by T J Bryan
The Crew were laughing and joking except Lennie. Lennie seemed removed from the conversation and frankly distraught. As the chilli was finished and the last bit of cornbread had wiped Buddy's bowl clean, Lennie began to complain.
"It's just not fair."
Abel looked up at Lennie and then at Silvi. Silvi reached over and touched Lennie on the shoulder trying to comfort his obvious distress.
"I made level six and now the darn simulator won't let me play. It won't even let me log on. Keeps giving that message. Over and over again. It's not fair. I was so close." Lennie kicked the stanchion that held up the left end of the mess table and winced in pain.
Abel asked, "What message?"
Lennie was rubbing his shin as he replied. "The simulator says to report to the command con station for additional flight training. Says I must continue the game at the dead command con and under the supervision of a higher level pilot. I'm screwed."
Before Abel could ask further Silvi spoke, "From what I read in the POO-P the simulator wants you to fly this dead ship. At your level and even one grade below your supposed to be learning the real skills needed to pilot something like 1033."
Lennie stood in anger his fists clenched.
Silvi spoke, "I'm sorry this has happened Lennie. I know how much flying the simulator and gaining new levels meant especially since they took they Quark away. I'm sorry."
"It's not fair," Lennie repeated. None of the others at the mess table spoke. Collectively they thought it best to let Lennie vent some steam.
Lennie went on, "It's not fair. That simulator is supposed to be just like the command station. Just like it. Why can't I play. Just like it. They're the same. And now I can't get on. Why? There just the same."
Silvi stood. She dropped her sandwich to the floor. Abel saw a strange look on Silvi's face.
"Lennie. Go to the command comp," Silvi said in a demanding voice.
"Why?" replied Lennie. It's dead."
Silvi turned and with determination said to Lennie, "Lennie, now. Go to the command station. Grab that slagged comp frame and bring it to the simulator. Now"
Lennie stared in defiance toward his older sister, but her tone and commanding voice required that he act. Lennie stood and walked into the passage to the command center. Silvi stood and rushed into the curving passageway and toward the simulator.
Abel followed moments later as did the remainder of the crew. Silvi was kneeling behind the rear frame of the simulator. She was pulling the D latches loose and soon her head and shoulders were deep within the cabinet. Moments later Lennie appeared dragging the yellow slagged command comp frame. As Lennie hauled up the frame and leaned it against the chair of the defence station, a bit of burnt electrocene fell to the floor.
"Read me the serial number Lennie." they heard Silvi's muffled voice from deep within the simulator enclosure. "Read it," she demanded.
Lenny was still annoyed as he turned the frame end over end until he found some gibberish and numbers.
"I found it." Lennie replied.
"Read it out loud. Read it!" Silvi was probably shouting but the labyrinth of components muffled her voice.
"Ok, ok," replied Lennie. "GTU564-76 Mark IV. That what it says. GTU564-76 Mark IV."
Moments later Silvi rose from behind the simulator grinning in triumph.
"Bingo!" she shouted. "This crate is going to fly."
Chapter Sixteen
Jamon System - 1033 - Year 3245. June 24 ET: 14:18
Abel called both Helen and Emmitt on the vid-com and told them to return to 1033 immediately. It was critical that they return now. Neither objected and Abel thought it best not to tell them why on the comm line.
Ten minuets later Helen arrived out of breath followed a moment later by Emmitt. Both looked worried and concerned that something awful had happened on 1033.
Silvi was just finishing pulling the simulator comp frame from it locking cradle.
Helen looked at the slagged frame lying on the floor and then at Emmitt. Emmitt was focused on Silvi as she gingerly and cautiously lifted the yellow simulator frame as if it were a new born baby.
Emmitt almost slapped his forehead. "Faen!" he swore in old Norse. "Why didn't I think of that."
Lennie was elated, "I told you. They were the same. Just the same. Both of them."
