The Maintenance Man 5
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Mark sighed as if things weren’t bad enough, now he had to contend with his mother and sister.
Stepping in front of Nissie his mother looked her up and down, “who exactly are you?” she said as she intensely stared at Nissie.
“Mother please don’t start this now, this is Nissie she’s my….uh…” he hesitated a moment.
“I am his slave in loo of payment from the king” as Mark growled at her, she just looked back at him sweetly.
“Your WHAT!!!?” his mother shouted, “Mark you know that we abolished that on earth centuries ago”
Mark shook his head and started to open his mouth when Nissie interrupted him, “Mam he had no choice as it was mine, by the binding imperial laws he can’t back out of it and neither can I.”
Mark’s mother’s face and body eased a moment as she thought hmm brains and beauty too.
“I was going to say she is my assisstant, that’s all now why are you here? You both know I cut ties with the family years ago. I worked hard to get where I am, I DO NOT want your or father’s help, and you also know why I did it, so don’t tell me you’ve been trying to talk to me because you obviously haven’t. I gave you a chance and…”
“Gave us a chance? Like hell you did!” his sister screamed at him, “I have needed you all these years, you never took my calls, texts. written notes hell you refused to let anyone see you when you went to that school. I think you were hiding.”
Mark glared at his sister, “Why the hell not!?” he shouted back at her, “You and mother screamed at me, threw things at me, I felt I had no recourse but to leave the house, PERMANENTLY!!”
Nissie moved to try and head this off before trouble started, “Mr. Mark, we have to go to the central building to start the contract,” like she hoped it snapped Mark back to his old business self.
“You’re right Nissie, we need to go, from the look of things here, nothing has worked for years.” stepping around his mother and sister he got on the speeder.
“Well, I know your name,” Mark’s mother said as she extended her hand, “I am Trina Doraland and this,” reaching for her daughter. “is my daughter Samantha”
“Sam mom, sam, geez” sam said as she rolled her eyes.
“I am pleased to meet you, though under the circumstances I am afraid you have caught us at a bad time” Nissie told Mark’s mother and sister all that she knew, (except for the part about the sex that would come later) getting to the part about Mark’s father his mother smiled.
“So he and Arthur did meet after all good, so what has Mark done to stop this mad man?” Trina said as she looked very close at Nissie.
“From what I have been told and have heard, Mark destroyed one of his networks, but he was back up in only a few hours, this was evident when those bots tried to kill us by self destructing, if it hadn’t been for mark I would have lost it by now.”Trina made note of this then just as suddenly she knew!
“Tell me Nissie,” Trina started, “just how long have you been in love with Mark?”
Nissie sighed god! Was she that easy to read? First her sister, then Mark’s mother. Sam’s mouth dropped open, “If you marry my brother I’d finally have a sister!” she said happily a wide smile creeping into her features.
“First off, I have loved him almost from the moment I met him, but I knew he was out of my league,” Nissie looked at the ground, she had embarrassed herself with the confession. “Second” she almost whispered, “I don’t think he loves me I am just a slave, I am not allowed to marry or really even love anyone, til the time of my contract with Mark is finished.” a small tear fell from her eye as she thanked the two women and moved to the speeder that Mark had cleared.
Watching them leave Trina looked over at Sam, “I’m not sure but your brother has changed, he was more forceful like your father is.”
Sam thought a moment too then, “Mom! I think Mark’s in love too! I just don’t think he knows it yet!” giggling she leaned closer to her mother and whispered, “but that’s about to change.”
Nissie was afraid to say anything the look and scowl on Mark’s face gave her the feeling that he’d bite her head off if she did. Arriving at the main captital building they were escorted in to the planet leader, as he vigorously shook Mark’s hand Nissie took note of everything in the room including the amount of rust and disrepair of almost everything in the room.
Mark leaned over and whispered in Nissie’s ear, looking astonished she looked at the leader, “Mr. Mark thanks you for the warm welcome but please don’t do that again. He also wants to know if you have the payment that was promised him.”
The man nodded affirmatively handing Nissie a sheet of paper. Mark looked at the paper then up at the man shaking his head he whispered again into Nissie’s ear.
“Mr. Mark says that these extras that you want will increase the price by half more, also if you can’t pay and are trying to bluff him you will regret it,” she smiled menacingly, the leader shook a moment then leaned over to his assisstant whispering. Looking up he said that a few of the extras could go for now.
