Neptune's Massif (12 page)

Jim accepted his new disability and worked hard to overcome it. After many months in rehab, he learned to walk on his own again. He met Elias Johnson while searching for work and had stayed with him and his company. Jim’s parents had passed on a few years back. He couldn’t remember anyone else in the company ever losing a family member, at least as long as he had been with the company. Elias not only bought Jim a plane ticket to go home, he and three other men and their wives went with him to help Jim in settling his parent’s affairs.

When Elias sold the company, Jim was afraid he would, once again, have to start over. But the new owner convinced Elias to stay as a manager, and also insisted that all the employees also stay with the company if they chose. For Jim, there was no choice to be made, his fellow workers had become his family; he would never abandon them.

When the project at Talos, New Mexico began, Jim had wondered exactly what they had gotten themselves into. However, he trusted Elias and did his best to build the houses that the community would soon be living in. He was surprised when Elias told him that one of the houses they were building would be his free and clear.

Before the move to Talos, Jim had enjoyed watching television in his off time. He had a hard time learning to use the new device that had been installed in his home. Elias' son, Kyle took pity on the older man and discretely showed him how to work it. He was amazed to learn it was also a video phone and computer terminal. He'd never had any use for computers, but when Kyle told him about taking classes with it, he thought it was a pretty neat little machine. When Jim told Elias how embarrassed he had been to have Kyle show him how to use the gadget, Elias chuckled and admitted that Kyle had to show him how to use it was well.

They had talked some more when Jim noticed the entrance of a new young man and family of young women. Everyone seemed to greet them and welcome them to the party like they were long-time friends. Elias excused himself to go and greet the young man; Jim asked the other men who the stranger was.

“That, my friend, is our new boss, and the man responsible for everything that we are trying to accomplish. He may seem very young, and actually he is, but he has a great vision,” his friend, Stavros, had told him.

That evening, Jim learned all about who Ian Williams was and what he was trying to do. Jim might have been a simple man, but he wasn’t ignorant of the realities of life. Though he had never even suspected that the government had been suppressing certain technologies, it didn’t surprise him to learn that it had. That fact was driven home when he was introduced to a man who had invented the new power generator for the small community. The man again retold the horror stories of how he had been threatened and harassed, and of how his calls and complaints to the police had gone unanswered. He and his family had been labeled as kooks, his kids had been ostracized at school, and his wife had been fired from her job.

Jim had decided to introduce himself to the young man only to discover that he had already left. Elias told him that he had left early to make arrangements to help Luke Belden and his family. That single action solidified Jim’s respect for the young man. Any other employer would have simply thrown the alcoholic man out. The fact that Ian Williams cared enough about the people working for him to take the time and spend the money to help get the man’s family back on their feet... Well, that was the kind of thing that this country was missing.

Elias was gone now, so were many of his friends, both old and new, killed by something Jim had never truly believed existed. He remembered seeing a woman running for the community center shelter when she tripped and fell by the arcade that had been set up for the kids. He had been about to turn around to go help her when the building exploded, taking a direct hit from a passing alien craft. He glanced back to see if she was hurt, but could see no sign of her. Jim thought her name had been Valerie. She was a nice woman, always helping Laura, Elias’ wife, and Lara Belden after she had returned from the clinic Ian had sent the family to.

Now, as Jim sat in the commons looking out at an alien world he never even dreamed he would see, he had no clue what to do with the rest of his life. He couldn’t become a soldier again, though he would prefer that, and the only skill he knew was no longer needed since a carpenter was pretty much redundant in this society.

“You look like a man with a lot on his mind,” a voice said behind him.

Jim turned to see Luke and Lara approaching him, hand in hand. He smiled at them in welcome. “Just trying to figure out what good an old, beat-up carpenter can do in this new world.”

“What would you like to do?” Lara asked.

“If I wasn’t so busted up inside, I’d join up, but I don’t think the Cap’n could use a soldier that can’t walk more’n a half mile.”

“Jim, I’ve known you for a long time now. Granted, my memory is a bit fuzzy for most of that, but I think you have got to be the most honest, giving man I know. Haven’t you figured out yet where it was that Ian sent me to get better?” Luke asked him.

“Honestly, I’d never really thought about it. The fact that you are better is all that matters. It’s good to see you both so happy,” He replied.

Lara sat next to him on the bench and took one of his large, calloused hands in her own. “Jim, Ian sent Luke, Tara, and I to the ship. Talosian medical technology is very advanced. They actually cured his alcoholism, not just dried him out. He doesn’t have the cravings anymore! Hell, he doesn’t even want a glass of wine with dinner! What I’m trying to say is this; why don’t you ask at the medical center if it's possible to repair the damage? I don’t honestly know if they can fix it, but I do know it’s worth asking about.”

“Do ya think they might be able to fix my hips? That would be something! I’ll go over there tomorrow and ask. Then maybe I can see if I’m too old for the Marines," Jim said.

“Well, I don’t know about the Marines, but I know you’re not too old to become a pilot,” Luke suggested.

Jim laughed at that, “Luke, I know I’m not that smart! Hell, I can barely figure out how to operate my food replicator! Maybe I’ll see if I can take some classes and at least finish high school. After that, we’ll see.” 

“Good! You can tell us about it over dinner tomorrow night, we’ve missed having you over,” Lara said. When Jim nodded in agreement, she continued, "How about six o’clock then?”

As Jim watched them walk away, he couldn’t help but wonder if the doctors might actually be able to repair his pelvis; if they could do that, maybe they could also fix... maybe he wasn't too old to become a father after all these years.

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G
antry Three Engineering Section.

