"Molly, can you dig out some lights, power cables, the tools I mentioned, and a few hand tools and load them in the temporary airlock with the patch?" It took a moment before she replied. "YYeeess... Okay, I can get someone to do that. Why?" she asked.
He grunted. "It'll make working in here a bit easier."
"Right away. Part is done and on its way, the lights are on their way too." He released the gravity lock and turned. He had been tempted to float backwards, but had arrested the temptation after remembering the ragged stalactites behind him. He scanned the bulkhead, checking for holes. There were a few, small ones no bigger than his hand. "I'm going to need dinner plate sized patches as well Molly...three no five of them, probably more."
He turned and toggled his OMS to move to the temporary airlock. "Roger that. Parts and gear are in the airlock." He waited a moment. "Airlock depressurized," she said after a minute.
He opened the hatch to see a suited Jennie, Rodriguez, and Robin on the other side. "What are you doing here?" he asked just as Robin began to float.
"Oh oh!" She caught herself with a flat hand against the top of the airlock.
"We thought we could help. Besides, we need the experience right?" Jennie replied.
He chuckled. "Roger that," he finally responded.
Jennie looked over to Robin. "Well, to tell you the truth, I've done this a time or two before. So has Rodriguez here."
She motioned slowly with her hands. Rodriguez had caught Robin and was quietly explaining her to move slowly. "All right, but go slow and be careful. There are a lot of shredded bits you can hole your suit on if you’re not careful,” he cautioned.
Rodriguez looked up and smiled. "We'll be careful."
Jennie moved the plate up and handed it to him. He felt the jerk of motion backward and toggled the OMS to compensate. Robin was over her space sickness and pulled out a tape measure. "The purser wants a report on the room; she's pretty excited about the extra space," Jennie snorted. He could see her face lit up, she was smiling. "We haven't even repaired it yet and they're already fighting over it!" Rodriguez chuckled.
The Admiral looked over to Robin. "You’re not going to get an accurate read with that. The compartment measurements are in the computer.”
He ran a scan, and then did the math. "From my measurements, the compartment is one twenty one meters long, thirteen point four meters wide, and.... twelve meters tall. That's this compartment, the deck above seems to be compromised, so we'll get more space there too once things are repaired." Robin's figure froze. "How did you do that?" she asked.
He smiled. "I have a few tricks up my sleeves," he replied. He checked the ship's blueprints. "According to the blueprints this was the number one cargo hold. Above is another slightly smaller, so she should get a lot of space." Rodriguez ducked under a stalactite. "Careful there!"
"Yeah, I see that. Close call Rodriguez." Jennie rebuked firmly.
"Sorry." She went over to the rip and whistled.
He maneuvered the patch over the hole, and then with her aid covered it. "All right, hold it for a minute while I tack it." He reconfigured his arm to welder and tacked a few places along the perimeter. "We'll need to patch this from the outside too, but once we have a good seal, it should be okay for now," he explained. Jennie looked over the plate, and then turned to the nearest hole.
"Like one of cookies colanders. A rock did this?" she asked shocked.
He chuckled. "Most likely, when the ship's shields were down and she was a derelict." He finished the weld and floated back a meter to give it a thorough scan. "That did it."
"Dinner is served. Or at least dinner plate patches," Molly called over the net a few minutes later. "I'll get them. I'm closest," Robin called, and then began to move. She pushed off, and then quickly tumbled. "Oh crap!" she squealed and tried to reach out for something.
"Careful!" Rodriguez and the Admiral called.
"Use your jets!" Jennie called. The girl fumbled with the controls then hit one; her suit tumbled and then puffed forward. She reached out; grabbing a sliver of metal then cried and jerked her hand back. A trail of blood floated in the path of her hands. The droplets froze instantly. She jerked then hit another shard with her arm. "I'm breached!" she called, voice rising in fear.
The others could hear a hissing sound. "The suit will stop it, but you’re going to have a vacuum burn on that hand," the Admiral replied as he expertly jetted to her side. He reached out and arrested her motion, then pulsed her down away from the stalactites.
