The Apprentice Starship Engineer: Book One The Link Page 2

  I struggled with my bag and jammed it into the locker before getting into the acceleration couch. I noticed the countdown clock read five minutes. A businesslike woman came back to check on everyone. She looked at me and frowned, then turned on her heels and walked away. The timer resumed ticking off the seconds before launch.

  “What’s your name, kid?” asked the man.

  “Drake Wilson.”

  “I’m Jack Carlyle, your journeyman. I’ll be training you. Three things I want from you, kid. First, when I start telling you something, don’t ever say you know what I’m going to teach. You’re a first-year trainee and don’t know crap so just listen and learn. Second, do what I say. This ship can kill so pay attention. If you don’t understand ask. Third, many people during my career have taken the time to teach me. That’s why I’m going to teach, not because you’re a great kid or because I’m on a weird power trip. I’ll do it to repay a debt to those who taught me. In the future you should take the time and effort to train others. That’s what journeymen do.”

  I didn’t know what to say, but managed to mutter an, “Okay.” I thought of learning a secret hand shake. It was Dad’s fault if he hadn’t made Mom mad she wouldn’t have insisted I take up an apprenticeship. I could have gone off to college and received a diploma in history or art. Jack looked mean, a guy I didn’t want to cross. This isn’t going to be a party, I thought. The clock finished counting, and the ship’s engines fired. A slight tremor and vibration ran through my seat.

  Jack looked over at me. “The reason you’re comfortable right now is that the inertial damping field is set correctly. You’ll align the generator for our dampening field on the Armstrong. If you screw it up, we’ll have a very uncomfortable time during the course adjustment in five days. Drake, being a starship engineer is hard. If you screw up, everyone could die.” He smiled.

  I’d worked with Dad, fixing the machines on the farm. I’m good at it. Once when I was sixteen, I’d screwed up the alignment on the harvester and it’d tried to cut the wheat a couple feet below ground level. That had destroyed the harvester cutter, costing us over twenty thousand, but nobody died, and it wasn’t the end of the world. Dad had showed me what I’d done wrong and had me adjust it again after we’d finished rebuilding it. The harvester has worked fine ever sense.

  This is a starship, and Jack is right. Mistakes couldn’t happen. I turned and looked over at him. “Ah, this might not be the right job for me. I make mistakes sometimes. I screw up. I don’t want to kill anyone,” I said.

  Jack looked over and nodded. “That’s good. Everyone makes mistakes, but at least you know you make mistakes. So do what I do. I check my work, continue learning, and with a bit of luck, I don’t make big mistakes. I bet you’ll be a good starship engineer. Let’s go one step at a time. If you aren’t any good, I’ll wash you out, okay?”

  “Ah, okay,” I said.

  I’ll never forget my freshman year of baseball. Taught at home, I still played for Comet High. I’m a good pitcher, and had made varsity my first year.

  The game had been for the title. I’d pitched poorly the week before in practice. I’d just lost steam during it. The game had been awful, and the coach pulled me out in the sixth inning.

  After the game, I’d had to go looking for Dad. He’d sat alone in the bleachers. When I’d approached, he hadn’t moved. I’d taken a seat, wondering what to say. I’ll never forget what he’d said.

  “If you had played a good game, I’d be happy.” Dad pointed at a few players, who’d left the locker room. “You let those guys down. I saw great plays performed, but not by you. You need to apologize to them.” He looked at me. “Not with words but with action. If you want to make up for your poor performance today, win district next year. Bust ass through next year and win.”

  I won district every year after that. I hate to lose, don’t mind being beaten, but I hate to lose. So while listening to Jack, I decided to be the best starship engineer ever.

  After we docked with the Armstrong, Jack told me to follow. The hallway ceiling was tall with arches, and the lighting was hidden. Active sound deadening covered our footsteps and hushed our voices. It was a grand hall, bright, large and comfortable.

  Jack led me into an elevator, muttering about the Kings Hall and placed his hand on a reader. “Main control.”

