Space Rescue One Page 25

  "I hadn't heard about that. Unfortunately, I understand your position, I'm sorry to say, Ralph. Still, I can't endorse your mission, but I wish you well as your friend."

  "Then I'll accept that. Thanks, Richard."

  The two men shook hands momentarily before Ralph left to pack his belongings in his quarters.

  Chapter 16

  "For Internet News Service, I'm John Axxenly."

  "And I'm Amy Wexler. We're here on the grounds of titan incorporated amid all the excitement of a new launching."

  "Events here on the grounds of titan incorporated are easily overshadowing all the recent bad news that's happened lately as last minute preparations are made for finally launching Liberty, the world's largest spacegoing liner. Titan executives are going out full tilt in their promotional efforts to make its maiden voyage one to remember. I understand that they have given away free passage to over five hundred immigrants each to Venus and Mars as a good will gesture to patch up the wounds the recent war for independence caused."

  "That's right, John. It's so festive here that it would be hard to tell that there was recently a war going on between Earth and the independent worlds of Mars and Venus. As you can see, I'm wearing one of their free commemorative caps with the titan insignia. I love how they crossed the lower case t's with a rocket coming from the Earth, whose image is used to dot the lower case 'i' in the word incorporated while the 'i' in titan is an image of our moon. It's sure to become a collector's item since they only authorized the production of just enough for the passengers, crew, and visiting dignitaries. I feel lucky to have one for myself," Amy said.

  "I understand that the passenger list has some notables from Who's Who among them."

  "That's right, John. A number of wealthy families are taking this excursion solely as an opportunity to check out investment possibilities. They're mixing business with pleasure, so to speak."

  John suggested, "Perhaps you could name some of them for the benefit of our viewers, Amy."

  Amy replied, "Well, certainly. I can name some who don't mind having their presence known. . ."

  ***

  "Thank you, Admiral Theodore. With the launching of Liberty we're going to need the extra hull section in case we have to rescue her or one of her sister ships. We'll have it in place by the time the Liberty arrives. I understand that they have four more like her under construction," Richard said.

  "Not four, Richard. Fourteen more like her. Colonization is becoming even bigger business now. There are a lot of people on Earth who sympathized with the rebelling colonists. Their governments don't want them around anymore. Some of those governments are more than willing to pay their passage to get rid of them now," the admiral said.

  "I presume the others are resorting to more barbaric methods?"

  "Probably so. You know how hard it is to get information out of some places on Earth. The Middle East is still one of those. So is the Far East. What information I do have is that not very many people in those areas were stupid enough to let their sympathies become known. Hopefully, there won't be too much bloodletting in those areas."

  "Well, that's good to know. If there's enough that fourteen ships are needed immediately, then I can presume that the immigration wave is only beginning," Richard said.

  "You've pegged that one right, Richard. This is only the beginning of the new wave of immigration. We're even building another rescue ship to be assigned to each space station. The Secretary-General is even considering plans for a midway station to lessen the distance for space rescue. However, I'm sure you know the problems with that."

  Richard replied, "Yes sir, I do. Because of their orbits, you really can't pin any one spot as always being midway between Earth, Mars, and Venus."

  "Good. I'm glad to see that you're up on that."

  "I have help from some of my crew, sir. That brings me to another problem. Chief Brunner resigned this morning."

  "Did he state why?" Admiral Theodore asked.

  "He lost his brother."

  The admiral exclaimed, "Gene? I thought Gene was recovering?"

  "I thought so, too. Apparently Gene had or got access to poison and took his own life this morning. After that, Ralph tendered his resignation," Richard replied.

  "I'm sorry to hear all that. I guess it tore him up too much. If you see him, offer him my condolences. He and his family won't have any problems on our end with any paperwork."

  "Yes sir, I'll pass that on."

  "So, who do you recommend to replace him?"

  "That's part of my problem," Richard said.

  "Oh? How so?" asked the admiral.

  "The next best person is involved with me. If I promote her, it will look like something was going on."

  "Is there?" Admiral Theodore asked.

  "Not yet, sir. Well, we did do it once before the war, but it's not what it looks like now. Of course, I've made it clear to her how it appears to others, but she's quite adamant in what she's doing."

  Admiral Theodore asked, "I take it you're asking me to make the decision and relieve you of any conflict of interest?"

  "That would be best, sir."

  "I think I can do this much for you, Richard, since it's for the good of the service."

  "I was hoping you'd view it in that way."

  "You realize that I might not select her?" the admiral asked.

