Kory Mae Design
“H
ave you taken a look at that design?” Rham Billings asked.
The
wiry
engineer
slowly
pulled
his
attention
away
from
his
computer and blinked. “Gonna have to be a little more specific.”
“The Kory Mae,” Rham said.
“That
s’posed
to
be
the
name
of
the
ship,
or
what?”
he
mumbled, eyes back on his computer sheet.
“You
haven’t.
Need
to.
The
design
could
put
this
shipyard
on
the map.”
“This place has been on the map a long time.”
“Blain. Look at me.”
The
man,
more
a
grandfather
than
partner,
looked
sideways
at
him
with
narrowed
eyes.
“Rham,
I’ve
been
doing
this
shit
a
long
time.
I’ve
seen
’em
all.”
“Not
this
one.
Pay
attention
to
me
for
a
change.
You
only
think
you
run
this
place,
you old coot.”
“You
little
prick.”
Blain
did
a
reasonable
job
hiding
the
hint
of
a
grin.
“What’s
so
special about this Kory Mae design?”
“Four FTL drives.”
He cackled. “Even the Navy stopped trying to exceed two drives.”
“Do I have your attention now?” Rham asked.
Blain
glared
at
him,
pulling
off
his
reading
glasses
and
setting
them
on
his
desk.
“Who
has
the
resources
to
design
a
quad-drive?
And
what
makes
you
think
you
have
the resources to engineer it?”
Rham
stood
tall.
“Not
a
government,
not
even
a
corporation.
Lone
designer,
but
she—”
“You
have
crap
for
brains.
Go
away
and
stop
wasting
my
time,
you
runt.
I
have
real
work to do.”
“I thought old farts were supposed to disperse.”
“Lone
designer
my
ass.
Best
labs
worked
on
multi-drives
for
centuries.
All
they
managed
was
a
poor-excuse
for
a
double.
Not
gonna
happen.
Spend
your
time
on
real
business.”
“Blain—”
“You
have
bills
to
pay,
doncha?
You
push
the
paper.
I’ll
do
your
architecting.
I’m
not going to waste my time looking at any four-engine design?”
“Let me tell you about the designer,” Rham said.
“No.”
Blain began to rise and Rham waved his hand at him. “Sit. Shut up.”
“Two
generations
of
Billings
have
put
their
trust
in
me.
I
thought
generation
three
did too.”
“If
you
don’t
listen
for
two
minutes,
Billings
Shipyard
will
learn
how
to
move
forward without the renowned Blain Addair.”
The
scarecrow
of
a
man
leaned
back
in
his
chair
crossing
his
arms.
His
eyes
reminded
Rham
of
a
snake’s
looking
for
the
best
place
to
strike,
but
his
long
nose
loomed more vulture-like.
“I own a good chunk of this place. I’m not your lackey.”
“Of
course
you
aren’t.
But
Kendra
and
I
control
sixty
percent
of
the
voting
shares,
and I have her support.”
“With
your
parents’
votes.
I’ll
see
they
won’t
go
along
with
this.
And
I’ll
talk
sense
into that sister of yours, too.”
Rham
looked
over
his
shoulder
and
his
sister
rounded
the
corner.
She’d
been
waiting for the cue to join them.
“Oh,
no.”
Blain
pointed
a
bony
finger
at
Kendra
Billings.
“When
was
the
last
time
you
even
looked
at
a
design?
You’ve
been
running
the
frontend
of
this
place
so
long
you
couldn’t engineer a toilet seat.”
Rham
smiled.
The
woman
walked
behind
Blain,
set
her
hands
on
his
shoulders
softly,
and
massaged
them
slowly.
She
didn’t
say
anything
for
a
a
full
minute.
The
man’s
head
lolled
and
he
closed
his
eyes,
enjoying
the
attention.
Kendra
moved
her
hands up on his neck and he moaned.
“Blain. Darlin. You’ve always been my sweet puddin.”
“Oh, mannnn,” he whined without opening his eyes. “I’m dead now, aren’t I?”
“We
are
such
a
good
team,”
Kendra
said.
“Been
building
the
best
ships,
retrofitting,
spending
twelve-hour
days
together
for
three
decades.
Can’t
you
sit
and
listen to your young, best friends for just a few minutes. Huh, sweetie pie? Please?”
“Don’t
stop
doing
that,”
he
said,
hitching
a
thumb
at
his
shoulder.
He
didn’t
open
his eyes. “You have my attention for two minutes.”
“The
woman
who
developed
the
design
has
doctorates
in
physics,
engineering,
and
math.
I
spoke
to
two
of
her
college
thesis
advisors.
They
both
said
the
same
thing.
The
woman’s peculiar, but a genius.
“One
called
her
a
technical
sociopath.
They
both
said,
‘If
she
designed
it,
it’ll
work.’
Say
they’ve
never
known
anyone
who
understands
it
all
from
theory
to
mechanics
like
she does.
“I’ve
been
researching
the
papers
she’s
published
the
last
fifteen
years—those
that
aren’t
marked
top
secret.
There’s
a
bunch.
Oh.
