NOREO
The
next morning Dianne announced to the boys "I just got word
from your father, we've been re-assigned to the ORCA 'NOREO'
facility."
"We've been assigned to where?" asked
Brett in a worried tone.
"NOREO," his mother repeated, "Northeastern
Oceanic Research & Educational Outpost. It's a bit
bigger than the old ORCA was, and this one has some above water
sections too. It seems they need a commander, and I'm
it. It's located on the other side of the reef and is
built into a small island. I should mention that it is
only a little farther to get to Neri's island, so don't worry."
"Well that's a relief," Jason added
"for a second there I thought we were being sent to no-mans
land. So why is it part of an island?"
"For stability," his mother
responded, "since we will be on the other side of the reef,
we don't get the natural protection from the currents that the
reef provided. I would expect that this facility won't
be as busy as the other one in some ways, but I think you'll like
it nevertheless. Since they have an old computer
system, they are upgrading the system with our H.E.L.E.N. 6000
computer."
"H.E.L.E.N.!?" exclaimed Brett,
"you mean they saved her?"
"Yes they did as a matter of fact. After
some insisting on my part, they were able to make a successful
salvage attempt before the old station was destroyed." said
Diane with a smile. "She'll be fully operational
by the end of the week."
"When do we move in?" asked Jason,
"Soon I hope."
"Well I have to wait for the official
orders to come down the pipes, but that shouldn't take more than
a couple of days." Dianne replied, "So we should be
able to move in on the weekend. If you enter 'NOREO'
on the console system, you should be able to get some basic data
on the station."
Jason decided to take a look at the station
plans. Activating the console, he entered the key word
NOREO, and was greeted with the station layout. It was
definitely different from the old one. It reminded him
a bit of a tilted Christmas tree, with only a few modules near
the top and more modules on each level as you went down.
* * *
The weekend fast approached. Dianne,
Jason and Brett were already packed and on the boat headed to
NOREO. Winston had met them at the dock, and the four
of them were chatting casually as the boat continued toward their
destination.
Brett spoke up, "So Mom, are you planning
on doing more whale research at this place?"
"Of course," Dianne replied, "in
fact Winston will be in charge of the research from this point on. I'll
still be involved, but I'll have a lot to do in the beginning to
get organized on NOREO."
Winston interjected, "In the meanwhile,
I'll be continuing our work on the Whale speech dictionary. It's
unfortunate much of our recent work was lost. I'll
have to use backups that are months old. Perhaps we
can once again enlist the help of Neri."
* * *
Time passed while they neared their new home. This
site had its own permanent docks and the ANT boat was already
programmed on docking procedure. The boat gradually slowed as
large doors opened in the south cliff of the island. A
dock was just visible at the end of a moderately lit tunnel
behind the doors.
"Hey Mom, why do they have the dock
inside?" Brett asked.
"During the typhoon season the boats will
be protected," Diane replied, "also the waters can be
rough out here at times, so it's better the boats are parked out
of harms way."
Nearing the dock Jason spotted a helicopter and
said, "How did that get in here?"
"Well Jason," Dianne began, "although
we have an external helipad, we keep this helicopter on a mobile
launch pad in case we need it. Again, it's the only
way we could station a helicopter here and have it safe from the
storms. If you look to your left you'll see the slips."
As they looked to the left the ANT boat swung
in and parked itself in the slip designated for it. Brett
jumped off and grabbed a tie line, while Jason waited until the
boat was secure before disengaging the auto-pilot.
"You boys ready for the tour?" Dianne
asked.
"Yeah!" Brett exclaimed, as they
grabbed their bags and headed for the lift.
* * *
Stepping out of the lift Jason was thinking
about his first time on the old ORCA station. He
remembered loathing the entire experience, and now here he was
voluntarily moving onto a new one.
"Welcome to the ORCA NOREO facility,"
the computer console announced, "will all new residents
please proceed to the berth allocation terminal."
"HELEN!" Jason exclaimed, "you're
here!"
"Of course I'm here," H.E.L.E.N.
replied in a neutral manner, "where did you expect me to be?"
The group chuckled at H.E.L.E.N.'s
unintentional humor. Brett asked, "So how are you
HELEN? You gave us quite the scare on ORCA; I thought we were
going to lose you."
"Thank you for your concern Brett," H.E.L.E.N.
responded, "I can assure you that all of my systems are
operating within established parameters. You will find
your allocated quarters on GAMMA level, module 3, cabins 9
through 11."
The display flicked briefly, and highlighted on
a group of three cabins.
"Hey, you mean we each get our own cabin
this time?!" exclaimed Brett
"Yes," Dianne replied, "This
station is large enough that you can each have your own cabin,
although we will share a common living area. Remember,
you're old enough to keep your own cabins clean, I won't be
picking up after you."
"Yes Mom," Jason and Brett replied in
unison.
As Winston used the terminal to find out his
cabin assignment, the group grabbed their bags and trekked to
their cabins.
* * *
Having settled in, Dianne called out to the
boys, "So do you guys want a tour?"
At that moment the door chime rang, and Dianne
answered the door. "Hi Winston, I was just going
to give the guys a tour of the station, did you want to join us?"
