Food For Thought Ch. 007

"Was the damage that bad?" Logan asked.

"From what I've understood, not too bad. There's just a lot of work to do and not enough hands. I'd help however I could, but obviously, I'm rather confined." Gesturing to her injury with one hand, she kept going through reports on her screen.

"Anyone onboard who could be stepped up to get things moving faster?" There was a roster of crew as well on his tablet; many were listed as KIA. Logan saw dozens of names greyed out.

Elinor looked back up at him with a sigh, "Possibly, but unlikely. We were assigned milk runs with mostly fresh recruits. The Sparrow was slated for retirement, so most of our able crew was reassigned to ships that needed the experience." she paused and thought for a moment. "Chief Naher is a good engineer, not so good at managing people. I'm also unsure what Kilder has been up to the last few days. I trust your time in the service taught you enough about how this ship should function?"

"I think I have a firm grasp on how things should run. I made it to Petty Officer First Class during my short time in the Navy. This is a bit of a jump for me, but I can make it work." Logan tried to sound reassuring. "I don't know much about ship operations, but I know the chain of command and can get things done."

"Look, Logan, you're the Executive officer. Kilder already had a fit this morning when I notified the crew. I need you to help me get this ship in better shape. We don't have much to work with, but there's plenty of work to go around. Make sure you grab some fresh clothes as well; we should have some spares somewhere." Elinor's attention returned fully to her work.

Logan assumed he was dismissed and turned to leave.

The Captain's sudden shift in demeanor was noticeable. Logan guessed there were very few people she could actually relax around. Being the captain of a ship carried a heavy personal burden. Elinor likely didn't have the energy to worry about appearances.

Taking the elevator down to deck 4, Logan had a vague idea of where he was going. The map he had on the tablet helped. Engineering spanned three of the aft decks; the space was needed to house parts of the six ion engines and other assorted systems.

Senior Chief Petty Officer Ravi Naher was listed as the Chief Engineer; according to the tablet in his hands, Ravi had served on the Sparrow for four years. Destroyers and corvettes rarely had a line officer as Chief Engineer.

The heavy doors labeled 'Main Engineering' opened automatically as Logan approached. Sat in the center of the room was the hyperspace generator. Surrounded by readouts, diagnostics, and controls, it was one of two obvious pieces of technology in this room.

Against the back wall, surrounded by a semicircle of control panels with a walkway, stood the main drive core. It spanned the space of all three decks; heavy pipes and cables flowed into the ceiling and floor below. Logan had never seen one in person before, but he was very familiar with the frequencies and noises they made.

While you couldn't hear anything in space, hulls still vibrated. With the right equipment, you can measure and interpret those vibrations.

Looking around the central floor, Logn couldn't see anyone as he walked past the hyperdrive generator and stood next to the drive core. The control panel encompassing the core was full of information Logan didn't quite understand.

"Hey! Can I help you?" Logan heard a voice call up to him over the noticeable hum of the room.

Turning and looking down, a man stood covered in grease, grime, and other particulate on the deck below.

Logan leaned over the railing and said, "I'm looking for the Chief Engineer."

The man frowned, deep lines forming on his cool brown skin. With a shake of his head, he put his tools down and climbed up the ladder that joined the decks together.

"I'm Chief Naher, who are you?" He asked bluntly, wiping his hands on his already dirty uniform. Ravi Naher's slight accent could be traced to England on Earth.

"Logan, Acting Executive Officer." Logan held his hand out, and after a moment, Ravi shook his hand firmly.

"And?" Chief Naher looked at Logan expectantly.

"I need a progress report," Logan said.

"Lieutenant Kilder has all that information; I don't have time for this." As he turned to head back to the Ladder, Logan stopped him.

"I get it, Chief, but please do me a favor and just take a look. The Captain thinks there may be inaccuracies." Logan held the tablet out.

"Inaccuracies?" With an offended look, Chief Naher took the pad and began to assess the information. It didn't take him long before he was swearing.

Logan followed him to the left side of the room; the wall was lined with consoles and more data readouts, and one of the consoles was piled with tools and data pads. Chief Naher picked one up and confirmed some information before tapping the pad to Logan's tablet.

"There's your update. Tell Kilder to fuck himself. I have work to do." With a slight nod, Ravi Naher turned and made his way back down the ladder to the deck below.

