< Nick, Printer Eight has finished production. >
Nick read the ssage and frowned. Which one was Printer Eight again? < Thank you, Petra. Please show the most recent items produced on each of your printers, and who they were for. >
< Certainly, Nick. >
Nick was about to examine the list on his wall display, but abruptly he tasted wasabi really strongly, and had a coughing fit that lasted a lot longer than the actual hallucination. I wonder when I start getting smarter, he grumbled. After a few more breaths to make sure he was okay, he took a look at the list.
Printer 1: Vorzagik Zembulator, Petra
Printer 2: dical Repair Swarm Model 888, life forms aboard New Hope
Printer 3: dical Repair Swarm Model 331, Nick
Printer 4: Printer 18, to be assigned
Printer 5: dical Repair Swarm Model 331, Captain Telnik
Printer 6: Earth Fusion Reactor Core, small, Nick
Printer 7: Earth-compatible Data Storage, Nick
Printer 8: Paranthic Focus Elent, Captain Geh!aoa
Printer 9: Aweso Apple Pie, Nick
Printer 10: Cure for Lupus, 12,371/50,000 completed, Dr. Vickall
Printer 11: Curry Powder, Yiyirari
Printer 12: dical Repair Swarm Model 331, Captain Telnik
Printer 13: Phase Differential Sensor, Polla Mastook
Printer 14: Goldaskian Ration Bars, 3,743/10000 completed, Captain Geh!aoa
Printer 15: HUD Fabricator Component 7, 29/42 completed, Steven Holton
Printer 16: Pan-Organic Flow Matrix Scanner, Dr. Vickall
Printer 17: Silk Cloth, Grrmyip
There was always at least one printer printing another printer. They had to dedicate at least two printers full ti to producing MRS Model 331, because they had to co up with the rest of the paynt for services by the Guranaki lorbefore the New Hope left the solar system. Nick had two printers making things for Earth, and one for personal use. Petra insisted on one printer making more MRS Model 331 for Nick's personal use in ergencies.
Since he was unsure what was going on in what Petra used for a mind these days, he was opting for the cautious route of keeping Petra happy.
He scrolled back in the transcript to remind himself. Right. Printer 8. Nick looked at the relevant line and frowned. It's for Captain Geh!aoa, so probably sothing for the New Hope. But what the hell is a 'Paranthic Focus Elent'?
So careful questions for Petra got him an answer: it was a component of an adapter from Goldaskian to more advanced technology. Specifically, it was the last component required to upgrade Particle Beam Weapon 5 on the New Hope.
They had been squeezing parts for ship upgrades into the production schedule for a while now. It took ti to print all of the components, and then more ti by the crew to finish assembly. So far, the only systems upgraded on the New Hope were so of the scanners, and Mallik had been very excited to try them out a couple of weeks back. Now, the ship's weaponry was getting an upgrade. One of the twenty particle beam weapons was, at any rate.
We'll probably need to take a trip to the asteroid belt or sothing for target practice. I don't think shooting up the Moon would go over well. Nick froze for just a mont. No. I don't have to tell them not to do that. They'll know. Trust other people to do their jobs, Nick.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
He had been chatting with Maggie and Steve off and on, but as usual, he was on call for assisting with conversations between humans and aliens, and there were about twenty of those going on simultaneously most of the ti, so he was kept pretty busy. He took breaks of course, but the questions piled up whenever did. As Earth diplomats got up to speed, that was tapering off rapidly, but for the mont, he felt pretty harried.
He took himself off duty entirely, though, once Maggie and Steve were able to leave quarantine. He was down there when the door lifted, and was promptly tackled by Maggie. It felt really good.
"Oh my God, I missed you so much," Maggie said.
" too. I missed...all of this." He squeezed her tightly. Neither one of them wanted to let go. The feel of her in my arms is too good.
"Ahem," Brian prodded. "If you two are done playing Hug Chicken..."
"Nope," they both said at once, and grinned at each other.
"I'm betting she lets go first," Nick declared.
"Oh yeah? Why is that?" Maggie demanded.
