The World Building Community released a Prompt for a short story, which sounds like a fun situation to write about.
Slipping through the void, every engine has been destroyed. The AI computer is screaming at you to abandon ship and leave her to drift endlessly. But... Something within you says you can't.
"The crew have all jettisoned, captain. Why do my scans indicate that you are still onboard?" The Artificial Intelligence asked, in a soothing voice that pulled Captian Atrixus out of his daydream.
"I can't do it. I know there is a way out of this, there has to be." He whispered, looking around at the fried circuitry that hissed around him, raining sparks from the missing panels of the ship.
"By my calculations, we will be within range of the Gnosian batteries within five minutes, and that is if they decide to stay where they are." Captain Atrixus shook his head to that. "I don't need to hear doom and gloom, I need answers. How do we fix this?"
The ship's computer, which acted as a co-pilot all these years stayed silent, letting out slight hums like they always did, in order to show that they were still active. "The engines have been blasted, how do we fix them?" The captain asked, frustrated by the silence. "How!? Don't give me the silent treatment!"
"Captain, I think it is best that I do not speak, in order to force you to evacuate. There is one life-pod left, I insist that you take it, I'll be fine."
"You'll be fine? Bit presumptuous isn't it? I'm worried about losing the ship, I mean, you know, I don't want to sound cold-hearted, but the ship is a bit more valuable than you." The A.I stayed quiet for a long moment. "I agree."
"We're wasting time. Are any of the engines firing?" "There is power going to one of them, but, the others have had their connectors interrupted, most likely from the battle. I think a manual re-connection is in order. But, you will have to do it from the surface of the ship."
There was light at the end of the tunnel, the prize for walking out into the cold depths of space, guarded by nothing more than a suit and a pair of magnetic boots was the ship. It was worth it. Exiting a ship while in space was always a risky maneuver, but even more so where enemy fire was imminent.
"I'll do it." Captain Atrixus said, as he turned from the cockpit and headed for the engineering bay, which held the only access hatch to the outside.
The suit was heavy, lined with Oridium, and fibers that could help against the freezing cold outside. He had been out there before, many years prior, but not for repairs, instead, it was just to see what it was like. There were many days in the med-bay after the escapade, due to the pressure which the suit just wasn't able to fully protect against. "Okay, when I get back in, I need you to get us the hell out of here."
"Captain." "When we finish up, we'll head straight for Scoosha, I think it's our nearest planet to our current position."
"Captain." "Will en route, send out a transmission to the other life-pods, and tell them that we'll randavoue there."
"Captain!" "What!?"
"Gnosian ships are closing in. They don't seem to have their canons primed, they may be looking to board us." With his suit on now, and ready to close up the captain wondered if there would still be time to run. Leaving the Gnosians to their prize. Those animals will tear me apart if they get me.
"Did you hear everything I said?" He asked. "I did." "Okay then. If all else fails, it has been good working with you."
Cold, dark, devoid of all life, and utterly isolating. Space was amazing from behind reinforced steel and glass, but being outside was a different story altogether. If the concept of space, and the abstract idea of being nowhere wasn't bad enough, the feeling of being pressed into the ground was.
Each step was tough. All he could hear with each stamp was the echo of his movement, as his boots locked against the hull. As he got closer to the engines themselves, he could feel his spine compress, almost as if each vertebra was collapsing into itself. His lungs also felt like they were shriveling up, breaths getting shallower by the second. Captain Atrixus saw the large ship, descending upon his own, stalking through space like an apex predator circling its meal. He tried not to look at it and instead focused on the engines themselves, or better yet, the cabling connecting them to the ship.
There he saw it, drifting lazily on either end; severed in the conflict.
He took both ends and brushed them off one another, seeing the sparks was a good sign as far as he was concerned. Another brush saw a more violent flurry of electricity, which was enough to brighten up the engine's emergency lighting. One more, and he could feel the cabling tug and jump to each other, the wiring danced and then joined as one while the engines truly jumped to life.
The access hatch was only a few steps away, but each one was torturous and put an immense strain on his weak fleshy body. His eyes got heavier, and then it was as if all of the colour drained from sight, leaving him looking at a black-and-white image of what he thought was reality.
Inside, the ship didn't look like he remembered it. Falling to the ground, he could feel the unmistakable rumble of the engines coming to life, but not before the crash and splatter of enemy fire.
"Captain, I'm reading your vital signs and can see that they are dangerously low."
"Just... Get... Me... To a doc.."
