Obsidian Ressurection

by T J Bryan

  Abel leaned forward as Emmitt scrolled slowly down the list of maintenance items. The list was cryptic and was clearly shorthand jargon for elements of the ship. "What's that 'C' and 'D' mean that follows all those items?" Abel asked.

  "I don't know," replied Emmitt as he reached for one of the hard copy manuals. He shuffled through a dozen or so pages. "Ah, here it is. 'C' means it's the responsibility of the crew to perform the maintenance. 'D' means it's the responsibility of the maintenance droids, 'R' indicates a repair ship, and 'S' indicates a repair at a shipyard is needed. I don't see any 'S' indications."

  "Where are the droids? The maintenance droids," Abel asked.

  "Don't know," responded Emmitt.

  Abel looked at Helen and she shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know either.

  Silvi spoke, "I have been all over this ship except for 'C' deck which seems locked up and I have never seen anything that looks like a droid or robot or autonomous service machine. Now, don't get me wrong, this ship has been dark and most of 'B' deck is in darkness, and a small flashlight leaves much to be desired, and there are lots of systems down there, but in my brief explorations I didn't find anything remotely like a droid. Could have missed it of course, or they might be hidden in some compartment we have not uncovered."

  Helen spoke up, "The fifth cheat sheet for the MS says maintenance by droids is performed only upon approval by the station operator for MS. Guess you need to approve those items with the 'D' label before any work is started

  Emmitt responded, "I would prefer we wait a while and let things settle in before we try any maintenance. Especially with droids. I'm not sure I want to be here when droids are running about the ship. We still have a lot to explore on the ship and now that we have power and light it should be much easier."

  "Agreed," said Silvi. "Besides when I look about, except for the command stations, I see lots of small vid screens and tell-tales lit up. Except for our ability to fly this ship it seems to be alive."

  Abel continued staring at the MS list of maintenance items. "Look. The critical items on the list are command comp systems probably due to the slagged core. The designation is for the crew to fix it. How would they do that? We haven't found a spare core anyplace on the ship."

  Helen replied. "We did make a quick search in the darkness but found nothing. Now that we can see and perhaps open a few compartments that were previously closed, like 'C' deck we might find something. Just the same, nowhere in the manuals can I find anything about a procedure to repair the command comp. It was either impossible or so simple they felt no need for documentation."

  They spent the next five hours scowering the bridge and the numerous control systems many of which had come alive with power restored. Helen was meticulous as was Emmitt. Abel felt he had little to add and returned to the tiny Captain's quarters.

  The small room was perhaps three meters by four and was divided into two compartments and a small shower/toilet facility. The captain was the only one to get a private shower. The forward compartment contained a small desk, keyboard, hand mic, iris scanner, and a vid screen. The vid screen which had been dead was now alive and asking for an ID or iris scan. Abel had noticed that the control system stations of the command com all had iris readers. Must be how crew logged on he thought. Unless they lost a eye in battle in which case a password or ID made sense.

  Abel leaned forward toward the iris scanner. The vid screen flashed a message followed by an annoying chime. "Try again." After the third try he typed in a random string of characters from the keyboard. "Try again." Well, thought Abel so much for that attempt. He stood and stepped into the sleeping section and lay down on the bunk. The bunk was firm but comfortable and as he looked up there were numerous tell-tales above his head and a small vid screen. The screen and tell-tales were active but dim, probably to allow for sleep.

  Abel's inter-tab chimed. Able awoke startled. He had fallen asleep. Lennie was requesting permission to board as his shift on the Quark was completed. Abel returned to the bridge as Lennie climbed up the ladder.

  "Quarks down. The water jacket to the manoeuvring thrusters has a major leak. Maintenance says three days at least. Perhaps four."

  Silvi asked, "Three days? I'd be amazed if they could do it in three weeks. The water jacket is buried under four major control systems. They have to pull out the bridge and the living sections to get to it. It used to take Dad a week to fix it and he knew what he was doing."

  Abel found Lennie's announcement bothersome. With only three weeks left of their effective control of Quark left, now one week was lost to repairs.

