Disclaimer: Joss, Fox, Universal Own em’. I’m just playing. No money being made. The situations come from my own twisted mind as do my original characters.

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AN:

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Quest-Chapter Twenty

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The port airlock and access to the docking arm was thirty five meters aft and one deck down from Quest's galley. As the crew pounded across the deck plates, only one thing was on their minds... survival.

Rachel was the first to reach the airlock lobby, Derick on her heels, followed closely by Melissa, Meghan, Joe and Sherri.

Cordell Olsen, Vicki Baxter and Alex Woodard were a few yards behind. Bringing up the rear were Jefferson and Hipolito.

Just as the two men were about to run through the door to the main airlock, the first missile struck. The explosion knocking both men off their feet. Before Jeff and 'Lito could regain their footing, the second and third missiles struck Quest. A low rumble could be heard throughout the ship as the fuel tanks ruptured.

“Go!” screamed Jeff as he tried to pull Hipolito to his feet.

“I'm fine! Get moving, Jeff!” the mechanic screamed back as the gravity suddenly failed.

Outside, Quest shuddered for a moment as the fuel tanks began to ignite. The fuel flashed in the darkness for just a moment. The air inside the ship feeding the flames for a second of so. Not long but long enough.

Quest's hull ruptured midway down the ship's length, where the space frame was weakest. The junctions of the three docking bays. The force of the explosion breaking away the entire aft end of the ship. The impact was so great that while still attached to the dockyard, the forward half of the ship broke away, trailing most of the docking arm along with it.

“Cap'n!” screamed Joe Park as he and Commander Olsen tried to pull Jeff through the open hatch. The air in the compartment was howling through the opening. Venting into space through the many hull breaches.

Derick was manually holding the override for the automatic airtight doors. As the atmo in the entire forward