Star One: Tycho City Survival Read Online Free Page B

we’re
aware of. We’re not showing any pressure leaks, and all personnel are in the
process of reporting to their emergency stations. We should know more shortly.”
    “I should have
insisted on shutting the mass driver down when I talked to Jane,” Mase said,
feeling angry with himself for allowing this to happen. “This is my fault, Jackson; I should not have allowed NASA to overrule my recommendation to shut the mass
driver down for a few days.”
    He knew that
he had screwed up. He should have come out here days ago, when Jackson first started complaining, for a personal inspection and gone ahead and ordered the
mass driver shut down for repairs, regardless of the consequences. This was the
type of mistake that could cost people their lives!
    “We were all
under pressure to keep the mass driver operating,” Jackson replied with a shake
of his head. “I don’t know if there is much more we could have done without
shutting it down, and we both know what the ramifications of that would have
been. I need to go out and inspect the damage.”
    “I’ll go with
you,” Mase said, standing up. “I will need to send a report to Jane as soon as
I get back to Tycho City.”
    Mase knew he
would have a long night ahead of him. He was about to make a lot of people
upset when they found out about the mass driver, and there would be a lot of
questions as to how this could have been allowed to happen.
    Nearly thirty minutes
later, Mase, Jackson, Jase, and several other engineers were standing alongside
the damaged rail where the cargo pod had torn through one of the
electromagnetic rings. A good half of the ring was missing, and only jagged
torn metal was hanging where a perfectly round magnetic coil had existed a few
minutes earlier. On the side of the steep crater wall, two hundred yards from
the mass driver rail, a cargo pod lay shattered in the shallow hole dug when it
had struck the wall.
    “I was afraid
this would happen,” muttered Jase, shaking his head in frustration at the
damage. His hands were on the hips of his bulky white spacesuit. “An energy
surge also went through the system as the other coils tried to compensate for
the sudden failure of the first three. The computer systems tried to finish the
launch, but the cargo pod became unstable due to the fluctuating magnetic
fields.”
    “How long to
repair this?” asked Mase, looking over at Jase. Jase was one of the top
engineers on the Moon, and Mase had a lot of confidence in the man’s abilities.
    Mase was angry
with himself for allowing the people on Earth to override his judgment. It had
gone against all of his beliefs and training, but he had allowed his better
judgment to be swayed. He knew he should have shut the mass driver down several
weeks ago for repairs. Now, who knew how long it would be down? He was just
thankful that no one had been seriously hurt.
    Jase was
silent for a moment, then stepped over to the other two engineers and began
talking to them on a private channel. All three would pause occasionally, gaze
at different sections of the mass driver system, and point something out.
    “We need to
fix this right,” Jackson commented as they waited.
    He gazed over
at where the shattered cargo pod lay against the wall. He could see that a lot
of rock and debris had slid down the crater wall. They were fortunate it hadn’t
been worse.
    “We will,”
Mase promised as he watched the engineers. He was determined to correct the
problem with the mass driver regardless of what the people on Earth would have
to say. “We will take whatever time we need. I will explain the situation to
Jane, and she will have to handle the rest.”
    Jase turned
around and walked back over to Mase and Jackson. “We have spare coils in the
main mass driver building at the base of the rail. However, we need to check
each coil in the system and also make sure the rail is still stable.”
    “I want it
fixed right,” Mase informed him. It was difficult to see Jase’s