Lieutenant JG Ollie Bergmen - There are old, and there are bold… But no old and bold…
CPT Arianus
(( USS Artemis-A, Deck 13, Shuttle storage bay ))
Bergmen: Yes, correct, Tarsan. We will power it from the batteries we installed above the compression chamber yesterday. Once the fuselage change variation, we can extend the subimpulse housing and open the space to the unit. Do you see now why we need to start from the back?
It was more than a question. Ollie hoped it would be a teachable moment… and he succeeded.
Tarsan: Yup, that makes perfect sense! I’d only been looking at the static forms of the design, and hadn’t considered being able to change its form while we’re working on it… Smart!
Gideon nodded and gave Engineer a thumbs up.
Bergmen: Exactly! And by that, fun will only begin; you will see. ::winks::
The engineer matched Ollie's excitement that Gideon put into his voice and nodded as he grabbed the PADD that controlled the DOTs and quickly set their new instructions. The DOTs lifted both power units—the subimpulse drive and a pair of turbines—into their docks behind the fuselage, to prepare them for final inspection and installation after the wiring was done.
Tarsan: They’re really impressive, aren’t they? Always wonder how people worked without them on systems like this… Must have made for some really interesting logistical nightmares, huh?
That was actually a question Gideon studied quite deeply - as it was a topic as much interesting as it was puzzling - and historically, it was always a challenge. Still, many species managed it with a level of precision that was surprising for those living in the primitive era of pre-warp travel.
Bergmen: They usually have machines of their own. Less precise, simpler. A lot of what DOTs are doing now, they substituted with living engineers doing the job. Like two or three dozen at once.
Gavrin nodded and smiled at Bergmen.
Tarsan: Good point! Should we get wiring, then?
Bergmen giggled and pointed to DOTs.
Bergmen: Well, wires won't connect themselves, and your technological perfection of machinery is too bulky to crawl into the engine intake, so… yeah, yesterday was too late, Gavrin!
(( Several days later ))
What just a week ago was only a rough skeleton that didn't even remotely resemble what it should be was now taking on a shape that at least resembled an aerobatic shuttle - just with a little spark of imagination. The main fuselage was finished and already covered with hull skin. Delta-shaped stabilizers, which serve as lift-providing wings during atmospheric flight, were attached along the entire length of the mid fuselage. The front fuselage with the cockpit, although still missing a few plates then and there, sensors, and several other small parts, was now securely attached to the rest of the structure.
They were so close to finally finishing it…
They were so far from getting it up and running…
Bergmen: Ok, the onboard systems started up! Shows all green. Good! Finally we connected it to the central control unit right.
He was saying we, but in fact it was him who connected them wrong in the first place, and it was Gavin who found and corrected his mistake, but then - there was no I in the team. Gideon's eyes were fixated on the data running through the display of his PADD and slowly nodded.
Bergmen: Perfect. Next, we can perform a cold-flow check of the RCS to verify the software control algorithms and test fire the turbines. (beat) And also check whether the atmospheric control surfaces are working properly. Agree?
Running a cold flow without propellant was safe, but firing up the turbine meant setting up a force field behind the machine, if only to keep the idle drive unit from burning out to the neighbors - after all, Ollie was pretty sure the engineers in the tractor array assembly control room wouldn't appreciate the start of barbecue season…
Tarsan: Response
While Gavrin worked on the test preparation, Ollie attached an emergency breathing system to his belt - one of the concessions they had to make during the construction was that the cockpit would not be pressurized due to a miscalculation that they discovered too late and which threatened the cockpit explosive decompression during the transition between space and the atmosphere of an M-class planet - as the auxiliary oxygen supply was one of those other small parts yet not installed, and climbed up the stairs to the cockpit. He waited until Gavrin returned to his forward position in front of the machine and put on his protective gear before he put on his breathing mask and closed the canopy.
Bergmen: =/\= Auxiliary power unit… RA1 set to fifty. RCS a cold-flow check… running now. =/\=
If firing up turbines required safety measures, activating the subimpulse unit in a closed space was out of the question. A microfussion reactor hidden deeply in the fuselage must do. Ollie watched the main display as he commanded maneuvers with the movement of his wrist. He couldn’t see nor hear small puffs of accumulated air in the RCS thruster lines - there was still no propellant - yet Gavrin could. All Ollie could check was the visualization on the MDU as the RCS thrusters activated, and so far all looked good.
Tarsan: =/\= Response =/\=
Ollie gave Engineer a thumbs-up and entered necessary commands into the MDU to change the fuselage variation. Now came the moment of truth. The cockpit started to lift and slide out of the mid-fuselage - which felt strange, since during flight the mid-fuselage would usually drop down instead. Now, though, it was firmly attached to the scaffolding - and the visualization on the MDU switched to an alternative law of flight. The first observation was that they should add more layers of soundproofing, since the noise from the hydraulics inside was almost unbearable, yet Ollie had a different worry as he watched R1 and R2 fluctuating. He didn’t even need to see it. Master warning flashed. Warning beeps filled the cockpit. He felt it. He heard it. Turbines started to vibrate, making a series of ripping cracks too long to feel right before stabilizing and firing up into idle. The vibrations stopped altogether with the master warnings in the same moment. He kept still for a second or two before he was sure nothing else would go wrong.
Bergmen: =/\= Everything fine outside? Should I stop? =/\=
Tarsan: =/\= Response =/\=
The tension in Ollie's body eased as he nodded slowly, more to himself than to Gavrin, and moved his hand back from the fire-suppression system switches to the controls.
Bergmen: =/\= Atmospheric Control Surfaces test, running now. =/\=
As he said now, he glanced to the side at the canards and started moving the wrist.
Bergmen: =/\= Up… Down… Left… Right… Axle left… Axle right… Confirm? =/\=
Tarsan: =/\= Response =/\=
TBC/TAG
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Lieutenant JG Ollie Bergmen
Operations Officer
U.S.S. Artemis-A
A240009JC1