Fool's Gold (The Wandering Engineer) (9 page)

“The
medics have their hands full with your dad, but they suggested an ice pack and
analgesic until they can get to you. Hopefully the blood thinning properties of
the analgesic won’t be a problem.” He sighed as he went over to his room. He
paused the current build and jacked in. He watched as a pair of pills coalesced
in the matrix. He plucked them out and then left the machine to work on the
latest part.

“Here.”
He handed the boy the pills and went to the cupboard. He pulled out a cup and
then the water from the cooler. He turned to see the boy staring at him.
“What?” he asked as he poured the drink, looking away. Junior shook his head.

“Nothing
I guess,” Sergio croaked. He was staring though. The Admiral smiled.

“Years
of practice and training.” He answered the unasked question. The young man
looked up at him. “And no, I won’t teach anyone who can't keep a cool head.
Your too liable to use it to do something we would both regret.” He finished
pouring the water then handed it to the boy.

The
boy popped the pills in his mouth then chased them down with the water. “Are
you reading my mind?” he asked after he swallowed. Irons chuckled.

“No,
years of experience again. This time for reading people.” He put the pitcher
back into the cooler then went over to the replicator.

“It's
broke. Best we can get out of it is gray water and paste,” Junior said,
watching him. He sat back, one arm cradling his side.

“Well,
let's just have a look,” the Admiral replied as he pulled the panel off. He
hummed as he jacked into the universal port.

“You’re
not bothered you needed a rescue are you?” Irons asked. Junior groaned. “A
little,” the young man replied. At least he was honest.

Irons
chuckled. “Don't be. You’re lucky to be alive. Three against one when they are
armed and trained?” He shook his head. “Count your blessings and try to learn
from the experience.” He looked at the panel.

“Looks
like the EPS tap is good, there is a kink in the paste feeds, software is
corrupted, but I got that fixed. Okay, hmm, matrix needs reinitializing... oh,
electronic power cable is shredded to it.... leaky gaskets too. Nasty. No
wonder you only get flavored paste. The leaks have stuff growing in here.” He
wrinkled his nose then sighed.

“See,
it's not worth it,” the boy replied.

Irons
gave him a look. “If everyone did that, sentient life would have bought it a
long time ago. I don't give up easy. You shouldn't either. Buckle down and take
the long road. That's what your parents do,” he nodded to their room. Junior
flushed.

“First
thing to learn about space is to have patience. Second is to have patience,”
Irons quoted. Junior snorted a laugh as Iron's let Proteus go to work. The AI
rapidly made repairs, absorbing and breaking down the fungus and leakage, and
repairing the gaskets with his nanites. In minutes the matrix was cleared.

“Need
a hand?” Junior asked behind him. He turned to see the boy standing, looking
over his shoulder.

He
smiled. “Sure, I need a couple things, a new cable, two food feeder lines and
my tool kit in the other room.” He glanced at the boy who was staring at his
arm and the replicator. Small manipulator arms had extended out of his bicep
and forearm. They tore into the system as if they had a will of their own.

“Don't
worry about it.” The Admiral smiled.

“How,
I mean, did they really cut off your arm to put that on?” Junior asked as he
turned.

“No,
not on purpose. I lost it in battle with my legs and eye.” The Admiral smiled
as the young man retreated.

A
few minutes later the boy returned with the requested gear. He carefully
explained what he was doing as he made the repairs. He finished and put the
cover panel back on.

“Okay
test object. Ice pack. Perfect.” He tapped in the request and waited. The tray
lit and the matrix began to bubble.

“It
can do that?” the young man asked fascinated.

“That
and more,” the Admiral replied. In a moment an ice pack was finished. “Here.”
He handed it to the boy. He grimaced and put the pack on his abdomen.

“Wow,
it's really cold,” Sergio said then shivered.

“That's
the whole point. I'll replicate a couple more then I'll see about a snack.” The
Admiral waved him to go sit. Weakly Junior hobbled over to the chair and sat.
The right side of his face was starting to bruise. Right on cue the young man's
mother and Aunt came in.

