Founders Ch. 74

In the bubble, Michaela heard a bang, and her ears popped. Even before Berte's voice came over the PA, she fumbled for the emergency adhesive patch. She used it to seal the bubble's squeeze-through doorway airtight from the rest of the core. Once sealed, she looked up the radial arms and saw that Radial Arm B2 had received a serious hypervelocity impact. Based on the size of the exit hole, she figured it had been a carbonaceous meteorite that had disintegrated. That's why the exit hole was much bigger than the entrance hole. The entrance hole wasn't even visible from her perspective.

"Michaela, what's your status?" Berte cried out over Michaela's emergency phone channel.

"Okay for now," Michaela answered cooly. She had always expected to die in space anyway. "Bubble airtight seal holding. Damage to Radial Arm B2. Looks like significant meteorite impact. Exit hole perhaps twenty, thirty centimeters in diameter. Hard vacuum now throughout core, no doubt. Lost some air from bubble before patch. Have perhaps couple hours before air in bubble too stale for life. Nice knowing you. Should have known better than to get pregnant."

"Hang in there," said Berte. "We'll rescue you." She adjusted the belly of her space suit. Being the pilot of the ship this duty cycle, she'd brought it with her. Aiden didn't have his, but that was okay. Control A led to Radial Arm Bay A1, which doubled as an airlock.

"Have no choice," said Michaela. "Will hang."

"Roll call," said Berte. "Colette?"

"Here," said Colette. She had been in her study working. When the impact happened, she went next door to her cabin and shut the pressure hatch. Now she was adjusting her space suit.

"Aiden?" asked Berte.

"I'm right here," Aiden reminded her.

"Say it loud and right into your phone!" Berte growled. Aiden was not going to mess with the rules!

"Okay!" said Aiden. Then into his phone, "Here!"

"Colleen?" asked Berte.

"Here!" said Colleen. She was pissed. She had been caught in Jason's cabin riding him to another orgasm when the impact happened. He had his pressure suit in the room, but she didn't. They couldn't open the pressure door for fear there might be a problem with the air outside the cabin.

"Zach?"

"Here!" said Zach. He and Colby had been showering together when the impact happened. They knew something was wrong. They climbed out of the shower and looked at their phones. There were air pressure warnings for the core. There were structural warnings for Radial Arm B2. Berte came over the ship wide address system declaring a hull breach. They locked the bathroom pressure door. The protocol was to sit in there naked with their towels and sweaty gym clothes. They didn't have pressure suits.

"Ethan?"

"Here!" said Ethan. He and Aanya had been in Hydroponics Bay B5 when the impact occurred. She had been working and he had been watching her bubble butt as she worked. They took shelter next door in Cabin B3, the cabin Berte shared with Aiden. Neither had their space suits there.

"Ayana?"

"Here!" said Ayana. She and Khushi had been sleeping together in their cabin. They got up and started adjusting their pressure suits as soon as they felt the impact.

"Aanya?"

"Here!" said Aanya. She was sheltering in Cabin B3 with Ethan.

"Khushi?"

"Here!" said Khushi. She'd been asleep with Ayana.

"Berte?" asked Berte. Then she shouted, "Here!" She was a stickler for protocol, especially in an emergency.

"Colby?"

"Here!" said Colby. She was stuck in Head B2 with Zach.

"Mateo?"

"Here!" said Mateo. Charisse, Alexis, and Mateo had been asleep together when the impact occurred. They were barely awake when the warning came through from Berte. All three usually slept together, so all three had their pressure suits there. They began putting them on. Mateo finished first then helped the women make the adjustments needed to accommodate their larger bellies.

"Michaela?"

"Here," she said. She was trapped in the bubble and quickly running out of air.

"Charisse?"

"Here!" she said. She was with Mateo and Alexis.

"Anming?" asked Berte. "Anming! Anming?! Okay, who is ready to move?"

"This is Mateo. I am," he said.

"Find Anming!" ordered Berte.

"Yes, ma'am," Mateo said without hesitation. Alexis and Charisse had their suits on and sealed but were still fussing with them. He opened the cabin door and left them to it.

"Jason?"

"Here!" said Jason. He was in his cabin with Colleen, trapped there because she didn't have her space suit.

"Alexis?"

"Here!" She was with Charisse and the just departed Mateo, adjusting her space suit.

"Only Anming is missing," reported Berte. "Find her, Mateo!

"This is Charisse. I'll go help Mateo find Anming."

Berte said, "I need a pilot in Control A so that I can go assess the damage to Radial Arm B2."

"This is Alexis. I'm on my way!"

Mateo strode antispinward from Cabin A2, which he shared with Alexis and Charisse. They strode through Hydroponics Bay A2, Waste Recycling A1, Storage A1 and Hydroponics Bay A2, finding nothing. He knocked on the door of Cabin A1, Anming's cabin. He received no knock back, so he opened the hatch. The cabin was vacant. He searched both studies, the galley, medical bay, and Head A1. All were empty. He retraced his steps spinward.

