CHAPTER 3: A HOLE IN THE ACE
February 23rd 2025
Sunday
Wheels Up + 00:14:44
SIMULATION ENGINE RUNNING
TIMEFLOW INTERRUPTED
You are now: ZIXINUS, ETERNAL FREEDOM, PHANT, WHITE CHINESE DELIVERY GUY, LARGE WOUNDED DOG, COMBAT JANITOR, SMARMY AMERICAN SAILOR, TROPICAL BEAUTY, IVAN IVANOV, INSANE HISTORIAN, MAD SCIENTIST, CHEEKY BETTY and FUCKER NEWTON.
You are on a SPACEPLANE. You are at an ALTITUDE of 140 kilometres. You are not ASCENDING. You are in FREEFALL. You are WELL PAST the APOAPSIS of your TRAJECTORY. You are on FIRE.
There is lots of various BODILY FLUIDS in the PASSENGER CABIN. They STINK. VERY BADLY. They also STICK to EVERYTHING. They make TROPICAL BEAUTY terrified and revolted at the same time. She is HORRIFIED.
CHEEKY BETTY Says: WARNING! FIRE!
There is a FIRE. It is in the VENTILLATION SYSTEM. It makes ETERNAL FREEDOM very ANGRY for some REASON. He keps enough COOL to SHUT the VENTILLATION DOWN. It doesn't HELP much, though, as you REALIZE your ATMOSPHERE is 100% OXYGEN.
The FIRE realizes that, too. FLAME bursts OUT of the VENTILLATION DUCTS into the PASSENGER CABIN. COMBAT JANITOR HURLS some POO into it. It makes LITTLE DIFFERENCE. Except making the INTERIOR even more DISGUSTING due to VAPORIZED POO hanging in the AIR. TROPICAL BEAUTY PASSES OUT.
CHEEKY BETTY Says: WARNING! FIRE!
PEOPLE rush to EXTINGUISH the FIRE. WHITE CHINESE DELIVERY GUY does the SENSIBLE THING and GRABS a FIRE EXTINGUISHER. He SPRAYS some FOAM into the RAPIDLY SPREADING fire.
It is getting REALLY HOT.
CHEEKY BETTY Says: WARNING! FIRE!
Meanwhile, ZIXINUS is FRANTICALLY NEGOTIATING with the RUSSIAN EXTORTIONIST SAM OPERATORS and manages to PROVIDE them with FRAUDULENT PAYMENT. You are CLEARED for an OVERFLIGHT of RUSSIAN TERRITORRY.
FUCKER NEWTON helpfully POINTS OUT to ZIXINUS that you will have to OVERFLY the SAME MISSILE BATTERY in about an HOUR.
FUCKER NEWTON GRINS
CHEEKY BETTY Says: WARNING! FIRE!
ETERNAL FREEDOM is ANGRY. ETERNAL FREEDOM FLIPS through the MANUAL and MUTES CHEEKY BETTY.
ETERNAL FREEDOM Says: Goddamn, all I need is some Cthullhu cultist and I'm gonna fucking snap!
Suddenly, there is a FLASH of LIGHT. A HUMAN FIGURE appears in FRONT of the SPACEPLANE. It is CLOSING RAPIDLY. There is a loud and SICKENING THUMP from the AIRLOCK when the FIGURE SLAMS into the INNER DOOR with great SPEED and FORCE.
What do you do? _
***
You are now: RI'ANN SHAPP
You are in the COLD and CRUEL VACUUM. You are WEARING a SUSPICIOUS SPACESUIT. It is LEAKING. It is VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. You are HOLDING a VODKA BOTTLE full of IMPROVISED SEALANT. It is VERY AWKWARD.
You have TRANSFERRED to the WING. You are EXTREMELY TIRED. You are COLD. You are having major TROUBLE locating the HOLE. There is a LOT of WING to COVER and no HANDRAILS to AID you. You DOUBT you will be able to LOCATE the DAMAGED PART of the HEAT SHIELD.
You are OVERHEATING but STABLE thanks to the FACT the LEAKING AIR is TAKING the HEAT with it. You have COME UP with an INNOVATIVE way to MOVE about the WING. It makes EVERYTHING much EASIER. You can BARELY SEE. You are SCOURING the HEAT SHIELD very THOROUGHLY. Your SUIT ALARM begins to BLARE. It is WARNING you of LOW PRESSURE. You are on the VERGE of PASSING OUT when somebody TURNS the EXTERNAL LIGHTS on and you SEEM to CATCH a GLIMPSE of a TINY IMPERFECTION that MIGHT or MIGHT not be the HOLE you WANT to STICK your STUFF in.
SUDDENLY you feel a THUMP reverberate across the SPACEPLANE HULL. You would've heard SCREAMING as well but you are in SPACE, and in SPACE, no one can HEAR the INSANE CTHULLHU CULTIST SCREAM.
What do you do? _