Yesterday, 10:08 AM
== NRC's Radley, Bandit & Stripe ==
The trio had only just made it through the wrecked shuttle bay door, not far, just enough to glimpse the full devastation. It had taken a tight squeeze, some awkward manoeuvring, and a good deal of swearing. The twisted frame hadn’t been kind. The heat radiating from the metal made every point of contact feel like leaning against a sunlamp on full.
Now, standing just inside the threshold, the trio paused.
Even with light weight respirators on, the air was foul. Acrid and dense, thick with heat and the invisible bite of chemical residue. The scent of scorched insulation clung to everything.
“There,” Stripe said, pointing past a tangled beam. “That’s the pump. Or what’s left.”
The remnants were scattered. Bits of shredded metal, half a housing unit, blackened fragments. Nothing larger than a fist. The scorch radius around it told the story clearly enough.
“If that thing had been fitted…” Bandit muttered, trailing off.
“Shuttle bay’d be a crater,” Radley finished grimly. “And we'd be doing this from a debris field.”
A voice from further down the corridor caught his attention that was calm and commanding. Commander Jensen.
Radley carefully poked his head back through the jammed door, leaning just far enough into the corridor to be seen. As he did, his hand brushed the twisted edge of the door frame, still uncomfortably warm.
He sucked a breath in through his teeth. “Damn.”
Avoiding leaving any body touching the metal encompassing him for more than a second or two, he took the respirator off his mouth to better address the officers gathering nearby.
“Commander Jensen, sir,” he said with a short nod. “Radley, Alpha Shift. We were sent in from Security to reinforce Midshipman Alden.”
He glanced back into the bay for a beat before continuing. “We’ve identified the likely source of the explosion, a deuterium pump. Good news is, it wasn’t hooked up to the Glennis when it blew. Otherwise… Ka-Boom” He finished with a rather enthusiastic imitative sound.
He paused a beat, allowing his shoddy attempt at sound effects to settle before speaking again. “I sent Alden back to the Complex,” Radley added, voice a touch more level. “He was looking a bit out of it. Not surprising, given the, uh… discoveries out here. He did good, though, considering.”
He nodded once more, tone returning to professional as he continued.
“Area inside’s ugly. We haven't pushed in. Just got far enough to get a read. Structural heat’s still high, air’s rough. We’ve got respirators, but anyone going further in’s gonna need more, robust gear.”
He looked back into the destruction of the shuttle bay and gave a small smile to his misfit, self proclaimed brothers, checking that they hadn't begun to wander. Stripe and Bandit stood almost with their backs against twisted carnage of the doors, still searching the immediate area for any other information and clues without entering the room further and happy they were not getting themselves into any bother, Radley looked back to the First Officer and his gathered team, waiting for any instructions the man might give.
“Standing by for orders, sir.”
== Tag: Jensen, Kal-Geal, Ellis, Bowman, Elliot ==
The trio had only just made it through the wrecked shuttle bay door, not far, just enough to glimpse the full devastation. It had taken a tight squeeze, some awkward manoeuvring, and a good deal of swearing. The twisted frame hadn’t been kind. The heat radiating from the metal made every point of contact feel like leaning against a sunlamp on full.
Now, standing just inside the threshold, the trio paused.
Even with light weight respirators on, the air was foul. Acrid and dense, thick with heat and the invisible bite of chemical residue. The scent of scorched insulation clung to everything.
“There,” Stripe said, pointing past a tangled beam. “That’s the pump. Or what’s left.”
The remnants were scattered. Bits of shredded metal, half a housing unit, blackened fragments. Nothing larger than a fist. The scorch radius around it told the story clearly enough.
“If that thing had been fitted…” Bandit muttered, trailing off.
“Shuttle bay’d be a crater,” Radley finished grimly. “And we'd be doing this from a debris field.”
A voice from further down the corridor caught his attention that was calm and commanding. Commander Jensen.
Radley carefully poked his head back through the jammed door, leaning just far enough into the corridor to be seen. As he did, his hand brushed the twisted edge of the door frame, still uncomfortably warm.
He sucked a breath in through his teeth. “Damn.”
Avoiding leaving any body touching the metal encompassing him for more than a second or two, he took the respirator off his mouth to better address the officers gathering nearby.
“Commander Jensen, sir,” he said with a short nod. “Radley, Alpha Shift. We were sent in from Security to reinforce Midshipman Alden.”
He glanced back into the bay for a beat before continuing. “We’ve identified the likely source of the explosion, a deuterium pump. Good news is, it wasn’t hooked up to the Glennis when it blew. Otherwise… Ka-Boom” He finished with a rather enthusiastic imitative sound.
He paused a beat, allowing his shoddy attempt at sound effects to settle before speaking again. “I sent Alden back to the Complex,” Radley added, voice a touch more level. “He was looking a bit out of it. Not surprising, given the, uh… discoveries out here. He did good, though, considering.”
He nodded once more, tone returning to professional as he continued.
“Area inside’s ugly. We haven't pushed in. Just got far enough to get a read. Structural heat’s still high, air’s rough. We’ve got respirators, but anyone going further in’s gonna need more, robust gear.”
He looked back into the destruction of the shuttle bay and gave a small smile to his misfit, self proclaimed brothers, checking that they hadn't begun to wander. Stripe and Bandit stood almost with their backs against twisted carnage of the doors, still searching the immediate area for any other information and clues without entering the room further and happy they were not getting themselves into any bother, Radley looked back to the First Officer and his gathered team, waiting for any instructions the man might give.
“Standing by for orders, sir.”
== Tag: Jensen, Kal-Geal, Ellis, Bowman, Elliot ==