Obsidian Ressurection

by T J Bryan

  Abel extended his hand and shook Ollies.

  Soon Abel and Silvi turned and walked back toward the dock lift to return to 1033.

  On the way back to 1033 Abel asked, "Silvi, what's with the SAR pilot's rating system and the other ratings? The system reported that Lennie had reached Pilot's Grade 4 and it required my approval, I noticed the other ratings increases for Lennie and Larry, but the system never asked for approval."

  "I've been reading the POO-P several times now and I think I know. The simulator is not a game, its' a training tool for crew. Training is needed for new recruits but also continuing training for those who are already competent to fly the ship. I suspect that a lot of Greayson's crew got sick and tired of all the training requirements. If in port they trained every day. On long hauls they trained. Training was constant."

  "But what about the ratings? Especially for pilot?"

  "The POO-P explains that a pilot must reach level 4 and receive the captain's approval before being allowed to actually fly the ship. Perhaps not fly it, because a level four is only allowed to dock, undock and move about a station on a defined course. The levels up from four provide for different levels of flight permission and capability. You, as Captain, may grant approval for a pilots level at four after the simulator grants that level, but it is the command comp that allows or disallows a crewmember to pilot the ship. If your level three or below the command comp won't let you do squat. It will tell you to return to the simulator."

  "So if you have not reached the appropriate level the command comp will reject you and not let you fly?"

  "Yup."

  Once again Abel realized that somehow the command comp could communicate with the simulator. They just did not know how.

  "So If I sat at the command comp pilot's station and logged on it would not let me pilot the ship?"

  Silvi asked, "What's your pilot rating?"

  "I don't know, I never looked. I'm still Captain Sensenbrenner. I thought it was too risky to kill myself off and assume my real persona. Might bump be pack to Captain Zero Trainee."

  Silvi smiled, "Well if your a level four you can fly on impulse engines in a controlled environment. Five gives you more freedom, but it is level 8 that is top dog. Level 8 can use all of the flight systems including the gravity well drives. It's not easy to get to level 8. I'm not sure how many folks wash out, but from own experience on the simulator I'm pretty certain only a few make it. Right now I'm a three. If I had more time I'm sure I could reach six or perhaps seven. But eight might be too tough."

  "How about Lennie? Will he make it?"

  Silvi thought a moment. "Lennie is a natural. If he remains focused I'm sure he will get to eight. But without a real ship to fly I suspect the command comp might not let him get further than a five. You need time in the pilots seat of a real ship to advance. Not that the system won't insist you keep practicing on the simulator. But there is no real substitute for flying by the seat of one's pants and the command comp knows that."

  "And the other ratings? Weapons and Defence?"

  "I know a little less about them, but top dog in those categories is level four. It's a four step system. If I remember right three and four can actually fight the ship in combat, that is unless they get killed and only a rating one or two are left alive. The command comp will somehow know that. I made three on defence a few days ago. It's hard but not nearly as hard and demanding as the pilots position. I like Larry, he's a nice kid, and I think he will make 3 on weapons and with luck four. That's about it."

  "What about EM and MS?"

  "EM and MS are highly automated and I suspect that every crew member gets basic training on those systems. There seems to be no rating system that I know of. If there were Helen and Emmitt would have been locked out."

  "What about that other system? Astrogation?"

  "That's the one I know the least about. I don't find a rating system, but navigation in space, especially with gravity well propulsion and all it entails, not to mention the entry and exit portals, is mind bendingly difficult. There are perhaps ten folks at the Collegium who could do that kind of work. There is too much theory and math required for mere mortals to navigate through interstellar space. Too many ways to get lost. Too many ways to sail into a sun or black hole. Too many ways to die."

  "Would any Commonwealth new build ship here need astrogation?"

  "Absolutely, but I don't think they have thought that far. There still arguing about rivets and bolts."

