The Promise He Would Never Break

When Kevin started his independent Fixer work, he made himself a promise. If the situation looked … really bad, he would abort, regardless of the cost.

It wasn’t that he had an outsized view of his importance in the world. Tera, Ambassador Miller and now Lillian made sure he was kept in check. Busy bodies, the lot of them. He knew what he was doing.

Rather, it was a simple calculation. If he lived, he would have further chances to help and save people. Callus? Yeah, I suppose so. But this world wasn’t all that hospitable in general, so he figured he was returning the favor.

Kevin held the paper list and admired the wrinkles and creases that made some of the writing hard to read. Not that it mattered. He had memorized the list years ago. The annual ritual was to review and update the list. Sometimes, he had to spend a day searching for paper to write the list on.

“Let's see. Number 1. No heroic attempts. Yep, that is still number one.” No additions or deletions this year. The paper looked like it had a few more years. He folded it up and put it in his left breast pocket. It was the only thing that went in there.

Click.

“Yes, Tera. What is it?”

“Kevin, the bridge in San Francisco is still failing.”

“Which one, Tera. There are four of the original five still up.”

“The San Mateo bridge.”

“Ugh, that one. Why am I getting the call?” Kevin walked over to the door to his garage.

“You were requested. The Union officials had no reason to refuse.”

“Wait, isn’t there a better bridge doctor than me? Oh ,wait, let me guess, he is in Australia.” Kevin started assembling tools and supplies using the overhead grapple and putting them in his sky crane.

“New Zealand. Bruce says you get half points.” Kevin laughed. He returned to the office and poked his slate.

“Don’t be shy, Bruce, join the fun!” The ambassador’s head appeared. “Tera, start the preflight check list please.” He heard the triple click ‘yes’ Tera used to avoid interrupting a conversation.

“Me? shy? What HAVE you been drinking lately?”

“Not nearly enough. You still owe me for …” A hand waved.

“I know what I owe you and Tera keeps track.”

“Yes, she does. Why are you involved?” Kevin sat down at his desk and shuffled data chips and slates.

“Since the request was from a fairly high source, the diplomatic group got pulled in.”

“And you won the lottery?”

“No, everyone else ran.” Kevin finished searching and loaded the chips and slates into a worn backpack.

“Right. I’m going to get going. Oh, do we have an estimate of the collapse?” Bruce’s head slid aside and a new image appeared. It was a long shot of the bridge. The main arch leaned heavily on scaffolding sunk into the bay. Kevin groaned.

“Tera. Why wasn’t I told they didn’t do the repair I laid out for them?” Tera’s head appeared next to Bruce’s.

“I am sorry, Kevin. I was forbidden to tell you.” Kevin paused.

“Figures.” Tera’s face grimaced.

“No, Tera. I KNOW you fought the decision. And let me guess, Bruce was kept out of the discussion.” Bruce nodded. Kevin stopped. He closed his eyes and breathed in deep. He held it for a count of 5 and then yelled.

“Kevin, that was pathetic. I keep telling you, you have to support it from the diaphragm.” Kevin waved Bruce off and grabbed his go bag of work clothes and food rations.

“Yeah, yeah. Tera, open the outer doors and the cockpit.”

Kevin walked to the front of the steel box. He tossed his go bag and backpack into the copilot’s seat and climbed in. As he secured his safety harness, lights and displays changed in response to the preflight checklist. Harness locked, Kevin put on the flight helmet and did the startup ritual to align his head to the helmet.

“Preflight checklist complete. Three maintenance items are still outstanding. None are critical.” Kevin nodded as he reached for the controls. He noticed the flight plan was already in place and active.

“Thanks for the flight plan, Tera. Where are the replacement parts?”

“You are welcome. The parts are either in your garage or on order. Details?” Kevin flipped a few more switches and then grabbed the flight controls.

“No thanks, Tera. Bruce, where are you?” Kevin watched for the displays to settle.

“I’m in transit by courier. I should be there before you.” Kevin tapped one display, then sat back in the seat.

“Good. I really don’t want to talk to them and find out who killed the repair project.” Kevin pushed down a button.

“Stockton flight center, this is sky crane N14325A requesting clearance for lift off.”

“Sky Crane, Kevin, they got you going out again?”

“Yeah, guess where. No don’t, I’ve got to get going.”

“Roger Sky Crane. You are clear for lift off and departure on exit lane 23. I see your flight plan and have cleared you to San Mateo. Contact San Mateo flight at 10 miles.”

“Roger Stockton. Sky Crane is lifting. Thanks, George. Sky Crane clear.”

“Be safe Kevin, Stockton flight center clear.”

“Tera, please take control and follow the flight plan. Alert me 1 minute before I have to contact San Mateo.”

“I have control. Following flight plan. There is no cross traffic. Alert set for 60 seconds before contact.” Kevin let go of the flight controls and watched for five seconds. Then he leaned over and pulled open the backpack. He spent the time until the alert reviewing the bridge history and specifications.

