Fool's Gold (The Wandering Engineer) by Chris Hechtl Page A

what we don't need.” He shook his head going back to work.
    It
took two more hours to complete the hull repairs and install the seat and
interior. He was just starting on the electronics when he heard the first
stirrings in the living section.
    “The
O'Reilly's are off to work,” Sprite reported. “Anita is up, but she can't get a
shower in. She's in the kitchen crying,” Sprite reported again after a moment.
He sighed as he plugged a module in to the mother board, then began running the
new wiring harness.
    A
sleepy and rather stiff Junior joined him nearly thirty minutes later. He
nodded to the young man. “Sergio, can you do me a favor and get me a cup of
coffee?” he asked. Sergio winced then left. A few minutes later he returned
with his mother.
    “You've
been at it all night?” she asked sounding worried. He smiled and nodded his
thanks to Sergio as he took the cup. “I don't need much sleep; I can go for a
week without it if needed.” He took a sip as he watched Sergio examine the cab.
    “It
looks different,” he said, running his hands over the hull. He looked back at
the Admiral with a confused expression. The Admiral smiled. He'd taken the time
to check each patch and grind the welds smooth.
    “Yes,
the hull is repaired. I will do a pressure test later,” he waved his cup to the
cabin.
    Sergio
climbed in without further invitation and whistled. He got up and stared,
running his hand over the inside of the glass. “I don't believe it!” He sounded
excited. His mother smiled fondly.
    “The
only way to do it is to do it right the first time,” the Admiral said dryly.
Sergio examined the wiring harness. “It's all neat, how will I … oh and
labeled!” Anita chuckled.
    “She's
no Viper or Manta fighter, but she'll do the job and get you home safe if you
respect her limits,” the Admiral replied, giving the boy a pointed look.
    “Lesson
learned,” Sergio sighed. His mother nodded.
    “I'm
going to check on your father before my shift starts. Be safe. Breakfast is in
the pantry.” She gave the Admiral a look. He chuckled.
    “Yes
ma'am,” he murmured meekly. She waved a fist at him.
    “Eat.
You may not need sleep, but I know you need food or power.” She waved to the
airlock. He chuckled as junior climbed out of the cab and ran his hands over
the tug. “Almost as good as new,” he was murmuring over and over.
    He
looked up from the replicator to see Anita kiss her son on his swollen cheek.
“Be good, stay safe,” she said then pushed him into the living quarters. The
Admiral hid a smile with his coffee mug.
     

Chapter 3
     
    It
took them most of the morning to finish rewiring the tug. He was forced to find
work for an excited Sergio. Finally he asked the young man to do a safety check
on his suit. Sergio rushed out to comply making the Admiral sigh in relief.
    “Admiral,
I've been monitoring the station net. There are a lot of unhappy people out
there. This water shortage is not going over well. Perhaps it's time we took a
hand in the big picture?” Sprite asked.
    He
shook his head. “Let's eat lunch and do a flight check and tune up. Getting
that tug in space will be a step in that direction.” He nodded to Sergio as he
returned fully suited.
    “Did
you eat?” he asked the boy.
    He
shook his head. “Too excited,” he replied.
    The
Admiral chuckled. “Okay, let's do the tune up and then you can eat.” He watched
as Junior climbed into the cab and powered it up.
    “Start
small, get the electronics up.” He watched as Sergio keyed in the activation
sequence. The young man checked everything over. Iron's nodded. He wasn't about
to tell the young man he was in the tugs network monitoring everything.
    “Reactor
test,” he ordered.
    One
by one they checked and tuned each system. The onboard software began to adapt
to the new changes, adjusting settings. Sergio looked at the board in
amazement. “She almost flies herself,” he said. Irons chuckled.
    “If
she's ship shape it