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<DIV>~~Armory, Yorktown~~</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>Snarling outloud, Ensign Macallester Bolenski signed off on the list of
replacement parts. Mildly cursing the stack of paperwork- <EM>I thought the
goal of computers was to make a paperless society!</EM> Bolenski signed off on
another stack, then another stack, and then a THIRD stack of paperwork. The
list of un repairable damaged equipment was quite long and impressive. The
list of consumable items- such as disposable air circulation filters to remove
smoke from battle and fights- was quite long. The list of replacement parts
required for battle was far too long and far too expensive. Spatial Torpedoes
run about 12 million credits each, the modified upgrades to make them
"specials" kicked the price tag to 15 million credits. Running down to 5
torpedoes forward and 2 aft gave a financial butchers bill around 1.1 BILLION
credits. Somewhere back in Star Fleet's Accounting Office, there's going to be
some little bean counter who is going to have serious job security counting
the parts to make the new replacement torpedoes for Yorktown to shoot in the
next battle.</DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>Mac took a drink of his coffee. The vile tasting liquid he forced himself
to drink that he'd spiked with vitamins, stimulants, proteins and essential
minerals had reached room temperature. Giving a baleful stare at the stacked
PADD's that required his signature he then turned the baleful stare to his
Boss, the Honorable Lt. Commander Nat Cameron who managed to skate out of
doing all the paperwork. All because he had been up on the bridge doing heroic
things, whatever heroic things the Captain and the XO weren't doing at the
time.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>"YOU" Mac glared at him while trying not to whimsically smile "Are one
lucky guy to skate on doing this paperwork. Unfortunately the reg's work in
YOUR favor- "The Officer of the Watch is responsible for all expenditures
while on their shift". Which means while YOU'RE up on the bridge doing
whatever you're supposed to do on the bridge, I'm stuck down here burning up
our limited supplies" Frowning "Serious business here Mr. Cameron- we've blown
over a billion credits in the past 6 weeks or so. Just pencil whipping up some
figures there's a middle'n fair chance Yorktown may end up being scrapped".
When scared Mac sang silly songs to break the tension. When studying figures
while concentrating Mac's State of Wyoming/Montanna's western drawl came out.
When telling jokes to pick up ladies usually involved getting his face
slapped. "My figures is Yorktown cost about 5 billion credits to build. Our
repair costs- and potential upgrades if we get that much drydock time- is
going to kill between 6 and 8 billion" Saying outloud to himself "Just to
replace that one power line that flashed open near the transporter room is
going to cost 1 million credits per meter and its 288 feet long..." Mac's
voice trailed off. "In the repair business we would call the customer and say
"sorry, uneconomical to repair".</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Nat smiled and replied, "Well Mr. Bolenski, someone has to train junior
officers to be senior officers. Perhaps it is expensive to repair the Fighting
Lady, but it'd be even more expensive to build an entirely new ship."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"I suppose. Still the war should be slowing down- I mean how much farther
is it to this Romulan planet anyway?" Mac mused outloud "Still better we're in
their space on their turf than them coming to our space on our turf" Pausing
"Repair ship, Collier, Spacedock or Scrapyard at least we're still moving
forward."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>Then in all seriousness "Nat, I'm really worried about setting off that
dilithium. There's going to be a hearing- I've pulled a few strings thanks to
my law firm to buy some time for Yorktown and the Intrepid's Officers and that
Captain Armstrong guy. But seriously there's rules in war and by setting off
that 100,000 tons of weapons grade? We bent those rules into a bow tie shape.
The bean counters are going to be furious- that much dilithium would power the
entire star fleet for what? 12 to 15 years or so? The Astronomers are going to
become furious over the next 200 light years as that part of the sky floods
all frequencies- everything from infrared to hard cosmic radiation. The
PETA/Sierra Club/Save the Whales people are going to be furious that all night
vision critters are going to be flash blinded for several months, maybe even a
year". Grinning "Nice thing to have on my resume eh? OFFICER IN CHARGE OF
SETTING OFF THE LARGEST INTENTIONAL EXPLOSION TO HUMANS EVER DONE". Taking a
breath "Teacup cannons, Spatial Specials, and now this?" Shaking his head no
"Won't be long before Star Fleet cuts me new orders to be recalled back to
BuWep's to work on new fresh experimental hardware I'm betting"</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fff; FONT-FAMILY: times new roman, new york, times, serif; COLOR: #000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Nat
got serious and replied, "Mr. Bolenski, you did as you were ordered as did the
rest of the crew. I could care less what any bean counter or whacko group
says. They weren't here and we didn't lose anyone."</DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>"I dunno. I'm glad we didn't lose anyone in battle. I'm starting to
wonder if we're getting better or if the Romulans are getting
worse?"</DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Lt. Commander Nat Cameron</DIV>
<DIV>Chief Armory Officer</DIV>
<DIV>NX-05 Yorktown</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> &</DIV>
<DIV>Ensign Mac Bolenski</DIV>
<DIV>NX-05 Yorktown</DIV>
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