The Apprentice Starship Engineer: Book One The Link (13 page)

“Okay. So I know you won’t feel safe staying on the planet without Miss Marsh to protect you,” Linda said, smiling.

“Ah shit, that sure sounds wimpy of me, but yeah, that’s right.”

“I’ve taken stranger arguments to management. I’ll see what I can do for you, but, Drake, no more risks for my sake, okay?” Linda closed the communication.

“Sounded wimpy to me,” Sandra said, stretching her arms over her head. “There might be other motives behind your madness, young man.”

I leaned over and kissed her nose. “I wonder what those motives might be?” 

An hour and a half later, Margret chimed. “Call from Linda Tames.”

“On speaker please, Margret,” I said.

“Drake, I talked to the captain. She was very upset. You’re very important to the mission, and she just doesn’t want anything to happen to you. She realizes you and Miss Marsh have been through a life-threatening experience, and has decided to keep you both together.” Linda smiled. “That’s the official story, Drake. You’ve used up your favors, so do be careful.”

“Thanks, Linda, I owe you one,” I said.

She smiled. “You’re union, kid. We have your back.” She ended the conversation.

“She’s very pretty,” Sandra said.

“Ah, not as pretty as you.”

“You said you love me.”

“Yeah, I do.” My heart sank. Would I lose her as a friend now?

She grabbed my head with her hands and pulled me to her, giving me a long kiss. “Let’s just go slow and see where we end up,” she whispered. I gave her a hug and tried to pull away. “No, sleep here next to me,” she said, sliding over.

* * * *

I’d drifted off to sleep and awoke to Margret’s alarm. After silencing it quickly, I tried to sneak out to get Sandra some coffee.

“Where are you going?” she asked as she grabbed my arm.

“To get you some coffee,” I said. “We have a lot to do today.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Doc says you should get up right away. You don’t need any time off,” I said. As I helped her out of bed, she looked as if it hurt and moved slow.     

“That muscle-headed moron said I should be walking right away. He’s an idiot. What kind of doctor is he? A quack?”

Arm’s length was now an inflexible law Sandra wouldn’t even consider bending. I took out a pain pill, turned around and stuffed it into her mouth. She gave me a surprised look, then smiled. She put an arm around my shoulder and limped along next to me. Holding her up was a struggle, and we had a lot to do. We were behind schedule. Today I was supposed to finish clearing the area so tomorrow I could set up the perimeter force field. I’d be a long day in the mulcher.

I dumped her onto the couch and then made us breakfast. She looked a lot better after a cup of coffee. I sat next to her while we ate. “Schedule says I need to clear the area. I’ll be in the mulcher all day so you can stay here and recover,” I said.

She smiled, which wasn’t a good sign. After finishing up, I tried to leave without her, but she pulled herself up and threw an arm around me.

“I’m going with you.” 

“Sandra, you’re hurt. If you must come, sit on my lap.”

She smiled. “Honey, I’d crush you. We’ll do it my way.” I had to lift her onto the mulcher. “You’re doing very well. I enjoy it when you carry me around,” she said with a grin. I don’t know how she did it, but she managed to sit in the seat as I climbed in. “Just sit.” For such a big machine its cockpit was very small. Shit, this will never work, I thought.

“Margret, I’m going to run the mulcher from our living room. Set it up for me. We’re going inside,” I said. “Let’s go, Sandra.”

“Damn, I was looking forward to being cozy with you for a while.”

“We can sit close on the sofa.”

“Oh, I suppose that’ll work.” She followed me out.

The only challenge about running the mulcher was staying awake. Sandra slept next to me on the couch. If I could keep at it, we could be back on schedule by tomorrow. The mulcher could run this way on auto, but it needed to have someone to watch for the unexpected like that big rock. I steered the mulcher around the monolith and let it resume its automated route. Tomorrow we’d put in the fence, then the rest of the equipment and personnel could be delivered.

The mulcher made the last circle. At three, I told Margret to wake me at seven. Leaving Sandra on the couch, I crawled into my bed and fell asleep.

* * * *

My eyes popped open before the alarm. I canceled it and asked Margret to display the outside camera on the wall. The local star was just rising, but it was still dark out. She paned the camera around. When she came to the star rise, I stopped her and watched. It was beautiful, better than watching a sunrise on Mars.

Sandra came over and sat next to me taking my hand, “Why did you say that you love me?”

My heart sank I felt cold, how could I have said something so stupid it was true but I should not have said it. “I don’t know I was afraid that I would lose you,” I said giving her hand a squeeze.

