Read Online Pursue the Past: Samair in Argos: Book 1 by Michael Kotcher - Free Book Online
Authors: Michael Kotcher
Ads: Link
brightened. “All right, enough moping. Time to get to work!”
“According to diagnostics,” Ka’Xarian said, “it looks like more than half of the electronics are fried. We’re going to need to do a complete rebuild.”
“I actually prefer that,” Tamara replied. “I don’t want some century-old processor to fail in the middle of combat maneuvers. Let’s get to work pulling them out. I’m going to get the replicator started on working on the replacements.” Pulling up her datapad, she pressed the command sequences, and getting a ping in response, Tamara stuffed it back into her pocket with a grunt. Pulling out a few tools, she set to work on the cockpit electronics.
It took little more than two hours to pull out the shorted-out circuitry, and half again as long to replace it with the new components from the replicator. Every time a new part emerged, Ka’Xarian couldn’t help but marvel. It had been so long since the replicator was doing its job that it was an amazing thing to see. The zheen set up a pair of crewmembers to continue to feed junk components into the replicator to keep the raw material bunker as close to full as possible. The crewmen also had very strict instructions that they were otherwise not to touch that replicator. Actually, it was less of an instruction and more of a threat, that both of them would end up on Ka’Xarian’s supper plate if they did anything to hurt that replicator. They believed him.
It didn’t bother Tamara, the threat, because she completely agreed with it. They needed that replicator to fix the Perdition and she’d be damned if she had to go and build another replicator. That might happen at some point anyway, since the other replicator would need a rebuild and at some point she would be leaving this ship, so she would need at least a micro-industrial replicator to take with her when she did. But that was a problem for later. For now, she needed to stay focused on the fighter.
Which was an easy thing to do, as it turned out. She was enthusiastic about the project and with Ka’Xarian’s help, the work actually went quickly. He wasn’t up to Tamara’s level as far as fixing things went, but he was a very quick study. It wouldn’t be long before he would be able to work unassisted, though in all fairness, it wasn’t often that people these days worked on Republic military hardware. The zheen’s workers kept bringing parts as the replicator finished making them, and they had a nice little assembly line going.
The captain wandered in after about twelve hours of work. Tamara and the others had stopped; they were taking a meal break, the first in all that time. “You are a machine, Moxie. I never thought that piece of junk would ever get unwrapped let alone get rebuilt like this.”
She held up a ration bar in salute. “You shouldn’t doubt a woman when she’s sure. It isn’t healthy.”
“Well, if I’d known you were actually this good, I might have put some money down.” He had a broad grin on his face. “But, it doesn’t fly yet.” He tsked.
“You’re doubting me again,” Tamara replied, giving him a stern look.
“All right. All right.” He threw his hands up in surrender. “But until that thing actually flies,” he pointed, “I will continue to doubt.”
She winked at him. He chuckled and then walked away.
Tamara took another bite of the ration bar and grimaced. “This isn’t actually too bad,” she said aloud.
“Liar,” Ka’Xarian replied. He was eating some sort of beige-colored paste from a bowl. It
“According to diagnostics,” Ka’Xarian said, “it looks like more than half of the electronics are fried. We’re going to need to do a complete rebuild.”
“I actually prefer that,” Tamara replied. “I don’t want some century-old processor to fail in the middle of combat maneuvers. Let’s get to work pulling them out. I’m going to get the replicator started on working on the replacements.” Pulling up her datapad, she pressed the command sequences, and getting a ping in response, Tamara stuffed it back into her pocket with a grunt. Pulling out a few tools, she set to work on the cockpit electronics.
It took little more than two hours to pull out the shorted-out circuitry, and half again as long to replace it with the new components from the replicator. Every time a new part emerged, Ka’Xarian couldn’t help but marvel. It had been so long since the replicator was doing its job that it was an amazing thing to see. The zheen set up a pair of crewmembers to continue to feed junk components into the replicator to keep the raw material bunker as close to full as possible. The crewmen also had very strict instructions that they were otherwise not to touch that replicator. Actually, it was less of an instruction and more of a threat, that both of them would end up on Ka’Xarian’s supper plate if they did anything to hurt that replicator. They believed him.
It didn’t bother Tamara, the threat, because she completely agreed with it. They needed that replicator to fix the Perdition and she’d be damned if she had to go and build another replicator. That might happen at some point anyway, since the other replicator would need a rebuild and at some point she would be leaving this ship, so she would need at least a micro-industrial replicator to take with her when she did. But that was a problem for later. For now, she needed to stay focused on the fighter.
Which was an easy thing to do, as it turned out. She was enthusiastic about the project and with Ka’Xarian’s help, the work actually went quickly. He wasn’t up to Tamara’s level as far as fixing things went, but he was a very quick study. It wouldn’t be long before he would be able to work unassisted, though in all fairness, it wasn’t often that people these days worked on Republic military hardware. The zheen’s workers kept bringing parts as the replicator finished making them, and they had a nice little assembly line going.
The captain wandered in after about twelve hours of work. Tamara and the others had stopped; they were taking a meal break, the first in all that time. “You are a machine, Moxie. I never thought that piece of junk would ever get unwrapped let alone get rebuilt like this.”
She held up a ration bar in salute. “You shouldn’t doubt a woman when she’s sure. It isn’t healthy.”
“Well, if I’d known you were actually this good, I might have put some money down.” He had a broad grin on his face. “But, it doesn’t fly yet.” He tsked.
“You’re doubting me again,” Tamara replied, giving him a stern look.
“All right. All right.” He threw his hands up in surrender. “But until that thing actually flies,” he pointed, “I will continue to doubt.”
She winked at him. He chuckled and then walked away.
Tamara took another bite of the ration bar and grimaced. “This isn’t actually too bad,” she said aloud.
“Liar,” Ka’Xarian replied. He was eating some sort of beige-colored paste from a bowl. It
Similar Books
