"'Moon Going to be Gone'? I love that song!"
Roll over to Materials Management, take a good look around it. Keep the mirror just in case.
(Just in case I need to feel pretty)
You continue on to Materials Management. It looks pretty similar to the manufacturing room except for the fact that it seems to be devoted more to repairs then the creation of new objects. There's lots of broken mechanical things, computers, monitors, and the like, piles of vivisected electronics heaped onto tables and great bins of replacement parts stashed in shelving units against the wall.
Bishop looked at the computer on his wrist and at the message that Jim sent everyone presumably. He took the moment to send a message back to everyone, before wheeling the HDDSM out of the room.
Steve said that when we got all the data, we would be able to use the same ship we came in on to get out. I'll be up in a minute, come downstairs and grab Charro while your waiting. - B
That done, started to push the HDDSM further but stopped and turned to look at the machine that caused all this trouble. That damn thing that was the cause of all this mess...
He wondered if he could do the emergency shutdown in time...
Wheel the HDDSM out to near the enterance of the corridor for the lift and then head back and take a look at the emergency shutdown proceedure and make a estimate on how long it will take to complete. Then head upstairs to the lift with the HDDSM reguardless after taking another look at the timer.
You roll the HDDSM out of the room and then run back and check how long an emergency shutdown would take. Apparently it could be done in seconds but there is that problem of all the warnings about "Massive spacial distortion" and such.
You spin back and run to the HDDSM. You push it to the elevator platform and get on, slapping the Up button before checking the timer. 54 minutes.
Jim takes the elevator down and hauls Charro into it.
You press the 5 button in the elevator and hum to yourself-a rather futile effort in a vacuum-as it descends. Once you reach the 5th floor you head into the observation room and grab Charro's corpse, dragging it down the hall just as Bishop arrives on the elevator platform. You get the body back to the main elevator and flop it down in the corner.
Feyri heard the 'tick' in her suit and checked her wristpad, seeing the messages relayed to everyone.
"Where is the suit manual when you need it!"
She tapped her reply after mentally haranguing herself of not checking for any other methods of communication.
Wait, what? One hour and this moon self-destructs?
What did you do, Bishop. I've not seen any self-destruct button, especially ones painted red and bigger than my fist.
Or...did Steve already decide to blow this place up? What did you discover, has it something to do with that disc?
Jim, I'll be strapping Charro onto me.
Bishop, check the strange machine for anything salvegeable. An hour is a long time to move. Escape velocity from this planet's gravity- assuming the elevator is self-powered and it does not issue it's own field, will only take but a few minutes.
Was that disc portable?
She stopped and shifted the wristpad's sending options to Bishop specifically, then to Jim alone.
. . .
Bishop, take command. I don't know where you've gotten the information you have now, but at least it seems we have enough, judging by the frantic amount of static I'm receiving.
What exactly did you encounter down there? What is the Puddle all about? Any sign of hostiles, or of what caused this massacre?
Jim, sorry to say this, I'm not cut out for this type of duty. I can't even lead a team properly without screwing up the mission, just like last time.
When I do succeed, it is in the rarest of events and in all other times, I'm just like a green recruit in the academies once more. Fumbling around with no idea what to do.
Well, this is only sent to you anyway. Not because I trust you, but you're the first one on in this blasted hell to actually acknowledge me for one.
Haste was the problem. Feyri had trouble communicating what she really wanted to say, there and then.
But it was time to head back to the elevator with everyone.
(If you want to know if that disk is portable, you'll have to try and grab it, obviously)
You head back to the elevator but someone's already taken it down to the 5th floor. Rather then press the call button or wait for them to come back up for you, you simply take the maintenance ladder down and hop into the elevator through the access hatch on the top.