A mutual friend mentioned you might be able to lend a hand to a dated Pilgrim Liner that hasn't seen drydock in about forty years (give or take). We'd be willing to meet somewhere less conspicuous for you to take a look before admitting the Pillar of Ash to your docks for an overhaul. My engineer tells me the attached list is fairly accurate to what is wrong with the old girl.
We'd also be interested in hearing what you think about possibly enhancing the ships capabilities for combat. More powerful weapons, stronger reactor, quicker engines, etc. Her current state wouldn't be able to support any of this, but over time it's possible that it can become a force to be reckoned with as well as a means of transportation.
Let us know where we can meet prior to any long term maintenance...and keeping our IFF turned off shouldn't be a problem, it barely works as it is.
My name is Senara Chellew, Director for the Engineering Department here on Akutan Production Facility.
I was told you would be coming - cryptic bit of messaging, that, but if I wasn’t flexible, I’d suppose I wouldn’t be here in Bering.
We’re going to be stripping out the whole reactor housing, all the subsystems, probably replace it with the reactor off of a L-584-B. You’ll get more power than whatever decrepit standard that there was before, that’s for sure, even if that won’t last as long as the TTR-1130’s once did. Things flew forever and a day, though a part of me thinks they weren’t quite in the same shape as yours. For that, considering the ship, we’ll need to cut through the hull and tear the reactor out direct. Since your hull plating seems buggered, I’m sure that won’t be a problem.
Frankly, this isn’t even to give you more power. This is because I don’t trust that reactor worth a damn and don’t want my crews around it for a second longer than they need to be. I’m sure you understand. We can source that reactor and subsystem pretty easily, there’s a few at Baltimore Shipyard that can be found.
The rest of it, we’ll go over piece by piece once you’re here. I expect inspections will need to be made piece by piece through the whole of the ship, repairs having in one sector while crews are going over the problems in the next. It won’t be a particularly quick job, or a particularly cheap job, but it can be done.
I’m sure that an advance meeting won’t be particularly necessary. Mooring Point 4 should be open for your use. I’ll have material on standby there for the immediate decontamination efforts.
I should have asked before, but…exactly how many crew are you bringing? This is just for lodging at Bristol Bay Station, since your ship won’t be exactly ready for habitation anytime soon. I’d offer for somewhere here, but we don’t exactly have the capacity. Space can be provided on the routine shuttles between there and Akutan, so there won’t be any issues on your people helping with the efforts.
In all, there are 35 of us. If you have shuttles, transportation to Bethlehem Station in Pennsylvania would be more than adequate. My people can obtain transport from there depending on where they want to go. I've told them they have some time off while the Pillar has the work done.
By the way, we haven't agreed upon a price. We have some credits saved up from our transport of old weaponry for recycling but I'd like to make sure we have enough to get the work done--no doubt it won't be cheap.
We're getting under way to head to Bering now. We should arrive fairly soon as we are currently moored in Pennsylvania at this time.
Travel can be arranged to Bethlehem Station. It won’t be official, from Bristol C&M, as negotiations between that station’s administration and the Liberty administration that included such things fell through some months back, as far as I know, but I have a few names in mind here that can arrange for that.
That would bring the total cost to 350.000 cr. Bear in mind that items 2, 3, 4 are presumptive for the usual work that I’ve seen involving Pilgrim Liners. It seems like the work for this ship will be possibly more. However, after some talks with certain members of the Bristol Board, I’ve been told that repair pricing cannot, for this arrangement, exceed 500.000 cr. I hope you appreciate this.
Should you require a tow on your way to Bering, we’ll be standing by.
We had some problems with transiting to Bering from Hudson, but once a full reboot of all systems, we were able to arrive safely with the IFF transponder fully disabled. We've moored with the specified moor and have begun the process of disembarking.
Thank you for taking care of this--you don't know how much it means to me and my crew. The Pillar of Ash is our home and flagship. Doing right by it, and seeing her restored at least partially to her former glory does our hearts good. Should you need anything now or in the future, you need only ask.
