7: Alpha Centauri

Author: Chaoseternus

Chapter 7: Disaster

Tarvi cursed, her arms wrapping around her body as the manhole shook again, the rumble of a collapsing tunnel reaching her ears, muted by the thickness of the concrete walls and heavy iron airlocks of the manhole. It seemed she was trapped and… she glanced at the computer in the corner, its display clearly saying [CONNECTION LOST] beneath the heavy plastic cover, and to the backup radio and phone in the corner, no connection lights also showing. It appeared she had lost contact with the surface, perfect.

She really should have stayed in bed this morning. She paused in her thoughts, what caused this in the first place she wondered, she knew that occasionally bumpers had caused mines to be temporarily abandoned whilst supports were replaced, but never anything this serious before! Two levels compromised, the main access way blocked by a firedamp explosion… she really needed to arrange another full sensor sweep once this was over. The strata should not have collapsed to that extent. Unless there was tunnels above the previous scans had missed. It would explain the surprisingly low ore concentrations above; it would also mean the strata had already been compromised. It needed to be checked, otherwise the entire mine was at risk of total collapse as the yet unconfirmed upper levels collapsed on the lower.

Angharad didn't even glance up as frantically running engineers sped into the room, taking positions at secondary stations. She and Felix were in charge when the master alarm occurred, and so she and Felix would have overall command in the absence of the chief engineer, trapped as she was by the explosion. It wasn't the way earthside mines did it, but it was the way it was done here.

She was checking the incomplete secondary access tunnel through the diagnostics and basic sensors for problems; so far nothing… she nodded. It looked as if the secondary was intact. She turned in her chair,
"Ellis! Alyssa! Tobias! Get a team together, and check the secondary tunnel out. Be prepared to finish it in double quick time, we might have to use it to get the bulk of the trapped survivors out, got it?" The engineers nodded, and charged from the room, heading towards the miners building, where the showers, the safety equipment, the rest rooms were, and where more importantly, the miners would gather in an emergency. "Angharad! Felix!" a voice shouted over the organised chaos of the control room, "signal from O'Neill, he's closed the other mines down for the moment, we're to requisition whatever and whoever we need from the other mines, he's also got all the Paladins, Alphaheads, and shunters on alert and awaiting our signal"
"Thanks Roberts, we might need it" Felix called out, and then turned to a group of engineers, ordering them to check all the ventilation tunnels, "that should get the noise down here a bit, and maybe we will be able to widen one enough to get access" "Hey, Felix, check out the gas readings coming off main ventilation"
"Extremely high carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide… lots of nitrogen/oxygen compounds… sulphur dioxide… shit" Felix said, flatly, "this reads like a coal fire"
"Where did we pick coal up?" Angharad said reaching for the mine's blue prints, "close to lower 2 wasn't it?"
"Right by where the worst bumping was reported, I think we need to ask O'Neill for a full sensor sweep, like now" Felix stated, a grim tone in his voice.
"Roberts, get on that" Felix added at Angharad's nod. "Fans have completely spun down now, but there's still one hell of a draw off main ventilation, lot of air being pulled in, which means a fire. Lovely. And for the coal seam to be exposed, lower 2 must be pretty much gone. What's temperature in the manholes?"
Felix flicked the computer over to another display; those we still have contact with are hovering at 320, about normal for this depth, but that'll change, the heat will start to pass through the iron airlocks of the manholes soon enough" "We need to block the oxygen supply… we could use the Alphaheads, have them transport the other mines nitrogen tanks here and try for an oxygen purge. We should get at least 5 minutes worth of liquid nitrogen blowing into the tunnels then, no oxygen to allow the fire to burn, and it being liquid nitrogen we're using, should cool the source of the fire down, reduce the likelihood of the fire restarting from smoulder" Felix nodded, and then shouted "Roberts!"
"On it, I'll get a team rigging up the extra connections too"
"Thanks Roberts"