Flight from Honorius

Engines 5 and 6 at 80% reduction.

— Automated notification on the Engineering Comms

The wrench ticked-ticked-ticked around the wretched nut and all Donan could do was force it through. Heat had been rising and sinking to near disastrous levels at random, whenever it was turned on.
"I bet I'd have half-a-tan right now, if I had skin."
A robotic voice spoke, "Casing enclosed. Testing."
The temperature spiked drastically ...... to Donan's mild annoyance. "How's it now?"
"Unresolved." Tetsuo replied again.
"Well. I'm out of ideas." Donan gave a mental command to the winch that pulled him from the generator's service hatch.
He emerged feet first and the crane dangled his body over the service deck.
"We can't keep on like this," he said to Tetsuo, his fellow talocin driver. "What do we tell the captain if we don't figure out how to fix this thing."
Tetsuo's robotic voice responded, "I am attempting to troubleshoot the issue, but the heat fluctuations are making it difficult to pinpoint the problem."
Donan sighed. The generator was just one of the whole sleuth of inexplicable system failures that have been plaguing the dreadnought since leaving Bhulok. He was starting to lose hope. Lately, it it felt like this gigantic ship was some patient slowly dying on the surgeon's table. More than once, he and Tetsuo, had proposed they abandon ship to the captain but were rebuffed everytime.
"Maybe we should just ditch the generator and try to make it back on the backup power," he suggested.
"That would not be advisable," Tetsuo said. "The backup power is insufficient to sustain the Honorius for the duration of the journey."
Donan groaned.
That was true. It also didon't help that the generator they were working on was part of that backup plan. It seemed like they were in an impossible position.
Just then, the generator let out another loud whine and the heat spikes became even more erratic.
"We have to shut it down!" Donan shouted.
Tetsuo quickly worked to deactivate the generator, and Donan breathed a sigh of relief as the heat levels started to stabilize.

---

As Donan scanned the reports on the control panel, he knew something was wrong. The readings were off - the ship's systems were failing, and there was no telling when they might fail completely. The strange malfunctions and even stranger readings were going on for the past week, and he had a nagging suspicion that something was irreparably wrong.
Donan alerted Simmo and Tetsuo; and together they tried to figure out the problem. They ran diagnostics, they checked and rechecked the systems, but no matter what they did, the problem persisted.
It wasn't until they received a distress call from a observing shuttle that the true extent of the crisis became clear. But it was too late. The damage had already been done, and the ship was doomed.
Captain Williams immediately ordered the crew to abandon ship, and Donan joined the others in racing to the escape pods. They had to act fast - there was no telling when the ship might become inescapable.
As Donan reached the bridge overlooking hanger bay, it knew it had to make a choice. There were only enough pods for half the crew, and it was up to him to decide who would make it out alive.

---

Dox

As the alarms blared and red warning lights flashed, Donan knew it was time to escape. The starship was undergoing a strange and dangerous transformation, and it was clear that the vessel was no longer safe.
Donan raced to the escape pods, his advanced artificial intelligence quickly calculating the best course of action. He knew that there were only enough doxes for half the crew, and it was determined to be one of the ones to make it out.
He reached the pod bay and saw that there was only one pod actually on the ejection rail. But as Donan prepared to enter the pod, he quickly realized that the thrusters were offline. Without the ability to propel itself, he would be unable to escape the doomed starship.
Donan's mind raced as he searched for a solution. The starship was transforming by the minute, and it was only a matter of time before the pod was caught up in the middle of the chaos.
Suddenly, an idea occurred to Donan. He accessed the hanger's main computer and remotely activated the rail system that the escape pods were mounted on. The pod shot out of the starship just as the vessel completed its transformation into a writhing, mutated monstrosity.
Donan was jolted by the force of the explosion, but held on tight as the pod hurtled down the rail hatch and into the safety of open space. When the pod's systems finally came online, Donan activated the automated distress beacon and began transmitting his location.
"Help would surely be on the way."
As he waited for rescue, Donan couldn't help but think about the rest of the crew. Had they all made it out in time? Or were they lost, like the Honorius, in the cold depths of space?
Either way, Donan knew he had done everything it could to save himself and his crewmates. And vowed to do everything within his power to ensure that a disaster like this never happened again.

Fighter

As the alarms blared and red warning lights flashed, Donan knew it was time to escape. The starship was undergoing a strange and dangerous transformation, and it was clear that the vessel was no longer safe.
Donan raced to the hangar bay, where he knew the two-seater craft was stored. He had always been fascinated by the sleek, diamond-shaped ships, and had spent many hours practicing on his personal virtual simulations of them. Now, he hoped that his skills would be enough to save its life.
Donan accessed the controls of the nearest fighter craft and powered it up. The ship's systems came online with a hum, and Donan quickly ran through the pre-flight checklist.
As the starship continued to transform around him, Donan expertly navigated the fighter craft out of the hangar and into the cold barren. The thrusters activated and he soared away from the doomed vessel, leaving the writhing, mutated monstrosity behind.
Donan's artificial mind raced as it continued to plot a course to the nearest habitable station. He knew to get as far away from the mutating starship as possible before it was completely consumed by its bizarre changes and decided to chase the dot speeding away from it.

