Fool's Gold (The Wandering Engineer) (60 page)

"Admiral,
I was wondering about the ansibles you mentioned. If you had them in your time,
why did you also need couriers? Or the mail bag?" the perplexed student
smiled tentatively at him. He chuckled. He'd been peppered with the odd
question from time to time over the past few weeks. They had about ten days
left of his original estimate.

"Well,
first off the ansible isn't as great as most people would like to think. It has
a limited bandwidth, a limited life span, and there was a lot of messages
flying around." He pulled up a stock communications tree.

"As
you can see, half of the available bandwidth was reserved for government and
military use. The other half of available bandwidth was sold when available.
Usually the major media conglomerates or a corporation would snap the excess
bandwidth up.

But
there is a problem with that. The bandwidth may not be to a destination of your
choice. Each ansible only communicated with its partner installation. So if
let's say you wanted a message to Agnosta from Earth, but the only bandwidth
available was to Proxima Centauri..."

Several
of the students began to nod. "That is why we still had mail bags and
courier vessels for non essential communications," he waved. "Any
ship in port, civilian or military could bid to transport a mail bag. Mail bags
were transferred from one point to another. Sometimes it took a year to cross
the Federation." He shook his head in wry thought.

"How
did it work?" Shelby asked.

"Well,
a communications corporation would assemble mail in packets, then poll ships
for their destinations, flight paths, and approximate transit time. If one was
going to or close to a destination the company would pay them to carry the data
or package. Once they got to their next port they would transmit or drop off
the packages to the corps local offices. Any messages with that destination in
it's header would be delivered. Anything else would be added to the outbound
queue for the next ship," he shrugged.

"Couldn't
anyone read the mail?" Shelby asked, brows knotted in thought.

"No.
Oh they could see the destination header, transmission source, and priority,
but the contents were encrypted with a public key only the destination could
use," he said. "Physical packages could be intercepted of course but
they had their own insurance and such." He made a brushing off motion.

"Why
would a ship transport the messages? It seems like a hassle." He turned to
a young man up in the back.

"Well,
every ship wanted to maximize its profits. Hauling data to somewhere you’re
going to anyway let them do that," he shrugged. "That is why
freighters also carried packages or people, whatever it took to turn a
profit."

He
shrugged. "We can discuss the economic benefits and detractions
later," he waved. The holo tree disappeared to be replaced with a
schematic of Firefly's communication net. "Now, let's get back to the
subject. Firefly has...?" he pointed to Shelby.

"Whisker
lasers, Masers, and a tachyon beam for long range communications, and microwave
and IR lasers for short ranged communications." She nodded to herself. He
nodded.

"Good,
and they are used for...?" he turned to another student who looked
startled then gulped.

"Um,
the long range systems are for inner system communications between ships or
installations. I suppose the microwave and IR are for small craft and
EVA?" he looked confused. Irons nodded.

"Also
for ships close to one another who do not want to broadcast their position. To
do that they use...?" he pointed to another student.

"A
whisker laser or localized transmission. It is a narrow beam that transmits
data between sources with a minimum chance of being detected," she smiled.

"I
see someone has some experience. Good. The operative word there is minimum,
there is always a chance someone could get a read. A whisker laser has too much
bounce or you don't know the exact location of your target. Or someone has a
recon drone in between that can intercept the transmission. That is why we
drill and keep transmissions to a minimum while in combat situations," he
explained. Shelby nodded. "Broadcast transmissions are used to communicate
in a large area, Why don't we explore

that
a little..."

"Admiral
the classes are starting to show promise. They don't have the education of the
conscripts during the war, but they are improving rapidly," Firefly's AI
pulsed. The Admiral looked around the busy CIC bridge and nodded. The AI was transmitting
on his private link, so of course none of the crew could hear it. He studied a
nearby yeoman for a moment then nodded once more.

"That
they are. They are pretty rough around the edges, but they are eager and
determined. Those qualities are important." He watched as Shelby corrected
the tac watch softly.

"They
learn, and they aren't afraid of making a mistake or admitting it," Sprite
added her comments. "Most of them lack initiative though, or did. They are
starting to come out of their shells," the AI finished.

"That's
because they never had access to systems and information like this. No one in
the past seven hundred years has had this sort of access. To some it is
overwhelming," Firefly commented. "Still, it feels good to have a
crew again. Once we get them up to snuff they will run rings around any other
ship." The AI sounded smug. The Admiral chuckled. "Give us a month
and those pirates won't stand a chance Admiral," Firefly concluded.

The
Admiral shook his head. "Ask me for anything but time," he grunted.
They were running low on time. He expected the enemy to be coming through in
less than a week.

 "Literal
quote again Admiral?" Sprite teased. He chuckled. Shelby looked up to him
then back to her feed with a frown.

"Wellington,
or was it Napoleon? Not sure. That time period anyway. We take the best shot
with what we have. But while we wait we can try to sharpen things the best we
can." He nodded as Shelby patted the young man then came over.

"They
are getting better," she nodded to him.

"That
they are number one. That they are. How are you handling your implants?"
the Admiral asked. Silently Firefly fed him the data on her usage.

"It's
weird. I mean, dad described it to me over and over, but it's hard to put into
words. I've wanted implants my entire life," she replied shaking her head.
“It sort of tickles,” she admitted. He chuckled.

"It
does take some getting used to." He called up a crew chart and entered in
a request for usage of implants. After a moment Firefly charted the crew's progress
and learning curve and then showed him where Shelby was at on it. She was far
ahead of most of the crew. "A few are still getting the hang of it,"
he observed.

