Chapter 5

Eric found the tour of the facility interesting. They allowed him to bring in a SNARK. It was able to scan, and even do limited diagnostics on some of the systems. The result of the diagnostics done, was that a lot of the machinery was found to be broken or breaking down.

Maintenance had not been performed as it should have. Parts were wearing out, and no spares were available. Only one operating room was still staffed and functional. They were saving that for staff and selected persons outside the compound, which explained why they could not help the boy with the liver failure.

They showed him their main control room. Eric was interested in the computers that ran the whole complex. They were large and bulky by his standards, and not all were functioning. As programming failed, certain functions of the compound would shut down, due to safety over rides. This meant that not all the shut down machinery, was down due to wear.

It did not take the SNARK long to access the computer and discover this problem. Eric informed his hosts, and they nodded. Apparently, they had lost the ability to repair or fix the computer, or to resolve programming conflicts.

CCS-14 informed Eric he could have two repair drones land and start working on the problems, within the next hour. The drones would be equipped with nano-bots, which would be able to get into the machinery, and make repairs from the inside out. They could also affect repairs on the computer hardware.

The power plant was still operational. When it had been installed, had been built to last. With very few moving parts, the thermal power plant was operating at 90 percent efficiency.

Now the big question, was why should Eric do it? Well, why not? He was basically stranded here on this planet. There was no where to go. The huge dead colony ship was not a help, as it had become contaminated over the years, with radiation from the non-maintained engines.

The drive for the colony ship was one that Eric's own people had scrapped almost 1000 years ago. It was an interstellar ram jet. A field would form at the front of the ship and as the ship went along its course. It would funnel all manner of atoms towards the front of the ship.

Inside the front of the ship, was a processing plant. It would sort out useful, heavier atoms, and send the light hydrogen atoms to be burnt as fuel. The ship also had on board tanks, which were always being replenished this way.

Thus the colony ship had an unlimited fuel supply, to be had, free. While space may look empty, in reality it is loaded with atoms and molecules of various types. These people had found a way to make the collection field several hundred thousand miles wide, and it was enough to cause a great deal of fuel to be scooped up and used.

The months went by. Winter turned into spring, which in turn gave way to early summer. With Eric and CCS-14's help, the compound was restored to its fully functional capabilities. Eric's ship had even taught basic classes to the technical people who were left, in the proper care and maintenance of the equipment.

CCS-14 was active, but powered down to minimum functionality. There was no reason to maintain full alertness. Eric had resolved the conflict between himself and CCS-14, and the ship now accepted Eric back with no reservations.

Eric was aboard CCS-14, when the ship went into emergency power-up.

"I have detected an anomaly, which has resolved itself into a ship. Ship is approximately 275 meters in length. Scanning. Scan complete. Ship is powered by..." and so went the litany.

Eric listened with fascination. A ship!

There were other beings with space capabilities besides himself! He was not alone! The question now was, were they hostile or friendly? What would their reaction be to him, and his ship? According to CCS-14, the ship was of unfamiliar design. It was of no known type in the ship's memory, and it'd had every ship type known downloaded at the last port of call!