April 3: The Middle of Nowhere

by Mackey Chandler

  As they watched the Chinese ship rotated on thrusters, more junk was flung out of the still open hold and flight deck windows by the motion. When it was realigned it did about a twenty second initial burn and slowly slid off behind as it fell away into a lower orbit.

  * * *

  Waldecker reached the airlock on the end of the boom well behind the two from another ship who had rushed ahead of him. That was fine because it was only a two man lock and they both filled it. His bag was so big it would be a squeeze to cycle it and him together. The others had already exited the lock and were pumping it down for him when he got there. The pressure curtain had sealed the normal corridor access off cleanly and didn't seem bulged or leaking. With damage this bad the station maintenance would lay some panels and sticky blankets over the inside of the curtain to secure it until repairs were done.

  "Click, Click can you hear me?" he heard Edwards say as clear as could be. "They are capturing us. You need to set the charges!" When he called the ship had rolled away, the hull cutting off his reply.

  The lock display said a minute twenty seconds to end of pump down. Tom rolled on his one handed grip of the take hold beside the lock hatch and looked back down the boom. There were figures in black armored suits inside the open hatch where the Eddie's Rascal had docked. That wasn't rescue gear. In fact now he saw they had weapons too. This wasn't any sort of accident. A capture, Edwards had said. They might be after him too. Two were helping another of their own who seemed to be limp and not moving. Then the danger of the situation hit him when one of them raised his arm and pointed down the boom to where he was hanging by the lock. Two left the one pointing and started down the rail with the limp fellow between them, awkward but accelerating.

  It was eighty meters and they had the one fellow slowing them down, but a glance at the readout said he had fifty seconds before the hatch would open. By then they would be close enough to rush him before the hatch could close. They might even risk a single careful shot into the lock to stop him. That would be insanity with the only safe pressure behind him, but this whole thing was already insane.

  The large yellow square said "Emergency Fast Cycle". He made sure the bag was behind him away from the hatch and punched it. The hatch popped open with a slight push of air against him but no sound. He swung the bag ahead of him and scrambled in the lock. The two approaching let the one between them coast and sprinted ahead hand over hand. Something looked odd about them. He slammed the hatch home and hit the same Yellow command square. Air flooded the lock so suddenly his suit went limp in a heartbeat. He was reaching around his bundle already, leaning hard in the inside hatch release when the pressure equalized and spilled him into the station.

  The two crew who just cycled through were waiting for him. The insignia on their suits said they were United Kingdom crew.

  "What the bloody hell is going on?" The older fellow with his faceplate up demanded. He was angry rather than frightened and the stereotypical British cursing made Waldecker laugh which just made the fellow angrier. It was shear hysteria and he couldn't control it.

  "It's the damned Chinese," his buddy said eyeball to the small sight hole on the hatch, "and they've got guns too." he informed his mate looking back at them, eyes going to Waldecker's holstered weapon disapprovingly.

  "They blew our ship off the boom!" Waldecker exclaimed. It was an anguished cry because he'd finally added everything up in his mind. "On com my crew said they were being captured."

  "Can you dog this hatch?" he asked looking to see some way to stop them coming through. The manual handles had been designed specifically to avoid accidental jams. There were no projections or recesses to wedge a bar or block.

  "Let me see," he demanded, leaning in to look through the tiny glass in the hatch center. The British fellow leaned back readily, looking askance at him. One of the Chinese was already in the lock, back to him and pulling on the unconscious one as his partner outside shoved him in the lock. He suddenly realized what looked odd about him. There was no air tank hanging on his back anywhere. Just a bright clump of brass fittings and regulator housings below his neck where they should hang. The outside hatch swung shut as he watched.