Mark just smiled he didn’t have the heart or the patience to tell the man that a few of the ‘extras” would get done by the repair bots. They were led to their room, Mark pulled 3 or 4 scanners out of his pack. After the third scan and not finding anything Mark became extremely suspicious. Pulling out another device he had constructed last night, he went around the room again. Sighing he began to find toxic charges, that little ass was trying something new, Mark was surprised ,this was going a little outside the realm that the little ass always seemed to cling to.
After the room was finally cleared, Nissie tentatively stuck her head in asking Mark if it was now safe, he said that it would be as soon as he disarmed the last charge.
Nissie made a quick exit standing near the doorway, Trina and Sam were walking down the hall and approached her.
“Why are you out here?” Trina asked a little apprehensive.
“Mark is clearing our room AGAIN, he has to almost everytime we are on a new planet.” Nisse grimaced and shook alittle as she waited for Mark to finish.
“Would you like to go to our room?” Sam inquired’ “You could tell Mark and wait there with us”
Nissie thought about it for just a moment then shook her head no, “I have to wait for Mark,” she breathed out, “I am his slave and I have to be here if he has need of me.” Sam shook her head.
“I know for a fact that he doesn’t like owning another being, he was an opponent of the slave trade when he was still at home as a very young man father told me that he had been arrested a few times for protests.”
Nissie’s mouth opened wide she couldn’t believe her ears! He really was that way!. Trina was glad that Mark had someone in his life even if it was being forced by the law.
Mark stepped to the door to let Nissie know it was all clear, his mother and sister were out there, sighing, he didn’t want another repeat of this afternoon at the space port. Walking across the room he yelled out it was all clear placing shield emitters at various points around the room. Nissie thanked Trina and Sam for their kindness and turned to go in the doorway. Watching Nissie just walking was getting him hard, damn he missed the days when this didn’t happen, but he had to admit the sex had been completely beyond anything he had ever experienced.
Walking to Nissie he held her til she stopped shaking, knowing that they had to venture forth soon leaving the safety of the room. Telling Nissie that she could stay and rest if she wanted, he began to gather the machines he would need placing each thing in a specific place in his pack. Nissie told him that she was going to stay here was there anything that she could do while she was here.
“Here, if you see mother and sis give them these wrist comps, they have been downloaded with the programs I had in father’s. These are equiped with shields, that can take a big blast, a toxin filter in connection with the shields, and an alarm system, to let them know if there is any present danger nearby, so they have time to evacuate if there is time.
Walking out into the hallway he was prepared for almost anything, except the on rush of his sister grabbing him around his chest hugging the breath out of him.
“I’ve been trying to get you alone all day, I will have to be the one to apologise to you, I have missed you so much Mark, life has been horrible since you left, there was noone intelligent to talk to and when you didn’t answer any of my correspondences I thought I would never see you again.” Sam was in tears sobbing on his chest, Mark was at a loss, he had never had this happen even Nissie didn’t sob like this, putting his arms around her he tried to comfort her.
“Sam, I had to leave, when you and mom were yelling at me, the things you said, I felt that mom had thrown me out of the house, so I just left. I loved you so much, you were the one thing that helped me through everything. I felt after that you had sided with mom and that you hated me also.”
“No Mark I have never hated you, I love you more than you will ever know, I didn’t think I would ever see you again,” Sam began to sob again falling at his feet unable to move, “please don’t ever leave me again. I didn’t think we would ever catch up to you, we were always a day or two behind you. We saw the work you had done on the last 3 worlds, it was as if the whole planet had been off and you came, just flipped a switch on and they were starting to be alive again.”
Mark was amazed at her description of the planets that they had visited.
“Sam I have to get to work, I am sure you don’t like, not having all the things you are used to not working.” Mark rubbed her back as she finally started to calm down.
“Mark I don’t want to leave you again I don’t want you gone out of my life, I need you near do you understand I HAVE to have you near me, I can’t go through that again.”
At a loss for words he just held her, noone in his life had ever said anything as deep and meaningful to him.
Releasing her, “I have to get to work we’ll talk later, ok?” he spoke into her hair her arms locked around him in an ever increasing death grip.
“I want to go with you, I have studied a little when momma wasn’t home and I have a basic understanding of the maintenance that you perform.”
“We’ll see” Mark wasn’t sure that this was a good idea but he had gotten used to having an assisstant nearby, keeping notes, so that if he couldn’t remember (fat chance of that with his memory) he had the notes to help and refresh everything. “You stay out of my way, you keep detailed notes and if you see anything, DON’T touch it, you call me, you got that? I don’t want to be responsible for getting you killed, it would kill me.”
