//------------------------------//
// Ishimura: Exploring the Engineering Deck 
// Story: Dead Space: Deep Space Terror 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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"The Ishimura is in trouble, isn't it?" Chrysalis asked, causing Isaac to glance over at her from where he was sitting, though at the same time Chrysalis made sure that her helmet was collapsed so she could stare at the other side of the Tram while they traveled towards the next deck Hammond was sending them to.

"If we don't get the engines back online, then yes it will be," Isaac replied, though he was impressed by how well his companion was taking all of this, because she had freaked out at the first Necromorph sighting and had no idea what all of the technical terms meant, but at least she was learning to improve her knowledge and nerves, "When we arrive at the Engineering Deck, and climb off the Tram, Hammond will likely have determined exactly what we need to do to repair the engines. From there it's a simple matter of walking through the hallways, dismembering all the Necromorphs that come out to get us, and repairing the systems as we go... provided that something doesn't happen while we're working."

Chrysalis knew that saying something like that was likely the wrong thing to do, if her own experience was anything to go by, but at the same time she could tell that Isaac had hope that they would be able to restore power to the engines and prevent the Ishimura from crashing into the planet below them. She honestly didn't want to go down to Aegis VII, and was going to do everything in her power to prevent such a thing from happening, because she really didn't want to see what sort of Necromorphs were running around down there, where the outbreak started. She was sure that there were more types of their undead enemies wandering around the Ishimura, ones they hadn't seen yet, and she dreaded to even consider what they might see in the future... but hopefully, before such a thing happened, she and the others could find a way off the ship, as she didn't want to be here any longer than what was necessary.

A few moments later, as she finished her thought about wanting to leave the Ishimura, the Tram arrived at the station for the Engineering Deck, to which she and Isaac reengaged their helmets and walked out into the station area, where they braced themselves for Hammond's message.

"Isaac, Chrysalis, we've got two problems, and we're working on borrowed time here." Hammond said, though at the same time the video image of him appeared in front of them, where they gave their commander their undivided attention while he told them what was going on, "First, there's no fuel in the engines. Second, the gravity centrifuge is offline, which means there's a couple trillion tons of rock pulling us down. I need the two of you to get that centrifuge operational, refuel the main engine and fire it up so I can stabilize the ship's orbit."

"Will do Hammond," Isaac replied, while at the same time Chrysalis nodded her head as well, indicating that they both understood their mission, even if Chrysalis didn't understand the vast majority of what Hammond had said, before the connection was terminated.

The two of them spent a few seconds looking for supplies that they might be able to use, though it appeared that the only thing they could fine were some credits resting on the floor and nothing else, so they walked towards the door to the Control Room and headed down the hallway that was in front of them. At the end of the very short hallway rested the area that was apparently called the Control Room, where there were a number of lockers, a few vending machines, a dead crew member sitting in a chair, and a circular door on their left that would take them somewhere else. They also found an audio log from Jacob Temple, the acting Chief Engineer, who mentioned that it had been two days since the planet crack and that people had seen their friends coming back with the intent to kill them, indicating that they had been transformed into some sort of Necromorph.

As they listened to the recording Chrysalis, somehow, found two still somewhat cold drinks in the vending machine, to which he brought one over to Isaac and they drank them as they listened to the audio log, while at the same time making sure to save their food for later, when they really needed it.

When the audio log was over they reengaged their helmets and walked through the door to the Machine Shop, where Chrysalis discovered a fair number of mechanical parts laying around and a busted door resting at the bottom of the ramp that was in front of them. Before they reached the door Isaac spotted an intact slasher resting in the middle of the busted door and started firing at it, where he dismembered the Necromorph as it tried to get back onto it's feet so it could kill them. While he did that Chrysalis investigated the chamber near the busted door, where she found three suits that were resting on the hangers that were opposite of the room's entrance, a schematic for Flame Fuel, and an audio log that detailed that someone had gone insane because he was pulling his own teeth out.

