Space Rescue One (27 page)

***

Technician Clarke looked out the port as he said, "This is a big one. It might even decide the fate of the VMA."

      "How so?" asked Alex.

      "If they can't stop Thurman from advancing, then there's a good chance that they can't stop him from retaking
Venus Station One.
Without that, they have no repair facilities worth worrying about. Some of their ships are too damaged to attempt a hard landing. If they can't keep their ships maintained, then Earth will drive them out of space and the embargo will do the rest," Jimmy answered.

"So, this one is important?" Alex asked.

"Very important. This could be the decisive battle of the war."

"What happens if they do stop Thurman?"

      "Then the war is going to last several years unless the VMA comes up with someway to apply pressure on the Earth to end it before they have real warships to send against the VMA."

      "I don't see that happening," Alex said.

      "Neither do I."

***

Richard saw the lone ship make its run on the radar scope. For a moment, he suspected a suicide run as Jimmy once speculated could happen. He hoped his ship and
Space Rescue
Three
were far enough away not to be affected. He radioed, "Let's hang back some more, Captain Reason."

      "Affirmative, Captain Saber."

***

Jimmy watched as a streak of engine exhaust zeroed in on the Earth formation. He was about to shield his eyes and turn around while expecting a bright glare from a nuclear burst. Instead, there was nothing of the kind. The ship barely glanced against one Earth ship and then touched another before it was on the other side of the formation where it soon sped out of sight.

***

The radio came alive with distress calls.

      "SRO,
SRO!
Requesting help! Hull breached! We are losing our atmosphere. Dropping out of formation. Please respond."

      "Space
Rescue One.
Our hull is collapsing. We need help."

      "SR
Three,
take the one dropping out. We're heading for the other one. Ships in distress, turn on your running lights. Cut off your engines if possible. Make it easier for us to find you," Richard replied.

      Captain Reason called back, "Affirmative,
SR One."

      "SRO, please hurry! We have many dead and wounded."

***

"What was that, Jimmy?" Shelly asked.

      "Ram ship. They built up the armor on one and used it to ram those other ships. Once it gets going, you can't stop it with what they have. Not in space, anyway," Jimmy answered.

      She exclaimed, "They rammed those ships? That's horrible. They didn't have a chance."

      "It's war, Shelly. That's part of what makes war so awful. That ship probably lay in ambush for days now, maybe longer. When the situation was right, they powered up their engines and made their run. Now they'll probably move to another position to repeat this maneuver."

      The intercom blared, "All Rescue Chiefs to Captain's briefing."

      Chief Dickson left the Ready Room quickly, saying, "Jimmy, make the assignments if I don't get back in time."

      Jimmy answered, "Right, Chief."

***

Isaac entered the briefing room. Richard looked stern as he waited for them. Richard motioned Ralph and him to seats.

      "We can't meet our obligations if we're strung out between here and Venus. The first ship we find that can be resealed is to be fixed and used for internment of non-wounded survivors. Hopefully, the engines will be out of action, so plan on using one or two space tugs to power it. I'll give you some crew members to help out on that so we won't find ourselves more short-handed than we already are," Richard said.

      "Which way are they to sail?" asked Isaac.

      "They're to follow us. If necessary, either
SR Three
or ourselves will shuttle more survivors back and forth between the action and them," Richard answered.

      "I can see that we're not going to get much rest until this is over," Chief Brunner said.

      "True enough. If necessary, I'll put some more crew members on the space tugs to sail those so you can put your personnel on rotating shifts. It's the best I can do for now," Richard said.

***

Jimmy exclaimed, "Now there's two, no, three of those ramming ships! Oh, god, they're tearing through those ships like, like . . ."

      "Like a knife through paper. They don't appear to be sustaining any damage to themselves. I didn't know that was possible," Alex said.

      "They will. They can't do that indefinitely. That much stress is bound to cause something to fail sooner or later," Jimmy said.

***

"This is Admiral Thurman. Open up the formation more. Do not cluster together. You're presenting targets the enemy can't resist. Open up the formation immediately."

***

Jimmy observed the formation ahead as it opened up. He shook his head slowly as he saw that would only permit the enemy to attack small sectors in force before the Admiral could regroup his forces. He wondered if the Admiral realized his mistake.

***

"Enemy forces approaching, Admiral."

      "Excellent, send out Operational Order Two. Be quick about it. We don't have much time," Thurman said.

      "Sending it now, sir."

***

Alex stood beside Jimmy as they watched Earth ships retreat in the sector where the enemy was applying pressure. Alex said, "They're not doing too well."

      "Who?" asked Jimmy.

      "Earth," Alex answered.

      "Actually, they're doing much better right now. Thurman appears to be trying to suck in that VMA force so he can envelop it. I thought he was being a bit foolish earlier for spreading his fleet out so much. I underestimated him."

      "Then Earth is winning?" asked Alex.

      "Not yet. Let's just say that they can win. They certainly haven't lost yet," Jimmy answered.

      "How soon will we know who's winning?" asked Alex.

      "When one of them breaks off the battle."

***

Admiral Thurman spoke into the radio. "Now! All elements! Hit them now!"

***

Jimmy and Alex watched as the battle became a melee.

      Ships fired in all directions, it seemed, as any semblance of a formation on either side dissipated. Some ships soon became pock marked with holes in their hulls. Inside the ships where no one could see them, crews worked in a controlled panic to seal the holes while continuing to fight back. Occasionally a ship exploded or became entirely silent as a vital spot was hit. Sometimes, internal controls were hit sending a ship wildly about inside the melee to crash into another ship or spinning off into space away from the battle.

