241903.07 -- Duty Log -- Chief Science Officer -- Splashin' Around

Posted on Thu Mar 7th, 2019 @ 5:32pm by Commander Torhild Jessen

725 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: The Sincerest Form of Flattery
Location: Wet Area

Tori reached up, brushing wet hair back from her face as she sighed with frustration. The pumps had been installed and now she was trying to install the framework for the piping that she wanted.

With scaffolding set precariously between two ladders and a portable welding unit to brace the piping to the outer bulkhead, she ran the first lot of piping up one side of the outer bulkhead before securing it across the top and capping the pipe to seal it.

Starting at the end, she made her way back across the scaffolding, screwing sprinkler heads into the pipe at one foot intervals, making sure they were secure before she climbed down, jumping the last couple of steps to land in the water with a splash next to the pump.

Priming the pump with water from on the deck, Tori activated the pump, listening to it groan and protest at having been started after being in storage for so long. Just as she thought it was about to die, it kicked in properly, the sound of water being pumped up through the piping making her smile.

Climbing back up the first ladder onto the scaffolding, she brushed wet hair back from her eyes again before reaching up to open the first of the irrigation heads, twisting the pipe until and adjusting the volume of the head until the water cascaded along the outer bulkhead the way she wanted.

Moving onto the next bulkhead she repeated the same process over and over until the outer bulkhead was a cascade of water flowing down onto the deck.

Jumping back down she pulled the scaffolding apart and started moving it to the other end of the area to the second pump she had had installed. This one was in the center of the opposite wall and was going to require a lot more piping.

Taking a moment to stop and take in the space around her, Tori paused, to take in how much they had already accomplished. Admitedly she had been there for a huge number of hours, she had long given up any sense of propriety. Her jacket and her uniform pants were slung over the rung of the ladder to climb back and her boots were at the top outside the door while she was knee deep in water, drenched from head to toe but satisfied that they were making progress.

Having reset the scaffolding at the other end of the area, Tori grabbed a bundle of the piping, connecting it to the pump at the bottom and running it up the middle of the bulkhead, securing it with the small braces she was welding to the bulkhead.

As she reached the top corner, she bent the pipe carefully, reinforcing it with a metal corner piece and welded it in before fixing the pipe across the ceiling in the center of the area, this time fixing the irrigation heads in as she went, this time only into the ceiling section and starting about two feet away from the furthermost wall, each irrigation head set about a foot apart.

She had to move the scaffolding four times to cover the entire area, it was hard work and it left most every part of her body aching, but with the last irrigation head screwed in and the last brace welded on, Tori capped the pipe and climbed down, making her way through the water back to the pump, kneeling down onto the squishy carpet beneath the water to start priming the pump again.

The second pump was much less happy about being put back to work and protested vehemently. With another sigh of annoyance, Tori stood up and glanced at the tool kit over on the other side of the room. She could walk all the way over there and get a screw driver and try fixing it the hard way... or... Turning back, she delivered a swift sharp kick to the pump with the heel of her foot, nodding with satisfaction as it spluttered to life, sucking water up and pumping it through the pipe overhead which was now cascading water down through the center of the area.

Satisfied that the pumps were working and the water was flowing as she wanted it, she headed back toward the middle of the room to start packing up.

 

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