Before anyone could think to turn it off in good taste, a vid screen showed the results of the rupture.

The monitoring unit one deck up and nearly 4oo meters forward still managed to capture the scene with disturbing clarity. The faint outline of the rapidly expanding vapor cloud filled the screen then disappeared off the edges. You could watch a few techs dart their eyes to the next screen as if the thin white line would appear there next. Or maybe they were just avoiding the center of the primary display.

Three crates, a barrel, several bits of pipe, meters of wiring, and assorted scrap took curving courses away from the point of breakage, whipping back as the forward momentum of the ship continued. That, of course, wasn’t the worst of it.

Klaxons or none, the bridge sat heavy with a moment of silence for the seven twisting crew members amongst the rapidly exiting wreckage. They’d borne the risk of space travel and seen the cold face of the universe.

A new alarm sounded, ending the shared moment.