Tearing up the hanger bay?

Posted on Sun Dec 19th, 2021 @ 3:01am by Ensign Edward D'Gracefull & Lieutenant JG Miraj Derani

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Hanger bay One
Timeline: MD9 : 12 H 30
2614 words - 5.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Sitting at his desk in main Engineering, Ed sat looking at his oversized Engineering Padd. It started chiming, along with the five others on his desk, indicating he was late for something. He was hip deep into trouble calls, They had five crews out fixing a lot of trouble calls, and he three other teams out surveying potential service upgrades and ship alterations. Fortunately the person ordering / requisitioning the parts needed to do the jobs, was way ahead of the game, everything was already received and or replicated, waiting installation. Pulling up the alarm, he smiled then typed a message to Ensign Derani.

[Ens Derani, Ed got time for lunch?]

Then Ed hit the send button...

The reply came back a few moments later. I@m playing tetris with shuttles in the hangar bay to make room for your engineering thingyies. We've got six way manual traffic control going on in here, and I want to keep an eye on it. Come join me?

Ed shook his head, "OK were going on a pick-nick on the hanger bay." pulling up the computer interface, he asked " Computer, has Ens Derani ever ordered a to go meal, and if so can you replicate it in a insulated container with a handle that has a extremely high temperature insulation co-efficient. He heard the main production Replicator in the upper level start making noises indicating it was spinning up. He entered his order in the same, only changing the color to neon blue. He walked over to his locker and grabbed his over sized Engineering repair tool box. He had installed a Grav unit in the bottom, in case of vertical repairs. he grabbed his Ball cap that had [ED's delivery service ] on it and put it on. The Engineering Crew looked at him a little oddly but he didn't care. He walked over to replicator looking a the blue and red containers with lids and handles. Shrugging he grabbed both in one hand and his repair kit in the other.

Walking out of Engineering, he boarded the turbo-lift and said, " Hanger bay, closest access to Ens Derani!", The Turbo-lift started moving. Exiting the turbo-lift, he went to find Ens Derani. He thought it would be relatively easy. He looked around for the mobile tractor unit being run by a bright pink hair. Not seeing it on the hanger bay, he started wandering around looking for pink hair...Staying out of the way, he approached from behind her on the left side. Waiting till she was done with her juggling act, he stood out of the way watching her handling a half dozen different Yellow shirts waving magnetic and bright visually distracting pulsing hand beacon/wands. This ballet looked like a three ring circus, but so far, nothing clanked or exploded. She made it look like it was child's play.

Seeing Edward approach she held a finger out to him to halt him in his tracks as she waved the class nine shuttle into place, and signaled to a petty officer also with batons to bring in the next ship. this was also a type nine, but its pilot was bringing it in upside down to park above the one below while two more were being shuffled around behind then.

"hey," Miraj headed to him, and then indicated he should move out the way. "its going to be a squeeze, but I think we'll fit. just. as long as none of the shuttles looses power to its magnetic clamps and fall of the ceiling."

Ed looked up at the ceiling and hoped that a solar flair did not chose not to strike! " OK!" he said, then asked " How many of your maintenance people will be involved, I have a team of Nine tech's just finishing up lunch and they will be down in 15."

"As many as you like. I mean, technically they're your people, i just borrow them. There should be twenty ground crew on this shift. Once everyone is parked up, I could take two to watch the parking for trouble, and give you the rest? Would that be enough?"

Ed looked up at the ceiling covered with things that were not falling down yet. "ummm... shure?", he said, "We have 25 grid's on each side, each grid will take 15 minuets to upgrade. I hope.... baring any unforeseen complications."

With everything stacked on the aft starboard side of the hanger bay and the port hanger bay being used for arrivals and departures, Ed thought everything would be cramped but fine. While he waited for his team to arrive, He said, "Have your people pull the components out of the storage room. WE can save time by putting each grid's parts next to its location, so when we pull up the deck plates, we are not waiting for the parts to be brought to us."

