he adventures of the Star Traveler Andromeda that started in Among the Stars, Beyond the Farthest Planet, and So Far From Home, continues in the final chapter The Voyage Home.
CHAPTER 6 A
"What do I have the authority to do." Kacey asked, as she paced the floor.
"In regards to what?"
"Ensign Devoe? What can I do?"
Kate and Anya sat on the couch in their quarters after being released from Sick Bay. "Do you know for a fact that his actions in not replacing the wires were directly responsible for the explosion?" Kate asked.
Kacey stopped pacing for a minute. "Mike is still going through every piece of the console. So far the only cause he found is the wires shorted out, burned the insulation and arced against the other bare wires, started the fire and caused the explosion." She resumed pacing.
"How long will we be on this rock?"
"As long as it takes to go over centimeter of the hull to make sure there are no micro cracks. Plus Bella is still having problems with engine two. I want everything in perfect working condition before we lift off."
"Are you sure that it is not because you do not want to be in charge when we leave?"
"Been there done that did not like it one bit, so yes that is one of the reasons. But the others are true also."
"Please sit down. You are making me dizzy." Kate waited until Kacey sat down. "Do you think you can stop yourself from sending him out an airlock until I return to duty?"
"I can hold off as long as that lazy scumbag is not allowed to do any sort of work other than the garbage detail."
"All right. I will inform him of his new duty."
"Thanks Kate. Now I will let you rest." She stood up to leave.
"Wait Kacey. You are positive that you can prove negligence on his part?"
"One hundred percent, Kate."
"He filed a formal complaint against you. He stated that you insulted and yelled at him in front of others. That you also embarrassed him in front of his peers."
"He is correct. I did yell at him, but as far as insulting him, I only told him the truth. He is incompetent and lazy."
"I still have to hear his side in an informal hearing."
"You schedule it."
"Kacey this sort of complaint can go against your record. There could be repercussions."
"I am not afraid of repercussions Kate. Schedule the hearing."
"It will take some time, but I will let you know the date," Kacey stood again and left their quarters. Kate looked at Anya. Now I have to find three impartial people to sit on the bench."
"I suggest you go with civilians only. Any service people will be partial to either side."
"That is an excellent suggestion."
"Now that ship's business has been taken care of, how would you feel about going in and resting with me before the girls get out of school?"
"That sounds heavenly."
They walked into their bedroom. Together they laid on their bed and fell asleep in each other's arms.
---------------------------
Repair crews crawled all over Andromeda both inside and out. The techs crawled through access tubes as they changed wires and circuits that were blown out by the fusion pulse canons. Outside workers in EVA suits crawled over the hull. Their magnetic boots held them in place as they insta-welded all the micro cracks. Even scratches were treated to a weld. With only a few months left in space, no one wanted to take a chance of a hull rupture.
Marines, engineers and repair crews handled all the repairs to the Bridge. Long legs stuck out from under the consoles. The monitors were being replaced with all new wiring. Kacey's orders were to replace everything. Every nut, bolt, monitor, wire and circuit were gleaming new. The pieces of the damaged equipment filled the conference table as Mike and his hand picked inspectors examined each piece.
The conference room was locked to all unauthorized personnel as inspectors combed over each piece. An armed Marine or Security stood outside the door at all times.
In Engineering, Bella and her people tore apart engine two and rebuilt it from the bottom up. Kacey roamed from area to area for updates, smiling when the news was good. The doors to engineering were opened to allow air to circulate. Bella stood in a sleeveless shirt as she checked the latest installation.
"How is it going Bella?" Kacey asked as she walked into Engineering.
"Slow but good. We found the reason why that engine was giving us problems and running hot. It was a bad coolant relay valve that we have replaced. We should have that engine up and running in a couple days."
"That is good to hear. How was Rhea, this morning?"
"Grouchy that she is forced to take time off."
"There is a lot of that going around right now. Talia, dad, Kate and even Anya have the same case of the grouchies because of this enforced down time. I can understand what they are feeling."
"So every thing falls on your shoulders again." Kacey shrugged. "It is a good thing they are nice and strong."
"Let me know if you run into any problems or need a few extra engineers. My people are looking for things to do."
"Send them down. I will find things for them to do."
