Chapter 7

The major difference from the shore establishment was that physical entry into the various action stations was much more difficult than in the school's mounts. After several exercises in group entry, an exercise 'Action Stations for Students' was called clearly exposing the students' clumsiness of movement in confined space and even worse in zero gravity. Still practice makes perfect but for a while even TJ had doubts — his big frame hit every edge and he maintained that corners lived and reached for him; Morg just seemed to glide everywhere. The Instructors assured them that the suits would withstand anything the students could do to them unless they started shooting at one another and the Instructors pointed out that small arms training was not going to happen on their watch.

The weapon on "Artemis" were the best maintained in RMN; repetitious practice maintenance actually wore them out faster than similar mounts in service — four 'weekly' maintenance sessions in a day, particularly from relatively ham handed beginners did that.

The weapons on "Artemis" were a Gunnery Officer's nightmare as no two were even similar let alone mods of one type other than groupings as 'main armament', 'anti shipping weapons' and 'point defence'. Point defence was the most difficult as the number of types was legion — appeared that every Director of Gunnery coming into the Admiralty had his own idea and introduced it. The result of those little power plays was that each class of warship had its own design of PD weapons — 'so expect detailed specialised training on joining a ship'.

School training in emergencies was extended to making repairs of simulated damage 'upstream' of the mounts and that necessitated exposure to naval architecture which was said to be made relatively easy by the adherence of the designers to certain principles. The students' problem was to identify which principle applied in the instant case — each mount had been fitted during a different era and set of principles.

Whilst the students spent more time in skinnies than did the regular crew, most of their time was in work dress. This made movements somewhat easier but removed a layer of protection and probably made the student a bit less attentive. TJ found a place he should not have put his unprotected hand and found himself gazing up into the worried faces of his friends from a bulkhead some metres from where he had put his hand. His friends were intrigued at the visible healing of the burnt hand but as TJ admitted he had always been a 'fast healer'. Ivy spent the next several days making TJ squirm with her persistent interrogation of him interspersed with PDA searches whenever in range of a planetary source. She was broadening her investigations to include Morg when the men were saved by fate dealing them a 'royal flush'.

...

"This is a Suit, Extra Vehicular Activity, Independent or Tethered, Mark 3 Mod 5 aka 'hard suit'. You will rarely see the outside of one let alone the inside as using one of these requires completion of a year long specialised course and then you are posted to a specialised department administered from the Admiralty and farmed out on loan to individual ships, usually Heavy Lift Repair Vessels (HLRV) of which there are two in the whole of the RMN.

The justification for introducing you to the beast is that in its tethered role it can be used in a manner similar to the skinny in vacuum with extras. You can survive, untethered, for nine days in vacuum in one of these things — you will get very hungry but you will survive for that time. There are small 'jets' on the suit which will allow you manoeuvre in three planes for as long as the power lasts being aware that the same power is maintaining life support. The coms are far more powerful and longer ranged.

External connections are identical to those of skinnies.

The exterior gives absolute protection against radiation in hard vacuum and present issue projectiles; beam protection extends to Class 3. Blast protection is absolute specifically for the blast but your fate is determined by the impact you make against whatever stops you. It's a nice technical exercise to calculate survival being blasted off the outside hull and having to use your jets to reverse your momentum and return.

You open the suit by..."

"You will be expected to be able to enter a hard suit with umbilical attached and work on the outside hull and we will practice that for one session so that if a real true emergency occurs and you are the absolutely only one available, you can at least put the thing on. (SIGH) Except for TJ and Morg. You pair are going to get the maximum we can cram into you in the next six weeks in addition to the rest of the work. If anyone else wishes to join please feel free. Our reasons for conscripting you pair is that as sure as the Deity saves sinners, you will, at some time in your navy career, be ordered into hard suits as part of a boarding party probably in a nasty situation even if the Leathernecks are available; and so for your own protection you get the preliminary training and your records will carry the documentation and certificate. We will start at end of watch."

"Suits." TJ's circuitry had gone into overdrive "To reinforce the teaching, I want to work in a weapon mount, no gravity, no air, with power on but with the firing circuits disabled, and train the mount under manual control. When Morg and I are satisfied, we want to work outside untethered. While inside the hull, Ivy can be 'safety' so she is on the course but while outside, full back up crew. Suits?"

The Chief Instructor was taken aback by the rapidity of the request, but he was quick on his feet — he had to be to stay ahead of students who were interested and this was still a volunteer navy,

"Inside, no problem; duty crew will be available to back stop Sorensen. For EVA we'll need Captain's permission but the school can provide the support crew. We start this end of watch."

The EVA was so much hogwash. TJ and Morg would undertake several but it was a cover for the time in the mount with Ivy as lookout. They could perform their experiments out in the open with official sanction.

Morg had been examining the project in his mind and in discussion with his friends had realised that the maser weapon provided both the necessary energy and the aiming mechanism — the problem had been access and fate had dealt them a winning hand.

Only the trio underwent the additional instruction as none of the others could see advantage and definite disadvantage. Ivy was chortling; she claimed that with this certificate, her entry into the "Armed Offenders SWAT" was a lay down misere; she would be better qualified than her seniors in the 'force'. TJ and Morg were being crushed by the suits and were most uncomfortable; but the chance to test the device...

