by F. E. Arliss
In front of her in the landing bay, she could see an enormous hulk of a man with Colonel’s bars on his uniform. Next to him stood a delicate looking, beautiful, honey-blonde with Lieutenant’s insignia. Johanna supposed that was their Commanding Officer. She looked like a strong wind would blow her away.
Closer up, she could see that the Colonel was badly scarred on one side of his face and down his neck. It was mottled and ridged with long lines of what looked like burn tissue. It distorted his mouth and marred what Johanna could see was probably a once, an extremely handsome face.
Some of the women gasped quietly and shifted uncomfortably as he looked at them. Johanna wanted to roll her eyes. These women should see what someone with Syphilis or Aids looked like without treatment. This guy was Adonis in comparison.
She could tell the scarring didn’t bother the small Lieutenant at his side either. As she was looking over the women, she would pin the ones who’d gasped with a stern glare, then stop and smile up at the Colonel. She was standing on his scarred side too. As if to make a statement to the incoming women, Johanna speculated.
As they all trooped out and lined up in a ragged line, the Colonel boomed out, “Welcome to Frontier Station Corpsmen. I am Colonel Reinegaard, commander of this station. This is Lieutenant Chloe Sedgewick, commanding officer of the Women’s Corp. I’m glad you’re here on the station. Your presence is sorely needed. I will leave you now in the capable hands of Lieutenant Sedgewick. All questions, concerns or issues will come through her. Then she will bring them to my attention. Is that clear?”
At their chorused, “Aye, Aye Sirs,” he nodded to the Lieutenant, and strode away.
“Welcome aboard Corpsmen,” Lieutenant Sedgewick said, smiling at all of them. “Please come with me and have a seat in the wardroom.” With that she turned and walked towards a door to one side of the bay. Once inside the women could see that it was basically a room with a podium and rows of chairs. They all clambered into chairs and faced the front expectantly.
The next two hours flew by as the Lieutenant gave them a ‘once-over’ of the stations abilities, capacity, duties, purpose, and an orientation for their new tablets. They were to find their quarters, explore the mess hall, and after a six-hour rest and adjustment period, report for duty at the stations described in detail on their tablets.
Lieutenant Sedgewick would be checking in with all of them in the next day or two. If they had questions, they could find her during her office hours which were also posted in their tablets. All Corpsmen could meet in the mess for a general ‘happy hour’, sans booze, at 1800 hours.
Most of the women sat a few minutes reading over their assignments and familiarizing themselves with their tablets and the ship’s layout. Johanna had already flown through her information and made for the door immediately. She followed the schematic she’d memorized in her mind and walked towards a lift tube to the left of the classroom.
It should take her to Level Three where their quarters were located. If she was right, her roommate was to be the Russian medic. How many people could be named Katyia Rustalov and not be Russian, she wondered? After a short tube ride and a few abrupt turns, she came to Number Twenty-Three. Tapping the control panel which caused the door to whoosh open, Johanna stepped in to what would become her home for the next year.
It was tiny. It had two fold-down bunks attached to the right wall, and a small set of tall lockers on the left. It looked as though the bunks could be closed to make more room in the center if so desired. A small table with two chairs stood along the side near the door. Everything appeared to be fastened down.
A door on the far side of the room opened when Johanna touched the pad next to it on the wall. It opened to reveal a small landing with a tiny chemical shower on one side, and a toilet room on the other. Straight ahead, a miniscule sink and small mirror were firmly attached to the bulkhead. A shallow cupboard with latching door occupied an eight by ten-inch space on each side of the sink. She supposed it was for their toiletries. It was nice they each had their own.
Johanna’s generous hips practically filled the entire space in the lavatory area. If she had to bend over to spit out her toothpaste in the mornings, she was going to bump her butt on the outer door panel. Still it was a bathroom. She hadn’t even had one of those in her younger years.
Walking back out to the bunk room, she slung her bag onto the fold-down bench along the wall between the bunks and the lockers, pulled out her personal items and began loading them into the first locker. Emptying her carryall, she threw it into the bottom of her locker and slung her pajamas onto the top bunk. She’d take that one. Johanna hoped it was ok with her roommate. Having the top bunk just seemed a little more private.
