You
step to a panel to the side of the Communications officer's station
and press a button. You speak into the intercom, “Bridge to
Lieutenant McClusky. Prepare a boarding party for a rescue mission.
Colony ship, life support damaged, exact conditions unknown. Please
acknowledge.”
A
strong female voice comes out of the intercom speaker. “Confirmed.
Rescue party, colony ship, unknown environmental circumstances. Two
patrols will suit up for hard vacuum with the rest on standby until
more data is available.”
The
speaker goes dead and you return to your position next to the
Captain's chair. “Marines informed. Two patrols will be in full
environment suits by the time we rendezvous. The rest are awaiting
more information before determining how much gear they will need.”
The
Captain nods his acknowledgment and studies the main display. The
colony ship's location has just appeared along with data such as
relative speed, course, and other important pieces of information.
The name Star Settler appears
above the ship's icon.
Captain Hogarth turns to the Engineering station.
“Chief Griswold, verify fuel levels and prepare to spin up the
sublight drive. Once we are out of FTL, leave the ramscoops closed
and run us on generator power. We'll about collecting hydrogen and
recharging the FTL drive after completing the rescue operations.”
The Chief Engineer taps a few keys on his panel.
“Understood, sir. Sublight fuels levels are sufficient for
standard maneuvering and docking procedures. If it looks like we
will be here an extended time, we can open the ramscoops and grab
some hydrogen while docked to the colony ship.”
The Captain presses a button on the armrest of his
chair. The ship-wide address system emits the customary tones that
alert everyone to an important announcement. “Attention all hands.
We are diverting from our planned course to respond to a distress
call from a colony ship. Exact conditions are unknown at this time.
Boarding parties are already prepared. Medical and Engineering teams
standby until we know if we are assisting their crew or evacuating
their ship. Prepare for transition from FTL to normal space in 15
minutes from my mark...Mark!”
Decks below your feet, repair technicians and medical
teams are checking their kits to ensure all of their tools are
present. The engine room is bustling with activity as readings are
checked and double checked for the changeover from one drive to
another.
Your mental countdown to the deactivation of the FTL
drive reaches 14 seconds when the ship is suddenly rocked. Some of
the system indicators on the main display have gone from green to
red. The navigational display should have narrowed to the area as
the ship entered normal space, but it continues to show the larger
interstellar maps used when traveling faster-than-light.
Alarms begin ringing all over the ship and red lights
activate. It is only the discipline of the experienced crew that
prevents any of them from panicking.
The
Captain starts bellowing out orders. “All decks, damage reports.
Engineering, why did we not drop back into normal space? Helm, keep
our course in a tight spiral so we don't drift too far from the
Settler.
Communications, notify the Settler
that we will be delayed until further notice.”
Engineering Chief Griswold types maniacally on his
console. “Captain, I am getting no readings from Engineering at
all. There was a spike in the power flow out of the sublight engine
as it was powering up. The next thing I know, all systems are dead.”
The Captain activates the intercom again, “Bridge to
Engineering, what is the status of the engines?”
There is no response. Captain Hogarth looks at the
Communications officer. She checks a few indicators on her panel.
“Sir, internal ship communications are offline. My systems aren't
showing any activity off the bridge.”
The Captain turns to you. “We need to find out what
is happening in Engineering. You and Chief Griswold get down there
and find out what is going on. In the meantime, we will get the
intercom working again.”
You and Engineer Griswold step into the lift at the back
of the bridge and ride down to the Engineering deck.
If you get off the lift early to get a Medic on the way
to Engineering, click HERE.
If you go directly to Engineering to assess the damage,
click HERE.
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