"I have an alternative option to repairing the sensor array unit at this time. My own visual acuity is significantly greater than your own. "
This caught Blake's attention.
He very much did not want to spend a significant amount of time out on the hull, certainly not when an object may be incoming.
"What are the odds that you may not see the incoming object?"
"There is a 2% chance that an object large enough to cause the destruction of this vessel will elude my visual sensors."
"And the odds of us moving into the objects path if we just pick a random direction to head in?"
" Approximately 10%."
Better odds than I expected. And less time out on the hull, too.
"Alright. We'll go with your plan. It's still supposed to be around 6 hours until the mysterious object arrives. I'll suit up and head to the forward airlock. "
Blake had a quick shower to wake himself up a little more, then grabbed his EVA Suit.
Repair Diagnostic
Select To Repair:
EVA Suit Mk1
Select To Upgrade
EVA Suit Mk1
"Aubrey, what's the difference between the Mk1 of this EVA Suit and the Mk2?"
"Nothing, since there is no Mk2 version. The Suit is considered superior to its common use already"
Mk2 would be a new version of the suit then.
EVA Suit Upgrade.
The soft glow of Blake's repair skill flowed over the suit, bright enough this time to hide the transformation occurring.
The end result was a reinforced EVA Suit. Ultralight armoured plates at critical points on the suit, segmented both on the upper and lower body sections, shoulders and forearms increased its bulk slightly, in favour of survivability. The screen on the left arm was larger. He wouldn't see the improvements there until it was operational.
Even the helmet had changed. The top, sides, and back looked to have improved armour to it. And hardpoints for attachments were now present.
Even the colour had changed, the armoured plates a light grey on the standard white suit.
Putting the suit on at the forward airlock, Blake bent and stretched, getting a feel for the new suit. Flexibility wasn't reduced, not in any way he could tell.
Stepping into the airlock, he looked in the lock storage unit, and multiple EVA suits were present. He spent a moment repairing them to 100% condition, helmets included.
He figured that the middle of an emergency wasn't the best time to find flaws in a suits integrity.
"Cycle the airlock, please, Aubrey."
Air being evacuated was soon silenced by the vacuum of space.
"Opening outer airlock hatch now," Aubrey informed him, a consideration he appreciated.
It was my first real spacewalk. I've read it's best to keep my eyes in the hull, to combat vertigo. Guess I'll find out if that's true or not.
A short platform extended out from the hull at the base of the airlock hatch, with a handrail attached.
"Please step onto the platform. Once on, it will rotate until it flushes with the hull. "
"No sign of an object to be seen from this position?"
"Not as yet,"
Blake stepped onto the platform, grasped the handle, and stared at his feet while the platform rotated. Seeing the stars wheel rapidly above would likely have pushed him into a state of extreme vertigo.
Now, standing flush with the hull, he chose to look up. The view he was given was incredible. The bright stars were a blanket of twinkling lights, far more than he had ever seen.
"Contact. Object identified as an extremely large asteroid. Please return to the airlock. I will initiate evasive manoeuvres after you are inside."
"Don't cycle the airlock once the outer hatch is closed, I'll be coming back out to repair the sensor array after the manoeuvre. I'm already dressed up to party, after all."
Back inside the airlock, Blake watched the stars spin past the outer hatch porthole.
"Aubrey, does the ship have faster than light engines?"
"We do. Travelling one lightyear in approximately 2 weeks. Space lanes are highly recommended when using the FTL drive to avoid collisions."
So I won't spend the rest of my life travelling to a destination then. Good to know.
"What's the average distance between star systems?"
"I will assume you are referring to planetary systems. The average is approximately 5.5 light years.
"Two to three months travel on average then. Thank you. "
"The ship is now outside the trajectory of the asteroid. Manoeuvre complete"
"Cycle the outer hatch, if you please."
Once more, the airlock hatch opened, the platform and handhold extending as before.
"Direct me to the sensor array please aubrey"
"The Sensor array Housing is situated at the nose of the vessel"
About a 50 metre spacewalk by the looks.
Eyes down at his feet, Blake saw the general condition of the hull. He had no idea what the state of the ship was before the flare event, but now it was clearly showing its age. Pitting and scorch marks were common on most of the hull plates.
He wondered if it would be necessary to spacewalk the whole ship, repairing plates as he went.
Or upgrading those plates. That may be a better option, at least around critical areas.
When he arrived at the sensor array, mostly all he saw was a 10 metre diameter area of slagged metal. Little if any of the sensor array was left.
Forward Sensor Array
Select To Repair:
Forward Sensor Array
Forward Sensor Array Housing
Select To Upgrade:
Forward Sensor Array
Forward Sensor Array Housing
Upgrade Forward Sensor Array
15 minutes to upgrade the array left Blake exhausted. He had no choice but to return to the ship interior to resupply his EVA Suit protein paste.
