you think we should get back to work?” I asked, hopefully.
“Of course Gene – that's what I am getting at, if you'll let me talk. What I really wanted to talk about are those turrets, and getting those nasty reds and oranges off my caution-and-warning screens. You know those aren't good, right?”
“With all due respect, sir, I am not really thinking too much right now about those turrets. I have my hands pretty full at the moment keeping the tokamak pumping.”
“So how hard can it be? It's just fusar stuff. Don't you valve-turners use buttons for that sort of thing now?”
I stared at a sensor and willed it to go critical so I could legitimately swear at something. It was starting to look like I was just going to have to give up. The captain had my ear, and the only thing I could do was somehow weather this storm and hope I stay moored to the task at hand.
“Well sir, the last I heard, Shorty seemed to like most of the work I did, and is working on dialing in a few of the parts I built. She is just down to a few remaining plates in the loading rails.”
“What else is needed?”
“Dak, do you really need every last detail? If I told you the phased charge skip flopper needs to be counter punched before the hopper feed will close correctly, what would you say?”
“I'd say you sound like a bad science fiction novel, Gene. I read enough to know it when I hear it. In any case, you're right. I don't need to know every last bit of detail here. What I need is a birds-eye view of the process, some sort of rough idea how much longer we might have to wait before we can defend ourselves.”
“Fair enough Dak. Once she's done with parts and the loader assembly, the guns will need calibration, to be zeroed out so they aim accurately. This isn't something she can rush, the accuracy will need to be bang on.”
“Are you saying you can't do it, Gene?”
“Yes sir. That is exactly what I am saying. This is definitely a job for Shorty, I don't know the first thing about it. Furthermore, I am way too busy at the moment to learn the first thing about it.”
“Well, how long will it take her to do?”
I counted to ten, in standard wrench sizes.
“I haven't the foggiest Dak. Why not ask her?”
“Well I would Gene, but she's busy.”
I learned that I needed a sturdy grip on the grabbers before I could effectively beat my head against my console in null-g.
“Gene, I know you're busy, but I want you to be thinking of ways you might be able to help Shorty get the job done faster. You're the best, Gene. Shorty may know guns, but you know everything else. I need those guns... at these speeds, even a tiny rock could do a lot of damage. Those turrets come in mighty handy out here.”
At these speeds?
“Dak, how fast are we going at the moment?”
“You don't want to know, Gene, heck I don't even want to know – but that's the other thing I wanted to bring up. Janis has found a way we can go even faster!”
“Dak, I don't see any way I can take on another project right now. Did I mention that I am busy back here?”
“Well of course you are, Gene. You are busy working with Janis on making us go faster. If you're done talking at me, that is...” he trailed off, waiting to see if I was going to rise to the bait.
*****
The moment we dropped acceleration, I was up the ladder to the turret compartment, slapping every other rung as I pulled myself along, running through the list.
Lists define me, they define my day, they define everything. Why just this morning, I made a list to wake up, brush my teeth, get a bite to eat in the galley, then get to work on the turrets. On a day like today, there are occasionally some items that sneak onto my agenda, like getting trapped in a howler... but those are just distractions, not really important to put on a list.
My list right now is pretty long, but if I focus on each task without worrying too much about the next, before I know it the day will be done, and I
“Of course Gene – that's what I am getting at, if you'll let me talk. What I really wanted to talk about are those turrets, and getting those nasty reds and oranges off my caution-and-warning screens. You know those aren't good, right?”
“With all due respect, sir, I am not really thinking too much right now about those turrets. I have my hands pretty full at the moment keeping the tokamak pumping.”
“So how hard can it be? It's just fusar stuff. Don't you valve-turners use buttons for that sort of thing now?”
I stared at a sensor and willed it to go critical so I could legitimately swear at something. It was starting to look like I was just going to have to give up. The captain had my ear, and the only thing I could do was somehow weather this storm and hope I stay moored to the task at hand.
“Well sir, the last I heard, Shorty seemed to like most of the work I did, and is working on dialing in a few of the parts I built. She is just down to a few remaining plates in the loading rails.”
“What else is needed?”
“Dak, do you really need every last detail? If I told you the phased charge skip flopper needs to be counter punched before the hopper feed will close correctly, what would you say?”
“I'd say you sound like a bad science fiction novel, Gene. I read enough to know it when I hear it. In any case, you're right. I don't need to know every last bit of detail here. What I need is a birds-eye view of the process, some sort of rough idea how much longer we might have to wait before we can defend ourselves.”
“Fair enough Dak. Once she's done with parts and the loader assembly, the guns will need calibration, to be zeroed out so they aim accurately. This isn't something she can rush, the accuracy will need to be bang on.”
“Are you saying you can't do it, Gene?”
“Yes sir. That is exactly what I am saying. This is definitely a job for Shorty, I don't know the first thing about it. Furthermore, I am way too busy at the moment to learn the first thing about it.”
“Well, how long will it take her to do?”
I counted to ten, in standard wrench sizes.
“I haven't the foggiest Dak. Why not ask her?”
“Well I would Gene, but she's busy.”
I learned that I needed a sturdy grip on the grabbers before I could effectively beat my head against my console in null-g.
“Gene, I know you're busy, but I want you to be thinking of ways you might be able to help Shorty get the job done faster. You're the best, Gene. Shorty may know guns, but you know everything else. I need those guns... at these speeds, even a tiny rock could do a lot of damage. Those turrets come in mighty handy out here.”
At these speeds?
“Dak, how fast are we going at the moment?”
“You don't want to know, Gene, heck I don't even want to know – but that's the other thing I wanted to bring up. Janis has found a way we can go even faster!”
“Dak, I don't see any way I can take on another project right now. Did I mention that I am busy back here?”
“Well of course you are, Gene. You are busy working with Janis on making us go faster. If you're done talking at me, that is...” he trailed off, waiting to see if I was going to rise to the bait.
*****
The moment we dropped acceleration, I was up the ladder to the turret compartment, slapping every other rung as I pulled myself along, running through the list.
Lists define me, they define my day, they define everything. Why just this morning, I made a list to wake up, brush my teeth, get a bite to eat in the galley, then get to work on the turrets. On a day like today, there are occasionally some items that sneak onto my agenda, like getting trapped in a howler... but those are just distractions, not really important to put on a list.
My list right now is pretty long, but if I focus on each task without worrying too much about the next, before I know it the day will be done, and I
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