A Common Delivery

[The Wayfarer]

The Wayfarer stared at his ship proudly. It was landed haphazardly on the earth, but not so that taking off would be too difficult. Only awkward. It was an old Muurian transport ship with a scratched starbird on it’s side. Oda had put the paint on it himself. The modifications, not so much. It boasted four twin ion engines altered so that they would fit the ship and all run simultaneously. Oda had no clue how it worked and could often only handle one engine working at a time.

Which meant he flew at speeds equivalent to a Hutt walking. While at top speeds the ship could match most tie interceptors. But, at the cost of some of its armament… Which Oda also had no clue about. The laser cannons and all torpedoes had been removed opting instead for the traditional and stylish top mounted rotary cannon. Which gave the ship the appearance of having a comical baseball cap look. He let his straw hat fall to his back and looked to the others.

“This, this is the Phoenix!” Oda said proudly with a wave of his arm, as if to illustrate his point an antenna on top of the boat flew off with a powerful gust of wind. A small quirk appeared above Oda’s eyebrow and he rushed over to the metal rod and kicking dirt over it he offered in explanation “It was cosmetic anyways…”

Then ushering the others towards the already lowered cargo ramp he showed them the goods. One ton of spice. It was condensed so that it appeared far less than it actually was, but it was all there… Oda smiled as he showed them their fortune.

“Here is the good’s we will be taking to Commenor, once the repairs are finished that is,” Oda said happily. He opened one of the crates to let them look inside, but he was sure to keep an eye on Jashin and Harli. He was still unsure about the two of them...


[member="Harli Hayes"] I [member="Ronak"] I [member="Jashin Vycarion"]

 

[Ronak]

Without being in any way a master in mechanics or ship construction, Ronak eyed the ship suspiciously when they arrived at the site. The smell of oil, burnt plastic and molten metal parts did not feel reassuring either. Growling in a low voice, his neck‘s fur was standing slightly on edge, while the antenna dropped and quickly was hidden under layers of sand. „cosmetic“ Oda called it. Hopefully, it was. Just in case, he took a careful glance at Harli‘s face. Did she share this opinion?

The „phoenix“ looked like the rise from the ashes was still ahead of it, if it would ever happen. At the site of the containers with spice, Ronak‘s eyes narrowed. His last run-in with these substances and their users bore no good memories. Hopefully, these containers were leak-tight – just the smell of the stuff made his head spin.

„Can I do anything to help?“, he offered just to anyone in general. „I‘m not a trained mechanic, but I can learn quickly.“

[member="The Wayfarer"]
[member="Harli Hayes"]
[member="Jashin Vycarion"]

 

[Roth Likonis]

“This, this is the Phoenix!”

"Muurian...you don't see those too often nowadays." Said Jashin simply, stepping up to the craft. Appreciatively, he ran a hand across the lower hull, noting the unevenness of the hull plating. It was old and scratched, and he could also see a lot of the weapon mounts missing their weaponry - with the exception of a dorsal turret. The ship mounted non-stock engines, definitely not Muurian design, maybe SoroSuub? Two of which had been installed in new mountings. Obviously modified. "Should be fast...you sacrificed weapon power for auxiliary diversion to the engines. It's a big ship, though, how did you fly this without a co-pilot?"

As he finished speaking, a large gust of wind picked up, and Jashin slouched into his jacket - turning against the salt spray. With a creak and a groan of metal, one of the dorsal sensor receivers tore off and landed on the ground, making Jashin wince.

“It was cosmetic anyways…”

Slightly horrified, Jashin watched as the odd monk kicked sand on the receiver in an attempt to cover it up. As they entered the cargo hold, he surreptitiously dug the antenna out with his foot - hefting it up into his hands, looking it over. Catching Harli's eye, he offered her the receiver. "We're...going to have to recalibrate this. We won't have sensor coverage port-side aft otherwise."

