The opening was large. Most of the hull was peeled away and probably stuck on the comet, already long gone from the scene. Chaser One was after both pieces of the comet and would inspect the chunk that collided with the Liberty to recover any bodies that might be with it. Richard didn't envy them at all. He'd seen too many torn apart bodies in his years in space. He actually hoped for their sakes that there weren't any bodies in the wreckage attached to the comet. They deserved a break. After all, it wasn't their fault that the comet unexpectedly broke in two and escaped.
He broke his grip on the hull with a short burst from his jet pack and maneuvered himself into the wide opening. Dead faces greeted him as he touched down on the deck. He consoled himself with the thought that they got it fast and probably never felt much pain while dying. The condition of their bodies convinced him of that as he surveyed the scene before walking deeper into the ship in search of an airlock between compartments. He could do nothing for the dead. He could for the living whom he had to find.
***
Richard inspected the internal safety airlock carefully and knocked on it lightly to determine if anyone was inside before he activated the first hatch. It opened only three-quarters causing him to shake his head. He pressed the override to close it back. He knew that it was too risky to use. He didn't want to kill whoever might be alive on the other side of the second hatch of the airlock. The airlock would likely collapse once he opened the second hatch even with the first hatch closed. He had no doubts in his mind about that. His side was too badly damaged to stand up to any pressure. He'd have to find another entrance. Before he left, he opened a panel to disable the airlock from being used. He left the panel open in case someone followed in his footsteps later while the rescue effort was still under way. They'd understand the meaning of what he did.
***
Richard found the next nearest internal airlock. As before, he surveyed the airlock from his side carefully and knocked before he activated the hatch to open. It refused to open. Immediately he suspected that the other side was compromised in some way. He overrode the system and switched it back to closed. As soon as he felt it was secure, he once more opened a panel and disabled the airlock leaving it so that others would know not to use it.
He muttered as he went in search of another airlock, "Batting zero today, Richard. Well, keep your hopes up. There's plenty more entrances to try before you give up."
***
Richard approached the third airlock. As he did, he muttered to himself, "Well, here's hoping that the third time's the charm."
He carefully appraised the airlock's condition from his side and knocked before he reached for the switch to open the hatch facing him. He felt lucky as he overheard another radio report of survivors between the two members of a rescue pair.
The hatch opened all the way before him. He stood there for a moment before he stepped inside and turned to close the hatch. He was grateful that no one was unconscious in it seeking refuge from what might have been damaged sections on both sides. Had there been, he would have unknowingly killed the person before he could stop the hatch from opening. The hatch closed as he turned to face the other hatch. The green light came on. He activated the next hatch. He stepped out to face a sea of people staring at him as though he was some alien monster.
Richard switched on his outside speaker. "I'm Captain Richard Saberhagen from Space Rescue One. We'll be getting all of you out as soon as we get suits to you. Is anyone here in charge of this group?"
The crowd stood stunned momentarily before it reached the conclusion that rescue was actually at hand. Slowly, they realized that they had the famous Captain Saberhagen in their midst as cheers broke out amidst the hugging and tears. A few moved close and hugged him undeterred by his armor suit.
A tiny woman made her way over to him, drifting carefully through the crowd, a gun in her hand. Richard drew his laser weapon as he spotted the gun in anticipation of a possible threat.
"I was in charge, more or less. You are now, thank God," she said.
"May I have the gun?" Richard asked.
"Sure. I don't need it anymore now that you're here," she said as she handed it over.
It was only then that he noticed her dress was torn badly and tied to keep it in place about her body.
"What happened?"
"We had a lot of people go crazy after the collision. I had to kill one man when he went berserk and raped one woman. Then someone tried to take the gun away from me and I shot him. After that, most folks decided that I meant business and settled down," she answered.
"How many people are in here?"
"Alive? There are forty-two alive in here, not counting you," she answered.
"Have any of you tried for the life pods?" Richard asked.
"We don't know where they are. No one wants to look for them outside of this room without a suit to protect them," she answered.
"Okay, I'll find out if the way is clear to the nearest life pods. If they are, I'll lead you all to them. You'll be safe soon at any rate," Richard said.
She asked, "What if the way isn't clear?"
Richard replied, "Then we'll get suits for you and bring them here the same way I got in."
At that moment, a man clutching his arm shot into the airlock behind Richard and pressed the switch to close the hatch.
Too late, Richard shouted, "Don't! The other side is a vacuum!"
