Startide III -- Intro
This is a teaser beginning for a story series I've been wanting to write. I'm not sure if I have the skill to really bring this story to life, so I figure I would try with a shortened part of the first chapter, which doesn't have much to it aside from set up. This is not a full story just yet, but I would love to hear if people wouldn't mind me expanding on this, as I might just do so!
Darkness and cold, the two sensation that first greet either when getting frozen or waking back up. Both of those sensations greeting Daniel as his nervous system came back out of cryo-sleep, joined quickly by a faint beeping noise. The albino skunk twitched just a bit, eyes heavy as he slowly opened them to the blurry, frosted cover of the tube.
"Co... Comp... Computer... Reporsh..." The sounds seemed almost alien, coming from the tired larynx of the Chief Medical Officer. His thoughts still blank had slowly been filling with information. His name was Daniel Szyreth, he was born in the Europeon Union. Chief Medical Officer aboard the colony ship known as 'Startide'... what was it he was supposed to remember when he heard that beeping?
"Computer... Report!" The command this time was more confident, the post-cryo cocktail of stimulants and extra nutrition were getting added to his bloodstream. There was the chirp of recognition from the computer this time.
"Morning, Officer Szyreth. Emergency thaw is underway, please stand by." The computers female voice still sounded synthesized, despite being driven by one of the most state of the art AI systems availible... how long ago? It all still seemed fuzzy to the skunk.
"Computer, time in tube. And while you're at it, run a diagnostic on my neuralware, it doesn't appear to be functional." The skunk twitched a bit, the years of being frozen having made his muscles decidedly uncooperative. There was a sudden feeling of pins and needles throughout his body as his memory crystalized.
"You have been frozen for 72 years in transit. Your neuralware is coming online now, Doctor," The female voice sounded a bit more interested in him now that he could form reasonable questions. The frost of the tub was starting to dissapate as well, the beeping gaining in intensity as the skunk's ears started to respond better... or that hearing aug that he had was finally getting it's sweet electronics online. And it wasn't just beeping... it was a klaxon alarm.
The skunk's neural display kicked online at this point, taking a moment for the lines on the display to sharpen as it adapted to the state of his eyes. A quick check over his biomonitor and he understood. This was no sedate wake up, it was an emergency defrost. Of course, the computer had said as much earlier, it was only now sinking in. "Computer, run a diagnostic and prep medical bay one. Begin defrost of Captain Diogen, and Chief Engineer Hurdley. Route time table and any errors to my times square system. Authorization code Delta Sierra Four Seven Quebec. What is the life support status?"
There was a chirp as new information began to scroll into place in his vision, showing a read out of the time it was going to take in order for the other two officers to defrost. Another line flicked into place, before moving off to the side of his vision, scrolling the information by as his medical equipment was brought back to life. He also very suddenly felt... cold. "Must be almost done..." A faint hiss could be heard as the tube itself opened to the outside pressure, before popping forward with the clunk of soviet designed hydraulics, leaving the skunk to take his first step back onto his ship.
It wasn't much of a step. his legs didn't cooperate, and the white-furred skunk fell forward onto the cold grating that served as the floor on this level of the cryo-bay. A second later, his tail fell into place over his head. Well, at least the blue dye was still there... pushing the tail away with his hand, he twisted and massaged his legs, a few thought commands working to alter his biochemistry to help wake him up. At least, as the first person up, no one was around to see his graceful face plant. Not to mention, he was essentially in a set of bikini briefs and a few strap on sensor packs!
The cryo-bay was designed in 10 levels, pods of colonists and crew stacked up like the cargo they were. Walkways and scaffolds were strung through the rows of pods to give access to people for repairs, as well as for the newly thawed to exit with. The lighting was always dim, as eyes took a moment to adjust to being used again, but with the emergency lighting on it was even more true. The only real light was the faint blues and greens from the various status panels on the pods, and flickering red that raced along the walkways towards the exit stairs. A faint mist was slowly swirling around his feet from the base of the skunk's cryotube.
Pushing himself to his feet, the skunk tested his knees out, the gave his tail a flick. Well, his tail was still mostly useless, but his legs were working, and that was the important part. "Computer, Life Support status?"
"Life support is coming online in the habitat module right now, Doctor. Medical Bay One has full life support, Engineering module and connecting decks twelve through eighteen are reporting hull breeches. Automated repair is underway," the computers voice did not bring the best of news. A hull breech would certainly explain why he was woken up without so much as a cup of coffee!
The skunk walked towards the staircase, bare claws clicking against the metal grid underneath them. He wasn't quite walking straight, but he was getting better at it as he went. Steps however, proved to be a bit more of a challenge. One foot at a time, going down partially sideways to keep from falling. "I hope my uniform is still where I left it..."
