Mark stopped staring at his Aid and said. “Well then, we go to plan B.” and turned around. Seeing the Master at arms talking to a squad of Marines who had been exercising on the truck deck before Mark’s show interrupted them; he made a beeline. “Sargent!” both the master at arms Sargent and the marine Sargent, turned to face Mark. “We are missing some crates. Do you th…”
“Yes I know Commander.” said the master at arms Sgt. “We have been looking for them for several days and they are not on this ship sir.”
“Did you look in the engineering spaces?”
“No sir the Chief took care of looking in those sir. Do you want us to take a look there sir?”
“No! It would probably be a waste of time,he has probably got them well hid so don't bother but then it could not hurt to at least look so have some of your men go for it. But no, we are out of time to count on them showing up and it turns out we don't need them anyway. We can make new ones, better ones and I need you to make sure we pick up the needed materials without making a fuss and alerting anyone as to what is going on down here. If the bridge or Chief finds out we are dead meat ok.”
“Commander.” said the Marine Sgt. “We help clean up the machine shop on a regular basses and help pick up and bring in the heavy metal for their projects for something to do and know the guys there fairly well. We will take care of that. With your permission sir.” Without waiting for a response the Sgt. saluted, turned and ran off. His squad of men close behind headed for the machine shop.
“Admiral what does this change on the installation program?” The Sgt. at arms new Mark had to be talking to someone else and had heard the Captain speak to the Admiral before, so he hung around and listened out of curiosity even though he could only hear one side of the conversation.
“The first stage remains the same but it complicates most of the other stages and even adds stages and time. You will need a dozen hull techs, heavy plasma cutters, welders and 10 electricians.”
“Sgt." Mark turned back to the Sgt. at Arms. "I need the hull tech and electricians division rounded up pronto. Can you and your people quietly round them up from the jobs they are on around the ship for me please?”
“Sure Commander. Should I tell them why?”
‘No I will talk to them up in the electrician’s and hull maintenance shops below the cargo deck when they are ready.” Just give me a call and please, hurry. Loosing those Injector sleeves has screwed everything up but the good news is we can make the upgrade better than planned.” If the Admiral's new designs worked as stated and they could pull it off and nothing else went wrong he thought to himself.
The Sgt. at arms turned gathering up several of his men that had turned out not to be needed and ran off.
Mark walked back to the table as the hologram made many slight and several major changes in its program. With ensign Reeves calling off names to organize teams, no one but Mark noticed as he started going over the first stage of the project again for changes. The Screens being handed out to the crews already changed and up dated.
The Truck Mechanic Mark had watched working on old # 9 a few nights before walked up and saluted. “Sir; I have a dozen experienced truck mechanics that would like to help sir. Most of us worked on the mains before we switched to trucks sir.”
Mark looked at him and smiled. “Very well Mac. Get your men and see the Ensign over there for assignments. Tell him to spread your men out amongst the crews.” Turning to his Boson aid. “I need you to make sure we get the materials I just ordered. You will find the list and other details on your screen. A squad of marines you can use are already on their way to the Machine shop. I have already assigned you a couple of trucks and drivers you can pick up in the truck dispatch office. Get the shit here within an hour got it.” The Bosom hurried off and then became puzzled as he had just told the Commander about the missing parts. How the hell had he managed to make all the changes, order the parts, get the trucks without taking three steps away from him. Not to mention that an officer had never taken his word for anything without checking (5 ways to Sunday), every statement he had made, especially when it came to missing cargo. He was going to have to think about that when he had time.
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Mark walked into the machine shop. Six men and women stood leaning against a work bench making it perfectly clear that they were not happy campers. Smiling Mark stopped in the middle of the shop next to a lathe.
We are just starting to upgrade one of the engines with a kit that will improve performance substantially. I am sure you have heard of it. Without this kit installed this ship does not lift and we all get kicked out into refugee camps on this nice little planet. Someone has stolen or lost a set of very important components.” Holding up a 3 inch by 9 inch sleeve. “This is one of the old injector mounting sleeves. We need you to make new ones using plans already in your PDI’s. We need these in about 2 hours. Some other parts will require special materials which are on their way here now. Then we have several other items that need to be modified or produced to new specs.” Setting down the sleeve he took an ejector out of a carry pouch. This is one of the new injectors for the sleeve you need to make and it needs to be modified according to specs again already in your computer. Not an easy job as hard as the material is. I will have the additional items as the afternoon goes on. Is there any questions?”
“Just who the hell do you think you are?”
Mark walked up putting his nose about 6 inches from the man. “I am Commander Collins; Commanding Officer of MP-3 and that is all you have to know. But if it helps. Do you know anything about the ship loading an additional 5,000 tons to make us more profitable?”
