Destiny's Choice (The Wandering Engineer) Read online

  “My apologies captain.”

  “We're all under tension Ma'am, it's best to keep things under control. We still have...” He glanced at the Gashg. The alien tapped a control with a long claw and then looked at him.

  “Twenty minutes before they receive our hail captain.”

  “Ah. Indeed.” He shook his head. “Perhaps a walk is in order? Or a meal? To break the tension and take our minds off the situation.”

  “Have there been any signs of pirates?” Willis asked, glancing towards the sensory station.

  “Pirates? No one said anything about pirates still being here! I knew we should have had the navy come with us! I knew it ,I knew it!” Mayfair said, pacing. “Mark my words, this is going to be a disaster if we...” She stopped waving a fist as she caught sight of the captain's closed face. She dropped her hand and straightened. “Perhaps you're right, I am a bit wound up. I think a walk is definitely in order.”

  She marched out nose high. Willis smiled and shook her head, blond hair bobbing as she followed her boss out. After the hatch closed the captain sat back with a sigh. Tension seemed to ooze out of the crew as they relaxed in turn.

  “What a...”

  “Shrew,” Clarke said, glancing toward the exit. “Goddess of space, I'd hate to be married to that woman. I pity the fool who...”

  “That's enough Mister Clarke,” the captain said tiredly.

  “Ah, yes sir. Sorry sir.”

  “In this case no apologies necessary, I heartily agree. I just don't want it brooded about,” the captain said, shaking his head. The bridge watch snickered a little at that, glancing at each other as they chuckled.

  He nodded, feeling the last of the tension ease. “Do we have a visual on the planet?”

  “Yes captain.”

  “Can we scan it? Compare it to what we have in our files?”

  “Um...”

  The captain knew very well what had happened on Agnosta III, he'd been here, on this very ship watching helplessly as the Horathian bastards had first plundered what they wanted, then laughed as they dropped rocks on the planet. They'd even had contests on who could get the closest to a target and hit it.

  He watched the video come alive and then a comparison of the surface. The major towns and cities were gone, no surprise there. Most of the minor towns had also been obliterated. Only a handful of minor outposts and villages remained. Most of the surviving towns and villages were along the equator, some were shaded by mountains. He'd wondered why, why they had bothered leaving any of them alive. Then he remembered, they could always come back for more later.

  That had been a truly sickening thought. He'd felt not an ounce of pity for the pirates when Firefly had ambushed them. Sure his life had been on the line as well, but better to die at the hands of a would be rescuer than to be a slave to scum like that. He was deeply indebted to the Admiral and the marines. Especially the marines. They had laid their lives on the line to come onto this ship, fight off the surviving pirates and take it back, all while keeping him and the other slaves who managed to surrender alive.

  He like every other former slave had watched the executions as well. The Admiral hadn't wanted to broadcast them but someone had talked him into allowing it as a deterrent. Would he have the stomach to try and execute someone for their actions? If it was a pirate it was a slam dunk, but someone else? The assassin? What would he do if the assassin was caught? How well would it play out with the people back in Pyrax?

  He thought about that, rubbing his chin. He'd tried to be neutral in this, keep out of the conflict between the politicians back in Pyrax and the Admiral. He felt a little guilty about that. Perhaps it was time to rethink that once more?

  Obviously the Admiral didn't have any problems with breaking someone. Or did he? Did Irons work in the simple world of black and white or in the infinite shades of gray he knew civilization really encompassed?

  “Captain we're not going to receive a response for some time. If one at all. If they have a receiver it may not be up. If we don't get a response in the next...” the Gashg checked his console, “thirty five minutes then the planet's rotation will take the targeted towns out of range for another eleven hours.”

  “Yeah,” he sighed, straightening in his seat. After a moment he got up. “Which is just as well, we've got time before we get there. Anything on the scope?”

  “No sir.”

  “How is engineering doing?”

  “Chief Bailey has them tearing into everything they can sir. We're going to need to refuel at this rate.”

  “One thing at a time.” He glanced at the planet, and it's blue watery oceans. “We can get fuel from the planet. I've done it before, that's not a problem.” Hopefully the Admiral's plan would play out so they wouldn't have to buy the water though.

  “Um...” Clarke turned to the view and blinked. “I forgot,” he mumbled.

  “Sometimes the old ways serve just as well as the new. Remember that.”

  “Aye sir.”

  “I'll be in my ready room. Page me if we get a response or change in status.”

  “Of course sir.”

  “And let me know if anything changes with the Admiral as well,” he said turning and pausing in the hatchway.

  “Aye sir,” the exec said with a curt nod.

  After five days and daily attempts they finally got a scratchy response. “Audio only sir,” the communication tech said, cupping a hand to her earpiece.

  “What do they say?” He was annoyed. Irons had returned from his trip loaded down with materials that were in the process of being recycled into the ship's systems for future use. The Admiral hadn't said anything about the lack of response according to the grapevine, just buckled down to the business of processing the rock and ice.

  “Pretty much screw you sir. That's a heavily sanitized version.” The communications tech pursed his lips in amusement as the hand withdrew. At this rate he'd need to wash his ear out. Didn't anyone tell them not to speak that way?