She touched her commbadge and started relaying orders to the ground crew, sending those who had finished their parking duties, and soon, parts where being brought into position in their magnetic boxes. Miraj accessed the shuttle bay speakers. " And can someone close the starboard door, just in case."

The door rumbled into position, leaving the left har open. When the SIF came down, half the shuttlebay could still be atmosphere secured if needed. Standing in the starboard gallery Miraj looked around. "Okay. Its all yours. "

Ed had his people stand back while one of the hanger deck personnel operated the mobile tractor unit. They started pulling up the armored hanger deck plating that protected the control systems and power distribution systems, sensor nodes and a myriad of other things. He watched as his people and Ens Derani's people started removing components, changing, adding and adjusting.

It was going fast. Ed just stayed out of the way, these people knew these systems like the back of their hands. Climbing down in to the pit that held the systems, he started looking at components, spot checking things. Several things looked like they did not belong.

He pulled a relay out of one of the systems that they were not touching. He heard the whine as several power distribution systems began to power down.

He tried to re-insert the old relay, but it was too late. "Cascade system failure!" He yelled, "Get clear of the ships above us!" The operator in the mobile tractor unit started moving and he the high pitched whine of to many tractor beams and pressor beams be used at once.

Ed watched as the Engineering and Hanger deck personnel scattered to avoid the ships on the ceiling. Some of them started to fall. He looked up to see the ship on the ceiling above him start to fall but get dragged off to the side by the skilled tractor beam operator. He leapt out of the pit, looking around!"

There was a whine from behind her as the wireless power system started pulling in eneregy from any source it could find and that meant the electromagnets of the shuttles clamped to the ceiling began to fail. Miraj watched in horror as one of the ceiling mounted shuttles fell away into a group of workbee units underneath it, denting the hull and crushing the automated maintanance bots underneath its weight. "Computer!" she shouted. "cancel shuttle bay gravity! Now!" it would reduce the damage if any more clamps failed.

There was a clunking sound above her. she looked up to see the Lethe's back end come free fromt he ceiling. so that was going to be When, not if.

"Authorization code required," the computer said calmly.

While this was going on, Ed watched as people dove into the canyon in the flight deck, that he was standing in. There was plenty of room amid the control system, and power conduits. He started yelling,"Everyone... Get into the pit!" Severn of the techs and workers dove into the pit, while others farther away were making a run for the exit's. Ed hit his comm badge, [Main engineering, AEO, Send all off watch personnel to hanger bay, but have them watch for falling shuttles. Major equipment causality.]

He waited to hear the ping, telling him he was disconnected with Engineering. hitting his comm badge again, he said, [Bridge, AEO, mass equipment causality in hanger bay one, have medical personnel standing by. We lost power and have non-secured objects falling from the ceiling of the hanger bay. Have all personnel responding enter from port side only. Have Repair locker number 5 personnel report to the locker.] The started reply of "Yes, sir" came over the comm unit and then the ping of disconnection.

Which was when the Lethe's front electromagnet was drained. The Runabout parked above them plummeted down towards the inspection trench, 35 metric tonns of space ship fell on them.

Ed stood at the edge of the trench watching the chaos in slow-motion, the adrenaline in his blood stream had spiked and he was trying to yell three things at once. Just to many things were going wrong at the same time. He grabbed the three nearest coveralls and threw them in the trench, trying to keep them from being flattened like a earthen pancake. Yelling ,"Everyone in the Trrrrreeeeench!", he dove trying to knock Lt Ensign Derani out of the way.

It was a partial tackle, partial dog pile as he collided with a other crewman trying to get out of the way of the falling space-craft. The resulting pile of people slid/rolled across the two meters of non-skid, traction enhancing surface of the hanger bay, Ed was on the bottom of the dog-pile, when they rolled into the pit. "OOOFFFF", was all he could gasp as some-one's knee stopped after it impacted his solar plexus. He heard the impact of the falling multi-tonne ship above them as alarm klaxons started to ring. At least help would start to arrive soon. "Perfect!", he groaned," I have been on the ship less than a week, and I have already broke the hanger bay!"

