The Evacuation of Solfilius

The Evacuation of Solfilius - Part three: Action

Chapter 6, 37 hours until impact.

John, Justin and Abagail were back in the office building next to the ship landing pad. The room now felt even more cramped than it was in the first meeting. John stood up from his seat.

"Hello everyone. As you are all aware, Justin and I have enlisted the help of one of our senior engineers here, Abagail. She has put forth a solution to our problem. She highlighted the potential of the abandoned Bronto on the outskirts of the base as a method of getting everyone home. We are not fully certain of the condition it is in, however considering its location, and the time it has spent there, we are almost certain it has suffered decay of some sort. Fortunately, we believe it could still be operable, with some repairs of course. I would like to hear your opinions on this idea." John said.

"I think this idea sounds sensible. It's certainly the best we've got so far." Min, John's co-overseer replied.

"I think this idea has some very good potential. However, I'd like to discuss my previous idea in more detail. I was thinking about it, and perhaps it would be possible to build four large oxygen scrubbers for the Ankylos in time to get off the planet?" Suggested one council member.

Justin remembered him from one of the previous meetings. That was Adam, and he was quite an active participant last time.

"Thank you for your input, Adam. I am by no means an engineer, but air filtration systems, especially ones that are big enough to filter a space as large as the cargo bay of an Ankylo are rather complex machines. The amount of people who would be able to work on the air filters would be limited, as there are only a handful of workers on the planet who are able to build and design such devices. Not only that, but we would have to build four of them. Although your idea has some potential, repairing a ship that many of our technical workers already have a good understanding of is a far safer strategy in my opinion, especially considering that the Bronto's cargo bay already comes equipped with oxygen scrubbers. Unfortunately, I think it is far too risky in comparison to our alternative." John replied. Adam seemed to understand John's opinion of his idea, and where John was coming from.

Justin was siding with the Bronto idea. Although modifying the Anklyos seemed simpler and more reliable on the surface, fixing up a huge, old ship would actually be far safer, because it would be a more familiar process to the workers. There would also be a higher quantity of workers who would be able to help out with repairing the ship, speeding up the process. The odds of getting the air filters finished in time were rather grim.

"Well then, does anyone else have anything they would like to say or suggest?" John asked.

No one responded.

"Very well then. Should we vote on the two ideas?" John asked.

Everyone agreed to vote now.

"All in favour of air filters on the Anklyos, raise your hand now." John asked.

No one in the room raised their hands.

"All in favour of repairing the Bronto, raise your hand." John asked.

The entire room raised their hands.

It seemed at this point, the Bronto was truly their one and only hope.

"Well then, that settles the decision. Justin, Abagail and I will go and inspect the ship to see what kind of condition it is in. After, it will be time to tell everyone on Solfilius about the CME. Excellent job today all. Good luck out there." John finished with.

After John had finished speaking, everyone got up out of their seats, and made their way out of the cramped office to attend to whatever matters they had to. John, Justin and Abagail got inside of their car. John was once again driving. He took off in the direction of the abandoned Bronto.