Rommie exited the machine shop to take Trance to her room, leaving Harper alone to think and finish the adjustments to the BHB. He picked up the screwdriver, and remembered back to the day that he first acquired this very handy tool.
He was still on Earth. He had just found a half eaten bread roll and a can of some sort of liquid. The only letters he could make out on the can were ..ARK. CO.A. The other letters were unreadable due to rust on the can. He knew that if he was caught digging through the dumpsters that the Ubers would torture him, because that's what they do. Who cares if nobody was going to eat this stuff. They use anything as a reason to beat a Kludge. Heck, they'd beat a Kludge for no reason. Knowing this Harper quickly ran from where he found his lunch, hiding it under his shirt. He kept looking behind his back to see if anyone was following him. That's when his body stopped suddenly, as he felt himself run into someone.
"Don't let it be an Uber, Don't let it be an Uber." He was praying silently to anyone that would listen.
"
Whoa! Slow down. What's the hurry?" Harper heard a man ask. Harper assumed the position as one always does, when being addressed by Ubers. Don't speak unless spoken to, when speaking to an Uber call them Sir, NOT Uber, keep your head bowed, but be ready to run at any given moment.
"I heard they're hiring at the spaceport Sir.. I wanted to get there before all the jobs were taken." He lied. Well, the part about the spaceport hiring workers wasn't a lie, just the part about him going.
"Are you an engineer?" The man asked.
"No Sir." Harper said. "I just fix things."
"Ah, I see." The man said. "Perhaps you can help me with something. You see, my,… uh transport is in need of some replacement parts. I'm unfamiliar with this area. I'd be willing to pay you if you could tell me where I might find these."
After hearing the man state that he had a transport and wasn't local, Harper took a chance and looked up. What he saw was the strangest attired man he had ever seen, and that's saying something since living on an Uber controlled planet, most people wore whatever they could find or make. He was wearing gray wool trousers, a white silk shirt, plaid vest, and a long brown coat. He also wore a brown hat and the longest multicolored scarf Harper had ever seen. Definitely not an Uber. He also noticed the man holding out a sheet of paper with some writing on it. Harper assumed that it was a list of parts that the gentleman needed.
Harper stared at the writing for a few seconds.
"I,… Uh,…" Harper could read, but he couldn't read the list he was being shown. Harper concluded that it was probably wrote in Common. He really could use the money. The man hadn't said how much he would pay Harper for helping him find the parts, but any money was better than none. "Listen you come with me. I know the best place to find everything you need."
"By the way," The man said, as he offered his hand "I'm called the Doctor."
"Friends call me Harper." Harper said, shaking the Doctor's hand.
The shop was close and did in fact have everything that the Doctor needed, although he could have gotten them cheaper on Rizan12, but without the Tardis operational he couldn't get to Rizan12. He was at least fortunate that he hadn't materialized on a primitive world. He paid the shopkeeper, and he and Harper left with the newly acquired parts.
Harper and the Doctor walked back to the alley where they met, and for the first time Harper noticed a large blue rectangular box. The doctor entered the Tardis, and was inside for a few moments. When he finally came back out he had a smile on his face.
"They work Perfectly." He told Harper.
The Doctor began to dig in his pockets, as if he were searching for something. He pulled out a large ball of twine, a golden key, a yoyo, and many other odds and ends. Harper had seen a similar search take place back at the shop. "Ah here it is!" The Doctor proclaimed. "I knew I had some more here somewhere. Let's see, the parts cost five hundred credits. How does ten percent sound for a finders fee"
"Fifty credits?" Harper asked in unbelief. He had worked many jobs for a whole week and only made five credits.
"You're right." The Doctor said. "I'll make it one hundred."
This time Harper was too stunned to say anything. The Doctor gave him the credits, and opened up the door to his Tardis.
"By the way." The Doctor said. "I heard that there was a Captain Valentine looking for a good engineer. Her ship, the Maru, is currently at the spaceport in docking zone B. I know you said you weren't an engineer, but you might want to give it a try"
"Thanks. I think I'll do that. Anything's better than this place. That is if she even hires me."
"Oh, I think she will Harper. One more thing before I go. I want you to have this."
The Doctor held out a strange looking rod.
"What is it?"
"What is it? It's only the second most useful tool in the universe. It's called a sonic screwdriver."
Harper took the tool.
"Thank you. The second most useful tool in the universe huh? What's the most useful tool in the universe?" Harper asked.
"My dear boy, that would be a nano welder!" The Doctor said with a big toothy grin.
