Setting Up Ship & Shop

Posted on Thu Dec 26th, 2013 @ 11:56am by James Holbridge

DOCKING BAY

Jim sat at the helm of the Ghost , his eyes on a readout as he looked over the mods that the yard monkeys had made to his personal ship. Let’s see, tracking software, command-level overrides in vital areas, data piggy-back uplinks, and just a few added safeties that we took out “Artie,” Jim called out.

A hologram snapped on. “Yes, commander?” Artie, a derivative of Artificial Intelligence, was the sarcastic, sometimes cranky AI that ran the ships automated systems. “Sir, I think you should know that the yard technicians installed several inhibitor chips that could have disastrous effects on my operation of this vessel during all modes of flight.”

“Who authorized the work, Artie?” Jim asked.

“The orders were signed by Admiral Lucius Hawke, sir.”

Jim wrinkled his brow. Why in hell does the admiral want to know what my ship is up to? “Artie, scan the docking authorization for this ship? Are there any restrictions as to where we can go?”

None that my systems can detect, sir; although I am picking up additional pathways along the transponder signal route as well as a protocol designed to instantly upload the ship’s data to the station’s mainframe. Artie replied.

Jim shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing I can do about it now. Let’s get on with the post-upgrade shakedown.”

SIX HOURS LATER
HOLBRIDGE QUARTERS

The children were asleep, the lights were low, and Jim and Tricia were seated on the couch in the family room, sipping iced decaf and talking in low tones. “…yeah, honey it is a whole new ballgame now! The jarhead aviators are a helluva lot colder to me since I left. Now that I am back, they are just being royal dicks! Hell, Patrick won’t even talk to me!”

“Probably thinks you are there to spy on him, honey,” Tricia commented.

“He should know better than that!” Jim groused, taking a big sip of decaf. “After that little adventure, I went to the Ghost’s berth and did a post update check and found out the the deck crew put a whole bunch of hardware and software into the ship’s mainframe, with signed orders from Admiral Hawke.”

Tricia nodded her head, squirming over to where her husband was stretched out. She looked up into Jim’s eyes and saw that familiar frustration building. She knew he got that way when he perceived others were trying to place obstacles in his way. “Those software mods were my doing,” She said, resting her head on his chest. “I am the CEO of a multi-planetary mining company and the brass in charge would prefer it if they could have some idea of where I am. So I contacted the base civilian affairs liaison and apparently your branch division chief fast-tracked some stuff for the ship.”

Jim lookd down at her grinning face and relaxed. “As long as Artie can keep the ship running while you and the Team are aboard.” Jim quickly changed the subject. “How’s Dad taking your running this show?”

“He’s thrilled about the probe results we have sent him. He’s a little hesitant about setting up operations in the Achadean System where most of the heavy lifting will be done by females. But I figure we should bring him here so he can see for himself what those women can do.”

Jim shook his head. “Mom will deep fry his nuts and pitch them into the Gateway. He trusts you and I think it should stand at that”

Tricia stretched luxuriously across her husband’s lap, her ample cleavage showing more and more. Jim simply grinned and bent over to kiss her. Another corporate discussion over.

THE FOLLOWING DAY
BETA SHIFT

Jim entered the Intelligence spaces and quickly found his alcove/cubbyhole/office, which was pretty luxurious for a simple master chief warrant officer. The office was Starfleet chic, lots of soft blues and reds with a padded chair and desk, plus a workstation and a holographic viewer for planning operations. Jim knew he would have to work with Starfleet personnel on some missions but his entrance and egress protocols were his and his alone. Jim Holbridge could thread a needle at warp 3.35 and sneak into a heavily guarded prison and kiss the warden’s wife before anyone knew he had left, and with the exception of a couple people he knew he was the best in the Delta Quadrant.

Jim picked up an iso-chip and slid it into the holoprojector. A 3-D map of the station appeared, allowing Jim to study the various access points, possible entrance and egress routes, and other handy information. Study every place you occupy as though you have to escape it was the mantra over and over during training. Jim Holbridge was not getting caught in this giant floating Tinker Toy, not again

A post by

MWO Jim Holbridge
Studiously Engaged

&

Patricia Holbridge
Studdy Buddy