Space Walk
Posted on 07/06/2021 @ 4:46pm by 1st Lieutenant Anthony Hill & 2nd Lieutenant Erin Inferson
2,110 words; about a 11 minute read
Mission:
The Mirror’s Edge
Location: Outer Hull of Station
It had been a while since Anthony had to put on an EVA suit, and this one was top of the line. It seemed to have all the bells and whistles as he watched the display come up on his visor. If he had the time and the situation was different he would have 'tested' out some of the functions to see what they all did, how they handled the rigours of their parameters.
He looked beyond his display, the slender frame of Sparks in front of him even though the suit made everyone look the same size. He could tell by the way she walked it was her. He smirked a little as a thought came to his mind and for a mere moment he was distracted as she spoke.
"Oy handsome my eyes are up here..." Sparks began with a smirk. "We should get going..." her voice trailed off as the heads up display on her MARVEL EAS updated the mission parameters. "...It seems that our mission is now three fold. One, asses the damage, two learn what we can as to how the hell this was pulled off, and three check for any other explosives. For once it feels good keeping something together rather then blowing it up. Lets get moving toward Airlock six." Erin pointed at a hole in the hull some yards off where the airlock used to be. She started to walk in that direction her boots making large clunk noises in her helmet. The suit was easy to use and allowed for ease of movement, but stealthy it was not. She took note of that and the fact that the suit was so light it felt like she was wearing nothing at all.
"Sorry love." he said as he cleared his throat and raising his eyes up a little more. Anthony noticed the change in their mission parameters as well as he flicked through them on his HUD. "I know, don't get me wrong I don't blow a lot up but sometimes you cannot beat an explosion in the right environment. I suggest we look for other explosives first before anything else... I'd rather not get thrown from the station when I can avoid it." he added as he looked up at the stars. Aquil could be seen just over the ridge of the station glowing brightly totally unaware of what was going on above its skies.
"Agreed... Perhaps we should check each airlock one at a time although that would be a lot of station to check on foot. Any ideas?" Erin said as she fell in step with Hill. She forgot how nice space walks were and how much she had enjoyed them. Erin just wished that this walk was being done on better circumstances. She could only imagine how many dead in injured there must be. A small beep took her attention. "Do you see that? Initial scans are showing that the blast pattern and some of the debris is high in chronitons and tachyons. It rubs me the wrong way. What do you make of it?" With a quick flick of the wrist Erin sent the data that she had from her suit's scanners to Hill to view.
Anthony nodded at her suggestion for a check of each airlock. Given what had just happened it was a better safe than sorry scenario.
As Sparks spoke the small beep took his attention also but by that point she had already thrown it to his HUD. Anthony used his left hand to scroll through the details and if he could have scratched his head he would have. It was strange for any explosion to be giving off those kinds of readings. "Definitely strange." he said. "Usually you see that kind of debris reading, those specific readings, with time travel... at least from my knowledge." he said. "You think we are dealing with something the science nerds would like?" he asked.
Erin looked at the readouts as they scrolled passed her eyes. Hill had the right of it this definitely did not look like it was from around these parts. "Spitfire, it seems that you are right. I would say that we need to get some samples of this for the science teams. If I am understanding this correctly this explosion originated in this time, but the explosives came from another universe. I think we should get some samples and move on to the other airlocks. I want to make sure that the station is secure before we start speculating." She made the suggestion he technically outranked her so the call was his.
"Sounds like a good idea." Anthony said as he began to collect samples. "This may be more dangerous than we thought though if your theory is correct. The idea that an explosion can happen here but it has been set in another universe is worrying." he added as he finished his collection for the science teams. "That's me done. Time to move onto the other airlocks." her suggestion was one he would have made also.
Erin led the way to the first two airlocks and after the two Marines swept them they were found to be clean. However, on the third airlock Erin's suit chimed. She held up a fist to indicate Anthony should stop. After a few quick taps on the wrist mounted computer she shook her head. "It seems that this one is rigged to blow as well. The explosives failed to detonate, and we got a hang fire on our hands."
Anthony saw the raise of Erin's hand and stopped. The readings began to come through on his HUD he sighed as Erin reported. "We need to relay this so the area can be evacuated. Then I can take a look at the device, possibly disarm it."
"Roger... I will get the message out and you start doing what you do best." Erin said as she switched her comm over to the main channel. "This is Sparks to BlackJack. We need to clear the area on Decks 25 - 30 Inner Ring. The Upper Docking Ports seem to be rigged to explode as well. The detonator has triggered however, something has prevented the complete detonation. It is a hangfire, repeat a hangfire. Spitfire and I will be investigating and attempting a full diffusion. Please make sure the area is clear. This is not a drill, repeat not a drill." She closed the channel and moved to assist Anthony.
