Starbase 113 Kalkarindji Halo DCE

Posted on 2024, Thu Feb 15th, @ 11:57pm by Outpost Captain Savage Ivanov & Rear Admiral Ilyce (Pronounced Ice) Collins & Captain Maddison Black & Lieutenant Teresina Waylin & Lieutenant JG Jewel Marsden

963 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Getting Ready (Character Development)OUTPOST
Location: Starbase 113

"Decide." Mad stated. "If I didn't think you could do it I wouldn't have suggested it."

"Okay, cut the top off the TL shaft." Jewel nodded. "You heard the boss." She looked at Jason. "You sure this will work?"

Jason shrugged. "Everything else they come up with works."

"Stop questioning yourself. Either do it, or mercy them."

Jewel looked at Viv and Sugar. "Do it." Watching as both women placed the gold poppers around the top of the TL Shaft cap and stepped out of the way. Giving Jason a nod, she flinched hard when the popper's went off, severing the cap from the shaft, but leaving it in place. "Okay, cap off. Slide towards Collins."

Pushing, pulling, wiggling and it finally started to move. Leaning against it, it was carefully maneuvered off the shaft. Jewel wasn't the only looker. Everyone looked. The TL was still dancing around the shaft. Lowering the ranger over her eyes, she gazed down into the shaft. "I can see four maybe seven clips on the mags."

"Then you're going with Poncia pellets. NonAtmos rebreathers. Trip the emergency sprayers." Mad's sleeve's voice echoed through everyone's ear piece.

Entering her commands into her controller, Jewel watched the emergency sprayers unload their water onto the pile of minute pellets.

"Start shoveling." Mad's instructions were clear and direct.

"Shoveling." Savage confirmed, as he, Nordic, and the other two big men from 113's engineering started digging in their shovels and dumping their loads into the TL shaft.

"The Ponica pellets will start to swell within seconds. Get that drip line in and on."

"This isn't going to blow everything right?" Ilyce asked, drip line in her hands.

Jewel dragged it from Ilyce. "How many times does she need to say it." It wasn't a question.

"She said she'd done it before." Jason anchored her drip line as Jewel anchored the other line.

"God you're both turning into mini mads." Ilyce shook her head.

"You shouldn't need to shovel the lot. The Capsule should ease back onto it's rails. With the sedation gas knocking out your passengers four clips should let it settle. At least you didn't have it happen to a triple." Mad rubbed her hip, and took a swallow of water.

"Triple?" Sin asked from where she sat opposite.

"113's an Ournal/Spacedock class Starbase, though many people call it 'The Bionic Mushroom' It's 5.5km high. 3.8km wide. Has 1200 decks. TL's are standard for travel between the various modules. The main core has six high speed mag-lev tracks which extend the entire length of the Starbase. Each Mag-Lev car has three levels and holds up to 30 persons per level. In a critical damage alert, all seals engage to protect the integrity of the station. Access to the core is limited and it uses a travel pass to secure access."

Jason's snort came over the com's. "I see your head still has a thing for facts. She's sitting against her rails and she's slowing."

"Get a view from below, the shaft should be starting to fill from the earlier flood." Mad stated.

"We're not smelling smoke anymore." Jason stated. "You need to spend a few days at Kalk, her TL's are counterweight angels."

"She doesn't know?" Nordic asked Savage.

"Know what?" Jason glanced between the two.

"I told him to go cw. Kalk's got a lot of me in her." Mad answered. "But it wasn't time for me to leave yet. Which is why I directed Savage in your direction."

"Damn, I should have put two and two together and gotten Mad." Jason listened to Jewel's conversation. "We've got pellets to the fives."

"Keep shoveling and increase the flow." Mad stated.

"I didn't know you....."
"I do a lot of things. I only sleep for seventy-five minutes every fifty-five hours I'm awake. I need only a small amount of food and drink, before the Yackandrah I struggled clearing my mind to sleep. After Yackandrah my brain needs constant stimulation, so I study different topics, read about anything, do anything to keep my brain occupied."

"Does your brain ever shut down?" Sugar asked from where she was located on 113.

"No. If I get shaky, I need sugar." Mad answered. "The more I shake, the more sugar I need. Where are we on levels?"

Jason scanned the shaft with a set of rangers. "The pellets are halfway up the TL. and peaking over the outside edges of the TL. It's just about at a total stop."

"Both you and Jewel fully suited climb up to the mechanics level and place blockers, or cut the feed lines. Listen carefully. Blockers mean you'll have less clean up and it will take less time to clean up. I prefer cutting the feed lines. There is less chance of failure. Blockers slip. If you cut, that shaft will be out of action for at least a month. Safer to cut, Ilyce however...."

"They're going to go to you if they have questions. I'll deal with complaints." Ilyce hadn't realised exactly how much was involved. Watching like she was, was opening her eyes. She now realised why Jewel had demanded the call be made.

"Cut." Jewel and Jason chorused, a little behind each other, not quite in time.

"Then swing in and climb. You both know the process, work together." Mad told them. "Secure before you cut. By going with sedation, you've got their lives in your hands. They can't avoid something falling through the capsule."

"Got it." Jewel led the way into the shaft, Jason close behind. It took them twenty minutes, but by the time they'd accomplished what Mad instructed, the TL had stopped moving. "Employing Mag Lev slime." Jewel confirmed, as she entered her code, and the bright orange slim began to flow over the rails.

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