“You get back to Engineering. Don't let them start the sublight engines until you are ready. I will go to the bridge and alert them about the engine problems and have the Chief get down here. I have an idea for a temporary communications workaround. If it works, I'll send a mobile communicator with the Chief. While you get the engines working, I'll try to get the internal communications all sorted out.”

With a quick “Understood,” the engineer turns back around and hurries back into the Engineering section of the deck. You turn and step into the lift. As is your habit, you count the decks you pass between Engineering and the bridge. With about three decks left to rise through, the entire lift car rocks back and forth. You crumple to the floor as you are thrown against one of walls of the car and knocked out.

You awaken to see a bright light above you and feel a firm bed under you. Your head hurts as you move so you take your time to look around at your surroundings. You recognize the area as the ship's Sick Bay at the same moment a doctor walks up to your bed. The doctor injects something into your arm and the ache in your head starts to clear almost instantly. You ask the one question that is burning in your mind. “What happened to me?”

The doctor consults her tablet and presses a few buttons on the panel above your head. “There was an explosion in Engineering. The entire ship was rocked with the force of it, including the lift you were in. You were tossed around quite a bit and suffered some head injuries along with a couple of broken bones. Nothing we couldn't take care of easily once you were found on the floor of the lift.”

“What about the ship? I was on my way to the bridge to alert them of something wrong with the sublight engines. If there was an explosion, how did the ship survive?”

“Apparently, there was some kind of glitch in the ship's power systems. It knocked out the internal communications and fouled up the FTL engines. Fortunately, a quick thinking engineer managed to get the ship transitioned to normal space before anything too bad happened. There were a number of other injured people in the explosion, but the ship itself is still largely intact. Due to some damage to the sublight engines, it is taking us a little longer than expected to reach the Star Settler, but we will get there.”

Your vision cleared and the headache vanished completely while the doctor spoke. “Thank you for the update. How long until I am clear to return to duty?”

The doctor runs a scanner over your body, taking a little extra around your head. “It looks like your regrown bones have knitted well enough. No signs of any neurological damage. You are cleared to return to duty, just be aware there may be some joint soreness for a couple of days.”

You sit up and spryly hop off of the medical bed. “Thank you again, Doc. Before I go, are your teams ready to aid the colony ship when we do eventually arrive?”

“Yes, all of our medical teams will have their kits refilled and prepared before Given the last update we received from the bridge, my Medics will be able to get some rest in before we reach the colony ship.”

You nod to the doctor and leave Sick Bay on your way back to the bridge. Once there, you glance around and see everyone still at their stations, except Chief Engineer Griswold. The Engineering station sits empty. When you reach your position next to Captain Hogarth's chair, you meet his eye and glance at the Engineering station.

The Captain looks back at the main display. “Chief McClusky is staying down in Engineering for the time being, working on patching up the sublight engines. We have restored the intercoms, but it is still hit and miss.”

You look at the main display and consider the updated navigational data. There is going to be a much longer delay getting to the Star Settler than you expected, even after the doctor spoke to you. There may be a chance to test your idea for a workaround for the problems with the internal communications system.

“Captain, has anyone tested to see if the portable communications units we use for away missions are functioning? Since they use an external relay system, they shouldn't be impacted by whatever is causing the problems with the intercoms. If we issue one to every member of the crew on duty, or at least one or two to each department, then we would have reliable communication throughout the ship.”

Without taking his eyes off of the display, Captain Hogarth gestures in the direction of the Communications console. “Grab a portable communicator and test it. Make sure it will work without any issues, then give every department head one for required communications.”

You pass the remaining time until the rendezvous with the colony ship testing your idea for the communications system and distributing communicators to various personnel around the ship. You finish establishing your improvised communications network as your ship begins final maneuvers to dock with the Star Settler. You reach the bridge as the helmsman brings the ships as close as possible to each other and brings the relative speeds to zero.

Captain Hogarth picks up a communicator. “Attention all hands. Boarding parties to their assigned airlocks. Medical staff and repair crews to standby stations. Docking umbillicals are being extended. We will initiate rescue operations immediately after a good seal is confirmed.”

If you volunteer to go with the boarding parties to the Star Settler, click HERE.

If you remain on the bridge and watch the boarding parties via remote monitors, click HERE.