“Captain, what happened? Mal woke up everyone.”
“I know. Impact on the port side. Sensors are
down, and there’s fire on board.”
“Are the engines all right? I can head down there—”
“Barry’s already on it. They seem to be untouched,
but we’ve had a few artificial gravity fluctuations, so he’s going to examine
the pulse feeds. Once he’s done there, I’m having him do an EVA outside to
check the collection panels for damage.”
The Váli, unlike most ships, possessed an
unusual secondary propulsion system, one that allowed for extremely long-range
travel without draining power. While the standard fusion engines would provide
basic propulsion and maneuverability, the collection panels would gather cosmic
energy and solar radiation when deployed, gradually filling a series of reserve
power stores, while also directly feeding a supplementary pulse drive.
Without the resistance of an atmosphere, this
system allowed the ship to progressively ramp up its speed over time. It also
allowed, should an emergency occur, for several short, but intense, bursts of
speed. The only drawback being such an act would drain the entire system and
require quite some time to recharge.
“Captain, what about the shuttle?” Reggie asked.
“Impact was up top, so it was protected by the
body of the ship. Good thing it’s mounted upside-down to the bottom.
Unfortunately, that means our comms and navigation array are what took a
beating. How are the others coming?”
“I saw Vincent and Finn gearing up. Do we know
where the fire is?”
“Negative. We have to do a full-ship check,
starting with compartments in proximity of the damaged area. Where the hell is
Gustavo? We’re flying blind here.”
“Here, Captain,” Gus called from the airlock door.
The command center’s lights reflected off the exposed metal patch of his skull
near his cybernetic eye. The metal, like Tamara’s arm, smoothly blended into
his skin. Whatever had happened to him, they’d done extensive repairs,
including not just his skull and eye, but part of his ear as well. The
navigator slid into his seat.
“Plug in,” Captain Harkaway barked. “No wireless,
it’s glitching. Go hard-line and tell me what you can see.”
Gustavo pulled a high-capacity data cable from his
station and plugged it into the slot at the base of his skull.
“I see where Mal’s problem is, sir. Several relays
near Starboard Seven have been damaged. Possible fire, though I can’t be sure.”
“Starboard as well? Get Swarthmore and Moore in
there. Those two are going to have their work cut out for them.”
“Affirmative, sir,” he said, switching on his mic.
“Daisy, Sarah, do you copy?” Gus asked over the wireless comms.
“Copy,” Daisy replied through her headset.
“Sarah’s still suiting up, but she copies too.”
“Okay, listen up. Captain wants you to hit the
Narrows. One of you in the exterior layer, port side near Pod Twelve, the other
starboard near Pod Seven.”
“We’re on it,” she replied, clicking off the
comms.
“The
crawlspaces. Why does it have to be the crawlspaces?” Sarah lamented.
