1275psi
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Joined: 4/17/2005
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2nd April 43
Zuiho is no longer a dead ship. Now she is a hive of activity, with literally hundreds of workers swarming over her. Already she is clean of the accumulated passengers her hull has carted across the ocean, the stink of dying , rotting marine growth fills the dock.
A hundred gas axes have been at work, and now sunlight streams into her darkest holds, where the clang of hamers rings.
Tomorrow the new plates will go on, the day after, the grit blasting. The day after that, paint. the night after, the second coat.
In four days, she will come out.
And by some miricle, ten after that, she is due to sail again.
"How many items Charge?"
The Charge looks up, smiles at Tan. It seems but 15 minutes since he got out of bed, yet here it is, midday already............
"Just 360line item to go sir. 40 done today.'
"And the tubes?'
"Three boilers finished. 2A should be done tonight. Brickwork is done. Main engine top casing is going down tonight. "
Charge hesitates. "I need a decision on the rudder post bearings. Do you want to risk it?
Tan does not hesitate. "You told me that they would take a month. You know as well as I do what Kato said. I can't risk it. They can wait"
"Ok then, 358 items left, wish they all were that easy"
'Aaah, but thats why the empire pays us so well charge, to make decisions like this"
"Sir with all respect, go and find some one else to bulls#$t too........"
It is, of course not all work.
later that night, two men sit in a small , long narrow restaruant. You know the type of place, long, skinny, a row of booths down one wall, the window of the kitchen at the end(complete with scowling cook) filthy toilets out the back past him, a tall fence beyond that.
The place is small, smells, but serves(inevitably) fantastic food, at fantastic prices, even for wartime.
It is also, of course, packed.
The two men, Hirate, Okano, have eaten, and drunk well.
But now it is time to leave.
Hirate reaches for his wallet.. 'Oh crap, I have left my wallet onboard"
'What!, you were going to pay!'
'Well, obviously I can't, can I now. You pay, and I'll pay you back when we get onboard"
a silence
"great idea, but you were going to pay and I.............."
You didn't bring any money?!!'
No!'
Oh crap.
yes, Oh crap."
Three other men sit in the booth behind them. "Did you hear that?", Diogawa asks, shovelling food into hismouth "Our friends behind us are having bill trouble"
Uto leans, and looks. "Aren't they Zuiho men?. We can help them surely?"
Hidaka laughs. "Hold your fire Uto, we promised you good food"........."and entertainment" Diogawa finishes for him "just watch, and wonder at the inventiveness of the common sailor"
And so Uto watches........and presently Okano rises, and passes , headed past the kitchen out to the heads.
""And that Uto, I think is step one, give the other guy one minute..........."
And presently (about a minute later), Hirate too heads towards the toilets.....
'Surely they don't think they can get over the fence do you, ?' hisses Uto, it must be nine feet high....
"and it leads to the sewer" adds Hidaka
"and sewers, even for stokers, are very bad"
"then how.........."
It is at this moment, with a titanic crash, both men plunge through the roof, straight into the kitchen............
Invention is good. But not all good ideas work.
The chaos that ensues is magnificent to see.......................
Hirate and Okano will be very lucky. Having the Dictators son vouch for you is probably the best thing that they could wish for.
Uto will pay for the roof, the food, the damage, the cooks extra dose of sourness.
He will consider it worth it.
Memories of Hirate's red face, his bulging eyes, his arse deep in the pot, will live with him forever...............
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