Someone Didn't Pay the Electric Bill

[out_of_order]

WHO: Cal Kestis, Kaz Brekker, Asterope Glass, Merrin and whoever might want to drop by
WHERE: Not-Temba/Sh'Ka's Power Station and related areas
WHAT: Cal's assembled a team to work on restoring the power and maybe establish communication from the other city
WHEN: End of August to mid-September OMG WHY IS IT SEPTEMBER ALREADY
WARNINGS: Kaz N/A


Basecamp was set up within some of the offices of the power station, with a space for a rudimentary campfire outside if people wanted to heat up food or water to drink or use in general, or just enjoy the fresh air at night. Cal had brought along a couple of portable space heaters he'd cobbled together in case things got too cool inside at night, free for anyone's use.

The first day had mainly consisted of setting up a space for them to stay in and unloading whatever they'd managed to bring by way of equipment and rations, and a bit of territory scouting to see what was available for them. While the water plant, wherever that was, would have to be another project entirely, at least water itself was available, if requiring a bit of a walk from the station. Kyle's buddy system would be recommended, mainly out of concern for the large creatures that have been known to dwell within the wooded areas not far from there.

The power plant itself would be the next thing to look at to see what might need repairs, and if parts would be needed from the other city. Cal had Reeve's notes to share as well as previous experience in working on power restoration for Temba, and the similarities between the cities would make things at least a little easier. The most tedious part would be inspecting the connecting lines to make sure there wouldn't be any damaged areas that might cause problems if they went ahead and turned everything on. This would take the longest time, so the inspections would be divided up in sections, and they'd check back in after each one. The option to swap out between engineers would also be there so no one would be stuck with any one task, and Merrin would be able to bring them back and forth as she got more familiar with the layout of things.

It would be a lot of work and effort, but if there were things worth learning here, getting this done would be a key part to it.


((OOC: Feel free to treat this as a mingle and task sort of thing! Working on stuff? Taking a break? Getting chased by bunnyboars? Dropping off care packages for your hard-working engineers and friends? Do it do it do it! I will post an update on progress once I get some infos~))

Comments

[pleiade]

1. The Writing on the Wall
Asterope's new to this whole situation, but it's clear that she had a head for the math on things before taking up the engineering data point. She's found a wall to use for any necessary calculations regarding power outputs, with circuit diagrams and schematics--she's using a piece of charcoal from the fire to write everything, hands smudged. If you're passing by, you're likely to hear her mutter to herself softly, and occasionally you might get a question thrown in your direction.

"Power in watts is...V squared over R, right?"

2. Electric Feel, Girl
It's easy to draw her away if hands are needed for more practical tasks, like tracing the lines or working on fixing connections, though. She's a hard worker, but there's an sort of sheepishness about her, like she's not sure she's allowed to speak up when she has ideas on how to improve things. When she does manage to find her voice, it's almost apologetic.

"Perhaps the connection from the A1 cable could maybe be redirected to the 342 junction instead? Maybe. Not sure if that'll work."

3. Fiddler on the Roof
Asterope did bring her replicated violin and its bow to the power station with her, and sometimes on her breaks, she can be found on the roof (how did she climb up there? With determination), starting to get back into practice with playing. It's not great, at least to start, but she's careful not to do it too close to where anyone's sleeping, and her improvement is swift.

Eventually, she can be heard working her way through a recognizable rendition of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". And at the end of it, there's a shout of triumph, before she realizes that might be heard and walks to the edge to see who might be listening.

[demjiin]

Checking out camp
Kaz had only a very basic idea of what 'camp' meant, so this was more comfortable than he was imagining. Kaz only had a single blanket laid out so that he could sit with his back to the wall and yet be near enough to one of the heaters Cal had brought to be warm in the evenings. Kaz had only brought strong black coffee by way of rations, though, so it might be a good idea for someone to remind him that food was a thing and he should be eating occasionally.

Working hard or hardly working
Kaz had come to Not-Temba (Sh'Ka?) prepared and packed into his bag, ten pre-made crystals. Thus far he hadn't seen with what they could work yet but he had them in the beige tote bag with the three-eyed pink smiley face over his right shoulder, ready to go. At the moment he was examining with his little pocket flashlight what appeared to be a substation relay. With the corded pipe running into the floor that meant it would run underground since this was the ground floor. Kaz was following the corded pipe backward along the wall with his mag lite and it seemed to be intact. He consulted his smartphone for where to next one of these to inspect (thanks to Reeve's notes, provided by Cal) was meant to be.

