by T J Bryan
Wain turned his auto chair, faced Abel, and said, "This is where the instructors make e'm really sweat. I spent yesterday running diagnostics here and watched some of the prepared exercises. Wow. All kinds of disasters. Collisions, enemy attacks, getting too close to a nova. Just about every bad thing that can happen to a star ship and then some."
"I see," responded Abel.
"I had Jerry Renner in here this morning. Jerry is an electro-mechanical tech just like me. Well, Renner was at training station two, and I went to one. Three was the one that was down. We had a bit of time so we had a go at it. We ran a packaged exercise and we got the supervisor's console to let us in. The training simulators had locked us out. Seems were not Greaysons." Wain smiled. "But we managed to fudge it at the instructors station, there's a maintenance mode that lets us in to do just about anything." Wain caught himself realizing that the Chief might not approve.
"We were actually running a function test following the diagnostics. Diagnostics alone are not enough." Wain began to worry.
"Of course," replied Abel. "We need these stations up and reliable. I'm glad your repair work was so thorough."
Wain's smile returned. "Yes, well we decided to test the two stations after our initializations just to make sure the diagnostics didn't overlook something. You know?"
Abel nodded in agreement. "How did you do? On your flight?"
Wain laughed. "We died a thousand times. It was so much fun, but so hard I don't know how any Greayson crew survived those exercises. They were killers. As best we could tell most of the prepared exercises went from bad, to worse, to god awful without a let down. In fact Jerry thinks you can't win. That the instructor keeps upping the difficulty until the training crew bursts into a ball of plasma or a cloud of metal bits. Just the same it was a lot of fun. Well, not really fun, but we had to do it in order to test it of course. You know."
Abel smiled, "Yes I know." Abel turned to leave and then paused and turned back. "Good work Wain, and tell Renner I said so. I hope you two can keep this system operational as were going to be running it flat out 24/7 for the next four or five months. I'll be counting on you to keep it up and run occasional tests as well."
"Thank you sir," replied Wain as Abel left the CTS and began the short walk to his empty home and a fitful nights sleep.
Chapter Twenty One
Jamon System - Mining Dock - Year 3245. July 23 ET: 10:43
Abel stood on the cold deck of Mining Dock Three as Greayson armed freighter R76 approached the dock. Captain Karrlson and now seventh level pilot Larry Nillson brought the ship in closely followed by 1033 with Lennie at the helm. Abel knew the freighter was large, but it's size overwhelmed him. R76 was at least 8 times larger then Girots' Bountiful and unlike Bountiful's round and almost antique appearance, R76 looked deadly and threatening. Like other Greayson ships, excluding the angular frigates, R76 was a huge tubular form with bulbous end caps; one end of which held a weapons array of torpedo tubes, missile launches, and other undoubtedly deadly capabilities, while the other end hosted enormous reaction jector ports needed for in system flight. No wonder the reaction jectors were so large thought Abel, when loaded the mass of the four kilometre by half kilometre ship must be staggering. Getting that much mass moving at even a relatively slow speed must require incredible amounts of energy. He remembered that Helen had said R76 had 256 fusion engines on board and carried a reaction mass the size of a small planetoid.
R76 was too large to dock so she was tethered to a buoy that had been placed a kilometre away from Habitat. Even at this distance when looking out the plasticine windows of the mining dock the sight of the ship took his breath away. Following the procedure to tie up R76 to the buoy, a thin nano-carbon and steel cable shot from a small hatch at the midsection of R76 and found its' way to the personnel hatch of the mining dock. A 'highline' Abel realized for the strangely named 'boson's chair', which was really a kind of eight person taxi pod which enabled personnel to move back and forth to the freighter. After a long cold wait Captain Karrlson and Larry Nillson emerged from the mining dock hatch having traversed from R76 along the thin highline. Abel saw another small knotted rope hanging from a stanchion that connected the highline to the station. Another talisman he thought.