Emmitt slowly reached to help Silvi with the frame. At first Silvi was reluctant to let anyone touch it, but the frame was heavy, the passage narrow, and the excitement high. Silvi let Emmitt assist as they carried the frame ever so carefully to the command station. As Silvi held tightly to the frame, Emmett kneeled down at the command comp. The command comp panel was already open having been open for almost 200 years. He reached up and took one corner of the frame as Silvi knelt down holding the edge. Slowly they slid the frame into its' cradle.
A claxon sounded and Abel thought he would jump out of his skin. Then silence, but the command stations were lit up. Vid screens on the bulkhead flashed open revealing the universe around them. The ship was alive. Fully alive.
Silvi looked at Abel and then at Lennie. "Lennie, it wants you. Sit in the pilots seat."
They all decided to sit. Emmitt at the MS and Helen at the EV. Silvi sat at the nearest chair: the captain's chair. Buddy went for the defence station and Larry sat at weapons. Lennie sat in the pilots seat and stared at the now familiar controls. Abel remained standing and thought to himself, we have a crew and a ship that might fly again after two hundred years.
No one moved. They just sat looking at the enormous vid screen and the open universe. The vid screen wrapped around the entire command station. The docking station, the asteroid clouds, the gas giant Chatoyant spinning on its' axis, and the dim dying sun that was Jamon were all there. In the far distance the actinic blue sparkle of Obsidian flashed in the void.
Silvi stood. "Ok crew," she said in a firm voice. She looked at Abel who nodded his head. "Were going to do nothing right now. Everyone into the mess. We need to plan out next moves carefully. Very carefully."
The crew reluctantly stood still fascinated by the living stations and the incredible view of the void. Abel was the last to leave for the meeting in the mess. He too wanted to stay in the command center, but they needed a plan and they needed one fast.
As they settled into the mess chairs Abel spoke. "I have only one order for you all. We are to keep the fact that 1033 is alive a secret. She may fly. She may not. At this moment we face too much uncertainty and we cannot allow ourselves or the citizens of the Commonwealth to start embracing what may be a false hope. And clearly we don't want any so called help from folks like the Pilot's Guild or the Ship Design Committee." Abel took a long look at the crew before continuing.
"We have a lot of work to do to understand what we have done and what 1033 may be capable of in the near future. We will remain in the ship until we have a plan and we know that she will fly again. I want each of you to agree to hold this secret until we are ready to go to the Council."
Abel stared intently at each crewmember in turn.
"Lennie?"
"Yes Chief."
"Buddy?"
"I agree."
"Larry?"
"Yes," Larry replied in earnest.
Abel was pleased that Larry was deadly serious and not his usual flippant self.
"Emmitt?"
"God yes."
"Helen?"
"Yes."
"Captain Silvi Karrlson?"
Silvi looked stunned. She swallowed hard in shock.
"Yes" she said with determination in her voice and on her face.
"All right then. We have a crew. Captain Karrlson will you lead the crew in developing a flight plan. I will remain as Chief of ES and will assist you as I can, but you, this crew, are far more capable of restoring this ship to service than I am. Silvi is Captain. You will call me Chief. Now let's get to work. And while you are planning our next step I have some personnel changes to attend to in Silvi's captain's quarters. I'll b
e back when I finish." With that Abel turned and left the mess.
Abel took his time reviewing the personnel files of the crew, making notations for the new captain, and approving actions required of the now living comp. Elevating Silvi to captain had been a challenge and the system kept rejecting his input. Finally he found the tabs he needed. With a tinge of regret he noted that Captain Jeremiah Sensenbrenner had been killed in action this date in the Jamon System, and that Silvi Karrlson had taken command as acting captain until the ship could return to the Greayson system. The system accepted the input. Silvi was now Captain of 1033.
He looked at the clock at the top of the vid screen and almost two hours had elapsed. He returned to the mess to find Silvi' reading from her inter-tab the basic outline of the plan they had created.
As Abel entered the crew stood up. "Sit down," Abel said. "We don't need formality at this time. Now what's the plan?"