  I followed Jack into the most amazing room. The walls were screens, making it seem as if nothing were between us and space. In the center were large screens, displaying the ship’s location, velocity and other traffic in our vicinity. Three steps lower than the floor, we were on around the outer wall. More consoles and controls were mounted. Everything looked impossibly complicated. I paused. Jack talked to the businesslike woman I’d seen earlier.

  Jack waved me over. “Drake, meet Linda Tames, our shop steward. If you have any problems, just tell her and she’ll fix it. She’s a genius with trouble. Don’t ever let an exempt stooge manager give you any shit. If they try, tell Linda and she’ll put them in their place.”

  Linda smiled. She was a handsome woman. “Nice to meet you, Drake. They tried to leave without you. We refused and stopped the launch clock. Always remember you aren’t alone against management. We’re with you. Never forget that. If you need anything, let me know. I have to work now. I’m the navigator. We don’t want to get lost.” She turned to her console. I muttered a few nice-to-meet-you words to her back before Jack and I walked away.

  “Kid, it wasn’t always like this. Used to be management treated us like crap. If a fellow was late, the ship would leave without him. They changed your schedule at a whim. Guys with families finishing a yearlong trip might be sent out the next day. Management didn’t care, and if you complained, you got fired. The pay was terrible. You’re getting paid more now as an apprentice than I did ten years ago as a journeyman. The union has made the difference. It has changed everything. Now being a starship engineer is a career to be proud of,” he said.

  Mom didn’t raise and teach a dumb kid. I kept my mouth shut. Where I’m from everyone hates unions, blaming them for their problems.

  “Be in engineering at five tomorrow morning. Take the day to get settled,” Jack said.

  Jack walked away. I stopped a man. “Do you know how I can find out where I’m supposed to sleep?”

  “What? Did you miss orientation? Let’s see your assistant. I’ll show you.” I fished my assistant out of my pocket. He frowned “No, where is the one they gave you?” he asked.

  “I just arrived.”

  “Ah, you’re that apprentice janitor who held us up.”

  I flinched. After the lecture Jack had just given me, I was shocked to hear his insult. “Yeah, I’m the apprentice who made you wait.”

  “Figures. You can get a new assistant at ship stores, if you can find it,” he said as he turned and walked away.

  I wandered around until I found a door that opened for me. Inside I used a console to find my way to ships stores.

  My first thought was I must have misread the placard. A young man sat behind the counter. He looked like death warmed over, holding his head with both hands and peered up at me through bloodshot eyes. He let out a soft moan. I introduced myself as Drake Wilson, the guy who’d held up the shuttle.

  “So you missed orientation, the pre-launch meetings and parties? Them college girls sure like to party. I have your kit. That other kid backed out at the last minute. Well, that’s the official story. Truth is Jack tossed him off the ship and said he needed to grow up and became a man. When Jack asks you to do something, you’ll want to do it. He doesn’t put up with much shit from apprentices. If you piss him off, you might just spend the rest of the trip as a janitor.”

  He walked across the room to a screen where he made several entries. Servos whined, then a door opened. He reached in and pulled out a package. “Here you go. Press your thumb on that pad and we’re set. I’m Brice. Good to meet you, Drake,” he said, holding out a hand. I shook it.

  “Brice,
could you show me how to use this assistant?” I pulled it out of the package. “I heard it could help me find my way.”

  I turned it on, and a deep, sexy woman’s voice said, “I’m ready, are you?” I looked up at Brice, who laughed.

  “Oh, yeah, I forgot Mitch, that’s the kid who you took the place of, pissed off Jenny. She got hold of his assistant and set it up so no one can change it back. Well, she might.”

  “This dam thing is embarrassing. Brice, don’t you have another one? Everyone is going to think I’m a weird pervert.”

  Brice shook his head. “No, we have few spares, and engineering assistants are impossible to break and are very expensive. They’re actual AIs, not like the dumb assistant I have. We only carry a few, and I can’t release them without the captain’s approval.”

  “Could I trade?”

  “I can’t even get to them without the captain entering her code.”

  I looked at the assistant. It was a lot better than the one I owned. A Maxim four series with extended processors and a real AI. “This will do. Just show me how it works.”

