“If they are the standard Dolphin class pods, the cells are much too small to install in the reactor mechanism and even putting them in series we would need around two hundred of the things, I guess the best we could come up with is around fifty,” added Kyle.
“Let’s keep this going, we have to find some options,” stated Esther, as she took a long sip from her Kaffoo, which at least gave her some comfort from the dark and warm concoction.
It was now Shiner’s turn to come forward with an idea, “Look, in the listing for Hangar 8, I have just noticed there is a ‘Slasher’ Interplanetary combat fighter.”
Kalima took control of the pane, waved various strokes over the screen and a picture of the fearsome Slasher appeared. When they went through the details their hearts sank, as the manual gave an assembly time of five days and there was only room for three personnel but the good news was that the kit did contain a fully charged fuel cell.
They continued searching the Inventory and then Kyle’s face beamed, “What’s this in Hangar 13, it lists just three machines, they must be huge, can we see the details?”
The information showed that the mystery machines were ‘Super Moles’, used on some worlds for excavating sites to construct underground cities, they needed to be gigantic and they were. The machines were broken down into kit form for delivery, then re-assembled downside but each crate also contained two H4g fuel cells exactly the same size and functionality of the reactor fuel cells.”
“That's fantastic Getaway, we can load those cells, power up the reactor and get this crate; err sorry Secom, sorry Kalima, what I mean is we can get this vessel rolling again. I could just hug you to death,” Bambi enthused.
Esther started to scowl, “Not so fast with the hugging, by my reckoning it’s going to take three days to clear the old cells and to re-engineer the replacements and accepting the Secoms theory that the pirates are likely to be back in the next two days we have a problem.”
The jubilation of salvation quickly turned to a silent foreboding, as they realised that although there was an opportunity to survive, they would have no alternative but to fight and to the death.
Ivan Freeman broke the current silence, “I am sure Sub Fuentes you will already be formulating a plan but can I ask a question about your unit’s military experience and the weapons your group has?”
Esther was slightly taken aback as she realised that she could not offer a lot but put on a brave face, “We are it is true an engineering crew but most of us have completed six hours a week training for ship borne combat, coached by a veteran. As for armament, we each have a projection pistol firing a selection of titanium based rounds also a combined carbine, which fires projectiles, including armour piercing rounds. It also discharges plasma bursts over a range of 45 to 50 feet with accuracy.”
“Without speaking out of turn Sub, I accept your ship rank is greater than mine, we two should talk about a few facts and options now before your plans are complete. I think I can help here and you may be interested that before I joined the Merchant services, I was in the Astral Defence Force for the Berengian Trio of planets. My ship rank on the ‘Frigate Redeemer’ was ‘Comms Officer’ and I was involved in numerous combat situations but what may really interest you is that our regular mission was anti-piracy. Yes, I have fought this scum or similar before and I think if we plan carefully even with the few of us there are, we have a chance.”
“That’s fantastic news Secom and yes, I would welcome a staff meeting but as we have no time to waste what would be your first suggestion.”
“Thank you for your confidence and… well I do have some ideas as to what we should do, whilst your weapons and armour have been sufficient to suppress two people hiding, they need vast improvement for engaging fully armed pirates that do shoot back. Looking for quick wins, we can upgrade our ‘A&A’ almost immediately and we can get the guys sorting that while we work on a plan.”
There was no push back from Esther so Ivan set things in motion, “Kalima may not have any military training but she will prove her worth in gold, as she has a near ‘hu-mechy’ (human-mechanical entity) memory and could probably find any major item of stock on this ship without a computer. We used to say that she could probably remember the content of every pixel on the computer screen!”
“Kalima, in the armoury we have armour sets for the mobile infantry of several planetary groups and I want you to determine the stock destined for the Castorian Border Force and try to find the best match for each of our new crewmates. As far as I recall these are the very latest standard of armour to be produced and each cost mega bucks. The Castorians are one of the few groups that can afford these due to their mining wealth. These suits are the same plasmet material as your shields but improved by added toughening with greater energy absorption and remarkably the joints have been developed to be as flexible as the wearer’s muscles and are powered from the suits energy cell. The other big innovations for the CBF armour are the clearview face mask with built-in heads-up display that links to your personal weapons system and the plasmet material containing an intelligent pigment that when activated alters the colour of the suit to blend into its background.
So Kalima, we need you to be armourer and to fit out the other guys, this message is for everybody, make sure that there are zero spaces between the armour and your skin, if there are gaps and the plasma makes a puncture you could be boiled alive so take heed.”
“Which of the under threads do we use?” asked Kalima
“I am afraid that I am not up to speed on the underwear side, you will have to do some research for the best systems we have in stock, but I remember some of my military colleagues would wear more than one set if they felt they were leaving an air gap. Anyway, we can’t stand around here talking pants, Kalima, lead the team off and the rest of you bag your current kit, you may need some of it later and hang on to your weapons for the time being.
Be back here looking like warriors in exactly ninety minutes. Go!”