  With no way to physically bar the hatch the only thing left was the control box and screen. The power should feed through from the station side if he could only stop it. Waldecker unholstered his pistol to both of the other men's alarm and wildly smashed at the housing with a screen and pad. Three hard strokes smashed the screen and had pieces of circuit board floating loose around them. He reholstered his pistol and reached in double handed and grabbed wires, ripping them loose with hysterical strength. Only the suit gloves kept him from injury.

  "Here now!" the older fellow objected. "Do you really want to piss off these fellows? When they finally do cycle through you are likely going to have to deal with them anyway, right? And I expect station security will be along momentarily. Wouldn't it be better to calm down and look more reasoned and composed than the other fellows if you are in the right? Security is hardly going to appreciate you vandalizing station equipment. Why prejudice them against you?"

  "I don't want to piss them off," Waldecker snarled at him. "I'm going to kill them. This isn't some dock rats stealing freight or something. It's soldiers and war we're talking now."

  "Easy buddy boy. Nobody wants to talk about war with the Chinese. There are simply too many of the silly buggers. You could kill a billion and still have a problem."

  Eye back to the peephole, Waldecker saw the Chinese who was mobile had the emergency panel open and was reading the instructions for using the manual controls to open the lock.

  The English fellows didn't have a clue what was happening when he tore open his patch kit at his waist and put a sticky patch in his left hand. He checked the soldier's position again through the glass and drew his pistol without hesitation sticking it against the hatch and fired.

  It sounded more like hitting the hatch with a hammer than a pistol shot. The pistol recoiled off the hatch less than a hand's breadth and a few spalled fragments peeled off the bullet rapped the walls around them, but nobody called out that they were hit. He slide the weapon back in his holster, ripped the film off the peel-and-stick patch and covered his dimpled bullet hole. He looked back at the English quickly, scared they might try to grab him and disarm him. Nothing was further from their minds. They both had drawn back horrified.

  Back at the glass he looked in the lock. He could see the black suit close to the glass moving slowly like a drift, not purposeful motion, but nothing beyond, as it cut off the view. A couple dark marble sized balls of blood floated by and the suit stopped moving just inches from the glass. There was pounding, not from inside the lock, but faintly from the boom beyond. After maybe two minutes he was sure there was no motion and backed off the glass and started shaking. There was one more frantic round of distant pounding then none. He was still coming off the adrenaline high and shivering when station security arrived.

  * * *

  The controller at ISSII looked more concerned than frightened. He muted his audio and was talking excitedly with someone. They all stopped talking anticipating something from him even before he came back.

  "Security has arrived at the emergency lock for the boom," the ISSII controller announced. "They tell us all the Chinese soldiers were unable to gain access to the station and are trapped in the boom. Security is dispatching an ambulance to the boom, but ETA is three minutes and it appears all of them stripped their suit tanks off when they abandoned the Tranquility. Some of the first to surrender their tanks and jump for the station are past the twelve minute mark. It's doubtful they can still be conscious and the ambulance will arrive right at the limit for saving even the late comers."

  "What's the problem with the lock?" Dave asked them. "Did it get damaged in the decompression?"

  "The problem is the crewman from Eddie's Rascal, your Mr. Waldecker, regarded the Chinese as a continuing threat. He insists they were armed and pur
suing him after assaulting his crewmen, so he bottled the first two in the lock by smashing the controls and then shot them through the hatch before they could work the manual valves and pressurize it."

  "Well, one certainly could see his point," Jon allowed. "All the evidence before his eyes was they were intent on theft and kidnapping, if not outright murder. I don't think I'd have let them follow me through that lock either if they were still armed. I'd ask you to allow us to take custody of our citizen so we can determine if there was a crime or if it was self defense."

  "He insists it's war," the controller said. "I don't know if he can speak for Home, but he's used the word several times."

  "The full electorate has to declare war for Home," Jeff jumped in quickly to explain. "However we have a different system here. There is nothing in our law keeping Thomas Waldecker from unilaterally declaring war on the People's Republic of China. The nation has not taken that right from the sovereign people. And there are no restrictions on arms so the right has - bite," he said with a unfriendly smile. "He may simply be distraught, but when he has had time to compose himself from his shock you might ask him if that is his considered intent."

