New Dawn (Wandering Engineer) (62 page)

He nodded. "The smithy is
probably the warmest place in town," he said.

She smiled. "Let me talk to
Jerry and see if he can fix that axle." He nodded. She hiked up her skirts
and stepped out of the carriage, then around a mud puddle. He got out and
stretched. The insects were clicking at each other, Sprite had a running translation.
One came over and clicked a greeting.

He placed his hands over his
heart and bowed, then returned the greeting. Their mandibles twitched, and then
they returned the gesture. "I see you know something of their
language..." one said. He nodded to the duo and turned to see Jerry the
blacksmith coming over wiping his hands on his apron. The girl was beside him
chattering away. They shook hands, he was careful to modulate his right arm to
exactly match the smith's grip.

"Well, it isn't any day I
meet someone as strong as me," Jerry chuckled. "Let’s have a look
here." He bent and checked the axle out. "So how do you know the
T'clock language? Have some on your ship?" Jerry asked over his shoulder.

The admiral shook his head.
"No, I visited their home world during an exposition on new
engineering," he replied. Jerry looked up face clouding.

"That’s not funny," The
girl said, growling. The two insects clattered their mandibles.

He held up his hands. "It
was a long time ago folks."  One of the insects called him a liar. He
turned. "No, I really did see your home world. The golden spires were
beautiful, but the caverns even more so," he answered in their language.
They both stopped and then chattered at each other.

The local humans looked at each
other in confusion. "But their home world and colonies were obliterated in
the war seven hundred years ago...How could you..." Jerry asked as he
looked up. "Did you see it in an old holo?"

The Admiral shook his head.
"No, I was really there. It was, oh, seven hundred and sixty years
ago."

"Actually Admiral, it was
seven hundred and fifty eight years ago," Sprite cut in to him alone.

He grimaced. "Look folks I
was stuck in stasis for the past seven hundred years. The ship I'm traveling
with rescued me a year ago," he explained. Their faces cleared. The bugs
nodded then clattered eagerly. He chuckled. "All right, I'll tell you a
bit of your home world, but let’s do it by the forge okay?" He stepped in
under the awning and into the heat of the forge. He looked around, noting the
blacksmith tools and materials. "Nice. Now, as I was saying..."

He reached into his duffel and
pulled out a holographic projector. It only took a moment for Sprite to dump
the data on the planet into the tiny projector's ram buffer. The holo appeared
over the forge. "As I was saying, I was there for a conference on
engineering; I was interested in a report on some new fabrication methods and a
new power ratio for a fourth generation antimatter reactor...."

He spent an hour explaining the
visit, and projecting what limited data he had. When he was finished he looked
over to see his audience had grown to a dozen bugs of all sizes, the two
humans, and even a lizard Relgrath. "I'm sorry, but I haven't been to your
planet," he finished and then bowed.

“I can only give you the data in
my files." he said. Sprite pulled up the dusty home world of the alien
reptile, it rotated in the air. The voices murmured in awe.

"For your story of our
beloved home world we are deeply in your dept,” the elderly insect said. He
bowed to the T'clock female.

 "No debt is necessary;
sharing knowledge is something I've been taught to do."

The fire and hologram made the
sheen of her shell dance. "I know your people have fallen on hard times,
but with time, patience, and perseverance each of us will win to see the dawn
of a new civilization," he said, trying to encourage them.

She nodded. A smaller female,
most likely a daughter clattered at her about going out without her shawl. She
draped it around her body. "I thank you," she said. She moved back
out into the light of day. The others followed murmuring thanks.

The lady was awed. "I've
heard stories of holograms, but never thought I'd see one," she murmured.
He looked over to her. She smiled. "I'll take you anywhere you want to go,
it's the least we could do." Jerry nodded, humbled.

He noticed the guard shadowing
him under a tree holding the reins of a horse. She had been discretely watching
from a distance. He nodded in her direction. Jerry caught his nod and turned to
look. The guard ducked her head. "Friend of yours?" he drawled.

"Ship's security. The
security Chief sent a few down to make sure we don't get into trouble,"
the admiral said diplomatically.