"You got it. I am headed to the Hanger now and will send you some qualified people."
She left Engineering and headed to the hanger. She checked the flight board. There were twenty vessels out at all times. With only partial shields and no sensors, Andromeda would be a great prize and easy to defeat if it were not for those smaller fighters. Kacey picked up the mike.
"Any Marines looking for a job to help get this ship back in the air report to the hanger office." Within a few minutes half of her troops not involved in the repairs stood in front of her. "Help is needed in Engineering. Those not scheduled for the next flight rotation report to Engineering." Several Marines walked out of the hanger. Kacey touched her communicator. "Bella there are a dozen volunteers headed your way."
"Than you Kacey."
The long day stretched into an even longer night. The Beta shift was almost finished when Kacey let her self into their quarters. Natalia was curled up on the couch asleep. She took her boots off in the living room and went to turn down their bed. She checked on their children and pulled their blankets up. Kacey gently picked Natalia up and carried her into the bedroom. She laid her on the bed and pulled the covers up. Natalia mumbled but did not wake. Grabbing her sleep clothes, she headed for the shower. There was dust, dirt and God only knows what else in places that became more irritating as the day wore on.
After her shower, she climbed into bed and waited for Natalia to curl into her arms. She closed her eyes and within seconds was asleep."
CHAPTER 6 B
"The time is zero six hundred hours." The computer stated, as the lights turned on. Kacey groaned and pulled her arm out from under Natalia's head.
"Time to get up?"
"For me yes. For you no." Kacey said and kissed Natalia's head before she headed into the bathroom.
"I will get you some breakfast." Natalia called out. She sat on the edge of the bed. Her muscles protested falling asleep on the couch while she waited for Kacey. She went into the kitchen where she noticed the untouched dinner plate she had left out for Kacey. She threw out the meal and started breakfast.
Kacey walked out of the bedroom dressed in clean fatigues, her hair still wet. "Sweetheart, you are supposed to be resting." Kacey protested.
"I will later, but you need to eat breakfast before you put in another endless day."
"I can grab something later."
"Sit Colonel." Natalia ordered as she placed a full plate in front of Kacey. "I know you did not eat the dinner I left out for you so eat."
"Yes ma'am." Kacey said. "Talia last night I didn't even see the dinner you left for me. I was beat when I came in."
"What time did you manage to get in?"
"It was after twenty three hundred hours. You were asleep on the couch. I checked on the babies, carried you to bed, took a shower and crashed."
"I tried to wait up for you, but..."
"Honey taking it easy does not mean you keep my hours. I love you for trying."
"Will this be another long day?"
"I am afraid so, but I will know definitely after I get all the repair updates."
"If everything is repaired before Kate returns to work, will we take off?"
"Part of me wants to say no, that we will wait until Kate is back in the command chair."
"What does the other part say?"
"That part says get the Hell out of here before those war ships find out where we are."
"If they could only go warp six, how long would it take them to get here?"
"We are about three point five million kilometers from where we were attacked. At warp six it would take them a minimum of five days to reach us. I hope to be gone before then whether Kate is in command or not. That will be a decision for after I get the report updates and talk to Kate and dad." Kacey finished her coffee. Natalia poured her another while she finished breakfast. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got slammed into a bulk head."
"I wish I could stay here and pamper you for the next week."
"Honey, I have sore muscles. I will live."
"Would you like me to get one of the day care workers in to help you?"
"No Kacey. You have enough on you right now. Your mother will be by in a little while to help."
"Would you like me to wait until the children wake up before I start my rounds of the damaged areas?"
"I would love for you to hold off, but the ship needs you more. Maybe you can get away for lunch."
"I will try." Kacey stood and put her arms around Natalia. They stood together for several heartbeats. "I would be content to stay like this for the rest of our lives."
"I would too. Unfortunately neither of us would get anything accomplished. Go to work Colonel. Make this universe safe for us all."
"Do my best Aman Cara."
Kacey left their quarters and stopped for a minute outside Kate's door before she continued to the lift. "Bridge" she said as the doors closed. Within seconds the lift opened. She stepped off the lift. "Lieutenant, anything to report?" She asked as the marine stood at attention. "As you were."