"Of course! What was I thinking?" The Doctor entered the Tardis. As the Door was closing Harper heard the doctor shout.
"Remember! Valentine! Maru! Docking zone B!"
"Man, I don't think I'll ever forget the sound that thing made as it disappeared." Harper thought. "I wonder where he is now, and how he knew that Becka would hire me. That was pretty much the turning point in my life. If I hadn't ran into him, I never would have went to the spaceport, wouldn't have met Becka, Trance Rev, ..."
"Harper." Andromeda's hologram appeared. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah Rommie." Harper replied, as his mind snapped back to the present. "I was just thinking about the past." Harper quickly made a few more adjustments on the BHB. "All done." Harper said.
"Rommie I'm gonna get some sleep. My shift on Command starts in three hours. Will you wake me"
"I'll wake you in eight hours Harper." Andromeda said in a stern tone. "You've been working all day and night on this. I'll clear it with Dylan."
"Thanks Babe. You're the best."
While Harper went to his quarters to get some much deserved rest, a conversation was taking place in Trance's room.
"You told him you'd do what?" Golden Trance asked in shock.
"He needed some way to power it, so I volunteered." Purple Trance said.
"And he agreed?"
"Um Hmm." Purple Trance nodded.
"Does Harper know chances are you won't survive,… What am I saying? Of course he doesn't know!"
"No." Purple Trance said. "He would never let me do this if he knew that."
"Let me do it." Golden Trance said.
"No"
"You're just being stubborn now little sister. You know that everyone on this ship would rather have you here than me."
"That's not fair! You are me. They have accepted that. They will be able to deal with me leaving this time as they did the last time."
"The last time, you didn't die."
Meanwhile in Dylan's quarters, Dylan is awake and eating breakfast. Andromeda's hologram appears.
"Good morning Dylan."
"Good morning Andromeda. Do you have today's roster?"
"That's what I wanted to discuss with you. Harper, Trance, and my Avatar worked all night on Harper's weapon to destroy the black hole. Trance finally fell asleep on the floor and my Avatar told Harper to get some sleep also. I hope it's all right?"
"Yes, it's quite all right. If I had been there, I would have made it an order that he got some rest. I don't expect him to figure out how to destroy a black hole in one night."
"Dylan,… He is done."
"Done? Already?"
"He already had some preliminary plans drawn up. He only needed to perfect a few things, and then build the actual BHB."
"BHB?" Dylan asked.
"Black Hole Blaster."
"Black Hole Blaster?"
"Harper named it."
"Oh. That explains it."
"He said that it sounded more "impressive" to just call it a BHB."
"If you say so."
"I don't. He did." Andromeda said with a smile.
"Understood Andromeda." Dylan said also smiling.
"So, Dylan, who is available to fill in for Harper's shift on Command?"
"I didn't have anything planned this morning. I'll do it. Who's currently on Command?"
"My First Officer is presently on Command."
"Thank you. Inform Becka that I'll be in to relieve her in twenty minutes."
"Yes Dylan." Andromeda's hologram vanished.
Andromeda's Hologram appeared on Command.
"Good morning Andromeda." Becka said.
"Good Morning Becka. Dylan wanted me to inform you that He will be relieving you in twenty minutes."
"Dylan? I thought Harper was scheduled to relieve me."
"He was, but he was up all night working on his new project."
"You mean the device to destroy the black hole?"
"Yes. He wanted to sleep for three hours, but my Avatar told him that she would let him sleep eight, and clear it with the captain."
"I'm glad Dylan agreed. Shorty needs all the rest he can get. I hate it when he over does it."
"You really care about him don't you."
"Yes I,… no not that way!" Becka quickly amended when she saw the look on Andromeda's face.
"
In what way then?"
"You know. I,.. I guess he's like a little brother. We've always been close like that. I still remember the day he came to the space port back on Earth asking for a job as engineer. I don't even know how he knew I needed an engineer. I was planning on heading to some of the local establishments and asking around, but before I even left the space port, I saw this scrawny looking kid running toward the Maru. He told me he wanted to apply for the job. I was, to say the least skeptical. I had a few minor things that needed repaired, so I had him work on those while I went in search for someone better and more experienced. I returned later, unsuccessful in my search for an engineer to find that the kid had already fixed the items I had told him about plus he fixed my coffee maker. That coffee maker hadn't worked properly for six months. Needless to say, he got the job."
"You hired Harper as the Maru's engineer because he was able to fix your coffee maker?" Andromeda asked in unbelief.
"Hey. I really like my coffee." Becka said before taking a drink from her coffee mug.