Upon exiting Silvi smiled and nodded toward Abel. Larry soon followed and upon seeing Abel, Larry saluted. Abel thought some how we must stop the saluting nonsense. But he returned the salute. Saluting is an old and outdated way of enforcing superior to inferior status in a new world so technologically advanced that no one was superior to another. Everyone was equal at some level, but somehow the tradition would not die. No matter how hard Abel tried to talk people out of it.
"Would you like a tour of R76?" Silvi asked.
Abel had hoped Captain Karrlson would ask, but if she had not, he was prepared to suggest a tour of R76.
In his last meeting with the Chairman, Victor had made it clear to Abel that he was in charge of the entire 'Navy' program. Abel objected to the term preferring 'ship service' but Victor overruled him Victor explained that the term 'navy' had caught on with the citizens when they learned that the freighter and another SAR frigate were bound for the Habitat. One ship, Victor insisted, was a 'service.' But two ships made up a 'squad', but three ships, that undoubtedly made up a fleet. And a fleet meant in everyone's mind a 'Navy.' Victor had proudly given it a name: Obsidian Commonwealth Navy - the OCN. Victor had dropped the reference to the Jamon in favor of the more dramatic name which was adopted from the black hole that dominated much of the Jamon system space. Abel knew arguing with Victor on this point was fruitless so he simply accepted the Chairman's decree. What he did not expect with adopting the label 'Navy' was everyone beginning to research the Encyclopaedia Gallectica for naval terms, and traditions. Abel was profoundly opposed to adopting military terms, organization, and lifestyle. The need to reach Girots for food and to re-establish commerce was a civilian activity. That they had taken a warship to complete the mission was besides the point. The Commonwealth had never needed a military with all its' baggage and there was no reason to adopt one at this point.
Earlier in the week he had been accosted by multiple citizens each proposing naval terms and traditions. Many did so with enthusiasm; others with good humor. However there was no agreement on which terms and traditions. Some argued for terms found in the EG that came from somewhere called Argentina, other's proposed terms and structures from what he recognized from classic literature as ancient Greece. Still others proposed the adoption of Greayson traditions and terms. There was simply too much confusion that came with adopting the term 'Navy'. What had astonished Abel the most was when Roberta Peters, who had spent years and years repairing habitat suits and was called a 'tailor', presented Abel with a series of colorful sketches of fanciful proposed Navy uniform designs. Apart from being totally impractical the uniforms were most likely to cause derision and laughter that was clearly 'unmilitary'. On a ship, even a civilian ship, one wore a ship suit. Ship suits were entirely functional and provided safety features needed to survive in a vacuum. At least for a few moments. But the high peaked hats with 20 centimetre plumes, the baggy striped pants which Roberta called pantaloons, and the flounced shirts, were not only humorous, but entirely dangerous as well. Shorts and tank tops were one thing but these uniform designs were absurd. Abel knew that no one would take the proposal seriously, but it did represent the onset of an emerging, and in Abel's thought, dangerous trend.
"Ok then. Lets hop the taxi and return to R76"
Silvi's invitation broke Abel from his reflections of his most recent problems. "Yes. I am anxious to see the ship."
As they approached the hatch and the highline pod Silvi handed Abel a battery pack that he knew was for a Greayson ship suit. But this one was three times the normal size. "I have a ship suit for you and your white shorts in the highline pod, but your going to need that heavy duty power pack. R76 is very very cold having sat in the void for 200 years. Helen thinks
it will take weeks under heavy fusion engine power to restore any heat throughout the ship. So be ready for an chilling experience."
As the highline pod carried them toward R76 Abel again wondered at the sheer size of the freighter. Her hull was pristine and she looked new build. "Any idea how much service R76 had seen before surrender?" he asked.
Sili responded, "She looks like new build. Probably finished about the time of the Unity attack on the Grayson home system. With the Unity destruction of the comps we have no log or history. There is no typical wear and tear on things like the pilots seat or the keyboards and joysticks. If I were to guess I'd say she was away on her first voyage, or one of her early voyages, at the time of the Unity attack. She has a keel plate indicating she was built at a Greayson shipyard called Eleos. The EG makes no mention of such a yard. The other freighter R71 shows some significant battle damage but she appears intact. We won't really know till we power her up and Helen and Emmitt work their wonders. Right now we have our hands full with just R76, 1033, and our planned recovery of SAR 1010 tomorrow."