Kalima led Buzz, Shiner, Bambi and Getaway off the bridge leaving Ivan and Esther to drink more Kaffoo. For the first time since they had left Seeker someone else was calling the shots and Esther was starting to feel cosy warmth inside which may have been the Kaffoo.
Chapter 3
Preparing for War.
Kalima was quite puffed up about being in charge even though she knew it wasn’t going to last. She was the youngest of the group being just 21 years old, where the others must have been between 22 and 30 years, excepting Secom Freeman who was ancient at 35 or so.
She moved the group at a steady speed through the major thoroughfare heading to Hangar 11 which contained bays of military equipment, though no weapons.
As they crossed the hangar threshold Kyle caught up with their guide.
“It sounds like you are going to be a real gem but what shall we call you, we all use ship names and well Kalima is just too formal.”
“Yes, I would like that, it would make me feel one of the group but the name has to come from you people.”
Kyle turned to Shiner who was famed for his creativity at the name game and offered, “The Secom said your memory was so good you can remember every pixel so how about Pixels?”
The others agreed that this was on the right lines, then Bambi said, “I know, take Pixels and make ‘Pixie’ and we now have the dynamic twosome Bambi and Pixie.” Everyone thought that this sounded something they could have some fun with, except Pixie herself who was hoping for something a little more war like.
True to form and without using the Secom’s pane which she had brought with her, bay 175 displayed labels announcing ‘Castorian Border Force’, Military Armour, Version 12/super ext /cam.
Pixie said to the rest of the team, “Fish out the nearest kit to match your size and remember, no air gaps but just enough room for the under kit, speaking of which, Bambi can you give me a hand to collect the under kit from bay 80? I did some quick investigations on the pane as we came here and th
e Friggia Venturer kit is what we need, its temperature self-regulating, it is almost impossible to damage and most importantly it doesn’t itch.”
The two girls went off with some laughter and the boys started to search through the boxes for the necessary torso, arms, legs, helmets and boot components to assemble their armour.
A flashing light and intermittent siren announced the return of the girls who had commandeered a motorised store picker to carry their finds. Once back with the boys the vehicle pulled to a halt and it tipped its rear hopper full of red coloured underwear into an untidy pile.
Pixie was still giving the orders and told the males to start sorting it into piles by size whilst she and Bambi began sorting their armour out.
“OK everyone, we should now have the components of the sets we need. Bambi and I are going to take our kit into the stores office as we don’t want you men to get too excited by the sight of our perfect bodies,” and with that they scooped up their kit and strode into the adjacent stores office.
It took much longer than they thought to find the right size of comfortable underwear, which was a one piece garment that stopped at the neck and ankles. For the head there was a balaclava and for the feet it was a contoured sock, both of which overlapped the main garment and somehow seemed to merge into it.
Once the first layer was in place it was time for the armour, all the men were just awestruck by the beauty of the pieces, each part sculptured for body fit and made of the new durable super plasmet, light, but as strong as all their shields put together. The colour was hard to describe, sometimes it appeared deep blue whilst other times vivid green but it continually seemed to swirl.
It took a number of attempts, plus help from each other to create something that could be worn with any degree of comfort. Kyle and Buzz were fitted out first and with each other’s help they even managed to secure the armoured helmet by the part magnetic, part screw thread collar but as their vision was obscured they had to open the front visor to see what was happening.
Shiner was having the most problems, as his small bony frame was not a good fit in any suit and it took two sets of the underwear to bring his body into contact with the armour, at least in most places.
The trio of men stood around, hands on hips admiring their warlike appearance and possibly imagining how heroic they would be, yes they were like proper troopers now but the thought went through Kyle’s mind that looks are often deceiving.
After another few minutes the girls came waddling back into the bay in their similar kit, but standing a foot shorter than the men their outfits had robbed them of any grace they might have.
Pixie was still on the money, she led the others to the front of the store picker and held up a kit bag, “Now, everybody grab a bag and stash your old kit and for your own comfort another set of underwear. Finally we have the last item to deal with and that is the power for your suits, she held up a saucer shaped metallic disc. These fuel cells are state of the art, they come with a small charge and will recharge wirelessly when you are within 10 yards of a charging station.” She took one of the discs for everyone and inserted it into the loading slot just behind the left shoulder blade.
Bambi was first to receive a disc and within seconds a number of micro bulbs glowed green on her chest plate. The visor came from behind the helmet automatically which clicked into the chin receiving plate and instantaneously a tiny computer screen opened up at the top right of her field of vision.
Bambi was so excited, she shouted out, “This is amazing, what do I do now?”
“If you think the start-up is brilliant wait for what comes next,” said Pixie, “the first screen you should see is the main suit menu with options for status, air, radiation, associated weapons etc. Bambi, look at item1status and think very hard, think open.”
Bambi tried very hard but it was difficult to concentrate on her task with all the others looking at her. After a few attempts and no result the elation dropped a little, but by this time the boys were also trying and as usual it was Kyle who made the breakthrough.
