Dominion (12 page)

Nineteen

“So Uranium is not all that different from bane ore,” Fire Dragon said, kneeling next to Hawke on the floor of the reactor control room, “It has an energy all its own.”

“Not exactly,” Hawke replied, gripping the water valve and twisting it several turns to the left.

He could hear water flowing from beyond the wall.

“Your bane ore seems to radiate a harmless heat all its own which I find very interesting.  Uranium is deadly to us and it only radiates useful energy when we encourage a chain reaction by introducing neutrons to the metal,” Hawke said, standing up and brushing the dust from his hands.

“What’s that noise in here?” Sky Listener hollered, rushing into the room with another unknown associate of his.

“I need to see if the drain
to the reactor is closed or open,” Hawke stated, shining a light through the window into the reactor, “This will tell me if it really was shut down intentionally or if all the water just evaporated over the centuries.”

He watched as the rust-colored water flowed in from a pipe located on the far wall.  It
started to puddle up on the floor, but when the brown river reached the drain, it swirled quickly down.

“Perfect,” Hawke said, kneeling back down beneath the control panel.

He twisted the other valve located near the water knob, then stood up and looked through the window again.  The water was now puddling up at the drain and starting to cover the floor.  He aimed the light at the inlet and was pleased to note that the incoming water was clear now.

“I have to wonder if something similar can be created using the bane ore,” Fire Dragon said to himself, staring in at the reactor.

“I’m shocked to see that the water inside this ship isn’t frozen,” Sky Listener stated, watching the scene with his arms folded, “Is this whole energy system familiar to you?”

“Uh…
well, no, not really,” he replied, watching the water slowly fill the room around the reactor, “I have a basic understanding since my ship had a mini self-sustaining reactor.  I also learned a little about them in college.”

The water was high enough to start
seeping into the ventilation slots of the reactor itself.

“What are
all those pipes hanging down over the center unit?” Sky Listener asked.

“Those are the fuel rods.  We will be lowering them into the reactor in the hopes that the neutron initiator still works.  If it does, we will be able to create a chain reaction and…” he started to explain
for the second time today, “Basically, those bars will heat up the water and create steam that will spin some turbines similar to your own steam driven vehicles.  One of these reactors can most likely power the whole ship for fifteen to twenty years before the rods need replaced.”

“And you will be able to start this energy machine without any
currently stored energy at your disposal?” Sky Listener asked.

Fire Dragon pointed to the clear box on the wall.  Hawke had already explained to Fire Dragon what his plan was.  He also told him about the severe danger to everyone on the ship if he ends up starting the reactor and not finding a way to control the chain reaction.  A meltdown would mark the end for all of them.

“I just need to make sure the water is up to that top fill line marked on the side of the reactor.  I’m sure that once we have power, the water levels will be maintained in an automated way like it was on my ship,” Hawke said, “Reactors require a lot of water since it is continually turning it into steam.”

“How much longer do you think?” Sky Listener asked.

Hawke turned to him, wondering if the man was really that impatient or if he was joking.  Everyone he’d encountered didn’t seem to comprehend how dangerous it was to have a “nobody” attempt to start up a cold nuclear reactor.  They seemed to think it was the same as lighting an oil lamp or starting up a furnace.

Sky Listener did appear to want an answer to his question.  No amount of explaining would change their attitude toward the nuclear reactor.  To these people, Hawke was a man who understood all futuristic technologies and could handle anything thrown his way.  He only wished he felt as confident as they were.

“It’s filling pretty quickly.  Once the water reaches that line, I believe I just need to lower the rods into the reactor and start the neutron initiator,” he replied, “Once we start getting power though, I have a feeling that there are a lot of things we will need to do in order to make sure everything is up and running.  First of all, I have no idea where the life support systems are and I’m not too sure what those systems do or how they work.  Again, this is why I asked for help.”

“I think we’ll find a way to get this all working,” Fire Dragon said, patting Hawke on the shoulder, “
My crew at the university are currently working on a petroleum powered vehicle engine that can spin a driveshaft via a system of controlled miniature explosions.  We are on the cutting edge and I believe it’s similar to existing Shomani technologies.”

Hawke nodded, then looked over to Kashuba who was standing in the doorway.  She caught his eye and winked at him.  If she was still able to read him as she used to, she knew he was very frightened of two things at the moment.  First, he was frightened that the reactor wouldn’t work at all, and second, he was frightened that he wouldn’t be able to control the chain reaction and
end up killing everyone aboard.  Her wink was her way of saying “it’s alright”.

He looked through the window again and saw that the water was nearing the top of the reactor.  He knelt down beneath the control panel and shut the water off.  He then stood up and turned to the others in the room.

“I have to tell you something,” he said, breathing in deeply, then letting it out slowly, “This is the second most dangerous device on the whole ship.  The gravitational-reflex drive is the most dangerous, but that is something I fully understand and feel confident in my abilities to operate.  This however is something I am not a hundred percent confident in.  Nuclear reactors are operated by some of the most intelligent and well-trained people on my planet and I have to believe there’s a reason for that.  People don’t just fill in for nuclear engineers when none are to be found.  Do you understand what I’m getting at?”

Sky Listener nodded, then patted him on the shoulder.

“You are the most qualified here, Hawke, and without power, we don’t stand a chance,” he replied.

“I trust you, Hawke,” Kashuba said, “And if an emergency happens, we are
all willing to jump in and figure out how to fix it.”

“If an emergency happens, you all need to run,” Hawke chuckled, “Truly, this reactor contains an invisible poison which is why there is no door
into there.  If I mess up though, those heated rods will overheat and melt straight through the reactor and through the levels below, irradiating everything on this ship with its poison.  This is why I’m so nervous right now.”

