Space Rescue One (43 page)

The FO reported, "Coming into range, Captain."

"Fine. First Officer, alert the gun crews. Fire at will," Richard replied.

      The First Officer said, "Darn, that's right! We missed getting Will. Attention all gun stations. Open fire as soon as you have a shot. We'll do our best here on the bridge to keep our course smooth and even for you. Good luck."

      Richard sat in his command chair. It didn't take long before he felt small vibrations in the deck from the gun stations as they poured out a volume of fire at the deadly threats to Earth. As before, he said nothing when the gunners chatted among themselves as they coordinated target acquisition and boasted of their hits.

      "I see Will. Aiming . . . Firing! Yahoo! Will is cooked. He's falling apart!"

      "Gun Station Six reporting two hits!"

      "Wahoo! I got one finally!"

      "Then get another. Don't just sit there patting your gun barrel!"

      "All right! I'm trying!"

      "Scratch one!"

      "I see markings on one! Looks Chinese to me!"

      Richard toggled his intercom on and ordered, "Get photos of it before you destroy it!"

      "Aye, sir! Getting photos! Got 'em! Can I shoot now?"

      "I certainly hope you can," Richard replied.

      "Gun Station Four reporting debris heading our way!"

      "Radar, are we in danger?"

      "No sir. It'll pass under us."

      "Under? Never mind. I know what you mean," Richard replied.

      "Wahoo! I got another one!"

***

The FO reported, "That's all of them, sir."

      "Excellent work, First Officer. You have the bridge. I'm going to take a tour of the ship and congratulate the gunners personally," Richard replied.

      "Yes, sir. We saved Earth, didn't we, sir?" the FO asked.

      "We sure did. We saved a lot of lives today. I just hope that no one else hid any nuclear-armed missiles in deep space. This isn't something I want to do often," Richard answered.

      "Me neither, sir."

      "Go ahead and radio a report back that the missiles have been neutralized. Mention also that we have proof that they're Chinese," Richard said.

***

Chief Dickson waited for both rescue teams to enter the briefing area. "Okay, we're going to retrieve one piece from the missile debris that was seen going past us during their destruction. The gun crew was positive that it had markings on it in Chinese. Since it was from a destroyed tail section, there's not much likelihood of any radiation to be overly concerned about. Captain Saberhagen decided that this one piece doesn't present much of a risk to recover as it would be to enter the area where most of the debris is concentrated. It was at my suggestion that Team Two be given the opportunity to gather the evidence since this will be good training as well for them. Chief Laumer, the briefing is yours."

      "Okay, we'll be going out in our usual order as two-person teams wearing full armor with full jet packs and Quik-Cut. Sheila and Ashika will tether the debris. Amanda and Bruno are responsible for making the cut after we identify what we want from it. Irving and I will be backup for both teams. Any questions?" Shelly paused to receive whatever questions they might have. When none came, she said into the intercom, "Bridge, zero gravity please. Team Two, get your suits. Prepare to dress and inspect."

      "Yahoo!" Irving shouted. Then he said, "I'm not hurrying! I'm not hurrying! Just letting off some of the excitement, Chief."

      The intercom blared with an alarm warning and lights flashed throughout the ship. The First Officer's voice calmly came over the intercom. "Ship going to zero gravity in five, four, three, two, one second. Mark!"

      Shelly smiled as she drifted slowly to her locker as zero-gravity took effect. She pulled her suit from it and easily floated it to the center of the room where she hooked it in place. Drifting around it carefully, she inspected it thoroughly for anything that might compromise its functionality. Though she knew that Chief Dickson and his team were on the side watching her team, she still glanced about to make sure that her personnel were all preparing themselves properly.

      Moments later, her team undressed in their weightless condition. Having practiced it before, they stripped themselves to the level they each desired and placed their clothing in bags that they secured out of the way. Shelly allowed herself a smile as she glanced from one team member to another and saw how their bodies floated about in ridiculous positions, particularly those who were nude. Weightlessness did that to some body parts and she never tired of the brief entertainment it gave her. Remembering suddenly that she was now the chief, she returned her facial features to something more grim and pulled herself along one of the guide rails to reach her suit. Around her, the other team members did much the same, some of them appearing like inch worms on a branch as they made their way to the suits that hung like leaves.

***

"First pair deploy. All others standby for action," Shelly said.

      She watched as Sheila and Ashika leaped from the hull toward the nearby debris with their jet packs providing the propulsion. The two were tethered loosely together to where they could pull themselves to each other if necessary. The only drawback was that they had to carefully coordinate every movement, particularly with the jet packs. The two space-suited figures reached the debris and braked their forward motion.

      "The writing is Chinese!" Ashika reported.

      "Good. Put a tether line on it and return to the ship," Shelly ordered.

      She and the others watched as the two figures pulled out the necessary line and made it fast to the debris. Moments later, they turned themselves before thrusting back to the ship trailing the tether line from the debris behind them. They drifted back and braked themselves with delicate motions to put themselves back at rest on the hull with plenty of jet pack fuel and tethering line left.

      "Excellent. Make the tether line fast to the hull now," Shelly said. She waited for them to complete their last task before issuing further orders. "Okay, pull it toward us. Remember, slow and steady. We don't want to convert it into a missile aimed at us."

      Slowly, they pulled the tether by mere millimeters as they drew the debris toward them. For the longest time, it was impossible to tell that it was even getting closer, let along moving. Then it was nearly beside the ship, resting only a few meters away.

      Shelly ordered, "That's enough. I can see what we want. Second pair, see that writing on this edge?"

      "Yes, Chief," Amanda replied.

