by Chris Hechtl
The captain waved a dismayed hand over his face. The room reeked so bad he wanted to gag. He was going to need a shower after just stepping into the room. He wasn't sure how to put that to the commodore. Apparently, the other man was oblivious. “Sir, with all due respect you should be planning the next move, not sullying your hands like this.”
Horatio cracked a hidden smile. “With work? I'm not afraid of getting my hands dirty. It all washes out in the end with a bit of scrubbing like my dad used to say,” Horatio replied as he tapped at a pin. “My kingdom for a nail,” he muttered, looking around then rummaging through his tool kit.
“What are you after, sir?”
“A nail. A pin. Something thin but sturdy enough to drive that cotter pin out. It's holding up the works,” Horatio replied as he continued to look. “We don't use nails in space but …,” he found a coil of wire. He snipped off a piece then bent it out and tried it. “Damn thing bends, but it is moving,” he said after a moment of effort “You were saying, Captain?” he asked as he worked to get the pin out. Once he had a couple millimeters exposed he planned to use a pair of pliers to pull it the rest of the way out.
“Sir, we've got paperwork …”
“That's what yeoman and staff are for. I got tired of reading and signing it, so I decided I needed a break before my eyes started to bleed,” Horatio said as he tapped at the pin. Once he got it far enough out on the other side of the shaft, he used his pliers to pull the pin out. “Ah ha!” he said triumphantly. He held it up briefly, and then set it down carefully where he wouldn't lose it, then started to pull the handle off.
“What …” the captain held a hand over his face when the blowers kicked on.
“This is an old filtration module. Really old. The plastic is a bit brittle from the exposure to space. All the seals are shot so we've got to replace them. I'm working on the rings here,” Horatio explained, indicating a series of rings on the shaft. “This is to the sump discharge. You pull the lever to flush the filtration tank,” he turned and indicated the cylinder with a hemispherical dome on top. “If it gets all mucked up, back flush it.”
“And it's by hand?”
“It's old like I said. I suppose we should route a servo in here, run wire and stuff, but then we'd have to build a brace to support the motor and then calibrate the thing. Running the control lines and writing code is also a pain. So, we go the simpler route. Eventually we can get it the way we want. But that is long term.”
“Why not yank it?”
“Ah, well … come out of there …,” Horatio growled as he pulled the assembly apart. “You see, we don't have any in stock, and we've got a lot of deck to cover. Replicating the seals is easier than the entire filtration module.”
“Oh. I see, sir.”
“Back to the paperwork thing … I think you and I both know the navy lives on paperwork,” Horatio said as he finally got the entire shaft disassembled. He pulled the seals off, tossed them in a trash bag for recycling, and then started to lube up the replacement seals. “You will never get fully caught up, not in an entire career, believe me, I know.” He shook his head. “There are some bureaucrats in the navy who take pride in that fact for some perverse reason. “The best you can do is try to tread water,” Horatio explained as he slipped one ring after another into their proper seated groves. Then he started to reassemble the shaft.
“The cover, sir,” the captain said, coughing into his hand.
“Ah, glad you caught that,” Horatio said, pulling the handle back off to slip the screw-on cover ring on. “Glad one of us is paying attention. I'd hate to have to do this twice,” he said. He looked up and around. “Well, twice for this unit. We've got a lot more to go,” he sighed.
“Damn, sir,” the captain said, looking around the compartment.
“I'd like to get this one room done. I don't know if I'll manage it by the end of the shift,” Horatio said as he finished the assembly and carefully drove the cotter pin back into its hole and made sure it was seated properly. He set the shaft back into the cylinder it had come from, then screwed the top on.
