We split up and searched at a frantic pace, moving through various quarters, scanning every inch of the habitat.
I joined with the others back in the control room, filled them in on the situation, and recruited them to search. "Did anyone see the terrorists place a bomb anywhere in this facility?"
They all exchanged dumb looks.
The clock was ticking…
3:59…
Tick…
Tick…
Tick…
We scoured every inch of the habitat.
Tick…
Tick…
Tick…
We searched berthing compartments, corridors, and the engineering room where this whole adventure began.
Nothing.
In our hurried state, it was possible somebody overlooked something.
1:43…
Tick…
Tick…
Tick…
Then it dawned on me. The bomb wasn’t inside the habitat.
It had likely been placed on the exterior pressure hull. It would have been easy to deploy manually or with the mini-sub’s articulated arm.
"I think it's time we evacuate the habitat,” I said when we regrouped in the control room. “JD and I will take one of the submersibles and see if we can locate the device outside. The rest of you can pile into the other sub and clear the area.”
"Then what?" Norrington said. “Without proper decompression, we’re dead anyway.”
"I don't have time to argue about this," I said, "If you want to stay, stay. If you want to go, go. It's your call.”
JD and I hustled back to the moon pool.
Flynn and Elana followed.
"We’re going with you," she said. "That's not up for debate."
Like I said, I didn't have time to argue the finer points.
I grabbed a few bailout bottles before boarding the mini-sub with the others. Flynn sealed the hatch behind us. JD took the helm and submerged the vessel.
I racked my brain, thinking about where I would place a limpet mine if I were the enemy. The most logical place would be over the control room. That's where it would do the most damage and be hardest to deal with. You could seal off ancillary compartments, but the control room wasmission-critical. It was either that or the engineering compartment. Either one of those would essentially take out the entire habitat and its occupants in one way or another.