The extra work was not as easy as the school because the technical aspects of entering hard vacuum were formidable even on the year course and here only six weeks were available. At beginning of fourth week, TJ called for a turret exercise. As TJ hoped, the CI and his minions stayed scrupulously away but had ensured coms were established to the duty crew.

TJ and Morg did the check list for the suits; then sealed themselves and performed the next check to their and Ivy's satisfaction. Ivy gave them the "go".

"Director, Hobson plus one with safety, for Mount 5."

"Hobson, clear to enter 5, for no gravity, no air, manual control; disable firing circuits on entry."

The Gunnery Officer had detailed one of his seniors to the duty and TJ has spent an hour after the forenoon watch establishing the work sheet.

Morg and TJ undogged the hatch and entered the mount; Morg inserted his com jack into the door plug and Ivy did the same on the outside. They exchanged greetings and then closed the hatch. The joints of the hard suit did offer resistance to movement so there was a decided thud as the hatch shut; the hatch swung into the hull to open and the hatch seated itself as the Director allowed the mount air to escape. TJ floated to the control box and removed the firing breakers placing them into the clips on the side of the box. Morg pulled himself into the layer's position and strapped in. TJ broke open the breech mechanism and visually checked the generator was in position and called

"Five, firing breakers out, generator visually checked present and electrode appears within limits."

"Five, firing breakers test here confirm inoperative. Start your work."

"Position report." Morg requested and the information appeared on the repeater in front of him. Morg did some rapid mental calculations and started to spin the training wheels

"Coming to red zero four seven point nine three down zero seven two point one one" and when at that position remarked, "nearly seven seconds" and as a clock in his head counted down punched the switch and the mount began a gentle swing.

TJ meantime had placed their circuit on the electrode, and made his connections with temporary clamp leads (The antenna did not require more than a trickle of power.). He closed the mechanism, threw the control for the gain chamber to charge and passed a connection to Morg to insert into his PDA to record instant of firing. He notified Director,

"Charging, following pointer; simulated firing" and with a slight pause as his mental clock wound down "Now" and pressed the stud. The gain chamber charge fell to zero and began recharging. Morg made a further minute change to the gyroscopic control and the exercise was repeated several times. Visualising "Artemis'" track in orbit, Morg made further calculations and adjusted the pointers and mount positioning — he asked TJ to check his figures only to get a rude noise in reply

"They are correct to first decimal — you know I can't better you in calculations."

They did several 'runs' and then undertook post firing maintenance procedures with confirmation that firing breakers were replaced and control of the mount returned to the Director. TJ had removed the antenna circuit and placed it in side pocket of the suit and the duo waited for atmosphere to be restored

"Cripes" Ivy warned "here comes the Master-at-arms and he looks right brassed off."

They had to wait anyway, for the mount pressure to stabile before attempting the hatch — using the power to open the hatch could have sucked the hull occupants explosively into the mount and the interior of the mount was neither smooth nor padded. Morg smiled hugely at TJ and extracted his PDA from the side pouch of the hard suit. The pressures equalised, the hatch swung free and Morg leaned into it to push it open. He extracted his com umbilical and gave Ivy a thumbs up. Morg made an ostentatious performance of replacing his PDA and gave Ivy a beaming smile.

"Director, Hobson plus one, clear, and Mount 5 hatch secured inside hull. Thank you."

"Not a problem, TJ. The Master there yet?"

"Yeh; what's he want?"

"The Captain wants to see you. Guns came in while you were play ... uh, exercising and got a bit excited. Seems to think you are some sort of mathematical genius or something."

"Not me; Morg's the whiz kid. Gotta go, got a checklist to finish."

Ivy had the manual open at the correct entry and the men scrolled the appropriate place on the HUD (heads up display), diligently working down the line items until the series was complete. They broke seal and removed headpieces.

"That worked well;" said TJ "that work would usually be done wearing sealed shinnies but it was a good safe environment to start for us — a couple more and we would be ready for a short EVA."

"If you're lucky" growled the Master-at-arms "I don't know what you've been up to and seeing I haven't heard a whisper, I don't want to know, but the Captain wants to have a word. Stat."

"In hard suits?" Ivy asked some what incredulously — hard suits were not approved as uniform nor for movement about the ship.

The Master-at-arms knew the regulations better than Ivy did and waved them down the companionway towards the Equipment Locker where the men removed the hard suits carefully performing all the tasks required with Ivy continuing to refer to the Manual. That was sheer showmanship as both TJ and Morg had the information in their memory banks and had been tested several times by Ivy as to its correctness and completeness. Morg made another performance of handing his PDA to Ivy 'for safekeeping'; the men straightened themselves and departed to their interview. Ivy locked up and returned to her quarters to get out of her skinny and secure Morg's PDA in his locker.

...

"Gunnery Students Hobson and Windsor, Ma'am."

TJ and Morg stood rigidly before the woman who, on this ship, discussed the likelihood of space storms with the Deity as an equal. Guns sat to her right at the end of her desk. The Captain's office was not a large size and the lower deckmen were brushing the chairs in front of the desk.

She looked at the students from under her eyebrows for a few seconds, pushed her chair back, waved at the three chairs

"Sit, the three of you; this is a very informal chat. Guns had told me of your little sortie and it brings up some very important matters. Now, Master, tell me how come this."

She had picked up and waved the EVA planning sheet off her desk and passed it to the Master-at-arms. The Master explained the reasoning of the School's exposing certain students to EVA.