Should
mention
she’s
only
in
her
thirties. I’m pretty bright. But I can’t even figure out the titles of many of her papers.”
“I
never
believed
you
were
particularly
bright,”
Blain
mumbled,
his
chin
practically
on his chest.
Kendra squeezed a tendon in his neck and he smiled between a grimace.
“Pookie, sweety, shush and listen. I’m convinced she’s for real.”
“What design lab she work for?” Blain asked.
“No lab,” Rham said.
“Where does she teach?”
“She isn’t teaching.”
Blain looked up, one eye open. “What’s she doing?”
“She’s an independent pilot,” Rham answered.
“Space trash? I thought you were serious there for a moment.”
“We are,” the two said together.
“She’s
coming
to
meet
with
us
Friday,”
Kendra
continued.
“We’d
like
you
to
join
us.”
“Insane,” Blain snapped.
He started to stand but Kendra held him down. He squirmed, but she held fast.
“Consider
what
it’d
mean
to
be
the
engineering
firm
that
integrated
the
first
quad-
FTL-drive,”
Rham
said.
The
rasp
in
his
voice
showed
the
effort
to
stay
patient
wore
thin.
“The first to blow up trying, you mean.”
“If the science doesn’t stand up, we’ll walk away, no harm done,” Kendra said.
Blain’s
expression
softened
but
he
shook
his
head.
Kendra
moved
her
hands
from
his
shoulders
to
the
back
of
his
head
and
continued
the
massage.
He
moaned.
Rham
winked at his sister.
After
a
pause,
Blain
took
a
deep
breath
and
blew
it
out
noisily.
“Friday,
huh?
Not
a
lot
of
time.
I’ll
have
to
pull
people
off
every
project
to
do
an
evaluation
by
Friday.
We’re
talking
delays.
No
harm,
huh?
You’ll
see
the
harm
when
you
miss
your
incentive
points.”
“We’ll absorb it in the schedules,” Rham said. “If not, it’s still worth it.”
“You’re both crazy.”
“It’s just a meeting,” Kendra purred.
“The science doesn’t work.”
“So far it has,” Rham said.
“Indulge us?” Kendra asked.
“I won’t be changing my mind.”
Kendra wrapped her hands teasingly around his throat.
“Can’t I talk you out of this?”
Rham shook his head.
Blain harrumphed. “Let me go. I gotta call people off real work.”
~
“H
ey,
kid,”
Rham
snapped.
“Janitorial
staff
uses
the
back
entrance.
And
you
can’t
bring
your
dog
to
work
with
you.”
He
whirled
around.
“Where
is
that
woman?
Thirty
minutes
late.
Couldn’t
she
call?
Got
thirteen
engineers
sitting
in
a
conference
room
when they could be engaged on projects.”
“Let
me
show
you—”
Kendra
told
the
scraggly
waif
who
had
just
walked
in.
Kendra
motioned for the soiled, blue jumpsuit-clad tot to follow her.
“I’m not—”
Blain
walked
into
the
foyer
shouting,
using
his
normal
expletives,
but
punching
them
with
rare
emotion.
“Where’s
that
freaking
moron
who
thinks
she
knows
more
than the combined engineers of a hundred labs?”
“That freaking moron would be me,” the lad Kendra was trying to whisk away said.
Her
white-muzzled
canine
companion
sat
hard
with
a
grunt,
and
leaned
against
the
tiny
woman’s
leg.
The
Labrador
looked
up
at
her
with
big
brown
eyes.
The
woman
looked down and smiled at the hound, and gave her a quick head scratch.
The
three
engineers
froze
and
gaped
at
the
queer
pair
in
front
of
them.
The
woman—though
it
was
fairly
impossible
to
tell
she
was
female—wore
her
hair
as
though
it
was
cut
by
a
meat
grinder.
Her
ten-year-old
overalls
were
threadbare
in
the
knees and hips, with more stains than the average rag.
It
appeared
she
even
had
a
smudge
of
poly-silicate
on
her
cheek.
It
was
impossible
to
determine
what
color
her
deck
shoes
were
originally.
Chunks
of
the
rubber
that
kept
the
top
glued
to
the
sole
were
missing.
The
dog
was
the
only
clean,
neat
looking
thing
about the pair.
“Sorry I’m late. Toni Tegaris.” She held out her hand to Kendra.
“
Dr.
Tegaris?”
Kendra
asked,
her
eyes
round.
She
stepped
forward
to
take
the
woman’s
hand,
hesitating
as
though
being
caught
in
a
practical
joke.
She
looked
out
the front glass.
“Prefer
Toni.
Get
tagged
as
captain,
most.
Only
hear
doctor
when
I
get
cornered
to
speak.”
The
woman
winked.
“I
was
held
up.
Never
know
how
long
it’ll
take
to
get
docking
protocols.
The
port
was
backed
up.
Thankfully
I
made
up
some
time
on
the
flight
to
Houston.
I’ve
got
to
get
back
to
Philadelphia
by
three.
I
know
that
doesn’t
give
us much time.”
The
dog
struggled
to
stand.