"1010? So you chose our training frigate?"
"Yes. We looked at seven and then a careful survey of two. 1010, although not new build was the most solid ship. She appears to have had some battle damage to her port side, but that was repaired long ago. Probably at a shipyard. You can't really tell but when we explored the exterior there were slight imperfections in some of the plating seams as well as color variations on her skin. But she is a good ship. As good as 1033."
Abel donned his ship suit, checked the rebreather tab at his neck together with the O2 bottle and attached the more powerful energy pack. Silvi had turned her back to him as he stripped and then dressed. As Abel stripped to don the ship suit he realized the danger of the intense cold of the void. Moments later the pod slowed and then stopped. The entire trip from Habitat to R76 had taken three minutes.
They entered the airlock together and began to cycle the systems to allow them to enter. Abel felt the stinging cold air and almost choked. Silvi commented that they had sealed the ship and restored her atmosphere but that some sections were so cold that the atmospheric gasses had condensed into liquids. Only reheating the ship would make all the compartments safe to enter. In the meantime the bridge, quarters, and a few other sections were accessible but very cold.
"Best to engage you hood and rebreather Chief," she said. "It's so cold you could injure you lungs. Greayson rebreathers will give us an hour, but to be safe we will restrict this tour to half an hour. So much of a huge ship like this is empty cargo hold, so there is not much to see."
Abel reached for and pulled his turtle neck tab and the rebreather hood deployed.
Silvi took Abel on a fast paced tour of the ship rarely stopping to identify a component or feature. She did not need to. The R76 bridge was laid out exactly as 1033 was with a crew of nine and quarters and support surrounding the central command con. She had 14 decks all of varying heights and lengths with the lowest deck, 'N' deck, containing the gravity well propulsion systems, was as usual inaccessible. The bridge was located in the center of the ship with six decks above and seven below. Immediately below the bridge was what could only be called 'supercargo' lodging. There were about 30 small rooms, identical to the crews quarters above, a separate mess, exercise area, and shower facilities. "Room for sixty passengers." Silvi commented as they rushed to the next compartment below the supercargo area. "This is the cargo bridge," Silvi commented and then advanced on to one of the six obvious control stations and toggled a switch. A large vid screen appeared to reveal an enormous cargo hold. "They monitored cargo from here. If you look at both the deck and ceiling you can see auto loaders for some kind for standardized containers. They moved those containers in and out of the ship from this cargo bridge."
The hold was empty but enormous and this was only one of 13 available cargo decks. "Did R79 contain any cargo?"
"No she was empty. There are no scuff marks on the deck or other signs of use. That's one reason we think she was new build. She may have been on her way to pick up cargo when the surrender occurred." Silvi paused and reached for the vid screen toggle. "But what I really wanted you to see was the forward hold of deck 'D'. The foreword hold of more than a thousand meters opens up into one large space. This is where most cargo entered the ship." Silvi threw several switches and the vid screen display changed to reveal another even larger hold.
Abel could see the enormity of the size of this loading dock, but without a human standing there to compare the size of the space one could only guess at the volume. "What are those three wedge shaped things? The must be 400 meters long and almost half as wide?"
"Those Chief, are heavy lifters. All of the Greayson ships with the exception of the SAR's, and these heavy lifters, were designed to always remain in the void. But how do you lift heavy cargo from the surface of a planet, perhaps one with an atmosphere, from planetside to the ship. You use those lifters."
Abel took a long look at the closest lifter. The only thing he could think it resembled was a fat spear point, unlike the SAR's which resembled a thin arrow head with a fluted tail.
"The lifters like the SAR's are aerodynamic and can enter an atmosphere, land and then return to space. SAR's don't seem to need huge engines to return to space due to diminished mass and better flight characteristics, but those lifters have almost 30 fusion engines each. They may be tough birds, but hauling up millions of metric tons of cargo is no easy task."
