Space Rescue One (33 page)

      "Got it, Chief!"

      "Got my end, too!"

      "Good. Everyone move away from the section in case the cables snap when those become taut. Start the winches. Let's try to make this secure without causing damage to the section or the ship," Isaac said.

      Two more personnel moved quickly or relatively so to start the winches. Space didn't let many things start very fast as there was usually nothing for anything to push against.

      "Stand by to remove the pads once it's stabilized. Ease up on the winches. Not so fast there," Isaac said.

      The hull section moved toward the opened sleeve ship where it would be locked into place. Relatively soon, the hull section bumped up against the ship to recoil slightly with the padding taking the brunt of the collision.

      "Stop the winches. Ease off slightly. This is the tricky part, everyone. Keep your senses clear about you and your minds on the job. We'll all admire our work when we finish. Put the pry bars in place. Shove the two sections apart and chock them. Report when you've done that," Isaac said.

      "Got mine chocked at the bow."

      "Chocked at Pin One."

      "Chocked at Pin Two."

      "Stern chocked."

      "Pull the pads. Get them out of the way when you do," Isaac ordered.

      Suited men and women removed the padding from the new hull section. As soon as it was off, they moved toward the station with it for recycling. As they neared the station, they handed it off to less skilled suited personnel standing by to help with such things.

      "Pads removed and clear, Chief."

      "Ease off on the winch. Remove the chocks and report when ready," Isaac ordered.

      "Bow chock removed."

      "Chock out at Pin Two."

      "Pin One chock removed."

      Isaac glanced at the stern chock. The suited figure appeared to be having difficulty. Then he heard the one thing he didn't want to hear.

      "I'm caught! Don't move anything! I think my suit's ripping!"

      "Put the chocks back in! Get a Pneuman Tube over there! Get him in it now!" Isaac ordered.

      Two suited figures from the station thrusted over with a Pneuman Tube toward the stern. Two rescue personnel reached the trapped team member just before they did. They inspected the situation carefully with experienced eyes.

      "He's right. He's got a rip in his suit. Don't let the pressure off. It's keeping his suit from losing his air."

      "Understood. Can you get him in a Pneuman?" Isaac asked.

      "We'll need a fabric clamp to seal off his suit first. Then we can put him inside one."

      "Send over a clamp!" Isaac ordered.

      Another suited figure hesitated for a moment before realizing that Chief Dickson wanted what was in its hands. Enthusiastically, the suited figure shot outward too fast on suit thrusters.

      "Someone catch him! He's going too fast!" Isaac ordered.

      "I'll retrieve him. I'm in the best position," Richard replied.

      "Okay, Richard. He's yours," Isaac said, eliminating confusion as to who should make the attempt. Isaac watched as Richard expertly propelled himself toward the struggling figure with gentle bursts from his thrusters.

      Isaac turned his attention back to the more imminent rescue of one of his personnel. He called for another clamp before Richard was out of sight. The suited figure with it used more sense when jetting over to join the others and hand off the needed clamp to the rescue personnel.

      "Be ready for an impact. Watch where you swing that clamp. You could rip one of our suits with it," Richard said.

      A female voice replied, "Should I let go of it?"

      "No, we don't throw away tools unless it's absolutely necessary. When we collide, we'll begin to spin. Make sure you do not use your thrusters again. Just leave the directional thrusting to me," Richard answered.

      "Macho bastard!" she muttered.

      "Just remember that this macho bastard is saving your life," Richard said.

      "Sorry, Richard. It is Richard, right? I guess I've got athletic mouth from putting my foot in it too much."

      "Fine, just do as I say and we'll both get back together. Colliding now!" Richard grabbed the woman between her legs with his helmet going through while his arms wrapped around each thigh barely above her knees. The two of them spun from the impact.

      "Couldn't you have grabbed me somewhere else, you pervert?" she asked.

      "I could have grabbed up higher."

      "Never mind. Forget that I asked."

      "Yeah. Now reach down to me. Wrap your arms around my waist so I can let go of you to propel us back after I arrest our spinning." Richard felt her gingerly take hold of him around his waist. "Tighter unless you want to go spinning off into deep space by yourself," he ordered in a harsh voice.

      "Well, you don't have to be so mean sounding about it. You're just a rescue team member."

      Richard chuckled at her mistake while he watched for his opportunity to use his thrusters to full effect as he gently slowed down their spinning.

      "Well, I'm waiting. When are you going to shoot us back?"

      "When the angle is right. Just continue to hold onto me. I won't have time to warn you when I engage my thrusters," Richard answered.

      "Well, you better hurry it up. We're getting farther away from the station."

      "I'm well aware of that." Richard engaged his thrusters briefly for two quick bursts of power. The first one was barely enough to arrest their forward movement. The second finished the arrest and began their reverse movement back toward the station. "I'm going to twist around inside your arms. Open your arms a bit so I can see where we're going. That way I can adjust my thrusters to get us to the station without overshooting it."

***

"Clamp's on tight. We can loosen the chucks now."

      "Okay, you heard them. Loosen the chucks now so we can get him out of here. Stand ready with that Pneuman Tube. Remove the chucks!" Isaac ordered.

      The chucks were removed again, including the one where the rescue technician was trapped. As soon as his suit came free, he was shoved into a Pneuman Tube and sealed in as a precaution. Almost immediately, he was on his way to the ship while the rest of the team worked without missing a stroke to engage the winches and move the hull section into place so it could be pinned.

***

Richard activated his suit thrusters once more as he corrected their trajectory toward the station. It was growing larger in his sight. The last thing he wanted was to fly past it and wind up in the same predicament.

      "Are we getting closer?"

