The bridge of the Imperial II Star Destroyer Halcyon Warrior was a buzz of activity.  Following the recent battle at Belgaroth, the awesome warship (along with pretty much every other vessel in the fleet) had been bogged down in repairs.  For days now every department had been engaged in checks, fixes, and double-checks of vital systems.

Junior Bridge Officer Pherik Zail had been running about the command centre all day, carrying reports and relaying requests for help from one department to another.  He was starting to feel bad for not actually doing anything, and simply being a middle man for others who were.

Reporting to First Officer Lance Ongol for the twentieth time, he handed over a report.  “Request from the docking bay,” He said, passing the datapad.  “Apparently there is a technical problem with one of the three vehicles they are unloading from the transport that just docked.”

Ongol scowled as he took the report and glanced at it.  “Oh this is intolerable!” He snapped, frustrated.  The transfer of those vehicles had been due for days, but events at Belgaroth had delayed it.  “We have enough repairs to be dealing with,” Said the XO firmly.  “A broken tank is not a priority right now and we can’t spare the techs to fix it.”

“Understood, sir,” Said Zail, “The deck officer expected you to say that.  However...” He said, and directed his superior’s eyes to the bottom of the report.

Were it not for his military training and self-control, Ongol would have slammed his palm into his face right there and then.  “It’s a Floating Fortress?” He cried, suddenly realising the size and scope of the problem.

Zail nodded.  “The crew can’t start it, sir, and all our labour droids big enough to move it are busy with large scale repairs.  For now it’s just sitting in the docking bay, taking up space and getting in the way of any future arrivals.”

Ongol’s scowl deepened.  “Okay, change my last order.  We need to shift the kriffing thing and fast.”

Again Zail spoke up.  “I could help, sir,” He said, wanting to be more useful than a bridge errand boy.  “I’ve been studying vehicle mechanics in my spare time and was hoping to be certified as a tech myself.  I could head down there and see if I can get the Fortress moving.”

The XO nodded at once, pleased by the younger man’s initiative and willingness to help.  “Very well.  Go immediately, I can find someone to cover your duties here.  And Mr Zail, if you can rid of this ‘little’ problem, consider yourself tech certified.”

“I won’t fail you, sir!” Said Zail, who promptly snapped a salute and hurried off.

-----

It required a few turbolift rides and several long walks to reach the docking bay from the bridge, and Zail moved both swiftly and with military dignity.  However, that dignity vanished almost instantly when he stepped into the final elevator.

Standing inside the turbolift was one other occupant, a Twi’lek woman with the rank insignia of a Senior Crewman.  Her rich yellow-orange skin was smooth and flawless, and her curvy body filled out her uniform in a way that few other females on board could manage.  She was Koyi Ban, and object of Zail’s affections since he had first met her shortly after coming on board.

“Mr Zail!” She said cheerily.  “Good to see you.  Heading to the docking bay?” She asked, laying a hand on the lift controls to push the button for him.

“Uh... er... yes,” He said, suddenly awkward and nervous in her presence.  “Arni’soyacho,” He added as she hit for the relevant deck.

Crewman Ban smiled at his use of ‘thank you’ in her language.  “I didn’t know you could speak Twi’lek,” She said as the lift began moving.

“I... er... have been taking lessons,” He explained, looking at her politely as he spoke but trying not to stare at her extreme beauty.

“Well, keep them up,” She encouraged, smiling.  “Ah, my stop,” She said as the turbolift halted.  “See you later, Zail!” And so saying she walked past him and out into the corridor, her hips swaying sultrily as she moved.

The door slammed shut as he said, “Yeah, bye!”  As the elevator continued on its journey he sighed and banged his head on the wall.  Some day he would be able to speak to her, and on that day he would ask her out.

Some day.

-----

Zail had shrugged off his awkward encounter and refocused on his task by the time he reached the docking bay of the Halcyon Warrior.  By far the largest room in the vast Imp Star Deuce, and despite its size it was filled with people and equipment.  Lifting droids carried cargo back and forth, under the watching eyes of naval crewmen.  A group of Stormtroopers were guiding two tanks away from a docked transport, and a bunch of people were crowded around what could only be the grounded Floating Fortress.

The Heavy Assault Vehicle was over seventeen meters long and thickly armoured.  Designed for ground assault, the A9 Floating Fortress was one of the finest military repulsorlift vehicles made by the renowned Ubrikkian Industries, and was a favourite of armies across the galaxy.

Except when it could not move.  Then it was just a big ugly paperweight.

Zail walked over to the group around the vehicle, and saw that one of them was dressed as a Vast Empire Army pilot.  He figured he would be the one to talk to.

“Petty Officer 2nd Class Pherik Zail,” He introduced himself.  “The bridge sent me to help.”