Silvi stood, "You each know your stations, so I need not tell you what to do or how to do your work."
The crew nodded.
Silvi began her narrative as much for Chief Abel as to reaffirm what the crew had previously agreed. "In half an hour we will all take our stations. Lennie will take the pilots station. And even though we do not need weapons and defence manned both Larry and Buddy will assume their positions. Larry will pay close attention to the pilot's station, as we all probably will to Lennie's piloting. Larry is our second available pilot and in an emergency Larry you will take over."
Abel approved of Silvi's thinking ahead about potential problems.
Silvi continued, "Upon my command we will undock 1033 and using thrusters only we will pull away from the dock no more than ten meters. Then Pilot Lennie will return us to the station and dock again. We will then evaluate our performance. If all went well we will perform the same manoeuvre again, using only thrusters, but this time we shall move out 100 meters then return to the dock. Evaluation will follow. If the ship and we, its' crew, have performed as expected we will undock again and proceed to a distance of approximately one kilometre. Then we shall return and again evaluate our performance."
Abel nodded his head in approval.
Silvi spoke, "Upon completing the one kilometre excursion and returning to the mining dock we will meet in the mess room for supper to discuss our activity. Then we will all turn in for the night. In the morning we will begin our agreed upon phase two program which involves further flight and basic manoeuvres. Be prepared for tomorrow for I intend to fly the entire 12 hours in a variety of simple exercises dictated by our living command comp as a training exercises both for our pilot and for the entire crew. Upon completion of tomorrows assignments we will meet again with the Chief to plan our next drill. Chief?"
Abel thought the plan was cautious as it should be. And at this time of night the first manoeuvres of 1033 should not be noticed. The Queenies and Quark were not flying due to the pilot's strike and civilian runabouts were still restricted at the Public Dock. The only active presence in the system would be the police picket at the entrance to the zone and that could clearly be avoided. Further the three asteroids currently supporting mining activity were more than ten thousand kilometres across the ecliptic plane. Secrecy was critical until they knew the ship was fully functional and that would take at least another day.
Buddy raised his hand, "I gotta question Captain."
Silvi nodded.
"When do we get to use that gravity well thing. The one that let's us go really fast."
Silvi knew the answer but turned to Emmitt. "Can you explain the gravity well propulsion system limitations to Mr. Brunner?"
"Yes Captain," Emmitt replied in all seriousness. "The gravity well propulsion system will allow us to attain enormous speeds approaching sixty percent of the speed of light, however since the system relies on the creation of an artificial gravity well into which the ship is directed to fall, the propulsion system cannot be used anywhere near existing gravity wells such as that of the Habitat, our gas giant, or even the mother of all gravity wells our Obsidian black hole. Thrusters and reaction engines are used to take us out beyond gravity wells of 0.08 gravitons. The graviton being a measure of the depth of any gravity well. For example our Habitat has a gravity metric here at the surface of 400 gravitons. But if we were say 1000 kilometres out the gravaton rating would be approximately 10 gravitons. Another 10,000 or so kilometes and it falls to the point where the gravity well propulsion system could be used."
Abel noticed Buddy smiling.
"However the Jamon system is a chaotic mix of overlapping gravity wells. Our sun, Chatoyant, and our staggering number of asteroids, planetoids, and rocks of all sizes makes for a complicated map of all the overlapping wells within the system. That is why the black art of astrogation is so critical. To navigate through these multiple wells, each of differing attraction degrees, and all overlapping, is really, or should I say, is extraordinarily difficult. So to answer your question Mr. Brunner we must be well on the edge of the Jamon System, and facing the empty void before the gravity well can be fully utilized."
Buddy asked again, "And then how long to the portal? The exit one?"
Emmitt looked to Helen, "Helen I'm not sure. I think that's ancient history."
Helen replied. "It takes a ship on impulse and reaction engines about four hours to clear the nearby gravity wells in system. The we can engage the gravity well propulsion system. Call it the GWP. Then under GWP it takes another 60 or 70 hours to reach the exit portal. The one to the Giwiso system."