  "That's crazy. What can one person do against a huge country?" The face of the Earthside controller said he agreed, but he didn't comment.

  "I'm not sure," Jeff allowed. "I may find out however, if the Chinese do not release the Eddie's Rascal I may have no other choice myself. Earthside Control, could you bring in whatever agency is your liaison to the Chinese government?"

  "I have a line to the CAAC. They are what you'd think of as China Local. They control all air traffic and anything coming sub-orbital. I'm bringing him in."

  Another window opened. There were so many open now the display switched to enlarging whichever one was actively speaking. The person answering was in a suit and without spex or even earphones, but behind him were active controllers at work stations.

  "CAAC - Central, how may I help you," he asked visibly perplexed at the crowd on his screen.

  "Earth Control here. We have a contact request involving the heavenly vessel The Moment of Tranquility. The other on screen are local controllers and the owners of Eddie's Rascal which is involved with The Tranquility."

  A hand went out to an unseen keyboard below the camera view. "The Tranquility is an Army vessel. The CAAC does not direct military vessels. They tell us where they shall move and we direct civilian traffic to yield to them. I suggest you contact The People's Army for anything involving her."

  "Do you have a contact person for the Army?" Earth Local asked.

  "Certainly," he dropped a text box on the Earth Control screen and dropped out of the circuit before he could be asked to stay.

  "Home, we have a report from ISSII security. The ambulance says there is one survivor among the Chinese. They are standing off waiting for security to arrive, because he pointed his weapon at them when they approached, so they fear for their safety. They can't get past him to check for survivors inside the boom. A count from the camera of those entering was seventeen however."

  "Hey ISSII, still think our boy was delusional to think the Chinese a threat?" Jon asked.

  "That is strange to threaten an ambulance with lights and rescue symbols," he admitted.

  "Strange? It's frigging nuts."

  "Why don't I contact this address the CAAC left us?" Earth Local suggested. "I don't want to click on it and have them come in to the middle of a discussion between us they wouldn't understand. Are you gentlemen ready to address him instead of each other?"

  "Yeah, I can talk to ISSII later," Jon agreed. ISSII just Earth-nodded an agreement.

  The officer was older than they were used to seeing with Life Extension Therapy so common now. He had a perfect poker face and enough medals on his jacket that they should have tipped him on his face from the weight.

  "Sir, I'm Jonathan Gilmore of Earth Control who is affiliated with your CAAC. We were directed to take any questions about Chinese military traffic to you." The fellow didn't offer his identity in return. The older gentleman just barely dipped his head in acknowledgment.

  "Which of you wants to speak for Home?" Gilmore asked the assembly.

  "I speak for myself," Jeff informed him. "Jon can speak for Home Militia if he wishes. Sir, your vessel The Moment of Tranquility has taken my associate's vessel Eddie's Rascal on board by force of arms and removed it from the Second International Space Station. It contains proprietary technology that I'm unwilling to share and I must insist it be released in Earth orbit for us to recover or I will have to commit to its destruction."

  "Yes, I'm aware of the seizure. The People have an interest in this technology because it was developed by the infamous Dr. Nam-Kha. She has illegally removed herself and thus stolen the benefit of her education from the People. This is merely a start to setting matters right. The full resolution of the matter will only be fully satisfactory when she is apprehended and sentenced to reeducation and some service of restitution to the people for her errors. You will not be permitted to interfere with its recovery." The delivery was dead-pan.

  "She is my step-mum. I will show her an exact recording of your words," Jeff promised. "I'm sorry you reject my request. There will be bloodshed and treasure ruined for no reason now. If you refuse I will make war upon the People's Republic to at least the extent needed to remove the Eddie's Rascal from your hands."