The tank driver looked at him.  A small human who had distinctly mouse-like features, he said, “Private Emal, and I’m grateful for the assistance.”  He gestured to the Fortress.  “She was fine at first, and I drove her off the transport.  Then halfway across the bay she just died on me, crashed into the deck, and has been sat here ever since.”  He sighed.  “Me and the Fortress just transferred here.  Kriffing great first impression we made...” He said, almost to himself.

Zail nodded but did not comment.  Focusing on the word ‘crashed’ in the previous sentence, he spoke.  “The fall didn’t do any further damage, I hope?”

Private Emal shook his head, indicating to his fellows studying the bottom of the Fortress.  “They are checking it now, but it seems okay.  Of course we won’t know for sure until we study the repulsor coils.  Before that I suggest we work on why she crashed in the first place.”

Zail agreed with the assessment, and followed the other man as he entered the vehicle through a reinforced door.  Inside, the Floating Fortress was big enough to carry 10 fully armed and armoured troops, plus a full crew of 4, and was by far the largest tank he had ever worked on.  Advancing to the main pilot’s station, Emal sat down and activated the Fortress’s computer systems.  Zail peered over his shoulder and studied the readout intently.

Despite the differences among different types of vehicles, the A9 Floating Fortress seemed fundamentally similar to other tanks Zail had worked on.  He quickly identified the central power core, the energy distribution net, and the repulsor coils that allowed the war machine to hover.  All were lit in green, showing them to be fine.

“Well, will you look at that...” Breathed Emal, staring at the readout as if it were the strangest thing he had ever seen.

At first Zail did not see what he caught the other man’s attention, but the Alderaanian caught on quickly.  “These readouts are static,” He observed, confused.  Normally a live power system was filled with minor fluctuations of energy flow, and status readouts for all systems shifted numbers constantly.  Such was not what they were looking out now.  Clearly, the diagnostic display itself was in error.  “Was it like this before the crash?” Asked Zail.

The Army man shrugged.  “I was too busy driving.  Obviously I was aware of the readout in the corner of my eye, but as long as everything showed green I didn’t pay it much attention.”

Zail nodded but did not comment, wondering just how attentive a pilot this was but not wanting to say anything potentially provocative.  “How do you suggest we proceed?”

Emal tapped the frozen screen.  “We fix the internal diagnostic first,” He said.  “Hopefully that will then reveal what is actually wrong.”

Zail cursed under his breath at the two-stage problem they faced, dashing any hopes of getting it all sorted quickly.  “Let’s get to it,” He said.

-----

The Alderaanian quickly identified and pulled open the relevant panel, and saw the mess of wiring inside.  Zail was working at the back of the Fortress, and called across to Emal, who still sat at the diagnostic display.

“Okay,” Said the Junior Bridge Officer.  “I’m going to restart this part of the system now,” And so saying, he reached to one of the central processing nodes of the ship’s power grid.  The node, one of several, identified the strength of the power flowing through it, and was essential not only for directing that flow, but reporting it to the tank’s computer.

Zail checked the node for any signs of damage, and then deactivated it.  With a second flick of a switch, he turned the node back on, and looked over at Emal.  “Anything?” He asked, hoping that a simple restart would solve their problem.

The Private sighed the when power system display remained unchanges.  “Nope.  Keep trying the nodes while I deal with the diagnostic system itself,” He replied, continuing to work amid a load of exposed circuit boards.

The Navy man let his Army counterpart work, for Zail was not as familiar with the workings of a computer.  He continued on to the next processor, but in the back of his mind he was worried.  How had this Fortress suffered two different problems simultaneously?  Could the failure of the repulsorlift and the freezing of the diagnostic be related?

“Next one!” He said, opening up another nexus of power cables and wires and checking the node he found there.  “Oh for frotz sake!” He cursed, using some of his Twi’lek.  “Emal, come here a moment!”

The tank driver ran over, and stared at what Zail was indicating.  The metal casing of the node was badly rusted, and in places it had rusted away entirely, exposing the equally corroded wiring within.  Clearly, it was damaged, and no doubt sending garbled signals to the diagnostic system.  For a moment the two men stared, wondering at the reason behind the rust, until they saw a slimy-blue liquid drip down from above inside the tank’s wall.

“Looks like coolant,” Said Zail as it fell upon the processor node, some of it sinking in and the rest slipping off and heading further into the Fortress’s systems.

Emal nodded, and gesturing to higher up on the wall of the tank.  “A major coolant tube runs through here, right above where you are looking.  If its leaking that would explain a lot.”

“Could more coolant have gotten further down and affected the repulsor coils?” Asked Zail.

“Yes it could,” Agreed with other man.  “Help me with this,” And so saying, the two of them got to work lifting a deckplate at the base of the leaking wall.  Pulling aside a load of cables and other systems, they found the array of repulsor coils along the bottom of the Floating Fortress.

Many of the vital systems necessary for making the tank hover were stained and rusted with leaked coolant.  The sight made both men wince.

