"Is it worth sucking the air out of the Engineering Bay rather than letting it go out the hull breach?"
"No. Replacing the air is a simple process to do. Its creation is far more complicated. Do you wish to hear the process?"
Well can't get more clear than that, I guess.
"No, thank you. I'll pass on that at the moment.
Blake stood to the side of the large Cargo Bay Hatch, hooked to the Anchor Point.
The hatch was around 4 metres wide, similar in height.
I guess it would need to be so that any machinery can be moved in or out for repair. Not that that will be the case anymore, what with my new skill.
Touching the hatch sensor started the door rising, and the roar of air escaping.
Engineering was a vacuum before the hatch rose to the halfway point.
"Hold the hatch there, Aubrey."
The hatch ceased rising. Blake got his first look at the Cargo Bay. It was a mess, to say the least.
He proceeded to take his first space-walk, even if it wasn't outside the ship.
Hey, what do you know? The boots are magnetic. Just lift my foot far enough, and it releases. Very handy
Walking down the middle of the Cargo Bay, he marvelled at the size of it. Around 60metres square, and two stories tall.
No interior hull in this section. The designer wanted to maximise cargo space. That wold also explain the Engineering sections reinforced Bay doors
He found the breach at the rear of the ship.
It turned out it wasn't so much a hole punch in the ship. Rather, the Bay Door had buckled inwards.
Yup, that would do it.
"Where's the Grav Sled?"
"Over to the right, and up"
Blake looked up at the ceiling and saw a kind of work platform slowly rotating there. He walked over and stood beneath it.
"How do I release the mag boots to reach it?
"Raise one foot as if taking a step, then push off with the other to achieve the necessary momentum."
This sent Blake sailing up to the Sled.
Repeating the process sent him back to the floor. He then made the slow walk back to engineering.
As the air returned to the Engineering Bay, the system flashed a new message.
[Survival Quest Available]
Enable Minimum manoeuvring Thruster Capacity. Timed Quest - 16hrs remaining.
Always a new job just when I'm going to get the first job done.
"New priority, Aubrey. Manoeuvring thrusters. We need minimum working capacity in 16hrs. My guess is something's coming that isn't stopping, and we're in the way"
"Right side of the Engineering there is a maintenance tube. You will need to remove your EVA Suit. Space it limited. This will bring you close enough to the outer Hull under the Starboard thruster. "
The a.i repair was once again paying for itself. Who knows how long this task would take without its guidance.
Blake climbed out of his Suit next to the maintenance tube access panel. Pulling the hatch off via the supplied fold-down handles, he started his way into the access space between the inner and outer hulls.
It was surprisingly tidy in the tube. All wiring set into wiring tracks, themselves set behind mesh sectioned to be removed when wiring access was needed.
It was 15 minutes of crawling on his hands and knees before Aubrey called a halt.
"The Starboard Thruster is above your position now,"
Blake flipped on to his back and raised his hand to the tube ceiling above him
Repair Diagnostic.
Select To Repair:
Maintenance Tube.
Starboard Hardware Wiring Track
Starboard Thruster Housing
Starboard Thruster Internal Components
Thruster Internal Component
Thruster Internal Components 82% Dmg
Repair Yes/No
Yes
As the glow spread out from his hand to the maintenance tube wall, Blake began pulling Ration Bars from his IVA Suit's pockets.
He didn't want to halt the process, 16 hours seemed a long time. But he didn't trust that he had time to spare.
5 minutes later, the process was complete
for the Thruster Internal Component repair.
Crawling out the tube, he grabbed the Grav Sled, then had a thought.
"Aubrey, can you control the Grav Sled?"
"I can. You would like me to bring it to the Mess while you run ahead, " he stated, with complete accuracy as to Blake's plan.
When the Grav Sled arrived at the Mess, he was ready with 20 Ration Bars and water bottles.
He'd need to repeat this process often, he had already foreseen. He loaded 5 more Ration Bars in his pockets, carrying a water bottle too he ran for the Engineering Bay.
1 hour had passed since the System gave him the Quest.
It didn't feel like he had completed much, but time would tell.
14hrs 45min
Back in engineering, he headed straight for the maintenance tube and started crawling.
When he reached the repair point, he went right to work on the Thruster Housing
Repair Diagnostic.
Select To Repair:
Thruster Housing - 61% Dmg
Thruster Hardpoint - 15% Dmg
Thruster Housing
He had a whole ship that needed a top to bottom repair job done to it. What he could do was a miracle in every way.
How would his skill be when he levelled up again?
Already, he could see the benefit of the Diagnostic Skill. The Thruster Hardpoint really didn't need repair at this moment, though he would dobit anyway.
15 minutes later, the job was complete.
"What's the condition of the Thruster control hardware in this tube, Aubrey?"
"Nominal"
"Off to the Port side Thruster, then I guess."
14hrs 0min
After loading up on Ration Bars, Blake crawled the maintenance tube to the Port Thruster
Repair Diagnostic.
Select To Repair:
Maintenance Tube.
Port Hardware Wiring Track
Port Thruster Housing
Port Thruster Internal Components
Port Thruster Internal Components
Port Thruster Internal Component 47%
Dmg
Repair Yes/No
Yes
Less damage to this side. Should save a few minutes.
10 minutes for repair and a 30-minute round trip to the Engineering Bay to restock.
Repair Diagnostic
Select To Repair
Port Thruster Housing 72% Dmg
Port Thruster Hardpoint 27% Dmg
Port Thruster Housing
And so it went. No damage to Hardware Wiring this side either at least.
10hrs 0min
Blake was exhausted, and still more repairs were needed.
At the moment, he was in the maintenance passageway, repairing one hardware component after another.
They seemed to have burnt out in some kind of chain reaction. Each was a minor repair.
It was in this exhausted state that he made a discovery that saved him hours, though likely the same State caused him to miss the obvious.
Repair Diagnostic
Select To Repair
Passageway Hardware Wiring
Maintenance Passageway
Repair Passageway Hardware Wiring Yes/No
YES!
10 minutes later, the repairs were complete.
Survival Quest Complete
Repairman Skill level upgrade [ 3 ]
New Repair Ability. [Advanced Diagnostic]
New Repair Ability [Component Upgrade
Repair Efficiency Upgrade.
Survival Quest Outstanding
Restore Atmospheric Integrity In Cargo Bay.
"Aubrey, does the ship have maneuvering capacity now?"
"Yes it does. Ship sensors are not functional.
We can maneuver away from incoming threats, if we know which vector the threat is from."
"Can the sensors be repaired easily?"
"Not from inside the Ship"
Well that's just great.