guys, pull me out? Can you see this?” the captain’s voice was mixed with excitement and fear.
There were no replies. He swung his arm around and looked at his wrist pad. It was completely blank. He tapped on it, trying to bring it out of sleep mode, but nothing happened. He felt himself being pulled up as the drone that had grabbed on to him pulled him out. He keep tapping on the wrist pad until he was clear of the hull. No sooner than he was out, and he was cleanly out, the wrist pad came back to life.
“You OK, Charles?” Ben’s voice came screaming into his ears, heavily distorted.
Charles shook his head as the drone set up down upright.
“Charles?” Ben’s voice asked again, clearly this time.
“Um. Did you see that?”
“We did. That drone acted quickly. Thank god, too.”
“There’s, um….” Charles stopped, still looking at his wrist pad. It was currently displaying all of the drone information. He tapped one and it brought that drone’s vitals and camera up on display. He reached over to the hatch and sunk that arm into the ooze, just up above the wrist pad. It instantly went black. He pulled it back out, and it came back to life.
“We, uh, have a problem. I think. I think it’s a problem.”
Charles stood back up and looked around for the professor. He was nowhere to be seen.
“Oh, shit.”
- Ben -
“Cary, take those cameras and start looking now. NOW!” Ben shouted. “Geoff, get the EUAs back online.”
Cary rolled her chair over to the console, nearly lifting it off its magnets. She started linking in to all of the drone soldier cameras. “Bobby, take these. Susan, these.” The three of them starting going back over the video from the drones. Geoff rushed over to the consoles and brought up the data from the EUAs that were on the sides of the wall, frozen.
Cary looked back at Ben. “Shit. Shit. Shit.”
“We were so busy with Charles we forgot to keep an eye on him.” Ben was visibly angry. He had lost himself in the moment, and now someone was missing.
“Ben, even the EUAs were on….oh. Here,” Geoff stopped short.
Ben ran over as fast as his magnetic boots allowed him to. They scanned the video back in reverse, starting from where they were focused on Charles being pulled out by his ankle. The EUAs focused their recorders on them, then in reverse, slowly panned out until they were taking up the whole cavern. Glorin was nowhere in sight.
“What? I don’t see him? Where and when did we lose him?”
“I’m not picking up anything on the network, no vitals, no data, nothing from his suit,” Crysta told them. “That shouldn’t be possible. I don’t think.”
Ben looked back from Crysta to Geoff. “So what did you see?”
The laboratory engineer slowed the video down. Again he played it in reverse as the screen zoomed out. He stopped the video and pointed. There, at the very edge of the screen, was the shape of a body, in the hull. It was a form, frozen in the hull. He played the video forward a bit, and it was clear the form was sinking into the vessel.
“He…..he fell through?” Cary asked.
“Or was pulled through,” Geoff said, quietly.
“Ok, we have nothing now,” Ben stood up and said with authority. He could already feel the tension in the room. “We need to move quickly. Charles, we need those drones now.”
Ben sat back down on his console and brought up the live camera feeds. Charles was seated on the ground, one knee up and the other leg stretched out. His arm was sticking in through the exact spot he had fallen through. He would pull it out then stick it in again.
“Ben, this hull, this, whatever it is. Well, it’s stopping my wrist pad from working. At all.”
Ben turned around and looked at Cary. She could only shrug her shoulders. They all knew that their first time down onto the hull of the vessel would be one of my surprises.
“Ok? And?” Ben was at a loss of words.
“Something is going on here. I fell in. The drones
There were no replies. He swung his arm around and looked at his wrist pad. It was completely blank. He tapped on it, trying to bring it out of sleep mode, but nothing happened. He felt himself being pulled up as the drone that had grabbed on to him pulled him out. He keep tapping on the wrist pad until he was clear of the hull. No sooner than he was out, and he was cleanly out, the wrist pad came back to life.
“You OK, Charles?” Ben’s voice came screaming into his ears, heavily distorted.
Charles shook his head as the drone set up down upright.
“Charles?” Ben’s voice asked again, clearly this time.
“Um. Did you see that?”
“We did. That drone acted quickly. Thank god, too.”
“There’s, um….” Charles stopped, still looking at his wrist pad. It was currently displaying all of the drone information. He tapped one and it brought that drone’s vitals and camera up on display. He reached over to the hatch and sunk that arm into the ooze, just up above the wrist pad. It instantly went black. He pulled it back out, and it came back to life.
“We, uh, have a problem. I think. I think it’s a problem.”
Charles stood back up and looked around for the professor. He was nowhere to be seen.
“Oh, shit.”
- Ben -
“Cary, take those cameras and start looking now. NOW!” Ben shouted. “Geoff, get the EUAs back online.”
Cary rolled her chair over to the console, nearly lifting it off its magnets. She started linking in to all of the drone soldier cameras. “Bobby, take these. Susan, these.” The three of them starting going back over the video from the drones. Geoff rushed over to the consoles and brought up the data from the EUAs that were on the sides of the wall, frozen.
Cary looked back at Ben. “Shit. Shit. Shit.”
“We were so busy with Charles we forgot to keep an eye on him.” Ben was visibly angry. He had lost himself in the moment, and now someone was missing.
“Ben, even the EUAs were on….oh. Here,” Geoff stopped short.
Ben ran over as fast as his magnetic boots allowed him to. They scanned the video back in reverse, starting from where they were focused on Charles being pulled out by his ankle. The EUAs focused their recorders on them, then in reverse, slowly panned out until they were taking up the whole cavern. Glorin was nowhere in sight.
“What? I don’t see him? Where and when did we lose him?”
“I’m not picking up anything on the network, no vitals, no data, nothing from his suit,” Crysta told them. “That shouldn’t be possible. I don’t think.”
Ben looked back from Crysta to Geoff. “So what did you see?”
The laboratory engineer slowed the video down. Again he played it in reverse as the screen zoomed out. He stopped the video and pointed. There, at the very edge of the screen, was the shape of a body, in the hull. It was a form, frozen in the hull. He played the video forward a bit, and it was clear the form was sinking into the vessel.
“He…..he fell through?” Cary asked.
“Or was pulled through,” Geoff said, quietly.
“Ok, we have nothing now,” Ben stood up and said with authority. He could already feel the tension in the room. “We need to move quickly. Charles, we need those drones now.”
Ben sat back down on his console and brought up the live camera feeds. Charles was seated on the ground, one knee up and the other leg stretched out. His arm was sticking in through the exact spot he had fallen through. He would pull it out then stick it in again.
“Ben, this hull, this, whatever it is. Well, it’s stopping my wrist pad from working. At all.”
Ben turned around and looked at Cary. She could only shrug her shoulders. They all knew that their first time down onto the hull of the vessel would be one of my surprises.
“Ok? And?” Ben was at a loss of words.
“Something is going on here. I fell in. The drones
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