  Abel and Silvi remained silent as they walked back to the mining dock. Abel had a lot to think about.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jamon System - Chairman's Office - Year 3245. June 22 ET: 18:03

  "Yes, yes... I know. The guild has not moved a finger to take Quark out, and either resume the survey, or bring in needed supplies." Victor was showing his frustration. "I have sent messages to Snorre every morning and night asking when he will resume operations. For the first dozen messages he made excuses, like the assigned captain was ill, or they had a schedule conflict. A schedule conflict! Snorre even told me that maintenance had put a hold on Quark, but when I checked with maintenance they said the didn't know anything about a hold and that Quark was probably in the best condition it had been in for a decade. Then starting three days ago Snorre stopped responding. We are getting, as they say 'stonewalled'."

  Abel stood barely able to control his anger. "Victor, we can't let this go on. They agreed to our terms and now they have completely ignored our agreement. Our station, indeed our lives depend on Quark. Quark must resume her duties."

  "Your right. I'm calling a meeting of the Executive Committee meeting the day after tomorrow. I know Wendell Wimmer of the Treasury Department has some influence with Snorre. I'll see if I can get Wendell to talk to Snorre."

  Abel shook his head and was about to say something but Victor continued.

  "If Wendell is not successful the Executive Committee will take back the Quark. There will be a lot of 'huffing and puffing' and it might take a week or so, but if the Guild does not shape up we have no alternative."

  "A week and then some is too long. Just ask Emmitt. We can't wait that long."

  "Chief, we are a democracy and a consultative one at that. We move at a pace determined by negotiation and compromise. You just can't rush the system."

  "Victor, you have known me for over forty years. I have respected you and the work you have done and all you have accomplished. But we cannot delay. If you don't rush the system then you are rushing death. You must act and act now."

  After a very long pause the Chairman drew in a breath and replied, "Your right Chief, of course. I'm ashamed to admit it but I have been far to political in this matter. I should have listened to you earlier. Give me a day and I'll shake things up. Yes, we can't let this go on."

  Abel stood, "Chairman I know you can move this issue foreword even in our 'political' environment. Our Commonwealth is literally in your hands."

  Abel did not shake hands with Victor, but rather turned and left the office. Funny how Victor keeps calling me 'Chief' these days.

  Abel intended to immediately return to 1033, but at the last moment decided to take a detour through the Maintenance Dock and see if there were any change to Quark's status. As he passed through the complex hatch and airlock system and into the Public Dock he stopped at the Watch Office. Abel was surprised to see Ollie Ivarson on duty given that he was the day watch officer.

  "Pulling a double shift Ollie?" He asked.

  Ollie looked up and nodded. "There was some kind of dust up this afternoon and my relief got called away. Should be back any moment."

  "Dust up? I haven't heard anything. What's the problem?"

  "Seems the Pilots Guild wants the Queenies taken off line. Refit and rebuild they say. The Miners Guild is pissed. They have three crews out and not servicing the remote mines will put maybe a six hundred miners out of work. With so many miners out of work this is going to make for a lot of trouble."

>   "Both Queenie and Beatrix?"

  "Yea, both of them. I don't know what's wrong but Maintenance says they are good to fly."

  "What the hell?"

  Ollie responded, "Yeah, that was my reaction as well. Those old Guild coots are acting real strange these day. Haven't seen one of them on the docks in weeks. Looks like there keeping to themselves. Some kind of hissy fit I guess. But one that will hurt a lot of families."

  Abel reached for his vid-com and pinged the Chairman, but the auto answer said the Chairman was in conference and would not be disturbed. Abel hit the override tab and moments later the Chairman answered.

  Before Abel could say anything Victor began talking. There was very real agitation in his voice. "Chief, I just heard. Now don't go all ballistic on me, cause I am already ballistic. Seems Snorre refuses to let pilots work unless the Ship Design Committee adopts the Pilots Guild's design. He says it is time to stop the petty argument and move forward with the only workable plan - his! Emmitt Wong is livid, and livid is too strong a word. Apoplectic is more like it

  "What can you do to stop this madness?"

  "The Miner's guild has almost 600 crew out in the belt with no way home. If Snorre thinks he can get away with this he is very very wrong."

  "I understand but what will you do?" Abel emphasized the word 'you'.

