Fool's Gold (The Wandering Engineer) (90 page)

"You
are not going too are you?" Sprite asked.

"No,
not likely. Harris is the senior officer on scene. Let's see how he handles
it." He turned and left.

He
exited the conference room and pulled at his sleeve a little. "You really
should stop doing that," Sprite sighed. His smile was more of a crocked
grin. The meeting had gone about as expected. Hours of listening to people run
in circles. The representatives for Port-Au-Prince were scared for their home
and families, they were frantic for word, any word. Everyone expected him to
pull off a miracle. He sighed.

"Admiral
a moment of your time." He turned to the female voice. A woman held up a
microphone while a camera ball floated behind her.

"Phyllis
Diller Knox news. I was wondering if you would comment on the current crisis.
Are you going out there? Where is Firefly?" she asked then pointed a
microphone at him. He smiled.

"You
gotta love journalists. Shall I call security?" Sprite asked. He gave a
small head shake.

"Well
Miss Diller I can't comment except in general terms about the crisis. I do not
have much information yet. We'll know the situation on Port-Au-Prince when the
first relief forces arrive," he paused.

"And
that will be Firefly of course?" she asked. "Going out
yourself?" He shook his head.

"Not
at all. Sun-Yat and Maya are closest to the colony, they are already en-route
now. They will extend relief efforts until a follow up mission led by the
freighter Destiny can arrive," he smiled.

"So
you’re going out on Destiny?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Why?
Commander Harris is the man on the scene. He can handle the situation. I have
faith in his abilities. It's time he was given the chance to show them."
He nodded to the camera.

"Nice
one Admiral. Of course that just made you sound callous and uncaring,"
Sprite murmured.

"Are
you going on Destiny?" he asked changing the subject. The reporter looked
surprised.

"Me?"
she stepped back. "Well ah, I don't know if I can get there."

He
smiled. "I'll arrange transport on Destiny. You can report from her and on
the colony." She smiled, suddenly eager.

"Yeah,
I can do that," she grinned. "Thanks Admiral. You're all right."

He
chuckled. "Go, get packed. Destiny will get underway in three hours or so.
She is still taking on stores and medical personnel and her engineering has yet
to get squared away. Better get a move on. Report to Mr. Knox and then get to
the docks. I'll have Smithy let them know you're coming."

"You
mean me of course. Already done," Sprite said smugly.

"Your
press pass is all ready ready for you," he said. Her eyes widened. "I
have an AI remember?" he smiled. She hesitated then nodded and moved off
to face the floating camera.

"And
that was Admiral Irons. This is Phyllis Diller signing off. My next report will
be on the freighter Destiny with the relief forces." Irons chuckled at
that walking off...

"That
was mixed. It should help the navy and merchant marine, but don't be surprised
that the legislature grabs the glory in the end," Sprite warned. He
shrugged.

"But
it may make you look bad," she finished.

"You
mentioned that."

"That
I did. Sorry Admiral, it's part of my job." He nodded.

"Thanks,"
he grimaced. "Hopefully they will get the people into the deepest shelters
they can. The bags of regolith they have over the domes are good against cosmic
rays or a glancing hit by a radiation storm, but this flare is going to hit
them head on," he sighed.

"We'll
see. They had some warning. They've also had seven centuries of dealing with
crises like this, hopefully that counts for something," Sprite said. He
nodded.

"Remind
Logan to step solar observatory platforms up the list. We don't need a repeat
of this. Or at least not without more extensive warning," he said with a
grimace. “We may have to build another tachyon emitter at some half way point
and hand out receivers to the colonies so they can get the warning in time.”

"Done.
It's a bit late Admiral. Some would say like locking the barn door after the
horses are gone." He shrugged.

"Best
we can do."

"This
is Phyllis Diller of Knox news reporting from the Port-Au-Prince colony. It's a
shambles here, we've only seen the surface damage." The young woman's eyes
were puffy, she looked like she was crying in her suit. The camera turned to
view a shredded dome.

"Behind
me you can see a dome that was shredded when a bulldozer in the vehicle park
nearby went berserk and ran up the side of the dome and then fell through the
thin top when it's blade tore a hole. Only a handful of the two hundred and
thirteen people managed to get into the airlocks before the dome and dozer
collapsed on top of them. Those in outer locks were exposed to lethal doses of
radiation."

She
blinked tears away. "Two other nearby domes failed when their life
support, exposed to the elements, was fried by the radiation. Another dome a
kilometer away blew out when a gas pocket superheated and exploded. We're
getting quakes that are tearing some domes apart." She turned so they
could see the geyser in the distance.

"I'm
told the debris in orbit of the colony is the people that were in the dome and
their equipment. Men, women, and children," she choked back a sob then
gave in and sobbed a little.

"This
is Phyllis Diller reporting," she cut the transmission.

"She
needs to work on her emotional detachment Admiral," Sprite said quietly.

"Who
could have detachment in a situation like that for the first time? With no
training?" he shook his head, jaw clenched.

"Blaming
yourself now? Don't you have enough on your shoulders?" Sprite asked.

His
shoulders hunched. "Yeah, I screwed up. I should have put more emphasis on
a warning net."

"You
are not a tea reader Admiral. You're mortal. Get used to it," Sprite
answered tartly.

"That
doesn't mean I can't try," he sighed.

"Well,
the breakage is bad, but not a total loss. The last body count is over eight
hundred with nearly as many suffering from radiation exposure. Destiny and the
others have their hands full."

"Firefly
is en-route now. They dropped their load and should be arriving in about
nineteen hours Admiral." Irons looked up to see Logan. He looked a little
haggard.

"Hit
you too?" he asked.

