Peas in a Pod

Posted on Thu Feb 19th, 2026 @ 8:40pm by Lieutenant Varkl Brukh

798 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Echos on the Deck
Location: Hangar Deck
Timeline: Shortly after "Solutions"

Brukh stormed into the hangar facility at the bottom most level of the base and sought out the control room. It was fairly easy to locate having a spacious array of windows overlooking the launch deck enclosed with massive hydraulic doors on either side which indicated that the bay was currently pressurized. A short stroll along a gantry took him to the currently unsealed airlock door. Within he observed several crewmen at consoles, and one officer at a wide desk neatly organized with pads, stylii, and a steaming cup of liquid.

Upon entering the officer rose and crossed to meet the visitor. "You must be the new Chief Engineer. Glad to meet you, I am Lt. Colin Smith, acting Flight Deck OPS at your service."

"Likewise Lt. Smith. The captain has authorized me to take an inspection pod to look over the pylons; do you have any pilots available - I am fully qualified myself, but would like a backup so I may operate the sensors more accurately." Brukh inquired.

"Certainly, I can take you myself. As you can see we currently expect no arrivals or departures, so the controllers here can manage things." Smith replied. "The pods are in a separate launch bay, this way."

After a short stroll through the inner door and down a corridor, they arrived in a smaller bay containing the 2 pods suspended by magnetic clamps. Smith touched a control panel lowering one of the pods to the deck. "They are kept this way in case of depressurization, that way they can't be thrown about or pulled out the breach."

"Indeed!" Brukh commented, "As they would be necessary to repair damage on the exterior it is a wise precaution."

They boarded the small cramped capsule, sealed the door and depressurized the bay, a smaller door slowly opened to the void and the craft edged outside. Once a safe distance from the bay, Smith banked the pod upwards at an acute angle heading towards the pylon labelled with a massive green 'A'. All the paintwork on this pylon was likewise the same color scheme. Starting at the innermost edge they worked outward slowly hovering mere meters above the arm.

Brukh kept his eyes on the glowing sensor panel that was fine-tuned to detect any hairline cracks, breaches or hull weaknesses. After the first pass, they circled the pylon's docking array in a series of loops before returning along the same route back to the hub on the lateral side. "A pylon cleared, proceed to B." Brukh announced.

Smith revved the thrusters and the small vessel rolled around the central hub to the next arm marked with a red markings. They repeated the same flight pattern and emerged with the same result. Once again they underwent a roll along the bases' central core to meet the final pylon, this one marked in blue. The duo proceeded along the now-routine path outward from the hub, circling the outer array, then starting back along the opposite side. They were half-way along when Brukh called for a halt, "reverse thrust 2 meters and hold" he requested. The sensor shows a minor welding defect where two curved plates were joined. Overall it was negligible in normal operation, but under extreme stress the defect could widen into a crack.

"Position has been marked, I'll send an EVA team out with plasma torches to make sure this gets repaired." Brukh mused, now Mr. Smith once we finish this arm, I think we can manage one pass around the central core release system before returning to dock. Mind if I take the controls at that point?"

Smith grinned as he resumed course along the pylon's massive arm. Once at the junction he relinquished the pilots seat "be my guest."

Nestling into the warm seat and rapping meaty fingers from one hand around the control yoke he tapped the thruster control with the other, Brukh urging the capsule to sprint forward in a barrel-roll rising upward along the cylindrical hull before slowing as they arrived at the wasp-waist of the base where it joined the great rounded bubble of the primary habitat hull. This critical junction would sever the two sections in the event of an extreme emergency. Similar release systems were located where the pylons joined the cylindrical engineering hull they had just finished inspecting.

Smith gazed into the sensor console this time as Brukh executed the slow pass around the column. With all well he nudged the controls to return to the docking bay. With scant urging by Smith the pod entered the narrow doors, rotated 180 degrees and alit on the deck with the slightest of bumps. "Haven't lost my touch" the Tellarite quipped as the doors closed and he started shutting down the controls.

Lt. Varkl Brukh
Chief Engineer
Sentinel Starbase

 

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