Stolen Ideas

Besides, Janssens, Yavuz, and Asimov were those whom I had sent the invitations to, already clustered up into small groups and waiting for me. It didn’t take long to see that the groups were those that were part of the mutiny and those that weren’t. Because most of them were tech ratings, they had been aware of the puppet protocols. The lone exception was, surprisingly Corpsman Torres.

“Okay, Jax. You wanted us here. What’s this about?” Torres asked

Apparently she was still holding a grudge.

“Thanks for asking. Who wants to build a space station?” I said with a grin.

No one was expecting that.

“Now that I have your attention, who heard that Captain's announcement this morning? That’s what this is about. I have been selected as a team leader to help to design the new colony, space station, mining stations, or outpost. We get to choose. Then, our designs will be reviewed. Hera loves her simulations, and she has Yama on board so, no clue what decision process will be, though something tells me, we’ll be back in a game.”

“Some of you have been pre-selected by me. Yavuz is a Materialworker, Asimov is an AI/SI designer, and Janssens is a Marine. I need a medic to help design the sick bays as well as help with the layout of emergency supplies, med-kits and the like. I need Aviation Engineers for landing bay designs, the AOE’s for help designing the weapons and fuel storage facilities, CBs for general construction designs and planning and lastly the Combat Engineer because defense and offense go hand in hand.”

Any word back from Wachowski or Le Roux?

None. Messages delivered, messages read. Possible other teams.

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.

“I am not seeing Petty Officer Wachowski or Ensign Le Roux, so that is why we have additional Machinist Mates and the Electronics Engineers here that I don’t know. Obviously, your rates speak for themselves as to why you are here. So, who’s interested?”

There was a general murmur of consent. One of the Aviation Engineers stepped aside.

“Ma’am? I already accepted an invitation to a team, so I am afraid I have a prior agreement.”

“Understood. You’re all chosen because you work well with others, and you have exceptional aptitude scores, so I am not surprised. Good luck to you and yours.”

I looked at the 29 people still in front of me. Surprisingly Torres was still here.

“Now for the ugly parts. Each of my team members will be required to have an Advanced Neural Link installed. Bright side, it is done mostly with Nano. The downside, big fucking headaches for about three days.”

“The new Neurals will allow for a link with your new personalized SI. Once it is keyed to you, it will evolve.”

Asimov swore more than a little.

“That’s right Asimov, thank you for Neith, by the way. Because the rest of you don’t know, Asimov and some of his have developed a new form of SI that is built from the ground up in the crystal cores that we are now building. They can link directly to the Advanced Neural Links so no need to have the core with you. I named my NI Neith because I had an issue working with some synthetic fabric designs that would be necessary for uniforms in the future. Soon we will need to worry about lased light refraction and reflection. Possibly even plasma cartridges, canisters, and shells.”

“We know that there are other space-faring alien species in this sector of the universes, we don’t know their weapons tech, but I can assure you that Hera is working on laser tech. It would not surprise me if the other Arks were not doing at least that same research. There are seven more Arks out there that all have the same base level of technology as we do. If they are friendly, which I am hoping the two that didn’t fire on us are, no big deal. We know that there are five other Arks which are at a minimum, not our allies and probably not neutral.”

“Even though we fired no shots at our allies, that does not mean that their ships didn’t report shots fired. What several of you are not aware of, is that the old Neural software, which is what our old terminal software was also using, as well as a large portion of the AI/SI/VI software was based on, was subject to what we are calling a ‘puppet’ attack. This attack was such that all senior command, as well as all AI, had been compromised. Once we freed the last of leadership, the attacks happened. That tells me that the other Arks were if not still are, compromised.”

“My point in letting you all know this is that the Advanced Neural Links are safe, they allow for more flexibility, and they are more secure than what is currently in your skulls. That’s why I require the upgrades. Questions?”

The next few minutes were answering questions on the new Neurals the Crystal Cores, and the fabric weaves.

“Here’s where we stand. Janssens, Asimov, and Yavuz, you’re in if you want it. We’ve worked together before, so I know we can work together in the future. Torres, are you willing to give this a shot? You’re decisive, and you obviously care about your team members. I’d like you on as well. I have between eight and ten slots left. I want two AEs, but only have one still here, so you’re in,” I looked at the name on his uniform, “if you want the position that is, Marques.”

“I have two CB slots available, and three of you. Any of you against the upgraded implants?”

