Vaughn Heppner - The Lost Starship

The drill whirred as Meta took off a plate. The woman from the Rouen Colony worked tirelessly. Meta wasn’t only strong; she had stamina. What had really surprised Valerie was that Meta hadn’t been interested in studying the tech manuals.

For some time now, Valerie had been worrying about that, debating with herself. Despite the loss of his legs, and that he’d been a combat vet, her father had loved playing the piano. It had been the most incongruous thing about him. He’d pushed her to study books in order to get an education. About music, though, for himself, he’d had other ideas. He played by ear, by feel and instinct. Give him notes, and he uselessly pounded the keys. Let him listen, and he produced a musical miracle.

Meta was like that with the engine. Given that they lacked many of the needed spare parts, that was probably a good thing.

With a sleeve, Valerie wiped her eyes. She’d have to tell Maddox about her find. Meta’s engineering talents might be priceless aboard the ancient sentinel.

If we ever reach the alien star system that is , Valerie thought.

Meta looked up. “Do we have a proton coupler?”

“No.”

Scowling, Meta said, “You didn’t even check your reader list.”

“Don’t have to,” Valerie said. “I already have it memorized.”

“We need a proton coupler,” Meta said.

“I’m sure you’re right, but we don’t have one.”

Meta bent her head in thought. “Okay. I know what might work. There’s a chance it will blow the engine, though.”

“Wait a minute. We should think this through then.”

“No,” Meta said. “That isn’t how you repair something fast.”

“Who said anything about fast?” Valerie asked. “We have to do it right .”

“I thought you told me you went through the Space Academy,” Meta said.

If someone else had asked her that, Valerie might have bristled. She knew Meta didn’t mean anything derogatory by the statement.

“I don’t understand what you’re getting at,” Valerie said.

“In your academy training days, I bet you had to practice emergency repairs. But you’ve never really needed those repairs done or you’d be dead.”

Valerie thought back to the Pan System Battle.

“On the Rouen Colony,” Meta was saying, “we had to repair broken machinery on the double. If we didn’t, we lost credits and likely lost several meals. We learned to fix things fast, and well. The combination meant food on the table. Here, if we fail, it’s our life.”

That made sense. Desperation changed the rules, and it demanded a level head. Valerie decided she would always remain levelheaded no matter what the situation. No one was going to outperform her, not even Meta.

“I approve your idea,” Valerie said. “Let’s try it.”

Meta disappeared as she ducked down, and the repairs continued at their accelerated pace.

Thirty-six hours after exiting the Laumer-Point into this barren system, an alarm blared. Valerie dragged herself out of bed. According to the clock, she’d slept for four hours, but she was still exhausted.

Her hands shook, and her left shoulder hurt every time she moved it.

Someone knocked on the hatch.

“What?” she shouted.

The hatch creaked open. At that point, Valerie recalled that Sergeant Riker had repaired an antigravity pod. The scout had one-half gravity. It was much better than zero-gravity.

Sergeant Riker poked his head in. “The captain asked me to help you in the engine room today.”

“Fine,” Valerie said. “How’s Doctor Rich? Is there any improvement?”

The sergeant’s gaze flickered elsewhere, almost as if he was embarrassed about something. “She’s alive,” he muttered.

“So there isn’t any improvement?”

As he took a deeper breath, the sergeant shook his head.

Valerie didn’t know why, but his answer bothered her. The old man was polite enough, but at times, it seemed he was simply an extension of Captain Maddox.

“You do know that Doctor Rich saved your life,” she said.

“I’m following procedures,” Riker said, a little too defensively.

“You have to do more than that,” Valerie said.

“Can you suggest what that is?”

His answer made Valerie pause, and it surprised her to have said something like doing more than following procedures. Maybe these past days watching Meta had taught her a new approach to problems.

“I’m quite capable of handling emergency medics,” the sergeant said. “Comas… That’s out of hands. We must let the robo-doctor proceed according to schedule.”

“Whatever,” Valerie said. “Let’s go. Meta probably needs our help.”

They exited her quarters, and she turned toward the engine room. Riker caught her elbow. Valerie spun around, staring at him.

The sergeant seemed serene now. “You must eat first.”

“I don’t have time. We don’t have time.”

“No. You need your wits about you. Remember, Lieutenant, Meta is a cunning individual. There’s a reason she was on Loki Prime. We mustn’t forget that.”

Valerie rubbed her eyes. The sergeant had a point. Captain Maddox was unorthodox and selected unorthodox people. She Valerie knew how to follow orders and do things the Star Watch way. She suspected Sergeant Riker was the same way. People like them needed to stick together.

“Let’s get chow,” she said.

Afterward, they headed to the engine room.

Several hours later, Riker yawned. “I’m taking a break,” he said.

The lieutenant glanced at his bloodshot eye. The old man turned away, staggering as he departed. He was a tough old bird, but he didn’t have their youthful energy. Was he even the right individual for such a daunting mission as this?

Valerie moved nearer Meta, who had grease stains on her coveralls and a burn across her left cheek. She’d gotten that earlier. Normal lighting had returned, which made repairs easier. Meta stepped away from what she’d been doing and sank onto a stool. Valerie leaned against a control panel.

It had almost been four days since they’d left the Loki System. Just how close was the destroyer to reaching them?

“We’re mobile to a degree,” Meta said. It meant the fusion plant was working somewhat. “Since the scout has some power, I’d like to take a break to see Dana.”

Valerie almost said yes. Instead, she pondered the request. Meta was tough as well as handy with repairs. Something about the two G miner troubled Valerie, though. She hadn’t been able to pinpoint her qualms before this. Now it came to her. Meta felt a lot like one of the Detroit gang members she used to encounter.

“What was it like on the Rouen Colony?” Valerie asked.

The questioned seemed to catch Meta off-guard. Her features closed down, and her shoulders tensed. Then Meta laughed. It wasn’t a happy sound, but bitter. “Why do you want to know?”

The days of working together and her present exhaustion loosened Valerie’s tongue. She began telling Meta something about her childhood in Detroit. Once she started talking, the words poured out of her. Maybe it was the way Meta nodded in understanding. The woman sympathized, seemed to have gone through similar troubles. Valerie had never met someone who could experientially understand her.

After a time, Meta related a few details about the Rouen Colony: the harsh rules and that everyone had legally belonged to the Chabot family as property.

“You were slaves?” Valerie asked.

“Effectively,” Meta said.

“That’s awful!”

Meta cocked her head as if assessing Valerie’s words. After a few seconds, she smiled.

The smile shocked Valerie. She realized it was the first time the woman had truly smiled while aboard the Geronimo . Despite her growing sympathy for Meta, it reminded Valerie how dangerous the woman was. Those other smiles— Did she use those to lull us?