Destination: Unknown
In reply to Walter Zeller (msg # 12):
After a time that seemed longer than it probably was, some lights and gravity came back on, and Vonon settled back into his chair at the drone control console. He sat silent for moment, listening to the ship.
Only about half the lights were on, but he could see that. But as he listened, he realized he was hearing something a little disconcerting - quiet.
Normally the ship was abuzz with minor sounds - the whirring of ventilator fans, 60-cycle hums from lights, the steady thrum of the engines, even structural creaking as the ship moved.
Now, all he could hear was the whirring of a few ventilator fans and the bussing of a couple of light. Main power was obviously off-line, or much more of the ship's electronics would be active and making slight ultrasonic noise.
Then the intercom clicked open and Walter announced the ship had dropped from j-space and he wanted everyone to battle stations.
"Can he do that?" Vonon said out loud, to himself, as he looked over the drone controls, "I thought Sam was Bridge Officer this Watch. Oh, well - ah!"
Just as he had recently trained himself to do, Vonon switched drone master control over to bridge control. Then he relocked the board, here, and headed for the manual hatch out of Remote Ops, into the Secondary Cargo Bay. Opening the manual hatch, then crossing the secondary cargo bay, Vonon approached the iris-valve door out to the central companionway with caution, not sure if the automatics were working at emergency power levels - but the door opened when he reached out to touch it.
*...Boarding Armor or E-Suit...Boarding Armor or E-Suit...* Vonon considered as he walked, *...my stateroom's on the way to the Bridge...but there's a locker with E-Suits just down the hall from here, on this deck...Boarding Armor or E-Suit...Boarding Armor is a little bulky for the confines of a bridge station...that settles it...Boarding Armor it is...it was never really a question...*
Heading aft down the companionway, Vonon stopped at the corner where both the lift doors and the manual hatch into the landing bay were located. Again, not sure that it was working under emergency power, Vonon pressed the lift call button, and was relieved when the lift responded. He wasn't looking forward to going out into the landing bay to climb the ladder up to Engineering.
When the lift opens, he enters and pushes the button for the Main Deck.