"Yeah.
It's hitting everyone. Not being there is almost as bad as being in the thick
of it." He shrugged helplessly. "I hate that," he sighed running
a hand over his scalp.

"Me
too," Logan said. "You left Harris in charge though," he said
after a moment.

"I
had to. It's time they started to stand on their own and learn to deal with a
crisis. I can't hold their hand forever," he smiled bitterly. "No
matter how much I wanted to be there too."

"Yeah,
me too," Logan said leaving.

"I'm
sorry about this Admiral," the captain looked embarrassed. Irons sighed
then shook his head in resignation.

"Don't
worry about it Naomi, we'll deal with it. Get your things off Maya and settle
in on Anvil. Report for duty tomorrow at oh eight hundred." He patted her
on the shoulder as he entered the bridge. The ships had returned to Anvil after
the rescue efforts on Port-Au-Prince a week ago.

"Thanks
Admiral," she came to attention and saluted. He did as well.

"Dismissed,"
he nodded. Shelby and the bridge crew looked up in interest.

"What's
up?" she asked. He looked over to her and shrugged. Mayweather and Dan
came over arms crossed.

"You'll
hear about it in the grapevine but you might as well get it from me now.
Captain Naomi Samuels is getting married." This news didn't surprise the
women. Mayweather nodded.

"She's
been engaged with what's-his-name on Anvil for some time. So?" she asked,
eyebrow arched.

"Well,
she's also pregnant," Irons replied. She blinked then sighed.

"Are
you sure it's not a violation of article thirty two sir?" Dan asked
hesitantly.

"Not
unless it was immaculate conception," Mayweather snorted. "There are
two other officers on Maya, both are female. And Lieutenant Thorn is an
elf." Dan blushed.

"She's
been with Dieter for nearly a year. Solid as they come," Shelby replied as
well.

"Just
asking," Dan replied holding up his hands.

"So
why is this a problem?" Shelby asked. The Admiral grimaced. Firefly's
avatar popped in behind him. He turned to the avatar.

"Because
a pregnant organic being cannot be posted to a ship, exterior work, reactor
watch, or other dangerous posting. Regulations. They also get a six week post
birth period for bonding with the child," Firefly replied. "You
organics have strange customs." He shook his head. Shelby glared.

"So
that leaves a hole in Maya's chain of command. For the next year or so,"
Mayweather replied finally catching on. "What is she going to do
now?" she asked intently staring at the Admiral.

"She's
going to work with commander Logan and the staff. I haven't fleshed out a role
yet this came to me cold," he shrugged.

"You
mean shuffling paperwork," she replied sounding disgusted. "Talk
about male chauvinism."

"Or
teaching. I said I'm not sure. She has a background in engineering so teaching
a course while working at the shipyard wouldn't be to out of order. For that
matter she could take a few courses while she's there," the Admiral said,
this time with a bite to his tone.

"Sorry
Admiral."

He
nodded. "Apology accepted. This situation is a surprise to all of
us," he sighed again, shaking his head.

"But
that still leaves a gaping hole in Maya's command structure," Dan said
slowly.

"Boy,
nothing gets past you tactical geniuses," Shelby chuckled. Dan glared then
turned to the Admiral. "Admiral I volunteer for the posting." Irons
eyebrows went up in surprise.

"You
do?" Shelby asked suddenly aghast. "Dan you don't have experience
commanding a crew."

He
held up a hand. "I've had the watch on Firefly for five months now. I've
had the tactical department for four months. I think I can handle it. Or at
least I need to learn how to handle it," he shrugged looking to the
Admiral in appeal.

Irons
nodded slowly. "Good enough points. You'd open a hole here though."

"I
think I'm ready sir," Dan answered.

"It's
different than Firefly Dan," Shelby warned. Dan waved the warning off.

"I've
toured Sun-Yat with Harris. I think I can handle it." He turned to the
captain who shrugged and looked at the Admiral.

"Your
call sir," she said. He grunted.

"All
right. We'll give you a shot. Don't make me regret it lieutenant
commander." He nodded to Dan who broke out into a grin.

"You
won’t sir. I'll just go get my kit," he turned.

"Dan,
a moment, I'll join you. Consider it last minute advice from one captain to
another," Mayweather linked her arm through his and walked off with him.

"I
guess I have the bridge," Shelby muttered. Irons shook his head.

"Oh,
you have the bridge number one," Mayweather's voice called from the open
hatch.

"Gee
thanks for the update," Shelby said dryly. Irons chuckled.

"Admiral
are you sure about this? Dan is okay, but he's an Intel puke. He's okay at
tactical but he's slow sometimes. He also doesn't like to teach," Shelby
turned on him.

"Slow?"
he asked.

"He
doesn't react fast, takes his time to study the situation. If things go south
he freezes up and can't adapt. He has a tendency to coast when he thinks
everything is hunky dory but when a crisis hits he comes unglued before
buckling down. He's also got some leadership issues."

"That's
not always a bad thing. Reaction time is one thing, but reacting wrong is ten
times worse," Firefly replied. "Still she has a point, his leadership
skills are sub-par Admiral. I've caught him shouting at trainees a time or
two."

Irons
sighed. "Some officers get a power trip, and some think that by scaring
the pants off of others they get them to work better,” he shook his head.
“He'll learn. I hope. In the meantime we don't have a choice. We've got a hole
and since other people didn't volunteer..." he looked pointedly at Shelby.
She pointed to herself with a surprised expression.

"Me
in that rat trap?" she shook her head. "I much prefer Firefly,"
she smiled to the avatar as she patted an arm rest.

"Why
thank you commander," Firefly replied.