WCGW Chpt 36

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==Chapter 36 - What Could Go Wrong==
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22 July 3041
Toten (Former Outworlds Alliance)
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After several orbits studying potential landing spots, the pilots of the Intrusive gently landed their 3,000 ton Intruder Dropship just over half a mile away. Until the surface was checked closer to the downed Dropship, no one wanted to take a chance of getting stranded. Sealing the helmet to his Marine Combat Suit, Leftenant Colonel David Mitchell thought, these suits are really getting a work out this trip. A quick check around the bay, thumbs up from Chief Vincent Zuniga and he began lowering the ramp, exposing everyone and the cargo bay to vacuum.
"It's going to be a bit of hike. We are half a mile away, but we have a whopping .2 G of gravity on this little moon. I figure an hour to reach the downed ship." Leftenant Colonel Mitchell said to the designated landing party
Just over an hour later they had reached the downed Titan Dropship. Chief Zuniga and one of his engineers spent fifteen minutes looking for an external power site, and after fifteen minutes of digging in the soft lunar dust they located one next to small door. Quickly they hooked up a portable power supply and after 30 seconds the small door grudgingly slid open. Stepping aside, they let Sergeant Chambers lead his squad inside before following. It was pitch black and using small flashlights, Chief Zuniga and his engineer finally found a location to tap into the ships lighting system with another portable power supply. Slowly, lights in the downed Dropship came alive after centuries of darkness, checking the power usage, Chief Zuniga dialed the light intensity way down. "We only have a single power pack left and I am going to need that to access the Engineers log and possibly the ships diagnostic systems. We got 30 minutes of light at this power setting, so we better move quickly."
"Chief, you take your team to engineering and do your thing. I will take mine and have a look around." Leftenant Colonel Mitchell said
Wandering the ship, passing from cargo bay to obvious flight decks, Leftenant Colonel Mitchell counted three SL-26 Samuraiand two Hellcat Aerospace fighters. One Samurai looked damaged, but still worth money, he thought. As they started to reach crew quarters, he quickly did not like what he was finding. All the doors were open, peering into one cabin he saw human remains strapped in as though asleep. This was repeated quite a few times. Reaching the ships mess facilities, he stopped dead in his tracks. A quick count and he was looking at 43 remains, all suited and strapped to the small dining chairs. His radio tore him away from the sight, it was Chief Zuniga.
"Sir, I got the Engineers Log. It reads, fuel tank breached in last engagement. Fire suppression system combined with emergency purge prevented catastrophic loss. The last entry is pretty sad. Dated 11 March 2766, emergency power is about gone, this will be last entry. Oxygen almost all gone, each crew have 8 hour oxygen bottle on them. Crew gathering on mess deck for last meal before having to seal up suits for the last time. Chief Engineer Pauline Johnson." Chief Zuniga read
"That explains what I am looking at right now in the mess hall. Grab what you need to study back on the ship, Chief. Let's check the surface a little before heading back to the Intrusive." Leftenant Colonel Mitchell replied
"Even if we can repair the damage, she will have to be dug out before we light the engines on her. That is going to take some work. Ground seems firm enough to support the Intrusive getting closer. But before I try and repair her, I want to know exactly what is wrong with her. I removed the data drive attached to the Engineers diagnostic computer. Probably going to need Davis's help reading it." Chief Zuniga said
"Then let's get back to Intrusive." Leftenant Colonel Mitchell replied
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23 July 3041
After a day of studying the displayed damage reports from the downed Titan Dropship, Chief Zuniga walked into Leftenant Colonel Mitchell's small room. "I can fix her. She really has very little actual damage. The punctured fuel tank was the killing shot. I read the entire log from Chief Engineer Pauline Johnson's point of view. Without fuel the ship had to come in hot, they exhausted thruster fuel trying to slow themselves down. She ran quite a few diagnostics after they landed or crashed, depends on your viewpoint. It showed a few weapons non-operational, no thruster fuel, no fuel at all anywhere, light armor damage. Just a lucky penetrating hit took out the ships entire fuel supply. They survived 22 days on emergency power." 
"We got what we need?" Leftenant Colonel Mitchell asked
"Barely, but I prefer to return. Much better prepared for the task ahead. Restarting the reactor after this long might not be possible. Not sure it's ever been tried, at least I ever heard of. A few years yes, but centuries, I just don't know." Chief Zuniga replied
"Okay, then we come back for her. Tell the pilots to head for SaRI Express. When we return, we start a new tradition." Leftenant Colonel Mitchell said
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