On manual control, Kevin circled the landing location once. He saw the courier plane and the gaggle of people in front of Bruce.

“Tera, highlight landing location in my hud. Set the controls to landing.” He saw the outline and adjusted. His landing gust ruffled the gaggle. Bruce spread his arms and kept the gaggle at bay. Kevin unbuckled and started to open the cockpit door.

“Tera, put the Sky Crane in warm standby.” He climbed out to Tera’s triple click.

Bruce was walking towards him with just one person. Kevin relaxed. He recognized the gal from last time. She had a brain and used it.

“Francis! How are you!” They shook hands.

“A lot better now that you are here!”

“Yeah. So, skip the part about the administration killing the upgrade, I’ll hear it later, and tell me what is the condition and how far advanced from last time.” Francis held out her slate and the main section of the bridge appeared. A blue wire frame of the original construction, a brown wire frame indicated the last time and a black wire frame showed the current condition. Red arrows appeared with tags showing angles and creep rates on all three.

“As you can see, about the same. They did do the cheap and fast fixes. That did stop the creep for several years. A magnitude 5.5 last week broke the fixes and it started creeping again. I think we have two weeks before it can’t be saved.”

Kevin nodded at Bruce. Bruce nodded back and turned to walk back to the gaggle and keep them out of Kevin’s hair.

The two engineers dove deep into the problem.

“Tera, we are going to need a level 4 sky crane with shallow water and mud supports here as soon as we can get it.”

“Kevin, Francis had anticipated that need. It is waiting for customs clearance in San Francisco.”

“Tera. Contact Fixer Union HQ and get logistics to get on the customs board. Use my authority as ‘engineer on site’. I’m sure the Union President is available if we need to push harder.” Francis’ eyes widened.

“Don’t worry Francis. I’ve done this too many times to count, and no Tera, I don’t need you to tell me.” Francis snickered. An annoyed sniff sounded.

“Right. Let's get this organized. Tera, tell me when the level 4 is cleared and the estimated arrival time here.” They started walking to a rusting construction shack.

Francis insisted on running the level 4 sky crane. She showed her recent recertification for the machine. Kevin couldn’t, so she won.

Kevin hovered at 500 feet to one side of the bridge as Francis maneuvered the level 4 into place. He knew when he was watching a professional. The level 4 moved smoothly into place. The supports ran out without a ripple in the water. He decided it was a good thing he hadn’t tried to do that.

“Kevin. I’m in position and the supports are down and locked. Tera confirms my condition.”

“Francis, I’d like to say I could have done better, but I could not. That was as clean a setup as I have seen in a very long time. Tera, make a note for a write up on her setup for publication.”

“Kevin!”

“Francis. You will not object or I will add all sorts of flowery descriptions and nonsense.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Kevin, I have added a note to the project task list.”

“Thank you Tera. Okay, let's get this…”

Red lights started strobing and alarms sounded. Tera voice overrode.

“Condition Omega level 0 has been declared. All operations are on emergency hold.”

“Tera, status!” Kevin scanned the display for a hint. He looked at the bridge and his hud outlined a figure on the scaffolding.

“What the green is Paul doing there!” Francis yelled.

“That’s little Paul? Tera, take over!” Kevin’s mind kicked into high gear. He felt Tera take over the sky cranes controls. Kevin ignored everything and quickly and accurately moved the wire frame around the cockpit display.

“Warning! Scaffolding integrity is failing.” Kevin looked up. One of the level 4 supports had sunk even farther. The automatics kept the crane stable, but the nearby scaffolding shifted as the mud moved. Screams erupted over the coms. Kevin mentally shut them out.

“Tera, I need vectors for a rapid and close approach. Oh, green, the rescue gear is one of the maintenance items isn’t it.” The cockpit shifted as display changed and readouts adjusted to the new flight plan.

“Kevin, yes. The secondary crane has been modified to function as a rescue crane.” Kevin shrugged out of the harness and dived through the opening to the main cabin.

“Tera, deploy it and assume control of it and move the sky crane NOW.” Kevin reached the secondary crane access and opened it. He saw the bridge swing into sight and the man clinging to a support. He donned the harness and jumped. As he fell and then swung, he felt the paper in his pocket. In shock he realized what he was doing. He pushed the shock aside and focused on his swing to the man.

Kevin hit the support hard. He grabbed the man and snapped a rescue sling under his shoulders and pulled him off the scaffolding with him.

Kevin lost track of time as he held on to the man as they whirled through the air. They slammed into the secondary crane access alcove. Kevin snapped the rescue sling to the alcove eyelets and dove for the cockpit.

“Tera, status!” Kevin quickly snapped on half the restraints. It was all he could afford to do.

“The bridge is collapsing.” Kevin grabbed the flight controls and yanked.

The sky crane swung and slid away from the bridge. Pieces of scaffolding snapped and flew like spears into the sky and the water. One bounced off the cockpit window leaving a scratch.