The interview went on for an additional thirty minutes. I ended up with Yavuz, Asimov, Janssens, and Torres, all who I already knew. The AE, Marques joined, along with the AOE Jorges. I ended up with all three CBs. The three were Petty Officers named Jamesson, Riviera, and Takeshi. A Machinists Mate Ensign named Werner, and an Electrical Engineer Senior Chief named Watson. There sure were a lot of Watsons on board the Ark. Rounding out the numbers was a Gunnery Sergeant Combat Engineer named Turing and a Hull Tech named Thorisdottir.

I sent off the list of my team members to Hera and company, then we all went to medical to get their Neurals upgraded.

After Medical I requisitioned cores with a Neural matrix that was ready for a new SI for everyone, and then we visited Asimov’s office to put some programming into the cores. Thanks to Neith, Asimov already had a seed for a crystal-core based SI/NI. All that was left was for the package selections for them as well as them naming them.

Two days later we were outside of the conference room that had been set aside for our team. Part of me had been hoping that we would be allowed back into the “Experiential Sciences” room, but that was not to me.

“Rasputin, we’re at our room, and the doors are locked tight. What’s the deal?”

“Your team is early, Jax. There are five minutes before the start. All teams must be given a fair chance for designs. Have you decided on which designs you are going to attempt?”

I looked at my team and grinned.

“All of them.”

“All of them? Does your team agree with you?”

A chorus of “yes” “yup” and “of course she wants to do them all” came from my team, along with a few heavy sighs, but no one disagreed.

The doors opened, and we were allowed inside. The pod/chair combos that had been in Hera’s room were around a conference table that looked to be built from crystal cores, with a holo-projector on the surface. A holographic time display was counting down from 4:17 floated above the table.

“YES!” I shouted, and everyone looked at me like I was crazy.

“You’ll understand in a few minutes. Rasputin, what are we looking at regarding time dilation?”

“We have thousands fewer for this round, so we will still be near what you experienced with Hera.”

I climbed into a chair and plugged in. Everyone else followed suit.

“Twelve hours to thirty minutes, then? I can work with that.”

Idle chatter was on everyone’s lips as we were waiting for the timer to reach zero. The red numbers hit 00:00, flashed twice and turned green. Darkness filled my vision then a pinprick of light filled everything, and a copy of the conference room unfolded in my view for me. A few moments passed. Relative seconds, as everyone else popped into their place.

Instead of the timer, four figures stood in holographic display over the table. Hera, Yama, Rasputin, and Observer. Hera began.

“Your team is ambitious. Only one other group has decided to take on all the primary infrastructure needs. The first test will be your choice. A mining platform a mining station, or new mining ships.

“I say we go for a refinery ship with mining drones. We classify it as a mining ship, seeing as how that is its essential function. Is there anyone else who wants to throw in their input?”

I was met with silence

“Marques, Jorges, time for you two to shine. If we can, let’s see about also building in a drone factory that can send out cargo drops without having to head back whenever it gets full. That would increase its range and operational time.”

“Ma’am, what size are we looking at? That is going to be a lot of hardware to put in. We can do it, no problem, but then propulsion becomes a thing.”

Jorges was the first to respond. Marques, on the other hand, pulled out a hand-held and started to work.

“Hey, Marques? Let’s go to a bigger screen.” I walked to one of the bulkheads. “Hera, can we set this room up like your temple? Interactive walls?”

The room shimmered, and we were standing in a space five times what we had been in. The walls were all comprised of interactive displays. The center of the room now had a standard outlined area sectioned off with “do not cross” signs all around it.

“Let’s go double the size, if possible?”

Another shimmer. We were now in an office overlooking an empty hangar. Inside the office, the walls were all still fully interactive.

“Okay, Werner, help out with getting the machines designed. Yavuz, work on material testing. Asimov, work on the drone designs – two types, one for the miners themselves, the other for a cargo pod. Jamesson, Riviera and Takeshi, there won’t be much for you three this round. That goes for you too, Janssens, but ask questions if you see something. It may lead us someplace we hadn’t thought of. Watson, look for ways to save power without compromising the ship. We want this streamlined.”

“Turing, as it’s built up, I want you to look for ways that you would storm the craft. Thorisdottir, work with Yavuz on the materials for the hull. Torres, once we have designs done, I will be relying on you to look through the data to let me know if radioactive materials can leak through anywhere. Until then, design a sick bay that has cryo-stasis bays for two. I want this boat to be able to hold a crew of four comfortably with room for two more passengers. I’ll work on power plant and sensors packages.”