"What?
Oh, looking at the chart again?" Shelby asked. He tapped his link to
project the data onto the nearby HUD. "I... it's a bit harder to get used
to than I thought. I didn't expect the headaches to be honest, though I should
have. Dad has them all the time when he is jacked in." She shrugged.

"What
really bothers me is the body aches and pains...and don't get me started on
cramps!" she shuddered. The Admiral chuckled again.

"Drink
plenty of fluids and regular exercise. Limit long term time in the net. If you
don't need to be in the net then get out," he shrugged.

"How
do you do it?" she asked.

"Me?"
He smiled. "I'm wired into the net at all times remember?" He tapped
his brow. "Wonders of modern technology. I just don't focus on the net
unless I need to. I can also delegate tasks. You have to realize it is a tool.
Another channel you can tap to help you. But it can get addictive if you’re not
careful," he finished.

"Admiral
we're receiving notice from Anvil, the latest shipment of missiles are delayed.
Betsy and Captain Guiterez were diverted to SAR," the communication's
yeoman looked up from her display to the Admiral. Shelby turned to her with a
frown but the Admiral nodded.

"Very
well, get me a revised ETA and route it to my inbox." The young woman
blushed a little and then nodded turning back to her station. "Don't worry
about it Shelby, they have some rough edges, in some cases jagged, but they are
coming along fine. It will all come together in time," he smiled. She
nodded reluctantly.

"We're
approaching the first derelict now," Dan looked up and over to the
Admiral.

"Ping
her."

"Sending
active ping now. Sensor and IFF ping sent. Two seconds to return." The
tech held her hand to her earwig. She had yet to get implants. "Sensor
echo confirmed, it’s the Sun-Yat." She typed at her console then looked
up. "I've got an eighty percent probability match with her class. She has
some damage though," the girl frowned.

"Let's
not jump to any conclusions. Put it up on the big screen," Irons nodded to
the plot. The girl tapped at her controls frowned then looked up.

"I've
got it," Firefly reported as the image came up then stabilized. They could
see the image of the derelict ship drifting in a slow tumble. As it drifted
gray CG images would outline unknown areas then fill them in when a clear
resolution was achieved.

"She's
a beat up lady. Think she can still go to the prom Admiral?" Irons turned
to see Logan standing in the doorway. Logan was dressed in a skin suit. A work
belt with tools was strapped around his waist. Additional tools were strapped
to his thighs.

"Worried
about getting all dressed up and not having a date Commander?" Firefly
teased. That was a legitimate concern. They had just under nine days to get
this ship sorted and at the jump point before the admiral's original deadline
expired.

"Well,
now that you mention it, it would be a shame..." Logan drawled, then
smiled. His medical treatments had given him new life. His aged profile had
undergone a transformation. He would not get to the young thirty something year
old look of the Admiral, but he did look half his present age of one hundred
and twenty one.

"Damn,"
Janice muttered.

Irons
turned to look at the plot. "Enhance that," he said pointing.

"Enhancing
quadrant delta three. She's breached, it looks like her main fuel tank
ruptured. I'd say weapons fire from the heat peel around the breach. See the
blistering?" Firefly pointed out the details. Both Logan and the Admiral
grunted.

"She
must have taken a lance straight through her," Logan muttered. Firefly
highlighted similar breaches all over the hull.

"Not
all of them are combat damage, some look like micro meteor impacts," Logan
said studying the display. The habitat decks were definitely breached. Captain
Gutierrez had been right about that. Unlike a standard Federation naval vessel
this militia class had windows. He winced.

"Why
does she have old fashioned windows?" Janice asked seeing the glint of one
reflecting light.

"She's
old. Real old," Logan answered not looking away from the image. “She was
centuries old even before the Xeno war. Hopefully her frame is worth salvaging.”

"A
grand dam. She was probably transported to Pyrax on a freighter when the system
was first colonized then reassembled in space. Or she may have been an inner
system runabout. I'm not sure. Since she's a militia boat, my information is
sketchy at best," Irons answered.

"Right,
so should we bother? I mean look at her!" Harris waved to the image.

"Oh
ye of little faith. I've seen worse. Hell, we've lived in worse remember?"
Logan turned to the tac officer. Harris stared wide eyed.

"Patch
the holes, rebuild her power plant, refuel her, clean out her life support, and
she'll fly. I don't know how well until I check her engines though," Logan
shrugged.

"Are
we really going to do this?" Mayweather came in behind Logan. She gently
pushed him aside to get past him and onto the bridge.

"Looks
that way," Janice replied.

"Good.
When do we start?" Mayweather asked, turning to Logan, then to the
Admiral.

The
Admiral gave Logan a shrug then chuckled. "No time like the present."

"Right,
I've got my crew assembled in boat bay two. Sergio are you going to play
pilot?" Logan asked.

Sergio
jumped up then flinched. He turned to the Admiral. "Permission to..."

"Granted.
Go. Be careful," Irons replied.

"We're
not detecting any power sources Admiral," the scan tech announced.

"Still
a good idea. Debris can hole a ship, or a suit if you get cocky," Irons
replied as Sergio, Mayweather, and Logan left. “It's also best to get the idea
of safety firmly in your mind at the beginning. Remember, this is step three.
We've got a lot more to do.”

"This
is Shelby, if we're not going anywhere any time soon can we stand down the
engines?" Shelby called.

Firefly's
avatar flickered. Irons shot the avatar a look then looked up to the ceiling.
"Why? What’s the problem?" Irons asked.