All Good Things

Chapter 1

Cursing under my breath, I tried once more to shove the secondary air filtration scrubber into its open slot behind a side wall access panel. I knew better, since the new cylindrical device was about a finger's width longer than the old one I'd just taken out. It didn't seem like much when I did a quick comparison after taking out the old one, but it apparently meant that I couldn't push the aft fitting far enough out of the way to get the valve into the slot and get it hooked up. But I was almost as stubborn as this ship, and kept trying, hoping that maybe I could circumvent physics with enough brute force.

Contorting myself inside a cramped maintenance tube to find out my spare parts didn't fit was one of the great unfathomable joys I'd learned to expect in owning a new ship. A few more attempts, and lifting both valves above me for one last look, and I had to concede this was a lost cause. I rolled over onto my back and let out a deep sigh. Setting both devices between my legs atop the plastic trolley I was laying on, I wiped my sweaty, greasy face with my shirt. Another curse escaped my lips before I grabbed a metal rung overhead and tugged myself feet-first down the tube.

I complained to my ship's computer while dragging myself along by subsequent rungs. "Jeanie, it doesn't fit."

Her seductive voice had never changed in all the time I'd known her. "The entries in the maintenance logs continue to demonstrate several inaccuracies, based on your recent efforts at repair work."

At least all of the repair jobs I'd been working on recently hadn't been critical systems. Even this filtration scrubber was a backup to the main system. As long as the main scrubber didn't fail on us before we could get our hands on some replacement parts, we'd be fine.

"I don't suppose we have any of the right parts?" I asked, even though I knew the likely answer.

"Unless the inventory records are also deficient, there are no other valves of this type on-board."

I cursed again, just before the trolley finally hit the stops. The inventory records were likely crap as well, but I didn't have time to search through every single spare part on the ship to see if we had one.

Jeanie, as always, was one step ahead of me. "I have added it to the list of parts we will need to acquire at the next supply station. I have also updated the maintenance records to reflect the correct part required."

I climbed off the trolley and stood up in the main corridor. Stretching my back in multiple directions to alleviate the pain of being cramped up as I had been, I muttered, "Tell me again why we bought this ship."

Despite the rhetorical nature of my request, she did exactly as instructed. "Our former vessel was damaged beyond full repair by the Torian government."

"This ship is a lot newer, and I don't remember having this many problems with our old one."

"You purchased that ship brand new, and kept up the maintenance. This one was used, and any maintenance performed has been extremely questionable."

"That's an understatement." Too bad there wasn't a way to go after the dealer who'd sold us the ship, who showed us that it had full inventory and maintenance records in its systems.

I heaved another deep sigh while closing the maintenance hatch, then started down the corridor. Gray paneling lined the walls, even though it looked like carpeting. Rubberized floor panels under my feet at least restricted my walking to reasonable sound levels.

My old ship had been perfect for me, but there had been no way to return it to service. At least I'd been able to transfer Jeanie over to the new ship, and in a way, save her life for once.