They
stopped dead in the doorway then rushed to the boy's side. The kids followed in
behind, babbling. The babbling faded as they noticed something was wrong.

Anita
was at Junior's side, checking him over. “He's okay as far as my scan can see;
he's got some spectacular bruises coming. I'm not sure about internals though,
I'm not a doctor,” the Admiral tried to caution them. Anita ran her hands
through Sergio's hair.

“What
happened?” His aunt asked looking at him.

“We
ran into Berneky and his goons,” Junior snarled with a groan. The Admiral
nodded confirmation.

“Berneky!” 
His mother paled. “I told you to stay away from him!” She glared at her son.

“Wasn't
my fault he was at our door,” the young man waved. The Admiral nodded once
more.

“I
had just accepted the last load and spotted Junior excuse me; Sergio, coming
from one direction, and the goon squad coming from the other. No way could I
head it off had I known,” he explained.

“What
happened?” the pig tailed girl asked.

Her
brother grimaced. “I got my ass kicked, what does it look like?” he muttered
looking away. His mother frowned.

“Language
Sergio,” his aunt warned. He flushed darker.

“And
you did nothing?” the boy asked the Admiral accusingly.

“No,
he took them apart,” Junior said in the Admiral's defense, trying to sit up.
“He did what?” his mother asked as the kids shot wondering looks at the
Admiral. The aunt seemed wary. Her face contorted in amusement and fear. He
tried not to take it personally.

“It
was nothing.” He shrugged it off. “No permanent damage. Couple broken bones, no
deaths.” He waved. “I have to get back to work now.” He hastily exited. He
hated getting involved when people were all weepy or loading him down with
thanks.

“He's
not hurt?” the aunt asked. He tried to tune out the answer. He entered the bay
and dived into the work.

Sometime
later he looked up to see Anita in the lock. “Thanks for saving my son. And my
husband.” She looked aside. Her face was red. Her eyes were a little puffy.

He
nodded. “My pleasure ma'am. They just needed a boost. Both will recover in
time.” He finished tightening a bolt and let Proteus take over his right arm to
make the final connections.

“That
damn latin male pride will be the death of them both,” she muttered.

“How
is it going?” Junior asked from behind his mother. She turned with a ferocious
frown but he waved it off. “I'm okay Mama, sore, but okay. Honest.” He looked
into the room and whistled. “You've rebuilt the engine? And power plant?” His
practiced eyes took in the sight of the gleaming array of parts. “She's like
new,” he whispered reverently. The Admiral chuckled.

“Not
quite, I still need to rebuild the cab and fuel injectors. You’re not going to
run any races with her, you hear me?” He looked at the boy.

His
mother looked at him as well. Junior sighed. “I want your word you will never
tap that afterburner short of an emergency or you will never go out that lock
again,” she said with doom in her voice. He flushed.

“The
impeller is up, her antigrav is a bit shaky, and I am leaving it off until I
get the electronics bay finished,” the Admiral said into the awkward silence.

“Yes
ma'am,” he heard Junior reply meekly. He nodded.

“I'll
give you a hand...” Junior offered. His mother shook her head.

“No,
what the two of you are going to do is go get cleaned up and eat. Dinner is
on.” She turned her son and pushed him back down the corridor. The Admiral hid
a laugh. She turned on him, hands on her hips.

He
sighed knowing the look. “I bet Juanita sicked you on me.” He shook his head,
wiping grease off his hands. She dimpled.

“Something
like that. Since you’re making a habit of saving my family, the least I can do
is make sure you’re fed properly.” She pointed down the corridor. “Now march
Admiral!” He laughed as he obeyed.

After
cleaning up he hastily sat. The kids were already eating. He smiled to the aunt
as he sat down. They heard the door and Junior tensed. “Am I fashionably late?”
O'Reilly's voice echoed. Junior relaxed.

 “Go
get cleaned up,” Anita ordered with an imperious hand. He took a look at
Sergio, shook his head and went into the refresher.