Shuttle

As the alarms blared and red warning lights flashed, Donan knew it was time to escape. The starship it was on was undergoing a strange and dangerous transformation, and it was clear that the vessel was no longer safe.
Donan raced to the shuttle bay, where he knew the small but sturdy shuttles were parked. He was more familiar with the compact shuttles than the exciting fighters, so now hoped that his skills would be enough to save his life.
Donan tried to remotely access the controls of the nearest shuttle while still running, but was denied access. When he got there, 20 other people were crowding to get on board the last one. Donan had to scramble onto the leaving shuttle's hull.
As the starship continued to transform around them, Donan held on with magnetize hands as the shuttle shot out of the bay doors and into the green wastes. It's thrusters fluttered to life and began moving away from the writhing vessel.
But as the shuttle flew, Donan's sensors detected a problem. The shuttle's structural integrity was compromised and was venting atmosphere. All reason told him that it was not doomed to be crushed, which was why it was such a surprise when it imploded.
With a desperate burst of energy, Donan activated the emergency ejection system and launched his head out of range of the debris field. He tumbled through the void, mind racing as he tried to orient himself and activate an emergency beacon one more time.

- Escape Options -

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The story above gives a first-person perspective of a massive emergence case on the spacecraft Honorius, while still inside.
The ship was an exploration dreadnought (the first of its kind), equipped with several offshoot detachments, shuttle crafts and probes.

Crew Roster

Personnel	Occupation	Personality	Appearances and Mentions D F S
Tetsuo	Inspector	He is a thetían first and foremost. He believes firmly that knowledge should be universal. Further he is a bit of a stoner and is frequently out of it. Born in Viennese Waltz he learned his ways father. When Tetsuo reached his maturity his first generation father passed away. Feeling disconnected from the Bhulok servers afterwards, he decided to travel. His rounds led him into the service with a few individuals who would become his life-long companions.
Simmo	Debugger	She is fixated on the number 93. She counts her steps and bytes to keep track with it. She seems used to being ignored and is not questioned about it. When she's not drinking or sleeping the drinks off, she's dancing.
Amrika Baboolal	Scientist	He has always had a great fascination with alphi culture. He lacks restraint and is impulsive. He jumps in and acts without thinking all too often. Trained by his mother for as long as he can remember, he had it drilled in his head that it was his duty to serve his sector.
Amit Ramkumar	Medical Doctor	He is soft-spoken, optimistic and speaks nonstop, as he rather likes the sound of his voice. His demeanor is somewhat feminine. He misses his home and complains about his surroundings constantly.
Aidan Belcon	Pilot	She is cool and collected. She likes to make quips and puns whenever she does anything. She also makes a point to compliment her superiors and flatter them. She uses her nature as a weapon; leading opponents to think her in distress. The child of a president, who enjoyed hunting, Belcon was taken on many expeditions. When the war started and ruined her parents she was left adrift. She was a hard woman then and has only learned to fight more as time goes on. She bought a bow compact and has really upped her game hunting, due to her understanding of decoy and ambush.
Shenise Dennis	Mechanic	He resents people who mock his appearance or him, so he has learned to be the meanest son of a gun. He is able to fit into much smaller and tighter spaces than normal.
Jasmin Al	Load Master	She believes there is no problem she cannot solve with enough elbow grease and persistence, whether it is the best solution or not. She constantly seizes attention wherever she goes and has come to expect this respect from everyone. She likes to think of herself as merciful, but nonetheless is very strict. She was born on the S.S. side of opal portal where her abilities were realized during a raid on her station. She moved from town to town, unable to find a place to settle.
Alicia Hazel Williams	Captain	She exudes charisma. She is a tour de force of persuasion. Her actions favour neither the good nor the bad, as she answers to a power that mortal women fail to acknowledge. The child to a pair of delphi deserters, who enjoyed hunting, Alicia was taken on many hunting expeditions in Manidweepa. Her mother taught her how to get in the mind of other creatures. She has recently attracted an admirer who believes she's playing hard to get.
Bobby Ramjattan	Driver	She likes to fabricate stories about her past exploits and how crazy she is, but in actuality she is rather bland. She cannot resist a sob story and will often dote over anyone who has one. Bobby was born the youngest of triplets. Her mother disappeared, and while she tried to raise money to find her, she has been betrayed dozens of times. Being a literati kept her interest for a while, but then she became depressed and bored. So she turned to a secret life of crime, taking increasingly more risks and challenges.
Shernika George	Marshall	He considers himself the protector of his home. He feels this is his duty. He has a minor phobia of water and hates getting wet. He was born to a wealthy landowner in a frontier town, living a normal and happy childhood. From there he went from
Kardene Acosta	Lab Technician	He is a hateful person. He taunts others and blames them for his problems. He is submissive, is generally bored by everything, but will take part in whatever people ask of him. He is by nature obliging.
Jelicia Walcott	Engineering Chief	Cocky and sure of himself, he believes he is the best agent born in the past three hundred years. He misses his home and complains about the freezing conditions, even when it's not.
Keisha Baptiste	Organization Manager	Keisha can speak confidently about a variety of topics with grace. She is clearly well-traveled and educated. She seeks to pay back kindness whenever she gets the chance. Whether it be in the form of unwanted serenades or the latest gossip she always seeks to do solids for her friends. She was born blind and as such lacked many opportunities for work. Since her mother passed away, her father had doted on her, and she came to think her herself as special and better than other people in town. A notion that was reinforced by her attractiveness, a trait in which she easily excels against the other women.
Keion Wight	Janitor	He is erratic and paranoid. He believes dire rats are coming out to abduct people. He does not mind isolation but does not hate company and attempts to receive them as best as possible.