Into Engineering
- Location
- Canada
Within the bowels of the Ark, located at the ship's stern, lies the engineering deck. Whereas the bridge may be viewed as the brain of the ship, surely here was the very heart; the housing of the imperative systems that keep crew and colonists alive and the ship careening on its voyage through the expanse of space.
Engines, Mother, Life Support, the FTL drive, all were located here. To the uninitiated, the deck was a twisting labyrinth of corridors, looming bulkheads, and whooshing vents of steam. To Zoric and his team, however, their training and time aboard has given them unmatched familiarity with the deck. It could perhaps be considered curious, at the very least, that the initial though that came to the engineering team upon entering was that of confusion.
It seemed to them wholly unfamiliar. The uncertainty of the surroundings was chalked up to the effects of cryosleep. Luckily schematics of the deck were able to be called up by Mother's subroutines. Less luckily, the schematics appeared to be erroneous, or at least according to the professions of the engineer Johnson. His insistence of a computer error, repeated so much as they tried to get their bearings, that it seemed an attempt to convince himself rather then the rest of the team. For there was the unmistakable feeling that something was very wrong.
Of the engineering team, Lieutenants Zoric and Longwell, Johnson, and Shariff, it was Longwell that heard it first. Navigating the twisting corridors, at first the peculiar sound was dismissed. As they progressed down the winding tunnels, the sound persisted, and it became clear that it was the barking of a dog.
How could that be? Life support on the deck was inoperable and no living thing could reside in these perplexing depths. Thankfully for their frayed nerves, however, the barking sounds would later cease.
After some time, Zoric, Longwell, Johnson, and Shariff came to a corridor with three tunnels. The left tunnel was level and was lined with blinking blue emergency lighting. The middle tunnel rose gently, with the beginnings of a stair seen within its dark depths. The third, dark as well, had a vaguely familiar sense about it, yet there was nothing distinguishable to be discerned.
Upon taking a step inside the right tunnel, Johnson thought he might retch, complaining that his rebreather was malfunctioning, giving off a horrid stench. Sharif, upon taking a step into the tunnel as well, smelled the same odor as Johnson, and reeled back from the opening. The smell could scarcely be described by Shariff and Johnson, save that it was altogether foul, and indeed potent enough to seep through the environmentally controlled suits worn by the team.
The schematics useless, the team would have to decide where to go next.
Engines, Mother, Life Support, the FTL drive, all were located here. To the uninitiated, the deck was a twisting labyrinth of corridors, looming bulkheads, and whooshing vents of steam. To Zoric and his team, however, their training and time aboard has given them unmatched familiarity with the deck. It could perhaps be considered curious, at the very least, that the initial though that came to the engineering team upon entering was that of confusion.
It seemed to them wholly unfamiliar. The uncertainty of the surroundings was chalked up to the effects of cryosleep. Luckily schematics of the deck were able to be called up by Mother's subroutines. Less luckily, the schematics appeared to be erroneous, or at least according to the professions of the engineer Johnson. His insistence of a computer error, repeated so much as they tried to get their bearings, that it seemed an attempt to convince himself rather then the rest of the team. For there was the unmistakable feeling that something was very wrong.
Of the engineering team, Lieutenants Zoric and Longwell, Johnson, and Shariff, it was Longwell that heard it first. Navigating the twisting corridors, at first the peculiar sound was dismissed. As they progressed down the winding tunnels, the sound persisted, and it became clear that it was the barking of a dog.
How could that be? Life support on the deck was inoperable and no living thing could reside in these perplexing depths. Thankfully for their frayed nerves, however, the barking sounds would later cease.
After some time, Zoric, Longwell, Johnson, and Shariff came to a corridor with three tunnels. The left tunnel was level and was lined with blinking blue emergency lighting. The middle tunnel rose gently, with the beginnings of a stair seen within its dark depths. The third, dark as well, had a vaguely familiar sense about it, yet there was nothing distinguishable to be discerned.
Upon taking a step inside the right tunnel, Johnson thought he might retch, complaining that his rebreather was malfunctioning, giving off a horrid stench. Sharif, upon taking a step into the tunnel as well, smelled the same odor as Johnson, and reeled back from the opening. The smell could scarcely be described by Shariff and Johnson, save that it was altogether foul, and indeed potent enough to seep through the environmentally controlled suits worn by the team.
The schematics useless, the team would have to decide where to go next.