Jerry gave him a look and then
smiled. His teeth were even and only slightly dirty. "Yeah, I can see
where that might be necessary. I thought old Queenie was going to snip your
head off." He chuckled as he picked up a hammer and pliers. He picked up a
bar of stock and thrust it into the fire. The reptilian alien pumped the
bellows. "Well folks, I need to get back to work, these shoes don't make
themselves!" He gave a nod and turned to the flames whistling.

"So, how big is the colony?
I mean how many people?" Irons asked.

She looked over to him. The horse
walked around a pot hole and nickered. "I don't rightly know. Maybe a
thousand, maybe more. There were a lot, but the asteroids keep knocking us
back. We can never get enough land cleared to grow food," she said with a
grimace. She motioned to the rock strewn field nearby.

"Ejecta from the asteroid
impact and volcanoes," he said and then nodded.

"Admiral, based on my
limited census...”  Sprite started to say.

He clicked his teeth firmly.

"Shutting up now,"
Sprite said.

He smiled. "Well, things are
getting better, the next asteroid won’t hit for another twenty years, unless we
can divert it to a different orbit," he said.

She looked over to him in sudden
fear and renewed interest. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "We're
gathering some asteroids to refill our cargo bays, I'll ask the pilot and
Captain if we can divert the next few asteroids projected to hit into stable
orbits," he said.

She smiled. "That would be
right neighborly of you,” she said. He chuckled.

She showed him the rest of the
space port, then a nearby farm. He looked over to the hulking tractor in the
middle of the field. "A testament to times past I'm afraid," she
sighed. He looked over his shoulder to the road. Sure enough, the guard was there,
watching and trying to be unobtrusive.

He smiled. "Well, let’s just
take a look shall we?" He walked over to the hulk, circled it, noting the
details.

"Looks like it's in good
shape, wheels are okay, only a couple leaks. He stepped around a puddle. The
woman hiked up her dress. He climbed into the cab and looked around. The cab
was dusty, but there were no signs of damage. Sprite automatically identified
the controls and placed a karat around each of the critical ones. "Well,
this is the on button...” he said and pushed it. There was a brief glow, and
then the instruments went back to black.

"Power is out," he
grunted. He dusted off the jack port with a sleeve and then jacked in. The
woman stared. "Yup, looks like a power fault. Dead batteries too." He
looked over to her. She was staring at him like he had just grown a new
head...or as if his arm had morphed...which it had. He kept forgetting they had
backslid. He smiled to reassure her.

"If you have the right
materials, you could trade with the ship for parts to fix it," he
suggested.

She looked confused. "It can
be fixed?" she asked. He nodded.

"It has some broken parts,
but it can still run with some repairs. Excuse me." She hastily backed off
the ladder and he followed her down. He walked around the other side and opened
a hatch. The hinges squealed. "Hmm, let’s see... Nope not here. Must have
been underneath." He closed the panel and then sat down in the moist
earth.

"What are you doing?"
she asked amused.

He rolled under the combine.
"Just checking... Ah ha! Here it is," he called, pulling at the ends
of a broken cable. He morphed his right hand into a cable splicer, and then
began splicing cables. "Can you get on the roof and dust off the dirt and
debris from the solar panels? Carefully, it's high and they're brittle,"
he said.

He heard her feet shuffle away,
then the sounds of her climbing. She coughed, and dust flew down. "Is this
necessary?" she coughed.

He finished up, took a look
around, and then got out. "Yes, if we're going to get the batteries to
charge."

He dusted himself off and then
got back into the cab. He hit the on switch again and the instruments lit. The
engine rumbled to life and he heard her squeal in alarm. He looked out.
"Sorry, just checking," h said and then shut it off. "Running now.
I can get you a list of parts to finish repairing it," he said.

She climbed down to the door.
"So we can use it again?" she asked. Excitement was finally creeping
into her voice.

He chuckled and nodded.
"Once you have one running you should be able to produce more food. I can
teach you the basics of repair, and you can fix the others," he suggested.
She nodded excited. "Let’s try that again shall we?" he said. He
motioned for her to climb in. Awkwardly with a little grab ass she managed to
climb over him to sit in the passenger seat.