Two flights of stairs later and he was tapping his foot impatiently at the cryo-bay airlock door. Both of the cryo-bays were designed to be ejected from the main hull if there was a catastrophic issue, designed with solar arrays to keep the occupants blissfully unaware until they could be picked up. This however meant that getting this airlock open was a pain in the tail! "Computer, get this door open!"
"Acknowledged. Be aware doctor, heat levels are still insufficient in the rest of the habitat module. Open anyway?"
"Yes! I need to prep for this wake up," the skunk's voice showed a hint of irritation, the two lines of in progress wake-up letting him know exactly how little time was left. A heavy thump sounded from the door locks before the main lock bolt turned to disengage the mechanical seal. A hiss as the pressure equalized before the two heavy airlock doors began to grind open, revealing a dimly lit entry lounge filled with two couches and several racks of robes in different sizes.
Slipping one of the robes on, and still navigating by touch along the walls, Daniel shook his head. "And here I passed on the light amplification upgrades so I wouldn't have to replace my eyes..." With a little sigh he made it to a panel, and tapped it a few times before the lights started to come up just enough for him to see. A brief check at the top of the panel to remember where he was in the ship, and he began to walk towards one of the corridors on the way to medical; thankfully it was right next door.
The heavy grinding sound of the cryo-bay doors echoed behind him as the door to the hallway hissed open, leaving him in a dimly red lit corridor. A bulkhead was shut to his left, which was fine by him, medical was to the right. A few steps on the soft carpet of the hallway made his feet remind him that they did not like metal. Shoes... he would need to get his shoes.
Medical was an unassuming door, aside from the blue tint and the medical symbol off to the side. His hand flicked over the inset panel and there was an affirming chirp. "Welcome to Medical, Doctor Szyreth." The doors hissed open and the sudden illumination made him squint. At least it was warmer inside! Waiting for his eyes to adjust he glanced over the bay. The carpet here stopped at a small waiting area, and the rest of the medical bay was stainless steel and rubber grip material, with eight of the most state of the art medical beds created. He should know, he designed most of the robotics for them! Beyond that were two isolation wards with their armored glass fronts and closed filtration system, and opposite was his office, behind a door and some windows.
Daniel's office... he found himself missing it. He walked towards it, the door hissing into the wall as he walked in. There was his uniform, right where he left it. The black uniform with the blue shoulder and his rank pips, as well as the Startide III symbol on the opposite shoulder. First however, he did have a sonic shower in here.
Feeling much cleaner and quite a bit more defrosted, Daniel slipped into his uniform, carefully threading his tail through the back. A brief check on his internal display gave him another ten minutes before he had to be in the cryo-bay for the last part of the wake up cycles. Settling in behind his desk he ran his hands over the plastic and brushed metal furniture, before tapping at the side to bring the pop-out screen ready. "Computer, life support status." He started tapping at the input pad, bringing his medical bay back to full life.
"Life support is fully operational within the main hallways to the bridge, as well as the Crew Lounge. Half of the habitat level is currently sealed off due to the hull breach, and the life support is offline there," the computers voice almost sounded curious as to why the skunk was requesting this information.
"Good good, set illumination through the ship to half brightness," Daniel's voice sounded much more fluid now, his body having finally recovered partially in thanks to his own implants. His fingers continued to tap over the desk input as two of his tables lit up and began to hum, going through a final self-check. "Best see to our Captain then, and our Chief Engineer."
Sliding back in his chair, the skunk stood back up and walked into the medical bay proper, letting a hand glide over the edge of one of his tables before striding out into the hallway, the dull hiss of the doors sliding open and closed announcing his movements. Turning left and back into the Crew Lounge, then in front of the cryo-bay doors once more. "Chief Medical Officer Daniel Szyreth, unlock cryo-bay doors and keep unlocked for the next 4 hours."
A chirp before the door lock turned once more, unlocking the bay. Several echoing thumps could be heard as the module's ejection system was moved to standby. "It certainly is dark in here... Computer, set cryo-bay illumination to ten percent."
As the lights came back online, a few of them flickering for a moment, the expansive cryo-bay revealed itself. It really did look like a warehouse of bodies, each one suspended in a capsule. He made a turn at the first intersection, and walked over two rows, then to the second block. "Good morning gentlemen, and welcome to your ship..." His fingers flicked over the control panel of the pad with the word 'Captain' stenciled-painted onto the top of it. He then did the same to the Chief Engineer, two pods down. "... it needs your assistance, and I'm here to make sure you can give it your best."