“Right,” Said Zail, taking charge of the situation.  “I’ve been doing some stock work lately, and so I know we have some of these processing modules in the Halcyon’s stores.  I’ll go get a new one, plus get some new coolant cable and a load of new repulsor coils.  Meanwhile you cut off the coolant flow, pull out the damaged tube, and check all the other systems around the leak.”

“Understood,” Said Emal, and if the other man had any objections to being bossed around by one of the Navy, he did not show it.

Zail then hurried off to the ship’s stores.

-----

By the time Zail returned with a hover sled full of parts, Private Emal had pulled open an entire wall of the tank, plus several more deck plates.  Exposing many of the systems, he had ripped out the leaking tube and was busy cleaning anything coolant had dripped on.  Fortunately, the only things completely corroded through were the module and the repulsor coils they already knew about (though when more time was available a great many other rusted systems could do with replacement).

“Okay, here’s the new tubing,” Said Zail.  “You connect that, while I connect the new processing node.”

Emal accepted this, starting to work on the coolant problems, while Zail took the precious node and began to hook it into the power grid.  The Alderaanian worked swiftly and with the self-assurance born of a great deal of practice.  There was a lot of cables and wires involved, but he took each one as they came, connecting them carefully to the node.  Finally, both men were done, and moved on to the final issue.  The repulsor coils.

The small artificial gravity generators, arrayed in clusters along the bottom of the tank, were the system that literally put the ‘floating’ in ‘Floating Fortress’.  An entire array had been compromised by the leaked coolant, and both men had to remove and replace all the coils before they could even think about moving the massive armoured vehicle.

It took them the best part of an hour to remove the old ones and install the new.  Zail, familiar with repulsor technology from helping his roommate Crewman Gradesh, saw to the connections personally, a hydrospanner in hand.  As ever, he buried himself in his work, and tried not to get in the way of Private Emal.  The Army driver had been awfully quiet, and Zail was sure he knew why.

-----

Finally they had finished the repairs, and as Zail replaced the wall and deck plates and tightened their bolts in place, Emal sank into the driver’s position and prepared to try to move the Floating Fortress.

“Here we go,” He said as Zail crossed to his side.

He flicked the ignition switch, and they were pleased to see the diagnostic light up with a normal-looking fluctuating set of power readouts.  Next, Emal reached for the repulsorlift controls, and instantly they felt the seventeen meter long vehicle rise a comfortable hundred and eighty centimetres into the air.

“Oh right!” Said Emal, delighted.  “Next stop, the Halcyon’s vehicle bay!” He declared, and began to steer his tank in that direction.

At his side, Zail nodded, quietly proud of their achievement.  Without comment, he sank into a vacant chair and pulled out a datapad and began typing his report.

-----

Members of the Stormtrooper Corps and the Army were in the bay when they arrived, checking the new tank arrivals and performing routine maintenance on their vehicles.  Zail had never seen the place looking so busy.

Emal brought the Floating Fortress to a stop, parking it with precision and shutting it down.  The two men disembarked, to find an Army lieutenant standing before them.  Clearly the man was in charge of the bay, and he was looking most pleased.

“So our new Floating Fortress is working right now, eh?” He asked.

“Correct, sir,” Said Emal.  “My tank and I are hereby reporting for duty!”

The lieutenant turned to Zail.  “And you assisted in the repair, I take it?” He asked.

“Yes, sir,” Said Zail.  The Army lieutenant was not of his service and not really his superior, but he still reacted as he would to any other officer.  “However, I feel it necessary to point out that there should not have been any repairs.”

The gruff Army man scowled, casting Emal a quick glance before settling his eyes back on Zail.  “And what do you mean by that?”

Zail promptly handed over the datapad he had been working on.  “My report is right there, sir,” He said simply.  “The damage was brought about by prolonged exposure to a coolant leak, one that must have been going on for some time.  If pilot Emal had been giving his tank proper maintenance at timely intervals, this problem would have been noticed long ago and dealt with long before it grounded one of your vehicles.”

Emal opened his mouth to protest, but Zail reached into his pocket and pulled out the corroded processing node, and passed it wordlessly to the lieutenant.

The Army officer took the item and the report.  “Thank you,” He said.  “Your assistance in this matter is appreciated.”  Turning to Emal, he said darkly.  “Come with me, Private, you have some explaining to do.”

Zail considered this a good time to depart, and turned and strode from the vehicle bay to return to the bridge, his job completed.  As for the fate of Private Emal, he did not give it a second thought.

OOC:

2865 words.  As the title suggests, this is for the first tier of Naval Engineer Certification.  I wanted to do more of a story than ‘Zail fixes x, y and z, the goes home’, so I threw in some character development and a little Army/Navy rivalry and interaction.  If it’s not ‘techy’ enough for the certification, I understand and can re-do it if need be.