“I hate how they've got this plumbed. It looks like a sloppy half-ass job someone cooked up in a hurry. Every 90-degree bend here,” he pointed to the plumbing, “is like adding five meters of pipe. It is resistance that makes the pump work harder, which means it is inefficient and therefore not cost effective. But I don't have the time or parts to replumb this mess today,” Horatio said as he finished buttoning things up. He replaced the seal around the tank and then ran the pump to half fill it with water before he put the lid back on. “You have to put some water in it to prime it. The suction pulled the seal down,” he explained as he wrapped the strap around the seal and then used a driver to pull it tight.
The captain cringed at the earsplitting noise from the driver. Once it was finished, the commodore wiped his hands off and then flipped the manual switch on the pump. The system came to life, and after a moment, brackish water dribbled out of the discharge before it stopped. “Always a little bit there,” Horatio explained, using the rag to wipe it off. He checked the readings and nodded. “All good. That filter has been cleaned, repaired, and is ready for use,” he said. He looked up and hummed.
The captain wanted to squirm for a moment but stopped himself. It was odd to be on the receiving end of a wait signal.
“There,” Horatio said when his attention returned to the captain. “I just signed off on the paperwork for this unit,” he said.
The captain blinked. “You …”
“Gotta love implants,” Horatio said with a grin as he moved on to the next unit. “I also checked my e-mail and checked in with Lieutenant Olson just in case. Nothing new.”
“Um … okay,” the captain replied, realizing he was out of his depth.
“I keep tabs on the schedule too. Based on my last check, we've got two shifts before the next piece of debris comes in. Tug 4 is coming in with it. I checked the SITREP too, no changes, no accidents or problems other than a call about more leaks found. Now that we've got the decks pressurized and heated, the water in and out of the pipes is melting and causing a mess. We've got shorts on just about every deck it seems.”
“Ah … yes, sir. Um, carry on?” the captain said weakly.
“I'll be done by lunch I think. Six more to go here,” he said looking around. “Check the SITREP and go finish your walkabout. I may go walkabout as well if I finish up here early,” Horatio said as he started pulling seals off a pump motor.
“Yes, sir,” the captain said nodding as he retreated.
~<><{<^>}><>~
Horatio didn't make it to lunch. He took a working one of an energy bar and drink and then dived back into the work, but he did manage a shower and change before he dined with the captain and his officers later that evening.
“I'm envious of John. I know it's the other way around, but his cybernetic limbs make it all that easy. He would have blown through that in an hour or so,” Horatio said rolling his left shoulder.
“Sore, sir?” Doctor Light Touch asked with some sympathy in her voice.
Horatio shrugged. “Usual aches and pains. I had to reach around something to get at a stubborn bolt. My implants are handling it,” Horatio said.
“Who is John, sir?” Commander Koba asked.
“John … sorry,” he grimaced. “Admiral Irons,” Horatio explained. He noted the eyes around the room widened slightly at that. “It's a small navy outside of Bek.” he shrugged.
“Admiral Irons has cybernetic limbs, sir?” the Satyre asked, clearly surprised by that news.
Horatio nodded. “He was injured in combat several times,” Horatio said, dabbing at his mouth with a linen napkin embossed with the ship's crest. “He lost one of his legs prior to the Xeno war. It happened before he went to Bek. I don't know if he had a cloned replacement or not; we never got that personal in our talks,” he said with another shrug. “I do know that just before his last ship was shot out from under him, he got rathe
r badly injured and received more cybernetics instead of cloned tissue replacements. He wanted to get back into the war,” he explained.
The doctor nodded thoughtfully. “Ah.”
“So … how could he get through that?” Commander Koba asked.
“Well, part of it is experience. He has been doing this far longer than even me,” Horatio said with a slight smile. “And yes, he still loves to play hooky and get his hands dirty,” he said shooting a glance at the captain. The captain snorted softy. “Doing something with your hands is a hobby for him I guess—that, teaching, and martial arts. The man is always busy.”
“But how …?” the XO asked, wrinkling her nose. She glanced over to Leo who shrugged.