  "I'm talking right now to our Judicar Arne Thorgaut. He has some suggestions and they are pretty draconian. Emmitt is here with me now. Do you want me to put him on?"

  "Yes, let me speak with Emmitt."

  The vid-com image swung about and Emmitt appeared.

  "What happened Emmitt?"

  "Well you know about as much as I do. The Guild has withdrawn all pilots from service leaving the Quark and the Queenies unmanned. Leaving all those miners stranded out in the belt. This is very bad."

  Abel paused for a moment to gather his composure. This was not a time for anger but a time for careful consideration of any course of action: as long as they acted immediately to force the Guild to return to duty. "Emmitt, how did this happen. How did this strike come about?"

  "Our Ship Design Committee meetings have descended into chaos. There has been no progress over the last two weeks. Only yelling and shouting. The worst disruption has come from Milne Ulf who is the Pilot's Guild representative. He has insisted from day one that the committee adopt the Guild's design. He refuses to even consider other ideas. He claims that since the Guild will fly the Obsidian Phoenix only they are qualified to design the ship. Needless to say the other committee members like Terrence Van Vos of the Fabricators Guild, who has to build the thing, blew a gasket. Terrence and others repeatedly told Ulf, and even demonstrated to him, that their design was unacceptable since their design carried only three guild members and no had no cargo space for foodstuffs on the return. Needless to say the whole propulsion problem was never addressed in the Guild's design. Well then it went from bad to worse... or catastrophic."

  Emmitt paused a moment and continued, "This afternoon Snorre showed up at the meeting for the first time and gave an ultimatum. We either accept their design or they will refuse to fly any ships. Snorre gave his ultimatum and then walked out. The room erupted into new chaos. I immediately called the Chairman." Emmitt paused and looked at something in the distance. "Here the Chairman wants to talk to you."

  The vid-phone screen flashed again and Abel saw Victor's angry face. "Chief, upon the Judicar's order you are to immediately arrest Snorre Herulf and take him into custody. The Judicar is sending to you on your inter-tab the arrest warrant. He is to be held without bail. The charge is reckless endangerment of the Commonwealth under Article 16 of the Commonwealth Charter, and under Article 12 he is charged with treason. There is to be no house arrest. You are to take him to the lockup at the ES station and hold him until further notice. If the guild wants to play hardball then we can play just as dirty."

  Abel could hear the Judicar's voice in the background, "Yes, very dirty."

  Abel notified the ES Station to send two officers and an emergency medical crew to Snorre's residence and wait for him there. Abel was taking no chances that Snorre might claim infirmity and demand house arrest.

  Within five minutes Abel had walked swiftly back into the Habitat, up Parson's lane, past Nelson's Park, and as he approached Snorre's home he saw Officer Nells Reiter and Captain Terry Winton standing outside the hatch to Snorre's modest home. As Abel approached it appeared as if a small crowd had gathered but as he got closer he saw that a handful of Guild members had taken up a position blocking the hatch. Abel said nothing but nodded to Captain Winton. Abel asked of Winton, "You have a copy of the Judicar's order?"

  Winton nodded in the affirmative. As Abel took in the scene a two person team from Emergency Medical Services arrived with their complete kit. Someone, perhaps Winton, had told them to bring a gurney slider.

  Abel advanced toward the cluster of old men obstructing Snorre's hatch. "I am here to arrest Snorre Herulf on the legal order of the Judicar. You are to stand down."

  Robert Sanofi Second Vice President of the Guild stepped forward his face beet red and his hands shaking. Abel took at quick glance toward the EMS crew and then back at Robert.

  "You can't take Snorre. This is illegal. We won't stand for this injustice." Robert was shouting. Several others began to shout as well. Clearly the group had enough time to work themselves up into a frenzy.

  Abel knew that in situations as tense and confrontational as this he must act swiftly to prevent further escalation. There was not much a group of a dozen or so aged pilots could do, but the real damage to the Commonwealth lay in delay. They had to move quickly to force the Guild back to work.

