The Continuing Story of Deep Space 2: Page 54
"Finally, those microfissions are sealed, and…, yes,..the sensor-relays on the back of the chamber are holding out… YESSSS ! ! ! YESSSS ! ! ! I told him so, to take this approach on the chamberdesign. Now let's see how hé can implement that singularity-chamberdesign in his projekt ." Jan Roel was exalted. After all, it was his idea to alter the chamber design this way and not the commander's.
"Would it work…I wonder… Harnessing the power of a quantum-singularity…and first of all…creating a singularity…the awesome poweroutput…." Jan Roel had serious doubts.Though. theoretically, everything was sound, practically…The mere thought of controlling a Black Hole…
Jan Roel tapped his comm-badge "Ensign Joost Dierckx and Lt Geert Van Nieuwenhove report to sciencelab 2 A immediately …"
"Our time is at hand, Joost and Geert will agree that the waiting might be over and…I finally get even with that damn commander Keuleers.It'll teach him treating me like a child." While thinking this, Lt Jan Roel Van Rhee's face showed that demonic grin again.
While in Ops…
"Lt Helena Straetman, report to Ops to take station ! ! "
Joost Dierckx liked how the commsystem made his voice sound heavier.He thought it might give him more authority, and therefore he changed some of the settings of the comm system relay."Cadet Thomas Van Rhee, take over from Lt Geert Van Nieuwenhove, and … hurry " and again the heavy voice sounded through the ship's comm channel.
"What does Jan Roel want ? I wonder …Lately, he was acting strange, especially against me and…Oh no…Geert…Would he know why we are here ? No, impossible, he can't know that ! And the Vorlon ambassador, where would she stand ? She was, after all, responsible for me coming to DS2. She, Arthur and Jan Theys are now together in the CO's ready-room, what would they be talking about ? About me ? The message in engineering ?-- oh yes, I know about that -- Or…the soon arrival of 'The Elders' ?…." The Turbolift door opened, this time whitout the hissing sound, and Helena stepped through the doors. "I am taking over, ensign, be back soon, I have a sick-bay to attend too."
Ensign Joost nodded and entered the lift.The doors silently closed …
"Astrometrics ! " the Ensign nervously said, and, while Mr Dierckx was still eliminating possibilities, the lift picked up speed and began moving down to the science section.
Geert was on an exploration tour of the station.He already was here for months, but never got the chance of really learning his way around this spacestation. And it was big ! ! With all the enhancements it received, especially the installing and finishing of the space-dock, it now measures about half the size of the humongous earth-orbiting spacestations, or the Mars shipyards. But one of the downsides of all these enhancements was that the station was not as elegant looking as the other. And now, Geert was checking the space-dock and the accessways.
"Boy, you need a map to check them all out " Geert sighed. And the personnelproblems they still have…More than 90 % of the station works completely automated. Off course, vital parts were controlled by them, but so much relying on computers made him uneasy. And then there are the ships, assigned to DS2, who also need to be maintained by the same people who control DS2. Well, the Ajax-drones work fast and correct in space and in the spacedock, just as the, recently, by Utopia Planitia delivered, maintenance-androids, who serve in the habitable regions of the station. These were old surplusstocks which would normally get desintegrated…Louis Van Rhee choose to collect these androids, about 500 of them and with the help of the cadets he reprogrammed, repaired, enhanced and cleaned about a hundred of them, pulling some of them apart for spare parts …to fit the tasks on the station.Some fifty other androids where in the science division beeing reworked by Wim with the help of Nadine and Helena. Someone visiting the station might think of it as quite busy, but nevertheless, some extra hands, a thousand or so…, would come in handy.
"Ensign Joost Dierckx and Lt Geert Van Nieuwenhove report to sciencelab 2 A immediately … " sounded through Geert's comm badge.
"Damn, why would he need me now, mmm, the fastest way to the Turbolift…." He tapped some symbols on his PADD "Yes, OK, that is the way, pfff, 500 meters ahead and then …left, …left, right,…."….He finally found a turbolift, and after a minutes-waiting he entered the opened doors …
"Computer, Astrometrics ! " The lift started moving down towards the Astrometrics lab.
Ten minutes later the three men met in Astrometrics and they saw the almost completely finished screening-device. They looked at each other and Jan Roel took the word.