"They need crews?"
"No. They are entirely automated and we believe controlled from this station. However one heavy lifter seems to have been equipped with jump seats for about 400 soldiers. Some kind of Greayson Marine detachment I think."
"400 marines. Where would they live?"
"On the 'F' deck there are quarters and what must be exercise and practice rooms for about 430 soldiers. It's a huge space, but when you have that many folks on a long voyage you don't want to cramp them in as small a space as say the bridge. It's quite impressive."
"Marines you say. Any weapons aboard for marines?"
"We don't know. Our survey of most of the spaces on this ship were perfunctory. We needed to get power up, and get the bridge functional. After she warms up in a few weeks we can make a more thorough survey."
Just as Abel began to ask another question he found himself rocking on his feet. The gravity boots were loosing their grip. He quickly looked at Silvi who was tottering as well. With the hood up it was difficult to tell what was happening, but Grayson ship suits did not obstruct body senses. It was a blow-out. Somewhere on the ship a cargo bay or hatch long, open to the void, and only recently closed had failed after 200 years and blown out. Abel fought to retain his footing. Silvi he saw dived to the seat at one of the consoles and grabbed the stanchion holding the seat to the deck.
Abel tried to do the same but found himself airborne, or vacuum borne was a better word. He slammed hard against the bulkhead.
Abel felt rather than heard a hard crash though his boots. He managed to look up as the atmosphere of the small cargo bridge vented into the void. The hatch they had entered and left open had violently swung shut. The Hatch had closed under the vacuum forming in the cargo bridge as the pressure differential between the cargo bridge and the short passage beyond had forced the hatch shut. Moments later the air was completely evacuated from the compartment. Abel managed to stand. Seconds later Silvi stood. Silvi began to speak but Abel heard nothing only seeing her lips move. Then he pointed to his ears and shook his head. His coms unit had been broken in the collision with the bulkhead. Silvi stepped closer. She was intently looking at the left side of his rebreather hood. She shook here head and mouthed some words. It took Abel a moment to understand, but she was saying 'crack' over and over again. For the first time Abel felt the brush of warm air around his right ear. Indeed there was a crack and it was bleeding air into the void. Abel reached up and pressed his left hand against where he thought the crack might be. The flow o
f warm air on his ear diminished only slightly. Fighting a vacuum against standard temperature and pressure or STP of the rebreather hood was impossible with just a hand. Abel decided to sit in one of the console chairs and work to control his breathing as Silvi opened compartment after compartment looking for something. Abel pressed his hand harder against the crack and he knew the airflow was diminishing slightly. As the STP fell within the suit the air the pressure to vent diminished and his hand pressure became more effective. Effective until the suit empted entirely of atmosphere.
Abel began to practice shallow breathing exercise and motionless sitting, a skill learned by every child on the Habitat in primary school. A precaution against diminished air supply as the void stole their precious air. Abel closed his eyes as was part of the procedure for slowing one's metabolism in order to more effectively use the little air he had left.
Abel knew he was about to pass out when something slapped hard against the left side of the hood. A few seconds later he passed out.
Abel reigned consciousness but felt awful. His temples throbbed and he could feel his ears bleeding. As he opened his eyes he saw Silvi standing close staring into his face. Abel reached for the left side of the hood and felt tape. Sticky vac tape used exactly for this kind of emergency. Silvi had been looking for the vac tape and had finally found some. In his foggy state Abel realized that he should be dead and vac-d himself, but instead he felt the warm flow of air within the rebreather hood.
Silvi pointed to her waist. Abel looked. Her O2 bottle was missing. Abel almost laughed but it hurt too much. They were 'buddy breathing.' Exchanging the one O2 bottle that had air remaining that had been Silvi's and now they were sharing that single bottle. Abel knew from practice that a static rebreather hood held about four minutes of breathable air. The 'buddy breathing protocol' called for swapping bottles every two and a half minutes. Moments later Silvi reached for Abel's waist and removed the bottle reattaching it to her suit. Abel had another four minutes.
