SD242202.03 - Joint Log - CO - "Flight Deck Inspection"
Posted on Thu Feb 3rd, 2022 @ 5:11pm by Brigadier General Jonathan Grey
796 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
Escape Velocity
Location: Versailles
Timeline: Current
=^= Fighter Bay 2 =^=
The General strode into the bay, carefully stepping over a girder. Looking around, he noted a number of exposed panels, another set of girders along the length of the bay, and a set of crewmen discussing a fighter that appeared to be hovering just above the deck.
"Testing the engines?" asked the General, walking over. The crewmen looked over at his voice and blinked in surprise, bringing their somewhat-crumpled selves into a tired approximation of full-attention.
"General!" exclaimed the younger of the two. "We, uh, we weren't expecting you. Sir."
"It wouldn't be a surprise inspection if you were." he told them. "Besides, comms have been flaky since before we jumped to warp, so word might not have reached you even if I had tried to send notice. So, will she fly?" he asked, gesturing to the hovering fighter.
"Well, uh, yes. Sir. That's the problem, sir. Here." said the younger crewman, crouching down and collecting a small piece of metal from the deckplate. Standing up, he gently tossed it into the space beneath the fighter.
It...just kept going.
The piece of metal floated in a straight line beneath the fighter, only to drop to the ground on the other side.
"The gravity plating beneath the fighter stopped working, sir. If we fix it, the fighter lands hard. If we don't, we don't get our fighter back."
"Tried pulling it back down?"
"How, sir?" the crewman asked.
"A bit of rope? Tractor beam? Fly it out?"
"No rope, and the replicators are offline." said the crewman, referring to the padd. "Tractor beams in the bay don't have power. The pilots won't touch it, because the slightest motion could nudge it into something."
"And the tractor beams in the other fighters?" suggested the General.
"Against regulations, sir."
"I'm a General." observed the General. "Use the tractor beams in the other fighters."
"But, we..." began the younger crewman.
"Yes sir." interrupted the older one, giving his comrade a significant look.
"So, problem solved." said the General, moving backwards a little to make sure the fighter wouldn't crush him if it suddenly fell.
The older crewman walked across the bay to a pair of pilots standing next to another fighter. They were too far away for the General to hear what was said, but by the crewman's gesturing and the pilots' nodding, it seemed fairly clear that his orders were being relayed.
The pilots climbed into their fighter's canopy and strapped in, running through some preflight. While the station's comms were in a rocky place right now, the fighters still had solid connections thanks to their hardened comms systems. Designed to hold up under continuous combat conditions, even if the fighter was full of holes, *especially* when the fighter was full of holes if you thought about it.
It took only moments for the OK to come through, given that they weren't even leaving the bay. Moments later, the fighter lit up, and the onboard tractor beam lanced through the air to grip the wayward fighter.
First, the floating fighter was raised into the air by the tractor beam, allowing the crewmen to glide underneath safely. Two panels were removed from the floor, and in went the hyper spanners. Sparks showered one crewman as something fried itself, and the man flinched. He reached into the cavity once the sparks had stopped, and removed a component, making some further adjustments by hand.
As if by magic, the gravity beneath the suspended fighter suddenly resumed, bringing some floating items to the ground with a clatter. The fighter itself barely moved; the beam holding it designed for much greater weights over far longer distances.
It was the work of moments for the panels to be re-attached to the floor with two dull clunks. The crewmen then retreated to a safe distance and waved to the pilots across the bay. Slowly, the floating fighter was lowered, and eventually it was brought to a halt atop the deck; a soft, near-silent landing.
With the tractor beam not needed anymore, the etherial glow dissipated into nothingness, and the second fighter powered down.
Not exactly an adventure to write home about, mused the General. Still, the crewmen seemed happy that the situation had been resolved, so perhaps it was a matter of scope. He routinely made decisions that affected the whole station, while these men had to focus on the details in front of them.
Deciding that the few personnel in the bay had enough on their plate right now, he decided everything looked as well as it could considering it'd been shaken half to pieces.
"Carry on crewmen." he told them, freeing them up for the next calamity.
Next stop: Ops.
=^= End of Log =^=
Brigadier General Jonathan Grey
Commanding Officer
Starbase Versailles
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