He watched with tears blurring his vision as the light changed to double red from green.
The woman said, "Uh, forty-one alive now."
Richard went to the airlock and opened the panel to override the other hatch and close it. The double red lights remained on, indicating to him that the other hatch was blocked. Richard said nothing as he contemplated the situation change. He knew he couldn't retreat through the same airlock to retrieve suits if those were needed as long as the other side was open.
The woman asked, "Is anything wrong?"
"Not yet. I was hoping to use this airlock again in case I have to bring in suits. I'll find another airlock. I better get started on checking if the way is clear to the life pods," he answered.
She asked, "Mind if I tag along? I have a feeling that some of these people don't like me anymore."
"Sure, you can tag along," Richard replied.
***
Isaac motioned to Ceriga to break contact with the hull after he saw her finish connecting the Air Link hose. He activated the airlock entrance. Then he pulled on the tether and shoved her inside the open airlock. She made contact with the deck and gripped the tether to pull him in as soon as he broke his own contact with the hull. He smiled at her as she pulled him in. He felt his feet make contact and moved inside fully out of the way of the airlock hatch which he closed. The double red lights changed to a single red light as the airlock cycled in air. They both waited patiently for it to be replaced by a single green light.
Ceriga pressed the switch opening the inner hatch. Double red lights appeared once more to indicate an open hatch as she and Isaac got their first view of the insides of the ship. A few space-suited bodies floated listlessly about.
"Check each person for life signs. They probably suited up too soon and used up most of their air. I'll hook up the Air Link hose to charge their tanks with. Shove them my way so we won't have to tangle the hose," Isaac said.
"Right, Chief."
***
Ceriga shoved the last of the unconscious passengers toward Isaac. He snagged the body expertly without letting it collide with the bulkhead. Moments later, he watched the air gauge on the tank as he refilled it while bracing himself for any sudden reaction from the person inside the suit. Twice before, the person inside jerked about in reaction to the fresh air he provided causing him to have to restrain them. Near him floated several survivors who waited for him and Ceriga to finish finding people who were still alive so that the rescuers could lead them to safety.
***
Isaac watched as the last of the surv
ivors entered the life pod. He secured the airlock to it and then disabled it so they wouldn't wander off while he and Ceriga searched for more survivors.
"Why did you do that?" she asked.
Isaac answered, "They can't launch as long as it's disabled. The life pod designers took this into account when they designed them. They anticipated that not everyone might be able to reach it at the same time. The people inside are safe even if the rest of the ship goes to hell. They just can't launch for now while we search for more survivors. I'm glad they designed the life pods this way. Now I can relax just a tiny bit knowing that it will still be here if we find more survivors and lead them back here."
"Okay, thanks for explaining that."
Isaac replied, "No problem. You would have learned that soon enough in your training. I think we should search over there."
***
Irving and Shelly found a scene of violence in front of them as they entered the inner hatch. A few space-suited personnel floated about among the bodies.
"They fought over the suits," Shelly said.
"What do we do now?" Irving asked.
She said, "Check for life signs. You hook up the Air Link hose while I bring back anyone who's still alive to you. Stay here."
"Are you going to be all right?" he asked.
"I don't think any of them will give me any trouble just yet," Shelly answered.
***
Irving replaced the air in the last of the victims in their immediate vicinity. He looked at the three people they found still alive as Shelly glided to a halt beside him.
She said, "We'll lead them to the outside from here. I just checked the passageways. They're blocked with massive debris. They're going to have to leap from the ship and wait for a space tug to retrieve them. As soon as we see them safely aboard tugs, we'll find another entrance instead of fighting our way through the debris."
"What if someone's under the debris?" Irving asked.
She answered, "Then their chances aren't as good as those of the other passengers to begin with. Right now, we have to get as many survivors out of here as we can. Then we'll search for anyone who's trapped.
Irving said, "Finished," as he removed the Air Link hose from the third survivor Shelly gave him.
Shelly said, "Opening airlock," as she pressed the switch. "Get them in the airlock and tether them together on my line."
Irving assisted the survivors into the airlock tethering them together as they entered. He reported, "All tethered."
"Shut the hatch," she ordered from the other side of the airlock.
Irving moved inside and closed the inner hatch. The light changed to green.
"Opening the outer hatch!" Shelly said. The light changed to red after the air cycled out. Then it changed to double red as Shelly opened the outer hatch. She stepped out forcing the tethered survivors to follow her. She glanced around for the nearest space tug before activating her radio. "Chief Laumer to Tug 310."
