A small shudder was the only precursor to the violent blast that rocked the whole ship. Debris from the remains of a passing minor planet had struck not just the Thantir Two but the small Decay Lord-run pit stop they had been anchored to, causing a few too many failures. From one of the observatories, ship occupants could only watch in horror as one of the other ships that had been attached to the pit stop had completely disintegrated, and the other tumbled off into the darkness.
“Is everyone alive?” a voice shouted as a horrific heat briefly flashed through the Thantir Two’s interior. Flames removed the freshly added wallpaper and melted wires, but these were thankfully brought under control by the resident pyromancer. Retvik had leaped into action the moment he had regained his balance, and had single-handedly stopped the Thantir Two from suffering the same fate as the first ship.
Retvik didn’t receive any direct answers. He could hear voices though, which was probably a good sign. Hugging a nearby wall for balance, Retvik swiftly made his way down to the engine level, which was the entire floor underneath the main hallway. That was where he heard Galyn’s voice briefly.
The whole ship suddenly jolted backwards, sending Retvik skidding across the hallway. There were handles he could grab on to, but the first completely snapped. Thankfully, the second handle managed to hold Retvik’s weight. Another voice echoed, this time over the ship’s intercom.
“Sorry guys! Just had to hit the emergency brake to stop us from moving!”
The voice belonged to Arkay, who must have been in the cockpit. That was a good thing. Now Retvik could make his way down to the engine room without being knocked about.
Throwing open the main hatch, Retvik jumped down to the lower level, not really sure what to expect. Everything was dark, the main power had clearly shut down to prevent any further explosions. Only a small line of emergency lights lit the way. However, even in the darkness, Retvik could see the source of all their problems. A huge chunk had been ripped out from the wall on the right hand side, where the Thantir Two had been partially anchored. Further down, more engine wall had been ripped away, but not from being disconnected from the pit stop. The still-warm tears suggested that melting-hot debris had struck the ship as well.
“Galyn! Where are you?” Retvik shouted, sucking up some of the errant flames as he continued down the engine level. However, the elder Decay Lord didn’t answer. In fact, the only trace of his presence was a scattering of burnt leaves and vines. Thankfully, this trail was just enough to lead Retvik to Galyn’s true location, wedged between a piece of fallen engine block and the left hand wall.
The Decay Lord was in bad shape, but didn’t seem to be bleeding. Heaving, Retvik slowly managed to move the engine block away from the wall, mostly freeing Galyn, but there seemed to be vines still caught underneath. From what Retvik could tell, Galyn had tried to free himself before passing out.
Retvik quickly realised why. While the room had initially been very warm, the blast and the open hole in the side of the ship had sucked all the heat away. If it wasn’t for Retvik’s own naturally high body temperature, he probably would have passed out from the cold as well. Knowing he needed to move quickly, Retvik pulled Galyn out from underneath the engine, cutting away the burnt vines. He was pretty sure Galyn could grow them back later, it was more important to get him onto the upper level.
“Fucking Light it is cold down here!” Litvir’s voice caught Retvik by surprise.
“You are supposed to be helping Arkay.”
“Arkay is fine. We need to help Galyn!” Litvir tutted, shivering but happily assisting Retvik in carrying Galyn up through the engine hatch. The happiness seemed weird, but Retvik just assumed Litvir was glad everyone was alive. However, Retvik noticed that the same cold on the lower level was now rippling through the whole ship. In fact, it was getting much, much colder.
The intercom crackled briefly, before dying completely. After a brief moment, Litvir and Retvik both heard Arkay’s voice in their heads.
“We’re lucky, guys, I got us reattached to the pit stop, but everything’s pretty fucked! We are not going anywhere for the time being though.”
Litvir turned to Retvik, looking very concerned.
“Do not be like that…” Retvik tutted. “We are all alive and we are still anchored. We will get through this.”
“Fingers crossed…” Litvir frowned. “Can you turn up your heat? It is getting cold in here…”