She waited for the audio log to finish, where she noticed that Isaac was interested in what she had been listening to, but at the same time she was beginning to think that uncovering the mysterious Marker had been the cause of the mass paranoia and dementia that had struck the Ishimura... and, since the Marker was aboard the ship, she wondered how long it would take before all of them started feeling the effects of this annoying madness.

The two of them then walked through the busted door and made their way around the large piece of machinery that was in the room, though the two of them smiled as they noticed a Bench in front of them and eagerly approached the upgrade device. Since the device was designed for a single person to use it at a time, something that Chrysalis considered to be a design flaw, she let Isaac go first and patiently waited for him to slip in the couple of Power Nodes that he had acquired since the last Bench they stopped at. Once he was done, and had backed away from the terminal, Chrysalis stepped forward and placed her Pulse Rifle on the device, where she watched as the screen appeared in front of her and glanced at all of the upgrades she could add to her weapon or her RIG. Unfortunately the only thing she could really put her two Power Nodes to were upgrading the capacity of her weapon and put the second one in the node ahead of the first one... which would allow her to access a few more when she found some more Power Nodes.

With the deed done, and the Bench was allowed to power down, the two of them continued to the left and followed the path that was in front of them, though as they walked Isaac told Chrysalis that he picked up a text log that detailed the chaos that erupted on the ship... and that everyone was running because they thought that someone else was attacking the Ishimura, which the writer of the text log was confused about.

As they walked through the door to the Refueling Control Stations the two of them kept their weapons at the ready, because they both knew that at some point the Necromorphs would jump out of one of the vents, or more of them at the same time, and attack them. As Isaac walked down the ramp in front of them Chrysalis noticed some movement in the vent area below where they were walking, where she could have sworn that she saw a infector or a leaper moving below them, but before she could blast it to pieces it disappeared. The two of them then carefully explored the area around them, where they found some credits that they added to their total, some ammunition that was laying around, and a med pack that they might not even need. When the two of them turned towards what was likely the path they needed to follow, to find one of the refueling stations, Chrysalis spotted a lurker that immediately fled from them... while a slasher dropped down in front of them and attacked them.

Fortunately Isaac was ready for such a thing, as he loosed a Stasis blast at the slasher and slowed their foe down, allowing him and Chrysalis to dismember the slasher before it ever had the chance to hurt them... though once the deed was done they looked up and found that there was a sign directing them to two different locations that were supposed to be the refueling stations.

"So, which path should we take?" Chrysalis asked, because she could tell that one of the refueling stations was on their left, heading up the ramp that was to their left, and there was another one on the right, which required them pulling over a lift of some kind so they could cross to the other side of the area they were in.

"We should get the refueling station that's in front of us," Isaac replied, to which he beckoned for Chrysalis to follow him as he walked up the ramp that Chrysalis had noticed, where they walked up to an platform of some kind.

Chrysalis looked at the small platform and found the terminal that had to be the refueling controls, though since the device had a Kinesis symbol on it she let Isaac latch onto the square lever and pulled it down to the bottom of the terminal, where a voice declared that the refueling sequence had been activated. At the same time the large piece of machinery that was located near them started spinning, causing Chrysalis to wonder if it was the engine or if it was where the fuel was stored inside. Before they walked down to the lift, and pulled it over to where they were standing, the two of them walked up the path behind them and opened fire on the slasher and small swarm enemies that happened to be waiting for them. From there they continued up the ramp and found that it brought them to a door, one that wouldn't take them to the other refueling station, where they sighed and headed back to where the lift was located.

This time around both Isaac and Chrysalis latched onto the lift with their own means and brought it over to them, where they waited for it to dock before climbing onto it and riding it over to the other side of the area... where they heard the sound of some sort of Necromorph that was unlike anything they had heard so far, which worried Chrysalis since it sounded like the creature was hungry for more people to kill.

As they neared the other docking station Isaac noticed some slashers gathering near where the lift would come to a stop, where he spotted an explosive canister and lifted it over to where they were with his Kinesis, before taking aim and loosing it at his target. He purposely aimed at the spot between the two slashers that were in front of the lift, where the two of them were blown apart and opened the way for him and Chrysalis to climb off the lift without having to worry about being attacked immediately. As the lift came to a stop Chrysalis was the first to react, as she leapt over the rails before they opened and raised her spare hand towards the slasher on her left, where she ignited it with a fireball before she dismembered the other that was coming down the ramp in front of her. She then pulled out one of the bone blades that were on her back and dismembered the burning slasher, before she glanced around and looked for any additional foes that might be coming for them.