  Richard hesitated slightly. "Uh, no, I hadn't, but that doesn't change my request. The service has to be run impartially if we're to keep our reputation clean and respected. Whatever you decide will be supported fully by me."

  "That's really all I wanted to hear, Richard. I'll get busy on reviewing the personnel records. You'll have someone named as the new team chief by the end of the week."

  "Thank you, sir."

  ***

  "Welcome back to Inet News. Mark, I understand that they won't be taking on any passengers until they reach Earth Station One."

  "That's correct, Veronica. Since this is such a large ship, public officials aren't giving the go ahead for them to launch while carrying anyone other than a minimal crew. Everyone else will be taken up by shuttles and board at the station. Of course, I can understand their reasoning for that. What with recent sabotage, there would be too great a chance of a major disaster occurring if they were to launch with the immigrants on board. I understand that anything larger than the Liberty will probably have to be constructed in space. We could be seeing the ending of an era in which ships for deep space travel are constructed on the ground."

  Veronica asked, "Why would anyone want to hurt the immigrants? That doesn't seem right."

  Mark motioned for the camera to move off him to the panoramic view of the Liberty. He then quickly whispered to Veronica, getting a nod from her while her eyes opened wide in surprise. She mouthed, "That's horrible," without actually speaking.

  "Well, public safety is clearly uppermost in the minds of our officials as we get ready for the launching of the Liberty whose passengers will join her over the next few days at Earth Station One. This promises to be quite a spectacle. When the Liberty takes off, you better be prepared to turn your volume down unless you happen to be here somewhere. Then you better have your earplugs ready. You're going to need them, I understand," Mark said.

  ***

  Isaac looked at Richard with puzzlement as Richard entered the ready room with his space suit.

  "You're going to need help out there, Isaac, seeing as Chief Brunner resigned and Gene died this morning. Besides, I know the procedure for taking the pins out so I'm more than window dressing out there," Richard said.

  Isaac said, "True, you do know the procedure since we did it once as a team. Seems like old times, almost. Too bad about Gene. Are you holding a service later?"

  "Yes, this evening. I'm sorry I became Captain now. This isn't the kind of duty I like to perform."

  "You get the bad with the good, Richard. You can't have only the good."

  "I know that."

  "Who's rep
lacing Ralph as team leader?" Isaac asked.

  "I've asked Admiral Theodore to make that decision since I feel I have a conflict of interest at present."

  "Sounds like a wise decision to me. You favor Shelly then?"

  "She's the most qualified team member."

  "I think so, too."

  "If only she hadn't asked me to marry her. Perhaps I could have been the one to select her as the new team chief," Richard said.

  "She asked you to marry her?" Isaac exclaimed.

  "Yes, she did, but I told her to think about what she might be getting into."

  "So, you didn't accept?" asked Isaac.

  "Not exactly. I asked her to think about what might come down the road at us and told her I'd propose to her if she still wanted to marry me."

  "Well, uh, I guess it's a bit too soon for congratulations. Um, I'm not sure what to say under these circumstances."

  "You could wish us luck, Chief. I have a feeling that we'll need it. For now, I'll take over Team Two since they're leaderless. I'll follow your lead in opening the ship and placing the new hull section into position," Richard said.

  "Um, yes sir. Uh, good luck to you. Sure you don't want to take the lead on this?"

  "No, you're clearly qualified and experienced leading the teams. I'll trust your judgment as before. I better get over to Team Two's ready room and brief them. They could be getting antsy by now."

  ***

  As Isaac leaned in to remove the pin, his helmet came into contact with Shelly's. He took advantage of the situation to say, "Are you sure you know what you're getting into by marrying Richard? He's not the most stable man around, you know."

  "I know that," she replied before their helmets moved apart.

  "Pin one is out," Isaac radioed.

  "Pin two is . . . out," Richard replied.

  "Helm, use side thrusters to open ship on my mark. All personnel anchor themselves and report in," Isaac said.

  Moments later, after receiving reports from both teams' personnel, Isaac radioed, "Helm, open the ship. Activate thrusters."

  The helm replied, "Activating side-thrusters in quarter-second bursts."

  Slowly the hull sections opened up.

  "Okay, stabilize. Now!" Isaac said.

  "Stabilizing now," the helm reported.

  "Let's get that hull section moved into place. Remember not to shove it too hard or it'll go off into space. Just light shoves, everyone," Isaac said.

  Using their suit thrusters, several personnel gathered about the new hull section. One team member attached a cable to it near one end as another team member did the same at the other end of the hull section. Taking hold of it, they barely used their suit thrusters as stabilizers as it moved toward the ship.

  "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 awa
y 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."