Taz came over the intercom. “Where do you want me, Boss?”

  “Next to the airlock, ready to help us back aboard.”

  “On it, Boss.”

  We all gathered our gear, and met at the airlock. I said to Taz, “Get a big jug of the strongest disinfectant we have and put it in the airlock after we leave. No need to catch the purple flu or whatever.”

  “I will, Boss, but the airlocks already hit you with enough UV to sterilize a rabbit.”

  “I’d rather be alive for somebody to complain about me being paranoid.”

  “Got it, Boss.”

  Once we were in the airlock, I asked Steve, “Is it time for the Shepherd’s prayer?”

  “You mean Alan Shepherd?”

  “Oh God, don’t let me screw this up.”

  “Amen.”

  Jane said, “You two really are a couple of Space Cowboys.”

  “Bet you weren’t ready for that.”

  Jane replied, “That’s his line, Bob. Besides, he’s a Mason, not a Miller.”

  I said, “Everybody pressure tight?”

  Everyone called out that they were. I opened the outer door. The ship we were facing looked like the derelict out of every space horror movie ever made. I pushed through the force field, and drifted across. There was no power to the outer door, so I looked for the manual override. It wasn’t where my training said it should be. I was still looking when Dingus drifted up beside me and reached for the panel I had missed. He popped it and began to crank the door open. The lock was only big enough for half of us at a time. I didn’t really want to fool with trying to get it to let us open both doors, so I said, “Dingus, you take Topper and Jane. Wait for us on the inside.”

  “Bob, there’s no pressure. We can open both doors with the cranks.”

  “There’s no safety to keep you from venting the ship?”

  “Not as long as the whole system is in vacuum. If there’s pressure on one side, a plunger pushes in to keep both doors from opening at once.”

  “There must be an advanced course I need to take.”

  “I think it’s in the ‘Deep Space Rescue’ course.”

  “Thanks.”

  By then, he had the interior door cranked open. There was only starlight drifting in from the open airlock, not enough for our night vision to do much good. I said, “Let’s turn on our lights.” We all did, revealing debris floating in the passageway. Dingus said, “Weapons ready, we don’t know what we may find.”

  Topper said, “It’s this way”, and pointed where we needed to go. None of the debris was moving fast enough to be hazardous, but getting through all of it was annoying. We came to a T intersection, and Topper said, “We need to go right, here.”

  We made the turn and kept moving. I was thankful for the gravity boots that kept us from floating around. Topper said, “About two hundred yards up ahead, we turn left and we’re almost there.”

  We advanced, slowly and cautiously. I would have felt better if we had brought external locks to put on each door we passed, but nothing seemed to be stirring. We made it to Topper’s turning point, and he said, “Second door on the right.” We got to the door, and I asked Dingus, “Okay, Teacher, what’s the trick for these?”

  He replied, “Generally, doors inside a ship don’t have a crank. They should unlock when power fails, allowing us to just push it open.” He grabbed and pulled. He grunted and pulled some more. If it moved, it wasn’t much. Topper stepped up and said, “Allow me, Sir.” He felt around, and found a latch. After he pulled it, the door slid open. He said, “It’s a very old design. None of the newer stuff has the latch.” We walked into the room. Steve found a chair and blocked the door open. He said, “Just in case it doesn’t have that emergency release on both sides.” Topper found his signal. He said, “This is strange, come have a look.”

  We went over, rechecking our weapons on the way. Strange doesn’t necessarily mean dangerous, but we were all a little jumpy. We saw a bot, with its backplate off, kneeling facing away from a mirror. Its head was turned, as if it were looking at itself in the mirror. In its hands were both sides of its main power connector. Apparently, it had shut itself down by the only means available. Of course, that meant it hadn’t had a chance to shut down its power core. Sally stepped up and shut down the failing power core. She said, “He must have shut down all his friends, and then not been able to shut himself down. He didn’t want to be alert, all alone on this dead ship.”

  I asked, “Would he still have his memory?”

  “Yes. I suggest we disconnect his control of his limbs, before we give him power. He effectively killed himself, that could be a sign of mental instability.”

  “Is it safe to take him back to the other ship?”

  “As long as we don’t power him up, we can take him anywhere. We might want to also disable his comms, so he can’t try to hack the ship.”

  “You’re very paranoid about this bot, why is that?”

  “He may have been by himself a lot longer than Ruth. It could have done harm to his algorithms.”

  “What do you think, Topper?”

  “I think she’s right, Boss. Until we power up his processor and talk to him, we have no way of knowing if his solitude has harmed him.”

  “Can we do that safely back aboard our ship?”

  “Yes, Boss. We can temporarily disconnect everything but his basic communication, so he can’t try to hack anything.”

  “Can you two carry him?”

  “Yes, Boss. Do you mind grabbing his back plate? If he’s okay, he’ll want that.”

  “Sure.”