  “Ah, quaint.”

  “Eloquent even,” Ed said, leaning over his console. The captain glanced up to him and then shook his head in amusement. “What do they say again?” Ed asked.

  “That they don't believe we are who we say we are and to go take a long walk out of a short airlock,” the tech said. “The rest is either lost in the noise or is too curse laden to understand.”

  “Odd, you would think they would have laid doggo, kept silent.”

  “I would have,” Ed said softly. The captain looked up at him again and nodded.

  “We have one more day before we reach orbit?”

  “Yes captain. Eighteen and a half hours of braking sir.”

  “Okay. Send our greeting again. Keep it down to the basics. We've been liberated by the people of Pyrax and we've got their people on board ready to be returned to them. Someone get that message to the Pyrax delegation.”

  “The full version sir?” the communication tech asked aghast.

  “Oh definitely,” the captain said as he smiled. “Shoot a copy to the Admiral as well. He might have some way of helping with this.” He was certainly glad now that the Admiral had brought back a couple of hundred tons of water ice which his crew were now busily and rather messily melting down to recycle. If they had to bypass the planet that would save them in the end. Or at least give them a little extra to get a little further along. He wondered if Irons was willing to do a second trip? Or... maybe he could get his own people to give it a try? The Admiral had shown them how to do it after all...

  It was an interesting thought. He'd bounce it off the senior staff at the next meeting. He looked down and made a note of it on his tablet.

  Ed was scowling. He waited until the captain finished writing what ever he was writing before responding with a tart rejoinder. “He doesn't have any say in it sir. It isn't his place.”

  “I'm not going to let a lifetime of experience to go to waste if I can help it Ed,” the captain said, giving the security chief
a look. “He might have something positive to contribute.”

  “Or not. Go in guns blazing,” the chief muttered.

  “A complaint like that coming from a security officer of your caliber is oddly misplaced Ed.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “What do you think Admiral?” Sprite asked as he tinkered with his latest project. He had parts strewn around his launch in various stages of sub assembly. A few of the off duty techs had come in and lent him a hand from time to time, but for the most part he'd been on his own with this.

  More than one tech had been half wistful that he had been making a still of some sort. Which was amusing of course. Not true, but amusing. He'd made a still in his youth, but had no real interest in trying his hand at organic chemistry anytime soon. If he wanted a stiff drink he'd get one from the supply or from a replicator.

  Of course that hadn't stopped him from taking a look at the ship's still and making a few judicious improvements to it. He'd been amused that they had been using fruits instead of the usual starches. He'd exchanged a potato vodka recipe with the cook in charge of the still, making the man laugh and then very thoughtful. In return he'd picked up a bit of gossip and an interesting recipe for gumbo.

  Irons glanced at the holo recording and snorted. “Someone is either brave or suicidal.” He had orchestral music on, right now one of his favorite pieces filled the boat bay with it's haunting melody. It shifted from melancholy to hopeful to a call to action, something he thought was particularly appropriate given the circumstances of the time period.

  Sprite randomized his play list all the time but that song came up more often then not because of his personal preference. He had been amused when he had found out that it had been a theme song for a science fiction television show in the twenty first century. Something about chicken little. Skies falling or something or other.

  “I was thinking suicidal. We've got an uphill battle to convince these people we're on the side of the angels you know.”

  He paused what he was doing. “I think a little generosity will change that in a hurry. I'm amused by the captain's actions.”

  “What about them?” Sprite asked curious. Her eyes went back and forth for a moment. She wasn't sure where he was going with this.

  “The fact that he dumped a copy to us. He's not being very neutral now is he?”

  She cocked her head. She had considered that but had rejected it as an unlikely observation that Irons would have picked up on. Clearly she still had a lot to learn to anticipate his thought processes. “And not leaning toward the enemy camp either,” Sprite said amused.

  “True.”

  “So what are we going to do about this?”

  “We? We are going to do nothing. It's not our problem Sprite. We meaning the ship, we have diplomats, we have a captain and chain of command. I'm outside it. So are you. We're passengers remember?”

  “Aren't we...”

  “We'll help if we're asked, but I'm not sticking my neck out for Mayfair and her cronies so they can scoop up the credit and then shove a knife in my back when I'm not paying enough attention.”

  “That's a disturbing thought.”

  He scowled. “But one to keep in mind. I'm going to have to work with her, but let's see how she handles this.”

  “Well, her first shot didn't pan out well.”

  “That's because she scripted it and the captain looked and sounded like a wooden marionette. That probably put anyone who watched it on guard, thinking it's a trap. That he was some sort of construct, or at least someone with a blaster pointed at them. We'll see how it goes with round two when we get closer to the planet.”

  “In this situation what would you do?” Sprite asked amused.

  “I'd keep talking, sending them data or I would wait until the lag time wasn't such a nuisance and talk from orbit. It's a pity they don't have visual,” he said, not looking up as he tightened a screw.

  “They may not be transmitting a visual signal Admiral, but that doesn't rule out the reception of one.”