  “Well, I can’t tell you everything as I don’t know everything, but here.” He took my assistant and tapped the screen. “What’s your name?”

  “Margret,” the assistant replied.

  “Margret, meet Drake Wilson. He’s your owner now.”

  “What happened to Mitch?”

  “He backed out.”

  “You mean Jack threw him out, don’t you?”

  “No one is saying, but you’re right,” Brice said. “Rumor has it Jack grabbed Mitch by the ear and marched him off the ship.”

  “Good. Mitch tried to destroy me. Drake Wilson. Oh, I see. Your records show you’re very smart. Just twelve percent of the union entrants pass the exams on their first try. No one has ever gotten as high of a score as you. Drake, did you cheat? If you did, you were stupid to hit the scores so high. Don’t answer me, honey. If you cheated, it’ll become clear soon enough. And, darling, I don’t want to start out with you lying to me. If you treat me well—that means never turning me off and keeping me with you—I’ll serve you well.”

  “I don’t cheat. I earn what I get!” I said.

  “Well, it’s possible. Your father has a doctorate in engineering, and your mother holds a doctorate in English and a minor in art. You were home schooled and played sports in public schools. Sweetie, keep me on and with you, and I’ll be nice.”

  “Huh, well, let’s see how it goes. Direct me to my quarters. I need to pick up my stuff in the shuttle as well.”

  “Drake, I have all the information. Were good, but you need access rights,” Margret said.

  Brice looked at his screen. “Yeah, well, come over here and I’ll get a picture of you and your hand. I need your stats.”

  I pulled out my old assistant and transmitted my info to him.

  Margret said, “I’ll connect with your old assistant and download all his information.”

  I paused. My old assistant wasn’t smart like Margret, but had a lot of stuff about me on it. “Sure. Go ahead, Margret.”

  “Put your hand on this reader.” Brice tapped his console, and said, “Okay, you now have access to everything. Ah, later about eighteen hundred a bunch of us get together—few guys and a couple girls at G-4 lounge. Come join us. We’re just a bunch of freaks with nothing to do.”

  “Good. I should fit right in. See you later, Brice. Thanks.”

  Chapter 3: I’m not on a farm. It’s a starship

  The Armstrong was pleasant. I looked up at the tall ceiling with its soft lighting, thinking to myself that the ship was a work of art. Margret helped me get back to the shuttle and pick up my “trash.” As she led me to my quarters, the Armstrong changed. The hallways were shorter, narrower. Appearing more utilitarian, reminding me of servant quarters.

  “Margret, are you sure you’re going in the right direction?”

  “Yes, your quarters are just down the hall. Here we are at men’s dorm F,” she said.

  The door slid open as I approached with my heavy bag. I fought it through the doorway. Several young men looked up at my noisy arrival. They were older than me. A few had hair on their faces, others had tattoos and piercings. Most had long hair. Everyone stared at me as Margret led me on a tour of my living module, starting with the comfortable dayroom and its attached study. The shared the bathroom and showers. She informed me it was a men only dorm, although several women were lounging on the couch. On one side of the room were eight sleeping tubes—four on the bottom and four on the top, each was four feet high, eight feet deep and six feet wide. The doors had locks on them, and Margret gave me my code. I opened the door. Mitch had left me a mess of dirty clothes, towels, linen and garbage.

  Someone commented from across the room, “Our Mitch was a bit of a pig, but I’ve seen his tube a lot worse.”

  “Hey, kid, we have cleaning supplies in the closet,” another man said.

  It took me an hour to tear it apart, stuffing the dirty laundry into the wash and filling the recycle bins with Mitch’s trash. At five, Johnny, a man with a beard and nose ring, smacked me in the arm and said it was time for dinner. He led me into the dining room. After picking up a plate of food, I followed him over to a table of men from our dorm. I sat next to Johnny.

  “Mealtime on ship is staggered. The dining room isn’t big enough to hold everyone at once. This is our dining room, and we share it with the other eight dorms. If you miss mealtime, you can always stop in and get something. It’s always open,” Johnny said.