  "You are a young fool," the officer said with the slightest smile. "Do you have anything to say to me?" he asked Jon by simply looking directly at him with the same mocking smile. The software read his gaze and directed it properly. Nobody had introduced Jon. The man obviously knew him already.

  "No, it seems Mr. Singh feels he can settle his own disputes. I doubt that my fellow citizens would appreciate me involving them uninvited."

  "With more years you display deeper wisdom," he said. The window closed with no apparent signal on his part.

  "Nuts, you are all frigging totally nuts over there," the controller from ISSII swore. "Oh crap," he added and took a deep breath. "ISSII security reports when their scooter arrived where the ambulance was holding position, the surviving Chinese soldier opened his face plate and committed suicide."

  "Looks like you have a few nuts over there too," Dave said shaking his head.

  Chapter 12

  "I have no idea what kind of yield my device has," Jeff explained his dilemma to his mum, upset and unhappy. "I was going to send one copy and a robot ship around the other side of the sun and test it secretly. I just ran out of time and deployed them. I'd hoped they wouldn't push me like this."

  She'd heard the entire story before but patiently listened. He wasn't telling her so much as laying it all out to in front of them to examine again and see if there wasn't some solution they hadn't found before to avoid war.

  "What does it really matter?" she asked. "It's big enough to vaporize the Eddie's Rascal if it was a technical dud and only yielded ten kilotons. Their main spaceport is way out in the middle of nowhere in the desert for security. If they're treating us like this cutting their launch capacity down a notch is a good idea. If it turns out to have a ten megaton yield and takes out the whole launch complex good, they asked for it. Maybe they will learn to keep hands off."

  "I figured over fifty megaton just from the hydrogen reaction. If you have a cascade of reactions like you thought possible it will be higher."

  "So you'll vaporize the target and a few hundred square kilometers of empty dessert instead of fifty. So what?"

  "We're putting more surveillance in place and I'll have a tiny, stealthed, geostationary eye above Jiuquan in six hours. That's sooner than they can transfer to a whole ship and drop the Eddie's Rascal from orbit in any case."

  "Jeff?"

  "Yes mum?"

  "You do have some more warheads made up don't you?"

  "Four more in reentry vehicles. One reserved for Beijing I think. But what if they are still willing to fight after I drop all five on
them?"

  "You aren't isolated in their attention boy. Might I remind you it was my defection the official cited as reason for their piracy? I've known it might come down to this before I ever came to M3. I made my own plans to deal with the People's Republic dear. I have an interest here and indeed reserve the right to act independently," she said with an ugly smile.

  Jeff just stared at her mouth hanging open. It wasn't what she'd said but the level of anger on her face. She had intimated this before, but not shown such anger. He suddenly closed his mouth and reevaluated his world in depth. There are ways to grow up a little at a time and then there are things that change you wholesale in seconds. This was the latter and he suddenly felt different and much sadder and resigned to the world being foolish beyond his fixing. If China counted them as nothing and had no fear despite his warning it wasn't his job to convince them. Once he actually demonstrated why they should care it would be too late.

  "Thank you Mum. I hope they don't push it that far, but I don't have a whole lot of confidence in them doing the right thing."

  * * *

  "No idea at all where it is?" Jeff asked the traffic controller, Marion. He was also a member of Home's militia, but off duty for anything right now and speaking to Jeff only as a friend. "I queried three hundred and seventeen objects in orbit big enough to harbor the hull or shadow it. That's assuming they didn't cut it in sections or completely dismantle it to take it down in pieces. They could decide to work on the really interesting parts in orbit. We were blind to it behind the Earth for hours. There was no Home registered vessel in line of sight and when the Howard's Line courier returns from Mitsubishi II we'll be blind to the other side for another several hours."

  "My Mum assured me they'll take it home. They won't feel it is secure until it is on their territory and they wouldn't let subordinates do something as important as disassembling the ship without lots of political officers to look over their shoulders and keep them honest."