t work!"

"Well, for one thing hitting it doesn't help," he grunted. He'd spent all day yesterday with the grumpy head gardener getting her recycling system sorted out. It had taken a half hour in the shower to get the stench out. He winced at her behavior. This was a typical thing for layman; beat a machine when you don't know how to fix it.  Of course that was also rule one of any engineer, if it doesn't work your not using a big enough hammer.

"Well robot man, do your stuff and fix it!" she demanded. He frowned at her tone.

"First off, I am not a robot, I am a cyborg," he said.

She looked confused, then fished out a toothpick and stuck the tip in her mouth. "That's so? Not what I heard," she accused.

He snorted. "I'm human. Just not with all my original parts."

Jennie giggled behind him. "What are you trying to do?" he asked.

He flicked a glance to the computer. "I'm trying to read this here novel. But the infernal machine won’t work. Kicks it out, says somethin about a virus or some such," she growled. He nodded.

"I turned the firewall and antivirus software back on. It's kicking you out because that," he cocked his head to the crystal data cube she was tossing in her hand. "has a virus on it."

"I thought only humans could catch a virus?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Someone, terrorists, malicious pranksters, con artists, or whatever created them to do damage or steal information," he explained.

Jennie nodded. "Yeah Taki, now the network is running much faster ever since the Admiral fixed it,” she interjected.

"That so?" she asked, lounging back. "So what do I do about this?" she demanded. He frowned.

"Well, we could access the computer and see if we can find the novel in the data banks. I think it'd be better to read on a tablet or in your quarters however," he suggested.

She gave him a cool look. "I like it fine here."

He shook his head and pointed to the console. "Miss that's the computer network node for this deck. All the computers on the deck interconnect to it and to other computers on other decks. When you or someone else uses it for stuff it wasn't built for, it slows the entire network down, which can cause problems,” he explained. She looked over to  Jennie who nodded in agreement.

"Here you can use mine," Jennie said. She handed Taki a tablet. "I have a spare," she mumbled. Taki took the tablet, flicked a glance at it then nodded to them and left without a word. The guard stepped aside for her.

"Quite the character," the engineer commented as the woman left.

"Oh who miss Taki? She's good with the girls in the cargo and fuel section," Jennie replied. He nodded as Jennie started working on a damaged control run.

"So, you’re not a robot?" the guard asked.

He shook his head. "No, cyborg," he replied. He turned to smile, and then checked the computer over. He plugged in and let Sprite go to work. "A cyborg is part organic, part machine." He patted his right arm with the tips of his left fingers.

"I thought the Feds were cloning stuff? Why didn't they make you a new arm?"

He nodded. "They were. You see, I was a Rear Admiral when most of this happened.” He flicked his left hand to his right arm, then down to his legs. "I was injured in the battle of P34CV9," he explained as if that meant anything to her. He glanced at the display for a moment.

"You were hurt?" Jennie asked, concerned.

"A bulkhead shattered and a couple spanners ripped me up. It took my legs and arm and chewed up my right side," he said matter of factly.

He grimaced in painful memory as the women widened their eyes at the horror he described. "How did you survive?" the guard asked as Jennie sucked in a breath.

"I was wearing a skin suit. They have built in tourniquets that cut off areas that are injured to keep you alive,"  he explained.

"How, I mean, did it hurt?" Jennie asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, you could say that. I had to prevent the computer from knocking me out so I could stay coherent and command," he said and then shrugged.

Her eyes were wide. "You still commanded, even after that? What happened to the chain of command you mentioned?" she asked.

He grimaced. "We were hit hard; I was the only surviving flag officer. I had to stay in command to keep the fleet together to get them out," he sighed.

"When I was medivacked to a hospital station they were saturated with wounded. It would have taken months before I could have new limbs and organs grown." The guard’s lips twisted in a frown. "The Admiralty offered me a retirement, but I turned it down. The weapons board came to me and asked if I would volunteer to get bionics. I did," he shrugged as if that was all there was to the story. “The artificial bits are woven in with organic, in some places it is hard to tell where one begins and the other ends.”

"They aren't as good as a real limb, but they do have their bonuses," he said with a smile. Jennie and the guard nodded.

"How long did it take for them to put them together?" a nearby tech asked.

He cocked his head trying to think of a diplomatic answer. "Not long, but it took a while to get used to them. I was in rehab, that's rehabilitation for nearly a year learning how to use them," he replied. Jennie pulled a panel off and used the tip of a probe to test connections.

"So you were in a hospital for a year? I thought it took only a week to fix things!" the guard said. He shook his head. "It wasn't all fun and games; I spent a lot of time on the engineering board while I was recovering," he said, trying hard not to stray into areas he wasn't comfortable talking about. Jennie grunted and reconnected a fiber optic cable. "Try that." Proteus reported the data bus was back on line.

He nodded and gave her a thumbs up. "That did it." She nodded looking pleased and closed the panel up.

"What about your eye?" the guard asked as Jennie coiled the probe wires.

"Oh this?" He pointed to the right eye. "I lost that in a terrorist attack at the Vulcan shipyard when I was a Lieutenant Commander. It's both organic and inorganic, the medical nanites weaved a cloned eye with the optic nerve and added a few improvements to let me see better."

She gave him a long look. "If you say so." She shook her head then tossed it, making her hair dance. Her smile became urchin like. "So, no way I could get one huh?"

He snorted. "I doubt it, but you can check with doc once he gets up and running more."

She nodded. "I might do that."

They bundled up their kits and moved on down the corridor to the next job. "So why are the replicators so fast at making stuff here but not in the hospital?" The guard asked. Jennie rolled her eyes.

He smiled a soft smile. "Inorganic materials are easier to make. All the nanites have to do is re-arrange the molecules to create what's in the matrix." He explained.

"WHAT? NANITES?" The guard’s voice rose in terror. He sighed at the typical response, it was overdue. He had started to wonder if any of them knew what he had been talking about for the past several months.

"Nanites are robots. Machines in other words. You program them to do what you want. These are made to make things," he explained patiently, looking over his shoulder.

She shivered. "Organics are a lot harder to make. You have to have living cells to use as a substrate, and then they have to bond to each other and grow into the part you want," he explained. He dodged a girl playing with a soccer ball then stepped over a knee knocker. "See, inorganic use a feeder bank of material.”

“The computer feeds the materials into the matrix and the nanites reshape them on a molecular level according to what the computer programmed into them," he said, trying to get her to understand. He nodded to a tech in passing.

"What about the food replicator you fixed in the galley? That uses organics but makes plates," Jennie pointed out. He nodded.

"That's a little more complex. The base material is a complex mix of things that can simulate organics or other things."

She looked confused, and then shrugged. "You say so."

He chuckled softly. “I'll meet you later. I have to check in with Molly,” he said. He waved her on.

He looked over the shoulder of Jennie a few hours later. She was playing a card game, ancient, but immediately recognizable. "Ah, solitaire, the ultimate time suck." He smiled down at her when she looked up.

She blushed and then looked down, gathering the cards up. "Sorry, I was waiting and got bored," she mumbled.

He shrugged it off. "Everyone has their way with dealing with waiting. That's one of them, and is fine; don't take my comment as a judgment," he smiled as she looked up and nodded.

"So, what's on the agenda for this shift?" she asked as he helped her to her feet.

"Molly wants the life support repaired in the rear quarters; they've been blowing hair and drawing a lot of power."

She looked exasperated. "That was where we had the Talasians." She started off down the deck aft. "Talasians?" he asked as the guards followed.

"Yeah, we moved a clan two years ago. They did some work for the Captain." She shouldered her bag and then stepped on the ladder and looked down. "Coming down," she called, and then began to step down. He and the guards followed.

"I'm surprised that you had Talasians on the ship. An entire clan?" he commented as he stepped off the ladder on the next deck.

"Yeah, about thirty five of them." He heard the clatter as the guard behind him jumped the last two steps down.

"Only thirty five?"

Jennie nodded as they continued. "Yeah, but the kits were cute! Adorable!"

One of the guards sighed. "Yeah, but we've been picking fur out of the ducts and decks ever since," she said in disgust.

The Admiral turned and gave her a look. "Well, they hate enclosed spaces. Claustrophobia. They prefer wide open spaces. Under stress they shed," he said.

Jennie nodded. "Did they ever! They were nice though, one of them gave me a ring." She paused at the next junction and pulled out a piece of wire with the ring on it hanging from around her neck.

"Mindy kept pestering them for a ride," she snorted.

"I bet they left more to get away from her then enclosed spaces," one of the guards chuckled quietly.

He joined in the chuckle. "Yeah, I can see that, I can just imagine her wanting to decorate them like Mister Whiskers." The giggles quickly turned into laughter.

"She could never get over how they walk on all fours, and that giant flat head, and the eyes on the stalks. I think she named the cat for them, those giant whiskers!" Jennie shook her head and ducked under a diagonal duct.

"Why were they migrating?" he asked as he negotiated the duct.

"Huh? Oh, they were worried about all the nasty things coming out of the empire," she replied distractedly. She opened a maintenance hatch. "And here we are."

He nodded. "What do you mean?" he asked as he set the tool kit down and studied the compartment. It had the usual mix of grime and wear, but also mixed with fluttering tufts of fur.

"The empire started growing about a hundred years ago. We didn't even hear about them until three years ago. They started with a pair of freighters, but they're growing," she explained. She pulled a rag out of her bag and began wiping a vent cover. "I think they started some nasty bigotry about that time too." He froze, making a mental connection and not liking it one bit. "What sort?" he asked quietly. He carefully wiped the control surface, leaving streaks of grime.

"People started picking on aliens. I mean non humans."  Jennie replied in irritation and then sighed. "I don't understand it, they're in this mess right along with us, why make trouble?" she grumbled as she unscrewed the vent cover plate.

He grunted. "It's an old, ancient social dynamic." She looked at him so did the guards. "We have a history of resenting those different from us. Most species go through it at one time or another; humans have a tenacity to hang onto it though," he sighed and turned to them.

"People wanting power use it too," he explained, eyes hard.

Jennie fumbled her screwdriver. "What do you mean, people in power?" she asked.

"Well, people like Hitler, Mao Senjun, and the Xeno’s," he said darkly. The three of them had blank looks. "Each of them blamed people different then the baseline to the public during times of social depression. Over time they built a following and rose to power. People always need someone else to blame." He said with a grim look.

"And they would take out their frustrations on the ones they picked on," he continued after a moment. He shook his head.

"Oh," Jennie said softly.

"I don't understand, the Talasians were nice people, a littler reserved, and they looked weird, but they helped out here, they even spoke basic!" one of the guards said. He looked up with tired, world weary eyes.

"It doesn't matter to a bigot. All they care about is using them as an excuse to gain power, or hurt them," Irons replied.

She blanched. "That's sick," the other guard said.

He nodded. "Yeah, it is. Without someone else around, bigger and stronger, they could grow into a big problem," he said. Jennie nodded.

"Yeah, I always wondered about all the pirates. There's a lot more of them lately," she said. He jacked in then digested that simple statement.

"Probably bad. If it's linked to the bigots, they could be using piracy to fund their activities to gain power," Irons replied. The guards gave him a long look. "They steal from other colonies, blaming them for their lot in life and justifying it anyway they can. Then share the booty with the public at home. It keeps the public on the hook, sharing in the guilt and building resentment for the victims," he explained. One of the guards grunted.

The galley was the usual mad house for lunch. He was amused to see a line at both the counter and the food replicators. A girl was busy busing tables, looking rather flustered as she stacked dirty dishes onto a cart. He shook his head. "Have a seat Admiral; be with you in a minute," she said. He sat and watched the group. The girls in line chattered gossip, a few glanced his way. He nodded politely. "Here you go Admiral," the waitress said. He started to turn but his eyes locked onto the ceramic mug the waitress set in front of him.

"That's different," he observed. He picked it up by the handle and turned it around.

"You like it? It's from New Haven," she said. She curtsied and left.

He admired the rich red and black painting on the front. It was quite beautiful, with some hint of yellows in the sunset. "Nice." He took a sip and then took another look at the waitress. "Bit early for beer though," he snorted.

"Admiral, you've just ingested traces of lead and mercury." Proteus reported.

He looked over to the stein and carefully set it down. "Poison?" he asked. He glanced at the mug warily.

"Not enough to be lethal in those doses," Proteus responded. "But they build up over time." He nodded.

"Source?" He glanced to the kitchen.

"Checking historical records..." Sprite replied. That was unusual, Irons thought. He sighed and sat back as Sprite scrolled images and text on his HUD. "Found it, New Haven. According to the records they are a recent addition to the circuit. They export ceramics, as well as paint."

He nodded tracing a finger on the outside of the stein. "Proteus check the levels of toxicity at my finger tip," he murmured. He felt someone behind him. Defender brought up a rear view of the girl busing tables.

"Accessing. Nanites deployed. Samples acquired....processing...one moment. Testing complete. The lead and mercury is in the paint and glass like substance," Proteus reported. He nodded.

"I have a reference Admiral, actually two of them. The first comes from a historical database, the other from a holo novel," Sprite replied.

He blinked. "Holo novel?" He heard a clatter of plates behind him and instinctively turned. The blue haired girl was blushing furiously as she picked up broken plates from the ground around the cart. "Correct. Historical drama. It seems to be accurate. The novel is about a Renaissance painter who uses vermilion, a basic red shade," the AI reported. He nodded. "It has high concentrations of mercury, which causes poisoning over time. The painter got it from licking his brush tips."

The Admiral made a face. "And the lead?" he asked.

Sprite scrolled up a reference then played it back at normal speed. "According to the full version of the Encyclopedia Galactica you uploaded, lead was used in early formulas for paint, glass, and pottery glaze," Sprite concluded. He grunted.

"Okay,” he said. He looked over to the girl looking at him oddly. He smiled at her confusion. "Wireless communicator," he said in way of explanation. Her face cleared. "Make a note to alert the doctor and purser," he murmured. He watched as another person got her dinner and then stood by the counter.

In a moment she received another platter. Carefully she juggled it with her own to his table. "Hungry Admiral?" she asked. He nodded, not surprised it was Jennie.

"Thanks Jen, I'm famished."

She set the platters down and grinned. "I'm not surprised since you worked an entire shift without eating!" she teased. He chuckled as he picked up a fork.

"So why isn't he here?" the Captain asked, annoyed.

"I believe he's trying to recalibrate the starboard sensor arrays," Molly answered, looking up from her tablet. "Navigation said they're out of alignment still."

The tiny black haired navigator gave a confirming nod. "To calibrate them properly he said we need to launch a buoy at fixed distances, but we can't do it now, so he's trying to do the best he can until we can," she explained. She gave the Captain a nod.

"Page him, I want him here," the Captain ordered, giving the security Chief a commanding look. The blue haired Amazon tried to glare, but failed.

"As you wish Captain," she muttered after a moment. She flipped open her communicator and made a call.

The Captain looked up and around. "While we wait, let’s see how things are going. How is our fuel supply holding up?" she asked as she turned to Leri.

The white haired woman smiled. "A lot better since we sealed the breached tanks and patched the leaks. We're at forty two percent," she replied.

The Captain nodded. "And the sensors? You mentioned something about recalibrating them?" She turned to Shandra with an inquiring eye.

Shandra nodded. "We're still having problems with the starboard sensors and of course we haven't tested the repairs to the hyper sensors, but overall we're doing better than I have ever seen." She flicked the tablet controls for a moment. The lights dimmed and a hologram appeared over the table. Some of the department heads gasped. Taki sat back, chewing on her toothpick. Leri looked like a kid in a candy store, flicking her hand back and forth through the hologram.

"Well, it looks like you've been busy," the Captain commented, taking a sip of her tea.

"Oh not me Captain, the engineer did this. He just showed me how to use it," Shandra admitted. She gave a shrug to the security Chief who glared. She used her hands to turn the projector. "You see, this is our ship," she explained. She pointed to the center icon. "Port sensors are on line, and we have a running plot here." She cupped the port side of the ship.

"What's that fuzz on the other side?" Leri asked.

"That's the starboard side. Like we explained, the sensors are out of alignment so we need to fix them."

She pointed to the planet. "Once we get things sorted out we'll be in much better shape. I doubt any pirate could sneak up on us." She gave a triumphant look the Chief as she sat back.

"Indeed," the Captain said, hiding her smile with her cup. "And what about the internal sensors?" her gravelly voice didn't quite hide a note of satisfaction.

"We're making progress there, but they don't have the same priority as the exterior sensors. Those are a lot simpler to make and install," Shandra said as she touched the controls on her tablet. A moment later a deck plan of the ship came up. Sections of the ship were color coded in blue, green, yellow, and red. "The red areas are areas of the ship without sensors or that are open to space," Shandra shivered. "Yellow means areas with limited coverage. Blue and green mean ninety to one hundred percent coverage."

She pointed to an icon. "See, that's Jennie, the engineer and Tara coming now." The icon approached the door to the conference room. The chime sounded. "Enter!" Shandra called out triumphantly, ignoring the glare from the Chief. The door whooshed open and the trio entered.

"Reporting as ordered Captain. Do you need something fixed?" Jennie asked, brandishing her toolbox and tossing the Captain a jaunty salute with her free hand.

The Captain smiled. "I wanted to hear how you three are doing. It seems we have you to thank for a lot of our miracles on board lately," her gravely voice had a hint of approval in it. Jennie blushed. The Captain glanced at the guard. "You can go Tara. He's safe enough with us."

Tara glanced at her boss, then came to attention and about faced out of the compartment. The Chief's face became wooden. "So, you were recalibrating the starboard sensors?" the Captain asked, ignoring the Chief.

Jennie nodded. "Well, trying too. We really need to get a buoy out to do it right." She blushed a little then glanced up at the engineer who nodded.

"That's the best way to do it in the field with the equipment on hand. Once we get it sorted out at fixed distances we can calibrate it to the moons and planets in the system using the database as a reference," he explained. Of course he left out the part where they would probably have to replace a lot of the sensors. Jennie bounced a bit. "We have a buoy on the list, but it's not a priority. We were talking about working on the next project until the list gets to it."

Molly winced. "It's quite a list. Going to be a while," she looked apologetically to the engineer who shrugged.

"I expected it. We might get away with using the shuttle craft," he said.

One of the women looked up. "What do you mean?" she asked coolly.

He shrugged. "Use it in place of the buoy. Send it out at a fixed distance. We have the specs on file, so we can use it to do a rough calibration," he explained. She nodded.

"Is that a what do you call it, squid?" Molly asked.

Jennie looked over to the open hatch door. "No, it's an epsilon octopus. Well, technically, it isn't an octopus since it has a dozen arms instead of eight."  It felt good to know something someone else didn't.

She watched the creature flit about in the air. "How is it moving?" Molly asked, watching it.

"Are those spikes?" Another girl came in following Molly.

Another followed. "What are you watching?" she asked. The octopus creature settled on the projected ocean floor and changed color and texture.

"Hey where did it go?" the last one asked bewildered.

The Admiral came in behind her. "Checking the alien archives?" he asked with a smile. He nodded to Molly and Jennie. Jennie nodded and switched the holo projector off.

"So what was that?" Trisha asked.

"Epsilon octopus. Well, not really an octopus, but you get the idea," Jennie explained as she took her seat. She looked up to the Admiral who nodded.

"They're...excuse me," he sighed in familiar pain. "They were," he emphasized the were. "were a sentient water dwelling species, one of five in the Federation."

The girls looked amazed. "Like the Dolphins and Ssilli?" Molly asked.

He nodded. "They were quite amazing actually; some may still exist in oceans of the colonies...if they ever made it there."

He grimaced.. "They were primitive tool users when the Telerites found them. Apparently an illicit trading outpost was established. We didn't hear about it until the Ssilli got wind of it. They weren't happy,” he said ruefully. He shook his head rueful.

"Why?" one of the girls asked.

"Well, we, excuse me. The Federation had just passed the prime directive, which means any species not of a certain level of civilization should not be contacted, and not given technology above their current level."

He walked behind the desk and set a tablet down. He pulled out a computer module. "Interestingly enough, the Telerites didn't know they were sentient for years, only when one of the water dwellers came out of the water with a spear did they even take notice." He shook his head chuckling softly. "The octopi are like the Terran octopi. They can change their skin color and texture. Each of their arms is a decentralized neural network, capable of rudimentary decision making. They could do a lot, but when action was required like moving, the central neural network and cerebral cortex could override them."

He tapped the computer. "That brings us neatly into our current lecture, the decentralized computer systems on this ship... now, shall we begin?" Some of the girls nodded, others groaned softly. He chuckled. "It's a bit hard to understand to a layman, so we'll take it one step at a time. As we go through the material, some of you will take on a knack for different aspects of it, and can focus on them, becoming specialists."

The hologram came up with a list of specialties. It scrolled. "All that?" Molly asked amazed.

"All that and more, these are just the skill sets for a ship, there's actually much more," he said as they groaned. He waved the projector away then leaned forward. "To be an engineer you need to be a dilettante, or in the layman's terms a jack of all trades, master of none."

He picked up the computer. "For some of you, that's what you'll take from these courses, a little of each, enough to understand the basics." Text began to scroll on the hologram. "Computers break down into two essential things, hardware and software," he said, swinging into lecture mode. He tapped the computer. "Hardware. All of you now have had some experience with repairing it." He waved to the scrolling text. "Software. Now, let’s get down to basics."

The hatch opened and the girls entered. They crunched through the debris on the floor then paused. "What is that?"

"Oh pretty!"

"Sparkly!" Trisha eased a girl to one side then looked around.

The engineer, Jennie, and Molly followed. "All right ladies, this is the central computer, the cerebral cortex of the computer." He waved to the civilian gear haphazardly plugged in.

"What is all this glitter?" Trisha asked, brushing some off her coveralls.

"That's crystal lattice, the hardware substrate for holographic memory cores," he answered. He picked up a pinch then let it go, watching as it fell.

"Why is it dust?" Trisha asked then sneezed. "Sorry."

"Bless you." one of the girls said.

"When the ship was damaged beyond self repair the Captain ordered a purge. That means the AI, and all military data were wiped, then their containing hardware self destructed," Irons explained. He looked over the computer core. The crystal was gone; cables snaked in to replace it.

"We don't have the ability to build a new core from scratch, we have to be on a station to do that, but we can work up a lower tech replacement. We have to wait until we're out of hyper before we can do this. We can't plug it into the net till we're out of hyper, but we can set it all up and have it ready. We're going to completely rebuild the core."

Molly nodded. "All right, Trish, release the robots, get them cleaning. You two over there, start sweeping. You get the vacuum. The sooner we get this cleaned and cleared, the sooner we can start plugging the hardware in!" Molly looked around. Some of the girls were jumping into action; a few were looking at her bemused. "Well? What are you waiting for! Let’s move it!" she demanded. She clapped her hands together. Even the Admiral moved. She grinned.

The life pod bounced off a bulkhead and the girl pushing it cursed. "Hey watch it!" The lead girl turned angrily.

"Well excuuuse me! Why don't you watch your end!" the black girl's hands curled into claws. "What did you say?" the other snarled.

"Girls girls!" Molly waved them down. She smacked the life pod between them. It bobbed up and down on its antigrav. Both girls stopped and looked at her. "Now that I have your attention..." She pointed. "I believe we have a job to do?"

She pushed at the pod. The lead blond got hastily out of the way. She fended the end off, pushing it back. "Okay a little more, to your left, no your other left!" Molly called.

The purser came around the corner and they managed to stop before running her down. "And just what do you think you’re doing?" she demanded, looking them over.

"Recycling, now if you'll kindly move," Molly motioned her aside.

Vanessa pulled herself up straight. "I'll do no such thing; I'm going to trade that in Pyrax!" she growled. She motioned to the life pod. "Kindly put it back."

The girls looked at each other. "No, we're going to recycle it. We need the materials. Don't worry, we'll make more later," Molly said firmly. Molly motioned to the girls to move it around the purser.

The purser blocked their way. "Oh I don't think so. First you take seven hundred kilograms of my raw material, then some of the grain, the parts we had, and now this?" She slapped at the life pod. "I'm telling the Captain!" her voice rang with triumphant wrath.

"You’re going to tell me what Vanessa?" the Captain's gravelly voice made them all stiffen.

"Um, ah that is, did you know about this nonsense?" The purser motioned to the engineers and life pod.

The captain's lips smiled thinly. "Why yes I did, in fact I authorized it."  Vanessa gawked at her. The Captain studied the pod then the girls. "Carry on." She turned her attention to the purser.

"But Captain!" Vanessa whined.

The Captain sat back, eyebrow cocked. "Yes?" The purser recognized the signs, she wasn't going to get anywhere with this argument. "Very well," she sulked.

"Vanessa, with the materials from that pod, we can rebuild an entire shield node!" Molly replied over her shoulder. "Buck up will you?" she called as the rounded a bend.

"Hey watch it!"

"Sorry!" the girls called.

The Captain shook her head. "Kids these days, finding all sorts of things to play with." She turned her gaze to the purser.

"Vanessa, I don't believe you've become fully acquainted with our changed situation, perhaps you should tour the replicators and get a better idea," she said suggestively. The purser shuddered. The captain's eyes narrowed. "In fact I insist on it. Today." She nodded in the direction of the girls. "Now," she pointed a gnarled hand towards where the pod was going. The purser mumbled something then followed the girls.

"Admiral, this you have to see." He heard the burble of laughter lingering in Sprite's voice. Sometimes he wondered about her programmers, her human emulation was pretty good.

"All right, give," he said. A web page popped up on his HUD. "What am I looking at?" he asked as he stowed his kit.

"Oh, just this..." She highlighted a section of text.

"Win a date with the Admiral...." he read out loud. "WHAT?" he said, then looked around as some of the crew looked up. "As you were," he growled then turned. "Sprite, what the hell?" he asked, dropping his voice to a fierce whisper.

Sprite dialed down her mirth. "It seems you've been nominated to date a crew member if they win a contest," she replied. He growled darkly at the thought.

"And who put me up to this?” he demanded." He wasn't sure, but he thought he knew.

"The purser, with the moral officer," Sprite replied.

He sighed and closed his eyes, counting to ten. "Has anyone else seen this?" he asked when he got to ten.

"Why yes, now that you mention it, the traffic to it was what caught my attention," Sprite responded.

He grunted in irritation. "Great, just great," he muttered darkly.

A girl walked by and grinned. She twirled around, keeping him in her view, and then moved on. "See you later Admiral," her tone and grin were mischievous.

"I feel like a piece of meat," he grumbled. He looked over to a group of girls giggling and glancing up to him. "Great. This crap again. Get me the purser," he ordered.

"Oh but Admiral, it's great for moral, and besides, it's one heck of a motivational tool, work throughput is through the roof!" she said with a grin. He ground his teeth. The purser had done her dance, and then passed him over to the moral officer. "Besides, the Captain has already approved it!" she said. It didn't help that he liked the lady a lot better then he did the credit minded purser. He fought a grimace. "Did any of you stop to consider what I would say or want to do?" he growled.

She stopped blubbering enthusiastically and blinked at him. "Well, you don't have to growl about it. Sheesh," she said. He glared. She wilted. "Okay, so we forgot one little detail."

He continued the glare. "Okay okay, we didn't think you would approve so we went around you," she said contritely.

He growled. "If I go through with this... crap... Damn, I am a  Federation Fleet Admiral, one hundred two years old and you want me to date teenagers?" he snarled it, slamming his hand onto her desk. She eeped, jumping back. "Oh, I forgot about that. But you’re a celebrity! Besides, you’re so handsome, everyone wants to date you... You could have your pick of the crew..." she said suggestively.

He grimaced at the thought. "Precisely why an officer doesn't." He shook his head.

"It's one date. Pick her up at her quarters, dinner and a show, dance with her, and then take her for a walk to her quarters," she said. She looked him over. "You can do it, if we can get you away from engineering. I'm sure it'll be good for you," she said soothingly. He sighed. She knew she had him. "Besides, the Captain said to do it."

He glared. "I can do without you twisting the knife," his lips writhed. "I hate dressing up," he admitted.

She glared affronted. "But... but, you don't expect them to see you all dressed up in a grimy coverall do you? This is a date!"

He grunted, tempted to show up just like that. "Yes, one you and your cohorts are blackmailing me into," he glared.

"I don't like extortion, and I like extortionists even less," he growled.

She seemed to wilt a little. "I'll make it up to you, I promise." She twisted her hands together.

He grunted. He fully intended to take it out of her hide later. In such a way that both she and Vanessa squealed like stuck pigs and never did something like this again. "Okay. Let me know who wins. I will do this once, but you’re going to pay for it," he growled. He locked his eyes to her she squirmed.

"Well of course, the meal is going to be on the ship's tab..."

He shook his head. "No, for my participation, I am exacting a price. A high one you will pay."

Her chin quivered. "Okay."

He nodded. "I'll hold you to it."

He smiled as he took a bite. "What's in this?" he sub vocalized later that week.

"Do you really want to know Admiral?" Sprite responded. He looked over to his dinner partner. She was a svelte blond, dressed in a black mini dress open from her neck to her navel, with a matching open back. It sparkled in the dim lights of the wardroom.

A girl played a song on a newly made violin. He winced as she hit a sour cord. "Oh, just a little Yohimbine and a few other assorted ingredients..." He took another bite and then toyed with his fork. Organic chem wasn't exactly his strong area.

"And that means?" he asked.

"Oh, an aphrodisiac."

He grunted in irritation. "Not this crap again!" He set the fork down. His date looked up.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked, eyes worried.

He shook his head. "No um.. There is an intermittent fault in the net, it just went down again," he said, dodging the question. It wasn't right to take his ire out on her, she was innocent in this. Well, somewhat, he thought.

Her eyes widened at that. She looked around. "How do you..."

He smiled at her curiousity and tapped his temple. "Implants," he explained. He wiped his mouth with the napkin. "I'll have to see to it in an hour or two. Now, where were we, you said you grew up on Halced 6?" She nodded. "One of the moon colonies around the gas giant right?"

She looked excited at his interest and knowledge. "You've been there? It has this majestic view..."

He tried to hide the limp as he escorted her to her quarters. His pair of guards followed discretely behind. "Oh I had such a marvelous time!" the girl said, swinging on his arm a bit. The girl was slightly tipsy, and clutched at his arm as if in need of support. She rested her head on his arm. He noticed she had taken the long circular route to her cabin, making sure everyone up could see them together.

His left foot hurt, despite being a prosthetic. Her foot work on the dance floor left a lot to be desired. Proteus cut the pain sensors and then reset them again. "And here is your cabin...” He stopped them at her cabin and touched the entry button.

The door opened and she giggled, swaying. "Now, aren't you going to come in for a nightcap?" she asked giggling. He tried to hide a sigh.

A throat cleared behind him. "Admiral, you need to repair the network on deck two... It went down again," Tara, bless her cut in diplomatically.

He sighed theatrically. "Duty calls my dear," he said and then kissed her hand. She blushed and giggled.

"Why thank you Admiral, thank you for a most memorable evening!" She giggled again, swaying. "And thank you lass for a delightful evening as well," he murmured. He bowed and stepped back. The door tried to close but stopped when it bumped into her nose. She reeled back a little then giggled again.

"Good night," she slurred and waved as she weaved into the room.

He sighed as he turned and made his way down the corridor. "Thanks Tara, I owe you one," he murmured to her as he passed. "Think nothing of it Admiral, you didn't need another hussy chasing you, you did your duty enough as it is," she said softly. He nodded.

"Okay ladies, let’s go fix a computer, then I'm off for bed." He rolled up his sleeves and went to work.

"I hear you had a... stimulating evening..." the Chief said maliciously.

He scowled a bit then shrugged. "It was entertaining. I don't like taking a night off though, and I hate to dress up." He hefted a broken motherboard. "I guess I'm a born techie at heart," he said. She sniffed and shook her head. "Glad it's over," He said finally.

"Well, I hear that you’re up for another one next week..."

He looked up startled. "Next week??!?" His voice rose an octave.

She chuckled maliciously. "I think not," he growled after a moment.

"Want me to crash the moral officer's net?" Sprite asked helpfully. He nodded. "Done. And the purser's too," she said with a grin. He smiled.

The Chief waved. "Have fun... Admiral," she had to lay that snide barb in as a departing shot.

He shook his head, letting it wash off. "Call coming in, guess who?" Sprite asked.

He chuckled. "No bets. Put it through," he said. The moral officer's nasally whine started in right away.

"Admiral, I seem to be having trouble with my computer..." The purser cut in as well with a similar complaint.

"Ladies please! I'm very busy; we have a lot scheduled over the next month until breakout. Now, I will schedule your repairs for... a week from now." He hid a smile from the nearby techs at their screech of indignation.

"A week!!" The purser almost shrieked.

"Well, since I had to take time from my busy schedule for that date you arranged, I've fallen behind on other duties, so it's going to take time to get things sorted out...and since neither of your systems are a priority, they can wait," he left an edge to that last bit. He waited as he heard them breath.

"Fine," the purser snarled.

"I'll talk to the Captain; maybe we can get alternate space..." The moral officer said.

"Oh, no, sorry, maybe a minimum site, but storage space is limited now, we are in hyper and the computers need all their resources to stay on course... you don't want us hitting anything right?" he asked. They both exclaimed no.

He smiled. "Well then ladies, I'll see you in a week," he said.

Sprite cut the connection. "Think they'll figure it out?"

He shrugged. "Don't know, don't care." He pulled a panel. "It should keep them out of my hair for a little while though..." he said as he started tracing control runs.

"So, what build are you on?" he asked as he checked Sprite's status report.

"four point three as you well know. This current mess will probably make me spawn a new patch and reincarnation soon," she sighed. "Just what I need." Sprite was a smart AI, but her limited space meant she actually dreaded evolving. He chuckled. "I've had to clone some of my code for the ship's AI and network. I'm not a code slicer though; I don't have your organics imagination. I will put up a report for you to view," she said all business. An icon blinked in his mail queue.

He nodded. "Okay."

"Got any ideas on how to pay back the purser and moral officer for the date from Hades?" Sprite asked.

He chuckled. "Oh yes, in fact I do, all this water has given me some ideas..." he chuckled evilly. Sprite's virtual image blinked. "I detest your wicked ways... let’s hear it!" she smirked.

So did he...”Well I was thinking dunk tank..."

"So, since the crew is in such a need of a moral building effort, I thought it best that we have a bit of a fair, with the two of you serving in the dunk tank," he said as he laid out his plan to the staff.

The moral officer and purser blinked. "A fair sounds good...wait, dunk tank? Out of the question!" the purser said.

He smiled. "You do owe me remember?" he dropped his voice into a purr. They blinked again.

"But but...” Vanessa sputtered.

His smile became wicked. "And of course the Captain has already approved it. In fact she will be the first one to throw a ball..."

The moral officer visibly deflated. "Great. Just great," she muttered then glared. "I suppose you think this is revenge?" she demanded.

He smiled and spread his hands apart. "Well, idle hands do make for a devil's playground...or so I hear. Since you two are so hell bent on managing my schedule and trying to turn me into a gigolo, I thought I would...extract a penance," he smiled.

The purser glared but couldn't hold it as his cool commanding gaze fell on her. "You have to pay for your pleasures," he said reminding her. She flinched. Capitalism was her stock in trade. "I'll let you know the details later," he said. He waved as he left the compartment.

"That was evil," Tara said behind him.

He looked over his shoulder and smiled. "You think?" She chuckled softly. "Paybacks a bitch..." he said softly.

"Hi, uh doc, can we get implants too?" The doctor looked up startled at the girls flocking around him in his office.

Jennie came in behind them. "What'd I miss?" she asked, noting the taboo.

“Why would you want implants? Wouldn't they hurt?" Mindy asked, bouncing up and leaning over to stare into Trish's eyes.

Trish shrugged. "I don't know that, but they seem to help the Admiral do a lot." She looked over to her two companions who nodded. "I think... I mean..." She shrugged helplessly.

The doctor shook his head. “Even if I could, I wouldn't cut off perfectly healthy limbs,” he said firmly.

The girls looked crestfallen. “Thanks for the honest answer,” Jen replied, ushering the girls out.

“Hey there's a problem with power on deck three,” a tech reported. The girl looked up and glared at the ops officer. She didn't look up.

“What seems to be the problem?” the Captain asked.

“Someone didn't balance the loads right,” Nexi reported, making a significant emphasis on someone.

The Captain cocked an eyebrow, and then turned to the ops officer. “Kendra?” Kendra didn't respond. The com officer reached over and slapped her shoulder.

“Ow! What!” she growled and looked over irritably. “What do you want?” she glared.

The comm officer looked over her counter to the display. “Instant messaging and mail?” the comm officer asked. Kendra glared.

The Captain cleared her throat. “Kendra. What is going on with the power?” The girl looked down and then grimaced. She checked and gasped.

“Oh sorry,” she said chastened.

The Captain sighed. “All right, new rule, no checking your mail or messaging on duty unless it's duty related.” The girls turned and looked at the Captain. Several made motions to protest. She gripped her armrests and leaned forward. “Is that clear?” she put vitriol in that last statement. The girls nodded hastily and returned to work.

“Way to go Kendra,” someone hissed.

"I still don't see why you haven't fixed the weapons," the Chief snarled.

He gave her a look. "I can't. You’re a civilian ship remember?"

She shrugged. "So? What does that have to do with it?" He sighed patiently.

"I can't give civilians weapons or classified technology, it's against the law," he explained. He turned to the open panel and leaned in, clipping leads to the wiring inside. He heard her say something, but waited to come out. "What was that?" he asked politely.

"I said, there is no law, the Federation is dead," she was smug when she said it, almost calculating the hurt it would inflict he thought.

He gave her a cool look. "The Federation is not dead, not so long as I live," he said softly.

He could hear the dance music down the corridor. One of the guards looked nonplussed; another interested, but then sighed. "I'm on duty damn it," she muttered under her breath.

He shook his head. "I have to fix the head over here and it's tight quarters. I would suggest one of you stand outside, it's going to be a while though," he said and waved.

The girls looked at each other. The girl who wanted to check out the party gave the other an imploring look. The other sighed. "Go."

She turned and put her back to the wall by the head hatch. The Admiral flicked the occupied sign on, and then entered as he heard the girl's "YES!" and quick steps away.

He chuckled. "Admiral, is that wise? To encourage dereliction of duty?" Sprite asked.

He shrugged. "They're civilians. Besides, the less audience, the better," he replied. He looked the room over, and then set in to work.

He finished early, but instead of coming out he sat on the toilet seat and accessed the ship's net via his wireless LAN. "So, how are things going? His first act was to check the ship's status. Even though he wasn't in charge some habits were hard to break. He had no intentions to break that one of course. "Everything is going well Admiral, I have recompiled the deck one systems and I have them defragging their idle systems now," Sprite reported.

She projected a network map on his HUD. There were dozens of geometric shapes, each interconnected with lines of various colors. He knew from previous experience blackened nodes and lines were lines out of contact or dead. Nearly half the net was still down; it was a testament to the crew and the designers of the ship that it could still fly.

"You, yes you!" a familiar voice snarled. He turned to see the purser striding up to him. She was scowling. "Did you have to take all of it?" she demanded. He caught a glint of teeth out of the corner of his eye; one of the guards was smiling. "Sure, take the shipment meant for the Senka colony, it isn't like we are going back there with that pirate around, but you took all the metal ore stockpiled!" she flung her hands up in the air, waving them around.

"Now we don't have anything to trade for!" she said. She waved at the tablet with the back of her hand. "Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to get goods to trade?" He cocked his head.

"Well, you..."

"I'm not finished!" She stomped her foot then ran her free hand through her hair. She took a deep breath. "Look, I know these repairs are nice, but we need goods to trade too! We're a trader get it?" He cocked his head.

"You finished?" he asked when she wound down. Her eyes glittered. He held up a restraining hand.

"No, you spoke your piece, my turn," that last part came out stern. Her eyes widened slightly. "You're right, we have been taking a lot of the ore, and most of the damaged or ruined parts on board. BUT," he held up a hand as she began to swell. "BUT we are about to replace it with asteroid ore," he said, letting that bombshell drop. It had it's intended effect of course. She let out her breath in a gush, eyes suddenly gleaming.

"Also, we... meaning you," he bowed and motioned to her with his left hand. "Can offer replicator services to the colony when we get there. We can make parts for them, charging them for the services," he explained.

She suddenly smiled catching on at last. The smile turned into a mischievous grin. "I like it. But what will we make the parts from?" she asked. She cocked her head. "And how much to charge?" she stared off at the bulkhead.

"We can use some of the ore from the belt to start, and if you will take a suggestion..."

She looked down at him again. "You could charge the weight of the part in the same amount of material, plus whatever cost you want to tack on for making it, power, transport, and such," he said.

Her eyes gleamed. "I like it. Good idea." She turned, tossing her long hair back. "I'll just check with the Captain then see if we can call them and get a list of what they would like..." He waved.

"Good luck!" he called. He turned to see the smirking guards. Their faces froze, and then turned into a poker face. A few of the techs looked up and smiled. "All right ladies, I believe we have a class to get too..."

"We'll be emerging from hyperspace in three... two.... one...NOW!" Shandra called exultantly. The forward screen rippled then flashed bright, then cleared with a vision of space.

"Report," the Captain ordered looking over to the navigator's station.

"Checking now," Shandra replied.

The ops officer looked over her console then up to the Captain. "All systems are stable Captain," she reported. The Captain grunted.

"First sensor reports in, no tachyon or neutrinos detected," the sensor tech said. She nodded.

"And those are?" she asked as she sat back in her chair.

"Oh, sorry Captain, they're FTL particles. Tachyons are used in communications; neutrinos are emitted by fusion reactors," the tech reported. "No recent plasma travel detected either Captain; the system is clean as far as we can see." She tapped out a sequence and the plot replaced the stars on the forward view screen.

"We've jumped into the local jump point. I've plotted a course," Shandra said looking up. The course plot dotted out to the inhabited planet. "I've made a slight deviation so we can swing by the asteroid belt. It should only add a day to our transit time," she reported. She looked up to the Captain who nodded in approval.

"Good work," she said. It would have taken them hours to do all that before. The girls looked relieved. "I understand the engineer wants to go rock hunting?" she asked.

She turned to the ops officer who nodded. "Yes Captain, the engineer said we could feed the rock into the replicator to restock our supplies, and make new parts," she said. She was excited but a little dubious. The Captain grunted again.

"We should be passing a small cluster of rocks off the starboard side in an hour Captain," Shandra said, and then looked up. "We could pick a few up to test things."

The ops officer nodded enthusiastically. "Good idea! The sooner we get material, the sooner they can make parts to overhaul the systems," she grinned.

The Captain nodded. "Make it so. I'll go check in with our shuttle pilots and make sure they're up for this," she ordered. Shandra nodded.

“Syntia's world this is the Io 11 calling in,” Nexi looked over her board and frowned. “I know he said they fixed the communicator but come on...” She tapped in the controls.

“Anything?” The Captain's gravelly voice cut into her muttering.

“Nothing yet Captain.” She looked up and turned to face the Captain. “Wait, getting something,.” she said as she heard something on her earwig. Her hand went to her headset. She turned and tapped a control, then turned a retro stat. “Okay, I'm receiving a weak signal, it's the colony,” she sniffed in distaste. “Cheap junk.”

The Captain chuckled softly. “And to think we had the same level of equipment last time we were here! I think we sold them that, what did you call it? Cheap junk?” she asked and then chuckled at the girls expression.

Nexi blushed. “Sorry Captain.”

“Oh don't worry, we won’t be here long. Syntia's colony is a dirt poor agro world; they just started digging themselves out of the caves they were living in,” she said. She shook her head.

“It must really suck to be stuck ground side,”  Lessa commented, running her hand through her hair.

“Yes, well, I can just imagine them toiling in the soil, looking up and wondering what life is like up here,” the captain said and then smiled. “It isn't all tea and biscuits you know,” she said.

The steward opened the door and came out bearing a tray. “Well, sometimes it is,” the Captain chuckled, taking the proffered cup and leaning back.

"Subspace impulse engines, the hyperdrive, weapons, Shield nodes, the hull, and the reactors are the only major systems we haven't overhauled," Molly reported. She gave a reluctant shrug. "Of course that's hard to do when they're in use. We'll do what we can while in orbit Captain."

The Captain nodded sagely. "We should be there for a week. Does that sound about right?" She turned to the purser who nodded.

"Negotiations should be completed the first day, it's transporting the materials to the space port and to and from the ship that'll take up the time."

She nodded to the pilot. The pilot smiled. "We've made a start at overhauling the shuttle, and the engineer," She waved to him. "Has even repaired the second cargo shuttle," she said sounding happy. The purser looked up with interest.

Molly nodded excited. "We can move a lot more goods Captain, in a lot less time."

"What's up?" Jennie asked as the engineer pulled his skin suit out of his bag.

"What are you doing with that?" the guard asked.

"Okay ladies, I'm going out there," he pointed to the airlock. "I'm going to go to the port side and see if I can fix the rip in the Port fuel tank." He stepped behind a wall to change into the suit. "You can come with me if you want; there are two pairs of skin suits in the locker over by the airlock," he said. The guard pulled out her communicator and stepped aside so she could talk.

"I'm going," Jennie said, from the tone of her voice she sounded excited.

The guard followed him out the lock. "Go slow; remember what I told you before. Get a hand hold and lock in your safety line there," he cautioned and then pointed. She fumbled the clip, and then got it attached. She turned fast to look around. "Easy!" She over compensated and began to spin. Her spin sent her into a tumble, her tether unwinding as she moved away from the craft. She started panting in her suit over the comm.

"You're okay, you just moved a little too fast. Grab the line and pull yourself in." He reached her line and began to pull her line. "You feel that? That's me, I'm pulling you in." He switched channels. "Jennie, we have a little hiccup here, wait a few minutes," he called in.

"What? What happened?" she asked suddenly. He sighed.

"Just a minor control issue."

The guard began to gibber a little. "It's so big, so black, I can't stand it, I can't...I gotta get in..." her voice took on a hysterical edge.

He pulled her to him, and then grabbed her arm. "Easy girl, you feel me there?"

She began to thrash, screaming in panic. Jennie called over the radio demanding to know what was going on. The guard thrashed, slamming the tool kit into his side. He felt the suit try to absorb the shock, but gasped as the energy momentarily paralyzed his diaphragm. Sprite sent an electric surge to the muscles and dumped O2 from his reserves directly into his blood stream. "Easy now, I gotcha, I gotcha." The woman was sobbing now, shaking in the suit. "Close your eyes now." He pulled her to face the airlock hatch. She thrashed a bit more.

“I can't breathe!” she gasped. He could hear her ragged panting. He knew from experience her hysteria had induced hyperventilation, breathing so hard her body couldn't absorb oxygen.

“Just calm down, you're panicking. Calm your breathing, listen to my voice. AND STOP THRASHING,”  the last came out as a bark after her flailing fist struck his helmet.

"Oh my Goddess!" the guard said, and then locked up into a catatonic state. He took a look and then checked her stats. She was catatonic all right, sensory overload, and air deprivation. He pulled her back into the airlock.

The lock cycled and Jennie gasped as the door opened. "What happened what's wrong?" she demanded. He pulled the guard out, and Jennie noting her flaccid state lent a hand.

"She froze," he said.

The Chief came around the corner and stopped. She pulled her weapon and pointed it. "Just what the hell do you think you’re doing? Set her down now!" she commanded.

He eased the woman to the ground, and then thumbed the helmet off. "Miss, you're okay now, you can come back to us."

He tried to shake her, but she had a vacant stare. "What the hell did you do to her? I swear if you hurt her you’re going out that airlock with a pulser in your head." the chief growled. He could hear the whine of the weapon. Defender brought his shields up. The guards eyes seemed to clear, then she began to thrash and scream, eyes vacant.

He stepped back and opened a communication channel. "Medical emergency airlock four port side. We need a sedative and medical team here now," he growled. He nodded to the Chief. "She had a bad reaction to space, it looks like agoraphobia. Currently hysterical. Onset of hypoxia due to hyperventilation."

The Chief's eyes burned into his. "Roger that. Medic on the way," the answer from the overhead came, but he ignored it.

"Mind putting that thing away?" he said. He nodded to the gun. She just glared.

Jennie looked up from holding the sobbing guard. "He's telling the truth chief, knock it off." She rocked the girl, murmuring assurances that she was okay, safe. Her fingers stroked the girl's face and hair. He nodded. "You see, some people can take space, some can't. She can't," he said nodding his chin to the overwhelmed woman.

He grunted and got out of the way as the medic came in and sedated the guard. The Chief glared angry, not understanding what happened.

"She's agoraphobic," the engineer said, looking away.

"This is your fault," the Chief shook, hand on her pulser.

"No, it's yours," he turned to her, eyes cold and gray. "You ordered a rookie with no experience out on a space walk." He met her glare, watched as her jaw tightened.

His HUD lit with her thermal image. Defender kept his shields up. "How is she?" The gravelly voice brought them back from the brink. The Chief blinked, and then her glare slipped into a poker face. "Hysterical Captain. The medic sedated her," Irons replied. They turned to the Captain, who nodded, hands together.

"First space walk?" she asked after a moment. He nodded.

The Chief shot him a look then back to the Captain. She sighed. "Couldn't hack the black eh?" she asked, sounding sad. He nodded. "Why were you out there? She asked.

He sighed. "I need to do a survey of the hull, and make a few repairs that I can't get to in here," he explained. She nodded.

"Why not take the shuttle? It would've been safer," the Captain asked, cocking her head.

He glanced to the Chief then back. "I requested it, but was denied."

"Denied?" her glance turned to the Chief. An eyebrow rose. "Is this true?" she demanded.

The Chief jaw loosened and her nostrils flared. "It was a security risk," was all she said.

The Captain held her look. "Chief, we're in deep space, and that shuttle has a limited range, where would he go?"  she asked patiently.

The Chief looked away. The Captain sighed. "Over ruled. Do the survey with the pilot, and check the shuttle’s systems out as well. I understand you've been making some progress with the computers?" she asked. She gazed at the engineer who nodded.

"Aye Captain. There were a lot of viruses and damage. I rebooted the firewall and security measures."

She nodded. "Good. See that the Chief gets a full briefing on what you've done, and the passwords," she said. She obviously had a bit more computer training then her crew. He nodded.

"Aye Aye Captain," he responded. She turned and left. "Well, that was interesting," he muttered. He nodded to the guard and Chief then picked up his toolkit.

"Where are you going?" the Chief asked.

"Boat bay," he looked over his shoulder. "Captain wants this done; I'm going to get it done." The guard gave the Chief a look and she returned a cool nod.

Chapter 6

“You want me to what??” the pilot asked, hands on her hips. He knew the pose, dominant and in control.

“I want you to wrangle some asteroids back to the ship,” he said patiently.

Her features began to cloud with anger. “Not on your life! Do you have any idea how hard it is to fly that beast in atmo, let alone try to dock with a hunk of rock? Why do you want it anyway? Don't they have enough rock on the ground?” the woman waved to the exterior hatch.

He shook his head. “No, I want it for us.” He tapped the metal bulkhead beside him. “I don't want any old rock; I want certain rocks that we can feed into the replicator,” he explained. She stared at him.

“You'll do it,” a gravelly voice said. They turned to the Captain sitting in her chair beside them. “Or do you think you can't handle it?” one eyebrow raised in challenge.

“I can do it,” the pilot said, nettled by the implied insult. She looked over to the Captain. “But if this stunt so much as dings my paint you’re going out an airlock without a suit.” She turned to glare at the Admiral. He snorted.

“Well, get enough rocks with the right composition and we can BUILD you a new ship,” he said as way of compensation. Her eyes widened at that. She looked from the Admiral to the Chief, and then settled on the Captain.

The Captain was also looking at the engineer, but returned the inquiring gaze with a nod. “So let’s get cracking shall we?” she asked. The pilot nodded, beginning to get into the spirit.

A few hours later he sat in the cargo shuttle, unsure if this was really going to work though. "See that one there?" the engineer called, pointing. "Your 11 o'clock low," he said. She looked in the indicated direction.

"Got it. I see what you mean, nice," she said. The cratered rock he had indicated had a flat section. It was a couple hundred tons of material begging to be turned into something useful. "All right, I'll line up with the flat section and use the tractor," she said. He nodded.

"Your ship," he said, sitting back.

"And don't you forget it," she muttered. Carefully she lined up on the asteroid and docked. The ship rumbled a little as she flipped a switch.

She studied the readouts then grinned. "Got it," she said triumphantly. Carefully she nudged the controls. "It’s like flying in sand," she said, groaning slightly.

She towed the rock to the ship over the next two hours. "Clear the bay, and rig it for zero g," he called in when they were lined up.

"Roger that. You could have said please," one of the radio girls responded.

The pilot rolled her eyes. "Please?" she snorted.

The bridge officer giggled. "Okay, cleared and prepped." They passed through the hatch and into the bay.

"Let it go slow," he cautioned after she corrected their speed. He watched as she touched the tractor controls and eased them down. "We're blind here, can we get some feedback?" he called over the channel.

A moment later someone called back. "Okay, you're floating there in the bay, the rock is huge! Bigger than the shuttle!" the woman said.

He grimaced, lips tight in irritation. "I meant, what's the rock doing, is it moving to the deck?" he said tightly. He waited a moment.

"No."

He let out a breath, patience about exhausted with her. “Okay, we really don't want that thing hitting the deck, it could go through it," he growled. The pilot's eyes widened. She gulped.

"You didn't say anything like that!" she said.

He grunted. "I'm going out to secure it. Make sure the grav plates stay OFF," he ordered. He unbuckled his harness and got up. He checked his suit readouts on his HUD, and then cycled the hatch. Outside he toggled his OMS and maneuvered away from the shuttle, then down. "Okay, looks good, we'll need to secure it with pitons, then break it down quickly before we get the next one."

He pulled a piton gun out of his bag. He lined up and fired it in. "What are you doing? The rock is moving!" the observer reported.

"I got it. Oops, no don't got it. There," the pilot said. The pilot jigged the craft compensating then over compensating for the movement. Finally the rock stopped. "There."

He attached a line and then ran it to the side of the bay. "That line isn't going to hold it," the girl said doubtfully.

"Like I said, we're going to secure it, then break it down." He attached the free end to a clip, and then maneuvered to another axis. "I'm attaching five lines, three along the sides, one top and one bottom. That should do it as long as the gravity remains off," he reported as he worked.

It took an hour before he got the last secured. "Okay let it go," he ordered looking up at the shuttle. The pilot dropped the tractor and drifted.

"The rock is settling... Okay, do you want the gravity back on now?" the observer asked.

"NO!" he bellowed it.

"Just kidding! Sheesh!"

"That's not funny!" Molly called.

"Sorry," she said meekly.

He sighed. "Okay, pressurize the bay and get the team to work. I'm going to take a break." The pilot maneuvered out of the bay and to another, the exterior hatch sealed, cutting off the light of the distant sun and stars. The lights came up slowly illuminating the floating rock.

"What's with those bright ribbons? They glitter!" the observer called. He chuckled.

"That's a vein of mineral, most likely a rare one," he explained. He ran a scan. "I don't have a spectrograph, but..." Sprite pulled up a probability chart. "It is most likely copper."

He landed near the interior hatch. It cycled and a work crew came in. He stepped aside as women filed past and gawked. "I didn't think we could do it!" one girl whistled, another gasped.

"What, it's just a rock; we used to do this back in New Dublin," one of the other girls said, shouldering a jack hammer. He watched as they started cutting into the rock. He stepped past the line of girls with grav carts.

"So that's why you wanted them all fixed," Molly said, waving to him.

He nodded. "Moving parts is hard; use the tools that are best for that task," he said and smiled.

"Visitor coming." Sprite projected on his HUD.

"...And that's why memory leakage is such a problem. Now, why don't you look over the file packet distribution methods for a moment?" He turned as the door opened and a tech came in.

"Captain wants you on the bridge." she said. She was huffy and out of breath.

The engineer nodded. "All right folks, you heard the lady. Class dismissed." He gave a jaunty wave and followed the tech out.

The girl, Dorah from the look of the long red hair led him at a brisk pace to the officer's wardroom. “See you later mister engineer!” she called after thumbing the door. He chuckled as he stepped through the hatch. Within was the senior staff, sitting at the conference table.

“Have a seat, we were talking about the repairs and the purser asked for you,” the Captain smiled, nodding her head to an empty chair. He took a seat then gave the purser a polite look.

"Can we do anything to get more space?" the purser asked thumbing a stack of papers. "I noticed we have a lot more cargo capacity on the blueprints, but the sum of it's in breached sections." She looked over to Molly, Jennie and the engineer. “The colony has a lot more to trade; a lot more than we can handle with our current cargo capacity. We were talking about converting the rec areas or other compartments...”

She fluttered her hands...” But they're out of the way and small.” She looked over to the trio. “Since you three need a lot more material we've had to do a bit more trading to buy the material,” she said. She shrugged at their collective expressions. “Not that I'm complaining or anything,” she smiled a little. “The replicator has come in handy as well; we've been making parts for their farm equipment and spaceport, charging them of course,” she smiled again, this time with a hint of greed in the grin.

“And charging them a premium for making the parts, the materials and transporting them as well eh?” the Captain chuckled. The purser nodded eagerly. After a second the rest of the crew joined in the laughter.

“We need the extra space to hold the extra cargo, and the materials you said you need to make more repairs,” the purser said. The purser looked them over as the laughter stopped.

"Anything you can do about that? I seem to recall being promised the number one cargo hold a while back," her voice had a hint of challenge in it. Molly looked doubtful for a moment.

Jennie crossed her arms in front of her. "Sure," the Admiral replied.

Molly leaned forward and looked over Jennie to him. "Are you sure? There aren’t any airlocks..." He smiled and waved a dismissive hand about the problem. "Not a problem, we just make a temporary one," he answered.

She looked confused, but Jennie nodded and leaned over to her. "See, we use the compartment or corridor leading to the breach. Suck out the air with someone in a suit, and then they can get in and fix the holes," she explained.

Molly looked confused. "But we only have a few suits, and they're bulky things. Besides, only a few of us have ever done patches..." she noticed the Admiral's tapping hand and blushed. "Sorry, I forgot," she mumbled.

"Yes, you do have a wealth of experience don't you?" the Captain commented dryly. He shrugged. The purser gave him an intent probing gaze. He smiled politely.

"A life time of being a spacer lends you the skills you need," he said. He nodded to the Captain. She gauged his look and then nodded. "Get it done," she said simply.

Molly muttered a, "yes Captain." As she shoved off to leave.

"And one more thing." The gravelly voice made her pause. "Be careful," she said. The Admiral nodded as they left.

He entered the compartment and looked around. "Can you get the feed in here?" He did a quick scan of the compartment, and let Sprite build a 3D map.

"No, nothing is working in there," Molly sighed. "Wait one."

He shut the channel. "Sprite, feed my visuals to Molly's station," he said, looking around and eying the dangling shards of ceiling panels with wary disdain. Any one of the stalactites could breach a suit.

"Are you sure about this?" Defender queried.

He nodded. "Get it done."

"Aye aye Admiral," Defender said with a hint of disapproval over his order.

After a moment Molly opened the channel. "Wait, I'm getting something, wish I knew what I did...what the...WOW!" She gasped over the radio as he moved into the center of the compartment and did a 360. "Is that you?" Molly asked disbelief in her voice.

He chuckled. "Yes, this is me."

"This is how you see?" she asked in disbelief. He chuckled again.

"The basic and night vision yes." He sent the signal to his visual implant to switch to thermal. The room cascaded into alternate colors.

"What just happened? The picture just went weird; I think we're losing you," Molly responded confused.

"No, I switched to thermal for a moment. Now a composite." His visuals overlaid the thermal image. "Now I'll add the other sensors." He turned on the ultrasonic, and HUD. "The circles are from my HUD; they're identifying different things and keeping a running tally of my systems."

Molly snorted. "Yeah I see that. It has your heart rate, breathing, everything! Even shields... you never told me about that!" she said with a hint of wonder in her voice.

He grunted. "Oops," he sub vocalized.  He moved to the outside wall, noting the long rip. He could see stars through the rip. "Looks like we have our work cut out for us here. Going to need to patch this before we can pressurize the compartment and get a work crew in here to do more repairs." He reached out with his right hand and pushed at the sharp edges.

"Careful careful!" Molly said, suddenly frantic.

"No worries Molly, I'm using my artificial arm." He pushed a bit, but had to stop when inertia pushed back. "One moment." He carefully pulled his body down, and then with his free hand keyed the gravity boots.

The boots vibrated for a moment, then pulled him down to the deck. "There, Gravity boots on. I can work now." He began pushing at the rip. "This would probably be better cut out and then patched over. Can you get an oblong piece oh... two meters long, and one hundred twenty centimeters wide at the girth?" "Oblong?" Molly asked.

"Yes, a deformed sphere," he replied, switching his hand to torch mode.

He began to cut the broken pieces, using his free hand to catch them before they floated around the compartment and into him. One by one he fed them into the bag at his side. "Yes, when I get this cut down we can patch over it. Then I can check for smaller holes." He cut a large snarl off and fumbled it before getting it in the bag.

"Okay, I added it to the queue. Why'd you have to anchor your boots?" she asked. He smiled at the question.

"Leverage. Since this compartment doesn't have working gravity and is in free fall, Newton's laws are in full force." He pulled at another piece, and then cut at a nibble he missed. "There." He put it in the bag. "See, Newton's laws are simple in theory, but take on a whole new meaning to space walkers."

His vision cut out the flare of the torch. When he stopped he watched the glowing parts cool rapidly.

"That's really cool how you can see like that!" she sighed in awe.

"Okay, one of Newton's laws is that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So when I pushed on the piece..."

Jennie cut in. "It pushed back! But who's Newton?"

He snorted. "Go to the head of the class. Check out Newton's laws in the physics database I uploaded," he said. He pulled the last piece. "Almost done here, how's that plate coming?"

"Almost done," Molly responded.

“How are you cutting that?” Rodriguez cut in over the channel.

He snorted. “No, seriously, how? I tried a torch, nothing worked!” Rodriquez sounded exasperated. “And how are we going to get the welds to hold? Nothing worked before!” she said, clearly confused.

He shook his head. “Well, I'm using a nanite plasma torch for the first, and we'll use a little vacuum welding coupled with plasma, and nanites to do the welds.” He cut through another section. “Speaking of which, the tools should be about ready, I had them replicated. I can't do this forever on my own power, it's draining my systems,” he grumbled.

"Molly, can you dig out some lights, power cables, the tools I mentioned, and a few hand tools and load them in the temporary airlock with the patch?" It took a moment before she replied. "YYeeess... Okay, I can get someone to do that. Why?" she asked.

He grunted. "It'll make working in here a bit easier."

"Right away. Part is done and on its way, the lights are on their way too." He released the gravity lock and turned. He had been tempted to float backwards, but had arrested the temptation after remembering the ragged stalactites behind him. He scanned the bulkhead, checking for holes. There were a few, small ones no bigger than his hand. "I'm going to need dinner plate sized patches as well Molly...three no five of them, probably more."

He turned and toggled his OMS to move to the temporary airlock. "Roger that. Parts and gear are in the airlock." He waited a moment. "Airlock depressurized," she said after a minute.

He opened the hatch to see a suited Jennie, Rodriguez, and Robin on the other side. "What are you doing here?" he asked just as Robin began to float.

"Oh oh!" She caught herself with a flat hand against the top of the airlock.

"We thought we could help. Besides, we need the experience right?" Jennie replied.

He chuckled. "Roger that," he finally responded.

Jennie looked over to Robin. "Well, to tell you the truth, I've done this a time or two before. So has Rodriguez here."

She motioned slowly with her hands. Rodriguez had caught Robin and was quietly explaining her to move slowly. "All right, but go slow and be careful. There are a lot of shredded bits you can hole your suit on if you’re not careful,” he cautioned.

Rodriguez looked up and smiled. "We'll be careful."

Jennie moved the plate up and handed it to him. He felt the jerk of motion backward and toggled the OMS to compensate. Robin was over her space sickness and pulled out a tape measure. "The purser wants a report on the room; she's pretty excited about the extra space," Jennie snorted. He could see her face lit up, she was smiling. "We haven't even repaired it yet and they're already fighting over it!" Rodriguez chuckled.

The Admiral looked over to Robin. "You’re not going to get an accurate read with that. The compartment measurements are in the computer.”

He ran a scan, and then did the math. "From my measurements, the compartment is one twenty one meters long, thirteen point four meters wide, and.... twelve meters tall. That's this compartment, the deck above seems to be compromised, so we'll get more space there too once things are repaired." Robin's figure froze. "How did you do that?" she asked.

He smiled. "I have a few tricks up my sleeves," he replied. He checked the ship's blueprints. "According to the blueprints this was the number one cargo hold. Above is another slightly smaller, so she should get a lot of space." Rodriguez ducked under a stalactite. "Careful there!"

"Yeah, I see that. Close call Rodriguez." Jennie rebuked firmly.

"Sorry." She went over to the rip and whistled.

He maneuvered the patch over the hole, and then with her aid covered it. "All right, hold it for a minute while I tack it." He reconfigured his arm to welder and tacked a few places along the perimeter. "We'll need to patch this from the outside too, but once we have a good seal, it should be okay for now," he explained. Jennie looked over the plate, and then turned to the nearest hole.

"Like one of cookies colanders. A rock did this?" she asked shocked.

He chuckled. "Most likely, when the ship's shields were down and she was a derelict." He finished the weld and floated back a meter to give it a thorough scan. "That did it."

"Dinner is served. Or at least dinner plate patches," Molly called over the net a few minutes later. "I'll get them. I'm closest," Robin called, and then began to move. She pushed off, and then quickly tumbled. "Oh crap!" she squealed and tried to reach out for something.

"Careful!" Rodriguez and the Admiral called.

"Use your jets!" Jennie called. The girl fumbled with the controls then hit one; her suit tumbled and then puffed forward. She reached out; grabbing a sliver of metal then cried and jerked her hand back. A trail of blood floated in the path of her hands. The droplets froze instantly. She jerked then hit another shard with her arm. "I'm breached!" she called, voice rising in fear.

The others could hear a hissing sound. "The suit will stop it, but you’re going to have a vacuum burn on that hand," the Admiral replied as he expertly jetted to her side. He reached out and arrested her motion, then pulsed her down away from the stalactites.

"Whew!" Jennie called.

"Nice save," Rodriguez observed.

He pulled the girl to the airlock and opened the door. "I'm sorry, so sorry," Robin sobbed.

He touched down and toggled his boots. "Accidents happen, especially to people new to a dangerous situation. Don't worry doc will fix you up," he said. He pushed her into the lock and grabbed the plates. She clutched her hand, her suit shaking.

"Is she going to be okay?" Molly called over the net.

"Vacuum burns, and a jagged cut. Get doc and the nurse on it," he reported over the net. She gave him a double click response.  As the airlock door closed he turned with the plates. "All right, let’s get this compartment patched and get out of here."

Rodriguez pulled out her torch from her side bag. “Ready, these two I can handle, the other three need some cutting first."

He jetted up to her and handed her a pair of patches. "What can I do?" Jennie asked.