"Ok then," Logan said to himself, starting to scroll through the new information on his data tablet.

Damage to the outer hull, breach on deck 3 ventral Frames 132 to 155 - critical - significant damage from collision with freighter. Structural damage to deck 5 / 6 bow - not critical. Structural damage to deck 3 dorsal section frames 132 to 155 - not critical - further damage will lead to hull breach. Structural damage to deck 4 dorsal/port frames 132 to 155 - not critical. - further damage will lead to hull breach. Structural damage to deck 6 aft ventral section frames 160 to 200 - not critical; further damage will lead to hull breach. Engines inoperable, fault in primary and secondary drive capacitors - critical Engine 5 and 6 exterior damage - not critical - reduced speed Electrical shorts - Deck 3 - Deck 4 - Deck 5 critical - Deck 6 critical Auxiliary power deck 3 inoperable - not critical

The list went on...

The first report indeed downplayed the extent of the damages. Between the engine's being offline and all the structural damage, Logan could only hope the ship would be space-worthy. After getting rammed by the freighter, it would seem the Sparrow had a rough landing.

Lieutenant Kilder must have made some changes to the report. Logan wasn't sure why, but he would eventually find out.

The new damage report was uploaded to the damage control system by tapping a few buttons. Everything felt so archaic here. Whoever designed these ships needed a talking to.

It was no secret the Colonial Navy had drastically fallen behind in military technology, especially where the regular fleets were concerned. The Praetorian Fleet was another matter altogether; all development and resources had been funneled to them over the last few years, leaving the bulk of the main fleets outdated and even restricted to older technology.

Calling the rest of the fleet outdated was funny to Logan, considering the ship he was currently standing on.

Logan spent the rest of the day working on getting critical things taken care of. First up was a clean uniform; it made Lilith and him feel much better. After that, Logan organized the remaining crew into effective work parties. Lieutenant Kilder had yet to supply many directions to the remaining crew. 'Fix things' was the verbatim instructions they were given after he found a group of crewmen fixing lights on deck 4.

Chief Naher was handling the drive capacitors; he was elbow-deep in repairs when Logan checked on him again. Logan left one engineer with the Chief and split the remaining three between the other critical issues around the ship.

Forming three work parties around each engineer, they could start to put a dent in the repairs. Each party was assigned a Marine to help them. While the Marines couldn't fix anything, they were incredibly helpful at gathering supplies and moving things.

Lilith floated around, helping where she could. She was very good at organization and spent time making sure parts and equipment got to where they were needed.

The hull breach on deck 3 would take the longest to deal with; a complete repair outside of a dock would be impossible. The best they could hope for would be a rough patch. Leaving it alone would expose much of the aft section on deck 3 to vacuum.

Stopping at the heavy-looking blast door on deck 4, Logan realized it was the only way to access the ship's front section. The middle of the vessel was totally dedicated to the missile bays.

A complete tour of the ship would have to wait. Logan set out to find Emily; he hadn't seen her all day but now needed her help.

Surprisingly, Logan found Lilith and Emily together on deck 6 in the cargo bay. They were going through crates and pulling out items needed to help make repairs. As Logan approached them, Lilith waved happily; Emily turned crimson momentarily before waving at him.

"I need you for something, Emily," Logan stated. The crimson returned to her face, and Lilith giggled playfully.

"How can I help?" Emily asked, straightening herself out.

"I'd like you to head to the armory and give me an accurate accounting of what's there. There will be a meeting later to work out our game plan. I want to know what kind of equipment and weapons we have." Logan thumbed through the tablet again, looking at inventory records.

"Shouldn't that all be logged somewhere?" Emily questioned.

"It should, but I can't find it." Logan handed her the tablet. Emily spent a moment working her way through the tablet's information. "Here we go, uhhm. It says equipment used for special operation. Entry to be complete later." She frowned.

"They were probably in a hurry." Logan offered.

"Still, I'd like to chew their armory master out. Some sloppy work." Emily gave Logan the tablet back.

"I believe he died," Logan said softly.

"Ah..." Emily nodded awkwardly.

"Well! Why don't we get to work on that equipment list then? Emily, why don't you head up to the armory? I'll join you in a minute." Lilith squeezed Emily's shoulders reassuringly.

"Alright, will do." Emily set off.

