Rust Bucket (16 page)

      The surgeon took a look at Kyle's wounds and took him to the sick bay where the surgeon treated him with more medicines and re-bandaged him. Shirley took the recorder, plugged it into the computer, and started analyzing the images. I joined her a few minutes later, along with the rest of my officers.

      "Well, so far, I've figured out that their communications are in shambles. It's right here in this image," said Shirley.

      "That's a plus for us. That means they can't call in reinforcements to help them or to finish us off," I remarked. "What else have you spotted so far?"

      "From the looks of it, they're in worse shape, but they've got more . . . manpower? I'll use that term for now. Anyway, they're working faster than we are. This could be a real drag race to see who gets off the planet first," Shirley replied.

      "Looks like their weapons are half-gone," said Lieutenant Grade. "If we get off first, they're not going to be able to oppose us."

      "Yes, but they only need one heavy weapon if they get off the planet first," I reminded him.

      "I know," he said.

      "Their sensors are shot to hell and back," replied Lieutenant Mike Andor. "Look at what they're using to cover the ship with."

      "Do you think that their space sensors are just as bad off?" I asked.

      He said, "Absolutely. See that opening into the ship. Zoom in on that opening, Shirley. Thanks. See! The whole panel is off as I thought. The circuit boards are in pieces. They've jury-rigged what they've got out so far. In fact, those sensors might not even work."

      "You mean we did all that skulking for nothing?" asked Shirley.

      "Probably," replied Mike.

      "Okay, what else can we see about their condition?" I asked although I was seeing much of what they were. I wanted to be sure that they were contributing and gaining more confidence. Besides, I might have missed something.

      Mike added, "I don't think they can bombard us from the atmosphere or space. They're not going to be able to target us. Maybe if they come over real low so that their gunners can aim manually, but then they're going to be in easy range for us to return fire. I'd suggest that we man one or both of the Mark III quads in the front of the ship."

      I said, "Okay, Mason, go ahead and put gunners on the two Mark III quads as well. The scaffolding is up now and repairs are proceeding decently from what I could see when we got here. You all did a pretty fair amount of work while we were gone. Remember to pass on these remarks to your people. They'll appreciate hearing them and they'll work better. I trust that we've got everyone working?"

      "Yes," replied Lieutenant Mason Grade. "The two injured people are working as gunners on the Mark II singles part of the time and fetching tools the other part."

      I remarked, "Good! Don't give them any time to feel sorry for themselves. Okay, you all know your jobs and you're doing them well. Keep it up. Anyone who wants to look at the images some more is welcome to. If you have any more comments, let me know." I left them and went out to check on the crew and see that everyone was in good spirits and condition. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my officers had performed exactly as I wished them to do in my absence. I expected a few minor problems and omissions or other mistakes. There weren't any. They had earned completely the praise I gave them. I also took advantage of much of the remaining daylight to take another look at the completed work.

      The scaffolding was completely in place. Most of the water tanks were sealed or nearly so. We still had to get more water into them, but what was left in them wasn't leaking out any longer. The hydroponics were recovering from the near fatal loss of water. I could see that we would be able to continue our mission if we could get the rest of the repairs completed. The only thing that worried me was the condition of the beams that made up part of the backbone of the ship. They needed to be reinforced somehow and there was little material to do it with. Those beams could give way when we tried to launch or land if we successfully launched without cracking up. It was definitely a miracle that we managed to land in our condition.

      The scaffolding was taking off a lot of the pressure on those beams. I shuddered to think what might happen when the scaffolding was removed just before launch. The sudden shifting of weight might be enough to make those beams give right then and our work would have all been for nothing. That didn't even begin to approach the problems we might encounter when we started working on the steering and engines. They would have to be fixed so that they wouldn't be the cause of a major structural failure as well.

      I was about to go into the ship to take a shower, my first in weeks, when I remembered that we couldn't take any showers until all the water tanks were completely sealed and refilled. I spotted my First Officer, Lieutenant Majel Remm, and walked over to her. "What are we doing for showers? Is the lake safe for bathing?" I asked.

      "Yes. We keep guards handy for bathing. I was just going over there myself. Care to join me?" she asked.

      "I guess so. We'll be in sight of the ship," I replied.

      "The guards have short range radios. We're also covered by one of the Mark II singles. It's really quite the way to end the day," she added.

      We walked together to where I finally noticed that several of our crew were already gathering and starting to undress to bathe.

      "Has anything dangerous been spotted in the water?" I asked, remembering my experience with the electrical creature.

      She said, "Not a thing. The water's crystal clear. The guards have a clear visual area far beyond where we swim and bathe. We haven't been taking any chances. Anything comes near, we get out of the water. So far, only small fish and crustaceans have been in the water where we go. Most of them scurry away from us."

      I replied, "That's good. I'd hate to think that we were letting our guard down at the wrong moment. You did an excellent job, Majel. If we get back and I'm not convicted of anything, I'll be glad to put a letter of commendation into your personnel record. I hope you get your own command soon."

      She said, "Thank you. I think I've learned more with you than I did in four years at the Academy. I hope that they don't convict you. You seem to be the only one who knows what to do and when to do it."

      We reached the edge of the water. Like Majel said, there were guards covering the area, plus we were in sight of one of the Mark II singles and the now manned Mark III quad. We both undressed and entered the water, leaving our clothing and shoulder packs on the shore near one of the guards.