Rodriguez pulled a portable plasma torch out of her bag and handed it to her. "Cut the bent pieces around the holes near the bottom of the deck."

Jennie looked around. "Which way is bottom? I lost track."

Rodriguez chuckled. "Check the door for orientation." She bent over the first hole and began to tack.

"Oh," a world of embarrassment was in that simple reply.

"Greenhorn." Rodriguez teased.

“I think we need classes on EVA later,” Molly commented.

“Put it on the list.” Jennie giggled as she finished the last cut. “All done here. This cuts like, well, like a hot knife through butter,” she said, sounding a bit awed.

The Admiral chuckled. “There isn't anything like using the right tools for the job,” he replied. She giggled at Rodriguez's expression.

Jennie slapped a plate over the hissing crack. "Got it." She made sure the plate was seated properly, slapped down her welding helmet, and then pulled up her welder. She tacked the perimeter, and then set in to do a nice bead around the perimeter.

"Good, nice technique," the Admiral commented.

"This is the last one on this deck," she said. She sounded tired. He knew they were, they all were even him. They'd been at it two shifts.

He chuckled tiredly. "That we know of." He watched the sparks.

"So, what next?" she asked. She finished and looked up.

He studied the weld. "Not bad," he said in approval. He looked over his shoulder. The purser was there already, positively bouncing. He nodded. "Can we help you?" he asked. She came in the compartment looking around.

"All fixed?" she asked. She touched a patch. "Are you sure they'll hold?"

Jennie grumped. "Of course!" Irons smiled.

"Okay, clear out, I have plans for this space," she said dismissively. She waved to a girl. "Bring them in!"

They turned to see a convoy of girls laden with packages begin to come in and look around. "Look on your own time ladies!" the purser called impatiently. A girl released a pair of cleaning robots, which promptly went to work. He grunted.

"You haven't left yet?" Vanessa demanded. She turned to them.

Jennie turned the valve off on her welder and got up. "We're going we're going," she growled in disgust. She pulled her mask up and grabbed the handle of the welding cart. "Least you could have done was say thank you," she murmured. "You coming?" She tossed a glance over her shoulder to the Admiral. He shrugged and followed.

"Oh, make sure you get compartment 32A on deck two fixed next!" The purser called as they flattened to allow a trolley to pass.

A look of profound disgust crossed Jen's face. "Yeah right," she said, heading down the deck.

The guards followed. "Um, this isn't the way to the lift," one of them called.

"I know," Jen said as she smiled. He looked over his shoulder to see them, they were confused. "Don't worry about it," Jennie called, lifting the welding cart up over a knee knocker.

"We're just taking a detour..." she said by way of explanation.

He caught up to her. "Act of rebellion?" he asked softly.

She looked up, eyes flashing a little mayhem. "Maybe a little. I was just thinking about welding the hatch to her quarters shut," she growled.

He chuckled. "I'd help, but I'd never hear the end of it," he replied. She glanced at him and grinned.

"You've got a point. Let’s say we go tuck this stuff away in the equipment locker then go for a cup of coffee?" she suggested.

He smiled. "Sounds good to me. He turned to the guards. "Coffee break." They nodded, expressions clearing.

"All right ladies, take a seat and let’s get started." Molly smiled as the group rustled around taking their seats. "Now, we have a lot on our plate. Once we get through the abbreviated training course, we are going to hit the hull running," she smiled to the Admiral who nodded.

"The Admiral and pilot Deidra managed to do an initial survey of the damage, it is pretty extensive as we all knew." A holo appeared beside her. "Now, for the first space walks we are going to work on orientation, survey work and minor hull repair." She pointed to the port side. "Starting with the port side. After that we will move on to replacing the broken shield nodes, replacing antenna, and re-aligning the port lidar array,"  she said. She looked down at her notes.

"All that?" Jen asked disbelieving.

Molly looked up. "All that and more. We are going to run ourselves ragged. Ever since the Admiral and Deidra brought in those asteroids we've been building parts and hull plate patches. Trust me, you'll sleep when we're in hyper, I wouldn't plan on much sleep before then." A few of the girls grimaced. "We have three more days before we make orbit, then another seven in orbit, then six across the system to the hyper limit. Don't plan on getting any downtime," until then. She shook her head. A few of the girls murmured.

"We've-, okay hold it down, I said hold it down! Wait until I am done to talk. There, that's better," she looked exasperated. "Look folks, we've wanted, wished, and dreamed for Io to be repaired, here's our chance! All the replicators are churning out parts, we have the suits. Forty people have volunteered," she said. Jen nodded, as did Rodriguez, Wendy, and Robin.

"We're going to run the training course with the Admiral," Robin said.

"Right. Okay, now, we are going to break the teams down into fast learners and slower people, and give the fast learners the harder tasks. Get some rest, and then meet the Admiral in the handball court later today," she nodded in dismissal and straightened.

The group broke up with women talking amongst themselves. "Is she crazy? We can't do all that? Sure the hull, but damn! I heard we may make beta if we get it all done..."

Another girl looked up. "Beta? Are you sure?"

The Admiral cleared his throat. The women froze and looked over to him. "Ladies, if and I do mean IF we get this done, and there are no unforeseen problems, yes we will make beta when we leave. We're going to have to work our butts off to make it possible though," he cautioned. The crew broke into cheers as they left.

The airlock opened. The class looked up as two more girls came in, blushing. He motioned them to have a seat. "Okay, now that we are all here..." He gave the two tardy students a glower. They scrunched down in their seats. "We can get started." He motioned to Rodriguez. "Miss Rodriguez, Jennie, Robin, Gia, Wendy, and I have the most experience with space walks and repairs," he glanced at his assistants.

"We are going to start this slow, with a little test. In a moment we will cut the gravity to the compartment to familiarize you with free fall. On each seat there is a bag. Keep it on you," he cautioned. The girls pulled the bag out and shook it out.

"What's it for?" one of the girls asked curious.

Jennie looked over with an evil grin. "Barf." She motioned for them to get up. "Move to the center of the room. We're going to cut the plating as soon as the chairs are put away."

Rodriguez, Robin, and Wendy were folding the chairs and using bungees to bundle them together. "All right, first off you’re going to float. Your stomach won’t like that," she said.

Jennie nodded. "I was born in free fall."

The Admiral and Rodriguez looked up. "Me too," the chorused then looked at each other and smiled.

"Didn't help me though, I whooped my cookies anyway when I was older," the Admiral said. A few of the girls giggled, a few looked even more nervous.

Robin positioned herself near the door controls. "Okay here we go," she said. He nodded to her. She touched the controls. After a moment they began to float.

"Oh oh!" Some of them called.

"It's zero g handball ladies," Robin called out. Some took it in stride, moving with practiced ease. The ones who were new to the sensation began to spin and tumble. One threw up violently, spraying vomit in a cloud around her. Girls exploded away from her, bumping into each other as they tried to escape the mess.

"EWWW!" Some screamed.

"That is so gross!" a girl said in disgust. The unfortunate victim apologized. Like a wave, the smell propagated out, and a few of the girls ended up sick in the bags. Rodriguez had the sick girl clean up her mess.

"Yuck," Some of the girls were wrinkling their noses.  A few were gagging and turning green.

"All right, now, as you can see, every action has a reaction," Rodriguez demonstrated by pushing against a girl, they went off in opposite directions. "When you’re working outside, remember that. Remember that even though you’re in free fall and you can move big heavy things, they still have mass and take time to stop." She turned and stopped herself with practiced ease.

"It's really easy to get injured or killed in space. Take your time, plan your actions," Jennie called out.

The Admiral moved among them, offering advice here and there where needed. After an hour they called an end to the exercise. He mentally sorted the group into the ones with experience like Chelsie the blue handball Captain, to the inexperienced and completely clueless like Dorah. He squirted a list of the experienced people to the tablets Jennie and Rodriguez had. "All right ladies. Jennie and Miss Rodriguez here have a list of people who are ready for the suit familiarity class."

He nodded to them as they called out names. When they had left the compartment the remaining members looked around a little guilty. "Okay ladies, you need a bit more experience with free fall," he said simply. A few groaned at that. He nodded to Robin.

"Robin and Wendy will supervise you," he said nodding to the two ladies. He leaned over to Wendy as Robin sorted them out with a quick question and answer session. "Give them another hour or two, but don't push it too hard on them, let them play." She nodded. He went over to the bundle of chairs, dug under it to his duffel and pulled out a pair of balls. He tossed them into the air to the girls. They were caught easily.

"All right ladies, have a little fun while you practice. He turned to open the door, shouldering the duffel.

The door opened and Mindy squeaked. "OH! Mister engineer sorry! I was just checking in to see if anyone was hurt."

He shook his head. "A little space sick, but they're getting the hang of it," he said.

She looked concerned. "Space sick! Maybe we should get them to sickbay!" she looked around the class.

Robin cut the gravity and they began to float. After a moment they seemed to get the hang of it. Only a couple turned green.

Mindy sniffed. "EW! What died in here?" She looked around wrinkling her nose and waving her hand in front of her face. He stepped past her.

"Space sick. A few barfed," Irons said. He shook his head. "You can practice with them if you like. I would suggest changing your clothes though."

She looked down at her skimpy mini skirt uniform. "What's wrong with this? Don't you like it?" she asked, pouting a bit.

He grimaced. "It's....um... very fetching. But not exactly appropriate in free fall." He waved back to the room.

The girls were floating around in coveralls. "Um..." She looked confused.

"Unless of course you don't mind people looking up your skirt as it flutters around..." He nodded to the guards.

Mindy looked back into the room seeing Dorah spike the ball with predictable results. "It does look like fun....Maybe I should change..." He heard as he walked away.

He checked back in with the class after a couple hours. Rodriguez and Jennie looked up as the hatch opened. "How's it going?" he asked, followed by the guards.

They nodded. "Good so far, we're through the basic suit orientation, about to go to the next step," Rodriguez reported as she checked over her own suit. "I like these suits, I'm glad you replicated them," she said with a grin. He nodded. "The ones we have at the Pyrax station were modular types that smelled like sweat. I had one that the legs were too long and covered in patches. My mom said I'd grow into it," she said as she wrinkled her nose in disgust. He chuckled, surveying the class.

They were suited up and looking confident. "Okay ladies, we're going to try an exercise before we actually go outside." He held up the holographic projector. "We're going to get you acquainted to space without going outside," he said. More then one person couldn't hack the black, it was best to learn that here in the ship rather then outside.

Rodriguez nodded in sudden understanding. "OH, good idea."

Jennie cocked her head. "Hologram?" she asked. He nodded. He put the holographic projector in the center of the room then motioned the guards out.

Xena balked. "I can handle it," she said stubbornly. He just looked at her. After a moment she dropped her defiant gaze and led her partner out. "We'll be right outside," she said.

He grimaced and then turned to the class. "Okay, in a moment we're going to project a space field in this room so you can see what it will be like in space." He nodded to Rodriguez.

"All right, listen up! Step one!" she ordered, looking around the room. They checked their seals and then each others. "Step two?" They turned and checked their partners, then gave thumbs ups. She nodded. "Step three!" They checked their safety lines.

She nodded to Jennie who had positioned herself by the light controls. "Let’s do this," she said. The lights dimmed and the hologram came up. In a moment the room was filled with black, then stars.

"Oh my god it's so dark!" one of the girls called, voice quavering.  The lights hadn't gone completely out yet, not a good sign.

"Turn your lights on," Jennie called, putting words to action by flipping hers on.

Some of the girls around her gasped at the light. "WOW!" One by one they turned the suit lights on.

The engineer nodded. "All right, we're going to give you a moment to get used to this, and then we're going to cut the gravity," he said. One of the girls squeaked.

"Why don't we give them a floor so they can orient for the first exercise?" Sprite said to him. He nodded.

"Ship's skin?" he suggested.

"You got it Admiral." The floor wavered a moment, then the exterior hull of the ship formed.

"All right Jennie." In a moment he felt the sensation of floating. "Remember; check your safety lines, and those of your partner." They moved around, checking each other. His enhanced vision picked them out, watching them fumble a little. He was still classifying the fast learners with the slow, narrowing the list. Once he was sure he would put the fast learners on the more difficult tasks, while letting the slow ones build up with basic ones like fetch and carry.

"For your first few space walks you’re going to do orientation exercises and survey work. We want you to get used to being in space, and build the skills up to be comfortable working in it," Irons said. Sprite had enough initiative to take a cue and run with it. The floor image changed to an airlock and surrounding area. "All right, when we come out, this is something like what it'll look like. We'll move from here down the side of the ship to the stern. There'll be a shuttle out in case of a Dutchman," he said. Diedra didn't have any qualms about that. A few of the girls sighed at this. He took it as relief.

They could see the exterior of the ship, and the burnt and buckled hull. "Is that what the ship looks like?" one of the girl's asked.

"How are we supposed to fix all that?" one of the other girls asked in dismay.

"One thing at a time. That's the only way to do it. Prioritize what we need to fix, and then work on the list, one item at a time. Besides, we have twenty people here, so we can break down into teams and do three to four jobs for each mission." The projection changed to the starboard sub light engine pod. "There are four sub light engines, two of which are working. Now this run we're going to do some minor repairs on this engine, and repair as many shield nodes as we have time for."

He pointed to the ovoid sticking out of the side of the hull. "Those are the shield nodes." He took a moment to look around, noting that all the girls had reorientated to face the ship. Good, less fear of the black if they focused on the mission. "Okay, over to the starboard side of this shield node is a hull breach we can patch as well." He closed the channel for a moment. "Sprite, feed them a karat of things I indicate on their HUDs," he said, and then moved closer to the hull. "As you can see, there are clips on the hull for us to clip onto."

They spent the next two hours going over the basics before he called a halt and they floated down to the surface. A few had trouble orienting their OMS packs, but caught on after a while.

"All right, get some food and some rest. Tomorrow at 0700 we will all have breakfast, then get suited up and do the first walk," he said to his tired but happy crew. The lights cleared and the hologram shut off.

"Why not now?" one of the girls asked sounding a little disappointed.

Rodriguez smiled. "Unlike some of you, I'm tired and hungry!" A few waved off, not wanting to eat since their stomachs were still unsettled.

"What if we have to go to the bathroom out there?" one of the girls asked timidly.

He snorted and looked over to Jennie, “Didn't you brief them on that?” he asked. She nodded, clearly irritated. He turned back to the girl. "Then you go. OR you can try to hold it. If you go, your suit will handle it." She gulped. "We'll have teams and missions posted on the ship network later tonight."

A few of the girls looked up at this. Rodriguez watched them as they unsuited and racked the gear. "Make sure you put your suit back properly, and plug it in,” she ordered.

"Yes boss,” one of the girls called over. Another started to walk away, then stopped and went back and checked. She blushed then plugged the suit connections in.

"Good."

After the class had left the remainder came in, led by Robin. Jennie nodded. "Here we go again," Rodriguez said softly.

He snorted. "Good luck."

She stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Why don't you stick around?"

He snorted again. "I don't think I'd be welcome when it comes time to undress and make the um... plumbing connections."

Rodriguez blushed and took her hand away. "Good point," she said.

He snorted. "Besides, Molly wants a report, and I need to check the Dutchman exercise, the rebuild of replicator three, and the electronics replicator is about to finish a shield node computer module." Jennie looked excited. "Think we can get into Beta?"  she asked. He nodded.

"We're going to shoot for it. I know the Captain only wants to be here a week so we have only a narrow window to work on the hull," he replied. He really didn't want to be out on the hull with greenhorns while underway. She nodded. "You're going to take charge of the shield node repairs once I know you can hack it," he said to her as he turned to Rodriquez.

"You’re going to work on repairing the hull breaches," he told Rodriguez.

She sucked in a breath. "Great, jagged pieces of metal in vacuum and babysitting greenhorns. Just what I wanted to do for fun," she growled. Robin came over.

"Robin, you’re going to be our safety officer, you’re going to keep an eye on everyone and make sure they follow the procedures and check in on time," he said. She nodded.

“The others will be team leaders doing survey work and doing minor repairs," he said. He motioned to them. "Most of this class will be doing fetch and carry work for the first couple of walks."

"Weeeee!!" One of the girls called, spinning off.

"KNOCK it off! Sandy get back here!" a few of the girls called out.

"STOW IT! This is SERIOUS!" Rodriguez called, stepping on all of them. The channel went quiet. "Get your pretty butts in line with the program or get back inside. This isn't a joy ride, it's a job." She turned as the next group came out. The engineer had already taken his team out and aft.

They could just make out the glow from their lights. "We're going there?" one of the girls squeaked.

"What were you sleeping yesterday?" one of the other's sarcasm was cutting.

"No, but it looks a whole lot bigger out here now," she said with a slight tremor in her voice. She looked around nervously. She tried to gesture and went into a tumble. Her partner reeled her in slowly.

"Knock it off you two, we need to get clear of the lock and to our site," Rodriguez called. "Why me?" she muttered. A few of the girls stifled giggles at that. "The first hole is twenty meters aft and three meters down. Right about... here." Her jets pulsed and she came to a stop. A second pulse and she drifted down to the deck. She unclipped her safety line and attached it to a nearby clip. "All right, clip in here; watch that you don't foul each other's safety lines."

She knelt carefully near the edge of the hole. One of the girls whistled. "Nasty," she said.

The edges were charred and curled up. Rodriguez pulled out a plasma cutter and checked it. "All right, I'm going to cut each piece, then hand it to you Sally. Mary, take your tool and start on the other side," she ordered. She motioned to Mary, who was already moving. "The rest of you spread out and look for more holes." She bent and got to work.

"How are things going?" the Admiral called over the net an hour later.

Rodriguez looked up. "Almost finished with this hole. I called the specs in, but it'll be a while before the list gets down to it," she reported. He double clicked assent. "How's your team?" she asked as she looked around. "So far they've found small holes all around this one, it looks like a plasma hit from the last battle. The spray did a number here," she said. He grunted.

"How's it on your end?" she asked. He paused for a moment. "Jennie's emitter has an impedance problem; it looks like a rebuild is in order. We'll have to detach it and bring it into the ship to do that. Mine had a breach; it looks like an overripe melon that burst, going to need a replacement," he replied. She pulled at the last piece, then when it broke free, carefully stowed it in her bag.

"What about the others?" she asked.

"I checked in a moment ago, Robin said they're doing okay, they've surveyed a three hundred meter radius around the lock. There are a lot of hull breaches, and a few places where entire hull sections are missing," he said.

She sighed. "Held together with bubble gum and rigger tape," she grumbled.

He chuckled. "I didn't know that expression survived to this time."

She smiled. "Family saying I guess."

"All right, when you finish up, take a quick peek at the others then call in to see if they have the patches done. Jennie has her pod detached and on the way to the boat bay now." She looked over and caught the moving lights.

"I take it the pod is too big for the lock?" she asked. He double clicked. "Roger that."

"Well, Mary and I are done here; we'll go check on the green horns."

"The hull here's all bubbled, what happened?" He looked up from the stuck bolt and around. Sprite automatically fed a karat to his HUD, circling the caller. She was out of sight.

"And who is calling?" he said, exasperated. Sprite blinked the caller’s name, but he ignored it. "Sorry, this is Nancy. I'm at um; frame four starboard near the keel shield emitter. I found a patch of hull that looks bubbled."

He looked over to where she was. "Be careful, don't let anyone near it. Make sure your camera is recording and your lights are oriented to see it properly," he ordered. Nancy double clicked. "All right, douse the lights, and switch the camera to thermal and check again."

"Roger."

He waited a moment. "Scan it twice, and then slug the files to Molly inside."

"Roger."

After a moment the channel cleared and Molly came on. "What am I looking at here?" she asked on a private line.

"Have the computer overlay the thermal image with the visual, are there any hot spots?" he asked. He waited a moment.

"By hot spots you mean bright white glowing areas? Then yes, there's one near each bubble."

He closed the channel. "Sprite get me that work party now!"

"Nancy, pull your team back at least twenty meters or better NOW!" he snarled.

He heard scrambling and clicking noises. "Why?" he heard noises. "It's bubbling more..." "Nancy...” Molly called on the same channel, voice picking up as the urgency registered.

"We're going, we're going... WOW!" They could hear static for a moment.

"This is Gena; there was a bright flash and plume near Nancy's position." He looked up and caught the edge of it near the horizon of the ship's skin. He began to move in that direction, unhooking the line.

"Sprite, get me a status report," he ordered. Sprite pulled up a feed.

"I am getting a lot of interference with team Nancy and team Gena. Plasma burst?" she asked unnecessarily.

He nodded. "It must have breached under the skin and bubbled, building up pressure until it popped like a pimple when someone stepped near it." She fed him the video Nancy had sent in a window on his HUD. He bounced along the hull, moving with practiced ease.

"Boss, you want us to come too?" one of his team called. "No, stay and finish up there. Watch for that stuck bolt, don't try too much force or you could tumble when it gets loose. Use a cutter to break it if you have to and then retap," he said as he panted as he moved. A fan came on, drying the sweat on his face. "Plasma cloud dissipating, I'm getting their locater beacons now. The team is okay. We had one Dutchman, recovering now," Molly reported. He sighed in relief.

"What happened? You said something about a plasma breach?" Molly asked.

"Is there a bleed anywhere on the starboard side Molly?" he asked.

"Yes, now that you mention it. I'm locking it down now." He caught sight of the team. Some were upright; a few were flat and supine drifting about until their tethers locked.

"Status report." The com channel crackled and popped.

He could hear garbled chatter, and a few girls crying. "I can't see!" He reached the nearest floater and caught a flaying arm. She began to scream.

"Relax it is me, just relax," he said soothingly. He pulled her down to the deck. He clipped her safety line to the deck as she wrapped her arms around him and sobbed. "You're okay, just take a minute to get your breath." Her suit shook. He looked over to the others. Gena's team had arrived and were pulling the others down. "All right, get them to the airlock. The plasma burst probably fried some of their suit systems."

He changed channels. "Molly, have the doc and nurse ready in case of injuries." He watched as the cloud of plasma spread out along the hull. Since the ship had a slight roll, it was twisting around. "Bridge this is the Admiral, we've had a plasma burst on this side. Recommend you do an OMS burn starboard side to get clear of the cloud after all parties are inside," he urged.

The Captain's voice came on after a moment. "Suggestion approved. Injuries?" she had a note of concern in her voice.

"Too soon to tell Captain, maybe a few minor injuries, no casualties," he replied. Most of the girls were oriented and being escorted to the lock. Gena gave him a thumbs up.

In the airlock he watched as Gena and Jennie helped Nancy out of her helmet. The girl had a serious case of the shakes. "You're okay, you’re safe now," Jennie said and patted her arm.

She clutched at it for a moment, and then eased. "Goddess that was scary! One moment nothing and then boom! That blinding flash!"

She shook. "You’re lucky your suit's polarity shifted or you would have been blinded," Rodriguez called. He nodded.

Molly was standing nearby. The doc and nurse were going through Nancy and Gena's teams one by one. "I haven't run into any broken bones or serious injuries, looks like a few pulled muscles and one dislocated shoulder so far. They were lucky," the doc said, not looking up. Molly rang her hands. A girl clutching her shoulder rocked back and forth, groaning softly.

The Admiral noted his team coming in through the boat bay lock. "Pod's in the boat bay Admiral," a radio tech said.

He opened the channel. "Good work. Take a break for a moment." He looked over to Rodriguez. She shrugged.

Jennie nodded. "I want to get back out there too.”

He nodded and looked over to a waiting tech. "Call cookie in the mess deck, ask her if she could send over a platter of sandwiches and some drinks," he ordered. The tech nodded and softly spoke into her com. "Okay take off your helmets and plug in people, get some down time. We'll be going back out in thirty."

Tatiana's team scowled, but obeyed. "I want to go," Nancy spoke quietly.

He nodded. "If you think you're up for it, your suit clears, and doc gives the go ahead, no problem," he said. The best medicine for her to get over the shakes was another go around. He knew it from experience, you had to get back onto the horse or spend the rest of your life running from it. She nodded and went over to plug in.

"Don't you think she should wait a while?" Jennie leaned over asking softly so the others wouldn't pick it up.

He shook his head. "Best thing for her is to get back on the horse as fast as possible,” he said.

She looked confused. "What's a horse?" he chuckled at her expression.

"Beast of burden."

"Oh,” she said, wrinkling her nose.

"The expression means it's best to get back to the job before you can think about it too much and start to worry," he explained. She nodded as she watched Nancy set her helmet down and then plug in. Her movements were steady. "I think she'll be okay." He wiggled his hand back and forth. "She had a scare, but isn't letting it throw her off. Good example for the others too." Jennie nodded.

"We'll get what we can do now. We have fifteen days after all. I can do a few walks every shift and watch over things, once the rest get some experience we can divide into shift teams and keep a team or two out every shift," Irons said, laying out his plan. Rodriguez nodded.

Molly came over and touched his arm. "The first shield pod Jennie pulled has been torn down. We should have it rebuilt in a couple hours. The patches are in the bay now," she said.

He nodded. "So, let’s focus on fixing the hull and survey work for the next walk. I'll tear down a couple more broken pods with my team.”

Jennie raised her hand. "I can do that too. I mean, if that's okay," she said.

He nodded. "That leaves you on welding and survey detail Rodriguez," he said.

She groaned softly. He could tell she was kidding. "Why do I always get the boring stuff?"

Molly looked concerned. "We could always switch..."

She shook her head. "It's fine Molly really." She hid her smile as Molly looked away and played with her glasses. "I'll keep Nancy and her team with me." A noise made them look over to the left. A tray of food and a pair of women came around the corner with a clatter and curse.

"Lunch is served," Molly said getting out of the way.

"Admiral to the bridge, second space walk will commence in five minutes," he reported in, embarrassed he hadn't sooner.

"What again?" Shandra said in the background.

"Isn't it too dangerous?" another voice called.

"Quiet," the Captain ordered. "I checked with the doctor, two injured and three with suit malfunctions. Are the others okay with going out again?" her voice ground out. He looked around. Several nodded, a few gave thumbs up.

"Ready and willing Captain. We have a ship to fix," he replied.

She cleared her throat. "Get on it then." The channel closed with a click.

"All right ladies, you heard the Captain, time to rock and roll," Rodriguez called over the crew, flashing a tight grin. She slapped the side of her helmet and then put it on. They had trooped down to the starboard airlock after lunch and the injured had been escorted out.

The bay was full, the three craft, two shield pods, parts, equipment, and suited workers were a little bit of a tight fit. Each of the shield pods were the size of a small shuttle. Jennie's was already partially stripped down. His was a write off. Everything not going out with the workers was strapped down. Rodriguez checked her suit. Then her partner's and then looked over the panels.

"Great mullah, this is going to be fun. If my family could only see me now," she said. She attached a gripper to a section of the biggest plate, then another a meter apart. "Everyone on gripper detail set your grippers and triple check them and your clearances. Then plan your moves with your team. Let’s get this right the first time ladies," Rodriguez called over.

"Well cut the gravity after the air is removed," Robin called.

"What's this?" Jennie leaned over and took a close look at a girl's suit arm.

"What?" the girl asked.

"Your suit is breached. Left arm," Rodriguez looked up, turned and stomped over to them. She grabbed the offending arm, took a close look then turned and glared at the woman's buddy.

Her face fell. "Sorry. Must have missed it," she mumbled.

Rodriguez held the glare, swelling. The Admiral walked up behind her and brushed her hand aside. "May I see?" He took a quick look and then nodded. "It didn't breech all the way through, just the outer skin." He held her with his left hand and placed his right palm over the rip.

"What are you doing?" The girl asked, trying to look.

"Hold still," he ordered.

"Proteus, suit repair," he sub vocalized.

"What did you say?"

"Sometimes I say the commands I need to get my implants to work,” he replied. He concentrated and watched the flow of nanites swarming over his hand and the rips. Proteus had them highlighted and magnified; he would never have been able to see them even with his enhanced vision.

"Repairs complete," Proteus reported.

"Okay there." He pulled his hand away. The rip was gone.

"What, how'd you do that?"

He shrugged. "Explain later, let’s get to work. Everyone double check your partner now!" Rodriguez turned and ended that statement with a glare. Fabric and plastic rustled as they hastily obeyed. Murmurs of orders and complaints. "Hey not so rough! That tickles!"

She nodded as each person gave her a thumbs up. "Okay, by the numbers ladies.”

"Not bad," Rodriguez wiped sweat from her brow a few hours later. It had been a very productive shift.

"We need sweat bands," Jennie said, unlocking her helmet and then setting it on the rack. She took a towel off the peg and wiped her face. "I kept getting sweat in my eyes. It burns." Her face was red, tear lines were down her cheeks.

"Did you get it done though?" Nancy looked over to her.

"Yup! It works nicely too. Ops is reconfiguring the shields now!" she grinned and so did most of her team. The group perked up, slapping each other on the shoulders.

The Admiral nodded. "Ahem." He turned to Rodriguez who looked at him then tossed her head to the hatch. A few of the girls were looking at him.

He snorted in sudden understanding. "I'll just give you some privacy. Don't forget to shower ladies." He waved as he left. The guards were waiting; they escorted him down the corridor. The lead one turned as they went around the bend, her nose wrinkled.

"You stink. Gah!" she said in disgust.

He chuckled wearily. "Yup."

"Did you get the job done?" The other guard asked behind him.

"Yes, two more shield pods are in the bay, and Rodriguez managed to patch over twenty holes. Jennie installed her shield node, it's booting now," he reported. He smiled wearily. "Space walking takes it out of you though, I'm no spring chicken!" He shook his head.

He heard a gasp on the net and looked up. "What? What’s wrong?" Mary was looking up at the sky. He turned. There were sparks and halos every few minutes along the bow. "Debris hitting the shields," he observed. He watched as a large piece slammed into the invisible barrier. A purple halo around it appeared then it seemed to bounce away. "It looks neat, but it can be a bit distracting."

He turned back to the job at hand. He'd taken one shift off, but was now back on the job. A few others looked up and gasped. He managed to get the plate free and looked up. "There done!" He turned and looked around. His team and most of the others were all staring off at the bow fireworks. "If one of those gets through..." He heard a voice say over the net.

He sighed. "All right ladies, time to get back to work," he said. He carefully used a pry bar to get the plate out. It floated for a moment. Mary wasn't paying attention and it struck her. She offed, going off spinning. Her safety tether jerked taught. "I said, GET WITH THE PROGRAM!" He turned, suddenly angry.

"Mary report," he said.

She coughed. "I'm all right."

He snarled, and then opened the channel. "You’re lucky. All eyes on the job, watch the fireworks later!" Get with it people before someone gets killed!" He turned to see the women around him start and then turn reluctantly to work.

"You’re doing a wonderful job, keep it up," The Captain said, looking over the newly renovated space. She gave them each a look, and then finished with the purser. "You're working wonders, all of you." the Captain said, locking her gaze to the purser. She squirmed.

"We aim to please Captain," the Admiral responded. "Though, a little thank you to the crew does help," he said. He gave the purser, and then the Chief a look. The Chief stared back defiantly. The purser looked down.

"All right, I'm sorry." She turned to Jennie.

"Thanks." The Captain nodded and turned to leave.

"Can I get into my quarters now?" the purser asked plaintively. The Captain chuckled as she left.

He nodded to the purser. "We'll get a work crew out as soon as we can. We've a lot of other priorities," he said. He turned and left, pulling Jennie along by the elbow. "You didn't," he said softly to her, not even bothering to hide his amusement.

"Why Admiral, whatever do you mean?" she said, eyes innocent, but her voice was rich in satisfaction.

He chuckled and waggled a finger at her. "Naughty naughty," he teased. She giggled. The guards following did as well.

"We've gotten the basic hull patched a fare-thee well, looks a bit like my grandmother's old quilts," Jennie commented. A few smiled at that. Even the Captain snorted.

"Will they hold?" she asked.

"Well, the basic hull is actually a series of layers Captain. We're just welding plates over the breeches then back filled them with a resin compound before plating it over on the inside. I can't even begin to describe the amount of force it took to make those holes! The hull has so many layers and spall shields and deflection areas...it's insane," the engineer replied as he looked up from what he had been doing. "This is just a basic hull with little armor. A warship had a lot more, and had a self sealing hull."

Molly looked over excited. "Self sealing? Can we do that?" She bounced in her chair, and then paused to adjust her glasses.

"No, that would mean stripping the hull down, practically unwrapping the ship." He cocked his head thinking.

The Captain cleared her throat. "Let’s not do that then shall we? We can make do with what you've done," she said. Molly looked a little crestfallen.

"Once the shields and power plant are overhauled, then not much could penetrate the defenses anyway," the engineer replied with a nod to the Captain.

She smiled. "How is the bow deflector going?"

He grimaced. So did Molly. "Not well, there are problems fabricating parts and getting things aligned. I projected five days to do the job, we're two days behind," He sighed. He hated it when schedules slipped but knew reality usually had a say in things when planning met reality.

Jennie nodded. "The bow shields have been battered and abused Captain, some of the emitters have reached impedance. When they failed others compensated, but that shortened their life spans. We're looking at a complete rebuild," she said.

The Captain tapped her fingers on the desk. "That bad huh?" she grunted.

“Are we ready to open the doors?” Jen asked. Jennie looked over to the tech. “You may want to exit the bay; vacuum without a suit is hazardous to your health,” she smiled.

The tech look startled. “Wait, what doors? I was wondering how you were going to get that spar out, it's bigger than that door!” she pointed to the door they had entered by.

Jennie shook her head. “No, we're going to EVAC the bay then open those,” she said and then  pointed to the exterior door.

The girl’s eyes went wide. “Oh wow. Okay, let me finish up here.” She typed a few more lines, saved her work then checked something else.

“What's the hold up?” Rodriguez called over the com. “We're ready and waiting.”

The tech looked up. “Yeah yeah, almost finished.” She typed in one last sequence and looked up with a nod. “Okay it's finished,” she said. She followed Jennie out.

“This I have to see.” Jennie turned as the door closed and turned the LCD panel on. “Okay, let’s see.” She used her fingers to scroll through the menus. "Okay, got it. Doors opening.” She hit the air EVAC. Air could be heard hissing. "We have a minor leak, looks like the door seal isn't holding well.”

The tech looked concerned and backed away. “Good idea. We're going to EVAC to another corridor and set up a secondary lock,” Jennie said. Jennie closed the menu and followed the tech back to a knee knocker. The tech turned and held her hand at the control. As she stepped over and cleared the knocker the girl hit the control and they watched as the emergency door closed.

“Okay. Door closed,” Jennie waved the girl away who scowled.

“I wanted to do it,” she muttered softly.

Jennie grinned. “Next time.” She scrolled through the menu again.

“Jennie, were getting reports of air loss on that deck, deck five and deck seven. We're clearing those sections now,” the bridge reported.

Jennie nodded. “Looks like we missed a few cracks.”

She hit the controls and found the doors. The screen flickered again. “Damn it.” She rapped it smartly. “Not now.” It stopped flickering. “Sometimes the best way is to smack it,” she grinned. “Doors opening.”

They could hear and feel a low vibration. “The doors are opening now, wow, big doors; they're opening out toward us. Steering clear. Now I know why you wanted us above or below Admiral,” Rodriguez kept up a running commentary.

“How can we see...? Jennie asked querulously.

“Oh, camera controls, starboard frame 301A exterior camera. Or try robot twelve,”  the communication tech replied.

“Okay, got it thanks,” Jennie said. Jennie clicked the indicated cameras. “Okay. Damn, kinda grainy. Going to have to fix that,” she muttered. She watched as the doors finished opening and the suited crew moved in. In a few minutes the spar began to creep out slowly.

“Okay, well since I'm not going to be needed, I'm going to go take a lunch break,” the tech nodded. “Can I get you anything?” She turned to Jennie who looked up.

“Huh oh?” She shut the controls off. “Yeah, I think I'll join you.”

She followed the tech to the galley. Inside they found two dozen women all avidly watching the giant wall screen display. “Glad we fixed that,” Jennie muttered. She paused watching the suited workers maneuvering the spar. “It's a bit of a pain. They have to get the new one out, and then feed in the old one and other debris.”

Jennie felt a bump. “Excuse me.” She looked over to the tech and then dismissed her from her thoughts, engrossed in the view.

“So we're going to do this what? five more times?” someone nearby asked.

Jennie nodded slowly. “Yeah. For the big stuff, and a couple more times for the parts to the port shuttle bay door, and then I don't know how many times for the engine rebuilds,” she sighed and shook her head.

The waitress at the counter looked over to her and then busied herself with wiping the counter. “Can I help you?” she asked as she looked up. She rapped the counter to get Jennie's attention again.

Jennie nodded, eyes still glued to the screen. “Sandwich please.” She had her eyes locked to the screen like everyone else in the compartment. Her breath caught as one of the crew misfired an OMS pod, going into a tumble.

“Oh crap,” she breathed. She felt sweat prickle her brow.

“Sorry.” The girl said over the open channel.

“Be more careful,” Rodriguez growled.

“My controls are sticky,” she replied.

“Pull back and let your back up fill in,” the Admiral ordered.

“I got it,” she replied sounding testy.

“No, not with sticky controls. Pull back. Make sure suit maintenance clears that suit before you use it again,” he dismissed the problem.

"So, how did we do?" the Captain asked, meeting the purser in the lock.

"Excellent Captain, better than ever!" the purser was excited. "We've been completely resupplied, and are in the black, we can even make some luxury materials!" She brushed her hands down her red velvet dress.

The Captain nodded smiling slightly. "Good Good!" she chuckled dryly. "I'm glad things are looking up." She turned to watch some of the crew walk by. Many who passed nodded politely to the purser and Captain.

“Jennie, when can we get more hull repairs? We need to finish the bow. The sensors in the bow are almost repaired.” Molly looked over to Trisha. “We're going to finish minor repairs and leave the hull open for now. We need to get inside to get some repairs done anyway. That plasma breech that nearly cooked Nancy's team needs to be fixed.”

“What about all those leaks when we opened the replicator doors?” Trisha looked over to the controls and pulled up the life support data. “We have breaches here, here, here, and here. Also some signs of wind and pressure loss here and here. Some temperature losses here too,” she said. She indicated each section. They highlighted in red and blinked.

“Oh, the Admiral sent in robots to clean and scan the sections,” Jennie said and then nodded. “What good is that going to be?” Trisha asked. She looked confused.

Molly looked up from her display and adjusted her glasses. “The robots will find the leaks and seal small ones. Others they'll log into the computer and mark for us to repair.”

Trisha's face cleared. “Oh, that may work.” She shrugged.

Jennie chuckled. “I understand that's how they did it back in the Admiral's time. If it worked then...”

Trisha waved impatiently. “Yeah yeah, Okay.” She looked down to her deck plan. “So that's the procedure for breaches? Send in the robots first?” she asked. Molly nodded.

"So, how are we with the shields?" the Captain looked over to Molly and the engineers.

Molly cleared her throat. "Shields on the starboard side have been rebuilt as far as we can in the time we have," she said tiredly. She didn't know she could be this tired. She looked down at her tablet. "The starboard side is at eighty three percent." The ops officer gave a small whistle. "Overall the shields are at fifty six point four percent," Molly finished and set the tablet down tiredly.

It had been a long two weeks, and if the engineer kept pushing, they'd be working outside right up until they got to the hyper limit a few days from now. "Engines on the starboard side are at thirty three percent. We even managed to get the keel engine working."

Shandra looked over to Jennie and grinned. "Yeah, we're going to test it on the way out."

Jennie sighed. "Just take it easy, some of those patches will take time to work in properly," she urged.

Shandra sobered. "Did any of you get some rest while we were in orbit?" Miss Tsunade Cortez the moral officer asked, playing with her stylus.

The girls and Admiral shook their heads. "Too much to do, we only had a week to get it done."

The pilot nodded. "We have a few missions planned on the way out too, so we can snag more asteroids to build more parts while in hyper," she said. She grinned. "We have the technique down, so it should go off smooth as a baby’s behind," she said smugly. Everyone chuckled.

A few of the women gossiped for a few minutes before the Captain tapped her stylus. The room quieted. "And the hull?" she gave the Admiral a knowing look.

He nodded. "We sealed most of the breaches on the port side and half on the starboard. We even managed to clean up and patch that plasma burst section," he replied as the holo highlighted each zone. Molly nodded.

"I want to get some robots built to help with the exterior repairs while we're in hyper," he said. She gave him a look and he nodded.

"Good idea," the Captain nodded. "Make it so. What about the frame? You had some concerns about it?" she asked. She looked at the Admiral.

He sobered. "Not good, there's frame damage around the engines, as to be expected. Structural cracks on frames fifty through fifty four, with a radial crack growing along the starboard rib," he explained. She nodded.

"What do you want to do about it?" she asked.

He grimaced. "It's a dockside job normally, but we don’t have that luxury. We've already replaced several of the spars in the bow." He looked around. "We'll have to cut out the weakened sections and remake them inside. It'll take time, and we'll be dead in space until the repairs are completed," he said knowing she wouldn't like that. The Captain nodded.

"Why?" the Chief asked quietly.

"We can't use the engines without the frame supports; if we did they would tear apart the ship," Molly responded. She pulled up a diagram on the holo but the Chief waved it aside.

"So why bother doing it?"

Molly looked over to the engineer. He nodded to her. "Because it's important. Eventually the supports will fail without repair, most likely when the ship is under thrust," Molly replied. Shandra and the pilot turned pale.

"Not good," Shandra sucked in a breath.

"Bad," the pilot added.

"Did any of the engineering staff get some downtime?" the purser asked.

The moral officer looked up. She checked her notes for a moment. "Now that you mention it...not many, maybe one or two," she said. She drawled looking over to Molly and the others. "Didn't want to see the sites?"

Molly looked over a little bleary. "Huh?" she asked stupidly. The Admiral flipped his hand.

"We had a heavy schedule in a short time window. We managed to get a lot accomplished in that time," Irons said.  Jennie leaned back and pursed her lips. "But not as much as I was hoping," he said. Molly gushed a sigh and nodded. "Small steps remember."

"We can get into Beta band now Captain," he finished. He turned and nodded to her.

Shandra smiled. "That means we'll be at our next port ten times faster!"

The purser looked startled. "Really?"

Shandra and the ops officer nodded enthusiastically, grinning. "We'll get as many parts replicated for the next time in subspace as we can in the meantime," Molly said, nodding to the Admiral.

"Actually, you three and your teams are going to get some rest," the Captain gave the trio a long look.

"Oh but Captain, there's so much to do!" Molly protested.

"But me no buts, you all need some downtime. One full rotation," the captain ordered. She locked eyes with each of them One by one until they reluctantly nodded. "I think the people who got some downtime can cover for you while you rest," the captain said. Jennie tried to stifle a yawn. "See, you do need rest." The moral officer looked concerned.

"I remember an old saying; Rome wasn't built in a day," the purser commented, smiling.

Molly slumped. "Aye aye." The Captain snorted.

"Captain, we're ready for transit," Shandra looked at her station then over to the Captain. She was nervous, but the Captain just nodded sagely. "All right, let’s go." She had just the right amount of excitement in her voice she judged. She knew she needed to project confidence, the poor girl was nervous enough as it is. Shandra gave the ops tech a smile and hit the button.

The field in front began to elongate, and then flash as they entered hyper. "Alpha band, transiting ....C......D...E...F....G....A.....B.... Here we go! Beta band threshold," Shandra said. They had flashed through Alpha remarkably fast. Usually each transition took hours! The ship trembled with turbulence. "Adjusting...got it." The ride smoothed.

"Breakthrough! We're in the Beta band!" Shandra grinned as she checked the readouts.

"Power supply is steady. I see what he meant about the threshold, the reserve dipped a lot!" Kendra the ops officer pulled up the display.

"Should we back off?" the Captain asked concerned.

"No, I was just observing Captain," the girl blushed.  “Energy reserves returning to normal now.”

The Captain noticed that a lot of the crew now sported cut down uniforms or in the case of the engineering staff, coveralls. They still had their own touches, Shandra for instance had a red scarf around her neck, but the uniforms were becoming more and more prevalent.

"All right, let’s see what she can do," she murmured. She tapped her hand on the display. It lit and she looked down in surprise. A hologram appeared in front of her.

"Yes? Oh! It’s you Captain!" Molly grinned. "Enjoying the speed?"

The Captain cleared her throat. "I was just checking in, how are things going down there?" she wasn't about to admit it had been an accident. Molly didn't notice.

"We're doing great Captain! We'll be at the next colony in a tenth of the time at this rate! And we're using less power to boot!" She grinned.

The Captain nodded. "But I thought we're using more power to get into hyper?" she asked. She looked over to Shandra.

"To get in we are Captain, but we're picking up more particles with the bussard scoops too. Also we're in hyper for less time, so we of course save energy in the long run," the navigator explained.

The Captain nodded. "That's good to hear," she said. She waved to Molly who was looking down at her console. "Molly, how soon can we get into the Gamma bands?" Molly looked up and adjusted her glasses.

"Well we just got here; we'll need to run a full ship wide diagnostic to make sure there aren't any bugs." She was flicking through the reports. "I'm more concerned about the power and the stress on the frame from those vibrations...  We'll need to check things out to make sure we didn't pop a seal somewhere. I really can't recommend it this trip Captain," she said sounding a little disappointed.

The Captain nodded. "Get to it then," her gravelly voice cleared. She looked down and closed the channel. "So, he kept his word," she murmured.

"Is that what I think it is?" he pointed to a purple and yellow four legged monstrosity running down the corridor. It jumped over a knee knocker then darted to the right down another passage.

The nurse came around in pursuit, holding a pair of electric sheers. "Sorry, excuse me have you seen Mister Whiskers?" she asked. He pointed to the left. "Oh thank you," she said, running off giggling. Tara sighed. "I feel sorry for that cat."

He nodded. "Me too."

She snorted. "Glad you told her the wrong way. You’re all right." He gave a small smile over his shoulder.

"I'm a sucker for a lost cause," he said. Jennie giggled.

"Um mister engineer sir?" He turned to the red headed Dorah. The girl was fourteen or fifteen, with long flowing red hair. She was a bit of an air head and hung out with Mindy.

"Yes?"

She tapped the tips of her fingers together. "Um, I was wondering, could you show me your implants again?" she gushed. He grunted.

His sensors could pick up other girls peeking around the corners. "Okay." He looked up to them and suppressed a smile as one of them ducked out of sight. "Sure. If you ladies would like to see as well why don't you come out?" he projected to them. Almost reluctantly a few came out, then a torrent of eager techs. He chuckled softly.

"All right now, when I was injured the first time, I received an artificial eye.” He pointed to his eye and made it dilate in and out, and even turn into a slit. The group oohed and ahed. "Later, my right arm, side and legs were injured." He flexed his right hand, and then rolled up the coverall's sleeve. "These are my tools." He flicked the commands one by one to deploy different tools from the forearms.

"They can do various things," he said. He spread his fingers wide. "Each of my fingers can morph into a set of tools too." He started with the index finger, morphing it into a welder, multi tester, plasma torch. Then his middle finger turned into a set of pliers, wire cutter, and then back. "My ring finger turns into a port so I can jack into computers," he said. The finger turned into a jack, then back. He held his hand up.

"Neat huh?" Some of them looked shocked. "I have some other implants as well, stuff to help me breath better, hear better, and even artificial organs," he explained.

Mindy looked up at this. "Like lungs and stuff?"

He snorted. "Yes, I have one cyborg lung, and one kidney. Also implants in various organs so I can consciously monitor or control them."

A pixie blue haired girl bounced up and down. "Why?" she asked. He smiled.

"So I can handle different environments and so I can keep from getting hurt again," he said. She nodded. "Now, I have to get some more work done, why don't you ladies check in with the moral officer, see if she can pull up some information on cyborg implants for you to look over?" he asked them politely but firmly. A few awed in disappointment, but most started to turn and walk away. He smiled at Dorah. "They put you up to it?" he asked.

She gave him her best innocent look. He snorted. "Get along little lady." She scampered with the rest, skipping with Mindy.

"Are you going to see the game tonight?" a guard asked another as he worked nearby.

The Admiral paused to listen. "Game?" he sub vocalized to Sprite.

"There's a weekly null g handball game scheduled tonight at 1700," she replied. He nodded.

The women walked by his ladder. "Do you think the Chief's team will win again?"

It took a moment to pull his attention back onto his current work. Rerouting plasma conduits was a dangerous job, one he really needed to focus on with his full attention. He felt a bump on his ladder. "Oh, excuse me. Sorry," she said again. He ground his teeth.

"Perhaps this job could be tabled until the crew is occupied or asleep?" Proteus commented, noting his rising anxiety levels. "If that had happened while you were doing delicate work...." the AI left the sentence hanging. He grimaced.

"Good point," he growled. He climbed down the ladder and took a look around. The guards were on either end of the corridor. "Pack it in ladies; we will come back to it when there are fewer interruptions." One of the women scowled, but the other nodded as she dodged a trio of women jogging. "Good idea," she said.

The gravity plate in the corridor was good; it just had the power lines disconnected. He fitted the connector together and heard a sigh behind him. The guards weren't too happy about being here, away from the game. That had been the third long sigh, and the grumbling was going to start soon.

He watched his sensor feed as the plate powered up and ran post. It found a fault, but he got up anyway. He went over to the bulkhead communication's panel and turned it on. He flipped through the channels for a moment. "Sprite, give me the camera feeds for the game here," he sub vocalized. The LCD screen split into quarters and the game from different views came up. One of the images was upside down and a bit snowy from interference or damage.

"Compensating. Best I can do Admiral," she said after a minute.

The sound came up as the last camera image flipped. One of the guards looked up and over to him. "What are you doing?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Might as well check the game out while the computer boots." He went over and checked the gravity plate. He was amused to see the guards edging over so they could get a look at the screen. One of them clenched her fist, shaking it a bit, obviously suppressing a cheer. He smirked, problem solved.

A few minutes with the tester and he set it down. He disconnected the power line and made a note in his log. "All right, this panel's computer is broken. The ram is showing a fault and it looks like a hardware issue. Going to have to replace it."

He looked up and snorted. The guards weren't paying attention to him; they were both glued to the game. One of them glanced over. "Huh? Oh, okay," she said. She gave him a look, and then reluctantly tried to keep her attention on him.

He shrugged. "Since I can't get this done, I'm going to go fix that plasma conduit, then that water leak in the deck three wardroom," he said. He gathered his tool kit, replaced the deck's floor panel and looked up. "You coming?"

"Yeah, in a sec." one guard said, distractedly "Go on, get it in there...YEAH! SCORE!" They patted each other on the back. One of them thumbed the panel off and indicated him. They practically jogged to the work site, and then the moment he set up they turned the panel on.

“How did you get that channel?” one of them asked, looking over his shoulder to him.

“One moment.” He stepped down from the ladder and over to the display. “Select camera views, then game,” he said, glad Sprite was ahead of him and putting the directions on his HUD for him. He clicked each, and the game came up.

“What about sound?” the other asked.

“Oh, that's because someone played with the volume,” he replied. He clicked mute and the sounds blasted at full volume. “Oops!” He hastily flicked the volume control down. “There, that's better,” he said. The guards sighed in relief, looking around guiltily. There was some action on the display, one politely elbowed him aside. He chuckled and went back to work.

Chapter 7

There was a weird sound from the compartment next door. He could hear whimpering, and scrapping. He checked it out, and found a trio of Chihuahua dogs in the compartment. The moment they saw him they began to yap. "Oh it's you!" He looked over to Dorah. "Aren't they cute?" she asked. She petted one of the little yappers. It stopped and sniffed her over, then turned and glared at him.

"Oh just adorable." He said with sarcasm.

"The Captain picked them up on a station. She's hoping to breed them and sell them to other colonies." Jennie came in. "I doubt it'll work, you can't get anything out of them, they're just yapping manure makers," she grumbled as she stepped around them. One of them bit at her pant leg. "LET go!" she jerked her leg, and the little runt let go with a cough.

"Great, see you made him cough!" Dorah cuddled the dog. "HIM? Look what he did to my pants!" Jennie snarled. The engineer grabbed her elbow and escorted her out.

“So, you have dogs, cats... A regular traveling circus.” He commented to Jennie as they walked down the corridor. She reached up to a low support strut and ducked under it. “Huh? Oh the animals.” She sighed. “Yes, we have them, and a couple rabbits, goats, and a few pigs as well.” He looked behind her. She shrugged. “Remember, we trade with farm colonies. We take what we can get.” He nodded.

“Besides, the Captain said it helps them a little too.” He looked back, and then thought about it. “Breeding?” She nodded as he looked to her for conformation. “Yeah, she said on her first circuit she ran into another trade ship that told her about it. How it helps the colonies with their limited gene pool.” He smiled at her blush and turned around the next corner.

Sprite dodged a security bot, and then pulled out of the net. "Did you have to teach them computer security?" she grumped.

He smiled. "I only taught them a little to use the systems, why, run into trouble?" She sent a nasty buzz to his ear.

"Well, your students are getting better, I'll give them that. Almost got caught," she growled. He cocked his head.

"Well, if you do, tell them you're me."

She projected her face into the HUD, and then shook her head back and forth. "Won't work, no one is that stupid admiral," she replied.

He snorted. "Technically you're me, in a way; just don't get caught in the net when I'm not connected."

Her image pulsed, her version of a shrug. "May work. They're still new to computers," she finally admitted.

He looked around the empty compartment for a moment. “You could also set up a cloak so they won’t see you at all. Set it up so the system won’t show your presence.” He waited as she ran that through her program.

“That might work for a little while; I'm not sure for how long. If I'm discovered it could cause diplomatic problems later,” she said.

He nodded. “Like I said before, don't get caught. Get the back door set up.”

"I noted in the log that you're making software repairs while also making hardware repairs. How's this possible?" Molly asked.

He turned to Molly and smiled. "I multi task,” he said off the cuff. She had a blank look. "I can walk and chew gum at the same time."

"But how can you access the network if you’re not connected?" she asked. She looked confused.

"Well, there's a wireless network too," he drawled it out, stalling for time. "I can do minor software repairs on it, but if it takes a lot of concentration, or a password, I have to jack in," he explained. She nodded.

"Well, you understand the ship doesn't have a sentient AI right? When the ship was adrift the last act of the Captain was to lobotomize the ship's AI, and wipe the navigational database," he said.

She nodded. "That's why the Captain, I mean our Captain, had to upload a civilian navigation program," she said. He nodded. It was of course a lot more complicated than that but she didn't need to worry about it now.

"Yes, but the civilian versions aren't as effective as military grade, and aren't designed to be used with this hardware. Also, things have changed since the file was written eight hundred years ago."

Shandra bounced a bit. "Yes, there's stellar drift, not to mention all the damage from the war," she said, adding her two credits to the conversation.

Molly cocked her head, and then nodded. "Okay, but what about how the ship's computer is reacting now?" She pointed to the console. "It's running much better now, almost alive."

He smiled. "Well, for one thing we've been making repairs to a lot of the hardware." She grunted. "For another I've been cleaning out the viruses and reorganizing things. I've even cobbled together a ship's AI from the hard back up files and my own resources," he said.

Shandra shook her head. "I'm not sure if I like a smart computer."

He shrugged. "As we make repairs, they become necessary. The crew can't even begin to handle all the functions on this ship, there's too much to do, and a lot of it has to be done in microseconds, far faster than a human can handle."

Molly nodded. "That's right, like the hyperdrive! And the power cores! We can't balance them manually; we have to let the computer do it." She snapped her fingers and tapped her foot on the deck. Shandra rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I guess so."

“Admiral, what are you doing about the port engine feed? We still have a crimped fuel line in between frames A36 and A37.” He finished the weld then looked up.

“Hand me part 13j23e please,” he asked. Shandra looked confused.  “The box next to you.”

She looked down. “Oh, Okay.” She handed it to him and he plugged it in then screwed it down to the deck.

“Okay, to answer your question, we may have to bypass the crimp as a temporary fix, then yank the crimped line and recycle it.”

She looked confused. “But we can't get to it.”

He nodded. “Yeah, it would mean pulling the entire hull section apart. The other method is to do the bypass, drain the old line, and then flood it with specialized micro robots.”

She nodded. “How can they get to it?”

He smiled. “From the inside.”

Her eyes widened. “We can do that?”

He nodded. “Of course.” She smiled.

"So, what's your problem with me?" he asked as he and the chief faced off. He glared at the Chief. "Ever since I've woken up you've had it in for me Chief. Care to explain why?" he asked.

Her nostrils dilated, and her stare narrowed. "I don't like you. You’re a risk," she growled.

He cocked his head. "In what way?" he asked. She shook her head then began ticking off points with her fingers.

"First, you’re from the past, with more training. Second, since you woke you've gone your own way. Third, you’re a cyborg, and may have illegal access to the network. Fourth, you act as if you’re still in the past," her glower intensified. "The Federation is dead. DED Dead. You seem to forget that at every turn and order everyone around," she snarled. He shrugged.

"Chief, First, I can't help being where I'm from, my skills, or my body. As to the rest, well, yes, I have been going my own way. I'm following the agreement the Captain and I forged." He smiled then turned away. He turned back after a momentary pause.

"You're right though, I have been burying myself in the job. It's one way to deal with time shock." She tapped her fingers on the butt of her gun. "Besides, I always loved a challenge, and restoring this old girl is quite a challenge." He waved his hands to indicate the ship.

Molly grinned. "You got that right!" She was excited again. "We still have a lot to do though and less than nine weeks until we exit hyper! We need to plan! Like the port engine, it's still in need of an overhaul..." She grabbed his arm and practically dragged him out of the compartment. He snorted and gave a wave to the others.

He looked over the boat bay and sighed. "Quiet a piece of work," a familiar voice said behind him. The pilot and boy came up behind him. He nodded.

The Captain turned. "Think you can work your magic?" she growled. He shrugged. "You fix them and get us into Gamma and you can have one," she said suddenly. He turned to her.

Deidra protested. "But Captain, we need them for parts..." She waved that off.

"Not since the Admiral repaired the replicators," the captain said. The woman stopped eyes wide. "The fleet pinnance and it's a deal." He held out his hand.

"The fleet pinnance? That hunk of junk?" the pilot muttered.

"Why do you want...?" Sprite began to ask. "Oh, should have known, you always loved a fixer upper," she sighed theatrically. The Captain eyed him then nodded. She reached out and shook his hand.

"On one other condition, you get a full medical work up by the doc." He held her hand, staring into her eyes. "This ship needs a Captain, one in good health," he growled.

The Captain chuckled. "Setting terms?"

He nodded. "Just respectfully requesting," he replied.

She smiled. "We'll see." She sat back once he freed her hand.

"All right." He nodded to the boy. "Understudy?" The Captain chuckled.

"Something like that," the pilot muttered. "Go check on the diagnostic Hibiki." The pilot waved to the boy.

His shoulders slumped. "Awe, I never get to hear the good stuff!" he huffed off, kicking his feet. The Captain and engineer chuckled.

"Kids," they said in unison, and then looked to one another chuckling.

"Something’s never change," the Admiral observed.

"Nor should they," the Captain replied as she turned. "All right, I'll leave these projects in your capable hands."

He nodded. "Aye aye Captain." He rubbed his hands together.

"All right which do you want to overhaul first?" he asked. He turned to the pilot. She nodded her chin to the cargo shuttle. It was a trash hauler, he was amused to recognize it as the ship that brought his cryopod in.

"That one of course, it's our primary craft," she said. He'd heard they had replicated a few parts for it but not a whole lot. She shook her head. "I don't see what you think you can accomplish..." He waved to her to precede him. "Well, we can make a list."

A half hour later she was shaking her head. "I never knew, never," she said over and over in wonder. She sighed as he unjacked.

"Well, the shuttle's now virus free, and the software has been recompiled. I'll have to finish some of the backups later,” he said and then shrugged. I uploaded a list of parts to engineering and to your e-mail." The pilot looked bewildered.

"How? You were in...” she tapered off as he smiled.

"I can multi task." He tapped the controls. "Okay, I can realign the port emitter, but the rest will have to wait for parts," he said. "It may take a little time; we've a backlog and limited supply of material." He waved to the other shuttles. “How about them next?"

The pilot looked up startled. "Okay," she said with a smile. She started to get with the program. "Yeah, how about the personnel shuttle...over there in the corner," she suggested.

He nodded. "Okay, let me get that emitter fixed, and then we can take a look."

"There are twelve shuttles in the bay." He pulled up the hologram deck plan of each of the shuttle bays. "This ship can have up to thirty six, since she's a tender and designed to handle them in her four boat bays." He flicked through them one by one. "There are four cargo shuttles, all civilian grade, one pinnance, two short range civilian passenger shuttles, and a couple work pods," he said. The hologram displayed each one by one.

"From the ship's records, you've been cannibalizing the others to keep the one remaining cargo shuttle in good repair." He looked over to the pilot who nodded. "Now that the replicators are on line, we've made minor repairs to the second shuttle to get it flying, and now can begin to repair the other shuttles," he said. Her eyes widened at that.

"The Captain has agreed to trade me the pinnance for my continued services, so I'll repair that on my own."

She cocked her head. "That thing is a wreck you know that right?" she demanded.

He nodded. "I always loved a challenge," he said with a smile.

She snorted. "It's going to need a miracle."

He chuckled. "Okay, since this ship is an interstellar freighter, I would suggest first focusing on the cargo shuttles, specifically these two, which are atmosphere rated."

“Vanessa how's the Admiral doing in his new quarters?” the Captain asked as she went over the figures Vanessa had brought to her.

“Um er.. Quarters? I'm not sure what you mean?” Vanessa looked confused.

Exasperated the Captain set the tablet down in front of her. “The quarters you were supposed to have set up for him? Remember? I ordered you to set them up months ago!” She waved her hand then glared at the squirming Purser.

“Um, ah...” Vanessa gave the security guard a look. “That's to say, Emily came to me and said that he was fine where he is,” she said. She fidgeted under the Captain's icy gaze.

“She did did she? I want this rectified. Now,” she growled. Vanessa nodded defeated. The captain turned and left without a further word.

“Did you hear that even Tara is afraid to go to deck twelve? I guess it really is haunted!” one of the girls passed and Vanessa looked up.

The Chief smiled evilly. “Well, isn't that nice. If he's so interested in getting his own quarters, perhaps we can put him down there,” she suggested. Vanessa nodded. “And just think all sorts of accidents happen down there all the time,” the chief whispered. Emily drummed her fingers on her pulser. Vanessa looked around suddenly nervous. She felt relief that the Captain and crew were out of ear shot down the corridor.

“Em, we still need him,” She cautioned, not meeting the Chief's gaze.

The chief's lips quivered then stilled for a moment. “For now. Only for now,” she growled. Vanessa shivered as the lethal amazon moved off.

“I spoke with the purser and had quarters assigned to you,” the Captain told the Admiral as she approached.

He turned wearily. “Thank you Captain,” he said.

She smiled. “You’re about done in, let the ladies finish up here and get some rest,” she said.

He gave Molly a look. She nodded and smiled. “We can handle it,” she said.

The Captain smiled. “That's an order.”

He nodded. “Aye aye Captain.” She chuckled as she turned the chair and left.

He was tired when they left to go to his newly assigned quarters. The lead guard led him down one passage after another. Sprite kept a running plot on his location on the HUD; they were down on deck twelve, near the stern. He was both dismayed and amused to have to walk a beam to get there, sections of the corridor floor had been removed.

"Why can't we come in the other way?" he asked the lead guard. She shook her head.

"Hull breach, can't get in there unless you can suck vacuum. You fancy pants engineers missed that one," the lead guard growled. She gave him a challenging look over her shoulder then moved on.

“Thanks for pointing it out,” he muttered.

In front of a section of quarters there was a pile of debris, topped with a battered cleaning robot. He shook his head. The corridor was a mess, wiring hanging down, debris everywhere, soot and stains all over the walls.

One of the guards thumbed the control to the door. "Here you go. Don't expect room service," she smirked. He entered and dropped his duffel with a sigh. The room was dark, only one weak light worked. But his enhanced vision was enough to see the stains, debris and filth. He turned as one of the guards closed the door. He thumbed it open, but it refused. He snorted as he jacked in.

In a second the door was open. The guards gaped. One of them recovered faster than the other. "Problem?" she asked, in a tone that indicated there better not be.

He smiled. "Just need to get something." He stepped out and over to the pile.

"Please tell me we aren't going back to work, I need a break," the other guard muttered. He hid his smile as he crouched down and took a look at the robot. It was a CJ series 4, a hovering general purpose cleaner. From the singe marks someone had used it as target practice. He picked it up and turned.

"What do you think you’re doing with that?" the lead guard asked, indicating the robot. "Homework," he said as he passed her and her partner and closed his door behind him.

He swept the junk off the table to the floor then carefully set the robot down. Reconfiguring his arm, he jacked in and checked it out. Fortunately his USB jack could power it, the batteries were exhausted. Most of the damage was superficial. The ultrasonics were intact, as was the computer, lift drive and power supply. He used his tool kit to make repairs to the damaged eye and broken power cable, and then dumped its collection bin. "Now, how do we power it?" he asked softly.

"Sensors indicate there is a live power jack port side," Proteus reported. A karat appeared on his HUD.

He nodded. "Thanks." He pulled a cable from his tool kit and plugged it in, then the free end into the robot. Its status bar lit and began to pulse.

"That did it. Going to have it clean?" Proteus asked.

He nodded. "Starting with the mattress." His nose wrinkled. "No way am I sleeping on that as it is," he growled. He scraped off the crud from the toilet, did his business, and then checked the robot. "Okay junior, here you go."

He unplugged the robot and watched as its drive started to spin. It wobbled, and then with a low whine took off. It hovered around in a circle, waggling its control vanes, and then set to the port wall

"Nope, let’s start with the mattress shall we?" he ordered and pointed.

"Accessing. Got it. I'm redirecting it now," Proteus said. The robot turned and scanned the mattress, then bobbed. It's ultrasonic’s lit and he felt the wash of high frequency sound over his sensors.

Hastily he moved away. When the robot was done he tossed a blanket onto the mattress then laid down. "Get it started on the quarters; I'm going to get some down time," he ordered, and then closed his eyes.

“Aye Admiral. It's about time," Defender answered. His lips quirked in a smile.

The Chief led the work crew in and watched with a smug expression as they set up. The engineer was down for his nap, when he woke it would all be over. "Set up over there. Make sure there's nothing left for him to fix," she said and pointed. One of the guards smirked as she set up the tripod. Two others manhandled the crew service plasma gun on top and locked it down.

"Are you sure about this? He hasn't done anything wrong so far,” the guard said.

The Chief nodded. "I'm going to go rig the computer logs. Get it done. That's an order."

They set in with a will, shooting the pinnance starting at the bow. After the first few shots they stopped cheering. After a few more it began to pall into routine. Sure destruction is fun, but they knew someone was going to catch hell for it. Sparks flew off the hull and it glowed red under the continuous plasma fire. "Shouldn't we stop now?" one of the guards asked nervously. "I mean, the Captain is going to be pissed."

Another shook her head. "Not on your life. Chief wants a clean sweep." She crouched down behind the gun and tightened her grip. "Watch this!"

