Fool's Gold (The Wandering Engineer) (51 page)

Mayweather
looked shocked. "An AI?" She looked at the Admiral as they entered
the main bay.

"Several
actually, Firefly is the ship AI." He motioned her to follow. They ducked
around techs frantically working on EPS conduits. The Admiral murmured
encouragement, patted a few on shoulders then left.

"We're
going to the bridge, then the captain's wardroom," he said, stepping into
a lift. She stepped up to follow hastily as the doors closed.
"Bridge," he said.

She
turned to him. "Admiral, I want in," she said simply.

He
nodded. "You are ready to accept a commission?" he asked. She looked
thoughtful.

"Bridge.
Access granted," Firefly intoned. A green light on the access panel lit
and the doors opened. Controlled chaos reigned.

"Looks
like everyone's been busy," Irons said nodding in appreciation. “Good,
good." He dodged a cleaner robot then looked at the ops panel. "Looking
good, I'd say at least another shift till we can heave too and start out on a
shake down."

"You
concur Firefly?" he asked looking up. Work on the bridge had subsided as
people turned to him.

"I'd
say that's about right Admiral, they're green but willing," Firefly's
avatar responded. Irons nodded. He turned to see Mayweather studying the bridge
and crew. It took a moment for it to sink in that it was a professional gaze,
with a subtle hint of command in her pose and manner. He nodded again.

"Very
well, carry on," he nodded then turned and motioned to Mayweather to
precede him out. As they exited they could hear the babble of conversation
begin to pick up. Irons smiled.

"You
did that on purpose," she accused smiling. “To really sink the hook in and
keep it that way.”

He
gave her a look then small shrug. "This way." He led her around the
back hall to the wardroom. "In here." The door opened and he entered.
She followed.

She
came into a replenished room carpeted in navy blue, with a deep mahogany
conference table in the center. Around the table plush black leather chairs and
various displays were the norm. She looked around the walls and lightly touched
a plaque.

"Gunnery
exercise," Firefly responded.

She
turned with a start to see the Avatar behind her. "I thought you were on
the bridge?" she demanded. The avatar smiled.

"In
a sense Firefly is everywhere, since this, the ship is his body," Irons
waved. She nodded. "Right. Can we talk? In private?" She looked at
the AI. “No offense.” The AI looked at the Admiral. He shrugged.

"You'll
get used to it. Can you get me a current ops list and schedule a meeting for an
hour from now?" he looked at the AI who nodded.

"Aye
aye Admiral." It winked out.

"You
get used to that too," Irons smiled as Mayweather tried not to flinch.
"Coffee?" He held up a pot.

She
shook her head. "No, yes, I don't know." She sighed. He chuckled.

"It
is a bit much to be tossed into the deep end."

"There's
the voice of experience for you." She sighed again, shaking her head and
then looking at the other plaques. He poured a pair of cups then placed one at
the head of the table and another at the exec's seat.

"Sit."
He pointed to the chair. She smiled and sat.

"So,
you want in?" he asked, taking a sip. She took a sip and grimaced.
"It's the pure quill, if you want sugar or cream, they're over there for
the taking." He waved to the food replicator. She got up and adjusted her
drink, then sat back down.

"Yes,
to answer you, I want in. I want to do something other than sit in a station
waiting to die," she gushed.

"And?"
he asked sounding amused. One eyebrow was raised.

"And...
well I want to do more then be a station hand. I'm a trained spacer, I've
served on a bridge, I know what I'm doing. I've been a spacer since I could
walk. I've been an engineer, navigator, I can do it." She shrugged. He
nodded hiding a grimace.

"You
want a commission?" he asked. She nodded.

"Janice
is a helmswoman. Due to her experience I've offered her the rank of second
Lieutenant. She accepted it. She's got her own shift, five coxswains in
training. We'll have a round dozen when we're through I hope."

She
nodded looking thoughtful. "So based on experience I'd be a captain?"
she asked.

He
chuckled. "Hardly. Just because you have experience in engineering and
navigation doesn't show you have command potential, or tactical experience. You
do have chutzpa and initiative, I'll give you that,” he said smiling.

She
frowned. "You need both to get there. Also proven leadership ability and a
stiff spine among many other things,” he explained. “What department do you
want?" he asked.

"I'm...
well, I can do either," she sounded petulant. He nodded.

"Okay,
well, let’s see if you can handle executive duties. If you can show command
potential, and handle yourself in a sim or two, we'll see."

She
frowned then her brow smoothed. "Sim? I did them all the time. Janice and
I did a few combat sims. I didn't like the fighter pilot ones, the capital ship
ones were more my speed. They were more fun."

He
chuckled."Then you'll fit right in. Why don't you get what gear you have
and I'll log you in as a first lieutenant. Spend two hours settling in and then
we'll set you up with a couple sims to see how good you are," Irons
smiled.

She
stood. "I can do that. I'll run rings around any AI opponent," she sniffed.
Irons chuckled.

"We'll
see about that," he waved. "Dismissed. If you need anything, tell
Firefly," he said as she went to leave. She paused and nodded.

"Admiral."
He looked up. "Thanks," she said from the doorway.

"We
all deserve a second chance. Make this a good one and you will build a career
and become a legend," he said looking at her. She froze then smiled.

"A
legend huh?" she chuckled. "I'll have to think about that one."
She waved as she left.

"Well,
that was interesting," Sprite said.

"That
it was. Think she's any good?" Irons asked.

"Well,
judging from her scores in tactical sim twelve and Federation navy sim
nineteen, not bad. Solid grasp of her ships limits, crafty, and not at all a
frontal assault stylist."

“When
did she...”

