Free Code Black by Philip S. Donlay Page B

Bus. DC Bus. One says UNSW, the other says SW,” Audrey called out after a quick search. “You want me to keep going?”
    Donovan guessed she had found some of the more important ones. Thirty-amp breakers served the larger systems. The other letters probably stood for switched and un-switched, but he wasn’t sure what the significance was. “John, what does that mean?”
    “Uh, hang on a second.” John paused for a moment as he thought. “If those are out, the power from the generators isn’t getting to the main bus. We need to push all of those in.”
    “Not yet, Audrey,” Donovan warned. “I don’t think we can just start resetting breakers. We have so much damage we could easily start a fire.”
    “Generator Bus one.” John looked at Donovan as if suddenly remembering. “We need to reset it; that’s the one we want.”
    “Audrey, can you find that one? It’s probably marked GEN BUS 1.” It made sense. Donovan felt encouraged by John’s small, yet significant recovery.
    It took her a moment to read the small labels. “I found it. Yes, it’s out.”
    John pulled himself upright; he clamped his jaw tightly at the pain, but only for a second. He released the air slowly from between his teeth. “Donovan. Over on your side should be the emergency checklist. Let me have a look at that before we do anything rash.” He pressed his eyes shut again.
    Donovan found the manual John wanted and passed it over to him. In doing so, Donovan couldn’t help but notice how much John’s hand was trembling.
    “I’m sure that’s the one we need to reset,” John said emphatically, as he quickly flipped through the pages of the checklist.
    Donovan was relieved that John had actually made a decision, though whether or not it was the right one remained to be seen. “Okay. I’m with you on this. Let’s give it a try.”
    John looked up from the checklist, shrugged, and put it aside. “That’s got to be it—that breaker is as good a place to start as any. To be real honest, the checklist doesn’t really cover midair collisions.”
    Donovan grinned inwardly at John’s comment, more because it showed the man was regaining his faculties than for the humor. “I think we have to give it a try. We can’t do anything with what we have now. But I’ll tell you, the overhead panel really worries me. It’s already shifted once from the turbulence. There’s so much damage, I’m worried about a fire. I’d say a major short is a very real possibility. It’s probably why all those breakers popped in the first place.”
    “If that’s the case, they should just pop out again,” John explained. “Then at least we’ll know.”
    Donovan nodded. “Okay, let’s give it a try. But as an extra precaution, I think we should have a fire extinguisher handy before we do this.”
    “There’s one right here,” Audrey said, and pointed. “Hang on, I’ll pull it out.”
    “Perfect. Set it right up here and either one of us can grab for it if we need to.” Donovan looked at John. “I’m ready whenever you are, captain. Audrey, are you set?” Adrenaline rush through Donovan’s body, perking his senses; if this worked, they were moments away from having functioning instruments.
    “Just tell me what you want me to do,” Audrey said, her eagerness accompanied by uncertainty.
    “On my mark, just push in the breaker,” John replied. “But don’t lose sight of it; we may need to pull it out again in a hurry. Everyone ready?” John paused for a moment. “Push it in, Audrey, and then take your hand away and watch for flames or any other breakers to pop.”
    “It’s in.” Audrey did as she was instructed.
    “I don’t see anything happening,” John said quickly. “Are you sure it’s in?”
    “Oh my God! We’re on fire!” Audrey screamed and pointed up above them.
    “Pull the breaker out!” Donovan reached for his oxygen mask. Dense white smoke began to pour out of the overhead panel. He knew that breathing even a