Skip to main content

HMSS Pangolin Prime Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The difference between a third technician and a second technician is like that of private to captain in the military, i'm not the highest technician, that titles goes to the executive technicians, but it’s a significant promotion never-the-less. My day-to-day roles have changed slightly, I now oversee the third rate technicians, and also get to work on the more advanced machinery. For example I no longer run maintenance on any quarters lower than Q2! I now get to work with the Primary Technicians in the power rooms, tweaking and fixing the giant StatBlocs, making sure the ship always has power. Today however, I was crawling through the stiflingly hot utility tunnels of the PR Residential block. It was actually quite relaxing, going through the tunnels by myself, I had somewhat gotten used to the heat and continued with the job at hand. The rooms here were smaller than mine, but the furnishings were improved, the beds a little bigger, fabrics a little softer, etc. In the tunnels, there were little windows every ten metres or so, looking into the rooms, designed for both safety and security. I looked in a few windows, I saw a pregnant PR-Mum lying down on her bed stroking her belly, further on I saw a PR-Dad on some exercise equipment, working up quite a sweat. Later I looked through the window and saw someone in the shower, their fine naked body glistening with the water. I quickly moved on and reminded myself that they were not my prerogative, I am a technician, nothing more, nothing less. After about an hour of crawling through the tunnels, I got to a junction where I could get out and have a break. I inserted my card into a slot on the hatch and it swung open with a hiss, and I dropped out into the area below, it was a small inset in a corridor wall, I sat down on the floor, and retrieved my water bottle from my belt. After downing the entire bottle I sat for a few minutes more reveling in the cool air. I got up and went in search of a Vendor. There was a small queue for the vendor when I found it, a couple of PR personnel waiting for their turn. I certainly got a few strange looks,  as it isn't too often either of us see anything of each other, and I expect the large sweat marks coming through my uniform weren't helping. Eventually it was my turn and I placed my empty bottle in the receptacle and requested another. The vendors were automatic food and drinks machines, of course personnel can cook their own, more advanced food, but the vendors are unrivalled in quick and easy meals. The vendor produced my bottle, still frosted from where it had been chilled, I clipped it back to my belt and slowly walked back to the vent. Reluctantly I inserted my card into the slot on this side and the cover opened once again. I could feel the heat blasting out of the vent, but climbed inside anyway. Forzy had left markers for me to check, I had sent him ahead in the tunnels to mark what I needed to fix, somehow he managed to find over 100 issues in this section alone. I didn’t want to update the figure on my visor, just in case he found any more. Regardless of the heat, and my growing tiredness, I pressed on, I had a job to do after all.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Isolated Void - Part of the Bag of Beginnings

Chapter 1 - A Bounty Fit For A King It all started back in the Drakoon system, I was posted there as part of the high king's new “security initiative”. I was with the 44th squadron holding position in orbit around the systems 3rd and most remote planet, on paper it was called Drakoon 3, but we called it “Red-Light-Roody” due to its Prominent Red-light district. My old Tiger-class Skirmisher, called the Dubber Rucky, was parked on the dark side of a large asteroid within the planet's rings, My crew was on edge, there was a rumor running around about a large drug train which makes its way through this sector once every 168 hours. We were staying dark, so that meant no heat, no lights, only enough power running to stop us from suffocating. And so we just sat there, no leaving our stations, ready to go at a moment's notice. I checked the low scanner, its infrequent pings showing no differences, the timer clicked on, showing that we still had 3 hours to go before the drug t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Driftwood Chopsticks - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 I rose with the morning alarm, the blaring siren that goes off at 8:00 am. I hopped out of my bunk and strode into the shower before my roommates could hog it. I let the hot water cascade down me, cleansing me as much mentally as physically. I dressed in a freshly laundered uniform, a dark green boiler suit emblazoned with the bases logo, a trident with wings and the phrase “ Sub fluctibus Salutis ” which is more or less latin for, it is safe under the waves. After checking that I had all my things, I shouldered my bag, and headed for school with Riza, who had already unbuttoned the top two buttons on the uniform. We both agreed that trying to face the morning rush hour wasn’t worth it, so we took the more “express” route. An air vent near to our room had a broken lock so you could just climb in and follow the vents to your destination, it had taken us about a year's worth of free time to find the correct route. I was grateful for the padding on the knees and elbows ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Soldier, Sunny Side Up - Part of the Bag of Beginnings

This is the story of Corporal Jash Masterson, and how he survived world war 3. A Smoothie of Comrades- I was tucked into my bunk when the first bombs fell. The ground trembling around me, I heard loud noises from within the compound as some of the ceiling caved in. I flung myself from my bunk, and legged it down the corridors. The corridors I knew so well, rushing past me as I charged forwards, the piercing wails of the alarms cutting through the chaos. I was one of the first to make it to the kit room, a few others made it in before the ceiling collapsed outside the door. The hardened walls and roof of the kit room, made us all feel better. In the room with me were; Captain David Hams, Lieutenant Laura Barnsley, Corporal Gregory Smithers and Madam Cornblower, one of the Compounds cooks. We all stayed silent for the first five minutes, except for the still screaming alarms, recovering from the sudden start, breathing heavily. I stood up and made my way to one of the cases and ...
1 comment
Read more