When we weren't putting out fires both literal and figurative, HabEn personnel tended to be fairly easy to get along with. As long as you were good at your job and didn't mind a little bit of gallows humor, you could fit right in. I didn't have any experience working on stations when I got the job on Hamilton. I had started in the Martian shipyards, back when engineers were in high demand because of the fighting around Ganymede and Europa. We had a lot of people coming from the colonies to find work, and it was the first time I had been around anyone that wasn't from my rock. By the time I transferred to the Hamilton I knew my way around an Olympus-class battleship like it was the back of my hand. Work around a station had a completely different dynamic, almost entirely due to the enclosed atmosphere. Since you were also living with the people you worked with, you either built camaraderie with your co-workers or you seriously floundered. I've met a few outcasts and loners on the Hamilton, and they were some of the saddest sacks in the solar system. This wasn't a position where you could afford to be antisocial.
As the ranking HabEn staff member I had a handful of additional responsibilities stacked atop my normal duties. Half of my time was spent supervising the other engineers and sending reports up to Admin, and the other half was spent making sure that the station didn't explode in a spectacular fashion. I'm exaggerating a little, but not by much. The incident with the space rock was atypical; my job normally doesn't get as interesting as that. I was back to making my rounds in no time.
"Bhatia, is this duty report accurate?" I looked up from my tablet and, judging by Bhatia's amused reaction, I probably looked more than a little surprised.
"Have I ever submitted an inaccurate report?" he replied. Smart ass.
"How the hell is R&D pulling this much power? The solar banks won't-"
"I know, it's ridiculous. They've tripled their consumption in the past week. Tripled, Vee." He looked as annoyed as I felt. "When I went down there to ask about it I was turned away by the officer at the door. They said that access to the labs is restricted, and that Admin said that HabEn is only allowed in if we're specifically requested or if there's an emergency."
"That's unacceptable. They're directly interfering with our job and with station safety. If we're not allowed to go in to service the labs..." I trailed off once I realized that I was ranting. Bhatia knew exactly why this was a big deal, he was an engineer. "Just keep things from blowing for the time being. This kind of output isn't sustainable, and I'm going to make sure that both Admin and R&D understand that."
"Good luck, Vee. We're not the only department they've been stonewalling. Priorities have shifted to that stupid rock, and I don't think they're changing any time soon."
"Cynthia will listen to me." I hoped. I wasn't exactly in a position to be making demands of her. "She's a stickler for protocol. I'm sure if I start citing regulations to her she'll buckle."
"I'm surprised she's made as many concessions as she already has. You think she'd be the first to bring violations up."
"Yeah, unless someone higher up is telling her to ignore them." I let out an exasperated sigh. This wasn't going to be a fun conversation. "I'll talk to her and at the very least figure out why their energy consumption is triple that of any other department."
"I appreciate it. You know us, Vee. We'll make things work until then."
"I know you will." I approved the report on my tablet, having had flagged it as 'urgent'. That way I knew that Admin would have to look at it. "I'm not going to endanger the station because of a souvenir we found."
No comments:
Post a Comment