gardens and engineering spaces. If you like, we can take a look at them after we visit the living quarters, the mess and bridge. The spaces forward will probably be more interesting to your viewers.”
“I think we should probably go to the front of the ship straight away. That's where the controls are, right?” Susan asked while trying to take in the cluttered cargo hold. “We are starting to get tight on time for the six o'clock broadcast. If we could get some shots of you or the captain—I assume that there is a captain—answering some questions with that glass nose behind you we would be golden.”
“Of course, we will proceed to the bridge. This way please.” Curtis motioned toward a rectangular area of the deck, marked off with a red border, abutting the forward bulkhead. There was an opening in the bulkhead starting about three and a half meters above the deck.
Susan and JT stepped into the painted rectangle and Lt. Curtis said, “You may want to move in from the edges a bit.” The ship's officer pressed a large button recessed in a panel on the wall and the rectangular area of deck began to rise.
“Whoa!” JT exclaimed, “How about givin' a guy some warning?”
“Sorry, this is a cargo lift that is used to move heavy items from the hold to the mid-deck. I didn't mean to startle you.”
Susan remained unflustered, thinking to herself, I believe that was a test of some sort . The lift stopped smoothly at the opening and a large door slid quietly to the side revealing a small brightly lit room and a passageway beyond. Lt. Curtis led the way through the room, past a second heavy door on its far side and into the passage way. The tour narration resumed.
“The companionway to the left leads back down to the lower deck. There you will find crew quarters, a large head with showers and the crew's dayroom. Forward of the dayroom are the officer's quarters and guest staterooms. This ship was designed as both a research vessel and a private yacht. If you have time I can show you the owner's stateroom after we visit the bridge. It is quite something.”
The hallway was done in pleasant, natural colors with indirect lighting running along the sides of the ceiling and short napped carpet on the floor. Doorways pierced the walls at irregular intervals, though these were not nearly as heavily built as the pair of doors they entered through.
“These doors don't look very nautical,” Susan remarked, “and they aren't heavy like the ones we came through from the cargo hold.”
“Good observation, Ma'am. The pair of doors opening onto the cargo hold are airtight. Together they form an airlock so that we still have access to the cargo area even when the hold is open to vacuum. There are a number of other airlocks that allow direct access to the exterior as well.”
Susan nodded, assimilating data. Getting the details right was what made a news story believable. And as her knowledge of West Texas trivia showed, Susan had a mind for details.
“By not looking nautical I presume you mean that the interior doors don't look like the watertight doors on a naval vessel, with high thresholds and a way to dog them shut.” Lt. Curtis continued. “This is a spaceship and not intended to sail upon the briny deep. Hopefully we will never have to deal with water flooding this ship's interior spaces.” Again the hint of a smile.
Susan was getting the impression that Lt. Curtis had a rather sarcastic sense of humor, though she wasn't quite sure their tour guide was laughing at her or not. Sarcastic wit was something the reporter appreciated, since she possessed a similar sense of humor. “Well that explains it! I guess with all the navy jargon I was expecting a more nautical motif,” she said brightly.
The First Officer looked at her unperturbed, then slowly raised a single eyebrow, much like Mr. Spock from the original Star Trek TV series. If she says ‘ fascinating ’ I'll burst out laughing, Susan thought,
“I think we should probably go to the front of the ship straight away. That's where the controls are, right?” Susan asked while trying to take in the cluttered cargo hold. “We are starting to get tight on time for the six o'clock broadcast. If we could get some shots of you or the captain—I assume that there is a captain—answering some questions with that glass nose behind you we would be golden.”
“Of course, we will proceed to the bridge. This way please.” Curtis motioned toward a rectangular area of the deck, marked off with a red border, abutting the forward bulkhead. There was an opening in the bulkhead starting about three and a half meters above the deck.
Susan and JT stepped into the painted rectangle and Lt. Curtis said, “You may want to move in from the edges a bit.” The ship's officer pressed a large button recessed in a panel on the wall and the rectangular area of deck began to rise.
“Whoa!” JT exclaimed, “How about givin' a guy some warning?”
“Sorry, this is a cargo lift that is used to move heavy items from the hold to the mid-deck. I didn't mean to startle you.”
Susan remained unflustered, thinking to herself, I believe that was a test of some sort . The lift stopped smoothly at the opening and a large door slid quietly to the side revealing a small brightly lit room and a passageway beyond. Lt. Curtis led the way through the room, past a second heavy door on its far side and into the passage way. The tour narration resumed.
“The companionway to the left leads back down to the lower deck. There you will find crew quarters, a large head with showers and the crew's dayroom. Forward of the dayroom are the officer's quarters and guest staterooms. This ship was designed as both a research vessel and a private yacht. If you have time I can show you the owner's stateroom after we visit the bridge. It is quite something.”
The hallway was done in pleasant, natural colors with indirect lighting running along the sides of the ceiling and short napped carpet on the floor. Doorways pierced the walls at irregular intervals, though these were not nearly as heavily built as the pair of doors they entered through.
“These doors don't look very nautical,” Susan remarked, “and they aren't heavy like the ones we came through from the cargo hold.”
“Good observation, Ma'am. The pair of doors opening onto the cargo hold are airtight. Together they form an airlock so that we still have access to the cargo area even when the hold is open to vacuum. There are a number of other airlocks that allow direct access to the exterior as well.”
Susan nodded, assimilating data. Getting the details right was what made a news story believable. And as her knowledge of West Texas trivia showed, Susan had a mind for details.
“By not looking nautical I presume you mean that the interior doors don't look like the watertight doors on a naval vessel, with high thresholds and a way to dog them shut.” Lt. Curtis continued. “This is a spaceship and not intended to sail upon the briny deep. Hopefully we will never have to deal with water flooding this ship's interior spaces.” Again the hint of a smile.
Susan was getting the impression that Lt. Curtis had a rather sarcastic sense of humor, though she wasn't quite sure their tour guide was laughing at her or not. Sarcastic wit was something the reporter appreciated, since she possessed a similar sense of humor. “Well that explains it! I guess with all the navy jargon I was expecting a more nautical motif,” she said brightly.
The First Officer looked at her unperturbed, then slowly raised a single eyebrow, much like Mr. Spock from the original Star Trek TV series. If she says ‘ fascinating ’ I'll burst out laughing, Susan thought,
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