      "That's the section we want for evidence. Be sure you put a separate tether on it first before you put the Quik-Cut in place. Wait for my command to activate the Quik-Cut," Shelly said.

      "Understood, Chief," Amanda replied.

      "Second pair, deploy," Shelly ordered.

      Amanda and Bruno gave their jet packs the slightest nudge to break them loose from the hull. Another nudge sent them across the three meters of space separating the debris from the ship. They each took hold of the debris at almost the same time, setting it into a slight spin.

      "Don't worry about the spinning. This is just like in the drills we practiced before," Shelly said.

      Bruno reached for the portion with the writing and attached a tether between it and himself. He reported, "Section tethered. Go ahead, Amanda. Put the Quik-Cut in place."

      "Affirmative," Amanda responded.

      Amanda pulled the Quik-Cut from her pouch. She uncoiled it slowly to prevent adding to the spinning motion she and Bruno were experiencing. Moments later, she patted it in place around the wanted section. She reported, "Quik-Cut in place. Preparing to set detonator in place."

      She reached into another pouch and took out the detonator. She unwound it and placed the detonating end into the Quik-Cut. "Detonator in place. Ready to return."

      "Stop! We're tangled! Request permission to remove our tether," Bruno said.

      Amanda barely held herself from releasing the debris in time. She glanced along the tether line between Bruno and herself to see how it became snagged and twisted as the debris slowly spun.

      "Granted. When you release your grips on the debris, be sure to push slightly toward the ship. Amanda first. Make your moves when you're ready," Shelly replied.

      "Releasing now," Amanda said. She let go of the debris, giving herself a push as she did. The debris continued to spin with Bruno clutching it. Amanda drifted toward the hull and felt hands grabbing her from behind.

      "We've got her!" a voice sounded in her radio.

      "Bruno, release when you're ready," Shelly directed.

      He replied, "I'm not sure I can now. The other tether is tangled. I think that I can turn so you can make the cut. Then I should be able to pull it to me and get back. Will that be all right?"

      "It's not standard procedure, but this isn't a standard job. Let me advise the ship first before we do anything," Shelly replied.

      "Shall I arm the detonator?" Amanda asked.

      "Negative. Hold off for now. Team Two to
SRO.
We have a situation that may require some flexibility in standard procedures. Be advised that we may have to retrieve one of the team members if anything goes wrong," Shelly replied.

      "Understood, Team Two. Be advised that the Captain is approving your request."

      "Thank you. Initiating procedure now. Bruno, turn and let me know when you're ready. Amanda, arm the detonator," Shelly said.

      As Bruno turned away from where the flash would occur on the debris, Amanda plugged the other end of the detonator line into her suit. Amanda replied, "Detonator armed and ready. Standing by."

      "Ready! Wish me luck," Bruno said.

      "Activate, Amanda!" Shelly ordered.

      Amanda said, "Fire in the hole!" just before she toggled a switch on her suit after opening the access plate to it.

      Helmet filters snapped into place for those who were looking in Bruno's direction. The Quik-Cut flared briefly as it burned through the plating it was attached to.

      Amanda squinted against the spots she still had in her eyes despite her helmet filter. She called out, "Detonation successful. Area now safe!"

      "Understood. I'm pulling the chunk toward me now," Bruno said.

***

Seguma smiled as he completed the recalculation.

      "Well?" Bea asked as she sat in the new guest chair he had purchased recently with his funding.

      "It's correct. This is the answer the engineers need to make FTL engines with. Mankind is going to reach the stars in our lifetimes."

***

Shelly lifted her suit helmet and said, "Dismount from suits and dress. Make sure you secure them to the hooks."

      She and the rest of her team climbed out of their suits. They drifted to the sides or used the guide rails to reach their bagged clothes as they reversed the earlier process.

      "Scrub your suit and refill all containers. Be sure you replace the waste chambers with fresh ones. Notify me when you're finished," Shelly ordered.

      For the next hour, she and her team drifted purposely about the ready room cleaning and preparing their armored suits for the next time they would be needed. After she gave each a brief inspection, she ordered the suits packed back into the lockers. Only when those were secured did she use the intercom to call the bridge.

      "Bridge, you may resume normal gravity now. Our thanks to you for being so patient. Chief Laumer out."

      Another alarm sounded through the ship while lights flashed. The First Officer came on the intercom and said, "Gravity will be restored in one minute. Any departments wishing gravity not to be restored are to signal the bridge immediately. Warnings will continue at ten second intervals until the last ten seconds. Gravity will be restored in fifty seconds . . ."

***

Richard entered the ready room where the debriefing was already in session. He waved them to remain in their seats and continue as he listened to the debriefing.

      "I'm sorry I rushed about wanting to put the detonator in place," Amanda said.

      "Nothing to apologize for. You did the right thing by asking first. Continuing from that point on. The rest of the mission appeared to settle back down at about that time. Bruno got the debris piece we wanted under control and then made his way safely back to the hull. We also recovered the two-person tether before we removed the anchoring tether from the remaining debris we didn't need. For a while there, I thought that was going to lead to more complications or loss of material. However, you all worked well together. I could have sworn I was watching professionals out there. I'm certain that with a few more missions behind you I will be watching professionals. Afterwards, you properly stored the selected debris and then shut down the mission according to procedure. You all did well. Consequently, I'm proud of you. Captain, do you have any comments?" Shelly asked.

      "I just came down because I miss being debriefed. Sounded pretty good to me. You accomplished the mission without any damage, injuries, and most importantly without any fatalities. In my book, that constitutes a great mission, no matter how big or small it really is. Chief Laumer, you and your team are to be commended on a job well done. Thank you. In case you're wondering, we're already on our way back to the station. That's all I guess I have to say," Richard said.