A shadow covered the sky crane. Kevin’s mind went ice cold. The bridge was falling on him. In a flash, he knew his position and the path of the bridge. He saw that both of them would not survive in the current orientation. Without a second thought, Kevin flung the controls to a new position. He felt the back end swing out far enough to be missed. As concrete appeared in front of the window, he realized he’d broken promise number one.

Something pushed me up, out of unconsciousness. For a moment I simply drifted in a foggy nothingness, barely aware of “myself”.

Hearing returned in a wave of sounds that crashed over me. I winced at the pain, then the wave of sound receded. I began to separate and recognize the sounds. Several voices, shoes scuffing on a hard surface, the jangle of hard things being moved and more.

The sounds stimulated me, pushed me to a higher level of consciousness. A question popped up. Where was I?

A new set of sounds crashed upon me. I struggled to make sense of the new sounds. More aware of myself, I also struggled to clear the fog. The wave of sound receded and the chaos resolved in the rhythmic and melodic sounds of several medical machines and monitors.

Where was I? This obviously wasn’t heaven. Am I in a hospital? A sliver of fear knifed through the fog.

Out of the nothingness, a light formed. As the glow got brighter, the sounds receded to a gentle murmur.

Unbidden, my eyes opened. Light exploded into me and impaled my thoughts. The colors swirled and danced and I couldn't think. Then my eyes adjusted. Shadows appeared as the glare receded. Everything was blurry and moving.

I could feel my eyes watering up from the glare. I blinked.

The blink sent a ripple of awareness from my eyes. There was something in my nose and tape on my nose and upper cheeks.

Another blink and I felt something in my mouth. I could feel more tape on my face.

Another blink and sound and sensation united. I heard the air moving in the tube in my mouth and felt it on my tongue.

The exhale cycle started and my mental paralysis broke. I was on a ventilator! That sliver of fear exploded into my thoughts and shredded my mind. A whimper of fear struggled to get out of the ventilator tube.

The murmur of sounds changed tempo and key. Rhythms sped up and became unsynchronized. Harmonies crashed into dissonance. Strident beeps punctuated the increasing chaos.

As the anarchy of sounds increased, my sight started clearing up. A voice spoke very close to me. My eyes tracked to the source of the sound. The voice spoke again. I couldn't recognize a face and the sounds refused to become words.

Inhale, exhale. My eyes teared up again and I blinked.

A shadow appeared under the blob that had to be a face and touched my cheek. The touch was warm and gentle and it sucked away the lurking fear and the last of the jangling of my nerves.

Inhale. Blink.

The medical sounds settled a little bit and the din continued to soften. I heard the questioning voice that aligned with the shadow. I struggled to understand the voice, turned my eyes towards it. I could almost make the mouth as it moved, but I still could not understand. Fear crept back and with the medical sounds started decaying into minor keys and wavering tempos.

A new voice. The other voices stopped. I couldn’t find the shadow of the new voice.

The voice spoke again and this time a calm, fearless voice answered.

A new, larger shadow loomed into my sight. The next time the new voice spoke I knew it was the new shadow approaching me. It leaned towards me. I could make out eyes, nose, mouth, and eyebrows.

A shadow moved to its chest, a click and a light came at my left eye. Another shadow became a hand on my face, holding my head steady. The light stabbed into my left eye. A few more stabs in the left and then the right eye was given the same treatment.

The light clicked out and the two arms merged back into the shadow. The shadow was now pierced by glowing sunspots of the examination.

The shadow shifted and the voice calmly commanded. Silence except for the less chaotic medical sounds.

The silence dropped hundred pound sandbags on my eyelids and they started to close. I fought to keep them up. My fight appeared in the sounds of medical telltales. It wasn't good. The sounds changed, tempos changed erratically, harmonies fell into discord, then new, harsh sounds drowned out the others.

The voice spoke with a swift set of precise sounds. The silence vanished, replaced by cool professional voices and quick, precise movement sounds. A rustle of plastic tubing, a pause and a single word. In the quiet that fell I could hear breathing. I tried to count them, but couldn’t. The medical sounds got softer, and smoother.

The smooth sound soothed my mind. A bit more of me woke up and I could begin to control my thoughts and stop the frantic bouncing from item to item. In the calm, the answers came at me, a mighty sword of fears and terror.

I was in a hospital in a critical care room in critical condition.

The sword slashed away the weight on my eyes and they snapped open. Where there had been a confusing mix of fuzzy and moving shadows and lights was now a murky tableau.

A medication had obviously been pushed into the IV started to fog my mind. It rose up from everywhere covering and submerging the sword, softening my senses, dissolving my thoughts.

My eyelids slumped closed as the fog took away the feeling of my face and eyes. I gratefully relaxed into the fog. The last sounds I heard were the medical sounds as they moved into a soft symphony of calm.

No, I wasn’t in heaven. I had survived breaking rule number one. I could live with that.