Water condensed rapidly on the crystalline shell of the stasis pod. Precious power trickled in, warming the body inside. Instead of slowly waking in a warm cocoon, Allyspe was thrust into consciousness in her frigid pod. She instantly knew something was wrong. Her body was battling extreme hypothermia from long term stasis. Struggling out of the pod, she rose quickly to the ceiling, scraping her head on the unforgiving surface. It became obvious that the ship’s gravity generators were offline. The emergency suits were close by, so she pushed off the ceiling, and slammed into the wall next to the closet. Her training told her addled mind that the suits had the ability to keep her alive. Distraught, she pulled out the long-dead power packs. Through the haze of her mind, she knew she was in trouble. Allyspe knew that if she didn’t find a way to bring her body temperature up soon, she was going to die.
Allyspe grabbed an emergency suit from its peg and pulled it over to the nearest stasis pod. All the diagnostics showed the body inside was still viable, though the chances for successful reanimation were terrifyingly low. She continued down the line until she found a unit that had malfunctioned. With trembling hands, she yanked open the access panel and began pulling wires loose. There was a good chance that her desperate plan would result in death by electric shock, but without heat she was as good as dead anyways. When she finally found the main power cables, she nearly cried with relief.
Allyspe’s hands were trembling so violently, that she nearly electrocuted herself as she hotwired the suit into the ship’s power grid. The suit came to life and she struggled to get it on. Balancing the urgent need for heat and the risk of pulling loose the cables, she began immersing herself in the wonderfully warm suit. The edges of her vision began to darken as the suit molded to her bare flesh. The advanced diagnostics took note of her critical condition and began running proper subroutines as she lost consciousness.
Allyspe woke some time later, afloat in the air. Instinctively, she knew that the danger was past. She still felt chilled, but the now dead suit had performed its purpose. Feeling weak and unsteady, she slowly corrected her orientation to match that of the room. There was a fleeting moment of lightheadedness followed by nausea, most likely after effects of the drugs used in stasis. Feeling weak as a newborn, she slowly made her way to the nearest computer terminal, only to find it not operational. With her mind thawed, she began to piece together bits of information about her current circumstances. Something was definitely wrong, but she still was struggling to think clearly. More concerned with her immediate needs for survival, she gave up on the terminal and forced open a supply cabinet.
Most of the post stasis nutrient paste had gone to waste and most of the water containers were empty. Allyspe finally found several nutrient paste packets that looked fine and a water container that wasn’t compromised. The paste was foul tasting when fresh, and age hadn’t help. Still, it was vital for combating the effects of long term stasis, so Allyspe forced it down, followed by sips of extremely stale water. The nutrient paste was immediately metabolized and Allyspe could feel the effects almost immediately.
With her immediate survival needs fulfilled, Allyspe began to feel better about her situation, until she noticed the skeletal remains scattered across the room. The skulls of three crewmates could be seen. The lack of flesh was a good indicator that they had been deceased for quite some time. Allyspe began to panic as she struggled to reason out what was going on. Everything around her was indicating that she had been in stasis far longer than had been predicted. Whatever the cause for the delay, it was her job as a senior engineer, and most likely the only crew member awake to see to the safety of the ship and its crew.
Desperate to find out what was going on, Allyspe pried open the door to the corridor, and ventured out into the dark. The lights behind went dark and the corridor was bathed in soft light. Allyspe figured the ship’s AI, or at least remnants of it must still be functioning, doing its best to conserve power. Sections of the corridor lit and went dark as she traveled through the ship. Luckily, her office wasn’t far from where she had been placed in stasis. By the time she reached her office, she was winded. The atmosphere was thin, and she began to worry if there was any saving the ship and its occupants. She reached her office and found her terminal wasn’t operational. She pulled her tools out of a nearby storage closet and went to work.
