Explosion in Deep Space

The emergency systems came on at that point, and Fred fell to the deck with a thud, having floated away from her bed. Warning sirens blared, and the ship was lit by the eeire pale blue of the emergency lighting. She struggled to her feet and tapped the comm on the desk of the small sleeping quarters she shared with Art. "Art, are you there? What happened?" No response.

She felt a sick feeling gnaw at her insides as she rushed down the narrow corridor to the bridge, wearing only her tank top and underwear. She reached the door to the cockpit, which had been sealed automatically by the computer. She entered her override code swiftly, and the door slid aside.

"Art!" she cried, racing over to where her husband sat, slumped in the command chair. She quickly checked and was relieved to find he still had a pulse, but was seemingly blacked out. Fred knew she couldn't risk moving him, and would have to wait for him to wake up on his own. She kissed him on the forehead, silently thanking whatever gods were out there for his safety, then turned to her own tasks.

She sat down at her own pilot's chair and began running the standard damage and diagnostic report. Whatever the explosion was, the computer could find no mechanical reason, no power spike or system malfunction, for it to have happenend. Whatever had caused the explosion had seemingly come from outside the ship. And that had grave implications in and of itself. Sensor systems were still down, so she couldn't even see what was going on outside.

1. The proximity alarm sounds. Something's approaching the ship!
2. Art begins to awaken
3. Fred attempts to send a distress signal to Earth HQ

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