      "I don't think we can catch up with that ship to give assistance. I hope they can help themselves," Jimmy said.

      "Same here," said Alex.

      "You two are on duty, again, soon. You better get some rest before then," Chief Dickson said.

***

Thurman ordered, "Swing to course 220A33. Box formation."

      The ships still able pulled out and maneuvered into a ragged box formation. All the while, the gunners on board each warship continued to pick out and shoot at targets of opportunity.

***

Richard called over the intercom, "Chiefs, the battle is moving away. Send out the teams to search for survivors. Good luck to you all."

      "Okay, we're clear to move in," Chief Dickson said loudly. "Everyone except Jimmy and Alex is on this shift. Shelly, be ready to take command of a ship as soon as we find one in the condition that Captain Saber wants."

      "Right, Chief," Shelly answered.

***

The ram ship sped in from the black like a streak of lightning. Richard was about to hail it and ask it to detour since the only ships left where it was heading were disabled.

      "This is Venus-Mars Alliance ship
Ram One
declaring an emergency. We will turn on our lights and shut off our engines. May we have assistance?"

      Richard toggled the radio transmitter on. "This is Captain Saber of
Space
Rescue One.
You may have assistance if your ship remains out of the battle."

      "Affirmative. We understand your conditions. We will comply."

      "How serious is your situation,
Ram One?"
Richard asked.

      "We are experi—"

      There was a burst of light as the slowing
Ram One
unexpectedly exploded. Richard shielded his eyes against the glare, but not before he spotted the gunfire from one of the disabled Earth ships that caused it.

      Richard radioed, "All ships! All ships! An Earth ship just fired on a VMA ship after it announced its intention of becoming neutral for assistance."

      "This is Admiral Thurman to Captain Saber. Please disregard any call for assistance from that ship. I will investigate this matter. If it's a willful violation, I'll personally turn them over to the enemy for trial."

      "This is General Budakov speaking. Admiral Thurman, thank you, but their punishment shall remain in your hands. We will trust you to do the right thing if your investigation proves they deliberately fired on a neutral ship. Sorry I can't wish you luck in this battle."

      "I assure you General Budakov, they shall be dealt with severely if they are guilty. Do you wish to surrender now, General?"

      "No, Admiral Thurman. In fact, I was about to ask you the same thing. We are beating you, you realize?" Budakov answered.

      "The battle is still in doubt, General. My forces still outnumber yours greatly. I hope we meet later under better circumstances," Thurman said.

***

"Jimmy, take Tim's place. Alex, you take Shelly's."

     Two voices answered the Chief affirmatively.

      Chief Dickson wondered if the ship they were avoiding was aware or not of the radio message from the
Ram One.
If they were, then they were as guilty as could be. Even though he remembered seeing the
Ram One's
running lights go on, there was hardly enough time between that and the fatal shot to be sure that the gunner even knew they were on. Much as he was sure that not all of the crew on board was guilty, he knew that they would all suffer since it was an all or nothing affair under the circumstances. The only personnel on board known to be innocent were those already dead or in a coma.

***

"Our father is dead?" Daniel asked.

      "Yes, he was killed just a few hours ago while declaring neutrality because of battle damage the
Ram One
suffered. The battle was being monitored by the radios on
Venus Station One
when that was learned. You see, Earth cares little about neutrality. Why should we, Daniel?" Jerrod replied.

      "Perhaps you're right, Jerrod. This puts a new slant on everything."

      "Of course, I'm right. We shouldn't respect the neutrality rule anymore than Earth does."

      "Okay, I can see that. Still, we should wait until he makes his reports. At least, can we do that in Father's memory? Then I'll gladly help you in killing the bastard."

      "Kill? Who said I wanted to kill him? I want to do much worse to him than that. I intend to do what he did and threatened to do to me. I'll settle for that," Jerrod exclaimed.

      "You did. You said before that you wanted him dead."

      "I didn't really mean it that way. He'll be as good as dead when I finish with him. That's what I really meant."

      "I would have helped you sooner had I known that's what you meant."

***

Jimmy looked out the porthole wondering how much longer the battle could rage on. Already, the fighting had lasted a week for just one battle. He hadn't really believed that anyone could keep going for so long, yet the men and women on both sides were doing just that. As far as he could tell, the Earth force was determined to reach Venus and retake the station. The defenders were just as determined to stop them. If the personnel on both sides were as tired as he felt, he knew they didn't have much left driving them. He wondered how they kept themselves going.

***

"Chiefs, assign another member to tow a ship with space tugs for carrying survivors. Our other ship is full. Shelly states that she can't fit anymore on board. I want you to consider sending some of the lesser wounded to it as well. If necessary, we'll put one of our doctors on board. We're full here as well," Richard said.

      "I'm aware of that. Don't you think that Shelly ought to turn around and head for home?" Chief Dickson replied.

      "I should have sent her a few days ago, Chief. We're long past the halfway point. Venus is closer now, so we'll put the survivors ashore on it. At least we know that prisoners are being treated properly on Venus," Richard said.

      "Maybe I'll get a chance to see my brother while we're in the vicinity," Chief Brunner said.

      "You miss him already, Ralph?" asked Chief Dickson.

      "Not really. I'm glad that he's doing something on his own instead of following me around. What I intend to do is rib him unmercifully about what I'm going to tell our mother he did while out of my sight," Brunner replied.