"So, I guess you've heard it all then."
"I probably have. I doubt if you could tell me something I haven't already heard several times before. Maybe you could have when I started out, but I've been a bartender now for twenty years. Ten of them on this station. I really don't think you can surprise me, even if you tried or lied."
"Well, if I was drunk, I probably would open up to you. Right now I'm too wary to just open up and tell anyone. My job is on the line."
"I can respect that. Mine's on the line every time I hear a customer's confession about something bad he did."
"I didn't do anything bad!" Richard exclaimed.
"Richard, I didn't say you did. That was just a general description of what most customers tell me. Others just tell me that they're in love with someone who doesn't know them from Adam or something just as innocent. I'm not saying that you did anything bad. Really."
"Okay, I guess I got too defensive. I'm sorry, pal."
"No problem. You about ready for another juice?"
Richard answered, "Might as well. Business looks slow tonight."
"It is, but that's how the job is. Some nights are busy. Others are like tonight. Laid back and easy. Hardly anyone around to talk with. It's nights like this when I do most of my listening.
"Yeah, I can see how you wouldn't mind listening since you don't have much else to do."
"I won't argue that point. Sometimes, I think that I'm going to wear these glasses out just from all the cleaning I give them."
"Any bartender ever manage that?" asked Richard.
"No, but I'm sure that some bartender somewhere is claiming he did," Damon said with a chuckle.
Richard laughed with him.
***
The intercom blared out, "Attention all personnel. Space Rescue One is on scramble alert. Attention all personnel. Space Rescue One is on scramble alert."
Richard woke from a cold sweat. He really wasn't asleep. Even without the alert sounding over the intercom, he was about to wake up in fear. He welcomed the alert as it gave him something to think of other than what he remembered in his dreams. He wouldn't call them dreams, though. To him, they were the very essence of horror. He admitted only to himself that they were nightmares. He moved through the reddened corridor to the washroom where he slipped out of his soaked nightclothes to take a quick shower. Showers sometimes helped him, too, but not as much as drinking once did.
The shower door opened. Shelly stared at him for a moment before shutting the door with an "Excuse me. I didn't hear the water running."
"No problem," Richard replied, getting almost as good a look as she got.
He left the shower cubicle a few moments later, getting dressed quickly while Shelly was in an adjacent shower. He made his way to the Ready Room. Inside it, Chief Dickson was already present. Dickson glanced up at him, noticing that he went to another table to sit and eat a light meal.
"Aren't you even interested in what the alert is for?" Isaac asked.
"You'll tell us sooner or later, anyway. I can wait until the others arrive," Richard answered.
Isaac asked, "What's your problem, man? When I first took over this team, you were nothing but dependable and caring. Then you got worse in your drinking. Maybe you were still dependable, since you still seemed to care about everything. I guess that made your drinking bearable to me for a while. That is, it did until I realized that someday you could cause a disaster within the team when lives were at stake. I couldn't risk that. Now you don't seem to care about anything and you look like hell. I almost wish you drank again."
"You're wrong about one thing. I was already drinking heavily when you took over. You just never noticed. You're also wrong concerning whether I care about what I'm doing or not. I do care or I wouldn't be here. So, stuff it and get off my case. My personal life is mine, not yours," Richard replied.
"Sure it is, until you cause problems in the team. Then it's my worry, too. You need help, Richard. You ought to see a doctor. Maybe a doctor can help you. Maybe you have something physically wrong with you that they can treat."
The Chief stopped talking when Shelly entered the room. She sat down across from him without glancing at Richard over at the next table.
"What's the assignment?" she asked.
"We have a freighter going to Mars with a shipment of animals. Some of them got loose on board. They have some injured crew members who need medical treatment. We'll also help them round up the animals," Isaac answered.
"What kinds of animals?" she asked.
"Some non-poisonous snakes and lizards to help balance out the ecology. Mars is still working on balancing its ecology," Dickson answered.
"Well, if they're not poisonous, then how did anyone get hurt?" she asked.
"They thought it was a bright idea to turn off their artificial gravity. They figured they could outmaneuver the animals and round them up that way. They were wrong. The animals adapted to it like swimming in water. From what I understand, most of the injuries are broken arms and legs. The crew members got those when they smacked into bulkheads and crates after missing the animals they were chasing," Dickson answered.
***
"I'm glad they had nets on board," Richard said.
"Me, too. There's another one!" exclaimed Clarke.
"I see him. Chase him toward me. I'm ready," Laumer said.
***
"I tell you that snake is poisonous. Someone screwed up," Shelly said.