"Whew!" Jennie called.
"Nice save," Rodriguez observed.
He pulled the girl to the airlock and opened the door. "I'm sorry, so sorry," Robin sobbed.
He touched down and toggled his boots. "Accidents happen, especially to people new to a dangerous situation. Don't worry doc will fix you up," he said. He pushed her into the lock and grabbed the plates. She clutched her hand, her suit shaking.
"Is she going to be okay?" Molly called over the net.
"Vacuum burns, and a jagged cut. Get doc and the nurse on it," he reported over the net. She gave him a double click response. As the airlock door closed he turned with the plates. "All right, let’s get this compartment patched and get out of here."
Rodriguez pulled out her torch from her side bag. “Ready, these two I can handle, the other three need some cutting first."
He jetted up to her and handed her a pair of patches. "What can I do?" Jennie asked.
Rodriguez pulled a portable plasma torch out of her bag and handed it to her. "Cut the bent pieces around the holes near the bottom of the deck."
Jennie looked around. "Which way is bottom? I lost track."
Rodriguez chuckled. "Check the door for orientation." She bent over the first hole and began to tack.
"Oh," a world of embarrassment was in that simple reply.
"Greenhorn." Rodriguez teased.
“I think we need classes on EVA later,” Molly commented.
“Put it on the list.” Jennie giggled as she finished the last cut. “All done here. This cuts like, well, like a hot knife through butter,” she said, sounding a bit awed.
The Admiral chuckled. “There isn't anything like using the right tools for the job,” he replied. She giggled at Rodriguez's expression.
Jennie slapped a plate over the hissing crack. "Got it." She made sure the plate was seated properly, slapped down her welding helmet, and then pulled up her welder. She tacked the perimeter, and then set in to do a nice bead around the perimeter.
"Good, nice technique," the Admiral commented.
"This is the last one on this deck," she said. She sounded tired. He knew they were, they all were even him. They'd been at it two shifts.
He chuckled tiredly. "That we know of." He watched the sparks.
"So, what next?" she asked. She finished and looked up.
He studied the weld. "Not bad," he said in approval. He looked over his shoulder. The purser was there already, positively bouncing. He nodded. "Can we help you?" he asked. She came in the compartment looking around.
"All fixed?" she asked. She touched a patch. "Are you sure they'll hold?"
Jennie grumped. "Of course!" Irons smiled.
"Okay, clear out, I have plans for this space," she said dismissively. She waved to a girl. "Bring them in!"
They turned to see a convoy of girls laden with packages begin to come in and look around. "Look on your own time ladies!" the purser called impatiently. A girl released a pair of cleaning robots, which promptly went to work. He grunted.
"You haven't left yet?" Vanessa demanded. She turned to them.
Jennie turned the valve off on her welder and got up. "We're going we're going," she growled in disgust. She pulled her mask up and grabbed the handle of the welding cart. "Least you could have done was say thank you," she murmured. "You coming?" She tossed a glance over her shoulder to the Admiral. He shrugged and followed.
"Oh, make sure you get compartment 32A on deck two fixed nex
t!" The purser called as they flattened to allow a trolley to pass.
A look of profound disgust crossed Jen's face. "Yeah right," she said, heading down the deck.
The guards followed. "Um, this isn't the way to the lift," one of them called.
"I know," Jen said as she smiled. He looked over his shoulder to see them, they were confused. "Don't worry about it," Jennie called, lifting the welding cart up over a knee knocker.
"We're just taking a detour..." she said by way of explanation.
He caught up to her. "Act of rebellion?" he asked softly.
She looked up, eyes flashing a little mayhem. "Maybe a little. I was just thinking about welding the hatch to her quarters shut," she growled.
He chuckled. "I'd help, but I'd never hear the end of it," he replied. She glanced at him and grinned.
"You've got a point. Let’s say we go tuck this stuff away in the equipment locker then go for a cup of coffee?" she suggested.