Once she had gone, Lilith stepped into Logan and snuggled close. He put his arms around her and gave her a tight hug.

"What's up?" He asked, holding her.

"Nothing, just wanted a hug." She smiled.

Logan laughed and gave her butt a firm squeeze. She wiggled it in his hand.

"We could fit in a quickie," Lilith whispered into his ear. "I could slip right out of this jumpsuit and bend over a crate for you."

"That does sound like a lot of fun," Logan said, kissing her neck and giving it a few love bites.

Lilith moaned and pressed her breasts into him. "If you didn't cum so much, we could have sex in so many places."

"True, but I'm absolutely sure you love how much I cum now. When, not if, we make it through this, I'll have my own ship, and we can have sex all over it." Logan gave her soft butt another firm squeeze.

"Sounds like a promise to me," Lilith purred. They held each other for a minute longer before parting. "By the way, I still can't believe you asked THE High Admiral of the Colonial Navy for a ship."

"That was a spur-of-the-moment thing." Logan had kept his hand on Lilith's butt; she made no effort to remove it.

"It took some balls, Mr. Firth," She said playfully. "Speaking of your balls, I talked to Emily about her watching us.

"Oh?" Logan raised an eyebrow.

Lilith grinned seductively, "I can't share everything she said. A woman has to have some secrets. BUT! She promised it wouldn't happen again; Emily didn't mean to intrude. She didn't think we would be so 'quick to get naked and fuck', her words."

Logan laughed again, "I don't need to know what she shared with you; your conversation can stay between the two of you."

"She'll try to apologize to you; she doesn't feel too awkward about it. Just a little guilty for staying instead of closing the door." Lilith said.

"No harm was done, so I'm not upset." Logan gave her butt a final squeeze before turning to head to the elevator and taking Lilith's hand. "Come on, there's plenty more to do today."

"Yes, Sir!" Lilith giggled and followed him, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

***

By the time evening rolled around, Logan was tired. It had been a long day.

Logan, Lilith, Emily, and Lieutenant Kilder filed into the Captain's Office. It was time to discuss any ideas and plans for completing the mission the High Admiral had given them.

"Where do we stand?" The Captain asked, looking squarely at Logan.

"Good progress was made today. Chief Naher has fixed the primary drive capacitor; he should be able to get the secondary unit operational within twelve hours after he gets some sleep." Logan paused and looked through the list of repairs.

"He should be fixing it now," Kilder growled.

"The man has been working for almost twenty-four hours straight by himself. Tired people make mistakes, so it seems appropriate to make critical repairs with a clear head." Logan fired back.

"Continue Logan." Captain Norn prompted.

"The electrical faults on deck 5 that were listed as critical have been fixed. The issues on deck six have been more complex, but crews are progressing." Logan paused again, thinking about the work schedule for the next twelve hours.

"Captain, I can handle all these details; you should be resting," Kilder interjected.

"Are you going to interrupt me every time I pause?" Logan turned to the Lieutenant.

"I have had everything in hand; you messed my whole system up." Kilder was getting agitated.

"Lieutenant, you are here as a courtesy; you are the last line officer left on this ship, and quite frankly, I would have expected more from an ensign, let alone a lieutenant. I asked for you to be present because I'd like you to be a part of fixing this cluster fuck." Logan chided him.

Turning to The Captain, Lieutenant Kilder looked furious, "Captain! You can't let him..."

"Lieutenant, the XO is talking to you. Don't look at me, If you have a problem with it I suggest you take it up with the High Admiral," She had the tone of someone speaking to a child.

Kilder deflated and stood quietly. Logan watched him for a moment before continuing his report. "The hull breach on deck 3 is roughly fifty percent patched; there's much more work to do. Chief Naher wants to reinforce the patch from the outside once it's complete; if we opt to not reinforce it, he's pretty certain it won't hold for longer than a week."

"There are over a dozen additional things on this list marked as not critical, any time frame on a total repair? "Elinor asked.

"A week, maybe, with the current repair crews working ten-hour shifts. There's a lot of ground to cover. But none of those repairs should stop us at least getting airborne, which I should say is much safer than continuing to sit on the surface."

"Plenty more work for tomorrow then." The Captain took a deep breath. "Alright then, let's get down to business and talk about getting you to the administration building."