“Did you say that because I’m pretty,”

“Well you are but so is Tammy, I’d like to think that I’m not that shallow,”

“Hum, yet you think that I’m shallow and could never love a geeky guy with a great heart,”

“Never thought about it,” I paused taking a deep breath, “I couldn’t think of us together.”

Sandra wrapped both hands around mine and pulled it to her lips giving my hand a kiss, “What the hell am I going to do with you?”

“Anything you want,” I said.

She laughed “I almost lost you twice yesterday. Let’s have a quiet day today. No running off into the bush or rescue stuff, okay?”

“One boring day coming up,” I said.

“Thanks for watching my back.”

“Such a lovely back to watch.”

“You look tired. I’ll get you breakfast.” 

She got up to make breakfast. She moved without any noticeable limp. It was hard to imagine that less than twenty hours ago she’d asked me to leave her. I dozed for a while.

She nudged me. “Sorry to wake you up. You should sleep, but we have a schedule to keep.”

I struggled to a sitting position. “That’s okay. I need to get going. That smells great. Thanks.” I dug into breakfast, finding I was hungry. Sandra sat next to me and watched in silence as I ate.

“Captain called. She wants you to put up the perimeter fence first. She wants to send the next group tomorrow with their buildings,” Sandra said.

I stood and stretched before I headed into the bathroom. “That’s wonderful. At least the captain has read the schedule.”

* * * *

Another drop of water ran down my back toward my underwear. I’ve never been so wet in my life. The changing humidity played havoc with the force field. If they couldn’t be stabilized, the landings planned for tomorrow would have to wait. Jack and I had been working on the problem with force fields most of the day.

The captain had been clear. If I didn’t stabilize them, she’d make me a dishwasher for the rest of the trip. That conversation caused a nasty fight to develop between Jack and the captain. Kathy and Linda joined Jack, and the captain was soon outnumbered. I didn’t follow the whole fight. I took naps as Sandra drove me from one field generator to the next. The captain called early in the evening and apologized, saying if I needed anything I should call her.

Jack and I had several discussions, and tried several fixes. The last one proved the best. The force field fence had never failed, but I’d been getting errors and warnings. This was the last section to adjust, and it was well past midnight and raining. The flashing light turned a steady green. The power level went up and held steady. Good, home to a nice dry bed, I thought as I stood, stretching my back. I closed the cabinet door, making sure it locked tight against the rain.

“Are you finished?” Sandra asked.

“Yeah!”

“Let’s go home then.”

“I have to call Jack.”

“Call him from inside the rescue craft.” She guided me toward it.

Jack was still up when I called. He sounded as tired as I felt. “Jack, we did it. It’s up and looks good. I’m going to have Margret monitor it, but it looks good now,” I said.

“That’s nice. Good work, kid. Have you told the witch yet?”

“Hell no. That’s your job, not mine.”

“Great, thanks. I bet she’ll ask what took you so long.”

“Yeah, whatever. I’m going to pass out. I’ll talk tomorrow.”

My teeth chattered by the time we arrived at our quarters. Sandra scowled at me. “I told you to wear the rain gear.”

“I couldn’t work wearing that crap. Besides, it would have dripped water into the cabinet,” I said through chattering teeth.

“Go take a hot shower. I’ll get our bed ready.”

I was halfway through my shower when what she’d said hit me. Gad, please, Sandra, no more games, I thought. I’m too tired. After I was finished, I almost fell over her bed. It was pushed against mine, and Sandra lay in the middle.

She looked up at me. “Don’t say a word, just get in,” she said, flipping the blankets aside.

I was too tired to argue, but muttered about her never-ending games. She grabbed me, pulling me to her. She held her face inches away from mine.

“I never play games, so just shut up. Go to sleep I’ll be here in the morning,” she said.

* * * *

It was a pretty voice. It sounded so nice and comfortable. I could listen to it forever. I put together what it said. Oh, my name. It wanted something. What?

“Drake, wake up. We need to get going,” she said. I forced my eyes open. Sandra leaned over me. She looked worried.

“Pretty voice, what do you want?”

Laughing, she pulled me up into a sitting position. “Come on. Wake up, Drake!” I forced myself awake with a groan. “You’re not very good with limited sleep, are you?” She pulled me to my feet. “Don’t worry, you’ll be just fine once I get you moving, sweetie pie.” She placed my arm over her shoulder and towed me across the room and then dropped me into a chair. “Take these and drink this.” She stuffed several pills into my mouth, then handed me a cup of coffee. “Drake, you haven’t had a good night’s sleep in three days. I talked to the doctor. He said those pills would be okay for you, providing you get a good night’s sleep tonight. So you’ll go to bed at sundown. Agreed?”