Isaac replied, "Shelly, the shipment is not poisonous. United Nations laws forbid export of poisonous wildlife. No one wants that kind of wildlife on a newly terraformed world. Not the colonists and not anyone on Earth that I know of. After all, someone on Earth might be convicted of a serious crime and given the choice of life in prison or immigration to a colony. I can't think of one good reason why anyone would do such a thing. There's not even a black market for it."
"I can think of one good reason," Technician Clarke said.
"What reason?" Dickson asked.
"To create a galactic incident. It would bind the colonists together more if they felt that someone had it in for them. Some of them believe that there are people on Earth who want revenge on them," Clarke answered.
"Revenge? What for?" asked Dickson.
"Because they're not in prison. They're living free while their victims suffer on Earth," Clarke answered.
"I can believe that. When I was on my last vacation, I heard some friends of mine gripe about how criminals weren't being punished," Shelly said.
"Less than one percent of the colonists were criminals. They don't send murderers, rapists, or violent criminals there. The only criminals they send there are non-violent and they have to be guilty of a serious felony before they become eligible. You have to embezzle a million bucks practically before Earth foots the bill to get rid of you," Dickson said.
"It's not what they did. It's the image of them living free while others were hurt. Even if it was only economical damage they suffered," Clarke said.
"I still say the snake I saw go behind that crate is poisonous. I'm not going back there by myself," Shelly said.
Dickson said, "All right. Saber! How about you get that snake that Shelly saw go behind that crate?"
"Why don't you order her like you order me?" Richard asked.
"Never mind. I'll get this one, myself," the Chief replied.
"Be careful. I'm sure that it's poisonous," Shelly said.
Isaac approached the back of the crate. He pulled on the crate, shifting it a few inches away from another crate beside it. The snake he was after disappeared between the two crates. He climbed on one and prodded between them with the stick he carried. A moment later, the snake slithered out from between the two crates. Isaac turned to follow the snake, keeping his bag ready to stuff the snake in once he grabbed it. He saw the snake slide away from the crates toward another row of them. He jumped down, rushing to grab hold of the snake.
Richard saw the snake slither out from the crates toward
the next row. Horrified, he realized that Shelly was right. It didn't matter whether Clarke was right or not. What mattered was that there was a threat to one of the team. Without thinking about who was threatened, Richard threw his stick at the Chief.
"Ow! Damn it, Richard! What the hell's wrong with you? Are you still pissed off from our earlier talk?" Dickson exclaimed.
"I ought to be, but this was to stop you from making a mistake. Shelly's right. That snake is poisonous. I've seen plenty of those as a kid, so I ought to know," Richard replied.
"What is it then?" Isaac asked.
"It's a water moccasin. It can kill you," Shelly said.
"Okay, then how do we handle this? Anyone got any ideas?" Isaac asked.
"We'll pin it down with our sticks first. Then we'll bag it. That's the only difference," Richard said.
"Okay. You ever pin any of them down?" Isaac asked.
"A few," Richard answered.
"In that case, you lead the chase. I'll do what you instruct. Shelly, find out if there are anymore of these on board, loose or caged. Make sure everyone on both teams knows about this," Isaac said.
***
"Aren't you going to thank Richard for saving you?" asked Shelly.
"I went up to him. He walked away before I could speak. He doesn't want to be thanked. I can take a hint," Isaac replied.
"I don't understand him. He's changed," she said.
"It's just the true Richard without the drinking to hide the monster he really is."
Shelly exclaimed, "Richard, a monster? No, I don't buy that. It's got to be something else. I'm sure it is."
Isaac asked, "Then what? At least he'll talk to you. Maybe you can find out what his problem is."
"I don't know. To do that to Richard makes me feel wrong. I'd be spying on him. That can't be right."
"It is if it helps him. I've already suggested to him that he seek professional help from a doctor. He won't follow up on that, I'm sure."
"Maybe it's not that kind of a problem," Shelly said.
"Maybe it's not. Until I find out differently, I still think it has to do with his drinking."
***
The bartender looked at Richard. "You're not looking any better. Still not getting enough sleep?"
"I thought you said you forget what you hear."
"I do. That is, as far as other people are concerned, I wouldn't know what you said. However, I wouldn't be much of a conversationalist if I didn't remember what my customers wanted to talk about, now would I?"
"I guess not. Well, as long as you keep it to yourself, I won't get upset."
The bartender handed Richard a glass of juice. "This one's on the house."
"Mighty big of you," Richard replied.
"It costs the same as liquor to bring it to the station."
"Sorry then. That was a cheap shot I took. I guess it's the stress and lack of sleep."
"Stress? You've got stress? Let me tell you about stress."
"Don't. We're not talking about the same kinds of stress. Mine concerns life and death."
"Yeah, you're right about that. There's no comparison between the kinds of stress we each face. Yours is worse. I'm amazed that you can bear up under it. I've seen men fold before under less strain than you're holding up against. I'm envious of you."