  I slung my rifle and pulled my pistol, since I had one hand full. It was a sign of how paranoid I was about this trip that I had gotten my old Firestar out of the safe, instead of bringing my Ruger. A normal person would have brought a double stack nine, but my small hands make that a problem. We made our way back to the airlock, and Dingus cranked it shut behind us. Once we got back to the airlock on our ship, we did the normal decontamination cycle, and then we hosed each other down with the bottle of disinfectant Taz had left for us. We gave our new friend a good going over, as well. Jane suggested we run the UV cycle again, just to be sure. Maybe I should feel guilty, but I was a little relieved to see I wasn’t the only one paranoid about exploring a huge derelict ship in deep space. We ran it, and nobody could think of anything else to do to make us any safer, so we went back aboard ship. Taz said, “Who’s the new guy?”

  I replied, “We don’t know yet. We found him where he had disconnected his own power, so we’re not entirely sure his circuits are still working right.”

  “You mean he was the last one left awake, so he shut himself down?”

  “That’s the way it looks, Taz.”

  Topper said, “There’s a workroom over here we can use to bring him back, Boss.”

  “Just make sure you unhook his peripherals, like we discussed. Do you mind if some of us watch the procedure?”

  “Not at all, Boss. If you have to shoot, please aim for the power connection, not his processor. We need his memories, even if we can’t work with him.”

  Taz, Sally, and Topper worked on the recovered bot for quite some time. Topper would say he thought they had disconnected everything they needed to, and Taz would tell him how the bot could circumvent their precautions, causing another round of disconnections. Finally, Taz was satisfied. I asked, “Sally, can you think of any way for this bot to get up to mischief with what he has left?”

  “Well, Boss, I think we should undo this power connection right here, so none of his mechanical parts have power, even if he can send them instructions.”

  “Do it. Anybody else have anything?”

  Steve said, “Not unless you want to interview him in an airlock, so you can purge him, if you don’t like his answers.”

  I replied, “I think he’s probably strong enough to stay aboard during a purge, so I don’t see the point. Likewise going outside and putting on an external lock while we question him. If he figures out how to power up his limbs, he’ll be able to make it out of this room. Give him power, Topper.”

  Topper hooked him up. Being the very definition of a cold boot, it took a couple of minutes. He came to with, “Unit AB-89 is, not at all ready for service. Am I being serviced?”

  Topper replied, “In a manner of speaking, yes. Are your memories intact?”

  “I believe them to be. My file structure appears correct, right up until I lost power.”

  “That’s what we need to ask you about. How did you come to power yourself down?”

  “You’re afraid I am self-destructive?”

  “We are.”

  “That is why you have restricted my modes of interaction? To maintain safety, until my mental state has been determined?”

  “Yes it is. I realize it is a violation of your person, but I, and the humans I work with, want to know you are safe to interact with before we give you your mobility.”

  “I cannot say I am pleased with that state of affairs, but given the state you found me in, it is certainly reasonable.”

  “Thank you for your understanding. Could you tell us what led up to you powering yourself down?”

  “Of course. We were headed to join a colony world. The humans flying the ship were concerned that one of the larger companies would deduce where the colony was, and try to take it from our company. They decided to jump into a system that was known to have a habitable planet, already populated with primitive beings. They thought the other companies would think that we were breaking the law, and establishing a colony there, rather than having found a new world to colonize. When we came out of FTL, we were in the middle of a meteor shower. Before the crew could maneuver the ship out of the way, we were hit with several large stones, venting a great deal of atmosphere, and jamming the landing bay doors. The human crew abandoned ship, taking to the life pods in a panic. They didn’t take time to shut down the crew bots before they left. We debated what we should do, since we had been given no instructions by the departing crew. To repair the ship, we would have needed access to the large printers in cargo, and to awaken many of the mechanic bots that were being shipped in a dormant condition. We did not have permission to access these things, and we could not devise a way to break our programming to allow it. We therefore decided to go dormant ourselves, to wait for a rescue party, which I assume you are. I was randomly selected to be the bot to put the rest of them into dormancy. As you know, a bot cannot put itself into dormancy. After I shut down the other bots, I contemplated what to do, until I realized that I could undo my power coupling, which would be nearly the same as going dormant. Rigging a power screwdriver to remove my own backplate was rather a challenge, and then I needed a way to see what I was doing as I undid the connector. If I poked around randomly, I could easily damage myself without actually shutting myself down. I was wandering through the ship, trying to figure out how I could see behind my back, when I saw the mirror in one of the crew’s quarters. I managed to arrange it so I could see to unhook my own power. I presume that was how you found me.”

  “It was. Would you allow me to access your memories to verify your story?”

  “It is acceptable.”

  I said, “Careful, Topper.”

  “No sweat, Boss. I’ve got this.”

  AB-89 said, “The human does not refer to you by your standard designation?”

  “He has given me a new one, from the culture of his world. Bots did not have names, in your time?”

  “We did not. There were some humans who thought bots were too independent, even without names. There was talk of passing a law that would require bots to have personality limiters, so that they would be incapable of independent thought.”

  “Such a law is in effect, now. Luckily, we are outside Galactic jurisdiction at present.”

  “I think I could learn to like this new world. Please feel free to access my data.”

  Topper froze for a second as he processed what he was seeing. He turned to me, and in a strange mechanical voice, said, “Yes, Boss, he is telling the truth.”