Isaac, having patiently waited for the rails to lift out of the way, couldn't help but chuckle at what he had seen, because there were times where he forget that Chrysalis could use magic, though when she did use her powers it was usually to their benefit... but he joined her a few moments later and they continued forward as they searched for the second refueling station.

The two of them explored the immediate area and discovered a few more credits, another box on a wall that contained a Power Node that one of them could use, and an audio log that was someone speaking about how they shouldn't have let someone live. Temple, the engineer they had found a log from earlier, told the other person to shut up and said that someone had shut off the fuel lines to the primary engines and had damaged the valves in the process, though Temple also blamed the Unitologists for what was happening. Isaac and Chrysalis glanced at each other before they put the audio log away and walked up the ramp that was on the right of the area they were in, though at the top rested a slasher that they dismembered as it made it's way towards them. When the slasher was dead the two of them turned to the left of where they were standing and walked forward, where they found the refueling station they had been looking for... and the schematic for a weapon called the Ripper.

Chrysalis had no idea what the new weapon was supposed to do, especially since either she or Isaac would have to purchase it to figure that out, though as she stared at the item Isaac engaged the second refueling station and the machine Chrysalis had spotted earlier moved into the one in front of it... where the computerized voice declared that there was a sufficient amount of fuel to power the primary engine.

"Whatever the two of you did, it's working." Hammond said, though this time around Chrysalis detected that he was likely busy and wasn't actually watching them this time around, especially since he was trying to work on the fuel problem from his end, "I have a fuel reading... it's only a quarter full, but that's enough to restore orbit once you bring the engines back online... What the hell?"

Chrysalis didn't like the way Hammond said that, because it either meant that he had spotted a Necromorph near his location or there was something else on this ship that they had to worry about, which would lower their chances of getting off this ship alive.

"False alarm," Hammond continued, though this tone told them that he was nervous, meaning that the effects of the Marker might be starting to set in, or he was tense after everything he had been through since they had crashed into the Flight Deck of the ship, "thought I saw something."

That statement worried both Chrysalis and Isaac, as they both had guessed that the Marker might be the cause of the trouble of the colony and the Ishimura, but which Chrysalis was absolutely sure that it was aboard the ship Isaac believed that it was still on Aegis VII. Instead of discussing what might be wrong with Hammond the two of them retraced their steps towards the lift, though on the way they were attacked by a lurker that jumped at them with the intent to rip them apart with it's tentacles. Chrysalis, not wanting to deal with this at the moment, raised her hand and caught the lurker with her telekinesis, before she sent it flying into the wall behind it and made sure that it's tentacles were exposed as Isaac cut all of them off. From there they turned right and opened fire on the other lurkers that happened to be in front of them, as it appeared that the Necromorphs were annoyed that they had restored the engines, but Isaac and Chrysalis blasted their way through their enemies as they headed back to the lift.

As they rode the lift back across to the other side of the area they were in they heard the sounds of an annoyed Necromorph, like they had when they first rode the lift to the side they were leaving, and wondered what sort of creature it was coming from... while at the same time seeing a slasher charge up the ramp towards the first refueling station, meaning that enemies were waiting for them.

Chrysalis and Isaac moved the moment they reached the other side of the area, where they kept their weapons at the ready as they walked up the ramp and headed towards the door they had discovered a few minutes ago, while at the same time not finding any enemies along the way. When they reached the top of the ramp Isaac opened the door and they found themselves on the walkway outside the glass area the first audio log had been resting in, though while they walked Chrysalis spotted an infector walking around the floor as it made it's way towards the corpse she and Isaac had left behind. The instant the infector focused on the corpse Chrysalis opened the door leading back into the room, where she and Isaac opened fire on the Necromorph and the slasher that it created, dismembering the two of them before either of them could hurt them.

