"No. We will hold our position. Communications, continue trying to contact the two forces to determine if any ship wants assistance," Richard answered.
"Aye, sir."
Richard shielded his eyes when a sudden glare blazed out in space from the direction of the VMA forces.
The radar operator reported, "The third ship is gone. I guess we couldn't have reached them in time anyway."
***
"Call Captain Saber to communications! He's going to like this!"
"Captain Saber to the bridge. Incoming message."
Richard strode quickly onto the bridge to the communications section. "What is it?"
"Good news, sir. Mars Station One went neutral. Space Rescue Three mutinied like we did!"
"Well, that could have been put over the intercom. Everyone needs a little lift right now after our miserable showing a while ago," Richard said.
"I just thought you'd like to be almost the first to know."
"Uh, yeah, thanks, but let's keep this an open ship like we agreed," Richard
"Yes, sir. I'll keep that in mind."
"Okay, then go ahead and pass the information on to the crew," Richard
"Uh, yes, sir. Doing it now."
***
Richard returned to his new quarters to work on his message draft. He'd taken over the captain's quarters as more convenient and transferred his belongings. Now he stared at the unopened bottle of whiskey as he concentrated his thoughts. He forced himself to think of the good he could do if he could only make the warring parties understand a few things. The rules of engagement left him almost no room to render meaningful assistance. That had to change somehow. Since he didn't know of anyone else trying to change things, he saw himself left with the burden.
***
"This is Captain Richard Saber to all warring parties. We just recently witnessed a battle between the two warring forces. One ship was destroyed while others on both sides received some damage. Inasmuch as we would like to be called upon for assistance, it has come to our attention that there is one situation where it might not be possible. We believe such a situation occurred in the battle we saw. The one ship that was destroyed was heard to last report that its bridge was on fire. As well acquainted as we are with shipboard fires, we will assume that such vessels stricken by fire may not be able to further communicate their situation. In the absence of any additional calls for help by a ship we believe to be so endangered, we are willing to render assistance and will do so unless asked not to by another ship of the same force. We are not looking for glory or to interfere with your war. Our only intention is to save lives that would otherwise be lost and are already far beyond making a difference in the outcome of your battles. End of message."
***
Damon waited outside the airlock for Richard to appear. Richard strolled out with his face set in a grim look.
"Any luck at all?" Damon asked.
"You didn't monitor the radio?" Richard asked.
"No, I was too busy seeing to it that the Commodore and others were put on board an Earth vessel for return to the surface," Damon answered.
"We saw one VMA ship destroyed. I doubt that we could have reached it before it exploded. At least, we accurately picked out the right ship in distress before it went nova. I just finished sending a message to Earth and the VMA stating that we will render assistance to any ship we believe to be in distress and unable to communicate. I don't want to see us standing by idly while everyone dies. That defeats our purpose out here."
"It's bad relations, too. You'll have mobs of people believing that you refused to get too close because you were chicken. They'll blame you for the deaths instead of the war."
Richard responded, "That too. If we're going to fulfill our function, we'll have to aggressively give assistance."
"Well, the station is almost entirely neutral now. We still have some personnel who side with the VMA that I'm anxious to see leave. At least I don't have to worry anymore about them fighting with the personnel who left for Earth."
"Do we outnumber them?" asked Richard.
Damon answered, "Yes. I've got armed guards inside the armory to keep the weapons secure."
"You'd be better off rendering the weapons inoperable. Then you won't have to keep armed guards there," Richard said.
Damon glanced around before whispering, "I did, but I don't want anyone to know that. I'd rather they waste part of their force on trying to secure the armory."
"What about the weapons you gave your guards?" asked Richard.
Damon answered, "I limited their ammo and stored the rest of the ammo elsewhere. Their guns can't be reloaded."
"I hope that's enough precaution on our parts."
"I hope so, too. So, tell me about the battle. What were their tactics like?"
Richard answered, "To tell the truth, I think they're only beginning to work out tactics. You'd be better off asking Jimmy or Alex about that. They're both into that as a sideline to their political talks.
"Well, you better start studying tactics yourself. You might need them sooner or later."
Richard replied, "I know. Right now, I'm relying on being able to outrun or outgun anything. I don't intend to fight unless I'm cornered. I'll shoot back if fired upon, but I'm also going to take off running at the same time. I'm not going to let either side sucker us into joining them."
***
"Attention all personnel. Space Rescue One is on scramble alert. Attention all personnel. Space Rescue One is on scramble alert."
***
Richard switched on the intercom. "We're leaving the station to take up a watch on it. We have a ship from Mars approaching to pick up people who wish to be there more than anywhere else. We're doing this as a precaution in case someone tries something slick. Our best guess is that no one will attack the station if we're alert and not docked at it. In the meantime, everyone to their positions and hope along with me that everything goes smoothly."
