Troy suits up. He lets Stephen check it, then looks for a cart of some kind to move the batteries with.

while they wait  for   Steve's instructions,  Shadow will help try to finds things  to move the batteries (do  they have swing cranes?).

 as they look, Shadow asks Troy,..so, Mate?, How long have ya been in the  sevice.... he grins,..not counting the last 100 years or so?

Patterson chuckles.
"Not counting marine training either? A month. Came fresh from basic, was assigned to Major Ascotts unit. I remember we all found it funny none of us had any relatives. Three of my mates are in pods over there somewhere too."
He shrugs as he clumsily rolls a cart to the first battery. Those hazmat suits hinder movement quite a lot. He looks inside the storage at the 16 large metallic devices. Pullies and winches are there to assist in moving the refrigerator sized heavy water containers.
"So Cornell? We just take em all out and then put the new ones in?"

  ..yah... i got my wings was flyin' Hellcats around the Indian ocean for a brief  bit..call came in said i could go...didn't really have a reason ta stay, ya know..'cept playing in the AFL...so? here i am....Goolong's  finest!

  me and the others got checked out on shuttles too, but the bleedin' things are like ice  wagons...

Ha, they tried teaching me that, Troy grinned.
Sarge said I was too stupid to drive, let alone fly. But hey, I can shoot a hole in a dime at two miles out... I guess thats worth something
Following instructions by Stephen Troy starts to unhook the first battery.

he gives the hazmat head gear a shake,..not me, mate...i'll shoot an apple off your  head inside a hellcat?... but   not  with a rifle or  hand gun...i have to aim..center mass..just to hit something...but..you give me a knife..they won't even know i'm coming... i topped out in survival ..sneaking up on blokes and such...

Hah, too bad we never learned how to change the batteries to a fusion reactor. Aren't these things highly radioactive? Patterson shuddered at the thought

.. the pilot shrugs,.don't know.... i know we  don't want to  be sleepin' on top them or anythin'...but the suits  should  save us.... I guess once we get the good one is, we have to put the old ones in the chargin' stations again.

 ..be real nice..if  the  bleedin' bloke who runs  engiuneering would wake up....but... its up ta us right now?

Guided by the know-how of Cornell the three men start to slave away at replacing the batteries. Contrary to what they expected at first, its the empty ones they have to put in, and the full ones that come out. Where they have to put the full ones none of them know, but they are certainly radioactive.

Slower than the men to navigate the warren of tunnels, Addison finally joined the rest. "What on earth are you three doing?" she asked with no apparent alarm or distress. She hopped out of the vent shaft and into the room, ready to pitch in if the need for another set of hands arose.

..between  grunts, gasps  and a few well placed  curses, Shadow calls over to Addison,..put one of them suits on, or  we'll be able ta use  ya for a bleedin' night light?

 grunting more, as they settle the first new one in...seems  somethin' went bleedin' bonkers with the ship.. the few of us are woke up 100 yeasr or so late.... the ship is almost out of out of power.. so Marco..the voice thing?..he  started lettin' some of  us out...

 more   shifting and such,..some folks on the bridge... don't know how many..at least 2..but  we can't get ta them, and they can't even talk to us....but?.. if we can't get this  done..well... our trip's about over...

Addison hurried to get into one of the indicated suits. "Well that's a predicament. How can I help?"

  Shadow points to Steve,..he's the guy closest to an engineer?...  once you'er suited up, have him check your  bloody suit..then  , if he doesn't  have nothin' for ya, you can  take a spanner to the bolts  ahead of us, to speed things up?

"For now, we just have to replace these batteries, then get the power plant restarted. Thankfully, I know most everything we need to get that much done.


Stephen didn't respond at first to the question about the batteries being radioactive, they were, after all, in the heavy hazmat suits. Hopefully that would reassure everyone else, they didn't need to know exactly how radioactive these things could be if allowed to deteriorate or leak.

"Not to alarm anyone, just a general precaution, once we get this underway and the power back on, someone remind me the four of us need to visit infirmary. Just a routine check and possibly a few rounds of radiation pills, shouldn't be anything severe, just a precaution. And gentlemen? Please be gentle with those refrigerator sized fusion batteries."