Softly, a hiss could be heard at the Captain's pod as the doctor pulled out a small hypo, loading it with a stimulant batch. As the top receded upwards, the skunk shook his head, a faint vibration could be heard; the slide was sticky... He looked into the pod and grinned at the red fox currently laying in the pod. "Hello Captain Diones. Can you hear me?" The fox stirred just a bit, both eyes opening up a crack. "You'll be a little stiff, we're undergoing an emergency defrost and your body has been brought out under quick defrost. This will help." The hypo flicked over against the fox's neck and hissed as the stimulants were pressed into his system.
"Str... streakths?" The foxes eyes were still unfocused, causing the Medic to bring out a light and check them both. "Streaks, what on earth is going on, and why do I feel like I've been run over by a hover-sled?" The fox flicked an ear as the skunk lent out a hand.
"Yes sir, I'm here. We suffered a hull breech some how. You're coming out of cryo under a fast cycle, so you'll be stiffer and sore. Any implants you have will take a few more minutes to come online. The bridge and the connecting hallways have already cycled up their life support, so as soon as you can, figure out what's going on for me?" The skunk gave a small smile at the fox, then patted his Captain on the cheek, "You should have the worst of it out of your system shortly. I have our Engineer to get out next."
The fox simply nodded. He was taller then the skunk, moreso when elevated in the cryo tube, and carefully stuck a bare foot out against the metal grid of the floor. "When did I get these tight pants on...? I hate tightness there."
A faint chuckle came from the skunk, "Its regs and your know it, no matter how much you want to make everyone jealous when you come out of your tube." The skunk turned to where the next lid was already opening, his tail flicking by the fox's shoulder as the Captain did some stretching to get his muscles working again.
"Good morning to you to, Chief Engineer Lenmoth..." The cryotube had opened to reveal a rather thin looking ferret, the halter top and tighter-cut coverings the only real indication that said ferret was in fact a girl. She looked far too androgenous for her own good, although her talent with machines was never doubed. "Time to wake up, your ship needs your delicate touch."
"Urgh, let me sleep in ten more minutes..." The ferret bright a rather clumsy hand up to her face to try and block out the dim light, only succeeding in giving herself a smack to the face. "... where am I?"
"The Startide Three Cry-Bay, rack level one, port side. My name is Doctor Szyreth, remember me?" The skunk checked her eyes rather quickly, seeing as they both gave a metallic reflection he knew they'd come back to life shortly. "Your implants should be cycling online here momentarily. We're undergoing emergency defrost."
The ferret's ears flicker a few times before her tail fluffed up, then went back to normal, "Urgh, why is my link up so bad in here? We hit something..." Her pupils gave a faint red glow for a moment, before her irises changed to their normal sedate purple rather then the metallic undercoating color. There was a faint hiss from the hypo against her neck.
"I have no idea, that's why you and the Captain are awake. I got to wake up first so I could make sure both of you felt better then I did," Daniel's grin was full of humor. "Half of the Crew Module on this side of the ship is down, as is engineering. Bridge controls are up. Supposedly... and automated hull breech repair is underway, but beyond that its all up to you. Feeling better yet?"
Kristie Lenmoth pulled herself out of the tube slowly, shaking her head, "Not yet, but I'm processing the information from the repair systems right now. You expect some vertigo when you do that. I'm still half offline under here." The ferret closed her eyes for a moment, as some of the mist leaking out of her pod swirled up around her, wrapping her in a black jumpsuit. "There we go. Now I feel less naked. Well, off I go, then!"
The ferret took off at a jog towards the main airlock, giving a salute to the Captain who was still working the sensations of cryo out of his system. Captain Diones turned to the skunk, "Well, I assume since I wasn't thrown into the bridge while waking up things aren't too serious?"
"I don't know yet Captain, but the AI did not include any emergency codes during the wake up. Whatever it was, the ship seems to be more worried that we hit something then any real damage was done. We lost a few decks worth of life support, but nothing that was inhabited. No injuries to report. What would you like me to do?" The skunk's tail gave another flick, the doctor still grinning just a bit at the ferret's run off to the bridge.
"Prep for a full post-cryo physical for myself and our bouncing Engineer for after we get a full status update. We may need some more personnel, and wake up the Security Chief so we can get ready to bring out more crew. Beyond that? Doctor, see if there's a way to get any real coffee made? Its that kind of morning." There was a swish from the Captain's tail before he turned to head into the lounge as well.
"Well, one more to microwave and some diagnostic work to do, sounds like fun!" The skunk chuckled and headed up the flight of stairs to get to the next level of tubes, checking over the numbers until he could find the Security Chief. "And another body back to life." The skunk keyed in the authorization number, before moving to walk back into the crew lounge with a faint yawn. A quick mental command to his implants in order to stave off any more, and he went to go sit down on one of the couches. There wasn't much for him to do in the next half hour... except possibly make some coffee for the Captain.