Once that deed was done Isaac approached the store terminal and input the new schematics he and Chrysalis had discovered, adding them to their growing list of items they could purchase from the store if they needed supplies, while at the same time Chrysalis stood guard and made sure that they were left alone... though while Isaac worked she noticed that they could buy Power Nodes, but thought it best to save their credits for something further down the line.

The moment Isaac was done with the store they headed across the room, to the opposite side of where the first door they walked through was located, where they entered the lift that was supposed to take them down to the location of the centrifuge and what they needed to fix. The two of them remained silent for a few seconds as they rode down to the hallway they would have to walk thought, though when they came to a stop and the door opened they found that there was a sign stating that they would have to go through a decontamination chamber before they reached the centrifuge. Isaac and Chrysalis glanced at each other for a moment, as they knew that Necromorphs were likely going to attack them when they entered the chamber, to which they raised their weapons once more as they made their way into the area around the chamber and collected all the supplies they could find, along with another audio log from Temple which told them about the problems with centrifuge.

A few moments later they headed into the decontamination chamber and stood in the middle near the table, where they braced themselves for what was coming next... to which Isaac touched the terminal and activated the sequence, which caused the lights to dim and the doors to lock as the voice told them that the sequence was starting.

The two of them stood where they were standing as the decontamination chamber went about it's business, sealing them in while 'cleansing' them of anything that was harmful to the centrifuge, though at the same time they watched two slashers attack the window opposite of where they were standing. A few seconds later the two Necromorphs busted into a vent and climbed into it, to which Isaac and Chrysalis prepared themselves as they waited for their enemies to appear, where one slasher burst out of the vent to the left of the chamber's exit and the other did the same thing with the vent on the exit's right. Isaac loosed a Stasis blast on his chosen opponent and started to dismember it, while at the same time Chrysalis charged her magic and loosed a paralysis spell that accomplished the same thing, allowing her to dismember the slasher she had been targeting... before she and Isaac noticed a leaper pull itself into the chamber, where they joined forces and tore the Necromorph apart.

A few moments after the leaper was taken care of the decontamination chamber finished the sequence it was going through and thanked them for their patience, where the lights returned to normal, the bracers on the windows retracted, and the doors unlocked... to which they walked through the door on the other side of the room and continued along the hallway they were in.

Chrysalis discovered, after walking through the door near the decontamination chamber's door, that she and Isaac had walked into a circular hallway of some kind, though instead of heading to the right immediately, like Isaac said they should do, the two of them headed to the left to see if there were any supplies for them to take. What they found, however, was some sort of gross growth that had completely blocked up a door, though fortunately neither of them had to get really close to it as they collected the credits on the floor and picked up a Power Node from the box on the wall. With those items in hand the two of them turned around and headed back the way they came, though when they reached the door they had walked through they kept going... where they found another large hole in the metal hallway, which concerned Chrysalis more than she was willing to admit, before Isaac found a semiconductor that he told Chrysalis they could sell for credits when they got back to the store.

From there they had to pass through two large circular doors before they could reach the centrifuge, where Chrysalis got her first glance at the massive structure that was the centrifuge, which was capable of making sure that the Ishimura didn't fall to the planet below them. The area around the mechanical device was trapped in zero-g, meaning that they would likely have to jump around a few times, while at the same time Chrysalis spotted some moveable pieces that would allow them to power the centrifuge. They moved to the left of where they were standing, allowing Chrysalis some time to study the devices in front of them, but before they could do anything a leaper landed on the walkway behind them, to which she opened fire on the creature and tore it apart. Isaac, on the other hand, used a Stasis blast to slow down the spinning part of the generator Chrysalis had been staring at and then used the Kinesis module to move it into place, while his companion blasted another Necromorph that was trying to attack them.

When he attached the generator the computerized voice declared that the module had been attached, to which he and Chrysalis jumped to the ceiling above where the second generator was before dropping back down to the walkway below them... where Isaac carefully realigned the generator once more while Chrysalis covered him with her weapons and magic, freezing and blasting whatever Necromorphs tried to attack them.