Alexis had to go all the way around spinward to get into Control A. She had to use Radial Arm Bay A1 as an airlock. They were taking no chances. Aiden was trapped in Control A without a space suit.

Mateo met up with Charisse. They continued spinward looking for Anming. They peeked into both A2 studies. Anming could be laying unconscious somewhere. They strode through Hydroponics Bay A3, Storage A2, and Laundry A to arrive at Radial Arm Bay A2. They cycled both rim hatches and continued spinward.

Alexis did the full airlock cycle in Radial Arm Bay A1 to expel any pollutants. She entered Control A and said to Berte, "I relieve you."

Berte said, "I stand relieved." She climbed into the radial arm bay to cycle it and enter the vacuum in the radial arms and core, which were presently open to space.

Mateo and Colette continued to search spinward for Anming. They traversed Storage A4 and Hydroponics Bay A4, arriving at Cabin A3. Mateo knocked on the door and put his suit helmet to the metal. "Anybody in there?" he shouted.

"Yes it's Colleen! And... Jason!"

"Colleen, you slut!" kidded Mateo.

"Fuck you Mateo!" replied Colleen. "Bring me my fucking space suit!"

"Attagirl, Colleen!" cheered Charisse.

After searching both studies, Mateo and Charisse proceeded spinward through Hydroponics Bay A5 and Air Recycling A to Storage A5. No sign of Anming. After finding nothing in Hydroponics Bay A6, they reached Cabin A4, Ayana and Khushi's cabin. The couple were just emerging from their cabin, clad in their space suits. Khushi especially was huge in the adjustable space suit the women had. "This is Khushi and Ayana. We're available," Khushi called to Alexis.

Alexis ordered, "Khushi, proceed to the core to help Berte. Be careful, it's a vacuum in there. Ayana, find Mateo and stick with him to help Anming if she's injured."

"Mateo just arrived at our location," said Ayana. "Proceeding with him."

Mateo and company proceeded spinward through Recreation A, past Head A2, and through Exercise A to Radial Arm Bay B1. They cycled the rim hatches and proceeded through Control B, Head B1, Medical B, and Galley B. Cabin B1 and its studies were empty. They continued through Hydroponics Bay B1, Storage B1, Waste Recycling B, and Hydroponics Bay B2 to Cabin B2. Colette was outside it in her spacesuit, making adjustments. They collected her and continued through Hydroponics Bay B2, Storage B2, and Laundry B to Radial Arm Bay B2. No sign of Anming.

They proceeded through the rim hatches through Storage B4 and Hydroponics B4 to Cabin B3. Here was where Aanya and Ethan were holed up. They were fine, so the search party proceeded through Hydroponics Bay B5, Air Recycling B, Storage B5, and Hydroponics B6. They were at Cabin B4 with still no sign of Anming. Cabin B4 was empty, as was Recreation B. Head B2 contained Zach and Colby. Exercise B was empty. The party cycled the rim hatches on Radial Arm Bay A1 to join Alexis and Aiden in Control A.

"No sign of Anming in the habitat ring," reported Mateo to Alexis.

Alexis blanched. "Don't tell Zach. Not yet. We have to find her, Mateo. Some sign."

"What other parts of the ship have air pressure at the moment?" asked Ayana.

"She's not in the bubble," said Alexis.

In Radial Arm B2, Berte said to Khushi, "Bring up the rest of those hull patch plate and power conduit segments. And look for a spare telemetry hub." Khushi turned around to revisit core storage, where these things would likely be found. They had already gotten Michaela a portable air cleaner. Michaela was safe now, at least until she ran out of drinking water or patience. All three were unaware Anming was still missing. Berte activated her welding torch to do the inside weld on the next hull patch plate.

"It's a long shot," said Mateo, studying the ship schematic. "The forward and aft fusion reactor bays both have intact airtight doors. These indicators show they have good air pressure."

"What would Anming be doing in one of the fusion reactor bays?" asked Aiden.

Alexis, Charisse, Mateo, Ayana, and Colette all glared daggers at him. "I'm going up there," said Mateo, and left to cycle the radial arm bay airlock.

"Alexis," asked Zach over the intercom, "is everybody accounted for?"

She knew he was asking about Anming, since she was the only one who hadn't answered. "We're not done searching the ship," Alexis said with a grain of truth. She wasn't going to issue the all-clear for the habitat ring yet. She didn't want everybody, namely Zach, tearing up the place desperately looking for Anming. Perhaps Mateo could find some sign of the poor woman in the core.

Indeed Mateo had found a sign. A woman's deck shoe was wedged between the bulkhead and a storage locker. It had no doubt flown there at high speed during the explosive decompression, and had wedged there.

(To be continued)