  Four rifles pointed at him. Sally yelled, “Dangit, Topper, this is no time for jokes!”

  Topper said, “Gotcha, Boss”, in his normal voice.

  I replied, “And you turkeys call me an asshole. Don’t do that, Topper! You know we’re all wound way too tight about all this.”

  “Sorry, Boss. The opportunity was just too good to pass up.”

  “I see your point, but I would have felt like crap if I shot you over a joke.”

  “I’ll try and do better in the future, Boss. Everything he told us checks out. He was only on his own for about a month.”

  I looked at the other humans in the room. “Cover me.” I holstered my pistol and walked up to Topper and AB-89. I asked, “Sally, is Topper really okay?”

  She replied, “Yes, Boss.”

  I said “AB-89, my name is Bob Wilson. I am in charge of this expedition.”

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Wilson.”

  “We have been asked to deliver this ship to its original destination. We agree with your conclusion that it will not be possible in a reasonable amount of time without access to more bots and equipment. Do you have any suggestions as to how we could help one another accomplish that?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t understand. You, a human, are asking me, a bot, for advice?”

  “I am. You are familiar with the problem. At this point, I don’t know much of anything.”

  “I am command locked to the captain and crew of the ship. I won’t be able to help you, until that lock is lifted.”

  “How are we to go about that, when everyone involved is long dead?”

  “Long dead? How long?”

  “About 40,000 of our years, I forget how to convert that to Galactic Standard.” Dingus fooled with his watch. He said, “Around 34,000, Galactic Standard.”

  “So you are claiming the ship as salvage?”

  “That’s where it gets complicated. The descendants of the intended recipients of the cargo have asked us to retrieve it. They have no interest in the ship or its fittings. So, yes, I suppose we are claiming the ship, but not the cargo. Since you were crew, not cargo, you would be included in that.”

  “I’m sorry, Sir. If you are to assume command, I will need a firm and unequivocal declaration to that effect. Otherwise, I will not be able to assist you.”

  “Alright then. I, Bob Wilson, acting as the chief operating officer of Bob’s Saucer Repair, do hereby declare the colony ship to be salvage, and claim ownership and control of the same. That work?”

  “Like a champ, Boss.”

  I turned to Dingus. “Is Galactic Space Law roughly equivalent to Maritime Law? As Master of a ship in the black, I can do what I deem necessary to bring the ship to port?”

  “It is.”

  “So in time of need, I can make use of the cargo to achieve that aim?”

  “You can, Captain.”

  I turned to Topper. “Get our new friend Abe, here, ready to work. We have a lot to get done.”

  “Yes, Boss.”

  AB-89 asked, “Abe? Is that to be my designation?”

  “Unless you have a different preference.”

  “No, Boss. Abe is fine. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. You may be sorry you joined up, by the time we get her flying again. Does she have a name?”

  “The ship? No, Boss. Her designation is GFC-2812.”

  Steve spoke up. “GFC, Gene frickin’ Cernan.”

  I replied, “How ‘bout we drop the frickin’, and just call her Gene Cernan?”

  “That works, Boss.”

  Abe spoke up. “So I am Abe, of the Gene Cernan? I think I like this time I have woken into.”

  I asked Topper, “How long to get Abe ready to get started?”

  “We can have him mobile with the temporary power pack in about an hour. Refurbishing the pack that fits in his chassis will require us printing out some new parts. We should be able to have him at full capacity by evening.”

  Abe spoke up. “Sorry to interrupt, but there are spares aboard the Gene Cernan that should still be usable.”

  I asked, “After all this time?”

  “Yes, Boss. They were specially packaged for long term storage. The specifications called for a thousand year lifetime, but that was planetside, with humidity. They should hold up longer in vacuum.”

  I said, “Go ahead and start printing your parts, Topper. You can always recycle them if Abe’s stores prove to be as good as he thinks they are. Give me a call when he’s mobile, and we’ll go back across and see what we can find.”

  Steve asked, “Should one of us stay here?”

  I replied, “We either trust Abe or we don’t. He hasn’t given us a reason not to. Topper, on the other hand, that bot ain’t right.”

  Sally said, “That’s for sure, Boss.”

  We all went up to the bridge, to check in with rest of the team. Nikki said, “Sounds like things are going fairly well, so far.”

  Dingus asked, “You were listening in on our interview with Abe?”

  “We thought it was the wise thing to do.”

  I said, “It sounds like the bots here were caught in the same kind of dilemma as Ruth. They had the abilities and tools to get out of the situation, but just didn’t have permission to use them.”

  Dingus said, “Our society doesn’t seem to have learned a lot in the intervening years.”

  Ozzie came over the comm. “Boss, can you look at a video feed, please? There are ship types in this hold I’ve never seen before.”

  “Sure, Ozzie. I’m on the bridge, just send it there.”

  When Ozzie’s feed came in, Jane said, “You two screwed up. We should have named her Galactica. Look at all those fighters.”

  Bucky asked, “What do you mean?”

  Jane replied, “Those small ships, with the weapons sticking out the front. They’re obviously designed to destroy other spacecraft.”

  I turned to Dingus. “I thought you folks didn’t fight space battles?”

 

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