“On
the station while we were out,” the AI replied before he could finish. “Do you
want to see her records?” The Admiral nodded.

The
AI dumped the records onto a window on his HUD. He looked them over for a
moment then nodded. She had guts, patience, and knew when to take risks and
when not to. She looked like she had the eye. "Good, give her three of the
academy entrance sims. Maybe have Harris run her as an opponent in the
last?" he asked.

Sprite's
AI grinned. "That will fix them both," she chuckled. "I like
it.  He wins she gets taken down a peg. She wins and he gets taken down a peg.
Either way it will give them experience they won’t forget."

"I'm
glad you approve," Irons said chuckling. "I think she'd be good as
Logan's exec. If she can handle it and shows command potential, then maybe that
back up corvette if we have time for it," he said.

"What
about Harris?" Sprite asked. Irons shook his head.

"He's
good with tactics, but lacks real world experience, and his social skills are
atrophied. I'd say he needs some seasoning before he can get to command
track," Irons shrugged. “Lets see if he can handle a few watch rotations
on his own and then go from there.”

Firefly
came up. "Agreed. He just started to chew out a tech until I intervened.
It wasn't the tech's fault. He's green."

Irons
grimaced. "Anything I need to take official notice of?" he asked with
a sudden cool look. He didn't like someone misusing their authority. Power
trips and brow beating others under you wasn't what the rank was there for.

"No,
at least not yet. Let’s see if my latest pointer gets through to him. He's
learning, but it takes time," Firefly responded. Irons reluctantly nodded.

"All
right Lieutenant Mayweather, we're going to run you through a series of
additional training exercises to get a read on your potential. The first is a
fighter command."

Mayweather
frowned. "I'm not into fighters," she said. “I already told the
Admiral that.”

"It
is to assess your potential for independent command and initiative among other
factors. Just try it," Firefly explained patiently.

"So
when do I come into this?" Harris asked quietly as he watched Mayweather
work.

"The
third sim. You are welcome to take an opposing command in each sim if you'd
like," Firefly replied.

Harris
frowned then shrugged. "Why not, I don't have anything else to do right
now." He sat back onto the couch. "Hit me." He held his hands
out. The couch controls morphed into a stick and simple fighter commands.

"You'll
be given a short time to orient yourself and get used to controls," Firefly
warned.

"How
are they doing?" Irons asked looking from one couch to the other.

"Both
washed out of the fighter sim, no surprise there. Harris has a little more
aptitude, he's more aggressive, I think he's had more experience with fighter
sims. Mayweather was tentative at first but she started to blossom near the
end."

Irons
nodded. "Are they in the second sim?" he asked. Dan was looking from
one to the other.

"Yes
sir," Dan frowned. "Can I get in on the action?" Dan asked,
sounding plaintive.

 Irons
chuckled. "Be my guest." He waved to the empty sensor couch.

"Right.
You don't have to tell me twice!" Dan said eagerly, jumping onto the
couch. In a moment it reconfigured to a hunter killer sim.

"They
surprised me, They have potential," Firefly said softly. Irons turned,
eyebrow raised. "I mean real potential Admiral, they are doing much better
in this sim, Harris started out overconfident but Mayweather pinned his ears
back. They are going for best two out of three." The AI shrugged.

Irons
chuckled. "An HK is closer to her old ship's command deck so she's
probably more comfortable with it," he replied, cocking his head at the
holo.

 The
AI avatar nodded. "Exactly. I'm curious to see how she handles cruiser
command."

"Me
too, let me know how it goes." Irons turned his attention to the
electronics he had been working on.

"How
the hell did she do that?" Harris said climbing out of his chair. Irons
looked up.

"She
pulled an Kulbit maneuver. An old fighter trick. I'd have thought you'd have
experienced it before," Firefly said. Irons chuckled softly.

"It's
not a pilots favorite move, even with an inertial dampener. Seat of the pants
flying is something that can freak some out," he shrugged. Mayweather
looked smug.

"I
got him!" her smile turned into a grin.

"I
heard, good work," Irons said.

She
stretched. "Can I get a drink and a break before we do the last one?"
she asked. Irons nodded. She rushed off.

"Looks
like she's enjoying it," Irons said.

"I
think I'm in love," Harris mumbled. Irons gave him a sharp look. Harris
looked down sheepish.

"Replay
that," Irons ordered.

"I
assume you mean the kill shot, not Lieutenant Harris's gaff," Firefly
said, then the plot shifted to the replay. The two ships were going head to
head, pounding at each other. Then Mayweather's missiles detonated in a wave
half way between the two ships. Under the cover of the explosions her ship
pitched up, then cut her engines and pitched over and rolled. Her engines
reignited and she came down onto Harris.

"So
that's how she did it. Sneaky," Harris said, rubbing his jaw. “Wait
shouldn't she have sucked some of the debris into her intakes?” he accused.

“No,
she closed her scoops before the explosion.”

“Damn.
She's good. She thinks ahead,” Harris said nodding.

"Yeah,
she got me when she used an asteroid for cover. I thought she'd go around, but
she sat in a crater and popped me when I flew by." Dan came over rubbing
the back of his neck looking sheepish.

"Looks
like you both had your heads handed to you. Some experts." Irons smiled,
trying to take the sting out of that while giving them incentive in the next
match to get even.

"Oh,
she's good I'll give her that. But I'm better," Harris smiled. "What
say we do a variant of vodka niner?" he looked over to Dan who started to
grin.

"Now
now, boys, let’s keep it fair.."

Irons
was cut off as Mayweather came back onto the bridge. "Okay, I'm ready.
Time to show this computer how to fly and fight." She sat down looking
over to Irons. "I thought this would be hard!" She sat back.