***
Richard listened to the Internet news concerning the war, what little wasn't heavily censored by Earth authorities. Aside from the one engagement that Earth governments called a major victory, there wasn't much action yet. Having listened to Jimmy and Alex numerous times, he was beginning to appreciate their keen grasp of the politics and tactics going on. What he felt wouldn't happen was taking place.
The VMA was attacking because they had little else they could do to force the Earth to recognize their independence. The Venus space station was still in Earth hands with its rescue ship kept busy defending it against Venusian forces. Mars was free to act since their station declared neutrality. If the Venusian station fell, one way or another, then Venusian forces would be free to join Martian forces in attacking Earth.
Other than military traffic, there wasn't much for the station to monitor. Earth quickly put up some high satellites to replace some of the functions the space station used to perform for them. There was a blanket of converted freighters orbiting the Earth constantly to defend it. Richard supposed that there would be more action if the distances weren't so great.
The news blared, "On the home front, heavy industry is busy preparing new ships with which to replace the freighters the Space Navy is currently using. Once they arrive in space, there won't be anything capable of withstanding them in combat, not even one of the Space Rescue ships."
Richard wondered if there would be hell to pay once those ships got off the drawing board and into space. Richard continued to listen to the news.
"Although officials applaud the recent victory, the public mood is more of an impatience than anything else. People are wondering constantly when they're going to see videos of actual space battles. The heavy censorship on the war is frustrating them."
"In other news, two saboteurs were caught in the act by alert security guards at . . ."
The intercom blared out, "Attention all personnel. Space Rescue One is on scramble alert. Attention all personnel. Space Rescue One is on scra
mble alert."
Richard dashed for Corridor One. He almost collided with several others at the intersection, but twisted enough to avoid them.
"Any idea what the alert is for, Captain?"
"Not yet. We'll all find out at the same time."
***
"SRO, this is ESO. VMA forces are engaging in combat with Earth forces behind the moon. Telemetry verifies the presence of both forces. They appear to already be engaged in battle."
"Roger, ESO. Receiving course settings now."
"Corridor One free. Airlock secured."
***
Richard glanced out the port at the battle. Already, two ships appeared to be heavily damaged. One was near the edge of the battle.
"This is Captain Saber of the Space Rescue One. We are moving in to check for survivors on a ship near the edge of the battle. Team One has the call. Team Two is on standby."
***
Shelly slipped into her armored suit. Moments later, she was checking Chief Dickson's suit. When she finished, she turned so he could check the back of hers.
The intercom blared, "Distance is fifty meters. Course is now parallel. Speed is almost matched. Team One, make ready to check for survivors."
Chief Dickson led the team into the airlock. He closed and dogged the hatch before he pressed the first switch to evacuate the air from the chamber. The airlock lights changed to red to help their eyes adjust to the darkness of space since they were on the dark side of Earth.
"Team One is cleared to exit."
Chief Dickson opened the outer hatch. He led his team outside. Moments later, he and two others jetted across the void separating the two ships. Two team members remained on the hull of the Space Rescue One playing out cable to pull them back with. The seriousness of the war was cause for different procedures than they used before. As they neared the ship, it was clear that most of the hull was perforated by missiles or lasers. Unless someone was suited up, it was doubtful that anyone survived. Still, he and part of his team had to make the inspection.
Isaac placed a listening device against the dead ship's hull. He nodded to Shelly. She struck the hull several times in a deliberate pattern with her armored fist. Then she stopped so Chief Dickson could listen for a return answer.
Chief Dickson couldn't believe his ears. He heard a return tapping with the listening sensor. He radioed, "We have a survivor on board. Send over the tools."
***
Richard wished he could be with the team now that they were once more saving lives. Only the knowledge that he was the sole person on board qualified to lead the ship kept him on the bridge where he was needed. However, it didn't keep him from listening in closely with one ear while listening to his bridge crew in case they spotted something threatening the ship.
***
Chief Dickson considered the situation. It wasn't anything he was used to handling. A rescue usually involved a ship with far less damage. Normally, a ship with as much damage as he saw didn't have survivors. Now he had a distinctly uncomfortable problem to solve. He had a crewman trapped in a sealed cabin without a suit.
Isaac reported, "SRO, we have a problem here. We have a sealed cabin with no airlock to reach the man through so we can get a suit to him. The way I see it, we can't open his cabin door without using the Space Jaws because of the inside air pressure. Using the Space Jaws is out because the air will evacuate the cabin taking him with it. This is beginning to look like a no-win situation. Does anyone over there have any ideas?"
