Andrew Howe was overwhelmed by the wealth of resources available to him within the rusting hulk of the Icarus. He hoped that he could use some of the information he had learned and some of the materials he could salvage to build an escape vehicle.Trapped within the wreckage of the Icarus, he knew, were at least six escape pods. He could probably scrounge enough parts from their remnants to build a space-proof capsule; the trick would be to get it off Abandon's hostile surface.
And, Howe knew, he would have to bring some passengers with him on his next voyage.A careful review of the surviving logs from the main computer of the Icarus had revealed that the crew of the vessel had set up a chamber two hundred meters from his bunker as a suspension pod. With luck, the five of them would still be there awaiting revival. But if their second bunker -- Andrew now considered his base to be constructed by the survivors of Icarus -- suffered from the same level of decay as the first, he doubted if he would find them alive.He decided instead to let them rest where they were until he could discover a way off the planet.
After his initial assessment of the materials available from the wreck of the Icarus, Howe commenced another salvage effort. He began by pulling a gravity generator from the deck to use as a cart to haul loads from the Icarus to the bunker.Reversing its field to repulse the mass of the planet was relatively simple. Setting a metal plate on top and welding it in place, then attaching a power supply to the contraption, Andrew had a workable float to carry his burdens between hulk and cliff.
Howe sliced the skin of the Icarus with his forceblade; he did not try to be delicate at first, knowing the double bulkhead would be far thicker than the blade was long. The hull, hardened against precisely this kind of intrusion, was difficult to cut.Extricating the pods would be difficult.
When Howe had cut through the first layer of intervening metal he rested a moment.Prying the sheet loose from its welds would be a challenge.
Howe retrieves the cryogenic capsules from near the bunker and installs them in the escape pod.