"Ah," replied Buddy. "I see." Buddy seemed satisfied with Emmitt and Helen's description.
Silvi startled everyone by clapping her hands once. "Now, everyone to the command stations in 15. Remember we have only two toilets." Silvi smiled as did Abel.
The tension during the first evolution of undocking, traversing ten meters, and returning to dock had been intense. Abel was pleased the way in which Silvi took control and directed the crew in a clam but authoritative voice through the drill. The second manoeuvre was less tense and Abel could see Lennie relax a bit as his fingers, hands and feet shuffled amongst the various controls of 1033. Abel watched as both Larry and Buddy carefully observed every action that Lennie took. Finally they docked following the completion of the one kilometre manoeuvre and everyone reassembled at the mess.
Silvi called the meeting a 'hotwash' but after Emmitt explained he did not understand the term, Helen explained. "The hotwash is a meeting we hold right after we complete a drill where we review our progress and discuss how to improve. There is always room for improvement."
Before Silvi gave her assessment of the drill she called on Buddy to tell them from his perspective what went well and what needed improving.
Buddy was stunned. No one had ever asked him for his assessment of the others including himself. He had to think a bit. "Well, it went well. But I goofed and didn't buckle the restraints on my seat. When Lennie nudged the ship out the first time I nearly slipped off. I won't make that mistake again." He paused a moment in thought, "But I got kinda confused on the third run. Silvi you called out an execution order for the first two, but not the third. I got lost for a moment."
Silvi nodded and then called on Larry.
Abel saw that she had begun the hotwash with the least experienced members of the crew. From his duties as Chief he knew that this let the most junior persons speak without having to bias their discussion by the comments of those more experienced than themselves. It was good emergency service procedure for a de-brief. He used it himself many times. I wonder where Silvi learned this Abel thought.
The hotwash continued for an hour and then everyone broke for dinner. The most critical assessment of their performance had been given by Silvi herself and most of the problems she outlined were her's and her's alone. Abel was proud that Silvi was so self aware and so determined to succeed in leading her crew that she put competency, even her own, and the forefront of the hotwash.
Chicken Curry, hamburgers
, lamb with rice, and several other entrees were on the menu as was something called near-beer. Abel had one and found it interesting but the alcohol level was so low that only about two gallons of the stuff would even begin to cause a mild buzz.
Just as Abel began to relax his vid-com chimed. It was the Judicar. Abel opened the vid-com and greeted Arne Thorgaut.
"Chief, I think we have resolved our Pilot's strike. We never made it to Sigrunn Havard, Elliot Yee, and Tom Stopford. Ulf and Sanofi folded. Snorre's going to the Home of Rest. Flights will resume tomorrow. Ulf and Yee will be taking Quark out and resuming the survey as soon as the miners are back. Oh and I understand the priority will be to bring back another one of those doctor boxes and its' pharmaceuticals. Seems the pharma is good and the Hospital is ecstatic."
Able was not sure what to say so he simply congratulated Arne on a job well done and told him that he was under the weather a bit and was going to sleep in for the day and would he let the Chairman know he was taking a day off. Arne responded that now that the immediate crisis was over he could well take two days off. Arne laughed. Arne laughing was so rare Abel could not think of a time he had ever seen the Judicar laugh.
After supper Silvi adjourned the crew to their quarters for rest. However most simply went to their stations and began to review again the manuals and cheat sheets. Abel thought Silvi is going to have to force them to bed in about another two hours or the morning will prove slow indeed.
Abel motioned to Silvi to follow him to the Captain's Quarters.
"Silvi you are captain now and these quarters are yours."
Silvi was stunned, "No. That's not right. These are your quarters and always will be. I'll stay with Helen. I'm ok with that."
"No Silvi. These are the captain's quarters. You will live and work out of this space. To do otherwise would be to insult your crew. You are now Captain and you must not only perform in the role, but act in it as well. This is the place for you."