  After everyone settled down, a man stood. He had a scruffy beard and flowery print shirt. “My name is Bill, and as the self-appointed head of F dorm, I wish to confirm that Mitch was dumped on Mars. We now have a new dorm mate, Drake Wilson,” he said in a loud voice. Every one stared at me, and my face heated.

  “So, Drake, allow me to introduce you to everyone. I’m Bill Lawson. I’m a physics major. I’ll be studying the stars we pass. This is Sam Myers. He has a masters in physics and minor in astronomy. On my left is Johnny Rodman. He’s a biologist, and is looking for planets that might have life on them. Victor Clemens, another biologist. Rich Pierce, Danny Martin and Roy Mason are geologists.” The men all nodded as he introduced them.

  “Now, Drake,” Bill continued, “tell us about yourself.”

  I looked around the room. Everyone was in their mid-twenties or older. They had at least a four-year degree. Who was I? Nobody.

  “I’m an apprentice starship engineer,” I said.

  “Oh, like Mitch. Do you think you’ll last?” Bill asked.

  I got it. This was all for fun at my expense. I looked at Bill. “Hope so. I don’t want Jack throwing me off on an asteroid,” I said with a laugh. Most of them at least smiled at my joke.

  After dinner, I put my stuff away in my tube. It was pretty tight. Margret reminded me that I had agreed to go to G-four and meet Brice. I looked around, pulling out flip-flops, an orange shirt with a picture of a Mars rock that was supposed to be a face and a pair of shorts. In the bathroom I stopped at a mirror, tied up my hair in a tail and thought about getting a tattoo.

  Margret let out a soft whistle. “What a hunk,” she said.

  I laughed. “Thanks, Margret.”

  After stepping out of the dorm, I stopped in my tracks, “Ah, Margret, can you give me directions?”

  “Yes, dear, turn left,” she said. I followed her directions as she led me to a transport that shot me across the ship.

  I stood at the door to G-four and realized that without Margret, I’d be lost. G-four was a sterile room with a small bar. A few pictures had been taped to the walls, a pool table sat on one side and several of the lighting panels had been disconnected. The room was crowded with people who looked young, but with regeneration, no one could tell anyone’s age anymore. I saw Brice, who was waving at me from a table in the corner.

  Brice had saved a chair for me, and several girls sat with him. One of them was talking about fin
ding water on terrestrial bodies. She was real pretty. Perfect would be a good word for her. Blonde hair flowed down her back in little curls. She had a perfect tan and straight white teeth, and a great complexion. Even her hands were pretty.

  Brice bought me a beer as the girl kept lecturing us about water and how to find it. If she wasn’t so pretty, I bet everyone would have just gotten up and left her talking.

  She finally took a breath, and I said, “That’s interesting. My parents own a farm on Mars, and water is a major concern. We’re always looking for it. My grandpa helped us find a great well. We hit a geo thermal one at about one hundred meters.”

  She looked surprised. “Where did you drill?”

  I pulled out Margret. “Margret, show us the terrace, project it on the wall,”

  “Yes, sweets.”

  “Thanks, Margret.”

  “Where did you get that assistant?” another girl asked from across the table.

  “Ship stores.”

  “Drake, that’s Jenny. She’s the one who set up Margret,” Brice said.

  “I can’t change her back,” Jenny said.

  I looked at her and shrugged. “That’s okay. I’m getting to like her. Yeah, I like her. She’s just fine.”

  “I’m Tammy,” the girl who’d been talking about water said.

  “Good to meet you, Tammy, Jenny.” I moved the pointer to a place just north of the terrace dome, and said, “That’s where we found it. A geo-thermal well.”

  “Why did you drill there? I did several papers on where water would be found on Mars, and no one would waste time drilling where you did,” Tammy said.

  “Grandpa said drill there.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

  I shook my head as well. “Grandpa is a water witch. He used divining rods.”

  She leaned back from the table. “That’s stupid superstitious bullshit!”

  “You asked. You can check. It’s registered as the Wilson geo-thermal well. For the method it’ll say other.”