WCGW Chpt 149

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==Chapter 149 - What Could Go Wrong==
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16th November, 3043
Pilon (Former Outworlds System)
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Captain Harold Croyle studied the collapsed mountain side from a ground level while a team ran a ground penetrating radar across the area to confirm any evidence of the runway. Once they had confirmed that it was there, just buried under several meters of topsoil, he gave the order for his engineers to begin excavating and clearing the area. It was going to be slow going, he already knew that from what he could see. But he had 2 weeks to gain access to the base, restore enough power to open the main door and see what could be salvaged. He had already given up any hope of attempting any sort of salvage operation this trip, there would not be enough time.
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27th November, 3043
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A small team made their way into the base thru the fairly small "crack" they had unearthed. Using portable lights, they scanned the hangar which contained no aircraft but a few support vehicles. It took an hour to reach the security section near the main entrance to the base. Then another couple of hours to figure out where and how to hook into the bases power grid to power only the items they wanted. This done, they exited the base itself. They would return tomorrow to begin the actual work itself.
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28th November, 3043
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It took until midday to restart a fusion powered J-27 Ordnance Vehicle from the hangar area and then move it close to the main entrance, get all the power cables manually run to where they could be hooked up to the base security computer and main entrance door. When it was all done, just before dusk, First Lieutenant Nathan Davis inserted his security "key" into the now powered up base computer. He typed in the command to open the main entrance door and the massive door began to move, very slowly. One of the techs overseeing the J-27's fusion plant signaled a halt to the operation.
"We are going to burn something up if we keep going. This little power plant just does not have the juice to power that damned door. It's just too damned big. We are going to need a larger power plant. She can power the computer and maybe lights, but not everything else."
"Everyone spread out and search the entire base, see if we can find anything with a bigger fusion plant." Captain Harold Croyle said
Two hours later, a small team of techs studied the GTX2A Daedalus ConstructionMech that had been located in the very back of one of the large offshoot hangars. "According to the maintenance records, her power plant was solid but there was a problem with its DI Computer. They did not have a replacement, so they dead lined it. All we can do is restart the reactor and see if we can get it to the main entrance."
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29th November, 3043
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With the Daedalus replacing the J-27, they attempted to open the main entrance once again. This time, the door moved at what they considered a normal speed. When it was finally open, Captain Harold Croyle ordered "We only have a short time, everyone grab a clipboard and let's get a quick inventory done inside this base. I need a team sealing up our excavation, down and dirty but I do not want anyone to be able to clear it open easily. We will leave the Daedalus hooked up for our return. Let's get moving people, we need to boost by midday tomorrow or heads will roll."
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30th November, 3043
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Captain Harold Croyle and First Lieutenant Nathan Davis watched the massive door close itself back up, once again sealing the SLDF base. The security key was removed, locking the base down once again. They headed for the waiting Dropships.
"The only real things of value are the base itself. But it is going to be quite a task tearing it apart and then moving it all back to Thazi. Then even more work getting it all installed there." Captain Harold Croyle said
"But it will be worth the effort, Captain. While the hangar area is trashed, everything else looked okay. When we are done, we will have a fully functional base to work from along with two smaller bases. Just think, you will be the first person to build an actual SLDF base in almost 300 years. Maybe not from a scratch start, but pretty damned close to it." First Lieutenant Davis replied
"Yeah, but we still have to convince Colonel Dortman to authorize an extended operation here to strip the place clean. Which could take a long time to accomplish." Captain Croyle said
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