Sam smiled, the first real smile she felt she had worn since before Mark had left. Moving to the central main frame, Mark let out a huge sigh as he looked at the state of non repair there. Assessing the room and the main frame he walked behind the unit surprised that it wasn’t as rusted as he has seen coming into the building. Tapping the control panel a few times he saw that there was power going to it, he just couldn’t figure out what was going on. Working for an hour he had found that 3 of the 5 power cords had become disconnected. While working on them Sam had happened near another panel that showed a long red line across it. Calling Mark over he began to laugh, she stared at him as if he was crazy.
“What the hell is so funny Mark?”
Trying to catch his breath, “It was so simple” as he gasp out again, “I wouldn’t have noticed that for hours, I am always looking for the hard things, something this simple I wouldn’t have thought of. Thank you for this, I forget that sometimes its only the simple things that are wrong.”
Sam looked shocked she couldn’t believe that her highly trained and certified brother was thanking her for her help.
Turning back to the panel Mark could truly see the problem now, reaching to the turbine output, it had been turned all the way down and was barely putting out enough power for the lights in the room, let alone the city.
“Ok Sam, I’m reving up the rpm’s on the output turbines, the reactor’s energy production should adjust to the increase demand.”
Sam kept her eyes on the panels while mark began to shunt the power higher from the reactor, soon the bots began to stir. The first of the bots started repairing and replacing parts. Mark noticed how bad a shape that they were in also. Mark, had Sam start listing parts that he needed, and she was calling them in as they went. Mark, got what he could done as a few of the more needed utilities were now working and the bots (what few could move) were restoring as much as they could.
Leaving the room Sam and Mark headed for his room. Mark was a little afraid when they weren’t met at the door by Nissie. Walking in Mark found her asleep on the huge bed an softly called her name. Sitting up with a start she looked into the face of the man she loved and kissed him deep and passionately.
“Are you ok? when you didn’t meet us at the door we thought something was wrong”
“Umm Mr. Mark you taste so good!” she slurred out as she struggled to sit up in the bed, “I was just a little tired I felt so safe for once.” Again she reached up to kiss him that was when he noticed that she was hot, very hot, no wonder she was acting so drunk- like. Pulling out the strangest apparatus yet, he began to run it up and down her body, she started giggling complaining that it tickled.
A grim faced Mark looked at the results but made another pass to make sure. Finally he sat the med scanner down and looked at his comp. cursing under his breath again he turned to Sam, “she has contracted a rare form of fever and the med bots here, aren’t repaired enough yet, to actually help her. The freighter is still 2 days out and what I have here isn’t enough to cure her.”
Sam was beside herself, Nissie couldn’t die, she was the first woman who had gotten through Mark’s walls, and damnit she liked her too. Running from the room she headed for her mother’s and her room.
“Mother!” she screamed, “we have to help Nissie, she’s dying!” shocked her Mother ran for the bags that had been brought in not long after they had arrived.
Searching as hard and as fast as she could, she held up a small vial that she had tucked in a padded flap in the center of a bag. “Here take this to Mark tell him to use repro 334335,” she said as she handed the vial to Sam.
Sam understood as she clutched the vial and ran from the room.
“Here Mark mom said to use repro 334335 then inject it into her” Mark took the vial and passed it under a scanner and pressed in the code. After a few minutes there was a beep and Mark scanned again to confirm, ran to Nissie and injected the vial directly into her vein.
Mark was shocked that his mother had a vial of nanomites, they were expensive, experimental and very very hard to get. For an hour he sat beside the bed and monitored her while they did their work. Slowly her fever began to drop then she was unconcious. Mark only hoped that they were as good as he had heard. He made a decision right then and there that the king would pay him when they reached the planet or he’d take the kingdom, ANYTHING to release her from this god awful contract. Falling asleep he didn’t see his mother come in with a shocked look on her face as she looked at Mark and the vigal he was keeping, staying by her bed.
A few hours later Mark felt a hand caress his hair and face, startled Mark looked up to see Nissie looking at him with a confused look on her face.
“Um … Mr. Mark why am I in bed? The last thing I remember, was you heading out the door to start on the main frame.”
Mark leaned in to gently kiss her, Nissie nestled into his embrace and tried to pull him into bed with her, strange, she had no strength. Suddenly Sam was there at Mark’s shoulder.
“Is she better? Did they work?” Better? Nissie wondered what they were talking about.
