Let it breathe, let it breathe, let it breathe for the space cadets

Emergency hangar bay

Jason's black vest with hooks was neatly folded left in the man's quarters. Parsafoot had a cream themed sling keeping his arm propped in a certain position. The forty some seekers were almost ready for the launch. A strange sense of foreboding was in the air around Parsafoot. Sunseed and the other agriculture cadets were preparing breakfast for the ten thousand civilians. Some rations were saved for the fifth day where escape was more likely. Laughter could be heard from the gymnasium in the last several days. The vest was warm and soft to Parsafoot's fingers when carrying it from sick bay to Jason's quarters.

Parsafoot made his way down the corridors that were no longer occupied by civilians and cadets. What few cadets there were left were busy finishing up the finishing touches to the damaged areas of the academy or reinforcing the hull with another layer of metal to keep the integrity up. He was able to walk on his feet again with a hint of soreness in his joints from the crash landing that still lingered on. The halls to the emergency hangar bay slowly turned from white paneling to red rock. Parsafoot came to a stop where the academy became a asteroid with life support systems. One foot on the railing and another foot on the rough, hard ground. A reminder that the academy was built on a asteroid. It seemed more fair to say that the planned renovation (more so a expansion) of the academy had been sufficiently performed only requiring light fixtures, paneling, doors to be installed, and the shape of the corridor to be refined into place.

There were solar lanterns that were glowing multiple colors leading a path down to the emergency hangar bay. It had been blocked off over a hundred years ago as a last minute precaution for the academy reaching worse case scenario. Parsafoot resumed his path through the narrow pathway that was different from the extremely wide passage way. Some of the corridors were wide enough a group to pass through and bring in more material from the planetoid to a different section where the engineers could do what they willed in the effort. They had even refined a series of steps that lead into the emergency hangar bay. Docking bays 1, 2, and 3 had been totally destroyed and unable to be used during Dragos's attack. It would have taken more than a week to repair the space stations that connected visitors seekers into the academy entrance way.

They were currently scraping up energy units for the Seekers using solar panels that were installed into the remaining walls of the academy that hadn't been replaced. Energy generators were stocked into the engineering halves of the seekers and were currently being transferred inside by various cadets overseeing the transfer to make sure nothing went wrong. Parsafoot observed how the walls appeared shades of blue from the light being reflected. Millions of energy units were moved from one machine into a even larger one. Jason would have appreciated the inner color of the academy. He would have made up a poetic, beautiful monologue about the inside. Parsafoot's fingers trailed down the railing coming into the emergency bay where he could see the lines of Seekers being tended to. There was one of them in the back that reminded him of a certain device that froze everything. According to Cadet Draymond who described it extensively that brought Parsafoot to see it for himself.

Tee Gar was on a ladder checking if anything was firm and all set.

"Tee Gar, did you make a bigger version of the Cryotron?" Parsafoot asked.

Tee Gar turned in the direction of Parsafoot.

"Professor!" Tee Gar exclaimed. "Aren't you supposed to be resting your feet?"

"I was discharged," Parsafoot said. "Tee Gar, answer my question."

"Yes," Tee Gar said.

"'After the last schematics you showed me?" Parsafoot asked. "You need highly powerful diamonds for that."

Tee Gar considered as Parsafoot came down the stairs.

"I have to try," Tee Gar said. "Our laser defenses would just damage the space craft and not give us time to defend ourselves."

"And those drones won't cover you?" Parsafoot asked.

"I thought the other version would be a better model," Parsafoot observed the five feet long item on the top of the spacecraft that had the painted on blue symbol of medicine. Tee Gar looked back, guiltily, then looked over toward the professor. "It is for worst case scenario. In case the drones get destroyed when we make the rescue. This time, whatever is being frozen, it won't explode."

"Does it work?" Parsafoot asked.

Tee Gar looked over toward the machine.

"I haven't tried it on a rock," Tee Gar said. "If people have to die in order for us to get Peepo and the other survivor then it's something that I can accept."

"Who is the other survivor?" Parsafoot asked.

"You know who it is," Tee Gar said.

"But . . but. . . but . . . " Parsafoot started. "He is directing a play."

"Commander Gampu," Tee Gar said. "Not Colonel Smith."

Parsafoot looked up toward the machine on the Seeker.

"Does he know?" Parsafoot asked.

Tee Gar didn't answer at first.

"He can't know," Tee Gar said.

Parsafoot lowered his gaze toward the cadet in understanding.

"Is it ready?" Parsafoot asked.

Tee Gar looked toward Parsafoot.

"It's ready," Tee Gar said. "But real question is: does it work the way I want it."

"You're the inventor of it," Parsafoot said. "You can turn it off with a flick of a switch from remote control."

Tee Gar nodded in return.

"At the risk of damaging the seeker," Tee Gar said. "It could blow up rather than deactivating."

"You never tested it," Parsafoot said, alarmed.

"I have ran computer simulations," Tee Gar said. "So kind of."

"You never done a field test!" Parsafoot repeated, in horror.

"Ninety-six percent of the simulations have ended with a hole in the cieling," Tee Gar said. "Not a lot."

Parsafoot was heavily restraining his horror and hysterics with his space academy training. Not a lot.

"And the other four percent?" Parsafoot asked.

"Deactivating," Tee Gar said. "Nothing happens to the seeker."

"That is very risky," Parsafoot noted. "I am surprised Chris approved of it."

Tee Gar slid down the ladder then came to a stop beside Parsafoot with a sheepish guilt look on his face.

"He didn't exactly approve of it," Tee Gar said. "He doesn't know I have been working on it."

"Tee Gar," Parsafoot started. "I have been in many situations where I held back some tech when Jason, Nicole, and I were in tight space. It was just me throwing a loophole into the problem. I had to tell Jason about it. Before I made Wiki and then after I did, Jason had another little helper to help him get things so that changed a lot," he had a fond smile at the little invention. "Those loopholes stopped coming into my hands. And our situations are very different."

"They were," Tee Gar agreed. "But maybe not so different."

"Because Jason was there," Parsafoot said. "That is the difference."

"It's a ordinary day preparing to defend the academy from Dragos," Tee Gar said. "We have our good luck charm right here." Tee Gar patted on the professor's shoulder.

Parsafoot looked toward the younger man.

"Tell Chris," Parsafoot said. "Gampu would have requested you take it apart."

"I can just hear him like he is right here. 'Tee Gar, it is too dangerous to use in a plan that requires Academy personnel not to take lives'," Tee Gar said. "Gampu is right about that."

"Chris would have a better idea of using the Cryotron," Parsafoot said. Tee Gar raised his head up as his face brightened. "Without taking his friend with it. "