  Helen stood and picked up her inter-tab, "I'll let the survey volunteers know about the delay. I'm not so worried about the delay of the survey. We completed the supply ship and had started on what is a repair ship - number 0321. That leaves about two hundred ships left un-surveyed more than half of which are a wreck. I had been hoping that on one of them we might find a useful core. But now I guess we will have to wait."

  Lennie stretched. "I see you got the lights on."

  "Yeah," replied Silvi. "The ship seems alive."

  "Mind if I check out the simulator. Since we can't fly this bucket we might as well have some fun with the command simulator."

  Silvi looked to Abel and he replied, "I see no reason not to. Just don't get us all killed in a simulation. I have no desire to meet the Mother of God in simulation."

  Helen decided to turn in. To Abel's surprise she had moved into one of the small crew cabins and intended to stay for the duration. Emmitt however returned home because he had another ugly Committee meeting in the morning. With Quark down and its' bridge and living quarters to be torn out for maintenance Lennie and Silvi decided to live aboard 1033 as well. That made four. Abel saw no need to return to his Habitat quarters having placed Captain Winton in charge of day to day operations of the ES. Managing the state of emergency declaration was absorbing all of his time and energy.

  As Abel turned back toward the captain's quarters and another attempt at activating the captain's work station he turned to the crew, "Tomorrow 07:00 at Nolo's for breakfast and then we start a serious and complete search of 1033."

  No one objected.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jamon System - Public Dock, Nolo's Diner - Year 3245. May 31 ET: 06:55

  The dock was cold as always and Abel found the enclosed diner warm and welcoming. Milli Nolo placed a cup of black coffee before him and scowled. "Been almost six months now and no Bountiful," she said.

  Abel looked up and said nothing. He had nothing to say. Everyone knew the Commonwealth was preparing for the worst by commissioning a new starship.

  Working at the Public Dock Milli had a better understanding of the complexities of ship operation and repair. Her scepticism about a new starship was obvious to Abel. Milli turned and returned to the kitchen and moments later what Abel had come to think of as his crew arrived: Lennie, Silvi, Emmitt and Helen.

  "I can only stay for a short time," Emmitt said. "The committee meets at ten and there are two new design submissions posted last night. I need to review them but a quick glance told he they are no more useful than the last dozen."

  Milli brought coffee for all. She took their orders and when Silvi and Lennie asked for toast with their eggs and ham she told them bread had just gone on the new ration list and was available only on even numbered days. Milli was clearly annoyed at the restriction and said so. "Everyone will just eat more bread on odd days. It makes no sense."

  As the crew drank coffee and began to eat breakfast the morning shift maintenance crew arrived with equipment piled high on two large sliders. They headed toward the Quark.

  "There about to start on the repairs," Silvi said. "Perhaps I should talk to the foreman and give him some hints on how to complete the repair quickly."

  Emmitt responded, "No Silvi. I know they won't listen. They are Maint Crew and they know everything. They even submitted a design for the starship last week. A long skinny tub
e made of worn out spare parts, miss-matched jectors, and everything they could find including the kitchen sink. Apart from probably falling apart in the first hour of flight, their design, like all the others simply took too long to reach Girots and return. The Habitat would be stone cold and," He paused a moment. "Well stone cold by the time they return. That is if they do return."

  Abel outlined the plans for the complete survey and inspection of 1033 to begin this day. Abel had a morning meeting with the Chairman but the rest of the crew could start without him. Today they would focus on the weapons bay which took up perhaps two thirds of the large 'B' deck. They might try to see if access was possible to the 'C' deck which they knew held the Gravity Well Propulsion engines. However if they found a way in they would not venture onto that deck. Emmitt and Abel agreed that the risk was too high. Greayson protected it's secrets and the Gravity Well Propulsion system was, even after four hundred years, their best kept secret. Emmitt had used the word 'bobby trap.'

  With breakfast finished Lennie, Silvi, and Helen returned to 1033 and Emmitt and Abel set off toward the government offices next to the Council Chamber.

  ...