“You contracted an extremely rare form of fever” Mark said as he wiped her forehead, ” I believe that it’s called cliff drop fever” Nissie’s eyes flew wide,
“Cliff drop, but that’s uncurable! how much longer do I have?”
Mark looked down into her face still alittle worried, “Oh I’d say anywhere from 30 to 50 years, maybe longer, depending on how many and what type of injurys you recieve over the years.” Nissie looked confused, she had cliff drop noone survived that!
Sam spoke up this time, “we used nanomites in you, they are tiny machines that repair any problems in the body. Only a few people have them and we used one of the two vials we had on you.” Nissie’s mouth dropped open even she, as isolated as she had been over the last few years had heard of them. She had also heard that they were still experimental, “so… I thought that they weren’t ready for the public yet?” she inquired
“Did you forget?” Sam chirped in, “mother and father are dignitaries, two of the most sought after in earth’s government.”
“Yes and at times it affords certain privileges,” Mark’s mother said from the door way, “and burdens,” this last was almost a whisper, walking across the room to where they were, she looked at Nissie then felt he forehead. “I’d say she’s well on her way to being cured, how much longer for complete restoration?”
Mark looked over at the med scanner that was still running according to the readings at least 36 more hours.
Trina looked at the woman responsible for finally opening Mark up. “Ok that means for the next day and a half, you are not to leave that bed.” Trina smiled she almost wished it was her, a day and a half in bed? that would be a vacation.
Shocked Nissie tried again to sit up but found she was too weak, “so you are telling me, that not only am I almost cured from cliff drop, but you used your nanomites to cure me. but what if you need them?”
“Not to worry my dear,” Trina said with a wave of her hand, “I already have them in me, that vial is just in case those in me were being overpowered by anything.”
Again Nissie’s mouth dropped open, “but why use them on me, I am just a slave undeserving of…”
Trina put a finger to Nissie’s lips to quiet her, “you are an associate of my son, we do not concider you a slave, nor will we ever.”
Mark just shook his head, he felt so drained he had been so worried about her. Suddenly he straightened up, he had been worried! the realization hit him hard. This past month first his father, then his sister, now Nissie, how could he work with these distractions?
“Mark,” his mother started as she looked at him, ” I wanted to thnk you for this”
indicating the new wrist comp, “I’ve already contacted your father to let him know with it, extremely handy.” Mark would usually have beamed from such praise but for now he just nodded, his mother made note of that, putting it aside with the other tidbits of information she had.
Leaving his mother with Nissie was hard for Mark, as he didn’t want to leave her side, but he had to get everything restored, this place was barely functioning now. After 12 hours Mark finally had the restoration programs in place for the bots to keep each other repaired. Sam kept notes while mark started replacing parts on the first bot, he hoped that if he got enough of them repaired, that they could take over. Another 5 hours saw the compleation of the first 2 repair bots. Turning just them on, he watched as they moved at lightning speed repairing and replacing on each of the one hundred bots that were in the room.
Soon Mark, had more than enough of the bots to really make a difference, he just hoped that there were enough parts to get them all going. He looked at the list from the order and shook his head, he hoped but he wasn’t that sure. Another 5 hours saw the place finally looking newer and functioning as it should. He had to admit his sister was very handy and her knowledge was that of a second year student. Nissie and his sister hmmmmm they would be a huge asset to him in the work he had to do. Mark sat in a chair watching a console as the bots started to spread out through the building, Mark had let everyone know earlier that they were NOT to get in the bots way, till they were done.
Lost in his thoughts his sister disturbed them when she touched his arm, “Mark?” she asked, “it appears the repairs are done here, you should warn mother and send some there first.” Mark nodded and let them know in the room, Mark monitored the progress slow though it was, at least a part of the building was safe and secure.
“I have a confession Mark,” Sam started, “I know that you look at your contracts to make sure they legitimate, but I think you missed one.” laughing she handed a comp to him as he stared at it.
“What did I miss? This is a legitimate company I know I looked it up, though I thought the price that they wanted to pay was too high I agreed to it, why do you ask?”
“Thats my company and you fullfilled your part of the bargin, you repaired the heart device I had, my broken heart. I can not pay you so I am now your slave also.” Mark started to argue.
“you know I studied some law also and til I pay you I have to remain with you as your slave.” Sam laughed when Mark’s face dropped she had him. “So mister mark what’s your first order” she giggled then she thought damn momma wasn’t going to be too happy about this.
To be continued (I may be gone for a while, I have enjoyed writing for you guys I’ll inform the forum when I am back) best wishes PARS001