We got to work. There were quite a few calls for sanity checks early on. Everyone was still learning to trust their NI companions. Outside the new craft was being created in several steps, none of which were connected or even ship like at this point. I wanted to see if it was possible to develop this in a type of “modular” design. We snap in what we need, and from there we know what we are capable of. Two of the CBs were reviewing data as the third one spoke up.

“Ma’am? I noticed you have no one working on crew compartments yet. Mind if we give it a go?”

“Good call, Takeshi, go for it. On that note, however, the three of you each design a separate layout. I’d like to see three different sections. One where all the crew will be together, a communal living area. One with a cafeteria, a head, and separate berths for the crew, and last a single communal space connected to private berths each with their own head. You all choose who wants to do what. Janssens, keep them honest about dimensions. Miners are larger in general than Marines.”

Then we were back at it. A few hours passed.

“Ma’am we have those designs for you,” Jamesson said.

“Great, the four of us will go and take a look.” I found a door that should lead down to the hangar deck where the three different layout models were set up.

I stepped into the first.

“Okay, I see a large cafeteria, but no food processing station. The layout is also a little large.” I stepped through the door that led to a bunk room with four bunks and a single head at the end with a shower.

“Good layout in here. Talk to me about these bunks.”

“What do you mean?” Takeshi said. I now knew whose design we were in.

“Well, if there is a decompression event I don’t see any place for the bunks to seal until someone can suit up.

“Uhm, the whole compartment has the seal in it.”

“Okay, but what if the decompression is in here?”

“I see where my fault is, ma’am I’ll make the notes to update my design.”

“Good, I like the overall design, but a few small things like that will need to be updated. Who’s next?” I asked heading into the next model.

“This is mine, ma’am” Riviera said.

We walked into the chamber which was large, though not as large as Takeshi’s common area.

“A table with benches can be raised from the ground. This allows for the space to be used for general meetings, a makeshift compartment for found equipment or whatever else is needed. I also missed the obvious of requiring food prep units. I’ll have to address that.

“Good to know, what else do you have?”

“Crew quarters. Each compartment shares a head with the compartment next to it. Each compartment is set up for single occupancy. I took some inspiration from what I believe the Japanese call it a ‘Capsule Hotel.’”

Sure enough, there were two cabins one on top of the other; the combined height was just over seven feet. Each bed compartment sealed itself and had a small drawer set up for spare ship suits or whatever was placed in there by the occupant. A terminal was on the ceilings so that they could work while laying down. Each of these capsules interiors was four feet deep and seven feet long. One end of the capsule was covered top to bottom with a single occupancy head. The toilet seat folded down and out from bulkhead. One had to get out of their bunk to enter, but it would work for their needs. That’s when I realized it was set up for a total of eight crew and passengers. Two on each side? I asked. Looking the answer was obvious. The shower/head combo rooms would be either in the center or on the ends.

I looked over to see Jamesson typing away frantically at his hand-held.

“Need a few more minutes?”

“Just reworking my design and stealing from my colleague.” He stated.

When we exited Rivieras model, Jamessons flickered and was replaced by a new design.

“Riviera, I liked your capsules a lot, so I stole them,” Jamesson said, unapologetically.

We walked in; the room was set up very similar Instead of the head/shower combo rooms. However, there was a separate room for the showers. The capsules were in a “U” shape with one wall having two sets and the adjoining walls each having one set. The main room was also similar, but with tables that folded out of the wall instead of rose from the floor.

“Manual instead of motorized, ma’am.” He said with a smirk.

Jamesson walked to a wall and pressed against it to show the mechanism at work for securing the table. It unfolded along with the benches and was able to support us all standing on a single bench or the table top.

The head was equally a treat. There was a separated toilet and shower. Each sealed with a pressurized lock so if there was air loss the occupant had time to suit up.

“Jamesson wins, so I am giving the prize to Riviera.” I smiled as we all re-entered the office.

Jamesson was upset for just a moment then laughed.

“Good call, ma’am I can improve the design, but it’s much more difficult to come up with an original idea.”

That seemed to mollify Riviera.

We removed the other two designs and then worked on getting the food prep stations installed in a way where it wouldn’t impede the functionality of the design. I went back to work on the power plants.