“Here is the good’s we will be taking to Commenor, once the repairs are finished that is,”

Jashin's attention was torn away from the ship at the mention of the supposed goods. Walking over to the crate, he gingerly reached in and took out one of the Spliffs from its carton. The devices stored and dispensed spice - they also had setting that dispensed nearly imperceptible amounts so that a dealer could test potency. Careful to make sure his movements were slow and deliberate - he didn't want anyone getting too excited - he hit the ejector on the side of the thin tube, depositing a minuscule grain of the stuff on his finger. Just as carefully, he put the Spliff back in its carton - the tube only a fraction of a gram lighter. Taking his finger, he rubbed the grains of spice on his upper gums, paying attention to flavor, tingle, and sensory effects.

Like being hit by a speeder truck, Jashin staggered to the side almost immediately - having to grip a wall for support. "Whoahoho! Whoo! Fraking karkin' hell!" Shaking his head side to side, trying to clear the dizziness, Jashin smiled - perhaps a little too wide and a little too sincere - at the rest of the group. "High purity, with euphoric properties...could be Carsunum, maybe Sansanna...if we're damn lucky, it'll be Ryll. It's a karking fortune either way you look at it." He shook his head again - once, twice, three times total.

"We need to move this. If those hunters we ran into realize we have this...if anyone realizes we have this...ohh boy, the blood would rain from the sky. I mean, people kill over this much money; and governments put you in a deep, dark hole. Faster we get rid of it, the better." As he talked he walked up the length of the ship to the cockpit. Sliding into the pilot's chair, he flicked a few switches for main and auxiliary power - the ship humming in response. Turning on a screen to his left, he ran a standard system diagnostic; almost immediately alarms and warning lights started to go off. "Son of a Gundark! You weren't kidding!

It took a few minutes, but Jashin eventually narrowed down the needed repairs and matched it to the parts they currently had. "Plasma coils in the reactor needs to be re-aligned, else the fuel efficiency will be too low to activate half the ship systems, including engines. Coolant pumps need to be flushed, drive lines need to be cleared, and the coupling motivators disconnected; damn salt has everything gummed up. Once it's flushed, all we have to do is cleanse the drive system with plasma and recycle the coolant to get engines back up and running."

Jashin took a breath, scrolling through half a dozen other myriad problems, before settling on one that had him particularly worried. "Harli? have experience with power converters and flux plasma manifolds? Ship says there's a problem in the main motivators that it can't diagnose. The interchange system is vital between the reactor and the rest of the ship systems...if there's a variance, it could be what's causing the problems between our power core and the engines. Not to mention that if it goes out during flight...well, we could have problems ranging from flickering lights to a case of the spontaneous explosions."

Jashin flipped through some other maintenance issues, before shutting the screen off. "There's some other ones here...something about potential reactor leaks and faulty safety seals..." Jashin waved a hand dismissively. "Like I haven't herd that before. After all is said and done, have to recalibrate the engines and repulsors - most of that is ship computer work - so...maybe three hours of work? Maybe two and a half if Harli can find the motivator problem. Oh, and the port sensor antenna."

If there was one thing Jashin knew, like the back of his hand, it was ships. How they worked, how they flew, their models and their manufacturers...it was his dream to own one of his own someday. Maybe that day was close approaching - with the money from the spice, he could probably afford his own ship. Hell, his choice of ship even; and not some used one from a junker either, but a brand new one, right off the factory floor. The possibilities were endless; as was the amount of potential trouble he could get into.

„Can I do anything to help?“, he offered just to anyone in general. „I‘m not a trained mechanic, but I can learn quickly.“

"Sit your butt in the co-pilot seat. I need your help with switches, valves, and pressure systems." Jashin stood up from the pilot's chair and leaned over the co-pilot's seat, tapping on a display. A few more taps, and a spiderweb diagram of various ship systems came up. "This is the drive system. When I say flush, you hit this button. When I say purge, you hit this button. When I say test, you hit this button. Under no circumstances do you hit this button at any fracking time...you'll flood the ship with coolant, which is, I might add, highly poisonous."

[member="Ronak"]
[member="The Wayfarer"]
[member="Harli Hayes"]

 

[Ronak]

Curiously, Ronak followed Jashin into the cockpit, pausing for a moment before entering. They had never let him even near a cockpit on his old ship, at best he could run deliveries for the machine crew. Darting to and fro he had to bring tools which half of the time were right which was quite a high percentage for someone without any previous experience or formal training. Cautiously, he took his seat in the co-pilot‘s chair, while his eyes darted from display to lever to button. There was so much to see and learn here.