Just giving you an update on our work thus far for your vessel.
I’m happy to say that the installation process of the reactor from a L-584-B “Oasis” has been completed. The reactor is, however, one of the older DSE-BS-22-3-A models, from the initial production line of the vessel - it’s been refurbished by Baltimore Shipyard, but is by no means a new unit. The armored housing has maybe a dozen scratches from some dockyard taking the unit out for inspection every now and again, though they appear to be all superficial. We’re going through the process of hooking the unit up now.
Engine repairs for #1, 2, 3 have commenced. We’re replacing the radiation shielding on #3, since that seems to be the main issue there with no light-off problem, though there are several discrepancies with the actual drive cone that’s making fitment a problem. I’m guessing the cone is very much not original, which makes sense considering the state of the vessel. As such, some of the shielding plates are being cut to fit. For engines #1, #2, we’re disassembling and inspecting all components for major wear, with intentions to refit and replace as we go.
Currently significant sections of the hull plating have been cut away for replacement. Currently we’ve completed removal of all hull plating aft of frame 190, around the reactor placement and engine systems, with replacement of paneling at maybe 60% or so. Removal of hull plating amidships is still ongoing, with around half of the area removed. Removal and replacement of hull plating forward of amidships is still ongoing, with inspections to ensure we aren’t replacing what’s still good for you.
We’re currently standing by for most of the internal electronics inspection until the reactor has been fully settled in and gone through several power cycles to ensure operability. Visual inspection on wiring from amidships to aft, as well as all coupling and redirection stations for power, is ongoing.
Should you have any questions on the state of the ship, or the state of any specific systems, please let me know.
Your people do not mess around. I am surprised at how much you have managed to get done in such a short time.
It is not a surprise to us that engine #3 was not original. It has been giving us trouble for years, even before the incident in Omicron Delta over a year ago. It is a small miracle the thing did not explode during one of our many long trading runs into the Omegas.
The reactor is a good choice as well. I suspect the newer Oasis reactor is a descendent of the older unit that was in the Pillar. After reviewing the electrical systems aboard, I would be interested in your opinion on future development. Specifically, whether the old girl could eventually be adapted into a more combat ready ship with larger weapons--possibly even a full engine replacement to coax more speed out of the hull. Nothing immediate, of course, but there may come a time when we need to defend ourselves from those who would take our homes and our lives.
In the meantime, we appreciate the work your team has done so far. I look forward to hearing your thoughts when you have the time.
I’m sure that some sort of weapons modification could be made. Admittedly, the TTR-1130 has always been a more or less underarmed ship in my opinion, being intended for long-range colonization rather than the relatively short-ranged hauls we do in the modern age considering jump technology and trade lanes and the rest of it. As such, their ratio of storage space to personnel was higher than anything else, similar to the "Dunlin" type Explorers, and the intended personnel complement was also higher.
The question comes from, then, exactly what you’d be wanting to modify onto the class. Larger weapons could mean a lot of things. I’m sure that the space concerns could accommodate something along the lines of gunboat class weaponry, their power concerns and slewing gear is generally similar enough. If you’re thinking of mounting cruiser grade, though…I’m certain that a replacement of the slewing gear would be needed, there’d probably need to be redundant power relays and management systems to the whole thing, and the actual mounting points themselves would probably need some reinforcement due to the additional weight. It’s not something that I’d look forward to on a new hull, and the problems of the age of most TTR-1130 hulls will only compound that. Bear in mind that with all this, you’d also need to mount additional, more capable sensor and tracking gear to get useful targeting solutions for those guns. But, considering the amount of space available, I would never rule it out as impossible.
As to the engines - the problem there is I think with the hull framework itself rather than mounting heavier units. You could mount larger engines for more speed, yes, but the force applied to the hull in a turn or a halt, nevermind an emergency stop, would probably cause hairline cracks at minimum to the actual frame of the vessel. I really wouldn’t recommend it, considering the age of the hull and what it’s been through.
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