"This is where you are both grateful for the EVA because it can offer some protection but are annoyed that you cannot use your hands properly in these bloody gloves." Anthony moaned as he knelt down to the device. "I am not going to scan it, thing might blow up in my face if we hit the wrong frequency. No more communications at close range apart from our own, sometimes that can trigger an explosive." he continued as he could feel the sweat on his brow form. Anthony removed the outer casing delicately and scanned the device with his eyes. "Well... that's different." he said. "Tech looks familiar but with a configuration I've not seen before, almost like its close to something I'd have made if I was making a makeshift bomb out in the field." he said offering a look for Erin.
Erin almost held her breath as Anthony worked. In truth she was used to setting the explosives not defusing them, so she relented to his expertise. As he pointed out the differences in the way the bomb was made she nodded in agreement. "This thing looks so simple, like something we would have made in boot. I wonder why the scanners did not pick anything up, and there is the question of chronitons. Those things always make me nervous. Have you found any present in this device?"
"If it is not from this universe it may have a different signature than ours, it is possible that our scanners cant see it." Anthony hypothesized as he moved some circuitry with his fingers. "I think it is a crude explosive, definitely homemade, improvised with what they had at the time but someone definitely knows what they are doing. If I just..." he said making a small snapping noise and the device lit up a bit before going back to its neutral state. He looked up at Erin who's eyes widened at the snap as he realized he didn't tell her what he was going to do and that might cause some alarm. "Small internal transmitter, don't want someone to blow us up before I can disarm it." he joked.
Erin breathed a sigh of relief. "Good thinking... But do me a favor Spitfire, next time give a girl some warning before you just snap wires." She grinned a little flirtatiously. She a little happy for the disconnect of communications as it allowed her a little leeway outside of protocol.
"Where would be the fun in that?" he said glancing up at her. His boyish good looks, a small smirk easy to be seen through the helmet. He moved his body into a more comfortable position as he took a closer look at the device. "That looks like a Human design, but the other parts look Betazoid and possibly some old Vulcan pieces." Anthony remarked as he went to scratch the back of his head but as soon as his hand touched the back of his helmet he made a rather annoyed face at his own silliness.
"Yeah if I didn't know any better I would say that it looks like something I would have cooked up in a pinch. The question is can you get it disconnected and safely inside? The Engineering gang should be able to figure this out better than us." Sparks knelt as she spoke. She took a closer look at everything and yes it would definitely be something she would make out of spare parts. The horrible thought that she had now was, if she were to make it, it would have a failsafe and never be able to be defused.
"The question is do we risk it?" he asked rhetorically. "I mean we could take it inside, with a dampening field around it and hope that there isn't a failsafe in it or that is it stable enough to do so... or we take detailed scans of it now and play it safe. If it were me I'd place it within a field and take it out on a shuttle. Safer that way and if it goes tits up then minimal life is lost and damage is contained." Anthony knew that whomever picked it apart would be in danger but if they wanted to know what 'made it tick' then that would be a good solution.
"Let's get it diffused. If there is a failsafe it should kick in as soon as we start to tamper with it. If we can get it diffused then it should be safe to bring in the station for everyone to look at. I say start with the power supply." Erin said as she pointed toward two wires that ran from a small power generator to the rest of the device.
"Well sunshine, glad to see your positivity." he said with a laugh and small shake of his head. "I'll be sure to let you be the first to know if it has a failsafe, tell you in a flash." he added with a cheeky wink and made a fake explosion noise and movement with his hands for effect.
Anthony moved his hands to the device and carefully used his tools to isolate the power supply. Carefully he then removed the power core and watched the light from the device die down. "There we have it love. A terrifying, explosive paperweight." he said removing it from the hull. "Can't say I don't get ya anything nice when we go out."
"Awww you get a lady the nicest things." Erin said and batted her eyes within her helmet. "Now lets get the rest of the station cleared and then we can get that device and your buns inside." She added with a wink as she began to make her way to the next airlock.
Anthony nodded. "Always follow your lead." he bowed slightly as they began to move. He reactivated his comms device and relayed to Patton the outcome of the defusal of the device and they were clearing the last of the airlocks.
1st Lieutenant Anthony Hill
Platoon CO 'The Castle'
The Kingsmen
Poseidon Station
Second Lieutenant Erin Inferson
Platoon CO The Swords
The Kingsmen
Poseidon Station
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