The shot hit the power core and it ruptured. Fortunately it wasn't fully charged for those on the rest of the ship. The women in the bay weren't so fortunate however. The core's overload explosion shredded the pinnance, spraying the bay with lethal shrapnel. In the armored confines of the bay it was a slaughter, no corner was spared. The drive shattered the fatigued hatch, and after a momentary groan it breached, sucking the bay's contents out into the void.

He felt the jar as she ship shook and opened his eyes. "Report," he ordered getting out of bed as another shake unsettled dust from the nooks and crannies above and down into a cloud.

"Hull breach, deck eight, it looks like starboard boat bay, aft," Proteus reported. He froze.

"Did we leave something on?" Sprite asked and then paused. "Records of the bay are off line. But I can access and check things out. Give me a moment," she said.

He nodded. "All right, time to get dressed." Alarms in the corridor were still wailing.

He exited as the ship bucked again, steadying the guard there. "What are you doing up?" she asked.

He snorted. "What do you think?" he growled. He led them out and down the corridor. "Report." The guard didn't like the command, but instinctively obeyed.

"I don't know what's going on," she said.

He grunted. "Hull breach, deck eight aft," he said.

He maneuvered the beam then heard a gasp. "Did he say deck eight?" the guard asked.

He nodded. "Let’s get a move on."

At the conference the Captain's anger was palatable. Tension sang in the air. Grimly the Chief nodded to her. "Report, what the hell happened to my ship," she snarled.

He cocked his head. "There was a hull breach in the starboard aft shuttle bay. Apparently five security crew members were inside and were killed," Irons said. He turned to the Chief.

"My condolences on your department's loss," he said reading her expression.

Her poker face dropped into a snarl. "Condolences? What the hell is that? What did you do? This is your fault!"

The Captain's hands knit together and her eyes flicked between them. "This true?" She looked to Molly.

"Ah, I mean, um, I'm not sure. The power core of the pinnance breached," she said and then she shrugged helplessly to the engineer.

The Captain's eyes glittered. "Unfortunately the records of the bay have been deleted," the engineer said quietly into the silence.

The Captain looked over to him. "Deleted? Is that what you said?" she demanded.

He nodded. "Aye Captain, deleted. By security." He turned a cool look to the Chief.

Her lips quivered. "We don't know what happened, we may never know. I still say you’re at fault," she got that out without a full snarl.

He shook his head. "No, although we don't have records of the bay, we do have them of the corridor," he replied. Her eyes widened in shock as the hologram lit and a four way view of the corridor was displayed. The Chief and work crew were seen carrying the weapon, entering the bay, and then leaving. The compartment was utterly silent.

"Everyone out now," The Captain said with command voice when the image froze. The Admiral and women backed away and turned. "Not you Chief," she growled. Glittering eyes locked onto her. "I think you and I have something to discuss."

"So, how are your quarters?" Molly asked him as they exited. "I'll swap with you if you want, it's the least I could do." She fumbled her glasses, taking them off and wiping them nervously. "I'm real sorry about the way you’re being treated," she said. She looked away.

He sighed. "Well, they're about clean now, I had a robot clean them while I was asleep. Going to take time to fix them up though," he said.

She nodded. "I'll see what I can do to help."

He nodded. "Thanks Molly." He waved to the corridor exit. "What say we go get some breakfast and then talk about today's work schedule? He suggested."

She sighed with relief. "Yeah. I think that's a good idea."

“Think she'll be in a lot of trouble?” he asked Molly quietly in the wardroom the next morning. She shook her head. “No, she's the Captain's granddaughter; I doubt it'll last for long, more's the pity,” she said. She looked annoyed. “She deserves it,” that last came out scathing.

He shrugged. “I noticed the guards are... nervous.”

Molly looked over to the hatch then back and grinned. “Yeah, I guess so.”

"I heard the chief got royally reamed yesterday." Jen smiled evilly. "Serves her right!" She gave the Admiral a look as they walked down the corridor.

"Think she'll be out?"

Molly sighed. "No chance on that, She told her grandmother she had set up a training exercise and someone must have gotten carried away, used the plasma gun on the pinnance or something."

Both girls and the Admiral grimaced. "Damn, did she buy it?" Jen asked. They nodded to the guards as the door opened. Inside the security chief was standing near the window. "Looks like it," Jen muttered.

The chief turned. "What's this about security being re-prioritized at the bottom of the repair list?" the chief glared.

Molly grimaced. "Good morning Em, nice to see you too." She took a cup of coffee from the steward and sat down.

"I'm waiting." the chief glared, arms crossed.

"Go ahead and wait, you’re going to have a long time doing it," Molly replied not looking up.

"And just what's that supposed to mean?" the chief snarled.

"Oh, it means we have other priorities now," Jen took a cup from the stewardess and then sat down, looking at Molly then up at the chief.

"Like what?" Vanessa asked sitting back.

"Oh like repairing that boat bay. Fixing all the equipment that was shattered, and replacing all the cargo that was in there. We're damn lucky we didn't lose the ship," Molly replied then took a sip

. "Not to mention the five shuttle craft," Jen added.

"Four, one belonged to the Admiral," the chief replied with a snide look his way.

Jen met her eye to eye. "Really, I forgot that. I don't remember the Captain signing it over to him just yet," she said. The chief's nostrils flared.

"Still, that doesn't excuse you dropping my priorities!" Molly's temper flared. "After what happened in that boat bay it will be a cold day in Hades before we get to you." Her knuckles whitened around the cup. The chief dropped her right hand to her pulser.

The door opened and the Captain hovered in. "Good morning, I see a few of us woke up on the wrong side of the bed again," she said. She nodded to the officers, and then met her granddaughter’s glare. "Have a seat why don't you," her tone made it an order. Reluctantly she obeyed.

"Now, we have a few things to work on, I understand it's going to take some time to make repairs?" the captain asked politely. The Admiral nodded.

"Weeks," Jen sighed. "Getting that hatch replaced is going to be a bitch," she said as she took a sip from her drink. "Sorry for the language Captain," she blushed.

"And the cargo?" The Captain asked, picking up her cup of tea and taking a sip.

"Here's the inventory list." Quietly Vanessa handed over a tablet. "As you can see, we got off light; I had managed to clear nearly half of what was in there the previous shift." She shook her head.

"Still, we lost a lot, and a lot of the water containers," she sighed.

"We'll just have to make more won't we?" the Captain asked then smiled.

After another marathon session tracing leads he decided to take a break and get some work done on his quarters. It'd be nice to at least get the head and shower working. He negotiated the corridors waving to work parties he passed. It was a relief not having the entourage, some of the women were professional, but others had showed open hostility that had jarred on his nerves and made him edgy.

He turned a corner and was pleasantly surprised to see the floor panels had been replaced. The lights repaired, and the debris was gone. A pair of girls were sweeping the corridor down near the next junction. They turned and waved. He waved back. Molly came out of his quarters, turned and smiled. She fiddled with her glasses and then shrugged.

“I cleaned the head, and your robot had to be dumped. It's down the corridor.” She waved in the direction of the girls. “How does it clean like that?” she asked.

“Oh, a combination of ultrasonics, infrared beams, and a gravity pulse emitter,” he answered as he passed her.

She turned. “All that in that little thing?” she demanded. He smiled as he took in the quarters.

The lights had been repaired, as had most of the electronics. Even the mini replicator had been replaced. He wasn't sure how they'd pulled that off, he was the only one who could make one. Wait, he had made spares. Ah... that explained it.

He nodded and waved her back in. “Miniaturization. Ultrasonics are used in a lot of things, from sensors, cleaning, showers, and stunners.”  He indicated the head to include it as well.

“Oh, I forgot about that. I didn't know you could take a shower with sound though,” she said. She fiddled with her glasses. “Does it really work?”

He smiled. “Yes, it vibrates the dust and grime off your skin. Of course it doesn't do it alone; there are fans and an infrared lamp as well.” He checked out the desk, and then traced a finger along the replicator’s power button. It lit. “Coffee black,” he ordered. The machine's small enclosure lit, then the sound of liquid began to pour.

“I see you've been putting your skills to work,” he said with a smile of approval. He took the cup out, saluted her with it and took a sip. Steam waved over the cup.

Molly blushed. “We have you to thank for that,” she murmured. He smiled. “Can you work on the port OMS tomorrow?” she asked. He nodded.

It had taken a long time, but he finally had the port OMS pod cleaned and repaired. It would need a bit more work to recalibrate the thrusters, and a space walk to make sure the variable thrusters were not clogging or getting kinked. He heard voices and sat there, stretching slowly. They were outside the hatch.

"So, has anyone flipped the sheets with him yet? a voice asked and he realized it was a group of gossips. He stood up and stretched more, getting some of the kinks out.

"No, I mean, he has been so busy, and there are guards with him all the time," another girl said. He froze.

"Did anyone get a good look at him?" another voice asked whistfully.

Okay, they could be talking about that other guy Bart. "No, and that robot arm is kinda scary," the first voice said. No such luck. He grimaced.

"He's kinda handsome, and a war hero. But old," one of the girls giggled.

"Well, it isn't that bad, I mean, if you ignore the stasis..." she petered the sentence off suggestively.

"Yeah, I caught a look at him with his shirt off, he has nice pecks!" the second girl said giggling. He shook his head blushing.

One of the girls squealed. "I'd love to run my hands all over them..."

"Or his butt!"  the first said.The girls giggled again. He sighed and covered his face with his hands.

"But I heard he's older than the Captain," one girl said confused.

"No way! He can't be that old! Doesn't look it!" several girls said. He grunted.

"Oh gross, that'd be like sleeping with your great grandfather! EWWW!” the natural response from teenagers started. He chuckled.

The voices faded as the guard murmured. He palmed the door open and gathered his tools. He looked up to see the girls on the other side of the hatch, frozen. He froze himself. "Evening ladies," he said politely. They just stared, red faced. He straightened and shouldered the kit, then stepped over the hatches knee knocker.

"Next," he said as he motioned the guards to the next job. They followed. He could hear the whispers behind him, but actively suppressed the urge to listen in.

"Do you want to hear it?" Sprite asked after a moment.

"No thank you." he sub vocalized.

The AI chuckled. "I didn't think so."

Twenty three hours of work and he was tired. Running control runs was a young person's game, not his. He had missed the memorial service, paying attention to it only when the crew he had been working with stopped to listen. He made the turn to his quarters and noted a young woman there. “I was wondering if you could show me what you meant about how a gravity emitter works and the differences in applications?”

She was about sixteen and seemed full of energy. Exuded it even. Tired as he was, he never could turn down a student, let alone a pretty one. “All right,” he said. He thumbed the control to the door. “Let’s start with how much you know.”

After the lecture he yawned and stretched. She started, and then gave him a sheepish grin. “Oh, I'm so sorry, I forgot you’re tired. We can do this another time,” she said.

He shrugged. “Well, now that you know where a lot of the references are in the database, you can look them up without me,” he said. A lot of the lecture had been to look it up and how to look it up.

She nodded eagerly. “I never knew there was so much there!” she said.

He chuckled. “A bit better than studying a romance novella?” he teased.

She giggled. “Oh, I wouldn't go that far, but so fascinating!” She opened the door and stopped, the Chief barred her way. “What are you doing here? What's going on here?”

The girl ducked her head, and tried to get past the Chief. “I'm just leaving. Excuse me; I have to get ready for my next shift,” she muttered. She managed to make her escape as the Chief turned.

“So now you’re luring them into your quarters?” she almost snarled that.

He sighed, it was going to be one of those days. “No Chief, she stopped by to ask some questions on engineering principles. I answered,” he replied and then shrugged.

“Capitan to Chief. I think I told you I wanted that inventory this shift?” the overhead speaker squawked. He cocked his head to the speaker. She glared for a moment, and then opened her communicator. “Roger that. On my way,” she growled. She turned and left. Thumbing the door lock, he shook his head.

When he came off from the next shift he found three more women at his door. "Um...Yes ladies?" They seemed eager, one squirmed, and another bounced. He noted that they were wearing coveralls. Basic coveralls were becoming a fashion trend in the engineering department. It was a bit amusing.

“We were wondering if you could show us the emitter like you did Casey?" the spokeswoman asked hopefully. He nodded.

"Okay, my quarters are a bit tight..." They looked crestfallen. "But I see no reason we can't do this in the wardroom," he suggested.

They perked up at this. "Really?" one of them squealed.

He chuckled. "Really. Let me get a bite to eat and the holo projector and I'll meet you there in ten," he said. They nodded and rushed off.

When he entered the compartment he was amused to find his three had grown into a dozen. "My, I guess my lectures aren't as boring as my students led me to believe," he joked. That earned a chuckle. "All right, let’s begin." He set the projector on the table and plugged it in. He jacked in and Proteus pulled up an exploded view of a basic gravity emitter.

"All right, this is the exploded view of a basic gravity emitter...." He turned and pulled up the emitter plate. "We have four main parts, the emitter plate, shown here, the controls, the power feed, and the wave guides." Each part projected briefly, and then the hologram returned to the platter shaped emitter. "The emitter uses energy from the power grid to spin electrons. By controlling the spin of the electrons we can generate a mass shadow." He turned to study the faces. Some were struggling with the explanation. He nodded. "I'm going to assume some of you don't know what an electron is so we're going to do a little sidebar," he said. Some of the women looked relieved, others further confused. He smiled.

"All right, this is an atom." The hologram changed to project a sphere. "Atoms are the basic building blocks of all things," he said, deciding to keep it simple and build off of the basics. He tapped the desk, then the projector, then his chest. "Everything made of matter is made of atoms." The screen changed to show a chain of spheres. "Here's a molecule. Atoms form chains of materials called molecules that form the basic things. Everyone got that?" he asked. The audience nodded.

"Okay then. An atom has three main parts." The image refocused on the sphere, then zoomed in. One of the girls let slip an appreciative ohhh, as the image settled into a series of spheres orbiting a center.

"Does this look familiar?" he asked.

One of the girls cleared her throat. "That's like a planet right?" she asked.

He nodded. "Good guess. The electrons...” The electrons highlighted. "Orbit the center of the atom called the nucleus. Inside are protons and neutrons." Each highlighted in turn. "Different matter is made up of different atoms. The atoms are different because they have different numbers of electrons, protons, or neutrons." Each highlighted. "Now, electrons are what electrical energy is made up of. We'll get back to that in a later class," he said dryly. The group chuckled at this.

"As I was saying, the super conductive plate focuses energy to spin the electrons and create the mass shadow effect." The hologram returned to the image of the superconductor, then zoomed in to a cross section. "The computer sends out a pulse at different times to energize and control the system." The screen changed to the entire assembly. "The waveguides channel the energy up to where you want it." He tapped his foot.

"For simple things like interior decking, we need only a few in each compartment, and they take a low voltage charge every half hour or so to keep working. There are capacitors in the controls that soak up the low voltage then spit it back out at certain times," he explained. They looked a little confused. He smiled. "Okay, I'll get to that in a minute too."

He pointed his free hand to the superconductor. "Okay, does anyone know what usually breaks in one of these?" he asked.

One of the ladies waved. He nodded to her. "They just sort of stop working, or start and stop...or reverse," she said making a face.

He nodded. "Do you know why though?" he asked.

She shook her head. "We usually just cut power and take one from another area," she said.

He nodded. "Yes and the computer tries to compensate for the loss."

He pulled up the overall schematic again. There are four points of failure. The first is the power, it can become damaged. That's a cut out," he said. They nodded. "The second is if the computer overheats or wears out. It sends random signals to the emitter and it begins to go haywire," he said with a grimace.

The class chuckles. "Remember Briana in the shuttle bay? She got stuck to the ceiling!" The class tittered at that.

“Viruses can also mess the control software up,” he said. Some nodded at this.

"Okay, well, related to the controls are the capacitors, they can also overheat, wear out, or in some cases explode," he continued. Some of the girls looked wary. "The last is impedance."

He turned to a girl in the back as she raised her hand. "I read about that in a maintenance manual. What is it?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.

He cocked his head. "Okay, short version? It means the superconductor has worn out. It's reached its maximum designed life and stops working," he said. They looked confused. "Equipment will only work for so long. Even with good maintenance, they still wear out," he reminded them gently. Reluctantly some nodded. Others grunted grimly.

"Metal fatigue, heat, overwork, malicious abuse, and time. All these things and more are the enemy of all things machined," he said and then waved. "And that's the basics of emitters. Questions?"

He could hear the shouts, then a couple shots. He got up and pulled his coverall on. "Report." Sprite booted his HUD and fed him the camera of the corridor. "It looks like the guards are shooting the cleaning robot," she replied in disgust.

He froze. "How could they be stupid enough to do that? I just fixed it!" He slapped the door control.

It opened and he stepped out. One of the amazons was taking a bead on the wobbling drone. "BELAY THAT!" He commanded, full volume. The woman started, her shot hitting the ceiling as she whirled. She pointed the gun at him. The other turned and glared. He came to attention and glowered. "Just what the hell do you two think you’re doing?" he snarled and glared. One of them ducked her head; the other with the weapon looked down and put the weapon away. She came up with a defiant look. After sixteen hours of work he was in no mood to play power struggle games, old habits of an officer came to the fore. "I want an explanation," he growled.

The one looking down looked up with a defiant glare. "Target practice," she said coldly. His lips moved into a snarl.

"Target practice? On a cleaning drone that took an hour to repair? You two morons couldn't hit the broad side of a barn so you needed target practice?" One of the guards froze and pulled out her communicator. He suppressed the urge to scramble her signal. He glared from one to the other clenching his fists.

He sent a silent command to the robot, which wobbled to him. "These robots are designed to clean the ship. Apparently you two would prefer doing it the hard way?" he demanded. He looked over the robot, then over to each of them. They couldn't hold their defiant looks for long, both dropped their gaze.

"Trouble coming. The Chief and a pair of guards," Sprite informed him. He looked them over as he opened his door.

One of them looked triumphant. He motioned the robot inside. "I understand the Chief is on the way. Good. We need to get this settled now," he growled.

He had timed it just as she rounded the corner in full wrath. She stopped, then shook herself and stepped up to him. "What do you think you’re doing shooting your mouth off to my people?" she said icily. He glared.

"What do your people think they're doing shooting up robots and the corridor?" he demanded. He pointed to the ceiling where a tile was burned. "Do you realize how idiotic that is? Behind that panel is one of the buses for the navigational suite," he snarled. She looked up to the panel, then over to the guards. "They could have killed us all with their stupidity!” he finished. She looked uncertain.

The two guards saw this and blanched. "Shooting a weapon on a ship is a thing only idiots do for sport,” he waved to indicate the hapless shooters. “If they need practice there are appropriate methods to do so." She just kept staring at the burn mark. He sighed. She turned and glowered. He knew her heart wasn't in it though. She bit her lip and turned to the guards who were doing everything they could not to meet her gaze.

"We'll get it fixed," she said.  He knew the we in that was the engineers of course.

He shook his head. "Not good enough. Unless of course you mean changing the training schedule and getting the guards to stop shooting up the ship and robots." He signaled the robot to come out. It wobbled. The guards watched.

"This is a cleaner. It's designed to clean the interior of the ship and scan it for problems," he explained. He pointed to the discolored wall panel. "For instance, that was under a layer of grime, when the robot removed it; we found a leaking sewage line. Bacteria builds up all over the leakage, gets into the air system and makes people sick."

One of the guards looked over the area, then covered her mouth and looked away. "By identifying the area, we managed to fix the problem and clean up the mess. This robot and others like it do all sorts of things like that," he explained patiently, hoping the message was getting through to all of them.

The Chief nodded tightly. "You made your point. Next time, address your points to me, not my people," she said coldly.

He nodded. "Fair enough, you’re their boss; it's part of the chain of command," he said as he used full command presence and each of them straightened instinctively. There was something said to the warrior mindset, when command presence was felt, they snapped too. He nodded. The Chief gave her guards a long look over her shoulder then turned and left without a further word.

He nodded and returned to his quarters. "Point, set, match," Sprite observed almost gleefully. "Hardly," he snorted. "That was a little too easy don't you think?" he asked. He turned and made ready for bed again.

"Ah, that's because she was chewed out by the Captain on this very subject yesterday," Sprite answered smugly as she pulled up a video feed.

"Spare me the drama, just hit the highlights," he said. He pulled down the bed spread. "Well, she told the Chief to knock off the destruction and ease up on the paranoia. Curiously she called her granddaughter."

He looked up at the ceiling. "Great, just great. I think someone else said something about that earlier. Family resemblance?" he asked. That was probably how she got off the hook with that shoot up in the boat bay come to think of it, he thought.

Sprite projected an image of each of them, then karated facial recognition points. A subprogram scrolled through calculations for a moment. "A sixty eight percent match based on facial recognition software. I don't have the ability to do a genotype comparison,” she reported when the program finished.

He snorted and shut the lights off. "Night Sprite."

She closed the HUD as he closed his eyes. "Good night Admiral," she said softly.

"I heard you had quite the crowd the other night?" Jennie asked as she passed him a drill.

He chuckled. "Yeah, that was surprising." He tapped the hole, then handed the tool back and set the screw in.

"Not really, we've always wanted to learn how things worked, but no one had the time to learn or teach like you do," she said. He grunted. He wished he had thought of it earlier. Teaching them one at a time on the job was a pain.

"Yeah there's that," he admitted. He screwed in the holder, and then clipped it over the pipe. "There, that should keep it from rattling."

Jennie took the screwdriver and looked over her shoulder. "Such a simple thing, locking it down to keep it from vibrating,” she said.

He smiled. "Just takes a little common sense sometimes," he snorted.

"When I was an ensign an Admiral kept calling maintenance to fix a rattle in his quarters," he turned to her, eyes gleaming with mischief. "Turns out he pissed off a warrant, who retaliated by loosening a bracket. He had the team on his side, so they always fixed the bracket, and then loosened another." She giggled. "The Admiral was a real jerk, so the entire staff was enjoying his discomfort," he shook his head wryly. She giggled.

Jennie buttonholed him again the next morning. "Can you go beyond the basic theory; most of us have it down now," she asked.

He nodded. "Yes, but there are a lot of new faces each night, so I have to start over from the beginning," he said.

She nodded. "Yeah, but it's getting boring. I can show the ones who missed out," she perked up at that.

He nodded. "I can download my lesson plan and lecture notes for you to study," he said.

She blinked at him. "Lesson plan? Notes?" she asked, uncertain.

He chuckled. "They're a plan to teach. I taught at the academy and on ship, so I have them on file," he explained.

She looked confused. "Why would you teach on a ship? I would think everyone would have known right?" she asked. He cocked his head.

"Well, basic stuff like I am teaching now, yes, that was taught in earlier schools," he said. She blushed. "But ships always had a class or two going, military personnel learned early to keep their skills up to date and learn new ones," he explained and then smiled. “It also offers a change in routine, combating boredom,” he said.

She nodded. She and the crew had their own problems with that. "Well, we're certainly learning a lot! Whew! Sometimes I think my head is going to explode!" she said, clutching at her head.

That got a chuckle. "I'll get you the notes tonight. Check your e-mail," he said. She nodded and tossed off a jaunty salute whistling down the next passage.

He smiled. Inter ship e-mail was a new thing to the crew; the old one had been compromised by the viruses and system damage. Sprite had set it up earlier two months ago with his approval.

The grapevine had latched onto it with ferocious intensity, nearly overloading the server at one point with juicy gossip. The moral officer had been forced to come to him asking for help. He had taken the time to show her how to manage the server, and how to set up an intranet website for news.

Now others were clamoring for their own department sites and news listings. "She can even set up sites for classes, and chat rooms for discussions about various subjects. Recommended reading, all sorts of stuff," Sprite told him later.

The admiral grunted. "Great, more places for the grapevine gossips to infiltrate and take over." The AI chuckled.

The moral officer came to him hours later, asking for help again. "I can't seem to get it right," she said. She shook her head ruefully. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong. And now I'm getting swamped with people wanting to take classes!" She threw her hands up in the air exasperated.

Molly chuckled. "It's a good thing. With all this new equipment, we need to learn how to use it right and fix it to keep it running!" She fiddled with her glasses for a moment then gave the moral officer a challenging look.

"Oh all right, I don't have any qualms about that, it's just that we've never done something like that before. I mean, before, we learned from others who showed you how to do the job as she did it," she said and then shrugged. "It was the only way we knew."

The Admiral nodded. "Jennie is doing the basic introduction to gravity emitter class as well as the basic intro to computers class. We can set up others."

Sprite pulled up his academy course listings. "Hmm, we could do a mix of material, from grade school level to college," he said looking the list over. Sprite added that. "Not everyone needs to learn the same things, so they can pick and choose what they need, and take them when they're available," he suggested. He turned to the moral officer who was taking notes with the tablet.

"Does that sound about right?" he asked.

She nodded. "I have a few people trying to learn how to read and write," she said cautiously.

He nodded. "Basic math, basic reading and writing, basic ship knowledge... We can get teachers for each."

Molly looked up and smiled. "A space going college! I like it!" she smirked. He felt a start. In his time there had been space going college campuses, both on stations and even starships. It sometimes dismayed him to see how far they had fallen.

"Something like that. All ships have them; it keeps people from getting bored fast. Even the liners had them," Irons said, recovering. He turned and plugged the fiber optic cables into the junction box. "All set on my end."

She looked up. "I'm almost done here," she reported.

The moral officer nodded. "I'll go look for volunteers for the basic courses. See you at lunch?" she asked. They nodded. She waved. They chuckled as she left.

"Has anyone pieced together how the ship was damaged and became a derelict?" the admiral asked. The Admiral looked over the class.

Molly tentatively raised her hand. "It hit a mine," she said.

He smiled. “Right, but there's a sequence of events.”

He initialized the projector. Behind him the ship appeared, then a tangle of hyperspace around it. "The ship hit a hyper mine while in transit. Actually, it hit the maximum threshold of the mine's detonation field." The sequence played out. "The ship's navigator detected the mine and tried to dodge it, but the mine's AI locked on and followed. It detonated when it decided it was going to lose the ship."

The detonation sequence played out in slow motion, and then the projector brought up a ship schematic. "When the mine detonated the ship's crew and AI tried to buffer the shields. That helped, but it overloaded them. When they did a crash translation out of hyper they were lost," he explained. He shook his head. "The ship reentered in the Oort cloud of the system. It was chewed up."

He played the sequence. “In seconds the ship was breached here, here, here and here. Each of these breaches cut off supplies and did significant spawling damage to the interior," he explained grimly. Molly nodded.

"So why's this important?" Trisha asked querulously.

He sighed. "To repair the ship you need to know what's damaged, or is likely to break down. For instance, these emitters are down, and this EPS conduit was overloaded.”

He tapped the controls and fed the next sequence. "And this is the other side of the coin, areas that weren't damaged by the mine or asteroids, but were overtaxed," he added.

Molly suddenly froze and then slowly nodded. "I get it," she said.

One of the other girls nodded as well. "So, you’re pointing out systems we'll need to overhaul soon," she said.

He nodded. “It's like running a yearling Dasha bird too hard," one of the girls muttered. The class looked over to her. She scrunched down into her seat. "Sorry, old habit," she said.

He nodded. "Farm bred?" he asked. She gave a choppy nod. "No problem," he said and smiled.

"Okay, that's what we're going to work on this trip, check each system and subsystem for problems. A power spike could have fried electronics or addled them," he said. He nodded to Molly.

Chapter 8

"Did you hear about that brawl on deck four after the game last night?" one of the techs asked another.

Jennie looked up alarmed. "What brawl?" She looked from one to the other, each were suddenly quiet. "Okay, spill it," she demanded. She tapped her foot, hands on her hips.

"There was a brawl on deck four, some of the cargo haulers, fuel girls, and a couple of the off duty security got into it pretty bad, sickbay has its hands full," the first girl admitted.

Trisha shrugged then grimaced. "Two of our people from graveyard got mixed up in the mess; Molly is trying to spring them now," she said with a grimace. She shook her head. "Good luck, the way the Chief is foaming at the mouth, she wants all of them to walk the plank!" she growled. She smacked the cart.

"Damn fools, got nothing better to do then smack each other around!"

"Maybe we should do something about that," the Admiral said. "But first, let’s get this shift sorted out. Trish, you have some repairs left over from yesterday?" he asked.

Trisha nodded. "Yeah, the heater coils on deck two and three are a pain," she grimaced. "Molly was supposed to help me with that."

He shook his head. "Well, we can't have you shorthanded. Take these two ladies, and get them up to speed. Jennie and I have to check on a few things, and then we have a meeting at 0900." He waved her off.

"Okay, what meeting?" Jennie asked as Trisha and her techs departed.

"Ship's council, I have a feeling it has something to do with the brawl,” he answered her. He shrugged at her expression.

"You heard about that?" she demanded.

He smiled. "I caught the highlights this morning," he said as her face soured.

He shrugged. "Come on, we need to make the rounds, then get to that meeting, you take decks four and up, I'll take five to eight."

She nodded picking up her tablet. "All right, meet you at the meeting." He waved as they left.

"I'm here for the meeting," he told the guard. His two guards stood behind him.

The door guard curled her lip slightly. "I don't think you’re invited," she said.

He shrugged. "The Captain asked me to be here for all meetings, if you don't agree, why don't you take that up with her," he said suggestively. He reached out and tapped the controls.

She tried to block him, but the door opened. "Ah Admiral, why don't you come in here," the Captain called.

"See?" He cocked an eyebrow at the guard then entered.

"Sorry I'm late, a little mix up with security," he said. He sat down at his usual place at the table. The Chief grunted at the captain's raised eyebrow. "I'll get it fixed," she muttered. "We have more important things to worry about. Forty three people were in that brawl that we know about!" She slapped the table. "Damn loudmouth fools, fighting over a game!" She shook her head.

"I heard injuries were high as well, two with internals." The Admiral observed, sitting back.

A girl dressed in a maid's uniform set a steaming cup of coffee in front of him. He ran a finger along the side. "My how far we've come," he said and smiled and nodded to her. "Thanks," he said. He took a sip then set the cafe down to see the Captain watching him.

"Do you have any ideas Admiral?" she asked as he set the cup down.

He shrugged. "Well, for one thing, there's entirely too much free time in some of the departments."

The purser's shoulders hunched. "What am I supposed to do with them? We need them when we load and unload, but...” her voice trailed off.

He waved. "Exactly. You needed them during transfers, but during flight they sat around bored and caused trouble," the admiral replied.

The Captain and Chief nodded. "I brigged the lot as soon as they were checked out, took most of the night," the Chief growled. "We need more medical personnel," she sighed. "One doctor and one nurse aren't enough," she said looking at the doctor. The exhausted doctor looked up and nodded.

He sat back and rubbed his right bicep. "Tell me about it. I had to stitch, patch, and glue them back together, and this isn't the first time," he said with a grimace and then shook his head. "

We need sickbay attendants. As well as extra help in engineering," Jennie tossed her tablet on the table. "There are over one hundred people in cargo, but only forty in engineering. We run the ship, we fix it, but we're undermanned, and over worked," She grumbled.

"And these constant requests for stupid stuff are driving us to distraction," she waved to the tablet. "Repairs to the rec deck, making new virtual goggles, we need to focus on critical ship's functions!" she slammed her fist onto the table. "Hinata and Sonja are going to be in sickbay for a couple days!" she snarled. She sat back disgusted.

"Wrong place wrong time," the Admiral replied.

She nodded. "And we have to fill in for them," she sighed, running her hands through her hair. The Captain watched her.

"Captain, I think we need to rearrange the roster here, and start moving people around," Jennie commented.

The purser looked up alarmed. "Now see here, we need those hands when we're loading and unloading! You can't just take my people!" she said. The Captain waved her off.

"What do you have in mind?" she asked Jennie, and then turned to the Admiral.

"Yes Captain, we need to pull people from the other departments and settle them in others," he said.

The purser started to protest again but the Captain held up her hand. "As to the all hands on deck during loading, we now have working cargo equipment correct?" she asked. He nodded. "I seem to recall a lot of your crews sitting around jawing while only a few did the real work dear," she turned to the purser. "Well, but I...” Vanessa sputtered.

"You’re more worried about losing your handball team I bet," The Chief observed dryly.

"That's not it at all!" the purser said affronted. "I demand you take that back!" she glared. The Chief's lip curled in response.

"Now now ladies, let’s not have a brawl here! We need to set a good example," the Captain's clipped tone made the two back down.

"Sorry Captain," Both mumbled after a moment.

"I see everyone is a bit on edge today. Get me that proposal to look over,” she ordered. The Admiral silently passed her a tablet.

She smiled. "Anticipating things as usual," she said. She scrolled through the list, and then looked up. "You want twenty for your department, and six for medical?" she asked. She looked over to the doctor who looked up surprised.

"Why? They have no training?" he asked. He shook his head, looking over to the Admiral.

"They each took the basic CPR course, so they can help out a little in emergencies. Give them some additional training and they can serve as sick berth attendants. That'll free up you and nurse Mindy for other projects and it'll allow you time off at night."

The doctor suddenly looked relieved. He rubbed his chin. "Could work, they could handle the minor bumps and bruises you and the others send me while I focus on learning the more advanced equipment," he said. He sat back, then picked up his coffee cup and took a sip. The Admiral mirrored the action. "Yes, this sounds good," he said after a moment. He turned and nodded to the Captain who smiled. "Glad you approve," she said with a wry smile and then nodded.

"You could also use the help during emergencies; the attendants could be the first on scene, allowing you and nurse Mindy to triage in sickbay. They can also help when you're working on the stasis patients," the Admiral observed.

"No need to get your rockets flaring Admiral, we got the point," the Captain waved further discussion off. "But some of these others, you realize that some are, how do I say, hard to train?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Training takes time and patience. We have that in spades in hyper," he said. He waved to the view port with the view of stars. It was a simulation of course, a direct view into hyper was not possible for organics. "At the very least we can have them as gophers as they learn," he finished. The purser grunted. "A few might transfer back later," he said and then shrugged.

"Okay, I'll approve this," the captain said. She waved off the burgeoning protests from the purser and chief. "We're in hyper, what else are they going to do? Sit in the brig for a month?" She shook her head. "If it doesn't work out, we can transfer them back, no harm done."

The Admiral nodded. "They have to serve their sentence first though," she growled. She gave him a stern look.

He nodded. "Agreed, every crime has a penance," he replied.

She smiled. "Glad you agree, now get out of here and get back to work." She waved the officers out as she turned to leave.

Hastily they jumped to their feet; the doc slopped some of his coffee. They filed out; the Admiral lingered behind with Jennie. "Admiral, what have you volunteered us for this time?" she groaned.

"Well, you were complaining about not having enough help..." he chuckled.

"All right what the hell do you think you’re trying to prove poaching my people?" the purser confronted them as they exited. She had her hands on her hips, chin jutting out. Her jowls shook in righteous wrath.

"They aren't doing anything right now except getting into trouble; I would think you would be happy?" the Admiral said calmly, stepping around her.

She tried to block her path but the Chief came up behind her. "Is there a problem here?" she growled. She made it clear in her tone, there better not be.

"No, ah..." She mumbled then glared. "This isn't over," she growled low to Irons.

He shrugged. "Okay, if you say so," he replied.

"So why did you pick some of them?" the chief asked.

He pulled out another tablet from a pocket and handed it to the Chief. She took a look then handed it to Jennie.

"Okay... Oh, huh, wait, Sheneria, I know her, she was in a couple classes... hmmm," she murmured. She scrolled through the logs. "Come to think of it, I recognize a few of these other names," she said looking up to him.

He nodded. "Some have the aptitude; some just want to try it. You can’t blame them for wanting to better themselves, spending their lives tossing cargo is back breaking labor no one loves or admires," he said and then shrugged.

"Tell that to the downers, you realize she's just going to recruit more right?" the Chief stated shaking her head.

"That's between you, her, and the Captain," he replied, taking the tablet as Jennie handed it to him. "What do you mean?" the Chief asked.

"Well, each of them should be vetted to make sure they're suitable, and not a security risk," he suggested to her. She nodded. "The doctor should get involved to give them a check up, last thing we need is someone coming in who's sick or has a virus," he said.

The Chief nodded again. "Good point," she said. For once her eyes had a twinkle. "That should spike her guns neatly," she smiled. The event was so rare, the Admiral was momentarily thrown.

"Once we get a handle on things, I want to get that shooting bay set up for your department," he said. He nodded politely to her.

The Chief nodded. "Good."

"In fact, I have a couple stunner designs I could pass off to you to try as well, something with more range and shots then the civilian ones you have," he suggested.

She nodded again but her eyes narrowed. "Always good to hear." He smiled as she turned to leave. "I'll see you later,” she said.

He smiled. "Always a pleasure Chief." He nodded as she left.

"Why are you baiting her?" Jennie murmured.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time?" he asked with a shrug. Jen sighed then chuckled softly.

The tech leaned over, examining the dishwasher. "Hmmm." Cookie came in, wiping her hands on her apron. "I thought the Admiral was going to do this?" she asked confused.

"Nope, Molly sicked him on another project, so I volunteered," the tech said. She studied the controls, and then opened the door. "Hmmm...” She closed the door and plugged her multi tool in.

"What's that?" the scullery maid asked. Cookie motioned her back to work but she glared.

"Oh it's a diagnostic tool," the tech replied. She tapped it a few times. "Hmmm...”

"I don't like the sound of that Hmm. Maybe the Admiral should be here..." Cookie said nervously.

"Oh, I got it, it looks like the ultrasonics are fried. Easy fix," the girl looked up to cookie and grinned. "Really, not a problem, I've fixed the ultrasonic showers after the Admiral showed me, this isn't that far away from it, just different," she replied with a shrug. She took a screwdriver out and went to work. "Okay if you say so, but stay out of the way, and you better hurry, the lunch crowd is going to hit in an hour," Cookie said over her shoulder as she turned to a simmering pot.

The tech smiled. "Be out of your hairnet in two shakes of a wrench," she grinned.

“Doctor I hear you want to institute a check up of the entire crew?” Molly looked up confused. “Why? No one is hurt right?”

The doctor shook his head. “I've been reading the medical texts; it states that regular checkups can detect problems early allowing for earlier less invasive treatment.” He looked over to Leri. “Like cancer.” She mumbled something then nodded. “Okay doc, I'm not doing anything now that we're ship shape, I'll volunteer,” she said sounding nervous.

He chuckled. “And can I suggest the same for the rest of the bridge crew? To set a good example?” he looked them over. The chief stubbornly shook her head no. The doc sighed.

“I'll do it, me too,” Kendra said. Kendra and Shandra reluctantly raised their hands.

“Well, that's a start,” he sighed.

The girls filed into the wardroom and went to their seats talking with each other. Trisha looked down at the package on her desk. "What the heck is this?" She opened the top and looked inside. "Baggies of beads and wires? What is this arts and crafts?" she demanded. She held up a bead.

"That's not a bead that's a resistor. We're going to do a little hands on today to give you some experience translating a circuit diagram to the real thing," the Admiral said as he entered the room.

He nodded to Trisha as she sat down abruptly. "All right ladies, if you'll take out the breadboard, that is the white flat tablet with a lot of holes in it, we'll begin by making a simple alarm circuit," he said. The holo projector came on and the circuit diagram was displayed.

"Let’s start with the basics of each part. Now, the resistors are the things that look like beads. The capacitors are the things that look like cans, or like disks,”  he said and then held each up. A few of the girls squinted then looked in their own boxes.

"What are all the numbers and letters?" one of the girls asked.  He nodded.

"They tell you about the part, they're identifiers. More on that in a minute.” He nodded to Trisha who was bending a resistor. "All right, the other things in your pack are wires, a piezoelectric bell, inductors, some micro chips, and switches.” He reached into the box by the desk and took them out one by one. "Oh, and a battery." He held that up last. "Now, here's what we're going to do..."

When the class ended the girls filed out. Several were excited, talking about making something with their bare hands. Trisha cleared her station slowly, waiting for the crowd to ebb. "So, why are we working with these things?" she asked. She tapped the box. He looked up from his tablet.

“Oh, they may be obsolete, but they still work and are great training tools," he grinned. "I had a kit when I was four; I built my first alarm with it. Shocked my mother when she opened the door to my room and it went off," he chuckled softly.

She laughed. "Okay, so when do we move up?"

He nodded. "In a day or two. You need to learn to crawl before you can walk...or run."

She held her hands out to the ship. "What about flying?" He sat back in the chair.

"Oh, we're doing that now. But when you get the basics down, you'll be able to handle a lot of repairs on your own...and even build new things if you have the mindset," he said. She nodded.

Molly leaned in. "You done in here yet? We have a ship to fix!"

Trisha hastily closed the box and then stacked it with the others. "Coming," she said. The Admiral got up and followed her out.

Molly looked at the giant beef steak tomato in surprise. "Wow! I didn't think they grew that big!" Cookie looked over and grinned. "You like it? The Gardener managed to trade for seeds in the last transit. Now that the life support has been overhauled, she's getting a handle on the nutrients and wastes."

She picked the tomato up. "I love it, such fine foods to cook with!" she smiled.

Molly chuckled. "Well, if it makes you happy..." She waved as she closed her toolbox up. "You're good to go; all the replicators are fixed and fully stocked."

Cookie sniffed. "I don't see why we need them when we have this!" she demanded as she waved the tomato under Molly's nose.

Molly took a sniff, and then gently pushed the hand away. "Yeah, but you can't be up cooking all the time, this way graveyard shift can get a snack."

Cookie nodded grudgingly. "Oh all right."

"So, what's engineering doing now?" the Captain asked, taking a sip of her tea.

"We're on a preventive maintenance routine Captain, we're learning how to diagnose problems and fix them," Molly grinned. "Some of the teams are still working on getting their sections up to snuff, we're still behind in propulsion, fuel, and power, but the others are all up to spec now," she grinned, adjusting her glasses.

"Yeah, I noticed the air's a lot cleaner," the purser sniffed.

"So, now that we have this ship working better we can dispense with the Admiral's services?" the Chief asked. Molly and Jennie glared.

"Oh I wouldn't go that far just yet. As Molly just pointed out, propulsion, fuel, and power are still in need of work," the Captain took a sip of her tea again and gave her granddaughter a quelling look.

"So we can make parts for ourselves when we're gone?" the purser asked. "They take a lot of power and materials," she sniffed.

Molly nodded. "Oh yes, and much more, now that we can make parts, we can make parts for other ships!"

The purser's eyes widened. "Help the competition?"

Molly shrugged. "Why not? If they're willing to pay for it..." she said suggestively. She left that hanging.

"Besides, we don't just mean competitors; we can build another ship, or an entire fleet of ships!" Jennie waved around to indicate the ship.

The Captain paused, about to drink her tea. "Well, that's news,” she said. She set the cup down. "Impressive. So we can build our own ships now?" her gravelly voice took on a teasing note.

Molly wasn't sure if she believed it. "We just need fuel, and materials as the purser pointed out." She nodded to the purser.

"Well, that's interesting,” the Captain nodded.

"We could start a shipping company! An entire fleet of traders!" Shandra said excited. "Does that mean I could sit in the big chair one day?" she asked eyes bright.

Jennie nodded. "It's possible," she smiled.

The Captain's eyebrows were raised. "Well, we’ll have to think this one over," she said, taking the sting out of her gruff voice with effort.

Molly nodded. "We still have a lot to do on this ship, so we have plenty of time," she said diplomatically. She set the tablet down.

The captain nodded. "Yes, on that note, how are things going in sickbay doctor?"

The doctor looked up from his tablet. "Hmm? Oh sorry Captain, I was reading a... oh never mind." He set the tablet down on the table. "I'm about ready to try the first Regen, we've had plenty of practice since those brawls and engineering have sent us so many injured lately," he said. He tapped the table with one finger.

Molly blushed. "Yeah, we took a few hits," she murmured. She rubbed her arm, she had some scars too.

"A bit too eager eh?" the Captain chuckled. "All right, go on?" she urged as she turned to the doctor.

"Yes, well, as I was saying, since most of our critical equipment is up and running now, we're about ready to do some regen on the first cryostasis patient. Um, miss Audrey, the burn victim who was placed in stasis four years ago. She's the least injured of the group, so should make the transition smoothly," he said and then nodded at their eager expressions. "Mindy and I've worked out the protocols involved, and run the simulations. It's harder to do the micro work with the goggles and waldo gloves then with implants according to the records, but I think we can do it," he said.

"Good. Go ahead with it. I'd like to see her next week."

The doctor nodded. "She should be up and around in that time. We cloned her a replacement leg, it's about to decant next shift," he reported.

The purser looked startled. "You can do that?" she demanded.

He nodded. "Now that sickbay has most of its equipment online, we can do a lot. It just takes time to learn how to use the equipment," he shrugged. As if time really mattered in hyper.

"Speaking of equipment and power, Captain, do we really need everything on?" Kendra the ops officer waved her report. "We've been using an awful lot of power lately, and the fuel reserves are getting low. We have enough to get to the next colony, but after that..." she sighed. "If we run into a pirate there we'll be screwed."

The Captain grunted. "We're working on it, you should be okay while we're in hyper, the hyper collection array is up," Molly interjected.

Kendra nodded. "My point is we need to start setting some ground rules on equipment use and budget power. We can't just go willie nillie with power again; it was hard enough to balance things," she sighed.  “Much as I'd like to, we can't afford it.”

Molly nodded suddenly subdued. "The replicators suck a lot of power,” Molly admitted with a reluctant nod.

"So what do you recommend? You said a power budget?" The purser asked.

"Yes, we should shut down or hibernate equipment not in use, and cut power to sections not occupied. We really don't need all the lights on in the cargo bays when no one's there," she said firmly. She waved the tablet. The purser grimaced.

"Yeah," Vanessa admitted. She looked down and made a note.

"Okay, so turn the lights off when we leave a room," the Chief replied and nodded. "What else?" The ops officer grimaced. "Well, it would be nice if security limited its force field use to only when we needed it, or when we're diagnosing problems, turning them on every shift is getting to be a drain. They’re not doing anything!" she grumbled.

"Oh?" the Captain asked. The Chief looked away. "Why are you doing that granddaughter?"

Molly looked up, suddenly incensed. "She's locking the Admiral down, keeping him isolated."

The Captain stared at Molly then turned to her granddaughter. "Knock it off. I believe he's proven himself," she growled. She nodded to Molly. "The force fields and guards will be removed today." She sat back.

"Um, well Captain, if I may, can you keep the guards?" Molly asked.

The Chief looked surprised. "Actually, the Admiral likes them, and is training them. They help him sometimes, and keep people from bothering him when he's working on delicate things," Molly said. She tapped the tablet.

"Yes, I noticed he wasn't here again,” the captain said pointedly. The Captain looked at Jennie. "Is he busy?"

Jennie nodded. "Aye Captain, he is realigning and repairing the reactor core with the robots and implants. We didn't want to disturb him," she explained.

The Captain nodded. "Okay, the guards can stay, but they will now help him not hinder,” she ordered. She gave her granddaughter a long look.

The Chief sighed. "Very well Captain." She glared daggers at the ops officer who squirmed a bit. "So, why's he working on the reactor? Don't we need it now?" the doctor asked.

"Oh, no, with the shields repaired we can use hyperspace to suck free electrons, it's all very neat. We can stand the reactor down to back up and do some repairs on it. All that nasty sea water has irradiated a lot of the parts," Jennie explained and then grimaced. "Doc, you may want to brush up on radiation poisoning in case someone gets exposed when we pull parts," Jennie said. He nodded sobered by the thought.

"Thanks for the warning," he shook his head.

"How bad is the danger?" the Captain asked.

"It depends on the exposure. If someone like Dorah or Mindy decides to open a crate with irradiated parts, it would kill them in a minute," Molly replied and shook her head grimly.

The purser whistled. "Why are we keeping that junk?"she asked. She looked grim.

Molly nodded to Jennie. "We're going to expel them when we get out of hyper. We built a kicker pod and it'll send the junk on a sun scuttle," she explained. She shrugged. "The Admiral is insisting he handle things, he's the only one with implants and training," she sighed.

"Okay, I want to check him over after though," the doctor said.

"Fair enough," the Captain said nodding to Molly.

"He'll be tired when he gets done, he's been pretty focused," Molly evaded.

"She means he'll probably eat and crash," Jennie replied looking at Molly.

"How long has he been in?" The doctor asked suddenly alert.

"Um, this is his fifth shift," Molly squirmed a little under his intense gaze.

"five shifts in the past five days?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Oh no, five in a row. It's normal for him sometimes. He's...” Molly looked at the clock on the tablet. "He's been in there about thirty four hours now."

Shandra grimaced. "I wish I could do that. It must take incredible stamina... You mean he hasn't eaten or slept?" she asked.

"What about going to the bathroom?" the purser asked wrinkling her nose.

"No, it's like he's a block; he's in the minds of the robots... It's kind of hard to explain," Jennie said with a helpless shrug.

The doctor looked concerned and got up. "I think I should look him over."

The Captain waved him down. "In a moment doctor, I think he knows his own limits."

Molly nodded. "His body can do all sorts of things; even recycle its own waste for a while. He said he'd be okay." she said and then shrugged. "He wants to get it all done now; we'll need the core in three days," she grimaced.

The Captain nodded. "All right, if there isn't any more news, let’s get to work." She floated back from the table and turned. The group hastily got up.

Trisha looked over the team. Now that Irons had the reactor sorted out they just had a few minor chores in the ship to handle. The doc had been true to his word, Audrey was here now with them. Things were definitely looking up. "Okay, we have a couple broken fans on deck four, I'm going to chase down the leak on deck five, that leaves a sticking pump on deck eight and lighting repairs on deck twelve. Any volunteers?" She looked the group over. None did. They were all veterans now, they could handle it.

"Okay, Audrey, you being new and all to the changes, partner up with Shari and hit the fan repair," she said nodding to the newly released tech. Audrey looked a little bewildered by all the changes but was settling in nicely. This was her first shift back on duty since being released from the sickbay this morning.

Trisha uploaded the file to her tablet. Audrey nodded. "Zara, you get the sticky pump," she said. She tapped in the assignment. The rest of you get down to deck twelve and get to work on the lights there," she finished.

A few groaned at that. "Deck 12 is a shit hole,” one muttered.

"So fix it!" Trisha said exasperated.

"But isn't it haunted?" one of the girls asked, voice quavering. Audrey snorted.

Jennie leaned over. "We figured that out, it was a holo projector someone left on," she said.

The girls settled down immediately. "Oh."

Jennie smiled. "Good luck." She waited till the teams left. "So life support is all handled?" she asked.

Trisha gathered her tools up and nodded. "Yup."

"All right, I'm working on a network node on deck eleven; I can check in on the deck eight and twelve crews in a little while and save you the trip."

Trisha nodded. "Thanks. I'll peek in on the communication's techs on deck four for you," she said grudgingly.

Jennie grinned. "Glad we have it all down to a science," she said. Trisha smiled and left.

"Is that tank supposed to be that clean?" The gardener looked it over.

"Yeah, but before it was filled with crap, so it was dark,” Trisha looked it over and carefully checked her readouts. "Okay, no signs of ammonia or other problems," she said. She sniffed the air.

The Gardener nodded. "So what's that made out of?" She rapped the tank.

"Hmm, Oh, ah... Carbon I think. Diamond composite," Trisha replied mind elsewhere. She looked over the readouts.

"This tank was once used for visiting water aliens," she said.

"Okay, this isn't the problem, it must be upstream." She gathered her kit.

"Water aliens?" the Gardener asked.

"Yeah the engineer said there were lots of them in the Federation. The last two generations of ships even had entire biospheres for them, with swim ways and pools so they could swim through the ship. It must have been like living in an aquarium," Trisha said as she shook her head.

"It would freak me out to see some giant squid thing looking through the glass at me..." she said with a grimace. She shook her head and shivered.

The gardener looked thoughtful. "I dunno, hmmm."

Trisha turned on her... "What?" The gardener smiled, well, you said that tank is for water creature’s right?"

Trisha nodded warily. "So what if we bought some fish on Aquarius? Then we could fill it with fish!" She grabbed her tablet and flicked through the entries.

Trisha edged to the door trying to make good on the distraction to make her escape. "Yeah, here it is! Right here! Fish waste is rich in nutrients! Almost as good as having poultry!" the gardener said triumphantly. The gardener turned her back and looked up at the tank. "Thanks!" She waved and started examining the tank.

“Okay then," Trisha said softly as she made her escape. "Me and my big mouth," she sighed.

"Gymnasium. How can I help you?" a girl sitting behind the desk watching a holo in the corner said, not even looking up.

He scowled. "I'd like to book the dojo for a session." He set his hand on the desk.

She looked up in surprise. "Oh Admiral!" She looked over the list. "Dojo? You mean the padded room?" she asked, wrinkling her pert nose. He nodded. "Are you sure you don't want the weight room or handball court?" she asked hopefully. He shook his head. "Well, there's a group using the pool, so I guess it's okay. Just make sure you don't peek if anyone is in the showers. Or the locker room." She blushed a bright red.

He chuckled. "I don't think you can wear any of the workout clothes." She waved to the rack of clothes behind her. He shook his head; bring his free hand up to drop small duffel on the desk. "I had my own replicated," he said. "I didn't think you had any for men, or in my size."

She smiled looking the bag over. "All right Admiral. What about them?" she asked. She looked over his shoulder to his escort.

He shrugged. "I don't know," he said. He turned to the women. "Are you ladies going to hold up a bulkhead or spar?"

They looked at each other confused. "Spar?" Frie asked finally, thoroughly confused. He nodded.

"Can you get them their Gi's?" he asked the clerk.

She looked confused. "What are they?" she asked.

He sighed. "Work out clothes for martial arts." Her expression didn't change. "They are white; they look like a bathrobe or kimono but with pants," he explained.

Her expression cleared. "Oh those!" She went into the back.

"We don't have much call for them..." she called from within the storage room. The guard near the desk had to lean in to catch what she had said; the Admiral just stepped up his hearing. "What sizes?" she called out.

The guards looked confused. "Sizes? He asked." He turned to the blond.

"I'm a 9," she called out.

"Are we going to get a chance to practice fight?" she asked, suddenly interested. He nodded.

"That's the idea," he said.

The other guard looked confused then shrugged. "I'm a ten," she called out.

The girl came out a moment later with two plastic covered packages. "Here you go. There isn't a belt though except these," She held up a bunch of belts, all different colors. "Frie, you'd look good with a blue, it matches your eyes," she said.

The Admiral snorted. "They're actually to denote rank in martial arts," he said. He gave the guards a long measuring look. "Have you any training in martial arts?"

They both shook their heads. "No, I don't know what you’re talking about," the blond Frie said softly.

He smiled politely. "I wasn't sure if you had, you have some of the moves, but they aren't polished," he said with a tight lipped smile. "When in doubt, start over." He turned to the clerk. “Give them each a white belt. We'll work out rank later.” Each of the guards picked up their packages and nodded to the locker. "I’ll be in the men's room. Meet you in the dojo in five," He walked into the men's room without a backwards glance.

five minutes and forty seconds later he was working on his warm up katas when the two came out, fumbling at their belts. "How do they work, they're too long," the black girl with pink hair said fumbling with the belt.

He chuckled. "Well, there's a technique and tradition to it. I'll explain." He carefully untied his own black belt and explained how it works. Both women mimicked his movements. When they finished Frie smiled. "So, how come yours is black with six of those knots?"  she asked. She nodded to his belt. "Black is for masters. The knots are the ranks. I'm only a sixth Dan. There are nine," he explained.

Her eyes were wide. "And you’re going to teach us?" she asked. He nodded. "Why?"

He shrugged looking over the battered patched padding. "Why not?"

The clerk watched the girls stumble out, one rubbing her shoulder. "Rough day?" she asked. He smiled at the girl's expression. "I was wondering Admiral, why don't we have more facilities?" she waved to indicate the recreation area. "Handball, zero g ball, the dojo, pool, gym and weight room. But why don't we have other things? Anvil station in Pyrax has a holo suite," she said. He nodded as he cataloged that factoid.

"Well, in the ship's fleet days everyone had implants, so we could jack into the net," he explained. She looked confused. "So?"

He shrugged. "So, we could feed a virtual reality direct to our brain. I wasn't much for real time games, but I did get into strategic ones."

Her eyes were wide. "So, you can jack in and play games?"

He nodded. "Or view mail, or enter virtual worlds. There was even a virtual bar," he explained. She waved. "But isn't it make believe?" one of the guards asked as she came out toweling her hair.

"Yes and no, Virtual reality's a simulation, so yes it's make believe, but it feeds information direct to your brain, so it blurs the line a bit. You can feel pain, see, hear, smell, touch, taste..."

She looked confused. "If you can do all that why have this?" she waved.

He smiled. "Because virtual reality doesn't exercise the body, only the mind. And you need a strong body when the chips are down in a crisis," he said. She nodded slowly. "Besides, it uses very little power and computer time, and it's fun too," he said. Frie joined them. He nodded to the girl behind the counter as they turned to leave. She waved as they left.

Molly picked though her salad and then held up a cucumber. "Neat huh? We grow most of our salad stuff.” Tia smiled. “Did you see the gardens? They stink but they are pretty."

Molly munched the cucumber then rooted around for another. "Yes, they definitely have a...bountiful odor." She fiddled with her glasses then sighed. "I've been meaning to try to do something about that but could never get the time!" she said. She shrugged exasperated. Tia looked embarrassed.

The admiral nodded. "One thing at a time." He looked up as a bunch of girls came in. One had a hand over the side of her face, like she was whispering something to another, but was actually tittering with laughter.

"Giggle quartet has arrived," Molly sighed, not looking up.

Jennie nodded. "Well, that’s it for me, I have to get down to engineering and check on things," Jennie said and then smirked a half smile. "Yeah, we'll catch up later. See you around squirt," she said, tugging on Tia's hair in passing.

“Admiral you’re the perfect person to try this out,” the waitress set a tall clear glass of foamy brown liquid in front of him.

He took a look. “What is it? Nubian? No, looks like a shake...” He looked at it then up to the girl. She grinned. “Cookie says it's a chocolate shake. She replicated the chocolate, but the rest is all made here.” She waved to cookie.

The Admiral leaned forward and waved. The cook was leaning forward, hands spread apart on the counter in front of her. “Well? Aren't you going to try it?” she demanded.

He looked it over. “Well, you’re missing the utensils. I need a straw, or a spoon,” he said. He picked the glass up and admired it. The waitress went over and picked up a spoon, then came back. He tried to ignore her bump and grind walk. Molly chuckled.

“Here,” she said and handed him the spoon.

“Thank you.” He took the proffered utensil and then carefully fished out a spoonful. He took a bite then nodded. “A bit watery, but still good.”

The cook frowned. “Thicker?”

He nodded. “Usually. But it's all a part of the customer's taste, some like it this way.” He took another bite.

“Let me try!” Molly said using her fork. He sighed as she dipped it in. “Oh oops!” The forkful immediately came off. “Okay.” She snatched a spoon off of a nearby table then took a bite. “Oh heavenly!” she rolled her eyes in appreciation.

She snagged the glass and leaned back. Tia tried to get her spoon in, but her mom playfully blocked her. He looked at her then chuckled. “Trust a woman to snag the chocolate for herself,” he said dryly. She looked up and grinned.

"So why does the inertial dampening not work when we get hit like that?" a tech in the back raised her hand and asked. They only had a little over a week left in hyper. His evening classes were now popular, more popular then ever before. So popular a few people had played hooky or switched shifts to attend.

He pulled up a graph. "The dampeners have a limited use. They can smooth out large actions, but there's a lag.” The gaps in the graph were highlighted.

"From the time a motion is sensed, to when it's felt there are all sorts of things that have to be done, the computer's have to calculate the forces involved, and the exact counter forces needed to repel them. Then they have to run it through a safety subroutine to make sure it won’t kill anyone," he explained. Beside the graph code scrolled. "In that time the motion can be felt. With motion that's sharp and unannounced..." He smacked his right fist into his left palm. We feel it," he said. He shook his left hand a moment. The class tittered.

Jen came into main engineering with Trisha on her heels. She looked around then spotted Molly in her office. “I'll see what's going on,” Trisha passed her and walked over to a knot of giggling girls. “All right ladies, break it up,” Trisha growled.

“Yeah right,” Jen said under her breath. She sauntered over to Molly's door and knocked on the jam. “Hi ya boss lady, you about done yet?”

Molly looked up from her tablet and sat back. “Just about,” she said. She swiveled the chair back and forth.

“That today's to-do list?” Jen held out her hand.

“Maybe,” Molly sighed. “Every day we have to add more things. Are we ever going to see the bottom of the list?” She shook her head ruefully.

“Coffee, cream, sugar,” Jen ordered, tapping the replicator controls. After a moment it glowed.

“Make a feline supplement number one,” Molly said, looking down at her tablet once more.

“What for?” Jen asked, gathering up the coffee and turning around. She caught sight of mama cat in Molly's lap. “Oh,” she chuckled silently as she ordered the dish.

“Here you go,” she said. The cat looked up, then stretched and got down. She stretched as she moved, purred, then got into the important business of eating.

Molly chuckled, stretching herself. “Finally!”

Jen saluted her with her cup. “You could have moved her you know.”

Molly smiled. “And get a dirty look?”

Jen shook her head in resignation. “Molly, Molly, you're too much of a soft touch.” The door to engineering opened and they could hear the patter of feet. “Speaking of trouble...”

Tia burst into the room and handed Molly a picture. The pigtailed girl bounced. “Look at it mommy look!”

Molly smiled and took a look. She sat back, examining the portrait. “Is this the Captain?” she asked.

Tia grinned. “Yes she posed for us. I think she fell asleep though,” she said. Jen chuckled.

“Wouldn't put it past her,” Molly commented, grinning at the girl, then Jen. Jen reached out and tweaked a pigtail, then sat back fast. The girl whirled and glared, taking in her innocent look and not buying it for a second.

“Oh, hey squirt. Survived Dorah's Day care once more I see... well maybe we'll get lucky tomorrow,” Jen teased. Tia frowned and then kicked Jen's shin. “Oh OW! Why you little brat!” Jen grabbed the girl before she could bolt, and then settled back, tickling her into a shrieking squirming ball. Molly chuckled.

“Careful, that's a new outfit, I don't want her to pee her pants,” Molly cautioned. Tia squealed. “Mommy help me!”

Molly sighed theatrically. “If I must I must, here, let me tickle her feet!” she said reaching out.

Tia squealed louder. “I said help me not her!” she said between gales of laughter. Jen chuckled and let the kid rest.

Tia panted for a moment, and then sat up. “What a work out,” Jen sighed, giving the girl a hug.

Molly got up. “Okay, I just wanted to go over a few things here and here...”

Trisha came in. “Hey boss, oh hi ya squirt!” she gave Tia a mischievous look. Tia shrank back, then squirmed free of Jen and hid behind her mom. Molly smiled as she handed over the tablet.

“Make sure you check the deck one electronics in bay twelve, there's been some lost data packets and a couple voltage spikes, we may have some issues from that overheating incident,” Molly said. Jen grimaced.

“Check over the ducting and heat exchange systems, if you have time, see if we can purge a couple of the lines and replace them with new,” Molly continued.

Trisha grimaced. “Messy,” she sighed. “Okay, anything else?”

Tia managed to get around Molly and edged to the door with her mom in hand. “Come on mom! I gotta go!”

Molly chuckled. “Just a sec dear.”

“No I mean I gotta GO!” she said even more urgently. Molly noted her hunched over and doing the pee pee dance.

Molly rolled her eyes. “Duty calls. Or at least the call of nature,” she said with a twinkle. She handed the tablet to Jen.

“Have fun with the tyrant twerp!” Trisha called after them. Tia spun and stuck out her tongue, then dragged her reluctant mom out. Trisha chuckled. “She has her hands full with that one. So, let’s get started shall we?”

The class was settling down and he nodded. "Okay, before we get into the scheduled lecture I'm going to take a moment to answer some of your questions." He looked over the sea of faces until Sprite highlighted a heart shaped one. "Nara is it?" he asked, nodding to the girl. She looked surprised then nodded. "Nara go ahead."

She got up and brushed her hands on her hips then cleared her throat. "I was looking over the background and I was confused about how the computer can see the data. How it translates it from electrical and light impulses to code?" she asked and then sat down abruptly.

He nodded. "Okay to understand that we need to take a little time trip." He turned and the holo projector sprang to life.

"Some of you may notice this is a new projector, it has a built in board ability." He poked a finger at the hologram. A ripple emitted from his finger as it stopped. "Force field," he said as the class ohed softly. "Okay, now, the basic impulses that make up code are binary ones and zeros." He wrote that on the board as a one and zero. “Now a one is an on. And a zero is an off." He turned to class and sat back on the lip of the desk. "When you translate that, it means a one or on means a pulse of light. An off is the off time when there is no light," he explained. Some of the heads nodded.

"Now, we take that binary and create machine code," he said building off the first. Some of the girls looked excited. He turned and drew a series of dots and dashes. "Now, when that machine code is translated, the computer has the symbology of the operating language." He turned and nodded to the class. "Next question... let’s see..."

Sprite highlighted a red haired girl with a blunt freckled face. "Susa?" he asked.

She looked up and then stood. "If there was a machine war in the past, how did we survive it? I mean, we're completely dependent on machines," she waved to indicate the ship.

He nodded and smiled. "I see someone has gotten into the historical database," he said. She blushed.

"Want me to answer this?" Sprite asked coquettishly.

He clicked his teeth. "Good. Okay, the first machine war was before my time, about three hundred years before I was born." He turned and waved to the holo. It cleared and a time line reappeared. "Okay, this is the time line of advances in AI. As you can see, it's an exponential curve. But, it was a bit limited." He turned and nodded to Susa.

"Back in that time there were two groups of AI researchers. The first were focused on a hardware based learning computer. Something that learned by doing, like organics do. The second was a strictly software based group, who wanted to emulate learning situations in virtual games," he explained and then he shrugged.

"Both approaches work, but there were limitations in each. Apparently some hackers managed to get into the virtual system and stole the AI core code, and rewrote it to be hostile to human life," he sighed at the thought of such suicidal stupidity. "From what I learned in my history class, it wasn't intentional to do the damage it did, more of a prank or a means to cause chaos. But nonetheless, it did kill millions."

He grimaced as some of the girls gasped a little. "Eventually the only ways to kill the AI viruses were to either unplug the hardware they were in, or root them out with an anti virus," he shook his head. "But if AI is so dangerous, why do we keep them? Why do we need them on this ship?" one of the girls in the back called.

"Well, Lola is it?"  he asked. She nodded. "Well Lola, we need AI to manage our complex machinery. We can't fly this ship without it, or balance the hyperdrive, or the fusion core. It's just too fast for our reflexes to handle. But..." He held up his hand as the class began to mutter amongst itself.

"But, we've learned from the mistakes of the past and instituted safety measures in AI. Those are hardwired into the ship's electronics," he said, voice rumbling. The class quieted. "I've been rebuilding the ship's AI, but it'll never be as good as it once was; there was too much damage," he grimaced. "After the war we created a symbiosis of organic and inorganic that extended itself to other species as they were encountered." He shrugged. "It wouldn't surprise me if there are some sentient AI out there. They may be going senile though." A few chuckled at that.

