He was right. When dealing with something as lethal as the amount of radiation that flooded the room, even one second was too large an increment to deal with. And that was based on the assumption that the suits they wore were in top shape.
Given how long they had languished in the Beast from when Tinker had acquired them, it wasn’t the safest assumption to make.
"Couldn't you take us across there, Mini?" she asked. "It would take a while, but we would be more isolated from the heat inside the Minato."
"I could take one person," Mini pointed out. "But the weight of the mech would be too much for the walkway. I would have to be the last one across to avoid risking the lives of the rest."
Jessica13 scowled and shook her head. "One at a time, then. And eight seconds. Every one of you keep that in mind. I'll go across first."
"Is that wise?" Robert7 asked.
She shrugged. Heading through a room flooded with radiation probably wasn't wise, to begin with. It would be better if she went across first and into the isolation chamber on the other side to make sure everything was working correctly. "You decide who goes across in the Minato and we'll keep moving. Good luck."
"And to you," Mini replied.
Robert7 could only offer a small nod as she stepped into the isolation room between the control room and the chamber. The design for the main area was older, intended for the larger fission reactors that were used to power cities back in the day. It explained why it was in such a poor condition. They had built the bunker around it, which caused cracks in the foundation and from that point, it had only been a matter of time. Over a hundred years, small cracks had grown larger and leaked the coolant fluid to the point where the erosion simply gained momentum.
Her calculations said that a terminal meltdown would probably happen if no action was taken, but only in about twenty years if no efforts were made to stop it.
Maybe if they weren't successful, she would go ahead and warn someone about the impending disaster anyway to make sure innocent lives weren't lost.
She took a deep breath, peered into the open area, and tried to determine the quickest path across the walkway through the steam before she pulled the door open.
The heat struck her like a wave and immediately fogged her visor. Even so, with her route through already plotted, she summoned the courage to sprint forward. The steam made everything farther than two meters almost impossible to make out, but at only five meters in, she could see the room she needed to reach.
Sweat streamed from her skin and pooled inside the suit as she yanked the door open and shut it again hastily. The sudden change in temperature was drastic as the room instantly went through the decontamination protocols.
She'd made it somehow. It seemed almost impossible for something to go right at this point.
"Mini, I'm across," she said over the commlink. "Send the next one."
All she could hear on the other side was static for a few seconds before a couple of words came through. "Robert7…coming…"
The radiation would be hell on their comm lines, but the idea was transferred well enough. A few seconds later, Robert7 raced across the walkway, almost ran into the door, and scrambled into the isolation chamber.
He looked as shaken by the experience as she was, but it wasn't time to celebrate yet. They focused on the next one to come across and he traversed the distance as quickly as he could.
Her stomach clenched painfully when he tripped and stumbled forward, his arms flailing as he tried to regain his balance while he covered the final few feet to the door.
Jessica13 stepped into the isolation chamber, shoved the door open, and grimaced when the heat swept over her. She hauled the man inside and closed the door behind him.
"Th-thank you!" he gasped as the decontamination kicked in.
"Don't mention it," she replied and tried not to show her reaction to seeing him trip. They moved out of the small space and Robert7 signaled for the next one to come through.
Another dash followed and this man seemed steadier on his feet than the last one. The team followed one by one, and she was almost ready to explode with tension as they reached safety without mishap.
The third to last stepped out and broke into a sprint. He stopped abruptly and twisted to see what had caught him and now prevented him from moving forward. Jessica13 leaned to pull at the door.
"No!" Robert7 snapped, caught her hand, and dragged it away. "He's…he's already dead."
She looked up, her eyes wide. The man’s suit had snagged on a protruding piece of the walkway that had begun to fall. The constant traffic of each person crossing had put additional pressure on its eroded mooring on the wall and it had gradually worked loose. He dropped to his knees and raised his hands to his face.
The suit was torn and the radiation would be swamping his body. It might take a few hours, but he was already dead.
The rest of the team crossed quickly and Mini brought up the rear. Jessica13 tensed when the walkway shuddered under the weight of the mech, but it moved quickly. The AI already had the grappler ready to use if the walkway fell and he paused to help the compromised man from his knees and all but carried him the final distance.
Thankfully, the structure held, and it wasn’t long before the two stood in the isolation room being decontaminated.
The man had already begun to show the effects of the radiation sickness. He removed his helmet and immediately threw up as he walked out of the room. His skin was clammy and pale and he shook uncontrollably.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered as he moved past her.
"Speak no more of it," he whispered, and while