“Don’t think too hard, looking at line one, picture in your mind a door opening.” Bambi used all her powers of concentration and suddenly shouted with delight, "It works, it bloody works, Getaway you are a five star genius.”
One by one they all visualised the menus and all reported back 100% functionality. Kyle, revelling in the adulation, just caught sight of the time read out in the display, it was ten minutes past the time they were supposed to be back on the bridge. “Hells teeth you lot we are light years late, quick, back to the bridge pronto!”
As the group started to move they became aware that the armour was no longer an extra weight because power was reaching the balancing motor and they then found that whatever power they put into their stride was added to by twenty percent from the micro motors in the joints of their suits.
There were some control issues with crashes into walls and the odd stumble but they soon arrived back on the bridge to face the standing Sub and Secom.
They expected the Secom to give them a blasting for their late arrival but instead it was Esther who was in no mood for games, “We tried to make it plain to you that if we are to survive what comes next, we have to act like the military unit we clearly aren’t and that means obeying orders from superiors and maintaining military discipline.
You have got to get this through your thick skulls, we all live together or we will die together.
Squad!, eject fuel cells now, you were twenty minutes late give me twenty, go all the way down and do it now!!!”
Without power to their suits they really suffered with the press ups and poor Pixie thought her arms were breaking after only four reps.
After what seemed an eternity the chastened squad were told that was enough and they just sat on the floor exhausted and waited for the next bad news.
Instead, Esther sat back against a desk and said “We just don’t have time for this, time is our most precious commodity at the moment and from now on, first time and on time, OK?”
Ivan Freeman took over, “Sub Fuentes and I have put together a schedule which maximises the chance of achieving both our objectives and surviving so listen up.
Keep the suits on for the next six hours, it is vital you get used to them.
You have twenty minutes and no more to grab something to eat and drink, I will be checking on each of you.
Next, Bambi, Getaway, Shiner and Buzz meet me at the Reactor Room, you will find that the Sub and I have already delivered the core fuel cells down there.
We will have four hours solid on the cell installation, then down to Hangar 2 for Target Practice.
OK? Any Questions? No, then let’s go.”
Pixie piped up, “What about me Sir?”
The Secom noticed her name had been the subject of a transfer decal on her breastplate. “Ah, so they have called you Pixie, a good choice and we need some of your fairy dust in the bridge so link up with Sub Fuentes there after your twenty minutes, OK, let’s move now.”
Down in the galley the four old crew mates sat together, "Do you think we are going to survive this?” asked Buzz.
“If you mean our forthcoming fight with the Pirates, we might have a slight chance but if you mean our work schedules from the management team, I am not so sure,” answered Kyle. He had been thinking that since the first night on 'The Moons' both of the women had become a little less needy and he was quite disappointed. He thought that he would test Bambi’s state of mind.
“Hey Bambi how are you coping in the new fashion wear?”
“I feel like a million dollar tank, but seriously, I am amazed when the power is activated you cannot tell you are wearing it. It will be interesting to see whether we can actually work in these things.”
They soon found that they could accomplish their tasks in the suits and had met with the Secom slightly earlier than he had asked and found that the replacement fuel cells were already waiting, having been delivered on a powered liftin
g truck.
Bambi was by everyone’s acknowledgement the best engineer on board when it came to reactor maintenance and it was she who was tasked with the damage report. Six of the fuel cells had been ripped from their mountings in a crude bid to disable the ship and two of the empty mountings had received plasma bursts to reduce them to a molten mess.
Freeman spoke, “This is your call Bambi, what are we going to do about clearing up the mess?”
“OK, OK, this is the plan. The four complete mountings will have their new cells installed by Buzz and Shiner, they should not have any technical issues doing that and if you two complete those before Getaway and I have the damaged ones repaired, the Secom will buy you two a night’s stay in a top class hotel at the first safe port we find. If however we have the two new brackets installed before you finish, then we get the hotel stay, is that right Sir?”
Freeman smiled, the Sir was a bit over the top for a commercial operation but he took it in his stride, “One night two jockstraps, one top Hotel, consider that a done deal. Is there anything else Trooper?”
“Yes Sir, I need two new brackets, can you check the stores archives for replacement parts, the serial number can be found on any of the other 58 brackets here. If you draw a blank we will need a couple from the mining vehicle kits, at a push we may be able to do something with them.”
The four hours were soon up and as far as Bambi could tell they were just about on schedule, two new cells had been loaded and the test showed 100% functionality. Getaway and Bambi had scraped the metal waste out from one damaged bracket and had just begun on the second one using a thermal lance from stores.
They were all learning the meaning of discipline and individually set themselves an alarm on their visor read-outs for 4 hours and one by one heard the beep that meant time to finish work.
At the double with suits powered up they jogged to Hangar 2. Freeman was waiting in his armour and he counted them in. “How’s the job going Bambi?”
“On schedule Sir, two cells locked down, tested and ready, one mounting cleared, the remaining one underway.”
Seeker of Moons (Cassidy's Command Book 1) Page 4