“Sandra, I feel like going back to bed right now.” I stifled a yawn. My vision cleared, and I felt sharp and fresh, as good as I’d ever felt. “Wow, what the hell just happened?” I felt like a superman.

“You’re running on borrowed time you’ll have to pay for, so sit and eat breakfast.” She set a plate of food in front of me.

She sat next to me and put her hand on my arm. “I don’t know about love, but I like you a lot.” She gave me a kiss.

Even after a bunch of playing around as we got dressed, Sandra and I arrived with the loader before the shuttle landed. It was beautiful to watch as it flew around, leaving a contrail burning up its speed. She sat with me on the side of the loader, finishing my coffee.   

On the ground with its cargo doors open, the
Discovery
lost its sleek lines. Driving inside with the loader was easy, but one mistake and the
Discovery
or the cargo could be damaged or destroyed. I picked up the first container. I was happy Sandra had given me those pills. The first load contained the four dormitories and recreation areas. After unloading, we moved the dorms into position and connected the modules to one another as the
Discovery
launched into space to pick up another load. Work continued with a few short breaks. We’d just finished unloading the last of the equipment containers when Sandra called it quits. I could have kept working for several more hours.

On our way to the service building, I had to stop for pedestrians several times. It was odd having so many people running around. Once we were settled, I checked the security of the perimeter force field. Sandra paced. She was nervous, so I went to bed and laid there wide awake, in the quiet of the night. I went over all that had happened since arriving on planet. When I came to the part where I cut Ron down, I stopped. Those darts were made of iron.

Another planet found fifty years ago had evolved with life. A company had claimed it and turned it into a resort for the rich. Wild life was hunted for sport and wiped out before public uproar had stopped or limited the practice. Maybe the aliens were intelligent? An emerging people. If they did create iron, then they must fall into the classification of humans?

Chapter 9: Shop Steward

I slept until midday and awoke groggy and feeling sick, worse than if I’d been drinking. Sandra followed me around with a worried look on her face, constantly asking if I needed anything. I went to medical and dug into the trash, pulling out several darts that had been removed from Ron.

The darts were handmade and of excellent quality. I could make out the hammer strikes that had formed them and could see the carbon treatment of the leading edges. The natives had to have a pretty advanced civilization to create such weapons, I thought.

The barbs were sharp and ugly. I remembered the image of Ron being struck with one and the native pulling on the rope. They were ghastly-looking devices made for killing. Were they going to eat Ron and us?

Sandra had been looking over my shoulder. She shuddered. “That poor bastard.”

“Margret, who is in charge of the expedition?”

“Hard to say. Professors Hinton or Jackson.”

“You’re saying no one is in charge?”

“Correct, the captain tried to put Jackson in charge, but Hinton has political clout. After talking to the captain, she ended up leaving no one in charge. The
Armstrong
left and won’t return for two hundred days,” Margret said.

“What the hell. This is one of those disaster scenarios, starting with no clear command. Do people ever learn,” Sandra said, sliding into a chair.

“We’re going to be just fine. We stay together, no matter what happens. We need to let everyone know about the natives so the story isn’t hidden.” I made three copies of the attack on Ron and wrapped them up with the three darts.

“Okay, Sandra, hide one of these packages. Don’t let me know where. I’ll hide another and place the last one in my luggage. One might get to tell the story.”

“You’re a very suspicious man. How am I to hide this without you knowing while staying within arm’s length?”

“Being a smart girl you’ll think of something.”    

“You’re charming when you want to be.”

“Sandra, help protect these people. They’ll be destroyed if we do nothing.”

“Drake, don’t forget what they did to Ron, and tried to do to us. They’re dangerous. They’ll kill if given the chance.”

“True, lots of wild beasts are territorial. We came to their planet uninvited, cleared land, set up buildings and then are surprised when they fight.”

“I agree, but it won’t matter when a dart is stuck in your chest. First thing to worry about is staying alive, not being hurt, and to keep our own people safe. If these creatures kill, they’ll be hunted. You can count on that. Any deaths will be avenged.”

“Get the head of security. I can get the union people. Let them know about the humanoids, and what the dangers are. Then we can work out plans to reduce the risk, and still complete the mission.”

Sandra bit her lip. “You’re going to end up going head-to-head with management on this.”