Button one, large bluish – flushing. Button two, medium brownish – purging. Small button under the display – testing. Button four, medium black – releasing the coolant. That sounded nasty. The word ‚poisonous‘ alone made his fur stand on end. Letting his eyes dart again from one button to the next repeating the commands in his head, Ronak finally nodded: „Understood.“

Then, he turned his attention to the screen. The diagram looked more like a forest spiders‘ intricate net structure than any useful information to him. Some parts were highlighted in different colours, making it more interesting, but he had no idea what the different parts actually meant. „What do the different parts and signals mean?“, he finally dared to ask Jashin pointing on the display and eyeing the man curiously
Curiously, Ronak followed Jashin into the cockpit, pausing for a moment before entering. They had never let him even near a cockpit on his old ship, at best he could run deliveries for the machine crew. Darting to and fro he had to bring tools which half of the time were right which was quite a high percentage for someone without any previous experience or formal training. Cautiously, he took his seat in the co-pilot‘s chair, while his eyes darted from display to lever to button. There was so much to see and learn here.

Button one, large bluish – flushing. Button two, medium brownish – purging. Small button under the display – testing. Button four, medium black – releasing the coolant. That sounded nasty. The word ‚poisonous‘ alone made his fur stand on end. Letting his eyes dart again from one button to the next repeating the commands in his head, Ronak finally nodded: „Understood.“

Then, he turned his attention to the screen. The diagram looked more like a forest spiders‘ intricate net structure than any useful information to him. Some parts were highlighted in different colours, making it more interesting, but he had no idea what the different parts actually meant. „What do the different parts and signals mean?“, he finally dared to ask Jashin pointing on the display and eyeing the man curiously.


[member="The Wayfarer"]
[member="Jashin Vycarion"]
[member="Harli Hayes"]

 

[Harli Hayes]

The Phoenix, that's what Oda named his ship. A very appropriate name given it current state. A few dents and scrapes here and there. Some original parts had been replaced or modified, some were gone entirely. She was sure she had flown in worse ships, but couldn't remember the name of them. With some work, though, this Phoenix could rise again once more to get them off planet.

A slight gust of wind almost pushed that optimism away as a sensor reciever toppled off the ship. She stared at Oda as he tried burying it with his foot. Closing her eyes, she began to wonder if this flight would be her last. Letting out a small sigh, she opened her eyes and took the reciever from Jashin before following the group into the ship.

There, in the cargo hold, was the shipment of spice that Oda had told them about. Harli's nose crinkled some at the sight. She wasn't a fan of it and had seen what it does to other beings. Transporting it didn't sound all that fun, but she needed the credits. Her eyes narrowed some and her ears lowered a little as she watched Jashin test some of the spice. She wasn't sure if that was a wise decision, but kept her opinion to herself.

"I know enough to get them working again." She responded when Jashin asked how much she knew about power converters and plasma manifolds. With that, she made her to the back of the vessel. The power converter was easy to find, and so was the problem. Well...one of them. The first was the thin layer of salt that had gathered on everything. The second was the large number of wires that didn't seem to belong, all leading to a box that looked as if it was just welded to the wall.

"Hey Jashin." Harli called him over the intercom. "Other than the salt that needs cleaned off. There's a lot of unnecessary wiring down here. Kinda looks like they were running a lot off this thing then they should have. Could be drawing to much power away from the main motivator."