Stolen Ideas - Original

Besides, Janssens, Yavuz and Asimov, were those whom I had sent the invitations to, already clustered up into small groups and waiting for me. It didn’t take long to see that the groups were those that were part of the mutiny and those that weren’t. Because most of them were tech ratings, they had been aware of the puppet protocols. The lone exception was, surprisingly Corpsman Torres.

“Okay, Jax. You wanted us here. What’s this about?” Torres asked

She was obviously still holding a grudge.

“Thanks for asking. Who wants to build a space station?” I said with a grin.

No one was expecting that.

“Now that I have your attention, who heard that Captains announcement this morning? That’s what this is about. I have been selected as a team lead to help to design the new colony, space station. mining stations, or outpost. We get to choose then our designs will be reviewed. Hera loves her simulations, and she has Yama on board so, no clue what decision process will be, though something tells me we’ll be back in a game.”

“Some of you have been pre-selected by me. Yavuz is a Materialworker, Asimov is an AI/SI designer, and Janssens is a Marine. I need a medic to help design the sick bays as well as help with the layout of emergency supplies, med-kits and the like. I need Aviation Engineers for landing bay designs, the AOE’s for help designing the weapons and fuel storage facilities, CBs for general construction designs and planning and lastly the Combat Engineer because defense and offense go hand in hand.”

Any word back from Wachowski or Le Roux?

None. Messages delivered, messages read. Possible other teams.

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.

“I am not seeing Petty Officer Wachowski or Ensign Le Roux, so that is why we have additional Machinist Mates and the Electronics Engineers here that I don’t know. Obviously, your rates speak for themselves as to why you are here. So, who’s interested?”

There was a general murmur of consent. One of the Aviation Engineers stepped aside.

“Ma’am? I already accepted an invitation to a team, so I am afraid I have a prior agreement.”

“Understood. You’re all chosen because you work well with others and you have exceptional aptitude scores, so I am not surprised. Good luck to you and yours.”

I looked at the 29 people still in front of me. Surprisingly Torres was still here.

“Now for the ugly parts. Each of my team members will be required to have an Advanced Neural Link installed. Bright side, it is done mostly with Nano. Downside, big fucking headaches for about three days.”

“The new Neurals will allow for a link with your new personalized SI. Once it is keyed to you it will evolve.”

Asimov swore more than a little.

“That’s right Asimov, thank you for Neith, by the way. Because the rest of you don’t know, Asimov and some of his have developed a new form of SI that is built from the ground up in the crystal cores that we are now building. They can link direct to the Advanced Neurals Links so no need to have the core with you. I named my NI Neith because I had an issue working with some synthetic fabric designs that would be necessary for uniforms in the future. Soon we will need to worry about lased light refraction and reflection. Possibly even plasma cartridges, canisters, and shells.”

“We know that there are other space faring alien species in this sector of the universes, we don’t know their weapons tech, but I can assure you that Hera is working on laser tech. It would not surprise me if the other Arks were not doing at least that same research. There are seven additional Arks out there that all have the same base level of technology as we do. If they are friendly, which I am hoping the two that didn’t fire on us are, no big deal. We know that there are five other Arks which are at a minimum not our allies and probably not neutral.”

“Even though we fired no shots at our allies, that does not mean that their ships didn’t report shots fired. What several of you are not aware of, is that the old Neural software, which is what the terminal software was based on, as well as a large portion of the AI/SI/VI software was based on, was subject to what we are calling a ‘puppet’ attack. This attack was such that all senior command as well as all AI had been compromised. Once we freed the last of leadership the attacks happened. That tells me that the other Arks were, if not still are, compromised.”

“My point in letting you all know this is that the Advanced Neural Links are safe, they allow for more flexibility, and they are more secure than what is currently in your skulls. That’s why I am requiring the upgrades. Questions?”

The next few minutes were answering questions on the new Neurals the Crystal Cores, and the fabric weaves.

“Here’s where we stand. Janssens, Asimov, and Yavuz, you’re in if you want it. We’ve worked together before, so I know we can work together in the future. Torres, are you willing to give this a shot? You’re decisive and you obviously care about your team members. I’d like you on as well. I have between eight and ten slots left. I want two AEs, but only have one still here, so you’re in,” I looked at the name on his uniform, “if you want the position that is, Marques”.

