pulling in Deuterium and Helium 3. He
had wanted to be out of here sooner but the gas giant was a bit too diffuse for
his time-line. Which was one of the reasons he was here on the planet, looking
for additional fuel... and picking up other supplies and getting some face time
in while he had the chance.
He wasn't sure what was going on with the Helium 3. Normally it
was deposited on the various planets in the system from solar wind. Here though
it seemed to have been stripped off... or the local sun kept most of it for
itself. The study would make for a fascinating astronomy paper in the future
though, he thought wryly.
"Yeah, Its' pretty efficient, remind me to give you the
blueprints. With it I can refuel my ship." He waved to another set of
techs from the Io. They gawked for a moment, then came over smiling.
"Move along people." He turned to see a smartly dressed
constable nearby. The short gruff man studied the gaggle of women before
settling his gaze on Irons.
Irons nodded to him. After what he'd witnessed earlier in the day
he didn't want or need official attention. The last thing he needed was a lynch
mob dogging his heels here. "Sorry officer, unexpected reunion." He
waved the girls and Hibiki to the nearest bar. "What's say we go for a
drink, my treat?" he asked. The girls laughed.
Jen smiled and tucked her arm through his. Tara took the other
side. “You're on. Just so you know, Jen here has a hollow leg.”
He looked at Jen. She shrugged and grinned a bit more.
“Well, we'll see about that.”
...*...*...*...*...
He was surprised to see them there, the odds of their crossing
paths again... He shook his head slightly in bemusement. He shouldn't have been
surprised, it was a small sector and the ships in it tended to follow circular
paths. Apparently Io 11 was using its' newly repaired hyperdrive to their
maximum benefit, covering far more space between systems and hitting just about
every system worth going to. That was good, that was what he had hoped.
Io 11 had been a tramp freighter on its last legs when he'd been
picked up. It had been a case of mutual interest to repair the salvaged fleet
tender. That and he had no interest in bumbling around in the lowest hyperbands
of hyperspace spending nearly a year in between jumps wondering what would
break next.
It had worked out, though there had been some tough spots along
the way. He hadn't intended to bond with the crew, they had just been a means
to an end, but overtime they'd gotten under his skin and some of his love of
education and engineering had rubbed off on them.
It had been a strange combination though, one of only four men on
an otherwise all human female crew. Something for a tacky holo sitcom maybe, or
a boring holonovel but not something he'd expected to ever happen in real life,
let alone his life. Okay, maybe when he was an adolescent and in puberty
he admitted with a wry smile.
He'd trained the crew and together they had rebuilt the ship from
stem to stern, nearly replacing everything in the process. Or it just seemed
that way, he thought wryly. It had been an interesting challenge, and a good
way for him to get over his time shock. Work, especially hard work tended to do
that for him.
He'd surprised himself by making friends among the crew. First in
the temporary acting chief engineer Molly, and later Jennie, Shandra, Tara, and
the other girls. His errant wandering thoughts returned to one though...
Molly...
Now there was a bitter, painful thought. Molly had deserved
better. Just as they were getting the ship sorted out and Faith was about to be
awakened she'd been snatched from them, killed in a cruel twist of fate on
Centennial by savage desperate people. Killed trying to protect her fellow crew
women from rape. It was a stupid senseless death, one that...
He shook himself mentally. There was no need to go further down
that well-worn road. He'd been down that road too many times already. He knew
from his training he'd lose
had wanted to be out of here sooner but the gas giant was a bit too diffuse for
his time-line. Which was one of the reasons he was here on the planet, looking
for additional fuel... and picking up other supplies and getting some face time
in while he had the chance.
He wasn't sure what was going on with the Helium 3. Normally it
was deposited on the various planets in the system from solar wind. Here though
it seemed to have been stripped off... or the local sun kept most of it for
itself. The study would make for a fascinating astronomy paper in the future
though, he thought wryly.
"Yeah, Its' pretty efficient, remind me to give you the
blueprints. With it I can refuel my ship." He waved to another set of
techs from the Io. They gawked for a moment, then came over smiling.
"Move along people." He turned to see a smartly dressed
constable nearby. The short gruff man studied the gaggle of women before
settling his gaze on Irons.
Irons nodded to him. After what he'd witnessed earlier in the day
he didn't want or need official attention. The last thing he needed was a lynch
mob dogging his heels here. "Sorry officer, unexpected reunion." He
waved the girls and Hibiki to the nearest bar. "What's say we go for a
drink, my treat?" he asked. The girls laughed.
Jen smiled and tucked her arm through his. Tara took the other
side. “You're on. Just so you know, Jen here has a hollow leg.”
He looked at Jen. She shrugged and grinned a bit more.
“Well, we'll see about that.”
...*...*...*...*...
He was surprised to see them there, the odds of their crossing
paths again... He shook his head slightly in bemusement. He shouldn't have been
surprised, it was a small sector and the ships in it tended to follow circular
paths. Apparently Io 11 was using its' newly repaired hyperdrive to their
maximum benefit, covering far more space between systems and hitting just about
every system worth going to. That was good, that was what he had hoped.
Io 11 had been a tramp freighter on its last legs when he'd been
picked up. It had been a case of mutual interest to repair the salvaged fleet
tender. That and he had no interest in bumbling around in the lowest hyperbands
of hyperspace spending nearly a year in between jumps wondering what would
break next.
It had worked out, though there had been some tough spots along
the way. He hadn't intended to bond with the crew, they had just been a means
to an end, but overtime they'd gotten under his skin and some of his love of
education and engineering had rubbed off on them.
It had been a strange combination though, one of only four men on
an otherwise all human female crew. Something for a tacky holo sitcom maybe, or
a boring holonovel but not something he'd expected to ever happen in real life,
let alone his life. Okay, maybe when he was an adolescent and in puberty
he admitted with a wry smile.
He'd trained the crew and together they had rebuilt the ship from
stem to stern, nearly replacing everything in the process. Or it just seemed
that way, he thought wryly. It had been an interesting challenge, and a good
way for him to get over his time shock. Work, especially hard work tended to do
that for him.
He'd surprised himself by making friends among the crew. First in
the temporary acting chief engineer Molly, and later Jennie, Shandra, Tara, and
the other girls. His errant wandering thoughts returned to one though...
Molly...
Now there was a bitter, painful thought. Molly had deserved
better. Just as they were getting the ship sorted out and Faith was about to be
awakened she'd been snatched from them, killed in a cruel twist of fate on
Centennial by savage desperate people. Killed trying to protect her fellow crew
women from rape. It was a stupid senseless death, one that...
He shook himself mentally. There was no need to go further down
that well-worn road. He'd been down that road too many times already. He knew
from his training he'd lose
Similar Books