“Yeah, that’s what union people do sometimes.”

Contacting the union members about the meeting was tricky, but being in maintenance helped. I pretended to be checking lighting, going from one building to the next. That evening forty-three people stood around in the garage.

I started the meeting by welcoming everyone, including the security personnel, and asked them to be patient as union members conducted some business. “Fellow union members or brothers and sisters, we have a problem. Management has left no one in charge of this expedition. As usual it’s up to union members to take up the slack. We need a temporary steward to take our concerns to management, now more than ever. I propose we choose a shop steward. Will someone second my motion?”

A hand waved. “I second,” a man said.

“Show of hands in favor.” Most hands were raised. “The proposal stands. Does anyone have candidates to propose as temporary shop steward?”

“Son, you have a big mouth. I recommend you,” Walter, one of the extended vehicle drivers said.

“I second that,” Dane, one of the lab techs said.

“Any other nominees?” The room was quiet. Shocked, I didn’t know what to say. “Show of hands for me as shop steward.” Everyone raised their hands.

“Never heard of a quiet shop steward,” Walter said with a laugh. Everyone joined him.

“Ah, I’ll do my best. I have a video of what happened to poor Ron.” The room went silent. Everyone stood straight and paid attention. “Go ahead, Margret.”

The wall turned into a picture of what had happened. I stopped the show when the native threw the dart. Sandra talked about the weapon and how he’d thrown it. We discussed the foliage, the natives’ trap, and of course, the spear that had been in her leg. Everyone let out a gasp as Ron appeared, hanging from the trees.

“Notice the location of the darts. The one on the left side is high, missing his heart. One through his stomach, missing major arteries. The dart in the leg on the outside again missed major arteries. They didn’t want him to die, at least not right away. They’d set an elaborate trap. Be careful. They’re crafty,” Sandra said.

“Margret, show the picture of the dart.” It appeared on the wall. “This is made of Iron worked by skilled artists. This requires a culture of sorts. These primitive people are humans.” I looked around the room. It appeared that what I’d just said meant very little. “To safely gather the scientific information a plan needs to be made and enforced.”

“Tall order, son. These scientist types scatter in the field, going out in all directions. Very hard to protect. Larger groups may help or have the scientists stay within boundaries. I’ll talk to them. We’ll work out a plan,” Mike Spencer, head of security, said.

“Okay, brothers and sisters, I propose that no union members leave the compound without a workable plan to keep everyone safe. Will anyone second my motion?”

Dane said, “Second the motion.”

“Show of hands in favor of a work stoppage.” Everyone raised their hands.   

“So drivers secure the vehicles, and keep the codes safe. We’ll work out a good plan.”

The meeting broke up. Well, at least, we had a plan to make a plan. That was something, I thought.

Sandra hooked an arm through mine. “Well, an apprentice shop steward. I didn’t believe that was possible,” she said with a smile. “Come on, tomorrow is going to be a long day.”

Now that the camp was set up my day began like most days in maintenance. Going through the list of complaints, I made a priority list. Sandra demanded to accompany me and we got in a small argument. “Sandra, what can happen to me inside the force field? I don’t need armed protection here,” I said.

“My top priority is your safety. You’re the only part of this mission that has no backup. Those are my orders. You’re my responsibility,” she said, grabbing a side arm.

* * * *

It was an emergency. Men were running about in their underwear. Sandra agreed get them dressed. Yuk! She stayed by my side as I replaced the controller board and brought the system back online. It felt weird to have her always there with no time to myself. I liked her, but enough was enough. I’d just got the cooling back on and was checking that everything worked when Professor Hinton accosted me.

“Boy, you want to lose your job?” he asked.

“No. I don’t want to die either.”

“Everyone is armed.”

“We want a plan on how we’ll be protected.”

“The plan, son, is that if attacked we kill them with our weapons!”

“That’s not a good plan, sir. Most of these people would shoot off their own feet just drawing a blaster.”

“You don’t need any training just to open fire. Everything will be just fine. Take it as it comes. We’ll deal with the natives when the time comes.”

“Not good enough, sir. We aren’t going without a solid contingency plan.”

“You snot-nosed boy. You get your people going or I’ll fire the lot of you for insubordination. Do you hear me, boy?” His face took on a bright red complexion.

“What authority do you have? Are you my supervisor?”

“Yes. I’m in charge of this expedition!”

“The captain made no appointment of leadership, Mr. Hinton.”

“Professor. Boy, address me as Professor Hinton. Got it?”

“Mr. Wilson, not boy,” I said. I turned and walked away before I hit him.

