View from the Ground Crew : Photon Farming
01 May 2023Willow Thorn
Jeez, so it looks like I’m super rusty when it comes to working for the man you know? Like, when I took a contract to restart a jenny, or pull the guts out of a downed probe, I was working on my timetable, and just like, getting the primary task done right? Not when you work for station management. Shit.It’s like, when I worked for mom she was all, we need this, do that, get the contracts in. But dad was like, ok but it’ll take time, can’t do it all at once you know? But the management are all mom, with no dad to make it real. Those assholes are paying, so they want it all done you know? I mean, if I go to the toilet, they are like, hay take a paint brush with you and re-do the hallway while ya there!
So, day one was like, orientation right? You know, with all the safety holo’s and filling in workplace awareness forms, and listening to the HR people tell you what you can and can’t do. Like, if I even think of touching anyone on this station, I gotta like, fill out 5 request forms, and get the approval of 2 superiors. Whatever. Anyway, after that, Damran, or Ridge as he likes to be called had us prepping for the new solar gatherers inside.
So, yeah, from the start of day two's shift, we were inside again checking the conduits and surge prevention systems were in order, because later we were going to be outside putting solar nets together. Power is the thing you know? Most the station is still closed, not because it’s broken or a total mess, it’s because there just isn’t the power to heat it, or cool it, and pump breathable in. That’s without taking into account the lights and all the other shit people need to function. I mean damn, where do pilots think the water and air come from when they dock and refresh their life support?
Like, that stuff has to come from somewhere, but because they pay and bring the stuff we need to get the station back on track, pilots get the lions share. The people that keep the station ticking can just spin on it and suck ship fumes.
Ridge was telling me while we worked, that it takes like 30 man-hours to keep a pilot on the station. I was like what, how do work that out? And he was like, so ready to tell me. He said with admin, security, ground crew, maintenance staff, waste management, catering, and like a load of other people, it takes, like, a lot of man-hours to keep a pilot on the station for 1 hour. Ok, so that's all wrong, like Ridge said it better, but I can tell you, next time I land at a station, I'll be way more grateful to the staff and like, won't complain when they ask me to pay for every step I take. I mean, like, so many people are needed for that to happen you know?
Anyway, that was it for the boring stuff, today I was out there doing yet more prep and getting ready to fit the new photon-nets. So we are right out on the ass end of the station, and like, it’s a 10-minute walk to the work space and back, so each crew has a T6 to service the teams. That means we have to change tanks and deal with stowing tool outfits in a tiny PDP, and share that space with 3 other teams. Man, that’s skimping on resources.
So, I got to see what the guys on my team are like on EMU jobs and I’m pretty happy. Like, I hope they think the same about me, you know? Mark is a down to business kind of guy, doesn’t say much, but doesn’t need to be told much either. Ephrain is a know-it-all dick, but he does actually know it all, and his gear is like top of the line you know? The best. His outfit is the stuff the company brings to trade shows to show off. If he was a nicer guy, I’d ask him about it all, but he’s not, so whatever.
The boss, Ridge is a kind of old school guy, like old Earth I guess. He’s real hard to understand sometimes, and he’s always talking, never shuts up, but he’s kind of easy on the ears, even if you don’t know what the fuck he’s on about. So Ephrain and Mark were on the panels, I was putting the trellises together, and Ridge was moving them to M&E for fitting. I guess I got the trellis job because my hands are the smallest, even in the super bulky gloves of the EMU.
Like, my suit is a custom job so it’s a great fit and I have got real slender hands and long fingers. I mean, the Photo-Net looks like a big job, but out here you don’t have to worry about weight, it's mass that fucks it up. These are objects that we really don’t want staying in motion, so I guess that’s why Ridge's great mass was moving them.
So yeah, that’s day two, and like I was told we were working 3 on 3 off, but that’s been changed to 3 on 1 off. On top of 12 – 14-hour shifts, I think I’ll be spending that day off in bed.. After another trip to the Galactic.