Richard considered his options. He replied, "The only thing I can think of is to collar the ship. What's its overall condition?"
"The ship is falling apart. There are jagged pieces sticking out everywhere. You won't be able to establish a close enough seal to reach him," Isaac answered.
"I understand. You're saying that we won't be able to sneak up on the wreckage. Can you give me an estimate of the cabin size so we can calculate how much time we have to work in?" Richard replied.
"Affirmative. Give us a few minutes to check inside though I'm fairly sure that it's a standard three meters by three meters cabin with a two and a half meter height," Isaac replied.
Richard waited for the confirmation. Already, that figure was being used to calculate the time left.
Isaac called back, "It's a standard cabin size, but we have another problem. The cabin is leaking air. From what we can see, the holes are plugged with clothing and whatever is handy inside the cabin. The holes are still letting out some air so he doesn't have nearly as much time as we'd like."
"Affirmative. I understand the situation. Can you establish communication with the crewman?"
Isaac replied, "We're looking for a place to secure a listening device now without causing another leak or a rupture."
***
Chief Dickson stood in his armored suit in the briefing room as Captain Saber, Chief Brunner, and he discussed their options.
Captain Saber said, "We have a request to assist another ship. I'm inclined to answer that call since we have a real chance of saving someone there."
Isaac said, "I don't like the idea of abandoning this man. He's frightened out of his wits and believes that he's going to die."
"It appears that he's right. I can't see anything that we can do for him at present. Anything we try is going to kill him," Richard said.
"Request permission to stay with him while the ship answers the other call. I'll sleep much better knowing that he didn't die alone."
"Granted. Instruct your team to take their orders from Chief Brunner," Richard said.
"I'd like to keep Tim with me. It will seem less like we're abandoning this man if he hears more than one voice talking to him."
Chief Brunner said, "I can make do without Tim, too."
"Permission granted. Make sure you keep some lights on so no one will shoot at you," Richard said.
***
Chief Dickson left the ship carrying an evacuation chamber knowing that he'd be transporting a dead body back eventually. It was the least he felt he could do. He reached the dead ship where Tim waited for him. Already behind him, the Space Rescue One was moving away.
"Where's the ship going?" Tim asked.
Isaac replied, "They're answering another call. You and I are going to remain with this man for now. They'll return to pick us up later."
"Oh. You have an idea on how to use that to get him out?"
"Uh, not really. If this thing was an airlock, I'd attach it to the bulkhead and burn through with Quik-Cut. However, it's not, so I guess it's going to be a body chamber," Isaac replied.
"Oh, I thought maybe you were going to cut a hole in the bulkhead and shove it in."
Isaac said, "It's not that easy. We'd be pushing against the air pressure. The air pressure would shoot it and us out into space. He'd die before we could get back to him."
"You know something? It'd be different if we had a larger chamber to put this one inside. We could seal that one to the bulkhead with this one inside it. Then cut open the wall so he could climb inside the chamber and seal himself in."
"Yeah, well, now you're describing an airlock is all. Chances are though that he'd be injured or killed when the inner wall was cut through. The outer chamber you're describing would be a vacuum. He'd be sucked toward it if we could figure out how to trigger the Quik-Cut from outside the chambers."
"Yeah, that is a problem. But I don't think he'd be killed since the chamber wouldn't fill up with very much air. It'd be more like a slight rush. Wouldn't it?"
"I'm not sure. Let me think about this for a moment. I'm getting an idea on how we might get to him after all."
"You are? Great."
Isaac said, "Shhh, keep talking with our man while I think."
"Right, Chief."
Isaac pondered the problem as he stared at the evacuation chamber he brought with him for another purpose. The more he looked at the chamber, the more he saw possibilities. Then it came to him in what he felt was only an inspired revel
ation.
Isaac pulled out his coil of Quik-Cut. It took only a few seconds to use some of it around one end of the chamber. He wired it and cut off one end as close as possible to the end. It cooled quickly. While it cooled, he put a small circle of Quik-Cut on the other end, leaving a wide inward brim. The Quik-Cut flashed, punching out the small hole he wanted. He had one more cut to make. Another piece of Quik-Cut went near the first cut he made, but it went only halfway around, just barely enough for him to slip the first end through, he hoped. He ignited it and waited a few seconds for it to cool thoroughly.
Isaac slipped the first end he cut off into the slot he made. It didn't go in enough. There was a large gap left. He stared at it before deciding that he had nothing to lose and everything to gain by working on the slot some more. He widened the slot a bit more and then made a small slot in the middle of what was left. Isaac fitted the end inside the slot once more after the new cuts cooled. Inwardly, he grimaced at the loose fit. He prayed that it would hold. If it didn't, Tim and he would have a man die horribly in front of them.
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