  Jamon System - Chairman's Office - Year 3245. May 31 ET: 08:35

  "The way I see this Abel, we cannot win. They have the votes to take control of Quark. Their influence, not to mention the rules and laws of the Commonwealth, are on their side, and although we can overrule them through the emergency edict it would be very bad politics. Very bad. They might move to lift the emergency and that could be disastrous." The Chairman paused for a moment.

  Abel sat across from the only real wood desk in all of the Habitat as the Chairman leaned back in his chair.

  "However," the Chairman continued. "We can set conditions and expectations. Rather than a vote, I say we will cut a deal. They will agree, and if they do not perform, we will take back the Quark, and return the Karrlson's to command. But first let me read you the conditions they are demanding the council approve as they regain control. It is quite a list so I'll hit only the high points." Abel noticed the Chairman smiling as he began to read.

  "Item One: A minimum of three pilots will be required to fly the ship."

  Abel moaned.

  "I know, I know," said the Chairman. "It only gets better."

  "Item Two: The Quark shall complete a total refit and be subject to re-certification prior to any sailing. Item Three: Pilots shall bid for berths based on seniority."

  Abel just shook his head in disbelief.

  "It goes on and on. For example, Pilots must complete a full certification training cycle for a sweeper class ship prior to assignment. Such certification training to take no more than three months. Oh, and there is no mention of a certification test. A test on their competency with a sweeper would be beneath their dignity I suppose. Oh, here is one you will like: No more than five flights a month will be under taken and each flight shall last no longer than five hours in duration."

  Abel could not help himself. "Five hours! Why it's an hour and fifteen minutes to the Zone, then perhaps half an hour to locate the ship to be surveyed. Another fifteen minutes for the volunteers to board and when they are ready to return another fifteen as well. Then another hour and fifteen to return and say ten to dock. That gives the survey crew what? An hour or less. They can't accomplish much in an hour. And add to that five days a month after a three month lay up?" Abel could no longer conceal his disgust.

  "I have given some thought as to the conditions," commented the Chairman. "We reject their proposal, but accept their control of the ship under our rules. If it's the power play we know it is, they will jump at taking the Quark and accept our requirements believing that once they have the ship they can ignore our agreement. After all these years of dealing with the Pilot's Guild, Abel, I can assure you these men are not thinkers. They were trained to act and seize the day, but now that they are in decline they are most likely to act first and worry about delivery on the agreement later."

  Abel thought a moment. "We need at least five flights a week. Each flight to last a full nine hour shift. No recert delay. If these guys are pilots then they can fly Quark now. As for tearing the ship down and rebuilding it the Maint Crew is working on her now and apart from a leaking water tank they assure me she is good to fly. Hell, they even agreed to fly with her if necessary to prove her worthiness. Now there is a bad jector and there is no replacement part in the entire system. However she can easily fly with four. Quark was designed that way"

  "As to how many pilots they want on each flight they can pack them into the tiny bridge like sardines for all I care. Although I'm not sure what a sardine is really. It's an old expression."

  The Chairman smiled. "I think we can impose those conditions. I have polled various council members and their support for your position, and I dare say mine, is surprisingly strong. The Miners Guild is adamant in your support. The have seen too much of today's Pilots Guild. The Medical Syndicate supports you. That's not surprising since the doctors at the Hospital know the pilots all too well. The Miners Guild now that they have their new drill bits and hydraulic assemblies are quite pleased with your performance and they will vote to support our position. As will the Metal Smiths and Smelters Guild, the Maintenance Federation, and the Child Welfare Syndicate. I could go on and on, but we have the votes. Not the votes to stop the Guild's power play, but the votes to set conditions and if they fail to deliver..." The Chairman did not complete his sentence. He stood. "Abel, you have my complete confidence. But it's going to be very difficult in the coming weeks and months. Our condition will soon be desperate and I know you are one of only a few who has any hope of getting us out of this catastrophic situation."

  On that happy note Abel rose, shook hands with Victor and returned to the 1033.

  ...

  Jamon System - Ship 1033 - Year 3245. May 31 ET: 10:55.

