“Commander
Johnson,” Ensign Zhou announced “The Reykjavik has just cleared the station.”
“Very well,
Ensign.” The commander checked his console and activated the radio “Reykjavik,
we show you clear of the station, retract those docking arms and maneuver
clear.”
“Acknowledged,
Albatross.” Commander Dunst nervously
replied “We will clear and stand by.”
“Alright
people,” Commander Johnson announced in his best command voice “We are about to
be hit by a very large object.” He scanned the compartment “That means we need
to be ready for every possible problem that it could cause. We don’t know exactly where we are going to
be hit, or how big that impact will be, so we need everyone on this station
ready for the worst. Check and double
check every airlock, line-lock, safety bulkhead, space suit, and anything else
you can think of. Keep your heads and
work the problem.”
The murmur
in the compartment settled into a controlled cadence of status requests and
acknowledgements, control checks and responses, checklist verifications and
clarifications. It was the finely tuned
controlled chaos the space corps was known for.
“Bridge,
this is the captain.” The intercom announced.
“Go ahead,
captain.” Commander Johnson switched his attention.
“I would
like the latest feed from our intrepid travelers on Shuttle 2.” The captain
knew the stress the commander was under.
“Feeding
that through to you now, captain.” The commander quickly entered the commands
to feed the information to the captain. “Is there anything you would like to
request for your meals? I want to get
everything staged up.”
“Now that
you mention it,” the captain responded lightly “We would like the lobster for
the next meal with a light chardonnay and the Fillet Mignon with a hearty
zinfandel after that.”
“Acknowledged,”
the commander confirmed “E-Rats meals 5 and 6 are on their way.” He held back a
laugh.
“Very well,
commander.” The captain went back to business “Get every compartment supplied
and the station sealed up. We have 20
minutes at most. That thing is still
accelerating, so get this station ready for ‘God knows what’.”
“Aye, Sir!”
the commander sounded confident but was shaking in his suit.
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