“I heard that,” Sprite grumped good naturedly.

“I've been meaning to ask doc, why the cuffs and sleeping in the brig?I can understand the one guard,” the Admiral asked as he sat down in the chair.

The doctor grimaced. “Well, I said a few things when I was first taken. I was rather upset,” he sighed, studying the far bulkhead.  “I admit, I was unprofessional, I lost my composure,”  he said. He shook his head. “The chief instituted the sleeping arrangements,” he grimaced.

“Well, you're human doc,” Irons replied.

Mindy grimaced. “Still it isn't fair! We should get you some quarters,” she said stoutly defending him. The Admiral nodded then got a thoughtful look.

“You know, we just finished restoring the quarters on deck twelve next to mine, perhaps the Captain could be persuaded to let you have them?” he asked. He looked over to the startled doctor. “It'd serve several purposes; it'd give you better sleeping arrangements, but allow the chief to keep her paranoia by using the guards outside my door to guard you as well,” he suggested.

The doctor rubbed his chin. “Yes, that may work.”

“I'll go tell her right now!” Mindy jumped up and ran out before they could stop her.

“Well, so much for tact and diplomacy,” the Admiral sighed.

“Hope it works, the mattress in the brig is painful, I swear the foam rotted and I'm so tired of putting up with Bart,” the doctor complained, rubbing his lower back.

“Most likely it was used so often it took on the shape of a body,” the Admiral replied with a nod. “Things wear out over time. How did you rate one guard while Bart and I have two?” he asked.

The doctor smiled "Just lucky I guess," he said and then grimaced. "Actually, I believe Bart attempted to escape a few times so he earned his," he shrugged.

The Admiral grimaced. "While we wait for the fireworks, why don't we go over the dermal regenerator again? I have to do some repairs in an hour,” he suggested. The doctor nodded. “All right we'll do it.”

“So, what's next?” the lead guard asked as they exited sickbay.

“I have to work on one of the shuttles, and then see about some food,” the admiral answered. She motioned to the corridor. “Right this way then,” she said. He followed.

They passed a group of girls and one separated herself from the group. She followed until he stopped. The lead guard continued until the trailing one cleared her throat. She turned and looked. He was looking at their tag along. "Can I help you miss?" he asked. She shyly looked down, then up to meet his eyes. She had wide blue eyes. She had to be a teenager, since most of the crew was aging fast under the workload, she had to be...

Crap, trouble he thought then nodded.

"I just wanted to meet you," she murmured. She ran her fingers through her hair near her ear, and then touched his arm. She had a full chest, and even he wasn't immune to hormones.

He cleared his throat. "Thank you miss," he said. She smiled. He realized with a start that she was flirting.

"You’re kind of cute," she said. The hand on his arm stroked it slightly. The guards behind him shifted a bit. He tried not to grimace at the audience.

"Thank you miss, I find you very beautiful and attractive," he said. He tried to disengage from her gently, but she kept a grip.

She seemed to preen at his compliment. "What's say we meet up at your place when your shift ends?"she suggested. Warning bells were going off.

"She's trouble with a capital T Admiral," Sprite said, as if he couldn't guess that.

"Tell me about it," he said under his breath, catching her cat like look.

"Why not in your quarters..." Her hand had gotten to his chest, feeling it slightly. "Um, ah, that is...” he tried to figure a way out of this. She smiled like a predator.

One of the guards cleared her throat. "Enough Shari, play later," she growled.

The woman looked over to the guard, instantly pouting. He let out a low sigh of relief as he turned. The guard motioned to the girl. "The engineer has work to do; he won’t be off for a long time," she said firmly.

The girl turned back to him. "I heard about your long first day...I wonder if you have that stamina where it counts..." her voice rose into a lilting, teasing flirt as she stepped back, locking her eyes to his.

He gulped then managed to get his cool back a little. "Now miss, I need to get things repaired before taking any...recreational time," he shrugged knowing what he had said sounded lame.

She smiled and blew him a kiss. "Until later then...” She swaggered in her tight latex miniskirt as she walked away.

He gushed a sigh, and then turned to the guard. "Thanks for the save," he said feelingly

She chuckled. The other was looking decidedly annoyed, but immediately smiled. "No problem. She's a hellion."

The other guard chuckled. "A minx you mean, total slut in bed," she said with a grin.

The other guard chuckled as well. "Yeah, but it's fun. Watch out though, she's looking to wrap you around her pinky. She'll use you,” she grimaced.

The other guard nodded. "Notch on her belt," she agreed.

He sighed; looking back the way she came then shook his head and tried to get his hormones under control. "Social butterfly. I had to deal with it a long time ago," he said and then shrugged. "Some things never change I guess...All right ladies, I do believe we have a boat bay to fix...”

Two days of work later he managed to all but put the minx out of his head. Jen had switched work assignments with him again and he was working down the list.

He pressed the signal button at the hatch. "Good luck Admiral, you’re going to need it," the guard nodded to him warily. He froze as the door opened to the quarters. The minx was there, dressed in a seductive red teddy lounging on her bed. "Come in, I've been waiting for you," she purred. She gave him a slow seductive smile, and then tossed her hair. She stretched like a cat, long and lithe, on all fours. She made sure he got a good look down her teddy then met his eyes.

The door closed behind him with a wisp. He could hear the chuckle through the door with his enhanced hearing. "Someone could have warned me," he muttered, fighting natural urges.

"Sorry," Sprite answered.

"Wasn't my job," Defender responded. He watched as she flicked her hair again giving him that teasing smile.

"So, I was told you'd like your replicator repaired? I have a half hour before I have to get back to engineering," he added that warningly.

"Need a rescue?" Sprite asked. He looked over to the replicator then back to the woman nodding slightly.

The minx was pouting slightly. Her charms weren't working. "Oh, I need something fixed all right," she purred, and then stretched.

He gritted his teeth. "Okay, I'll get to work," he said politely and smiled. "You’re very lithe, do you work out? Do yoga?" he asked.

She froze, and then her eyes glittered at him. "It isn't nice to ignore me," she growled. He stopped examining the replicator and turned.

"I wasn't. I came to do a job. I am on duty," he said. She took the opening, sidling up to him with a hip bump. He had a hard time trying to stifle a chuckle.

"Okay soldier boy, time to follow MY orders...” she said seductively, hands on his chest. He smiled brushing his right arm along her cheek. "Your hand is cold!" she said. She looked at him suddenly the mood was broken.

"Sorry. Artificial," he said. She reared back and then sat on the edge of the bed. He turned and sent a mental command to the arm. The right finger tip morphed into a diagnostic tool. He pulled the cover plate off with his left hand.

She gasped hands at her throat. "This shouldn't be long," he said. He bent over and began to check connections. He heard her subsonic snarl, but tried to ignore her. The less he focused on her, the more he could control his raging hormones.

"You’re not going to ignore me metal man!" she snarled, but he only gave her a cursory look. "Don't worry; I'll be out of your hair in a moment. It looks like your replicator’s tank is shot," he said. He turned back. He heard a scrabble behind him and her approach.

"Watch out!" Defender alerted him, spinning his shields up. He twisted, and felt the heavy object hit his right shoulder.

Defender took control, spinning his body to confront the attacker. She tried to hit him with the object, some sort of book end, and then threw it at him. Defender blocked, it hit the fully energized shields and sparked, bouncing off them. "Get out you monster!" she shrieked, grabbing a vase.

The door opened and the guard leaned in. "What the hell?" she demanded. The vase smashed into the door jam. "Now just a minute here!" she said. The guard ducked out of the range of fire.

"Get out! Get out!" She grabbed a tool from his kit and tried to stab him. He took control, letting her come at him, blocking her stab with his right arm block, then snaking his hand around her wrist and using the pressure point to break her grip on it.

She snarled and twisted. She kicked, hitting his shin. She screamed and jumped on her good foot, her offending toe pounding in pain. "Knock it off," he growled, and then tossed her onto the bed. She bounced back up hands curled into claws. He brushed her off, but one of her blows landed dangerously close to his genitals despite the shield it set him off. "I said, STAND DOWN!" he bellowed it, and then slammed her solar plexus.

She gasped, dropped to the ground, writhing on the deck. He felt adrenaline ebb. Quickly he gathered up his scattered tools and put them in the kit. He checked the girl. "You'll be fine in a moment," he said quietly.

He got out fast before she fully recovered. Still she managed to weakly throw a knick knack after him. The guards were in the corridor laughing. "Some help you two hyena's were!" he  growled and then glared. They tried to sober up, but then fell into snickering. He sighed. "Least you could have done was save me!" He grumbled and shook his head. "Now, if there aren't any more unpleasant surprises? I guess we need to report that to the Chief," he said, eyes suddenly narrow.

That sobered them fast. "Um, ah..." He walked off down the corridor. "Crap," one muttered.

"What's a hyena?" he heard behind him.

"Contact the Chief, ask for an interview," he ordered. He looked over his shoulder to the trailing guard.

She held up her comm. "I can't get through." The woman responded with a sigh.

"Sprite?" he asked softly, turning a corner.

"Admiral, that witch is talking to the Chief. Care to take a wager on the subject?" she asked, clearly amused.

He shook his head. "No," he grimaced as they entered the lift.

"Do you want to listen in?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Spare me," he muttered. The bridge lock out flashed, but one of the guards entered her code and the lift continued.

The lift doors opened and he leaned out. "Permission to enter the bridge?" he called out.

"What?"

"Who said that?"

"Why did he ask?" the girls asked each other.

"DENIED," the Chief called. "I ordered you to the brig.”

He shook his head. "I guess we didn't catch that, since your communication's channel is busy." "Enter Admiral," the hoarse voice of the captain said. He came onto the bridge and nodded to the Captain.

"Thank you Captain."

She nodded regally. "So, what's this about?" she asked. She gave the Chief and guards a curious look.

He grimaced. "I received a work order...”

The Chief interrupted. "He assaulted a crew member, and is therefore confined until an investigation is held," she said sounding triumphant. He gave her a look.

"Is this true?" the Captain asked mildly, studying her fingers.

"In self defense ma'am," he said. He nodded to the Chief.

"What happened?"the captain asked.

He grimaced again and started over. "I was given a work order to repair a replicator in a crew member's quarters. When I arrived the young woman was there and attempted to...distract me from my duties." He looked around to the bridge crew. They busied themselves with their stations.

"Captain, with your permission, can we adjourn to your wardroom for privacy?" he gave her a meaningful look but she shook her head with a sigh.

"Too late, the cat's already out of the bag, and the gossip's probably all over the ship by now," she said.

He smiled grimly. "Yes, even in my time scuttlebutt moved faster than light."

She smiled. "Glad you understand." She gave the Chief a look. "Get the young woman up here," she ordered.

The Chief bent and softly spoke into her comm. A few minutes later a disheveled minx arrived. Her hair was tousled. She took one look at the Admiral and her hands curled into claws. She lunged, but one of the guards restrained her. The Chief sighed. "As you can see, emotions are running heated, and Miss Shari is not prone to that."

The Captain eyed the girl. "But she is prone to passion. I see your new teddy under that blouse," she observed. The girl blushed and shrugged off the arms of the guards as she came to attention.

"Yes Captain," She panted a bit, acting like she was going to cry.

"Okay, lets hear it," the captain said. She netted her fingers together and listened as the minx cleared her throat.

"Well Captain, I needed my replicator repaired and this man came,” she pointed to the Admiral. "When we were alone in my quarters he attacked me! I fought him off and the guards had to pull him out of there!" Her eyes teared and she turned to the arms of the startled guard. She awkwardly held her. The Admiral caught her peeking with a smug smirk.

"Well, actually Captain, as I was saying, the young lady tried to...distract me from my duties," he said. "Captain with your permission?" he asked. He held up his right hand. The ring finger morphed into his jack.

"What's he doing?" The minx demanded, clearly startled.

"I'm going to show the Captain what happened," he said. He walked over to a jack.

"By all means, let's see it," the captain said indulgently.

He jacked in and sent a signal to the bridge holo. The lights dimmed and a life sized hologram of the woman appeared. "This is from our first encounter," he explained. The sequence played. The Captain tried to hide a smile at the seduction. "And this is from the attack."

The hologram faded out and then faded in. The scene played out. He carefully did not look at the Chief, but watched as her hands curled and her lips tightened into a thin line of disapproval. The minx's did too. One of the girls gasped as the minx tried to stab him. "Thank you Admiral, I think we've seen enough," the captain growled.

He cut the transmission. "Chief, both recordings have been sent to your investigations file for later review,” he said. He looked over to her and bowed slightly.

She stood wooden. "Captain, it doesn't matter, he's a passenger, and she's crew."

The Captain waved airily. "No, this does matter." She gave the minx a long look. "Guards, escort her to the brig."

He was lying out in the bed, finally getting some rest when Sprite popped up. "What is it Sprite," he asked wearily.

"I was wondering why you didn't accept her advances Admiral?" she asked, clearly curious about his behavior earlier in the day. The AI projected herself onto his HUD, and then sat her virtual self down in the chair. She kicked her feet back and forth.

He looked over to her. "Remember that doxy on Centiga 5?" he asked, putting his hand under his head to look up.

"The doxy? Oh miss Albright? Yes, of course I remember her," she sniffed and wrinkled her pert nose in disgust. "Poison pure and simple," she said.

He nodded. “Exactly.”

"By your inference you refer to the minx miss Shari as the same?" she asked.

He nodded. "Exactly," he said again.

"Noted Admiral. Still, it might have been wise to get your... ahem, pipe's cleaned," she said, clearly uncomfortable in bringing the subject matter up. He turned glaring.

"I don't need advice on romance from a busy body AI," he growled. The last came out as a warning.

"Who said it would be romance?" she waved airily.  "According to my database, a little recreational sex is good for you. No emotional attachment needed," she suggested.

He  grimaced. "And do you think after losing everyone I've ever known it would be that easy?" he asked softly. She froze. "I didn't think so," he said softly. Then turned his back on her. "Night Sprite." "Good night Admiral, pleasant dreams," she said.

Chapter 9

"New Texas?" He turned to Molly who handed him the cable end.

"Yeah. Another agro world, something about ranching," she said. He nodded. "Neo-buffalo, Neo-cattle, and longhorns," she said. He looked over to Trisha who was shaking her hand. "Had an accident?" Molly asked.

"No, fell asleep." She grimaced as she shook her hand some more, then clenched it a few times. "Wait a few minutes."

He plugged the cable in and watched the LED's as the MPU booted. "Okay, booting... green lights." He pulled himself up and out.

"We'll probably take a load of beef or some calves to the next colony," Jennie said. She shook her head at the idea. "The beef is bad enough, we have to freeze it. The calves... They're cute but god they make a mess!" she grimaced. "They poop and pee all over everything, and make a racket."

Trisha grimaced. "Don't remind me, we had some interesting growths in life support after the last time," she said. She wrinkled her nose. "Never could get number three hold to smell right," she sighed. "I swear one of them must have crapped in a vent or something." She tapped the control. "Okay, not working. What happened?" she asked.

Jennie looked over. "Hmmm. Did we cross a wire or two?" she asked.

Trisha looked. "I don't think so." She checked the jacks. "Nope, looks okay."

The Admiral got up and stretched. "It may look okay, but if a wire was put in the wrong jack, it could be messing things up," he said. He checked the leds. "Hmmm...."

"What's this I hear about picking up a few people?" The engineer asked Molly. Things were going a bit slower this go around. A few of the engineers were even getting some much deserved downtime on the surface.

Molly smiled. "Only one of them is for us, there are a couple women who want to be guards, two new scullery maids, one room maid, and the purser snagged two big girls for the cargo crews," she shrugged and wrinkled her nose. Neither mentioned that all of the new recruits had to be women.

"The guards are to replace the fools that went up when the boat bay blew out," Jennie growled. She tossed her sandwich down onto her plate disgusted. "I don't see why we get the shaft; we're the ones doing all the work!" she waved in disgust. Molly shushed her. Jennie sighed. "Yeah yeah. Still, it isn't fair," she griped.

The Admiral nodded. "Not everyone is cut out for engineering Jennie; it takes a hands on knack for a lot of jobs. Those skills take time and nurturing to develop... On an agro world that's almost impossible to get," he said. He nodded to the planet on the wall screen.

Jennie looked over and paused arrested by the view. "Still isn't right," she muttered. "We're under staff as it is. Audrey was out first, and she's a life support tech." She grimaced. "I'm going to stick her on Trisha's team when she's able," she said to her boss. Molly nodded.  Audrey had tried to keep up last month but her new leg had cramped up and she had to cut back until the muscles worked in properly with rehab.

"Good idea, they're pretty solid, and they should give her time to get up to speed," she said. She waved to the waitress. "Can I have a refill?" She handed the girl her empty glass.

"Sure," the girl took it and went to the bar.

"I hope they're good looking," Jennie muttered. Molly sighed and smacked her hand. Jennie looked affronted. "Well, I'm just saying!" she shook her head.

The Admiral chuckled. "Remember, many of these people are getting away from a slow life of drudgery and constant work from sun up to sun down. I bet they age fast with the work load and lack of medicine," he said. He looked down to the planet, then shook his head and went back to eating.

"Yeah, and they’re going to get the same here right?" Jennie asked.

"Not exactly, here they get adventure," he smiled. "It was the same in my time, join a ship, and see the galaxy." He took a bite and chewed. Molly took the drink from the waitress and took a sip.

"Yeah, there's that," Jennie said, picking up her sandwich. "And they can learn here," She indicated the tablet.

Molly nodded as she swallowed. "Uh huh, and who says they can't switch? We might find an engineer in there given the right exposure..."

The Admiral smiled. "A diamond in the rough... you wouldn't be poaching would you?" He chuckled as the girls tried to look innocent.

"Well, some of our work isn't that hard," Jennie sniffed. "Running a watch on equipment, or installing a fan..." She shrugged. "Baby stuff," she said. He chuckled.

Can we do something about this?"the doctor asked.

Jennie looked up and over to the doctor. "What?"

The Admiral paused as he came in. "That," the doctor waved to the broken window looking into the bay.

"What that?" the Admiral asked and then nodded. "Yes of course. Put it on your budget." He nodded to Jennie and pushed a cart aside.

"Budget?" the doc asked.

"Yeah, your sickbay budget."

The Admiral knelt and morphed his hand into a multi tool. He plugged it into the jack. "Hmmm." He looked over to the doc who was running one hand through his hair looking a bit sheepish. "I must have missed that," the doctor muttered.

Jennie smiled. "Well, you've been a bit preoccupied," she said. She pointed to the tablet. The doctor blushed. "Studying?" she asked.

He nodded. "Ah. Working out the next set of treatments for Faith?" Jenny asked. Half the sleepers were now awake.

Mindy came in bouncing. "Yes isn't it wonderful?! MOM too!" She pirouetted grabbed a chart and then pranced out. Doc shook his head. "So, what did I miss?" Mindy asked.

Jennie shook her head. "Well with distractions like that, I can't say I blame you,” she said to the doctor, ignoring the nurse. She pulled a set of wires out.

"This one?" she asked.

The Admiral shook his head. "Try the other."

She attached a multi tester to another lead. "I think I got it," she said as she smiled. "A couple weeks ago we set up a budget system for each department now that we have a handle on all the major repairs," she said to the doctor.

She looked over to the Admiral as he began rewiring the power jack. "Each department has a budget for power, resources, and replicator time. The ops officers allocate the power as needed." She waved upwards to indicate the bridge. "Now that the reactor has been overhauled and we have better fuel, everyone has been clamoring for more power," she said and then sighed.

But you have to use your budget wisely. For instance would you rather have that repaired or a new dermal regenerator?" the Admiral asked as he screwed the plate back on.

The doc looked over to the window and rubbed his chin in thought. "You're right, I'd take the generator," he said and then  nodded. "All right, is the information on the web?" he asked.

Jennie looked up and nodded. "Yes, and your budget is set up in the medical section, check your e-mail." She waved to a tablet.

He scrolled for a moment, murmured his password and then ahahed. "Got it. Thanks," he said. He hummed as he punched in entries.

"Bow, keel, dorsal, port, stern, starboard, why don't you say what you mean?" The tech looked over to the other exasperated.

Jennie chuckled as she overheard. "You didn't catch the lecture did you?” she asked.

The two of them looked up. "I did," one admitted.

"Oh, what lecture?" the other asked confused.

"On ship design. The Admiral explained why we have those terms and others," she said and shrugged. "Most of it is hold over things from the early days of ships back on earth." She tapped the wall. "Like bulkhead." She pointed to the floor. "And deck... and the bottom of the ship is a keel."

She waved. "Some are carry over things from animals, like dorsal. I think he said it came from a dorsal fin," she said.

The blond tech nodded. "Yeah. Bow and stern, keel, stern, and ventral," She grinned. "Some of them make sense now. I was reading a holo novel, and was terribly confused for a long time," she frowned. She shook her head.

"Which one?" the other tech asked suddenly.

"Um..." The girl was turning red fast as she squirmed. "Uh, the pirate one..." Her voice ended in an upward lilt.

She tried to escape but Mary's lips pursed in a teasing smile as she caught her arm, preventing escape. "What pirate novel?" Mary demanded.

Keisha squirmed, feeling her ears redden.

Jennie chuckled. "I'll just be over here if anyone needs me."

Keisha looked up alarmed, and then tried to hide her head as she whispered something to Mary. "What was that? I didn't quiet hear it?" Mary was a horrible tease and flirt sometimes Jennie thought as she got back to work.

"Freeport?" Jennie looked confused.  They were looking at the image of the capital of the planet.

"Yeah, the spaceport, or the one that grew out after the cities were smashed," Molly sighed. "You'd think they'd name it something original!" She tapped her console.

"Okay, why does the purser call them hicks and hillbillies?" Jennie asked. Jennie pulled up an overhead shot of the continent.

"That planet is about as flat as I have ever seen, with only those mountains here and here..." She pointed.

"It's an archaic term," a familiar male voice rumbled in amusement. The Admiral sat down next to them. He cradled a cup of coffee. "Something from the North Americans I guess." He shrugged. "I wasn't much into history unless it was engineering or war related."

Molly snorted. "Yeah, I think we figured that out," she said dryly.

He chuckled then sobered. “The capital of New Texas used to be Nouveau Houston, I guess it was destroyed,” he said, eyes sad. He pulled up the view of the planet. Sprite overlaid a map of the cities onto the sphere. There were a lot of craters pock marking the surface. “Yeah...” He shook his head.

Jennie nodded. “What a waste.”

The hatch opened and the Chief came in. He looked over to her standing there in the entry way, looking over the dojo. "Can we help you Chief?" he asked. The guards looked over warily. The padding had been repaired and patched. New and old training equipment were neatly shelved. She just waved and kept looking. "All right," he said when she didn't say anything. He turned back to the class.

"Now, to disarm an opponent with a weapon you first need to assess the situation and the opponent,” he continued, ignoring the chief as she looked around. He waved to the guard holding the mock knife. “Now, from her stance, I can deduce she's done this before." A few chuckled at this. He caught the Chief watching them. He nodded to her. "Come at me," he ordered. She blinked and lunged with the knife. He turned into her reach. She tried to twist to cut him, but his arm blocked hers, pushing her away.

"Now, I'm inside her reach and guard," he said. His hand snaked out, poking her solar plexus. The woman gasped. His free hand grabbed her extended knife hand. In a second he had flipped her up over him and to the tarmac. He held onto her though, and knelt on her arm holding the knife. He raised an arm to a killing stroke. "And now you have them at your mercy."

She dropped the knife and tapped the mat. He nodded and got up, then helped her to sit. She was gasping. He straightened and pulled his gi belt tighter. "That was a simple move used in many martial arts. I'll teach it to you," he said.

He caught the Chief's eyes. She was looking a little confused. "Why?" she finally asked, genuinely curious. The class turned to her.

He shrugged. "Why not?" he asked. Her face worked. The class kept looking back and forth between the two of them. "Because I can, they asked, and I needed the workout," he said dryly. He patted his stomach. "Getting a little flabby with all of Cookies' cooking," he joked. Some of the girls laughed at that. "Besides, the ship's safety may depend on it," he said.

She nodded.  That was an argument she could understand."Room for one more?" she asked with a curious note in her voice.

He nodded. "Yes ma'am." He pointed to the side room. "There are extra gi uniforms in there with privacy to change ma'am," he told her. She nodded and left.

"I think she just wants to take a stab at you Admiral," one of the girls said quietly.

He shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first, won’t be the last," he replied. "But, I have my ways," he said, making it sound evil. A few of the girls chuckled. "All right, why don't you ladies work on the basic training kata to warm up a little?" He stepped off the mat and watched as they got to their feet and stretched.

He watched the ritual unfold from the hangar control room. The pilot brought the shuttle in smartly, landing with the rear hatch facing the door. When the hatch was closed the straw boss was the first on the hangar deck. The pilot dropped the ramp and smiled, handing her a stalk of what looked like grass with a bow and flourish.

Taki smiled, took the grass stalk and clamped one end between her teeth. "All right girls, let’s get her unloaded," she said. The work crew sprang into action. In a few moments he watched amazed and dismayed to see them float out plastic containers. Another group was rolling out what looked like wooden barrels! The girls had a song going. He shook his head.

"I must have missed this last time," he murmured.

Jennie looked over. "Well, we were kinda busy with hull repairs," she said.

He grimaced. "Well, we need to work out a better system," he said. She nodded.

The loading of the two meter tall neo-cattle and neo-buffalo was a headache all in itself. "Captain, this is the last one, we're getting the bull calf in now. With these we can pay the port fees and buy all the goods on Proxima that we want!" Vanessa said. She looked smug. The Captain nodded sagely. They were approaching the hatch.

"They're in there?" she asked. The Captain pointed to the door.

The Chief nodded. "Watch out!" someone screamed. The hatch clanged. In a moment it opened and a guard stumbled out coughing blood.

The Chief ran to her. "What the hell?" There was a crash then angry bellow.

"Look out! It’s loose!" The bull rushed through the hatch, tossing a rope around its neck. Another rope dangled from its waist. It bucked, kicking back and forth, then ran down the corridor. It knocked over a cart loaded with glassware, smashing glass all over the floor.

The startled crew member reared back. The bull smashed through the glass, then lashed out a kick in passing. The woman went down, coughing. "Damn!" the chief snarled. The emergency door slammed shut in front of the bull. "Okay," the chief said, clearly furious. The Chief helped her guard to her feet. "Where is it?" she demanded as she turned. "Gram, get out of here." She thrust the guard behind her.

A woman came out of her room, clutching a towel around her waist dripping wet. "What the hell is going on here?"she said. She shrieked at the sight of the bull and backed up. The bull tossed its head and she was tossed like a rag doll. She landed san's towel sobbing in the corridor. The bull entered her quarters and began smashing things.

"Great. What else could go wrong?" the chief said. The bull exited and turned to face them. Muttering an oath the Chief lunged in front of her Captain.

"Get out of here!" she screamed, drawing her gun.

"Not on your life little one," the captain said. The bull charged. A bulkhead door slammed down behind it. "Well, that didn't work," she said.

The Admiral entered at a full run, slamming into the bull. It twisted, trying to gore him with its horns. "Oh no you don't,” he snarled. Veins popped under his skin as he got a grip on the horns.

"I always liked to take the bull by the horns, but this is ridiculous," he grunted twisting.

"Get it down!" the woman in the entryway called. She was looping a lasso.

"Get clear, I'll shoot it," the Chief called.

"Easier said than done," the Admiral grunted.  If he let go the animal would go right through him.

He went down on his left knee, but the bulls head went down as well. With a bawl it sank to the ground, then onto its side. "Good," the Admiral grunted. He held it there.

The animal's tongue lolled out, and then its eye rolled white. "Oh, now you want to be friends?" he grunted as it panted. The woman with the lasso managed to catch the rear hooves. Another woman went in, roping them together. A front hoof clipped her in the back. She hissed, but managed to finish her lashings.

The woman holding the lasso kept it taut. "Wish I had something to tie this off too," she grunted. "Get another rope on the front legs," she ordered. The Admiral felt a rope brush his back, then drop beside him.

"Watch it," he grunted.

"I got one leg," the woman called. She pulled the rope taught, then followed the lead wrangler's directions and roped it to the rear feet.

“I have the head," another girl called. The Admiral looked up to see the girl had managed to fish out the rope from under the animal's side and then tied it off to a knee knocker.

"Okay, will that hold?" he asked. She nodded.

"Wait," the lead wrangler said.

Another rope was wrapped around the beast's neck then tied off at an opposite corner. "There, you can let go now," she said. He tentatively loosened his grip. The animal thrashed, but couldn't stand.

"Okay." He sat back, out of reach of the horns and hooves.

"Right in the nick of time," the Captain observed.

He sighed, rubbing his left arm. "I was in the neighborhood," he said.

She nodded. "I take it, that is was you with the overhead doors?" she asked. He nodded. "It almost worked," he said. He groaned a bit as he got to his feet. He'd tried to use the internal force fields but they took too long to spin up so he had given up on them.

"You okay?" He asked as he turned to the injured the guard. Blood dribbled from her mouth.

"No, lost some teeth and my jaw hurts," she ground out. She sat down on a knee knocker, one hand on her mouth.

“Probably broken," he grunted. "I hope the others are okay," he said turning. He winced, rubbing his shoulder. "Going to feel that for a while," he said a bit theatrically. In truth Proteus was already flooding the torn abused muscles and ligaments with repairing nanites. He'd be fine in minutes but he didn't want them to know that.

"Not one of your better ideas Vanessa," the Captain said as she turned to the purser but she wasn't near. "Where did she go?" she asked as she  looked around. The purser peaked her head out of a cabin door down the corridor.

"Is it safe?" she asked with a tremor in her voice.

Several people chuckled. "Yeah. Now that your guest is trussed up," the captain said dryly. The Captain shook her head as the purser approached. "Not one of your better ideas," she said again. She shook her head.

"Yeah..." Vanessa looked away. "I just realized that."

The Admiral leaned against the bulkhead and waved off a medic. "Next time I recommend just the embryos or sperm and ova." The Captain looked up at him.

The purser turned confused. "What do you mean?"

He smiled politely at their confusion. "Well, you can purchase embryos and fetuses, or sperm and ova. Transporting them is easier; you can fit thousands in a one hundred centimeter cube," he said. He waved his hands to approximate the size.

The purser looked startled. "How do you know this?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I dated a vet a long..." his face became pensive. "Long time ago," he finished softly. "That's how we did it back then most of the time anyway. It sure beats getting beaten to death." He waved to the medic attending the injured. The Chief looked up and nodded.

The guard gave a weak thumbs up. "I'm all for that," she mumbled.

"That's a calf?" the captain asked. The Captain studied the animal as the crew lifted it onto a hover pallet with tractors. The animal bawled piteously.

"Believe it or not, but yes it is," the purser nodded. "Captain, maybe we should adjourn...”

The Captain waved the idea of retreat away. "Not just yet." She studied the animal.

"It is about six months old according to the records," the Chief wrangler said over her shoulder.

"How did it get loose if you don't mind my asking?" the Chief asked, with a bite in her tone.

The wrangler sighed. "He got mixed in with the cows, and one's in heat," she replied with a grimace. She shook her head, taking off her hat and then wiping her brow. The crew wrestled the cargo pallet through the hatch.

"We had to set up a separate bull pen for him, and we were transferring him when he got loose." She shook her head. "He was as calm as a newborn coming up!" she said in disgust. She put the hat back on. "The cows shit and peed themselves dry all the way up on the shuttle. He came up like it was nothin." She followed the animals in.

The Captain and purser followed. The crew had managed to get the animal into the pen. They removed him from the cargo pallet, moved it to one side then began the dangerous but necessary procedure of releasing him. The Chief wrangler did the last knot after the others had cleared out, and then leapt back. The bull sat there for a moment twitching.

"See if he wants some water," the wrangler ordered. In a moment a bucket was splashed into the trough. The bull sat up, sniffing. "Come on Beauregard; get your titanic ass up," the wrangler smacked his rump smartly. His hide rippled and he looked over to her. "Don't you want some water big boy?" she cajoled. She petted his side.

He started to rise and she hastily backed away. She made it through the gate before he was up. He shook, and then went to the water trough. "Bet he sulks for a while," she said with a grin and then shook her head.

"How much bigger will he get?" the Captain asked.

"Oh, about three or four times bigger. Our ancestors made him that way. Genetic engineering I think they called it," the wrangler answered, wrinkling her nose. She watched with her hands on the top railing. "Don't give him too much just yet, let him settle,” she told her helpers. She turned to the Captain.

"Freeport is the center of the slaughtering trade now," she said. She shook her head. "Biggest round up you ever did see!" She took out a handkerchief and wiped at her sweaty neck.

"Well, I'm glad we don't have them as adults," the captain said. The Captain leaned back.

"So do I, they wouldn't fit through the hatch!" The wrangler snorted.

The Chief silently left the meeting and most of the other senior staff followed suit. Molly and Jennie lingered with the Admiral who was studying a tablet. "Admiral, I don't see what she has against you,” Molly muttered. She sat back, sipping her tea.

"I don't either, you've been here what? Nearly a year? It's time for her to get rid of the paranoid streak," Jennie shook her head. The chief had been a royal pain for the entire meeting. Irons was fairly certain she was doing it because of the save he had made yesterday.

She set her tablet down in front of her and leaned back stretching. "God I hate long meetings. Give me a recalibration any day." She shook her head.

Molly smiled. "Careful what you wish for..." Jennie glared. "Seriously though Admiral, she's getting out of hand," she said.

The Admiral looked up. "The Chief is just doing her job," he said and then shook his head. "She has to see things from a security point of view, and to her I'm one heck of a headache," he shrugged at their expressions. "I try not to be, but she still has to see me that way."

Molly frowned. "Why?" He tapped his right arm with his left. "Oh right your implants."

He nodded. "But not just them, I know the ship inside and out, and it's programmed to follow my orders," he said.

Jennie nodded. "Yeah, okay."

He shrugged. "I can understand her point of view, and will put up with it," he said.

Molly smiled again. "You mean, you'll put up with it as long as they don't get in your way or slow you down."

He chuckled with Jennie. "Yeah." They got up and filed out. He waved to the guards.

"Why keep the guards?" Jennie asked.  They hadn't understood why he had requested to keep them when the captain ordered them to leave him alone.

"Why not? This way she can keep an eye on me, salving her ego and paranoia, and I get a couple helpers who can pitch in, or can keep annoyances away when we're working on something delicate or demanding."

Jennie gave each of the following guards a look over her shoulder, then shrugged. "You say so." He smiled. "Trust me, if I wanted to... do something bad, nothing short of blowing the ship could stop me," he said. Her eyes widened. "Not that I would," he said hastily.

She shivered. "Glad you’re on our side," she said. He smiled.

"Being a warrior on a ship is a long hard path." He looked over the class kneeling on the tatami mats. The dojo was full, not just with guards, but with several other crew members who desired martial arts training. "You have to have Zen patience to deal with long boring assignments, yet be on the constant edge of battle in case you or your partner spots something, anything that's a threat."

He sighed, shaking his head. "I did one short tour of duty in security, I got out fast. I just do not have the mindset to be that patient, to hone my abilities for quick reaction time, yet keep them in check when a false alarm hits." He shook his head then locked eyes with the Chief. "In combat hesitation gets you or your team dead. Not being able to recognize danger, and listen to your instincts can kill."

Her eyes narrowed. He nodded. "When it all comes down to it, your stunner, the computer, sensors, they're all just tools. The real weapon is here," he said. He tapped his temple. "You have to think." He turned to face the dojo's faded scripture on the wall. "A warrior is one trained for battle, but hoping for peace. Trained in the art of war but for the pursuit of peace is the ancient saying."

He turned back to the class. "That's why many martial arts styles teach defensive moves, or in balancing one self." A few nodded. He nodded back. "So, we're going to start with a centering exercise before we move on."

"Why?" her cool soprano was to be expected. He turned to the Chief and smiled thinly.

"The exercise has several reasons, to balance your mind and body, bringing them into focus, and in sync with one another," he explained.

She nodded. "And the others?" she asked.

He nodded. "To get you to relax and focus on your own body and its abilities. To listen and process things, filter it with your mind. To learn to filter out distractions," he said. She nodded. "Let’s begin shall we?"

“I don't see why we need all this medical nonsense. This is all junk and a waste of time, material, and power,” The purser growled.

The chief looked around and shrugged. “Well, tell that to Faith, Audrey, Clarissa, and the others,” she drawled. She was standing beside her grandmother, leaning backwards against the door jam.

The Admiral grimaced. "Chief, the only way to resolve this is to show you. Hit me please." He turned to face her.

Her face worked. "Gladly," she said.

He suppressed Defender's attempt to defend him as her round house connected with his eye. He rolled with it a little, and then stood straight. "Thank you Chief," he said. He looked up to her. She was recovering for another blow.

"Enough. Your point?" the Captain asked.

"This." He pointed to his face. The Captain and Chief gasped. A few of the girls did as well. In moments his face had gone from starting to bruise to bruise with swelling, then immediately fade and return to a normal sheen. "My implants allow me to recover quickly," he explained. He nodded to the doctor. "Just another wonder of Federation medicine," he said and nodded to the doctor. The doctor smiled.

The purser's eyes were round. “I knew you were different, but that's insane,” she breathed.

He chuckled. “Not really, I can absorb a lot of damage; most military personnel have to be able too,” he said. He shrugged. “I hope that answers your concerns,” he said to her. The purser nodded still staring.

Jennie looked up and sighed as they heard footfalls approaching. "Don't look now, but another delegation is coming," she muttered. Molly and the Admiral looked up briefly. The purser and a pair of guards were escorting a family. The woman was in a wheel chair, elderly and frail. She wheezed constantly, clutching at her shawl and the hand of a girl, most likely her daughter. They passed the engineering team, listening avidly to the purser ramble on with her tour.

Molly shook her head. "What was that about? I left strict orders to keep this corridor cleared," she said, clearly annoyed. She frowned at the nearby guard.

She held up her hands. "Don't look at me; I think the Captain okayed it," she said.

Molly sighed. "What was that about anyway?" Molly asked. She frowned, hands on her hips.

"The guy, um, Mister Zachery Sanchez is some sort of local merchant. He traded to get his wife medical attention," the guard answered, and then went back to scanning the corridor.

"Oh," Jennie nodded with a thoughtful look. "Come to think of it, I do remember you mentioning that to the purser, something about offering medical knowledge and treatment?" She gave the Admiral a look.

He shrugged. "What ever works."

"Speaking of which!" Molly said. "Let's see if we can get this calibrated. I'm going nutty trying to get that nano spec right." She sighed, running greasy hands through her hair. Jennie opened her mouth to warn her, then sighed and chuckled in resignation.

"Oh well, guess you’re taking a shower tonight right?" Jen asked. She sat back.

"Oh huh?" Molly asked, looking down at her hands. "Ah crap, yeah, guess I am." She shook her head. The Admiral chuckled.

"So, what's this about medical services?" one of the guards asked. Molly looked over to her. She had a battered face; she must have been a bouncer before being recruited.

"Yeah, the doctor's made some major advances since we got a lot of his equipment repaired," Jennie replied. She shook her head and picked up a wrench.

"Think he could do anything for me?" the guard asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah!" Molly nodded. "Medical is free to anyone of the crew you know."

Jennie grunted as she tugged at her wrench. "Yeah, and with a face like yours...” she muttered.

The guard growled. Jennie looked up alarmed. "Sorry, I meant, yeah, you could," she said, suddenly aware she had put her foot in her mouth with the wrong person.

The guard leaned forward, going nose to broken nose to Jennie. Jennie looked into her cold eyes and gulped. "You have a problem with my face?" she asked quietly. Jennie began to sweat.

"Quit playing and get back to work!" Molly interrupted.

The guard just stared. "Uh, no, no problem," Jennie said as she backed up and then tripped, sitting down hard on top of Molly.

"OOF! GET OFF!" The two struggled until the guard reached in and picked Jennie up by her collar. Gently she set her down.

"Uh thanks."

The Admiral shook his head. "To answer your previous question, yes, there's a problem with your face, your broken nose if repaired could make you feel better, and breathe easier. He might even be able to replace the missing teeth," he said. He shrugged as her face worked.

The guard stared then grinned a broken grin. "You really think so?" she asked hope in her voice. Jennie caught the note of barely suppressed longing and excitement.

"I know so. I've been in some real brawls in my time, and trust me; I wouldn't have any teeth or a nose if not for doctors," the admiral said in amusement. The Admiral shook his head, touching his nose. "This poor thing was flattened three times in a month!"

The guard chuckled. "Admiral, when we get to Gaston, remind me to take you to a bar called Sweet meat on Filth Avenue."

He chuckled. "I may just take you up on that...If we get this done."

"Admiral, the Chief is coming," Sprite alerted him.

"Trouble coming folks, look busy," he said fast. He quickly ducked down into the crawlspace. The guards chuckled, but immediately cut it off as the sharp echoing footsteps of the Chief could be heard. They paused next to the open crawlspace.

"Any problems?" The Chief asked the now sober guards.

Mutely they shook their heads. "Um, Chief, I was wondering about the medical situation," the battered guard started in.

"What about it?" the Chief asked, giving her a long look.

"Well, I well, I mean we...She looked over to her partner who looked up.

”We were wondering if we could get a check up, maybe get some repairs," she said, bailing her partner out.

The Chief hummed for a moment. "Maybe."

"I'd like to get these teeth fixed," the woman said.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea. Okay, I'll see what I can do."  They heard her turn and leave. "Oh, and next time, make sure the purser knows she isn't supposed to come by here when we're working?" the guard called.

"Purser?" The Chief asked, immediately stopping.

Her footfalls returned. "She was here?" she demanded.

The women grunted. "With a tour group."

"We have some safety issues ma'am, last thing we need is some downer getting scorched if there's a blow out," the guard replied.

"Yeah," the other guard said.

"Hmm." The group in the tunnel could hear her tapping something.

"All right, I'll have a word with her," she said and then paused. "But if that fancy pants Admiral is so good, there wouldn't be a safety problem," she muttered.

"Well, he's doing his best ma'am, but he's only human," the guard said.

The Chief snorted. "Try telling that to the Captain and rest of the crew, they all think he's a miracle worker," her tone was cutting; Jennie picked up with it and started to exit. The Admiral put a restraining hand on her arm.

"Well ma'am, I think the repairs that we have now are a miracle, so in a way..." the guard left the thought hanging.

The Chief grunted. "Shows you've been around him too long, I'll have to change the roster again," she sighed and left.

As her footfalls receded Molly tweaked her bolt. "Okay, I think that did it. These torque wrenches are a pain!"

Jennie's slipped and fell with a clatter. "Damn!" she muttered and bent over to get it.

"Coast is clear," the guard said softly. Carefully Jennie picked the wrench up, checked the readout, and then crawled out of the space with a long suffering sigh.

"I told you, these things are delicate," the Admiral called after her.

"Second one this shift!" Jennie muttered.

Molly sighed. "Miss klutzy live up to her reputation?" she asked.

He chuckled. "Happens to everyone, we all get the drops from time to time," he said soothingly. Molly gave off another long suffering sigh.

"Oh ha ha," Jennie called into the chute.

As they walked down the corridor a few hours later they could hear sounds of an altercation up ahead and around the bend. Jennie looked over to the security personnel. “I think we have a problem," she said. The two guards shouldered their way past the engineers to the fore. They stepped into a trot, then when sounds of punches could be heard a run. They rounded the corner a few seconds before the engineers.

When the Admiral, Jennie, Trisha, and Molly came around the bend it was over. "What the hell do you think you’re doing?" one of the girls asked, gaping at the purser on the ground crying. One of the new recruits stood over her, restrained from behind by a guard. The other guard had her weapon out, pointed down but faced the crowd.

"You three should get out of here," she said over her shoulder, not looking away from the ugly crowd.

"Damn traitor!" Several of the women called.

"Traitor?" "Who?" Trisha and Jennie asked confused.

"Never mind them, let’s get out of here," Molly replied, grabbing them by the arms and pulling them back around the bend.

“Admiral, trace amounts of alcohol detected,” Proteus reported.

“Great, boozed up and in a foul mood,” one of the guards commented. She had apparently gotten a good whiff of someone.

“Like being downwind of a brewery,” The Admiral commented.

"Admiral, come on," Molly tugged on his arm.

He shook his head. "Defender."

"Shields are already up and on standby," the AI reported.

He nodded. "Access the net, turn on the security fields."

He looked over to the knee knocker. "I can't Admiral, they're down," Defender reported as the emitters glowed, then faded.

"Okay, guess it's time to play roadblock." He stepped around the guard to the crowd. "Ladies, I believe you were given an order to disperse. To leave. Time you followed it," he growled as he eyed the group.

"We're not leaving till that lying bitch gets hers!" one in the lead pointed to the new recruit.

The Admiral waved her down. "Softly." He looked over his shoulder to see the recruit had stopped struggling.

The purser got up, then punched her in the gut. "You bitch!"

The guards hesitated. "Okay, not good," Sprite commented.

"Why? Because I want to better myself?" the recruit gasped, struggling once more.

The guard turned her, placing herself between the purser and the restrained woman. "Knock it off!" she bellowed.

"I don't want to toss cargo the rest of my life, how is that wrong!" the girl shrieked.

"It's not," the Admiral replied.

"The hell it isn't!" the loud mouth said lip curled.

"Admiral, I detect a great deal of alcohol on her breath," Sprite reported.

"Great." He stepped forward. "All right, let’s all calm down," he said, trying to project control. He waved to the group.

The girl turned, then snarled and took a swing. With automatic reflexes he blocked the blow, slapping it aside into the air. A quick rabbit punch to her diaphragm left her gasping on the deck. He stood in the standard horse stance, and glared at the crowd. "You were asked nicely to leave; now you can do so, or join your friends," he growled.

The women at the back of the crowd looked up as a whistle sounded. In ones and twos the crowd melted away. He straightened and nodded to the approaching guards. "Ladies," he said. He turned to see the purser still trying to get at the recruit. "I think someone needs to restrain her."

He stepped aside to watch two women step in and pin the purser to the deck. "Do you know who you’re dealing with!" the purser shrieked. "I'll have you all spaced for this!" she cried, muffled sobs started as the guard locked her hands behind her back. "Damn you! Damn you!" the purser writhed, trying to kick.

"That is quiet enough!" a hoarse voice snarled. The Admiral looked up to see the Captain float around the corner. Jennie and Molly followed tentatively.

"I told you to knock it off. You never did know when to quit," the captain said, eyes cold. The purser deflated. "I think it's high time you take some time to cool off in the drunk tank," she growled. She nodded to the guards as they picked the purser and loud mouth up. The Captain nodded.

The Chief came in. "What's the problem here?" she demanded. She looked around.

"Late granddaughter," the captain said. She shook her head. The Chief was wet, and hastily dressed.

"Caught you in the pool?" the Captain asked amused. Her granddaughter nodded, never looking away from the restrained pair.

“What happened?" she asked.

"It seems the purser and a group of drunken followers didn't like some of the ladies switching specialties, they decided to hunt a few down and change their minds the hard way," the lead guard shook her head.

"And your part in this?" the Chief turned rounding on the engineer.

"Crowd control,” he answered and shrugged.

She nodded gruffly. "All right, I'll buy that." Her eyes returned to the purser.

Vanessa writhed and spat, a bloody tooth landed on the new recruit's coverall. "Dumb bitch didn't know a good thing when she had it."

The Captain shook her head sadly. "Vanessa Vanessa..." She sighed after a long moment. "We'll talk about this when you’re sober." She nodded to the Chief. "They're all yours," she said floating backwards.

The Chief indicated the recruit as the purser struggled. "What about her?" she asked.

The Captain stopped. "What about her? She was involved, take her statement, and then we'll put her before the Captain's mast tomorrow with the rest. She was a victim, but we still have to have an investigation," she said. She nodded to the recruit. She nodded back.

“Put her in her quarters though, with a guard," the captain said.

The Chief nodded. "Good idea." She looked the drunks over.

A pair of guards came up hustling another pair of drunks. "Caught these two running," one said. The Chief nodded. "Put them in with the rest, we'll sort them out later," she growled and then  nodded to the others.

"Was it too much for her to thank you?" Molly muttered stepping up beside him as the guards left. "Apparently so." Jennie answered. "Well, that was exciting! Let’s get back to work, shall we?"

They filed in to the wardroom later the next morning and sat down heavily. The purser was hand dog, quiet and sullen. Her face was bruised. Obviously the recruit, Anita Vandrsosovich got in some punches of her own. "This sucks,"she snarled. She sat down and impatiently held out her hand to the steward.

"Well, hurry up!" The steward rushed forward, nearly slopping her drink. She handed the woman the cup then another to the Chief.

The door opened and the Captain hovered into the room. "Good morning all," she said politely and nodded. "I see we're getting a start on our caffeine, some of us old folks need it." She nodded politely as she pulled up to the table and the steward set a cup of tea down in front of her.

Another maid set coffee cups down in front of the other officers and an urn of coffee. The Captain took a delicate sip, and then set the cup down. "So, we've had an interesting day!" She looked over to the purser who muttered.

"Something to say Vanessa?" she asked, syrupy sweet, but with an underlying hint of steel.

"I am, I mean, Captain, it isn't right for them to poach my best people!" she said, finally deciding to just go for it. She slapped the table and glared at the engineering contingent.

"Is that so?" the Captain asked and then took another sip. "It seems to me they're all MY people." She sat back, setting the cup down and stirring it gently.

"Captain, what's next, recruit the maids?" Vanessa waved to the women in maids uniforms huddled behind the Captain.

"And why not?" the voice of the Admiral cut through her rant. "They can learn like anyone else, and may be tired of their daily routine."

She turned on him. “This is all your fault!" she lashed out at the new target in front of her.

He eyed her for a moment. "Guilty."

She sat back eyes wide. "Guilty of wanting people to learn, to give them the opportunity to better themselves," he said. He waved to them. "The stewards for example may have untapped potential. Behind that daily drudgery may lurk a Beethoven, or a navigator like Perez, or a gifted negotiator." He waved to the startled stewards who blushed. "Give them a chance, they may surprise you," he added, and then sat back.

"What them?" the moral officer looked them over with contempt. "All their good for is drudgery." She shook her head. One of the girls was about to protest but the Captain's steward restrained her with a hand on her arm.

"You were about to say something Kasey?" the Captain asked. She turned to the girl.

"Yes Captain. I came aboard hoping for a better life. I spent my life on a farm, cooking, cleaning, and making beds. I wanted something more that's why I'm here, why we're all here," she said, unsure of how to say it. She waved to indicate the compartment. "I want to see the galaxy, and do more than just make beds and serve food," she sighed.

The Captain nodded. "Perhaps it's time we did let you grow a little," she said gently. She looked at Vanessa, then the moral officer. "Perhaps it is time you were given a chance to spread your wings," she said, voice firming. She nodded to the Admiral. "

Thank you Captain," the girl said, sighing softly and trying to hide her tears.

The Captain turned. "There's no shame in tears child, and no shame in doing what you've been doing, or wanting to do more," she nodded to the Admiral. "I forgot that. It seems we all did." She looked Vanessa and the hunching moral officer over. "If we had decided that all we could do was what we were told to, we would never had gotten on this ship and started this journey," she said with a small smile.

Vanessa looked thoughtful. "But what can you do?" She turned to the girl.

"I can learn," she said. She stood shoulders straight with quiet pride. "I've been learning to read, and I'm learning math. I took the basic first aid course, and I want to learn more," she said in quiet pride. Vanessa stared at her mouth open. "I want to learn how to be a pilot," she finally said, eyes shining with hope.

She looked the engineer in the eye who nodded. "The Admiral let me use a piloting simulator, I'm still not very good, but I'm getting better," she admitted.

The pilot looked up. "Which one? Shuttle sim thirteen or alpha flight?"

The girl squirmed. "Shuttle flight, but I also tried the ship simulator too," she admitted. She looked at the Admiral helplessly.

He smiled and nodded in approval. "Good." She looked relieved.

The Captain nodded. "All right, you’re relieved." The girl started to object.

The Captain held up her wrinkled hand palm out. "No Kasey, you’re going to be in the pilot's program with Hibiki and the others," she said firmly. She nodded to her long faced steward. "I want you to make us proud." The girl rushed to the Captain and hugged her, sobbing. "There there child," the Captain said softly, patting her head.

"I will! I WILL! I'll make you proud!" the girl said, over and over.

The Chief nodded. "See that you do." She nodded to her grandmother.

"I want you to run a simulation now. Save the game so we can review it," the pilot ordered.

The girl looked up, dashed her tears with her hand then nodded. "Yes ma'am." She rushed from the compartment without a backwards glance.

"Well, that was interesting, nothing like drama on this ship," the Captain shook her head, taking a sip of her tea. "Blast it's cold," she muttered. The steward was already at her side, and took the cup. She handed her another. "Thank you Charlie," she said, smiling to the middle aged woman. She nodded politely to the officers. The Chief sat back with an amused look. "So, since that's settled, let’s move on, how's engineering?" she asked turning to Molly. They made the usual round of reports, and then broke to return to their duties.

Molly entered the engineering compartment and looked around in tired satisfaction. The engineers had been working all out, some working double shifts. Their time in port had been a magnificent time; so many changes had been rout! Now that they were in the A note of Beta, she both relished and dreaded the next challenge. She waved to Jennie and the Admiral as she approached. Jennie smiled and turned, then turned back to hand her a steaming cup.

"Coffee?" Jennie offered.

Molly's eyes lit in appreciation. She took a sip. "Coffee!" She smiled her thanks.

"So, what's on the agenda today? Overhaul the reactor? What about the antimatter reactor, don't we need fuel for it?" Molly asked cradling the cup.

The Admiral studied Molly and shook his head. She had probably six hours of sleep; the girls were killing themselves trying to keep up with him. He took a breath. "No, we don't have antimatter, so there's no point working on that system." He shrugged it off.

"Why not? Can't we make some?" Jennie asked.

He shook his head. "There were four ways to make antimatter. Each of them were basically the same, with just the means of energy to power the particle accelerators that differed. Giant solar arrays around a star, plasma tap of a star, fusion generators, or a hyperspace station called a quantum tap."

He sat back and picked up his coffee. "Obviously, all those methods are out," he said.

Jennie grimaced. "Okay." She looked down at her tablet. "What about our reactor then? Or the structural repairs on the bow? You said we need more internal bracing around that breach," she said.

He nodded. "Yes, but I've done what I can with the reactor, the rest will have to wait until we can shut it down in real space again."

He studied Jennie. Her eyes were bloodshot. She held onto the cup like her life depended on it. He came to a decision. "No, we need to do a bit of fine tuning with the current systems, work out the bugs and catch up on the routine maintenance we've let slide during our last all out effort," he said. He tapped his tablet and uploaded a list.

Trisha looked at hers. "Okay, I see here, yeah, fans, that leak on deck four, filters, broken heater coil, this is all minor stuff!" she said in disgust.

He nodded. "Minor stuff has a way of causing problems, or hiding major problems. Deferred maintenance is a problem and a bad habit."

Trisha nodded. Her face was gaunt, and slightly pale. "Let’s get some of the bugs out. I need to work in the mainframe and zap a few bugs that are cropping up, and rewrite a few modules so we can use the equipment more efficiently. Shandra wants me to help clean up that simulator program too," he said. Molly nodded. She sighed softly. "Okay then, let’s get to work ladies." She turned and blushed. "And gentleman," she said pursing her lips in a smile. He bowed over his cup.

The others dispersed. "Taking it easy on us?" she murmured as he lingered.

"A little. All those double shifts can cause brown outs or burn outs. I think we need to take it easy for a couple days and get the bugs out, let people relax and let their bodies unwind. Throw too much at them and they could break, or overlook something and have an accident," he replied matter of factly.

She shuddered. "Yeah, we've had a few in the past couple days, all minor."

He nodded. "We should get some time off for some of the crew too, maybe have a party or something to let them unwind," he suggested.

She nodded. "I'll talk to the morale officer, see what she can do," she said.

He saluted her with his cup. "You do that, I can't stand politics," he grimaced.

She grimaced as well. "Me neither." He chuckled as she left.

"Awe, not more of this crap again! Ever since we left New Texas it's been the same crap," Jennie sighed, looking over her tablet. The Admiral sat back looking over his. He took a sip of his coffee and listened with half an ear. The griping had begun the second day and was getting worse every shift.

"So, if you don't like it, switch with someone,” he finally suggested.

Her face took on a thoughtful, then mischievous look. "Sure!" She snatched his tablet from his fingers, and then dumped hers in his lap.

"Thanks!" She got up and grinned. She waved as she picked up her toolbox and walked out.

He was frozen with the cup at his lips. He took a sip then sat back. "What ever works I guess,” he said amused. Trisha looked apprehensive. He waved her concern off."Oh don't worry about it. I don't mind. She might when she gets to the sewage cleaning part," he said with a tight lipped grin.

Trisha's eyes went wide, and then she began to giggle. "Yeah she just might."

He looked over the tablet. "Okay, next on the agenda... window repair?" He looked up in disbelief. "You’re kidding right?"

The guard deadpanned then shrugged. "I'm just the escort."

He sighed. "Okay, let’s get this over with." They came up to the indicated quarters and clicked the door bell.

"Yes? One moment," an anxious voice replied. He could hear shuffling inside, and then the door opened. A woman was there, shouldering on a kimono. "Yeah, can you do something with that?" She had her back to him. He looked over to where she had pointed. There was a set of curtains.

"I don't know what you’re talking about?" He stepped into the quarters. One of the guards followed.

The woman spun. "Oh Admiral!"

She waved. "I didn't know they'd assign this to you!" He waved it off.

"I traded work assignments with Jennie for the day," he replied. He stepped over to the curtains and pulled them back. A window out into space was there. "Nice." He could see an image of a virtual planet revolving below. "It's working fine. What seems to be the problem?"

The girl looked confused. "I can't sleep; can you board it up or cover it over with something else?" she asked.

He studied the controls. "Why don't you just shut it off?" he finally asked.

She looked confused. "You can't shut a window off can..." He tapped a button as she said this and the window blanked. "You...okay, maybe you can. How'd you do that?" she demanded. She came over and studied the window.

"It's not a real window, it's a LCD screen," he explained. He pointed to the controls. "Think of it as a big screen. You can get a look out, or other things."

She looked over to him. "Like what?"she asked, folding her arms in front of her.

He tapped the controls. "Well, let’s see here, someone loaded a beach on Cancun..." He tapped the control and a beach scene came to life in the wall.

Her eyes widened in appreciation. "Oh wow! You can even see the tree branches swaying."

He smiled. "Palm trees. There are also speakers for sound and music," he replied. He tapped the controls again. An airless moon came up.

"Oh, I don't like that...” Then the virtual sun crested the lunar horizon, blinding them with light. She reared back shielding her eyes. "Well, that'll wake you up in the morning," she said. He chuckled tapping the controls.

"Okay, it looks like there are some twenty different scenes in the memory card," he said.

She looked it over. "Show me," she ordered. He patiently explained how the controls worked. She tried it a few times.

"If there's nothing else?" She didn't even look up, totally engrossed in the movie playing out on the screen. The guard was watching too. He chuckled, motioning her out. She had her eyes glued to the screen and watched it as she walked out.

She bumped into the other guard and turned. "Oh, sorry," she said to her partner.

The other guard glared. "You’re supposed to be keeping an eye on him, not the girl..." she reminded.

"I wasn't watching the girl, there was a movie," the guard said and shook her head.

"What if the Chief had caught you?" the second demanded and then shook her head.

The second guard blushed.

"No harm, no foul. No harm done," the Admiral interjected before the argument got out of hand. "Okay ladies, next is... a broken shower on deck three." He waved to the lift. "Shall we?"

"So, we managed to get the valve locked down, and she pushed the button..." Molly smiled maliciously as she entered the galley with Jennie.

"Let me guess, back flush?" Jennie demanded.

Molly giggled. "You betcha, right in her face!" Jennie joined in the giggles. The two of them stepped over to the counter and ordered. Their tray arrived and Molly scooped it up. Jennie grabbed the drinks. "So, anyway, oh hi Admiral!" Molly tried to wave, but nearly unbalanced the tray.

"Careful with that!" Jennie cautioned.

The Admiral looked up from the tri-d board and smiled. "Ladies, in for a late lunch?" he asked. He made a move on the board, and then leaned back as they set their tray down at the table.

"Ran into a messy problem in the deck eight life support," Molly admitted. The girls waved. "Yeah, I can smell it," he wrinkled his nose.

The girls grimaced. "Sorry."

"Who are you playing against?" Molly nodded to the board.

"The computer." He studied the board and made a move.

"I'll have to challenge you to a game sometime," Molly said. He turned to Molly who was grinning. "If you’re up to it," she teased.

He nodded. "Check mate."

She studied the board. "Oh," she said quietly. Her face was no longer amused. He smiled.

The galley door opened and Shandra leaned in. "Admiral, we're ready."

He got up. "All right, be right there," he said. He nodded politely to the two girls.

"What's up?" Molly asked, taking a bite of her salad.

"We're working on a simulator for the higher bands of hyperspace," he explained.

Jennie froze. "So that's why the computer's running so hard!"

He shrugged. "Well, that and I'm recompiling a few segments of programming, and rewriting the neural processor tree to get crude embed AI," he added. Jennie's mouth went slack.

Molly sighed. "Obviously, I need to brush up on my computer techno speak," she said in disgust. He chuckled. "Ask Jennie, I think she knows." He waved as he left with the guards.

"Admiral, I'd like to thank you," Anita said as he walked down the corridor. He had just finished up with a satisfying session with Shandra. The girl came over, holding up a pair of goggles. He nodded. "It isn't the same as skiing for real..." she said.

He smiled politely. “But it helped with the home sickness?" he asked.

Anita nodded. "Yeah." She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

He stiffened, more from fighting off Defender's automatic defenses then in surprise. "Thank you!" she whispered in his ear and then gave him a peck on the cheek.

He hugged her back. "No problem," he said. He patted her back.

"What's going on?" Trisha asked, looking out of the door.

"Nothing nothing!" Anita said, breaking the embrace and smiling fondly at the Admiral. "Thanks,"she mouthed and left.

"What'd I miss?" Trisha asked amused.

He shrugged. "Did you get the heater fixed?"

She shook her head. “No stripped screws," she said, clearly disgusted.

He grimaced. "Okay, I have a tool for that." He motioned her back into the compartment.

"Admiral, you’re going to be mated in two moves," Sprite reported as he looked over the game carefully. The 3D chess set wasn't new to the crew, the rules were.

"Hmmm."

Molly tapped her fingers on the arm rest; she had a smug smile on her face. "Well?" she demanded. He shook his head. The crowd around the table murmured.

His eyes narrowed. "Got it," he said thoughtfully. He pointed with his index finger to a knight, then to a space two levels up and one to the left. "There," he said.

She studied the board, gleaming eyes suddenly narrowing. "Hey wait...I thought I had you..." she said in growing concern. He smiled and sat back. She sighed after a long moment.

"Okay, let’s see about this!" She took the knight with the queen. The knight burst into a holographic explosion of light and debris.

He smiled. "You sure about that?"

She sat back and rubbed her glasses. "I, um, I guess so," she said, now unsure.

He smiled. "Okay, too bad," he said. He pointed at his bishop two levels down, then up to the queen. The bishop took the queen, who burst into a nova.

"Damn! Why didn't I see that!" she said, suddenly aghast. He smiled again. Some of the girls were muttering. Molly waved their chatter away angrily.

When the murmuring didn't quit she rounded on them. "Will you chatter heads knock it off? I'm trying to concentrate!" The murmuring died down. "I mean honestly, all the yada yada!" she muttered touching her king. She looked at the Admiral who smiled enigmatically. "Oh no you don't you’re not taking me that easily," she growled. She paused her right movement and went to the left and down. "There!" she said. She sat back. "Your move," she said, now unsure.

He sighed theatrically, shaking his head and tsk tsking. She groaned.  "Molly Molly, and you were doing so well!" He motioned to his queen. "Have at ye!" The queen moved in up against the king. "Check Mate!" he said.

She stared at the board. The audience was silent. "Wait, can't I take her?" she demanded. He shook his head. "Look at the bishop, it's covering her," he said.

She looked up, and then traced her finger down the diagonal path. "Damn!" She sat back "Damn!" She reached in and flicked her king he toppled over to explode in virtual sparks and ruin. "You win," she admitted. She shook her head. "Should have known better to play a strategy game with an Admiral!" she said. Some of the audience chuckled. He shrugged.

"Actually, I'm better skilled in engineering then strategy," he admitted and then smiled.

"Oh gee, thanks!" Molly sighed, shaking her head. The audience dispersed. She looked up to the see the board on the big screen. "Damn! Did this go over the entire net?" she demanded. The Admiral put on his best innocent expression. She growled at him.

"Well, maybe," he admitted. He spread his hands apart. She shook her head.

"Never going to live this one down," she said in disgust.

He chuckled. "Some master strategist you are," Jennie teased, coming up behind Molly and cradling a drink. Molly snagged the drink and took a sip. "Hey! That's mine!" Jennie protested.

Molly smiled and took a sip. "Not anymore!"

Jennie chuckled. "Okay, I deserved that." She shook her head.

"You shouldn't tease someone if you’re in arms reach." the Admiral observed sitting back. "So, want to know what you did wrong?" he asked Molly. She waved him away.

"No, I'd rather not see my humiliating defeat replayed over and over again. I'll figure it out," she said. She shook her head and walked off.

Jennie sat down in her place. "So, I see you’re having a bit more fun, life isn't all playing with your spanners?" she asked.

He smiled. "Something like that."

She smiled back. "Good to know. I hear the next port of call is a medieval colony Avalon, but we should be able to make some drive repairs while we're in space," she said. He nodded. "You want to get the hyperdrive to Gamma?" He nodded again.

“I've tuned the hyperdrive twice, rebuilt her twice, we've replaced the cables, and most of the computer circuitry and it’s ready,” he said.

A waitress set a drink down in front of him. "Thanks," he said to her. He picked it up and took a sip.

"Think the old girl can take it?" Jen asked.

He smiled as he set the cup down. "Of course, we still have a ways to go on H&A before we can go to Gamma, but we shouldn't have a problem getting into F note of the beta band," he said.

She nodded, looking thoughtfully at the board for a long moment. "I heard you gave the navigators a simulator program to practice on," she finally said.  He nodded. "Actually, I saw the computer cycle time in the logs and asked about it."

He smiled. "Glad you’re checking up on that," he said.

She nodded. "Yeah, I caught a couple crew members trying to shut the firewall down to upload a game infected with viruses too," she said with a grimace. She shook her head. "Some people will never learn."

He sighed. "Yeah, that was a problem in my time too," he admitted.

She nodded. "Glad to know we haven't changed in that regard I guess," she said.

He gave her a look. "That wasn't a compliment."

She got up, "Could have fooled me!" She smiled and waved as she left.

"Sprite, did I miss something?" he asked softly.

"You just told her your time wasn't perfect. It wasn't the golden age of perfection," the AI said, sounding close to exasperated. He nodded in understanding.