“So
what happened? You trip in the dark Sergio?” he called with the door open.
Junior sighed rolling his eyes. His aunt smiled at him and patted his arm.

“I'm
sorry about your losing your shift mate, I didn't have a choice. Orders on high
said to cut power.” He toweled his hands and shook his head.

Anita
stared at her son. “You were fired?” she asked stunned.

“No
laid off,” O'Reilly answered. “His whole shift was.” He sighed as he tossed the
towel back into the refresher then took his seat. He pulled his wife over and
gave her a kiss. She smiled at him.

“So,
what did I miss?” O'Reilly asked. Junior started to talk with his mouthful
eliciting a laugh from his aunt and giggle from the kids.

“We've
got all the parts, and last I heard Jorge was in surgery,” the Admiral replied
then dug in. The spaghetti was good, meatless, but it made up for that with
peppers. The bread was a bit pasty, but not bad.

“So
you've got all the parts? How soon can you get the old girl back together?”
O'Reilly asked. “Enrique can't hold off the Port Admiral forever you know. I
heard about the bully boys.” He nodded to Junior. “I tried to call and warn
you, but no one was home,” he sighed shaking his head.

“Stupid.
Their leaning on the one group who are trying to keep them supplied with fuel.”
He grimaced. The Admiral looked up with interest.

“You
mean there isn't any trade at all?” He looked over to the aunt who shook her
head. O'Reilly dug into his dinner.

“Not
since the Port Admiral, sorry,” she flushed as she noted her own sarcastic tone
and tried to correct it. “Not since he put an import tariff on the other
colonies.” Junior nodded.

“We've
been the only one supplying the station with water for the past ten years.”
Junior said with pride.

O'Reilly
nodded. “That's right mate, but word is, we're down to scraping the bottom of
the barrel. Their cutting off the water to the lower ninety decks tonight.” He
waved to the tap. Anita and the aunt looked alarmed.

“No
more washing. Water is for drinking only, and only a little per day. Rationing
is in effect. They need every ounce. Even then it isn't enough. The reactor is
breaking down.” O'Reilly shook his head. The Admiral finished his dinner and
set his fork down. “I hope you can pull off a miracle Admiral,” O'Reilly said,
watching him get up.

The
Admiral went over to the cupboard, pulled out a cup, and then put it in the
replicator. “Coffee hot, black.” He stared at the replicator. He figured he'd
better get it while he can.

“Ain't
going to happen ma...” O'Reilly started, then stopped and stared as the
replicator's pad glowed to life and fluid could be heard burbling into the cup.

“Close
your mouth; it's not a docking hangar,” his wife teased him. He closed it with
a clop. The kids were staring as well.

Anita
shook her head in wonder. “How?” she asked as she took his dirty plate to the
sink.

“Simple
engineering. Junior lent me a hand. I'll see if I can get the ultrasonics in
the dishwasher and refresher fixed as well so they can be used instead of
water.” He waved to the sink area. Anita nodded mutely.

Several
of the kids got up to examine the replicator, but the adults called them back
to their seats to finish their meal. “No dessert without finishing your plate
kids,” Iron's teased. They looked at him surprised. He smiled conspiratorially
to them. They looked at each other then dug in with a will.

“Code
eight baker is the key code. Type in ice cream and choose a flavor. Make sure
you put a dish in beforehand,” he said softly to Anita. She nodded. He nodded
to Junior and O'Reilly as he exited. Junior was hastily getting up but his aunt
firmly pulled him back down to his seat.

Twenty
minutes later the men folk and aunt joined him in the hangar. The pig tailed
girl followed a few minutes later, licking a spoon with gusto. He chuckled as
she pocketed it.

“I
finished rebuilding the reactor and plasma drive, The Io sent over the
inertials and antigrav plates but they, like the reactor and drive will have to
be tuned.” He waved. “Of course we can't do that until we get everything back
together. Most of the life support is also here, but I haven't gotten into that
as much as I would like.” He waved to the stack of parts near the door.