The Technician's Fight, Draft 1, CH30

The ship didn’t have the level of alertness Jeremy had expected. There was something, in the days that followed, but it wasn’t like the tension he felt.

They were chasing a pirate ship. Didn’t that meant that any moment now battle could occur? Gral had explained how the ship they pursued was staying ahead, red-lining their reactor until they were slightly faster than the Bane, and becoming slightly slower when they needed to ease up on it to keep from destroying themselves.

What his Heart didn’t seem to understand, was that it was only a question of time before that didn’t work anymore, and since they weren’t suicidal enough to blow themselves up as soon as the Bane had showed up, they’d shut down the reactor before the explosion occurred, and they there would be weapons fire while shuttles boarded it, then fighting, rescuing of prisoners, and more fighting.

Gral had pulled him to bed and distracted Jeremy before he spiraled any further.

And, in the afterglow, he’d realized that the lack of tension on his Heart’s part, the reason the ship wasn’t keyed up for what was coming, could be because, unlike him, they’d gone through this before. This wasn’t their first prolonged chase.

And Kelsirians weren’t built for sustained stress.

They knew something was coming. The civilians knew that, at a moment’s notice, they’d have to head for shelter, and they remained aware of that, but until then, they did what their gods demanded of them.

They lived.

They loved.

They enjoyed.

Real or not, there might be something to that mindset.

*

He looked at the sensor readings, trying to make something of them. Anything. Because of the situation, the Engineer had open access to the sensors. He had to ask for changed he needed, but their readings were mirrored to his office for him to study and provide advice, if he had any.

It also meant Jeremy had access to them.

He’d finished the work he’d been assigned, so, until the Engineer noticed and gave him something else to work on, he studied the readings.

“What do you make of them?” the Engineer asked.

Jeremy snorted. “What’s there to make? Their engines are going so hard they’re basically shielding everything on the other side from our sensors.” He pointed to a spike. “That might be a mark of arkeron radiation, which would support they’re redlining their reactor, but it could as easily be interference from the propulsion energy.”

“Earther?”

“No way to know. Even if it wasn’t blocked. The energy output from reactors is just energy. We get byproduct radiations, but that’s pretty much the same no matter how a reactor is designed. I could see someone trying to shield those, but all that’d do is make them stand out.”

“Most of those can’t be blocked. They’ll go through everything short of a black hole,” the Engineer said.

“Yeah, but it wouldn’t stop someone from trying, just so say they did it. It’s an Earther thing, might be some other species too, but we are famous among ourselves for building things that serve little purpose other than proving it can be done.”

“All those projects in your drafting table?”

Jeremy chuckled. “Most of them. A few are what I think of as improvement to the reactor. Don’t worry. I don’t do anything. They’re mostly theoretical models.” When the Engineer didn’t comment, he looked over his shoulder. The pensive expression went away.

“When you have your own,” he stated, and Jeremy laughed.

“Oh, sure, when you’re so old and shriveled you can’t be the Engineer, you mean.” He shook his head. “I’m happy sticking with theory, hopeless problems like this, and whatever you give me to do, so I don’t have to think about what’s going to happen when we catch up to them.”

“The backup needs to be looked over. Do that and fix whatever’s needed.”

“You’re letting me do whatever I want without checking in with you first?”

The male snorted. “So long as it’s just to repair what’s wrong. Not that I care what happens to it. It’s not like it’s mine. But don’t even think about trying your ideas on it,” he added as Jeremy smiled. “It’s your Heart you’ll have to answer to if he needs it powered, and it doesn’t work.”

The smile didn’t go away. “But him, I know how to bribe.”

The Engineer rolled his eyes. “That works just as well with me.”

“Oh sure, that’s why you’re letting me make so many changes to your reactor.”

His friend smirked. “You aren’t that skilled.”

*

Jeremy looked over the circuits. “Try it now,” he called, without pulling out from within the shuttle’s command panel. This wasn’t going to work, yet again. So there was no point in—

“It came on!” Toom exclaimed, and Jeremy went over the readings. They were stable. None of the circuits generated heat. Had he actually lucked into giving the maneuvering system active control?

He pulled himself out. “Just don’t ask me to recreate it.”

“Maintenance,” his friend said. “I’m ready for a test maneuvering. Give me the all-clear to engage flight controls.”

“Who’s this? I’m not registering any ship on the comms.”

“You may address me and Pilot Toomerimortoral. I’m in my shuttle, the Earther designed one.”

“You got that thing working?”

“I do have access to an Earther Engineer.”

“Don’t anyone get the idea I can do anything about other Earther ship,” Jeremy said, moving close to his friend so his collar would pick up his voice. “I don’t even know how I got this one working.”

“He knows,” Toom said. “He performed Earther science on it.”

Jeremy opened his mouth and had a finger in it before he could protest again.

“Well, you’re alone in that part of the hangar, so you’re clear to unlock, but not to maneuver out of the civilian shuttle section. I don’t want my shuttles damaged when yours blows up.”

“We’ll be fine.” Toom took his finger out of Jeremy’s mouth.

“You know, this could blow us up.”

“I’m confident it won’t happen,” his friend replied, tapping screens.

“And why is that?” Jeremy held on to the chair when the shuttle vibrated.

“Because our death would make Xeni sad, and his namesake would never want that for his favorite lover.”

“You’re trust in—”

The shuttle jerked up, and Jeremy’s heart jumps even higher.

Toom squealed in delight.

“I can’t believe we didn’t blow up,” Jeremy muttered.

“Told you.” He tapped other controls. “Now, how do I see outside?”