Downtime
There were times that, by the necessity of having a bad leg, Kaz had to take breaks for the day. He had the pain-relieving salve Omega had made on under his pant leg, as well as the jar sitting next to him. And that salve was definitely helping relieve the pain, but he also knew he needed to keep his bodyweight off of it when the leg would start to hurt. He would sit with his back against the wall and his leg stretched out in front of him. He had a few projects with him already, but the first one was using an awl for poking little holes in leather, then threading small bands of leathery sinew through said holes to make leather bags for Moonshade. He had the awl in one hand and the blunted wooden 'needle' to pull the thread through the holes in the other. But good luck in duplicating what he's doing because the hand with the awl is making at least 20 small holes, then switching the awl for the needle and pulling the leather thread through each side of matched holes flawlessly. It's a feat of dexterity just to watch and he's already got one of the drawstring bags finished beside him.

2

[out_of_order]

"No, I think you might be onto something," Cal says as he pauses to study the connections in regards to the suggestion made. He's always willing to listen to a second opinion, and Asterope tends to bring some good insight.

"Hand me that spanner? Let me switch this around and we'll see how it works out."

Camp

[out_of_order]

"If anything comes up that you realize we might have forgotten about packing, let me know."

Cal came over to set a latched box down, well away from the heater so the contents wouldn't spoil from its exposure. "I know we tried to be thorough, but there's always a chance that we overlooked something." He patted the box. "If you're hungry, we've got some ration bars and some containers of the food paste from the ships," he explained, the latter with just the slightest of a grimace. "Tasty stuff, I know."

[pleiade]

She passes the spanner over, and generally plays nurse for the operation, getting Cal any other tools he needs, holding the other cables up while he works. Being listened to is a new sensation for her, one she's enjoying very much.

"It should relieve the amount of resistance at the 348 port by 20% or so, and reduce redundancy in that circuit as well."

[out_of_order]

It's a job that goes smoother with someone providing him the tools. His little droid hangs over his shoulder, playing the job of flashlight in the meantime.

"How'd you figure that?" Cal asks as he works. He can't help but find it amazing how Asterope's able to calculate such things. "Think that should do it. I guess the real test will be once we have power flowing through it." He looks further along the line in consideration as he nods to himself.

[pleiade]

"Well, resistance in a parallel circuit is possible to calculate. One over total resistance equals one over the first resistance plus one over the second, plus one over the third...so you just solve for that, and figure the effect of moving one of those resistances."

It's simple enough to her.

[out_of_order]

At least he's listening very hard to the explanation. He might even understand it to some degree. Brows lifting, Cal starts to straighten up as he looks back at the connectors. BD-1 switches his directional light off, swinging back behind the padawan, little feet clinging to the rigger's harness he wears.

"You're pretty good at this sort of thing. What'd you do before you got here?"

Camp

[pleiade]

Asterope wraps up her work day and comes back to camp exhausted, but vaguely triumphant. She sees Kaz by the heater, and there's a moment almost of calculation as she moves to sit across from him instead of beside. "Sorry, hope you don't mind company."

She seems to be trying very hard not to impose.

[pleiade]

"Uhm, astrology."

Which might sound odd, with her understanding of science, but there is a good degree of mathematical calculation and charting involved, even for a pseudoscience.

"Was going to be part of a colonization mission, though, charting the stars and the moons from the surface of a new planet, learning foreign skies for the purpose of navigation. This wasn't the intended planet, but that's still an eventual goal--to befriend the heavens and learn their secrets."

[out_of_order]

Come to think of it, she had mentioned something of that, hadn't she? Cal glances back at her, nodding as he recalls their first conversation. It's kind of impressive how she's adapted her skills from astrology into things like this.

"That's right, you'd talked about that. Did you get a good chance to study the night sky back in Temba?" he asks.

[pleiade]

"Enough to tell that this city isn't of a particularly different latitude from the other. The skies are roughly the same, no differences in the stars." She gestures up-down, as if her hands are on the surface of a globe, trying to make her thoughts clear. "If this were significantly north or south of Temba, there'd be different stars to see. Not constellations, there aren't official constellations, yet."