Pleiades One Orbital Shipyard

High Orbit, Planet Atlas

Centauri System, Sol Sector

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S
ince there were now an abundance of ships to protect the sector; ARC had decided to leave six destroyers behind to assist in sector defense, plus the
Pegasus
and the
Zephyr
, it had been decided to bring the
Prometheus
into the station to begin the upgrades to her systems as well. The ARC ships did not count the two heavily damaged destroyers nor the cruiser that were in the bays being rebuilt.

When complete, those ships would be returning to their home fleet once the crews for them arrived to man them. As it was, only small engineering teams had remained to help with the repairs. However, ARC was impressed with the efficiency of the station and the Terran people as a whole. Admiral T'rir had told Ian that he would say as much in his official report to ARC command. Once the overall refit of the Heavy Cruiser Class was completed, a new designation would be applied to them. Although Ian had tried for 'Battleship', the rest of the Council had gone with 'Battle Cruiser' since it would still be capable of operating without support. While
Prometheus
was just beginning the transition,
Star Dancer
was almost finished with the first steps.
Star Dancer
would require more work to complete the transition, but Ian was not willing to delay the Hyperion mission to finish the transition. So
Prometheus
would be the first Terran-built Battle Cruiser.

If the work ever actually got underway.

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T
he seeming reticence of the Talosian engineers had Doctor Brittney Benson very frustrated. They kept insisting that what was planned would leave the ship helpless and underpowered. When her team requested the main reactor be taken off-line to facilitate the connections of the new power systems, the chief engineer had stopped them and filed a formal complaint with his captain; Senior Captain Serena of the
Prometheus
. Brittney and her crew returned to their quarters to get some rest and let hot tempers cool down. The man was simply impossible!

The next morning, Brittney returned to main engineering. She had to convince the intractable Chief Tau that the ship would actually have more available power, not less, and that the new system would be far more stable and efficient.

When she arrived in the engineering section, she was surprised to see Captain Serena quietly speaking to the Chief in a side office. He was nodding to his captain almost constantly and looked somewhat defeated.

She walked over to where her team had gathered to go over the day’s tasks. She had just started briefing her team when she heard her name called. She turned and saw the Captain calling to her. “May I have a word with you, Doctor?"

“Certainly, Captain,” Brittney said and retraced her steps to the office.

“I apologize for taking you away from your work, Doctor,” the Captain began once they were alone

“No apology needed, Captain. What can I do for you?” Brittney replied.

“Chief Tau is one of the best engineers I have ever served with. He is a proud man that takes his duty to his ship very seriously.” Serena held up a hand to forestall Brittney’s interruption. “Please Doctor, let me finish. The whole concept of this refit goes against everything he has been taught as an engineer. He feels that this 'modification' to the power systems will not only leave the ship critically under powered, but the addition of the new system will create a harmonic instability within the reactor. In our last battle, we lost twenty-two pilots when our main reactor went off-line during combat. Not only was one of those pilots his son, he also feels that the failure of the system was his fault, and he should have somehow been able to prevent it. That’s why he’s so... uh... uncooperative. Besides, I think he might be just a bit jealous,” she added with a chuckle.

“That would certainly explain a lot, Captain, but the rest of the new systems being installed will need this power upgrade or he will have an underpowered ship. Do you have any suggestions on how I am to convince him of this?" Brittney asked.

“I already told him not to worry and to please do as you ask," Serena replied.

Brittney thought a moment, “Do you think it would help to show him that once these connections are made, all your gun batteries and shield generators will have an auxiliary power source in case the main ever fails like that again?”

“I think that would be a very good idea, Doctor. I’m not sure, but I don’t think he fully understands everything you’re doing to ‘his’ ship. How is your Talosian? It might help if you explained everything in his native language,” Serena added.

Brittney grinned and answered in Talosian; “I immediately requested our computers to teach me to speak the language as soon as I found out about you. I think I will be able to do a passable job of it.”

Serena returned the young woman’s smile and answered her in the same tongue. “Indeed you will. Thank you for understanding; not many people your age would, I think. Of course, I am still learning about your culture and customs. I shall let you return to your work now. I believe Chief Tau will have the main reactor off-line shortly.”

Returning to English, Brittney said, “Thank you for explaining things to me, Captain; it does help to understand the situation better.”

"Good morning to you, Doctor,” Serena said, smiling as she made her way to the office door.

“Good morning to you as well, Captain.”

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C
hief Tau did indeed have the main reactor off-line in short order. Brittney’s team dove into their work trying to make up for lost time. The delay had even caused the other work crews to stop.

Brittney found the Engineering Chief overseeing the installation of several new, larger, conversion/regulation modules.

In nearly flawless Talosian she spoke to him; “Chief Tau, I understand I might not have explained this process very well before we began. I wish to apologize to you and your people for that failure. If you wish, I would very much like the opportunity to try again whenever it would be convenient for you.”

“Doctor Brittney, I think that would be greatly appreciated by all of us. I, too, wish to apologize for not making it clear that we didn’t understand. I can have my people ready for you in about ten minutes. Is that acceptable?" His manner was gruff, but his tone was appreciative, even a bit respectful. It was like he was unused to the circumstance he found himself in.

“Perfectly, Chief.” She pointed to the briefing room. “In there?”

He nodded once in assent, a small smile threatening to break his somber facade.

She was not aware that his eyes followed her over to the table that her team had been using. His sad eyes reflected how tired he felt and how much he regretted the ravages of time on the human body. He shook himself out of such thoughts and concentrated on the task now at hand: to gather his people for a better briefing.

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B
rittney felt that this briefing had gone a lot better than the last one. The smiles on most of the faces of the people now leaving the room supported her belief. The Chief confirmed it.

“This was much better, Scientist Brittney. Now that we can see what you are trying to do, we should be able to actually help your team instead of getting in the way all the time. Thank you for this.” He gestured back into the briefing room.