the top of the entrance portal and kicked his legs into the chamber.
“Sonofabitch,” he mumbled. The pod was no bigger than a vintage telephone booth back on earth.
How in the hell did they expect the whole crew to escape in a pod sized for a single person? he wondered.
As he rested on the launch couch, he looked over the minimalistic control panel, familiarizing himself with its use. There wasn’t much he could control, though. Other than setting a destination and clicking ENGAGE, it was virtually useless.
Because of its compact size, the speed was limited to the stored energy power at the base of the vessel. It was some kind of energy drive that was no doubt limited in its distance capabilities as well. Seeing as he was less than twenty minutes away from the moon, he disregarded the concern and activated the remaining exiting procedures on the panel. The display indicated that escape would be possible in ninety seconds.
Jaxon crawled back out into the Bradbury and retraced his steps back up to the bridge. Once back in front of the main control panel, he disengaged the engines and felt the momentum slow instantly. Next, he accessed a submenu for exterior door closures and scanned through the list of portals until he found what he was looking for. He initiated full exterior door lock up and hit execute. As he watched the display, the exterior view of the ship filled the screen. To his satisfaction, each of the thruster and impulse outlets were closing as ordered. His happiness quickly turned to worry as he saw the escape pod door close as well.
“Shit.”
Jaxon dropped to his knees and ducked beneath the control panel once again. He withdrew a bundle of wires, sorting through them until he found the right one. Jaxon quickly severed the wire with a firm yank. Leaning back up to see the display, he was happy to see the escape pod door reopen.
Standing back up, he grabbed his satchel before entering the final command into the control panel. He transferred full engine control to the cargo bay before racing back through the ship.
Once back in the cargo bay, Jaxon opened his satchel and removed all of his collected weapons and ammunition. He tossed them on the floor, annoyed that he’d be arriving on the moon unarmed. He knew though that, ever since the terrorist attack on the space elevator all those years ago, security was at a heightened state. Even eight years later. He knew that he would never make it into Luna City carrying so much as harsh language. He un-holstered the last two weapons from his person and tossed them to the ground as well.
Finally, Jaxon brought up the ship’s engine controls and re-engaged the impulse engines. He’d already disengaged the safety measures in place that prevented it from firing with the rear hatch closed, and he knew that he’d have less than a minute before the system overloaded and a hull breach would destroy the ship.
He ran forward and quickly dropped back into the escape pod, closing the door and activating hailing frequencies at the same time.
“Mayday—Mayday. This is Martin Wheeler on Bradbury 9613. I have an engine failure warning, and I can’t deactivate it. Mayday—Mayday. Send …” Jaxon flipped off the comms and jettisoned the escape pod.
As the pod launched away from the Bradbury, Jaxon deactivated all forms of power, except life support. He hoped that it would appear as just part of the ship’s debris after the explosion. The explosion that was about to light up space as far as the eye could see.
Ten seconds later, it happened. The damage began at the rear of the ship, right where the impulse drive doors blocked the output. The carbon fiber reinforced metal shrouds began to glow from the intense heat, then they disintegrated. The damage was already done, though, and the engines overheated, blowing off the rear quarter of the ship. As debris began to jettison away from the ship, the forward two-thirds of the ship imploded due to the sudden pressure
“Sonofabitch,” he mumbled. The pod was no bigger than a vintage telephone booth back on earth.
How in the hell did they expect the whole crew to escape in a pod sized for a single person? he wondered.
As he rested on the launch couch, he looked over the minimalistic control panel, familiarizing himself with its use. There wasn’t much he could control, though. Other than setting a destination and clicking ENGAGE, it was virtually useless.
Because of its compact size, the speed was limited to the stored energy power at the base of the vessel. It was some kind of energy drive that was no doubt limited in its distance capabilities as well. Seeing as he was less than twenty minutes away from the moon, he disregarded the concern and activated the remaining exiting procedures on the panel. The display indicated that escape would be possible in ninety seconds.
Jaxon crawled back out into the Bradbury and retraced his steps back up to the bridge. Once back in front of the main control panel, he disengaged the engines and felt the momentum slow instantly. Next, he accessed a submenu for exterior door closures and scanned through the list of portals until he found what he was looking for. He initiated full exterior door lock up and hit execute. As he watched the display, the exterior view of the ship filled the screen. To his satisfaction, each of the thruster and impulse outlets were closing as ordered. His happiness quickly turned to worry as he saw the escape pod door close as well.
“Shit.”
Jaxon dropped to his knees and ducked beneath the control panel once again. He withdrew a bundle of wires, sorting through them until he found the right one. Jaxon quickly severed the wire with a firm yank. Leaning back up to see the display, he was happy to see the escape pod door reopen.
Standing back up, he grabbed his satchel before entering the final command into the control panel. He transferred full engine control to the cargo bay before racing back through the ship.
Once back in the cargo bay, Jaxon opened his satchel and removed all of his collected weapons and ammunition. He tossed them on the floor, annoyed that he’d be arriving on the moon unarmed. He knew though that, ever since the terrorist attack on the space elevator all those years ago, security was at a heightened state. Even eight years later. He knew that he would never make it into Luna City carrying so much as harsh language. He un-holstered the last two weapons from his person and tossed them to the ground as well.
Finally, Jaxon brought up the ship’s engine controls and re-engaged the impulse engines. He’d already disengaged the safety measures in place that prevented it from firing with the rear hatch closed, and he knew that he’d have less than a minute before the system overloaded and a hull breach would destroy the ship.
He ran forward and quickly dropped back into the escape pod, closing the door and activating hailing frequencies at the same time.
“Mayday—Mayday. This is Martin Wheeler on Bradbury 9613. I have an engine failure warning, and I can’t deactivate it. Mayday—Mayday. Send …” Jaxon flipped off the comms and jettisoned the escape pod.
As the pod launched away from the Bradbury, Jaxon deactivated all forms of power, except life support. He hoped that it would appear as just part of the ship’s debris after the explosion. The explosion that was about to light up space as far as the eye could see.
Ten seconds later, it happened. The damage began at the rear of the ship, right where the impulse drive doors blocked the output. The carbon fiber reinforced metal shrouds began to glow from the intense heat, then they disintegrated. The damage was already done, though, and the engines overheated, blowing off the rear quarter of the ship. As debris began to jettison away from the ship, the forward two-thirds of the ship imploded due to the sudden pressure
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