[member="Ronak"]
[member="Jashin Vycarion"]
[member="The Wayfarer"]

 

[Roth Likonis]

„What do the different parts and signals mean?“

"Repair diagnostics use a simplified diagram to illustrate integrity, pressure, power flow, and other such information. The nodes in the center of the web are core systems in order of importance; reactor, life-support, inertial dampeners, engines, hyperdrive, artificial gravity. The lines connect them to subsystems, motivators, pressure and feed lines, power converters - the colors of those lines combined with shorthand symbols indicate their status and function. The outlying nodes signify non-critical systems, like sensors, comms, waste-reclamation, shields, and weapons; systems that while important, that, if they shut off, aren't going to potentially instantly kill us. If you tap on a node, it will bring up a more detailed schematic and computer analysis." As he spoke, he shrugged off his jacket, revealing the spring-rig and hold-out blaster on his left arm. After a moment's hesitation, he took the rig off - though detached the blaster and slipped it into his pocket. Rummaging around in a nearby service panel, he retrieved a basic repair kit - complete with miniature tool set - and made his way to the rear of the ship past harli - and into the small and cramped engine room. Another service panel later, and he was under the deck plating, on his back, taking a hydrospanner to a plasma coil.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It took a while, but the plasma coils were re-aligned; he had zapped his hand pretty bad when one of the damned things arced at him - a sign of a bad electromagnetic seal, but there was nothing to be done till they put in at a proper port. Disconnecting the coupling motivators, Jashin shook his head at the salt that was built up on the interior seals. "Damn thing is airtight...except for heat interchange and drive lines. Static repeller field is probably off or out of calibration." As he muttered to himself, he took a driver to the inside of the seals, removing the salt thoroughly before hooking them back up.

"Hey Jashin."

The sudden noise over the comlink he had grabbed before wriggling under the deck plating made him jerk, banging his head on the pipe above him loudly. "Son-of-a-Gundark! Kriff!" There wasn't a lot of room to move in these tiny access vents, all around was piping, wiring, valves, and other guts of the ship. Hitting the comlink, he thumbed the receiver button, calling back to Harli. "What's up sweetheart?"

"Other than the salt that needs cleaned off. There's a lot of unnecessary wiring down here. Kinda looks like they were running a lot off this thing then they should have. Could be drawing to much power away from the main motivator."

"Ahh...yeah, I was afraid of that. When diagnostic can't come up with a root cause of a problem, it's usually 'cause something outside of the computer's stock parameters is causing it. That typically means ship modifications or parts non-compatible with the manufacturer." Jashin wiped some sweat off his forehead, smearing some grease around while he was at it. "I figure it probably has something to do with the extra engines we saw...but be sure to use a power scanner and make sure those lines go to the engines. Don't wanna start shutting things off without knowing what they do."

Wiggling backward, cutting his arm slightly on a loose valve-stem, he shimmied backward out of the access vent, swearing as he did so. "Kriffing karking son of a frelling-" This continued some time. Eventually, though, after verifying the motivator couplings were sealed, and the drive lines opened, he thumbed the comlink for Ronak. "Wolfy! Purge the system, then flush it, ok? Purge, then flush!" It was slow work. Salt had crept up through the interchange in the engines into the fuel lines itself. Again, bad seals and non-existent static repellers. "Purge again, flush again, purge again...flush, flush, flush again." Slow going...the salt could ignite with the fuel, building up impurities in the engine manifolds. "Okay...test...and cross your fingers or paws or whatever."

[member="Ronak"]
[member="The Wayfarer"]
[member="Harli Hayes"]

 

[Ronak]

Jashin‘s flood of words almost made his head spin. If he was lucky, he understood the meaning of three in four terms and could guess the rest. Nonetheless, intense amber eyes followed every movement of his fingers along the display pointing at shorthand symbols mentioning system names the wolfman tried to memorize. His concentration was so intense that he almost did not notice, Jashin rearranging for the repair duties. Appreciatively, he nodded at the man in passing. „I‘ll wait for your commands.“

While Jashin was doing whatever work he was doing, he reiterated the buttons‘ effects, systems and symbols in his mind and even tried tapping a few to see some details. „Wolfy“, he heard on the comm, making his ear twitch in irritation. „Purge then flush“, Jashin ordered. First Ronak pressed the brownish button, then the bluish one. Some light blinked on the display indicating that the system responded. „Purge and flush again.“ Very well, let‘s repeat it again and again.