“Well, I can't get into details since a lot of it is still classified, but he has a cybernetic right arm. He had it custom built to his specifications with tools and stuff so he can plug into electronics and check them, turn a finger into a screw driver or soldering iron, that sort of thing.”
“Oh,” Leo said softly. He frowned as he considered the mental image then slowly nodded. “That'd definitely comes in handy I suppose, sir. But an officer?”
“Fun fact some people don't know or have overlooked. I'm not the only mustang. Admiral Irons is also a mustang,” Horatio said. “I thought you knew.”
The room became quiet. The other officers stared at him. He smiled. “So, he, like I and a few other officers who have gone mustang, have seen it from both sides, enlisted and officer. Being an officer is not just about the ability to order people about. It is about how to lead people. For some it's the willingness to get your hands dirty that shows others you can lead. That you know what you are talking about because you are the voice of experience. I think it's one of his best qualities; it’s part of his charisma. He doesn't see it of course, but it is there.”
He shrugged. “He taught me to get the paperwork and situation sorted out, but remember to take time for yourself when you have a moment. But like him I like to make my free time as productive as possible,” the commodore explained. A few of the officers nodded slowly. “I'm also jealous that other people get to tinker.” He cracked a grin and winked at the engineers in the group. “Engineers are more than administrators. We like to take things apart and then put them back together so they work too. I know a few who have side projects. I know Admiral Irons used to have them all the time. From building a fighter to a shuttle, to just diving into a project and fixing what most people think would take months or was impossible to fix. It sort of lifts morale to see something like that happen. And to know the boss is willing to do it gives others the courage to roll up their sleeves and dig into the hard jobs too. Admiral Irons usually uses those times to teach hands-on too; another one of the things he loves to do,” he said.
He paused to let them digest that concept. His eyes lit on the steward as the pantry door slid open, and the steward came in wheeling a cart loaded with dessert. “Ah, good. I've still got an appetite,” he said with a welcoming smile.
That earned a few tentative smiles and a couple chuckles from the assembly.
~<><{<^>}><>~
The more they worked, the more things came together. But the pace also showed just how shorthanded they were. There were only so many warm bodies to go around. The steady pace of ships coming to the station was a problem for some.
Captain Clayton seemed less objectionable to Horatio occasionally stepping in or at least disappearing to do it on the sly as long as he got his proper job finished. He turned a blind eye to some of the crew who also volunteered during their off-duty hours.
Doctor Light Touch joined Fa'rook and took a couple turns in the various sickbays and infirmaries to do inventory. The duo listed what needed to get done to get each of them set-up properly. The duo even wrote out a wish list for a proper hospital for the space station.
With Horatio, Mack, Leo, and Gemma setting the example, a few of their fellow engineering officers also occasionally pitched in. Morale was good, but everyone was tired. The job seemed never ending and daunting despite breaking it down into manageable chunks.
Horatio took to a daily brief speech each morning in order to tell the crew what they had achieved the day before and what they were planning to do. He wasn't certain if it helped. Everyone seemed bogged down by how big the project was. The captain repeatedly said they should scale back their efforts but the commodore was adamant.
Horatio learned all over again that burning the candle at both ends had its consequences though. Working on hands-on projects helped to keep his impatience and frustration at bay. He had to focus on the job at hand to get it right. There was nothing he could do to change the situation they were in as a commodore, so he worked on other means to do so. He wasn't certain if it got through to the people, but he knew some appreciated his efforts.
He'd forgotten that fatigue still sapped him though. It made his mind slow and sluggish despite his implants. There was only so much his implants could do to stave off sleep.
Fatigue also made him short tempered and klutzy he realized when he accidentally knocked a wrench off the counter and it fell on his foot. He cursed for a minute, glad he'd had steel toed boots on but still feeling it where the heavy wrench had rebound and hit his ankle.
He swore a little while later when he ripped a cuticle in his pinky fingernail. He swore and flicked his hand, spraying blood around. His implants immediately cut off the blood flow as they dealt with the damage. He found a reasonably clean rag and used it to clean the blood up.
