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Into the Hulk
Chapter 12: Back into the Breach

Chapter 12: Back into the Breach

Mission planning is still rather perfunctory. The objective is one again information gathering, though you do have a destination this time: The section of wreck at Bravo-4. You are able to map out a path through 'known' territory: traverse 'north' through the Visitor to the Loki-class Q-Ship Arno Dorian at Alpha-5, then 'north-east' to the Sword-class destroyer Mhongu Khagahn at Bravo-4. Almost instantly, the group begins referring to the Mhongu Khagahn as the MK, over your grumbling that the abbreviation is already taken; Mk. being common shorthand for 'mark' among the Adeptus Mechanicus and Imperial Guard, among others. But in the tradition of unwanted nicknames everywhere, MK stuck.

Your objective is rather simple: get to the MK, poke around, and get back alive. Simple in concept, potentially difficult in execution. Out past the Visitor, environmental conditions can be expected to worsen. Breathable atmosphere, gravity, even light and power are expected to become less and less reliable. Interrogator MacWater is looking into procuring proper environmental hardsuits for your team, but for now you will have to make do with what you have.

You pat Stabby goodbye and descend through the umbilical to the Visitor. Again, you have to wait for your team to traverse the umbilical at their usual slow rate. You suppose you can't exactly blame them, given that they grew up groundbound aboard planets. They will adapt and learn, given time. Cian is the last through the umbilical, but you notice something different about his movement. It seems unnaturally easy. The inexplicable chill breeze that spirals the dust into little whirlwinds hints that Cian is using some measure of his psychic abilities to aid his progress. The fact that the whirlwinds and breeze vanish as soon as Cian's feet touch the floor give it away for certain. It only takes a glance to convey your displeasure, to which Cian simply inclines his head. Nothing more is said of the matter, and you lead the way through the high hallways of the Visitor.

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Some time later, and wishing that you had a chrono or some other timepiece, you encounter the hull change from the Visitor to the Arno Dorian. The high ceilings and broad hallways are coated with extra cables and conduits that feed the redundant life sustainers and extra weapons crammed aboard the Q-Ship. You party drops into single file and continues onwards, but soon you are confronted with an ominous sound.

You pause, your head cocked and your hand raised, "does anyone else hear that hiss?"

The others glance around and shrug but Enforcer Havelock licks a finger and puts it into the air, "Can't hear much amiss, but there is a bit of a wind in here. Should there be?"

You would waste time cursing, but it is time you don't have, "Atmosphere leak. The life sustainer in this section must be failing, unable to keep up with the cracks in the hull. We need to move fast."

You lead the way and pick up your pace. The exertion isn't exactly advisable, as it burns up more of the precious air that you will soon have not nearly enough of, but it is needed. Your fears are found wanting as you round the corner and find the source of your oncoming doom: a malfunctioning life sustainer and its attached secondary genatorium. The genatorium isn't feeding power to the life sustainer, and its capacitors are critically overcharged as a result. A few missteps and they could rupture or detonate, which would be very bad. Resolving the issue would restore atmosphere to this section of the Arno Dorian, easing your future progress. The problem is too big for you to fix on your own in the time you have left, you will need all of the other members of your party to lend you their eyes and perhaps hands to resolve the issue.

On the other hand, the emergency airlock to the next section of the Arno Dorian is right there. You could simply run on by and deal with complications as they arrive.