She was blushing and looking away
when she sat down. He smiled. "Do you wish to do the honors?" he
asked. He motioned to the button.

Excited she smiled and pushed it.
The rumble started once more, as the instruments booted. "My word, I never
in my life thought this thing would work ever again." Her eyes shined.

He chuckled. "It's a farm
vehicle, they're known for being hardy. You’re going to need hydraulic and
brake fluid though," he said. She chuckled.

He tested the steering then
touched the gas pedal. The beast lurched into life, making her gasp and clutch
at his arm. "Oh, sorry," he mumbled. She looked around. He tried
again. "Stuck in a rut, or four of them." He looked out the window
down at the tires. "Let’s try that again." He pressed the gas slowly.
They lurched forward then stopped. "Hmm." He fumbled with the gear
switch. "Okay..."

He put it in reverse rolled back,
then forward, turning the wheel. Slowly the beast moved out of its grave. The
woman's eyes were shiny and her mouth open. "Where too?" he asked.

She looked out the window.
"Let’s just try not to crush the crop," she said.

He chuckled. "Good
point." He drove the vehicle into the ruts and then over to an empty field
near a pump then shut it off.

"There. Now someone can wash
it off, clean it up and look it over," he suggested.

She nodded. "Thanks."
She patted his arm. "When the machines broke down we were lost. There were
nearly a million people, and many starved," she said quietly. Her face was
bleak. "We still have problems with famine from time to time. We lose
crops to disease, drought, or insects."

He nodded. "Well, this will
help a little." She nodded.

They went to the horse buggy
under the tree nearby. "Things are changing already." She petted the
mare's flanks, then her neck. The horse snorted in her hand softly, looking for
a bribe. "Only a few minutes in that machine and my whole world has
changed," she said softly.

He chuckled as he got into the
buggy. "Hardly, you’re just regaining a lost tool. It's up to you on how
you use it."

She looked up to him, nodded, and
got in. "So, shall we race our follower back to the town?" she asked
mischievously. She looked over her shoulder to the guard on the mare and waved.

He chuckled. "Go for
it," he said with a grin. She grinned and snapped the reins. He felt
inertia slam him back as the horse went from a walk into a canter, then full
gallop.

"I'd like to thank you and
especially you Admiral," the delegates turned to bow to the Admiral.
"For your help. Without your aide we'd still be using horse power and
would be fighting a losing battle. With your help, well, let’s just say we
should have better winters from now on."  Irons knew now why they had
wanted him here at this little event.

The purser nodded. "I thank
you for the goods in trade," she smiled. She was on her best diplomatic
effort here, and wasn't about to allow the presence of an interloper like the Admiral
spoil it. "If we can do any more for you let us know." The pro forma
dismissal came out nicely she thought. She knew that the colony had virtually
bankrupted itself to get their hands on the rebuilt air cars and other goodies.

"Well, actually, we might be
able to do something more for them..." the Admiral said slowly,
thoughtfully. All turned to him. The purser froze. "For a trade of
course," he said. He bowed to her.

"And what's that?" the
delegate asked confused. He held the brim of his hat and stroked the band.
"We don't have much more to trade. Any more food and we'll go
hungry," he sighed.

"Oh, I was thinking about
the classes," Irons said gave the purser a look.

 "Classes?" she asked.

He smiled. Perfect. "Yes,
I've been teaching classes on the basics of engineering. Now, you won't be
interested in the spacecraft engineering lectures, but some of the history,
medical, and general engineering courses might be of interest to you and your
teachers," he said to the delegates.

He gave Mrs. Delgado a nod.
"And of course since I'm a teacher I would be the person to evaluate
it?" She smiled to take the sting out of that. He smiled back.

"Well, most of it's as I
said, basic courses, but a few things may aid you, like instructions on repair
and maintenance of the harvesters, or basics of gravity engineering for the air
cars that are still repairable," he said. Her eyes widened. "Then
there are the basics on computers, how they work, the parts, how to fix them.
The basics of medicine, the basics of law..."