“Don’t look at me. My only suggestion is to stick your head out the hatch.”

“Can’t do that. I’m at the controls.” He smiled. “Do you mind looking outside and telling me when I get close to a wall?”

“Toom, you can’t—”

The shuttle drifted, and Jeremy rushed to the open hatch. “You are insane!”

“Am I close?”

He should jump out and let his friend kill himself. “Roughly twenty meters away.” He could console Xenial. “Fifteen, twelve.” Gral would be harder to do so with. “Nine, seven, five, Toom!”

The shuttle stopped moving.

“Am I three or two meters away?”

“From an early grave!”

“What’s that?”

“The fastest way to the forest!”

Toom laughed. “So?”

He looked outside. “I’m calling it two meters.”

“Closer than I wanted,” Toom muttered. “Look ahead. Tell me when I’m three meters away.”

“Are you—” Jeremy yelled, then the shuttle drifted forward, and he didn’t wait for that three meters. He gave a running countdown of the distance, and he breathed again only when it came to a stop, roughly three meters from the wall.

“You’re going to give me a heart attack,” Jeremy complained. “What are you going to tell Gral, then?”

“That I took you to medical, and that you’ll be in his bed before his sleep shift.”

“Park this thing, you lover of Gezbiliam, so I can get out of here and tell Gral who you’re truly in love with.”

“My love’s big enough for him, you and a few gods.” The shuttle drifted away from the walls.

“Glad to hear that. I just want to survive being in this shuttle with you. I swear. I am never getting into anything you pilot again.”

Toom grinned at him. “You better hope we make a station before I’m on shift again. Ship Pilot, remember?”

Jeremy swallowed the groan. Well, at least he couldn—

No, he wasn’t even risking the thought.

*

Jeremy scream as he pushed himself to his feet, shoving his two pack mates off him. They rolled to their feet as two other ran. Jeremy grabbed one and swung her into the other, then had a weight on his back. He reached, grabbed a handful of jacket and pulled. Kelsirians might have strength over him, but that meant little without leverage. She landed on her back and wriggled out of her jacket before he could throw her to the side.

She grinned as he panted.

He threw himself at her, and was the one grabbed, maneuvered off balance, then was on his back, with her straddling his chest. Before he could reach for her, there was a weight on his arm, then the other, then his legs, then his hips. Try as he might, he was the one without leverage this time.

“What mistake did you make?” Thur asked, looking down at him, and Jeremy glared.

“Ever agreeing to being a hunter,” he snapped. “How can any of you just be enjoying yourselves when we’ve got to be about to enter combat any day now? Two weeks we’ve been at this, with them redlining their reactors and barely letting it breathed. I can’t stand it!”

She stood. “Maybe you males need to distract our pack mate until he remembers that Hunters live when we don’t hunt.”

“But the fight—”

“Will come when it comes, hunter,” his beta said. “The mistake you are making is the same you often make. You are in the future. Be here, now, with us.”

“I don’t know how with this. We’re going to be sent on that ship.”

“You can’t know that,” Trose said, standing.

“I’m the only one with experience of Earther reactors and the odds are extremely high that’s what’s on that ship. We’re being sent.”

Eyes turned to their beta.

“It makes sense,” he said.

The others nodded.

“That’s it?” Jeremy demanded. “You just got confirmation we’re going into battle and you nod?”

“We’re hunters of the line,” Yamilk said. “Going into battles is what we do. But until then, we have to live. Live in the now. Enjoy the now. Those here with us, for after the battle, some of them may be walking the Forest.”

“Not today,” their beta said.

“No,” Yamilk said, smiling. “Not today.”

*

Not today, Jeremy reminded himself as he felt the tension rise. The fear of what was to come. He focused on his breathing and swam. Not today.

Another week.

He was amazed the other ship’s reactor hadn’t given out yet. The cycle of redlining it and barely allowing it down to cool hadn’t narrowed as much as he’d expected. He didn’t have enough information to figure out what it meant, other than the reactor had to be recent. Which supported Earther military passing themselves off as pirates, and that this wasn’t simply a commandeered ship.

Or they were successful pirates who understood the value of recent and properly working equipment.

Not enough information.

Not today.

He plunged and turned around.

The mantra helped, but keeping busy was more effective. He needed problems to solve, things to keep his mind focused on the now, instead of tomorrow. But always working on those came with problems of their own. So he had to take breaks. He had to live. To enjoy. To be.

He’d never realized how hard just being could be when something loomed.

He saw the sandy incline and stood.

He grabbed his towel off the sand and stood, drying himself. Not putting on a show, he told himself. Just putting himself on display. Kelsirians enjoyed watching him. So why should he deprive them?

He chuckled at the memories of his early discomfort. All the attached beliefs of what he meant to be looked at in appreciation, even with desire. His hair more damp than wet, he stretched on the sand to soak in the heat.

Not today, he reminded himself.

Probably soon, but not today.

Today, he lived and enjoyed himself.

Tomorrow would bring whatever it brought.

Outline section 

No Outline

Addition 

What does the ship look like/behave like on a prolong hunt?

At its core, this is nothing more than a passage of time chapter. Then, I used it to consider what it means to be on an extended chase for the people on the ship. I wasn’t able to address the civilians directly as I expected to, but I’m happy with what I did. Contrasting Jeremy’s expectations with his pack and other Kelsirians acceptance of how things were. Again, considering how Kelsirian are built when coming up with how they would handle something looming for a while. Basically. What do Kelsirians do when on alert for extended period of time? Teh answer seems to be they don’t. They’ll address the immediate future, but are mostly in the now.