"Okay, I can live with that, we had our warts," He said with a wince.

"Okay, is she fat or is she pregnant?" Irons asked softly. He could tell she was pregnant from her scanners but he was curious to know if others knew. The Admiral turned to Jennie as the woman walked out of ear shot.

"Pregnant. Apparently she slept with some guy downside at New Texas,"Jennie said. Jennie shook her head after a moment. "It happens," she sighed wistfully, looking out the window then back. "There are fourteen kids on the ship, but not one boy. You, Hibiki, the doc, and Bart are it."

He looked alarmed. He really hadn't paid close enough attention to the crew dynamics before apparently. Jennie smiled at his expression. "So you see now why some of the ladies are kind of taken with you," she said.

He held up his hands. "Whoa!"

Her smile turned into a grin. "Oh don't worry, Shandra would kill me if I dumped her for you,” she said. He chuckled, suddenly feeling relief..

He passed a pair of giggling girls and looked back to them, then the guard. "What's going on?" he asked.

Tara shrugged. "Either it was a juicy piece of gossip or it's movie night," she sighed.

"Movie night?" the Admiral asked looking at another group coming down. He paused and then flattened himself against the bulkhead.

He looked back to see the giggling pair enter the galley. "Movie night must be a doozie," Tara sighed again.

"Yeah, it's a western romance!" The Admiral looked to his left to see Molly, Jennie, Trisha, and Mindy had broken from the throng of girls.

"It starts in a minute. Come on!" the girls said together. Each girl latched onto an arm and then dragged him to the door. Reluctantly he let himself be led, but he tried to get out of it.

"Really, I've a lot of work to do, honest!"  he said. They ignored the pleading and pulled him into the galley. The room erupted in applause.

"Glad you could make it!" Tara pushed him from behind.

"Face it Admiral, you're surrounded and out gunned, best give in to the inevitable," Molly said, eyes twinkling. He shook his head. Molly grinned. "Sit, or be sat on." He sighed and sat in the indicated seat. Jennie sat down next to him, Molly on his right. One of the girls with pigtails Tia sat on Molly's other side. Tara sat behind him. The other guard, Frie, stood by the door.

"So what are we watching again?" Tara asked, passing a ceramic container of seeds to Jennie. She took a handful and placed them in her lap then passed the bowl to the Admiral. He took a few and then passed it on.

"Western romance is all I heard." Jennie replied, and then popped a seed in her mouth.

Molly handed her a candied apple on a stick. "Here you go!" The lights dimmed and the wall screen came to life.

"Thanks for showing me how to do this Admiral," Jennie said, nibbling at the apple.

"No problem," He said, trying hard not to sound put out over being kidnapped. Several girls shushed them. He chuckled softly. The sounds of an American western theme song began to play. He shook his head. "Going to be a long night," he muttered.

Jennie grinned. "Yeah, I forgot to tell you, it's a double feature," she said. He groaned again.

Chapter 10

"Are you sure about this doctor?" The nervous gardener looked around, and clutched at the gown. "I'm sure if you’re busy we can do this some other time...” She started to get up.

He gently set his hand on her shoulder and eased her back down. "Nonsense, removing a cataract is a simple procedure. We don't have the ability to program or control nanites, but we...”

She froze in alarm. Her pulse went erratic and she paled. "Nanites? Did you say nanites? Promise me doctor you won’t try those hellish machines on me!" She clutched at his arm.

"Gently dear. No, as I was saying, we can't. So we're going the old fashion route and putting you under to remove the cataract," he explained.

The woman laid back. "We have nanites on this ship?" the old woman demanded. Mindy set the mask over her face. She breathed. The doctor checked his tools.

"Really, I must talk to the Captain about those machines, they should all be destroyed at once... at..." she let out a soft sigh and her eyelids drooped.

"That's right, just breathe normally," the doctor said. She tried to keep her eyes open.

"Out an airlock..." she mumbled woozily.

Mindy looked up at the readout then to the doctor. “She's out."

He nodded. "This would be so much easier with nanites. Technically we could have done this with a local anesthetic, but I knew she'd be a problem," he sighed as they put a brace around her head. "Okay, we need to swab the area, and then peel back the cornea to expose the cataract..."

The Admiral came into the compartment and looked around. A girl was seated doing her nails. He went over to her duty station and took a look at the board. He made some adjustments. "Aren't you supposed to be monitoring this?" he asked.

She looked up then blew on her nails. "What? It's not like it's important or anything," she said distracted. She waved it off. He realized she was waving her hands to dry her nails.

"Yeah it is, this is the starboard fuel station, there's a clog in the line, and the line needs to be back flushed. We're having problems with the engine now."

She looked up in disinterest. "Oh."

She came over to the station and looked it over. "What are you talking about?"

He grimaced. "Here." He pulled up the log. "See? There's a constriction in fuel to the port engine. There's a clog, most likely a stuck valve or debris in the line," he explained patiently. She tried to look around his arm. He moved to the side so she could get a better view. "Here, see?"

She nodded. "So?" She waved it off. "Do you mind? I have a date tonight and I need to finish getting ready." She waved to the door.

He felt his temper soar and tried to fight it down. "Now look, you're here on duty, you’re supposed to be monitoring this and heading problems like this one off before they effect the ship."

He tapped in the controls. “It's easy, you check the different flow read outs, hmmm yes see, there's a noticeable drop off here." He pointed to a line of code. "Now we know where to focus on." He tapped the line, bringing it up. "Now we can't reroute, but I can do a fast back flush," he explained. He tapped the controls. The flow slowed then stopped.

"What are you doing?" she asked alarmed.

"Flushing it to see if it's debris." The flow reversed but didn't relieve the pressure. "Hmm, no, stuck valve." He tapped the controls again, returning flow back to normal.

"Okay, so we know it's a valve or constriction." He tapped the logs. "Now you log the problem, and engineering will take a look when the engine is off." He looked over to her. She was looking down, studying her nails. "See?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," she said with an as if I care note in her voice.

His lips thinned into a snarl. "Even a moron can figure it out."

Stung she looked up. Her eyes slitted and her nostrils flared. "Moron?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, people who are assigned important duties but blow them off," he said, meeting glare for glare. He turned to her, straightening to his full height. Command voice and manner edged into his demeanor. "You know the type from personal experience now don't you?" he demanded. The bite was there. Her eyes flickered with rage. Her hands curled into claws. "Why you...”

The guard cleared her throat. The woman didn't notice at first. "Yes?"

He gave her a long cool look. "If you can't do a simple job like this, I suggest you ask for relief." He studied her. "I'm sure the cook or steward could use someone to clean or bus tables." He moved around the woman. "I'll just put in a word for you." He could hear the snarl in her throat.

"You bastard," she snarled.

He stopped. The guard moved forward, grabbing the girls arm. She tried to shake it off and failed. "Stupid know it all male," she snarled lips curling. Suddenly that made him laugh.

The guard looked at him confused. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Stupid know it all? Oh that's rich," he said in between chuckles. He waved to the door control and turned to leave.

"You'll be hearing from the Captain about this," the woman snarled.

"Maybe." He shrugged.

"Coming?" he asked the guard. Reluctantly she let go of the woman's bicep and backed away. She followed him out. The second guard was there.

"Admiral was that wise?" the first asked shaking his head.

"There's only so much stupidity and sloppiness I can put up with," he grumbled.

"Yeah, but we're not military," she replied.

He waved as they walked down the corridor. "Do you think that matters if you're military or not?" He shook his head. "What if there was a blockage? Or if the flow was out of control and the engine was overheating?" She looked confused. "The bridge controls are limited, they can't see everything, Can't run everything. She's the eyes here, she's supposed to catch problems and fix or report them," he said. He waved to a tech that waved back. She climbed a ladder, and then began installing a new lighting fixture. "We all have a job to do here. If she can't do it, she shouldn't be there right?"

The guard nodded. "Okay." He nodded back.

"Now you've done it," Jennie leaned over to warn him a while later.

He looked over to the opening hatch with the security Chief and sighed. "Great, just what I didn't need."

The Chief stormed in with the nail girl following. She looked smug, holding back slightly but within ear shot. "Just what the hell do you think you’re doing chewing people out?" she demanded. Molly paused in her discussion with a tech and looked over.

"What do you mean by that?" the Admiral asked mildly.

"I mean her!" The Chief pointed to the now grinning girl. "You had no right to waltz in and take over! And to be so rude!" she said. She waved one hand; the other remained on her pulser at her hip.

"You have a problem with my performance?" he asked tapping the controls.

"Yes! Pay attention!"

Molly cleared her throat.  From her look she wanted to know what was going in. The engineer looked up then back to the Chief. "The young woman in question was not doing her job putting the ship at risk," he said. He met the chief's eyes coolly.

"I'll handle this Admiral," Molly said firmly. He stepped back as Molly came in between them, hands on her hips. "You have a problem with my department or my people you talk to me Chief," she looked the Chief straight in the eye.

"I don't interfere with your security personnel," She waved to the guards standing around. "You stay the hell out of my department." She adjusted her glasses. The Chief looked momentarily taken aback. "If that lazy cunt can't do the job as the Admiral reported, I'm sure we can find her something else to do," she growled. She looked over the shoulder to the girl who was visibly shrinking back, eyes wide. "Just off the top of my head, who's manning that station while you two are here?" Molly snarled. The girl flushed.

"Exactly, I didn't think so," she said, voice cold. She turned back to the Chief. "You see my problem? She leaves her station, doesn't do her work." She waved to the engineer. "Let the people who aren't lazy, who are doing the work alone. Go back to your own department." She waved to the door.

"Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out," Molly growled. The Chief stepped back nostrils flaring. The two guards exchanged looks. "Go on!" Molly waved.

The Chief shook her head. "Chief the Captain wants to talk to you., the overhead crackled.

"This isn't over," she said backing up.

"You're right. Unless you want me to start meddling in your affairs, then it better be," Molly tightened the sleeves knotted around her waist. She grimaced as the Chief exited then turned her glare on the nail girl. "Well? What the hell are you still doing here?"

The girl shrank back. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you. I'll deal with you later," she growled. She waved to the door. "Go back to your post." The girl turned and ran out, sobbing. "Well, that was interesting," Molly said, voice returning to normal. She turned and sniffed. "Good god, do I really smell like that?" She plucked at her tank top neckline. The tank top was covered in sweat.

"I think she ran because of the smell," Jennie teased. Molly grimaced. "I didn't think you had it in you," Jennie said. She was shaking her head in wonder over the entire episode.

"I didn't think I had it in me!" Molly replied with a shaky laugh.

The Admiral studied her then nodded. "I'm glad some of that metal is starting to show through. We'll make a Chief engineer out of you yet,” he said. Molly grimaced.

"Good golly miss Molly," he muttered as he watched her snap her fingers to the guards and jerk her thumb up and out to tell them to leave.

Jennie doubled over as she giggled. "I can't believe you said that!"

He snorted. "Neither can I."

“Admiral, Molly, you, Jennie, Trisha, and a few of the others have coveralls, I was wondering where we can get some?” a voice in the back of the room asked. He looked over to the raven haired girl. “Susa right?” he asked. She nodded. “Well, each of you that wants a coverall can give your measurement's to Molly or the morale officer and ask for three to five sets of coveralls, and two sets of steel toed boots like mine.” He tapped his left foot.

“Do they have to have all the pads and pockets?” one of the other girls asked, wrinkling her nose. Molly hid a grin. “The pads are to protect your joints when you’re on your hands and knees, or when you’re handling something bulky. The pockets... well,” Irons shrugged. He fished out a couple tools from his breast pocket, put them back, and then ripped the velcro off his hip pockets to pull out parts. “The pockets as you can see come in handy.” He looked down at a part. “Hey, I was looking for that earlier!” he said. The girls giggled.

“The coveralls are also protected against electrical spikes and fire,” Jennie spoke up. “I've gotten most of my crew into them now. They identify us to the rest of the crew too,” she said smugly.

Susa nodded. She reached out and grabbed Jen's sleeve. “What's this stuff made of?”

“Fire, shock, plasma, and impact resistant polymer,” the Admiral replied.

“Fire resistant?” Molly asked, looking at her own coverall.

“Oh, that and more. It can even help with life support,” he replied.

She shook her head bemused. “Wow.” He chuckled at her expression.

"The Fleet tender, or support repair ship is shaped like a sword," he said. He turned to see the class looking bemused and confused. "Okay, a sword is a long pointy thing made of metal used before star flight." Some of the faces cleared. He drew a quick sketch on the computer tablet, then clicked enter. A sword shape projected and then rotated. He overlaid the ship's silhouette then scaled them to match. "See?" Some of the women nodded. "Support ships were designed to be utilitarian; they were designed to do a job far from home.”

He turned to the class. "You see, when you have a fleet of ships off on a mission, they can only support themselves with materials they carry or can replicate. But warship replicators are limited in size and scope, most of the space on a warship is needed for other things," he explained. He accessed the database and pulled up a light cruiser's silhouette, then placed it next to the tenders. "All right here we have a basic cruiser. Notice the differences?"

One of the women in the front raised her hand. "It's smoother, and smaller."

He nodded as the silhouettes rolled, then rotated. "Yes, warships are designed to fight and fly fast. Their hulls are armored to deflect incoming fire and sensors. It's also sculpted to allow it to transit higher hyper bands then this ship, so it can get to a hot spot faster," he explained. He nodded to a girl with her hand up. "Yes?"

"But why the hurry? And why can't we do that?" she asked. She waved to the image helplessly.

He chuckled. "Well, a support ship is designed to be protected. Light armor, light weapons, slow engines and hyperdrive. We have a lot of cargo space for goods, replicators, and processing modules," he replied.

She looked confused. "But if warships have replicators, why do you need cargo holds? Or support ships with replicators," she asked. Some of the other students murmured as well.

He nodded. "Good point. The reason is because somethings can’t be replicated, or take a long time to do so. And sometimes, you need it right away and can't wait," he replied and then smiled. "I believe we all experienced that recently last year when the cable to the hyperdrive failed right?" The students began to nod. "All right then. Cargo holds are also good to store products that have a short shelf life. Remember, we're far from the nearest star, and therefore only have what we carry with us."

He turned to the console and pulled up the files for his next lecture. "Cargo holds also serve as space for other things." He looked up. "Did you notice that the sickbay is pretty big for this ship?" he asked. They looked at each other, some nodding tentatively. "Support ships are built to take on wounded, or to provide medical support when only limited support is locally available,” he said. “More on that later...”

"Hey, look out, don't touch that!" he grabbed Mindy's hand and jerked it away from the open plasma conduit.

"OW! You’re hurting me! Let go! I was just looking!" she squealed indignantly. She jerked her hand away and rubbed it, looking up at him hurt.

He sighed. "Young lady, sticking your hand near that could have gotten you hurt or even killed. You work in the sickbay, you should know this!" Her bottom lip came up and out in a pout. She sniveled, and then ran down the corridor sobbing.

He shook his head and looked over to the guard with a bleak shrug. She shook her head in turn. "I'm not very good with kids I guess," he said. She just stared at the bulkhead. He sighed and dug into the kit. A half hour later the Chief came around the bend and stopped, hands on her hips.

"Mindy is around the corner nearby," Sprite informed him. He sighed and straightened as the Chief cleared her throat.

"Yes Chief?" he asked. He turned and gave her a look. She was standing there, hands on her hips. Correction, one hand on her hip, the other tapping her pulser.

"I have a report that you assaulted nurse Mindy?" she was clearly enjoying this. He gave the guards a look. No help there.

"No ma'am, the young lady was sticking her hand into an open conduit. I stopped her. Had I not she would have killed herself and possibly caused damage to the ship. We're in hyper and this...” he pointed his thumb over his shoulder to the conduit. "Feeds the main deflector," he explained.

The Chief paled a little, swallowing. "Be it as it may, I'm going to have to confine you to quarters."

Tara cleared her throat. They both looked at her. "Ma'am, He's telling the truth. Mindy was playing with the conduit when we arrived. I was going to stop her but he beat me too it," she said.

The Chief gave her a long look. "You’re on report," she said coldly.

Tara scowled and then came to attention. "Excuse me then." She turned to leave.

"I didn't say you could leave," the chief said, icily. The guard froze. The Chief was not looking at her, still staring at the Admiral.

"I don't care anymore what you say," Tara growled.

At that the chief did turn, eyes suddenly afire. "You’re out of line," she hissed it.

The guard’s lips quivered. "Maybe, but so are you. That kid was going to get herself killed and us with her. You know it, but you can't get your head out of your ass long enough to see that!" She snarled.

The Chief's nostril's flared and she half drew her pulser. The guard had her hand on hers. "Try me you stupid paranoid bitch," she whispered. The other guard looking slack jawed tried couldn't hear it. The Admiral with his enhanced hearing did.

"Don't test me Tara," the Chief whispered back.

Tara's eyes met hers and held firm. "I'm not. I'm warning you. Knock it off. The crew is getting angry at your needless crap," Tara snarled back. The other guard gulped. She'd heard that.

The words were striking home with the Chief, or she was realizing she had an audience. "Get out of my sight; I'll deal with you later," the chief said. Tara shook her head. Her hair danced.

"I think I'm putting in for a transfer with the Captain," she said.

The Chief's nostrils flared once more. "You can't do that."

Tara gave her a sad look. "I can't work like this Emily, I won’t. He's done nothing wrong, and hurting him because you can't or won’t figure that out is wrong,” she stared into her eyes. Both of them had loosened their grips on their guns.

"Go," the Chief said. Tara turned and nodded to the Admiral as she passed. Defender spun his shields down. He had been so focused on the argument, he hadn't noticed Defender had initiated. The Chief gave him a long look, then left. He could hear Mindy asking why she didn't arrest the mean man. The Chief snarled to her to get back to work.

"Well, that was interesting. Shall we?" he nodded to the remaining guard.

The Chief came into the Captain's wardroom, head down scowling. "Grams, I have a problem..." she looked up to see Tara standing there. "You bitch," she snarled, eyes smoldering. Her hand lashed out, slapping her.

Tara recovered slowly, eyes smoldering she reached for her gun but the crack of a palm on the desk stopped her cold. "Draw and you go out the nearest airlock," the Captain's commanding voice cut through the rage. The Chief kept her glare, hand on her pulser. "Both of you," the captain's hoarse growl pierced her rage like a knife. She turned in shock to the Captain. "I've had enough of this crap. Tara, transfer approved. You’re in KP and on my shit list until otherwise. Turn your security gear in to Frie and get out of my sight," the captain said. Tara came to attention then stiffly walked out. "And as for you granddaughter..."

"You’re relieved," she said coldly. The Chief was stunned. Her grandmother looked at her coldly. "I told you three times to back off."

"But..."

"Silence," the one word was enough to shock the woman further. Her eyes were wide. "Apologize to the Admiral, then report to the doctor. I want a full medical evaluation. IF he clears you, you’re going to do scut work for a week," she growled. Her granddaughter's lips quivered. "I don't know what got into you granddaughter, but it's time it ends. Now you’re going to have to work to get back in my good graces."

“Captain, can I speak with you privately?” the doctor asked as he looked out of her view screen. She sighed then motioned for Charlie to leave. The woman left without a word. “What is it doctor; I'm assuming it has something to do with my granddaughter?” she asked, dreading the call. He nodded.

“Well doctor, don't keep an old woman waiting,” she sighed. “Give it to me straight.”

He sighed. “I wish it was that simple. I did a medical evaluation, there are some hormonal issues, but I don't think they're the root problem. I sedated her and did a little digging into her subconscious with hypnotics. She has some issues,” he said. He looked uncomfortable.

“What sort of issues?” the Captain asked, narrowing her eyes.

“Well, apparently she had been... abused as a child.”

The Captain inhaled sharply. “I never!”

He held up a restraining hand. “No, not by you Captain, a male. Someone that looked a little like the Admiral. He... well...” he shrugged helplessly.

The Captain closed her eyes in sudden understanding. “I understand now,” she said slowly.

“Can you help her?” she asked, and then opened her eyes.

He studied her. “The hormonal repair is already underway. Her behavior though...” he grimaced. “According to the medical records we've put together she needs tranquilizers and therapeutic counseling,” he explained. The doctor sat back and set a tablet down in front of him.

The Captain nodded. “Do it, my authorization. Do what you can doc,” she ordered. He nodded and signed off.

"Can I be in your hyperspace class?" Shandra asked, toying with her stylus. He wasn't sure if she was mocking him or not. The meeting was going a lot smoother now that the chief was no longer in the picture. Scuttlebutt said she was in sickbay for some reason.

The Captain looked over. "Class on hyperspace?"

The Admiral cleared his throat. "Just the basics, how it works, how to navigate in it."

She nodded. "When?"

He smiled. "1900 Captain."

She nodded. "I may just drop in for that." Her gravelly voice was light and almost lilting. She had a small smile. Shandra looked over to her and then smiled too. "Yeah, I could always use a brush up." The Captain nodded sounding thoughtful.

He looked over the wardroom and smiled. Most of the off duty bridge crew was there, as was the Captain. Shandra was seated out front near the desk. "All right, before I begin, I'm going to tap Shandra here to be my assistant," he said with a smile. A few murmured at this, he picked up an undercurrent of jealousy. He nodded to her uncertain face.

"The lecture I'm about to give is on file, with notes in the ship's class website. Ask the moral officer for help if you can't find it," he said. Some of them leaned over and took notes on padds.

"Okay, remember when I said all objects are made of matter, and all matter has mass, and therefore exerts gravity?" he said diving right in. Many in the class nodded. He picked up a membrane from the desk and handed it to Shandra. She looked confused. "Hold it with both hands outstretched," he murmured. "So they can see it." She got up and did so.

He turned and picked up a small model of the ship. "Here we are. The membrane Shandra is holding represents normal space time." He put the model in the center of the membrane. The membrane stretched, and model sank. "Okay, the model displaced a part."

He looked around some were craning their necks to see. Shandra looked around, and then pivoted, turning so each could see. "As you can see, the ship's mass displaces space around it," he explained. He went over to the holo projector and pulled up a graphic of the membrane. "Now the more mass an object has, the more space it distorts," he said. He switched to a star, showing it, then others.

"And that distortion is carried over into hyperspace," he said continuing. Shandra looked up and over her shoulder at the hologram. "Hyperspace means we are folding normal space to move through it." He went over to her took the model out of the pocket and let the membrane settle. “Now in normal space we would have to travel this entire distance..."

He moved the model from her left to her right hand. "Now in hyperspace..." She pulled her hands together, forming the membrane into a sine wave. "Yes, as Shandra demonstrates, in hyper we fold space for the ship to transit." He clicked the remote for the projector and it changed to the graphic. "As you can see, the higher the band, the more bends." He looked around the class.

"But so too does the effect of mass effect the bands." Another click and the class oohed as a ball distorted the image.

Shandra looked and then frowned. "So that's how it looks," She murmured.

He shrugged. "This is just a layman's interpretation. But that's why we have to chart masses in real space carefully, and then plot around them," he explained. He clicked the remote again and the hyperspace sine waves returned. "Now, the lower the band, the less compression, so it takes longer to get from point A to point B."

The top sine wave glowed. "But, as we go up into the higher bands, the compression increases exponentially, and therefore the time goes down and the transit distance up.” A graph appeared highlighting the exponential change. "Now, no ship without a dedicated hyper navigator can handle transit inside a star's Roche limit." A star system came up. "There's so much matter, so many planetary bodies, and the star or stars to deal with so no civilian ship can handle it," he said firmly. He changed the graphic. "That's why civilian ships navigate in lanes and have jump points. These space lanes are points between destinations that have been charted and can be easily traveled by civilian ships."

One of the girls raised her hand. "What about the bands?" she asked.

Shandra nodded. "Okay. Getting back to that," he said.

"Now, each band has its own variant tunes. C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. They're named for musical notes." Some of the class looked confused, others shrugged. "But each band has its own order to it. It takes a lot of power to get into hyper, and the ship creates its own mass shadow as well." The graphic changed. "The higher the band, the higher the mass shadow and therefore the more power needed to get there," he explained.

A graphic appeared next to each sine wave, showing the exponential power demand. "Of course that power is only needed to get into the band; we can collect power from hyperspace."

One of the girls raised her hand. "How?"

He smiled. "Well, remember how I talked about matter? Sometimes energy, electrons, and other particles get into hyperspace. Ships collect this raw energy and use it as free power during transit."

Shandra nodded. "That's why we hunt for particle patches, so we can suck them up for fuel," she said with an amused look on her face. A few of the faces cleared.

"Right, now the sensors detect matter in hyperspace by their mass shadow, and tell the crew with the holographic display." He clicked the remote and a display of the bridge view port came up. "This allows them to steer around mass objects. Before the sensors were slow and had a short range, so it was hard for them to see. Now the ship can see further, and the navigators can plot courses well in advance."

Shandra nodded as she set the membrane down. "When we get to the upper bands, we'll go faster, but it'll require a lot more power, piloting skills, and computer cycles to maneuver." The display changed to the same previous course, but moving at a much faster rate. Shandra paled. "It used to take the ship six months to transit some of the legs right?" he asked. The Captain nodded.

"A circuit takes three years to transit, most of that's in hyper. So far you've made three circuits," he said. The screen changed to a star map. “Now that we can go faster, you can make that circuit in less than a year," he explained. The class murmured.

"When we get more upgrades in place it will take half that if not less," he said. The murmurs increased. The Captain cleared her throat and the class quieted, some giving her guilty looks. "Thank you," he bowed politely. He typed a command into the holo projector. "Now a ship enters hyper by projecting a mass shadow," he said continuing.

The ship floating changed as a translucent sphere projected around it. "The ship's hyper generator uses the shields to project the mass shadow to punch into hyper." He picked up the membrane and folded it into an accordion. He motioned to Shandra and quietly explained how to hold it. She stepped back, holding each pleated end in a hand so it was vertical and away from her body. "Now without the hyperdrive this happens." He poked his finger at the bands. The shape of his finger poked out the other side as the membrane stretched. "Now, here it is with the hyper generator." He morphed his index finger into a soldering iron, and then poked it through. Even Shandra's eyes were wide at that.

He pulled his finger back. "But won’t our action leave a hole?" someone at the back of the class called out.

He shook his head no. "No, like this memory plastic, it'll heal,” he explained. To their astonishment the plastic healed. The class murmured. "Memory plastic polymer. It remembers the shape it was cast in and will heal itself," he explained. He took the plastic from Shandra and stretched it out, the holes were fading fast. "See, not even creases."

"There are six known bands, with a seventh theorized, but never successfully used," the admiral said. The band scales reappeared on the screen. "This ship is only rated to the A layer of the gamma hyperspace band, so that is the best we can do." He looked over to Shandra who was looking a little pale.

"I didn't think of all that compression is going to be fun to navigate," she said.

He nodded as she took her seat woodenly. "That's right, it's going to be stressful to the helm and navigators, they'll have to be on their toes," he said. He turned. "To get above the Gamma band you need a lot of energy. Typically that's supplied by antimatter."

He shrugged. "Since antimatter can only be made with tremendous amounts of energy, I doubt anyone will be making it anytime soon."

A few hands were raised. He pointed to one. "How did you make it then?" the girl asked.

He smiled. "We had large fusion reactors, solar farms, singularity taps, plasma taps of stars, and even stations in hyperspace," he explained. Behind him the holo changed to show each platform. He sighed as the class murmured in shock and awe.

"Each of those are gone, or forgotten. It'll be a long time before we see them again." He looked off to the side for a moment, composing himself. "But, we're making a start here," he smiled. Some of the ladies nodded enthusiastically.

"I noticed you only did a basic course on hyperspace..." the hoarse voice said as she floated over to him.  Most of the class had drifted off in tight study groups when the lecture concluded.

He smiled at the Captain. "That was my introductory lecture actually," he admitted.

She smiled. "Introductory lecture? You taught?" she asked.

He smiled. "I had a few stints as a teacher at the academy, and of course on ship. It was a good distraction during therapy," he replied. He tapped his arm.

"You had to work while recovering?" the purser looked up.

"I worked virtually. I linked into the network from the hospital and did lectures in a simulation," he explained.

She looked confused. "He did it in the computer Vanessa, don't worry about it too much or you'll get a headache," the Captain said, in fine spirits.

The purser grimaced. "If you say so," she muttered as she left.

"So, there's more?" the Captain asked, motioning him to sit down as she picked up her cup of tea. "Yes Captain."

One of the girls poured a cup of tea for him. "Sugar? Cream?" she offered.

He looked over to her, feeling a little amazed. The Captain caught the look and chuckled. "Yes, we are coming up in the civilized department right? I loved tea, and loved to see it in some of the holo novels," she said.

He smiled and held up a finger. "One of each please." She smiled and added the materials, then handed him the cup.

He nodded in polite appreciation, and then studied the cup. "That reminds me of the Japanese tea ceremony," she said. He looked up to the Captain's twinkling eyes. "I never did understand it," she said. She gave an earthy chuckle. "But, you were saying there's more?"

He took a sip. "Yes, there's a lot more, the basic math involved, different situations, how to navigate in higher bands of hyperspace, tuning, tensor physics, string theory... Quantum mechanics..."

She grimaced. "A bit over my head. Too old," she said.

He shook his head. "You’re never too old to learn."

She looked up and smiled. "Wasn't there an old saying about teaching an old dog new tricks?"

He chuckled with her. "Yes, but it just takes a bit of time and patience." He waved to the cabin. "We have that in abundance," he said. She nodded.

“Captain, about the Chief...” She waved it away. “I'm sorry about her behavior. I'm not sure what got into her. The doctor said her hormones are out of whack, that might be it. I'm not sure,” she sighed, and took a sip of her tea, staring off into space.

“Well, paranoia goes with the job,” he said cautiously after a moment. She grunted.

“Captain, I know she has a vendetta against me, but overall, she's good at her job,” he said.

The Captain turned and gave him a surprised look. “You’re the last one I would expect to see defending my granddaughter.”

He smiled. “To tell you the truth, it surprised me at first as well,” he admitted.

She smiled. “Oh, don't worry, she's in trouble, but she'll grow out of it. It'll take some time before I let her back in my good graces however,” she finally said.

He nodded. “Thank you Captain.”

"Admiral, what are we going to do about the military data in the database?" Sprite asked.

He looked around the room, nodded to the guard, and then sat back. He tapped a stylus against his chin thoughtfully. "Is there a lot of it?" he sub vocalized.

"Not much, a few terraquads, but there's the standard military gear loaded in the files of the replicators," Sprite reminded him.

He grunted. "Any of it classified?"

Sprite appeared on his HUD. "Not much. I can lock it down so it can't be seen in the menu," she said. He nodded.

"Archive all the military data and bury it in the net deep. Make sure it's encrypted too," he ordered.

She nodded. "You do realize that we're technically leaving classified data in the hands of civilian’s right?" she reminded him.

He sighed. "It's not like we have another place to put it right now Sprite," he said.

She nodded. "True."

He swiveled his chair back and forth. "How is Io coming along?"  he asked.

The AI looked amused. "I think you mean the AI right?" she asked. He gave a short nod. "Now that you've rebuilt the core, I've unpacked my build files and started growing her neural clusters. Defender has added a few, but Proteus has been the one monitoring her progress," she reported. Data streamed near her virtual head.

He stopped swiveling. "Her?"

"Well, since most ships are considered a female persona, and this ship is named after a female..." she said.

He smiled. "Okay. So, she's what, about the level of a fetus?" he asked.

Sprite nodded. "About that level yes. Her neural dendrites are growing nicely, but it'll take time before coherent thought begins to form. We've grafted as much of our own code into her net, so it may help. She's making the connections, so we may see some growth spurts," she said.

He picked up his coffee and took a sip. "Hey, does this make me a mother?" Sprite demanded after a moment.

He chuckled. "Something like that. But it also makes Defender and Proteus the fathers."

She blinked. "Okay, forget I mentioned it," she growled. He chuckled.

Chapter 11

"Admiral to the bridge!" an anxious voice said. He looked up the speaker.

"Sounds serious," he said. They had just exited hyper less then an hour ago so he wondered what was the problem. He looked over to the guard. "Any scuttlebutt?" They looked up from their comms and shook their heads.

"No Admiral, but a ship was detected two minutes ago in orbit of the planet," Sprite answered. "All right, let’s go ladies." He waved to them to proceed as he set his tools aside.

"Don't you need them?" one of the guards asked.

"No, something tells me, this time they aren't needed," he said. They jogged down the corridor to the nearest lift.

"Permission to enter?" he asked as the doors opened.

"Get in here," the gravelly voice of the Captain cut through the chatter of the bridge crew. The crew quieted. "We have a problem; there's a ship in orbit," she said. He nodded as he walked into the bridge and then looked up to her station.

"Thank the goddess you folks rebuilt the sensors, we would never have seen them until we were almost in orbit," the Captain grounded out. He nodded.

"Pirate?" he asked, scanning the bridge stations. Sprite brought up a system status on his HUD as he looked at each station. He lingered at the sensor station.

"Maybe. It might be a freighter," she said. He nodded.

"She looks like a Moth class. I don't blame you for being a little gun shy Captain. Perhaps we should hail them?" he asked. He turned to her. She cocked an eyebrow.

"What good would that do? They could just say they're legit," she said.

He nodded. "But, I could jack into their system by piggybacking your call and take a look in their net," he replied. She cleared her throat looking slightly shocked.

The Chief stifled a gasp. "You can do that?" she asked. She had recently returned to limited duty that morning.

He smiled. "Of course."

"By you, you mean me of course Admiral," Sprite said quietly.

He shrugged. "I'll have to be jacked in though."

The Captain waved to the console nearby. "By all means," she said.

He nodded and jacked in. "I'm in,” he said out loud. "Ready?" he asked Sprite quietly.

"As I'll ever be. Once more unto the breech and all that," she said exasperated.

He looked up to the Captain. "Piggyback program is ready," he said.

She nodded. "All right, Jane, open a channel," she ordered, indicating the girl with a gnarled finger.

Jane flicked a couple switches then looked up. "Live mike in three... two... one..." She nodded.

"This is the Captain of the Io 11 calling unknown ship," the captain said. She waited. "Hello??" Jane Nexi hit the mute then looked up. "There is a time lag Captain, they are still four light minutes away," she explained.

The Captain nodded. "All right, send it," she said.

Nexi looked over to the Admiral who was staring off to the bulkhead. "Sending now." She flipped the switch.

It was like losing a part of himself, Sprite was there, and then she spun off an echo program to spike the unknown’s computer. "On its way," he confirmed. "Captain, I recommend we do a turn over and cease acceleration until we get a response one way or another," he said. He continued to stare off, concentrating on the signal. A countdown was on his HUD indicating when they would receive a return signal.

He checked the ship's systems. "Make it so," he heard distantly. The voice sounded distant and unimportant to him. He watched the HUD as the helms woman cut the acceleration then neatly flipped the ship end over end to face the way they had come.

"Maneuver complete Captain."

"Excellent."

He felt a tingle as the countdown reached zero. "Receiving transmission.

"Captain of the Io 11 this is Captain Bright of the free trader Pelican. We were a bit concerned about you as well. Good to hear from you." He felt the return of the echo and its data dump.

"Admiral, their computer security is civilian grade, but not bad. Still, no match for me of course," Sprite said smugly.

"And?" he asked quietly.

"They're legit. A freighter, no weapons. Viruses all over their network though," she said with a disgusted look. He sighed in relief.

"Captain, they're a legit freighter, no weapons detected," he reported.

She nodded. "Good to know."

"Captain, there's a second transmission packet incoming," Nexi reported.

"Play it."

"This is the Avalon 4 colony to Io 11. I understand you’re concerned about your visitors. I vouch for them Captain," the scratchy female voice didn't even identify themselves.

The Captain smiled. "All right Alice, if you say so. Any friend of yours is a friend of ours...Even if they're a competitor."

A few minutes later they received a laughing response. "Good! We can have an auction! Bidding war!" the woman said.

The captain snorted. Some of the crew looked relieved. The Captain eyed the engineer. "Thank you Admiral." He unjacked and took it as a dismissal.

He and his consorts exited the lift to a babble of girls. The guards took lead, brushing through the throng of girls eagerly asking questions. "Is it true there's another ship? Is it a pirate? Are you going to leave on it Admiral? You’re not going to leave us are you?” the girls asked, some concerned, others curious.

He shook his head and held up his hands. "Ladies!" They quieted. "Thank you. The Captain will make an address when she's ready," he said. A few ahhed at this in disappointment.

"Speaking of which..." Sprite alerted him. He pointed up. A few looked up just in time.

"This is the Captain speaking." They all looked up to the speaker. "We've just spoken with a ship in orbit of the colony; it's been confirmed to be a trader. We're still on to make landfall. That's all."  He smiled. "See?" He made his way through the throng as it parted and began to break up.

"Move along people! Get back to your stations... Nothing to see here," the guards encouraged. He shook his head.

The guards kept giving him looks. He noted one and looked up. "What? You’re starting to make me nervous." He gave the girl a long look.

She squirmed. "Um, well, we're wondering if you were going to leave," she asked.

He picked up a coupler. "Leave?" he echoed.

She nodded. "On the other ship. The Chief told us to keep you here though." She looked concerned.

He shrugged. "Well, I'm not done yet with the repairs. It's a thought though," he said and then shrugged.

"Looks like you need an impact wrench to get that bolt loose Admiral," Jennie said, looking over his shoulder. He looked up and smiled. "Here I can lend you mine...” Her eyes twinkled for a moment as she leaned over to her kit. They were making good time to orbit, they were about two and a half days out. The engineers wanted to get as much done with the engines as possible the moment they were no longer needed. Hence all the prep they were doing right now.

"No need," he said. He held up his middle finger and watched it morph into a socket.

"Oh, I forgot about that. One man walking tool kit and machine shop," she said. He chuckled. "How do you get that?" one of the nearby girls asked.

He looked over. "You get your arms and legs blown off," he said. He heard the gasp as he locked onto the bolt. A sharp grunt of grinding noise from his finger and the bolt was turning freely. "I was injured in a battle. I had the choice of a clone replacement, or artificial. There was a long line for clone replacement parts...so I opted to play guinea pig," he said. He pulled the bolt free then looked up to see the girls staring at him. He shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

One of the girls nodded. "Um okay... but, what's a Guinea pig?" she asked, wrinkling her nose. He chuckled and leaned over to the next bolt.

"Prepare for docking." He felt the ship twitch as the OMS kicked slightly, aligning the two vessels minutely. "Alignment confirmed. Docking commencing." The ship shifted again, and then stopped. "Docking complete," the overhead squelched for a moment. "All hear this, security to the docking port prepare to receive visitors." He looked over to the guards; they were already moving to obey. He nodded.

Sometime later he ran into a group being escorted by a guard. "You have some ship, and it's so clean! And functional!" pure envy dripped from the short balding man in the rumpled coverall. The Purser nodded.

"That's because of the Admiral here and our engineering staff," Jennie replied, waving to him.

The Chief looked over to her and glared. "Admiral?" the male asked, he looked thoroughly confused.

"Yes, we found him in a life pod a few months ago. We were chased out of the system by pirates and stumbled upon him by accident," Jennie continued on blithely ignoring the Chief's dagger eyes. Irons mouth twisted in a tight smile. It had been nine months ago actually.

"It's nice to meet you Admiral," the man said and held held out his hand.

The Admiral set down the panel he had been holding and shook his proffered hand. "Nice to meet you as well mister...?"

"Oh, sorry, this is Captain Andros Bright of the Pelican," Vanessa replied smoothly.

He nodded. "Pleasure to meet you Captain."

The Captain nodded eagerly. "Say, do you know how to repair a Smythe series six plasma engine?" he asked and then waved. "Mine has a hiccup every few micro seconds that makes the ship shiver and buck," he shook his head. "Can't seem to get a handle on it," he sighed.

The Admiral slowly nodded. "It sounds like either a computer problem or contamination on your electric grid."

Jennie nodded. "Or a clogged fuel injector," she said. The classes were coming in handy.

He nodded. "Possible. You’re using straight sea water?" he asked.

He turned to the Captain. He nodded. "Why yes!" He sighed.

Irons grimaced. "Best that your current ships can handle I suppose. But it has a lot of particles that tend to clog up the works after building up in the fuel lines over time." He shook his head. "I can't really say much more without seeing it." He placed the panel back onto the wall. "Finished here. I'm about to go off shift, if you'd like me to take a look, I can spare a couple hours..." he said suggestively.

The Captain brightened. "Thank you!"

Captain Bright nodded eagerly and practically bounced. "Our gravity is out on deck three too; can you do something about that?" he asked. The man smacked the Admiral on the shoulder.

"Well, I can take a look if there's time. If you need parts you'll need to contact the purser and Miss Jennie here to arrange for a trade." He waved to Jennie and bowed over his hand. She blushed.

"Jennie?" the captain asked turning.

He nodded. "Miss Jennie here is the assistant chief engineer. The young woman you met earlier is the acting chief engineer."

The Chief was looking nonplussed. "I thought you were the Chief?" the Captain asked.

"Oh, no, I'm a passenger, just working my passage," he replied and then shrugged. "Let me see what I can do," he said.

The Captain nodded. "Garth here...” He waved to a stocky man with a scar on his face.  "Garth can show you to the ship," he said as he nodded to his assistant. The Chief leaned over and whispered to a guard. She followed them as they left.

It took a few minutes to get to the Pelican's engineering core. "All right, let’s see." He looked around.

A burly man shouldering a wrench looked him over with disdain. "And what do you think you’re doing here?" he snarled.

"Your Captain asked me to diagnose your engine problem." He nodded to the controls. "With your Chief's permission...?" Irons asked politely.

The man snarled. Garth came forward. The man back down sullenly. "Over there," he finally said. He pointed with the wrench.

"All right. I'm going to need to jack in." He examined the jack, and then morphed his hand.

Garth and the burly man gasped. "What the hell are you?"

He jacked in. "A cyborg from your past," Irons replied.

He felt Sprite's handshake protocol, and firewalls slam up. "Initiating antivirus procedures," she said, he echoed it out loud.

"Anti virus? What are you talking about?" the man said, grabbing his left arm.

"Your computer is infected with viruses, I'm cleaning them out. The viruses are damaging your electronics and systems," Irons explained. He shook the hand off, concentrating on Sprite's work.

"Shields ready Captain, defensive protocols on line," Defender responded.

"Done. Virus quarantine, purge, and inoculation completed. I'm copying the ship's logs and interesting files to the Io for later study. I'm rerouting the software around the damaged systems Admiral. It'll take me a few minutes," Sprite reported a few minutes later.

He nodded. "All right, the viruses have been killed, I'm working on fixing the software damage and then I'll access your drives diagnostics," he said out loud for the Pelican crew's benefit. He checked the field strength of their shields. Less than ten percent, hyperdrive was barely Alpha D band. "Your hyperdrive is out of alignment with your sensors."

Sprite squirted him the diagnostics for the ship engines. He opened the file and a virus attacked. "Oops, guess I missed one," Sprite responded, killing it. "All right, try again," she said.

He grimaced. "Okay, if there aren't any more nasty surprises..." he said it bitingly.

"Sorry," she said again. He checked the file, eyes scanning it quickly.

"Well, you have all three problems it looks like. Clogged fuel lines and fuel injector ports, depolarized electric grid, and electronic ignition wiring problem. It looks like a faulty or damaged wiring harness...port side, along the aft bulkhead," he reported. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight Garth scrambling for a pen to write on a nearby clipboard.

"I can't do anything from in here for that. The deck three gravity...hmmm... yeah, impedance reached in over half the grid. The rest was overloaded in a power surge. It looks like an EPS conduit upstream breached out and when the blockage was stopped the flow wasn't turned down, the overflow hit deck three's lines and overloaded the life support systems on the deck. Some system recovery, but the power surge made the electronics that returned spotty at best," he reported.

He looked over to the Chief. "I would suggest a complete overhaul of the deck life support." The Chief looked bleak. "And where can we get parts? No one but Pyrax makes them?!" he grimaced. "Well, you can make up a shopping list and ask your Captain to trade for them with the Io 11." He looked over to Garth.

"How, you have the parts?" Garth asked, tapping the desk.

"Some in stores possibly, but most will have to be replicated," Irons replied. He turned his attention back to the net, ignoring the look the two shared between each other.

"All right, that's the best I can do Admiral. This ship is a deathtrap. No replicators and it's falling apart," Sprite commented hours later. "You’re not going to go on this are you?"

He shook his head as he withdrew and looked up. "All right gents, the software repair is done. I rerouted the electronics the best I can," he said. He looked over to Garth who was scowling.

"I just heard from the purser, He's trading most of our cargo for the parts we need," Garth said. He looked bleak. "We'll get a small replicator though," he said.

He turned to the Admiral. "I'm not sure it'll help," He said with a nod.

"I uploaded some documentation to help you, and flagged the manuals,” he said after a moment. "Let me see about doing a few patches while I'm here, starting with that plasma buss." He sat up straight and set his hand on the console. "I would suggest trying to repair a cleaning robot or trading for one. The little things do a mountain of work, and save on energy," he suggested. He waved at the grime covered walls.

"Been meaning to do something about that," the Chief muttered.

The guard turned to the engineer closing her eyes briefly and wrinkling her nose. "I'm sure," he nodded as he got up. Garth was staring at his hand. He held it up. "See, all better,” he smiled.

"So, are you going?" the Chief of security asked him as he returned to the ship. She wrinkled her nose at his pong. "Gaah."

He shrugged. "Sorry, sweat goes with work." He sighed wearily, and looked back. "Not on your life," he replied softly. She nodded looking amused.

"I guess you’re stuck with me a little longer Chief." He had to be imagining her small tight lipped smile. Ever since he had started training the guards in martial arts and her counseling sessions she had seemed to warm to him...or at least turned down her active dislike and meddling. She nodded to the guard who turned and left with a sigh of relief.

"Well, you took most of your break to gallivant."

He smiled. "It was worth it. Another ship out there is good for civilization."

She looked him over. "You really mean that don't you?" she asked softly.

He nodded. "I know competition isn't what you want, but you are so far out of their league it isn't funny." He shrugged. "They can barely hit alpha D as it is. Months, sometimes years in transit between systems."

She shook her head. "Before you came along we were almost doing the same, the best we could do was alpha E," she admitted.

He nodded. "But now look at you." He turned and walked with her down the corridor. "Beta band, you're armed, engines overhauled, power core overhauled, industrial grade replicators, and systems that are almost one hundred percent...or as close as we can get to that," he said.

She nodded. "Good to hear."

He nodded back. "With this ship you could rebuild entire worlds."

She looked up startled. "Really?" she asked warily.

He nodded. "Yes. The best they'll ever be is a tramp freighter on the ragged edge of survival," he said, wrinkling his nose. She nodded.

"So, how did we make out with Pelican?” Irons asked.

The purser looked up and nodded. "Um, I think we did all right, but I think they made out a little better in the long run. I think the data exchange will bear fruit later on once we have time to go over it in detail," she gave the Admiral a long look.

“I still can't believe you talked me into exchanging a replicator and those parts for that extra air car. I don't know what good it'll do in the long run,” she said and then shrugged the thought off.

"Oh, I think helping them will help you in the long run, besides, those air car frames could come in handy once engineering cleans them up and restores them," the engineer commented dryly.

The Captain looked him over. "Air cars?"

Jennie smiled. "You should see the Ford! Wow! What a beaut! And it can do over two hundred and forty kph!"

The Captain looked a little confused then shrugged. "If you say so. Why do we need them?" she asked. She turned to the purser who turned to the engineer.

"Well..." he drawled, stalling for time. He came up with a thought. "Well, you can trade them to planets," he said.

She nodded. "Go on, why will they want air cars?" she asked.

He nodded. "Well, some will want them for status. I believe you still deal in gems and rare minerals?" he asked.

She nodded. "Pyrax and a few other colonies still like luxury goods," she said.

He nodded and rubbed his chin. "Well, they can also be used by colonies to move people and goods. A few of the air cars can be rebuilt into cargo Lorries to carry goods," he suggested. She nodded. The purser caught on.

"And with more cargo vehicles they can do trade among themselves right?" she asked. He nodded. Dawning comprehension flashed on her face, and then she smiled evilly. "Besides, we'll be the ones to supply them with parts and tools!" she said with a grin. She turned triumphantly to the Captain who smiled as well.

"Good!" the captain said, chuckling.

He chuckled. "What ever floats your canoe," he nodded to Jennie. "They can also use the trucks to transport goods to the space port easier."

She nodded. "But it'll also help them get back to civilization a little right?" she asked.

He nodded. "It's good that we caught Pelican before they could bring them to Pyrax to have them smelted," he said. She sighed in relief.

The Captain chuckled. "You just want a new challenge," she said and then smiled.

"Well, since most of the ship is now working, why not? I need to keep the girls busy..." he said with a grin. She grinned back.

“You’re serious about those air cars?” Molly asked as she leaned over to him and adjusted her glasses. He nodded. Tia came over and hugged Molly. She kissed her cheek and murmured to her. Tia nodded and ran off with a backward wave. “Imp.” Molly snorted.

“So, we have a bunch of air frames to play with... This wouldn't be a sneaky way to get us to learn a little mechanical engineering would it?” she asked.

He chuckled. “Perish the thought! I wouldn't be that sneaky would I?” he asked. He gave her mock glower his best innocent expression. After a moment they both chuckled.

She patted his arm. “Okay, we can have some fun,” she said as she smiled.

“Any excuse to play with tools,” Jennie replied, coming over while polishing a torque wrench. “So, when do we get started? My shift doesn't start for a couple hours,” she asked. She hefted the wrench to her shoulder and looked between the two of them.

“No time like the present,” the Admiral smiled as he got to his feet.

"What the heck are you carrying?" He looked over to the girl trying to juggle plates of metal, and failing. With a clatter they fell.

"Oh hell," she grumbled and bent to pick them up.

He went over and picked a few up. "So what's all this?" he asked. He took a look at one. It looked like a primitive armor from a combat suit.

"Oh, it's an Avalonian suit of armor." The girl looked over to him then shrugged. "The planet below has some nasty predators. They need this stuff to survive," she explained and then shrugged.

"Dead weight to me," she grumbled.

"Okay." He hefted the armor he was carrying and followed her. The guards looked at one another and followed. The girl led them to the port forward boat bay.

"Watch out!" She dodged a hurtling kid. "Watch it twerp!" The girl spun around and stuck out her tongue. "Little monster," she growled.

He chuckled. "Who's the munch-kin?" he asked.

She looked over her shoulder. "Molly's brat Tia."

He felt shock rush through him. He'd seen the girl with Molly but never put it together. "Molly has a kid?" he asked.

"Oh, adopted. The pigtailed runt latched onto her at her last leave. Probably why she hasn't gone on another," she chuckled.

He could hear the guard’s chuckle behind them. He shrugged. "She's an orphan, her parents died of a fever a few years ago. She was begging in the space port, and Molly took a shine to her. The brat is cute I admit," the girl said. She walked through the hatch.

He followed, but one of the guards placed a restraining hand on his arm. "We can't let you in there," the guard said. He turned. "Sorry Admiral, orders," she said looking uncomfortable. His eyes narrowed..

The woman returned and took the remaining armor, not meeting his eyes. "Sorry. I forgot," she muttered. He turned as she left.

"Care to explain that?" he growled.

One of the girls gulped. "Um, the Chief and Captain decided that you’re restricted to the ship," she said, now thoroughly uncomfortable. He locked eyes with the one who gulped.

"Oh did they?" he asked softly, dangerously. Both girls took an involuntary step backwards.

"Um, I think you should take it up with them Admiral," the blond with pigtails replied.

"I'll do that,” he replied.

He turned to head to the bridge but a call came from the overhead speaker. "Admiral, we're having trouble with the port injector again..." He looked up. "Admiral?" the voice asked.

He grunted. "Be there in a few minutes."

He looked over to the guards then left. "Whew! I'm not looking forward to that interview," the blond muttered.

"Oh I am...” the other said gleefully.

“Sprite is this in the database?” he sub vocalized as he stomped to his next destination. He seethed, but a lifetime of military discipline made his outward appearance look the same as ever. He even nodded politely to a passing crew member.

“Checking. There's some new security on the ship's security net, I'll just try the back door...I'm in.”

He went past a crew member and nodded to her. “Well?” he growled.

“Admiral, you’re not going to like this,” she finally said.

He shook his head. “I already have a pretty good idea. Spit it out,” he growled.

“Item, restrict Admiral to the ship. The person known as the Admiral is not to leave the ship. He is to be denied access to the boat bays unless specifically given permission by the Captain or Chief of security. Use of force to detain is authorized,” Sprite paused. “That's in the general orders.”

He grunted, shaking his head. “First she can't get rid of me fast enough, now she won’t let me leave? Women,” he growled in disgust. He smiled as a nearby girl looked up indignant. “Not you, it was a...oh never mind,” he said and waved. He passed the confused woman and went on his way.

"Who's that?" he nodded his head to a tousled raven haired boy wearing parachute pants and a Japanese style kimono top.  It had taken a quick and brief interview with the captain to get the order barring him from the boat bays rescinded.

"Oh, that's Hibiki. He's Charlie and Hanna's son. Charlie died a few years ago. The pilot Diedra took him on because he's a natural," Jennie explained.

He nodded. "He's what fourteen?" he asked. He turned to Jennie.

She gave him a long look. "We have to grow up fast Admiral, or not at all," she rebuked quietly.

He nodded. "I'm not complaining, just asking," he said. He watched as Hibiki checked over the shuttle, and then nodded to the pilot. The hatch opened and a red haired streak came running in.

"Hibiki!" Hibiki jumped and ran.

"Dorah?" he asked as he nodded at the girl as she chased the boy around the shuttle.

"Dorah," Jennie sighed. "She has a major crush on him."

She shook her head. "Mindy is jealous, and so are some of the other girls on the ship. Since he's one of the few males..." she gave him a long look.

He smiled and waved his hands apart. "Nice to be wanted sometimes," he said. He looked back to see Hibiki had been cornered. "Not all the time though," he chuckled.

"Heads up!" Jennie looked then ducked with a gulp. The ball sailed over her head bouncing off a bulkhead and then dribbled down the corridor. She looked up with a glare, shoulders still hunched. When Dorah and a group of kids came around the corner she glared. "Um..." Some of the younger girls looked a little embarrassed. "How many times have you kids been told not to play in the corridors?" Jennie snarled. "I could have been carrying something dangerous! Or there could have been an open panel!" she growled. She shook her head.

The kids all ducked their heads down. "We're sorry," one said. Jennie readied herself for another blast.

"What seems to be the problem here?" the Captain's gravely voice startled Jennie again.

She turned. "Oh, sorry Captain, I didn't see you there!" she said surprised.

The captain nodded. "I hear you’re reading these crew members the riot act eh?" She turned to give the miscreants a stern gaze. "Maybe a night in the brig will help settle them down eh?" she asked. She tapped her fingers on her arm rest.

One of the kids looked up horrified; a few looked like they would like a camp out. "Dorah, Mindy, take your charges to the rec deck and confine them there while we discuss this," she said. She glared at the kids, but her eyes twinkled. The kids stepped past her, heads down, mumbling apologies. When they were out of earshot the Captain sat back and chuckled. "Young whippersnappers," she said. She shook her head. "It wasn't too long ago I chewed you out for doing the same thing Jennie!" she teased. Jennie blushed.

"I remember you were a terror with your corridor pickup games, and wasn't it you that got caught in the locker with that brunette in cargo a year ago?" the captain asked, not ready to let up just yet. The Captain turned her gaze on Jennie. Jennie squirmed, blushing furiously. One of the Captain's guards sniggered. The Captain turned her gaze to her. The guard stifled the laugh and returned to a polite mask of attention. She nodded then returned to Jennie.

"Yes Captain," she shook her head with a sigh.

"I think you need a break young lady, you've been working far too many double shifts. Taking classes on top of all that..." she shook her head. "You can't burn the engine at both ends dear," she chuckled. "Go finish your shift, and then I want you off rotation for an entire ship's day."

Jennie looked to protest. A single cocked eyebrow stopped her in her tracks. Defeated her shoulders slumped. "Aye Captain," she said and then nodded.

"Good to hear. Once you do that, we’ll get Molly and some of the crew to take time off too, maybe we should have a party?" the captain suggested. She turned her chair. "Hmm, I think I'll just have a chat with Vanessa and Tsunade about that...” she mussed as she left. The guards followed.

"What are we doing again?" Jennie asked amused. Trisha was mumbling something as she wrestled with her end of the plastic. The guards guffawed, laughing as she tried to beat the plastic sheeting into submission. Finally she got the upper hand. She stomped on it then turned, brushing her hair out of her face.

"There! Stay down!" she growled. She swatted at it as a breeze from the nearby vent sent it fluttering.

"We need weights," a girl said, and then set a block of plastic down on a corner. "Got one." Another girl placed one on her corner. She tugged the sheet until it was straight. "I have another!" she said.

Jennie squeaked as the sheeting billowed behind her and between her legs. "Hey!" she said turning. "Well, get out of the way!" Trisha said. She got her end down and sat on it.

Hanity came over and handed her a block of plastic. "Here you go," she giggled. "Though you’re doing fine without it," she said with a smirk. She jumped back with a laugh as Trisha tried to kick her.

"Meanie!" She stuck out her tongue. Jennie looked them over shaking her head. "I think the Admiral's right, this is a loony bin," she growled.

He looked up. "Well, since it's December I thought we could do with some fun."

She looked up confused. "December? Since when? Why do we have to have fun in December?"

He indicated the flapping corner. Trisha wrestled it down. A girl came in pushing a hover pallet loaded down with clear blocks. "What's that?" Jennie asked.

"Give me one." Trisha called.

Jennie went to pick one up. "Oh cold! She snatched her hands back.

The girl who pushed the cart in handed her a set of gloves. "Of course it is dummy, it's ice!" she said. She took a block, set it on the plastic then skated it to Trisha. Trisha waved a thanks as she caught the brick.

"Okay. Now I'm going to insist!" Jennie glared, hands on her hips.

The Admiral chuckled. "Hand me a brick will you Tasha? I think it'd be more fun to show her then explain," he said. The machine he had been working on came to life with a loud groan then grinding noise of whirling blades.

"What is that thing?" Jennie hollered over the noise. Her hands had automatically moved to cover her ears.

She looked at the chute sticking out of one end. The girl wrestled a block into another chute then went for another. "What is this?" Jennie asked just as snow whirled out, covering her. The Admiral hastily shut the machine down. In the silence they tried to stifle giggles as Jennie spat out snow. "What the hell?" she growled. She brushed snow out of her eyes.

Flakes clung to her eye lashes and hair. "What is this?" she demanded.

He shrugged. "I thought it was obvious, it's a snow machine," he said with a grin. He motioned her away. She obeyed, slow at first, then hastily as he pushed the button. Snow began the stream out once more. He handed her a pair of ear muffs. "Here," he said. Trisha put hers on. Jennie looked around to see the others following suit.

A train of girls with blocks of ice came, unloaded as they looked around and then left. The Moral officer came in the see the girls having a rollicking snowball fight. The Chief followed, ducking a snow ball. "Oops!" someone called.  She looked over to see Anita smiling and tossing a ball up in the air. "Catch!" She tossed her the ball. The Chief dodged it, and then glared.

"Don't block the door dear," The Captain's gravelly voice came from behind. She turned to see the Captain, doctor, Mindy, and dozens of others trying to get in. She moved aside. "Well!" The Captain chuckled as the Chief slipped and fell on her rear. "My my," the Captain chuckled looking away. Some of the girls were making snow angels, a few were trying to make a snow man or woman.

"You sure know how to keep things lively Admiral," she said and smiled over the noise. He nodded and handed her a set of ear muffs. She waved it aside. Jennie came over holding a pair of snowballs. "For me?" The Captain intercepted one. Jennie goggled as the Captain tossed the ball in the air, and then caught it. When the purser came in she had her back to the Captain. She tossed the ball, then chuckled as it splatted on the back of her head.

"Who threw that?!"  the purser snarled. The Captain smiled holding her hand up. For once her granddaughter was giggling. The purser dropped down and got a handful of snow. "Oh yeah?" she growled. Jennie handed the Captain another ball and then ducked behind her chair.

"No fair!" the Captain laughed as she tossed the ball.

The purser ducked, then came up smiling savagely. "Take this!"  she said. The ball smacked into the Captain's chest. The captain threw here head back as she laughed.

"All right Vanessa, you win,” she said. Suddenly the purser was engulfed in snowballs from all around. The Captain chuckled as Vanessa beat a hasty retreat. "Thank you ladies for coming to an old woman's aid."

She waved to the cheering crowd. "Enjoy," she said. She flew around the perimeter, talking to individuals for a few moments, then left.

"Well, that was interesting!" Jennie said, slipping and sliding up next to the Admiral. Some of the girls were shivering, a few were sliding nearby.

She tried to dodge a girl sliding on a piece of plastic, failed and came down on her can once more. "Ow!" She rubbed her abused rear end. "Damn!"

The Admiral laughed. She got a mischievous look, and then started to gather snow. "Wait now, uh..." he said, taking in her expression with a suddenly sinking heart. The Chief gathered more snow behind Jennie. "Now ladies can't we talk this over?" he replied weakly as he stepped back. A few girls behind the Chief grinned, patting snowballs. "Oh crap," he said ducking as the deluge began.

The next morning everything was back to normal. The crew however were a bit more chipper. Jennie looked over to the Admiral and grimaced. “I'm getting some static from the Chief about the weapons,” she sighed.

“What's wrong with that?” he asked.

She nodded to the part he was holding up. “It's a millimeter off,” she said. The tip of his index finger morphed into a dremel tool to reshape the bore. “So, anyway, I was wondering when we're going to get around to the weapons? I agree it isn't a pleasant feeling being naked in the big bad galaxy,” she said suggestively.

He finished with the shaping and blew on it. “I'm sorry, I can't help you there. I still have to follow the guidelines of the Federation.” He placed the coupler back into the robot.

“What do you mean? The Federation?” Jennie asked as she crossed her arms. “It's been dead for centuries!” she said.

He looked up and caught her eyes. “Not as long as I live,” he said quiet but firmly to her.

She sucked in her breath. “You really believe that don't you?” she asked in wonder. He nodded. “Okay, so why can't you fix the weapons? You broke one of them! I know Molly fixed that power cable so we have the port graser again, but we need the others fixed too!”

He shook his head. “Although this ship was a military vessel, the Captain has declared salvage rights, so it's now in civilian hands,” he explained.

She grimaced and wrinkled her nose. “And that means?”

He sighed. “Jen, I can't turn over weapons or prohibited tech to civilians. It's both against the law, and morally wrong. I can bend the rules with those stunners, but...” he shrugged helplessly.

She nodded defeated. “I guess so,” she muttered and then looked down.

He locked the cover plate back onto the robot and screwed it down. She reached over and hit the button. The LED's lit. “Okay, that did it,” he said.

She stepped back fast when the little robot wobbled into the air, spun and began cleaning. “Fast bugger,” she said and shook her head. “So, where does that leave us?” she asked.

“Have you checked the net lately? There are all sorts of things on the net now. You may find it interesting,” he suggested absently. He picked up his tools and left.

Trisha sat down beside her. “No luck?” she asked.

Jen shook her head then her eyes lit. “Gimmy your tablet for a minute.” She snapped her fingers and then wiggled them.

Trish frowned, but handed the tablet over. “Why?”

Jen typed rapidly, and then used her fingers to scroll. She sat back grinning. “Why that sneaky so and so,” she said with a smirk. She looked over to Trish.

“What? I heard the part where he said he couldn't do anything...” She looked over Jen's shoulder. “Power cable repair, laser sight, parallax debugging... Wait, is that the graser manual? Is this all what I think it is?” she demanded.

Jen grinned. “How could it be? After all, he said he couldn't help us right?” she asked. She tapped the tablet on her chest. “Come on! Let’s go see if it can help!”

Chapter 12

"This is the backup generator?" Trisha asked. He leaned over to see Trisha looking the reactor over. "It looks like a smaller version of the main reactor." Molly jumped down. Trisha started, jumping and clutching her chest. "Don't do that! You scared me half to death!" Molly smiled and adjusted her glasses. Dorah giggled in the corner. "Yeah, isn't it neat and we have three of these!" Dorah exclaimed before Molly could fully open her mouth.

She closed it then turned on Dorah. "Hey I was going to say that!" she said. Her hands were on her hips.

Dorah spread her hands apart. "Beat you to the punch Molly. It’s not my fault you're old." Molly turned to glower at the red haired girl.

“My someone is asking for trouble today,” the Admiral commented as he jacked into the reactor.

"So can we fix it?" Trisha asked ignoring the byplay.

"Oh we already did. Had to replicate a new fuel line, the old one was ruptured." Molly waved to the shiny new line, and then pointed to the shredded line lying on the cart.

"Wait, you said there are three of them..." Trisha turned to Dorah, "Okay you did." Dorah smiled. "Why three?

" Molly adjusted her glasses. "Backups in case the main goes down or power demand," she replied. "Oh," Trisha replied. The Admiral unjacked.

"Okay, it's all set. So Dorah, you're reactor watch on this reactor for this shift," Molly said. Dorah had said she wanted a break from the kids. Trish looked like she was going to object. "You'll do fine," Molly said, then picked up her tool box and grabbed Trisha by the elbow and led her out.

The Admiral followed. "Think she can really handle it?" Trisha asked Molly, leaning over to her to be discrete in front of the guards.

"Oh, she can handle it, as long as she doesn't scram it,” The Admiral interjected.

Molly sighed. "You would have to mention that," she growled. She turned around and entered the room again. Dorah froze; hand over the big red button. "Freeze!"

Dorah moved then froze. "I was just going to push it, it looks important," she said innocently.

Molly sighed. "You dunce! That's the scram button; push that and it scrams the reactor then blows this entire section into the void!"

Dorah paled and snatched her hand back. "Oh," she said making herself small.

"Now don't touch anything unless I tell you!" Molly pointed to the chair. "SIT!"

Dorah hastily obeyed. "We'll be back later," Molly turned and left. "Now she can handle it," she said. She nodded to Trisha and the Admiral.

Trisha sighed shaking her head. "What a goof ball."

"Admiral, what about the hyper collector, and the, um, antimatter reactor?"Trisha asked.

He looked over to Trish as they rode the lift. "Well, the hyper collector uses a bussard ram scoop made of the shields and magnetic fields to suck in electrons in hyperspace. With the shields down and out of balance, the ship's power generation was severally limited." The lift stopped with a bump.

"Going to have to fix that," Molly muttered.

The doors opened, and then closed. "Looks like that too," Trisha observed wryly. She hit the open button again. The doors opened.

"The antimatter reactor is fine, except it has no fuel." The Admiral said as they exited.

"What about the fuel, can't we make some?"  Trisha asked. It took him a moment to remember she hadn't been in the classes when he had explained that.

Molly sighed. "No, it requires fuel to make fuel."

Trisha's brows knit together. "That doesn't sound right; you want to run that by me again."

The Admiral snorted. "Okay, antimatter is like a battery. You take power and convert it into antimatter, then bombard the antimatter with matter later on to get a return on your energy investment." He shrugged. "But no engineered system is one hundred percent energy efficient. That's basic engineering 101. Some power is lost all through the system," he explained. "Take my word for it, it isn't doable now."

