Space Rescue One (17 page)

      "His failure?" asked Chief Dickson.

      "Yes, Richard talked in his sleep last night. I overheard him. Richard believes their deaths were his fault because he failed to save them all. I also talked with Damon Anderson, the bartender. Richard let slip some details to Damon that Damon told me about in confidence. I'm still not sure why Damon chose to tell me, though."

      "I'm just glad Damon told someone on the team. At last we know what we're up against."

      "I know what we're up against, but how do we lead Richard back to sanity?" Shelly asked.

      "You think he's insane?" Isaac asked.

      "No, but he's closing in on it fast. We've got to help him before he goes mad. I'm going to tell Damon what I know so he can help. Richard trusts him. I'm going to trust Damon, too."

      "Okay, I'll go along with that. We better talk to the rest of the team. They have a right to know what's going on."

      Shelly said, "Yes, shipmates are each other's survival. I intend for Richard to survive."

      "He'll hate us if we fail."

      "I know that. I still have to try."

      Isaac said, "We'll all try our best. I'm sure we will."

***

Chief Dickson said, "Guys, I've got some interesting news to tell you. As well, I need your help with what I'm going to tell you about."

      "What's that, Chief?" Alex asked.

      Isaac answered, "We know what happened to Richard to make him behave the way you know him. His real name is Richard Saberhagen. Unless you were in a coma, you ought to be aware of what he once did."

      "I was once in a coma. What did Richard do?" Tim asked.

      Alex tousled Tim's hair. "You were never in a coma."

      "Well, living with my folks on the road in the Outback was like being in one," Tim said.

      "You really don't know what Richard did once before he joined space rescue?" Chief Dickson asked.

      "Really, Chief, I don't," Tim replied.

      The Chief said, "Okay, then. I'll put the story to you in a nutshell. Eight years ago when you were probably fourteen or fifteen . . ."

      "Fifteen, Chief," Tim said.

      "Let him tell you the story. It's fabulous," Alex said.

      The Chief continued, "Richard was the First Officer on board the
Southern
Pride.
She was carrying flour. His ship had a green crew with the exception of himself, the captain, and a few bridge personnel. Most of the crew didn't know their asshole from a black hole. A few hours out from Earth, the flour overheated in one of the cargo holds near the engines. Some of it burned and some eventually exploded, ripping the ship apart. Before the ship was torn in two, Richard organized the fire party to put out the blaze. When he saw that it was useless, he ordered the crew to head for the bridge. Like I said, most of them didn't know their way around the ship. Richard led them forward keeping them together like a mother hen guarding her chicks. They were midway to the bridge when the first explosion rocked the ship. One of the structural beams parted and twisted in on the deck where Richard and the crew were. They were faced with a wall of fire pouring in at them from the deck above them. Instead of abandoning his crew, Richard lifted the beam out of the way while urging them on to safety past the fire. He suffered severe burns while pleading with his crew to head for the bridge. Four members believed him and made it past the flames he held back. One by one, the others panicked and ran back for the engine rooms thinking that the heavy shielding of the engine rooms would protect them. Richard held that beam up until he collapsed from exhaustion and his injuries. He survived only because the other survivors just barely reached him in time to drag him onto the bridge. Shortly after they dragged him to safety, the ship experienced more explosions, which broke it in two. The only survivors were those who were on the bridge. Everyone else perished."

      "Six men and two women were all that remained of the ship's crew. Richard was the senior survivor. When he regained consciousness, he went back to work instructing the others on what to do so they could continue to survive despite his injuries. It took three days for them to be found and picked up by another merchant ship. Since there wasn't a rescue service then, everything was up to the merchants, so they backed up each other in everything. You didn't survive in space without help. That was something that was drummed into every Merchant Spacemarine crew. It's one of the first things you learned before you were permitted to board a ship. Shipmates are each other's survival. Richard lived up to that code far beyond the call of duty. It wasn't his fault that he couldn't save those other crew members. Now it's up to us to live up to the code. Richard needs our help and I intend to see that he gets it. Any questions?"

      Tim asked, "He did all that? He should have received a medal for that much bravery."

      "He did get a medal. The United Nations awarded him their highest award for life saving," Shelly said.

      Chief Dickson said, "He received several awards for bravery and life saving, but those couldn't bring back the people who died. Richard saw himself as just doing his duty and living up to the code. I understand that now, I'm ashamed to admit. I saw some of his papers and awards a few moments ago with Shelly. Now I want us to work together to help him recover from the trauma he's still suffering from, regardless of how much shit Richard throws back at us. I hope you're all with Shelly and me."

      "How are we going to do this? What exactly do we have to do?" Alex asked.

      Isaac replied, "Treat Richard like a friend, even if he doesn't respond. Accept his remarks as if they weren't intended to hurt. Listen to anything he says and think twice before you respond. Don't say anything you'd be ashamed of saying to your mother if she was sick."

      "His outer wounds have healed, but his inner wounds haven't. No one thought to check for those. It's up to us to treat those wounds and complete the healing process," Shelly said.

      Moments later, the team members each gave their word as a shipmate.

***

Space Rescue One
returned to its station. Docking was routine if not boring. Moments after shutting off the thrusters and securing the access corridor to an inner hatch, a number of personnel entered the station for some relaxation after what turned out to be a minor emergency.

