Chapter 45: Ship Rescue

Jake had managed to position the ship as close as possible to the safety room, a room which is present on every tourism vehicle.

"There! I see something." Someone covered in bruises and scrapes, shouted as he slowly got on his feet.

"Father, father!" A young boy shouted as he shook his father's unconscious body, a gash on his forward being the reason for his condition.

Jake lowered the ramps and had Aria wait with him, leaving Lyra to handle the ship controls.

"Aria, there's going to be a lot of injured people coming aboard, you know what you need to do, so don't feel overwhelmed." Jake spoke his encouraging words and earned a smile from Aria as she nodded resolutely.

Jake nodded as he pressed a button near the access panel of the ramp. Below the floor, a large inflatable corridor emerged as it expanded, closing the distance between the ship and the wreckage.

A minute later, a green flash and buzzer sounded aboard the ship 'EMERGENCY DOCKING COMPLETE CAPTAIN, ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY AND LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS ARE FULLY FUNCTIONAL AND ONLINE.' The ship's AI sounded as Jake dashed through the corridor.

'Atlas, any ideas?' Jake spoke to the Atlas as he ran.

(The ship seemed to be a cruise ship and should be carrying 60-80 civilians while also having a crew of around 20.

Since most of the ship had been destroyed, it would seem passengers were evacuated to the 'safety' room and the ship's crash occurred not long after.

My current estimates give a 50% or higher casualty rate for crew and a 10 to 20% rate for civilians. I would suggest evacuating civilians first before attempting any mission to search for crew.)

The Atlas advised Jake of its plan, albeit a little cruel towards the crew members, in terms of efficiency and priority they would have to wait before Jake could look for them if he had time.

Jake had reached the end of the corridor, the emergency corridor had made contact with the ship's wreckage.

Jake waited for a few seconds as a couple of small autonomous drones emerged from the end of the corridor's storage compartment.

The small, black flying machines had state-of-the-art laser cutters equipped to them and promptly started making a hole through the wall.

2 minutes later, when the final incision was made, the wall broke and fell and Jake entered the room.

Jake saw numerous people scattered across the room, some heavily bruised being rag-dolled across the room. Jake noticed that the main people who had died were the elderly, the sudden drop from Hyperlane travel had probably taken their lives instantly.

'At least they didn't suffer.' Jake thought in his mind.

(We need to get them out, shout for the able men to carry those who are completely unconscious and for the able women and the rest to help those who are disoriented or unable to move themselves.)

'Got it.' Jake said as he walked towards a few men who seemed to be alright.

"You're the rescue? One of them asked as he looked at Jake, a 12-year-old who has the power to allow all the souls aboard the vessel to perish.

Jake ignored the man's tone and said "I'm here to rescue you and we have to be quick. I need the men to carry the bodies of those who are unconscious while the woman and children to help those unable to walk or are disorientated."

Jake quickly told them where to go once they boarded the celestial and that Aria would help them with the heavily wounded.

The group of men carefully listened and explained to the others who managed to wake up.

(It seems those men are family men, which is why they listened and didn't just run straight toward the rescue vessel.)

'Yeah well, you can tell sometimes.' Jake mumbled to the Atlas.

(It's good to trust your instincts, we'll work on it later, for now can you look for a way towards the main bridge, the safety room is usually between the passenger area and the main bridge.) The Atlas spoke, and Jake looked around for another path.

Most of the paths leading to the bridge or areas near were blocked off, or would take too long and Jake was about to give up before in the corner of his eye, he picked up a small ceiling panel that fell to the floor.

'That's a hatch access, nice spotting Atlas.' Jake walked towards the hatch before looking for a nearby security panel which sat to the left of the hatch, on the wall.

Jake got close to the security console and activated his band.

The Atlas had been teaching how to get through cybernetic locks and accessing closed networks, and Jake had done a few upgrades to his band which allowed him to quickly lower the access panel as a few people looked on, waiting for their turn to leave the ship.

Onboard the Celestial Mariner, Lyra was watching the debris floating around the ship and the engine that was quietly running a distance away.

'Jake said that I should monitor its power signature and to tell him immediately if it increases.' Lyra thought as she then went on to check inside the ship.

The survivors in the most critical condition and children were the first onboard. When Aria had seen the condition of some, she felt her heart rapidly beat but calmed herself down as she thought of her brother, who was still on the other ship.

Luckily the Medical Bay was one of a high quality and since no one touched the bay till today, all of the required medicines were available.

Almost 70% of passengers made it through with the weakest being put into the rooms, the rest were kept near the cargo bay.

Aria was an extremely organised individual, her intelligence, which matched her beauty and charm as a young woman, made all passengers attentive to her words and the process ran smoothly.

Aria once she had seen only a handful of people remain breathed out a sigh, before squatting down 'You better get her soon Jake, or I will come get you myself.' she spoke in her mind, her eyes watching the corridor.

Jake finally made it through the hatch, but the opening seemed to be blocked.

Jake tried to put as much force as he could but it would not budge.

'Damn Atlas, should we hea-' Jake's thoughts were cut off as a bright light shines above him, the metal hatch no longer blocking his way.

"Help!" The voice was muffled but a hand reached out. Jake grabbed it and climbed out of the hatch in view of the man in front of him.

A man in his 30s wearing overalls and had a few burn marks, cuts and bruises along his body.

"Are you okay?" Jake asked as he looked at the man and slowly looked around at the surroundings.

Multiple bodies lay strewn across the deck and Jake saw the body that blocked the hatch in the first place.

(It seems the crew tried their best to make their way to the main bridge, some knew the engines and hull would collapse, others not so lucky. That man seems to be the captain, death I believe is blunt force trauma. Either way, I'll note down whatever I can.)

"I-I'm alright I think, I've checked the others already, it's just me and him." The man in overalls pointed to the pilot sitting unconscious in his chair.

"Did the rest of my crew make it to the safety room?" The man asked Jake, who realised what he was talking about.

"I'm sorry Jess if anyone was in any room besides the one we're in now and the safety room, they're all dead. Either way, we have to get off fast the en-" Jake's voice was cut by Jess's depressed voice.

"The engine, yeah, that's the whole reason why we're in this damn mess in the first place, and the reason why everyone's dead." Jess spoke, he felt responsible for his coworkers' deaths and regret seemed to only cloud his mind.

"Jess! I understand you're experiencing something traumatic but I need your help if we are to save this man. I understand you couldn't save the rest, but you can change that now by helping him at least...please." Jake spoke with a hint of nervousness and desperation.

The pleas of Jake were picked up by Jess, who seemed to have regained his bearings and went to pick up the pilot.

(Good Job Jake. It was the fastest way for him to help you.) The Atlas praised him.

'Thanks, yeah, it seemed no matter how much reasoning I would have used, he wouldn't have budged.' Jake spoke to the atlas as he held the pilot's feet as both Jake and Jess made their way down the hatch.

Aria waited for her brother to show, her restlessness increasing with every passing second.

"Aria, the engine is surging!" Lyra spoke to Aria through a communication headpiece.