Wandering Engineer 6: Pirates Bane Read Online Free PDF Page A

uncomfortable.
    “Why?”
    “Even for me there is a limit on how far I wish to change. I don't
want to lose myself in the process Commander,” the Admiral said quietly.
    Sprite sensed his shifting mood and then abruptly nodded. “Body
shock?” she asked.
    “Insult? No, it in a way would be me, but... not the physical form
I am used to. You and I both know what I went through when you three came on
board. I'd had some experience with prosthetics before, but... well...”
    “I thought you took it remarkably well actually,” Sprite replied,
cocking her own head and then crossing her arms.
    “You mean I didn't have an atavistic frothing fit over the whole
thing,” the Admiral said. “There were a lot of factors involved,” the Admiral
replied, sitting back and echoing Sprite's posture by crossing his own arms.
“There was the war need, the desire to be whole once more, and the burning
desire to get back on my feet.”
    “True.”
    “But yes, the sense of wonder was there,” Irons replied, smiling
ever so slightly. “It still is from time to time,” he said, looking away.
Sprite nodded in acknowledgment.
    “So, let's see what else we can do,” Sprite said slowly, turning
to the other AI. “Table this project for now. You mentioned other spy things?
Gadgets?” Sprite asked.
    The Admiral shook out of his reverie and then nodded. “Spy gadgets
like listening devices we've gotten a handle on. They and the cameras will be
effective in diagnostics as well I suppose,” the Admiral said.
    “True,” Proteus replied. “When we can't get eyes on something or
the diagnostics in a system are down.”
    “Exactly,” the Admiral rumbled. “But... what about an explosive
device? Or other device?”
    “A distraction?” Sprite asked.
    “Or something to disable or do something. Like I said, an
explosive. A distraction like a flash bang is nice, but I don't see how we
could implement it easily.”
    “Smoke and mirrors,” Sprite mused.
    “Possible,” the Admiral replied. He got up and went to the galley
as Sprite ran through some ideas and bounced them off Defender and Proteus. The
Admiral replicated a hamburger, plucked a couple mini tomatoes and popped them
on the burger, then pulled a small onion, cut the bottom off, rinsed it off,
and then added that as well. Then he went and grabbed a couple of mushrooms,
brushed them off and then cut them up.
    “Food for thought?” Sprite asked.
    “Cute,” the Admiral replied, finishing his preparations. He
replicated a citrus drink and then sat at the small table. “Practical,” he
said.
    “The eating or the ideas so far?” Sprite asked.
    “Either, both,” the Admiral said, picking up the burger.
    “And don't bug me, I'm eating,” Sprite teased.
    “Exactly,” Irons mumbled, chewing.
    “Don't talk with your mouth full,” Sprite teasingly admonished. He
waved her aside.
    <----*----*----*---->
    After lunch they experimented with small explosives, or the
replicating of them. He found that the project was dependent on what materials
and time he had available. For most applications, a gram of plastic explosives
was about the best Proteus could make in a five-minute period with materials on
hand; including a remote detonator cap. Something like that would serve as a
distraction, though Proteus did put forward the idea of creating a shaped
charge.
    “No, I think it's the best we can. But we've got the scripts and
modules now, and we know what it takes,” the Admiral said, watching the
explosive dissolve as Proteus directed the nanites to dispose of it. “Throw in
ideas like the smoke bomb and distraction. Toss this under something like a
chair or pile of papers.”
    “Incendiary device?” Sprite asked.
    “Possible,” the Admiral murmured thoughtfully. “I'm not really
thrilled about the direction this is going though, I have no place in special
ops work.”
    “Agreed,” Defender interjected.
    “And the magnificently dark one has spoken,” Sprite