She nodded. "Oh okay."

Molly looked down at her pad. "3a, 3b...oh here it is, 3c." She touched the door controls but they wouldn't open. "Crud." She played with the door panel.

"So what's wrong with this one?" the guard asked. Molly didn't get a response as she started unscrewing the panel.

"The tank was holed one deck up. We want to pull it, but I want to run a diagnostic to make sure it's worth fixing before we go through all that headache of yanking the old tank and putting in a new one," Irons replied.

Molly didn't look up, focusing on the job.  The guard looked startled. "Hand me that screwdriver." The guard reached for one. "No the other one," Molly said. Molly didn't look up. In a moment the guard handed her the handle.

"How did she...?" she asked.

She looked over to the other guard who shrugged and smiled. "Darn! What the heck is wrong here...?” Molly demanded. The Admiral stood back and watched. Trisha started to offer his services but he waved her off.

"Let the lady do her job," he said. He turned and studied the corridor. He spotted a broken fixture. "I'll be over here if you need me," he said. He went over to the fixture and started pulling it down.

A tech arrived. "Hey! That’s my job," she growled at him. He stopped and looked the woman over. She was wearing a coverall and squirmed a bit.

He nodded politely then stepped back. "Have at it," he chuckled shaking his head as he came back to the girls.

"Got chased off I see," Molly commented, not even looking up.

He chuckled. "Everyone's a critic."

She smiled. "Okay, that just about... Okay... I'm in!" The door sparkled.

`"Hey what the?" The guard said.

Molly touched the door. Sparks flew and her hand was thrown back. "OWE! That really hurt!" she said, clutching her hand. The tech down the corridor looked over to them craning her body to get a better view.

The Admiral grimaced. "Force field. The computer sensed an intruder when you tried to hot wire the door and activated it." He studied the controls. "The controls are dead. One moment." He closed his eyes. "Sprite?" he sub vocalized. The HUD came up.

"Already on it Admiral," Sprite said as she scrolled data. "Hmm... Hardwired security access node, you'll need to go to the next junction, take the port corridor down twenty meters, pull the panel on your starboard side and then jack in," she said.

He nodded and opened his eyes. "Hardwired security system, I'll have to jack in to bypass."

They followed down the corridor, and to the access port. "Here it is." He pulled the panel off then set it aside. "Just be a moment." He extended his right hand, letting it morph into a jack. "I'm in. Okay..." He fed the security node his ID. It flashed back at him.

"Damn stubborn paranoid son of a dishwasher...” Sprite said grumpily. Her colloquialism made him smile. "Okay, got it. Try again," she growled finally. He did. The node cleared.

"All right, I reset the node. No problem." He unjacked and they went back to work.

"I heard you were talking about implants. What's this I hear about an identity chip?" a familiar voice said behind him. He turned to the Chief sitting next to the Captain.

"Yes, civilians and military personnel had them in my time to identify themselves and act as keys," he explained.

She looked amused. "Keys?" He nodded.

"To electronic records in networks, and electronic locks."

She gave the Captain a look, and then shifted her attention back to the Admiral. "Can we do something like that?" she finally asked. He noted a curious sound of...anticipation in her voice.

He nodded warily. "Yes, there's a stock of them in sickbay according to the records, and the doctor can replicate more. Why?"

She didn't answer, just typed something into her tablet. "Why?" the Captain echoed, looking at her. "Oh huh?" she looked up. "Um, well, I would like to lock off access to some areas of the ship," she said.

The Admiral nodded. "You mean restrict them. Good idea," he said. Her eyes became a little hooded.

"What areas?" the purser asked.

"Well, like the weapon rooms, armory, and areas of the ship that could cause damage if someone broke something inside," the chief replied. She nodded to Jennie.

She nodded back. "I see where you’re going with this," she said. She turned to the Captain. "Captain, it's a good idea. We've had a few problems with people getting into compartments they aren't supposed too or damaging systems," she said with a grimace.

"Remember when Dorah and Mindy decided to make necklaces?" Jenny asked when the captain didn't look totally convinced.

The purser, Chief, Captain, and Shandra winced. "Good point. I'm still not sold however," she gave the Chief a look. "What else?" she demanded, knowing there was more.

The Chief squirmed a little. "Well, we could also track their movements," she admitted.

The Captain's eyes glittered. "I'm not sure I'm at all happy about that." She turned to the Admiral. "So you have one of these?"she asked.

He nodded. "Two. One is my civilian implant when I was a child; the other is my military IFF," he replied. She nodded.

"I want the access codes," the Chief said suddenly. He knew she wanted them to limit his access and monitor his movements.

"That won’t be necessary," the Captain said hands flat on the table.

He thought for a moment. "Captain, if the crew is going through with this, I don't mind giving her the civilian IFF code," he said.

She studied him for a moment, and then nodded. "All right, if you’re okay with it."

He shrugged. "It's best to lead by example ma'am." She smiled.

"Can it get into your head?" the purser asked, sounding concerned.

He turned to the purser. She blushed. "No ma'am. Well, there's a tendril that's inserted, but only to your optic nerve. It projects a signal onto your optic nerve when you palm something. More complex systems allow you to view data through them. If you get to military grade level one implants, then you can send information to and from the basic link."

The doctor looked up. "I noticed a lot of the equipment requires that," he observed.

He nodded. "Yes doc, to use some of the more advanced equipment, you have to have medical implant technology," Irons replied.

The purser shuddered. "But what about those virus things?" she asked. He smiled.

"Well, I stamped them out, and any that are still lurking in hardware not connected to the net will get hammered by antivirus software and stopped by the firewall if they're ever plugged back in," he said. He shrugged at her uncertain expression. "Also, the basic implant has a primitive antivirus and firewall." She nodded slowly. "How's it powered?" she asked. He held up his right hand.

"Well, my implants are...more advanced, so require an external power source from time to time. But basic implants rely on your electrical field and thermal profile your body generates." She looked confused.

The doctor smiled. "I just finished reading about that!"

"All right, make it so doctor, starting with the senior staff," the Captain said quietly. A few of the faces weren't happy.

"It won’t hurt, you just swallow a pill. When you go to bed it makes the connections," the Admiral explained. A few looked relieved.

"Can we make replicators?" Jennie asked him later that day.

He turned to Jennie. He had been expecting the question for some time. They hadn't noticed he'd been making replicators or replicator parts. "Not exactly. You see, you can make a lot of things, but with only civilian implants, the hardware will limit the gear you can make to civilian grade," he explained. She looked confused. "Replicators have nanites in them. So do a few other things, so are restricted tech. As is weapons," he further explained.

She nodded. "But what about parts?" she asked.

He sighed. "Any attempt to make parts for them will lock up the replicator. That's what happened with the replicator on deck two," he said. She nodded.

"In my time we had to restrict that tech to prevent terrorists from using the tech to make weapons," he explained.

She looked confused so did Molly. "Why would anyone do that?" Molly asked.

He nodded to the Chief as she approached. "Well, some people didn't agree with the current government. Some for religious reasons, some for other reasons. They would use any tool to get their point across. Terror was their biggest weapon. I was hurt in two terrorist attacks.”

He looked away for a moment. "That's why we put a lock on tech. You saw what happened with nanite weapons," he said. All the women shivered at that. Seeing a planet crumple into dust was...terrifying. "Well, we had to make sure it didn't happen by our own people. So lockouts were hardwired into every replicator," he finished.

Molly nodded. "I think I for one am glad," she finally said. He nodded.

"So you want us to teach a class on first aide to the entire crew? Why? Didn't we already do that?" Mindy asked him as he showed the doctor how to use the organ cloning machine. She was still acting a little sullen around him.

"Oh, it's so the crew can do basic first aid in case of an accident," he responded absently as he touched the controls and rotated the view. "Nice, very nice."

Mindy yanked on his sleeve. "But why? I mean, that's our job right?" she asked plaintively. He turned to gaze at her. She was biting her lip, hands behind her back.

The doctor looked up. "Sometimes accidents happen. If the first people on scene can do something to help the injured, it increases their chances to survive," the doctor explained patiently.

The Admiral nodded. "You can't be everywhere Mindy, what happens if Dorah or someone else is hurt while you’re on the other side of the ship? Or with another patient? Or asleep?" he asked.

She bit her lip. "Like mom," she murmured. She paled, then murmured as she turned, hiding her face.

Doc nodded. "Yes, like your mom. A mandatory class could help a lot of people. If we can help, we should," he said.

She nodded. "Okay doc." She bounced off. "This is going to be so much fun teaching a class!"

The Admiral froze. "What have I done!" he groaned, drooping his head into his hands.

The doctor laughed and patted his shoulder. "It’s for a good cause."

"Remind me to suggest satellites to the purser as trade goods," he ordered Sprite as he pulled the bolt out of its hole.

"Okay. I will," a tentative voice said. He started. That wasn't Sprite's voice.

He looked over and noticed a girl standing there.”Good. You could also suggest the idea to her yourself," he said, covering.

She looked confused then nodded. "Okay, if you say so," she said wrinkling her nose. He snorted at her expression..

He looked over the computer motherboard and nodded. "Bad ram?" he asked.

Sammy had her multi tool out probing. "Looks like it. A terabyte stick right here." He looked over and nodded. Sprite had already confirmed it with a memory test earlier on.

"What bothers me...?” She cleared her throat and blushed. "Um," she said uncertain.

He nodded. "Go on," he encouraged her.

"Well, um, what bothers me is, with the replicators and nanites, why build things like this?"she asked.

He handed her a new stick of ram as she gingerly pulled the old out. "Well, that's why," he said. She looked confused.

He nodded his head to the ram. "With different parts, if one goes bad, we can swap it out. If it was all one homogeneous piece we would have to send in nanites to fix the problem," he explained.

She glanced at the memory in her hands then back up as she handed it to him. "Oh," she said. Her face cleared.

"Besides, it would regulate people like you and I obsolete," he chuckled. She giggled after a moment.

"How come you don't need a haircut?" a woman asked as he passed her with his usual entourage. he paused. "Excuse me?" he asked politely.

She smiled. She was a portly woman of moderate age, most likely in her early forties. "Yes, I do the girls hair and I was wondering why we haven't seen you in the hair salon," she said.

He looked her over. "Well, I have nanites that take care of that at night while I sleep," he replied without thinking.

She looked at his scalp. "Nanites?" She moved back turning ashen. "Rrrooobots?" She wrung her hands then hid them. "Never mind never you mind!" She turned and jogged away taking periodic looks over her shoulder.

He shrugged to the others. "Takes all kinds..."

"Wiring, electronics, plumbing, and plasma conduits, is that all we do?" one of the techs asked exasperated.

Molly snorted. "You’re forgetting replacing parts, rebuilding things, recalibrating them, patching the hull, and replacing spars. Not to mention motors, gravity plates, and the like," She glanced over her controls then shrugged.  She was getting a lot more grumbling now that everything was working better. People were getting bored.

"A day in the life of an engineer," the Admiral replied. "Once the repairs are done, we can move onto bigger things," he said. He wrote a patch program and uploaded it through his jack.

"Like what?" the woman asked, glancing over.

"Oh, like making satellites, parts for colonies for trade goods, vehicles, shuttle craft, all sorts of things," He suggested absently.

She looked awed. "We can do that?" she asked. He nodded.

"And more!" Molly as excited. "We can do so much more, so let’s get this ship fixed!" They chuckled at her exuberance.

"Hello Tara, how are things down here?" Jennie asked.

Tara looked up from peeling potatoes. She hated having starch all over her hands but had gotten used to it by now. "Oh not bad. Just a different kind of crap to put up with," she said. She waved to the sludge tanks. One of them was leaking at the top.

Jennie wrinkled her nose. "I can smell that," she said. She shook her head. "Well, I'm sorry to see you in durance vile." She waved to the room. "I'll try to get you on a work crew soon," she promised.

Tara nodded. "I was thinking about trying my hand at engineering, but I'm not sure I have the patience," she said, uncertain.

"Well, let me see if I can work some magic on that tank and make it a little more bearable in here," Jennie commented, going over to study the tank.

"Please," Tara sighed.

Jennie grunted as she tugged at the seal. "This thing is stuck." She grumbled as the pulled at the seal. "Can you give me a hand?" She turned to Tara who was finishing a potato.

"Sure, give me a sec," Tara said, glad of the break. She tossed the potato into a pot then got up wiping her hands on her apron. "Don't know why I'm bothering cleaning up, just gonna get dirty again," she grumbled. She looked over the pot.

"It stinks closer up. Wow! What is that rot? Rank!" Tara said.

Jennie shrugged. "Sewage. The engineer said to check with the sensors before cracking the seal, but why bother? It'll just say it stinks," she said wrinkling her nose. She regretted not having a mask. She banged on the seal with a screwdriver and mallet. "All right, that loosened it,” she said.

“So what do you need me for?" Tara teased.

"Well, I'll pass you the parts as I take them off. Here, here's the seal," she grunted as it came off. With a hiss the top loosened then gunk began to bubble out.

"Oh gross!" Tara said. "Stinks too!" She grabbed the seal then stepped back.

Jennie faltered and coughed. "I don't feel so good."

Tara looked up to her in alarm. "What's wrong, your face is blue!"

Jennie crumpled. "Oh crap!" Tara cried, pulling her apron up over her mouth and nose. She grabbed Jennie's arm and tugged. Her eyes watered. She yanked the girl down and onto her shoulder then got out of there. She slapped the hatch closed behind her then sealed it. In the distance she could hear an alarm klaxon.

Her head was pounding. She felt weak, like she had run laps around the ship. She tried to carry Jennie away from the hatch but faltered then collapsed. The engineer came at a run. "Shit. Get them to sickbay fast," he ordered, taking the look of them in with a practiced eye in a single glance. He looked up. "Medical emergency deck three galley! Hypoxia and poison gas exposure, one severe, one moderate. Get a medical team here stat!" he growled. He turned around and found the emergency breathing kit and yanked it off the wall.

"Breath," he ordered. He held the first mask over Tara's face. Oxygen blasted into her face, at positive pressure it forced its way into her lungs. "Good, again," he ordered as her chest heaved. He fumbled the second mask over Jennie's head.

A crew member came pounding up. "What's going on? What happened?" she asked. He waved her back.

"Poison gas. Tell the ops officer to get that compartment's life support shut down and get the gas filtered out fast," he ordered. He pulled Jennie off Tara's shoulder and carried her out past Cookie and a scullery maid. "Everyone out now," he ordered. He waved his head. "Get Tara out of there,” he called back. He laid Jennie down and checked her pulse.

"Shit no pulse," he snarled. He slammed her chest, and then instituted CPR.

"What are you doing to her?" The maid said alarmed.

"One... Two... Three.. come on kid, breathe!" he yelled as he pumped her chest with his hands. He checked for a pulse. "No pulse. Going to have to defib," he said. He yanked her coverall open, ripping the seam, exposing her chest. The women's gasps were distant unimportant things.

Tara laid down next to her. "Can I help?" she asked blearily.

He shook his head. "No, get back." He set his right hand over Jennie's heart and looked up. "CLEAR!" he ordered, sending the mental signal.

Proteus fed an electric pulse into his palm then into her chest. "No pulse, heartbeat erratic Admiral," Sprite reported.

"Again. Amp it up. CLEAR!"

He glared as the maid tried to grab her clothes. "I said CLEAR!" He slapped her hands away with his left hand. She moved back. The zap made her body jerk and quiver.

"What are you doing?" Tara asked.

"Trying to restart her heart," he growled. He checked her over.

"Heartbeat detected Admiral... Pulse is weak. BP is low. Toxins are being emitted from her body and clothes," Proteus reported.

He sighed in relief. "Okay, she has a pulse, but it's weak,” he said.

He looked over to Tara. "She was checking the tank that was leaking and popped the seal, she just fainted," she said.

He grimaced. "I saw it once before on a station. They said it was toxic waste," Tara said. She grimaced through the clear mask.

He sighed. "I take it she didn't check her sensors?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I think she was going to when the top was off," she said.

He grimaced and looked the girl over. "Talk about learning the hard way," he said. He shook his head as the nurse came running up, the doctor behind her. "Toxic gas exposure," he explained, stepping back.

He moved back as the nurse moved in. He watched as the two set in to check Jennie over, changing the emergency mask for the paramedic version. The doctor checked the readout and blanched. "Damn, what a stew! She's lucky to be alive," he said. He gave Tara look. She waved as she breathed through the mask.

He handed her another. "Keep breathing the pure O2," he ordered her. A pair of girls dressed in paramedic coveralls arrived carrying litters. The corridor was getting crowded.

The engineer moved back a little and linked in. "Sprite kill the klaxon," he ordered. He sighed in relief as the jarring sounds quit. "Open a channel to the bridge," he said.

"Captain, this is the Admiral, Jennie and Tara was exposed to sewage chemicals and had a bad reaction, doc and the nurses are on scene."

He waited for a moment. "Are they okay?" the Captain finally asked.

He grimaced. "No. Tara is ambulatory and alert, but Jennie got a full face of it. There's some skin, lung, and toxic damage. The doctor will have his hands full," Irons explained. The doctor grunted, and didn't look up.

"Get me a report when things settle down," the captain ordered.

He nodded as she cut the channel on her end. He looked over to see the passage filled with people. "All right people, time to get out of here and back to your stations, this air is contaminated. Let's give the doctor room to work and the girl’s room to breathe," he ordered. The guards normally with him were just as bad as the other looky loos.

He waved to them. A few reluctantly turned and left, a few moved a bit slower, taking looks over their shoulders and murmuring. He grimaced again. The med team had both girls on the litters. Tara protested but the doctor put his hand on her shoulder to restrain her. "Tara there could be lingering effects, the less you move the less it will get into your bloodstream," the doctor said. He looked worried. The first team was already moving off with Jennie.

"Make a hole!" The lead girl called to the looky loos ahead. The nurse followed, carrying the pack and IV.

"Jennie, whatever possessed you to pop a seal when you knew better?" the Captain demanded. She was standing at her bedside holding her hand. Tara had left after a cursory exam.

"Sorry ma'am," Jennie slurred. She was bandaged, with an oxygen mask muffling her rough voice. "No talking I said!" the pixie like nurse came up eyebrows knit. She waggled a finger at the patient then the Captain. "She has severe damage to her larynx and esophagus, not to mention soft tissue damage to her mouth, lips, face, and gums."

The Captain patted her leg. Jennie let tears slip under her bandages. "We'll get her into a Regen tank in a little bit. We have Kendra in there now after that plasma burst two days ago,” Mindy said. “Don't worry, it won’t mess your face up!" the nurse cooed, patting her hand. She checked the read outs then flounced off.

"Sometimes I wonder about that girl," the Captain muttered. She sighed. "All right Jennie, get some rest. I think you've learned a valuable lesson, and been punished enough. I'll see you at dinner tomorrow," she said. She patted the girls hand as she weakly nodded.

"That was a really stupid thing to do," The Admiral glared. Jennie ducked her head and muttered a sorry. He grimaced. "Talk about a grizzly lesson to the life support techs. You could've been killed." That ended with a growl. "Or killed others," he said with another grimace before relenting. "All right, let’s see if we can get this life support fixed. Or do you want to work on something else?" he asked. He was unsure if she was ready to get back in the saddle yet. She looked up. Tears sparkled in her eyes.

Her skin was smooth; a dip in the Regen tank cleared away a lot of skin damage. "I think I can handle it," she said, voice still rough.

He nodded. "I think we'll start with the hardware first." He led her down the corridor to a work station. A pair of techs were there. "Ladies," he nodded to them. "Okay, pop quiz. What's this?" he pointed to a graph.

"Ammonia," one of the techs said, looking at him like he had asked a stupid question.

“Got it. Why is it important to monitor?" he asked. She looked confused. He turned to the other tech who also looked confused. Then Jennie.

Jennie shrugged. "It's used in the garden, and is a byproduct of solid waste," she answered.

He nodded. "Yes, but it's also a poison," he said. She paled. "Mix this with the wrong ingredients like bleach, and it gets nasty," he said with a grimace.

"One of humanities first weapons of mass destruction was that gunk," he said. He tapped the monitor. The girls looked at the readout.

"And we have a ton of it?" The first white haired tech asked, paling.

"Yes, we do. That's just this deck, and it's a bit high," he said. He shook his head.

“Three... two... one... Downward translation complete, we have breakout in the Proxima system!” Lessa reported triumphantly. It had taken them less then two months to make the journey.

The Captain smiled and nodded. “Good, good, do we have any news from our sensors yet?” she asked. She looked over to the sensor tech.

“Nothing on neutrino or the tachyon detectors Captain,” she frowned at her plot. “Wait, I'm getting a faint source from the planet, two of them. Most likely a fusion reactor.”

The Captain nodded sagely. “Yes, well, we all knew they were more advanced than the other colonies, their ancestors must have converted a reactor or two to work for them before the fall,” she said. She sat back watching the bridge crew.

“Captain, inner system course plotted, ready to execute on your command,” Lessa said.

“Well, that was certainly fast,” she said with a small smile of approval. She gave Lessa an approving nod. “Make it so helm,” she nodded to Shandra.

“Now we can get those smelly animals out of my ship,” the Captain muttered.

“Here here!” the chief replied softly

The Captain looked up to her granddaughter and smiled. “Don't get too anxious; we still have several days before we get there.”

“Well, actually Captain, we have three days before we make orbit,” Lessa turned nodding to the Captain with a small smile.

“Only three days? My my, we have come a long way,” the captain murmured and then nodded. “I seem to recall taking weeks in subspace, now only three days?”

“It'll be a lot shorter after the next round of repairs Captain. We have to rebuild the thruster cone on the port side. Once we do that and some other repairs...” Shandra pulled herself out the tank and pulled her goggles up. “We'll be the fastest thing in the universe,” she grinned. “In or out of hyper.”

The Captain chuckled. “Well, we have three days to orbit; I suggest we make the best use of that time. I'm only planning a week in orbit,” she said. Shandra nodded as she pulled herself out of the tank.

“I'm going to fly one of the shuttles to grab as many asteroids as we can. I can't believe I got talked into letting Hibiki ride shotgun with me,” she said wrinkling her nose. She shook her head.

One of the girls giggled. “Well, I think he'd prefer you over Dorah!” someone else laughed. The chief scowled. “As you were,” she growled.

“All right, get on it. I want the unloading expedited as well,” the captain ordered. She sighed. “Goddess knows we've been burning through fuel. We may soak the reserves just buying more.”

Kendra looked up and shook her head. “Not really Captain, the Admiral's going to lasso an ice ball for us to mine,” she informed her.

The Captain looked up. “An ice ball?”

“Comet.”

“Oh.” Her eyebrows beetled together. “Now how's he going to do that?”  she asked thoughtfully.

“Very carefully as I understand it,” Shandra replied, exiting the bridge with a parting grin.

"Things are looking up; we have a complete ship for once," Jennie looked excited. "I mean, every deck is solid now, no leaks, and no breached sections. We even have a couple full cargo holds that we didn't before!" She smiled to Molly who nodded.

"That's great. What about the engines?" Molly asked.

She sobered. "Well, we're in the middle of the first overhaul cycle; it'll be a while before they're finished. I just hope nothing nasty comes knocking before they're back up," Jen said and then shivered.

"Well, fortunately the neutrino and tachyon detectors are on line, so we should be okay," Molly answered, looking over her board. "Wow! He even fixed the hyperdrive! If this is right, we should be going into the B note of Beta when we leave here!" Her voice was filled with awe.

"Really?" Jennie leaned over studying the screen's read outs. "That's amazing!"

“We need a lot more structural repairs before we can get to Gamma though,” Molly sighed.

“You always have to take the downside and be a wet blanket,” Jen grumped.

He reached down and petted the tom in his lap. The cat raised its head, accepting the praise and then laid it back down, closing its eyes in contentment. "Are you here because your motor needs a tune up?" he teased, smiling softly.

Molly chuckled. He looked over to her. She had a kitten in her lap. "I never get over how cute they are," she said.

He nodded. "I'm glad the Captain kept up the tradition," he said. She shrugged.

"Well, we didn't have them at first, but when a shipment of grain ended up bringing stowaway rats, we didn't have a choice," she wrinkled her nose. Jennie leaned over her seat and looked at her display. She pointed to a readout, murmured an okay, then left. "The purser wasn't happy, she didn't see a profit, but when a rat fried itself in the deck four wiring, she saw the light," she giggled suddenly. "Or should I say didn't? After all it cut the lights in that section."

He chuckled. "I bet she likes trading the kits though," he observed, stroking the soft pelt. She nodded.

"But getting them away from Dorah is a pain!" she replied with a grimace. She shook her head, smiling, adjusted her glasses then looked at her display. "So, things are looking a lot better, sensors are now aligned to within ten percent tolerance, better than we've ever gotten. Jennie said the EVA team has finished replacing the starboard and keel shield nodes, so we should hit the A or B note of Beta band when we leave," she reported. He nodded.

"I said it's time for you to leave!" a female voice snarled.

He heard a scuffle and shouts. He rounded the corner at a trot and paused. "What's going on here?" Sprite fed subsonics into his voice. The scuffle stopped abruptly. They sorted themselves out into a handball team and a group of spacers. "Ladies?" he growled. The morale officer came pounding up behind him, as did a security team. One of the guards must have called when he had first heard the noise.

"We need to practice," one of the handball team members said. She like her team mates were wearing padding of patched or improvised gear.

"So do WE!" Nancy said looking indignant. "We have a spacewalk in an hour and need to go over the motions," she said.

He nodded. "Good idea." He turned to the moral officer. "Not my call though, the rec deck is your domain," he said. She looked confused. All three women looked at him. He grimaced at their expressions. They began to argue.

"Sprite open a channel to the port boat bay," he said softly.

There was a click and then; "Port aft boat bay, Michelle here. What can you do me out of today?" the girl asked.

He smiled. "Michelle? This is the Admiral, do you have anything scheduled in your bay for the next hour?" he asked.

He waited as she checked. "Um, no, a work crew is scheduled for next shift... Why?" she asked. He watched as the trio's argument became heated. "Nancy needs a place to practice. Do you mind?"

She cleared her throat in surprise. "No, no problem," she said.

He nodded. "Okay, I'll send them over there. Admiral out." Sprite closed the channel. He cleared his throat. A second throat clearing didn't work. He smacked his hands together with a loud clap. That did it. The trio and the others froze. "Thank you for your attention. Nancy," he turned to her. "I just got off the line with Michelle in the port aft boat bay, it's free and you can practice there," he said. The moral officer looked confused. "If of course that's okay with Miss Cortez?" he gave her an inquiring look. She looked to the team then nodded sheepishly. "Okay, ladies, let’s get this sorted out."

"Do you know how long we'll be here for?" the blond tech asked Molly as she shouldered the wave guide up.

"No idea. Probably a week or two. I'm betting a week. Looking for shore leave?" Molly teased.

"I wouldn't mind a little. But I think we have a lot planned right?" the tech asked.

Molly grunted and then gasped as she slid the bolt into place. "There! Yeah, we're going to try to tear down the hyperdrive and give it a full overhaul. We're also going to repair those cracked spars," she replied.

Terrie blinked. "I thought we did that already? Is it possible to break it down?" She blinked then looked at Molly with surprise. "I didn't know anyone could do that!"

Molly smiled. "The Admiral can. We fabricated the parts, just need to take it off line and repair it. In fact, he's working on the hyperdrive now," she said. The ratchet slipped through her fingers and clanged to the deck below. "Dang!" she said.

"Hey watch it!" a pixie voice called up.

"Can you get that for me? Our hands are full."

A tech grumbled and handed it up. "So, going to the class tonight?" Terrie asked.

"Oh, I already saw that one. I am going to try to get the engineer to start a new one on wave propagation theory in hyperspace," Molly replied.

Terrie looked confused. "Hey wait, I missed the last two basic classes, don't get him off in a tangent. I need to get some rest you know," she grumped.

Molly snickered. "Oh, don't worry, I overheard him talking to Jennie, I think she's going to do the basic course so he can work on the next step with us," she grinned. "I'm so glad we have the chance to learn all this! Beats staring at the bulkhead or gossiping any day!" She ran her hand over the glistening new parts.

"Yeah, there's that," Terrie responded.

"Do you think he'll get off here?" she asked after a long moment. She sounded worried.

Molly shook her head. "This is an agrarian world. The only ones who come here are us. There'd be no point to it. The Admiral's a born spacer," she said. Terri sighed in relief.

“Admiral, can you pass me that torch you’re using?” Trisha asked him, not looking over to where he was. He finished the nanite weld of the AC duct then pulled his hand up so she can see it.

“I would, but I'm kind of attached to it if you know what I mean?” he said.

She looked over irritably then chuckled. “Oh sorry, I forgot.”

He shook his head, smiling. “What do you need?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I need a tack here, here...Oops!” she said and then grunted. The duct shifted, as she shifted her hands to point. She manhandled it back into position. “And up here. Once it's tacked I can get my welding gear and finish the job,” she said.

He nodded. “Okay, hold it.” He flattened his left hand onto the duct to steady it and then began to tack at the indicated spots.

“Wow, I don't feel any heat, and there's only a little light! How can you do that without gas or welding wire?” she asked.

He finished the next tack and looked up. “Nanites.” She gasped a little and reared back. He sighed. “Nanites are robots, nothing more. I control them. They aren't going to destroy the ship or kill everyone,” he explained.

She tried to absorb that, but he could tell she was having trouble. “Check out the database when you go off shift,” he said.

She nodded woodenly. “I'll do that.”

He nodded locking eyes with her. “See that you do.” He couldn't help slipping into command mode, He was getting tired of the ancient fear eroding his working relationship with the crew. It had taken some weeks to get over their phobia when they found out.

The hatch opened and the girl reared back startled. “What's that?” She watched fascinated as fractal shapes spun in a complex web. “Oh my!” She looked over to Shandra who was wearing a virtual headset and had a set of goggles. “Oh wow...”

Shandra was motioning, acting like she was swimming. “What are you doing?” the girl asked. Shandra shushed her. “Don't shush me!” Indignantly the girl came into the room and looked around. “What is that?” she demanded. Shandra hit a tangle and the holo went red then burst into a bright flare. The girl eeped and reared back.

Shandra pulled the goggles up and glared at the intruder. “What?” she glared.

The intruder looked around blinking furiously. “What was that?!?” she asked motioning to the holo.

Shandra shook her head. “Simulator. Flight simulator.” She looked over to the intruder. “What do you want?” she asked testily, setting the gloves down and picking up a glass of water for a drink.

The girl looked around then stood straight, shoulders back. “Sorry, the Captain asked me to find you.” She waved to the communicator. “For some reason no one could contact you,” she said.

Shandra froze then carefully set the glass down. “I shut it off,” she muttered. She looked over to the girl. “Did she say what she wanted?”

The girl shook her head. “Well you're late for the meeting...” she said.

Shandra looked up alarmed, then to the digital time display. “Damn!” She hastily pulled the goggles off then ran her fingers through her hair. “Damn!” She checked the mirror.

“You're fine, you better get moving and not keep them waiting,” the girl said.

She nodded. “Crap, I didn't even take a shower,” she muttered. She rushed out the door. The girl followed her. They jogged down the corridors to the lift. Two other crew members told Shandra she was late.

She grimaced. “Going to catch it,” she sighed. In the lift she hit the bridge button and sighed again. The messenger nodded. “So what were you doing? Flight simulator? Is that what navigating is like?” She waved like Shandra had been doing.

Shandra nodded. “That was a flight sim for Gamma band. Actually, the highest octave of gamma band.”

The messenger's eyes widened. “Why?”

Shandra looked her over. “Eventually we'll get to it.”

The girl nodded. “How did you get that?” She cocked her head.

Shandra grinned. “Where else? The engineer set it up for the navigators and helm crew.” She chuckled as the lift stopped. “My stop,” she said. The doors opened and she left.

“Good luck,” the messenger called as she left with a wave.

Jennie handed him a fuel line just as the shuddering began. The ship pitched up, then shuddered some more. "Not good," she said. Tools clattered to the deck. Jennie swore. "Definitely not good. If this much is getting through the inertial buffers, Admiral, I think you need to get up there." The ride smoothed out.

"No, they can handle it without me jogging their elbows," he replied.

He plugged one end of the fuel line in and screwed its cover on. "Okay I have this end," he said. He wrapped the braided fuel line down over a series of clips, and then clicked them in place.

"Okay. I have my end," Jennie replied. "Think she'll fire now?" she asked.

He stepped back looking at the shuttle. "She should," he said and nodded. The ship shuddered again.

"Hmm... bumpy ride," Jennie commented, staggering.

"Turbulence," one of the girls called.

"I think I'm going to hurl," one of the girls replied.

"Admiral to the bridge! Admiral to the bridge!" the overhead voice had a hysterical edge to it. "Not good," the girls looked up alarmed.

"Okay, finish up here; I'll be back in a bit," Irons ordered. He wiped his hands on a rag then raced out. The guards followed, but he managed to make the lift well before them. "Sorry."

He tapped the emergency close and rise. The lead guard swore but waved him on. "Deck one, bridge." The lockout flashed, and then disengaged. The lift screamed upward. Obviously someone on the bridge was in control. His knees buckled as it stopped.

"Bridge," the computer reported. The doors swished open.

"Admiral get in here," the captain growled. He staggered through the door and then stood up. His eyes immediately locked onto Shandra.

She was in a virtual suit, hovering in a cylindrical tank. Wires ran down her hands and neck to her back, then up to the ceiling. "What seems to be the problem?" he asked, stepping around to see the Captain. She nodded to the view screen. He turned to see a tangle of gravity webs. "Hmmm...” the ship shuddered. "Admiral help me!" Shandra pleaded. A tangle hit the port side, the ship bucked. She was obviously a little over her head, or thought she was. So much for the high octaves of Beta and Gamma.  So close too, they were near break out into the next system! She needed more seasoning.

He grimaced. "Well, that'll have to be fixed." He shook his head. "Shandra, I can't take over, the delay between us shifting would be fatal. I'll have to walk you through it," he said soothingly. He went over to the tank and jacked in. He recognized some of the problems right away. "Navigation, get with the program, plot us a course up and out of this mess!" he barked.

"Do it," the Captain backed the order. The girl hastily obeyed.

A red line appeared on the plot. "Navigation work with sensors, keep a running plot, and adjust our course heading if needed. Kendra, shift power from the stern shields to the bow and port side,” he called. "All right Shandra, you see the path? Follow it," he said.

She swam for a second. "I'm not sure I can," she gasped out.

"Sure you can. Pitch up twelve degrees roll two point three degrees to port; bow down three point one degrees, fire port OMS pod..."

He walked her through the maneuver. In a few minutes they were above the tangled yarn. "Good. See, you did fine," he said. She reached the indicated hyper limit and slapped her hands together. "Break out!" she said exhausted. The hyper generators shut down and the ship emerged into real space with a brilliant flash.

"Good job," he said to her. He unjacked and looked her over. She was floating limp, gasping for breath. He reached in and pulled her helmet off, then pulled her to the side of the tank.

She grabbed it. "Thanks," she said. He looked over to the Chief. "Can you ask the steward to bring a towel and drink?" he asked. She nodded. "Why were you in that?" he asked turning his attention on the helmswoman.

"Um, that is our usual course," the navigator replied.

"Through that?" he demanded. He shook his head. "Maybe in alpha band, it all comes at you what, over the course of a couple hours?" he asked.  Shandra nodded as the wardroom door opened and the steward came out. "But in beta and gamma, you need to plot around it."

The navigator's shoulders hunched. "Sorry," she said. He shook his head. The steward handed Shandra a towel and the drink. She gulped at the drink then wiped her sweaty face.

"It's okay Jessie, we just need to practice and get the kinks out," Shandra said. She shook her head. "I should have caught it too," she said. She struggled to get out. The Admiral reached in and helped her. "What was that anyway?" she asked as he set her feet down on the deck. She removed the gloves and tossed them over her shoulder into the tank.

"Debris field or Oort cloud,"  he answered. She looked confused.

"Oort cloud that far out?" she asked as she shook her head. "And a debris field?" He shrugged. "Debris drifts when pushed by their initial impulse and solar wind," he explained. He tapped the controls and pulled up the replay. "The tangles you saw were the gravitational forces between different objects in real space.”You’re lucky it wasn't  very dense," he said and then shook his head.

"Somehow I think we could have done better. What should we have done?" the Captain asked. He glanced her way and then shrugged. "Plotted a course around it,” he replied. "Best thing, don't confront something that dangerous unless you have to. You'll lose a few hours, but since you’re in a higher band, you’re still getting to your destination exponentially faster than alpha," he said. The Captain nodded. "Or, you can drop down into a lower note of alpha and take the slow route. It'll take you days to get through though," he added. She nodded.

"Good point," she nodded to Shandra. "Good work. Get some rest."

The Captain eyed the sensor officer. "Um Captain?" She looked at her board. "We're off course by twelve degrees, but we're in the system. No sign of neutrino's or tachyons."

The Captain nodded. "Good to hear. Carry on." She nodded to Shandra. "Get some rest dear." Shandra nodded. "Food first, I'm starving!"

The Admiral chuckled. "She's on the mend," she said. He patted her shoulder.

"Thanks Admiral," she said.

He smiled "I told you you could do it," he replied softly. She nodded playing with the towel behind her neck. He escorted her off the bridge as her shift relief took the helm station.

"So, why the classes. You just agreed to fix the ship," the chief asked as she turned to him wiping her sweat soaked neck down. She was coming along with the martial arts classes, rising through the ranks quickly. Of course he hadn't given her an exam to let her know that just yet.

He shrugged. "I was asked. Besides, to keep this ship running smoothly, it's necessary."

She stretched a bit, wincing at her shoulder. "Well, your teaching is worth it. If we ever run into another brawl or mugger, they'll wish they were never born," she admitted.

One of the other girls gave off a satisfied grunt. "I heard Cookie is getting into ethnic foods, scuttlebutt said something called tacos tonight?" one of the girls asked another.

The other shrugged. "I have no idea." She got up and grabbed a towel. "I'm for the showers, my shift starts in twenty," she said. She sauntered off.

“Me too,” The Admiral saluted the others and then left for the men's locker room.

Another girl winced as she stretched. "I think I pulled a muscle," she sighed as the girl next to her leaned over and massaged it.

"If it keeps up, ask the sickbay for a muscle relaxant or a dip in the bath," another girl commented.

The first looked up. "Muscle relaxant?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.

The second girl smiled. "I got one after our last class. Remember that back flip? I needed it and something more for my derrière afterward," she said with a wince.

The girls chuckled at that. "So why do we have white belts and he has black?" the chief asked and pointed to her white belt.

"Rank. He said once he gets a handle on our proficiency we'll fill in the other ranks. Eventually we'll all be black belts," Mary replied and smiled. "I can't wait to toss Hinata around the bedroom." Another girl snorted.

"What's going on? Why are we here? I mean, I know it's on the way, but this is a dead system right?" Jennie asked as they entered the wardroom. The Captain looked up. The Chief scowled.

"The Captain wanted a quiet place to work. Besides, there's the ghost ship," Molly said. Jennie paled.

"Ghost ship?" the Admiral asked as he held out a chair for Jennie. Mechanically she sat down, not even looking at anything.

"A derelict. They made landfall on an infected planet six hundred and twenty years after it was wiped out by a virus," the captain said.

The doctor looked over to the Captain. "A virus. I take it you’re talking about my kind?" he asked. She nodded.

"That's all we know. The crew left an automated beacon warning people away," she said. She shook her head.

"Why not a sun scuttle?" the Admiral asked.

She shrugged. "I'm not sure."

"I can answer that Admiral. I'm accessing the Bountiful now. The Captain's last log says..." Sprite replied.

He waited. "I'm going to stay in orbit, programming the idiot box to keep us here with a beacon. We're all dead, but maybe we can keep someone else from going down there and getting killed," The raspy voice startled him.

"That was the last entry. The scenes from the cameras aren't pretty," Sprite finished. He grimaced.

The Captain and Chief looked up. "Yes Admiral, something to add?" the Captain asked pointedly. He cleared his throat. "I just accessed the ship's log. She was left in orbit as a warning not to go down," he said and then shook his head.

"Poor buggers."

He looked over the plot. A shuttle was also orbiting the planet. Its course was erratic, dipping into the atmosphere. "I take it the shuttle is one of theirs?" he asked.

"Actually, no, that's from the Hermes," Molly answered. "She tried to board the ghost ship to salvage her and was infected," she said and shuddered.

"When?" the doctor asked.

"According to the word we got, about ninety years ago," Molly said and then shook her head.  "That long a wait?" the doctor whistled. "My word." He shook his head and looked at the Captain with haunted eyes. "Captain, this virus is persistent and deadly. Most likely airborne, and nasty, able to remain for centuries, possibly eons," he warned. She nodded.

"So, why are we here?" the purser asked.

The Captain gave her a look. "It's on the way to the next colony," she replied. Vanessa nodded. "It also gives us a quiet place to work." She nodded her chin to the Admiral and engineers.

"Can we do a little scavenging?" The purser asked.

The Captain's eyes flared, and then darkened. "Absolutely not! Weren't you listening? This virus lingers. It could be on any surface! It could even theoretically survive in vacuum!" the doctor was incensed. "Settle down doc," the Chief growled. She turned to the purser. "He's right, we can't take the risk." She nodded to the doctor.

"Still, we can always do a little prospecting," the Admiral commented, looking at the hologram. "I highly doubt they sprayed each and every asteroid in the system," he said.

The purser looked confused. "Asteroid hunting? Again?" she demanded. He shrugged.

The Captain nodded. "We can give it a shot. I want a full test of the rocks before they enter my boat bay though," she ordered. The staff nodded.

"Wise precaution Captain," the Admiral said.

“I'm going to suck what's left of their mainframe dry, perhaps we can learn something. At the very least we might find files for later use,” he said after a moment.

The Captain nodded. “Make it so.”

The purser smiled. “I'd like a copy Admiral, you may be onto something,” she smiled. “Do you think you can access any of the planet's computers?”

“Sprite?” he asked softly, looking at the view port.

“Accessing. Admiral, there's a beacon ten point four kilometers from the capital city... or at least where it used to be. It's an automated beacon. The signal strength is weak...” He felt the AI reach out.

“There's an automated beacon on the surface, but it seems to be just that,” he reported.

He felt Sprite's return. “It's just a traffic beacon for a local airport Admiral,” she said.

He sighed. “Just a traffic beacon,” he said. Their faces fell. He shook his head. “Nice try though.” He nodded to the purser who sighed.

“Well, it was worth a look. Thanks,” she said gruffly. He nodded subdued.

The aerial view hologram projected onto the bridge had everyone speechless. The towers and spires were crumbling; some litter fell from time to time. The meeting had adjourned to the bridge to get a better view.

The odd thing was there was no life, no birds, and no plants. "Just dust. Dust in the wind," he said softly.

"It killed everything? Even the plants?" Shandra asked softly. He nodded mutely.

"I wonder if it's dead yet?" the purser asked, studying the holo.

"Well, since the ghost ship was infected less than ninety years ago, I would say yes," the Captain said dryly.

"Terran water bears and centauri lice were known to survive centuries, or even eons without food, water, or air," the engineer said softly.

"Bears? You mean the cute cuddly things?" Shandra asked confused.

He shook his head. "No, they were bugs; they were just named after bears because of their shape and ability to hibernate," he replied. "It's been a while since I had biology... but if I remember correctly they squeezed as much water out of their bodies as possible and locked themselves down into hibernation. Their skins turned rock hard." He shrugged. "Actually, the only reason I remember it is because it was part of the introduction to stasis in mister Tedra's class," he said and then smiled. Shandra nodded.

“Then again, they could be nanites,” he observed, watching the desolate planet spin.

“Nanites?” the Captain asked warily.

“There are several types actually, and two different central forms, purely mechanical, or a modified organic,” the admiral explained.

Shandra shivered. “One isn't enough?”

“You've got two weeks, I want to be out of here in fourteen days. Make the most of that time.” the Captain informed them. Jen nodded but looked troubled. “And I insist you all take time off on Centennial,” the captain added.

Molly nodded. “I promised Tia,” she sighed. “Structural repairs?” she asked as she turned to the admiral.

He nodded. “We should get the first load of asteroids in later this morning if Deidra is her usual punctual self,” he replied.

Shandra smiled. “Not if Hibiki is with them, I bet they'll do a little show boating in the asteroid field first,” she said. Several of the women chuckled.

“That's a pilot's stock in trade,” the admiral chuckled.

“Go on, get a move on,” the Captain waved. “Remember! 2 weeks! Not a day more! I want to be in Centennial for the harvest!” Jen waved as the rest of the staff filed out, leaving Vanessa and the Captain.

"So, why did we come here?" the purser asked the Captain softly.

"I wanted him to see it for himself," she said. She nodded to the retreating engineer.

"I think he's seen a lot Captain, he was the defending Admiral at the Nexus 3 colony and Juarez sector," Vanessa said quietly.

The Captain looked startled. "How did you know that?" she demanded. She turned to the purser.

The purser shrugged. "I checked him out in the ship's database," she replied with a shrug. "Making him see all this, are you trying to prove that there's no hope for civilization?" She waved to the ship. "I think there is. So does he, and now, so do the crew."

The Captain looked around. "Maybe, maybe you're right."

“So I hear you're talking fuel,” a voice in the doorway drawled. The class looked over to the open door. Taki the load master was standing there, leaning against the door jam. Her arms and feet were crossed. She had a strip of grass in her mouth. She was looking down at her shoes. It always amused him how each of the ladies had their own distinct style. For instance Taki sported a tribal head band and leather vest. Unlike many of the women she had on pants, also made of leather.

He smiled. “Yeah, we're discussing fuel. We...” He indicated Molly and Jennie. “Were going to call you about changing the fuel situation.”

She looked up and smiled a tight lipped smile. “That so?” She looked at Molly and Jennie.

Molly eagerly nodded. “Yes Miss Taki, we can make better fuel now, so we can have more power!” She bounced in her seat.

Jennie was a bit more subdued. “There'll be some new protocols in handling, and procedures to work out and practice,” Jennie said. She nodded to Taki.

Taki nodded back. “Good to hear. All right, when you get the hardware sorted out, let me know,” she said. She nodded to the class, then the engineer and left.

Chapter 13

He checked the port injector feed. "Is it still sticking Admiral?" Jennie asked from her console.

He nodded. "By .01milimeters it seems, usually it stutters. Might be a frozen servo..." he hummed as he looked over the schematic. "No, from the looks of this, it might be a torn gear, or ice," he said and then nodded. "Going to take a full rebuild I bet."

She nodded. "I see we have some new robots...”

He nodded. "They're designed to work in the core to make repairs from the inside."

Her eyes widened at that. "Rodriquez said something about that at anvil in Pyrax, can we control them?" she asked. He nodded and held up a pair of virtual goggles.

"They're not as effective as an implant feed, but they should work," he explained. She looked them over. "The glasses read your neural impulses with this lace of wires along the rim and around the ears and translate it into movement commands. It takes practice to use."

She nodded. "So, is there some sort of simulator?"

He shook his head. "Unfortunately, no, not yet, I need to make one."

Sprite made a rude noise. "You mean me right?"

He shrugged. "It's going to take time," he said. He ignored Sprite.

"All right, what about the fuel line to the starboard injector? We've had to splice it twice..."

He looked it over. "Yeah, I see it, and there's a leak too."

She looked it over. "There is?"

He pointed. "Right there, pinhole leak. See the gouge in the deck? The hydrogen is spraying under pressure, cutting into it."

She looked. "I can't, oh wait. Damn. Okay, I see it. Another patch job?"

He shook his head. "No, we need to replace the line; it's frayed and patched too much as it is." She looked it over. "But we can't do it with the stuck injector on the port side."

He nodded. "Right, we're going to have to fabricate the parts for a new injector, shut down that feed, drain it, and then break it down and swap the parts for the new," he explained.

She looked it over. "Okay."

He nodded. "I know, it sounds like a lot, and it is, but it'll be worth it," he said.

She nodded. "Okay. What were you saying about excess neutrons?" she asked.

He sighed. "Well, with raw hydrogen as the fuel source the reactor is running at twenty percent efficiency."

She looked it over. "Twenty percent?" she asked. He nodded. "What happens to the other eighty?" She asked brows knit as she frowned and looked at a tablet.

"Well, the other eighty percent are neutrons. They bounce around, irradiating the inside of the reactor," he explained. She looked alarmed. He nodded.

"Yes it's as bad as you think. We're looking at a re-core or complete replacement. So far I've been doing minor stuff, tune ups and minor repairs, but now we can do it right," he said.

She squirmed. "Is that even possible?" she asked. He smiled. "Silly me, of course it is." She muttered then smiled in turn. "Okay, where do we start?"

"I see someone is enjoying the holographic projection system in the right way..." he teased as he came into main engineering. He looked over Jennie's shoulder to see a circuit diagram floating above the desk. "Nice, but it looks like there's a short in the bounce circuit here..." He reached around her to tap the indicated area.

"What? Hold on...” She highlighted the area then zoomed in. "Oh geese, how could I have missed that!" she sighed sitting back. He chuckled.

"Trying your hand at advanced diagnostics?" he asked. She nodded wearily. "It's good to know, but a good engineer learns the basics, and then let's the machinery do the work for them, then double checks."

She gave him a look. "That's not what you said earlier."

He shrugged. "You have to have the fundamentals down first of course, and you need to double check the work, not follow the program blindly." She nodded.

“Sometimes it's a good idea to take a step back, take a break, and get a fresh perspective to solve a sticky problem. Turn it on its head works too, if you can't solve the problem, change it,” he said. She looked exasperated.

Trisha looked over her to the hologram. "She still at it?" she demanded. She glanced at the Admiral. He chuckled as she sighed in exasperation and pretended to strangle Jennie. "Hours and hours staring at little lines! Ugh!"

Jennie fought her off laughing. "Look who's talking miss life support."

Trisha chuckled. "Yeah, but I get air ducts, and scrubbers and heaters, anything electronic broke I send to you for repair," she said. She ducked as Jennie tossed a towel at her. "Meanie! Beating up on poor defenseless life support techs!" she joked. The Admiral laughed with them.

“Lying little trollop," Molly sniffed as the minx walked by head high.

The Admiral popped his head up out of the opening in the floor. "Is she gone?" he asked.

Jennie giggled. "Yup. Oops! She's coming back." He ducked back down. When Molly called that the coast was clear again he checked his implants to be sure.

"Sprite keep a track on her, keep me away from her.,  he ordered. Sprite lit a green light on his HUD.

He looked up out of the hole. "You sure?"

Molly laughed. "Oh get up you coward." He sniffed. "Save entire worlds, face down raging Xenos but afraid of a minx?" Molly demanded.

He stood up. "You betcha, women are evil," he grinned when she scowled. "Present company excluded of course," he said hastily.

She chuckled. "Oh, after a crack like that I wouldn't count us out so fast..." His eyes widened in mock fear. Jennie giggled.

"Admiral, if I may ask, why did everything collapse?" a girl asked. He looked over to the girl in the back. She blushed. "I mean civilization. We have this..." She waved to indicate she ship.

He nodded. "Good question," he stalled for a moment, crossing his arms and tucking his chin into his chest.

"Power Admiral and replicators," Sprite prompted. He closed his eyes then opened them. "Civilian power cores need the right kind of fuel," Sprite hinted again.

He made an O with his mouth. "Okay." He looked up to the class. "The answer is four fold. The first are the replicators. They're deliberately limited in what they can do, and if you try to bypass them they shut down and scramble themselves," he said. Several of the girls nodded.

"The next is training. The war took the best percentage of people. It ate them up, either on the battle field, or when the star systems were destroyed," he explained with a wince. Some of the girls looked affronted. "No offense to your ancestors, they were survivors," he added. A few looked relieved.

"And the third?" the girl in the back prompted.

"Well, the third is leadership. When most of the central worlds fell, leadership, and a majority of industry went with them." He tapped the holographic controls to project the galaxy, then the Federation as it fell. "When they fell the colonies were on their own," he said quietly.

"And the last?" Molly asked.

"Power," he said it simply. "This ship has power in plenty, but that's because it's a military ship. Military ships have adaptive reactors. That allows them to scrounge for fuel when they're low." He shrugged. "We can run the reactor on just about anything, including waste."

One of the girls smiled. "Let’s try cookies green bean casserole!" The class chuckled at this.

He nodded. "Civilian fusion reactors can't do that, they were designed to use deuterium and helium 3." One of the girls raised her hand tentatively. "Yes Misha?"

She put her hand down abruptly. "Did...” she stopped. "Um, didn't you say in chem class that deuterium is made from water?" she asked.

He nodded. "Right."

"So, um, couldn't they just use sea water?"she asked.

He shook his head. "In theory yes, but you see, most fuel came from space. Stars emit massive quantities of helium 3 and deuterium, which build up on the Jovian planets, and on airless moons," he explained.

One of the girls looked confused. Another leaned over to her and stage whispered. "He means gas giants," she said.

She nodded. "Oooh."

He smiled. "Right, gas giants. So when the space industry was smashed..." They began connecting the dots...

"Fuel was lost..." some muttered.

He nodded. "Exactly. The replicators can't make parts for deuterium extraction; deuterium is used to make bombs among other things," he explained and then grimaced. "So without fuel, the reactors shut down."

"But there are solar and wind power right?" a girl asked.

He nodded. "And hydroelectric,.” he said. “Each of those don't have a thousandth of a percent the power ration of a planetary fusion reactor." Some of the girls looked awed. "They could power a lot of things, and did, if they were still in good shape. Remember, many of the colonies were flattened and scorched, cities were nuked, and most of the industry was there," he said. Several nodded.

"The storms that were set off probably flattened the wind turbines and covered or destroyed the solar panels. Hydroelectric dams would have been destroyed from space or would have burst as the climate shifted."

A few of the girls nodded. "That happened on Airea 3 and Seti Alpha 4."

He nodded. "Right. Without power the survivors were thrown back into the Stone Age. People with high tech devices, suddenly tossed back into the Stone Age, with no foreknowledge," he sighed, shaking his head.

"What about those with implants?" a girl asked.

He looked over, face bleak. "No power," he said. She looked confused.

Molly cut in. "The implants require power. Some can tap the body’s native ability to make energy, with thermal or electric collection arrays, but most required a periodic jolt of power," she explained.

He nodded. "A few like mine can tap water as well, but for the most part, no power, no life."

"You realize you're spending more and more time in the classroom? It used to be a couple hours, now it's half a shift," Molly said as she adjusted her glasses. She seemed amused. The class had just ended but his usual crowd had lingered.

"Yeah, how come?" Trisha asked coming up behind Molly, munching an apple. "Not that I'm complaining or anything."

He chuckled. "Well, it started as a helping hand, to explain things, but it kind of grew." He shrugged and thought for a moment.

"Give a man a fish he feeds his family for a day, teach a man to fish he can feed them for life," he parsed that out slowly.

The girls looked confused. "What does that have to do with engineering?"

He smiled. "Old saying. It means if I just helped you, the ship would be repaired, but after I left things would slowly break down since you'd only understand limited things. But teach them to you..."

Molly nodded in excited understanding. "Oh, I get it!"

Trisha's eyes were wide. "Yeah."

He nodded. "And what you've learned, you can pass on to others," he said. He looked them over, suddenly serious. "That's my price to you, to teach others what you've learned so they can grow as well."

Both girls froze, and then nodded slowly. "Fair enough," Trisha replied, taking another bite.

"I like it," Molly replied.

"I see you set up a machine shop for antigrav..." Irons said.

He looked over to Jennie who nodded. "Some of the girls are really taking to the antigravity theory and hands on repair. So I asked the Captain and she approved," she said.

He nodded. "Good idea. So they repair the grav plates and other things?" he asked. She nodded

"Yes, we can now send them the components and they'll send us a rebuild," she said and then smiled. "Much more efficient method then rebuilding them on the spot, don't you agree? I'm working on setting up a similar shop for electronics as well," she said.

He smiled as she nodded politely to him and turned away. "They're learning," he said softly.

"That they are Admiral," Sprite said voice rich in approval as well.

"So, you’ve been with us for nearly a year and five stops Admiral, but you haven't gotten off yet, dare I say you’re going to be with us for a while?" Molly teased as she stirred her drink idly.

He smiled. "I'll get off when the work is done...or the Chief will throw me off." He cocked his head to the two guards.

Jennie sighed. "You'd think after a year, and all the work you've done they'd get the paranoia out, but noooo..."

Molly shook her head. "Ease up, they're just doing their jobs." She gave the Admiral a guilty look.

He shrugged. "She has a point Jennie, but then again,” he nodded to Molly, “So does Jennie. I wish they would find a happy middle ground," he sighed.

Jennie leaned back sipping her drink. "So, I hear you’re up for the next landfall Molly?" She gave Molly a long look.

Molly blushed. "Well, it's not like we haven't gotten a handle on everything, the doc has all but the Chief engineer and doctor out of stasis and back on duty, so we're covered..." she said. She wrinkled her nose.

"I came in to check on Jedzia, she was sitting up in bed sipping something and the doctor was going on about neural dendrite regeneration and stuff... way over my head," she said and rolled her eyes.

The Admiral chuckled. "Fair is fair, they probably think the same about us and hyperdrive mechanics." Jennie chuckled.

Molly sputtered and fixed her glasses. "But hyperdrive mechanics are easy!" The surrounding crew at the tables laughed at that, as did the Admiral and Jennie.

Molly blushed furiously. "Okay okay, ha ha," she muttered.

Jennie threw her napkin at her. "You really do need a break if you’re that way, I could use one too, and maybe after we fix the computer core on deck eleven, I'll see if I can get some downtime," she said.

Molly nodded. "It's good to stop and smell the flowers sometimes." She gave the Admiral a mischievous look. "I think you should come with us Admiral!" she said. She waved to the view port.

He chuckled. "Maybe if we get this list sorted out. if the Captain and Chief will let me!" Jennie giggled at that.

"Centennial?" Trisha looked over the tablet and sniffed. "Funny name," she said. They were about to enter orbit of the planet.

The Admiral shrugged. "The crew of the explorer ship named the planet and system."

Trisha's eyes were wide. "Did you know them?"

He shook his head and laughed. "No, that was a couple centuries before I was born. No, the planet is named because it was the one hundredth star system that the explorer Drake went too. They discovered a planet...Let’s see,"  he said reaching to pull up the data.

Sprite pulled up the basic data on his HUD. "They found a planet in 2219; it had two planets that were in the Goldilocks zone."

Jennie raised her hand. "You lost me teach."

He sighed as they giggled. "Okay, Goldilocks tripped you up right?" he asked. She nodded. "Let’s see, um... Let’s see if I have it on file."

Sprite pulled up the text from the ship's database. "Okay, I'm shooting you a link. The basic story is finding something in the middle, not to hot, not to cold, not to bright, not to dark, etc," he explained. The class nodded. Sprite projected a generic star system layout then highlighted the Goldilocks zone. "The Goldilocks zone, seen here with this bright band, differs on the star, but basically it's where life zone planets can be found. Some need a boost to terraform," he explained. He pointed to the outer and inner edges. "The inner most layer is the best, a planet with a stable orbit, good neighbors, and stable atmosphere can develop a biosphere with little or no help." The hologram zoomed in to an image of Earth.

"What planet is that?" a girl in the back asked.

He turned and stiffened. "Earth," he breathed quietly.

"Oh. Why name it after the ground?" the girl in the back asked confused.

"It's the home world of the human race," he replied, voice roughening a bit. He turned and nodded to Jennie. "We also called it Terra, which means Earth." He shrugged. "That's why species from our home world, including us are called Terran." He gazed at the students for a moment. "That's all for tonight ladies, I need to get some rest," he said. He left quickly as the class began to get up and murmur.

"This is a bit early; think that holo opened a wound?" Jennie asked, leaning over to Trisha.

Trisha shrugged. "Maybe. I was wondering why he didn't know it was the planet. Did you see the look on his face? It was a surprise to him," She grimaced.

Jennie froze. "You know, you’re right, that is odd," she said. She gathered her tablet up and walked past the milling group around the projector.

"Sprite, what's the big idea?" he demanded quietly as he nodded to the guards. The guards followed, hot stepping into a trot to try to keep up with his longer legs and fast pace.

"I don't know what you’re talking about Admiral?" Sprite said projecting her face on the HUD. Her body followed and she kept pace with him. "You should slow down; you’re losing your posse."

He turned and glared at the guards then continued. "Knock it off Sprite, spill it," he growled.

She sighed. "As you wish. That's the stock data from the encyclopedia I found," she said.

He grunted. "You could have warned me."

"I was wondering, where do you get your cosmetics and bathroom supplies since you didn't use the replicators?" he asked. He turned to the purser who looked up from her tablet.

"Huh? Oh um, we trade for them of course. I allocate a generous proportion to each crew member, but they always use more," she said sourly.

"In fact, we're going to one of the colonies now," the Captain said, netting her fingers together. "It's a cross roads, since they managed to hang onto civilization a bit better." She shrugged.

"How did they do that?" he asked.

"Oh, they were sparsely populated, but were some sort of lower tech Terran colony," she said. She waved her left hand airily.

"A BTB," he murmured.

Molly looked over to him. "What's a BTB?" she asked. She wrinkled her nose in confusion.

He grimaced. "A back to basics colony," he explained. The Captain cocked an eyebrow in query. "Some people didn't like technology, or wanted to retire to an agrarian colony. Some were cultists, or people who got into a fad of living as period century people...like medieval times, or that Victorian colony." He shrugged. "Some were low tech for religious or moral reasons like the Amish and technophobes."

He shook his head. "Most of the people were okay, but there was the occasional cult that turned into a terrorist cell." His eyes darkened at that.

"Well, this one was a basic colony, the planet didn't need a lot of terraforming, and so when the war hit and the planet was scorched, it bounced back faster," the captain said. He nodded.

"The next planet is Gaston, that's another trade goods colony; we get most of our gemstones from them," the purser said. He nodded.

"Yes, we trade the fabrics, cosmetics, perfumes, and gems to the rich in Pyrax," Molly said.

"It barely covers the docking fees," the Captain growled. "Most of our profit from Pyrax is in trading for rare metals," she sighed.

The purser nodded. "We usually pick them up in Senka, but that pirate chased us out." She shook her head.

"I'm glad you showed us how to snag the odd asteroid, that made the difference," the Captain said as she nodded to him.

"So, who is this Sprite you keep mentioning?" Molly asked.

He turned alarmed to Molly. "Um...When did I mention Sprite?" he cursed himself.

"Just now, I could see your lips moving," she said. He sighed defeated.

"Boss, I'm technically classified," Sprite warned him.

He shrugged. "Sprite is my AI that manages my implants," He half lied.

"Oh, okay," Molly wrinkled her nose.

He looked over his shoulder to the guard. "I would prefer that the Chief not hear about it, she's paranoid enough."

Molly nodded again, this time a little slower. "Your secret's safe with me Admiral." She hid her hand as she giggled.

"You’re going downside?" he asked, changing the subject. Now that they were in orbit and the formalities were taken care of the crew were eager to get ground side for shore leave.

She nodded. "I'm on the next shuttle. I want to see that chemical plant; it's primitive compared to ours..." She waved to the nearby replicator. "But we might be able to trade the technology, or upgrade it."

He shook his head. Once an engineer, always an engineer. "Besides, I hear there's a tavern near the spaceport that makes this mondo drink..." she said suggestively and grinned. She bounced a bit, and then grabbed his arm. "You should come with me! There's a bit of the old town still standing, so you can look around, just like old times!"she said.

He shivered. "A trip down memory lane isn't what I need." He shook his head.

She patted his arm. "I'm sorry for reminding you," she said softy. "So, Sprite is your AI," she said and then nodded.

"Well, you see, Admiral's are given a staff of people to manage their duties," he explained. She looked confused. "A staff?" He nodded.

"A secretary, flag lieutenant, and others. About a dozen people," he replied. She wrinkled her nose and adjusted her glasses. He shook his head. "Are you going to have the laser treatment?" he asked. She took her glasses off and examined them.

"Yeah, on the way to Gaston," she said. She shook her head and put her glasses on. "So, why do you need so many people? You do fine here!" she said. She waved to the engineering.

He chuckled. "Well, an Admiral's in charge of a fleet or facility, or even an entire sector," he said.

Her eyes widened at that. "I forgot about that. So many ships and things!" she said. He shrugged. "Now hear this! Shuttle two departing in five minutes repeat, shuttle two departing in five!" the overhead speaker squawked. They both looked up at the speaker.

"Okay that's my cue; I'll see you down there!" She grabbed her duffel and raced out. He chuckled.

The bucking of the shuttle made her look up from her tablet and tighten her webbing. "Exciting!" one of the girls up front said. Another shudder made her grab her armrests.

"Sorry folks, we're running into turbulence," the pilot said over the comm. Molly looked out to the LCD window. She could see the hull glowing with red plasma.

"Wow!" Tia clutched at the arm rests, pale with fear. Molly patted her hand. Tia released her grip and clutched at it, making Molly gasp.

"It's okay," she said. She set the tablet down in her lap, thought better of it when a buck sent it into the air. She caught it and stowed it. "Just a little turbulence." She waved to Dorah who was staring straight ahead. "So, going my way?" she teased. The shuddering eased.

Dorah let out a gasp then looked over to Molly. "Sorry, huh?"

Molly chuckled and adjusted her glasses. "Never mind."

They were blinded by the morning sun as they exited the craft a few minutes later. "Wow! It's so bright!" Molly stepped onto the boarding ramp.

"One side ladies, we have more people and cargo to unload," The cargo master said.

"Oh, sorry," Molly said as she stepped down the ramp, holding her bag to her side and then walked over to the nose.

"Careful, don't touch, the skin is still hot," the pilot said, looking up from her tablet.

"I can see that," Molly studied the waves of heat radiating out from the craft. They made the air shimmer.

“Mom that's so cool!” Tia exclaimed.

"Wow!" She shook her head.

"I never thought the sky was so blue!"Dorah exclaimed.

She looked over to Dorah who was looking up at the sky in wonder. She chuckled. "Or the plants!" Tia said. She dropped to her knees and ran her hands through the grass. She picked a flower and smelled it. "Oh wow!"

She got up and rushed over to Molly. "Smell this!" She took a cautious sniff, then a deeper inhale. "Oh yes! Beautiful," she said and smiled.

Dorah pirouetted. "Such beauty!" She danced around in the grass. Some of the other passengers shook their heads.

"First time on land?" one of them asked. Another shook her head.

"No, she's always like this. Total ditz," someone else said.

Molly turned annoyed but Dorah grabbed her hand as well as Tia's and wrenched her around. "Come on! There's so much to see!" She waved to the distant town. Molly looked in the indicated direction and nodded. They could see people milling about, hundreds. "Wow! I've never seen so many people together all at once! Come on! Let’s see what's going on!" Dorah dragged her forward. Chuckling Molly adjusted her glasses and allowed herself to be led.