By doing so, he found that his storage capacity had increased for the paste. He could now carry twice the amount he had previously been able to.
Then, the slow walk back out on the hull to the array to upgrade the housing. He got his first good look at the ship that he was making his own. Take an ovoid, flatten the top and bottom, add Thruster nacelle. Remarkably similar to the Thunderbird 2 from the old puppet series back in his universe.
This took a further 15 minutes.
The result was a concave dish shaped structure. An array of sensors sat in the centre under a convex dome.
"Sensors up now, Aubrey?"
"Indeed. We now possess a sensor array of a military grade. This vessel would never have been worth the cost of such a superior sensor suite. I would say that you have raised the value of the entire vessel by as much as 50%"
"Well, try not to knock me off and sell the ship for the profit, please,"
"Very droll, sir."
Blake spent the next hour out on the hull.
By the end of that time, he had upgraded the hull plating all the way back to the airlock. Bulk section upgrades of the hull the only way he could have gotten it done.
The entire bridge section now had the armour capacity of a mid-level military ship.
Blakes biggest surprise was what now was solid armour hull plating where the bridge forward window was.
"The window is now a sensor operated view screen."
"Very nice. Now I have the unpleasant mission of loading the airlock with our dearly departed former crew. It's time for a funeral."
The Grav Sled accommodated all the dead.
Securing the Grav Sled to the floor of the airlock was part of its normal function, Blake found out. So all he needed to do was float the Sled into the airlock and let Aubrey open the outer hatch, launching the crew out into the void.
"We have an adequate supply of IVA Suit's, don't we?"
"We do. There are several in the Stasis Control Room locker as well. Shall I commence waking Ensign Connelly?"
"Yes. Since she is familiar with you, I will leave it to you to explain what has happened. I'm going to sleep. "
As he walked towards his cabin, a thought occurred.
"Aubrey, Connelly can't seize control of the ship, can she?"
"No. She was not a full crew member. You have adequate claim to the ship from a legal standpoint. You are the captain, sir. "
Blake had no idea how long he slept. It felt like a long time, though. All his fatigue from the previous day was gone. A shower washed away the sleep from his mind.
He left his cabin to get breakfast, momentarily surprised at the stranger in the Mess. Ensign Elenor Connelly, Navigator Third Class sat eating a meal. She looked up when he entered.
"Our elusive Captain has risen. Blake Fisher, right?"
"Yes. Elenor Connelly, right?"
"Yes. Thank you for all you have done to the ship. Most certainly for giving me a chance to live. Aubrey told me I would have died in that Stasis tube eventually."
Blake waved off the thanks, not interested in accolades. Just breakfast.
"Can I ask why you were in stasis? The rest of the crew were in the Mess."
"After such an unusually long stasis sleep, memory lose to a certain degree is typical." Aubrey replied for her. "Ensign Connelly has not regained those memories as yet captain"
"Makes no difference, I guess. You are alive because you were in that tube. "
"Yes indeed. So, Aubrey tells me you are a legendary visitor from another universe with miraculous powers?"
"You could have told her something more impressive, Aubrey?"
"Her words, not mine," the a.i replied.
"You heard stories of others like me, have you?"
"Relax, captain. Aubrey gave me the events of you arriving here, your ability being the only reason he was able to regain consciousness at all. I am curious to see those abilities in action, though. Your kind are one in several trillion."
"Hold still, I'll show you by upgrading your IVA suit."
He leaned forward across the table, with her agreement, and improved her suit.
The material looked identical, though now it had thin armour plates spread across it. Similar to Blake's upgraded EVA suit, without any extra bulk that would interfere with an outer suit.
"The armour plating is a kind of ceramic fibre in a combination I have not encountered before. It would appear to be quite capable of withstand significant force, up to and including a laser carbine blast."
"Thank you, Aubrey. I gather my EVA suit armour has similar properties?"
Excessively more so captain."
Finishing his breakfast, Blake stood and stretched.
"Time to go to work, I think."
Loading up the Grav Sled with Rations, water, and paste, Blake got ready to head to the cargo bay to repair the hold doors.
"You know I'm coming with you, right?" Elenor stated.
"The more the merrier I say. We pick up an EVA suit for you at the aft airlock, and I can upgrade it for you on the way. "
20 minutes later, the two humans stood, suit up, in front of the engineering/Cargo Bay Hatch.
At Aubrey suggestion, Blake had taken a cargo net designed for the Grav Sled and secured his ration supply rather than have it float around engineering after the air was evacuated.
Let's get this Quest Complete.