Jonathan A Countyman
patreon
Interlude Hunkering Down
🕑 Added 2025-07-13 20:18:00 +0000 UTCGreyman observed the workers maneuvering the final sections of the great bay doors into place. It was merely the first set, but it marked the conclusion of this phase of the project. A welcome relief to many, himself included. The storm was certainly taking its toll on both their health and morale.
So far people had been both productive and hopeful despite the ever-worsening crisis, but it helped that they felt like they were doing something to change their fates. If anything they were just buying time, but this hollowed-out section of the asteroid was certainly something. The tunnel they dug was rather wide, to accommodate the Enterprise, but didn’t leave her much room to turn. There was some space to adjust a heading, but for the entirety of its length, the ship would have to go straight.
The tunnel went a good two hundred kilometers into the rock, before opening up in the core of the asteroid, where they had dug out a large chamber. It was within that Chamber that the Enterprise was currently nestled, the chamber was a good fifteen kilometers deep and just as wide with a ceiling some five kilometers over their head. Richards had some ideas to expand what they had built, but first they were going to clear out the gasses.
The rock filtered the worst of the storm out, but its toxic gasses still made their way down here. Gasses that were not only bad for the workers, but had also proven to be somewhat corrosive. The more sensitive elements of their technology like the power connections had to be shielded from them or they would be rapidly degraded by the storm.
With one last final push the workers had that last section of the door in place and quickly bolted the connections and finalized the assembly. He smiled, as they activated the motors and the doors started to close. They moved slowly but at a visible rate, in a few minutes they’d be closed and the final checks could be made.
The doors had been built ten kilometers out from the lip of the cavern, to allow room for them to erect a second set without having to deal with the storm. Massive pumping systems had been built into the walls, that would, once the doors were sealed and confirmed air-tight, allow them to pump out the storm’s gasses and replace them with breathable air or just hard vacuum. There was some debate on which would be better for them, but people were currently leaning towards breathable air.
Misaki walked up to him, “A report sir.”
He took the pad she handed him, “Thank you, Ensign.”
She looked out at the door, a small smile appeared on her face before she headed back to her station. He took a moment to read the report she had brought him. It was mostly just production reports and showed they were well on track for the repair schedule and expansion of facilities here.
In the distance the door closed, creating a solid wall of steel between them and the storm. The techs among the workers ran scans, which were quickly relayed here. Misaki soon read off their finds and Greyman noted the improved moods. The door was holding, its SIF grid was stable, there were no signs of defects, and it was blocking all passage of gasses. They were clear to start pumping.
Comments
Jonathan A Countyman
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/58803/chronicles-of-sol-the-fall https://www.scribblehub.com/series/577585/chronicles-of-sol-the-fall/ I've recently started posting advanced chapters for it here. I figured with it now moving into the second book. I should give my patreons advanced chapters.
Sheylyra
Is this a new story? And if not, where can I find chapters 1 to 175?