Using the fold-down bench as a step-stool, Johanna flipped into the upper bunk, and lay there trying to get the feel of what would become her home. It was cozy. She liked it. The bunk was ok too. The thin mattress was some sort of super conforming gel. It supported her tired body well and she immediately relaxed.
Just then the door pinged a warning and whooshed open showing the lithe figure of the Russian medic. The tall blonde entered, paused to survey the small area, then glanced up at Johanna. “Hello, I am Katyia Rustalov, medic in the Women’s Corps,” she stated in heavily accented English. Then stepped forward and put her hand out towards Johanna in the upper bunk.
Johanna slid her feet over the edge, sat up, then bent forward and took the offered hand. “Hi, I’m Johanna Van Heusen, Corps engineering assistant. Welcome to our tiny crash pad,” she added with a laugh, gesturing to the small area. “I hope we like each other, because otherwise, it’s going to be hell,” she stated with a grim smile.
“It will be fine,” Katyia said without smiling. “We are here to work and find respect in careers where we could not get it on Earth,” she added. “Is that not so?” she continued as Johanna’s mouth dropped open.
“Yes, that’s it exactly!” exclaimed Johanna. “Well that and to get the hell away from there.”
“Yes, I also wanted to escape Russia,” Katyia stated emphatically. “We will get along very well. I see you took the upper. I am fine with that. I like the lower,” she said slinging a heavy fur coat and her own bag onto the lower bunk and slinging things into the empty locker.
“Check out the bathroom,” Johanna said with a grin. “My booty isn’t going to fit in there if I gain a single ounce of fat.”
Katyia strode over to the only other door in the room besides the entrance, and palmed the control pad. It slid back to reveal the landing area with tiny shower and toilet cubicles and the miniscule sink. “Not bad,” the Russian said slowly. “It even has places for us to put our personal items,” she added opening one of the small cubies and peering in. “Very utilitarian,” she nodded approvingly. “It’s all very ingenious. I like it.”
“Good,” Johanna said calmly. “I like it too.” They smiled at each other. Then both laid down on their respective bunks and spent the next few hours in silent rest and contemplation.
They were off to a good start, Johanna thought. She and Katyia seemed on the same wavelength. She liked their quarters, and her bunk was super comfortable. Remembering to set her alarm for the end of the six-hour reprieve from duty, she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Nine
Duty Calls
When Johanna awoke, Katyia was gone. Straightening her rumpled appearance in the tiny mirror, she readied herself for her first shift on-duty. It was all so exciting! She couldn’t wait to meet the other engineers and see the ship's functions. She danced a little jig of excitement, before wiping the grin off her face and exiting their quarters.
Entering the locked engineering room door using the code issued her on the tablet, she looked in awe at the large space. As beat up and dingy as the outside of the station appeared, the engine room and other engineering spaces she could see jutting off to the sides were fantastic. She knew that this was mostly the computerized center of the engineering bay. There had
to be another area that was mostly the engine drives and other systems.
Before she could wander off on her own to find things, a short man with dark brown hair came barreling towards her. He had a very distinctive appearance, as his hair looked like he’d put his finger in a light socket, as Sophie would have said. It stuck out in all directions and was a clear indication that he’d been running his fingers through his hair as he pondered some issue. It made him look like a very greasy, dark-haired version of Albert Einstein.
“Hi, I’m Ensign Toby Cook. You must be Johanna Van Heusen?” he asked, worriedly. “I’ve been told to show you the ropes down in hydraulics,” he continued doubtfully, eyeing her up and down. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” he said.
“Why?” Johanna asked grimly. “Because it’s dirty, greasy, and hot?” she asked pointedly.
“Well, uhmmm, yeah,” Toby muttered under his breath. Then added defiantly, “Girls usually don’t like it down there, and they don’t like guys who smell like hydraulic fluid.”
Johanna grinned at him. “Let’s get to it, then, shall we? I love hydraulics! Come on, come on,” she urged him, flapping one hand at him. “Let’s go!”