The
tiny
woman
helped
it
before
stepping
forward
and
extending
her
hand
to
Rham.
He
shook
it
without
saying
anything.
He
realized
his
mouth hung open and closed it, and peered over at his sister.
“Where the hell’s the rest of ya?” Blain demanded.
“I didn’t bring anyone else,” Toni said.
“I
meant—”
He
waved
a
hand
from
her
grimy
shoes
to
her
mussed
hair.
“Shouldn’t
you be chaperoned by your parents?”
Kendra’s face shaded gray. Rham closed his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest.
The
woman’s
face
turned
a
little
icy,
but
she
looked
back
to
Rham
and
Kendra.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to clean up before flying down.”
As
they
had
studied
her,
Toni’s
eyes
tracked
up
and
down
Kendra,
as
though
memorizing
every
detail
so
she
could
duplicate
the
image
on
a
canvas
the
next
day.
She
rubbed
her
hands
down
her
dirty
jumpsuit
as
though
she
was
trying
to
rub
something
icky off.
“That’s
a
right
sharp
suit,
Mrs.
Billings.
Wish
I
could
dress
like
that
in
my
line
of
work.”
Toni
cleared
her
throat.
“My
time
on-planet
is
a
little
short.
I
was
helping
my
engineer
with
an
issue
so
we
could
drop
out
of
FTL.
Everything’s
always
an
emergency.” The woman gripped a clump of her clothes.
“Ms.”
“Excuse me?” Toni said.
“
Ms
. Billings. Rham and I are brother and sister.”
“Sure and fine,” Blain interrupted. “You said they said she was odd, not a freak.”
“Blain!” both of the Billings shouted.
“I take it you’re the engineer I have to convince four drives are possible,” Toni said.
“You’re
not
going
to
do
any
convincing
here.”
The
man
crossed
his
arms
and
tilted
his
head
back.
His
lips
were
drawn
together
as
though
he’d
bitten
into
something
rancid.
“Since
you
went
to
school
when
energy
meant
splitting
the
atom,
I
can
see
the
leap
could be a little hard for you.”
The old man’s face turned a shade of plum.
“Did they even have schools back then?” She appeared to be enjoying herself.
“You snot.”
The short little woman laughed. “Is that the best you can do?”
“You insolent—”
“Blain,” Kendra hissed.
“You
walk
in
here
looking
like
that
and
expect
to
be
taken
seriously?
You
don’t
even look competent to drive a hover.”
“Small minds are always closed,” she said.
“I’m reasonable and sane—four FTL drives is neither.”
“So, you couldn’t understand my design.”
“You call it a design. I call it an incomprehensible mishmash.”
“Good
thing
you
don’t
have
to
understand
it,
just
follow
schematics
and
put
it
in
a
frame.”
“I’m
not
gonna
follow
any
design
that
comes
from
a
flee-bitten,
midget-size,
grease-monkey,” Blain shouted.
“Enough,”
Rham
shouted
over
his
chief
engineer.
He
pointed
at
Blain
as
he
turned
to
face
their
guest.
“We’ve
gotten
off
on
the
wrong
foot
here.”
He
turned
back
to
Blain.
“I think you need to go to the docks and check how your project is coming along.”
The
engineer
glared
at
Rham
a
very
long
moment
before
walking
away.
They
all
watched him until he passed through a door and slammed it closed behind him.
Toni chortled. Rham and Kendra looked at her blankly.
“Molly.
Get
back
here.”
The
old
Labrador
stiffly
limped
her
way
back
from
the
office she was investigating. She looked up at her human indignantly.
“This
began
a
lot
like
I
expected,”
Toni
said.
Her
grin
changed
her
face.
She
actually
had
very
pretty
features.
Rham
tried
to
picture
her
cleaned
up.
It
was
impossible.
“I only have hours to answer your questions. Wanna get started?”
Rham
looked
at
his
sister,
wondering
if
it
was
wise
to
let
their
engineers
meet
her.
The
two
had
to
jump
to
catch
up
with
the
woman,
who
sped
past
them
for
the
group
of
faces peering from a conference room door down the hall.
“You waiting to hear about the Kory Mae?” Rham heard her shout to the group.
The
excited
geeks
answered
affirmatively,
and
she
plowed
into
the
swarm
of
scientists
who
rattled
off
questions
over
each
other.
She
answered
non-stop
as
she
worked
to
network
her
computer
with
the
three
twenty-foot
plas-sheets
that
covered
the
conference
room
walls.
She
displayed
portions
of
her
design
on
each
and
moved
back
and
forth
between
them
and
animation-boards
to
demonstrate
concepts
with
simple
drawings
that
had
the
engineers
bellowing
with
satisfied
ahhhs,
and
shouting
back follow-up questions.
Rham
and
Kendra
stood
in
the
hall
looking
in,
a
little
dumbfounded
at
how
differently the younger engineers responded to the strange looking space captain.
“This
is
gonna
be
a
coup,”
Rham
said
softly
to
his
sister,
trying
to
follow
Toni’s
current recitation.
Kendra bit her lip. “If we live through it.”
© R. Mac Wheeler 2017