— 12 —
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 her behind, as the chance she will catch up is pretty slim, that is if the fleet doesn't have more delay. On the other hand, if the techs are 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, taking the mike when they respond.
"Captain, I'm giving you thirty minutes."
"Understood, sir." He signs off, and the fleet commander orders her ships to decelerate.
Roll two six-sided dice.
If the total rolled is the same as or less than the fleet's value for Morale (in this case, "luck" is a better term), go to section 13.
If the total is greater than the fleet's value for Morale, go to section 14.