He smiled. "Sounds good to me. He turned to the guards. "Coffee break." They nodded, expressions clearing.
"All right ladies, take a seat and let’s get started." Molly smiled as the group rustled around taking their seats. "Now, we have a lot on our plate. Once we get through the abbreviated training course, we are going to hit the hull running," she smiled to the Admiral who nodded.
"The Admiral and pilot Deidra managed to do an initial survey of the damage, it is pretty extensive as we all knew." A holo appeared beside her. "Now, for the first space walks we are going to work on orientation, survey work and minor hull repair." She pointed to the port side. "Starting with the port side. After that we will move on to replacing the broken shield nodes, replacing antenna, and re-aligning the port lidar array," she said. She looked down at her notes.
"All that?" Jen asked disbelieving.
Molly looked up. "All that and more. We are going to run ourselves ragged. Ever since the Admiral and Deidra brought in those asteroids we've been building parts and hull plate patches. Trust me, you'll sleep when we're in hyper, I wouldn't plan on much sleep before then." A few of the girls grimaced. "We have three more days before we make orbit, then another seven in orbit, then six across the system to the hyper limit. Don't plan on getting any downtime," until then. She shook her head. A few of the girls murmured.
"We've-, okay hold it down, I said hold it down! Wait until I am done to talk. There, that's better," she looked exasperated. "Look folks, we've wanted, wished, and dreamed for Io to be repaired, here's our chance! All the replicators are churning out parts, we have the suits. Forty people have volunteered," she said. Jen nodded, as did Rodriguez, Wendy, and Robin.
"We're going to run the training course with the Admiral," Robin said.
"Right. Okay, now, we are going to break the teams down into fast learners and slower people, and give the fast learners the harder tasks. Get some rest, and then meet the Admiral in the handball court later today," she nodded in dismissal and straightened.
The group broke up with women talking amongst themselves. "Is she crazy? We can't do all that? Sure the hull, but damn! I heard we may make beta if we get it all done..."
Another girl looked up. "Beta? Are you sure?"
The Admiral cleared his throat. The women froze and looked over to him. "Ladies, if and I do mean IF we get this done, and there are no unforeseen problems, yes we will make beta when we leave. We're going to have to work our butts off to make it possible though," he cautioned. The crew broke into cheers as they left.
The airlock opened. The class looked up as two more girls came in, blushing. He motioned them to have a seat. "Okay, now that we are all here..." He gave the two tardy students a glower. They scrunched down in their seats. "We can get started." He motioned to Rodriguez. "Miss Rodriguez, Jennie, Robin, Gia, Wendy, and I have the most experience with space walks and repairs," he glanced at his assistants.
"We are going to start this slow, with a little test. In a moment we will cut the gravity to the compartment to familiarize you with free fall. On each seat there is a bag. Keep it on you," he cautioned. The girls pulled the bag out and shook it out.
"What's it for?" one of the girls asked curious.
Jennie looked over with an evil grin. "Barf." She motioned for them to get up. "Move to the center of the room. We're going to cut the plating as soon as the chairs are put away."
Rodriguez, Robin, and Wendy were folding the chairs and using bungees to bundle them together. "All right, first off you’re going to float. Your stomach won’t like that," she said.
Jennie nodded. "I was born in free fall."
The Admiral and Rodriguez looked up. "Me too," the chorused then looked at each other and smiled.
"Didn't help me though, I whooped my cookies anyway when I was older," the Admiral said. A few of the girls giggled, a few looked even more nervous.
Robin positioned herself near the door controls. "Okay here we go," she said. He nodded to her. She touched the controls. After a moment they began to float.
"Oh oh!" Some of them called.
"It's zero g handball ladies," Robin called out. Some took it in stride, moving with practiced ease. The ones who were new to the sensation began to spin and tumble. One threw up violently, spraying vomit in a cloud around her. Girls exploded away from her, bumping into each other as they tried to escape the mess.
"EWWW!" Some screamed.
