On the way there, several military Humvees with, what looked like 50. Caliber machines, mounted on top of them, met up with us to escort us safely to the Facility and to help secure the area upon arrival. By the time we got there, the fire was continuing to spread and grow in intensity. DRU, (Disaster Response Units) had not arrived yet, but the Facility personnel were attempting to contain the fire, or at least slow it down. We got out of our vehicles after the military personnel and one of the Facility workers ran up to us.
"What the hell happened here?!" the Professor asked, once the worker got close enough.
"We don't know exactly what happened yet, but we do know that whatever caused it started in one of the Fueling Platforms. The fire only took minutes to spread. No one was at the Fueling Stations. There were only a few maintenance workers at the Launching Platform. But... A lot of people were on duty tonight in the Docking Platform..." said the worker as he lowered his head in grief.
"How many people did we lose?" the Professor asked, in near utter shock.
"The dead and wounded are still coming in..." he replied. We all were quiet for a moment. No one know what to say next.
"Professor?" I said, finally breaking the silence between us.
"Yes?"
"Do the military personnel listen to you? Can you give them an order?"
"Yes, why do you ask?"
"Give me two men, I'm gonna see what I can do to help."
"Alright, but be very careful. This whole area is dangerous." he said. He then walked over to the military personnel and pointed to two of them. "You and you, go with him," he said pointing over to me, "and follow his orders as if they were my own!" They replied with a simple, "Yes, sir!".
They ran over to me and asked, "What are your orders, sir?" I turned to the Facility worker.
"Who's in charge?" I asked.
"Follow me," he said, "I'll take you to Central Control."
The Facility worker hastily brought the two soldiers and myself to Central Control. Central Control is essentially the brain of the Facility. Every piece of information involving anyone or anything is the Facility must go through Central Control. That is where the Facility Administrator will be coordinating repair, fire, and rescue crews.
"Alright, the Administrator is in there. You'll want to talk to him." said the Facility worker.
" Thank you. Wait here, we may still need your help." I said. He nodded and I promptly walked into the room and the two soldiers followed suit. As I entered the room, a man who looked like he'd be the Administrator, looked up from a monitor and looked directly into my eyes.
"Who are you and why are you in Central Control?" he asked, still looking me in the eyes.
" My name is Walter. I'm here to see how I can help." I said. He then looked back down at his monitor. I then added, "I'm a member of Prof. Donavich's crew." At this, he looked back up at me.
"Did he send you?" he asked.
"I volunteered. These two soldiers are with me, as well." I said. He looked around at some of his co-workers, as if looking for their approval.
"Alright, if you're looking to help, then I need you to go here." he said. Then he pointed to a specific building on a holo-graphic layout of the Facility.
"Okay, but why there? That's on the opposite side of the compound from where the fire is." I said.
"Yes, it is. But, either the fire or the shockwave from the explosion knocked-out our power grid, thus, knocking out most of our security systems."
"Alright. So, what do you want me to do there?" I asked.
"I'd like for you to secure a certain, very important, chemical compound. If you are apart of the Professor's crew, then this compound is very important to your mission."
"Will do. Keep me notified of the fire's progress."
"Got it, now get moving. Time is limited." he said.