      On their scale of one to five, it was a five. Their scale was arranged so that no one could exaggerate the urgency of something by adding onto the scale. Level one was the highest priority threat level. For a ship emergency to deserve that rating, there had to already be a major loss of life or atmosphere from the ship. Very few ship captains wished to be involved in a level one emergency. If anything, most ship captains underestimated their level of danger in their reports.

      That hardly mattered, however, since the dispatcher at the space station was the one who assigned the real danger level to the emergency. Following systematic procedures and policies, they carefully and diligently assigned accurate danger estimates to all assignments the space rescue ships responded to. Only rarely did a rescue ship ever respond without information as to the nature of the incident.

      Those personnel not going "ashore" onto the station either relaxed at their duty stations or in lounges. Others performed necessary maintenance chores, keeping the ship in a state of constant preparedness.

      Technician Jimmy Clarke tuned into the Internet news to pick up on the latest political turmoil. If something happened, he didn't want to be surprised. Keeping at it with a hawk-like diligence, he wasn't likely to be surprised by much of what unfolded. Some of it was exactly as he predicted. With more and more information, his predictions became more accurate.

      "Jim! Aren't you going ashore?" asked Tim quite eagerly.

      Jimmy answered, "Not yet. I want to catch up on the news. My folks barely escaped alive from the food riots in New Orleans last year."

      "So? What good will it do you if you hear about another riot near them? You can't reach them in time."

      "I know that. I'm not stupid, but I want to know anyway. My father told me that a man is better off knowing about things than not."

      "But isn't it useless information?" asked Tim.

      "Not really. For one thing, the stock markets like trouble. They don't like good news," Jimmy answered.

      "Say that again. I'm not sure I heard you right. I thought stock owners liked good news."

      "Not really. Good news means you're not making progress. Bad news is what makes the stock market hum along and make money. You see, bad news presents an opportunity for a new product to come along to solve the problems that make up the bad news. No one has to invent anything new when there's only good news. For instance, when the United States landed on Mars, it represented both good news and bad news. The good news was that we could get there. The bad news was that it had no atmosphere and water to support human life. When the military began terraforming Mars, it presented lots of problems since no one did it before. That's when the military-industrial complex got into gear to create solutions. The military wound up with a mission once more that was important. Industry received hundreds, no thousands of contracts for everything from microbes to rugged land vehicles. It wasn't the quantity of those that the military ordered, but the special purpose of them that mattered. Industry almost set its own pricing for the whole deal. Consequently, it made a bundle and the stock market showed similar profits."

      "But what good is it to know about a riot?" asked Tim.

      "Same principle. The town has to be rebuilt. Some people are going to rebuild the same thing. Others are going to innovate. You evaluate the innovators and invest in the sound planners and products. Pretty soon, you won't have to worry about how much you make as a rescue technician."

      "Is that what you're doing?" asked Tim.

      "That's what my whole family does. However, I'm sure as hell not out here for the money. This is something more than that for me. This is a job I take great pride in. That's why I'm with the Chief all the way in helping Richard. Like the Chief said, I'm not going to constantly hang around Richard so that he figures out what we're doing. I'm going to just be myself and follow the rest of our plan when I have the opportunity to make a difference."

      "You're suggesting that I was going to look up Richard?"

      "Not at all. I'm simply saying that we don't have to place ourselves out of context in order to help Richard. He's not stupid."

      "And I am. Right?" asked Tim.

      "Wrong. You're simply too eager. If you go ashore, then make sure you hang out where you usually hang out. Don't let yourself stick out like a deckedout runway fashion model at a nudist farm."

      "You sure about that?" asked Tim.

      "I'm sure. Now go on and enjoy yourself. Don't go looking for Richard. All you have to do is remember how to deal with him if he happens upon you."

      "All right, I will."

      Jimmy watched Tim leave while he reached for the volume control. Something was happening judging by the news flash symbols on the news icons on the monitor. He selected one news syndicate and listened.

      "All indications are that this was a terrorist action directed against the colonists on Mars. Our reports are sketchy, but we believe the death toll to be in the dozens. No group has yet claimed responsibility . . ."

      Jimmy selected a different news icon.

      "A group calling themselves Clear Conscience is claiming responsibility for the bomb which blew up when the
African Hope
touched down on Martian soil. No one is sure if the bomb was on the ship or hidden somewhere inside the landing area. World leaders are condemning . . ."

      He selected another news station.

      "The stock market took a slight dip on hearing about the explosion that ripped apart the
African Hope
on landing. However, the dip lasted only half an hour before the stock market regained the lost ground and then some. . ."

      Jimmy switched to his personal icon. Moments later, his private chronology of events appeared. He spoke at the monitor. "Add
African Hope
destroyed, date it, and index. Display the likely time interval for the next destructive act."

      Moments later, Jimmy stared at the response. He gave it some thought, then selected the stock market icon.

***

All personnel on
Earth Station One
stopped what they were doing as the intercom sounded out a somber bell ring once for each person lost on the
African
Hope.
Shelly couldn't help but notice that Richard was quite reverent instead of his usually abusive self. Even more than before, she believed he was worth saving. She waited several seconds after the brief ceremony before she walked over to sit beside him at the bar. "Hi, Richard. Hope you don't mind me joining you. Terrible news about those crew members."

      Richard turned to gaze at Shelly as if he was surprised to learn that she cared. "It's never good news when space mariners are lost. I'll agree with you on that point."

      "Well, I was wondering if you could give me some advice. That is, if you don't mind."

      "What kind of advice?" he asked.