Asgarnieu
31-08-2007, 20:27
The powerplant was quiet. Only the minimum required amount of personnel were on hand. The shift operations manager sat comfortably in his well-furnished office on the third floor.
His name was James Arren. A 36-year old man from Candle Marsh. He came from a poor military family. He'd set out to make something of himself; and he did. The highest-paid employee on payroll, a nuclear engineer, and a married man with four children.
The blue phone on his desk buzzed eerily.
"Hello?" John answered plainly.
"John? This is Derrek, from level 2A," the man stated.
"Hello Derrek! How can I help you?" John asked.
"Well, we've got a problem," the man replied.
"What is it? Is someone hurt?" John asked, sitting up in his chair.
"No, no. Nothing that serious; I think. Our water pressure gages are reading low. We've tried everything, they just keep falling," the man stated.
"Did you activate the pumps?" John asked, slightly less worried.
"Sir, everyth..."
Before Derrek could finish, the facility shook. It was not much, only powerful enough to displace water from full glasses; but it was enough.
Klaxon alarms and red strobe lights were activated. John hung up the phone and his hand reached for the red phone on his desk. Before he could pick up the reciever, it buzzed.
"This is John," he said loudly.
"Code White, E-1141," a nameless man said.
"Gotcha," John sighed.
When a "Code White" was sounded, a loss of reactor water and an increase in reactor heat was reported. "E-1141" referred to the reactor subsystem involved.
With that, John took his hardhat and white coat and stepped into the hall. The sound of klaxons was deafening and the strobes were disorienting. He made his way down the empty halls, turned the corner and stepped into the elevator that would take him down to the reactor level.
He pressed "R1-1" on the panel of illuminated buttons and the door shut. The elevator started moving down five levels to the reactors. "A-3", "A-2", "A-1", "MF". Before he could get to "R2-2" another shudder rocked the elevator, dislodging him from his position. He was thrown to the floor. The lights flickered, then shut off. As the emergency power activated, more red lights; this time indicating that emergency power was in use. The elevator continued, and slowed to a stop on "R1-1."
As the heavy doors to the elevator opened, he observed a most disturbing sight. Many employees on the reactor level were scattering, running in all directions. Some were frozen with fear, realizing that their worst nightmare had come true.
Suddenly, another violent shake. Loose items on the floor and overhead lamps fell, creating showers of sparks.
John ran toward the reactor and the men just realizing their idiocy. As he grappled with the men to dislodge them from their frozen state, he felt a sudden wave of extreme heat. He knew exactly what had happened. Utilizing his training, he ran toward the stairs, knowing that at the top, a sheilded room was available. He sprinted for the top. Feeling weaker, he slowed to a fast walk. Looking down, he saw the one thing he'd feared his whole life: the core.
It was beautiful. It glowed with white-hot intensity, and pulsated like it was from another planet. It slowly grew into what looked like a liquid, spilling over the sides of the containment vessel, making its way to the drains. The drains led to the water containment and treatment unit, and John knew it. As soon as the core hit the water, it would explode, throwing the radioactive water into the air, destroying the building, and killing everything in a 7-mile radius.
John knew he was dead. The heat he'd felt minutes ago was radiation, and he knew it. Suddenly, he felt his back wrench, and he vomited blood. His head began to spin, and he felt sick again.
It was only a matter of time until the water would explode, killing him. He thought of his family, his parents, and what would've been his future. As he reflected on his current situation, the explosion tore its way through the facility, sending a mist of radioactive water and much radioactive solids into the air.
Within hours, the radioactive cloud would move east with the wind, to other cities, counties, provinces, or even nations...
His name was James Arren. A 36-year old man from Candle Marsh. He came from a poor military family. He'd set out to make something of himself; and he did. The highest-paid employee on payroll, a nuclear engineer, and a married man with four children.
The blue phone on his desk buzzed eerily.
"Hello?" John answered plainly.
"John? This is Derrek, from level 2A," the man stated.
"Hello Derrek! How can I help you?" John asked.
"Well, we've got a problem," the man replied.
"What is it? Is someone hurt?" John asked, sitting up in his chair.
"No, no. Nothing that serious; I think. Our water pressure gages are reading low. We've tried everything, they just keep falling," the man stated.
"Did you activate the pumps?" John asked, slightly less worried.
"Sir, everyth..."
Before Derrek could finish, the facility shook. It was not much, only powerful enough to displace water from full glasses; but it was enough.
Klaxon alarms and red strobe lights were activated. John hung up the phone and his hand reached for the red phone on his desk. Before he could pick up the reciever, it buzzed.
"This is John," he said loudly.
"Code White, E-1141," a nameless man said.
"Gotcha," John sighed.
When a "Code White" was sounded, a loss of reactor water and an increase in reactor heat was reported. "E-1141" referred to the reactor subsystem involved.
With that, John took his hardhat and white coat and stepped into the hall. The sound of klaxons was deafening and the strobes were disorienting. He made his way down the empty halls, turned the corner and stepped into the elevator that would take him down to the reactor level.
He pressed "R1-1" on the panel of illuminated buttons and the door shut. The elevator started moving down five levels to the reactors. "A-3", "A-2", "A-1", "MF". Before he could get to "R2-2" another shudder rocked the elevator, dislodging him from his position. He was thrown to the floor. The lights flickered, then shut off. As the emergency power activated, more red lights; this time indicating that emergency power was in use. The elevator continued, and slowed to a stop on "R1-1."
As the heavy doors to the elevator opened, he observed a most disturbing sight. Many employees on the reactor level were scattering, running in all directions. Some were frozen with fear, realizing that their worst nightmare had come true.
Suddenly, another violent shake. Loose items on the floor and overhead lamps fell, creating showers of sparks.
John ran toward the reactor and the men just realizing their idiocy. As he grappled with the men to dislodge them from their frozen state, he felt a sudden wave of extreme heat. He knew exactly what had happened. Utilizing his training, he ran toward the stairs, knowing that at the top, a sheilded room was available. He sprinted for the top. Feeling weaker, he slowed to a fast walk. Looking down, he saw the one thing he'd feared his whole life: the core.
It was beautiful. It glowed with white-hot intensity, and pulsated like it was from another planet. It slowly grew into what looked like a liquid, spilling over the sides of the containment vessel, making its way to the drains. The drains led to the water containment and treatment unit, and John knew it. As soon as the core hit the water, it would explode, throwing the radioactive water into the air, destroying the building, and killing everything in a 7-mile radius.
John knew he was dead. The heat he'd felt minutes ago was radiation, and he knew it. Suddenly, he felt his back wrench, and he vomited blood. His head began to spin, and he felt sick again.
It was only a matter of time until the water would explode, killing him. He thought of his family, his parents, and what would've been his future. As he reflected on his current situation, the explosion tore its way through the facility, sending a mist of radioactive water and much radioactive solids into the air.
Within hours, the radioactive cloud would move east with the wind, to other cities, counties, provinces, or even nations...