  He grimaced. That was a thought he'd overlooked. “True. They could also be holding back, or running on a weak signal to keep their position a secret. Or they could be using elderly equipment that is jury rigged. I have no idea.”

  “In the absence of truth supposition rules,” Sprite said with a nod.

  “Exactly. We need intel. Or should I say, the captain does. Which he can't get from an AU out. We'll know more when they start talking.”

  “So what are you going to do while we wait? What if they refuse permission to land?”

  “It's a big planet. We can go down where ever we want, it's not like they can stop us even if they wanted to do so. It wouldn't be diplomatic to ignore the demand, but that's...”

  “Not our concern right now. Gotcha,” she said. He nodded and set the part aside.

  “I'm going to get some mapping done.”

  “Mapping?”

  “I need intel I said. We need more material for the replicators, and more fuel for the ship. What I, I mean we, picked up in the oort cloud wasn't enough. Not nearly enough. And the best place for both for a starship is...”

  “In space, not at the bottom of a gravity well. Understood. You realize though there were plenty rocks in the oort cloud, but not many in a stable orbit in the inner system. No real asteroid belt despite the planet that was destroyed when the Xenos stopped by here.”

  He frowned. “Planet and moon if I remember correctly.”

  “Correct. Most of the debris was sucked up by the stars and the gas giants. What remains is either scattered in the inner ring outside our range or flung out and drifting outside the system. The impact of all that mass probably destabilized both stars and no doubt had solar activity going through the roof for centuries. It looks like it's died down though. It must have been spectacular to have seen.”

  “True. But there are some rocks scattered about. Atens I bet. Around the Goldilocks zone or further out. We just need to find them. Which is where you come in.”

  “Let me guess. You want me to go snooping in the sensors, pull up everything we can see and compare it to the records on file?”

  “Got it in one. Go to work.”

  “Aye aye Admiral Bligh.”

  His face puckered in a sour snort. “Funny Sprite.”

  “So now what do we do?” Willis asked, watching her nominal boss sputter and fume. This wasn't going at all like they had scripted. The captain watched the woman snarling and rubbed his temple. If Willis could have she would have been smirking. But she was as frustrated as her nominal boss was.

  “I'm not sure how to handle this. Delicately of course. We've got contingencies for this situation. However I haven't had any experience with dealing with this, and neither have any of you. We're... well...”

  “What about the voice of reason and experience?” Willis asked. Clearly from their expressions they both knew who she was talking about. Mayfair looked stubbornly angry and annoyed, the captain's was thoughtful.

  “It's none of his damn business!” Mayfair snarled, spinning in place and shaking a finger at them. “Keep that damn busy body out of this you hear me or there will be hell to pay I promise you!”

  “I haven't heard anything from the Admiral actually,” the captain said, sitting back. He'd had the files delivered to both parties at about the same time. The Pyrax delegates had stormed onto his bridge in full tizzy within ten minutes of receiving it. He hadn't heard anything from the Admiral at all.

  “Odd. You'd think he'd be in on this,” Willis mused softly.

  “The Admiral is indisposed,” Sprite said from the overhead. Willis winced as the three of them looked at the overhead.

  “Oh? On the shitter?” Mayfair said sounding disgusted.

  “No he's... never mind. He's occupied with other projects and concerns at the time and pointed out that this isn't his affair since he's a passenger.” She waited a moment. “I do believe you repeatedly brought that up yourself?”

>   “True. Let him keep it that way,” Mayfair sneered.

  Willis rubbed her nose. After a moment her boss looked thoughtful and then glanced at the captain. “Just what is he doing that's more important than this?” she asked.

  The captain tried not to roll his eyes. He knew that was coming. Since Irons wasn't interested in what they were trying to do they were suddenly intently interested in what he was doing. They didn't want him in their affairs but they wanted to know every little thing he did. He shook his head. He did however look to the ceiling.

  “I believe someone in this very room said that what other people do is none of their damn business. Which I will point out is true,” Sprite said with a growl.

  The captain winced but remained silent. Technically since he was the captain it was his business. He wasn't going to take that personally however. Sprite and the Admiral had earned a little slack in his book. Mayfair seemed to swell and glare at the overhead before turning her attention to the captain. “Captain...”

  He held up a forestalling hand. “I have no idea, nor do I have any intention of finding out. As long as he doesn't present a danger to this ship or the people on it he's a free entity to do as he pleases.”

  She looked mulish for a moment and then her eyes flashed. “But...”

  “Don't be... Just drop it before you make yourself look even more of an ass than you already are.” Willis muttered. Sprite snorted from the overhead.

  “What?” Mayfair asked, glancing upward. “Where the hell are you?”

  “Well, since you don't have a holo emitter for me to project my image it is a bit disconcerting for organics. Tough for you. I don't seem to have a problem.” The captain was suddenly glad they were having this meeting in the main wardroom and not his office. He could just imagine what Sprite would have looked like... and how Mayfair and Willis would have taken it. Of course since she could see them and they couldn't see her she had somewhat of an unfair advantage. Not that he was going to call her on it.