      "Yes. I just corrected our course so we won't miss it. Just continue to hold onto me for now. We'll make it back safely," Richard said.

      "I wish I had your confidence."

      "You will someday. You just need more experience and a little more faith in your friends is all."

      "You're my friend?"

      "In space, everyone better be friends or they won't survive. That's the code here. You take care of your friends to insure your own survival," Richard answered.

      "Do you apply that all the time?"

      Richard gulped as he realized that he lately hadn't been so caring as he ought to have been. "I try to, but I'm not perfect. We all make mistakes. About the only thing you can do then is try to make amends and hope for the best."

      "You're not the only one. I called you a few choice names and I should apologize. Will you forgive me?"

      Richard replied, "Sure."

      "Thanks, Richard. I'm Amanda."

      "Pleased to meet you, Amanda. You're new here, aren't you?"

      "Yes, I am. I'm going to be a dispatcher, but they needed extra personnel out here for this hull expansion. What do you do?"

      "I'm . . ."

      She interrupted, "Never mind. I just realized that was a stupid question. You're a rescue technician or you wouldn't have been working on the hull expansion of
Space Rescue One.
Right?"

      "Close enough, Amanda."

      "Can I buy you a drink when we get back to the station?" she asked.

      "Sure, as long as it's not alcoholic. I put myself on the wagon," Richard answered.

      "You did? Why? Uh, don't answer that. I'm getting too nosy. Guess I need more experience like you said."

      "It's no secret why I did. I did it to protect my job. Either I quit drinking or quit the service. It was getting in the way of working with my friends."

      She replied, "That makes sense. Sure, I'll buy you something nonalcoholic."

***

Isaac jetted out beside Richard and handed him a tether line. Richard took hold of it, leaving it to Amanda to hold them together, and carefully clipped it to his suit. He then grabbed hold of Amanda and waited for the slack to come out of the tether. Moments later, he felt the pull of the tether as it stopped his forward motion abruptly. There was a reverse action, but it was toward the ship where the tether's other end was connected. Isaac moved closer to assist Richard in slowing down their momentum toward the ship to make a soft touchdown.

      "Is he okay, Captain?" Isaac asked.

      "She, Chief," Richard answered.

      "Captain?" Amanda asked. "I thought you were a rescue technician."

      "I am," Richard replied. "I still am. How's the work progressing?"

      "We'll finish as soon as you hand over the last pin, sir," Isaac said.

      Richard blushed, though the filters of his helmet hid his embarrassment. He reached into a pouch and handed over the last pin needed for connecting the new hull section to the ship.

      "Thanks. We'll finish up now," Isaac said.

      "Okay, Chief. You all did a good job. What about the man with the torn suit? Is he okay?" Richard replied.

      "He's already inside. A little shaken by the close call, but alive and well," Isaac replied.

      Amanda said, slightly shocked, "Thank goodness he didn't get hurt or it would have been my fault."

      "Good. In that case, I'll take your advice and escort Amanda back to the station first. Anyway, she owes me a drink. Non-alcoholic, Chief," Richard replied.

      "I didn't say a word, Captain," Isaac replied.

***

Standing at the bar, Amanda said, "So you're the famous Captain Richard Saberhagen who ended the war. You're bigger than I first imagined. Guess I'm so used to the height and weight restrictions they advertised so much."

      "Well, without constant gravity, we tend to stretch a bit out here," Richard said.

      "We do? Gosh, I should have ordered my suit with some growing room in it then," she exclaimed.

      "I'm just teasing. Actually, I just barely got in under the limit when I first went to space. There was a time just before then when I thought I'd have to shave my head to be sure of getting in under the height restrictions. Anyway, they're loosening up some now since it's so much of an everyday affair now, especially with tourists constantly visiting space. The restrictions largely had to go if tourism was to succeed since you can't always pick your customers. Rich people just don't come in one size," Richard said.

      Amanda stammered, "Well, uh, look Captain. I don't think a single drink is really sufficient thanks. Um, would you care to go bowling as my guest? They've got the bowling alley finished and it's open now."

      Richard thought quickly enough that there seemed to be no hesitation in his answer. He replied, "Sure, I'd enjoy that. It's been a long time since I've been bowling, though."

      "Well, it's different up here. The alley is curved. I understand that it takes some getting used to since you're throwing down while aiming at the pins which appear to be up."

      "I think I can picture that. Sounds like it might be fun then."

***

"Amanda, thank you for the great evening. I had fun bowling with you," Richard said.

      "Aw, stay for another set," Amanda said.

      "No, I'm actually tired and need to hit the sack soon. Besides, I've duties and responsibilities to see to as well. I hope you'll understand," Richard replied.

      Amanda nodded. "Shall I walk you home?"

      "No need to. You should go on and have some more fun bowling. Perhaps we'll get together again later on."

***

Richard entered his quarters, having made the rounds of his ship first. He was only a bit surprised to see that Shelly wasn't already there. Feeling tired, he undressed and dropped onto his bed where he fell asleep quickly.

***

Shelly finally finished her duties. She returned to her quarters where she hurriedly undressed, tossed her uniform to the deck, and grabbed her robe as her only concession to Richard's embarrassment at learning that she was walking between his quarters and hers while nude. Besides reducing her laundry, it was necessary then, before he knew she was spending the nights beside him, so she wouldn't have to worry about accidentally leaving something in his quarters that might tip him off to what was going on. Now it was no longer something she had to hide. For a moment, she wondered if she was taking her robe because of how he felt or for some other reason. Unsure, she didn't put it on immediately as she left her quarters with it draped only over one arm. It felt kind of silly to her to put it on solely to go from her quarters to his only to take it right off once more before slipping under the covers beside him.