"That is so gross!" a girl said in disgust. The unfortunate victim apologized. Like a wave, the smell propagated out, and a few of the girls ended up sick in the bags. Rodriguez had the sick girl clean up her mess.
"Yuck," Some of the girls were wrinkling their noses. A few were gagging and turning green.
"All right, now, as you can see, every action has a reaction," Rodriguez demonstrated by pushing against a girl, they went off in opposite directions. "When you’re working outside, remember that. Remember that even though you’re in free fall and you can move big heavy things, they still have mass and take time to stop." She turned and stopped herself with practiced ease.
"It's really easy to get injured or killed in space. Take your time, plan your actions," Jennie called out.
The Admiral moved among them, offering advice here and there where needed. After an hour they called an end to the exercise. He mentally sorted the group into the ones with experience like Chelsie the blue handball Captain, to the inexperienced and completely clueless like Dorah. He squirted a list of the experienced people to the tablets Jennie and Rodriguez had. "All right ladies. Jennie and Miss Rodriguez here have a list of people who are ready for the suit familiarity class."
He nodded to them as they called out names. When they had left the compartment the remaining members looked around a little guilty. "Okay ladies, you need a bit more experience with free fall," he said simply. A few groaned at that. He nodded to Robin.
"Robin and Wendy will supervise you," he said nodding to the two ladies. He leaned over to Wendy as Robin sorted them out with a quick question and answer session. "Give them another hour or two, but don't push it too hard on them, let them play." She nodded. He went over to the bundle of chairs, dug under it to his duffel and pulled out a pair of balls. He tossed them into the air to the girls. They were caught easily.
"All right ladies, have a little fun while you practice. He turned to open the door, shouldering the duffel.
The door opened and Mindy squeaked. "OH! Mister engineer sorry! I was just checking in to see if anyone was hurt."
He shook his head. "A little space sick, but they're getting the hang of it," he said.
She looked concerned. "Space sick! Maybe we should get them to sickbay!" she looked around the class.
Robin cut the gravity and they began to float. After a moment they seemed to get the hang of it. Only a couple turned green.
Mindy sniffed. "EW! What died in here?" She looked around wrinkling her nose and waving her hand in front of her face. He stepped past her.
"Space sick. A few barfed," Irons said. He sho
ok his head. "You can practice with them if you like. I would suggest changing your clothes though."
She looked down at her skimpy mini skirt uniform. "What's wrong with this? Don't you like it?" she asked, pouting a bit.
He grimaced. "It's....um... very fetching. But not exactly appropriate in free fall." He waved back to the room.
The girls were floating around in coveralls. "Um..." She looked confused.
"Unless of course you don't mind people looking up your skirt as it flutters around..." He nodded to the guards.
Mindy looked back into the room seeing Dorah spike the ball with predictable results. "It does look like fun....Maybe I should change..." He heard as he walked away.
He checked back in with the class after a couple hours. Rodriguez and Jennie looked up as the hatch opened. "How's it going?" he asked, followed by the guards.
They nodded. "Good so far, we're through the basic suit orientation, about to go to the next step," Rodriguez reported as she checked over her own suit. "I like these suits, I'm glad you replicated them," she said with a grin. He nodded. "The ones we have at the Pyrax station were modular types that smelled like sweat. I had one that the legs were too long and covered in patches. My mom said I'd grow into it," she said as she wrinkled her nose in disgust. He chuckled, surveying the class.
They were suited up and looking confident. "Okay ladies, we're going to try an exercise before we actually go outside." He held up the holographic projector. "We're going to get you acquainted to space without going outside," he said. More then one person couldn't hack the black, it was best to learn that here in the ship rather then outside.
Rodriguez nodded in sudden understanding. "OH, good idea."
Jennie cocked her head. "Hologram?" she asked. He nodded. He put the holographic projector in the center of the room then motioned the guards out.
Xena balked. "I can handle it," she said stubbornly. He just looked at her. After a moment she dropped her defiant gaze and led her partner out. "We'll be right outside," she said.
New Dawn (Wandering Engineer) Page 20