— 11 —
Emerald taps her stylus in a nervous staccato as she waits for the latest update from Engineering aboard the Big B. She doesn't want to leave the Brooksville behind, as the chance she will catch up is pretty slim, assuming the fleet doesn't run into another delay. On the other hand, if the techs start talking about a fourteen-hour repair, it is better to cut the loss now.
"Brooksville to Inverness."
"Go ahead, Brooksville."
"It looks like this is going to take a while. We think it's in the CT control. You know how touchy that is. It could be a ten-minute job, or we could have to strip it down to bolts."
"Thank you, Brooksville. Keep us posted."
Hodges looks at Emerald, raises an eyebrow, and sighs. The CT system, the central power source, is very touchy indeed, depending on matter/antimatter annihilation for energy. The Brooksville could go off like a bomb and take the fleet with it.
"Contact the Brooksville." Emerald orders, her voice tired. "Wish them luck, and tell them to try to catch up. We may run into delays. If she's dead in the water until 0700, she might as well try to limp back to the main task force. Tell her."
The communications officer relays the message, and the fleet moves on.
You have not lost any time, but you have lost 1 of the 2 most powerful elements of your fleet. Cross it off on the Ship Loss Record Sheet.
Go to section 15.