Ensign Cook grinned back, “Your wish is my command Corpsman Van Heusen. Right this way,” he called back over his shoulder, gesturing for her to follow him.
For the next eight hours Johanna was caught up in the world of cause and effect, grease, fluids, and mechanisms. Time flew. She and Ensign Cook got on well, too. So that was a bonus. He didn’t seem to mind that she was a woman at all, at least, after the first comment about girls not liking grease monkeys. Which was true, Johanna knew, so she didn’t hold it against him.
He’d also given her a tour of the rest of engineering and she’d talked extensively with the head engineer, a Lieutenant McCormick. He was a tiny little knot of a man, with a bald pate, and arms that seemed un-naturally long for his height. Johanna bet that came in handy when reaching into small spaces. They seemed excited about her skills and she figured, if nothing else, she’d learn a lot and be busy all the time. That was good. As long as they gave her the respect she needed, she’d be happy. It was about time!
Over the next few months she got to know her roommate Katyia quite a bit better, although Katyia was hard to get to know. She took her job as medic seriously and didn’t have much of a sense of humor. Watching her work out in the gym was like watching the Terminator dig in to measly humans. Katyia had soon gotten the nickname ‘the Reliever’ because she seemed set on relieving her opponents of their balls.
Katyia was training Johanna in self-defense and was impressed by the moves that she’d learned from Joseph Abay in her early years. Johanna loved stick fighting. She’d seen an Asian guy that the Guardsmen called Major Donji using the sticks to train some of the other fighters. While he seemed very nice, he was always extremely polite, and Johanna was reluctant to approach him.
She wanted to ask him if he’d train her using the expandable steel batons that the Guardsmen carried. He seemed to like Katyia, so she asked Katyia to approach him for her. Katyia had stared at her like she’d grown a second head. “Why me?” she’d demanded.
“Because he likes you, silly,” Johanna had said, then added, “Duh!”
“Are you sure?” Katyia asked softly, her pale skin tinting pink.
“I’m sure!” Johanna state emphatically. “Please ask him for me.”
Two days later, she had her first lesson in stick fighting with Major Donji. He was extremely patient and an excellent teacher. Besides the expandable steel batons, he was also teaching her Tonka fighting, a Japanese martial art that used long wooden sticks with handles that jutted out at a ninety-degree angle towards one end. It was exacting and she took quite a lot of fiery smacks during training.
Major Donji had been surprised at how strong and fast she was. He’d been even more impressed with her ability to withstand hard hits with repercussive qualities. Johanna had explained to him about Joseph Abay teaching her to use long wrenches as weapons when she was younger. It was why she had such pronounced muscles in her arms.
Out of curiosity, Major Donji asked her if she would voluntarily have her forearm bone density checked. It turned out that his intuition was correct. She had far superior bone density clear up into her upper torso due to the repeated early training with the wrenches. They’d both been delighted with that discovery.
Several months into their time on the station, the Women’s Corpsmen’s quarters were attacked by the alien species the Arachnians. Several women had been killed. Luckily, both she and Katyia had been on-duty and far away from the living quarters that had been breached.
Their commanding Officer, Lieutenant Sedgewick, had not. Well, rumor was she had been on the bridge, but when she’d heard it was the Women’s Corp quarters that were under attack, she’d made for Deck Three with all possible haste. Chloe’d saved at least a half-dozen women and killed an Arachnian warrior. Katyia said Major Donji told her that Chloe’d cut him clean in half with a laser rifle. Cool!
Now they were going on a forward mission! It was all very exciting. The Arachnians had been targeting the women and it appeared there was a mole in Orbit Guard. Colonel Reinegaard was out to nail whoever it was. To do so, they were being asked to volunteer for a forward mission, as they were deploying several different Guard squads to engage the Arachnians.
Katyia had asked several times to be attached to a forward mission, but had been denied until then. It had really made her mad. Johanna had seen her practically wipe the deck with a big macho type in training the day after she’d been denied for the second time. The Guardsmen seemed to get the message. Don’t spar with Katyia unless you wanted the Reliever to kick your ass. Especially when she was angry!