"You don't want to be. Trust me. It's no picnic. Everyday, wondering what you're going to face when you leave the station on your next emergency call. Knowing that you're really on your own in an ocean of cold, heartless space. One tiny mistake and it's all over. If not for you, then for someone you know, perhaps even love."
"Are you in love with someone, Richard?"
"Did I say that?" asked Richard.
"No, but you hinted at it. That just made me curious, so I thought I'd ask. Since you didn't do anything bad to be concerned about, I've had a suspicion that you might be having woman trouble. Doesn't she know that you're alive?"
"I'm not sure. I tried asking her out before, but she refused any dates. I asked her why."
"What'd she say?"
"She didn't like going out with a drunk. Well, not a drunk, but she didn't want to go out drinking. She said she might be interested if I was sober."
"Ah, so that's why you quit drinking. I lose more customers for that reason than you'd ever suspect."
"She's still not interested in me," Richard stated.
"Have you asked her out since you quit drinking?"
"Well, uh, uh . . . You know something? I don't think I have."
"Then you should get up right now and go talk to her. Show her that you have changed, that you can show her a good time without drinking."
"You know what? You're right. I'm going to do just that."
***
Richard said, "Shelly, would you like to . . ."
"Attention all personnel. Space Rescue One is on alert. Medical Unit One is on alert. Medical Unit Two is on alert. Medical Unit Three is on alert. Attention all personnel . . ."
"Damn it!" Richard muttered as Shelly ran off.
***
Captain Shortner said, "Okay, here's the situation. The Taurean Princess has over fifty passengers down with something. They suspect food poisoning. We're going out in force to be on the safe side. We've got three medical units from the station in addition to our own. If we can't handle whatever is afflicting them, then I don't know who can. Our rescue team personnel will double as stretcher bearers and nurses. Only the most serious cases will be transferred from the cruise ship to our sick bay. We'll be meeting them tomorrow. In the meantime, coordinate your teams with each other. Make sure that everyone knows his or her job. I want this to go off smoothly."
"Captain, I'd like a word with you after the meeting," Chief Dickson said.
"Sure."
***
"Well, this should be an easy call," said Shelly as she headed back for the ready area.
"Never think of any call as easy until it's over. Too much can go wrong. I know. I've seen it happen before," Richard said.
"Yeah, well, I mean this one is mostly easy for us. The doctors are the ones who have the real work."
"Our work is just as real. First we have to dock the ships. Then we'll spend more time with each patient than any of the doctors will. When this is over, we'll be dead on our feet. Of course, the patients will remember the doctors coming out to see them. They'll forget or not even be told of our part. You'll be lucky to see more than one person again in your lifetime whom you helped. In some cases, you won't want to meet them again. I sure don't want to meet either of those gunmen we went up against. In other cases, we really won't care if we do or not. We don't have much in common with them, so why worry about it."
"You're so pessimistic about everything. No, not pessimistic. Jaded is more like it. I think you've lost your feelings, Richard. You don't really care about people anymore."
"I still care about people. I'm just being a realist about how much they care about us. Anymore, it seems like the people we care for just think that we're here because they are. They're the center of the universe and we orbit them. Mark my words, you'll see that kind of attitude when we become nurses."
"Is that so? You want to make a bet on that?" she asked.
"Sure. What do you want to bet?" he asked.
"How about a date with you if I lose?" Shelly asked.
"No thanks. If I date you, it's going to be because both of us want to go out on a date. Not because one of us lost a bet. Come up with something better and we'll make the bet. Otherwise, it's not a bet."
***
"I presume it's about Technician Saber?" asked Captain Shortner.
"Yes, it is," Chief Dickson replied.
"You still looking to get him dismissed from the service?" Shortner asked.
"Actually, I'm going to try a different tact. Maybe I can make an inroad this way."
"What way?" asked Shortner.
"I want to recommend him for a citation. For bravery. He's saved my life twice and
was instrumental in saving Laumer's life once. Maybe he needs recognition to get his life back in gear."
"That's an interesting thought. So, you think his career can be salvaged?" asked Shortner.
"More like his life. As long as he performs his duties, his career is safe."
"What about the drinking?"
"Well, he's not drinking now. Not that I know of. I've checked on him," Dickson answered.
Shortner said, "I see. All right, we'll try it this way. Put the recommendation in writing. I'll approve it when I receive it."
***
"Technician Saber, I thought I'd let you know ahead of time that I'm putting you in for a citation. You've earned one. Actually, you've earned more than one. It's my fault that you weren't put in for them when you should have been," Dickson said upon stopping at Richard's cabin.
Space Rescue One Page 5