Wow.
You guys don't waste time with replies. Thanks for the help, I guess it is back to port for a refit for me then.
I just lost my CE, I sent him into the repair station - now he's dead too. I don't have enough crew left to sail home, the engine room is packed with corpses and I can't re-assign them zombie-style.
I'll have to restart the mission over, I hate to lose a promising career to a glitch, yet I also hate to forgo over three weeks and 60,000 tons of hard-fought battles.
Time for a little experiment in 'how deep will this thing go before it pops' and a restart.