“Let’s go to the gym and spar. It’ll be fun to fight when you’re mad. I’ll call you boy and let you try to hit me,” Sandra said, laughing. “Come on, let’s fight!” She punched me in the arm.

“Sandra, just leave me the hell alone! I don’t want you around! Just leave,” I said, pointing across the compound. She slapped my arm and shoved me.

“It’s tough having someone watch your every move and everything you do all day long. How about me? Do I get tired of watching? Enough talk. Let’s go fight. I want to kick ass.”

She grabbed my arm, twisting it up behind my back, and marched me into the gym before shoving me into an empty ring. I rubbed my shoulder. She’d been rough and looked pissed. Good. I’m pissed too, I thought.

She took off her shoes, and I pulled off my boots. We started easy, a few faints and a couple light punches. Then I attacked, knocking her block aside and hit a glancing blow to the jaw. She exploded. I never thought someone could move so fast. After knocking my hands away, she went in three, four, five hits to my face. I staggered back, then she kicked me in the chest, knocking me down hard on the mat. Every breath was agony. I rolled on the floor, and she put her hand on my side.

“You’ll be fine in a few minutes. Try to relax. My parents own a self-defense school, and taught many fine fighters, including one Olympic winner. With lots of practice, you could be a fair fighter. Let’s get cleaned up.” She helped me up and then we walked to our quarters.

She cleaned and dressed my cuts, giving me an ice pack for the bruising. I settled in on the couch.

“I lost my temper and beat you up. Sorry. I’ve never done that, hit someone who is untrained. I care about you.” Not in any mood to let her off the hook and still having trouble taking deep breaths I kept quiet. “Listen, you mean more than just a body to keep me warm at night.”

I dropped the ice pack. “What?”

She got up and paced. “I need to be held tight or let go. I can’t live like this. It’s not good.”

“You mean sign a contract and have six children?”

“Ah, six? Did I say six?” she asked.

“Hmm, Sandra, I don’t even have time for a girlfriend let alone a wife.”

“Shut up. That’s stupid. You study now, and I’ll make sure you continue to study so we can afford six kids.”

“So you’re the lucky girl then?”

“Ha, don’t know about lucky.” The room got quiet. “Well?”

“Well what?” I asked.

“A word.”

“Oh, the contract will need to be thirty years to get the kids raised.”

“Baby steps, Drake. A word.”

“Okay, Sandra, I said before when rescuing Ron that I love you.” I stood and walked over to her. “We’ve been through a lot since then, and when I say I love you now, I mean it ten times as much.” I gave her a light kiss, and she pushed me away.

“You’re a smooth talker, Drake, but what I want is to up our relation a notch, change my title to girlfriend.”

“Well, I haven’t had the time for a girlfriend. Besides, you’re more than that.”

She grabbed my coveralls. “Girlfriend is enough for now, okay?” She gave me a kiss.

“Sandra, I’d be happy giving you the title of wife.”

“You’re scary. Just girlfriend for now.”     

“Okay, girlfriend. I’m hungry.”

“Sit,” she said before she started getting dinner ready.

* * * *

Professors Jackson and Hinton looked as if they were going to get in a fist fight. I told Jackson that Hinton would meet with us. Hinton had arrived for the same reason.

Mr. Spencer started the meeting by outlining his proposed security plan. He’d worked it out with the help of several field biologists, who’d done work in very hostile areas. It called for working in groups no smaller than four with at least one security person. Everyone on the team would have to have basic firearm safety training, showing efficiency at drawing it and firing, hitting a close-range target.

“In the field means working outside the main camp’s barrier or outside a protected vehicle. While there, anyone not following the direction of the security guard can lose future field privileges. As decided by the ruling board made up of myself, head of security, Mr. Wilson, temporary union steward, and one member as yet unannounced representing the scientific community,” Mr. Spencer said.

“You’ve got to be joking?” Hinton asked. “Really? Goddamn rent-a-cop and a snot-nosed boy are going to have equal authority with a professor? Have fun, boys. When we get home, I’ll have the last laugh.” He stood. “It’s all yours, Jackson. I can’t stomach this amount of stupid in one room.”

Jackson turned to me. “Boy, union guys aren’t the only ones who can strike. I’ll be on your board, but I get two votes. Discuss it. I’ll meet with you tomorrow.” He stood and walked away.

Mike let out a sigh. “That means we can’t ever stop the scientists from wandering. No way Jackson will vote to sensor one of his own. What the hell, Drake. We tried.”