When the Sun Turns to Darkness

by Mr. David R. Dorrycott

copyright 2002 - 2006 C.E.

Chapter Five

Boom Today

Three days later and a serious bout with food poisoning later the worst explosion caught Rebecca just as her airlock doors shut. She hit the emergency override, stopping the system in place. It was safer to take a longer way than maybe be trapped in a fire. Or, as she pushed open the doors, blown out into space. It took an extra ten minutes to find her way back to deck forty where a sharp scent of smoke greeted her as she exited the access way. She'd hardly taken a step when a harsh, no nonsense voice greeted her. "Halt, Who goes there."

Automatically she stopped. Her reaction probably saved her life. Turning around slowly towards the voice she found herself looking at a Marine Sergeant, his GAU aimed at her chest. "Wilkins, Rebecca" she answered slowly. "MEO. I'm headed for my office." She pointed at his weapon. "You fire that thing in here, with no gravity and you'll probably kill half the people on this deck."

"Don't move and be quiet" he ordered, ignoring her statement. He was accessing some kind of portable computer. "Born where?" he asked suddenly.

"Alkenbury Air Force Base, England" she answered.

"Okay Captain, their looking for you at your office. I'll notify them your enroute." He patted his weapon, "Cardboard rounds, won't penetrate the hull and I'm velcroed in."

"Sorry" she apologized. "I’m still learning what’s what up here. Thanks, and correct me whenever I’m wrong will you?" She turned and hurried off to her office.

It was a disaster, but an orderly one. Her second, one Rake Hallard was waiting. He shoved something in her hands as he turned to a hanging screen. She glanced at the object, some kind of communicator. "Heard you were sick gain, glad your back" Rake said while punching buttons on a keyboard. The screen filled with shapes. "Flexible colour LED screen" Rake explained, noticing her expression. "Brand new stuff just up from dirtside. Blanca's in sick-bay, second degree burns to her arms. She'll be back as soon as they treat her. Okay, lets get you up to speed." He tapped a section of the display. "Smaller bomb was in the main stasis chamber, its off-line. Luckily no one was in stasis yet and the animal/botany systems are on another deck. We're assigned to tha docking bays. Big mess that. That was the big boom you just felt. What hit you anyway?"

"Bad shrimp” Rebecca explained. “Left out too long. I understand that we have a new top cook now. Old one was sent back dirtside for retraining. How big a mess do we have" she asked as she mounted her newly charged comm unit onto her belt.

"Nearly forty people were waiting transport back to earth Mam. They got home the hard way."

 "Blown out into space?" Rebecca asked, stunned.

"Yeah. Lucky ones were near the bomb." Rake admitted. "Got twenty or so of our people headed to medical. Those that were headed home, their gonna get there in about fifty more orbits. Blanca was working on the IFR system when it happened. She got lucky. Blast door sealed between her and space. Two meters the other way..." He shrugged.

"I'd lose a damn good officer" Rebecca finished. "Find the bomber?"

"No Mam. There's thirteen security people there already, assigned tah us, you. Came in on tha last two shuttles. Most Air Force, couple Marines too."

"Great, we'll do introductions later. Means he's still out there. Watch for him. Okay..." She hefted what looked like a backpack. "Lets get to work."

Shuttle Bay one was a royal mess. Though the fires were out power had been shut down to both conserve what they had and keep sparks from restarting more fires. "Stinks" she noted as the two drifted forward. She

stopped, studying the bay. People were crawling everywhere. With no gravity it made getting to problems easier. It also made fixing them harder. Rake stopped just behind her. "Looks like structures pretty much okay until you get twenty meters in" she noted. Behind her she heard Rake typing, apparently taking notes. "Hanging down over there" she noted, pointing at a twisted structure reaching out like a finger from one buckled wall. "That's what, Beam seventeen?"

"Nine Mam, your counting from the wrong end" Rake corrected.

"Nine, so the Bridge is to my right?"

"Yes Mam."

"Wonderful. I should have gone into the Navy like you."

"Yes Mam" Rake agreed with a soft laugh.

"Fine. What’s the deal. What do you know."

