by C. Litka
05
I had RahJen hire two crews of six to work around the clock. I had only the hoses and fans on hand to set up one power cleaning line, so there was no point in hiring more than what was needed. I also told him that he should hire as many out of work engine room staff and stokers as he could find, in the hope of shifting through them to find a hardworking, reliable engine room crew before we sailed.
I got the small auxiliary boiler/generator up and running, along with a high pressure pump, and rigged two hoses, one for the water under pressure, the other, a larger one, with a fan attached to draw the water and debris away and off the ship, since in free fall, both the water used and the debris kicked up would tend to hang about in a cloud, and settle once again.
Five rounds later, a heavily loaded S&D supply lighter came alongside with every item I had on my list. I know this because I had to check each item off as it was brought on board and sign for the lot, a process that took the better part of two watches. Once I had my supplies, I signed on the best of my cleaning crew and got to work replacing or repairing the highest priority equipment.
Captain KimTara arrived the following round and took charge of the remaining cleaning, painting, refitting. The other officers arrived ten rounds later and were put to work installing all the new navigational equipment she had ordered. With everything in place - at least for the voyage to the port of Tindatear where we'd take on our charter, we hired the rest of our deck crew and took on a full bunker load of black cake for the boilers. I could trust DosKe, my first assistant engineer to oversee that, so I returned to my cottage to collect my gear and Hissi. She didn't show up until the middle of the first sleep period, tired from a day out and about.
'Your idle days are over, Hissi, that is, if you still plan to travel with me. We sail in the next round, so if you don't want to be left behind, collect your things and we'll go aboard directly.
She gave a sad, sleepy, hissing sigh, but collected her satchel from the tree that she had adopted as her own room and floated into the room where I was packing away the last of my gear in my large kit bag.
'I want you along, my dear. But you needn't travel with me if you've found a home. You're a free dragon, you know. I can find my way back to Blade Island on my own, and from there, what will be will be. So you're under no obligation to stay with me. I can look after myself...'
She hissed dismissively, and then barked a laugh, swirling around me and flicked her long tongue at my nose.
'Right,' I said, 'Partners.'
I introduced her to Captain KimTara when we came on board. 'My companion and keeper, Hissi.'
'Welcome aboard Hissi,' said Captain KimTara briskly, and then with a nod to me, added, 'You can get up steam, Chief. We'll sail as soon as I have steam.'
I fired up the main boiler and spun up the hastily refurbished turbine generator to begin charging our backup batteries. Then I swung myself down through the engine room catwalks and platforms, checking every dial, as I watched everything spin and move, and then drawing a long breath, signaled the captain that we were ready to sail. Twenty minutes later Tanjenree lay behind us as the bridge crew made their final adjustments and set a course for Tindatear. After that, it was full speed ahead, the Captain KimTara determined to stress test everything now to find any weak links - in both ship and crew - before taking on our charter.
I was looking to shake down my engine room crew as well. My first engineer, DosKe was an older, fine-feathered, and experience hand - which was all to the good. His flip side, however, was that his record showed him often missing his ships - usually on account of an injury suffered ashore, likely from fights, falls, and who knows what else that wasn't on the official record. I suspected that he drank a bit - a bit more than he should. Nor did he have a particularly pleasant personality, which might explain the injuries ashore. He was sober on arrival and curt and ill-tempered because of it. I guess the Lora Lakes didn't rate all that highly, despite having a Kim as captain. Still, he knew his way about an engine room and could do his job. I could put up with grouchiness. And I could be grouchy too, if I cared to be. I was, after all, a chief engineer.
My second engineer, BayLi, was also something of an oddity - a young broad-feathered female straight out of her apprenticeship. I have found that most engine room staff, excluding stokers, are fine-feathered people. Our broad-feathered brothers and sisters were not, on the whole, fascinated with machines. In the Dontas, at least, most of the crew from captain down, were broad-feathered people, as they were the islands' predominant people. However, the engineers were often people with fine-feathers on their head rather than broad-feathers. And unlike most other shipboard positions, most were men as well. Perhaps the noise, the black cake dust and oil were the reason why the broad-feathered people avoided these jobs, since I've found that my feathered brothers and sisters are often very particular about cleanliness and their appearance. (Stokers don't count, as they are often stokers simply to avoid starvation and can't be too choosy.) All of which made young BayLi something of an oddity. She did, however, seem to know her job quite well and was very eager to please, and more importantly, eager to learn. I quickly decided that I was lucky to have pulled her, despite her inexperience. She restored a little light and balance to the engine room to balance the grumpy grimness of DosKe.
We signed on six oilers and six stokers to complete my staff, all but two of whom I chose from the most reliable of my cleaning crew. All in all, I felt I was as well served as any chief could expect, though it was clear that my easygoing and competent crew aboard the old Starry Shore was more the exception than the rule. I realized it then, in theory. I realized it now, in practice.
The voyage turned up several weak links, two of which put us briefly out of commission - a water recycling pump jammed and then a step down transformer blew and needed replacing. Both of them involved no more than a few hours downtime. It gave me a chance to test my engine room crew as well, who all met my expectations, DosKe included. He knew his job and did it. Hopefully his attitude would shake out as well.
I haven't said much about Captain KimTara, mostly because there's not much to say about her. She knew what needed to be done, and did so with the absolute fewest words possible. Her bridge staff was also a mix of experience and youth. We didn't know each other well enough to confide in each other yet, but, I gathered, the bridge crew and deck hands found the Captain more than a little intimidating, fearing an unseen iron fists in her starchy white gloves without even a glimpse of it, so far.
I was once, a long time ago and far, far away, a newly appointed ship's captain, so I assumed that Captain KimTara's tight lipped manner was her way of dealing with the new responsibilities. By the time we reached Tindatear I knew I was wrong. Captain KimTara was simply a person of few words. As few as possible. And any emotions she may have had were as thin and scarce as her words. She accomplished exactly what she set out to do with a minimum of words and fuss. While not comfortable company, she wasn't a tyrant either. Knowing the engineer's prerogatives - they're the same in the Pela as they were in the Unity and the drifts - I knew my place and my worth, as did she, so we got along comfortably enough on a strictly ship's business basis. There was no social interaction, even at the dinner, over which she presided. Being a very Unity Standard fellow, her cold, impersonal personality didn't bother me too much. A good working relationship was all that was needed, and after our shakedown cruise, I was comfortable that we'd established it.
We arrived at Tindatear five rounds after sailing, secured a quay, and arranged to meet our charter party at the S&D office the following round.
Chapter 26 Setting Out