[dcs_p]The problem was the placement of the computers primary power shunts. They
were situated near the H2 tanks and when they blew, a feedback wave traveled
up the power conduits, so the techs say. This must have damaged the computer
in some unknown way because suddenly it began to do things unexpectedly. One
of the first things that happened was that all of the blast doors throughout the
main corridors of the ship slammed open and locked. Slowly our life-sustaining
oxygen was bleeding into the depths of space through the rent in the hull caused
by the explosion and the ensuing fires. The second and most devastating thing
that happened was the computer-launched volley of nuclear rockets. I watched in
stunned disbelief as the phalanx of deadly projectiles streaked away from the
ship and towards the planet below. Even before I asked my gunner for the
projected impact point, I knew they would hit the living and supply complex planet-
side. In a blink of an eye the 842 people still on surface perished in hellfire. The
computer had done a magnificent job of destroying the facility. Not only did the
missiles slam into the outer regions of the base but also bored into the deeper,
‘hardened’ bunkers. That goes to show how ‘hardened’ they really were. Now,
the destruction of the base is the least of my concerns.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]We are suffocating to death. Repeated attempts to restart or override the
computer have failed. Every attempt we have made at closing the blast doors
has failed. The vacuum of space has smothered the fires in the storage tanks but
too much of the hull was opened for us to patch it. Several teams are working on
placing temporary patches in the corridors aft of our position but these will not
hold long. Even if our patches did hold we only have enough food on board for
about a week and the remaining oxygen supply would only last us about 3 days.
The next ship coming into the system will not arrive for 2 months. The demand
for security for this project was so high; it was seemed necessary to reduce the
number of arriving and departing ships to the bare minimum. Now I wish our drive
for a secret weapon was not so headstrong and we had prepared more
thoroughly for an accident of this magnitude. One thing is for sure; the people
aboard the next Dropship will definitely not find anyone alive here. I am not even
sure if there will be enough left of the ship when help arrives to even be worth
salvaging. Maybe I am being overly morbid but imminent death has a way of
doing that to a person. I have authorized the allotment of cyanide pills to the
crew. Those that do not want to wait for the inevitable can end their suffering a
little sooner. I have decided to stick it out to the bitter end. Hopefully it will not
be too painful. My last wish is that my family will know that I died and am not
‘Missing in Action’. That small amount of closure may help my soul rest well in
whatever is to come. It is starting to get cold in here and I am getting sleepy. I
hope the war will go well without this ship or its crew. I guess that is awfully vain
to think that we were that important. Maybe I should take that pill and get it over
with. Either way, soon it will not matter. I guess we all are now casualties of
war.[/dcs_p]
—— End of Log ——
Log Date: ******
Recorded By: Captain Charlie Taynor
Staging Area Zeta 9 Gamma
Omicron 14 Star System