Miraj did her best to untangle herself from the pile inside the maintance trench. "Is everyone okay?" Her own ribs ached from where she'd been tackled, but nothing was broken, or worse. A chorus of pained comments reassured her no-one was seriously hurt. But they was still a pile of rubble on top of them. "Computer, cancel gravity in the Shuttle Bay." With no gravity it would be easy to push things away.

Nothing happened.

"Computer?" She asked, with again no response. She touched her combadge, but got not so much as a chirp. The power drain had flattened its tiny battery. "Anyone with a working commbadge?"

Ed pulled him self almost upright, there was the top of a nose of fighter poking through other debris. Hitting his comm badge, he got no response. Looking around for his tool kit, he saw the handle of his red cooler, but no tool kit.

Looking at the nose of the fighter he saw the numbers 4230, maybe they could dissemble the nose cone and get out that way. Ed didn't know if any one was small enough to fit but he was defiantly not fitting. He pulled the over sized Engineering Padd out of his Engineering coverall leg pocket, there was a nice big crack through the center of the display, and it refused to turn on.

Looking around he realized that here and there, were shafts of light seeping through the debris, so they might be able to move some junk and get out. At least there was plenty of oxygen.

"Everything but the gravity," she sighed. Which made sense. the gravity coiled were wired separately to the wireless power systems in the shuttles and the rest of the bay. "how long before someone notices the power glitch and comes to investigate?"

Ed looked over at the voice in the dark, not being able to make out much details, and said,"I heard alarms going off as all hell broke lose, I contacted the bridge and told them that we have a mass causality event happening now, I can confirm they heard, hence the alarms. By now, all of the repair lockers should be manned and ready. About now, depending of location, they should be sending investigators to the hanger bay. They will be in full gear. Some in firefighting suits ready to fight fires, some will be ready to rescue personnel. Medical will have sent medical personnel to triage and transport those they can, and treat in place those they can't move. Since we are in the center of the hanger bay, we will be last to be found."

Miraj sighed, and shifted around so she wasn't in anyone's way. "well. we should get comfortable i guess." There was a pause. "This did not go to plan."

Ed said, "oooo, I bet that could be interesting, add a random event to every maintenance action.... That way our Engineers would learn to think on there feet... Wait, that would lead to panicky non engineering people on the mess decks overhearing a conversation, so there I was leaning over the cargo bay transporter panel that I had open, when a green glowing thing with 8 tentacles came at me... I used my remote phase disruption unit on him. He was atomized and I was able to finish my maintenance task on time for lunch.]... yea that would not work out very well. I can just see being called in-front of the Captain for that one!."

Miraj cocked her head at the non-sequitur "I don't think any situation is improved with tentacles. Not even this one."

Ed said, "Well tentacles might come in handy, if you had an itch in the middle of your back, while you are carrying your toolbox, a box of spare parts, trying to open a locker, and carrying on a conversation! You never have enough hands in that situation!"

"Tentacles with hands on the end are..." something she'd probably have nightmares about. "Not something I've ever had to think about before."

Ed had a far away look in his eyes, smiled and said, "You know that itch in the middle of your back, when your in a EVA suite? Yea that would be nice to get scratched... You know that one, that you cant get to. That would be nice...And this could be used for everyday usage...This could also just be a extra set of hands.... yep, I am going to have to design something.... "

In the dark, Miraj listened to Ed babble to himself and began to worry about if they did have enough oxygen. The last thing she needed after today was half the deck crew going down with hypoxia related complications. That said after this disaster she wasn't sure she'd have a deck crew to worry about. "how did this go so wrong?"


Ed pulled the comm badge off of his coveralls, and popped the back off of it. the led indicators on the inside were barely able to be seen in the almost pitch black of the trench, but they were slowly getting brighter. Ed said, "Well the power drain is off, our communicators will slowly come back on line. Just as soon as the micro batteries use the bounce back effect to get back to half health... luckily the batteries are small and current required is minute. We should be ok , in 15 minuets!"

"Okay." Not the answer she was expecting but at least it meant this fiasco would be over soon and they could figure out the damage. "Might as well enjoy the break then?"

A snort was the only answer she received.

OFF