Banished! — 11: The Topside Extenders

As the Captain had ordered, Carson put out a call over the speakers that all colonists who had been assigned or volunteered to install the topside extenders to gather in the mess hall. He had divided them into work groups, each with different sets of tasks. Some had to be completed before others could begin.

The very earliest of the teams would bring out the unassembled parts from the hold as needed, and in the order required. They would be working near the rockets at the thicker end of the ship, which was also where the loading/unloading hatch opened to the outside. At midships would be those actually beginning the assemblage of the framework.

First would be the mainframe which would straddle the ship, with connectors allowing the first set of extenders to be attached, which would function as connectors for the next set of extenders. In this way, with more crews assigned, the work would proceed as they worked their way out to the full length provided by those on Earth that had dreamed up the entire structure. Carson was hopeful that everything would work as envisioned.

The briefing went quickly to ensure that everyone was on board with the job and ready to proceed. Carson led the initial crew, consisting of twenty colonists that had gone through interviews and appeared to be among the most qualified for the job, out onto the…