"Tug 310 here. Go ahead."
Shelly flashed a light in the tug's direction. "Three survivors to be picked up. Do you see us standing on the hull?"
"Affirmative. Will proceed in your direction immediately. Hold on until we get in close."
"Roger."
***
Shelly watched as a crewman from the tug grabbed hold of the tether line between two of the three survivors and braced himself for the recoil. Then he reeled them in until they were in his grasp. She sighed with relief as she saw them enter the tug as the crewman signaled success. A moment later on her suit radio, she heard the count of rescued survivors go up by three.
"Come on, Irving. We've got more work to do," Shelly said.
***
Amanda looked at the crew members who were shivering in a corner. Beside her, Bruno was getting a count.
"We're going to need suits for them. I count twenty. Do a verification count," Bruno said.
"Right. What if my count is different?" Amanda asked.
"Then we'll each have to recount until we agree. I'm not leaving anyone behind because I can't count right," Bruno answered.
". . . I count twenty."
"Okay. I'm going to speak with them so they'll know what's happening." Bruno switched on an outer speaker. "Attention, we're going to get you suits and evacuate you from here to safety. We're from Space Rescue One. Just remain calm and patient. We will get you out alive."
"They're crying!" Amanda said.
"Wouldn't you if you were in their position and just found out that we made it in time to save you?"
"I never thought of it like that."
Bruno said, "Opening the inner hatch. Follow me, Amanda. We have to get outside to radio. There's too much shielding here to get through."
"Shouldn't one of us stay with them?" she asked.
Bruno said, "All right, stay here then. Do not go anywhere else until I return."
***
Amanda stared at the survivors as she wondered why she wanted to remain behind with them. She could overhear pieces of other radio conversations inside the ship from the other rescuers as they talked about the conditions they encountered. Some of them were horrible with accounts of dead people floating about who died fighting for a space suit. She hoped that Bruno hurried back inside as she contemplated whether the twenty survivors in front of her might panic and attack her before fighting among themselves for her suit.
***
The hatch opened behind her. Afraid to take her eyes off the survivors as they shifted their gazes to it, Amanda continued to stare at them in fear.
Bruno said, "Draw your weapon, Amanda."
Awkwardly, Amanda drew her laser sidearm and held it pointing at the survivors who took note of it along with the one already in Bruno's hand.
Bruno switched on his speaker and said, "You first three are to come over here and put on these suits. As soon as you have them on, you're to exit the airlock and bring in the other suits. I don't want anyone getting antsy and trying to take a suit before I instruct you to do so."
The men in front of the group of survivors glanced about them a moment before they realized they were the lucky first survivors of their group to get a suit. They drifted over to take possession of them, removing their outer clothes as they did.
Bruno said on his radio, "I should have instructed them to remove their clothes first and secure those out of the way. If anyone appears to be rushing us, use your own judgment on whether to fire."
"I'm scared, Bruno," Amanda said.
"So am I. No one said this job was easy or nothing to be afraid of. Just remain calm and you'll do fine. I'm right here beside you."
***
Amanda shakily placed her weapon back in its holster as the last of the survivors dressed themselves in space suits and the danger of panic disappeared. Moments later, she and Bruno led them out of their refuge through debris to a life pod where they were launched to safety.
***
Jimmy and Alex entered through the gap in the hull. Both men removed their tether as soon as their feet were on the deck.
"Well, they got it instantly. The nearest airlock should be over there," Jimmy said.
"Right behind you."
***
The two men passed through the inner airlock after taking all the necessary precautions. The scene in front of them was horrible. A few dead bodies floated about, two still grasping the remains of a torn space suit they had fought over. Other people huddled in the corners in fear over their fate as the room suffered constant assault from the sounds of tortured metal reaching near the state of collapse. They looked up as the two men entered.
"We're going to need suits for these people," Jimmy said.
"I can see that. I'm getting a count now," Alex said.
"Hold off on the count! I've got an idea!" Jimmy exclaimed.
"What?" asked Alex.
"Well, they're cut off all around from the other decks by vacuum, but they've got an outer airlock of their own," Jimmy answered.
"I noticed that. I figured that we could bring the suits in that way if it still works."
"I'm thinking that we don't need suits at all if it works," Jimmy said.
"How? I don't see how that's possible," Alex replied.
"Okay, follow my thinking. The outer airlock is standard-sized. Right?"
Space Rescue One Page 36