"Thank you" Winston replied, "that
would be most gracious of you."
"Jason, Brett," Dianne called out
again, "did you want to see the station?"
"Sorry Mom," Jason replied as he came
out of his cabin into the main living area, "I was just
looking around the quarters; it's so much larger than the last
one. Brett? You coming?"
Brett was busy gawking at all the different
things in his room when Jason's voice caught his attention. "Yeah,
I'm coming now," Brett replied as he moved into the main
living area.
"Alright then," Dianne announced,
"let's be off." The group followed her into the
corridor. She halted them after a few steps at a door
with the words 'emergency escape hatch' on it.
"Guys, this is where..." Dianne
stopped speaking and looked around, then continued in a hushed
voice, "... Neri will be able to enter NOREO. It's
very close to our cabin, and she won't need to change into a
uniform. H.E.L.E.N. has been instructed to disable the
sensors here when Neri approaches, and she'll assist Neri to make
sure she isn't seen in the passageway."
"That's great Mom," Jason piped in
response to the news, "I'm sure Neri will feel a little more
at ease when she visits. It was a worry when she had
to come from another deck. How did you swing it? I
thought emergency access points were one way only?"
"Well," Dianne began, "I
convinced them that should there ever be an emergency where they
need to get in to NOREO that there should be an emergency
access point on each deck. It just so happens that I
suggested this would be the best spot for one," she
concluded with a grin.
"Anyway, let's get on with the tour. I
thought we would start at the bottom," Dianne continued,
"and work our way to the bridge. Any objections?"
Entering the lift Dianne spoke aloud, "Omega
deck." The doors closed and it started moving downwards. In
a few moments the lift stopped and the doors opened again. As
she stepped out Dianne announced, "Omega level contains all
the plants. Engineering, waste processing,
environmental controls and H.E.L.E.N.'s computer core are all
located on this deck."
The group walked behind Dianne until they came
to a room. As they entered Dianne continued to speak. "In
here we have the mini-sub launch bay. It's similar to
the mini-fin, except this vessel is larger and holds up to four
people." She gestured to the wall, adding, "It also has
the benefit of not requiring us to squeeze in through a tiny
hatch."
Winston moved over to a console and pushed a
button. At that moment a panel on the wall slid open
and the group was able to see the sub which was docked to the
facility.
"Hey, cool!" Brett responded.
"Can we give it a test drive?" Jason
asked of his mother.
"I'm sorry Jason," Dianne responded,
"but we don't have the time right now. Maybe
later OK? In the adjoining room is the deep water diving gear and
there is an access hatch should you need to get in or out. Remember
to tell Neri that she really shouldn't use this access point
since we have one near our cabin."
"OK Mom," Jason replied.
"Alright, Lima deck is all research labs,
and Gamma deck is strictly residential & classrooms, so we'll
skip those for now and head to Delta level."
* * *
Once the lift doors opened on Delta deck, they
walked down the corridor and into the galley. Brett
headed for the food dispenser, while Jason wandered around.
"This is a state of the art food
dispensing system," Dianne announced, "installed just
this year. Although you may still not like the choices
of healthy food, there won't be any food temperature problems
like we had on ORCA. On the outer ring of this deck
are most of our storage facilities."
Dianne gestured to the group, and they headed
back to the lift on their way to Beta deck. When they
arrived, Dianne again began to explain the purpose of the deck as
they walked around. "This is the first deck below
the waterline and it contains the primary command center. The
bridge is through here, but we can take a look if we head this
way."
As they rounded the bend, they could see inside
the bridge though clear glass panels that were installed. It
looked quite elaborate and Jason was looking forward to his first
duty shift.
Jason's thoughts were interrupted as his mother
began to speak. "There are also a few more labs
on this deck, and it's where Winston will have his lab. My
office is on this level, and you can also access the boats though
here." She pointed to a passageway on their right.
"OK, last stop is Alpha deck," Dianne
said as they used the lift. "On this deck we have
our secondary command center, which will be used to co-ordinate
above sea activities and act as a back up to the primary command
center should it ever become damaged."
"Are both command centers manned at all
hours?" Jason asked.
"No," his mother responded, "The
Alpha level command center is only used during daylight hours; at
night the Beta level command center is the only one operating. We
have a helipad on top of Alpha deck, and the deck has a nice view
of the island and ocean from all areas. You'll find
most of the recreation facilities here, and there is also limited
access to the island."
"Wow," Brett exclaimed as he looked
around a recreation room, "This place is huge!"
"Well that's about it for the tour,"
Dianne announced, "what do you think Jason?"
"It's great Mom," Jason replied,
"it will take a little getting used to I bet, but I like the
idea of having a deck above water for a change."
"Yes," Dianne said as she nodded her
head in agreement, "but remember, during bad storms this
deck will be off limits. This part of the Ocean is known to get
pretty bad typhoons, so we'll have to be cautious during the
rainy season. In any case, I have to report in, so why
don't you have a look around."
This derivitive work is copyright to Jonathan M. Shiff Productions Pty. Ltd. and the author Savant, ©2001