After the fifth repetition, something changed on the display. Some subsystems which had been orange to reddish coloured on the screen turned yellow-greenish. „Looks like it‘s working“, he yelped into the headset. „Three parts turned yellow to green now, but there are still some systems left which are marked red. Should we continue?“

[member="Jashin Vycarion"]
[member="Harli Hayes"]
[member="The Wayfarer"]

 

[Harli Hayes]

Harli listened to what Jashin was telling her, but at the same time mentally tracing wires from the box outwards. "Will do." She turned her attention to the toolbox nearby and began to dig around in it. All assortment of tools were crammed into the box. Finally, she pulled out a power scanner.

One bundle of wires at a time, that was how she had to do it. At least to get it right if they didn't want to crash on this rock...again. Harli eventually found what went where and what didn't have any use entirely. All the engines were drawing power at a significantly reduced rate. Most of the power was being diverted to non essential systems, or shorting out from to much draw. Harli uploaded the information to Jashin. "Looks like the engines are all ready to go, but power keeps getting sent to other places. I've disconnected several non essential items. So now we have enough power to run two engines at full power. I'll let you decide if we need to get rid of anything else."

 

[Roth Likonis]

„Looks like it‘s working...Three parts turned yellow to green now, but there are still some systems left which are marked red. Should we continue?“

Jashin listened intently to the report, shaking his head slightly. “Three? Only three? This karking ship...” He didn’t answer the canid over the comms, instead walking back to the cockpit to see the screen himself. It was as Ronak had said, though; plenty of subsystems were still indicating issues. “No...no we don’t need to continue, not until Harli fixes the -“ No sooner had he said that, then did a sizable chunk of systems flicker from red and yellow to green, and Harli’s voice crackled through the intercom.

"Looks like the engines are all ready to go, but power keeps getting sent to other places. I've disconnected several non essential items. So now we have enough power to run two engines at full power. I'll let you decide if we need to get rid of anything else."

Jashin stared at the display screen, taking in the words - processing them. “Probably mismatched motivators in the power distributors...shunts extra energy to the desired system, but throws things out of calibration over enough time.” Jashin tapped the diagnostic screen several times, then slapped a hand on the intercom. “Harli, open up the main motivator, and look for excess or faulty motivator plugs...there should be a few. Once you’re done I need you in the copilot seat; I’ll need you to manually balance the power distribution while we’re in flight. We’re just about ready for pre-flight and takeoff.”

[member="Ronak"]
[member="The Wayfarer"]
[member="Harli Hayes"]

 

[Harli Hayes]

"Roger that." Harli replied before heading over to the main motivator. The cover for the motivator didn't exactly come off easily, but after a little persuasion, she pried it open. A quick scan told her exactly what Jashin had suggested. Several faulty plugs staring back at her. Within a minute or two, she had them removed and replaced. Luckily the ship at least had some spare parts.

Harli closed the cover to the motivator and made sure it was secure. Once down she made her way to the cockpit. On her way, she passed by Jashin. "Plugs are replaced. Hopefully that helps get us off the ground." She entered the cockpit and dropped into the copilots seat.

[member="Jashin Vycarion"]
[member="Ronak"]
[member="The Wayfarer"]

 

[Ronak]

Ronak listened intently to the comm reports and tried to come to terms with what the screen showed him and the reports of his companions. Wide-eyed, the wolfman stared at the sudden change on the main screen. Most of the systems which had just glared red at him, turned yellow and finally green. "What ever you did, Harli, Jashin, was really brilliant!", he yelped in appreciation.

“Harli, open up the main motivator, and look for excess or faulty motivator plugs...there should be a few. Once you’re done I need you in the copilot seat; I’ll need you to manually balance the power distribution while we’re in flight. We’re just about ready for pre-flight and takeoff”, Jashin announced on the comm. Ronak breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, they could leave this cursed desert planet. Little good had come from it except for meeting his new and old acquaintances.

Before Harli entered the cockpit, the wolfman stood up from the co-pilot's seat he had occupied for keeping an eye on the controls. Unsure what his job would be now, he waited for the others to arrive. "Is there anything helpful, I can do now?", he asked as Harli entered and took her position in the co-pilot's chair. "Otherwise, I would just stay and try to learn."

[member="Harli Hayes"]
[member="Jashin Vycarion"]
[member="The Wayfarer"]