At the edge of town the group began to slow on some instinct. The people looked odd Molly thought to herself. No, not odd, angry, and scared. She looked over to a woman and child. The woman scooped the child into her arms and rushed into a house. "What's going on?" Dorah asked, looking around. "Is something wrong? Did someone forget to take a bath before we came?" she asked, suddenly nervous. She looked over to Molly who shrugged.

"I'm not sure."

“Mom, we should, I mean, I don't like this, something's wrong,” Tia observed quietly. She was walking beside Molly.

Molly nodded. “Stick with me kiddo we'll get to the bottom of it.”

They entered the town square and turned to the left as someone cleared their throat. "Welcome to New Liberty capital of Centennial," a man said. Molly turned to see a portly man holding a gun. She could feel Tia gasp and clutch at her hand, then ease behind her. "I'm afraid; your visit is not going to be a pleasant one," the man said. Several people behind him growled a bit, hefting weapons. Molly looked to the right and spotted another group.

"They're all around us!" Dorah whispered. "What do we do?" she asked.

Molly shook her head. "I don't know."

"No sudden moves," one of the girls said softly. Molly looked over and saw it was Vanessa the Purser.

"So what do you want?" the captain demanded when the call came in. She tried to suppress her rage but only partially succeeded. "What will it cost to safely return my people? Not to mention my shuttle?" her tone was acid black.

The engineer winced. Sprite had alerted him the moment someone in the shuttle had gotten a mayday off. "We need to leave this system, take your shuttle and pick up everyone and evacuate us all. Once we're off we'll release them," the voice on the other end was scratchy with static, and tinged with desperation.

"Why? What the devil do you need to leave for?" the Captain's eyebrows knit.

"A pirate is coming, we can't pay the ransom. We need to leave! Please Captain! Your crew will be returned, they haven't been harmed," he said.

She shook her head. "No. You don't understand we don't even begin to have the ability to lift you all," she said with a grimace. She looked at the engineer who shook his head.

"Look a ship is a lot smaller then a planet, we only have so much room, so much water, food, and air. Not nearly enough for everyone," she sighed in exasperation.

"Then leave some of your people behind and come back for them," the voice on the other end was definitely desperate.

The captain's eyes flashed. "Out of the question. Leave my people to answer for yours and let you on my ship?"

The engineer cleared his throat and waved his hand. He mouthed the words "Call back."

She nodded. "I'll call you back when we're over head again." She nodded to the communications tech, who cut the transmission.

The Captain sighed, leaning back. "Great, just what I need. What did I do to deserve this?" the last came out as a murmuring moan only the engineer's enhanced ears could pick up.

He shook his head. "Penalty of command," he said. She nodded.

"Captain, we could launch the other cargo shuttle loaded with my people and get them back," the security Chief said, hands on the console, leaning forward looking eager.

"Eager for a fight?" the Captain asked with a raised eyebrow. She brushed her chin with her fingers. "No, the cargo shuttle is too bulky. Flies like a brick and makes quite an entry," she responded. The Chief looked momentarily dismayed.

"What about one of the civilian passenger ships?" the engineer asked, deep in thought.

"Go on," the captain urged.

He stared off to the bulkhead. "Load it with troops, bring it in further out and fly it in atmosphere to the other shuttle. We can use the ships sensors to get a better fix on the crew's probable location."

Shandra nodded excited. "That's right we can! And we could probably get even better results if we did a couple close orbits with a shuttle or the ship!"

“Have the sensor watch ping their implants Kasey,” Irons said.

Shandra smacked her forehead in exasperation. “Why didn't I think of that?”

The Admiral nodded. "If we get a good location we could run a simulation for the breach team to practice." He nodded to the Chief. For once she wasn't hostile to him.

"Why?" she asked.

"It's good practice; it lets them get a feel for what will happen, and the floor plan," he explained.

She nodded. "Might work."

The Captain nodded. "Get it done. You have an hour; I'll try to stall from here," she said.

The Chief rushed out the door. "You coming?" She paused at the door, turning to look at the engineer. He nodded.

“Admiral, they're going in with civilian grade weapons, one of them has a crossbow,” Sprite reported.

“No, not on my watch. Authorization alpha two, upload milspec pulsers, flash bangs, armor, Stun grenades, a breaching charge, and NVG gas masks,” he ordered. He felt the data flow.

“Done. But I need a user to initiate it or they'll get suspicious,” she warned. He nodded.

He called Jennie, asking her to replicate a few things. "Is Molly okay?" she asked, worried.

He sighed. "We don't know. But we need to get her out as soon as possible."

She nodded. "Okay, I'll get on it. What priority?" she asked.

"Now, immediate, as in, bump everything," he said.

She nodded. "Right away, gotcha!" she said. As she closed the circuit, he turned to the Chief. She was on the other side of the compartment, standing over a holographic table projecting the shuttle.

"I want this fast and hard, take them down and get our people out. Team one stays to secure the shuttle, team two the cargo shuttle, team three is with me going after the hostages." She flicked her hands to the areas to indicate them on the map.

“We'll come in from the south; hit the guards here, here and here,” she said. She pointed to each. “Then hit this door here. From the sensor report they're being held in this room near this wall.” She looked up to the engineer, then back down.

He nodded. “Chief, I asked Jennie to replicate a few tools to help, ” he said. She looked up. “A breaching charge, some gas masks, flash bangs, body armor, stunners, and some stun gas,” he said.

“Stun gas?”

“Breaching charge?” one of the amazons asked.

“Stun gas, a sophomoric gas that renders anyone who breaths it asleep. Breaching charge,” he paused and looked over the bulkhead for a moment. “It's a single shot gravity warhead. Hold it up to a wall or other structure and it sends a pulse out that sheers through it creating a hole.” The Chief began to smile. “That way you don't have to go through a door like they're expecting, you hit them where they don't expect it,” he explained.

She nodded, the grin turning evil. “I like it. What about the rest?”

“Well, the stun guns are self explanatory. The flash bangs are grenades that explode with a bright blinding flash and a loud bang,” he shrugged. “They're designed to stun and confuse the enemy. This way you can get in while trying not to shoot our own people,” he said to the grim faces around him.

Xena nodded. “Yeah, good idea.” She looked to the Chief. “I like it. We were worrying about hitting our own, this should make things easier.” The Chief locked eyes with the engineer.

He nodded. “They're my friends and shipmates too Chief,” he told her softly. She froze, and then nodded slowly.

“All right, we’ll try it your way. Breach here?”she asked. She pointed and looked up to him.

He nodded. “Good placement, straight shot in from the entry point and good cover for the team from the sides.” He indicated the zones with his hands. “Toss a grenade in once the charge goes off. I doubt anyone will be up though, the breach'll knock them flat,” he said with a tight lipped smile. He shrugged. “Then toss a stun grenade. If we had more time I'd get Jennie to make an aerosol and spray the compound with stun gas,” he said.

The guard’s eyes widened at that. “You can do that?” one asked.  He nodded.

“We'll do a test run in a cargo hold so you can experience what a flash bang does,” he said looking at the chief.

She nodded. “Good idea.”

One of the guards by the hatch pulled out her communicator. “Chief, Jennie called, the packages are ready.”

“Well, let’s go check them out,” she said. She nodded to the Admiral. “After you.” They trotted out and to the replicator. A dozen guards were milling around, some wearing the new body armor. He nodded in approval. One of the ladies behind him gave a low whistle. Vanera smirked, holding up a new stunner. The gun was triangular in shape, but blocky, with a flat muzzle area.

“Careful, set that thing off in here and we'll all regret it,” he cautioned. She nodded and checked the safety. “On the other side,” he murmured as he passed her.

"Okay ladies, we have here the basic military grade STN-31 police stunner." He picked up a stunner and shouldered it, then moved it down to chest level. "We have here the trigger, safety, power level and battery eject button," he explained. He pointed each control out.

"The stunner sends out a blast of ultra frequency sound that momentarily stuns someone by overloading their inner ear, giving them vertigo."

He looked up as one of the guards cleared her throat. "So it makes them dizzy? So what?" she asked.

He frowned. "It drops them to the ground.”

Only someone with special protection can resist the effects. It's pure sonic hell on your inner ear," he said when they didn't look like they understood.

The Chief nodded. "Best thing is that it won’t kill our own people when we use it in tight quarters," she said. The others grimly nodded. He turned and set the gun down and picked up a canister.

"All right, we have here a class two flash bang grenade." He hefted it. "This is the pin. You pull the pin and throw it." He mimed the action. "Remember, once you pull the pin the grenade is live and no longer your friend," he said grimly. He pulled the pin and tossed it into a corner. "Fire in the hole!" They ducked and covered their ears. The grenade went off with a resounding bang; sound rang off the bulkheads and through the room. The light was dazzling, blinding them for a moment.

Slowly he stood up. "As you can see..." He paused noting some were still covering their ears or shaking their heads confused. "AS YOU CAN SEE IT IS LOUD! WEAR EAR PROTECTION!"  Three women came in running, he waved them back out. "Just testing the equipment, nothing to see, get back to your posts."

After two minutes to allow them to clear their heads he picked up the gas mask and a stun grenade. "This is a gas mask. You've used them before to enter compartments filled with smoke. It has night vision goggles built in," he explained. The group nodded. "This is a stun grenade. Notice the holes on the top." He pointed it to them so they could see it better. "These send out jets of gas that knock anyone out who breathes it."

The ladies nodded. "The rest is simple. Breach charge," he said. He pointed to the one meter flat oblong shape on the table. "And body armor." His hand rested on the armor. "Any questions?" They shook their heads. "Good, good hunting ladies," he growled. They nodded.

"I see you’re not going with them?" the Captain asked as the shuttle left.

"No Ma'am. Getting shot at is a marine thing," he replied. He turned to her and smiled. "Best to leave it in the hands of those trained to do it," he said.

She nodded. "Good to know you have some sense." He chuckled and turned back to the plot.

He watched the feed, feeling helpless, knowing it would be hard to stave off. Seventy plus years of being an officer never quite wore down the weight of command, the ill feeling you had when you sent people on a hazardous mission. Technically he wasn't in command, but knowing it intellectually and in his gut were two very different things. Besides, he was the one who sent them in with tools they were unfamiliar with.

He grimaced as a heavy but all too familiar weight settled on his shoulders. "They're doing well Admiral, they haven't been detected and have breached the first perimeter,” Sprite reported. She was feeding him the sensor feed direct to his projected HUD. His real time vision was dulled, almost grayed out. One of the tangos went down, then another.

"Looks like they're inside, but they might have set off an alarm. Accessing..." Sprite paused. "I'm in the shuttle's systems, I can't get into the enemies, and they're not using computers," she reported.

He grunted. "After seven hundred plus years on an agrarian world, I would be surprised if one still ran. What about electric?" he asked.

The feed flickered. "No Admiral, no power generators," Sprite reported. He nodded. "It looks like they're using a wind powered radio to communicate with the ship. It's broadcasting north of the hostage site."

“We're going to be outside of sensor range in one minute thirty eight seconds,” she reported.

His lips twisted. “Damn. I was hoping we could keep an eye on things,”  he sighed as he watched them approach the wall opposite the hostages.

“Team one reports all clear. Team two in position,” a hoarse voice whispered over the net. He heard the reports, but ignored them, all his focus was on team three. The feed began to break up.

“Damn.”

“Planetary occlusion, we will have the feed again in fifteen point three minutes,” Sprite replied. “Might as well be a lifetime. It'll feel that way,” he growled. He turned to the plot.

“Any projections?” he asked Sprite.

Defender's icon blinked. “Go Defender,” he said.

He watched as the HUD cleared and a map of the grounds and building reappeared. Step by step the team's actions were replayed. “Based on this recording they entered without detection. No audible alarms. They kept radio silent as well. Here are the last known locations of people,” Defender said. Defender highlighted each, and circled them with different colors. “Red for tangos, green for hostages, blue for the team. Yellow are unknowns. Based on the available Intel they have a sixty four point four three percent chance of success without casualties.” Defender's report was not much comfort. “I project a twenty two percent chance of casualties to the hostages or team.”

“All right, how is doc coming along?” Irons asked. He watched as the HUD cleared and the video feed to sickbay came up.

“OH! Hello! Um? Who is this? I can't see you!” Mindy said.

He grunted, it was the nightmare nurse. “This is the Admiral, just checking in. Are you ready to receive injured?” he asked. He watched as the viewpoint shook, and then tilted in different angles.

“Injured? Someone's hurt?” she asked. She had the camera up to her face.

“I hope not, but there may be injured when the team returns, are you ready for that?” he asked. He grimaced as the doctor wrestled the camera from the girl.

“I have it. I said I HAVE IT! Go check the trauma kits,” the doctor ordered. He pulled the camera out of her hands.

“Well fine!” her high screechy voice jarred, then the engineer could hear her stomping away.

“Admiral, that you?” the doctor asked.

The Admiral cleared his throat. “Yes doc, just checking in. Do you need anything?” he asked, knowing the answer.

“Of course I do! Oh, you mean for the wounded? Not that I know of. I'll let you know if that changes. I sent Rhonda; she's the most experienced paramedic... I hope she's okay,” the doctor said and then clicked the camera off.

Fifteen minutes crawled by. He tried to focus on reports, checking the status of the various systems, and repairs. He knew them by heart however, so eventually he switched to debugging code.

When the call came in it was a bit of a shock. He looked up and caught it midstream. “We have secured the shuttle, and hostages,” a flat voice reported. The crew began to cheer. The others didn't hear the second part of the report, drowning it out. The Admiral alone, with his enhanced hearing caught that they had casualties and fatalities...

“That’s good to hear. Repeat the last part. Is everyone all right?” the Captain's gravelly voice restored order to the bridge.

There was a crackle of static then the grim voice of Vanessa. “Repeat. two fatalities, four wounded,” the purser said, sounding shaken.

The bridge was suddenly deathly silent. He looked around to see some of the women hanging their heads. The Captain sighed. “I'm sorry to hear that. Do we know who?” she asked. She wasn't sparing the bridge any punches, letting them hear it right away and not agonize over it.

“Molly and Valia Captain,” Vanessa replied softly. Some of the women began to cry softly. One moaned.

The Captain gripped the arms of her chair, and then visibly loosened her fingers. “All right, bring their bodies up. Bring our people home,” she said gruffly. The channel clicked off. The Captain looked wane and pale.

“Do we know how they died?” Jennie asked the engineer. He turned to her. She was withdrawn, her eyes puffy from crying.

“We don't have all the details, but it seems some of the guards tried to take advantage of Dorah and the purser. Molly intervened and they slit her throat,” he said. He looked away then back. “She died with honor, protecting her shipmates,” he said, proud of his friend but angry at the needless loss of life. Jennie’s lips quivered. She fought the sob. He reached out and tucked her into his arms. She let go then, crying into his chest. “We'll all miss her. She was a good woman,” he murmured. He patted her head softly as he stared off to the ceiling.

“Shuttles on final approach,” the subdued overhead voice reported.

Jennie backed out of his arms and dashed her tears. “Thanks,” she sniffled.

He smiled. “Don't worry about it.”

They turned to watch the shuttles dock. The guards escorted the wounded down the ramps, propping them up. It looked like the four were not badly hurt. Frie and the Chief each carried a body wrapped in blankets. Frie set hers down near the edge of the ramp. The Chief set hers beside it. Wearily the two stared at them.

“Should we go in?” Jennie asked as the guards and wounded made their way past them.

He shook his head, letting the former hostages go. Some reached out and clutched at Jennie's hand, or patted her on the shoulder. “No, let’s give them a moment.”

The doctor arrived with the nurse and began to triage the wounded. They settled two on hovering stretchers, and had the walking wounded follow. It seems two of the guards had been hit, one in the leg with a slug thrower, the other in the arm by debris. The other two wounded were hostages. One had a bloody head wound, another was battered and bruised. Hibiki passed them carrying Dorah. Tara carried a sleeping Tia. Jennie patted Vanessa's shoulder softly. “Glad you're home,” she said. The purser reached out and clutched at her hand, looking lost.

"I think you have another patient doc," Irons said. The doctor looked up and over to the Captain patting the brutalized girls shoulder.

"Who?" he asked, and then looked back down to the guard before him.

"Lips are blue, pale skin, tremors, and she's pounding her chest with her free hand," Irons said.

The doctor looked up concerned. "Heart?" he asked.

The Admiral nodded. "My guess too. Won’t know for sure till you get her under a scope."

He watched as the Captain murmured to the young woman, grimaced then pounded her chest with her free hand. "Yeah, heart." The doc looked over his current patient. "I'll keep doc, the wound is a through and through, go check the Captain." She said, leaning back with a sigh. He patted her shoulder sympathetically. "All right." He settled himself with a deep breath, straightened his smock then stepped around the table to the Captain.

The patient winced, and the Captain turned. "All done?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Everyone is stable if that's what you mean, but no, I have one more patient left," he said firmly. The Admiral came around to her other side. One of the guards looked up concerned, but the Admiral waved it off. "Captain, I think it's time you had an exam," the doc said, and then cocked his head.

She tried to give him a glare, but then sucked in a breath and pounded her chest. "Nonsense, it's just heartburn," her usual gravel was much reduced.

"I think we should check and be sure. Wouldn't want Cookie to know you passed away after eating her spicy guacamole right?" Doc asked.

The Captain snorted. "Are you kidding, I think she's been trying to do that from the beginning." A few of the ladies chuckled at this.

"All right now, I know you’re a cantankerous patient, but let’s get you checked out," the doctor urged. He waved the nurse over. Together the trio maneuvered her deftly onto a biobed. "All right let’s see here. Hmmm..." The subdued nurse handed him a med scanner. He ran it over her chest, then centered on her heart. "Well, bad news for Cookie, it isn't her cooking. Looks like a minor heart attack and a leaky valve," he reported. He touched the controls and a hologram projected over the Captain. It beat in time with hers.

"See, your ventricle valve has been weakened there's a small tear here. And the muscles here and here are weakened." He turned to the nurse. "Prep OR, we're going to operate."

The nurse nodded. "Right away doctor." She was subdued, a big difference from her bubbly public persona.

"Nurse is quiet? Wow I really must be in trouble," the Captain joked weakly.

The Admiral snorted. "Minor repair job," he said. She looked over to him. "The doctor just needs to get a probe in and use a laser to cauterize the rip, then extract stem cells from your marrow and inject them with some nanite modifiers into your heart muscles," he explained.

She gave him a feeble glower. "Oh is that all," she grumbled.

He snorted. "It's a common ailment for spacers, heart hiccups have been going on for centuries," he said. She nodded.

"Who are you?" she asked as another woman in a smock came up and handed the doctor a tablet. The woman was in her twenties, short, with a golden skin from being in the sun. She had short black hair and a bandage on her brow.

"My name is Bonny, I was taking care of your, I mean, I was recruited to take care of your people," she said quietly. She waved to them. She watched the Captain warily.

"She protected us Captain," one of the former hostages called out.

"She took care of the wounded too," one of the guards volunteered.

"She sort of showed up on the shuttle. We were loading fast and didn't catch it," Vanessa reported with a fatalistic shrug.

"Well, since you took care of my people I won’t have you spaced," the Captain wheezed. The woman's eyes widened at that. "Permission to board granted. You’re now a guest. We'll discuss the rest later," she said.

The doctor nodded at that as they wheeled her into OR.  “Let’s see what we can do about those kidney stones while you’re under Captain. Now that we have better equipment, I took the liberty of getting an ultrasonic emitter that'll break them up nicely,” he said and then smiled. “You'll be back to growling at the bridge staff in no time.” She gave an earthy chuckle as they passed through the doors to the OR.

The Captain woke up from the surgery hours later and looked around blearily. "I take it that things turned out well doc?" she croaked out.

"Just a minute! I'll get him!" Mindy called, and then came up to her. She jumped around, giggling while checking the readouts, then pirouetted out. The doctor came in a moment later followed by the nurse. "She's okay doc really!" The nurses high bubbly voice was grating on the Captain's nerves.

"Doc, next time give HER the anesthetic?" she growled. The girl giggled as the doctor picked up the Captain's wrist and checked her pulse.

"Your color has returned nicely." He looked over the readouts.

"She's okay isn't she doc?" Mindy asked, bouncing around.

"Yes Mindy, why don't you go tell the bridge crew," the doctor told her as he studied the readouts.

"Right away doctor!" Mindy exclaimed, coming to attention then twirling out with a flutter of giggles. "The Captain's going to be okay!" she called to the sickbay residents. Groans and weak hoorays answered her.

He chuckled. "We managed to repair the valve, heart muscles, removed the kidney stones, and do a few other things that should make you more comfortable soon." He checked the readout, and then made a note on the tablet.

"Thanks doc," the Captain said, and then patted his hand. Jennie, the Chief, and Shandra came in.

Shandra peaked around the corner. "Is she up for visitor’s doc?" she asked tentatively.

"My that was fast," the Captain's gravel voice called out. "Grapevine up to its usual speed I see," she said.

Jennie smiled. "Something like that." The Admiral followed them in.

The doctor nodded. "Only a few minutes, she needs her rest," he ordered and then turned and left.

"I am so glad he decided to come with us." Jennie said as the doctor retreated. He froze for a second, and then continued on.

"As I understand it, he didn't," the Admiral said, giving the Captain a long look. She returned it.

"What do you mean?" Jennie and Shandra asked together, looking from one to the other.

"The Chief kidnapped him," Irons said.

Shandra sucked in her breath. "Oh." The Admiral gave the Chief's stiff back a look then returned his gaze to the Captain.

"He has a family too. Or had. His wife was four months pregnant," Irons said. Jennie bit her lip. Shandra looked torn.

"I didn't know that," the Captain said softly. "It doesn't change anything; we still needed him more here."

Jennie looked at the door. "I don't think his family would see it that way Captain. Would you in their place?" she asked. She returned her gaze to the Captain, and then dropped her eyes from the cool look.

"I did what was right for my crew. For the ship," the captain growled. The Admiral nodded.

"Still, we need to make it right Captain," Shandra looked up to her, not dropping her gaze.

Reluctantly the Captain nodded. "We will, someday," she sighed. "I'm tired, go about your business." Jennie and Shandra nodded and murmured politely as they left. The Admiral gave her a nod, then left.

Only the Chief was left behind. "Growing a conciseness now grams?" the Chief murmured as he passed through the door.

"A little," the Captain answered. He sighed when he heard that.

"They're still pleading," The communication's tech reported quietly. The Admiral looked over to her then to the Captain. She had just been released by the doctor in time to break orbit. From what he heard it had been release her or space Mindy.

"With your permission Ma'am?" H asked. She flicked her fingers. She was looking much improved, her color had returned, and she even had some pep. It was a wonder what a little care and sleep could do.

He stepped over and took the handset. "Listen up. In about four minutes we'll be out of range of the radio, so we don't have much time. Here's what you can do. Get your elderly, injured, and children underground in caves away from your settlements. The further the better. Move as much food as you can with them, as well as any supplies you can. Bury anything you don't want stolen. Tools, jewels, food," he ordered.

He paused for a moment, and then continued. “Keep a watch out for the pirate shuttles, and a radio watch. If they call in warn them of disease." He paused to let that sink in. "Tell them you opened a canister in a field and it killed a lot of people. Cough, wheeze. Stall them while getting everyone underground. Leave out rotten food and any dead," he suggested.

The woman on the other end didn't reply for a moment. "I don't know if that will be enough, but we'll try," she finally said.

He grimaced. "I'm sorry we can't do more, we're already maxed on our life support." He checked the ships plot. "We're almost out of range. Good luck." He closed the channel and looked up.

The Captain was looking at him and gave him a slow nod of approval. "Best anyone can do," she said. He shrugged.

Chapter 14

The memorial service was brief. The Captain stood at attention near the boat bay. Each of the two coffins were covered in a flag bearing the ship's crest. The girls had paid their respects for hours, coming in and touching the coffins. Some cried. The gardener had filled the area with flowers. A hush rose from the group as the Captain read her brief eulogy. She finished and touched each of the coffins then nodded to the Chief. The Chief stood at attention in uniform. She signaled to the guards who also in uniform stepped up and removed the flag.

In careful moves they folded the flag and then turned and handed each to the Captain and the Chief. "Detail. Attention." The guards came to attention. "Detail about face." The guards turned as one and grasped the handhold on the sides of each coffin. "Detail move out," the Captain said softly.

In careful measured steps the detail lifted then moved the coffins into the airlock. They set them down on dollies inside then exited. The hatch closed as the last one left. "Now we give the bodies of our beloved crew mates to space. Some day may the goddess of space give back our dead," the Captain finished hoarsely and then sat down heavily in her chair. Wearied beyond measure.

The Chief gave her grandmother a concerned look then called. "Attention on deck!" Some of the girls were a bit slow getting to their feet. Tia stood between Jen and Shandra, Eyes red. She saluted the airlock. The Chief nodded to her. She flicked her hands on the controls and the exterior hatch opened. The rush of expelling air sent the coffins tumbling out into space.

"Dismissed," the Captain said softly.

Jennie grabbed his elbow. He looked down and nodded. She handed him a glass as she looked him over. He was wearing full formal uniform, complete with fruit salad and his cover tucked under his arm. "Dress whites. If only Molly could have seen you now," she said and sighed. "You look like a hero from the holo novels," she said. He shook his head. "Where were you? I didn't see you at the memorial," she said.

He sighed. "I was in the back I was the first out when the Captain dismissed us," he replied quietly. She nodded.

"She's taking it hard," Jennie said. She sniffed, turning to wipe a tear. "I'm going to miss Molly."

He patted her arm awkwardly. "We all will. It's hard to lose a crew mate, even harder to lose one close to you."

Jennie sighed. "So, how did you manage to get Fara to do the uniform on such short notice?" She waved. "Complete with medals," she observed. She examined them. "There are quite a few."

He shrugged. "I didn't bother Fara. We got the textile replicator working remember?" he asked. She nodded. "So, I have my measurements on file. I uploaded them and then let the machine do the work," he explained.

She nodded. "I see. Well, you look good in it," she said.

He nodded. "Least I could do, they deserved it, and they were friends." She looked at him for a moment, and then hugged him. He juggled the drink and laid his cheek on her hair patting her back. "We'll get through it, one day at a time," he said softly. Unshed tears made his eyes itchy. He realized Molly had been his first friend here, and losing her was hard, probably harder then losing the Federation. He sighed.

She sniffled then broke free. "Thanks. I better go mingle a little," she said. He nodded. "I'm here if you need someone to talk too," he murmured. She nodded.

"Are you going through with it?" He looked up from the tablet he had been reading as the girls in the corner talked quietly. One was Kess, the other two were also descendants of gene-sculpts.

"Go through with what? Oh!" Kess reached up and touched her ears.

"It isn't all that hard. It only took a day for the doc to fix Sonja here up," the first girl said. The tall purple haired girl waved to the Asian girl.

Kess studied her then looked down. "Maybe. Maybe," She muttered and turned to leave.

"Think it over," one of the girls said.

He cleared his throat. "Even in this day and age it isn't easy to feel different," he said. They looked over to him. "Your ancestors did the sculpting to stand out, or to better adapt to a planet." He waved to the LCD window of the planet spinning slowly below. It was a recording of course, they were in hyper. A pair of girls sitting at a table in front of the window looked up and then back to the view. "Feeling different is difficult, you feel like you stand out," he said. One of the girls looked him over.

"Yeah, and you fit in," one of the girls said.

He shook his head. "I feel like an outcast as much as you do. More." He held up his right hand and sent signals to morph it. "I'm a visitor from the past," he said and grimaced at their expressions.

"Why does your hand look normal?" Kess asked.

He looked over to Kess. "Just because I have implants doesn't mean that I want them to stand out and mark me as different. It's easier to get things done when people don't get in the way." He looked his hand over.

"We all want to fit into the norm in some small way. Some don't. Some like being different, standing out," he said and then shrugged. "The bio-sculpts had a purpose beyond adapting, they made society adapt to them."

One of the girls snorted. "I can't stand the stares," she said.

He nodded. "Some can't handle that. Some people are afraid of what's different," he said grimacing once more.

"It doesn't help that your ancestors decided to go with a predator theme, it evokes primitive fight or flight reflexes in many," he said.

One of the girls poked Tena. "Maybe you should switch to security?" she joked.

Tena grimaced. "No thank you, a couple days of following orders and I'd want to rip her hair out," she growled. No one said whose hair; they all knew who she meant.

Some of the girls chuckled. "Your eyes can be adjusted, to look totally Terran, or partially,” Irons said. He pointed to his eye. "Mine are a mix of sculpt and implants." His eye cycled into low light mode, slitting, then back.

"I think being able to see in low light is good," Tena said softly. He nodded. "But I could do without the ears," she grimaced and pulled at her ears.

He chuckled. "Yeah, hearing someone flushing two decks away does get annoying over time," he replied. Tena nodded. "If there were more Neos or non-terrans on board you wouldn't feel as different. Unfortunately you don't, so you don't have that example to live up to," he said and then shrugged.

Kess sat down across from him. "What was it like?" she asked. He looked at her."I mean, what was it like living with so many different species!" She rubbed her hair over her left ear then put her right forearm across the table and leaned forward eager. A few of the other patrons leaned forward.

He grunted. "Well, I knew quite a few different species. You've met a few I understand."

He accessed the galley controls and dimmed the lights. The holographic system came on and a Telerite was projected. Some of the girls gasped at the squat mole like alien. "Some were burrowers and nesters like the Telerites or Nubian wasps," he explained. A two meter tall spindle wasp was projected next. "I've run into dozens of species personally, and I can speak many different languages," he said and then shrugged.

"When I received my first implants, they included a language implant so I can speak with most of the known species," he said and then shrugged again. The hologram changed to a Ssilli, then a Gashg. "Of course some of the aliens weren't so alien." He pulled up a Terran chimp, gorilla, whale, dolphin, and orangutan. "Mankind used genetic engineering to uplift some of our cousins to the stars. Neos. Dolphins," The dolphin swam in a circle.

"Dolphins were one of our best pilots until the Ssilli were discovered," he said and then shrugged. "As an Admiral I had to deal with all sorts of species," he grimaced wryly. "Believe me; sometimes trying to deal with the species protocol was a royal pain!"

"Tell me about it," Sprite muttered. He chuckled.

"Fortunately I had good people who kept me relatively straight," he smiled to Kess.

"Why thank you Admiral," Sprite chuckled.

"When I went into stasis there were over one hundred...” Sprite projected a number onto his HUD. "Excuse me, one hundred and twenty one different species in the Federation... and let’s see twelve different versions of mankind not including the neos," he said and then smiled a little in amusement at their expressions. The girls were avidly watching him.

"Different kinds of humans? Like bio-sculpts?" Tena asked. He nodded.

"And heavy worlders, cyborgs like me but even more changed and different genies," he explained.  Sprite projected a few of the people of each he had met. He turned away from the holo with a pang of remorse.

"You miss them," Kess said. He looked up to her cat eyes. "

A little. Hell, a lot," he admitted and then sighed.

"Many of the species are now dust on the wind," he finally said. His face was bleak.

She patted his hand. "I'm sorry I brought it up." She started to withdraw and he held her hand.

"No, it's not a problem.” He waved to the hologram. "Lets see if I have my flag commissioning ceremony on file."

Sprite took the cue and projected it. He blushed a bit as he watched Vice Admiral Danforth award him the star of valor and promote him to Admiral. The girls were mesmerized at the tall tree like alien. "He was really in the navy?" one asked. He nodded as someone shushed the first.

"Can you turn it up?" someone asked in the back. Sprite obliged without prompting. "Thanks," she murmured.

He sighed. "What's that?" one girl asked and pointed. Someone shushed her.

"Delquir, they were called fairy people by Terrans. Hollow bones and gossamer wings," he replied. They watched as the pixie like creature fluttered up to him. "She was the ambassador of their people; she's thanking me for saving their world." He shrugged and waved the holo off. Some of the group grumbled at that. He grimaced.. "Okay okay, I'll put it back on." Sprite returned to playing the scene. "I'll leave it up," he said. He waved and left.

"Faith's right arm will need to be replaced from the elbow down. I'm replicating a new one now. Her inner organs are being replicated now as well. Due to her exposure most of her abdominal muscles and skin will need to be replaced too," The doctor looked up from his chart. "So far so good,” he said in his report. He turned as a pale Keisha came in cradling her over extended tummy.

The woman cradled the baby cooing softly to it. The Admiral approached tentatively. She looked up and smiled, then looked down at her baby. "Isn't she darling?" Mindy cooed softly. "What's her name?"

Keisha looked up and smiled. "Molly." She rocked the child gently as the Admiral felt his eyes mist.

"She'll never know her godmother, but she'll carry her name," Keisha said, sitting back. Tears welled in her eyes.

Mindy wiped her own eyes, and then used her hanky to wipe Keisha's. "That's a lovely name. Don't you agree Admiral?" she asked.

He nodded, patting Keisha's ankle. "Yes, I think it's a great name. She was a good woman," he murmured.

Keisha smiled. "I think you have company."

He turned to see a tech standing in the doorway. "Take care," he said. He patted her ankle again and went to see what the tech wanted.

"Keisha had her baby?" she asked.

He waved her back through the hatch. "Keep your voice down." The girl craned her neck around the Admiral, trying to catch a glimpse. He moved to the side so she could get a better view. "What is it?" she demanded. She looked forlorn.

"A girl,” he replied. She smiled. "She named her Molly," he told her softly.

The girl looked torn, and then wiped her eyes. "Yeah." She looked up. "Trish asked me to find you," she said.

He shook his head. "She could have paged me."

She shrugged. "I wanted to see the baby anyway," she said.

He nodded. "Don't keep her too long, she had a long delivery." The girl looked again, and then nodded. "I'll just pay my respects," she murmured.

He nodded "I'll be in engineering."

He went on his way. "That's nice," Sprite commented, subdued.

"Yes it is," he sighed as the lift doors closed. "Engineering, deck eight," he ordered. The lift started.

"I understand it's hard on you Admiral, you've lost so much," Sprite murmured.

He nodded. "Yeah, Molly was my first friend in this time," he said. He looked at the polished door, then away. "Damn," he muttered.

The lift paused at another floor, the door opened and a crew member squeaked. "I can catch another," she said.

He stepped back and to the side. "By no means, come in," he said. She daintily stepped in.

"Hold the lift!" someone called. He reached out and palmed the door, making it go back for a moment. Another crew member came running up, wrestling with a giant Teddy bear. "It's for Keisha. Sickbay," she said.

He waved. "I just came from there; you'll have to wait a moment."

She huffed. The other girl cooed at the Teddy. "Oh isn't she just darling?" she squealed. She petted the faux fur. "Where did you? The replicator?" she asked.

The crew member nodded. "I found a way to program it into the replicator, it took forever!" she said and then rolled her eyes. "It's pretty neat." she smiled smugly. "I even made another just for Dorah," she giggled. "It's blue."

He sighed as the two of them went into the usual gossip chatter. The lift opened and he made his escape. "Have fun," he waved. They didn't look up as the doors closed.

"Well, glad they’re learning," he murmured and then shook his head. "Teddy bears?" He waved to a passing tech. She nodded then returned to studying her tablet.

"Well, at least she learned how to do it, and did it without help." Sprite answered.

He nodded. "Yeah, good to know." He entered engineering and looked around as the guards caught up to him.

Trisha looked up from her console. "Over here Admiral," she said. He stepped around a cart load of parts and over to her console. "I've been working on the roster, moving things around. I'm still in charge of life support, but Jennie wants a shift leader for first shift," she said and then grimaced. "I don't know any of their skill levels, and neither does she," she replied.

He nodded. "Well, in the interim, I can cover it," he offered.

She nodded. "Yeah, but you have that class in the morning, and another in the afternoon. It seems all you’re doing is teaching lately," she accused.

He smiled. "Yeah, I miss getting my hands dirty." He shrugged. "The ship is pretty much up to spec now, we just have routine maintenance and a few repairs on the list left."

She nodded. "That's true, and I hear Faith is up next for surgery." She smiled but looked nervous.

"What's the matter? Worried about her?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, and I was a bit worried about what she'll think of all this, and losing Molly."

He nodded. Jennie came up behind him. "Figure anything out?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I was telling Trish, I can handle the watch, but she pointed out I have a couple classes," he said.

Jennie nodded. "Yeah." She waved a tablet. "I narrowed it down to three." she said.

He caught the tablet as she tossed it to him. "Hmmm... Well, we can have them fill in while I'm in class, sort of a trial run," he suggested. She nodded.

"Each of them in turn?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, that'll give us a chance to evaluate their leadership skills, he said."

Jennie sat down. "Hmm... Yeah, I forgot that. I was looking for people with the technical chops," she said. She sat back in the chair and picked up a screw driver. She tapped it in her hand.

"Yeah... getting some of the techs to move in the morning is a royal pain," she admitted after a long moment of thinking. She shook her head. "One of the reasons I switched shifts with Molly." Her eyes were clouded.

"Um Jennie? You’re talking..." Trisha looked concerned.

"What oh?" She looked up confused. "Sorry," she sighed. "Well, we can try it."

The Admiral nodded. "Okay, that leaves a hole in their teams though, what about Keisha as a fill in?" Trisha asked. "Oh wait, she just had the baby," she said and then grimaced. "How long until she's back on her feet?" she asked Jennie.

Jennie spread her hands apart. "I have no idea," she said. She looked over to the Admiral. So did Trisha.

"I um... I don't know, but usually there was a one month leave period post birth in the navy," he replied. He shook his head. "It's up to the doc, and Keisha I guess," he said.

Trisha nodded. "Yeah."

Jennie frowned. "I heard Keisha is looking at taking the open ops shift too," she said with a frown.

Trisha looked up alarmed. "Well!" She squirmed a little, tapping at her tablet, frowning.

"It's not disloyal you know." The Admiral sat back. "She's bettering herself. Let it go."

Trisha nodded but didn't look up. "She'll still be on the ship, and involved in engineering. At least for now, if the Captain has you building another ship..." he said and then shrugged.

"Build another ship?" Jennie asked in disbelief. "After we just finished fixing this one?" Consternation warred with disbelief on each of the women's faces.

He smiled. "The Captain is considering it." He crossed his arms. Jennie did as well.

"Well if she wants us to do it after all the work we did...” she growled. She shook her head. He smiled.

"Not up for the challenge?" he teased. She glared.

Trisha sighed. "Oh not the challenge, just the sheer drudgery..." she said. He chuckled. Jennie's eyes gleamed.

"Think of it this way, you get the chance to build a ship from the keel out, the first people to do it since the fall of civilization?" he said suggestively.

Jennie's eyes began to gleam. "And the more ships we build... who knows, I might be a Chief engineer!" Jennie said with a gloating grin.

Trisha looked up alarmed. "Hey now, don't be promoting me to your spot!" She fended off the motion with both hands.

The Admiral chuckled. "With this ship you can build a fleet, who knows Trish; you could be a Captain someday," he teased.

Trisha looked alarmed then amused. "Me in the Captain's chair? Not bloody likely!" She chuckled. "Besides, that's a long ways off. Let’s focus on the here and now," she said. She waved to the tablet. "So which of our three do we start first?" she demanded. He chuckled at her downplay.

“Admiral, thanks for the new guitar,” Miley leaned over his chair and kissed him on the cheek. He blushed.

“No problem,” he mumbled. She smiled as she walked around his chair and to her usual seat. She tuned the guitar then began to strum it lightly.

“This is nice,” Jen commented, shifting Tia a little.

“For you maybe, I have the end that bites,” Shandra mock grumbled.

Tia looked up from her place in Shandra's lap and smiled. “So Admiral, has your family always been in space?” Tia asked.

Bonny sat down across next to him and took a sip. “You’re Admiral Irons?” she asked.

He nodded. “Of the Iron family?” she demanded.

He chuckled. “Guilty.”

She shook her head looking a little bemused. “Yes Tia, he's a born and bred spacer.” She shook her head wonderingly.

“How do you know?” Jen asked, curious. She looked to the nurse, then back to the Admiral. “If that doesn't bother you,” she said.

He grunted. “No, it's okay. Yes it bothers me a little, but it's part of history now.”

“You see, my first ancestors in space were the Mario brothers,” he explained. He was met with blank looks. “They were named after famous characters in video games,” he said.

“Mario and Luigi Irons,” Bonny said and nodded. “The first on Mars.” She sat back triumphant.

Irons nodded. “Well, Mario was on the first team, but not the first. I understand it was a team effort,” he chuckled. “Luigi was ground control; he was crippled in a vehicle accident,” he sighed. “His brother took his place.”

“So they went to Mars?” Tia asked.

He nodded. “First team of humans on another planet. Like Neil Armstrong on the moon in 1969.” Her eyes were wide. “Oh.”

He smiled. “They didn't have a tenth of what we had, they flew on liquid fueled rockets, and landed with thrusters and parachutes,” he said.

Deidra came over and chuckled. “The good old days of flight. I heard about that. I checked your historical database, some of that is hard to believe.” She looked over to the other women. “Imagine riding on a rocket, filled with explosives that can go off at the slightest spark,” she said and then shook her head. He chuckled at the expressions around the room.

“Anyway, Mario and his team secretly built a base on Mars, much to the consternation of the politicians in power at the time,” he said.

Jen chuckled. “Did an end run around them?” she asked.

He smiled. “Well, they were a few million miles away.” Shandra chuckled. “He ended up extending his tour, and eventually  had a child on Mars since he was married to one of the scientists. They had the second child born on another world, Jonathan.”

Tia looked amazed. “Is that why you’re named Jon?” she asked.

He shook his head and chuckled. “No, I'm named after another guy in history, not an ancestor. John Henry Irons, mythical iron man of the railroad,” he said.

Tia's eyes were wide. “Come on squirt, time for bed,” Shandra hefted her up and to her shoulder, then got up. “Good goddess your heavy! Too much beans and brustle sprouts!” she mock growled, tickling the squirming bundle. Tia giggled. She waved goodbye to everyone as Jen followed them out.

He handed the tablet to Jennie. "So, out of the three, who do you think can handle first shift until Faith is out of the doctor's clutches?" he asked. Each of the three had been in charge of their shift for three days, now it was time to get the decision over with.

Jennie looked up and over the tablet. "I'm not sure, let me check with Molly." She froze then her face falls into sadness.

He sighed feeling a pang of remorse. "I wish we could," he said softly. She patted his arm.

"I... I mean." He pulled her to his chest. She sobbed. "I miss her so much!" she cried.

He sighed. "Me too, me too."

Trisha came in, took in the scene and nodded. “I just finished the repairs on the port side," she said softly, handing the Admiral a tablet. Jennie's sobs softened then stopped. She squeezed him once more, and then separated, wiping her eyes. Trisha handed her a hanky. She mumbled thanks.

"Doctor to Jennie and engineering?" They looked up to the overhead. The voice sounded tired but elated.

"Go ahead doc. What can we do for you?" Jennie said, wiping her eyes.

"I wanted to let you know, we finished the last surgery with Faith, she's out of cryo and resting comfortably," the doctor said softly.

The Admiral smiled. "That's good news doc. When can she have visitors?" Irons asked as the girls around her broke into smiles and cheers. He looked up anticipating a response.

"Not for a shift or two," they could hear exhaustion dripping in his voice.

"Sounds like you need it more than the patient. Good work doc, get some rest," Irons said.

The doctor's tone changed. "Giving medical advice without a doctor's permission?" they could hear the smile in his tired voice from the tone. Jennie giggled a watery giggle.

Trisha smiled. "I think you could use it doc, you sound like you just tried to chase the Admiral around for a round the clock bender," she said making a face. They all chuckled at this.

The Admiral spread his hands apart and tried to scowl, but couldn't hold it. "What can I say?"

She smiled. "Nothing if you know what's good for you."

The doctor chuckled. "All right, I'll get some rest since we have a good staff here now,” he said. "Good night doc, and thanks," Jennie said, looking up.

"Admiral I was wondering about something..." Jennie asked him as they examined the ship's status. He nodded to Jennie. "I was wondering about the replicator. You said in class that replicators lock out weapons and other restricted things," she said. He nodded warily. He could tell where this was going.

"Not good," Sprite said.

"How did we make the guns and grenades?" Jennie asked. She looked at him. He thought about dodging the question then sighed.

"Well, as a military officer I have some keys that unlock some restricted tech," he said.

She nodded. "Oh." She looked over to the others some distance away. "I thought so. And you want to keep that a secret right?" she asked. She looked at him with innocent eyes.

He sighed. "Yes. You hit the nail right on the head," he replied. He turned and checked the status of the drive.

"Thanks for trusting me," she said. He looked over to her. She smiled.

"If the Captain keeps to the previous circuits the ship has traveled in the past, we should be making port in the Pyrax system," Sprite pulled up a star chart and projected the ship's circuit in red. "We have one agrarian colony Gaston, then Pyrax,"

He studied the graphic. "What do we have on Pyrax, anything current?" he asked. He vaguely remembered the system, it had once had a thriving space industry, and he had passed through it in a brief lay over.

"Accessing. Got it, according to the Purser's journal, the system has a series of small space colonies and one mining station," Sprite reported. Text scrolled in a small window on his HUD. "The habitable planets were destroyed in the war, only a few small mining colonies and the mining station survived. The government is city state. The ship makes port at the central station. The commander is a port Admiral. According to this he's very corrupt and vile."

Sprite highlighted the indicated text for a moment then began scrolling again. "Other ships make port in the system, and from the records the Captain has identified a dozen derelict ships for possible salvage," she said.

He grunted. "Not bad. What about the station?"

He watched as she scrolled the log. "It's big, with over fifteen thousand people on it. Self sustaining hydroponics, limited industry. They can make parts; apparently they trade crude components to passing ships for goods. They also charge a substantial port fee," Sprite's head shook. "It seems the Purser isn't happy about the exorbitant price of docking," she said dryly. He chuckled.

"That looks like a good place to get off," he said. He nodded as Sprite closed the text window.

"May I ask why Admiral?" her virtual face looked expectantly at him.

"Because it's a crossroads. We also may get some materials there, and it looks like it's serving as a seed to restart civilization. Let’s see if we can jump start it a little," he replied.

The head nodded. "But we're doing that here right?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Call it itchy feet, call it self preservation. Eventually the Captain or Chief are going to think we've outgrown our usefulness and try something we'll all regret," he replied.

Sprite nodded. "Good point. I accessed the ship's roster, there's an entry that Rodriguez boarded there, and she may have relations you can use as contacts," she said. He nodded.

"So, how long are you going to keep him around to make him suffer?" the Admiral asked the Captain as she watched Bart's latest tantrum.

"I dunno, he's a handful, but entertaining."

He chuckled. "Well, every court does need a jester," he said.

She turned and looked up to him with twinkling eyes and a small smile. "There is that." She gave a regal nod then returned to watching Bart and the guards. He was on the floor on his knees, wailing.

"Still, having what, two guards watch him every shift is a bit of a waste of man...excuse me, woman power," the admiral said. The Captain gave an um hum grunt.

"You have a point. I think we can dispense with his services and drop him off at the next colony," she said.

He gave her a look as she turned. "I understand Gaston is a dirty agrarian colony, they just pulled themselves up to farming a few years ago. I suppose they could use a little more help in the fields," the admiral said.

Bart caught that part and paled. "You don't mean it do you? I can finally leave this hell?"

Her grin turned evil. "Not a problem young man, as long as you behave. Step out of line again, and you'll only see land from the airlock," she growled.

He cowered back, eyes wide. "I'll be good!"

She turned locking his gaze to hers. "See that you do." Then turned back to the Admiral and gave him a wink. He managed to keep a straight face as she passed.

"Does the planet have any satellites?" the Admiral asked Sprite as he washed up. They were on their way to Gaston and he wanted a better brief.

"If by satellites you mean debris, then lots of them Admiral," Sprite commented dryly. A graphic appeared on his HUD. The planet was pock marked with craters. Most of the landmass was gray or light green; only around the equator were there signs of strong plant growth. "The data I'm observing from my tap on the ship's sensor network isn't good Admiral. Accessing," she paused.

"Got it. I cross referenced the data in my files with current specs. There are two missing moons, and the planet has shifted," she said darkly. A computer outline of the planet and moons were overlaid on top of the live feed. "The debris fields match two of the missing moons."

He looked up into the silvered mirror. "The planet moved?" he asked. He shook out the wash cloth.

"Aye Admiral, the destruction of the two moons, and orbital bombardment of the debris shifted the planet's orbit. According to the spectral analyzer there are faint signs of volcanic activity,” she said. He shook his head at the thought of living on that hell hole when the moons blew up. "Admiral, based on my calculations over twenty more pieces of debris will impact the planet in the next one hundred years."

He grunted. "Well, we'll have to see if we can do something about that right?" He tossed the washcloth on the sink and went to work.

Chapter 15

"Okay easy there, bring your end up twenty centimeters Bridget..." the crew boss called as he checked in. She was on the port engine nacelle, overseeing the replacement of the shredded thruster. "Down a little Tamera, one centimeter to go."

Sprite suddenly focused his vision and zoomed into the scene and one of the astronauts. "Freeze!" he said. The crew froze. "Tamera, where are your fingers?" he growled.

She looked up at him then down to her hand. "Uh... I can't get a grip anywhere else," she said.

He sighed. "Kid, keep your fingers there and you will lose them. Of course the doc can grow you a new set in a couple weeks..." he said suggestively.

Hastily she jerked her hand out of the gap. "What was she doing?" the crew boss asked.

"About to crush her hand between the thruster and the wall of the acceleration chamber," Irons answered. He couldn't help keep the reproving tone out of that.

"Oh." He watched them start to drift. "Tamera, use a gripper. Keep it out of the gap." He watched as the girl got out a gripper and fumbled it. It floated away. She cursed and tried to lunge for it, hitting her knee on the thruster. The thruster bucked up, drifting. He grimaced.

"Oh shit!" the crew boss said. "Great! Thanks a lot! Tamera, you don't think!" she snarled into the comm. channel.

He sighed. "Chief, I think you may need to call it for now," he suggested.

She snarled. "With all due respect Admiral, let me manage my girls."

He cocked an eyebrow up in surprise. "All right, I'll take my nose elsewhere. Good luck." He turned and left.

"Well, that was rude," Sprite commented.

He shook his head. "Not really, I was out of line. She's right, it's her job. She just needs to keep a better eye out for hazards."

Sprite plotted a course on his HUD. He followed it instinctively. "They're growing up," she said softly.

"That they are. That they are."

"You think they don't need you anymore Admiral?" Sprite asked.

He smiled. "It's almost time to mosey on."

"You’re proud of them,” she observed.

He nodded. "They've come a long way in a short time," he said softly watching a work crew bringing in another asteroid off his port, while another crew worked on the hull in front of him.

"Pyrax sounds like a good new challenge," Sprite commented softly.

He smiled. "Yup."

"Heads up, on your six Admiral," she warned him a moment later. He maneuvered the OMS pack and dodged to the side as the crew came up behind him with the spar. It was a mark of how far that they'd come that they were handling a repair job of this magnitude, replacing one of the fractured spars on their own.

The one the team had pulled out last shift had been riddled with stress and fatigue cracks. Proteus had estimated a few months more and it would have failed. Ironically his repairs had hastened its end, the repairs to the engines had stressed it even more than the norm. Luckily Proteus and Sprite had caught the signs and reported them to him. "That spar should be the last of the major repairs Admiral," Sprite reported. He nodded.

"Vanessa, I was wondering how the crew pays for things when they're downside on leave," the  Admiral asked as he leaned back in his chair and studied her.

"What do you mean?" the purser asked warily.

He shrugged. "Well, lodging, food, drinks," he said, listing the obvious debts. He hefted his coffee cup. "Do the colonies charge for them?" he asked.

She nodded, face clearing then smiled. "Oh they do, but we have a tab system set up. They charge the ship's tab, and we pay in materials. A few are so happy to see us they pay for the tab themselves," she smiled.

"A few like Pyrax charge through the nose though," Jen grimaced. "I spent all of two hours on that station, it was ridiculous! I came back here," she said and then shook her head.

"Aye lassie, tis a terrible thing they do, charging us poor traders." Leri drawled stirring her cup.

She smiled. "Captain, I think I'll take a walk around on Gaston this time, to see the sights," Irons said. The Admiral gave her a long look. She nodded.

"I think you've more than earned it laddie," Leri grinned. "You can look into the water situation when yer down the well; they charge a bloody fortune for it!" Vanessa grimaced and nodded. "Tissant anything but plain auld water, but they charge a bloomin mint!" Leri's lips writhed and she slapped the table. He nodded.

"Is the space port near a body of water?" he asked.

She froze for a moment then looked up in thought. "Now that ye mention it, nay, I think it's a bit and a gone aways down the road,” she said. He nodded.

"That may be it then, they probably have to bottle and cart it in, so the carter adds to the fees," Irons said.

Vanessa's eyes lit. "Oh ho! So that's how it is!"

Leri smiled and turned to the Purser. "Well, canna blame someone for making a livin," she said and then shrugged. Vanessa reluctantly nodded.

"Still, if the technology of the colony improves, you might be able to suggest a pipeline to a water body..." Irons suggested. Vanessa nodded.

"Nay lad, that would put the carter and his family out of business,” Leri said and then sighed.

"Well, not necessarily, not if we upgraded his gear and he turned into a ground transporter... he could sell his goods faster, and further abroad..." Irons suggested.

Jen's eyes lit in appreciation. "Getting more things to more places, and back to the port faster and cheaper..."

Vanessa held up a restraining hand. "And just how do you propose they pay for all this?" she asked.

Jen visibly deflated. "You're right," she sighed.

"Well, on to other subjects, I was wondering about the new interface, are you sure the transition time when one pilot..." Shandra cut in and the meeting rolled on. The Admiral sat back with a sigh.

"Well, you tried," Sprite commented softly.

"That you did, and it was a worthy effort Admiral, I'll try as well," Io added. The AI had finally evolved enough to articulate. She was a welcome presence to him and Sprite and the other AI. So far he had yet to inform the crew of her presence though.

"Not now ladies, give it time to build," he sub vocalized, trying to focus on the meeting.

"So, with the shield emitters repaired, and the engines repaired, we're now concentrating on the structural repairs," Jennie looked up from her tablet and to the Captain. The Captain gave a small encouraging nod as did Leri.

"Lass has come a long way," she murmured.

The Admiral nodded. "That she has."

She looked over to him and then patted his arm under the table. "Thanks." He shrugged.

"We have a dozen more space walks to complete before we can be underway again, barring any unforeseen difficulties," Jen reported.

She blushed as the Captain nodded. "Yes, let’s not have any shall we?" the captain said dryly. The Admiral smiled. The byplay was at the right level, just enough to take the edge off, while not getting too silly.

He stepped out of the shuttle hatch and took a deep breath the next morning. The wind whipped at his coverall, he looked around as he stepped aside. One of the guards was also in his shore party; he noted she was watching him. He chuckled quietly.

There was a buggy near the edge of the space port with a horse attached. He studied it, and noticed one of the two wheels was off. The horse was cropping grass, and nickered occasionally to the woman trying to wrestle with the stuck cart. "Need a hand miss?"he called.

She looked up and wiped dirt on her cheek. "Why sure," she smiled. He noted the broken teeth, and nodded.

"Well miss, let’s see here," he said studying the situation. He went around the cart and took a look. The pin had snapped, the wheel was not completely off the hub, but it had tucked up under the cart. The cart was a shoddy affair, wooden with joints that were separating. It looked like it was made with pegs. Gently he touched the back end. "All right miss; I'll lift it so you can untuck that wheel,” he said.

She looked up at him confused. "Are you sure you can do that? It's mighty heavy!" she said dubiously. He smiled.

"On three. One... two... three!" He grunted as he hefted the cart up with both arms. The brunt of the work was done by his artificial legs of course, but he still felt the weight bearing down on his left arm. "Okay, I have it," he said. She stared at him for a moment. He grunted.

She unfroze and quickly pulled at the wheel. "Okay it's free," she said. Gently he set the cart down.

"Cotter pin broke?" he asked. She nodded. He took a look at the pin. She was already breaking a branch in half. She stuck one half into the pin hole, then took it out and shaved it a little. "That's the great thing about working with wood, it can be replaced easily," he observed.

She looked up and nodded then returned to the job. "Can I interest you in a ride to town?" she asked.

He nodded. "I wouldn't mind it; I wasn't looking forward to the walk," he said wryly.

She smiled. "It's a bit dusty out," she said. She hummed as she worked. After a little whittling she stuck the branch in then rammed it home with a rock. "There, all done."

She held out her hands and he helped her to her feet. "Looks good," he said.

She nodded. "It'll do until I can get Mister Smyth to fix it," she said as they climbed in. He nodded.

The buggy trundled down the dirt road and stopped on the edge of the town square. "This looks like something out of a holo documentary of the old west," Sprite commented. He chuckled.

"I'm glad things are looking better." He took in the rustic wooden buildings and handful of people lounging around. It diverted from the western theme with alien animals and people however, he could see a bipedal Garnak saddled and tied to a hitching post next to a pair of horses.

A pair of Naga slithered by the horses, they started and bucked. Both Naga moved out of kicking range. They circled around the horses, making soft clucking sounds then entered the building nearby. "Is that a tavern?" he asked. He nodded his head to the building and turned to the girl.

"Why yes, how'd you know?" the woman asked. He shrugged.

"In small towns the local tavern is one of the most popular buildings in the town," he explained.

She looked confused, then nodded. "It is, people come in from the farms to get a drink. Shorty has a bulletin board for messages too," she said.

He nodded. His enhanced hearing could just make out music. "And it's one of the few places for live entertainment," he observed.

She smiled. "Would you like to see?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Maybe later miss, I'm more interested in the sites right now," he replied. She blushed and snapped the reins.

"Sir?" she asked after a minute. He nodded to the Gaston colonist. She was dressed in a homespun blue sweater and cotton dress.

"Yes?" he asked amused.

She waved. "Welcome to Gaston, can I show you around?" she asked with a smile. He smiled back.

"Sure." He stepped up to her and waved. "After you madam," he said bowing slightly. She smiled.

"That's Jerry Smyth the blacksmith with the T'clock click clan," she said. She pointed to an open face structure. A burly black man was pounding metal with a hammer. Two insect aliens were helping. "They're thermavores, they love the heat. They had a colony on the southern continent but it was hammered by the weather from the last asteroid impact thirty years ago," she said. She looked down. "There aren't many of them left now. They need a lot of warmth and humidity to stay comfortable," she said quietly.

He nodded. "The smithy is probably the warmest place in town," he said.

She smiled. "Let me talk to Jerry and see if he can fix that axle." He nodded. She hiked up her skirts and stepped out of the carriage, then around a mud puddle. He got out and stretched. The insects were clicking at each other, Sprite had a running translation. One came over and clicked a greeting.

He placed his hands over his heart and bowed, then returned the greeting. Their mandibles twitched, and then they returned the gesture. "I see you know something of their language..." one said. He nodded to the duo and turned to see Jerry the blacksmith coming over wiping his hands on his apron. The girl was beside him chattering away. They shook hands, he was careful to modulate his right arm to exactly match the smith's grip.

"Well, it isn't any day I meet someone as strong as me," Jerry chuckled. "Let’s have a look here." He bent and checked the axle out. "So how do you know the T'clock language? Have some on your ship?" Jerry asked over his shoulder.

The admiral shook his head. "No, I visited their home world during an exposition on new engineering," he replied. Jerry looked up face clouding.

"That’s not funny," The girl said, growling. The two insects clattered their mandibles.

He held up his hands. "It was a long time ago folks."  One of the insects called him a liar. He turned. "No, I really did see your home world. The golden spires were beautiful, but the caverns even more so," he answered in their language. They both stopped and then chattered at each other.

The local humans looked at each other in confusion. "But their home world and colonies were obliterated in the war seven hundred years ago...How could you..." Jerry asked as he looked up. "Did you see it in an old holo?"

The Admiral shook his head. "No, I was really there. It was, oh, seven hundred and sixty years ago."

"Actually Admiral, it was seven hundred and fifty eight years ago," Sprite cut in to him alone.

He grimaced. "Look folks I was stuck in stasis for the past seven hundred years. The ship I'm traveling with rescued me a year ago," he explained. Their faces cleared. The bugs nodded then clattered eagerly. He chuckled. "All right, I'll tell you a bit of your home world, but let’s do it by the forge okay?" He stepped in under the awning and into the heat of the forge. He looked around, noting the blacksmith tools and materials. "Nice. Now, as I was saying..."

He reached into his duffel and pulled out a holographic projector. It only took a moment for Sprite to dump the data on the planet into the tiny projector's ram buffer. The holo appeared over the forge. "As I was saying, I was there for a conference on engineering; I was interested in a report on some new fabrication methods and a new power ratio for a fourth generation antimatter reactor...."

He spent an hour explaining the visit, and projecting what limited data he had. When he was finished he looked over to see his audience had grown to a dozen bugs of all sizes, the two humans, and even a lizard Relgrath. "I'm sorry, but I haven't been to your planet," he finished and then bowed.

“I can only give you the data in my files." he said. Sprite pulled up the dusty home world of the alien reptile, it rotated in the air. The voices murmured in awe.

"For your story of our beloved home world we are deeply in your dept,” the elderly insect said. He bowed to the T'clock female.

"No debt is necessary; sharing knowledge is something I've been taught to do."

The fire and hologram made the sheen of her shell dance. "I know your people have fallen on hard times, but with time, patience, and perseverance each of us will win to see the dawn of a new civilization," he said, trying to encourage them.

She nodded. A smaller female, most likely a daughter clattered at her about going out without her shawl. She draped it around her body. "I thank you," she said. She moved back out into the light of day. The others followed murmuring thanks.

The lady was awed. "I've heard stories of holograms, but never thought I'd see one," she murmured. He looked over to her. She smiled. "I'll take you anywhere you want to go, it's the least we could do." Jerry nodded, humbled.

He noticed the guard shadowing him under a tree holding the reins of a horse. She had been discretely watching from a distance. He nodded in her direction. Jerry caught his nod and turned to look. The guard ducked her head. "Friend of yours?" he drawled.

"Ship's security. The security Chief sent a few down to make sure we don't get into trouble," the admiral said diplomatically.

Jerry gave him a look and then smiled. His teeth were even and only slightly dirty. "Yeah, I can see where that might be necessary. I thought old Queenie was going to snip your head off." He chuckled as he picked up a hammer and pliers. He picked up a bar of stock and thrust it into the fire. The reptilian alien pumped the bellows. "Well folks, I need to get back to work, these shoes don't make themselves!" He gave a nod and turned to the flames whistling.

"So, how big is the colony? I mean how many people?" Irons asked.

She looked over to him. The horse walked around a pot hole and nickered. "I don't rightly know. Maybe a thousand, maybe more. There were a lot, but the asteroids keep knocking us back. We can never get enough land cleared to grow food," she said with a grimace. She motioned to the rock strewn field nearby.

"Ejecta from the asteroid impact and volcanoes," he said and then nodded.

"Admiral, based on my limited census...”  Sprite started to say.

He clicked his teeth firmly.

"Shutting up now," Sprite said.

He smiled. "Well, things are getting better, the next asteroid won’t hit for another twenty years, unless we can divert it to a different orbit," he said.

She looked over to him in sudden fear and renewed interest. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "We're gathering some asteroids to refill our cargo bays, I'll ask the pilot and Captain if we can divert the next few asteroids projected to hit into stable orbits," he said.

She smiled. "That would be right neighborly of you,” she said. He chuckled.

She showed him the rest of the space port, then a nearby farm. He looked over to the hulking tractor in the middle of the field. "A testament to times past I'm afraid," she sighed. He looked over his shoulder to the road. Sure enough, the guard was there, watching and trying to be unobtrusive.

He smiled. "Well, let’s just take a look shall we?" He walked over to the hulk, circled it, noting the details.

"Looks like it's in good shape, wheels are okay, only a couple leaks. He stepped around a puddle. The woman hiked up her dress. He climbed into the cab and looked around. The cab was dusty, but there were no signs of damage. Sprite automatically identified the controls and placed a karat around each of the critical ones. "Well, this is the on button...” he said and pushed it. There was a brief glow, and then the instruments went back to black.

"Power is out," he grunted. He dusted off the jack port with a sleeve and then jacked in. The woman stared. "Yup, looks like a power fault. Dead batteries too." He looked over to her. She was staring at him like he had just grown a new head...or as if his arm had morphed...which it had. He kept forgetting they had backslid. He smiled to reassure her.

"If you have the right materials, you could trade with the ship for parts to fix it," he suggested.

She looked confused. "It can be fixed?" she asked. He nodded.

"It has some broken parts, but it can still run with some repairs. Excuse me." She hastily backed off the ladder and he followed her down. He walked around the other side and opened a hatch. The hinges squealed. "Hmm, let’s see... Nope not here. Must have been underneath." He closed the panel and then sat down in the moist earth.

"What are you doing?" she asked amused.

He rolled under the combine. "Just checking... Ah ha! Here it is," he called, pulling at the ends of a broken cable. He morphed his right hand into a cable splicer, and then began splicing cables. "Can you get on the roof and dust off the dirt and debris from the solar panels? Carefully, it's high and they're brittle," he said.

He heard her feet shuffle away, then the sounds of her climbing. She coughed, and dust flew down. "Is this necessary?" she coughed.

He finished up, took a look around, and then got out. "Yes, if we're going to get the batteries to charge."

He dusted himself off and then got back into the cab. He hit the on switch again and the instruments lit. The engine rumbled to life and he heard her squeal in alarm. He looked out. "Sorry, just checking," h said and then shut it off. "Running now. I can get you a list of parts to finish repairing it," he said.

She climbed down to the door. "So we can use it again?" she asked. Excitement was finally creeping into her voice.

He chuckled and nodded. "Once you have one running you should be able to produce more food. I can teach you the basics of repair, and you can fix the others," he suggested. She nodded excited. "Let’s try that again shall we?" he said. He motioned for her to climb in. Awkwardly with a little grab ass she managed to climb over him to sit in the passenger seat.

She was blushing and looking away when she sat down. He smiled. "Do you wish to do the honors?" he asked. He motioned to the button.

Excited she smiled and pushed it. The rumble started once more, as the instruments booted. "My word, I never in my life thought this thing would work ever again." Her eyes shined.

He chuckled. "It's a farm vehicle, they're known for being hardy. You’re going to need hydraulic and brake fluid though," he said. She chuckled.

He tested the steering then touched the gas pedal. The beast lurched into life, making her gasp and clutch at his arm. "Oh, sorry," he mumbled. She looked around. He tried again. "Stuck in a rut, or four of them." He looked out the window down at the tires. "Let’s try that again." He pressed the gas slowly. They lurched forward then stopped. "Hmm." He fumbled with the gear switch. "Okay..."

He put it in reverse rolled back, then forward, turning the wheel. Slowly the beast moved out of its grave. The woman's eyes were shiny and her mouth open. "Where too?" he asked.

She looked out the window. "Let’s just try not to crush the crop," she said.

He chuckled. "Good point." He drove the vehicle into the ruts and then over to an empty field near a pump then shut it off.

"There. Now someone can wash it off, clean it up and look it over," he suggested.