  Abel motioned to Winton and Reiter to follow. He stepped forward and pushed Robert aside. Robert cried out loud and shouted something about abuse, but Abel continued forward to the hatch. The hatch was locked. Abel pulled his warrant card from his pocket and pressed it against the door override used only in emergencies. This was an emergency in Abel's thinking. Abel entered Snorre's front room together with offficers Winton and Reiter. Snorre was sitting on his couch, his arms crossed with a determined scowl upon his pale face.

  "Snorre Herulf, upon the order of the Judicar of the Commonwealth of the Jamon system, I am arresting you for reckless endangerment of the Commonwealth under article 16 of the Commonwealth Charter, and under Article 12 you are charged with treason. Per the Judicar's lawful order we are to take you immediately into custody and proceed to the ES lock up."

  Snorre looked surprised when Abel told him he was to be taken to jail rather than held in house custody. He was clearly shaken, but said nothing. Snorre at his age had almost transparent skin although mottled with small red sores. Abel could see the tight bulging outline of the jaw muscles on Snorres neck and face. Snorre clenched his jaw tightly and remained silent.

  Moments later the EMS crew entered with the slider gurney. "Come on pops," said the attendant whom Abel recognized as Vidar Osmund's son Eirik. The other attendant Abel knew as Ingrid but could not recall her last name. Eirik and Ingrid stepped forward and each put an arm under Snorre and together lifted him in a single practiced motion and on to the gurney. Captain Winton was holding his handcuffs looking to Abel for direction. Abel was in no mood to overlook standard arrest procedure. "Cuff him," Abel said.

  For the first time Snorre shouted. "You cannot arrest me. I am the head, the President, of the Pilot's Guild. This is an insult. You cannot do this to me. The Council will hear of this. Yes it will! I'll get you fired Stoneman." Snorre continued shouting but Abel was not listening and the EMS crew were busy latching in the restraining straps, taking Snorre's vital signs, and preparing to move hit to the station.

  As the EMS crew moved the slider gurney out the hatch and toward the station Abel paused to take another look at Robert Sanofi and the other guild members. They were absolutely shocked and speechless as if they thought their power play was a guaranteed success. They must have thought that their pre
stige and importance to the commerce of the system placed them on a higher level than the common citizens or even the Commonwealth Council. Times change thought Abel. Old man entropy never sleeps.

  Abel returned to the Maintenance Dock to take the lift up to the mining dock and 1033. As he walked through the docking area he saw about thirty of the survey volunteers standing in two neat rows. Before them stood two others directing the practice drill. They were practicing donning and removing their new vac suits. About half were clearly familiar with the suits and could don them in the now required 70 seconds. The other half were fumbling, and it was obvious that they were new to the Greayson military grade and rather stiff vac suits. Abel walked closer and saw Farn Mayer fully suited but with her helmet in her left arm. She was kneeling and assisting someone unfamiliar with the their suit. Farn was demonstrating the boot latches which were tricky to attach to the leg braces. He watched a moment until the new recruit got it right. Farn stood and saw Abel. She saluted smartly and Abel returned the salute. Where Farn had previously worn a label on her vac suit a new one was visible. 'Team Leader, Trainee' it read. Farn was smiling and clearly enjoying the drill. Abel not wanting to disrupt the practice continued on to the lift and to the up to the mining dock.

  Moments later he opened the hatch and entered 1033. There was no police presence needed at the entry hatch as the restoration of power and atmospheric integrity had reduced any risk of unauthorized entry. They simply closed and locked the hatch. In addition someone was now always aboard to keep tabs on the now alive ship.

  Upon entering the bridge he found Emmitt and Helen in conversation. As usual Silvi sat in the command chair reading manuals. In the background he could hear Lennie and friends playing their game on the simulator.

  Silvi looked up. "Hello Chief. Got the mob boss locked up?"

  Abel was not amused by Silvi's comment and it showed in his face. "Yes, Snorre is in the lockup. Winton took him there just a while ago. I'm not sure what the next step the Chairman and the Judicar have planned, but this time they seem firmly set on breaking the Guilds hold on transportation with the system."