“I have two CB slots available, and three of you. Any of you against the upgraded implants?”

The interview went on for an additional thirty minutes. I ended up with Yavuz, Asimov, Janssens, and Torres, all who I already knew. The AE Marques joined, along with the AOE Jorges. I ended up with all three CBs. The three were Petty Officers named Jamesson, Riviera, and Takeshi. A Machinists Mate Ensign named Werner, and an Electrical Engineer Senior Chief named Watson. There sure were a lot of Watsons on board the Ark. Rounding out the numbers was a Gunnery Sergeant Combat Engineer named Turing and a Hull Tech named Thorisdottir.

I sent off the list of my team members to Hera and company, then we all went to medical to get their Neurals upgraded.

After Medical I requisitioned cores with a neural matrix that were ready for a new SI for everyone, and then we visited Asimov’s office to put some programming into the cores. Thanks to Neith, Asimov already had a seed for a crystal-core based SI/NI. All that was left was for the package selections for them as well as them naming them.

Two days later we were outside of the conference room that had been set aside for our team. Part of me had been hoping that we would be allowed back into the “Experiential Sciences” room, but that was not to me.

“Rasputin, we’re at our room, and the doors are locked tight. What’s the deal?”

“Your team is early, Jax. There are five minutes before the start. All teams must be given a fair chance for designs. Have you decided on which designs you are going to attempt?”

I looked at my team and grinned.

“All of them.”

“All of them? Does your team agree with you?”

A chorus of “yes” “yup” and “of course she wants to do them all” came from my team, along with a few heavy sighs, but no one disagreed.

The doors opened, and we were allowed inside. The pod/chair combos that had been in Hera’s room were around a conference table that looked to be build from crystal cores, with a holo-projector on the surface. A holographic time display counting down from 4:17 floated above the table.

“YES!” I shouted, and everyone looked at me like I was crazy.

“You’ll understand in a few minutes. Rasputin, what are we looking at in terms of time dilation?”

“We have thousands fewer for this round, so we will still be near what you experienced with Hera.”

I climbed into a chair and plugged in. Everyone else followed suit.

“Twelve hours to thirty minutes, then? I can work with that.”

Idle chatter was on everyone’s lips as we were waiting for the timer to reach zero. The red numbers hit 00:00, flashed twice, and turned green. Darkness filled my vision then a pinprick of light filled everything, and a copy of the conference room unfolded in my view for me. A few moments passed. Relative seconds, as everyone else popped into their place.

Instead of the timer, four figures stood in holographic display over the table. Hera, Yama, Rasputin and Observer. Hera began.

“Your team is ambitious. Only one other team has decided to take on all the major infrastructure needs. The first test will be your choice. A mining platform a mining station, or new mining ships.

“I say we go for a refinery ship with mining drones. We classify it as a mining ship, seeing as how that is its essential function. Anyone else want to throw in their input?”

I was met with silence

“Marques, Jorges, time for you two to shine. If we can, let’s see about also building in a drone factory that can send out cargo drops without having to head back whenever it gets full. That would increase its range and operational time.”

“Ma’am what size are we looking at? That is going to be a lot of hardware to put in. We can do it, no problem, but then propulsion becomes a thing.”

Jorges was the first to respond. Marques, on the other hand pulled out a hand-held and started to work.

“Hey, Marques? Let’s go to a bigger screen.” I walked to one of the bulkheads. “Hera, can we set this room up like your temple? Interactive walls?”

The room shimmered, and we were standing in a room five times what we had been in. The walls all interactive displays. The center of the room now had a basic outlined area sectioned off with “do not cross” signs all around it.

“Let’s go double the size, if possible?”

Another shimmer. We were now in an office overlooking an empty hangar. Inside the office the walls were all still fully interactive.

“Okay, Werner, help out with getting the machines designed. Yavuz, work on material testing. Asimov, work on the drone designs – two types, one for the miners themselves, the other for a cargo pod. Jamesson, Riviera and Takeshi, there won’t be much for you three this round. That goes for you too, Janssens, but ask questions if you see something. It may lead us someplace we hadn’t thought of. Watson look for ways to save power without compromising the ship. We want this streamlined.”

“Turing, as it is built up I want you to look for way you would storm the craft. Thorisdottir, work with Yavuz on the materials for the hull. Torres, once we have designs done I will be relying on you to look through the data to let me know if radioactive materials can leak through anywhere. Until then, design a sick bay that has cryo-stasis bays for two. I want this boat to be able to hold a crew of four comfortably with room for two more passengers. I’ll work on power plant and sensors packages.”