“Well sure, who hasn’t by now? That is all everyone is talking about.” said one of the other men.
Backing up a step Mark smiled. “Good. To make it simple; if we do not get these engine up grades installed today on MP-3; we do not lift with the extra payload when we lift. If you don’t make these parts, we lift, for the first time not only without making a profit but for the first time a hell of a lot in dept. How long do you think you will have this ship to call home if it does not make a profit?” Turning around Mark walked to the hatch and stopped. “It is up to you guys. But I have a hundred guys working their tails off for nothing if you guys don’t make these components. They are the most important items needed. I have to talk to two more departments so please don’t let the ship down guys.” Mark walked out.
The Electricians moaned and groaned and bitched and wined and if you insisted and slowly came around to thinking they would go down and take a look.
The Hull technicians did not let Mark finish asking before they took the plans and were already headed down while calling for several other departments they thought they would need help from to get their butts down there.
Replacing the round Fusion Chambers with long narrowing cones with both the old and new coils placed along it turned out to be complicated and too long by several feet to fit into the existing engine room compartment. With the Admiral requiring the deck above the engine to be cut out and a wall constructed around the hole to the next deck. Luckily a store room was directly above the engine at that location. An impossible task but with the needed crews on hand the deck was cut out and work done on the engine in only an hour once the decision was made to do it. A decision that was heated and only settled when Mark simply said do it.
The ready to eat meals Mark asked for from the mess supply never showed up for lunch but the Mess deck Chief cook decided the day before without telling Mark that the men needed a good meal instead to get the job done and had a full crew making sandwiches to order for each crewman on the truck deck just outside the engine room hatch and delivered to the men while they worked.
Dian showed up mid-morning in her new ensign uniform with a medical paramedic crew ready for anything. Mark could not help stopping to talk to her every chance he got. Which never lasted long (even with Lieutenant Commander Johnson taki
ng over more and more of the duties running the gangs where he could while Mark concentrated on what needed to be done and quality control) before he was demanded elsewhere as the afternoon turned into evening and another meal was fixed for the crew. This time the hot meal was served fresh as each team had the few minutes time to eat between stages.
Late evening an argument broke out between crews when their jobs interfered with each other. Coming to fists with Mark being knock for a loop when he tried to break it up. Though the two crews having to work together to rescue Mark as he hung off the scaffold quickly ended the feud and once Mark was safe and being tended to by Dian they pitched in to help each other to get it done with Lieutenant Commander Johnson looking over their shoulders to settle any more conflicts.
Finely long past midnight the last worker fallowed Mark down the ladder off of the engine. The last of the scaffolding was being removed by tired men and at 2 in the morning Mark stood in the middle of MP-3 and studied the engine looking for something that they could have missed. “Admiral! What have we missed?”
“I do not believe you have missed anything with all the new camera’s you installed for me and the flyers. With your permission I will start running hot tests on the subsystems. Full engine up testing should be ready shortly Mark.”
Mark walked out onto the truck deck. Men just getting off the engine stood at the midrates table grabbing something to eat. Some sat or leaned against bulkhead and empty boxes scattered around, talking or dozing or just waiting. Many stood or sat in small groups talking. His pride at the work the men had done made it hard to feel tired. “I would like to thank.” Though he could barely more than whisper after talking most of the day his voice echoed across the deck. “Each and every one of you. The job could not have been done without you all. Thanks again.” Turning Mark started for the control room.
“Commander Collins, when are you going to test the engine sir?”
Mark turned his head as he walked. “I was just going to call the Captain and request permission to run a full power test.”
“Why bother Commander!” someone snorted. “You haven’t asked him for permission to do anything else!”
Mark stopped and turned. “Well! You have a point there though I do have Captain's general order 1337 authorizing the rebuild behind me that should cover testing.” Shaking his head and smiling he walked into the propulsion space passageway and on into the Main engine control room. Sitting at the control board he started running down the check lists for starting the Main Propulsion Engine #3. It did not take long before he finely heard the Admiral. "You can start warming the engine up Mark." Mark smiled and started cutting in the small streams of plasma to various parts to heat the engine up while running continuity and leak checks and soon felt the big engine start coming to life as lines and masses of metal started heating up and cooking. Something he had never done before except in simulations. Creeks and pops and hisses spread through the new rebuilt engine as it came to life. For forty five minutes Mark slowly wormed it up as him and the engine control room crew ran checks and tests bringing it to life while crewmen climbed all over it making last minute checks and tightening leaking fittings.