"Bomb was hidden behind an oxygen de-load pipes Mam" Rake reported. "They detank every shuttle of extra oxygen. Explosion ripped four lines open, safeties shut down excess tank flow but it was too late. This section of the bay over pressurized with oxygen. Everyone in it was a crispy critter before they knew what happened. Some idiot designer ran Main Buss D right through that area. Its fried, maybe a week to get it back on-line. Forget the outboard de-tank lines, their split forty feet or more."

"Hull?" she asked. "Patched or fixed?"

"Patched mam, inside. There's still leaks so we're keeping pressure to five PSI. Pure oxygen so welding is gonna be a bitch."

"Get everyone into suits, now. What have you got on-line to detect leaks?"

"Balloons filled with dry dye. Hits a leak then sticks. If it pops it leaves a big splash of yellow-green dye."

"Let 'em go. Depressurize as soon as they've spotted the last leaks. Save the gas we have. Get half these people outside now. I want those bay doors open, both ends. Yesterday. There's shuttles and BDB’s waiting to dock. We just don't have time to play safe. Get that hull fixed, cut out the damaged supports and dump 'em."

Rake passed her orders along and people started moving almost instantly. "What do we use for replacements? This ship doesn't carry that much spare parts."

"Strip the next shuttle." Rebecca ordered.

"MAM? They need those shuttles..."

"I checked while I was in bed Rake. Canaveral's gone. It’s a matter of hours, maybe a day at best before we lose Vandenberg unless the Army starts murdering those mobs. Whatever's up is staying up. Whatever can get up is hauling everything and everyone it can. BDB's.. Big Dumb Boosters, are lifting from everywhere they can launch 'em. I'd be surprised if the Captain gives us six hours to get this job done." She hooked her backpack, a cloth container of tools and testing equipment to a stanchion.

Twisting she aimed herself towards a suit locker and with Rake's help managed to make it without running into anything. Her own suit was down for a blown scrubber fan, she grabbed the first thing that would fit her. Rake helped her suit up, showing her how to attach her comm unit to the strange suits systems. While she helped him to suit up she contacted the Bridge.

"Captain's not available" a young, but steady voice answered her. "Same for the XO."

"Right. Look we're depressurizing Docking Bay One. I'm going to open all bay doors so we can get those ships in and unloaded. I'm also scrapping the first shuttle in, we need structure parts. Any parts."

"That'd be Discovery mam, I'll notify her pilot. He's gonna be pissed."

"Yeah, tell him I understand." Rake patted her arm, holding up a tether line. She nodded, to busy to care what he was doing. She discovered his intentions when he took off slowly, pulling her along with him using the thin rope. "Can't do a decant right now so we'll store shuttles wherever we can. Where are they?"

"Discovery and Enterprise are waiting outside your bay Mam. Challenger's lifting off from Vandenberg in two hours. Colombia is on landing approach to Vandenberg. We were warned to expect relaunch at midnight. Atlantis is in orbit headed our way. She'll arrive in about three hours."

"Enterprise?" Rebecca asked.

"Yes Mam, they snuck her out last year, replaced her with a fake. Knew we'd need her."

"Makes sense, can't leave Earth without an Enterprise can we. Okay brief the Captain and XO when you can. I'll keep you informed." She cut the connection, looking up as Rake grabbed her. He held up two fingers telling her what channel to switch too. "What's it look like" she asked.

"Half are outside cutting away damaged skin" Rake reported. "Fire ate up a lot of wire, Control Towers a mess. I estimate ten hours, maybe twenty just to clear it."

"We've got four" Rebecca decided. "Cut power, slice and dice. Discovery's our baby so rip out the Tower and use Discovery's command deck to replace it. Make it work for now, neatness doesn't count. We’ll brace once this place is usable again."

"Yes mam." Rake switched channels, passing her decisions along while she floated, holding to a twisted section of metal.

‘Am I making the right decisions?’ she asked herself. ‘I'm guessing, what if I'm wrong?’

"Mam?"

"Yeah Rake. What is it."

"Bay doors are opening. Shorted power lead. Mattison is holding it together until there open. We'll repair it later."

"Holding?" Rebecca looked at Rake as he held up his communications unit. On the tiny screen she could barely make out a figure holding two heavy cables. Behind him the nose of a Space Shuttle hung in nothingness. Occasional sparks told her the story. "Tell Mattison he's crazier than I am, and my thanks."

"Will do mam. What’s next?"

It was going to be a long day.