If it was like that for him, he realized it was most likely worse for the crew. He decided he would need to scale back his zeal a bit. After all, Rome hadn't been built in a day.
Chapter 44
The various copies of Mercury became more and more important as they started to diagnose and repair the civilian hardware. Just figuring out how to tie some things in tended to be a pain.
Galiet, Baxter, and Bailey were invaluable in the endeavor. Bailey was called on the most. The Neochimp's extensive engineering knowledge and experience allowed him to kludge together equipment to get them to work, or figure out why they wouldn't.
He was drawn to both the salvage crew and the growing station.
The second ship to be docked to the station as a core module was a long super freighter. Its habitats would be welcome, but the real prize were her extensive cargo holds that Lieutenant V'r'x and the salvage teams put to use to house the salvaged gear they wanted to hang onto.
The second and third large freighters that came in were initially set aside. One was a bulk carrier with a hollow core design. The Veraxin design had a shell that wrapped around rectangular-, cylindrical-, and triangular-shaped cargo pods. She had drive pods on her stern and what was left of a stalk that had attached to a habitation module on her dorsal side. The habitat module was still missing as were half her drive pods.
Her cargo had come loose and had sprayed the star system. It would be an ongoing process to pick them up. But since they were low priority, the tugs ignored them for the moment.
The third large freighter was the reverse in design of the Veraxin one. It had a core made out of truss and habitat segments that was wrapped in modular pods. It was set-up almost like an old ground train in concept but with the locomotion coming from pods in her stern.
The cargo pods that attached to her spine could house wet or dry cargo or even habitat modules. Like the Veraxin freighter, over half of her cargo had come loose and sprayed the solar system. The rest was deemed worthless and fed into the molecular furnaces.
After some deliberation, the third freighter was incorporated into the design of the Sargasso Harbor Station. Her reactor module hadn't been damaged, so it was detached and then reattached to the lower end of the station's spine. Her fuel tanks had been shredded, but two of her cargo modules had been patchable liquid containment vessels. They had been repaired and then repurposed to contain fuel for the reactor.
Her cargo was emptied of wasted material and
then repurposed into exterior cargo modules. Her habitat modules were attached as part of the first docking ring, and her truss segments were tacked in place to help support them. Finally, her surviving nodes, sensors, hyperdrive, and sublight drive were stored for later recycling.
~<><{<^>}><>~
Leo looked around the reactor compartment and then over to his partner. Gemma seemed quite pleased with herself. “I don't think the powers that be planned on this,” Leo said.
She looked up from what she had been doing. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“This,” Leo said, indicating the module and then the reactor. The reactor core was still being carefully reconditioned, but it looked good. “They didn't provide us with a core or even solar panels. I don't think they factored in the commodore's willingness to use salvage.”
“True,” Gemma replied neutrally.
“I think he's far more likely to succeed,” Leo said as Mack entered the compartment. The life support alarm burped, making the chief engineer look at the red light and then telltales, then over to Gemma.
“Sorry about that. I'm still working the bugs out,” she muttered.
“Right,” Mack drawled. “What were you talking about just now?” he asked, eyeing the duo.
“This,” Leo said indicating the compartment as Gemma continued to work. Mack looked around the room. A robot was busy in the reactor room making repairs. “All this. I don't think anyone thought we'd get this far. And from the feel of it, we're just starting, right?”
“Right,” Mack grunted.
“So, do we do something about it?” Leo asked. Gemma looked up in surprise. Her eyes narrowed. He glanced over to her and then to their boss.
Mack grimaced and then shook his head. “No.”
“So …”
“We observe and record. We don't interfere,” Mack rumbled. “Those are our orders.”
“Good,” Leo replied with a nod.
“Good?” Gemma asked, coming over to them. “Did I just hear you say good after what you just asked?” she demanded.