Dakota Adams Series: Books 1-2 (Dakota Adams Double Boxes) by Galen Surlak-Ramsey

Author:Galen Surlak-Ramsey [Surlak-Ramsey, Galen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tiny Fox Press
Published: 2020-06-22T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Two:

Redecorations

“You have got to be kidding me!” I said, snatching the helmet to my EVA suit off the floor.

“I would not joke about such a thing,” said Daphne. “Immediate action is essential to your continued survival.”

“Then take immediate action!” I said. “Why do I even have to tell you this?”

“Available containment procedures are inadequate,” she replied. “Damage control systems are offline.”

“They’re not allowed to be offline!”

“Recent explosion has rendered them inoperable. Manually opening both hatches to aft airlock on the secondary level is required to extinguish the flames.”

I raced out of the bridge and snapped my helmet on. Once it secured with a click, I slid down a nearby ladder to the lower deck. By the time my feet touched the bottom, Tolby, along with the three female Kibnali—Yseri, Jainon, and Empress—came running out of their cabin.

“What’s going on?” he said, looking at me with equal parts worry and confusion.

“There was a damn explosion!” I yelled, running by. “Get your EVA suit on. We have to vent atmo in the engine room.”

When I got to the next hatch, I peered through the ultra-plex window at the engine room on the other side. The scene wasn’t quite the apocalypse I’d envisioned, but only by a single horseman.

The monitoring station on the port side was little more than a smoldering scorch mark against the bulkhead. A dark, tar-like substance covered the nearby ceiling, walls, and floor and burned brightly while giving off smoke that was blacker than a devil’s heart. Thankfully, the nano-reinforced steel plating that housed the warp core looked intact.

“I can only allow the hatch to be opened for a split second due to containment protocol,” said Daphne in my helmet. “I cannot reopen the door until you extinguish the fire.”

“Of course,” I said with a sigh.

Empress appeared next to me. Her face was chiseled in the same determination that it had had when we made a boarding action against Pizlow and were outnumbered at least a hundred to one. “I’m ready when you are.”

I nodded, not needing to ask where Tolby and the others were. In her mind, she was expendable. They were not since they were responsible for repopulating the Kibnali. “Let’s do it.”

I hammered the button on the control panel, and the hatch to the engine room slid open. Empress and I jumped through, and she had barely cleared the threshold when the door slid shut.

“See if you can put out the fire and I’ll try the door,” I said as I raced to the other side of the engine room where the inner hatch to the airlock stood. As I worked the controls to the airlock, Empress snatched a small fire extinguisher that was mounted on the wall and turned it onto the flames. Sadly, neither her nor my efforts were rewarded with success.

“Hey, Daphne! Your stupid inner hatch won’t open!”

“It won’t?” she said with a tone of disbelief. “I’m reading that it is almost fully open.”

“Well it’s not,” I said, pounding on the hatch with a fist.

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