The mission had gone well. They’d caught the mole. Actually, Lieutenant Sedgewick had caught the mole. Katyia had performed beautifully at the front lines with her Women Corpsman stretcher bearers. And Lieutenant McCormick had praised Johanna for her quick thinking and calm demeanor during the mission. The women had been very happy and celebrated to applause from the Guardsmen in the mess hall.
Then, Katyia got attacked in a service corridor and was injured by a lunatic named Ensign Clayton. He’d been a mole, too. And was the one to turn the traitor, Major Schlipp, towards the darknet, a mirror network of the internet that specialized in illegal activity. It had put a damper on the women’s spirits. Though that dark mood was slightly relieved by the fact that Lieutenant Rustalov was going to be ok, and that she’d all but torn her attacker’s arm out of the socket. Then Katyia had kicked him in the balls before Captain Sedgewick could hustled her to the med bay. It lifted the Corpsmen’s spirits quite a bit when they heard that outcome!
It was so bizarre that people didn’t want women in the Guard. It depressed Johanna that things like discrimination against women still existed even here in space.
Things had smoothed out. Katyia was better now. They’d gone on a dozen more forward missions earning respect along the way. Katyia and Captain Sedgewick had them all training intensively in their martial arts of choice. Johanna was taking on more and more responsibility in the engineering areas, and the women had all bonded strongly.
Today they were being deployed on another forward mission to a supply platform out on the edges of Orbit Guard space. It had been attacked by the Arachnians and was then saved by two ships of unknown origin.
The ships had fired on the Arachnians, helping the platform survive, then fired on each other. One of the vessels had been blown to bits. According to their briefing the destroyed ship had looked like a lumpy mass of dough.
Engineering was abuzz with the information that it had taken extraordinarily sophisticated weaponry to defeat the blob like vessel. Everyone was wondering what it was made of and what allowed it to withstand such an intense volley for so long. Theories flew thick and fast around the engineering department.
Much to Johanna’s satisfaction, she was being deploy
ed with Captain Sedgewick and her roommate, Lieutenant Rustalov, to assist on the platform. Johanna would be installing new weapons arrays and upgrade the existing turret-guns. They were also going to be laying an extensive rotating-frequency, coded minefield. It was extremely exciting. It was going to be her first time in command of a specific mission. While Ensign Toby Cook was going to be in-charge of the mine field layout, she was in-charge of the new turret upgrades and installations. Johanna couldn’t wait! Plus, she loved jumping from the drop-ship. It was more exhilarating than anything she’d ever experienced.
Lieutenant Rustalov and Captain Sedgewick and gotten all the Corpsmen going on the mission together in the ward room and given them a short briefing on the mission and supply platform. At the end, Captain Sedgewick had given them a few quiet words about the new Major on board.
His name was Major Bergstrom and he was a very large man, according to the Captain. A very friendly, very old-fashioned man, who had no clue how to deal with women as equals, or how to approach the Corpsmen. Chloe urged them to be kind, but firm in their methods of dealing with him. If he called them by other than their proper military designations, they were to turn their backs on him.
Johanna doubted that the Colonel knew that Captain Sedgewick was taking that measure, but she could understand it. It would get the message across very fast.
Chapter Ten
Dropped
Johanna had only seen the new Major, Carlo Bergstrom, from across one of the cargo bays as they were getting ready to deploy to the supply platform. Now he was approaching them down the aisle on the jump ship, and had boomed out, “Girls, how would you like to do this jump?” She could actually feel Captain Sedgewick stiffen beside her. This would be interesting.
Chloe Sedgewick had turned her back on the Major just as she’d instructed them to do if he addressed them by anything other than their proper military designations. She’d fiddled with some equipment, then turned back and told him matter-of-factly, that they would all be turning their backs on him if he didn’t address them properly. Chloe had then introduced her and Katyia, as Corpsman Van Heusen and Lieutenant Rustalov. She then proceeded to tell him that they just wanted to do their jobs the same way everyone else did theirs; walked past him and jumped into space.