"We have replaced all the monitors and will have the rewiring finished in a couple hours. We will recalibrate and test them by this afternoon."
"That is good to hear Lieutenant. The smaller sensors on the Stingers will only take us so far. Good work."
"Ma'am, Colonel Anderson requested your presence in the conference room." Kacey nodded and went to the Conference room. She rang the chime. The door was opened from the inside. She stepped into the room to find two civilians as well as two marines.
"Colonel, I would like to introduce Mr. Lawrence McGill and Mr. Thomas Sickle. They are civilian contractors in charge of electrical engineering. I asked them for their thoughts on what we found."
"Gentlemen, it is a pleasure. What have you found?"
"We have examined every piece of wire from the sensor and navigational consoles. We have found that these wires," He picked up several wires, "are the cause of the fire and subsequent explosion. Mr. McGill stated and handed the wires to Kacey. She noticed the marks that she put on the wires.
"What caused them to catch fire?" She asked. "Before you answer that, I am certain of the answer and I would like it verified. I do not want to hear bull shit because you think that is what I want to hear or you think I am unfamiliar with electrical systems."
"Colonel, if you take a close look at the wires," he handed her a magnifying glass. "You will notice two distinct sets of scorch marks."
"I see them. And?"
"The first set of scorch marks is from when we came through the Kuiper Belt. Colonel Anderson said several wires blew out at that time."
"That is true. I spliced several to give us navigation and sensors until all the wires could be replaced. They were all supposed to be replaced after we left the belt."
"Do you know why these were not replaced?"
"Yes the Ensign assigned to that task was lazy, incompetent and negligent." Kacey stated. "Anything else you can tell me?"
"Yes, the second set of scorch marks were due to the remaining fibers trying to do the job of all the wires. Even though they tested as being within standards."
"They overheated?"
"Exactly and caused the fire which melted the insulation on the other cables causing the wires to arc against each other and caused the explosion."
"Gentlemen, thank you for your time and expertise on this matter. I ask you to put all your findings in a report and please keep your findings to yourselves until I am able to inform the Captain."
"Colonel Anderson has already explained that."
"I do have one more task for you to do. I need you to set up a little test."
"Certainly Colonel."
"This is what I need you to do." The men gathered around her.
--------
Kacey walked out of the conference room twenty minutes later. "I will be in engineering if you need me. She stated and stepped into the lift.
Engineering was still a beehive of activity when Kacey entered. Crew members and Marines crawled all over the big engines. Bella came out of her office with her arms full of schematics.
"Kacey we have good news. We will have engine two running by late afternoon. Your Marines are fantastic. Any time they want to switch service, let me know."
"Trying to steal my people is not very professional, Bella."
"Relax kiddo, those people are so loyal to you and the Marines it is nauseating." Kacey laughed. "We will do a test run right after that."
"If the test run is successful, when will we be able to fire up these puppies?"
"Tomorrow all right with you?"
"Yeah, the sooner we get off this rock the better."
"That means you will be calling the shots. Do me a favor, give that engine a chance to warm up a couple hours before you go to warp nine."
"That can be done. I am hoping the Doctor lets Kate take the command chair for our take off."
"Good luck with that."
"Keep me posted on how the test run goes." Kacey left Engineering and continued to the Hanger where she checked the flight board. She went into her office to check in with the repair crews on the hull. She looked over the Gamma crew report of the repairs. "Colonel O'Malley to hull crew supervisor."
"Lieutenant Davis here Colonel."
"How are the repairs coming?"
"We are doing the last section now. After that we will do an inspection walk through. Should be done by late afternoon."
"Excellent. I hope we can get off this rock tomorrow."
Kacey closed the link and started her computer. She pulled up the list of Andromeda's crew and found the name she needed. She pulled up his academy records. She frowned when she found two pictures of him with two different names. "Identical twins," she said as she read their academic records. "Two brothers as different as night and day. I hope Kate got the right brother, but something tells me she did not." She touched her communicator. "Kate?"
"Kacey, how are things in the trenches." Kate asked.
"Repairs are good. I need to talk to you and I can give you a full report then."
"Come on up. Natalia and the children are here."
"I will be there shortly." Kacey transferred the files to her hand computer and left her office.