[out_of_order]

That makes enough sense. "Well, maybe that's a good thing that we're not so drastically far away from Temba. But we still must be a significant distance given how long it takes to get here even at the train's speed."

Cal's not even sure how fast the train goes, but it seems a lot faster than the cargo one he'd had to run across in his escape from Bracca.

[pleiade]

"Can't really tell what direction, though. More research needed. It's not important at this moment. Power station first, then attempts to map. It's a shame the surrounding area is hostile, no one can just walk the train route and try to keep a sense of direction."

She shrugs, looking at Cal's progress with the junction. "This looks like it'll work."

[out_of_order]

"Yeah. And going by foot will take who knows how long? But you're right. We've got more immediate things to work on. So long as we're not cut off from the main city, it's not something to worry about."

Cal grins then as he tosses his tools back into the bag they'd brought along. "Yeah, I think so too. Let's move on, then."

[pleiade]

"It's sort of relaxing, working on this. Satisfying, like...untangling something horribly knotted. Or sorting things into neat tidy boxes."

She leads the way to the next problem area she'd noticed that needs hands-on intervention, letting Cal get a look at the issue first. "And it's nice to feel...useful."

[out_of_order]

Cal laughs lightly, giving her a nod as h picks up the bag, slinging it over his shoulder. "I know what you mean. Something to actively work on instead of looking for something to do is nice. I know there's lots to be done in Temba but having a focus like this is good."

Once they've reached the next spot, he sets the tool bag down, stepping closer to study the connections of the area in question. Feeling useful? He understands that. "This probably needs to be cut out and rewired. Looks like it got exposed too much to the weather, that'll definitely cause problems."

[pleiade]

"It's not even just finding things to do on Temba. It's knowing...um. That there's a purpose to being here, perhaps. That existing in this world holds value to someone."

Well, that got pretty deep, pretty quickly. Right, no, let's back out of that conversation right away.

"So after the rewiring's done, weather protection is the next step. If you start that, could run back and get the supplies for that, help with getting it sealed up."

[out_of_order]

The padawan's eyes flick back towards her then. That's something he can understand too, although he senses there's something more to what the woman says than that they aren't merely here by happenstance.

"I can do that," Cal says, a brow lifting slightly as Asterope is quick to focus back on the task they've got in front of them. He does the same, looking back at the line. "All right, I'll start working on things here then." It'd certainly be quicker if they divided up the tasks.

[pleiade]

If she takes her time a little, to gather everything (including tucking away her feelings, shoving them deep, deep down) and come back, at least she brings ration bars as an excuse. "When you're at a stopping point, take a moment to eat. It's already been a few hours now."

[demjiin]

At the mention of the protein goo from the ships, Kaz's mouth twisted with a grimace. Flavorless mush was not popular.

"You'll have to tell me what a 'ration bar' is before I can tell you if I'd consider eating it."

[demjiin]

She made a good choice for seating, and Kaz had his cane end seated against the ground between his bent knees then most of the cane rested against his shoulder. He knew people could see the silver-looking crow's skull cane's head without it being obscured by his gloved hand holding it. Sometimes people would ask about the crow and cup, which only showed in brief flashes when his sleeve moved, tattoo on his forearm and the crow's head of his cane. At the moment he's drinking a mug of coffee despite the hour.

"I don't generally like company. But if you're wanting to use the heater, too, then that's different."

[pleiade]

"Of course. Sorry." Her gaze drifts away from him, as she pulls her knees up to her chest. She's still and quiet, looking down at the floor, and one might almost get the sense that she's trying to be as not-present as possible, in order to avoid bothering Kaz.

[demjiin]

Kaz usually liked it when people had a healthy fear of him, but this was someone acting like a kicked puppy. Kaz took a sip of his coffee then set the mug down.

"Look, I just meant I don't like a lot of other people because they do and say stupid things. You don't have to apologize for existing."

[pleiade]

A kicked puppy is a good description. A puppy who'd been kicked many, many times before arriving on this planet, and Kaz's inherent force of presence isn't helping.

"Saying nothing means not saying anything stupid. Right? That seems like the best bet."