“Then let’s plan on not overheating those rods,” Fire Dragon said.

Hawke looked at his new friend and smiled.  He walked over to the clear box on the wall and unlatched it.  He lifted the box and propped it on its hinge, revealing a metal lever that rested in the “down” position.  Lifting the lever one notch would bring it to a position labeled “Cold Start – stage one”.  In the fine print next to it, it offered a little warning to make sure the neutron initiator was in the “off” position before beginning a cold start.

He looked to the right of the lever and checked the switch for the initiator.  It indeed was switched off.  He looked over at Fire Dragon who offered him a nod of encouragement.
  Hawke took a hold of the lever and lifted it to the stage one position.

They all looked
through the window and watched as the rods lowered into the reactor.  They stopped their descent a quarter of the way in.  Nothing happened.

He turned his attention back to the lever and examined the next slot.  By lifting the lever
up one more position, he would be selecting “stage two” which only offered a warning not to move into that position if there was no power to the main control panel.  He knew very well that there was no power because nothing at all had happened.  He read the warning for stage one and decided that if he was to make sure the initiator was off
before
selecting stage one, then it was okay to engage it afterward.

He flipped the switch for the initiator and turned around to look at the fuel rods again.  There was a constant clicking sound coming from the reactor room at a rate of about two clicks per second.  It sounded to Hawke like the electronic start to his gas oven, though he knew it was a silly comparison. 

They all continued to stare into the room, wondering when something would happen beyond the steady clicking sounds.  A thought occurred to Hawke.  He borrowed one of the lights and aimed it around the walls of the reactor along the water line.  He couldn’t find what he was looking for after a minute of searching.

“It’s not working?” Sky Listener asked.

“I really don’t know,” Hawke replied, “I wonder how long before we would even know.  If the initiator had started a chain reaction in the rods, they would already be heating up.  But since that water is probably ice cold, it would most likely take a while to heat the water to the boiling temperatures necessary.  I was sort of hoping to locate a thermometer somewhere in-”

“Look!” Kashuba pointed to the reactor.

It took Hawke a moment to notice the faint ghostly fingers of smoke or steam rising from the reactor.  He laughed suddenly and pointed.

“Yeah!” he shouted, “
At least it’s a start!”

“Do we leave the initiator on?” Fire Dragon asked.

“I’m not sure, but it won’t hurt anything if we do.  For as many atoms that are splitting in those rods right now, a few extra neutrons won’t amount to anything right now,” Hawke said, “But once it’s fully online, I think the initiator will have to be switched off and on at certain intervals in order to keep the temperatures at a precise level.  Let’s just hope it’s automated like the one on the Pioneer.”

“This is g
reat!” Sky Listener said with less enthusiasm than his words suggested, “So what is the timeline we’re looking at?”

“I don’t mean to be rude, sir, but I have
no
idea and I’m not going to rush things when dealing with something as hazardous as this,” Hawke blurted, “Once the water boils, the turbines will start spinning and power will start coursing through the veins of this ship.  It could be an hour, or it could be several hours.”

“Don’t misunderstand me, Hawke,” Sky Listener said, “You mentioned the
necessity of locating a life support room.  I was only asking in order to figure how much time I had to get a group together to locate all machinery rooms.  We could have a group of people marking potentially important rooms so it would take you less time to search when the time comes.  Why waste time searching bathrooms, bedrooms, and storerooms?”

Hawke
closed his eyes and nodded.  He massaged his forehead as though trying to work out the demons inside.  He continued to nod as he turned to the elder scientist beside him.

“I’m sorry for my attitude,
sincerely,” he said, “This isn’t easy for me and I was feeling that no one understood.  Like everyone was just in a hurry while I was scared out of my mind.  While I
am
scared.  You’re right, though.  It would help tremendously if your people could start narrowing down the possibilities where the life support systems would be located.”

Sky Listener gave him a
pleasant smile, then squeezed him gently on the shoulder.  He tapped his associate on the arm and motioned for the young man to follow him out of the room.  Hawke was left with only Fire Dragon and Kashuba.

“I’m sorry, you two,” Hawke said, “I’m just scared, especially now that the reactor is working.  I’ve started a nuclear chain reaction and that in itself is not to be taken lightly.  Please don’t think me rude.”

“I’m with you, Hawke,” Fire Dragon said, “We want safety as much as we want success.  If that means we spend a day inside this ship with no power, then so be it.”

“I agree,” Kashuba added, “We’re in no hurry at all.”

Fire Dragon went over to the doorway where he had dropped a utility bag he was carrying earlier.  He took out a lantern and opened the shutters, filling the room with a good amount of light.  He set it in the middle of the room, then proceeded to take down the small lanterns that had been hung in the room the previous day.

“I like to have plenty of light when I work, so I
always bring my bane lantern just in case,” he offered when he saw the questioning gaze he was receiving from Kashuba.

“Do you have a rag or a piece of fabric in that bag that can be used to wipe down these control panels?” she asked, “If this thing is going to have po
wer pretty soon, we need to be able to see beneath the thick blanket of dust.”

“Actually, I do,” he replied, shifting things around inside the bag.

He finally located a rectangle of fabric and tossed it to her.  She caught it and proceeded to start wiping down all the surfaces in the room.  All the while, the fog continued to grow in the other room.  Hawke looked up at the four steam vents in the ceiling and could readily see that no paddles were spinning inside them.  He figured he’d know when the water was boiling anyway just from the turbulence on the surface of the pool.