      The water was delightful, especially after almost two weeks without a shower or bath. Along the way to the enemy ship, we found small streams to refill our canteens from, but nothing suitable for washing more than our hands and faces. The lake, on the other hand, was deep enough not only for bathing, but for serious swimming and diving. As well, it was crystal clear, much like the condition most of the rivers and lakes on Earth had been restored to.

***

At least in the last couple hundred years, our people had done serious reclamation work on the rivers and lakes of Earth. Part of it was accomplished by recycling everything, including the particulate matter from smokestacks and run offs. A lot of effort was put into creating products using those previously discarded wastes and the environment started to improve naturally on its own.

      Part of it was also influenced by strong laws that people put in place to make industries comply with those efforts. Industries were required to have their Chief Executive Officers and other high up officers live at or on the sites where their factories were located, usually downwind or downstream. Having themselves and their families among the first to be exposed to any harmful effects from the discharges went a long way towards making them take immediate and drastic action to reduce the discharges and come up with products that used the discharges. Because of that effort, there were lots of people proud and happy to live near industrial sites if only because those sites were among the safest and cleanest on Earth. The industries benefitted greatly because of their efforts. Environmentalists quit opposing them when they wanted to build new plants at new locations because of the cleaner air and water the plants discharged into the environment.

      It created more jobs as an environmental industry grew up and prospered. It provided only the finest equipment to factories, and eventually to small businesses and homes, for keeping the environment clean. With its development, joblessness went down to some of the lowest levels ever seen.

      Meanwhile, accumulated knowledge concerning ecological balance was applied to each discovered planet. There was no spoilage, to speak of, to their natural environments. Now, man came and retained the natural beauty of each planet, except where cities were built. Even then the discharges from those were carefully regulated and cleaned. Of course, people hadn't solved all the problems. We still didn't treat ourselves better at times, but that was usually an individual choice and not the result of unfair laws.

***

I went into the water with the grace and ease I picked up in the Academy. It wasn't enough to be able to move through the countryside silently and skillfully. One had to know how to do the same in the water. That was also taught at the Academy during the first half-year. A cadet had to be able to approach a goal either way, as silently and quickly as possible. The academy had good instructors who taught the necessary skills for doing those things. Each of the instructors had been to other worlds. Some had been in the very situations they taught the cadets to handle. The Sarge was one of those instructors and, for some unknown reason, he and I had become more than just instructor and student. He was more like a personal mentor and friend. Each time I found myself doing some of these things, I could visualize him telling and showing me how to do what he was instructing. Now most of those actions came naturally to me. I practiced them even when it wasn't necessary.

      I still remember the exercise when we had to wear small metal jingly bells and sneak up on our goal without being heard or seen. It was one of the hardest exercises we ever faced even though it was one of the simplest. More than a few cadets spent time retaking that exercise in order to do it right. I had to go through it twice to pass. Others had to go through it as many as five times to pass. But, now I could walk around with a pocketful of metal objects and there wouldn't be the slightest sound coming from me.

      In later courses, some of us reminded ourselves about sound and light discipline by putting one of those jingly bells next to the communications microphone and light switches. Of course, some cadet graduates, from what I had seen thus far in the Navy, hadn't learned the lessons of maintaining sound and light discipline at the proper times.

      I swam about enjoying the water for almost an hour and then picked up my clothing and shoulder pack to walk back to the ship where I could put on my other change of clothes as others were already doing. As Captain, I no longer had to do my own laundry, but I still did it myself most of the time. To me, it was only appropriate to allow it to be done for me when I was extremely busy. If I had time, I would do it myself, if only because it helped me to rub shoulders with the rest of the crew and remain aware of what their concerns were.

      Majel caught up to me a moment later, also carrying her clothing and shoulder pack in her hands. "I can do your clothing for you with mine."

      "Oh, I don't mind doing my own. It keeps me in touch with reality," I replied.

      She said, "Okay, but if you change your mind, just let me know. It's really no problem to throw your clothing in at the same time."

      I replied, "Thanks. I'll remember that."

      "Do you have a boy or girlfriend?" she asked suddenly.

      I was totally unprepared for the change in topic. I looked at her for a moment to see if I could discern any reason in her face for her question. I couldn't see anything about her that might be a tipoff as to her reason for inquiring. I answered, "Not really. I've gone on a few dates in the last few years just before the war, but nothing since. I guess I've been more concerned with putting my career together. Any particular reason for your question?"

      She answered, "Just curiosity. You seem to be awfully involved with what you're doing. I wondered if you had a personal life and how you handled it for my own educational benefit. I was hoping to get some advice from you on how to keep the two separate. Since I hadn't seen any pictures of anyone in your cabin, I knew that I'd have to ask."

      I replied, "Well, there's no one right now in my personal life. It's not that I haven't met anyone whom I would like to have a long term commitment with, but that I've been dedicating myself to getting started. After all, I'm still young and ninety is still a long way off before I have to retire. So, I guess I'm not the one who can give you that kind of advice. You have someone in mind?"

      She said, "Not yet, but it's been something that I thought I should start thinking about. Either I'm going to make a career in the Navy or get married or something. Of course, I might decide to do several things. I just wondered if you had any knowledge of the pitfalls to avoid."

      I replied, "Absolutely nothing more than what they said at the Academy during the first year. Keep your relationships friendly and loosely held so that each person has enough freedom to expand."