CANAISIS ∞ Chronicle One: The Last Living Ship ∞ 1: A New Mission

29 ∞ Ideas and Dancing Lights

Day 00006 Mission Nilex

The smelter towered at the end of the aisle, as big as a four-story building. Ayla had never been near it. It had always been in orbit somewhere, while Ayla specialized in genetics and horticulture. She was responsible for administration and food production. Dealing with the People's Citizens was what entitled her to be Ahmid's Second. She handled the two most important aspects of keeping Nilex employees alive.

She found Ahmid and the Captain next to the smelter, talking animatedly about the technical aspects of magnetic fields and inductance. Most of the conversation was beyond her understanding. She paused beside them to listen for a while. It was the Captain who visibly reacted first, but Ayla had the distinct feeling he'd been aware of her presence the moment she'd turned the corner.

Ahmid smiled at her. "Greetings, Ayla."

"Hello, Ahmid, Captain." She bowed her head. "Is all going well?"

"Yes, it is," answered Ahmid. "The Captain has an idea I should have thought of first." He turned to smile at him. "The Captain pointed out the strength of the magnetic fields around the gas giant. We can use that to generate electricity, then use that electrical power to heat the ore with magnetic inductance. It's absolutely brilliant!"

The Captain gave a slight shrug, but Ahmid reached out to grip his shoulder and shake it.

"No modesty here. It's brilliant, and I'm very upset I didn't see it first. I've been studying New Jordan for years!"

They both smiled. Ayla didn't know what to think, but it sounded feasible.

"I shall leave you to your brilliant ideas, then. It sounds far safer than microwave-beaming energy to the smelter. "

"Oh, it is, Ayla. It is," said Ahmid.

"I just wanted to let you know that Tahsin will be at Shuttle 56."

Ahmid nodded. "Good. It needs service."

Ayla turned to the Captain. "I will be going to the Garden now. Nura and Lina are my assistants and I will take them, with your leave, Captain."

The Captain dipped his head in a slight bow. "Whatever you need, Ayla. Will you be working late?"

"I don't know. Depends on how the sampling goes, and the readings on the sensors I left overnight."

"I'll come by to see how things are going before I retire for the night. If you're still there."

"Of course, do come by."

Ahmid broke in, "Will you join us for Last Meal, Captain?"

"If my duties permit, Ahmid."

"Of course, Captain."

Ayla looked at them both and bowed, then turned to leave. She heard Ahmid ask a technical question about the smelter, and the two men returned to where they'd left off in their conversation. She couldn't help but smile a little. It seemed men were all the same, no matter what age they came from.

On her way back, she stopped at Fishery Two to check on the fish spawning. She made some adjustments to the water quality, but everything else appeared in order. Next, she checked on the hydroponic tanks and found the plants doing well and in need of harvesting. She sheared a tank of microgreens to be prepared for Last Meal.

Carrying the container of food with her, she returned to Fishery One. She left the container in the refrigerator unit and made her way to the lab. Lina and Nura were done with the samples and were focusing on a monitor. They looked up and motioned for her to come look.