Fatal Containment

Fatal Containment - Chapter 17

Everyone reached for something to hold onto as the ship's gravitation normalized. Connor cursed himself silently for not expecting the move and reached up to wipe a smear of blood from his cheek, where he had hit the console too hard during the ship's turn.

"Everyone alright?" Connor called, getting to his feet. Bridge personnel confirmed that they were shaken but not seriously injured.

"Come on, people, move it!" he shouted as they scrambled to their feet and put a livelier step into their work. After confirming that medical services were not immediately necessary, he began barking orders, adding his own irritation to emphasize that they needed to move faster. Cantrell casually sat in his command chair as he studied his bridge team.

"Damage report," Cantrell said calmly.

Connor read the list of simulated damage to the captain and began to send teams to the affected area for atmosphere containment and personnel evacuation.

"Helmsman, begin evasive maneuvers. Pattern Beta Four," the captain said. As the helmsman complied, the ship once again went into an erratic series of turns to simulate the motion during battle.

"Battle stations," Connor called out. As the alarms began to sound across the ship, at least he knew everyone would be at their action stations and better prepared for the wild ride they were experiencing. The communications officer began to announce over the "all-hands" channel that this was a battle stations drill.

Although there was a certain amount of confusion, the crew had drilled this way before. During battle stations, every member of the crew would be prepared for the worst and would be working directly with their department heads. Those officers tuned into the bridge, and order quickly resumed as each section reported readiness.

As the section heads reported in, the science section was conspicuous in that its senior officer had not mustered.

"Captain, Lieutenant Kinson has not reported in."

Cantrell picked up a copy of the roster and quietly studied it.

"List her as missing and have search and rescue dispatched."

Connor acknowledged the order and passed on the command to the SAR teams already working on evacuating decks seven and eight. It was highly unusual for an officer to fail to report when at general action quarters, and Connor began to become concerned.

"Captain, should we terminate the drill to find Kinson?" He tried to keep his voice level so as not to betray his concern. It was possible that she could have been more severely injured during the ship's unexpected maneuvering. Connor looked at the damage control monitor to verify that there was no actual damage. All of the damage systems on the monitor showed that they were simulated damage only.

"No, Commander. She should find it convenient to be at her station or face the consequences."

Cantrell raised a hand to forestall the rebuttal of this executive officer.

"But in the event she is actually injured or missing, it is an excellent opportunity to allow the rescue teams to drill for missing crew," Cantrell said, not looking up from the roster. Anticipating Connor's objection, he looked up and added, "I want them to look just as hard as if this were an actual emergency. They'll section off the damaged area and begin their sweep. If she's not located there, they will expand their search until she's found."

Connor felt as if his head would explode. He wanted to scream at the captain, but he dared not. He understood what the captain was saying, but it didn't add up that Cheryl should not have reported in. Something felt wrong, and he knew the simulated damage in the hallways would slow down the search team.