"I don't understand. These cells were pulled and overhauled when we were planet side." Tytus said looking grim.
"So let’s shut it down. We'll run on the secondary cell till we get this fixed." Madhava said.
"That would be fine if it wasn't the cooling coil that was malfunctioning. If that energy cell isn't brought back down to temperature soon we are looking at a core breach."
"What are you saying?" Madhava asked in frustration.
"We may need to abandon the ship." Tytus replied flustered.
"Are you talking about a nuclear meltdown?" Providence asked.
"In so many words, yes." Tytus said loudly over the blaring claxon.
"Shut that infernal noise off and show me the problem." Madhava demanded.
"Holy Shit" Providence silently cursed.
Images of the ship blowing to smithereens filtered through her head. This was exactly the kind of thing she feared would happen if she sent Dagaa off on his own. Not that she wanted to die, but she meant it when she said she'd rather be by her men through thick and thin.
The three of them headed several paces down a corridor. At the end were a pair of thick glass domes no larger than a globe, embedded in the wall. One was glowing a bright white while the other appeared a pale blue. The glowing blue sphere of matter was much smaller and Providence assumed that was the secondary cell.
"Should that be glowing white like that?" Providence asked.
"No it should look like the other one, though larger." Another male replied.
Providence turned to see Tytus' assistant standing in a hatch in the floor.
"I can't get wedged in here to see what is wrong with the damn cooling coil." He cursed.
"Well how in Kali's name did you service them before we came on this mission?" Madhava growled.
"Technicians pulled the units from the exterior of the hull. These damn shafts were made for those reptilians." Tytus countered in frustration.
Providence looked at the large men. They were bigger and wider than the Jurou Biljana although both species were larger than she was. It looked like she was the only one capable of going into the tunnel.
"Well hop up and let me in there." Providence said to the technician. "Do you have some sort of video camera so I can record what I see?"
Madhava growled and Providence quickly glanced at him with censure as she held up her hand.
"Do you want to abandon ship? Can we even get ahold of one of the others in time?" Providence asked.
She appreciated Madhava's concern, but this was a do or die situation. Providence didn't know if she'd even be able to help, but she had to set aside the fear that was inching up her spine and give it a try. The alternative was unthinkable.
"We have an hour before the cell core temperature reaches a critical point and breaches its containment." Tytus said wringing his hands.
"Is it even safe down there?" Madhava demanded.
"It should be. The energy cell hasn't started leaking yet." Tytus replied though uncertainty threaded his voice.
The technician handed Providence a communicator she could use to talk and relay images back to them.
"Alright let’s see what's wrong." Providence said as she screwed up her courage and stepped towards the hatch.
Madhava stopped her and pulled her into his arms.
"If something doesn't feel right, or we tell you to get out, you turn right around." He insisted as he squeezed her to him.
"Will do." Providence rose up and kissed her concerned male.
The look on his face broke her heart as she descended the ladder into the shaft. He looked like he was sending her to her death. She smiled in encouragement, though she felt uncertain herself, before disappearing from view.
Providence had to duck down and get on her hands and knees as she reached the tunnel below. No doubt the Jurou Biljana had to army crawl when they serviced these spaces. It made Providence wonder if the duplicitous reptiles didn't steal or buy the ship from a smaller species that were closer to her size.
"Go straight ahead then turn left." Tytus said.
She could hear him through the communicator but also through the shaft opening several feet back.
Providence paused every so often while she crawled, panning the video over the walls as she approached the bend in the tunnel. As she got further the temperature dropped markedly.
"It's getting colder." She commented into the communicator.
Once Providence turned the corner she was greeted by a mist that threatened to choke her. The metal tubes along the walls were frosted over. As she skimmed over the tunnel, she noted one of the tubes was encrusted with ice where in connected to the next tube. It looked like a relatively simple fix.
"It looks like a loose joint." Providence coughed.