"Well, for one thing, I used the head a couple of minutes ago, so you'll need it before I do."
"That's cheating. I demand a recount."
"Any ti. Brian, get over here. Maggie, do you need to practice your sharing?"
"Hey, we were four years old!" Maggie moved to one side, but she kept one arm wrapped around him. It felt good. She left enough room for Nick to give Brian a quick one-arm hug.
"It's good to see you, man," Nick said with feeling.
"Yeah, you too. I can't wait to hear all the stuff you haven't been telling us because the CIA is listening to our calls."
"Can't wait to share it. But first, do you guys need anything? Food, water?"
"We've got the basics covered. Go ahead and give us a tour. I gotta warn you, though, once we go into Engineering, I might not co out for a few days," Brian declared.
Nick hadn't stopped grinning since Maggie started hugging him. "Oh, you wouldn't want to miss the shuttle bay, Brian. The tech is probably more comprehensible down there."
"Priorities, man. Priorities. FTL drive first, cool doodads later."
"Understood." Nick looked at the pile of gear that had sat in quarantine with them. "Hm, I should probably figure out how to get all your stuff put away sowhere."
"Hey, I only brought one bag, and I can carry that. Maggie brought six."
"Six? Really?" Nick looked at Maggie, who t his gaze steadily. The lifelong friends didn't need their words spoken aloud.
Are you planning to...stay with , Maggie?
Yes.
You're sure?
Yes...if you'll have .
Aloud, Maggie said, "Well, I didn't know how formal dinners would be, whether I needed a swimsuit...you know how it is."
Nick swallowed. "I'm always amazed at how prepared you are, Maggie."
She smiled at him, but looked a little choked up. "Well, I thought it over, and I realized that...I wouldn't miss this for the world. Not for the whole world."
"Space is at a premium on board," Nick explained. "I can wrangle one more cabin, so we'll have to share."
"I'll bunk with you," Maggie said quickly.
"I guess I get my own room, then," Brian said with amusent.
"Well, all right then. Any more perishables in that other stuff?"
"Nothing urgent, or we'd have said so," Brian pointed out.
"Right, right. I spent so long all by myself, having to do everything, that I have to keep reminding myself to let other people do their own thing and be smart about it," Nick explained. "I an, God, I am so thankful that other people are helping and doing stuff, but whenever I think of a problem, my first thought is to worry about sothing exploding if I don't check on it myself."
"Co on, you can't be that bad," Maggie said. "You weren't like that before."
"I didn't have the weight of multiple worlds on my shoulders, before. I'm just...so scared of screwing up sothing important. Anyway." He went and picked up three of Maggie's bags. Brian took two in addition to his own, and Maggie carried her last bag.
Suddenly, the compartnt was spinning rapidly. Nick froze. It's just a hallucination, it's just a hallucination, it's just...The spinning sensation stopped as abruptly as it started.
"Nick?" Maggie asked, concerned.
He took a deep breath. "Sorry, just side effects."
"Side effects of what?"
"I got brain boosting surgery earlier today, and it causes hallucinations in the early stages."
"Brain...boosting...surgery?" Brian asked slowly.
"Um, yeah. A few people have gotten it already—"
"Where do I sign up?!"
"I'll ask Sana to schedule you for it," Nick told him.
"Uh, surgery to make you smarter? I'll take one of those, too," Maggie put in.
"I think Sana has to see you both individually for checkups later, so ask her then in case I forget."
Nick led them to his cabin, and told Petra to shuffle compartnts to make room for a small one next to his. His friends both gasped when the ship started rearranging itself in front of them. As soon as the walls stopped shifting, he had Petra open the new door. "That's yours, Brian. Can you entertain yourself for a few minutes while I get Maggie settled? Then we'll do the tour."
"I'm studying Arrurran math pretty much every mont my mouth isn't moving. I'm good." Brian grinned, set down Maggie's bags, and walked into his cabin. Nick had Petra open the door to his cabin and led Maggie inside. Nick braced himself.
We've got a lot to talk about.
Reviews
All reviews (0)