Emerging victorious, Ridge, now slightly panting and exhausted, turned to the others. The first to speak was the man who helped him over the fortifications.
"Vice commander, do you know what's going on?" he asked, to which Ridge could only reply, "I don't know; I only managed to find you guys after restoring power to the ship, though I don't know how long that will last us. What's your name?"
"Peter, sir, I am a machine operator carrying large cargo onto some of the smaller transports within the ship, an engineer basically," he replied.
Nodding to Peter, he thanked him once again and then moved over to the recognizable female who had called out to him when he first encountered them, "Caroline, it seems you guys managed to survive whatever happened to these guys. I don't imagine you would know what happened, but did you at least see anything?"
"No, the ship simply started shaking, and then the power went out. Following this commotion, I took initiative and gathered some of the ship's soldiers, but as you can see, the other infected members had managed to wear us down to our current eleven. As for the infected, they just sort of showed up when we were looking for other crew members. We don't know if anyone, including the commander, is still alive," she replied extensively.
"Understood, we'll take a moment here to catch our breaths, make sure to keep an eye out for things we can use as a weapon. I imagine it'll be necessary. Also, you were one of the engineers assigned to the engine room, correct?"
"Yes, sir, I also served as the captain of a small security squad, hence why I was able to gather a few of the soldiers," she gestured with her hand showing six male soldiers now resting, "As you know, my main job is lead engineer, so I was also able to round up some engineers before things became too chaotic."
"I checked out the engine room not too long ago, before ending up here, and found that there didn't seem to be too much damage. However, the power did go out for a while, so I'll need you and your team to check it out once more, especially since I'm not as knowledgeable," Ridge replied.
"Of course, it should be our first destination before trying to rescue anyone else; otherwise," she slightly chuckled while answering, " I imagine we will all die in space, regardless of any actions we take."
"Well, that's certainly an option. I'll take two others with me while the rest of you go to the engine room and make your diagnosis of any potential damage. Let's rendezvous there as well. Oh, and on your way to the engine room, make sure to pick up any supplies, including food, equipment, etc."
"Yes, sir," Caroline replied while saluting and then immediately busied herself with directing the small group to rest up for a minute, then depart for the engine room.
Ridge took two soldiers named George and Falley, leading them away from the group, eventually leading them to a passage that had not been explored post-attack.
"Okay, let's just take it slow and scour through every room we pass for survivors and supplies. I don't know the extent of the damage; hopefully we get lucky with both." Ridge said aloud to the two men, who nodded in response, so they began their sweep.
Within this battleship, each hallway was essentially filled with doors that held supplies for the crew's journey and also cabins where the crew themselves stayed. The only place that was home to many and not just one person was the soldiers' dorm. Naturally, wider rooms like the cafeteria and cargo rooms were the exceptions, though nobody actually lived in either.
Caroline had previously mentioned that she had gathered some soldiers, but from what Ridge saw, there weren't any real weapons being put to use. With the ship's total crew maintained at 100 at all times, around 40 were soldiers, so there should be an abundance of weapons that guaranteed the survival of some; of course, in terms of scavenging, this meant that there should be at least a few lying around that they could find and use.
Even with such a dense amount of weapons, there wasn't a final percentage that could be given to indicate the remaining survivors either; the attack itself was an ambush in the very sense of the word, so even the most trained soldiers could be killed before they even shot a single round. This set Ridge's expectations low, even if he wanted to hold on to hope that many more survived.
The results so far, while walking down the hallway and sweeping the rooms, were disappointing, and while one of the soldiers did find a pack filled with supplies, there was nothing else, including the person the pack belonged to, nor any device that could help locate them.
Sighing, Ridge gestured to the other two, and they continued their search.
As they walked, there would be an occasional flicker from the lights above, which made noise now and then, but for the most part, it was completely silent, creating an eerie atmosphere as they kept an eye out; even with the ship's size, it had never been this quiet before.
Luckily, it didn't take long for them to reach the section of the ship that held the soldiers' dorm as well as the main cargo rooms.
With fewer doors and larger spaces behind said doors, the search would still take some time, but the risk of an incident greatly decreased.
It was good that they made it to the dormitory of the section so easily, but that ease also created a sense of despair within Ridge.
There was little to no noise in regards to surivors so far, and if they encountered no one while they were exploring the rest of the ship, then that meant they were either dead and gone or hiding somewhere like the soldiers' dorm or the bridge of the ship. With 78 estimated survivors, though, there would be some trace on the ground on the way to the dorms considering the amount of debris and junk now in the way.
While contemplating this issue, the small group of three finally arrived at the final hallway leading to the dorms.
Just before they turned the corner, though, Ridge turned to the other two and whispered, "George, Falley, make sure you're ready for a fight. There hasn't been any noise so far, but just in case there are infected around here, prepare yourself."
When both men nodded, Ridge gripped the piece of debris he kept from when he found the small group and turned the corner quickly, preparing to face anything.