Free Scrapyard Ship by Mark Wayne McGinnis

was proper military conduct over time. For now, though, he needed to sleep and get the procedure over with. He noticed the two of them looking at him for a response.
    "Yes, load it up. I won’t have time to undergo this procedure again, and I’ll need all the intelligence data you’ve got to be at my disposal. Please, finish up and get things moving along." Both nodded. Dira, attempting a smile, clearly looked worried. After a few more taps at the screen the clamshell began to close. Jason abruptly leaned forward and turned toward Ricket.
    "So, don't forget Mollie is up early," Jason reminded. “She’ll be looking for me. You'll be there, right? You'll explain where I'm at, right?”
    Calmly, Ricket replied, "I'll be there, yes; I'll explain where you're at. Lie back and stop squirming around, please.”
    Jason's last thoughts before he drifted off to sleep were of Mollie, then of Nan being forced onto the Craing ship.
    He had never experienced anything close to this. The pain was unrelenting. But it was the invasion of his mind, his thoughts—a complete disregard for his inner sanctity—the total loss of self that was the worst. He’d become conscious several times during the night. At one point, he looked out and saw Dira watching him. Her pale violet skin contrasted with her short black hair and, something possibly unique to her species, eyelashes extending several inches. She gave him an assuring nod, checked his vitals again, and left Medical. By the time the clamshell was open again, Jason felt like he’d been thrown off the side of a building. Dira was there, using a wet cloth on his forehead, concern in her eyes.
    “So, I guess I survived,” Jason said, attempting a smile.”
    “Actually, it was touch and go. Around 2:00 a.m. I checked in on you. Your vitals registered higher than they should. Then you alarmed two more times in the night, showing tearing had occurred in your cerebral cortex. Ricket had assured me that the nano-implants would repair any damage. He was right. Once they were introduced, no more problems.”
     
    * * *
     
    Jason was back in his own cabin the followingafternoon. He needed another full day before he felt steady enough on his feet to move about the ship. Mollie had mothered him to distraction. In his absence, she had figured out how to use the food replicator located in the captain's kitchenette. Chicken soup seemed to stay down the best. Both Ricket and Dira had come by to check on his progress, as well as Lieutenant Perkins, who was now sitting in a chair at his bunk side. Over the past few hours Jason had come up with a basic plan and he needed to bring the lieutenant up to speed.
    "First off, I need to understand Ricket’s role aboard this ship—does he have some kind of rank or position?”
    "We all just refer to him as the Science Officer. Perhaps a better description is caretaker. He's pretty much the only one who knows how things work."
    "How's that possible?" Jason said, exasperated. "I take it we have a qualified engineer on board?"
    "Yes, that would be Horris Latimer. From what I understand he's amazing with FTL fusion drive mechanics."
    "So, what's the problem?"
    "Although Horris would never admit it, he's utterly confused by the propulsion system on The Lilly. It uses a totally different technology than he, or anyone else here, is familiar with."
    "How about Ricket? How much does he understand?"
    "Quite a bit—at least enough to keep things running."
    Jason shook his head, not sure his questions were fully being answered.
    "I've made a list of the section heads I'd like to meet with first thing—starting with Chief Engineer Horris, then the head of Security, followed by all the officers.”
    Jason was quickly getting accustomed to his enhanced cognitive abilities. Amazed, it was as if overnight he’d acquired encyclopedic knowledge and advanced technical experience that normally would take years or even decades to possess. Now he could draw upon it at