We got to work. There were quite a few calls for sanity checks early on. Everyone was still learning to trust their NI companions. Outside the new craft was being created in several steps, none of which were connected or even ship like at this point. I wanted to see if it was possible to create this in a type of “modular” design. We snap in what we need and from there we know what we are capable of. Two of the CBs were reviewing data as the third one spoke up.

“Ma’am? I noticed you have no one working on crew compartments yet. Mind if we give it a go?”

“Good call, Takeshi, go for it. On that note, however, the three of you each design a separate layout. I’d like to see three different sections. One where all the crew will be together, a communal living area. One with a cafeteria, a head, and separate berths for crew, and last a single communal space connected to private berths each with their own head. You all choose who wants to do what. Janssens, keep them honest about dimensions. Miners are larger in general than Marines.”

Then we were back at it. A few hours passed.

“Ma’am we have those designs for you.” Jamesson said.

“Great, the four of us will go and take a look.” I found a door that should lead down to the hangar deck where the three different layout models were set up.

I stepped into the first.

“Okay, I am seeing a large cafeteria, but no food processing station. I am seeing that the layout is also a little large.” I stepped through the door that led to a bunk room with four bunks and a single head at the end with a shower.

“Good layout in here. Talk to me about these bunks.”

“What do you mean?” Takeshi said. I now knew whose design we were in.

“Well, if there is a decompression event I am not seeing any place for the bunks to seal until someone can suit up.

“Uhm, the whole compartment has the seal in it.”

“Okay, but what if the decompression is in here?”

“I see where my fault is, ma’am I’ll make the notes to update my design.”

“Good, I like the over all design, but a few small things like that will need to be updated. Who’s next?” I asked heading into the next model.

“This is mine, ma’am” Riviera said.

We walked into the chamber which was a large, though not as large as Takeshi’s common area.

“A table with benches can be raised from the ground. This allows for the space to be used for general meetings, a make shift compartment for found equipment or whatever else is needed. I also missed the queue of needing food prep units. I’ll have to address that.

“Good to know, what else do you have?”

“Crew quarters. Each compartment shares a head with the compartment next to it. Each compartment is set up for single occupancy. I took some inspiration from what I believe the Japanese call it a ‘Capsule Hotel’.”

Sure enough, there were two cabins one on top of the other, the combined height was just over seven feet. Each bed compartment sealed itself and had a small drawer set up for spare ship suits or whatever was placed in there by the occupant. A terminal was on the ceilings so that they could work while laying down. Each of these capsules interiors was four feet deep and seven feet long. One end of the capsule was covered top to bottom with a single occupancy head. The toilet seat folded down and out from bulkhead One had to get out of their bunk to enter but it would work for their needs. That’s when I realized it was set up for a total of eight crew and passengers. Two on each side? I asked. Looking the answer was obvious. The shower/head combo rooms would be either in the center or on the ends.

I looked over to see Jamesson typing away frantically at his hand-held.

“Need a few more minutes?”

“Just reworking my design and stealing from my colleague.” He stated.

When we exited Rivieras model, Jamessons flickered and was replaced by a new design.

“Riviera, I liked your capsules a lot so I stole them” Jamesson said, unapologetically.

We walked in, the room was set up very similar Instead of the head/shower combo rooms, however there was a separate room for the showers. The capsules were in a “U” shape with one wall having two sets and the adjoining walls each having one set. The main room was also similar, but with tables that folded out of the wall instead of rose from the floor.

“Manual instead of motorized, ma’am.” He said with a smirk.

Jamesson walked to a wall and pressed against it to show the mechanism at work for securing the table. It unfolded along with the benches and was able to support us all standing on a single bench or the table top.

The head was equally a treat. There was a separated toilet and shower. Each sealed with a pressurized lock so if there was air loss the occupant had time to suit up.

“Jamesson wins, so I am giving the prize to Riviera.” I smiled as we all re-entered the office.

Jamesson was upset for just a moment then laughed.

“Good call, ma’am I can improve a design, but it is much more difficult to come up with an original idea.”

That seemed to mollify Riviera.

We removed the other two designs and then worked on getting the food prep stations installed in a way where it wouldn’t impede the functionality of the design. I went back to work on the power plants.