"It's less efficient, but we need to change out the batteries one at a time, I do remember that, something about an explosion if all bays are empty. Seriously though, it's going very well all things considered. You're doing a good job, we'll get this ship back up and running."

He checked Addison to make sure the suit had no leaks and the suit was on properly, then lead her to the fusion batteries.

"You'll notice the series of pulleys and wenches. If  you would be so good as to get the next new battery strapped in, it will save time, which, considering life support is offline, is highly beneficial. Or loosen bolts, help tighten them up, whatever you feel most comfortable doing to help speed things along."

   After  Steve  talks to Addison,  Shadow  asks,..what is yer Field, Miss?

 ..By the way... I'm  LT Shadow?..Kray.. This here's  Troy Patterson, Lance Corp..and ya  just talked  ta Steve  the engineerin' type guy...

Ah, the dreaded "What do you do?" Bane of blind dates and emergency engineering sessions alike. "I'll be the one distributing those radiation pills. I'm with Medical," Addison replied. It didn't seem like the time or place to recite her CV, but Addison wasn't just a doctor -- she was a brilliant doctor, and had spent her entire professional life working in progressively more and more adventurous regions in search of the next mental challenge and adrenaline hit. When Doctors Without Borders had run out of war zones and outbreaks to send her to, she had taken the next logical step for an adrenaline junkie and signed up for one of the ships leaving earth.

Adjusting to the added bulk of the suit as she went, she made her way to the pulley system and started getting it ready to receive the next battery. She wouldn't be able to move the thing on her own, but once someone was free it would be a snap to get it into place.

well. ..we got a good  start fer a mix of  folks, provide  we  don't blow the bleedin; thing up...

 he starts Musing, as the move ..place and secure  the batteries,..funny thing? you' d think the bloke back on earth woulda had a plan fer this... wake us up early..or  wake us  up a month or so late?.. Not..Bloody decades.......but..right now..I wanna get this power back on, so i can see my fighter again....

Stephen perked up when he heard Addison say she was in medical.

"Would that be Dr. Connolly?" He smiled in spite of the situation. "Civilized conversation, how wonderful. No offense, gentlemen. Now we're four, we should be able to get this ship powered up and figure out just how busy we're going to be the next few days."

He went to work with the others, well aware both of the severity of their situation, and the need for a little levity, his machinery had never complained about his bedside manner.

He started singing an old tv show theme to himself that seemed appropriate.

It's cold outside; there's no kind of atmosphere
I'm all alone, more or less
Let me fly, far away from here
Fun, fun, fun, in the sun, sun, sun

 when Steve started to sing, Kray  gave a look at  troy and sorta chuckled,, but  went back to shifting, and hefting

  things seemed to be going well...but a lot better, once the power was  back up..

"The one and only!" Addison replied to Stephen. "Although I can't promise how civilized I'll be."

After some song, dance, witty banter and bloody hard work, the team of four improvised reactor workers manage to switch out all the batteries. While three hours is not a time for the record books, heck, not even a time they would graduate with, they still have a job well done to look at. In triumph, feeling like a million bucks because hey, even he had to improvise, Cornell flips the big red power switch.

With a soft humming the reactor comes to life.
Lights come back on, computers start up. The life support and airconditioning start working again. New life has been breathed into the ship.

  Stepping  back  as they made sure the  batteries were are cranked  down. He watches the others  as  Steve hits the switch.

 When the power comes on, he grins, saying,..well!..Bloody damn good luck!

 he truns around  locating a  screen, as it flashes he says aloud,..Hey?  Marco? you up?

 Then adds,..Bridge? Can ya Buggers hear us?

Good morning Kray Shadow. It is now 10.25 on 17-2-2157. I am the ship AI. I am never down.

Concerning you to the bridge. Link established.

 Shadow grins,...Thank Ya  MArco!  nice ta hear your  vocie.... do ya suppose you might be showin' us the way to  the Sick bay?

 he looks  around then looks at Steve,can we take these suits off yet?

  well? Mates? You heard the LAdy... we got thanks, now? lets get checked out so we can get our uniforms...and..i can go see my Hellcat...

  He looks at the old batteries,..do we have to do somethin' with those bloody things?