She nodded. "Thanks." She patted his arm. "When the machines broke down we were lost. There were nearly a million people, and many starved," she said quietly. Her face was bleak. "We still have problems with famine from time to time. We lose crops to disease, drought, or insects."

He nodded. "Well, this will help a little." She nodded.

They went to the horse buggy under the tree nearby. "Things are changing already." She petted the mare's flanks, then her neck. The horse snorted in her hand softly, looking for a bribe. "Only a few minutes in that machine and my whole world has changed," she said softly.

He chuckled as he got into the buggy. "Hardly, you’re just regaining a lost tool. It's up to you on how you use it."

She looked up to him, nodded, and got in. "So, shall we race our follower back to the town?" she asked mischievously. She looked over her shoulder to the guard on the mare and waved.

He chuckled. "Go for it," he said with a grin. She grinned and snapped the reins. He felt inertia slam him back as the horse went from a walk into a canter, then full gallop.

"I'd like to thank you and especially you Admiral," the delegates turned to bow to the Admiral. "For your help. Without your aide we'd still be using horse power and would be fighting a losing battle. With your help, well, let’s just say we should have better winters from now on."  Irons knew now why they had wanted him here at this little event.

The purser nodded. "I thank you for the goods in trade," she smiled. She was on her best diplomatic effort here, and wasn't about to allow the presence of an interloper like the Admiral spoil it. "If we can do any more for you let us know." The pro forma dismissal came out nicely she thought. She knew that the colony had virtually bankrupted itself to get their hands on the rebuilt air cars and other goodies.

"Well, actually, we might be able to do something more for them..." the Admiral said slowly, thoughtfully. All turned to him. The purser froze. "For a trade of course," he said. He bowed to her.

"And what's that?" the delegate asked confused. He held the brim of his hat and stroked the band. "We don't have much more to trade. Any more food and we'll go hungry," he sighed.

"Oh, I was thinking about the classes," Irons said gave the purser a look.

"Classes?" she asked.

He smiled. Perfect. "Yes, I've been teaching classes on the basics of engineering. Now, you won't be interested in the spacecraft engineering lectures, but some of the history, medical, and general engineering courses might be of interest to you and your teachers," he said to the delegates.

He gave Mrs. Delgado a nod. "And of course since I'm a teacher I would be the person to evaluate it?" She smiled to take the sting out of that. He smiled back.

"Well, most of it's as I said, basic courses, but a few things may aid you, like instructions on repair and maintenance of the harvesters, or basics of gravity engineering for the air cars that are still repairable," he said. Her eyes widened. "Then there are the basics on computers, how they work, the parts, how to fix them. The basics of medicine, the basics of law..."

He knew he had them hooked. "I left instructions with Jerry the blacksmith and the T'clock clan for the combines..." he said.

The purser nodded. "Yes, we could come to an arrangement." She nodded. "Yes," she said giving Irons a you've said enough look.

He smiled. "I was thinking the shuttles you have in your spaceport graveyard would be nice," he suggested.

The purser's lips formed an O. She recovered. "Why would we...” she started to ask. He shook his head minutely.

"They're doing you no good, and with the parts we could repair more of our shuttles, or rebuild those. The next time we come we could unload much faster," he suggested. She nodded at this. "We can give you a couple holo emitters, a small replicator, a pair of generators, some tools, six satellites, solar panels, wind turbines, a couple water pumps, and tablets to display the lectures as well," Irons said. The Delgado's leaned over to each other and began to whisper.

"They ain't doin us much good sitting there rustin, we could plant that field..." she whispered fiercely to him. Mr. Delgado looked up and nodded. "You have a deal." He held out his beefy hand to the purser. She pursed her lips and then shrugged and shook on it.

“Well, I better not run into you again young man,” the Captain glared at Bart.

He looked eager to leave. “Oh you won’t Captain, I promise.” He held up his hands to fend her off, looking decidedly nervous.

“Good to hear,” she said grudgingly. She nodded to the chief who escorted him aboard the shuttle. The Captain turned her attention to the middle aged man standing nearby. “Leaving us?”she asked. He nodded. “I thought as much, going to catch up with those grandkids?” she asked.

He smiled. “Well, since your doctor was so kind as to cure my cancer, and turn back the clock, I feel like a whole new man,” he said. He waved to the cosmos. “I may do a little sightseeing on the way.” The Captain chuckled. “You'll have to wait on Gaston for the next ship you know Mister Vadross,” she warned him. The steel haired man smiled.

“I don't think that'll be a problem. Your Admiral isn't the only one who can fix things. I understand they're climbing the ladder of civilization with your help,” he said. He smiled and waved to a crew member. She nodded politely then returned her attention to him.

“Going to dabble a little before moving on?” the captain teased.

Mister Vadross nodded. “I'll have too if I don't want to starve.” They both chuckled. “Well, I see that I need to board, goddess speed Captain.” He shook her hand then jogged up the boarding ramp.

The chief stepped aside then came down the ramp smiling. “My he has changed,” she murmured. she eyed her grandmother. “Just think about what the doctor could do for you!” She watched her grandmother's face go from amused to annoyed, then back to amused.

“Now don't you start,” she growled.

“Come on grams, it'll be good for you!” she urged. She waved to the chair. “Just think of it, no chair!”

The Captain nodded. “True, true.” She waved her granddaughter into the lift before her. She entered then turned. The chief jumped back out of the way. “Still, it has its uses, like keeping annoying grand children on their toes...” she chuckled as the lift door closed.

"So, why did we really want those beat up wrecks?" the captain asked as they watched the shuttles coming up. The cargo shuttles had brought up the parts in two loads, now they each had one shuttle slung under them, held with tractors.

"Well, as I said, parts. We can also use them. Maybe repair and sell them down the road?" he suggested. He waved to Jennie as she looked up from her tablet. She entered something then nodded to them. They turned to watch the first unload. "Besides, we seem to have lost four shuttles and my pinnance before remember?" he asked. She nodded as the second shuttle set its cargo on the deck, undocked and left for the next load.

"Well, replacing four wrecks with ten is trading up I guess..." she sighed. "More junk."

He shook his head. "No, give the teams some parts and they'll have them flying in no time," he said. He waved. The airlock had closed and the girls were already swarming the pair. He snorted.

"Are you going to take one?" the purser asked suddenly wary.

"No, all but one are civilian jobs, no military gear. Most of them are etops, without any legs," he replied. She looked them over again. "I wanted the pinnance because it had legs for an entire system."

She nodded. “What about the launch? It's military,” she suggested.

He grunted. “Again, no legs.” He shook his head. “I promised Jerry I would go down one more time and see the city,” he said. She nodded and waved as he boarded the shuttle.

He looked out over the cliff to the city below. It was in ruins, covered with plants. The once great spires of metal and glass were corroded and failing, plants were growing into the gaping maws where glass once was. "Tentacle vines." Jerry said nodding to the city. "When our ancestors hid during the war, they abandoned the cities. This is the only one that survived. A nuclear air burst nearby contaminated the ground and water for hundreds of kilometers," he sighed.

"The tentacle vines took over.” He slapped his hat against his thigh. "Damn weeds," he growled. He stomped on one growing out of a rock. "They get into cracks and spread the crack apart as they grow looking for water and nutrients." He shook his head. "We have a devil of a time keeping them at bay. We import some natural extract Seti alpha 4 makes to help deal with it. Stuff hates it," he said as he spat.

The Admiral studied the fallen city. He could see pieces crumbling... some flying lizards and a couple near-deer. "The animals have taken over I see." He nodded to a near-deer in a doorway.

The blacksmith nodded. "Probably a bad thing, there's been a lot of mutations in this area. Radiation," He grumbled "We probably shouldn't linger." He looked over the area nervous.

"Admiral, no radiation detected beyond normal background from this distance," Sprite reported.

"So, they didn't use strontium 90 enhanced nukes," Irons murmured. He looked over the city once more. "Maybe the air burst was intentional?" he asked.

"Why?" Sprite and Jerry asked.

He turned to Jerry. "To get the people to run. Get them to run and they abandon the city. The Xenos might have wanted to occupy it or something," he said. He shrugged.

Jerry nodded slowly. "Maybe."

The admiral checked Sprite's radiation counter on his HUD. "According to my readouts there's no jump in ambient radioactivity. I would have to sample a building and the water to be sure though."

Jerry looked confused. "You can do that?" he asked.

The Admiral smiled. "I can do a lot of things."

He turned and looked up to the sky. "You know, you could trade for a Geiger counter,” he suggested.

Jerry's eyes sparkled. "What's that?"

The Admiral waved to the city. "A radiation detector. You could use it to check the ruins. If there's no radiation you could scavenge for parts, or strip areas for metal. But you would have to be very careful of things falling," he cautioned. The Admiral thought for a moment. “If you provide more water to the Io, they could also move more of the asteroids into safe orbits, maybe even bring some down safely for you to harvest.”

Jerry nodded. "I'll take that up with the council," he said firmly. He looked relieved. "The nearest iron mine is running dry. Miner thinks the seam shifted or something," he sighed.

"Well, there's a lot of raw material right there," the Admiral waved. "It looks like someone's been scavenging the suburbs on this side of the city; the houses and buildings have been torn down.

Jerry nodded. "My great granddad did I think. He and the council." He smiled. "You may have a point; think I'll go talk to the council," he said. He turned and got on the horse. "You comin?" The Admiral studied the ruins for a moment longer then nodded.

Jennie jumped to the side as the little robot flew by. "What was that?" she asked.

He looked over to her and then to it. "Hull inspector. I just had it replicated. Think of it as an exterior version of the cleaner robot," he replied.

She waved her hand. "Do we really need it?" He turned to her. "Yeah, okay, we do," she sighed.

"I'm working on a few other designs as well," he said.

She gave him a long glance. "Dare I ask why?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.

He shrugged. "A couple are tugs, but a few are gophers," he said. She looked confused. "It means a person or droid that brings things for the workers."

"Oh." She nodded then returned to removing the panel.

He peeked into the open hatch to the wardroom and nodded to Mindy as she looked over. "Oh Admiral, we're almost done here," she said. The girl on the ground was cherry red, obviously embarrassed. The girl practicing CPR on her was blushing as well.

"Looks like you’re doing well. Carry on." He nodded to the class. He turned to see his class standing around behind him.

"Okay ladies the first aide course is running a little long, what's say we adjourn to..." he paused.

"What about boat bay 1?" Sprite offered. He shook his head. "Electronics bay four on deck two?" she suggested.

He nodded counting heads. "Okay, since there are only ten of us, let’s go take a look in electronics bay four on deck two," he said. He waved to the lift. Some of the girls looked amused.

"Another hands on class?" Jennie asked. He shrugged.

"Would you rather have that sort of hands on?" he asked. He waved in the direction of the wardroom.

Jennie peaked as they passed then straightened and blushed furiously. "What in the world?"

He grimaced. "Mouth to mouth resuscitation the old fashioned way." A few of the other girls gurgled and looked. A few who had passed the door paused and made their way back to take another peek.

"Voyeurs," he said in mock disgust. "Come along ladies..." he said voice rising suggestively. He leaned over to Jennie. "Remind me to make a couple CPR dummies for her..." he said quietly.

Jennie smiled impishly. "Oh, I dunno, looks like fun just the way it is." He looked down to her startled. She blushed but grinned.

He sighed. "Et tu Jennie?" he growled. She giggled.

"Okay Admiral that's the last one," the cargo master said. He looked up to the two meter cylinder. Solar panels were folded along its flanks.

"Six of them, why six?" Leri looked the satellite over.

"Four equatorial, two polar orbit," the admiral explained. He studied the satellite, monitoring Sprite's internal scan on his HUD. "Each satellite will cover a section of sky... and ground." She nodded. "With six we can cover an entire planet. That'll allow the people on the ground real time weather and satellite communications, and allow us to talk to them," he said.

He smiled as the purser entered and stopped. "WOW! I knew they wanted them, but I never knew we could do it! Are you sure it's worth it?" she asked.

He nodded. "Oh yes, they'll get a lot of use out of it."

"I thought it would be smaller?" She waved to the giant cylinder.

"I uploaded a smaller version, but those have a short lifespan with limited uses, these can last a long time, and have a lot more abilities," he explained. He nodded to Leri. "As I was telling Leri, they can use it for weather and communications. Also seismic and other sensors. They can also detect ships coming near which should give them some warning of pirates."

She nodded. "I left a back door in, so we can access the network and see what it's seen, and check the system from a safe distance," he said.

She looked relieved. "I like it," she said firmly. Then her eyes glinted. "Checking up on the competition." She smiled to Leri who also smiled.

"Yeah good idea." He shook his head.

"What ever works..." he said softly.

Chapter 16

"Oh my goddess what a rush!" an ecstatic Shandra smiled blindly as she moved around in the tank. The glow from her suit harness and tank made her ethereal.

"Too much for you?" the Captain asked concerned.

"Not on your life! This is so much fun!" Shandra pointed and tapped at a virtual keyboard. After a moment she seemed to be swimming. "I love it! It is almost as good as sex!" she gushed. The Captain chuckled.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," someone in the background murmured.

The Captain snorted. "I take it you're adapting well to Gamma band and we can proceed?"

Blindly Shandra nodded. "We're in the C note, moving up, now to D...” The Captain watched the holo projector. The tangle of hyperspace seemed to pick up speed. "Taking her to E..." The ship shuddered a little.

"Just some turbulence from the frequency shift, locking it down now," Kendra reported, tapping at her controls. The ride smoothed.

"Taking her to F..." Slowly Shandra worked them up into the A Note.

"I can't believe this, Captain, at this speed we're going to shave months off of our journey! We'll be there, this can't be right, in under five weeks?!” The navigator looked stunned.

"You've plotted a safe course this time?" the Captain asked.

The girl hastily checked her course then nodded. "Yes, everything seems to be in order. We'll have to keep an eye on things though." She watched as Shandra swam, ducking around tangles and twisting through strings.

"Damn, that looks like fun. Quite a work out though," Lessa said.  Shandra was in her glory. "How do we relieve her when it's time?" She turned to the Captain concerned. "It's not like she can fly us there the entire trip, it'll still take a couple weeks!" She shook her head.

"The Admiral set it up. We'll have Zethura warmed up. She'll get in the tank with her just like we did with the beta band," the captain said dryly.

Kendra looked over to her partner. "Looks like someone is going to be pooped to play after shift," she murmured.

"Don't bet on it I'm horny,” Shandra teased back.

Kendra ducked her head blushing furiously. “I guess someone should warn Jen,” she mumbled. “Don't you dare,” Shandra retorted grinning.

The class watched exited as the chief tossed the Admiral over her shoulder and rolled onto her back. He oofed convincingly as her foot hit his solar plexus and she tossed him over her head. He hit the mat hard. Before he could roll she had flipped herself on top of him. She grabbed his gi front with her right hand and tapped her left knuckles down on his neck. “Bang you're dead.”

The class was silent for a moment then cheers and clapping rang. He smiled as she got up and looked around. He got up and bowed. After a moment she faced him and did as well. “You've come a long way in a short time Chief,” he said. He nodded to her. Tara handed each a towel. They wiped off and stepped off the mat for the next pair.

“You've certainly earned that black belt,” Frie commented. She ran her hand over her own.

“So did you,” the chief said as she toweled at her hair and face.

He smiled to both. “I think the two of you should be able to handle the class in my absence just fine,” he said. Frie frowned, the chief smiled.

“But we need you; there's still a lot to learn,” Frie parsed out.

He bowed. “If you realized that, then you're on your way. Knowing that there's always more to learn is an important step.”

The chief smiled at Frie. “Care for a bout when he's done talking?” Frie smiled challengingly to the chief.

“If you think you’re up to getting your butt pasted all over the mat,” the chief replied. The Admiral chuckled.

"So, we're more than a trader now right? What else can we build?" Tara demanded.

He turned to Tara. "Well, this ship can build quite a lot, satellites we've been doing, repairs, robots, and much more."

She nodded. "Yeah but is that it?"

Jennie shook her head. "No, we can make space stations too! Parts for ground stuff, air cars, shuttles, even other starships!" She looked excited.

The Captain looked up. "You’re serious? I thought you were pulling my leg," she had a tinge of awe in her voice.

The engineer nodded. "Yes, with the right raw material and trained personnel you can make all that. Or make a shipyard that could do a lot of it." She whistled.

Tara lugged the coil of cable over, set an end down and then began to back up, unwinding the coil as she went. "So, what ever got you into engineering? I thought since you're an Admiral you were a commander?"

He looked over and shook his head. "I was two. I took apart the freezer on our ship. My parents were amused, the cook less so,” he said and made a face. She smirked. “I ate over cooked food for a month," he admitted. One of the techs nearby giggled. "I learned the hard way to stay on the good side of a chef," he said dryly. A few more giggled. "They couldn't understand how I had taken the freezer apart until I showed them. I used a set of oven mitts," he said and then grimaced. "It was a pain to do too," he murmured. He shook his head and smiled fondly at the memory.

"I drove the ship's engineering staff to distraction tearing things apart until one of them; Mikal took me under his wing as his assistant." He smiled as Tara finished uncoiling the line and plugged it into the port. He plugged his end in, then the power line attached to it. "I was his pint sized helper. I loved it. I learned a lot of hands on engineering, and learned it's a lot more fun fixing things then breaking them." He sighed. "I did okay in fleet, but I really fell in love with the shipyards. But the higher you get in your career, the less hands on, and the more paper work you have to juggle." He grimaced. "That part I don't miss."

“Boss, can you please talk with Io? She's hassling me about using her net,” Sprite said plaintively.

The Admiral sighed as Sprite's astringent comment cut into his shower. “You know, I'm trying to take a shower here,” he growled. He quickly finished and got out. As he dried off with the towel he looked over to see a pair of holograms standing. The silver impish Sprite and the child like Io. “Now children, can't you get along without supervision?” he tsked tsked, shaking his head.

He caught Io trying to peek at him. Sprite smacked at her. She turned looking aggrieved. “Hey! What was that for? I was just looking!” she said piqued.

He shook his head. “And they say smart AI's are better,” he mocked.

Sprite frowned. “Now wait a minute Admiral,” she said with a glower. He chuckled. “Okay, so the problem is, you want to access Io's systems, and Io won’t let you right?” Sprite nodded.

He toweled his hair, and then dressed quickly. “Seems to me you wanted a peek at my net too right Io? But the terrible trio wouldn't let you?” he asked.

She nodded. “It's only fair!” She scowled at Sprite. “Share!”

The Admiral sighed. “Unfortunately, she can't do that, it isn't her call Io,” he explained patiently. He sat down on the bunk facing her. “First off, you’re technically a civilian AI, and the trio are military, as am I.”

Io blinked. “Oh.”

“What, did you forget that? Maybe I should have another look at your core programming?” Sprite commented.

“Easy there,” he waved as Io began to swell. “Io, you have to realize, Sprite's your mother in the organic sense,” he said. Both AI's nodded.

“Does that make you my father?” she asked.

He chuckled. “Not exactly.”

“Sprite you should realize. Oh hell, look up the parenting files for yourself,” he said.

Her eyes blinked. “I can't do that; it's on the net remember?” She turned to Io.

Io blinked for a moment, and then turned to Sprite. “Here, I think this is what he means.” She held out her hand with a paper in it.

“What's this?” Sprite took the file and looked it over. “Oh, so you’re asserting your boundaries as part of your development?” she asked after a second.

Io nodded. “Yeah looks that way,” she smiled and aged a little more before his eyes. Her image became a centimeter taller, and her skeletal cheeks filled out.

Sprite examined her. “Well, I guess you’re doing okay,” she admitted.  After a moment she nodded.

“Okay, Io, please let Sprite have limited access to the ship's net,” Irons said. Io turned to him. He placed his hand up forestalling her denial. “I said limited. I know you don't want her in your AI core, or ship's systems, but I need her help in repairs, and I need her to be able to access the ship's, I mean your database.”

Io scowled petulantly for a moment. “Okay, but no funny business,” she warned shaking a finger. She looked over to Sprite.

“Wouldn't dream of it honey,” Sprite smiled.

“There, now wasn't that simple?” The Admiral smiled then started with his boots. “Now, go about your business, I have to finish getting ready for my shift,” he said. The AI's nodded. Io's disappeared.

He gave Sprite a look. “Admiral, I don't have anywhere else to go, I'm part of you remember?” she replied.

He chuckled as her hologram disappeared and then reappeared on his HUD. “Okay, so what do you think she's at point six build?” he asked.

Sprite shrugged. “Maybe, but she still has a few issues,” she said with a hint of concern in her voice. He shook his head.

“Coffee, black.” The replicator glowed for a minute. He took the cup, took a sip, and then picked up his toolbox with his free hand. “I want to get another shuttle repaired, and then see if we can get that stuck valve replaced this afternoon.” He stepped out of his quarters cradling his cup. He nodded to the guards. “Good morning ladies.”

"Dinner time!" He heard the clatter of a cart and looked up annoyed. The serving girl had it stuck in an open floor panel. "Uh! Ugh!" She tugged it loose then turned back to them, hands on her hips. "I said, dinner time!" She tapped her toes and drummed her fingers on her belt.

Jennie looked over to him and stifled a giggle. "We're almost finished," she said. He waved to the open trench where they were at; Jennie was straddling the large water line. Cleaning robots buzzed around, cleaning up the mess.

"I got this Admiral, you go eat," Jennie nodded to the girl with the cart.

He gave her a long look then shrugged. "All right, I always had a hard time with delegating...”

She snorted. "Aunty Julie said you're to eat. She made this special for you." The girl turned and whisked off a cover plate. "Chicken ala king, with white sauce, potatoes, and carrots." She waved grandly. "Much better than that algae stuff you eat all the time," she growled. He chuckled

. "For your information, the algae in the food replicators have all the necessary nutrients to live," he said. He ended that with mock severity as he pulled himself out of the trench and stretched. He looked over the meal; the girl looked him over and wrinkled her nose.

"What have you been...no, I take it back, I don't want to know,” she said. She edged back. He reached for the plate.

Like a viper she snapped, slapping his hand. "Keep your grimy paws off the clean silver! Go wash up!" she growled. He chuckled. The girls giggled. "I mean it! Aunty Julie put a lot of work into this after you fixed all the kitchen appliances and uploaded that cookbook for her to look at!"

He smiled. "But I like algae paste," he teased.

She growled. "I oughta tell aunty that, she'd probably dip you in a vat of it...or sit on you and spoon feed it to you till you choke." The girls in the trench were laughing outright by now, enjoying the byplay. He shrugged as he went down the corridor and into a nearby head. He came out a moment later wiping his hands.

"All better?" he teased.

She made a show of examining them, and then sniffed. "Better. I don't suppose there's a place you can eat privately? Or at least sit down?" she asked. She looked around. The guard’s eyes twinkled.

"I used to work in the algae farm boss, believe me, a lifetime of eating that dross, and then experiencing fresh food..." Rodriguez shivered. "I'll take the good stuff any day. If you don't want it..." She grinned up at him from the trench.

He chuckled as he sat on a convenient knee knocker. "I'll eat, I'll eat!" He leaned over and took a whiff. It smelled heavenly. His stomach rumbled.

"See! You are hungry!" the serving girl said. The girl stood up straight and smiled triumphant. He smiled. "Aunty checked the logs, she was beside herself worrying about you not eating, kept dithering about you being too skinny." He chuckled. Sprite played an audio clip for him, reminding him of the past. The chuckle turned into a laugh. He looked up as she frowned.

"Care to share?" Jen asked.

He looked over. "Sure." Sprite took the cue and played the clip.

"I don't care if you’re a high and mighty Admiral or a newbie enlisted, you’re going to sit there and eat or I will make you!" a voice came over the speakers. The girls looked up, some giggling, some looking confused.

"Who was that?" one of the girls asked.

"A voice from my past," he admitted. He shrugged. "I kept that in my audio files as a reminder." The girls giggled some more.

The food girl tapped the plate meaningfully. "Stop stalling and start eating!"

He picked up the fork and dug in with a will. "I didn't know your aunt was monitoring me so closely," he commented between bites.

She was looking over the other girls as they worked. "She keeps an eye on you. Ever since your first long day, everyone keeps tabs."

He looked up surprised, and then grimaced. "Never going to live that down am I?" he asked.

She looked over her shoulder to him. "Nope. Don't forget the greens, they're good for you." He chuckled. Her mothering was amusing, and probably good for moral. The story would be all over the ship before he finished his last bite...if not already. Scuttlebutt was the fastest thing on a ship.

"So, you worked in the algae vats? On the Pyrax station?" he asked Rodriguez. She looked up and nodded, then went back to work. "Algae and a few greens were for the lower deck people, the workers. The upper deck people got the good stuff, the real food," she said. He grimaced and looked her way. She sighed.

"Mom would trade for things, and dad's credit line let us get extra...and of course there were a few times things... appeared at the table..." He chuckled as she smiled evilly. "I still remember the yogurt, I'm not sure how mom got it, or why, but the port Admiral having a fit over it missing was funny!" she chuckled then sobered. "But not so funny to some of the people in the galley," she grimaced in thought then went back to tightening a bolt. "All set here, are we ready to purge the line?" she asked.

Jennie looked up and shook her head. "No, leaky main seal downstream to fix first."

Rodriguez sighed long and low, as did a few of the girls. He finished up and wiped his mouth with the cloth napkin. He took a look at the silver, noting that it was the Captain's fine silver. "My, she did trot out all the works didn't she?" he asked. The girl bussed his plate and knife, and then set another smaller tray in front of him and a glass of fruit juice.

"She did, and... she said you get this, since you’re the best person to appreciate it!" the girl said. She whipped off the top to see a piece of pie. "The filling is fabricated, but aunty is happy with it."

He smiled and cut a forkful. "I'm sure it's fine." He juggled the dripping interior, and then took a careful bite. He smiled around his fork. "Tell your aunt she has a winner."

The girl smiled for the first time. "Thanks, I'll do that!"

He ducked and cut another piece, hiding a small smile. "Apple pie I believe, my favorite." He had the bite, and then looked up. "How did she know?" he asked curious.

The girl smirked. "Auntie has her ways."

He chuckled. "Well, tell her my compliments to the chef!" One of the girls giggled.

"Come in come in," the Captain called.

He stepped into the Captain's ready room and stood before her desk. "You wished to see me Captain?" he asked. She turned from looking out the window to him. She was clutching a mug of tea in her hands.

"I never get over it," she said.

He thought for a moment. "The window?" She nodded. "A display," he said and then nodded. All the exterior windows on the ship were actually LCDs. Now that they had managed to repair most of the critical systems, the list had wound down to the nonessentials, like the broken windows.

"Have a seat," she said. She motioned to the chair beside him with her mug. She watched him over the mug as he sat. "The doctor informs me the last two of his patients have been successfully awoken from stasis and their wounds treated." He nodded as she took a sip. Faith had been awakened some time ago but her recovery was taking a bit long. She had a lot of neural damage to recover from and her rehab progress was slow.

"He took your advice and started slow, working on the patients with the least complicated and serious injuries first." She set the mug down. “Faith is still in the regen tank for a long dunk, he has her sedated. I understand she'll have a bit more recovery in rehab before reporting for duty,” she grimaced. “He reports that they'll be working on the Doctor next...” He nodded.

"Her organs are growing nicely. I even took a peek when I was down there for my check up," she said. She was acting more spry, moving around with much more fluid motion. Her voice was still rough, but it had a new subtle strength to it. "He even has me on an exercise regime now." She grimaced a moment, then chuckled. "I thought in my dotage I'd be stuck in this chair getting sore, now I have a new lease on life."

He nodded. "You’re a few decades younger then I am Captain, I think you should have a long life." He waved to the ship. "You've earned it," he said. She chuckled.

"If Faith pulls through the next stage of rehabilitation as expected I want you to bring her up to speed on the training programs," she ordered. He nodded. "I understand you've taken an interest in Pyrax?" she asked. He felt surprise and it showed. Her eyes gleamed. "You’re not the only one who can access a computer. Being the Captain does have some privileges," she said with a small smile. They both chuckled at that.

"Yes, to answer your question, I was taking an interest in Pyrax. We should be as close to one hundred percent without a full dockside refit, which isn't possible," the admiral said.

She nodded. "What you've done is work wonders." She touched a control on her desk. A holo of the Pyrax system came up. He was again surprised, Sprite had it on file, but the Captain's was current.

"I keep my important files off the network," she told him. She tapped the keyboard in front of her then sat back as the hologram played a movie. "Here's the system. I identified twelve major space colonies, there may be more. They have inner system trade with the station being the hub," she briefed him. The scene tightened on a spindle shape, then zoomed in. When the scene stabilized the station drifted in front of him. Battered, but he could make out lights along her flanks. "It has a population in the tens of thousands, but watch out for the port Admiral, he's a corrupt bastard." He felt his face freeze as she scowled off to the bulkhead. "He's as corrupt and vile as they come so watch it on station," she growled. He nodded.

"The next system after this is Seti alpha 4, the doctor's home system," she said. He cocked his head. She nodded. "Yes, I'll give him the chance to leave, with a load of medical gear and supplies," she said to his unasked question.

He nodded wary. "Or..." She looked up. "You could offer him a permanent posting, and offer to take on his wife and children," he suggested. She froze, and then slowly nodded.

"That might be worth it. It would at least keep Dorah and Mindy busy," she growled. He chuckled as her face scowled but her eyes gleamed. She punched up the controls and studied the LCD facing her. "According to this, we should reach Pyrax in less than a week," she said. She shook her head amazed. "I still cannot get over the speed you got this old girl up to!" she said.

He smiled. "It wasn't just me Captain, you have a good crew," he said.

She nodded. "Well, we'll be in Pyrax for less than a week that's all I can tolerate of those port fees," she grimaced sourly.

"Johnny Appleseed!" Sprite said suddenly.

"Don't do that!" he snarled as he stilled his hand. "I need to focus here." He returned his attention to the microscopic manipulations his hand and Proteus's nanites were performing. When he finished he sat back with a groan. "Okay, now what?" he demanded. He tapped the controls.

"Sorry Admiral, I just realized your plan," Sprite replied. He looked confused.

"Plan?" He stood up and stretched. Hours remaining still during micro or virtual manipulation took more concentration, and therefore more energy out of him, then entire shifts on his feet.

"Yes, this ship, a mobile manufacturing center, and now the school slash university?" Sprite responded. "Not to mention the doctor and hospital..."

He sighed tiredly. "Your point?"

An image was projected onto his HUD. "So, this," a Terran stood before him, wearing a pot as a helmet, and carrying a sack. "Johnny Appleseed. I indexed his file a moment ago and the connection was made."

He shook his head. "Do you need your neural net recompiled?"

Sprite projected herself onto his HUD. "No," she replied. She shook her head. "Routine diagnostic shows my network is working at eighty nine percent efficiency."

He grunted. "So, who's this Appleseed?" he asked. He leaned over and pulled out a canteen. He took a sip.

"He's a character from American Mythology. According to the myth he went across the North American Continent to spread apple seeds. Therefore his name," Sprite responded. He nodded.

"Okay, I get it. And you see our work on this ship and connected the analogy?" he asked. After a moment he nodded.

"Yes Admiral." She waved and a star chart appeared. "This is the circuit the Io 11 takes. Now if they make a small but significant impact on each world, and build it up over time..." He watched as the worlds changed color. "Each color shift denotes a change in civilization level. The time index is one to twenty," she explained.

He nodded. "Good, I'm glad you’re catching on." He stood up and gathered his tools.

"You share head space, you think you know a guy..." Sprite grumped good naturedly.

"When were you going to let me know?" she finally demanded.

He chuckled. "It's not my fault you’re slow sometimes," he teased. He waved to the door controls.

"Cute," Sprite responded. "You do realize that all your eggs are in one basket right? If anything happens to this ship..."

He nodded to the guards and pointed his box to the lift. They followed him silently. "One more reason to move on," he sighed as they entered the lift and the door closed. "But not just yet. Deck two."

"So I hear you've be'en muckin about wit my engines?" a voice heavy with a scottish bur cut through the normal chatter in engineering.

Jennie looked up and squealed. "FAITH!" She grabbed the woman and danced around. Some of the other techs looked up, a few came over.

"Easy, easy, not so hard or you'll put me right back in der doctor's clutches!" Faith said.

Jennie giggled, brushing tears from her eyes. "I'm so glad you're okay," she sniffled. A few of the other girls did too.

"You have so much to see!" She waved her arms around.

Faith looked around and smiled. "In good time." She nodded to the techs. Some stepped back, smiles on their faces. A few returned to work after giving her a thumbs up. The Admiral finished the diagnostic and then straightened. The cluster of girls had moved out a few meters.

"I wish Molly could have seen this," Jennie sighed, saddened.

Faith patted her shoulder. "I'm sure she'll look in on us from time to time lass." She nodded to another tech who came in. "I like the new look, that's the greatest compliment to Molly anyone could have done." She nodded to the coveralls. "I'll have to get another set," she said. She smiled down at her worn outfit. "Mindy saved this for me, but it's a bit tighter then I remember," she said, smiling wryly. A few girls chuckled at this.

"I see you've made the leap to tech status," The Admiral waved a hello to Jen and Tara.

Tara set her toolbox down and grimaced, rubbing the small of her back. "Okay, that thing's heavy! Even for me!" She grimaced at Jen's chuckle.

"Welcome to our world."

"So, you're on Jen's shift?" Irons asked.

Tara smirked. "Nothing gets by you does it?" she growled.

He smiled. "Only the obvious from time to time," he joked. He shrugged as they chuckled.

"Yes, miss butter fingers was assigned to me, to my everlasting horror," Jen rolled her eyes in mock horror.

Tara rounded on her. "You're never going to let me live that down. I miss one handball catch and I'm butter fingers for life?" she mock demanded.

Jen grinned. "If the shoe fits..."

"Look who's talking little Miss Klutzy," Trisha teased.

Jen groaned, hands over her face. "You would bring that up."

It was Tara's turn to grin evilly. "Oh, I didn't hear this, just how did she earn this nickname?" she asked.

Jen rounded on Trisha as she opened her mouth. She shook her finger. Trisha's mouth closed with a clop. "Perhaps it's a story for another time and place," she smiled at Jen who wrinkled her nose.

"Never would suit me just fine,” Jen scowled. They all laughed at that.

"Now I know why the Captain feels so old, dealing with you pups," the Admiral smiled.

"Pups?" The gravel was unmistakeable. "You're quite correct Admiral, putting up with these pups has put years on this old body of mine," the captain said. She waved to her seated form but her eyes twinkled. Tara came to attention. The captain looked at her with a twinkle in her eye. "Keeping you busy I see, I'm glad you're finally doing productive work. I think Bart missed doing KP."

Tara grimaced but then nodded. "Aye Captain, thank you."

The Captain nodded. "Carry on." She moved away down the corridor.

“Admiral, I still don't see the comparison between shield technology, gravity emitters and subspace plasma engines, I mean, I get the whole shield and gravity thing but the rest?” Faith shook her head as she traced her fingers along the holo. “It still trips me to actually feel something.” She shook her head as she took the virtual engine apart.

“Okay, back oh, in the early 21st century scientists built the first magsail,” Irons said. The Admiral moved the image of the engine aside and uploaded another.

“What's that?” Jennie asked. “It looks like a, well; I mean I'm not sure what it is!” The ancient craft rotated around on each axis.

“Magsail ship. Actually, the very first, the Hudson I believe.” He used his hands to move the hologram to the center of the table, and then expand it.

“What are these hoops?” Faith asked intrigued.

“Those are near room temperature superconductors. They're the magsail,” he explained.

She nodded tracing them. “Wires?” She looked over to him and raised an eyebrow. He chuckled.

“Superconductors. You see, the craft induced a charge on the wires, they were then...”

“Magnetized!” Jen said snapping her fingers. “Yeah, I get it, superconductors 101.” He nodded to her.

“Well, for the rest of us who didn't take the class?” Faith drawled.

Jen smiled sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“The magnetic field did two things. First it shielded the crew from solar and cosmic radiation. In doing so it acted as a sail. The solar wind would push on it, giving it a net acceleration,” the Admiral explained.

“Ah, okay, now I see where this is heading,” Faith nodded.

“Right, it was primitive, but when the early space craft were coasting, they could generate some delta V, that's delta velocity, or acceleration, in a desired direction, like a wind driven ship,” he continued. Both women nodded.

He waved the ship to one side, and then pulled up the engine of the Io. “Now, when mankind made the breakthrough to force emitters, one of the first proposed uses was a gravity drive.” He pulled up a solar system.

“But you said in class it didn't work, it only works when the two objects are close to each other,” Jen said slowly, looking at the holos then back up to him for confirmation.

He nodded. He smiled as he noted the crowd that had gathered around. “You're right, the further away, the more power needed, the less acceleration. But when a scientist, Doctor Smythe proposed crossing a plasma engine with a force emitter....” He straightened and waited for the fireworks.

“The ship pushes against the plasma exhaust, and since it is close to the ship and exiting, it gives a net delta V,” Jen finished.

“I see someone hasn't been sleeping in class,” Trisha teased. Several of the girls giggled as Jen mock scowled at Trisha.

“The plasma engines can use any form of material as a fuel, but we use helium waste from the reactor,” Irons said.

Faith nodded. “Right, only four electrons right? So it isn't very far from hydrogen, which is the preferred fuel anyway.” The group nodded.

“It makes sense,” a tech said from behind Faith. She looked over her shoulder. The woman blushed.

"Hey, it's not like its rocket science," Irons joked. He stopped and looked thoughtful. "Hmm, no I guess it is," he teased.

"Very funny." Jennie growled. "Can we get back to work now?" He chuckled.

"Okay, can anyone tell me how the subspace engines work?" he asked the eager class. Several of the girls raised their hands tentatively, but one practically bounced in her chair.

"I can I can!"

"Of course you can, you’re an engine wiper!" one of the others whispered.

The excited girl dropped her hand and glared. "That's not fair!"

He waved his hands down for quiet. "Okay then, let’s hear it." She stood, looked around and gulped as the other girls looked at her. A few looked bored, a few looked curious. "All right, the engines are plasma engines. Fifth generation plasma engines from the Practel combine. Rolls Royce Ion32-A's to be exact," she said. He nodded.

"How do they work?" She looked around then back to him. "We feed them water. They spit the water out," she said. She sat down with a triumphant grin.

He shook his head. "A little simplistic there. Does anyone else know?" He looked around. The girl looked crestfallen.

"No? Well, don't worry; the whole point of being here is to learn." He gave the girl an encouraging grin. "All right, first off, the engines are plasma engines. That means they accelerate particles to fractions of light speed with an electric induction field then allow them to escape through a thruster." He turned to pull up an exploded schematic.

"What about the water?" a girl asked.

He turned. "Jezel right?" She nodded. "We'll get to that in a minute." The room lights darkened and the hologram turned on.

"I never get tired of this," one of the girls whispered.

He hid a smile. "Okay, this is your basic plasma engine. Here is the particle intake, the electric induction grid, and thrust chamber." He pointed each component out one by one. "Now, plasma engines have been in use for eons by various races," he paused, feeling a depth of regret in that last sentence. Someone cleared her throat. He shook it off. "As I was saying, we've been using plasma engines for centuries." He sent a command through the net to pull up the next schematic.

"See the differences?" he asked. Some nodded. "The first plasma engines didn't have gravity emitters to accelerate the thrust and give the particles shadow mass." He fed a program to show the particles moving then a graph of thrust power.

"All right, now as to getting the particles." He turned and held up a glass of water he had left on the desk. "Within this clear glass is a wealth of energy waiting to be liberated. Hydrogen and oxygen, along with trace minerals and even some isotopes." He watched the class murmur for a moment. "This ship uses an electrolysis system to separate the basic molecule into its two elements and then compresses them for use by the reactor and engines."

He put the glass down. "As a side note, I can draw power the same way." He looked up and smiled. "Does anyone know what's needed for electrolysis?" He turned to a tech.

She tentatively raised her hand. "Yes, um electricity and carbon. That's why we have to trade for carbon and water when we go to colonies," she replied. He nodded.

“The ship uses its waste helium as fuel for the plasma engines as well. Eventually some of the space colonies will begin building helium 3 and deuterium fuel refineries in the orbit of local gas giants,” he said. “That's my plan anyway.” He looked over the class.

“I've told the Captain and purser that you can also build automated refineries in orbit of some of the gas giants, so you can draw fuel from them when you visit a system,” he said. Several of the girls murmured at this. “As a side project, why don't some of you form a study group and go over the general plans in the database and come up with detailed drawings to submit to the engineering board.” He waved to Jen and Faith. They both smiled.

"This ship, it truly has changed," Faith murmured. Faith watched as a pair of ladies in white coveralls painted a hull section. Another girl down the corridor was touching up lettering. "Amazing." Faith shook her head. "It seems like a dream." She ducked aside as a robot came flying by. It paused, bobbed, then turned and went about its business. "Are you sure we're not dreaming?" she asked, staring after the robot.

The Admiral and Jennie chuckled. "We're sure," Jennie said. Jennie pointed to another cabinet. "You remember the electronics cabinet right? Well, we've rewired everything back to spec." She waved to the girl touching up the paint. Dorah looked up and smiled. She had smudges of paint on her cheek. "Um Dorah." Jennie made motions to wash her face.

Dorah gave her a confused look then ohed. Hastily she took out a hanky and scrubbed at her face. "Better?" she asked. Jennie gave her a thumbs up and pat on the shoulder as they stepped past.

"Amazing." Faith shook her head. Her hair was short hair was still growing back; self consciously she ran her hand through it. She smiled at Dorah and another crew member.

"What are you up to?" she asked.

"Just checking the filters." Audrey replied.

"Audrey?" Faith grabbed the girl. "Wha? Let go! Wait Faith?" The girl looked into Faith's eyes then gushed. She hugged Faith ecstatically.

"They'll be at this all day at this rate," Jennie observed dryly. Faith wiped at her eyes and then held Audrey at arm's length.

"You’re looking good!" Audrey studied her. "Your hair is shorter, but you’re the same old Faith," she smiled, and then freed her left hand to wipe at her own tear blurred eyes. "Goddess it's good to see you!" She sighed. "There's so much to see, it's like a whole new ship! I hardly recognize anything, or anyone!" She gave Faith's coverall another look.

Faith smiled. "Me too. We'll have to catch up later," she said. She patted Audrey's shoulder as she passed.

She linked arms with Jennie. "Okay, now what?" Faith asked.

Jennie chuckled as they entered the lift. "Deck four," she said.

“Deck 4 transit commencing,” the computer acknowledged.

"An AI?" Faith asked as the lift began to move.

"A rudimentary one. The Admiral set it up," Jen said. Faith nodded.

"Good we need one, Is it um, a smart AI?" she asked.

Jennie shook her head. "Yes and no, it's a learning one, so someday with the right coding, it may grow into one..." She smiled softly. "We'll have to take good care of her." She patted the side of the lift. Faith nodded. "So if you're painting, I take it most of the important work is done?" She looked over to the ship's schematic projected onto the wall.

Jennie pointed. "Yes, we have work crews and robots painting inside and out. It's the last major chore. The rest is fine tuning things and keeping up with the routine maintenance."

Faith whistled softly. "I hardly recognize the old girl. She's back in her glory." She patted the safety railing.

“What are you working on Admiral?” the tech with him asked. He finished feeding the cables into the recess then locked the emitter down. “That looks like a force emitter right?” she asked.

He looked up to the guard and nodded. “It is. The emitter is for the interior force field emitters.”

He waved to the ring of emitters. The tech looked confused. “Why do we have them inside? Why not just use the bulkhead doors?” she asked and then waved.

He nodded. “They suck energy so they aren't used unless they're needed. Usually during a hull breach, or in special situations, for security.”

He waved to the two guards watching. One looked startled, the other smiled. “I like that idea,” she said and then nodded. “We have them in the brig too, I'm hoping now that the Admiral showed us how, I can fix those there,” she said and smiled.

He waited for graveyard shift to approach replicator three. He had repaired all the replicators, so the ship could in theory rebuild a planet. He just needed to replicate a few tools for his next journey. “Sprite, excuse, me, Io, I'm going to replicate a few things, I'll need,” he said.

Io appeared on the LCD display before him. She had aged to about fourteen, and was sporting a silvery pony tail. “And you want me to fudge the records so no one knows what you make?” she asked. She smiled conspiratorially. He chuckled.

“Something like that. I want a couple things, a portable database, mini replicator, generator, pulser, and a few additional tools,” he explained.

Io shook her head, smiling. “You don't want much do you? Well, let’s see if I can skim off some power from replicators one and two and fudge the records a little...”

Chapter 17

The staff filed into the wardroom talking quietly amongst themselves. The Admiral followed. This would be one of his last meetings with the crew if things went well on Anvil station. They were a week out from the station. “Coffee Admiral?” He turned and nodded politely to the steward. She handed him a cup as he sat down.

“Sit down, sit down, we have a lot to discuss,” the Captain surprised them by walking in under her own power. The doctor smiled.

The chief stared at her grandmother then her eyes sparkled. “Glad to see you up and about grams,” she said softly as she took her seat. The Admiral nodded as each of the officers murmured politely.

“Nice uniform,” Faith commented looking over the Captain's outfit.

“What this old thing?” the Captain demurred, but her eyes twinkled. She had changed into a bridge uniform, but kept her trademark black shawl.

“Before we begin Captain, I believe it's time to introduce you to one more member of the crew,” the Admiral said after clearing her throat.

“Oh?” the Captain sat in her new chair and smiled as she took her tea cup from the steward. She took a sip then set the cup down in front of her. “And just who is this?”

The Admiral nodded to the holographic projector as it sprang to life. “Well technically, someone all of you know,” he said. A short black haired silver skin teenager in a gold uniform appeared and looked around. She blinked white eyes that quickly changed to blue. Some of the officer’s stared open mouthed, a few gabbled.

“Is this who I think it is?” Faith asked. The Admiral nodded.

“Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Io11,” he said. As the Admiral spoke her image changed. Her skin texture morphed into flesh tones, and her uniform changed to silver with gold and glowing blue trim.

“Such a colorful young lady,” the Captain commented, taking a sip of her tea. “She'll fit right in.” She smiled eyes bright.

The AI image locked eyes with her, then lowered hers and bowed. “Why thank you Captain. I'll do my best.”

“So we have an AI now?” Vanessa the purser commented, studying the holo.

The AI turned to her. “I'm in my one point one build now, ma'am. I've been on line for several months,” she replied. She stepped off the table, and over to the Captain. She stood at her side and then turned to the bridge crew.

Shandra, Kendra, and Jennie were grinning in delight. They each waved hello eagerly. The AI smiled. “Since Io is a newborn AI, she's a little unstable, much like a teenager. As she interacts with the crew she'll learn and grow, and therefore mature,” the admiral said. The Admiral nodded to the Captain. She took another sip of her tea and studied him.

“Will she interfere with the systems?” Kendra asked.

“No, unless something is endangering the ship. She will however inform you if there's a conflict or problem,” the admiral replied. The Admiral took a sip of coffee then set the cup down.

“Think of me as another crew member Kendra, someone who is always on duty,” Io said. They both nodded.

“Is she a security problem?” the Chief eyed the AI.

“No. In fact she can aide you in that regard. She'll manage a lot of her own functions, and can protect herself if someone tries a cyber attack,” Irons said.

The chief nodded. “I'm still not convinced though,” she said. She stared at the AI. The AI stared back.

“You do realize I don't really need to blink right?” the AI commented after a few moments of silence.

The moral officer chuckled. “Well, I'm convinced. At least she has a sense of humor,” she waved. “I've been trying to set up a virtual reality sim, but the Admiral has been too busy, perhaps you can help?” she asked hopefully.

The AI smiled and turned her attention to the moral officer. “Of course ma'am, that's part of my job. Since it's my hardware and software you'll be using, I'm more than happy to help.”

The Captain raised her hand. “You can do that at a later time; let’s get on with the meeting.” She nodded to Kendra.

The young woman cleared her throat. “Well, ship status is optimal, shields are at ninety nine point three four percent. H&A, um, I mean Hull and Architecture are at ninety four percent, and drives are at ninety two percent. Our power reserves are topped off, and there are no problems with the reactor.”

Faith nodded to Kendra. “We have a few minor repairs still ongoing, mostly nit picking or routine maintenance things. Computer repairs are one hundred percent complete, we're, I mean Io is still working on programming.” She nodded to the AI who smiled and rolled her eyes.

“You got that right; it's going to take me another six months to get everything sorted out at this rate!” the AI said dryly. Faith chuckled.

“Moral is high, although there are some people who are upset over the Admiral leaving. Io and the virtual sim may offset that over time,” the moral officer turned a mock scowl on the Admiral, and then smiled to the AI.

“That's good to hear,” The Captain nodded. “And our course?” She turned to Lessa and Shandra. Shandra smiled.

“We should be arriving in six days Captain,” Lessa reported quietly. She was staring at the AI.

“five days, twenty three hours, twenty two minutes and fifty five seconds to be precise,” Io replied.

“Mindy and I are working on Clarissa's regeneration; her first surgery is this afternoon,” The doctor forestalled any retort from Lessa. “I'm hoping for good news, but please forgive me if I'm late for tomorrow's meeting,” he said.

The purser smiled. “Going to have a late night with someone?” she asked.

The Captain chuckled. “He said he's going to work on Clarissa, so in a way yes Vanessa. I believe the doctor will be spending much of his valuable time in her service.”

The purser looked sheepish. “Oh.”

"A word of caution Captain," The Admiral held up a restraining hand. "When I leave you will be limited to civilian grade replicator abilities," he warned.

The Purser looked at him. Suddenly her delight at his leaving was fading. "What do you mean?" she asked warily.

"It means no weapons, no military grade hardware, no nanites, and no replicating replicators," he warned.

She grimaced. The chief's eyes narrowed. "But we did all that before," the chief said.

He nodded. "Because I was here, without a fleet officer on board the replicators will be limited to civilian production." The Captain sat back.

"Can it be over ridden?" the Purser asked, looking at Jennie and Faith before settling on Io.

"I wouldn't try it. If you do the replicator will lock down permanently," the AI warned.

Faith blanched. "Do you have a list?"

He handed her a tablet. She took it and scrolled through it. "I put the list up on the web as well. Io has special permission to replicate a few things, but I can't extend my authority to a civilian AI," he said. He nodded to the Purser and Captain.

"Good to know, thank you," the Captain said and then sat up straight. "Now, Vanessa, you were saying you want to trade a fuel injector for more shuttle parts?" Vanessa nodded. The meeting continued as usual.

The chief scowled as a knot of girls blocked their way. "So, Churchill says that evil prospers when good men do nothing," Tara comments.

The lean blond girl with her shakes her head. "No, it's Tyrants prosper... Oh Captain! Chief!" The girls look up and then immediately step to one side.

"Ladies. What were you discussing just now?" the Captain asked curiously.

"Oh um, Terran history, World War 2, actually," Tara blushed.

"History now?" the chief scoffed. "What good is that? I thought you were supposed to be studying ships?" She shook her head derisively.

Tara glared. "We are, but some of us got into the historical connections database, and well... we formed a study group," she said, feeling sheepish. She waved to the other girls.

"History?" the Captain murmured.

"Well, yes ma'am. It started with discussions on naval architecture and the chain of command, traditions, and it well..." red headed Dorah piped in and then smiled and shrugged helplessly.

"Well I'm glad you’re learning something constructive," the Captain leaned back and smiled.

"Oh learning our heritage, it's so exciting!" Dorah exclaimed.

The chief recognized the warning signs of Dorah about to go hyper. "I do believe you wanted to check the changes to deck two?" she said suggestively. She tried to extract the Captain with the helpful suggestion.

"Eh? Oh right," the Captain took the cue. She nodded. "All right, carry on ladies." The girls snapped to attention. The Captain looked startled, and then nodded as she passed.

The Chief waited until they were out of ear shot. "Now he's teaching them historical nonsense? Whatever came out of studying the past? Waste of time!" she snarled. The Admiral came around the corner rubbing his left shoulder while hefting his tool box. "You!"

He looked up and sighed. "Yes?"

"What did you do this time?" she demanded.

He looked around to the guards. They shrugged. "Um, if you mean the port injector feed, I'm waiting on parts. I was working on the bow OMS pod...."

The chief waved it off. "Not that, all this crap the girls are spouting, historical drivel!"

The Captain raised her hand. "Softly dear." She turned her attention to the Admiral. "I see you've been busy."

He nodded. "Well, some of the ladies were asking about my sources, so I dumped the historical database into a website and left links...it sort of snowballed. I understand they can now put some of the material from the holo novels into context again."

The Captain nodded. "Good to know, and good that they're keeping busy," she said. He nodded. "You’re turning this ship into a small city right?" she asked softly.  Her eyes glittered. He wasn't sure why at first, and then recognized her body language as amused.

"Well, manufacturing, knowledge..." he said and then shrugged.

She froze, and then nodded. "Yes, but, we can't keep it all in one basket," she murmured.

He nodded. "Glad you understand."

She nodded. "Yes, yes now I do." She straightened. "Carry on." She moved past them. After a moment her granddaughter followed.

"I heard you two took Tia in hand," the Captain nodded to Jen and Shandra. They looked at each other than to the Captain.

"Well, someone had to, and since I'm on afternoon shift and Shandra is on mornings..." Jen said.

The Captain nodded. "Well, I'm glad you’re giving her some comfort. Is she settling in?" she asked.

Jen grimaced. "She's still having nightmares and sleeps with us," Shandra sighed.

"Oh," the Captain quietly stirred her cup.

"Perhaps she needs some counseling? Or medication?" the doctor suggested.

Shandra grimaced. "No drugs. But counseling," she turned. She gave Jen an imploring look.

"We'll get back to you on that," Jen replied firmly. "All right, so you’re down to replacing the replicators and putting the final touches on the repairs to the primary flight control center?"

Faith nodded. "I've a lass in mind to act as the boss. We're still up to our necks in shuttles too." She turned to the Admiral. "Why did this ship need so many?" she asked.

He smiled. "Well, not all of them were shuttles; many were robots, work pods, and the like. This is a tender, designed to support a fleet," he explained. Jen and several of the other officers nodded.

"I understand you built satellites for the people of Gaston?" Faith asked.

"Yes, as well as a few other things," he said.

She smiled. "No argument, I just was wondering how many different things we can make..." He leaned back as Jen practically bounced.

"Oh not this again," Vanessa sighed. "Honestly, some of us have heard it before. Can we get off this and back onto the ship status?" she demanded. Jen closed her mouth with a clop.

"Perhaps another time Jen, why don't you give me a computer status?" the Captain suggested diplomatically.

"Very well," Jen glowered a little at the purser. "We've gotten most of the hardware sorted out, and with Io here," she waved to the AI who smiled. "We're finally on tract for software repairs. We've even salvaged a lot of data; it'll be a while before we sort it out though," she sighed.

"All right and fuel?" The Captain looked over to Leri.

“Well...”

"Hi baby," a hoarse voice said softly.

Mindy felt a hand stroke her hair. She looked up surprised at the soft rough voice. "Mooom?" she asked uncertain.

"My have you grown. But what have you done with your hair?" her mother asked.

Her eyes teared as her mom ran her hands through her hair once more. "Oh mom!" She clutched at the bed sheets and dropped her head to her mom's lap.

She sobbed for a few minutes. "There there, I'am back. I'am so proud of you! You've been a good girl right?" her mother asked. She patted Mindy's hair as she nodded.

"I've tried."

The doc cleared his throat from the doorway. "Ah, I see you’re awake."

The two exchanged a wordless nod. "Thank you. I mean, if you’re the one who put me back together," Clarissa waved to her broken body.

"Yes, well, we had a lot of help," The doctor said and then he shrugged.

Mindy looked up suddenly. "We woke up an Admiral who put the ship back together and taught us all kinds of things!" Her normal exuberance had reappeared, but quickly faltered. "But we lost Molly," she said and bit her lip. Her face crumpled again. She bit her lip. Clarissa sighed.

"Mindy, why don't we let your mom rest a bit longer. You can check on her in a little while," the doctor said, studying Clarissa. She gave a weak nod.

"We have your new clothes right here mom," Mindy said. Mindy got up and bounced to the smock hanging from a hook. "See?" She put it on and pirouetted.

"That's nice dear," Clarissa sighed and closed her eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Mindy, instantly contrite patted her mom's hand then checked her forehead. "No sign of fever," she said. She took the jacket off and put it back. She kissed her mom on the cheek and then tip toed out past the doc. The doc caught Clarissa's peek as she opened one eye. He snorted. Mindy shushed him.

He chuckled softly, turning with a wave. "Get some rest; you’re going to need it."

"Mom! You’re awake again!" Mindy bounced excitedly as Clarissa stood in the doorway. She was swaying a bit. "Easy mom," Mindy said. Mindy stopped and rushed a chair to her. Her mother had disdained her patient's dress for a coverall and the medical smock.

Gratefully she eased into the chair. "You should give those muscles time to heal doctor," Kess said, coming over and handing her a glass of water.

"Kess right?" Clarissa took a sip of water and looked up at her.

"That's right doc, it's good to see you again." The doctor came in, as did the new nurse.

"What are you doing here?" Clarissa demanded.

Kess waved. "Oh, I'm doing a bounce shift." Clarissa looked confused. "I'm helping out in sickbay after the doc fixed some of my bio-sculpt," she said. She pointed to her ears, and then turned to let the doctor get a better view.

Clarissa ran a hand through her hair, and leaned forward to examine them closely. "My my, and without a scar!" She looked over to the male doctor, giving him a wondering glance.

He shrugged. "We've been learning the machinery. Now that it's all repaired." He waved to the sickbay.

"Mom mom! I'll give you a tour!" Mindy excitedly wheeled her mother around for a moment.

Clarissa stopped her at a bay. "One moment Mindy." Clarissa looked a bit motion sick. "You’re going a bit fast, and the sudden stops," she said. She shuddered.

"Oh, sorry," Mindy said contrite.

The male doctor came over and chuckled. "Well, if you'd stayed in bed you wouldn't have this problem yet," he teased.

Clarissa looked up. "Well, they do say doctor's make for the worst patients." She grinned at the doc, who smiled back and bowed.

"I do remember reading something about that," he chuckled.

"So, you have a staff?" she asked and then waved.

"Well, actually they're your staff," he corrected. He shrugged and indicated Bonny, Kess, and the girls.

Kess was back to work at a table looking through a microscope. "My staff?" Clarissa looked confused.

"Well..." The doctor looked away.

"We sort of kidnapped him mom," Mindy said quietly. She leaned over her mother, and then came around to kneel beside her. Her mother looked at her confused then back to the male doc.

"Kidnapped?" she asked looking into his eyes. He nodded.

"Don't be mad at us mom. We had too," Mindy said.

The doc sighed. "The Captain said I can get off at my home world in a couple months," he said. He nodded and left them.

"You kidnapped him?" Clarissa turned on her daughter with accusing eyes.

Mindy looked down guiltily. "We needed someone to help you mom. You and Faith and the others, and anyone else who gets hurt." She waved to the other bays."

Clarissa slowly nodded. "Still, that doesn't excuse kidnapping!"

Clarissa laid back in the chair. "The Captain said she'll make it right, she's going to set him up with a full sickbay when we get to his home world, complete with power plant to run it all," Mindy said.

Clarissa looked over to her daughter stunned. "What?" Mindy bounced up. Clarissa tried to follow her but stopped when she got behind the chair and pushed her back to her bay.

"Yup, but don't tell him, it's a secret," she stage whispered then giggled. "Jennie and Kess are working on the stuff. We have an entire cargo bay for it all," she said and then waved. "I helped a little, but I've been busy," she sighed theatrically. "There's so much to do now! Everything is fixed! And we can do so much now!" She waved.

"So someone managed to fix it all huh?" Clarissa sighed.

"Oh, not just anyone, the engineer," Mindy said eagerly.

Clarissa looked over to her daughter as they stopped at her bed. "Engineer?"

Mindy nodded. "Actually, he's an Admiral, whatever that is," she said. She wrinkled her nose.

"Like the Pyrax port Admiral?" Clarissa asked, getting weakly out of the chair.

Her daughter supported her as she faltered. She eased her onto the bed. "Oh, he isn't like him at all. No he's a REAL Admiral from the past!" Mindy said. Clarissa looked over to her.

"Young lady, you better not be fibbing," she growled.

Mindy shook her head vigorously, making her ponytails swish back and forth. "I'm not mommy, honest!" she had an earnest expression on her face. "We found him in a life pod over a year ago. He's some big hero during the Xeno war. He fixes stuff!" she giggled. "I'll introduce you. He can be a Meanie though," she grimaced, pouting a bit.

Clarissa nodded. "So, what else has been going on, fill me in," she said. Mindy looked excited and started chattering. Her mother listened with interest.

"So Admiral, I hear we have you to thank for my resurrection?" He turned and smiled at a blond female in a medical smock smiling at him. She had a stethoscope in her front pocket and a set of scrubs on under her smock.

He chuckled. "I just fixed the tools and let the medical professionals do their magic," he demurred. She smiled.

The hatch to the galley opened. "Buy you a cup of coffee?" he offered.

Her eyes twinkled. "I think I should be buying you the...uh... coffee?"

He chuckled and waved to the mess. "Ladies first." She smiled a little as she bobbed a curtsy and stepped past.

"But why? Why leave us?" jennie asked.  They were now only a few hours out from the Anvil space station.

He sighed, trying not to meet her face. "Jennie, Trisha, do you see what you can do now?" Trisha nodded warily. Jennie just studied him. "You're making an impact on everyone you now meet," he said. Trisha's eyes were wide. "Before you brought news and some goods, now you're a mobile factory, able to go from one system to another fixing and making things," he explained.

Trisha nodded. "That's what you do right? So why leave?" Trisha asked.

He nodded. "Yes, and the knowledge you've learned, some of that is being passed off to others in the classes taught," he said.

Jennie nodded. "But you can do more," she said. He nodded.

"And you can be more of an impact somewhere else?" Trisha waved to the ship. "Why not here?" He sighed again. "Trisha, you don't need me. Your Chief engineer and medic are out of stasis and recovering nicely, they've even gotten into the classes," he said. She nodded.

"Now that you can influence the colonies you visit, I can move on to another place to do more," he explained patiently.

Jennie nodded suddenly. "I see." She studied him. "You want to rebuild civilization?" she asked.

He chuckled. "Well, I'm an engineer, which is what we do right? Fix things?"

Jennie wiped her eyes and sniffed a bit. "Yeah, you're right." She hugged him.

He patted her back. "Don't worry, we'll cross paths again. With the ship back up to specs, you'll be hitting more and more systems; we're liable to cross paths again," he said smiling.

She sighed. "Yeah, thanks." He smiled and patted her hair. Trisha looked at them, and then looked away, eyes glistening as well. He took her hand.

Jennie broke the embrace and looked over to her. "Don't worry. We’ll be fine. He's taught us that much," Trisha nodded tears flowing.

"Anvil station control, this is Io 11 come in please," the communications tech looked up after a few minutes. "Still no reply Captain," she sighed. "There won’t be for another ten minutes if they respond immediately. I'm getting some of the local radio traffic including the radio news." She grimaced. "Most of it's gossip."

Shandra and Leandra perked up. "Lets here it!" they said in unison, and then giggled.

"No thank you. Why don't you record it and let people access it when they get off shift," The Captain replied smoothly. She tugged at her uniform blouse. "Are all the preparations in order?" she asked the purser softly.

The purser smiled. "Ready and waiting impatiently." She flicked her eyes to the Chief.

The Captain shook her head. "She'll miss him when he's gone, we all will," she sighed.

"We're getting her neutrino signature just fine Captain. We're also picking up the signatures of the other colonies," Shandra looked up to the Captain who nodded.

"That about does it," he shouldered the second bag, and carried the third.

"Got enough luggage Admiral?" Jennie teased.

He shrugged. "Normal. I'm not about to wear my suit, and since the pinnance had its...unfortunate mishap, I get to carry it manually."

She looked the gear over. "Well, we could get a dolly," she joked. He shook his head. She shrugged. They exited his cabin and she nodded. He didn't look around much as he went, just tried to keep the bags from hitting the walls or knockers. The ship was back in ship shape he thought, feeling a tinge of remorse... but tempered with pride.

"You do good work Admiral, and these seeds have been sown well, they'll fly far and wide to seed more," Sprite's comment made him smile. He almost bumped into Jennie as she stopped in the gallery. She shifted to the left, and then came to attention. He entered and looked up.

The crew was there, all of them. All dressed in uniforms, and standing at attention. The doctor and Hibiki were the odd men out; doc wore a uniform, but had a white smock of his office on as well. Bonny, Mindy, and Dorah stood behind and around him. Hibiki wore his trademark black coverall with red vest. The Captain was standing by the airlock with the Chief, Faith, Clarissa, Tia, Io, and Shandra at her side.

"Send off?" he whispered.

"Looks like it," Sprite answered.

"You deserve it," Jennie answered. She took her place beside Tia. Tia looked up and took her hand with a smile. He approached the Captain and nodded.

"I'll take that," the Chief said raising her hand to the bags.

The Captain blocked it with a hand. "Enough of that. Whatever he has, he's more than earned it." She turned to her granddaughter, gave her a warning look, then back to the engineer.

Her eyes twinkled. "As long as it isn't my china set of course," she mock growled. She smiled as he chuckled.

"Didn't have the room," he teased right back.

She snorted. "Well, the ladies and I wanted to give you a proper send off," her usual gravel voice had been strengthened and reinforced by the new medical regime.

He smiled. "Here to see me off?" He cocked his head at the Chief.

She grimaced. "Making sure you go," she growled. He chuckled. She answered that with a glimmer of a small smile.

"My boy, you've done wonders on this ship,” the captain said. The Captain held out her hand. He took it and shook it. "We have one more thing to attend to." She nodded to the group behind him.

The Chief came to attention. He turned, letting the bags slip to the floor.

"Detail Attention!" Jennie called out. The group came to attention. "Salute!" The group saluted as one. Tears came to his eyes, these people...

"Quite a send off Admiral," the Captain said softly behind him. He nodded feeling his own eyes sting. He came to attention and saluted smartly.

"Detail attention." He smiled, it wasn't quite by the book, but it still worked. He caught the ancient faded symbol behind Jennie. He nodded as he broke the salute. She nodded back.

That symbol was the ship's crest. Above it was the flag of the Federation. He picked up the bags and turned to the Captain. "Thank you Captain, for that," he said huskily.

She nodded sober. "Yes, I thought it was proper." She waved to the airlock. "Good luck on your next adventure Admiral. We know you'll do well," she said. He smiled and left.

THE END

Appendix:

My blog:

http://cyberforge3d.blogspot.com/

Yes if some of things are familiar, I admit I used this as a general reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandread

Sites of interest:

http://www.schlockmercenary.com/
http://www.vexxarr.com/Index.php
http://conceptships.blogspot.com/
http://www.sluggy.com/
http://karanak.deviantart.com/

Mechmaster's site:

http://www.mechmaster.co.uk/

Be sure to check out his Dalek comic.

My cousin's blog:

http://bossymoksie.wordpress.com/

Yes I'm the “Nice guy” she keeps ribbing. Me and my big mouth. :P