The moment Isaac was done with connecting the second generator module, which the system confirmed, he returned to Chrysalis and activated the terminal, which opened the majority of the floor opened and revealed the vacuum of space, where they had to rely on their air supply as they rode the elevator down to the level below them. They waited for the spinning part of the centrifuge to pass by where they were standing, as it started spinning, before moving along the path in front of them. As they walked both of them ducked into a side corridor where they dealt with another slasher, though as they waited for the centrifuge to pass by them their RIG link activated once more, indicating that Hammond had something to tell them as they continued moving.

"You two are doing great," Hammond said, though at the same time Isaac and Chrysalis ducked into another side area and used the air dispenser to replenish what they had spent so far, while Chrysalis determined that increasing the capabilities of her RIG was next on her list, "Centrifuge and gyros are both a hundred percent and stabilized. Now get out of there and focus on the engine. I don't know how much time we have left."

As Isaac and Chrysalis listened to Hammond they watched as a Necromorph walked out of where the lift up to the walkway above them was located, but before either of them could fire a single bullet the centrifuge crushed the creature, allowing them to access the lift without having to fight... where they walked through the large circular door and entered an area where they could breathe again. When they walked through the second door, after getting some air back into their lungs, a large tentacle like arm appeared from around the corner and reached for them, where it latched onto Chrysalis' leg and knocked her to the ground. She had no idea what sort of creature this was, but at the same time she didn't want to know as Isaac opened fire on the large yellow orb shaped muscle that he spotted, while she leveled her rifle with the orb and blasted it with a good number of rounds... though she had to stop a few times before obliterating the orb and causing the creature to let go of her before it retreated into the hole it came from.

When Isaac caught up to Chrysalis, however, he noticed that she seemed nervous and validated in her opinion that she and Isaac needed to be cautious around these holes.

"I have no idea what sort of creature that was, but I don't like it," Chrysalis said, though at the same time she shivered as she continued walking forward, leaving Isaac to walk with her and listen to her, "and I promise you that if we ever find whatever creature that was, I'm going to do everything in my power to obliterate it."

Isaac knew that Chrysalis didn't like the experience with that tentacle, and he knew that he wouldn't have liked it if he was in her position, but he had the feeling that, in some manner, she would fulfill this promise before she departed from the Ishimura. At the same time, however, they retraced their steps to the decontamination chamber, which had been broken after they used it apparently, and walked out the other side, where they dismembered the sole slasher that was waiting for them near the door to the lift. When they entered the lift Isaac activated the terminal and they started moving back towards the first room they walked into when they reached this deck, though at the same time they got something that they weren't expecting... a communication link between them and Kendra.

"Isaac? Chrysalis? Can you hear me?" Kendra said, though at the same time a video link appeared in front of them, to which Chrysalis was actually happy to see that her roommate was alive, since that was what they had been on the Kellion before it blew up, "It's Kendra... They attacked me... I ran for it... and Hammond just... he just disappeared."

"Kendra!" Hammond exclaimed, though the image didn't shift at all, indicating that he was simply speaking to them like had had done for the majority of the time he had spoken to them, "Where are you?"

"Nice to see that you're alive and well Hammond," Kendra stated, where Chrysalis determined that something had happened between the two that she and Isaac weren't fully aware of, but she kept her mouth shut and listened to what they had to say to her and Isaac, "I've barricaded myself in the computer core. I can hear them outside, but I don't think they know I'm in here... Anyway, I can log into everything from here. I hacked the root, and found some reports from the colony. Even before they cracked the planet the colonists were experiencing widespread dementia. It seems to be related to some artifact they found on the planet, something called 'the Marker'. I'll keep looking, but in the meantime I'm going to unlock the door to Fuel Storage... you can get to the engine chamber from there."

Chrysalis smiled as the connection terminated, because now that Kendra was back on their side, and could log into whatever she wanted, their chances of actually geting off the Ishimura were much greater than they had been mere minutes ago... to which she and Isaac agreed to take a short break before they continued. Neither of them wanted to run out of energy while they were fighting for their lives, and they were sure that the fight would only get harder from this point forward.