*Action* - "Disposable starships" pt2

Jay wished Phil were here, but he had opted for an extended holiday
on Titan. Something about making sure the midget didn't discover the
lost valley of the nudist amazonion badminton players.
"Are we sure there's no humans on there?" Jay asked. This was the
last time to check.
"I just scanned for life-forms. I can scan everywhere apart from an
area 10 meters away from the ships' main reactor. So if anyone is
standing there I wouldn't see them."
"Also if they were standing there they'd be dead." Jay
admitted. "Okay, can't be too careful. Everything on that ship is
going to get fried very soon."
The massive Blue Dwarf flew slowly into the large metal structure.
Mechanical components moved around, scanning the ship, scanning on
many different frequencies.
Then the real scan started. Two large florescent tubes slowly spun
around the entire ship bombarding the craft with radiation deadly to
any kind of life form.
The overgrown arboretum sank into ashes, as did every other plant
left onboard. The rats in the ventilation ducts were vaporised, as
well as any other pets. The kebab shop on the Promenade still had a
few supplies left, which all turned to inedible dust. Everything,
down the the bacteria in the toilets and the mold growing in the
sewage reclamation area were turned to dust.
It took a full 5 minutes for the scan to complete. Jay and the bridge
crew of the SCV Dauntless watched in anticipation. Their viewscreen
was on maximum magnification so they could get a good view from afar.
Jay half expected the Blue Dwarf to be smouldering after the scan, it
was like the ship was inside a huge microwave. The Blue Dwarf pulsed
and rippled. Jay held his breath, wondering if the Krylons had
detected that the ship wasn't one of theirs afterall and were
destroying it.
It rippled again and dissapeared.
"What happened?" Asked Jay. "Did it explode?"
"No... "said a bewildered science officer. "There's no wreckage. It
must have gone through."
There was a cheer from the Drive room. It took Jay by surprise that
the crew actually cared about the mission. But he wouldn't have long
to get used to it.
"We've been spotted!" Shouted Kara.
A stream of oddly mechanical-looking Krylon ships were heading
towards them, originating from a battleship that seemed to have
noticed them while it was approaching the firewall.
**Four hours later**
Jay Chrysler ran around the wreckage of the SCV Dauntless, hunting
for survivors. The ship lay in several charred pieces across the
landscape. The battle with the Krylons had forced them to retreat
away from the firewall, where they had been forced into a planet's
gravity.
More than half of the crew were dead, and Jay rounded up the
survivors. Some of them he knew from the Blue Dwarf. One of them
handed him a psi-scanner.
"Sir, I found this in the rubble. It seems to have survived the
crash."
Jay brought up the terrain map on the portable device and scanned the
area.
"We don't have any radio or communication equipment, so we have to
look for a communication... oh what's this?" Jay held the device
higher. "There's some long-range platforms three miles in that
direction." He told the crew. "It looks look like Mollopod
technology."
The crew looked at each other, they didn't fancy being eaten as a
quick snack by fat slugs.
"Looks like our only way off this planet." Jay said, and lead the way.
The only problem was the five hundred Krylon attack robots blocking
the way.
<Tag!> I have no plans for the ending of this, so this story can
take as many twists and turns as you like. I have included a few
things:
-Was there anyone on the Blue Dwarf near the reactor? Would they get
out in time?
-Only humans would have been killed, robots or holograms would get
through the firewall unscathed. Maybe you can describe what the "root
directory" is like? Would the Krylons try to convert you to join
their army?
-Do Jay's crew need to fight the Krylons, or can they sneak past
them?
-What do Krylons really look like? Are there different types?
-What does the planet look like? Dessert? Ice? Forest? Other?
-I have not forced any particular people onto the Dauntless because
I'm planning a separate Action post for later on that others can be
involved in.
-How will we get the BD back?