  Abel entered the ship, closed the main hatch, and saw that the 'B' deck roundabout entrance to the 'Weapons Bay' was open. He suppressed his instinctual urge to close and seal the hatch, and realized that the hatch might be open to ensure a quick exit if something were to go wrong as the crew inspected the weapons bay. Abel heard laughter in the forward hold but decided to suit up. He climbed the ladder to the bridge, suited up, and returned to the hatch leading below, but he stopped when he heard shouting and a scream coming from the circular passage toward the simulator alcove. He almost ran to the alcove but stopped when he saw Lennie and Larry Nillson sitting at two of the consoles of the simulator. The simulator was up and running and Lennie and Larry seemed to be having a whale of a time. It's a game Abel thought, but a very serious one at that.

  Larry looked none the worse for wear and seemed to have made a full recovery thanks to the 'doc-in-a box.' Abel almost asked Larry how he felt, but the answer was so obvious he remained silent.

  Larry stood up upon seeing Abel and Abel noticed that Larry was suited up and wearing yellow shorts over his silver suit.

  "I see you got it started. Any problems?" Abel asked.

  Larry who was always the most talkative of the two responded. "It took us an hour to get the simulator on. It rejected our iris scan so we hammered away with random sign-ons and names but it didn't work. Then I had a brilliant idea." Larry paused a moment looked at Lennie who was still engaged in their 'game' and continued. "Well, it was really Lennie's idea but it worked."

  "Ok. Out with this brilliant idea?"

  "We typed in the alphanumeric string found on the ship suits. And guess what? Bingo it worked."

  Larry smiled as Lennie shouted "Got ya", and began laughing, his absolute attention still focused on the simulator game.

  Larry continued, "I am now Allie Wong, Defence Officer Grade 4, number TT74399399811R. And this here is Wilfred Zekeri, Pilot Grade 8, number something or other. It's so cool. We have been playing this game since real early this morning."

  Abel thought a moment, "Do the iris scanners now work on you two?"

  "No. They ke
ep saying 'try again.' But the ID numbers work just fine."

  Abel talked to Larry for another ten minutes to explain the safety rules he had established for the crew and Larry agreed with them. Then Abel set off for the Captain's quarters and the work station. A visit to 'B' deck would have to wait. Abel entered and looked about the room for an ID number. He spent a few moments looking in order to avoid stripping down to read the number inside the suit but he found on a small shelf a certificate of some short with the name Captain Jeremiah Sensenbrenner ID TE948387276524. Abel brought the certificate to the table that held the keyboard and vid screen. He typed in the ID and the system accepted it. A menu sprang to life. The first level menu had a dozen items on it including 'Maintenance'. The maintenance menu item was flashing red but the remaining items were black letters on a pale yellow background.

  He clicked on the maintenance tab and up came the same list he had seen at MS with the top items listing the damaged command comp flashing red. He then went up a level and clicked on 'Personnel.' The screen flashed up the names of nine crewmembers. Abel knew that the crew was now long gone, but he also realized that the ship did not know that. If his new crew simply adopted the ID's of the ancient mariners then the ship might well accept them as real Greaysons and give them full access to everything.

  Looking at the crew list he clicked on Wilfred Zanos. Zanos was the identity Lennie had assumed. In a moment up came a picture of a young man, no older than 25, with sharp features, a determined look in his eyes, and a shock of pale red hair. A handsome lad thought Abel and wondered if he had a family and if he had survived the war. But then again Unity's answer to the defeat of Greaysons had been genocide.

  Abel scrolled through the detailed description of Zanos, his many accomplishments, his pilots certifications and test scores, his reprimand for overstaying his shore leave on one occasion. The list was highly detailed and scrolling through these details took almost half an hour. Able then branched to a tab called 'Personnel Action.' The list was long and included tabs for Promotion, Demotion, Leave, and others. At the bottom was a tab labelled 'Casualty.' He chose that one. The casualty selection list was short: Wounded - Fit for Service, Wounded - Unfit for Service, Deceased - Natural Cause, Deceased - Killed in Action.