Finely satisfied, with everything everyone could think of, checked. Mark closed the worm up lines and opened the main cross feed plasma line from the plasma battery. He hit the feed icon to place plasma into the new and much smaller long barrel shaped number 1 fusion chamber at the top of the cone that replaced the original much larger round number 1 chamber at the top of the engine protruding into the deck above. Shaking his head, holding his breath and saying a little prayer; he watched the plasma form into a small ball of plasma magnetically held in the center of the dome at the top of the fusion chamber in his screens. Much too small compared to the original comparatively huge Chamber's plasma ball he had some doubt that it would be big enough to light the fuel. When it was perfect he looked around at everyone and sheepishly smiled. Hoping for the best he cautiously pushed the start button that injected the first atoms of fuel into the ball of plasma peacefully sitting in the fusion chamber. The screen turned violent as the engine jerked once with a muffled bang and then it growled for half a second before steading down to a soft purr. Mark studied the screen and the fusion stream racing out the bottom of the long cone shaped chamber. “Will; she works so far.” He said as the control room suddenly started filling. “Number 1 fusion chamber is working at idle.” He said out of habit. Calling it a barrel or cone just did not seem right. After running some more tests Mark started lighting off the other fusion chamber cones one at a time and soon had six operating chambers quietly purring. Sending their plasma out into the landing leg/cooling/grav-coil fin attached to the outside of the ship’s hull across the Truck deck on MP-3’s side of the ship.
A Marine lieutenant was watching from the corner of the control room.
“Oh Lieutenant Clark.” Mark turned from the control consol. “Could you take some men and clear the pit area please. Lieutenant Johnson, call the port authority and ask for the blast box for MP-3 to be opened and request permission to clear the baffles and run a full power test. Ensign Reeves I want teams of two ensigns and as much muscle as needed to physically check and scan each and every tie down lock and chain holding this ship to the pit. And then shuffle crews and have them do it again.” Looking around the control room. "Everyone else can start climbing over the engine testing for leaks and breaks or anything else that does not look right. Including hot spots signifying leeks or insulation that is too thin. Oh and be sure to keep your scanners on ahead of you. We don’t need a pinhole leak cutting anyone in half before we even get this beast started."
It took a good half hour before everyone had reported back that everything was ready leaving only one final detail. “Admiral. Are you sure the engine is ready and up to testing and the ship can handle the thrust we are expecting?”
“Yes Mark everything checks 100%. Though there is no way to be sure until the engine is run up through its paces as far as the engine goes but the ship and the landing locks will handle the stresses of all four engines at full thrust. You need not worry.”
"How about you Mickey; do you see anything we have forgotten or needs work?"
"No Mark but thanks for asking anyway love."
“Ok then, all that is left is getting permission to test correct? Lieutenant Johnson, who do you usually request permission to test the engines with?”
“Commander we always request permission from the officer of the deck on the bridge sir.”
“Thank you Mr. Johnson. I was just testing you.” Punching the bridge com key Mark cleared his throat. “Bridge this is Commander Collins. We just finished repairs on MP-3 and request permission to clear the baffles and run a brief thrust test please.”
“What. Oh a ya, sure MP-3 run your tests. Ooh a bridge out.” said the half asleep Ensign.
“Ok gentlemen let's run down the check list one more time. I don’t want to fuck anything up. Oh and Ensign Reeves you can close the truck hatch now please and make sure all the lower cargo and personnel hatches are closed while you are at it.” The new ensign started yelling at the other ensigns as he left the control room.
Another 15 minutes later everyone reported everything was ready again. Mark talked into the air. “Can you check and scan both the engine and the ship as well Admiral?”
“Everything checks out 100% Mark.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes Mark everything is ready as it can be.”
“Ok then let's start at 10% thrust.” The ship shook briefly as the first super-hot gasses streaked through and out the throat of the engine at many times the speed of light. With the all clear from everyone Mark started increasing the power. At 20% the Admiral told Mark that the engine was operating at a much better efficiency than predicted and well within expected parameters confirming what Marks instruments were telling him.
At 50% the ship was starting to shudder a little from all the power. With everything
still well in the green. Marks instruments at the master control console in the center of the main control room told him they were producing as much thrust as the original engine using a small fraction of the fuel. Lt. Johnson looked over at Mark with an even bigger smile from that engine's control board against the bulkhead under the armored window to #3 engine room.
“Admiral, this is a lot of power. You sure the ship can handle it? I would hate to break something or for a landing fin anchor to let lose.”
“I am keeping a close eye on both the engine and the structure of the ship. Even at full power we should still be 20% under the maximum design parameters of the ship for single engine operations. Though I don’t think the port authorities are going to appreciate us cleaning this engine’s exhaust tunnel out. I detect debris already flying up into the atmosphere simply from the increased velocity of our exhaust gasses. Sand and Garbage that has fallen through the grating and untouched by normal lower velocity exhausts’, could do some damage miles from the outlet once we reach full power. Though the Port authorities should have taken into account that future possibility when building the Port.”
Tramp Wars: The Enemy Page 68