In search of a Goddess

[MotokoSusu]

Part 2: The Goddess has awoken

It has been several month now since I discovered the Shizuha I manage to make my way back to my gunboat and pilot it up to the landing deck and park it in one of the once used slots. From there I had been managing my progress on repairs to the vessel. Things where starting to hit me over the shear size of this ship. I had manage to find my way to the Bridge and had found informational literature where all the main systems where located. For the most part most the repairs where minor in nature, tripped breakers, broken conduit, and some small fires had broke out that the suppression system had extinguished before any serious damage took place. But sadly these where only the minor systems that I was tackling.

Now was the time to really take on the bigger tasks I was fortunate that one of the APU reactors was able to still be engaged. These APU units allowed the ship to remained powered while repairs where being done to the main reactor chamber when a umbilical could not be attached. At this point I was able to move into the Shizuha at this point. Lightening and heat where my two main concerns even on the best day the temp would reach plus ten degree C. The Evenings on the other hand where minus 20 degree C. So closed off areas of the ship would remain unheated until I manage to get more APUs online.

With the environment of this planet most all the work in the closed off areas of the ship had to be done in a environment suit just to keep warm. With the the trusty literature in hand I make my way down to the engineering section looking for any spare parts that may be laying around. In a jumbled mess of parts that had been thrown from there spots by the impact of what seemed a hard landing I manage to find reactor coupling rods needed to repair the APUs that remained. After 5 days of work and another 2 to realign the remaining APU's, they are finally online. The next test was to check the hull for the ability to hold pressure. Since the APUs where running in peak condition I was able to start the oxygen and hydrogen concentrators for air and water.


Today is the day for the big test to see if the ship is going to hold pressure or vent it as fast as it is produced. Slowly I open the gates valves. As the pressure rises I can feel my ears pop which was encouraging. It was not long before a panel light starts to blink and a read out on a screen showing there was a .0002 atmosphere a hour loss. I retrieved my data pad and did some calculations that if the ship was at full atmosphere and was no longer able to produce pressure how long it would take before it would force me to leave the ship. Granted the calculations where all but a guess and at best guess it would take 1.5 years. That was a acceptable number for me.

More time had past and most the time I fall asleep right where I am working so I can remember where I left off. Because most all the hall ways look the same. This situation was not helping sleeping on the floor I had become unrested and would repeat the same task a second time. Then I remember the marker that I had in my pocket and started making the halls and where they lead to. I wish I had thought of this awhile back. It would have saved me a good amount of time. Tomorrow will be the next mile stone the restarting the engines reactor.



The moment of truth had come. The reactor was a interesting design one that I have not seen. These Zoner shipwrights were into building systems that could run for hundreds of years. This was a design simple complexity. The core was still active, you could see it glowing with in its field which was a major relief to me. The question of the day was. Why there is no output? This system was beyond my expertise. There has to be a manual somewhere with in the engine room. For next 3 days a search for any information on the reactor takes place in the data system. Then I come across a title search on “Conceptual Nuclear Reactor Maintenance and Cleaning”. Really!!! Cleaning? Who cleans a reactor?
I start reading the manual and the system break downs. The manual is well written and simple enough to understand, even a level one mechanics mate could understand how to work on the systems. After going through step by step instructions. It is determined that after the hard landing the reactors cores where jarred out of alignment from their couplings. Reactors one and two seem to be a simple fix just shut them down. I found myself laughing. “oh just shut them down it takes three weeks for them to be safe to work on after the shut down”. Well I have already been here for almost eight months what is another three weeks. Well I tell you it will be month nine.



In the interim time I decide to work in the bridge. With all the APUs running the bridge systems are running and maybe a answer to what drop this beast from space. After a few days of marking the systems with small notes I find the ships logs. As suspected the ship has been sitting in the spot for over a hundred years. I replay the last entry in the log “ Captains log upon entering the atmosphere we came in contact with a electrical storm that has managed to knock out navigation systems. All flight controls lost no restart available.... flight systems dead stick … contact with ground in t minus 1 min... landing thrusters manage to slow decent..... all hands brace for impact........nav destroyed flight controls permanently of line ….. flight engineers unable to repair systems... ship lost... all hands report to hanger deck for departure. …..............(static)”.It seems that the Shizuha faced the same problem I had encountered while mapping. Thankfully the gunship has better shielding to counter the EMP these ships would come under fire from. Great I have a ship that I can power but can not get off the ground. This ship does not have a secondary bridge like war ships or they would have not left this ship grounded.

Time has come to align the couplings. With pages in hand I go through the step by step adjustments on two of the three reactors. Reactor 2 would need much more then a adjustment it will need a full rework in a shipyard. I make a beeline to the Engineering room and go through the check lists that I found in the book. Power to the isolation couplings check.... APC back feed switches to on check...... Dynamic cooling systems to on check......... unlock core check...... Set core output to ten percent check..... . I quickly double check the list and all the status lights to green. All is in order and now the moment of truth to press the start button. With face turned away from the console and eyes squinting. As if it would make any difference because I am only stand a few meters away from two working nuclear reactors that could blow the mountain the ship is setting on to a flat field.



So with all finger and toes crossed I press the button. In a flurry of sound and light the two reactors come to life. The reactors settle in and level off to operational conditions. After a look over the engine system console all the status light all gone from red ..yellow .. to green. This was the best news for the past nine and half months.

So as things stand I have life support, power, but no flight controls or navigation. After scouring the ship from one end to the other for any sign of replacement parts and no such luck. This is when I have come to this crazy idea to run the ship off the flight controls and nav from the gunship using it like a flight computer. After a month of hit and miss integration I manage to get the gunboat to talk to the Shizuha and moved flight controls to the bridge. Thankfully the Zoners where forward thinking enough to automate some systems to be controlled at the helm station in case of lack of crew.

After a year of work it is time to see if I am going to be able to leave this planet with my prize. I have a cup of instant coffee which I had grown accustomed to, not like the fresh coffee back home which at this point seemed a distant memory. I get changed in to my finest Kusari uniform to honor my father, because if this goes south at least I will go down a proud citizen of Kusari. I take my seat at the helm. Grab a clip board filled with a preflight check list. I run down the list one after the other. Everything checked out and I inch the power to 15 percent 20..30..40..50 percent, the reactors respond with every demand. The ship starts to moan and creak, you can hear the sound of metal screeching against the rocks. As the power inches up on the status instrument and reaches 70 percent the ship finally breaks free of its rocky anchor. I switch the dampers on to stabilize from drifting in to the mountain side.

Since breaking free the ship was placed in a stationary hover before I attempt to climb out of the atmosphere. A quick run around the bridge I check systems to make sure the attempt is successful. While sitting lateral movement is supplies to move away from the mountain side and give the ship a wide berth. Reaching for the data pad I enter some calculations to see if escape velocity can even be met with the lack of the one cruise engine. Once the figures entered the power would take 90 percent of the remaining engines. So happy with the results it was time to leave. I switch off the dampers and apply 100 percent to the reactors and make best course to break the atmosphere. She starts to shake and rumble small sub systems start to code red but nothing on the console of important systems. They where still all in the green. The clipboard starts to float off the console. I had left the gravity system off making sure I have enough power to the engines to make the escape velocity.

After making best speed away from the planet and the long trip back to familiar space. All the hard work paid off. The Goddess has awaken.

---